by Cacique Teddy

Kayak group 2 rested our weary eyes during one last sleep-in before the academic rotation began. At around10:00amwe all emerged from our beds, which felt like soft marshmallows after sleeping on the ground for 11 days. However, those 11 days were some of the most exciting, fun, and trying days of our lives. On Down Island we ventured up to the north end of Eleuthera in order to consider what it means to be “responsible tourists.” We fully immersed ourselves into the culture by eating local food, conversing with people in different settlements, and seeing different communities. 8-day Kayak proved to be a little more trying; we battled the wavy Caribbean everyday and concluded the days by playing rowdy games of Mafia.  Back at campus today, we woke up with one final day together. We headed to breakfast together to plan one last day before the rest of the kayak groups trudged in from their Down Island Trips. We came to the consensus that Sunset Beach was where we wanted to be; we laid out our towels and read some long awaited mail that arrived the morning before, making many happy faces. As the brilliant orange sun began to submerge beneath the ocean we headed back to greet kayak groups 1 and 4. Even though it was only 8 days since we’d last seen them, it felt like a lifetime. There was hugging and jumping and screaming, turning the campus into a happy frenzy. A night of catching up and preparing for our academic rotation followed this wondrous day.