Matt called Beth and then me on the 7th of August. Every other word from his mouth was "Awesome" - with the inflection behind it even better ;-)
He's having a great experience. The Kitalong's are treating him very well. Ann is keeping him busy with marine biology work, and Clarence has taken him fishing with freinds and relatives
Matt has been doing some aquaculture work - my knowledge is limitied but he mentioned things such as mapping trenches with GPS. They have measured the bacteria levels at these trenches, as this is where fish waste and other matter collects. The smaples they have taken have shown very high levels of bacteria. These studies - of course - are intended to help ensure the health of the marine aquaculture.
Matt has also worked with studies for land based solid waste treatment. He spent one day conducting a survey at a waste facility to determine the interest of the residents in being more diligient in their waste handling - things such as segregating material. Rivers are being polluted a bit from run-offs from wast facilities.
Clarence and freinds took Matt on a fishing trip - they caught tons of fish - snapper, grouper, trigger fish. Did some Net fishing. After they returned and ate some of the fish for dinner, they relaxed that night around a fire, playing guitars. One of the other fishermen was a guitar player, and he and Matt spent a good deal talking about the ins and outs of the guitar and techniques - right up Matt's alley ;-)
Matt mentioned it's a great life-style - big surprise ;-) He's borrowed the Kitalong's Moped to ride aroung the Island - mentioning how beautiful it is and how spectacular the sunsets are.
He was also planning to try to go scuba diving - he needs a few dives to complete his certification.
