Week 13

Thursday November 23rd: 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! While a full day of classes took place, everybody was excited for the evening festivities. With classes all done, everybody got dressed up for the arrival of their homestay families. Hor d’oeurves were served and time was spent mingling and catching up with homestay families before dinner. By the time the sun went down, everybody was eager to sit down for a large buffet dinner served by the faculty. Piles of food were dished out, and Fieldy got a little excited with dishing out the mashed potatoes. Pat put on a fabulous fireworks display, that was enjoyed by everyone, and after all our stomachs were filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, and assortment of desserts and treats, our homestay families left and we all headed to study hours with extremely large turkey tummies.

All dressed up for Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 24th:

Waking up still in a bit of a food coma from the night before, everyone was happy to not have a full day of academic classes, but instead have a full 6 hours to do field research, finish rough drafts of papers and get ready for the research symposium taking place on December 2nd.

Saturday, November 25th:

A sleep in was much appreciated by all, but a full day of classes was ahead. A trip to the Marina to talk to Kenny, the General Manager of the project, was both fun and entertaining, and we were able to see a lot more of the behind-the-scenes work of the project. The rest of the day was regular classes, followed by a hearty dinner of what else…CARBS! “Early to bed, early to rise” was the quote of the evening, as bed time and check in was early to get a good night sleep for the half-marathon and super swim taking place the next day.

Getting ready for some turkey.

Sunday, November 26th:

Half- Marathon and Super Swim Day! Runners and swimmers all gathered at the flagpole at an even

earlier hour than usual to kick off the day's events. Runners began their challenging and exciting 13-mile run at 6 a.m and were cheered on by the swimmers who handed out water, Gatorade, encouragement and oranges. Training throughout the semester really paid off and everybody finished proud but extremely tired. Swimmers began their 4-mile swim at noon and swam from Sunset Beach all the way to Deals point, quite a distance. Everyone finished in prime time and the rest of the afternoon was spent resting, stretching sore muscles and finishing up homework.

Monday, November 27th:  

Finals week begins here at the Island School! Students had their last real day of classes, as well as their final day of math and science…a tear was shed by all. The evening was spent studying, studying and…oh wait…more studying for our science final the next day.

Tuesday, November 28th:

The official start of finals began with our 3-hour science exam that took during the morning hours. With one exam done, everybody was excited to eat lunch and have the rest of the day devoted to research. Tuesday night, again was taken up by studying, this time for math exams on Wednesday morning.

The half marathon runners gather at the finish line.

SEE EVERYBODY IN ONE WEEK!

Shoutouts:

 Olivia: Hey everybody! Well my experience here is coming to a close and I’ll be home in one week, but you might have to literally get someone to come down here and drag me home J. I can’t believe its almost over, and time really does fly when your having fun. C, L, G: I MISS(ED) you all so much, can’t wait to see you, and am so proud of all that you have done and achieved these past 3 months. Mom and Den: thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given me, I love you both. AB, NE, JC, JB, CE, DC, EKN, ASV, BV, EV, LR: thank you all for writing me! Missed you and cant wait to see you! Dad: love & missed you, see you in a few days. SEE YOU ALL IN A FEW DAYS!