My husband and I finally went back to the Maldives for the first time in three years last month. The island we visited six years ago was called “Taj Coral” and it's run by a large Indian Resort company. The Maldives has many resort islands for tourists, each with its own unique characteristics. Taj Coral has a lot of staff from India, so they're familiar with Indian culture. As a result, about 50% of the tourists there were from India, 20% were Japanese, 20% were European, and 10% were from other places.

Usually, my husband decides where we travel because he enjoys planning the trips. This time, he chose Taj Coral because the travel agency offered a great deal, and it was within our budget.

While we were on the island, my husband created a fun game for me where I earned points every time I communicated in English, and completed various tasks. For example, after our first snorkeling session in the morning, we weren't satisfied, so we went to the diving center to ask for a snorkeling guide. My husband thought the guide was free, but actually we had been informed that it would cost $50 per person for 30 minutes. We only wanted some advice about the local reef when it comes to snorkeling without a boat, so I explained this to a staff member in English. My husband was surprised that I was able to explain our misunderstanding, and suddenly he gave me “50 points”, like on a TV gameshow.

From then on, we had fun playing this game where I earned points in different situations. My husband said I earned the most points when I asked the staff about feeding stingrays. The travel agency had mentioned this feeding event, and we enjoyed it every evening during our previous visit. However, the staff informed us that the government had banned feeding stingrays on all resorts, including Taj Coral, a month ago. The feeding had been going on for over 20 years, so the stingrays still gathered at the usual time and waited for food. This made me feel sad, but I understand that the government is trying to protect the wild marine life.

Overall, I was satisfied with my ability to communicate in English in many situations during this trip!

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