Sea You Soon

We are so sad it’s our last day, but that did not bring down any of our enthusiasm as we JUMPED into the day.  Our living in the moment attitude was put heavily into action as we were too busy to take pictures during our adventure filled day.

We woke up to the coldest morning yet (60^oF), trying to prepare our mentality for the infamous run-swim.  Still shivering from our cold night of sleep, we had virtually no idea what was ahead of us; all we knew was the dreaded connotation to the run-swim from previous students.  As we approached the boat that signaled the beginning of the exercise, our hearts pounded and some of us even cried a little.  But as we saw our fellow classmates leaping into the water off the dock, our adrenaline rush kicked in and we jumped right in.  We swam, then ran, then swam, then ran, then swam, then climbed a wall, then ran, then jumped off a cliff, then swam, then ran, then swam, then ran to the center of campus, each touching the flag pole victoriously, everyone within a second of each other.  The comradery of our group was at an all-time high as we faced something that was originally daunting.  Being a group filled with all types of athletic abilities, it is so amazing we were all able to stick together.  Our arms are sore typing this from all of the rock weight lifting and push-ups we had to do in between runs and swims. 

 After knocking one challenge off of our list, we had another one right ahead of us: scuba diving.  The excitement for this activity ranged from high to low, all of us thinking that breathing underwater was crazy.  Everyone ended up coming out of the water saying that it was incredible.  Some sightings groups had were reef sharks stretching longer than Isaiah, Eagle Rays appearing to be flying underwater, colorful fish, and some spectacular coral.  After two weeks of snorkeling and learning about marine animal identification, scuba diving was a great way to end the trip by being fully submerged into our studies.  

After a very short lunch, we raced to the boathouse to get ready to try and catch some sharks and go snorkeling.  We were eager to try our luck getting sharks because last time we went longlining, not everyone was able to participate and we caught zero sharks  This time, almost the whole group came (except for our seasick friends who helped the start of the deep clean), and we caught four sharks!  We set up the longline and then waited the necessary ninety minutes by snorkeling “The Cage” and exploring a little island.  The Cage is a huge cage in the middle of the ocean that attracts various marine life such as barracudas, sharks, rays, and fish.  We finished up by exploring an island full of ooids.  When we got to the longline, we discovered we had caught three juvenile reef sharks and one juvenile nurse shark.  Students helped to measure and tag these amazing creatures as well as had the opportunity to pet them.  After getting some bites on the longline, we were ready to have a bite at a restaurant in town. 

As our stomachs grumbled, we hopped into the vans and headed to a local Bahamian restaurant owned and operated by one of the kitchen staff members.  We ate a family style dinner that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.  We ate mac n cheese, ribs, fried chicken, rice, lion fish, and french fries.  There was no food left on the table once everyone was full.  The dinner was a great, final taste of Bahamian culture.

After dinner, we finished up the day by doing our secret snowflake gift exchange.  Everyone presented their secret snowflake with a homemade gift right from the heart.  We also ate cookies.  A lot of the gifts were made from resources found on the beaches and around The Island School.  The gifts exemplified how close we have all become over the last two weeks, and how we plan to bring our newfound friendships and love back with us.  At the end, there was a big group hug, and some people even cried realizing this was our last stop on our life changing journey. 

Yours Truly,

Jillian and Morgan