Freeport, Bahamas

This year I was fortunate to set sail from Ft. Lauderdale to Freeport, Bahamas 3 days before the students arrived because my father is on the faculty. Returning to the ship for a third time, it was a great way to come back to a place I feel like is my second home. For three, warm sunny days I was able to lie on the deck and get acclimated on the ship again, all alone. Though I love the ship when it is full of friendly faces, there is something peaceful about being able to look out at the harbor or the sea without anyone else around.

When we docked in the Freeport Harbor, there wasn’t much to do. Skye and I tried to walk to the beach from our location, but were constantly approached by random vans stopping to ask what we were doing. We excitedly said looking for the beach to which they laughed and said we were a long ways away, about 6 or 7 miles. Unfortunately the friendly Bahamians could not drive us anywhere because they were on the clock, but it was a good thing they gave us a heads up, or else we would have walked for miles- and ended up extremely burnt!

We did have a slightly more successful outing when our parents got off with us. This time we stayed within harbor, looking for dinner. My Dad was adamant about trying conch, the local delicacy of fried or breaded meat from the pretty yellow and pink shell you always see at the beach. He settled on a little shack close to the ship that sold conch in hush puppy form with spicy sauce on the side. Though I’m not usually a fan of oysters, mussles, or anything of the sort, I tried the fried treat. No surprise it was very rubbery in texture with a lack of flavor, but I was glad I tried it nonetheless.

When the students arrived, I quickly forgot about being in the harbor and tried to meet as many new people as I could. Confidence and blindly approaching people seemed to be the best tactic to insert myself into conversations- and I met a lot of great people. As we set sail and said goodbye to Freeport, headed for Barcelona, I couldn’t help but think that the 539 students who just boarded will be some of my best friends for the next summer semester.