Eugenia ’26 and Zachary ’25, recount a day of community building and Island hopping adventures.
Last night we talked about catching the sunrise on the beach. Our ideas came to fruition and Mr. Bryant woke us up at 6 in the morning. Afterwards, we went back to bed because it was too early, and most people wake up by 7:45am. Then we had breakfast at 8am in the main dining hall, this consisted of a fried egg, two Hawaiian rolls, a slice of cheese, and some watermelon. Directly after breakfast, we departed for the main Kuna island, to interact and connect with staff and students of a local primary school. The kids eagerly greeted us, and they were extremely friendly and the staff shared their enthusiasm as well. After a brief introduction with the school’s principal we interviewed some of the teachers about the water supply of the island. While our topic of conversation was initially focused on water sustainability, both parties’ enthusiasm and interest morphed the interview into an open discussion.
Following the interviews, we watched a beautiful traditional Kuna musical performance by some of the Kuna locals, and some of us even joined. Afterwards, we showed them our swing dancing skills. Then some 10 year old students beat our Deerfield all-star team 100-2 in basketball. We left soon after the game, had lunch, and began our island hopping adventure.
Our first stop was a sandbar in the middle of the ocean, some of the sand were covered by spiky grass and coral. The next stop was a palm tree covered island with large catamarans docked right off the coast. At that island, we went on a little stroll, but there were some bugs, so we came back. The final island was a small island with a nice beach volleyball court area. However, the defining feature of the island was the ruins off the coast, where we could see schools of fish when snorkeling. After we headed back, we played a little more volleyball (kind of our group’s sport) and had dinner: fish, fried plantains, and a salad. I (Zach) got an extra portion of chicken though, because I was extra hungry. We are ending the day with a debrief on the research and interviews we conducted today. Both of us are pretty exhausted and in need of a fresh shower.
