Today was our first full day in San Salvador, Bahamas. After arriving yesterday, I was greeted with some not-pleasant surprises. When I first pictured the dorming of San Sal I have the picturesque image in my head of a cozy room with two bunk beds on either side and two identical drawers on either side. This was most definitely not the reality when walking up the stairs to the girl’s hallway. The rooms were equipped without the capabilities of air conditioning which is not the first thing you want to see when entering your new home for two weeks but, I was sure that was the worst of it (it is).
After that the bathrooms aren’t too bad, there are 6 showers and 6 bathrooms which isn’t too shabby for a dorm-style bathroom. It did make me a little concerned since there were 6 girls in my room alone, and many more rooms in the hall but, hasn’t turned out to be a problem yet. Despite this I kept telling myself there was little to complain about, I’m lucky enough to be in the Bahamas for my class instead of in a classroom. This was again confirmed during dinner that night, we had spaghetti and, breadsticks and, some of the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. The food may be on my top 3 list of the best parts of the Study abroad so far! The morning consisted of waking up in a bundle of sweat and the evidence of no-see-ums and their midnight snack on my ankles. The breakfast was some amazing eggs and, a great blueberry muffin. Following the morning fuel, we treckked out to Graham’s Harbor which is short walk from the center and, snorkeling was amazing. I had such a great time being in the water and saw so many different organisms. A small list includes a barracuda, a small sea urchin, and a starfish the size of my face.
The second trip of the day was slightly longer walk to Dump reef. It included us walking through some trees and bushes to get to nicely secluded beach area. Unfortunately my body has not yet fully acclimated to the Bahamas weather, especially in San Salvador because of its drier climate, which has caused me to fall slightly ill since lunchtime today. I walked back to the center myself until I felt better. Unfortunately, when I returned to the site most of the people had already come ashore to pack up and go. I went to collect my things and the unthinkable had happened. I lost my fins!!The professors stayed back with a few students but, it seems I learned a valuable lesson on my first day in water, don't leave things in the oceans' reach. My fins had been taken by the sea with little chance of them being returned anytime soon. Thankfully there is a little dive shop at the center where I can borrow some fins for the remainder of the trip. I was feeling a bit disheartened by the events of the day but, was treated with an amazing dinner of veggies, turkey meat and, cherry pie type of dessert. I have only been here for a full day at this point but, I have already learned that I need to do better research into the culture and environment of where I am traveling in the future. I am hopeful to feel better tomorrow and possibly get some replacement fins from the dive shop.
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