top 15 things to do today

15. free academic presentations. movie: clash of cultures @ 2. intro to islam @4 in the union

14. are you board? check out boardgames at the student life desk.

13. get 'lost' in the union-- season 5 debut @ 5 in the union.

12. learn the safety dance with conduct officer joe

11. listen to christopher ( the little 4 year old )sing his top 40 hit, 3 blind mice @ open mic night, tonight @ 9 in the union

10. ask the field office every 5 minutes if your trip is still on.

9. email your parents about how much fun you are having in morocco.................................. too soon?

8. cuddle up with a good book. like port-to-port or global studies.

7. journal. blog. reflect.

6. "drop it like it's hot" chocolate with norris at the snack bar in the piano lounge.

5. ask a cardinals fan, "hey, who won that game?"

4. lower your self-esteem: go work out with les (mccabe) at today's fitness classes!

3. be the first student to buy a semester at sea hoodie-- oh, wait. everyone has those already.

2. hug your favorite living & learning coordinator!

1. watch groundhog day on cabin tv-- a movie about living the same day twice..



this was found posted in our hallway and it was so clever. mckendree and i especially liked the lowering our self esteem with les. he's in great shape!

we are now just hanging out in our room, reading and watching the news! yes, news! i've missed it! it's cnn from england and its great to just hear whats going on. there is a HUGE snow storm (8 inches..) in london and all they keep talking about is how much of a mess it is. they are going on and on about how everything is closed, taxis cannot work well and public transport is falling apart. heathrow is closed and everyone is trying to get around in other ways. its funny. but its so great to listen to the english accents, to hear things from the perspective of others. there is a much more worldly view and i have a feeling that i would have never heard of any of the stories on news in the states. i also checked out a book from the library, short stories by leo tolstoy-- because my class readings are clearly not interesting enough -- so i may read that. they are much easier to read than war & peace and anna karenina. i may have to revisit those again and give them another try.

there is definitely a sense of cabin fever going on right now, as everyone was only prepped for one day at sea. yesterday was spent journaling, catching up on sleep and reuniting with friends. so now, with all the blogs & journals composed and stories traded, everyone feels like there is nothing to do. the ship is also veryyy rocky. we are traveling fast - 21 knots - and the seas are rough. we keep getting announcements to put away breakables, to secure our computers and to make sure nothing goes flying off the night stand. with our portholes closed, if feels like night time, though its only 1300. i am so fortunate to have a porthole! i just hope that it is only closed temporarily and that we can re-open it soon. it's been a long day thus far and yet i have only been awake for a little more than 2 hours. we are making our way towards morocco and will be there tonight. at best, the ship does not expect to be cleared for disembarkation until the morning. at least they are scrambling to put together activities for us to do. everyone is being flexible, thankfully, and i think we are all just happy to have a little more nap time.

looking forward to open mic night-- i'll bring my video camera this time. i also may attend the intro to islam which should be very interesting. that, of course, if i'm not napping then.