Well, here we are…back at sea—surrounded by ocean, ocean and more ocean. The seas are rough, but nothing to fear. Though now I can understand why sailors used to believe King Triton, or Neptune was angry when the seas were fierce. We are at his mercy. They realization is that the sea controls us out here; we are only a tiny speck compared to the ocean we sail upon. If the sea is angry enough, I have no doubts that it will do damage.
On the day we left Casablanca, the seas were so rough that our beds and furniture were rolling around the room. Kristen and I had to sit on the floor to stabilize ourselves and steer clear of any flying objects in our stateroom. Being on the 4th floor, in the center of the ship we didn’t even get the worst of the rocking. Apparently there were rooms where drawers were turned over, clothes were flying everywhere, and it was nothing less than the aftermath of a hurricane within the rooms.
Kristen attempted to get up at one point during the rocking and ended up falling onto and over my bed and proceeded to show me her gymnastics skills until she hit the door. She could have been an Olympic gold medalist—back flips, flip-flops, tumble saults, ending with a full twist layout at the door. Of course, she surprised even herself with these skills. She never knew she was so flexible. (No worries she just has a sore neck). But Kristen’s injuries were nothing compared to other students and faculty among the MV Explorer. The next morning I saw slings and crutches galore. Apparently some people decided to test the fates—and the fates didn’t respond very nicely. From the stories I’ve heard people have torn this and twisted that, someone ended up getting cut and bleeding. Oh the war stories of Semester at Sea.
Classes have resumed again and it seems completely normal that I’ve just left Morocco and I’m on my way to Namibia. Yet…something tells me otherwise. I’ll be crossing the equator on what we call Neptune Day (aka a great excuse for no classes) in a day or so and then we’ll be arriving in Walvis Bay, Namibia. In the meantime, I’m preparing for tests, writing papers, and attempting to stay on top of my reading. I better get on the ball now, because once we cross the equator it’s basically summer and I’m 99.9% positive the sunshine and warm air are going to force me outside to grab my bathing suit and soak up the sun.
To all my friends in New York and Connecticut: I’m so sorry it’s still snowing by you...maybe you should have come with me.
No comments:
Post a Comment