What. A. Day. For many of us, today was full of excitement, nervousness, and lots of heat. We left the Orange Hill Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas in the morning and went straight to the airport in three different trips to get everyone there. The airport experience was very quick and easy compared to the Atlanta airport. It was very cool and surprising because instead of boarding straight onto the airplane at the gate, the group went out onto the tarmac to board with Bahamas Air. Having a window seat on the flight, I got to see the beautiful waters of The Bahamas the whole trip there! As the flight came to an end, I realized the runway was very close to the water, so it was neat being on the plane landing so close to the water. After we got off the flight, the whole group boarded a hay bale truck to drive to the Gerace Field Station. The 10-15 min ride was surprisingly very relaxing with the breeze and the views, regardless of the bumpiness. We pulled into the field station, and I would say it was not what I was picturing in my head, as I had only seen it on a drawn-out map. It did look run down a bit on the outside at first glance, but it was still beautiful with the white/blue buildings and greenery on campus.We got a peak at the cafeteria and got to see the conference room in the lab building for a little while as we did our orientation, and it was really nice!A staff member said there are more lab rooms, including one with a water table, which I am very excited to check out and use for studies. After orientation, we got our dorm assignments for the two weeks, and I would say my group of 4 girls got lucky with a room of 6 beds so we can spread out and unpack a little. We unpacked and are still getting used to the heat of the island with no A/C in the dorm rooms. My advice is spraying the window lining with bug spray and placing dryer sheets under your bed sheets to repel mosquitoes. My first impression of San Salvador Island (from the ride to Gerace)is that it is smaller than Nassau and has more open greenery rather than resorts or houses, which makes it so exotic and beautiful. I am so excited to go to dinner tonight and to have 2 weeks here to explore the island and the waters of the island!
Emily Granier
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