Log 5

We started classes today. The days are split into two, sort of like a block schedule. You have A days and B days. I have three classes each day, with a break during the lunch serving time. Today my classes are Global Studies, Current World Problems, and Environmental Ethics. Luckily all of these classes are on the same deck.

The first few days on the ship were challenging. It was crowded everywhere because everyone was moving about the decks to get to their orientation sessions and meals. And it takes some time to acquire one’s sea legs. It sounds funny, but it is a thing. If you stand still and just watch a few people walk down a corridor, you can see that they all walk in a zigzag moving from left to right in response to the sway of the ship. It took most of us about two days to figure out how to time out the sways and keep balanced.

I haven’t experienced sea sickness yet, but I have gotten very dizzy from the movement of the ship and everyone moving around all at once. Now that classes have started everyone is spread out around the ship, making it a lot more comfortable and easy to maneuver.

There is no flip-flop wearing on the ship. The ship’s staff captain, a lovely man from the Ukraine showed us a very gruesome slideshow of mutilated toes and feet due to people getting their feet caught in the doors. I am going to save my flip-flops for the ports. And by the observation of a decrease in flip-flop wearers, a lot of other people share my ideals.

Sometime soon there will be a club fair, however the time and date hasn’t been provided to us. I have offered to teach introductory Tae Kwon Do to anyone interested and willing to learn. There is not a lot of space on board but there is a basketball court on the deck nine that should be ample space to do what I anticipate. An important part of Tae Kwon Do is balance, and what better way to learn to balance than on a swaying ship.

There are other clubs and organizations as well. I expect to see a lot of language speaking clubs, in which case I will mostly likely attend the Spanish ones. There will probably be multiple sports and fitness clubs.

I have also put my name in for student government in the position of organizing the Sea Olympics. We have not decided on our sea’s council members yet but I have high hopes.