G’Day All from Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands,
Firstly thankyou to all that sent me birthday messages. It was a quiet but sunny day with a few cold ones, nothing big, but very nice. Got into Seattle on Thurs after being held up at the US/Canada border. What a bloody joke that was! I took the bus from Vancouver to Seattle and of course we had to cross the US border. So we get to the border gates, had to wait in the bus for half an hour cos there were 3 buses ahead of us. So after we moved from the bus we had to unpack all the luggage and wait in line ready to see the customs officers. We line up and there is not a bloody soul in the area! You’d think a full bus load of people would have the customs people ready to check them and get them on their way, but no, we stood there for another half hour while officials just seemed to occasionally appear, look at us, then go into another room. After another good half hour one official came out and started putting us through, then another one came out, and another, so were finally getting the ball rolling. My turn comes up, I go up to the customs bloke, show him my passport and student visa form. He looks at it and asks me to step over to the counter so they can process it over there cos for some reason the proper software wasn’t available at his station. So I go over there and no one helps me, the bus line is getting smaller and smaller, and still no one has come over to help me. All the people on the bus get processed, and then start loading back on the bus. I’m thinking “shit, I’m gonna be holding up the bus” and yep, sure enough, I did. The same older overweight guy that served me in the first place waddles over to the counter, sits at the computer and begins going through my student visa processing. Now to give you an idea of how long it should take, when I got into Miami I was through the customs guy in about 2 mins. This guy had no bloody clue, cos he took friggin’ ages, although didn’t let on. I knew he had the instructions on the screen cos he was typing everything with 2 bloody fingers! The bus driver walks over to me and asks what’s going on. I apologised to him and told him they were processing my visa. The customs guy assured the driver he won’t be a moment… A moment my arse! 15 min later and he finally hands me back my passport with the relevant documentation. Then I gotta go grab my bags, have them quickly checked and load back onto the bus. Throughout this whole process I’m thinking “Shit, we’re already over an hour behind schedule and I’ve just held the bus up another 20 min.” I was bloody ropable! Now you’d think that being a US Customs official on the border of a different country and the fact that Canadian students come through there with student visas to study in the US, then the US Government might train their officials in processing student visas…. Pfft! Fat chance! How many international students that come to the US to study do you think are gonna be a threat?! You’d think international students would be the least of their worries compared to people trying to come in from Canada on a bus (no disrespect to Canadians, I think they are great people), and so they wanna get the students in, processed, and on their way… Nope. Once it again it just proved to me the ridiculousness of US Security and Customs. Ok, sorry, got that off my chest, feeling much better.
So got into Seattle late Thurs night, met Ash on Friday (the other Aussie from this program from Adelaide). Saturday we checked out the Space Needle (big tall needle like building in the city overlooking the Puget Sound and surrounds), met up with another chick from Seattle going on the program and we ended up at what is known as ‘Hempfest’. Basically it’s a free festvial with music and everyone smokes dope, gets high in the hope of sending the message that marijuana should be legalised in the US, as it is a much less “harmful” drug than alcohol in that more crimes are commited when people are under the influence of alcohol. Apparently it’s a really big issue over here in the States.
So Sunday saw Ash and I travel up to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands where we have landed at the University of Washington Laboratories. It’s an awesome facility right on the water, and it’s quicker to row into town on a boat than to walk! How cool is that?! And yeah, so have met everyone over the last couple of days, a very diverse group I must say. Ash and I are the only internationals, the rest of from the US. And another interesting fact, apart from the instructors, I am the only male student. Yep that’s right, out of 10 students I am the only guy. Dunno how I feel about that yet but no doubt I’ll get through it. We’ve all been thinking about exactly what we’re gonna study and so will break into 2 groups of 5 and spend a week on the boat, then a week off, for the next 9 weeks. So communication will be limited as it’s a pretty full on 10 weeks. I’ll do my best though. Friday Harbor is a quaint little town on San Juan Island so isolation for the next 10 weeks will be interesting.
In case you wish to/need to post something my address is as follows:
Tim Hunt
C/O Beam Reach
Friday Harbor Labs
620 University Rd
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
USA
Hope all is well with everyone. Take care and next time you hear from me I will have hopefully seen many a killer whale!
Tim, Timmy, Timbo
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Crackheads, cold water and sunshine
G’Day All,
Well a lot has happened since you last heard from me. After chilling in sunny Vancouver for a few days I headed across to Victoria on Vancouver Island and sussed out possible jobs for my work visa. Good news, pretty much got a job from Feb/March working as a marine biologist on a whale watch boat. Got to go out with a company for free and see how its done, and yeah, I know I could do it cos I know all the info and am only going to learn more studying the orcas for 10 weeks. Just gotta find something from Nov till then but got plenty of time. Will keep u posted on that front. But I saw my first killer whales in real life! ‘Twas bloody awesome! Can’t wait to see more!
