The Ocean

The boat is incredible. There is a room or cabin for everything, a FULL spa complete with massages, sauna/steam rooms and a salon for hair care and mani/pedi’s. The food is great but will be exhausting soon – consisting only of pasta, rice, vegetables, salad bar and some sort of fish or chicken. Waving to Halifax as we pulled away was incredible emotionally but the freedom and independence were completely invigorating.

A day later, we are surrounded by the ocean in every direction. There is a thick marine layer off in the distance, and a peer suggested earlier that it was land.. though as we are cruising through the Atlantic, it is most certainly not. I spotted dolphins today in the middle of the big blue, which was a delightful and extremely unexpected treat!

The day started with a meeting after about 9 hours asleep and still not getting enough. We were told today to start using military time. We were taught lingo such as starboard, portside, aft and forward – and a point was made to call our vessel a ship rather than a boat. The rocking is incessant, everyone is still struggling to gain their sea legs (including me) and frequently fall over on the stairs or into walls of hallways. Many passengers have gotten very ill. They make an anti-nausea patch that has been helping me out, but the drowsy side effects are not ideal! Either way, the rocking is nice when trying to fall asleep and sooths like a rocking chair.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu made a guest appearance in a lecture today! I thanked him later for speaking, and he told me that if it weren’t for his complexion, I’d be able to see him blushing! In addition to his glowing presence, there are over 20 kids under the age of 10 on board, which is really neat too.

I made a new friend named Kelly. We get along really well and I’m excited to have met someone I’m finally comfortable around (other than Corey, my OSU friend). I introduced myself to each of my teachers who are incredibly interesting and well educated people; I feel blessed to have them as my instructors.

This day was full of meetings, in which most students fell asleep. We sang “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean” as a big group of 600+ and had to stand up on every “B.” They’re good at keeping us engaged like that around here.

The resources are phenomenal, I planned the details of my trip to Spain today (thanks, Jon!) from advice, books and maps. Functioning without the internet is incredibly refreshing. I’ve gained a few friends for the Spain leg of the trip, which is exciting that people want to jump on board with me for something I want to do. It’s easy to feel lonely when you’re surrounded by strangers, but I suppose it takes time to grow from these things. Spending 24/7 with everyone will hopefully change this.

The involvement fair is tonight. I plan on joining the Sunset Club, which sits on the top deck in the evenings to watch sunsets, the Photography Club for obvious reasons, a Conversational Spanish Club, and would really like to start a Scrabble Club. I’ve already got some takers!!

Until next time…