Looking back at Bermuda 2010 ..

Sitting in the airport on our last day of Bermuda there's a bunch of things to look back at and ask yourself, "Wow, did that really happen?” The experience itself is still surreal to me. Previous students who have had the privilege of visiting beautiful Bermuda have all called it a seemingly life-changing experience. For me, when I think "life-changing" it's always big picture; a college decision, a huge scholarship or even death would all fall into that category for me. So, arriving at BIOS I knew only a part of what I was in for. First day off the bus we ate lunch, packed our gear and headed off to Whalebone, a snorkeling area. Little did we know we'd be walking the 2 mile trail to get there then spending two hours in the water searching for whatever interesting creatures we could find. Usually when people think of Bermuda they think of that song you know, "Bermuda, Jamaica, oo I wanna take ya", and it sounds like a very nice, relaxing island where you just lay back and enjoy the beach. That song doesn't mention the amazing things you would see if you didn't sit back, got up and jumped in the water for a while. Now, believe me, I am a firm believer in enjoying pink-sand beaches and only submerging in the water when it's a bit too hot but, my perspective on that has changed a bit, actually a lot. My curiosity has flown off the wall, on the night dive (which I was absolutely petrified of in the beginning) I was one of the people to keep going and push on until I got to see a 4 foot spiny lobster or a camouflaged octopus. Now for those who know me, when I first started working with seahorses I was afraid to pick one up, and those are tiny, super nice creatures! So, this trip has definitely broadened my horizons. I've never been an extremely inquisitive person about the open sea or what might be swimming below me as I enjoyed it but, for some reason, on this trip I found myself diving down 15 feet to follow three beautiful hog fish or to get a better look at some of the amazing colors on a puddingwife. Most of the places we went and the things we saw never would of been believed by my friends and family back home, or even myself for that matter, if I hadn't had the pictures to prove it. I feel as though I am forever indebted to those who made this trip possible and allowed me to finally face my fears of cliff jumping and deep waters, spike my curiosity and provide me with a truly different life-changing experience!

Grand ole memories.

As my time here comes to a close, I begin to ponder what I will take with me from this adventure. The North Rock, The Arches, Whalebone Bay, and Turtle bay were all amazing places to snorkle around and observe the marine life. The aquarium/zoo was a nice way to see these animals up close without having to look over your shoulder for your buddy or something that would take a bite out of you. But once thing I saw really touched me. We were coming back from a day at the Dockyard and we came across a long bridge. In the middle of the bridge there was a small fender-bender. Nothing serious and no one was injured. And just like a normal accident, traffic was at a standstill. But i noticed something peculiar about the stopped cars, no one was honking their horn or shouting or anything of the sort. Everyone was calm and patient about it. This made me realized that people can be kind and curtious to others. After seeing this and realizing the lesson, I told myself that if I can not be calm and serene about things that would normally bother me, I have no place here in Bermuda. And believe me, I want to return to this wonderful island. I wish I could stay longer and experience everything that this little place has to offer. But alas, I must return home. Even with all the fun I have been having with my friends here in Bermuda, I miss my family, friends and girlfriend whom i have left back home.

With serenity, Matthew Butler.

Bermuda Trip 2010!

Hey everyone, It's Ali Garofano. Im sitting here in the airport waiting to go home just reminiscing about my amazing trip to Bermuda. Im so happy I got to expierience this trip. I reccomend it to all the upcoming seniors. Do your work and strive to get good grades because this trip is worth it and without hard work it cant be possible. This trip has so much to offer, it is a great learning expierience. You get to discover a totally different world/enviorment that you never knew could exsist. Theres an opprotunity to meet new people, learn about their daily lives, and even get to see what they expierence everyday of their lives here, like the beaches, the snorkeling, and even the shopping (my personal favorite). The best part of this trip is deffinatly the snorkeling. The night dive was a bit scary, but the coral reefs and the animals that inhabit them are just to beautiful for words. It really makes you want to never swim in long island sound again. There is just no comparison. The fish here have the most gorgeaous bright colors on them, it's breathetaking. I have to say though the best part about looking at the fish is knowing what there names are and their characteristics, john makes sure you know your stuff trust me. To wrap it all up i just want to say that i regret nothing about this trip and that all the people who made this possible for me are amazing. They made my first trip out of the country a fascinating and incredible expierience. I would do it over and over again.

A life changing experience

For their last journal entry, students have been asked to reflect on how the trip has changed their lives.

Fears I've Faced

During my time in Bermuda, I've definitely faced a lot of fears. Everyone has. The fears I've faced have made me a much stronger person. I'm afraid of deep water; I tried swimming at North Rock. I'm afraid of water that I can't see the bottom and the ocean at night; I swam in the cave, and I swam in the night dive as long as I could handle the cold. I'm afraid of heights; I jumped off the cliff into the swimming hole. I'm afraid of getting my face wet; I've been snorkeling all week in BERMUDA! I'm afraid of airplane rides, even though I've been on plenty, and I flew here.
I know many people had similar fears, and we all faced them all. We all adapted and overcame our fears. I'm very proud of myself and everyone else for all the fears we've faced. I think my proudest moment was jumping off the cliff. I felt as I was falling, like I was never going to hit the water, but I finally did. The water was cold, and I lost my bikini bottoms, but it was definitely fun. The adrenaline rush was not worth missing, so I'm glad I did it. We all took a group picture of it at the end.
The night dive is also something I'm very proud of. I was very afraid of going into the ocean at night in the dark, but I have awesome teachers that would not let anything bad happen. When we were in the water, I got really cold; I was shaking, but I wanted to see a spiny lobster, so I stayed in, determined to see the distant cousin of the creatures I take care of at school. We saw a puffer fish, too, and lots of needle fish. I freaked out every time one came near me. When I got out of the water, I was really, really cold, and everyone on the shore was really helpful. It made me really happy to see how much we all want to help each other out when we need it. Even though there is some personal drama, we've all put it aside to enjoy the little amount of time we have here in this beautiful place.