It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not the holiday season. No, not college acceptances. It's time to go to Eleuthera! We started off class with a not-so-casual reminder from Ms. Samson about the approaching packing deadline, a reminder which got every member of the class shaking with excitement for the upcoming stay in paradise.

We will remember all these things, we swear... 

With a classic DyKnow session we snapped back into education mode and were ready for action. Ms. Becker explained to us the difference between physiology and anatomy and started breaking down the different evolutionary complexities which gave us the animals we have today. After today’s class, I’m sure we all can imagine how cool it would be to have gills instead of lungs because of how much more efficient they are at getting oxygen from the surroundings... also you could live underwater!

Now knowing how the animals worked, we got to work cutting them up. We started with dissecting a squid but were promised a shark in the next few days. It was a pretty “dramatic” scent, but after breathing through our mouths for a while, getting on with the squid got a lot more manageable. We located the hearts and lungs with no sweat, but the ink gland (which many of us thought was an undigested fish) was where the fun really kicked in. Below is an example of the artistry reached when two science/math lovers apply themselves in the creative arts.

Check out this squid we dissected today! We can't wait to dissect again!

During the last block we were surprised by a guest speaker! Unfortunately it was not Bill Nye the Science Guy or Joy from the Giant Squid documentary, but instead we got to hear the wise words of wisdom from the spectacular Ms. Bischoff. She reassured us about the amazing experience that we are about to embark on, but also discussed the standard that we must hold ourselves at during the trip. Last but not least, she reminded us that while we are in the Bahamas there will be no internet connection which means college stress free for fourteen days!

Following that lighthearted announcement, we got to cracking on learning the Bahamian national anthem. Though the original music video demonstrations were a bit intimidating, when it came time to perform we really shined on our rendition of “March on Bahamaland”. Ms. Becker showed us the ropes, and after a quick repeat after me run through the class could almost smell the easterlies blowing.

Signing off,
Annie and Daniel