How do you feel about living on a remote island far from home for
the next three months? ...Kristen C., Arlington, Virginia, USA
by Cassie Cummings, South Caicos Island, 2/13/97
At first it is a little scary to think about living for three months in a place that has
no hospital or fresh water. Before I left the United States to come here I was
nervous, because I did not know what to expect.
Now that we are here I feel like I belong. Things are a bit different from the US
though. We have to try very hard to conserve the fresh water that we do get
when it rains. This means turning off the water when brushing teeth, and taking
very short, cold showers! Also, the town on the island is very small. We cannot
just make a quick trip to the supermarket if we need something. Most products
are shipped here from the US, and that takes a long time. If we need something
that we did not bring with us it will probably be very expensive to buy, or hard
to find.
Of course I miss my family and friends, but everyone here is great to live with.
Besides, how homesick can you get when you wake up to sunny skies and
clear blue water every morning, and swim with the colorful fish all afternoon?
Overall, I feel very excited about living on South Caicos for the next three
months. There is always something new and exciting to explore here!
How did you get to South Caicos Island?
.....Peter J., Albany, New York, USA
by Anna Saltonstall, 2/12/97, South Caicos Island
Well, I think that this is a great question for me to answer because I traveled
the farthest of all the students to get to this little island known as "The Rock". I
am from Seattle, Washington which is in the northwestern corner of the United
States. I actually left my home near Seattle on a Thursday night and did not
arrive on South Caicos until Friday afternoon!
I left Seattle in a cold rain storm and flew through snowy Chicago before
landing in Miami, Florida where I wandered around the airport looking for
someone who looked as excited and tired as I was. Finally, I found a group of
SFS students who were en route to South Caicos like me. From Miami we
loaded a plane that took us to Providenciales, the tourist trap of the Turk and
Caicos Islands. The airport was small and very hot. When we went to get our
bags I found out that everyone’s baggage came off the plane but mine. I waited
and hoped to see my big black backpack show up, but no luck.
By this time I was feeling really exhausted so I just got on the next plane (this
was my fourth plane of the trip!) and we took off to the South Caicos airport
which was the size of a basketball court! Sweaty, tired, but very excited, we
had all made it to "The Rock" safely. I was told that my bag was probably still
in Chicago which, at the time, seemed ages way. Fortunately my belongings
showed up the next afternoon and I was set to begin my three month adventure
on this amazing island far off in the Atlantic Ocean.
