Dabawenya Traveller

I am a Filipina singer working in a small island resort in Maldives. It is my first time to work outside of the Philippines. My musician partner and I will be working here in Maldives for one year (or more). We arrived here in Meedhupparu Island, Maldives on September 21, 2014. This island has a very nice sunny weather most of the time with very fine white sand and crystal clear beach. One could positively describe this place as paradise. There is plenty of fresh air, lots of trees, birds and beautiful fishes. We could not go out of this island anytime. This island is 40 minutes seaplane ride from the airport and 4 days thru speedboat from Male City.

We are performing here every night, six times a week at the main bar for one year or more. One would think it is a boring life with nothing to do on a very small island like this. I don’t like to watch television to keep myself entertained except for watching the news from time to time to keep me updated. To keep our sanity, avoid being homesick and make our life productive, I came up with a list of what to do on this island for one year. Here it is:

1. Swim at the beach. It is the best thing to do when you are on an island like this. One of the world’s most beautiful beaches is found in Maldives. Although we are allowed only a certain time of the day to swim (5:00 to 6:00 pm only) and a specific area to swim it is still nice to swim (near the south jetty) at least once a week to unwind and relax.

2. Go to the gym. To stay healthy and fit, we need to go to the gym regularly.

3. Play badminton.

4. Play table tennis.

   

5. Play tennis.

6. Go to the jetty to catch plenty of fresh air, watch beautiful fishes and chat with some guest.

   

7. Play with the birds. These friendly and colorful little birds like to come inside our room and play.

8. Read a good book. There are plenty of books to choose from at the library section of located at the main bar.

9. Drink coffee and juice at the main bar and watch guest sunbathing at the poolside.

10. Write a blog (this is what I’m doing now).

11. Visit the baby sea turtles at the south jetty.

12. Watch the night fish feeding at the north jetty. Giant tuna fishes called “jackfish” appear every night, 9:30pm at the north jetty waiting for their meal of small fishes. Many guests come to see the night fish feeding.

13. Snorkeling. Take plenty of pictures of the beautiful fishes using an underwater camera. I will have to buy this kind of camera soon.

14. Diving. I haven’t tried this one. I am afraid to do so. I’m not a good swimmer. The diving center offers free diving every 5:00 in the afternoon. I will try diving when I’m brave enough.

15. Ride a speedboat to and from Meedhoo Island for $20 (roundtrip). We need the permission of the F&B Manager to go to Meedhoo Island.

    

16. Make souvenir crafts for giveaways to friends. I plan to do this once I buy the needed materials.

17. Research new songs and practice singing every day.

18. Write a journal/diary.

19. Email friends and relatives to keep in touch.

20. Visit Male City on our day off once a month. We need to go to Male City once a month to get our salary from the bank. We also need to buy necessary things like cosmetics and toiletries. Not much to do in Male City. There are no malls, no carnivals, and no bars.

21. Play billiards at the sunset bar.

22. Play dart at the sunset bar.

23. Walk around the island by the shore. Meedhupparu Island is very small, I can walk around the island in 10 minutes. It is a good exercise and I get plenty of sunshine.

24. Watch the sunset at Cafe Mass. I love sunsets. It is very romantic.

There, I finally completed the 24 things to do on this island. I hope that would keep boredom away from me for one year. The important thing is to make the most out of my time while I’m here in Maldives.

One may think my job is easy here in Maldives. It is not easy singing every night, entertaining people of different nationalities, culture, and background. Each of them prefers different types of music and we have to please all of them. There are times my voice becomes hoarse because I’m not feeling well but I have no choice but to sing from 8:00 pm to 12:00 midnight (4 sets).

Criticism will always be there (from the management, co-workers, and guests) but I will not let these things affect me or else it will drive me crazy. I just have to enjoy my work and try to be happy.