When I chose the path to marine science, I had no idea I would end up where I am now. In the middle of the Caribbean. On an island. Far from home. If I could revisit my senior year of high school self and say “guess what, after college you’re going to spend 5 years in Puerto Rico”, I would laugh. Puerto Rico? I don’t even know where that is (lies, I’d like to think I knew about US territories when I was in high school…). You know my story: Texan girl goes off to summer camp in Galveston, falls in love with the sea, graduates high school and moves to Florida, gets two degrees, and then here is where I pick up. In Puerto Rico.

I had no idea what to expect when moving to the island. I knew it would be something like the States, since it is governed by the US. I knew the school system would be bilingual, and I knew there were waves [for surfers] in the town we settled in. I was pretty much expecting everything else to be similar to Florida. Yeah, no.

For starters, things move at a snail’s pace. Latin time + island time = double slow time. This took some adjustments for my slightly high strung, always have to be doing something, personality. I would say that this took about 1.5 years.

But I chose to move here for the experience. I could have pursued graduate school someplace else, perhaps even someplace more prestigious than UPR Mayaguez. But I wanted the opportunities, I wanted the chance to live in a place unlike anywhere I had been before. So I packed up, moved with Evan, and we’ve been here three years now, with at least two more on the horizon.

The island life is the simple life. You don’t have a lot of options – there aren’t twenty different kinds of organic fruit at the supermarket – but there are local farmers stands with fruit from nearby, and there is fertile soil in your backyard for your own. I don’t have the selection of boutiques, no Target, no Anthro, so I spend less money on clothes or things I don’t truly need. Instead, I utilize what’s for free: the great outdoors.

I love being on the island because every day is like a vacation. Not true, not every day. But most weeks, I take my time and get my work done, I try not to stress, I do yoga, I cook and explore and be present. That’s the key right there – being present in the moment. Taking life a day at a time. I can do that much easier here. [photo here]