NORKELING

Snorkeling group or should I say Brady's Ladies (yes there is only one boy snorkeler)

We went to a place called Coastguard or in other words Victoria Secrets photoshoot location. It was beautiful and perfectsand bars and clear water for a photoshoot. 

On the way home I tried out the back of the truck and it was pretty bumpy but definitely worth it!

Plus we came across a family of donkey!

Kitchen Crew

Kitchen crew makes Sunday meals so our lovely cooks can have a day off, but this means we all take turns cooking for 40+ people! So my kitchen crew finally had our time to cook and of course it was the Sunday right before midterms! Nine hours in the kitchen lead to some sillyness and some mistakes but overall the meals were delicious! Plus it was pretty humorous to work with Mark "the weatha man" and his polish recipes!

three main ingredients, onions, garlic, and ginger

We probably used about 100 eggs.....

Professional omelet maker. 

Community Outreach!

Our program at SFS emphasizes community outreach, whether it be through lessons at the local schools on Wednesdays, swim lessons on Saturdays, beach clean-up, or invasive species removal. On Wednesdays, I go over to the public school and teach kindergarden kids about "Our World".

The first week we began with talking about the United States. First, Arianna talked about the East coast, mainly Maryland where she is from. Then they made little crabs out of paper cub bottoms.

The first week we began with talking about the United States. First, Arianna talked about the East coast, mainly Maryland where she is from. Then they made little crabs out of paper cub bottoms. Then I talked about the Southwest, mainly Arizona! I created an outline of a saguaro cactus behind a sunset and had the children color in the lines. Emma followed with the Middle and mostly talking about Minnesota. Overall, the lesson went really well, even the teacher was taking notes!

The kids have so much potential, they want to learn, sure they can be a little rambunctious but they have kind hearts and big dreams...

PUPPIES go to Provo!

South Caicos is filled with stray dogs, all over the streets around the bars, everywhere. One day we found a litter of puppies near our center. It became our afternoon fix petting the puppies. One student found a company that will pick up puppies and fly them to Provo to get fixed and cleaned up for adoption! So we gathered up the pups and got them all ready for their big trip.

My favorite pup, Snickers was definitely the most rambunctious and curious! Snickers received many names over the week, one of them was Mula, named after the dollar bill we found in his poop.

If anyone wants to adopt these adorable puppies ask me and I will give you more information!

Sundays- am I on vacation?

Sundays....the one day off from the classes, field research, and community service. The one day with no schedule, the one day it truly feels like I am on vacation. The second Sunday here a group of us went over to the one hotel on the island thats open for the day. The view was absolutely incredible, the string of rock islands called HDL is where we had just taken our reef fish identification test, yet looking at it from this view made the area look incising for more exploration.

We spent the afternoon laying out on the chairs looking out at the beautiful waters and talked about all the work we had the week before. We all agreed that Sundays make all the work worth it.

Ready for some adventure, we took the steps down to reach the beach to go snorkeling off the beach. Going down the stairs I could already see the small reef right off the hotel, it was so clear it felt like a glass window displaying for us.

After the amazing snorkel, we decided to grab some comfort American food at the hotel. After scanning the menu, we all agreed fries and Coca Cola sounded the best. 

Overall, Sundays give me a chance to relax and replenish for the busy week to come. I hope to go on  more adventures around the island over the next Sundays.

Nightlife

The first night out was definitely interesting, no frat parties or alibi's thats for sure. Instead we went to the chicken bar (1 dollar fried chicken) and plenty of reggae music blaring. I made friends with the locals who told me stories about their fishing trips that day. Yup. We bonded over fish.

Playing dominoes is also HUGE here. and to play it right you have to slap the table really hard and give your best serious face. Lets just say I'm not very good at that part.

First time out on the boats!

South Caicos

Overwhelmed by the beauty and barring of South Caicos, I knew that this experience would let me experiment with my photography and my love for the ocean.

Little did I know I would make some unforgettable and incredible friends in the process.

On our first recreational snorkel, we took the van out and got stuck in the middle of what looked like no where in a muddy abyss. 

By pushing the back of the van together we finally got out but all covered in mud!

It was definitely worth it, the snorkel site was gorgeous!

 And Dani and I felt like representing Pi Beta Phi love in the sand. I know all my sister are having fun abroad or at Dickinson, we wish you could be here with us!

Arrival

It may be a tad bit late to start my blog, but better late than ever! I think the purpose of this blog is to share my stories and make sure I don't ever forget them myself! My posts may be short or long and will probably mostly be photos (of course). 

Dani Thompson (my friend from Dickinson) and I left on our adventure together from BWI but had quite the flight change. We ended up missing the little jetplane that leaves Providenciales to South with the rest of the group! Instead Dani and I and two other girls who were stuck in Provo stayed in a hotel and took the next flight in the morning.

So the first night in a foreign country was spent alone, but not to fret, we had enough courage to walk the town and settle down for a fruity island drink! 

The next morning we were off to South Caicos, excited to meet the rest of the SFS group and see our new HOME!

I could not believe how SMALL the plane was! It looked like a toy!

The view was incredible, the colors of the water were so teal and light blue. 

When we landed, I took one look at the airport and started to laugh! It was so small and there were no signs or any other planes.

WE MADE IT!

The SFS research center is right along the water and actually used to be an old hotel called Admiral's Inn.

We have two vessels for going out and snorkeling, fish identifications, conch assessments, and invasive species hunting!

The interns gave us a tour around the town pointing out different places we may want to go to, like the grocery store and the convenient store

And...the hottest club in town..Bayside Ballers

Even though it appears pretty creepy, we ended up having a lot of fun there on our first night out!