We're Here!

Day One: January 14
by Anna and Jackie
It was a long day. After waking at 4 am, we all met up to drive to the airport. Despite a few directional issues, we made it, safe and sound. The flight was easy, only 2 1/2 hours, and the views from the plane were beautiful. We were all so excited to see the clear water and white sand surrounding the islands. Around 11:30, we arrived in Nassau and met Valdez, our "tour guide." Tall, lanky, and always ready to smile, Valdez kept us occupied until our bus came about 30 minutes late.
The ride was a fun one. Our bus driver appointed himself tour guide and showed us around the island, pointing out some favorite places, such as celebrity homes, typhoon islands, and local favorites. He loved to mix in a few jokes.

He also shared us a fun fact about conches and their magical ability to put the "pep in your step, the glide in your stride" (if you know what we mean).
We arrived at the Towne Hotel, a cute hotel with Caribbean decor and a parrot in the lobby. Then, we ventured out for a real Bahemian lunch at Sbarro.
We returned for a walking tour with Valdez, where we visited the church down the street (Christianity is central to life here), the Ministry of Tourism, the Hilton, Parliament, and the police force. We even got a picture with a few finely dressed officers! (A must in the Bahamas)
Exhausted, we returned to the hotel to clean up and rest before dinner. We all met up around 7 to discuss trip goals and expectations.
Around 8, we went on a search for dinner. We found out quickly the Bahemians go to bed early--everything was closed! We ended up at McDonalds for a really exotic meal.
Now, we're back at the hotel, playing Taboo in the lobby.
Tomorrow, we're off to a service day cleaning up the beach with two colleges from Kansas and Pennsylvania..wish us luck!

In Twelve Hours We'll Be...

... ON A PLANE TO THE BAHAMAS!!! This is so exciting. I can't wait to get there. It'll be exciting to meet the people in the Bahamas who have been doing so much to make this trip possible. We'll be up at the crack of dawn, but it's all worth it. We recently learned that our trip will be focused on invasive species and working towards the regrowth of indigenous plants. We've seen pictures of where we will be working and staying, but the anticipation of actually seeing these places is so, to risk sounding redundant, EXCITING!!!