first week down, 100 days to go, and Hawaii tomorrow! :)

       (sorry it took so long to post this, I had complications with the internet connection- so here is the overview of this past week...which may have been the worst, most miserable few days of my life, yet at the same time best, most rewarding and inspiring/eye opening week of my life. i love it and really enjoying this oppertunity. I'm so blessed. thank you mom and dad!)  

       What a week it has been! I have been here for eight days so far, but... it has felt like eight weeks without seeing land. This is probably due to the fact that I am restricted to the coordinates of this boat (...ship) which I am living on with a thousand other people. And for the first few days...there isn't much to do.  While most of the 650 students mingle and make friends, I was one of the "lucky" ones who became good friends with the toilet. For those of you who asked me before the trip if I get sea sick, I now have your answer =/ 3 days, tons of drugs, lots of sleep, and one injection in the butt later, and I am feeling [almost] as good as new. This ship is not nearly as large as the cruise ship I went on two summers ago.  Many students, not just myself, underestimated the size of this ship and how vulnerable it would be in such a large ocean.  I am doing fine now, even as the seas got rougher. It is so interesting to me how something can affect your life 24/7. Literally every second of the day I feel the movement of the ocean.  And what is funny is there is no possible way of hiding or avoiding the constant movement.  While I was miserably sick the first few days, I just wanted to curl up and hide in a still corner of the ship. But this calm place only existed in my dreams. But now, if I am really focused on something, I can go for a few minutes without realizing the movements of the ship and forgetting I am on top of the ocean...that is, until a huge wave comes and knocks me back into reality.  At times I still become dizzy, but I now look at this with humor instead of annoyance. (although the rocking can get pretty annoying.)  Picture this: you and thirty other students are compacted into a small little classroom.  You are listening to your professor and taking notes, when all of a sudden you are thrown from your desk. Next thing you know, your desk is sideways, you are on top of the guy next to you. You notice your 80 year old professor is hanging onto his podium for dear life.  I think one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen is watching ten people take notes while sitting in their desks, all lined up in a row, when all of a sudden they were thrown to their right. It was like human dominoes. But the poor girl at the end was launched out of her seat and into the isle. These seas are rough. Especially because you never know when they will "attack"!  Probably one of the biggest challenges I've ever had to face; something which is normally just party of a girls daily routine: shaving. I'm trying to think of an equivalent to shaving in the rough seas in a small ship...Imagine standing blindfolded on one leg in the middle of a bounce house with children jumping all around you. Ok maybe that example has no relevance, but I bet it feels just the same. At least I have walls to catch myself on.  That does help. Another difficult task: walking.  It is as if every single person on the ship is slightly intoxicated and can't walk straight. But the best part is, no one hits each other because we all sway the same way at the same time. One of these days I want to film the hall way so I can show everyone how funny it is.

         My living arrangements: My room is small, which I knew going into this. But I was shocked how little room I had for clothes. I only have three tiny drawers. (Probably the equivalent to ONE drawer at CLU). Somehow I managed to fit them all in every crack available. Besides the walls being magnetic, I can't decorate.  Everything I put on a flat surface ends up on the floor when the next wave hits. When I woke up this morning, it looked as if a tornado had come in our room and destroyed the entire place. My roommate... :) Her name is Sally. She is from Indiana and she goes to Purdue. She is awesome. We get along really well and I really like her a lot.  We have a good group of friends on the ship.  

         The food..... :( I was tired of the food since day 2.  And I am pretty sure I have lost around five pounds in the last week for lack of food and vomiting. (sorry, too much information). As awful as the food is here, I am learning on this trip that there is more to life than the luxuries I have, including a full plate of delicious food.  I am fortunate enough to be on this trip, I can't complain about anything.  I may be hungry every second of the day, but I don't complain after what I learned in my Global Studies class. There are many countries in which half of their population have less than $5 per day.  Take Tanzania for example, 97% of their population lives off of less than $2 a day!!!!! Speaking of Global Studies, this is the only class I have every single day in a row.  Luckily, my professor is really entertaining. And by entertaining I mean psycho.  But I mean that in a good way.  He is a great teacher and because of his loud, outgoing personality, I am excited to attend this class, even as often as it is.  My other classes: World Poetry, Contemporary Moral Issues, and Digital Storytelling are every other day.  These classes I like as well and the professors are nice.  In Digital Storytelling, not only will I be recording my own footage to make short story films of myself and the trip, but I found out today that I will be making productions for the SeaTV channel that the students watch here. I've never done this kind of work before, but have always wanted to so I am very excited. I will keep you updated on what type of segment we choose to produce this semester.

         The other night we had an activities fair so I signed up for tons of groups. I'm excited for them to start because then I will be really busy between ports.  One which I am most excited about is called "Extended Family" where you and paired up with a Life Long Learner on the voyage. These life long learners are adults (usually retired people) who are on the ship with us. There are about thirty of them on the ship who will each be given a group of students to hang out with on the ship or have meals with.   I also signed up for babysitting.  There are twenty children on the ship this semester, which is the largest on a voyage I believe.  These kids are elementary aged who are the children of the faculty.  I've already played with a few who I see around the ship.  It makes me happy. And the others I signed up for were intramural volleyball, yoga, Sunday service and bible study, and dance. haha. I figured those will give me something to do. Keep me busy :)

        My first/next stop: Hilo, Hawaii (January 25th, 26th) where I will be attending a Lu'au and go snorkeling.  Then Honolulu (Jan. 27th and 28th) where I will be spending my 21st birthday :) Oh that reminds me, I WILL have my cell phone for those four days, and after that, I will be unreachable until May.

      Thanks for reading this! I will hopefully be posting shorter blogs more often. 

Love, Cara