Becoming a Fishermen

Let me begin by saying that I'm not going to preach my Christian values or ideas in this story. This is merely how I learned to fish out in the ocean, or rather not to fish; on a nearly deserted island in Thailand? Sound interesting? Did I get a hook?

The island ko Jun is between a bunch of other important islands in Thailand such as ko lanta. Its location isn't very important. What is important is there is no ATM, bank or way to get money on the island off shore.

Day one we get off the boat, my family is at the end of their vocation running on credit at this point. I'm down to my last 100 baht/$5. Immediately when we get off the boat I climb over a hill find a makeshift shop and buy some chop sticks, a hook and some fishing line. (Fast forward through an optimistic night of manufacturing my own fishing pole by hand).

The sun rises, I'm sitting on a cliff face casting my DIY reel into the ocean, with a bobber made out of a mini hotel shampoo bottle. I observe the old local fishing lady who passionately sits with her line high on a cliff looking into the water. Great, I learn that you need to see the fish to catch them. I change my technique and go home after 6 hours of fishing with shrimp bait I grabbed out of my dinner the night before.

Day two, I decide, "Hey I need a boat. This ocean is dangerous." (I have scars on my feet from the coral/rocks below/ slipping). I have no money but offer a fishermen two of my catches of the day to use his boat. I row out to the ocean, I can feel my Nordic blood pumping through my veins fishing the same way my ancestors did. I'm completely out of bait, so I start to try and catch some crabs.

My father the night before caught a crab with me, we shined a light on it and smashed it with a big ass rock cavemen style (one of the first things I've ever killed). By sheer luck and timing the current pulsing through a rock, I catch a big ass crab (with my bare hands!) The size of both of my hands. I immediately crushed its soul out with some jewelry pliers.

Commence day two of no food, my parents check up on me worried, still no catch. I realize I need to go closer to the shore, I get a snag on a fish I've playing with for awhile. It rips the bait away, and the line gets caught in the seaweed below. I have to make a decision here loose my boat or my hook. I decide to go for the hook( a storm in rolling in at this point) I use my hands to trace the line down to the hook about 5 feet below. The current starts to pick up and my canoe begins to drift away. I decide to save the boat and snap the line.

Right at sunset, I'm staring deep into the ocean horizon, and say a little prayer in my head, "God, if you're real, take the form of a fish." Right then the biggest fish I had ever seen jumped out of the water nearby, taunting me for a second in mid-air before vanishing.

I return back to my family tired and with some new wounds. The fishermen is not happy that I came home with nothing. I quickly bend some metals (my mother had a jewelry kit) and makes a beautiful bracelet for him and some earrings for his wife. My parents end up charging the hotel account for our last meal.

The next morning we're riding away from the island, I've learned how to not fish (or at least create jewelry out of nothing) and I leave with 3 pounds of precious sea shells and sea glass.

I don't know if this story has a meaning, it really was a coming of age adventure for me. I'm a painter, a student, but now I'm a hunter and fishermen for my family; or rather, that day, I became a craftsmen and learned you really could pay people by just creating something beautiful.

Foot scars

Some scars on my feet (sorry not a really good way to take a foot picture)