Weekends are some of the best times here – they give us time to relax, bond, get some homework done, and try new things. After a long exercise track, we headed off to a morning of classes, followed by an afternoon in our settlements. I rode in a van over to Tarpum Bay, where I spent the afternoon talking to fisherman, eating conch salad, and spending time with my settlement mother. It was sad to leave from our final settlement Saturday, but I’m so glad I got the chance to go to Tarpum Bay. I’ve learned new things about Bahamian culture, like saying  “Good day” every time I pass anybody in the street, and the history of Eleuthera from the days I spent there.

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Saturday night was our first coffeehouse. Continue reading →

Wednesday afternoon was a four-hour research block. Whether you were out diving after sea turtles or towing behind a boat counting
conch, the afternoon was fun and fascinating. My group, deep water sharks, spent the afternoon examining footage from the Medusa, a high-tech machine lent to us exclusively this semester that drops thousands of feet underwater and takes footage of what it sees. At 1800 feet, we caught a few Cuban dogfish sharks on tape, but the real excitement came when a 6-foot long blunt nose six-gill shark crashed into the camera and circled it for investigation! It was amazing to see a creature that most people never get to see in their lives up so close.

Although Wednesdays are our longest workdays, I caught some relaxation this morning during morning exercise. Continue reading →

A highlight of my week so far was the Marine Eco dive my class did yesterday. We gathered our scuba gear and drove boats out to a patch reef, which is a home for juvenile fish before they move to big reefs. We observed the different fish, worms, mollusks, and crustaceans carefully and identified as many species as we could. The coolest part about Marine Eco is learning about a species in class and then actually diving and seeing it in real life. I can’t wait for our next dive!

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Today, I was confronted with a decision at about7 AM. After pushing myself about a mile and a half down the road, I was jogging in place at a fork with my running buddy, Liz, deciding between either the 3.5-mile run or the 5-mile challenge. After about 30 seconds of back and forth, I suddenly bounded through the 5-mile entrance, Liz right next to me. We decided our goal was to finish the run faster than we had ever run long distance before. Continue reading →

Monday was a day full of adventure as I made one of my best memories at The Island School. After a morning of Math, Human Ecology, and Marine Ecology classes, we set off to Deep Creek Middle School for Community Outreach. My project, called “Beach Access: Know Your Rights,” started by one of the Deep Creek students, is a project to stop the blocking of public beaches by major hotels and private estates, who are breaking the law by putting up road blocks and other barriers preventing Bahamians to come onto their beaches. My friend Annie, another Island School student, and my DCMS buddy Bronthaye and I are working together to create a presentation to give to South Eleuthera mission in order to gain support behind this project. It is truly amazing to say that I am at work making a difference in the community. I’m so excited for next Monday! Continue reading →

 “Get out and do something.”  That is something my parents have made sure I never forget. No matter what everybody else is doing, stretch beyond it. Be stronger. Be different. Do things nobody else around you ever thought they could. I think one of the major points of my worldview is that people like to stay in a very cozy comfort zone, and those who push out of that restricting bubble are the ones who make a difference in the world.

These first lines of Tai Massimilian’s Eleutheros essay this week caught our attention. Her style, reflection and distinct voice were just what we need in a Daily Update writer. So, with culmination of the first two week rotation, saying goodbye to Eric Witte and his excellent work, we decided to invite Tai to take over as student blogger for the next rotation. Please enjoy her personal insights and daily observations as blog author for the next two week, starting with today…

Daily Update: This weekend the Island School students were fully engaged in Bahamian culture. Saturday morning, after a long 6 mile run for the runners and 1 mile swim for the swimmers, we left in vans to be dropped off in different settlements with Bahamian families. I had the privilege of traveling to Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera for what I thought was to be a day of sitting in a house conducting interviews. But, as the Island School usually goes, I was pushed out of my comfort zone and pleasantly surprised. Continue reading →