Last night, I had to change my clock forward one hour- I’m losing time already! In a matter of ten days crossing the Atlantic, we lose 6 hours. Lauren and I were up until about 2:00 am talking and getting ready for class the next day, and set our clocks forward and went to sleep. My iHome alarm decided to have a mind of its own and turn on at 5 am…definitely not what it was set for. That was bizarre, but thankfully we woke up at 8:30 and started getting ready. We both have class at 9:20, so it works out well!
Right after we woke up, our steward Crispen must have knocked lightly enough that I didn’t hear. He opened the door and quickly apologized and left when he saw me half-asleep on my bed. I opened the blinds to help me wake up, and finally dragged myself out of bed. After my transition to such a new environment and new people and new everything, plus the lack of sleep, plus the time change, I was exhausted. Most people had been able to fit a nap in here or there, but unfortunately I hadn’t. I somehow managed to get myself up and ready, and finally went to class.
My first class is Psychology of Human Learning and Memory. It is from 9:20-11:35 in a small classroom. The first thing I noticed when I got into the classroom is how much I noticed the ship was rocking just from watching the blinds. In our cabins, the blinds are attached to the window and don’t move much. The blinds in the classroom, though, hang heavily and stay in the same place while the ship rocks. I think the ship will be rocking more and more until we’re in the middle of the Atlantic, then probably slowly get smoother again. At least, that’s what the trend has been so far! Anyway, my psychology professor seems really nice and interested in what he does. We did a few exercises in today’s class to demonstrate how the memory works, and he talked about what made him interested. We watched part of a documentary about a famous musician who got herpes, and part of his brain was destroyed from it somehow. The musician lost his ability to learn new things and remember. He could still play some music he used to know, and his wife was the only person he recognized. Day in and day out, every time his wife walked into the room, he would embrace her as if he hadn’t seen her in years. He could only remember things from within the past 30 seconds. Several times, he tried to do things to fix his own memory. He often took notes in this attempt, and a minute later would look down and not understand where the notes came from and who wrote them in his writing. We also talked about Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. My professor said he got so interested in memory because it makes us who we are; if we can’t learn from things and remember how things affected us, how do we know who we are? I never really thought of it this way. I’m excited for my psychology class! I haven’t done my reading for tomorrow yet, but I sure hope I enjoy it!
That class got out a little early, so I hurried over to the bookstore to check it out. It opened for the first time at 800 hours, and apparently there was a huge line then; it still hadn’t changed. People were crowding in, and the line to both get in and check out were ridiculous. All of the extra-small and small sizes were gone, and since the sizes run big the mediums were huge. I luckily found one small sweatshirt that I liked, and got it even though it’s pretty baggy. But hey, I like to be comfy! :) I checked out right as my next class was starting, so I scurried on over to my Geohazards and Natural Disasters class. It was located in a classroom inside the Union, but thank goodness some of the crew was around to ask because I would never have found it. Even with someone pointing to the door I had to go in, I didn’t get it. At first, I didn’t even notice the door. Then I saw it, reached to open it, and changed my mind because I thought it was a closet or storage door. Finally, the crew person I asked had to come over and physically open it for me to get it. I’d like to blame my lack of sleep for that one! I got inside and the professor had just started taking attendance. (If you miss two class periods of the same class in the first eight days before Barcelona, you can get sent home…I’m so glad I don’t have an 8 am class!) My professor is from the UK and has the cutest accent. I actually saw her in front of me during Orientation with her husband and adorable little daughter. I can tell she really enjoys what she studies, and her field trips (FDPs) should be really interesting. Those of you who know me well and know that I’m a worrier might wonder why in the world I am taking a Natural Disasters class. I’m actually excited for it! We will be focusing on earthquakes, fires, volcanoes, and hurricanes. I am signed up for two FDPs for that class. On the first day in Italy, July 2, I will be going to both Pompeii and Herculaneum, which were both destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The remains were preserved very well, so she said it’s very cool to see and learn about! The day after that, July 3, I will be hiking up Mt. Vesuvius. We start at 700 hours and get back at 1300 hours. She said it will be very hot, so we start early to try to avoid as much heat as possible! We will be in the crater at the top and be able to learn about how volcanoes erupt- while we’re on it! For this class, we have to write papers on the FDPs we go on. We also have to make a short documentary with a group on a natural disaster that occurred in one of the places we are visiting. We have to decide soon, but I’m not sure what I’ll do it on yet…maybe Mount Vesuvius, since I’ll be there anyway!
