“A Still Young Community”
Rain greeted us this morning. With it came a dewey smell that lingered throughout the day, rejuvenating the hot air with a “just washed” smell. Though ominous clouds hovered, the rain waited patiently, allowing us to wander to the Boy’s Dorm beach during exploration time and start a volleyball game. Uneven teams, no scorekeeping, and amateur players at best made volleyball a fun—and funny—way to pass time and get to know people better. As people dove for the deteriorating ball and coined new phrases [read: bro-tate], I caught myself laughing for the first time since I arrived at The Island School. And not just laughing because everyone else was, or because I was feeling nervous, but because I thought people were really and truly funny, and I was having a good time. I was finally enjoying myself. As I looked around, players were congratulating each other on good plays, encouraging team members who were struggling, and minimizing people’s mistakes. I then realized this was not only a group I was excited to get to know better, but also one that I wanted to get to know better. No one was forcing us to play—we wanted to.
Joseph, a Haitian immigrant who has worked for The Island School for almost ten years, said yesterday that if we were okay by 4 o’clock today, we would be fine for the rest of the semester. Well, Joseph, if you asked me how I was feeling at 4 o’clock today, I probably would have said excited, but I also probably wouldn’t have meant it. However, if you had asked how I was feeling at 6 after playing volleyball, my answer would have been, “I never want to leave!”
By Cacique Sarah Becker
The first Caciques have the most enjoyable duty. The structure of the community is still young and new ideas and habits are settling into the minds of The Island School’s new students. Sarah and I were challenged by faculty members to do something wild and new, or start traditions that would continue for the next 100 days. Although our time working together and brainstorming was limited to 24 hours, we hope that the future Caciques will only get better at questioning, as well as improving our community. During morning circle, we led the count-off, directed the anthem, and sent people on their way to breakfast. But at dinner circle, we had to pass of our Cacique-dom to two others who we believed to be worthy of the task. All day we observed our fellow classmates, trying to decide who to pick, and getting nervous for the evening. As we passed Mario and Christie the cacique book, commemorating our Cacique pass-off, we were confident that they will do a tremendous job making this place more enjoyable for all of us.
By Cacique Jon Vredenburg