Cacique Quote: “Grow like a tree, not like a fire.”
Sunday, September 19
Caciques Brandon Gell and Sarah Sasek
Sunday: arguably the favorite day on campus. A day dedicated to relaxation, reflection, and a little extra sleep. Celebrating my birthday in the Bahamas last night, once again made me realize how lucky I am to be on this once in a lifetime adventure. With a newfound appreciation for my classmates and the faculty for making my birthday extra special I woke up bright and early, excited to dive into another great day at The Island School. During exploration, I joined a group of my friends at Sunset Beach, sitting on the hammocks and enjoying the view of the horizon (and gladly forgetting about trying to figure out the distance to it for Celestial Navigation class). After a while, I departed from my classmates for some much needed alone time. As I rode my bike down the bumpy dirt road, I cherished being able to hear my thoughts with the wind brushing against my face. Ditching my bike, I swung across the provided rope swing on an adventure to find my brother’s Querencia (‘a place in which we know exactly who we are’), which he discovered during his semester here at The Island School last spring. With the snapping of twigs underneath my feet and after almost walking straight into a giant spider, I came across the cave he described to me. I sat inside of it, the sunlight pouring in, and gladly accepted a feeling of ‘place’. It was strange to think about how just six months ago my brother was sitting in this very spot, feeling a connection to nature just as I was. Through this experience, I learned the importance of needing a little alone time–a little time to smile with the sunlight, or perhaps a little time to let out a healthy cry. Regardless of what emotion a little time brings upon us, we all need a little time to reflect on this journey.
-Sarah
Sunday, our day of relaxation, was used primarily by me, Will Overman, and Chris Pibl as a day filled with music and exploration. After waking up at around 9am we headed toward the newly open Inner Loop to explore the vast acreage available to us. This land, which had once been inhabited by thousands of tourists, was completely abandoned except for the occasional bird or land crab. We explored everything from the neglected air conditioning units, to the base of the enormous water towers. We finally found a nice place to relax and put on some music. In the afternoon, Will, Augie Cummings, and I found ourselves relaxing in the floating gazebo, a gazebo located in the mangrove, a lagoon connecting The Island School with CEI, with a mandolin, a guitar, and our voices. For about three hours we jammed playing multiple different songs like “Kids” by MGMT and “White Blank Page” by Mumford and Sons. The gazebo filled with music, and as people walked by, they could tell how into the music we were: our heads banging and our feet pumping. All in all, the day was filled with relaxation, which was well needed after a week of excitement.
-Brandon