First Days Aboard the Explorer

1/19/09

Today is my first day aboard the MV Explorer! Everything is SO awesome. My boarding time was 8:20. However, when I got there, the line was around the corner. They said there was a problem with the baggage screener. It took about 2 hours to get on board and through the registration process. I signed up for one more field excursion in India. When I got to my room, my roommate was already there. Her name is Heather Dunn, and she is from Escondido, CA. Escondido is in North County San Diego. I went out to lunch with her, her two younger brothers, and her parents at Hard Rock Café in downtown Nassau. Her parents own a pool construction company. She is very tall and loves sports, especially volleyball, which she plays at the club level at USD. There is now another huge Chargers fan in my life… looks like its going to have to become my #2 team.

I updated my blog at an internet café in Nassau. On ship time was 2:30, I got back around 2. We then had a lifeboat drill. After that, we were allowed to socialize until departure at 5. As we started to pull off, I felt a rush of emotions. It is such a crazy feeling to know you are about to embark on the most amazing journey of your life. “I am going to circumnavigate the globe!” kept running through my head. Imagine that. Watching the water separate us was the catalyst I needed to make this dream trip real. As the inches of water between the boat and the dock became feet, and then yards, and then tens of yards I realized there’s no turning back now. We all gathered on the back of decks 5, 6, and 7 to watch the departure. Nearly all 720 of us were on the back of the decks, watching parents wave from the dock. It was a good time to socialize and meet new friends. As Nassau edged toward the horizon, the sun was setting, and we were all sitting on the back decks. Two of my new friends, Jordan and Jack, brought guitars and serenaded us as we sailed away….

1/20/09

Today was the first sea day aboard the MV Explorer. We are getting closer to the middle of the Atlantic, leaving the shore farther and farther away. We had orientation all day. At 9am we met in the Union for a full day of all the orientations. The rocking of the ship made it terribly hard to stay awake. The teachers were introduced, and there were presentations on safety, Global Studies, the library, the field program, and internet. I set up my internet and now have email! It is free for us to use, so send me emails!

My email is cecummins@semesteratsea.net

It was a pretty uneventful day in terms of classes, although there was a lot of information to grasp. However, the most exciting moment of the day was watching the INAGURATION! It took the entire bandwidth of the ships internet to broadcast it. Most people gathered in the Union to watch, there was a very charged atmosphere. I had a great time. It will be interesting to return to the United States after Obama’s honeymoon period. We shall have to see what changes!

After the last meeting, there was a small celebration with cake and champagne. After that, Catchphrase was the name of the game. Heather and I played a very lively game with about 10 other students. I love that game! We lost an hour crossing time zones, and will lose an hour each night until we reach Spain.

1/21/09

Classes commenced today. Global Studies is required for all students, and is every day from 9:20 to 10:35. Macroeconomics, Religion and Politics and Islam, and Introduction to Psychology are the three other classes. Sea days are either A or B, alternating every day at sea. That means we have class from now until we get to Spain. After a few weeks, I will probably not even know what day of the week it is, just that it is either A or B day. Global Studies and Macroeconomics were the classes I had today, from 9:20 until noon. The rest of the day is free time! I took care of some housekeeping (buying books, doing email, setting up printing), and then spent the rest of the day laying in the sun and socializing. I just finished the activities faire, and the Dark Knight will be showing at 9. I am having the greatest time of my life already. I can hardly believe its really happening! I had high expectations, but my experience has already exceeded them and we haven’t even reached Spain. I cant wait to visit Max in Sevilla! Pictures will come when I get to Spain, the internet is too slow and costly to upload photos now. I will be in Spain next Wednesday.