Submitted by Brooke Gaenzle on the 2024 Winter HDFS program in Barbados…
This week was packed! We had a big course load for the week, including an exam, two field trips, and a day with the local primary school. But it was amazing!
We started our week with a tour of the west coast of Barbados. Our group quickly became friends with our bus driver, Wally, and he added some of his favorite spots to our tour. We saw many beaches, with mostly small, spilling waves, similar to the beach at Bellair’s Research Institute. It was cool to explore the coast, and see so many coastal engineering elements in practice.
Throughout the week, I balanced coding, engineering, and the beach. I can’t complain too much about homework, because there is really no better place to do it than at the beach. On Friday though, we went outside of our classroom and into one of Saint James Primary School.
The school was having a tsunami drill and needed some extra hands to keep the students all together. We were told it would be a small walk up a hill to the gathering spot, but we walked for hours! We quickly hit our gathering spot and just kept on exploring the area together after. The students took the drill very seriously, but afterwards, they were stoked to get to know us.
I ended up hanging out with a couple of kids throughout our excursion. We talked about school and favorite colors, while picking flowers and wading in the waves. They were also really interested in my camera, wanted to learn how to take photos, and of course, wanted lots of photos of themselves. It truly was a one of a kind experience.
Then we finished off the week by taking a tour of the east coast. This side of the island had insane waves because of the Atlantic ocean. There were cliffs, lighthouses, and so many cool rocks and shells. I absolutely loved seeing the east side of the island, and I am excited to head back to Bathsheba for next Saturday’s excursion. (Submitted on January 20, 2024)