Greetings from your new staff members, Jacque, Emily, & Charli! We arrived in Naifaru a little over a month ago and have already fallen in love with the community here (including both the humans and the turtles!). We wanted to each share a bit about our journey here as well as what we’ve been up to since arriving. 🙂
Jacqueline
Travelling from Chicago was a long 30h “adventure” but well worth it (Hot, tropical vibes >>> cold, brisk drab). You could feel that travel restrictions these days are much more complicated and being prepared with patience and the necessary documents is of the utmost priority. On arrival in Male, it was pretty much smooth sailing. The first brush with fresh Maldivian air and touching the ocean water again was everything. (I think my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I peed in my pants with a little excitement.) I got to Naifaru and bunked up with my new roomies, the marine biologists, Emily and Charli who had arrived a few days before me. I was asleep for the first 10 days adjusting to the 10h time difference. Time passed easily as we all got along very well through laughing, working out, listening to music, poking our heads out the windows, and playing games. Later during quarantine, we were able to assess our workload and start working remotely on our laptops through wifi. I think we knew how lucky we were to be out in this beautiful country getting to work towards our passions. Getting to meet these beautiful turtle (and clownfish) residents and finally walk around town was/is exciting! Plus, I could get on board since these girls are a hoot and a half (as well as passionate and eager)! There have already been cheeky, cry-laughing moments… We got a good crew here.
Emily
Having traveled through five different continents, I consider myself somewhat of a globetrotter. I’ve flown to and from Australia three times, but no amount of long haul flights could have prepared me for my unusual journey to the Maldives in the age of COVID. I’ve never been away from home for more than seven months, so saying goodbye to my family and dogs was really tough (I already miss them SO much <3). My trip included three flights, clocking in at my longest total flight time yet: 27 hours… mask on at ALL times. As soon as I saw the turquoise waters outside of the Male airport, I knew the long trek was worth it — although not yet over. At the airport I met Charli (my lovely soon-to-be roommate and fellow marine biologist), Kanma (our wonderful boss, aka “America”), and Ricky (one of the local heroes who has been caring for the turtles throughout the pandemic). We shared a quick meal at Burger King (perhaps my last bite of fast food for a year?) and boarded a small speedboat for a VERY choppy three hour trip to Naifaru. Once we arrived in Naifaru, we were immediately rushed into the Aqua Inn to ensure that we would not spread any germs we might have picked up on our flights over. Sleep-deprived and jetlagged, I barely registered the stunning surroundings during our ~10 seconds outside, which I soon regretted upon learning we would not be allowed outside for the next two three weeks. Although the quarantine was long and sunless, it passed by very quickly thanks to my two amazing roommates/co-workers! Jacque, our awesome volunteer coordinator, joined the squad two days later, just about the time that Charli and I were awaking from our post-flight hibernation. The 9 hour time difference was not an easy adjustment, but eventually I got into a semi-regular sleep schedule. Our “quaranteam” spent our days snacking, sleeping, exercising (shoutout to Chloe Ting’s YouTube channel), sharing stories and astrology memes, laughing our butts off, debating what we would miss most during our time here (a lot of things are banned in the Maldives. I decided no dogs would be the toughest part for me), playing Bananagrams and Settlers of Catan, watching Netflix, and beginning our work for the marine centre through a remote desktop. By the end of quarantine, I was stoked to begin work as I’d already grown to love my co-workers and had begun to brainstorm a lot of ideas for the marine centre during my time learning and working remotely. Our first day out of the Aqua Inn was nothing short of magical: the feeling of fresh air and sunshine on our very Vitamin D-deficient skin, the mesmerizingly blue waters surrounding our new home, the beautiful pastel colors of the Naifaru buildings, and of course, the adorable faces and personalities of my eight new sea turtle friends at the Atoll Marine Centre. These eight sweethearts captured my heart IMMEDIATELY, and I instantly knew that it was going to be a good year. The 27-hour flight, the three weeks of quarantine, the no dogs… it would all be beyond worth it. I’m so excited to spend the next year taking care of these beautiful creatures and working hard to improve the community of Naifaru!
Charli
On my way to London Heathrow airport the excitement (and nerves) were starting to build; I was about to move to the Maldives for a year to be a Marine Biologist!!! What.on.earth. Various thoughts were going through my head…why am I doing this, how did I get here, I’m going to miss my dog, what am I going to do without bourbons for a year…The list is endless.
With half of my family waving me off from home, and the other half coming to the airport with me, the goodbyes that day were overwhelming (if you are reading this I love and miss you all). We got to the airport 3 hours early so that we could have a coffee and some cake together, but when we got to the entrance only I was allowed in! I dramatically walked through the airport to the check in desk, waving goodbye to my family through the glass windows like that one scene in every cringey film ever. Before my flight I savoured (stared longingly at) my last pint of Guinness and burger for the year before heading to the gate. The flight was actually really comfortable! There was a lot of space on board so the stewardess moved me to an empty row so that I could spread out for a small nap. You get used to having to wear a mask pretty quickly, however the face shield was awkward, why I didn’t take it off to eat is beyond me.
There is something so exciting and freeing about travelling on your own! In your home country everything is familiar, it’s not until you board a flight on your own that you feel completely free! I mean for me anyway, I don’t know if any of that makes sense!
Anyway, when I arrived at Male airport I found my boss (soon to be favourite boss ever, Kanma we love you), my fellow marine biologist Emily (soon to be the most amazing roommate you could ask for, thank you for being my enabler), and Ricky (oh Ricky, go to bed!). We were ushered out of the airport where we commenced a bumpy 3 hour speedboat trip to our new home, the small island of Naifaru. When we got off the boat we were greeted by people in full PPE, it was at this point I tried to memorise every detail about the island because I knew I wouldn’t be seeing it for 14 days.
To cut a long story short our quarantine ended up being 21.5 days (the .5 is included because every hour without the sun was starting to wear a gal down). Our volunteer coordinator Jacque joined us and made our lil family whole (JT, what would we do without your infectious laugh and random memes). We slept a bunch, ate a lot, Chloe Ting’d, wished for Salma Hayek, and obsessively played bananagrams; it was fabulous.
Since then I have fallen in love, the turtles are the most amazing and beautiful creatures and they deserve the world. Each one is the most precious little thing and they break my heart at least 3 times a day. I cannot wait to see them thrive this next year, and I have made it my mission to rehabilitate and release as many as possible. <3
