Week 5: 9/5 - 9/12

This past weekend, we had our first NSE trip and it was undoubtedly one of the best experiences I've had here at UVI by far!

A group of the NSE students took the ferry over to Water Island, which is the smallest of the four islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We were greeted by the owners of the Four Elements Wellness Center, who gave us a quick little tour of the island and pointed out some of the native plants and trees, explaining some of their holistic benefits. I've never seen so much aloe growing in one place!

We then took a little hike up to the wellness center, where we got to participate in a culinary and art class. We made Caribbean curry with basmati rice, naan and salad which was super delicious. Everyone really enjoyed making it and even more so, eating it. For the art class, we painted on rocks and leaves that we handpicked from the trees and got to chill out in the hammocks. It was a really therapeutic and awesome bonding experience for all the NSE girls. We also got a tour of the wellness retreat and all of the cottages they use for lodging, which were all hand built by the owners Robynne and her husband out of reusable and sustainable materials from hurricane debris. The entire center was so unique and artistic, with little intricacies and pieces of art in every corner. I definitely plan on going back and taking some art, yoga and meditation classes.

After lunch at the wellness center, we all headed down to the beach where we got to snorkel, swim and chill out in the sun. About an hour later when we headed back to the dock to wait for the ferry, everyone jumped off into the water! It was definitely a day to remember and I am so grateful for the NSE program and Dahlia, our NSE coordinator for planning the trip.

There's another tropical storm coming through this coming weekend, so unfortunately, I won't be having any exciting plans like that coming up, but I'm looking forward to having some downtime to decompress and delve into some schoolwork.