First week (11 days) in Africa

So here are my first impressions of Africa.
From above, mahe, the island i'm living on, looks tiny! its only 40 km long, and it looks way smaller than that when you are coming in on a plane- i thought we would overshoot the airport for sure.
I got picked up on friday at 7:30 in the morning- little did i know that that is a late start here on the island- most days start at 5:45. the dive instructor picked me up- and we drove back to camp. Its actually way nicer than I was expecting- running water, but not hot, and fans in every room. I got there first, and so I have the best bed in the best room- there are three bedrooms, and the one I live in is all the guys- all 6 of us, and I have the bed next to the power outlets which is nice cause now I can charge my ipod.
The diving has been amazing so far- i've seen cuttlefish, rays, a white tip reef shark and tons of other cool fish. we've been memorizing all the species we need to know for the surveys, and its gonna take a little while, but I already know about half of them, but there are still 60 more to go.

So there are only 4 americans- everyone else is british or australian, and between that and the jeeves books im reading, my accent is getting all mucky already. i do not approve, but i caught myself saying reckon today, and i can hear words changing.

I like all the kids here so far (kids isnt really the right word i dont think- most people here are my age or older, but it sort of feels like we're at sleep away camp or something) but I miss you guys all very much. Its been tough working without getting a chance to go into town, but from now on, I'll get into town every saturday at a minimum.
The first time we went diving here, it was super choppy, and i felt seasick, and I felt very uncomfortable in the water because there was a strong current, and i had too much weight on my weight belt, and there was like 30 seconds where I was like holy shit what have you gotten youself into kyle, but since then I've calmed down, and the diving has been amazing, and I'm enjoying it much more now. I already feel way more confortable in the water, and I can only imagine how i'll feel after 6 months of diving every day.

Next week I'll bring my camera and put up all my photos.