Sara: It was 4:00 pm on an ordinary Wednesday, and, as a Semester 76 student, I was on our first field lab! We were at Reid State Park, which was about a 45-minute drive from Chewonki Neck. We were equipped with our waterproof notebooks, 2 pairs of gloves, snowpants, jacket, hat, and scarves. But it was still a nearly freezing temperature of 8 degrees Fahrenheit, and we had been outside for about 2 and a half hours observing the intertidal zones, drawing our species, annotating, and noting questions. We watched the waves lapping up against the rocks and listened to the breeze moving the trees and bushes behind us. It was nothing like any school assignment I’ve ever had to do. It was so peaceful to be outside, where our only task was to observe the world around us. Naturally, we were all so mesmerized. We were cold, but before getting into the heated vans, my classmates and I had one last mission: a polar plunge in the freezing lake that quite literally had a sheet of ice over it.
Claire: TIME FOR THE POLAR BEAR!!! Most of us here at Semester 76 were not quite familiar with jumping in ice cold (literally) water in the middle of winter. But boy, were we excited to get used to it. On a chilly Wednesday afternoon at Reid State Park, us New Yorkers, Californians, Missourians, Washingtonians, and Mainers experienced our first MCS polar bear dip. First, I will give you some context. We had just finished our very first field lab (!!) and most of us were prepared for the plunge. Or so we thought… While taking off our layers, we began to realize the extremity of Maine’s frigid temperatures. A rush was accelerating through us when we ran into the water. In a chaotic stampede, we sprinted as fast as our legs could carry us back to the warm van.
Sara: I excitedly ran in, adrenaline coursing through me. I walked in until the water was at my knees, and then I sat down. I don’t think I stayed in the water for more than 10 seconds before I got up SO fast. I think I was in a state of shock when I got out of the water. I walked or rather, RAN back to the van. But there was one problem; my boots were now full of freezing cold water. Now I was half running, half trying to get the water out of my boots, and after a chaotic trip back to the van, I made it. I hurriedly took off my boots and poured the water out and my feet have never been so cold. But I looked up, and everyone was experiencing the same thing. We all looked at each other and even though we were so cold we couldn’t feel our extremities, we started laughing. Back home, none of us would have even considered doing this, but now that we were here, and we HAD done this, we were bonded with an incredibly adrenaline inducing experience. It was an adventure we all shared, and the van ride on the way back was filled with singing, laughter and great conversations (while we were trying to warm our toes up).
Sara and Claire: Maybe this blog post perfectly describes the kind of adventure you are looking for and maybe the polar bear doesn’t sound very pleasant to you! And that is perfectly fine. Most of us coming to MCS would never even fathom breaking holes in the ice and jumping in, but that is what makes this place so special. There are 25 of us in Semester 76, we are all coming from such different backgrounds, and we are learning so much about each other and ourselves. It’s going to be an exciting 4 months here, where even though it’s only been 2 weeks, we already feel at home and more alive than ever.
Sara Sanchez-Goubert, Semester 76
Sara is attending from Ethical Culture Fieldston School in Bronx, NY
Claire Brimley, Semester 76
Claire is attending from Jackson-Reed High School in Washington, D.C.
