Friday

Breakfast - for the first time, noticed the 'bacon' is actually made out of cow, not pig; cool
After breakfast, collected everything for Velares; as getting ice with Dieter, he talked to me about letting go of the past, all life coachy and stuff; what a great guy! also, we found out that SuYee's sister just got engaged so yay!
Sailed 40 mins to Pineapple Island; snorkeled for 2 hours! saw eagle rays and barracuda and tried to free dive for a while; got some cool pictures, swam a lot!
Afterwards, climbed back on boat; Michelle and I and Hambi were going to jump off the highest part of the boat into the water (the top deck); Michelle chickened out for so long so finally I decided "OKAY I'M GOING IN" and ran off the edge of the boat, leaping into the water; very cool! not as exhilarating as cliff diving in Nepal but still awesome! Dieter got photos
Jumped off again and cannonballing; then SuYee got over her fear a little and asked if I would jump with her once; we climbed to the top and she stood there for 20 minutes "OMG OMG OMG" before I finally said "I'm counting to 3 and if you haven't jumped by then, I'm tackling you in"; "okay okay I'll jump don't push me"
I counted to 3 and jumped; as I'm mid air, I hear "OH FUCK" behind me, coming from the top of the boat; thinking that she wimped out and didn't jump, I more than half expected to see her leaning over the edge of the boat when I surfaced but she bubbled up next to me just moments later; jumped in after me (hesitated but still did it)
Dieter took a photo but she was still on the boat in the picture, so obviously we had to jump again; this time D counted to 3; I jumped and she was a little late again but at least she was fully committed in the picture; good picture! lots of different kinds of blue, dhoni and pineapple island in background
Back to Rangali, ate lunch, SO MUCH FRUIT!!!
Afterwards, went to Ari Lounge to do some data; Ari Lounge on other side of connected island (connected to Rangali by a long bridge) called Honeymoon Island; afterwards, took our dhoni back to Mandhoo, 2 hours of free time; cleaned, journaled; while journaling, Xayn came up behind me and scared the shit out of me (just sitting there, minding my own business, peacefully scribbling down words and getting eaten by mosquitos when suddenly AHHH!!! a pair of hands forcefully landed on my shoulders as my entire body shot up several inches from the wooden bench where I was sitting; HOLY SHIT I screamed very loudly and everyone around started laughing; almost tackled Xayn into the ocean
Afterwards, watched sunset on other side of island
After sunset, had a barbecue/bonfire on a deserted beach on the far side of the island; lots of smoke; all of us sitting on the beach as the last fluffs of pink blew out of sight and the glow of the sky burned out like dying coals; the fire blowing in the salty breeze, behind the bush, the patch fenced in by the three largest logs we could drag out of the grasses in the sand aflame
Ate fresh from the tree coconut wedges as we rubbed spices on drumsticks and chicken sausages, stabbed and split open just-caught lobsters (when we got off the dhoni at Mandhoo, Ahmed and Rifa greeted us with 5 huge colorful lobsters that they caught earlier that afternoon; they were so big and vibrantly colored and alive)
Sat on logs and watched Ahmed and Rifa dance around the fire, using sticks and coconut shells as choice chef utensils; Ahmed used half a coconut shell to make garlic butter; sharpening sticks to spear sausages and other pieces of meat
Ate with our hands - tearing into drumsticks, chucking bones into the bushes behind in front of and next to us; cracked open lobster shells and sucked the white flesh out as garlic butter dripped onto our roti plates; ate bend and squatting over the grill in our makeshift fire pit; on the dark beach with the sky and stars and Venus and Jupiter above us; the tumble of waves over the crackling fire
Once we were done, threw the food leftovers into the ocean and sand on the embers; walked back to the bungalows using a shortcut through the shrubs, whistling Nirvana with Xayn, pushing the grill and other things back in a wheelbarrow
Going to the canteen with Xayn and SuYee and Dieter to get hot drinks and fruit; talking about Male (where Xayn's from) and joking around with SuYee and Dieter
After the canteen, Xayn asks me if I want to shoot some pool; we go to the recreation center and he's trying to teach me how to hold a cue properly and how to shoot; Hasan and Hambi are sitting in the chairs nearby the pool table, watching the news; Hasan asks us to play, I step out because I suck at pool; then Ahmed comes by and decided we were going to team up; me and Ahmed vs. Hasan and Xayn; Ahmed being very encouraging and Xayn being my cheerleader
Xayn moving my arms and hands and fingers around and teaching me the proper way of positioning everything; Ahmed and I lost but still a very good game, Xayn yelling encouragements after every shot I made (even if they were terrible)
Coming back from the pool game, Michelle asks if I want to go out for coffee in half an hour; I sit outside on the porch with SuYee and Xayn and write while we wait; we go to a cafe on the main street of the island (called Funyi or something like that) with Rifa, Ahmed, another guy (one of Rifa's friends), Hasan, Hambi, Michelle, Katie, and Dieter
At the cafe, we order Ye Ye's (the 'coffee'), which is mostly sugar, milk powder, and a little bit of coffee; we play the sausage game (Rifa: "I think Aobo would be very good and very cute for the sausage game"); Rifa picking on the Bangladeshi waiter (Bangladeshi considered the lowest people here in the Maldives; Hamim is Bangladeshi and it's very rare that there are Bangladeshi working on dhonis but Hasan doesn't care and really likes Hamim); Ahmed makes me a chewing roll out of some kind of leaf, coral cement, star anise, and spices; supposed to be a breath freshener
I chew it and mix it around in my mouth as everyone encouraged; kept asking if I'm being drugged, everyone laughs, no it's just a breath freshener; very strange taste - first tasting everything individually as teeth sink in and crack into the different components of the roll and their tastes burst in your mouth; then the mush of it all together creates a strange cacophony; feel the side of my mouth go numb
Finally, after what seems like ages of chewing, I spit it out into the bushes behind me and everyone laughs; supposedly, the leaf also has a lot of caffeine in it
We sit and talk about life; all but Rifa and Hambi are married, talking about dating, making stupid jokes, getting picked on (sitting between Hasan and Hambi)
Coming back to the bungalow, seeing the stars, telling dumb jokes again; Ahmed asks if Americans have a signature laugh; no not to my knowledge; he says all people have differences that separate them (culture, language, traditions, etc.) but laughter is recognizable everywhere and connects humankind
Saying goodnight to people as they disappear into their bungalows; Dieter and I walk back, picking up hermit crabs from the middle of the sand path and putting them closer to the bushes and ocean so people don't step on them
Writing outside when Ahmed walks by; sits down to talk to me when a rock flies over at us and hits the table; Rifa is in the hammock across the sand path and throws a coconut at us; he walks over, asks if I like him; nope sorry; are you sure; yeah sorry no; then asks me to be his business partner, buying stuff from US/UK (mostly things like phones) for resale in Maldives; wants me to find him a business partner
Then, a lizard/gecko from the ceiling falls onto my head and then onto my lap; scream from surprise, brush him off, laughs, bed