Good evening,

Today was the first—and well-earned—full day of rest for Island School Summer Term students. After almost 10 days of running, swimming, run-swimming, SCUBA diving, free diving, local exploration, explorative road trips, night classes, and dish crew—in other words, after exhaustion beyond belief—we were spared from the usual 6:30 AM morning deadline and were instead allowed to sleep in as long as necessary. The irony of today is that few people wanted to totally rest on their first day of rest; the majority of students spent most of the day off campus, only returning when asked to do so. Many diligently began the paper due to be submitted by 10:30 tonight. A few brave souls ran in the morning on the first day when there was no group exercise, optional or otherwise.

The most significant of the few mandatory activities of the day was two hours of querencia, the time students must spend completely alone and reflecting on themselves in a place of their choosing within the boundaries set by the Island School. Some stormed beaches near campus; others secluded themselves in hammocks overlooking the sea; but almost everyone returned to the spot they had chosen beforehand to develop a sense of intimacy with the land we can now spend time with on our own terms.

Tonight we transition together into the next part of the term with a presentation on the invasive lionfish species; this is our last activity as a whole group before we are split once more. Our first week of classes begins tomorrow, and we have been rearranged from our original “Fritter” and “Zissou” groups into new groups of people who we know by face and name, yet not as well as those we have developed close friendships with over the past 10 days. As we were when we began the term, we are only eager to delve into new relationships as we cross into the next phase of our experience here.

Your caciques of the day,

Maya Iskandarani and Chase Goodwyn

Good evening Island School blog readers,

Tradition. All of us got to experience how we welcome new members to our community, High Rock. High Rock is a 15 foot cliff made of death coral that is very special to all of us. This morning, like usual, we all were out at the flag pole at 6:30am to run/bike to High Rock. It is a total of four miles to the cliff and back, and each of our pairs took a bike, splitting the distance between the two forms of travel. All the new students were put through a challenge, which takes place at High Rock. Everyone jumps off the cliff, one at a time, into the ocean. For some of us, this was a piece of cake. For others, it was a colossal step towards getting rid of the fears that they associated with being away from home: not having air conditioning, not knowing anyone, or not having wifi. The Island School. Throughout this day we all began to realize that many of these fears are trivial. In the past week we have all made friends, our new brothers and sisters. We have embraced our hot smelly clothes (though we did get a laundry day today) and every day without wifi we learn to appreciate nature and those around us more and more. We yelled our hearts out as we jumped off of the cliff into the South Eleuthera community, our new friends cheering us on as we plunged into the refreshing ocean water. It really means a lot to all of us that we were welcomed with open arms and warm hearts. As we miss our normal homes more and more, it is very comforting to know that we can call this beautiful school our home. Along with all of that, the half of the students that had not already been SCUBA certified received their certifications today! We will end our day with a bonfire on the beach to celebrate the end of SCUBA week, our first full week here in the Bahamas, and, more importantly, our home. While we enjoy the warm Bahamian wind, the soft sand, the beautiful sky, and some s’mores tonight, we will all relax, looking forward to our free day tomorrow (which includes a much needed sleep in). To all Island School students, congratulations on this amazing, monumental day, a sneak peak into the awesome three weeks that lie ahead.

Love,

Your Casiques

Supreme Chancellors Jaccodine and Fiori

(Pablo Fiori and Luca Jaccodine)

Good afternoon from Eleuthera!

As we come to a close of our 8^th day here, we keep hearing people say that the days feel like months. This action packed week of orientation is about to come to a close, with the second half of our student body about to become open water divers and the other half exploring the place we now begin to call home. The divers are working rigorously to understand and preform tasks underwater such as finding neutral buoyancy and taking masks off underwater to practice clearing. Exploring the island has made us all aware of all the parts of this new home, like an old hotel from the 70s that made the economy here boom.

On the rare sleep-in days, our student body has had the opportunity to try free diving at Tunnel Rock. We woke up early this morning and were led in a rejuvenating yoga routine led by Maxey as the sun rose, and then headed out across the water, enjoying the unbelievable view. As we were taught, the buddy system is most important during this type of diving, because your buddy at the surface serves as your lifeline while diving.  As people began to attempt it, we started noticing so many aspects of the lessons the staff are teaching us about how to grow this summer. Buddies were encouraging each other from the surface, aspiring to go deeper and deeper with each dive, learning from each other and experiencing a new form of “sense of place.” With each activity we are learning new types of responsibility and trust, and as Maxey put it, we are achieving a different form of zen.

We have all grown so much in the short time we have been here. Liz refers to our experiences as stretching the rubber band, and this week we all stretched a great deal, making us extremely excited for the adventures to come and the places we’ll go.

From your caciques for the day,

Scarlet and Kyle

P.S- Do not forget to wear a rash guard while snorkeling or else you’ll get the worst sunburn of your life. –Kyle (I’m fine mom)

In these past few days, all of us here at the Island School have been working on developing an intimate connection with the land and sea around us. Team Fritter had the opportunity to delve deeper into the history of the land of Eleuthera, while Team Zizzou explored the depths of the ocean.

We have some great news for you today.  On July third, nearly half of our students accomplished something arguably equivocal to getting a drivers license or even graduating high school. We are pleased to announce that almost all members of Team Zizzou are now officially certified open water divers!  As Jason put it, nearly 70% of our beautiful planet was impossible for us to reach until now. This exciting moment marks another beginning to our under water journey and over all Island School experience. These skills, however, come with a responsibility. As certified divers we must develop intimacy with the bottom of the ocean. We are tasked with being under water ambassadors and devoting efforts to conservation and sharing our stories.

