LIFE ON THE SHIP

Well I started classes on Sunday, here’s what I’m taking:
- Global Studies: The Rising Power of China
- Communication Across Race and Cultures
- Intro to Sociology
- Psychology of Food and Culture

I have two classes each day. So far the classes seem really interesting and not too demanding. The University of Virginia is sponsoring the voyage and they have enforced that classes be more challenging than they have been in the past. So that will be interesting.

We stopped in Puerto Rico for a day but we weren’t able to get off and walk around because we stopped off the shore to fuel up. I definitely count it as one of the ports though!

A typical day is waking up in complete darkness, because we have no window to the outside world, then going to breakfast, going to classes, meeting up with friends for lunch (it’s soooo hard to find people sometimes so we usually just plan before to meet at a certain time at one of the cafeterias), more classes/working out/hanging out on the deck/reading for the rest of the day before and after dinner. They have something called “Pub Nights” where they serve alcohol on the top deck by the pool and a lot of people go drink and hang out kind of like it’s a bar. They have quite a complicated system to limiting drinks that involves a stamp card. I haven’t used one yet but I should probably check it out soon.

There are a few stores to go to in our spare time as well. One for textbooks, one for clothing and whatnot, and another that has school supplies and other random things that we might run out of. I bought a map today to track our progress and hopefully get people to sign it at the end. I had my laundry done for the first time so that was kind of exciting. On one side of one of the decks there is a sport court that has a net surrounding it (so a basketball wont fly into the ocean) and some outdoor weight machines. There is also a gym inside by the wellness center (where you can get haircuts and manicures). I’ve been having fun meeting the crew as well. One of the guys who works in the dining hall already knows my name! I’ve been hanging out with my friend Sara, my roommate Carla, Carla’s boyfriend Mark, Mark’s roommate Josh, and other people here and there. I’ve also been hanging out with my friend Todd from Chapman and his roommate Greg. It has only been five days on the ship and it feels like I’ve been hanging out with them for weeks!

These are some of the guys in our group (from the Right to Left): Greg, Todd, Josh, Mark, and Spencer


September 5th

We had classes on Sunday and Labor Day but we took a unique holiday today. No classes on Neptune Day…a celebration of crossing the Equator. It’s quite the ceremony and apparently an important maritime tradition that includes shaving heads (guys and girls), being drenched in fish guts and kissing a fish! I'll add pictures later...for some reason they're not loading right now.

Actually the day before is when we crossed the equator and Carla, Sara, and I found that out when we went out to look for the North Star before it disappeared over the horizon. I brought my compass (thanks Justin!) and my flashlight (thanks Georgie!) to look for it. But we couldn’t find it and were told that we had already crossed the equator.

September 6th

TOMORROW WE GET TO BRAZIL!!!! We’re all sooo excited to finally be on land and be at our first port! We’ve had lots of meetings to brief us on safety and culture and whatnot. I think we’re going to have a blast. I don’t have a lot of time to write because I have to get to bed soon…we’re going to wake up for the sunrise and watch us pull into Salvador. I fly to the Amazon (a seven hour flight) on Monday and we get back on Thursday. So I’ll try to post an update about adventures in Brazil when I get back! The letters have been awesome…thank you to everyone!!!!!