In all honesty, it sounded cool. I had completed my degree in ecology the year before, and I wanted to move into more of a practical side of it. Nomads and Project Laut gave me the opportunity to travel, and make moves towards my future goals in conservation. The program allowed me to be in the water, doing what I wanted to do, and interact with all different people from different walks of life.
Alumni Spotlight: Natasha Kelleher
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Natasha completed her dive guide training with Nomads and went on to work for a dive shop in Italy. However she hopes she can make her way back to the island and complete her instructor training course.
Why did you choose this program?
What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?
While accommodation, transport and meals were not directly supplied by the program, Sita and Joma were beyond helpful in pointing me in the right direction and put me into contact with the right people. With moving to a new country it was beyond appreciated, they made me feel like I was home. They ran me around on my first day to check places in person, helped negotiate prices, and all in all were just amazing.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?
Run into it with open arms and an a open mind. The program and the people are amazing, and I would not trade the experience for anything. Another thing I would say is do everything, learn a bit of Bahasa, try all the food, go see all the places, because the whole experience is life changing. Making that little bit of effort to immerse yourself makes all the difference.
What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?
With 2 days off a week its an amazing opportunity to explore the island and the culture, as well as to just enjoy your down time. Working days vary between being on the boat with the other interns, or learning how to work with customers, building and deploying coral spiders, and completing the various workshops. Sometimes we would have family dinners and game nights, the interactions between everyone went beyond just the shop.
Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?
I knew I was going to be joined with a big group of people who already knew each other, and I was worried about feeling isolated, alone and lost. But right away Sita and Joma made me feel like I was part of a family. I was also scared that this was going to be some sort of pipe dream and that I wouldn't be able to do it, but they were open to any and all questions I had, and trust me there were a lot, and helped me accept that being a dive professional just clicked for me.
Write and answer your own question.
Is there anything you would have done different?
I would've saved more for small weekend trip and/or invested in an underwater video camera. I love my normal camera but sometimes you just need a quick easy shot for memories, and for the turtle conservation work too. Also try to get a couple of specialties too, like your deep spec or underwater photography.