First sunrise at Discovery Bay Marine Lab!

It’s now our second day in Jamaica and we’ve finally gotten in the water! After a delicious breakfast made by a wonderful woman named Precious [Ed: and several other women in the cafeteria], we set out to the docks in our wet suits for our first snorkel. We were off to a rather slow start where many of us needed assistance with our gear and getting acclimated to our new environment and wetsuits but boy, was it entertaining and fun. It’s crazy to see a group of such motivated and supportive students here where each and every one of us is eager to learn and appreciative of one another.

Checking out the bay before we prep research equipment.

Our professors, Dr. Brad Peterson and Dr. Joe Warren, have already taught us so much in one day and we are already able to name some organisms and species we’ve found on the reef in Discovery Bay. Today, I even saw an octopus, a spotted snake eel, and a few brittle stars. I’m even getting braver and more comfortable flipping rocks to reveal hidden organisms in the water and picking them up myself! We went out for a second snorkel and I partnered up with Frankie to collect some organisms for the wet lab. We made out pretty well and still have a night dive ahead of us this evening. Tomorrow, many of us start scuba diving and training and we will begin one of a few research projects that we will be working on; stoke levels are HIGH to say the least! I promise to post some more pictures of these incredible organisms but for now, I can only say how beautiful life is below the surface of the sea. It’s a whole other, beautiful world down there!

– Suzie