“Wait…How Much Time Is Left?”
September 27, 2010
By Caciques Nate Smith-Ide and Hunter Foote
Mondays at the Island School mean we made it through yet another week; we added another notch onto our belt. Entering week five here feels unreal. Our first phone times with parents feels like only two days ago, but at the same time, orientation feels like ages ago. Time is tricky here; it never seems to make sense. What we want to draw out and enjoy, like our favorite classes or Saturday nights, feels like milliseconds. The belt of time is tightening down on us. We don’t have that much time left. It is constantly said in the girls’ dorm, “Don’t count down the days. Make the days count.” Five weeks down, nine short weeks to go.
Hunter:
Today was a perfect pick-me-up. Monday afternoons we have advisory time where we have allotted time to hang out with our advisory and have some quality down time. Today, my advisory (Katie, Margaux, Louis, and Chris Pibl) took some extended quality time to get away from campus. We left for Cheryl’s, a popular local restaurant in Deep Creek, right before dinner circle. We sat outside and enjoyed the most delicious conch burgers, cheeseburgers, and French fries. Our tummies were nothing but full and happy. Although getting away from “The Tale of Two Soups” for dinner was a definite perk, the best part was just being able to slip away with these few people. Advisories become families down here; they’re our support systems, the people to get away with, the people to eat off campus with, the people to bake and eat a cake with, and the people we can complain to and get love from. I’m even convinced that Chris Pibl, the only boy in an advisory full of girls, has fun during advisory time. Even though I’m missing my family at home, I’m so grateful that I have adopted three sisters and even a brother to try to fill that void.
Nate:
Beginning the semester, I did not think of myself as the most talented swimmer. As the weeks flow by, I can feel my swimming abilities increasing exponentially. Today, our morning exercise consisted of what we call a “Govia.” We swam down the powerful current cut not once, not twice, but three times. I don’t know if it was the current, but I am happy to say that I was not tired after this exercise, even after the run back from the marina. I am forced to credit my new found skills to swim track, which I have been participating in three days a week, for the last two weeks. Time has truly flown by here at school. Not only can I see improvement in my swimming skills, but also in how I am learning how to live well every day here on the island.