First Sail

Saturday, August 28, 2010

It is our third day on ship but our first full day sailing. Leah and I just ate breakfast with the dean’s son, who is sailing on his fourth SAS voyage. He slept on the deck last night and said Leah and I should definitely try it before we leave the ship. So, we are going to have to find some sleeping bags somewhere.
Today is full of orientation meetings.

Friday, August 27, 2010

These last few days have been surreal — a whirlwind of fantasy.
My cabin is small, but clean and will be an absolutely perfect home until December. I will introduce it through photographs or video as soon as my Internet cooperates.
Our ship deported today at 5 p.m. I officially see ocean outside of my window. No land is in sight. We are headed to Cadiz, Spain.

Everyone on board is walking like they are drunk — we are still searching for our sea legs. I hope we find them soon. In the meantime, we amuse ourselves by bumping into things and falling down stairs. We just came from an orientation where we learned statistics about how many students/faculty/staff are on board. About 604 students are currently on ship. We were also introduced to each of the professors on board — it seems like we have a very interesting and intelligent teachers.

All day, the main announcements have included information about motion sickness medication. I haven’t taken any and I am currently doing alright. My stomach feels fine — but, I can see how this motion could give me a serious headache. It is definitely not smooth sailing and the caption said we might experience some bounce from the distant hurricane. We were told that the MV Explorer is an extremely fast cruise ship.

Internet here is extremely frustrating. I know that most people on board are trying to get away from communication, but this is a journalist’s nightmare. I tried to upload a video of my cabin earlier and realized that it would take my ENTIRE allowance for Internet to post it. I’m determined to find a way to post video — it just might not be posted as promptly as I would like.

There is so much to write about! I will keep you updated as best as I can. Right now, I’m struggling with Internet time.