Greetings to my family and friends! First off, I am so sorry this post is so delayed... Week six was midterms and seven was our field trip and spring break, so it has been a whirl-wind to say the least!
Like I said; two weeks ago was our exam week so we had three midterms and a few projects due as well. Unfortunately for us that meant that not much happened other than studying all night and making our fingers raw from sifting through flashcards. I still have to say though... despite trying to memorize the size classifications for phytoplankton and the seemingly infinite number of mosquito bites that appeared on my legs, studying with the ocean breeze and the waves crashing beneath the cliffs was serene! During the week between tests, we had a few events take place that are worth mentioning... the first was a softball game held in honor of national women's day. The game was between the women of the island and the women of SFS and if there is one thing that I took from this experience is that the sassy-ness level of the island women is astronomical. For some reason I was elected as the pitcher for our team... so here I am... a gangly white american girl pitching to some super sassy South Caicos women swinging the bat as hard as they possibly could. It was intimidating to say the least, especially when they were yelling "hey blondie, it's not rocket science to pitch the ball." Luckily we persevered and ended up winning the game which they were not happy about! Another cool thing that happened was after our second test was over, the waterfront staff offered an optional "de-stressor" dive. So usually at Purdue when I finish a hard exam I crawl onto a couch and watch netflix for the rest of the night, but "South Caicos Sam" goes diving, sees sharks, and navigates through giant coral crevices 100 feet below sea level. Yet again, I still can't believe I get to have experiences like this, and I will never forget them! Last but not least, I was assigned to a research project that studies the queen conch populations on the bank around the island. It compares the conch populations between protected and non-protected areas, but each of the four students assigned to the project has to come up with a specific question. I'm excited that I got assigned to this project because it is so relevant with environmental issues on the island and within the conch fishery on South Caicos.
Week seven was a little more exciting because we finally left for our mid-semester trip and leaving the island for the first time was definitely a weird feeling. On Sunday (March 15th) we hopped on the ferry and headed two hours to North Caicos Island. The boat ride was actually quite nice and staring into the blue water was therapeutic! Once we arrived at the dock on North Caicos, we could already tell how different the islands were and we were taken over to our camp site. We set up our tents and quickly ate lunch before we went on our first excursion to a plantation that was over 200 years old. It was soo interesting because it's much different than the plantations that we think of in the south. The owners were not crazy rich white guys but they were under government control, even though they owned slaves and all of the buildings on the plantation. The one we went to was huge and it was so cool to hear all of the stories about each building. My favorite story was about 11 slaves that escaped to Haiti, which was the best place to go because they could gain citizenship once they got there and could never be sold into slavery again. In order to commemorate their escape (and inform fellow slaves) they used sailboat symbols that they carved into the stone wall of their living quarters. So inside one of the houses there were 11 separate sailboat carvings symbolizing the 11 slaves that escaped that night.
Like I said; two weeks ago was our exam week so we had three midterms and a few projects due as well. Unfortunately for us that meant that not much happened other than studying all night and making our fingers raw from sifting through flashcards. I still have to say though... despite trying to memorize the size classifications for phytoplankton and the seemingly infinite number of mosquito bites that appeared on my legs, studying with the ocean breeze and the waves crashing beneath the cliffs was serene! During the week between tests, we had a few events take place that are worth mentioning... the first was a softball game held in honor of national women's day. The game was between the women of the island and the women of SFS and if there is one thing that I took from this experience is that the sassy-ness level of the island women is astronomical. For some reason I was elected as the pitcher for our team... so here I am... a gangly white american girl pitching to some super sassy South Caicos women swinging the bat as hard as they possibly could. It was intimidating to say the least, especially when they were yelling "hey blondie, it's not rocket science to pitch the ball." Luckily we persevered and ended up winning the game which they were not happy about! Another cool thing that happened was after our second test was over, the waterfront staff offered an optional "de-stressor" dive. So usually at Purdue when I finish a hard exam I crawl onto a couch and watch netflix for the rest of the night, but "South Caicos Sam" goes diving, sees sharks, and navigates through giant coral crevices 100 feet below sea level. Yet again, I still can't believe I get to have experiences like this, and I will never forget them! Last but not least, I was assigned to a research project that studies the queen conch populations on the bank around the island. It compares the conch populations between protected and non-protected areas, but each of the four students assigned to the project has to come up with a specific question. I'm excited that I got assigned to this project because it is so relevant with environmental issues on the island and within the conch fishery on South Caicos.
