St. Croix to Water Island
Since we are getting down to the wire as the end of the J-term semester approaches, I (Meg, that is) am doing all of the blog entries so the students can focus on writing papers.
Our final day at R2R:
On Saturday our crew helped out again at the farm, watering and helping lay out tarps so that they could create a new nursery space for their bread fruit trees. This was a task that Nate and company had not had time to do and they were greatly appreciative and relieved to get it done. Then we went up and weeded the carrots and beans, which was once again greatly appreciated.
On Saturday evening we were serenaded by Nate and Faye (Petree) on banjo and fiddle. They both play professionally, but she is more of a full-time musician (except when she is out at the farm).
The big moment was when Daniel cooked his sourdough bread. Jen (from Roseway) had given him some sourdough starter which he has been carefully tending on a daily basis. Saturday was the big day when he finally cooked it, and it was pronounced delicious!
The farm was putting on another Slow Food Dinner Sunday night, and Andy (the chef) and a friend started cooking Saturday after breakfast, and didn’t stop until 3:30 a.m. He was up again at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday to continue cooking, and was clearly happy to do it. We were sorry to miss this event but it was time to move on.
Move to Water Island:
We got up early on Sunday and headed down to the airport, where we boarded a tiny plane that flew us back to St. Thomas. We then took the ferry to Water Island and settled into our new home, Virgin Island Campgrounds. It’s really great here, and feels luxurious after first living in a hostel, then cramped in the boat berths, then dodging bugs and crawly creatures in our cabanas on the farm. It’s nice to have real beds and electricity. The students are finishing up their last papers, and will also prep for presenting to new students on Thursday.
One of the cabins
Dylan B-K in the common area.
The view east toward Charlotte Amalie and beyond.
Class had to be held in our cabin today as it is quite wet out. Rebecca was regaling them with a story when I came in to document the new class space.
We have two more days here, during which they will complete their work and have some fun time on the beach or going into Charlotte Amalie. We board our plane early Wednesday afternoon, have a stopover in Miami and get into Bradley Airport quite late. They get up Thursday and present to new students that afternoon about what they learned about wellness and resiliency on our trip.
