Our First Full Day in the Bahamas! - Day 01

This morning we woke up at 6am. To start the day off, we all came together at the flagpole at the center of campus, and sang the Bahamian National Anthem. Shortly their after, it was time for our test. Fortunately this was just a short swimming test, and everyone was able to pass with ease. Hungry and ready for breakfast, we walked into the dining hall to the wonderful smell of fresh Pancakes and Bacon. Our stomach’s stuffed, we soon headed back to our dorm to get ready for our scavenger hunt.

At 9:15 we met in the Octagon, which is what the central meeting building is called and divided into two groups for our scavenger hunt. This was the first time we really had an opportunity to see the whole campus. We saw everything from Pigs to toilets with sinks on top of them (yes, actually). Throughout the course of the scavenger hunt, the sustainability on campus is even more extraordinary. Seeing fruits being planted on roof top gardens was fascinating and something you don’t see too often. 

After lunch, we listened to Colin speak about sustainability. The Island School basically has a purpose for all waste, so it was interesting to learn about the different ways is could be used. We also had nice talk with Nyhamiha, a conch fisherman. He told us many stories about his time at sea. He also told us about his childhood and what drives his passion for fishing. We learned so much about the waters surrounding Eleuthera and the other places that he likes to fish.

We then went snorkeling as a group. There was not much in the water, but we did see a Baracuda and couple of Stingray! When we came back from snorkeling, we were allowed to have a bit of exploration time. During this time, we are allowed to explore campus and find cool things to do with our friends. Today, instead of seeing what else the campus has to offer, we decided to play Nuke'em as a class. This was extremely fun and we got to meet Brian from the Center for Sustainable Development who saw us playing and decided to join in.

After our exploration time, we went out dinner. The restaurant we went to is called Sharil’s Inn, and we were served fried lionfish, an invasive species in the waters surrounding the Bahamas. We also got eat ribs, chicken, mac & cheese, and French fries!

After dinner, we went straight to the octagon for our evening activity. Tonight, we did fish identification and had a competition to see who could name the most fish.

But, that's it for tonight, family and friends! 

From Eleuthera,
Nate and Taylor