Student Update September 25, 2012

Hey everyone! It’s about that time again; when we transition from cleaning toilets to feeding pigs, from measuring cisterns to filling the GORP bucket, and for me personally, going from sweeping the girls dorm for morning chores, to sitting down watching the sunrise and talking to all of you! My name is Fiona Cerf, and I’m a student here at the Island School, and I’m from Seattle!  A little about me, I absolutely love getting to know new people, banana pancakes are my favorite breakfast meal (Mooch, if you’re reading this… please?!), I’m recently finding that I really enjoy creative writing, and I’m also having the time of my life here. I’m so excited to write the blog for the next couple weeks because it’s an honor to inform you all of what we’ve been up to here on Eleuthera. 

I guess it’s been a few days since my buddy Kelly wrote, so I’ll fill you all in! Saturday was a big day for everyone at the Island School; from students, to staff, alumni, visitors, scientists, you name it. Saturday was the MONSTER run swim! We had the option of doing the spring run-swim at 630 or participating in a 4 mile run – 2 mile swim, Monster. The feeling of support and energy we all experienced while participating in either was astounding. Having supporters with an encouraging smile and a glass of water at each checkpoint, it was hard not to feel invincible. Following the monster run swim, everyone, and I mean dining hall deck overflowing with relieved and happy faces, sat down for a delicious, much needed brunch.

Sunday, as you all probably know, is our day off. Being pretty exhausted from the Monster, there was a pretty relaxed vibe going in the morning. Some students were sleeping, some doing homework, some eating the optional granola breakfast, and some just relaxing; taking advantage of our day off. The rest of the day was spent doing homework, and exploring. I went to Sunset Beach in the afternoon, a beautiful sandy beach near the Marina.

The start of a new week is always so exciting, and yesterday was one for the ages. It started as an “average” Monday, morning exercise with the sunrise (focusing on your track, running or swimming), chores, breakfast, and classes following. Before I knew it, it was community outreach time, one of my favorite events of the week. The DCMS kids actually came here, to campus to learn about their projects. I work with the 8th graders, and so the program we’re working with is called One Eleuthera. Our job is to get the word out about composting, and the good that comes with it! We got to talk to Joseph, a man that works on the farm, and Josh, a compost expert, about the importance and process of composting. After giving goodbye hugs to our buddies, it was advisory time! Now usually, we go to different places and do fun activities with our advisories only, but yesterday was a special Monday. A World Cup was organized, each advisory being a different country. It was SO fun dressing up in our designated colors, getting excited for the tournament. The girls dorm was like one big firework, colorful clothing getting thrown from one bunk to the other. We all biked to the Marina field and the games began. As the countries (I mean advisories) began to warm up, the weather quickly shifted from clear skies to dark rain clouds. Making the tournament even more exciting, it started to POUR as soon as the games began. It was incredible. Smiles, soccer, and soaked clothes made up the best advisory time yet. Everyone embraced the weather and everywhere I looked all I saw was wonderful people having a wonderful time.