The Island Part II

Well I have survived the first few days of my super exciting chemistry class on this island. Needless to say, it was not fun at all. We had six labs to complete in the span of about four days. It was slightly stressful. But now we get to do this research type project, one that we design ourselves, and I'm kind of excited for it. Because that's what I want to do with my life. It's the last thing we have to do this week (besides a lab quiz, which will be simple, and the final, which will definitely not be simple, but whatever), and then I can go home! Well, to Mount Pleasant.

So yeah. Being up here, even for a summer class, feels almost like summer camp again. I'm staying in the "dorms," which are essentially barrack/cabin style bunk beds in a room. The only difference between those and the actual cabins is we don't have to go outside to get to the bathrooms and dining room. Which is nice, because I have never seen so many mosquitoes in one place before. I believe there are so many (they say more than any other year) because of the long winter we had. There was lots of standing water around for them to lay their eggs in. And they don't spray the island for mosquitoes, because they don't want to mess with the ecology of the land.

But anyway, back to the summer camp thing. Sure, we're inside for about nine hours a day, doing chemistry in a lab. But we're all here together, suffering together, learning together, spending everyday together. And that's basically summer camp. I mentioned to the professor that this is like science camp on steroids, and he agreed wholeheartedly. The summer camp feel creates something I like to call the "summer camp mentality" between those of us who are in the class. I have always thought that this is one of the greatest and worst friend interactions a person will ever had. For one thing, you make great friends for the few weeks you are with them. You promise to talk when we leave, get together once in a while, and remain friends. But this never happens. We leave, go our separate ways, and if we ever see each other and recognize each other we do the awkward eye contact and look away quickly act, pretending we haven't seen each other. That's why it is the worst.

It is also the best, because sometimes these are the people you can have the deepest conversations with. They are the ones that you can talk to easily, because you kind of know, in the back of your mind, that you probably won't see each other again. So you open up to them, and it's wonderful. And that's why the "summer camp mentality" can be the best thing in the world.

So yeah. I haven't decided if this has been a good experience for me. This weekend has been awesome, because we all subconsciously agreed that it was No Chemistry Saturday. Unfortunately, we have to do work today, but yesterday was a much needed day off. But the rest of the time, it has been a lot of work in a short amount of time. Which is probably a good experience that will help me later in life, but right now it's not so fun. But oh well. The island itself is at least nice. But that's it for now. Until next time...