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.