Week seven was a little more exciting because we finally left for our mid-semester trip and leaving the island for the first time was definitely a weird feeling. On Sunday (March 15th) we hopped on the ferry and headed two hours to North Caicos Island. The boat ride was actually quite nice and staring into the blue water was therapeutic! Once we arrived at the dock on North Caicos, we could already tell how different the islands were and we were taken over to our camp site. We set up our tents and quickly ate lunch before we went on our first excursion to a plantation that was over 200 years old. It was soo interesting because it's much different than the plantations that we think of in the south. The owners were not crazy rich white guys but they were under government control, even though they owned slaves and all of the buildings on the plantation. The one we went to was huge and it was so cool to hear all of the stories about each building. My favorite story was about 11 slaves that escaped to Haiti, which was the best place to go because they could gain citizenship once they got there and could never be sold into slavery again. In order to commemorate their escape (and inform fellow slaves) they used sailboat symbols that they carved into the stone wall of their living quarters. So inside one of the houses there were 11 separate sailboat carvings symbolizing the 11 slaves that escaped that night.
Next we visited a government owned farm that raises over a hundred plants including the 9 native species to the Turks & Caicos islands. It was cool to see the farm because there are not that many plants on South Caicos. The ground in North Caicos is much more fertile than on South, so being around trees again was nice! That night we ate dinner and had a campfire (s'mores included).
The next day, we took a day trip to Middle Caicos. The ferry ride was only about 30 minutes and once we got there, we traveled to the Conch Bar Caves. I was excited because caves are so awesome, and the formations are all so interesting to me! My favorite part is we went to the very back room of the cave and turned off all of our flashlights to witness complete darkness, a seriously eerie feeling! Next we traveled to Bambarra beach to have lunch and visit the Middle Caicos Co-op. The co-op was a small store where you could buy actual Turks & Caicos souvenirs that were hand made by locals, so most of us took advantage of this because there is nothing like this in South Caicos. After lunch we went to a beach called Mudjin Harbor... the most breathtaking place I have ever been. Honestly, describing it is impossible and pictures barely capture the beauty of actually being there. There were cliffs that were carved out by small separate beaches and the water was incredibly clear. We were all in awe and I had to stop to pick up my jaw quite a few times. After we (unfortunately) had to leave, we traveled back to our campsite on North Caicos and prepared for our departure the next morning.
On Tuesday, we traveled by ferry to Providenciales... the main (most touristy) island of the Turks & Caicos islands. Once we arrived, I think the same thing was all in our minds... we aren't in Kansas anymore. Even though North & Middle Caicos are much different than South, they are still desolate with very little development on either of them. So when we saw the families clad in designer clothing while we (who haven't showered in days) with our camping stuff... we definitely felt out of place! We traveled to a hotel and put our stuff away and got ready for a day of surveying tourists. My group went on the beach in front of some of the fanciest resorts I've ever seen and asked them about tourist attractions. These surveys were pretty interesting given the fact that I haven't showered in 4 days and a woman is talking to me about how they vacation near Bruce Willis. After five hours repeating the questions like a broken record and getting as much sun as my fair (now kind of tan) skin can hold, we finally got to return to our hotel and shower! The last time I showered in a nice place was a month ago in Miami the night before I flew to the islands, so needless to say... it was quite overdue! After pizza and a walk around our first taste of a civilized town, climbing into a big comfy bed felt like a dream!
The last day of our field trip was on Wednesday until about 1 PM. We visited the Provo conch farm, desalination plant, and golf course. The conch farm was stinky and I could tell that I was tired and I've been with too many environmentalists because I was silently criticizing everything the tour guide was saying about it's "sustainability." After the visits we were finally freed by our staff members. The fear in their eyes was prominent while they handed us emergency contact numbers and telling us not to do anything stupid. We have quite a few rules at the center that we were all excited to get away from... so once we were free, me and a group of 4 friends got some lunch and some long overdue margaritas. Since our villas that we rented were only a mile down the beach, we decided to walk to them and stop to take a few ocean swims and soak up the sun (also taxis charge about $20 per person). We got to our villas and met the rest of our group who were staying there.
