Glowing in St. Croix

Imagine arriving to the airport for the first time not knowing what to expect about your first flight. Everyone else seemed to be calmly arriving and gathering their belongings, but I was extremely anxious about the flight. One of the Global Love Leaders from the previous year could see the slight panic in my face and offered some words of encouragement. While we waited to board, some other adults chimed in on what to expect during takeoff, landing, and throughout the flight.  Although the jitters never wore off prior to the flight, the take off didn't seem so bad with all the other Love Leaders surrounding me and even one holding my hand as the plane thrusted into the sky. Fast forward, we finally landed in St. Croix, got our bags, headed to our house for the week, and grabbed a bite to eat from the local Chicken Shack...the johnny cake was amazing! After eating, we didn't have much time to spare because we were set to go on a bioluminescence nighttime kayak. We listened to the instructors about the specifics of kayaking and the importance of our life jackets. After getting the green light, we each got in pairs, put on our life life jackets and got into the kayaks. I was a bit nervous about kayaking at night, but it was still very new but lots of fun. It took a while to get the hang of it but once everyone really warmed up to it, we had lots of fun roaming the ocean. The most memorable part about the kayaking was touching the bioluminescent water and catching the tiny jellyfish in a net. They didn’t sting so if we caught one, we could hold it in our hand as it glowed in the night sky.  After a few hours in the water, we headed to our temporary and prepared for our next experience. 

​Jaykayla Harden
Cohort 2022