I've been back home now for three days, and I wanted to wrap up this blog with some reflections on my trip. Going to the Bahamas to study abroad was an awesome opportunity, and I am very grateful for the experience. I remember looking forward to the trip and being lost in the preparations, and feeling some trepidation about leaving my family and going to a foreign country with a group of people that I didn't know. I have to say that the group that went to Andros together this time bonded quickly, and I hope that we will all keep in touch now that we are back. Several of us went to lunch together yesterday after a study session at LeNoir, and we had a great time. I am very grateful for the new group of friends that I made while we were in the Bahamas.
While the goal of the trip was to study the ecology of the island, I received some insight into the culture as well. Learning about the ecology involves gaining an understanding of the culture of the people, because you interact with the locals at just about every place you go on the island. Our lectures every evening involved history of the island, local folklore, information about the economy, and interaction with the people of Andros. I had the opportunity to speak with many of the Bahamian people employed by Forfar field station, and I learned a lot about what it is like to live there.
Terpy is a Bahamian lady that runs a little snack and souvenir shop in the lodge every evening. She sells jewelry, snacks and sodas in her shop and she also will braid your hair. I let her braid my hair because it was so hot, and it kept my hair out of my face while we were on the boat. While she was doing my hair, she told me about herself, and about what it is like to live on Andros. She said that the price of gas is almost $7 a gallon, and that because of the difficulty of importing supplies, the cost of groceries and basic supplies are very high. One might assume that a small country like the Bahamas might have a lower cost of living, but that is not the case here. There is a lot of tourism on the other islands that inflates the prices, but the most influential factor on prices on Andros is its inaccessibility. The waters around Andros are very shallow, and bringing supplies is a very arduous task. Supplies must be shipped by barge, and that can be costly. Terpy supports herself and her son by making jewelry, braiding hair, and selling snacks to the students that come to Forfar every week. She told me about how she went to a neighbor's house to pick up pebbles to use for her jewelry, and she brought some sappadilla fruit to give to the neighbor's chickens. After they finished eating the fruit, the chickens kept pecking at the pebbles in her bucket looking for more fruit. I thought that was a funny story!
The people in Red Bays support themselves by making souvenirs and selling them. When we visited, I saw the most beautiful baskets, jewelry, wood carvings, and other souvenirs. They don't have shops, they just bring tables out in front of their house to display their wares. Some people even spread their goods out on their cars! Mrs. Marshall has a lot of her family that live around her on her land, and they all work together making baskets and hats and other items to sell. She also keeps hogs and land crabs to both consume and sell to support her family since she is no longer allowed to practice her bush medicine and midwifery. Early on, she planted an abundance of fruit trees on her land to provide food for them to eat and also to sell. Mrs. Marshall's family reaps the benefits of her foresight, and in turn take care of her in her advanced age.
Because of Andros' isolation and inaccessibility, the people that inhabit the island have had to adapt their way of living and culture to provide for themselves and their family. Most of the people live in homes that we would consider primitive. They do not have a way to borrow money to build homes, so they save up enough to build one section of a house -- such as the foundation -- and then stop construction until they can afford the next phase. Construction is very slow on Andros, but I imagine that debt is almost nonexistent.
While I learned a lot about the ecology of Andros and its wildlife and vegetation, I think I learned just as much about the people and culture of the island as well. Being immersed in the culture of Andros was very educational and fun, and I brought home with me a new understanding of this place and its people that I didn't have previously. Learning ecology in a classroom is great, but getting out of town and having such hands-on learning is so much better. I could learn about the plants and animals and fishes of Andros in a book, but being able to walk outside and study by looking at the trees growing natively around me makes it almost unforgettable. If you're considering taking a study abroad trip at Columbus State University, do it! It is a life-changing experience, and you will never forget it.
