bainbridge island..."establishing my sense of place"

so the last few days, we as grad students, have been overloaded with history information about bainbridge island..which is pretty interesting. the island used to be home of the largest milling company in the world and basically clear cut everything to build ships and sent wood to san fransico...pretty intersting. baiscally, the mill burned down 2 times and eventually closed due to overproduction. it ran from a sight called Port Blakely. it is very interesting because peoples from all over the world came to port blakely to work. the main population was from japan...and even from italy, norway, sweeden, spain, hawaii...and more! i wont get too much into it :) but it is very interesting. now, islandwood (my school) is on the property that used to be part of the mill!

another rich history in this area are the indians...well, actually it is not history because it is still happening. today, we took a tour around the island to see the suquamish reserve. it is really interesting! cheif seattle was even half suquamish. the used the cedar tree for everything..canoes, clothes, mats, baskets...everything. the suquamish peoples are currently struggling to assimilate back into the culture because in the past, it was kind of looked down upon and they were forced to learn american everything. now, they are wanting their children not to loose the culture.
this is a suquamish sign that we saw today that is the shed to a canoe carving place. they are known for thier long canoe rides from the puget sound to other places, replicating what their ancestors used to do. it is a 600 mile canoe ride!
above is the trail i will walk every day atleast once from the grad commons to the main campus where our classroom and the other facilities are. its about a 10 minute journey. i am still trying to navigate myself around...its going to be a challenge!
well, this place is pretty cool. the woods are great and im ready to continue learning, work hard...and make the most out of this new chapter!

at my new home in the pacific northwest

well, my dad escorted me to my new home in the pacific northwest forests. we arrived on thursday aug 16th and spent a few days in the beautiful city of seattle, washington...where we hung out with my family there and bought some essential supplies for my new cabin (as seen below). as i was packing up for this new adventure, i got many comments from my dad like, dang eileen.. are you bringing enough stuff?! (obviously as a joke :)) later to find out that i didnt really bring enough here...but it will take time. my cabin has a loft...so i should get some things to make that space comfortable. so, we took the ferry over to bainbridge island (where i am living) and scoped out the small town before we arrived at my school in the woods...IslandWood. the first bag in unzipped contained my bridesmaid's dress for danielles wedding..which is in 2 weeks...to find my dress was ripped with a hole and even looked burned!! i couldnt believe it...somehow while in my bag on the plane, my bag was ripped, which in turn ruined the dress as well!!!! im still not sure what i am going to do...but if i position my arm in just the right spot, i MIGHT be ok :)

on the left is a picture of my cabin. it is like a duplex. my door is the one of the right. lauren, my cabinmate and i share a bathroom. they are really nice and cozy cabins. i am really enjoying them. plus, our cabin is the closest to the graduate commons, as seen below..where there is a kitchen, laundry machines..and all that stuff for 16 people to share :)






today, we started taking our classes....a natural history class about the island as well as an ecology 101 class about what we need to be able to identify in order to lead groups of students here! it is all very interesting and a little overwhelming at the same time. our teachers keep reminding us to focus on the main species of trees, ferns, and animals that we will come in contact with. it is cool because our classes are outside on the trail...experiencing nature, taking solo walks, and getting to know our 250 acre surroundings here complete with watershed, a pond, a cattail marsh, a bog, a suspension bridge, an amazing tree house, a floating classroom, amazing trails, great sustainable buildings, etc. everything is "green" here, which is also awsome. every structure from the composting toilets to the walls are teachable moments. this is an incredible place. i will share more pictures later. i kissed my first banana slug today...acually licked. pretty cool.

croatia pictures

here are some pictures from the first part of our family vacation in croatia. i am not including a specfic explanation...so you can use your imagination :)