Log 9

My experience on this ship has been great so far. I’ve met so many new people. Ate new foods. Learned about other cultures. I even managed to read an entire book in 3 days, which for those of you who know me, know that that is a virtual impossibility. But now that the excitement has died down, and everyone is in their own little routines, I find myself missing things that would otherwise be readily available to me at any time. For instance, when I got back to my cabin today, I immediately went to go turn on Netflix, but then realization dawned on me that I don’t have access to Netflix 2,000 nautical miles offshore. It isn’t that the trip has gotten boring, but rather, it has become the “normal”. When we got to the port in Honolulu, the excitement was revitalized, but then a day or two later, we fell back into routine. It is sort of like spring break in high school. When the break is just next week, everyone is excited, and making plans for vacation with their families, or with each other. And obviously, it is great during the break, because, hey, no school, right? But then, when we return to school, everyone is dreading it, because they didn’t want the fun of the break to end. But after a day or two, everyone forgets about the dread, because they are back into the routine. This being the case, when I got back to my cabin, I tried to do what I do every day at Umaine. I get home from classes and watch Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon instant for about an hour or two, and then clean, cook, or do homework. That had become my “normal” back home. And I sort of miss that. Part of me really likes that everyone is actually having conversations. No one has their chin glued to their chest as they are looking down at their phone. I see a lot more people just hanging out on deck, relaxing, with their phone tucked away somewhere in their cabin, because it has become more of a nuisance than a tool. But the other part of me is desperately mourning the loss of my go to form of entertainment. Social media is something completely different. I couldn’t care less if social media was obliterated from the planet. I have not missed it one bit. But my movies and shows, I am having a hard time finding alternative sources of entertainment. Solitaire is good, but you can only play that for so long. Chess if good too, but until I can get a computer version in japan, I can only play on deck 8, but I need someone to play with me. TV has always been my default.