Diving Down - Day 06

Today after the discover scuba introduction, we had a great breakfast. As shown above, we ate hard boiled eggs (we both ate 4!), a bowl of oatmeal, and a couple slices of oranges. Without the delicious meals at CEI, we wouldn’t be able to do all the rigorous and fun activities here in Eleuthera!

Shortly after breakfast, the dish crew came out and helped with the dishes! Although only 4 people are required to help out each day, the crew usually consists of 8-10 regulars who just want to come out and help out (also because the music is lit). Perhaps doing the dishes isn’t that bad.

While we weren’t in the first group to go scuba diving, we went later this day right before lunch. Although we only saw a ton of big jellyfish while down there with murky waters, it was definitely a great opportunity to learn about scuba diving and experience this. This was the first time ever scuba diving for most of the students. Not for David though J. On the other side, me (George) was scared out of my wits, but at the same time, breathing underwater like Darth Vader is probably going to be my more memorable aspects of this trip.

After scuba diving and an amazing lunch, we went to learn about our different projects that seek to examine different problems that affect the Bahamas. My (David’s) project focuses on the invasive lionfish. I met a scientist who happened to be on campus with a robot that catches lionfish. Me, along with a group of friends went over to where he was staying to talk about his interesting device. With them being a nonprofit charity, they hope to control populations of lionfish, a serious invasive threat to the marine ecosystem, by projecting lower prices to the fishing industry. On Friday, we will share our final projects with the CEI community, whom we have learned from, through a PowerPoint format.

Because we are going camping tomorrow, we practiced making tents. Although we don’t have an actual picture of us constructing the tent, this is basically how our tents ended up looking.

After making tents, we finally taste the amazingness of processed snacks, which we bought from the local convenience store (0.5 miles away). While some people biked there, most of us rode the bus. What may be only a few dollars in the US was a hefty sum in the Bahamas. On the left, the Coke was $2 and on the right, the bag of Cheetos was $6.14. Nonetheless, my stomach was satisfied.

During exploratory time from 4:30-6, we played a couple games of volleyball with the Gulliver kids from Miami, who arrived a few days ago. Meeting and learning about new people was a very exciting thing to do while having fun!

 After a delicious dinner, we went back to the octagon to chill, finish our snacks (beware rodents and bugs), call the fam, and do our evening reflections. As we come close to coming home, which we miss dearly, we also make sure we reflect on our experience here in the Bahamas! Our evening reflections, late night talks, and staring dreamily into the clear, starlit night sky satisfy this goal. 

Also! Since we are going camping there will NOT be a blog tomorrow night! And since we won't be here we have a special video to help pass the time (see below)

Excited for Beach Camping,
David and George