Ok, so here is a crackhead story, and I’m literally talking about an actual crackhead. While in Victoria I went down to a marina to wait for a manager of a whale watch business to arrive. There was a driver of a whale watch boat there ready to go out, and another guy cleaning his boat nearby. This woman came up to me, dressed in nice jeans and a blazer with glasses on and asked “Excuse me, do you have some money? I just found out my uncle has died which is why I have been crying (she did actually have tears in her eyes) and I need to get my car out of the carpark to get to my phone. I’m not from around here, I’m a lawyer from Toronto and can pay you back double what you give me, I just need to get to my car”
I told her I don’t live here and she said “that’s fine, I’ll drop the money off to where you are staying. Actually, will you be here in half an hour?”
I said yes, so she said “ok I’ll drop double your money back to you here in half an hour”
I dunno what it was but it was clearly a moment of nievity, weakness, probably compassion as she told me her uncle had just died, and the fact I could double my money, so I handed her $20 and off she walked. The guy on the whale watch boat nearby asked me “You didn’t just give her money did you?”
“Ahh yeah” I replied, in a nervous tone
“Well she’s a crackhead and was here yesterday morning. She stung that guy over there cleaning his boat with some story”
“Are you serious!” I said as I jumped up out of my seat. “Yeah” he replied.
So I piss bolted up the hill where the woman was walking and told her that I needed my money back to pay for the boat ride. She gave it back no worries and I walked back down the hill to the marina. I sincerely thanked the whale watch guy and sat down feeling bloody ashamed of myself. I dunno how I could have been so stupid! I guess I felt sorry for her and she was very convincing I gotta admit. Apparently there are a lot of crackheads around this time of year with all the tourists away. I know now I’m not gonna ever again give money to a stranger, no matter how convincing their story is!
So after spending almost a week in Victoria I travelled up to the NW side of Van Island to a place called Quadra Island where I went kayaking for a day. Was an alright day but I kinda hoped to see more wildlife (i.e. dolphins, maybe even orcas). I then headed to the other side of the island where I did a weekend trip diving around Quadra. It was my first cold water diving experience and let me tell you, it was bloody cold! Water temp was 12 degrees C and I only had a 7mm wetsuit on. I had my booties which are 3-5 mm and so after 20-25 min I’d start to lose feeling in my toes. Was also wearing a hoodie and gloves, hadn’t dived in over a year so took a few minutes to get comfortable in the water. The marine life down there though is awesome. Mainly sessile organisms (ones that don’t move, are attached to the wall/rockface) but they were spectacular. Huge white plumose anemones around 7 inches thick and over a foot long, sun stars with up to 40 legs and 3-4ft across, huge white starfish 2-3ft across, king crabs with a carapace (body) length of up to 2ft across, forests of purple tubeworms, and almost every available space on the substrate was covered in little strawberry anemones. Apparently British Columbia is the second best dive location in the world, as there really is soo much life. I was hoping to find a wolf eel (very creepy looking they are) or a giant Pacific octopus but no luck. Still was a great weekend diving even if I did freeze my arse off down there. I’ll be wearing a dry-suit next time! One thing that peeves me is that because I have a marine bio/scientific dive background I’m taught a non-invase approach to diving, (which all ppl should be!), and it bloody annoys me when people pull themselves along the rocks and kelp and destroy organisms in their path, and pull organisms out to have a closer look at them. Leave them alone I say! How would u like it if a giant reached into your house, pulled you out, shook u about, then plonked you back at the end of your block?! Well, my dive instructor, the guy that owned the dive lodge, did just that! I guess he was trying to impress me by shoving things in my face but I felt like saying “listen mate, I can see it whether it’s a foot in front of me of 4 ft in front of me. Leave the marine life alone!”
Anyway, enough bitching. Was good to get some cold water dives in and experience that kind of marine life.
So yeah got back to Vancouver on Monday. I treated myself to a seaplane ride back from the island. That was really cool flying into Vancouver over Stanley Park and the city. We’ve had great weather since I arrived, and yesterday was the first overcast day I’ve experienced so can’t complain when I’ve had over 2 weeks of sunshine!
Currently staying with Deano at a place he’s house-sitting. This place has a pool and Jacuzzi, and I have my own room with bathroom so ahh, no complaints here!
Off to Seattle next Thursday 16th, will check that out for a couple of days then 19th I start in Friday Harbor. Gonna be awesome! Oh yeah, and all you Miami-ites, Oct 29th I shall grace you all with my presence!
Hope you are all well, and sorry for such the long winded email. I have created a blog site for those of you that have trouble reading my emails. Enjoy!
Tim, Timmy, Timbo
Well a lot has happened since you last heard from me. After chilling in sunny Vancouver for a few days I headed across to Victoria on Vancouver Island and sussed out possible jobs for my work visa. Good news, pretty much got a job from Feb/March working as a marine biologist on a whale watch boat. Got to go out with a company for free and see how its done, and yeah, I know I could do it cos I know all the info and am only going to learn more studying the orcas for 10 weeks. Just gotta find something from Nov till then but got plenty of time. Will keep u posted on that front. But I saw my first killer whales in real life! ‘Twas bloody awesome! Can’t wait to see more!
