It’s been about week on the ship and only two more days until Cape Town. I had a really busy week with three exams, a paper, and other little assignments. Saturday was celebration for Neptune Day and I was woken with pounding on my door and people screaming and chanting through the hallways at 7:30 am. The deep sleeper I am, I ignored the sounds and took this opportunity to finally sleep in. Along with half the other students on the ship, I missed the beginning of Neptune Day because I didn’t get out of bed until around 11:30. All I missed was more shaving of heads (pic of girl getting head shaved) and the captain dressed up as King Neptune. They also filled the pool with fish guts and other nasty things and made everyone who didn’t shave their heads jump in. I missed the opportunity to kiss a fish and I am definitely not too disappointed. Fortunately, I did not miss the best part of Neptune Day, the amazing barbeque out by the pool. This was the only meal I had this day, but I filled up quickly with a burger, hot dog, chicken, ribs, corn, potato salad, cakes, and even ice cream. You all know what kind of eater I am =)! It was also beautiful eating dinner while watching the sunset.
My days are still consisted with the usual: classes, working out, teaching aerobics, working in the library, and studying. At nights, just like a regular cruise, there is an abundant amount of activity to keep me entertained. One night there was a comedy show in the Union and it was hilarious. A few students performed and I was very impressed; there are some funny kids on this ship. Also one night there was the Faculty Staff Talent Show and that was also impressive. A few of my professors were singing, dancing, and playing instruments. I finally got to go on a bridge tour and it was cool to see the view from the front of the ship. They offer them a few times a week, but they are always full. Captain Jeremy is really funny and he let me take a picture with his captain’s hat. One night a group of us played my favorite game of all time….Taboo! It was a lot of fun, but a few of us (including me) got a little too competitive. We played outside under the stars for about three hours one night. If you really know me, you know how addicted I am to that game, but tonight I think I will give Cranium or Scattergories a chance. I’ve also been watching Lost with Angela and Shelly and we are almost done with the first season. Justin gave me the first season of Hereos and everyone has been raving about how good that show is so Im eager to jump into that soon.
Yesterday in Global Studies, the subject of the lecture was Apartheid in South Africa. So as an exercise the entire ship practiced Apartheid for the entire day. Instead of segregation by skin color, we were segregated by our heads; those who shaved their heads were the elite. When they made the announcement over the intercom that we were doing this I was taking my daily nap. At the time, I just brushed it off like it wasn’t going to be too serious, but when I woke up and left my cabin, it was definitely a serious thing. Those with hair were not allowed to use the public restrooms, we were not allowed to eat in one of the dining halls, and we had to give up our workout machine if a shaved head wanted to use it. There were signs all over the ship saying, “Only Shaved Heads.” What really annoyed me was at 10pm when I went up to the 7th Deck (which we were actually not allowed to enter) snack bar and they wouldn’t serve me. Even the crew took this exercise seriously. All I wanted was a cup of Ramen noodles!! Fortunately, I found one of my friends who did shave his head to go up there and buy it for me. Although I was annoyed for a little bit about this situation, I will admit that it was a good technique to teach us more about Apartheid. Not only did we learn about it in class, but we actually were able to have some emotions involved. Good thing it was only for a day though.
Today in Global Studies, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the lecturer and he will be tomorrow as well. Before this morning, my experiences with him were just saying hello as we passed him by or just seeing him as he ate his meals in the dining halls. His lecture was about South Africa Apartheid, his experiences, and just about his life in general. He’s full of energy and is a funny little man. I didn’t wake up in time to get a seat in the Union where he was speaking so I had to watch in one of the satellite rooms, but tomorrow I plan to wake up extra early, actually grab some breakfast, and then get a seat in the Union to watch this man speak in live.
Overall, my week has gone by extremely fast and I am not complaining about that. A week on the ship is tiring and I cannot wait to get into Cape Town. It’ll be nice to get off the ship and to take a break from school, plus I’m excited to see my mom. I’ve been looking forward to this part of the trip. By the way, everyone on the ship is very surprised at how hard the classes are! All my classes are kicking me in the butt. It’s so hard to get into the mode of class when I could be laying out in the sun just a few steps away. Anyways, Cape Town, my mom, and the packages some of you sent me in two days!! Yayyy!
My days are still consisted with the usual: classes, working out, teaching aerobics, working in the library, and studying. At nights, just like a regular cruise, there is an abundant amount of activity to keep me entertained. One night there was a comedy show in the Union and it was hilarious. A few students performed and I was very impressed; there are some funny kids on this ship. Also one night there was the Faculty Staff Talent Show and that was also impressive. A few of my professors were singing, dancing, and playing instruments. I finally got to go on a bridge tour and it was cool to see the view from the front of the ship. They offer them a few times a week, but they are always full. Captain Jeremy is really funny and he let me take a picture with his captain’s hat. One night a group of us played my favorite game of all time….Taboo! It was a lot of fun, but a few of us (including me) got a little too competitive. We played outside under the stars for about three hours one night. If you really know me, you know how addicted I am to that game, but tonight I think I will give Cranium or Scattergories a chance. I’ve also been watching Lost with Angela and Shelly and we are almost done with the first season. Justin gave me the first season of Hereos and everyone has been raving about how good that show is so Im eager to jump into that soon.
Yesterday in Global Studies, the subject of the lecture was Apartheid in South Africa. So as an exercise the entire ship practiced Apartheid for the entire day. Instead of segregation by skin color, we were segregated by our heads; those who shaved their heads were the elite. When they made the announcement over the intercom that we were doing this I was taking my daily nap. At the time, I just brushed it off like it wasn’t going to be too serious, but when I woke up and left my cabin, it was definitely a serious thing. Those with hair were not allowed to use the public restrooms, we were not allowed to eat in one of the dining halls, and we had to give up our workout machine if a shaved head wanted to use it. There were signs all over the ship saying, “Only Shaved Heads.” What really annoyed me was at 10pm when I went up to the 7th Deck (which we were actually not allowed to enter) snack bar and they wouldn’t serve me. Even the crew took this exercise seriously. All I wanted was a cup of Ramen noodles!! Fortunately, I found one of my friends who did shave his head to go up there and buy it for me. Although I was annoyed for a little bit about this situation, I will admit that it was a good technique to teach us more about Apartheid. Not only did we learn about it in class, but we actually were able to have some emotions involved. Good thing it was only for a day though.
Today in Global Studies, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the lecturer and he will be tomorrow as well. Before this morning, my experiences with him were just saying hello as we passed him by or just seeing him as he ate his meals in the dining halls. His lecture was about South Africa Apartheid, his experiences, and just about his life in general. He’s full of energy and is a funny little man. I didn’t wake up in time to get a seat in the Union where he was speaking so I had to watch in one of the satellite rooms, but tomorrow I plan to wake up extra early, actually grab some breakfast, and then get a seat in the Union to watch this man speak in live.
Overall, my week has gone by extremely fast and I am not complaining about that. A week on the ship is tiring and I cannot wait to get into Cape Town. It’ll be nice to get off the ship and to take a break from school, plus I’m excited to see my mom. I’ve been looking forward to this part of the trip. By the way, everyone on the ship is very surprised at how hard the classes are! All my classes are kicking me in the butt. It’s so hard to get into the mode of class when I could be laying out in the sun just a few steps away. Anyways, Cape Town, my mom, and the packages some of you sent me in two days!! Yayyy!
1 comment:
Hi Ate, I know you are all excited to see your Mom. Enjoy. Love, Grandma Dina
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