TRISTEN ANN

It’s official! Butters and I have officially moved to Curacao! It was Butters’ first time flying, and he handled it like an absolute champ (with a little help, of course, lol). And if American Airlines is reading this, no, I did not drug my dog…lol. Our connection in Miami was a breeze, and customs took a mere three minutes. All in all, it was a pleasant flying experience, which is a rare treat for me!

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks getting settled into my new apartment, starting work, making friends, and exploring my new home! I have to give a special shout-out to Pum and Pitou for making my first week absolutely amazing! These lovely ladies from the Netherlands were on vacation in Curacao and staying in the apartment above me. They are wonderful friends, great Dutch teachers, and even better drivers 😉 Speaking of driving, I now zip around in a manual Kia Picanto. We still drive on the right-hand side of the road here, so driving is just as familiar as back home.

I’m so happy and pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome I’ve received. The people here are just my speed… if it’s not obvious, I love island time! Butters is adjusting wonderfully and already has three new doggy friends to call siblings! I live with the sweetest couple, Saskia and Jeroen. They own the complex and are my upstairs neighbors, along with their three dogs. Our place has a giant pool and an incredible view of the city. Thanks to their open arms and wonderful home-cooked dinners, it already feels like home!

I’m learning the ropes at work and loving the career change. My coworkers are friendly, helpful, and just plain fun to be around. Diving every day and meeting new people fulfills me in ways no other job has. Since it’s currently the off-season, I’m enjoying the slower pace before things pick up in a few weeks. In our downtime, we work on our coral restoration project. This morning was all about out-planting, fragging, and cleaning coral trees (if you have no idea what that means, don’t worry, pictures are coming next post). It might sound boring to some, but I love giving back to something that brings me so much joy.

Now that I’m here, I admit—everyone was right. I should have made this move sooner! But let’s all be glad I finally did it. I’m starting to learn Dutch since everyone here speaks it, but it’s not technically necessary because everyone speaks English. Once I get the hang of Dutch, I’ll try to learn Papiamento, the local language, which sounds a bit like Portuguese. I want to communicate with all the friendly, warm, and happy people here. Speaking of warm, I know most of my readers are in Texas, so if you need a break from that 100-degree weather, let me know haha.

For those who don’t know, I work for a diving company called Dive Division as a Dive Master (aka a glorified underwater tour guide and instructor assistant) until I complete my Instructor program in August! Then I’ll be teaching all kinds of people to dive!! I love the diving community and am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to it. If you’ve ever thought about getting scuba certified, you know where to find me 😉

The diving here is incredible—the clearest water, the liveliest reefs, and the perfect water temperature! Even though these waters lack the big, scary creatures (which my parents are happy about), I do miss seeing sharks, whales, and rays. Regardless, I’m going to be so spoiled after this experience haha. I’m one very happy camper.

Once I get a new charger for my GoPro, I’ll be posting more diving content and talking about the coral restoration work we do here as well! I also have just been super busy so I haven’t taken any photos on my cameras yet. Please forgive me for my subpar iPhone photos below lol.

Until next time 🙂

P.S. The comment section is back up and running, thanks for your patience people!