Aaron hanging on the beach during free time

Hooray! We made it through our first real academic week…without any major mishaps.  While the workload has been intense, nothing could get past us and we all kicked it up a notch and made it through the week, day by day, with flying colors. 

On Wednesday of last week, we had a fine sleep-in until 7:30 followed by a fantastic breakfast, and personal space chores.  Before lunch students split up into two groups: SCUBA and work projects.  While we were all used to SCUBA by then, workprojects were a different story.  Some of the work project group helped build benches for the new gazebo, some others helped out in the biodiesel lab.  Here is where the story gets interesting…you see, the containers holding the vegetable oil that is used for the biodiesel have very tight seals and when full weigh about 50lbs.  Just a bit too much it seemed for Alec, Scottie, and Stephen who ended up drenching themselves and a few others (not to mention the tank and the floor) with vegetable oil and for those who had the Herculean task of draining glycerin out of an enormous container at high rates of speed (glycerin is sticky, for those that didn’t know), didn’t go so hot.  Fortunately, the girl’s dorm beach provided the perfect release/shower/bath/quarantine for everyone involved in the mess, and being only a few hundred yards from the lab, the kids all eagerly dashed there as soon as they were let out.  Disregarding the conch-lined pathways the five oil drenched students, and their clothes, leapt down the embankment and hurled themselves into the water.  It was a good time had by all.  Another work project that had also finished, watched from across the cut and thought that a building was on fire and that everyone was fleeing from the eminent danger…but alas, only dirty children.

Girls' Mandatory Fun afternoon

After work projects and SCUBA, everyone reconvened for a scrumptious lunch created by our master Bahamian chefs Rebecca, Cheryl, Tiffany, and Mooch.  Lunch was enjoyed by all after a relatively hectic and interesting morning of institute tours and projects, and a third open water dive for those fast on their way to becoming certified open water divers.  After lunch we were all bused off to our first community outreach session in Deep Creek.  Some were scared, some excited, some nervous, but all were happy to get off campus and immerse themselves in the local culture and meet their outreach buddies.  Once at the campus of either the primary school or middle school we were split into grades and had our first meetings with our buddies.  Just like us, some of the kids were crazy and excited, others not so, but everyone eventually warmed up and began implementing their very structured lesson plan, starting with name games and moving on to more interesting activities, such as art projects, reading, and swimming.  From all accounts, everyone, mentor and mentee, had a fantastic time learning about both themselves and each other. 

Max giving kayak lessons at Rock Sound Homecoming

During freetime the boys had a special secret bonding session out in one of the cuts nearby campus…but despite their proximity they were nonetheless foiled when they came running in to campus to the excitement of the girls, who had, while the guys were out, taken all of their common room furniture and placed it conveniently out on the boy’s dorm beach. The boys were not impressed and the war-room soon was open.

On Friday, we started the day with North dorms doing a govia and South dorms doing water polo. We had a normal day of classes and large amounts of homework. It was also Leah’s 17th birthday, so we got to have a feed (cake) to break up our study hours. Feeds brighten everyone’s day down here. The boys decided they needed to pay the girls back for their prank on Thursday, so they moved all the Girl’s common room cushions into the rafters, the girls were disappointed by the lack of creativity until 3:30 am, when the alarms that the boys had hidden in all of the girls dorm started to go off. Needless to say, in the end the girls were impressed by the creativity. Friday was a low key day but we definitely made up for it with Saturday….

Touch Tank visitors at Rock Sound Homecoming

On Saturday north and south switched exercise groups, and we all enjoyed the not so strenuous morning exercise. We all met with our research groups in the morning and after lunch we either went to scuba or work projects. Some students went to the Rock Sound homecoming early to help with The Island School tent. At 5 o’clock  the whole student body got to head up to Rock Sound, to participate in the activities. Everyone was excited for a trip off campus, but we were even more excited for all the food we would be able to enjoy. The first part of homecoming was all about the food, as we ran around to the different booths, eating conch fritters, soda, ice cream, chicken, and so much more. After consuming large amounts of food we were all ready for some serious dancing. The Island School students were the only ones dancing, as the locals watched at the extremely high energy students dancing all around. At one point we were all lined up across the street and told to dance like Bahamians and not Americans, needless to say we failed and our dancing could not compare to the locals. Another highlight of the evening was being able to see the junkanoo dancing in the street, and after the parade passed, we all got to join to the end of it and dance. When we returned to school it was a beautiful full moon and we were told to get our swimsuits on, and we all got to go and float the cut. It was an absolutely perfect night for it. We all went to bed extremely exhausted from our eventful day and excited for our day off.