Ok, so here is a crackhead story, and I’m literally talking about an actual crackhead. While in Victoria I went down to a marina to wait for a manager of a whale watch business to arrive. There was a driver of a whale watch boat there ready to go out, and another guy cleaning his boat nearby. This woman came up to me, dressed in nice jeans and a blazer with glasses on and asked “Excuse me, do you have some money? I just found out my uncle has died which is why I have been crying (she did actually have tears in her eyes) and I need to get my car out of the carpark to get to my phone. I’m not from around here, I’m a lawyer from Toronto and can pay you back double what you give me, I just need to get to my car”
I told her I don’t live here and she said “that’s fine, I’ll drop the money off to where you are staying. Actually, will you be here in half an hour?”
I said yes, so she said “ok I’ll drop double your money back to you here in half an hour”
I dunno what it was but it was clearly a moment of nievity, weakness, probably compassion as she told me her uncle had just died, and the fact I could double my money, so I handed her $20 and off she walked. The guy on the whale watch boat nearby asked me “You didn’t just give her money did you?”
“Ahh yeah” I replied, in a nervous tone
“Well she’s a crackhead and was here yesterday morning. She stung that guy over there cleaning his boat with some story”
“Are you serious!” I said as I jumped up out of my seat. “Yeah” he replied.
So I piss bolted up the hill where the woman was walking and told her that I needed my money back to pay for the boat ride. She gave it back no worries and I walked back down the hill to the marina. I sincerely thanked the whale watch guy and sat down feeling bloody ashamed of myself. I dunno how I could have been so stupid! I guess I felt sorry for her and she was very convincing I gotta admit. Apparently there are a lot of crackheads around this time of year with all the tourists away. I know now I’m not gonna ever again give money to a stranger, no matter how convincing their story is!
So after spending almost a week in Victoria I travelled up to the NW side of Van Island to a place called Quadra Island where I went kayaking for a day. Was an alright day but I kinda hoped to see more wildlife (i.e. dolphins, maybe even orcas). I then headed to the other side of the island where I did a weekend trip diving around Quadra. It was my first cold water diving experience and let me tell you, it was bloody cold! Water temp was 12 degrees C and I only had a 7mm wetsuit on. I had my booties which are 3-5 mm and so after 20-25 min I’d start to lose feeling in my toes. Was also wearing a hoodie and gloves, hadn’t dived in over a year so took a few minutes to get comfortable in the water. The marine life down there though is awesome. Mainly sessile organisms (ones that don’t move, are attached to the wall/rockface) but they were spectacular. Huge white plumose anemones around 7 inches thick and over a foot long, sun stars with up to 40 legs and 3-4ft across, huge white starfish 2-3ft across, king crabs with a carapace (body) length of up to 2ft across, forests of purple tubeworms, and almost every available space on the substrate was covered in little strawberry anemones. Apparently British Columbia is the second best dive location in the world, as there really is soo much life. I was hoping to find a wolf eel (very creepy looking they are) or a giant Pacific octopus but no luck. Still was a great weekend diving even if I did freeze my arse off down there. I’ll be wearing a dry-suit next time! One thing that peeves me is that because I have a marine bio/scientific dive background I’m taught a non-invase approach to diving, (which all ppl should be!), and it bloody annoys me when people pull themselves along the rocks and kelp and destroy organisms in their path, and pull organisms out to have a closer look at them. Leave them alone I say! How would u like it if a giant reached into your house, pulled you out, shook u about, then plonked you back at the end of your block?! Well, my dive instructor, the guy that owned the dive lodge, did just that! I guess he was trying to impress me by shoving things in my face but I felt like saying “listen mate, I can see it whether it’s a foot in front of me of 4 ft in front of me. Leave the marine life alone!”
Anyway, enough bitching. Was good to get some cold water dives in and experience that kind of marine life.
So yeah got back to Vancouver on Monday. I treated myself to a seaplane ride back from the island. That was really cool flying into Vancouver over Stanley Park and the city. We’ve had great weather since I arrived, and yesterday was the first overcast day I’ve experienced so can’t complain when I’ve had over 2 weeks of sunshine!
Currently staying with Deano at a place he’s house-sitting. This place has a pool and Jacuzzi, and I have my own room with bathroom so ahh, no complaints here!
Off to Seattle next Thursday 16th, will check that out for a couple of days then 19th I start in Friday Harbor. Gonna be awesome! Oh yeah, and all you Miami-ites, Oct 29th I shall grace you all with my presence!
Hope you are all well, and sorry for such the long winded email. I have created a blog site for those of you that have trouble reading my emails. Enjoy!
Tim, Timmy, Timbo
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