“You are a human being not a human doing” these are the words spoken by a new friend who was sitting in my room as I was complaining about how much reading had already built up after only 5 days of classes and how I would have to stay in my room for the next two days and have to constantly read. He made me realize that I need to take a step back and just live this whole experience and not worry so much about my classes. Of course I will still get all my work done, but I will not let it get to me and ruin my experience.
Tonight we crossed the equator and had a big celebration. Everyone went out to the back deck to proclaim our joy of crossing into the southern hemisphere. Many of us have never been this far south and are very exciting for the near future. We cheered as the camera man raced through the huge crowd of us to capture the exhilarating moment. Tomorrow is Neptune Day which is a celebration of crossing the equator. I will give more details after.
Today after my Oceanography class I went to the pool deck and laid out reading about Zen as the wind from the speeding ship whipped through my hair. I gazed out into the wide expanse of ocean surrounding me and thought how amazing this opportunity has been so far. It is difficult to put into words how I am feeling.
On the second day at sea in one of the meetings we had a snowball fight. Everyone had to write 3 emotions down on a piece of paper of what they were feeling at the moment and then throw them to the center of the room. My three words were elated, anxious, and hopeful. I am elated about meeting new people and seeing the world. Anxious about what I am going to see in all the different countries and hopeful of the future.
Neptune Day: I was rudely awakened at 7:30 by the sound of drums and loud voices. A group of crew members were marching down each corridor to wake everyone up and start the celebration of crossing the equator. Everyone stumbled up to the dinning halls and ate a quick breakfast and then went out to the pool deck. This is where all the action happened. All the professors were dressed up in bed sheets and ridiculous head dresses while all the students surrounded them and watched as participants got their heads shaved. 80 students went through with this and a few professors also joined in the fun. While all these people were getting their hair cut off, the rest of us made a long line and pranced around the pool as “fish guts” were poured over our heads. The substance was just orange liquid that smelled like fish... most likely just fish oil. Then we jumped in the tiny pool and kissed a fish. This whole ceremony was done by 10 and we all wondered why they woke us up so early. The rest of the day I sat outside with a bunch of friends and had a nice leisurely day.
The next night a bunch of us slept outside and woke up with the sun as we pulled into the port of Salvador. Before we were allowed to get off the ship we had to sit through a diplomatic briefing where we were told what to look out for and informed us of the latest news in the Salvador area. Once that was done we had to claim our passports and off we went into town.
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