One of the special things about being the 2021 North American Scholar is that many times, you get to go to some truly amazing places and thus I’m happy to say that one of the neat places I got to visit was Deep Dive Dubai. After seeing some of the amazing work that they had done in making the world’s deepest pool, and out in the middle of the desert no less, I was extremely interested and excited to go investigate.
On the day that I arrived, I was astonished to see how futuristic and beautiful the building was. It was truly a masterpiece of modern architecture! Then again, that is one of the things I had come to learn that Dubai is known for. As one of the most populated cities in the United Arab Emirates, it’s renowned for its extremely modern architecture, luxury shopping experiences and lively nightlife scene. This was evident not only by the extravagance on display at the Deep Dive Dubai facility, but by the sheer enormity of one of the malls I happened upon (which included an entire winter wonderland area inside) and by the intricate and stunning beauty of structures such as the 830m-tall skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, and the artificial Atlantis islands just offshore.
Despite the unique industrial marvels that this place can distract with, I was mostly excited to be in the presence of five times Free Diving World Champion Natalia Zharkova who now leads freediving lessons in Deep Dive Dubai. While I was there I was able to partake in a wonderful tour and learn about the history of the facility, and of course participate in a fun dive with some of the Deep Dubai staff, where I was able to dive down to more than 100 ft. and interact with many of the engaging underwater props.
I was thankful to the staff at Deep Dive Dubai for taking the time to dive with me and show me around. However my time in Dubai wasn’t exactly over when I thought it would be. Upon arriving at the airport to head out of the country, I faced one the most difficult times I’ve had during my scholarship year in simply trying to leave. Due to some prevalent misinformation and misdirection of the airline staff, I ended up missing not one, but two whole flights as I tried to simply get out of the country! To say it was anxiety-inducing would be an understatement, but thanks to the help of my coordinators and many of my family members, I was able to find my way over to my next and final international scholarship year destination, the beautiful Dominican Republic.
I was super excited and honored to be invited to the Dominican Republic by Indiana University’s Diving Safety Officers Sam Haskell and Tori Galloway, who help facilitate many of the activities of the Indiana University’s Underwater Science Program, and Dr. Charlie Beeker, who serves as the director for Indiana University’s Center for Underwater Science and Academic Diving Program. During my time there, I was able to stay at a beautiful resort near Cotubanamá National Park, where I worked with several of IU’s best students including several graduates and undergraduates.
Although I was quite busy with some of my year-end scholarship tasks, thankfully I was still able to go out to some of the local marine areas and participate in IU’s decades-long agenda to protect and preserve historic shipwrecks and historical maritime artifacts by establishing what are now known as Living Museums in the Sea. These Living Museums in the Sea serve as a holistic approach to protect submerged cultural resources and to promote the preservation of the associated biological landscape.
One of the many sites I was able to dive and visit was Captain Kidd’s Quedagh Merchant, which had been abandoned and sank in 1699, then rediscovered, researched and monitored in 2007 by Indiana University. While there, I was able to work with the IU students, helping to locate and map out the extremely endangered Acropora palmata coral for future conservation purposes. Another amazing site I was able to visit was the 1724 Guadalupe Underwater Archaeological Preserve, which was noted as the Dominican Republic’s first underwater shipwreck museum during the summer of 2004 by IU students and faculty.
Along with the other students, I was also able to visit several caverns and caves which were once used by the ancient indigenous Taino people as a refuge or place of ritual. It was absolutely stunning to see, as one of the caves known as Cueva de Chicho had some of the clearest water I had ever seen. There we found several ceramic remains, bones and petroglyphs.
Additionally, we were even able to visit the Museo de las Atarazanas Realés in Santo Domingo while touring alongside the historic buildings which were considered part of the first urban city of the “new world” founded more than 600 years ago. As the first European settlement in the Americas, it was cool to know that we were walking down the same streets where young women and men would promenade in the 16th to the early 20th centuries.
It was great to be part of such a wonderful program with such a wonderful group of people. I’m so happy and thankful to have had the opportunity to help out and be part of the decades-long legacy that Indiana University has established in the Dominican Republic. Special thanks to Sam Arvin for a lot of the photos. Thanks to everyone who made my time in both Dubai and the Dominican Republic amazing, and as always, to Rolex, OWUSS, DAN, and my product sponsors Aqua Lung, Diving Unlimited International (DUI), Fourth Element, Halcyon, Light and Motion, Nauticam, and Reef Photo and Video for making these experiences possible!
