Today marks the eighth day of our trip to Jamaica. After being here for eight days you learn a few tips and tricks to help you get by. So here are some things that I’ve learned from my experiences over the last couple of days:

1. Tired of rinsing off with cold water after going snorkeling or even a cold shower? Don’t fret! Use the hose water first during the afternoon or get into the shower by the docks before your snorkeling buddy. The sun warms up the water a little bit so you’ll get a minute or two of warm water. Sometimes there’s even enough warm water for two people!
2. Feeling a little sea sick on the boat? Smell some peppermint oil to calm your stomach while riding rough waves. ~ Thanks Marissa for the oil!
3. Is your mask still fogging up? Use some Johnson’s baby shampoo, then rinse it off in the water and walah you can see! People also have cleaned their mask with white toothpaste and antifog spray. Also Professor Brad’s spit is quite effective. Gross? Maybe, but hey your own spit can clear up your mask too and it’ll give you a much better experience in the water rather than looking through a foggy mask and seeing only the outlines of fishes and coral. ~ Thanks Nikki for the shampoo – it works like a charm!
4. Not enough excitement on your boat trip? Spice things up with some lovely karaoke with some awesome people or brace yourself for some rough waves during the BRUV retrieval (you’ll get that sinking feeling in your stomach like you’re on a more scenic rollercoaster ride). It also helps when you have an amazing boat driver, Scarlet, and some standup comedy from Professor Joe.
   

   Starring the amazing singers who happen to be talented divers too: Lila, Professor Brad, and Nikki. Missing: Scarlet – who has a lovely voice, good song recommendations, and is the best boat driver/guide ever! Gabriel – who refused to share his lovely singing voice with us.

5. Now when it comes to seeing wildlife you always have to be prepared with a camera (preferably one that is fully charged, waterproof, and has a strap so it’s easier to hold when you are snorkeling or diving). Also it may help to have your camera on for most of the time since you never really know when you’re going to see something cool, but only if you have spare batteries.

So those are some of the tips that I’ve learned over these past few days and now here are some things that you’ll just have to man up and learn to deal with/things not to do.

1. Mosquitos are EVERYWHERE! They will eat you alive! Or well more like they are eating me alive. So you better sharpen up your ninja skills and be prepared to battle them every day with lightning fast swatting skills and spray bug repellent to spray everywhere on your body. Don’t even forget the back of your hands because they will get you! It is inevitable that you will get bitten so just try not to scratch.
2. Do not feed the stray cats cough Gabriel cough. They are so adorable! However, they are not welcome in the dining hall. Once you feed them they will never leave and they will be your best friends for the rest of the trip. So don’t give in to their meowing and cuteness.
   

   This kitty came to investigate my camera after she noticed I was taking a picture of her and she meowed at me for food.

3. Don’t call your professors by the other professor’s name. If you do try to save yourself by playing it off, if possible. If not then apologize and well… good luck to you (or I should say good luck to me) – wah such a fail boat on my part of hey what can we do we are all human. Sorry Joe!
4. Be fast at turning on your camera, unlike me, so you can get an awesome picture of a sea turtle! Sigh… by the time I got myself steady on the side of the boat to take the picture of the turtle it was already diving back under the water. So I got a lovely picture of water. The one rule we have here is if you don’t have a picture of it then it didn’t happen. So I guess I’ll enjoy my “imaginary” sea turtle in my memory.
   

   The lovely picture of water that I got instead of the sea turtle. Joe, Gabriel, and Scarlet are my witnesses who saw the “imaginary” sea turtle too. Sorry to disappoint so there’s a picture of the two lionfish.

Okie dokie well I think that’s enough tips for now. Oh and if you couldn’t tell the highlight of my day yesterday was seeing the sea turtle!!! I also got to see two more lionfish and got up close and personal to another barracuda. Final update from me will be in three days so until then enjoy these pictures and good night!

• Justina