Today we officially embarked on our quest for knowledge, which would lead us to the Bahamas. Each person began the voyage on different notes. Some of us awoke as early as 2:30am while others neglected sleep at all. Despite different starting times, we all arrived at Hawken School’s lower campus by 4:00am. All sleepy eyed, excited, and nervous; we left for the airport.
On the bus at 3:55!
When we arrived in Atlanta, we took the train to transverse the massive air terminal in order to get to the gate C. We surprisingly made it to the gate with enough extra time to take a small (30-40 minute) break. Many of us took this as an opportunity to grab a quick bite, McDonald's was a popular option. We made it back to the gate and safely boarded our flight, from Atlanta to Nassau.
At the Nassau airport we filled out our customs forms, making our arrival legal in another country. We then waited in the typical fashion that is a customs line, a tiring amount of time. At this point in our travels, we were all starting to feel the pains of exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Following the arrival in Nassau, an unexpected fiasco occurred: we had to deal with missing baggage. This added an unnecessary hurdle in our voyage. We were forced to wait until the bags were found, which did not occur until much later in our travels. But it did occur! Hooray!
We then checked in, got lunch at Wendy’s, and were left with 2 hours of leisure time until the plane was ready for take-off. We then split the class into two groups. The first would take a flight 30 minutes early to Rock Sound, while the second would wait another 30 minutes until a second plane was prepared for takeoff. The last flight we took included a much different experience as most of us were used to. The last plane was a 6 row prop plane that was exciting and also a little scary!
Wendy's!
Finally, we arrived in Rock Sound (Eleuthera). Unfortunately another batch of luggage was misplaced and we headed to school without it, knowing it would arrive shortly on the next inbound flight. We boarded two separate vans and met the lovely head staff members, Stan and Liz, of the Island School that would be our home for the following two weeks. We began to drive through the island, noticing the beautiful scenery and unique culture of the native Bahamians.
We are getting on the last plane!
The view out of Nassau!
Once we arrived we became familiar with our surroundings, unpacked our luggage, and made our way to the dining hall. When we entered we were introduced to the responsibilities we needed to follow before eating. We washed our hands, unwrapped the food, grabbed serving utensils, and set the food in a buffet style outing. After a delicious meal, we cleaned up and learned more about the eco-friendly habits of the Island School. We washed the dishes, pots, and other dining room utensils. We then made our way to our orientation of the Island School and learned about the responsibilities that we would take on and have to follow, as well as our itinerary for tomorrow.
We then reconvened in the common room, connecting the boys and girls dorms, after having the opportunity to contact our families. We took the first of our many nightly quizzes and prepared for bed. We can’t hardly wait until morning so we can truly experience all the Island School had to offer.
With lots of love,
Harrison Greiff & Donny Jones xoxo
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