Location: Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica
The day began with Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson and banana (chocolate chip cinnamon) pancakes by Lucia, Lucy, and Sam. After we gorged ourselves on them (I had two and made a mental note to snack on them later on), we set off for Quinn’s leadership presentation — a collection of very insightful questions about growth and change that had all of us rapt and enthusiastically and thoughtfully engaged. That hour absolutely flew by. We then moved on to our first Oceanography lecture on Human Management, which was fascinating and so so fun for something that was a bit depressing.
We then ate lunch (quesadillas — yum!!), and most people jumped into the water to continue the rescue course. I stayed behind to make an apple pie for Thanksgiving, which is somehow…. tomorrow? When every day is clear blue skies occasionally interrupted by summer-seeming showers, it’s a little hard to wrap your mind around that.
After my (mostly) successful apple pie (I accidentally made all of the gluten-free pie dough — less work for everyone else making pies!) and the rescue course, we had some study time to work on our research projects or anything else we had to do in the final two weeks of the program. I’ve been so aware of the fact that we only have two weeks left as of today, but it still doesn’t feel quite real. The idea that in two weeks, I won’t be laughing at Logan’s jokes, or impressed by Tate’s free diving, or in awe of Stefi’s cooking, or spending every minute with everyone here, all of whom I adore, is absolutely bizarre. Perfect example, right now Tate, Alexis, Lucia, Teddy, Logan, Maxime, and Hedrek are doing the footloose dance on deck, something that has become a nightly tradition at the end of dinner (spaghetti bolognese, by the way, which was so so good) clean-up. And that’s without even mentioning the incredibility of waking up on the ocean every day and the views that come with that.
Every day gets a little scarier and more exciting; it’s almost how I felt leading up to arriving here. I can’t wait to get home and use everything I’ve learned here and see who I’ll be after this, but at the same time, I’m not ready to leave. I’m just trying to make the most and the best of every day we have left, and I’m trying not to get wrapped up in missing it (and most of all, everyone here) before it’s gone.
Thanks for listening to my sentimental ramblings. This is the last time you’ll hear from me on behalf of O-Star:,)
Signing off,
Asta
Photo 1: Sunset
Photo 2: How is this where I live??
Photo 3: No, seriously. How did I get so lucky
Photo 4: Tate and Teddy (Fred) making gravy for tomorrow