Reflecting on Week 1

It’s been an exciting 5 days for the Marine Science crew! Much of the experiential learning is ahead in the two weeks to come, but there wasn’t an absence this week by any means.We jumped right into the action on day 1 with a squid dissection which got everyone rearing for the adventures to come. There were plenty of DyKnow lecture sessions, and the class made like a Sponge (from the phylum Porifera!)  and tried to soak up as much information as possible.

"I have learned so much in so little time"

In between Dyknow marathons we sat down and enjoyed watching video footage of Joy Reidenberg's dissections of a giant squid and great white shark! We tried to follow suit and after our squid dissection from day 1, and we moved on to dissecting a shark on day 3. It was a lot of fun and there were many students who stayed through the break to keep on hacking away, exploring the inside of a shark and how it works. The week kept moving forward, the date of the trip kept coming closer, and the class’s energy started peaking. We kept on chugging away learning new material and sure enough Friday finally came and we had the last exam of 2017! As each one of us turned it in the weight started to slip from our shoulders and we all started to realize that the flight to Eleuthera was only hours away.

That's a lot of calamari

Preview of our home for the next two weeks!

We spent the rest of the day watching documentaries and learning about the dramatic history of the early Bahamas. We finished off the day watching a movie about Ernest Shackleton's arduous Antarctic journey, and we’re starting to suspect that it was a tactic to keep us from complaining about our bug bites (it won’t work!).

Lastly, Mr. Cawley handed out our mosquito nets, Ms. Samson handed out our luggage tags, and we were off of school for the last time until the trip. The crew is busy packing now, double checking their bug spray has enough DEET, and fantasizing about the hydrogenous sediment in our future. It’s been an exciting week and we can’t wait to see what the next 2 will hold.

Can't forget anything!

Forever loving and cherishing,

Ian and Daniel