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The group- all dressed up! |
Gary and his Community Outreach partner |
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Alex, Lane, and Jocelyn |
Last week was a wonderful experience for the students here at The Island School. Last Wednesday we went SCUBA diving. We assembled our gear, jumped in the boat, and headed off to "the Wall". This is where The Bahamas sediment platform ends and there is a vertical drop of 2,000 meters. This change of from sixty feet to over a mile is very impressive.
When we entered the water, we didn't know what to expect. It was a thrilling dive. A pesky remora followed us all the way to the boat! We saw many unique creatures such as Tiger Grouper, Yellow Tail Snappers, and Sergeant Majors. That was our second dive since we got certified, and our skills are improving rapidly.
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Ryan helping out |
Last week we also had Junkanoo practice. Most of us enjoyed dancing, jumping around and just having fun. Junkanoo is an expressive dance form with deep roots in the Bahamian culture. Stories and styles have been passed on for many years. In Junkanoo there are many traditional musical instruments, such as the famous "goat skin drum", cowbells, horns, and whistles. Soon we are planning to make costumes with cardboard and colorful crepe paper.
This past Saturday we woke up early, drove about an hour up island to Windermere High School, and took the PSATs. Later that afternoon we stopped at the supermarket in Rock Sound. We bought a ton of food - like Santa Claus was coming to Rock Sound for an eighty-five degree Christmas. We had not been to a grocery store for more than seven weeks - since we arrived on Eleuthera - so you can imagine the excitment! After we got back, many of us worked on research projects. The artificial reef project gathered to check on the hardening of the reef balls they had recently made.
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Birthday celebration! |
Ryan "Big Al (fonzo)" Levihn-Coon: Happy Birthday Dad. Tomorrow is the big 44. I wish I could be there with you. Thank You Mom for all your help. Sista- I hope your play is going well, and keep your boyfriends to two or three, anymore than that and it gets difficult. Andrew-I miss kicking the soccer ball around with you. Thanks for all those postcards and poetry. I am saving every one of them. Austen-You probably won't see this, but I guess…I miss you too.
Gary " Lil' Mooky" Guillaume: "Hey Mammy and Daddy, I am pretty much enjoying myself here at the Island School. Don't worry I didn't change my name, but some of the guys gave me the nickname "Lil Mooky" for no apparent reason. Yo bro! Hands off my stuff! Hey "Sis", guess what? I am preparing for our eight-day kayak trip, which is about to go out next week. We are also going to Preacher's Cave, in Governor's Harbour, some time this week. Getting a little "homesick", but I think I will be able to finish the rest of the semester. P.S. What's up Gina, Geno and "Willy".
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Bailey and Lane with their students |
Lane: Hey Mom and Dad- Love you both! Brett- Take it easy on that back and enjoy NYC when you can. Lucas- only five more weeks so be prepared & next time be sure to finish what you start. : ) I love you. Becka- Hi Ho Silver! Miss you and love you man! Ann-Hey bighead, hope you're having fun in Ohio. I can't wait to see you over break. Jerri, Bretta, Ali, Smaby, all the Kirby girls, and everyone else- I miss you all and can't wait to see you when I get back!