We were on spring break until Monday (March 24th) and we pretty much relaxed, ate good food, and drank coconut rum for the next few days. There was a lot of stuff to do on Provo, but it is all very expensive and we could barely afford to buy groceries for the week! After spending five days doing nothing, I was definitely ready to get back to my favorite, weird little island and start doing research!
Today is Tuesday and its been a long day of classes, but I'm happy to be back and tomorrow is the first day of our research!
We only have about five weeks left here on South Caicos and the thought of leaving makes me cringe, but I am so excited for the infinite memories I am bound to make in the remaining time here!
The next day, we took a day trip to Middle Caicos. The ferry ride was only about 30 minutes and once we got there, we traveled to the Conch Bar Caves. I was excited because caves are so awesome, and the formations are all so interesting to me! My favorite part is we went to the very back room of the cave and turned off all of our flashlights to witness complete darkness, a seriously eerie feeling! Next we traveled to Bambarra beach to have lunch and visit the Middle Caicos Co-op. The co-op was a small store where you could buy actual Turks & Caicos souvenirs that were hand made by locals, so most of us took advantage of this because there is nothing like this in South Caicos. After lunch we went to a beach called Mudjin Harbor... the most breathtaking place I have ever been. Honestly, describing it is impossible and pictures barely capture the beauty of actually being there. There were cliffs that were carved out by small separate beaches and the water was incredibly clear. We were all in awe and I had to stop to pick up my jaw quite a few times. After we (unfortunately) had to leave, we traveled back to our campsite on North Caicos and prepared for our departure the next morning.
On Tuesday, we traveled by ferry to Providenciales... the main (most touristy) island of the Turks & Caicos islands. Once we arrived, I think the same thing was all in our minds... we aren't in Kansas anymore. Even though North & Middle Caicos are much different than South, they are still desolate with very little development on either of them. So when we saw the families clad in designer clothing while we (who haven't showered in days) with our camping stuff... we definitely felt out of place! We traveled to a hotel and put our stuff away and got ready for a day of surveying tourists. My group went on the beach in front of some of the fanciest resorts I've ever seen and asked them about tourist attractions. These surveys were pretty interesting given the fact that I haven't showered in 4 days and a woman is talking to me about how they vacation near Bruce Willis. After five hours repeating the questions like a broken record and getting as much sun as my fair (now kind of tan) skin can hold, we finally got to return to our hotel and shower! The last time I showered in a nice place was a month ago in Miami the night before I flew to the islands, so needless to say... it was quite overdue! After pizza and a walk around our first taste of a civilized town, climbing into a big comfy bed felt like a dream!
The last day of our field trip was on Wednesday until about 1 PM. We visited the Provo conch farm, desalination plant, and golf course. The conch farm was stinky and I could tell that I was tired and I've been with too many environmentalists because I was silently criticizing everything the tour guide was saying about it's "sustainability." After the visits we were finally freed by our staff members. The fear in their eyes was prominent while they handed us emergency contact numbers and telling us not to do anything stupid. We have quite a few rules at the center that we were all excited to get away from... so once we were free, me and a group of 4 friends got some lunch and some long overdue margaritas. Since our villas that we rented were only a mile down the beach, we decided to walk to them and stop to take a few ocean swims and soak up the sun (also taxis charge about $20 per person). We got to our villas and met the rest of our group who were staying there.
We were on spring break until Monday (March 24th) and we pretty much relaxed, ate good food, and drank coconut rum for the next few days. There was a lot of stuff to do on Provo, but it is all very expensive and we could barely afford to buy groceries for the week! After spending five days doing nothing, I was definitely ready to get back to my favorite, weird little island and start doing research!
Today is Tuesday and its been a long day of classes, but I'm happy to be back and tomorrow is the first day of our research!
We only have about five weeks left here on South Caicos and the thought of leaving makes me cringe, but I am so excited for the infinite memories I am bound to make in the remaining time here!