Scuba taught us valuable life lessons that we can apply to many other parts of our life. In class, we asked ourselves why we were all doing this if only some of us would go on to become scientists or marine biologists as adults. After many guesses, we finally managed to get the answer; we learn to dive to develop intimacy and a sense of place. These are skills that all of us can use for the rest of our lives, no matter what career path we choose. Diving also gave us the unique responsibility of being accountable for a buddy. Both of us were buddies and the other person’s safety depended on our vigilance for potential errors. It was a challenge, but we are now equipped to handle whatever is thrown our way.

We have heard numerous exciting stories from our fellow students on Team Fritter, who went on their South Eleuthera Road Trip and Learn to Explore bike rides earlier this week. They also developed a strong connection with the surrounding environment. Through a combination of on and off campus exploration, our fellow students found themselves learning more and more about the great land of The Bahamas. They familiarized themselves with the community, and were greeted by friendly smiles and salutations where ever they went.  Back within exploration limits, each student of Fritter was granted Querencia time. This time of solitude helped the members of our student community find themselves personally connected to the island, in a special spot of their choosing. We cannot wait to switch activities and begin our next adventures at the Island School.

In these past few days, all of us here at the Island School have been working on developing an intimate connection with the land and sea around us. Team Fritter had the opportunity to delve deeper into the history of the land of Eleuthera, while Team Zizzou explored the depths of the ocean.

We have some great news for you today.  On July third, nearly half of our students accomplished something arguably equivocal to getting a drivers license or even graduating high school. We are pleased to announce that almost all members of Team Zizzou are now officially certified open water divers!  As Jason put it, nearly 70% of our beautiful planet was impossible for us to reach until now. This exciting moment marks another beginning to our under water journey and over all Island School experience. These skills, however, come with a responsibility. As certified divers we must develop intimacy with the bottom of the ocean. We are tasked with being under water ambassadors and devoting efforts to conservation and sharing our stories.

Scuba taught us valuable life lessons that we can apply to many other parts of our life. In class, we asked ourselves why we were all doing this if only some of us would go on to become scientists or marine biologists as adults. After many guesses, we finally managed to get the answer; we learn to dive to develop intimacy and a sense of place. These are skills that all of us can use for the rest of our lives, no matter what career path we choose. Diving also gave us the unique responsibility of being accountable for a buddy. Both of us were buddies and the other person’s safety depended on our vigilance for potential errors. It was a challenge, but we are now equipped to handle whatever is thrown our way.

We have heard numerous exciting stories from our fellow students on Team Fritter, who went on their South Eleuthera Road Trip and Learn to Explore bike rides earlier this week. They also developed a strong connection with the surrounding environment. Through a combination of on and off campus exploration, our fellow students found themselves learning more and more about the great land of The Bahamas. They familiarized themselves with the community, and were greeted by friendly smiles and salutations where ever they went.  Back within exploration limits, each student of Fritter was granted Querencia time. This time of solitude helped the members of our student community find themselves personally connected to the island, in a special spot of their choosing. We cannot wait to switch activities and begin our next adventures at the Island School.

Good afternoon!

Since day one we have been in motion—everything from exploring the island to meeting all the amazing people here. We have been learning the ins-and-outs of scuba diving which has been an eye-opening and incredible experience. While the first breath underwater naturally elicited a panic response, after a stress relieving circle beneath the surface, everyone conquered their fears and embraced the opportunity.

Exploring during our first dive, we encountered a sight that won’t be easy to forget. There was a stingray swimming along the bottom, and after closer look, we saw that a fish was floating just above it. Though entirely different species, the two were supporting each other. Their mutualistic relationship mirrors everything we are doing at the Island School. We are all from different parts of the world and have different backgrounds, but we still strive to build a community and progress as one.

Already, despite the fact that it has only been a few days, people can’t stop saying that they feel as though they’ve known their classmates far longer than the short amount of time that we’ve been here. This shows how well everybody works together both in the water and on land. At this point, everyone can match names to faces and is becoming closer and closer by the hour. We are all teeming with excitement to find out what the next adventure holds for all of us.

From your caciques,

Fred and Elyse

Ready, set, go! Over the course of the past few days, we have continuously heard the word ‘run-swim,’ yet we had no idea what this actually entailed. Half of us got to experience this for the first time this morning. The other half of us got to work on SCUBA diving skills. That day those who started SCUBA week set up their kits, and took off for our various dive sites. At these places, we practiced many different skills and most of us went on our first actual dive! Meanwhile back on campus, we started our run-swim around the flagpole and took off from Boathouse Cut and ran/swam all the way to the marina. We finished by going back across Boathouse Cut after shouting a message to our friends working in the Boathouse. We were immensely proud of ourselves and all of our friends. As each one of us finished, everyone cheered for their first successful run-swim, which the staff said, “was one of the best first run-swims we (they) had ever witnessed.”

The most emotional moment of the whole ordeal was the wall climb. As we neared the 14-foot wall, we expected the process to climb over it to be nearly impossible after having ran/swam and having done copious amounts of core work.  However, as everyone began to pull him or herself up, we realized that we were not only overcoming a physical barrier, but a mental one as well. No one knew that they were capable of scaling such an obstacle, so it was inspiring to see our friends go over before us.

What we have realized is that with the help of others and your own mental focus, you can do anything, except swim without a buddy!

Your caciques,

Fotis and Amy