Pictures of the Day
At the end of each night's class we, as a group, reflect on our 'Picture of the Day.' The Picture of the Day is a snapshot of some event during the day that made an impression on us that we describe to the group. To facilitate our sharing we pass around our mascott Leinster, pictured here. Whomever has Leinster has the floor and the group's attention.
Click here to read the Pictures of the Day from the 2000 Study.
Click here to read the Pictures of the Day from the 2001 Study.
Jess Moninghoff and Tina Moll -
"AHHHHHHHHH...!!!!A shark is coming to eat us." That was the first thoughts that came to our mind when Shawn Becker yelled "shark!" and ran out of the water like a little girl. Once we hear that we flipped out like a pair of first grade girls seeing a sipder for the first time. Later, after we were done flipping out, we realize that it was only a baby shark. We were really embrassed. Anyway, the real picture of the day would have to be when we took a break after a long, hard, and sweaty hike. The sun was hot and burning down on us, when all of a sudden, I guess Ashley Walton wanted to cool off in the most disgusting water ever. So you know being Ashley she climbed down the rocks to get a piece of notes that fell. So she leaned down to grab it, but all of a sudden she slipped down and went kasplash into the filty, aglae filled pool of water that was really deep. Man did she smell bad afterwards!! It was so hilarious....everyone was laughing their butts off! We are happy to say that Ashley is feeling fine after her tramatic fall. Peace out!
Erik Langenborg -
Today we went for a nice long snorkel (yes, we use it as a noun) to Mary's Point. The whole trip took about three hours and we saw several new fish, plus several old favorites. Fish added to our species list included sea turtles (ok, not actually a fish) and rock beauties. Toward the end of the snorkel, the group hugged the side of cliff face weaving in and out of inlets and small caves in hope of spotting a hidden eel. Although no such creature was found, our particular group spotted an octopus, whose head rivaled the size of my own, hiding under a large rock. After trying unsuccessfully to left the rock, we climbed ashore, grabbed the largest stick we could find, and returned to poke and prod the octopus in hope of forcing it out. Out attempt was unsuccessful, however the octopus did firmly grab the stick so firmly we lost out footing and broke the stick in two. After a rather lengthy snorkel, we had lunch (mac + cheese for us) and went up to the upper pavilion at 2 o'clock. (If you hear people complaining about the hike up, its about a 240 ft climb!!) At the pavilion, we did a lab on dissolved Oxygen in different water samples. It took about 40 minutes, and we learned quite a bit about the importance of coral to the ecosystem. Now that my writing has just been completely destroyed by the multiple grammar nazis in this pavilion, I feel it is time to close with Rochelle's version of this day.
Roshelle Ravier -
Roshelle's mini picture of the day - "How everyone's popping their oozzing blisters and Ashley has a chornic illness thats spreading over her entire body."
Bridgett Jamison -
It is certainly hard to find a single moment that sufficiently sums up the splendor of the day however I do belive that one of the most quenticiently moments occured while siting on the small stone wall overlooking the back reef (a huge bay area that extends far into the ocean that never is deeper than a few inches). There we stood, in groups of three, hovered around a few clear plastic bins, with pen and paper in hand trying sketch the complicated organisims before us. Within the first, a brittle sea star tryed desperated to escape clinging to the plastic walls which a few shrip like creatures bounced around in a random matter. Within the next, a blowfish lay traped within within a students hands as they tryed in vain to "explode" it. The next, held a collection of crabs ranging in size from a a few centiments to one easily the size of my hand. With them a sea urchanins rolled slowing in circles searching for a meal and a clam sucked, in a regular interval, the bin's water. Next, another student held up huge conk from which a big slimey snail/slug dangled. Crawing around the last, a spiny lobster and octopus played around. As I reached the last bin, I turned around to gaze upon the mountain towering above us and the donkeys quietly grazing near the moutain pass, I was surprised to see a tiny weasley thing scramble aross the road. It was a mongoose.