Long Sail to India

Finally, we have all come to the end of midterms! This eleven-day stretch at sea is coming to a close as well, only one more day until we arrive in Chennai, India. Sorry for the lack of updating the blog- it’s been really busy on the ship for the past week and a half. I’ll try to recap it all as succinctly as possible.After taking three midterms and turning in all my art projects for drawing class, life has gotten back to normal on the ship. It’s back to reading for classes, wandering the halls in search of entertainment, watching countless movies and documentaries on our Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), and playing the ever popular card games. It’s a very comforting feeling to have all the norms replaced in our lives again after spending many hours locked in our rooms or with study groups.
There were a few fun events that happened during the trek to India: the Sea Olympics and the Gods and Goddesses dance as well as the Caribbean Sea Social.
Sea Olympics:Remember living in resident dorms at college? Well, here on the ship we have “dorm”-like residence halls too. Except we’re separated by deck and side and have assigned “sea” names. My sea is the Caribbean Sea. It is led by our beloved LLC (Living – Learner Coordinator, otherwise known as an RA). There are 8 “seas” on the ship as well as a faculty/staff/family sea, called the Silver Stars. We all competed against each other in hopes of becoming the best sea on the ship and early departure from the ship when we arrive in Miami- that was 1st prize.Wednesday, October 8th, the whole shipboard community gathered in the Union – the main theatre on the ship- to witness the Opening Ceremonies of the Sea Olympiad! Each sea presented their flag, cheer, and colors proudly! We are the Pirates of Caribbean (clever, huh?) Yo ho, Yo ho, the Caribbean Sea for me! It was quite comical to see everyone dressed up in their colors (ours was orange, disgusting!) and the mascots were hilarious. For some reason we had a Pig Pirate. Don’t ask.The actual games didn’t start until Thursday, the next morning, bright and early at 9:30am. Games included: volleyball, the Olympic relay, pictionary, a spelling bee, tug-of-war, a workout relay, paper boat float, hula hoop contest, dodgeball, hot dog eating (3 people puked!), twister, Jeopardy, pizza making, human knot, flip cup, limbo, pie eating, sudoku, and synchronized swimming. Needless to say, the day was jam packed with events to participate in and watch. At the closing ceremonies that evening, the Caribbean Sea learned that we got 3rd place overall. Our prize was unlimited cheese cubes and peanut butter in the dining halls! Which is funny because those are pretty much a staple for every meal on the ship.
The Sea Olympics ended with closing ceremonies followed by the Gods and Goddesses dance. Because I forgot to pick up fabric in South Africa in which to make a costume, I just picked a dress from the closet which made me resemble more of a flapper from the 1920s rather than a Greek Goddess. Oh well. It was a lot of fun. We danced the night away on the 7th deck outside. The only down-side was that the outside temperature and humidity has really gone way up since South Africa, making the dance floor just one big sweaty mess.
The other event to note was our Caribbean Sea Social. Every sea gets the chance to throw a party up in the Faculty/Staff lounge, which is really awesome because they have like a full bar, a DJ, and a dance floor with strobe and colored lights. It’s at the forward part of the ship on the highest deck so it reminds one of a disco club on a real cruise liner. The invitees to this party are the Caribbean Sea residents and the adult population on the boat. It’s a great opportunity to mingle with the Life Long Learners (old farts who decide they want to spend their retirement on a cruise around the world with 750 college students), professors, staff, and crew. It was really fun to meet new people and not to mention the dancing that ensued. Who knew Dorris, the 81 year old token grandma (with a walker) on the ship could out-dance us all?
Only one more day of classes until India. It’s so exciting. This day is also a little bittersweet because we’re pretty much half-way through our voyage and I definitely don’t want it to end. I’m having so much fun and meeting so many great people- definitely friends I will have for the rest of my life.
Hope this entry appeased our readers.
Xoxo,
Amber