| Christa Schweizer Christa's JASON XII Adventure
About ChristaChrista's JASON XII Adventure  This year a group of 22 students traveled halfway across the world to the beautiful islands of Hawai'i, studying its amazing
biodiversity. Six of the twenty two students were sent off to Kaua'i, a wet, mountainous island, to study its wildlife and vegetation. I was amongst those six, and the rest of the group stayed at different locations on the Big Island.
For me, the hardest part of the trip was waking up at 2:00 am every morning to start broadcasting at 5:00 am. We'd lazily saunter around our two story house to get
ourselves ready for Lori, our hostess, to take us to our locations. When broadcasts started, you had to make sure you were alert, and pretend that you weren't shivering to death, for it was cold, and even three layers of clothing felt like one! I was the "lucky" one, because they gave me all the early morning shows; I'm guessing it was because I seemed the liveliest at 5:00 am, and I never really complained. When I
was on camera though, it was a magnificent feeling, discussing live, what we were doing to everyone that was watching, and answering the great questions that were asked. I didn't even know half of the answers, which is why I was so glad we had professional researchers to help us out. One of my greatest experiences was to work
alongside Dr. Bob Ballard, who is the founder of JASON. He is great to work with, and has a nice personality. Many of the things we studied were Hawai'i's native and non-native plants and animals. We were able to actually handle the native plants, and re-introduce them to the wild. Like in Bermuda, much of Hawai's vegetation is endangered, or on the verge of becoming endangered.
Our entire trip wasn't just spent studying and working. We also had time for fun. We
were able to do some snorkeling and swimming at the beaches. I remember also walking up a trail to the birthplace of Hula dancing, and being taught by a native Hawaiian, to Hula. It was nothing I'd ever experienced before, and having to chant before entering the sacred area, was incredible, but a little scary! We were able to do many different things that I might never be able to do again. It is hard to explain the feeling of seeing whales breech, hold an Albatross, working with great
researchers, and sharing all of our experiments and work with the world. If I got the chance to go again to Hawai'I, I definitely would do so, and I encourage anyone who is 14 or 15, to apply to become a Jason Argonaut, because it is a life-time experience, and you will learn so much more during those couple of weeks, than a few months of school! It's such a thrill that you cannot get in schoolbooks, or lessons in a classroom.
I do not regret anything about the trip, and anyone who has been a part of the Jason Project will tell you how great it is.  About Christa
Christa was born on August 10, 1986, of a Bermudian mother and a German father, and at age 2 she and her family moved to
Germany, where they lived for five and a half years. She is therefore bilingual in English and German. Soon after returning to Bermuda Christa was chosen to be a member of the Learnalots, Bermuda's ongoing television series to assist local students learn more about their island. Christa lives with her mother and younger sister in St David's, and attends Clearwater Middle School, where she is an A student. Her teachers describe her
as diligent, conscientious, perceptive, and a joy to know. Christa had a fantastic time during her trip to Hawai'i, where she participated in the second week of broadcasts for the JASON Project.
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