Allison painting the cordwood building

Hello all from Sam, Sara and Matt. This week saw the end of our three day kayak and scuba rotations and we are all reunited after two long weeks! On Thursday, Kayak 4 set off on their adventure, the last scuba classes began and the academic group was busy completing their English papers and taking part in a history seminar with famous guests from around the world and different periods in time.

The Island School construction company

Does that sound confusing? As part of our study of the Lucayan period of Bahamian history, each of us read the writings of an archeologist, historian or historical figure who interacted with the Lucayans, such as Christopher Columbus or Las Casas. We then assumed the role of our character, discussing the period through his or her eyes. The roundtable helped expose the diversity of opinions about the Lucayan period, the different evidence individuals utilize or don't utilize in their research and how lens and bias affect these theories.

What a voice, Jolanda!

We spent 6 hours of Friday and Saturday in our research groups, taking land surveys, exploring conch habitats and touring the power plant in Rock Sound. On Saturday, several groups sent representatives to local settlements, including Deep Creek and Weymspite, to interview Bahamians about life on Eleuthera in connection to the research projects. We found the locals to be very friendly and eager, and they shared decades of knowledge with us. We learned about how tourism used to dominate Eleuthera and how conch and crawfish have become more scarce and expensive over the years and now is almost too expensive to eat! It was really neat to meet so many Bahamians and get involved in the community.

James mops the floor

On Saturday night, Taja and Bryan organized a scavenger hunt with a worthy prize at the end: CANDY!! It was awesome. They came up with different riddles that would send us to our next stop, where we would find another riddle and be a step close to the prize. We raced in teams of ten, but it was sort of a tie and everyone got candy anyway. After the hunt, we put on a fashion show and showed off our best Island School polo shirts!

Terrance makes the moves

Sunday was, as always, as day off and we all needed the sleep. Kayak 4 was back, suntanned and happy, but in need of a rest. We finished our English papers on Sunday and tried to relax on the beach. There are so many amazing, quiet places around here and we all want more time to explore them!!

Emily B. swims with a community friend

We returned on Monday and Tuesday to our regular academic schedule and quickly got loaded down with lots of work. History and Art both assigned big assignments and we've had to hit the ground running. Speaking of running, we repeated the "No Name" run from a couple weeks ago and several of us were amazed at how much better our running has become in the last few weeks. We're gaining on the half marathon!!

Andy the snorkeling guide!

Sara: Hi Everybody! I miss and love you, it's amazing down here and it's GREAT to get your letters!

Sam: Hi Mom and Dad! I hope my animals aren't driving you crazy. Love ya!