Friends from the first day!

Greetings from Cape Eleuthera! It has been almost two weeks since we arrived in The Bahamas. After everyone settled in on Sunday, we took the van to High Rock and Chris Maxey (the director) gave us an introduction to the life here. The next morning was an early one. We all had to be up and outside by 6:30 for a snorkel out to a wreck in front of the campus. Then David introduced us to chores, which include dorm duty, kitchen help, landscaping and dining hall cleanup. The rest of the day was spent on introductions to various classes. That night we just hung out and got to know everyone a little better.

History class with Chris Maxey

Tuesday began no later as we completed our Personal Physical Assessment, a timed swim and two mile run! We’ll get to do this twice more this semester, allowing us to note our progress throughout the semester. Later in the afternoon, half of the students went scuba diving and the other half went kayaking. It was a fun day and it was great to be outside playing.

Group readies earth bags for new building

No morning exercise on Wednesday! We got to sleep in… until 7:30! We then broke into small seminars and talked about The Rediscovery of North America by Barry Lopez. For the rest of the morning, we had an introduction to Medical Training where we learned CPR, rescue breathing, and the Heimlich maneuver.

Saturday morning began with either yoga (quickly becoming a favorite here!) or a combination of a run and calisthenics. We then packed up and shipped out for a fun day in the sun. Our first stop was a Rock Sound Ocean Hole where we met up with Bahamian primary and middle school students and learned how ocean holes form. The holes are cool; they are tidal lakes that combine fresh and salt water and are unique to The Bahamas. We are going to talk about ocean holes soon in class, so it was nice to see what we will soon learn about. We spent the rest of our time in Rock Sound playing games, picking up trash and having lunch with the local students. The Island School then departed for the gorgeous Half Sound beach, where we relaxed after our long week by snorkeling, playing Frisbee and enjoying a bonfire.

Saturday evening also marked the official end to orientation. Over the bonfire, we all stood up and announced one attribute we want to bring to our community this semester. We wrote these ideas on a flag that will hang in our Presentation Room, reminding us of our day on the beach. We also placed one object in a “community box” to symbolize that we are making Eleuthera our home for the next 13 weeks.

Sunday was very cool. We attended a local church where we sang, danced, and clapped. It was very different from the “usual” church experience at home. People get very dressed up and sing their hearts out. They moved to the music, which was a huge part of the service. It was a great chance to get out into the community and feel like a part of the culture of our new country!