After class, I went back to the bookstore to get some other things I didn’t have time to get earlier. I got a Semester at Sea lanyard to hang my ID on, a coffee mug that I forgot to bring (and you have to have one if you want coffee anytime), some 98.5% Deet bug spray (yes, I know it’s dangerous but I don’t think I want to have to go through this miserable bug bite-infection thing again… I might just use it when I’m hiking!), and an AWESOME water bottle. It’s like a flat pouch with a water bottle top, and when you fill it up it stands up, but when it’s empty it’s just this small flat thing that rolls up really small. When Lauren (roomie) saw it later, she said she has one at home and LOVES it! I’ll probably use this on hikes and adventures too to take up less space. Later at dinner, I made a comment about my awesome new purchase and Kelsey started laughing and said that she saw it in the bookstore and thought to herself “WHO the heck would actually buy that..” and that I popped into the back of her head. Haha, I’m glad she knows me this well after only knowing each other a few days!
After the bookstore, I went to the dining hall and got lunch. I sat with some girls Lauren knew and had the usual- pasta, potatoes, and some kind of small dessert. Toward the end of lunch, another girl joined us who had just worked out and was quite sweaty, and turned out to be super nice. I have no problem with sweat, but I was glad I had finished eating when some was dripping onto the table. After awhile I left because 1) I had class soon, 2) I was done eating, and 3) the other girl was making me feel fat and lazy. So what did I do? Went to my room and ate some flavor-blasted goldfish, of course. This whole eating well until I get to Europe is really not going very well considering I have the appetite of a huge hungry bear, all thanks to my (amazing and healing) steroid pills.
My next class was Global Studies. There are two sections taught, and all students on the ship are required to take the class. This summer, the focus is on the Mediterranean. Today, Professor Butler spoke a little bit and then the Captain Captain Captain of the ship…like the Master-of-Command (I think that’s what he’s called), came in to talk about the ship and answer some questions. Seriously though, they should NOT have let some people ask questions. I too thought we were a ship full of intelligent college students who knew levels of respect and basic knowledge of how to treat superiors, but apparently not. Some questions asked were “How do the toilets work?,” “Can we get healthier food at the snack bar?,” “You’re a pretty big guy- when do you work out? I could help you out!,” and “Can we eat dinner with your family when they are on the ship?” It was clear simply from the Captain’s demeanor that he was very serious and was here to inform us about his prized vessel. I was slightly shocked that people actually asked those things. Of course, there were many good questions too. One person got the microphone to say Happy Father’s Day! That was my far the best thing. He got a huge smile on his face and said thank you, and everyone “awwwwwed”- well, at least all the girls. During the presentation portion of his appearance, he told us all about the ship. Some things were shocking (and awesome!). The MV Explorer is one of the fastest cruise-ship-sized vessels in the world. We can go up to 30 knots with our 4 engines! Someone asked about pirates, and he said they really do exist and have to be taken into consideration, but he isn’t worried because first of all not many ships could actually catch up to us, and if they could, our over-3-meter wake would flip their ship. That’s quite encouraging (right, Mom?). :) The ship is completely self-sustaining, which is also pretty awesome. It is always very, very, very clean, which makes it easy to want to treat it well. After being rocked to sleep in Global Studies and getting to hear from the Captain, I signed up for a Bridge tour for the next day! I’m so excited to see it!
In the afternoon, I brought my laptop out to the top deck to get some fresh air, start some homework, and work on my blog. There was only one table in the shade and by the edge (to look out at the water, of course), so I pulled up a chair and joined one of the crew members. I know she’s foreign and was in her nice white uniform, and her nametag said she was a Doctor. She wasn’t the SAS doctor, because I had already seen him. We were told not to talk to the official ship’s crew or try to strike up conversation, so I just sat there and kept to myself. She was acting kind of peculiar, and eventually got up and left. Apparently I wasn’t even supposed to sit near them either? I really did just want shade! With my fair skin, only 20 or 30 minutes are needed to turn me into a lobster so I have to be careful!
I met some girls for dinner on Deck 5 at 6 (or 1800)—our new meeting time and place. Darwin was there as usual. Dinner was good, and we all got to talk and catch up on classes and such. After dinner, we watched the sunset, then explored the ship a little and found the front deck. We met a few new people who were up who had also discovered the best place ever, so we chatted with them as the sky darkened and soon all we saw was blackness and stars. We went back inside when it finally got chilly, and hung out in the piano lounge until snack time at 10 pm (2200). Then it was time to get some homework done and get to sleep!
As of now, I think I’m going to take a blogging break. The waves are getting a tad ridiculous and I’m feeling a wee bit seasick. I was just in the bathroom and had to hold on so I didn’t fall forward off the toilet! My bridge tour is soon- at the TOP and FRONT of the ship—it’s going to be so rocky! Wish me luck!
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