Reflections and Insights from Week Two with Maddox Gaskill

Wow, I can hardly believe I am already two weeks into this study abroad trip! Two weeks in, it has been such an eye-opening experience for me, as I have been able to immerse myself more deeply in the island's culture and learn more about how special it is and why it can be considered a hidden gem.

There have been so many unique parts about this trip so far, and this week was definitely filled with very memorable moments. In the classroom, we were learning about how to acquire Primary sources. As a class, we were all split up into groups of five, where we went out to specific places on the island to gather information about things such as nightlife, restaurants, and lodging. My group was associated with the lodging aspect of the island, where people stay and why they stay there, so on Thursday, we all went out to separate places to get these interviews. My group went to Maho on the island, which is only 10 minutes from where we were staying. As I begin to conduct my interviews I realized that many of the people who are staying in the area all had similar ideals on why they wanted to be there for example Maho is located very close to the airport so many people thought it was convenient to have that easy access to the airport not only that but there were a lot of resorts in the area and having an all inclusive resort was a big factor for a lot of people when choosing a place to stay on the island. After all my interviews, I returned to our hotel and conversed with my groupmates about the consensus from their interviews, and what we realized is that people who stay in certain parts of Saint Martin generally all have similar interests in why they want to stay in that certain part, and it was really interesting to see that.

Another highlight of my week was definitely the trip to St. Barths Island. Our class got up in the morning, where we all took a ferry ride to St. Barths, and I can confidently say it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in my entire life. Upon arriving, I immediately got a taste of the island as there were so many beautiful shops, restaurants, and alleyways that were filled with greenery and amazing places to take pictures. One of my favorite parts about that day was our breakfast. When we got onto St. Barths, it was a beautiful French restaurant where we sat outside with an amazing view looking towards the water. Another aspect I really liked about St. Barths was the exquisite shops it had to offer. There aren't many places in the world where you can experience a plethora of luxury stores and shops all within just a few miles of each other, and for me to be able to experience that was very special.

Overall, week two was such a fun week for me, and I really feel like I have connected even more with my classmates, and I have had so much fun getting to know everyone better and being able to enjoy this entire experience with them has just made it so much more special as I know I'm building a lifelong relationships while at the same time studying abroad for school. It has been very cool applying what I've learned in the classroom to people on the island, and the excursions that we do make the entire experience amazing.