In the morning we started off with a a lesson on the Jamaican language of Patois (Patwa). It's like a combination of English and a variety of African languages, but much more simplified.
We ate a delicious vegan breakfast that consisted of banana fritters and a variety of other foods that came from the local trees. There is never a time here where bananas are not hanging from the ceiling, and abundant amount of watermelons are not in the kitchen.
After breakfast we went into our first lesson on bees. This presentation focused on the idea that beehives are a super-cellular organism that work together to complete their common goal. Learning about the variety of honeybees, the traits of a queen, how to identify the specifics happening in a colony and comb, etc. There is a lot more to a hive than meets the eye.
We proceeded to take a visit to the apiary, which is a collection of beehives. The first apiary had roughly 25 hives. The second apiary had about 15. The thing about bees is when there are overcast skies, they tend to be a little grumpy. And we didn't happen to have our beekeeping gear on at the time. Within seconds the interns racked up a quick 5 or so stings, which hurt a lot less than I remembered.
As the night wound down we played cards, relaxed, and hoped for a sunnier day tomorrow.
Finished Book #1: The Way to Bee: Meditation and the Art of Beekeeping
(Still struggling with pictures though...)
Well, I guess now we know you are not allergic to bees. That's a good thing! Sounds like you are already learning a lot.
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