Sunday was a pretty quiet day where many stressed out over homework due the next morning. But some fun was to be had this fine Easter day. Besides enjoying a late sleep and a nice brunch, we had an “Egg hunt,” Island School style. The game consisted of diving in the girls dorm cut for red painted rocks, which then could be exchanged for candy up on shore. But every egg hunt has a special golden egg, so we had the special blue conch shell. This magical blue conch shell could be redeemed for candy beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Many found rocks, but Kevin was the big winner of the afternoon, finding the conch against rapid currents and unbelievable odds (we soon learned that he had actually helped paint the rocks and the conch…hmmm). But we were all winners that day because we all had candy, yum. That was not the last fun activity of the afternoon as the island school boys put up a team against the meanest bunch of faculty basketball phenoms known to man. But in the end, youth and general skill prevailed as the students trumped the faculty. The final special activity of the night involved making Easter rocks because we had no eggs to spare. Though it was a bit of a small turn out, those who did not participate were jealous upon sight of the festive creations.

On  Monday,  we all ran the 2 miles each way out to No Name Harbor in the morning followed by regular chores and breakfast. It was your average class day with a session of community outreach planning at the end. The night consisted of a successful community meeting after faculty dishduty.   

Tuesday was probably the biggest morning exercise of the week for most people because we started training for our four-mile swim and half marathon. For morning exercise the majority of the students ran a four-mile loop that was nonstop from the school and back, while the rest chose to swim the triangle cut. Regular morning classes followed a pancake breakfast. After lunch N.J. (a staff member) took three students to the doctor just to make sure everyone is staying healthy and fit. Everyone else had a research talk from Andy about writing our research papers and then we had field time. For dinner we all had spaghetti and cornbread followed by non-eventful and never-ending study time. Lights out was greatly appreciated  after such a long day!!!!!  

Joanie’s Shoutout: Hey Mom, Dad, Jake, Rach, Leighton, Alex, Wilson, Peter, Jenn, Wassi, poptart, Erin, RP, Anneta, Naomi, Cherith, Molda,  Robertta,  Andra, Elyse, Mark, Mike, Matt, Ben, Erics, Bill, Zach, Bri, Ty, Miller, Pauls,  Connor, Kat, and all northpointe people and everyone else who I love and miss so much. I am doing great down here, I miss you all like crazy!! Soccer girls and baseball boys, I hope you are winning every game! It is so beautiful down here!! Keep writing letters, I love them!!  5 forever, I miss you girls so much, I think about you all the time, I hope roadtrips and theme days are still going strong. I miss OC!! Erin, I love your letters. Poptart…I am dying without your voicemails. My Bradford girl?  Ben and RP I miss adventures, even though everyday is one down here. Mark, can’t wait till you swim over! Jenna I can’t wait till this weekend!  I’ll see you all  in two months! I love you!!

Brett’s Shoutout: Hey, what’s up back home in the village? How’s it going at Nobles? I hope they aren’t piling on the homework and giving you guys too much stress…cause that certainly isn’t happening here :lies on beach: Just kidding, I really do hope that you’re all having an awesome time back at school paying attention in class and writing me letters…ok, so for the individual shoutouts: Mom + Dad, Geary, Amy (all four of you! E., C., S., and Z.), Josh (parties up at CPK and road rage), Sasha (weird things…), my car (I MISS driving…AMY – driving lessons at 3am! Yeah that car is stable.), Amelia (I LOVE getting your letters, too bad our little scheme never happened), Dumpling (I could just eat you up!), Daisy, Nicole, Kate, Ben, Jay, Alex, VSAILING, everyone who I didn’t forget but had too little space to mention (especially my senior friends, stay around a while after graduation, alright?), and of course all you IS Fall05 people who told me all the secrets…get tickets now while they last for parents weekend, I want to see all of you! Oh, and send me pictures of Nobles life and all of you. And, for those who miss my away messages: Sleep or Something Like It.

Aaron’s shout out: Howdy…JJ  Hey Mom and Dad ,Alex, Peter, Becky, Kirt, Sydney, Ferdy and all my supportive teachers back at my school (FHC it rules) and also the teachers who have helped me get here. Mom and Dad please pet Claude (my beautiful cat) for me. I heard it’s snowing and below freezing back there in Michigan - that’s too bad. Tuesday night we all had coconut tar because I found some coconuts and gave them to the ladies in the kitchen. Anyway don’t forget that I’m thinking of you while I’m on the beach bathing in the sun.      

Everyone Else’s Shout-out: We miss all our friends and family back home and want you to know that we’re having an incredible time down here in the Bahamas at The Island School. Peace.