in the middle of the atlantic--

 

hi all!

 

this email is coming to you from the atlantic ocean! we are about 300 miles off the coast of the bahamas, which we left at around 5 last night. we still have around 3000 miles left to get to spain, which will be the 28th, i believe.

 

anyways, here is a little update on ship life thus far, seeing as we are just getting the hang of the internet.

 

sunday night was the last night in the bahamas and it was great fun. we had dinner at a local restaurant called the twin brothers upon recommendation from all the locals we'd met. fish fry restaurants are popular, along with rum, so we figured we'd venture out of town a little to see what the less touristy areas had to offer. we took the local #10 bus to a strip of probably 20 restaurants. we had heard all day about conch, the local favorite that is found inside those big shells. i'm not exactly sure what a conch looks like, but i ate some! we ordered the conch salad, which was basically a citrusy salsa with chunks of conch (pronounced "konk"). i didnt like it, the texture was wayyyy too chewy/rubbery for my taste. and then came a "miami vice" drink, which was rum + pina colada & strawberry daquiri mix. i think it would have been better without the alcohol, it was like sherbert. for dinner, the girls and i ordered steamed snapper, which our waitress warned us was still whole. and yessss it was. eyes and tails and bones. it was a little fishy for my taste, but good nonetheless. it also came with a side of plantains which taste like banana chips. after making some interesting friends who talked to us about their rasta lifestyles, we made a quick exit and walked back to town. after a drink at the hotel from a 'uncle phil' (a crazy old guy who had a tab for all the semester at sea kids who would be on the ship with his nephew) we headed out to crazy senor frogs. it had been essentially taken over by SAS, which was nice because we met so many people. it was also so much fun to dance :)

 

yesterday, monday, was a long and crazy day.

i was up early and out of the hotel, dragging my 100 lb luggage through the streets of nassau to the ships dock. it was quite the pilgramage. i was all checked in and on the ship around 9 to find out that i was living with mckendree (who i jsut so happened to stay with in nassau) and that i have a porthole! we are on the lowest level (for students to live on) in the ship, so there are about 70 of us. we have a circle porthole, which apparently distinguishes us from the more expensive square portholes just one floor above us. after getting settled we walked around nassau for one last time getting some souveniers, lunch and one last starbucks before boarding the ship for good. we had a mandatory life boat drill; had to put on sneakers/pants/longsleeves and stand in the dining hall for instructions. i guess it went smoothly, or so they have told us. at 5p we left nassau. it was so crazy- everyone was out on the deck waving off the side to families on the dock. it was the strangest emotion, standing on my home for the next four months and having it be so surreal. we all keep saying that; its so corny, but its true. so many kids i've talked to have been planning this trip for so long, that for it to finally be here is so hard to believe. dinner followed and we ate outside, watching the sun set. it was breathtaking and i can't wait for more. afterwards we had a meeting in the union (which is too small for everyone, so they broadcast it to the classrooms as well), where we met the deans of the voyage and their families. there are quite a few kids on the ship, ranging from 10 months to 16; some of whom are on their 5th voyages as family members. a quick aegean sea meeting followed and we headed off to bed. (the aegean sea is our floor, which will compete against the other seas in the sea olympics later on in the semester). i used a half of my sea-sickness patch and i think its helping a little. there is definitely a motion in the ocean, and it feels really choppy. i am not feeling sick but it is definitely unsettling, especially on the higher decks. i slept well and got up bright and early again to get moving.

 

today has been interesting. i used the shower, which is a challenge when you are rocking back and forth the whole time, hitting the wall, etc. we had a quick breakfast and then into more meetings. we met all the professors, learned about global studies, how to use the internet/library/resources on board, the UVA honor code, health and safety, how to learn in this environment and tonight we'll hear about the field programs. even more important than all that is that we got to watch a live feed of the inaugaration. everyone had to cooperate to make it work: no using the internet so that the whole feed could go to the video stream. it was so amazing to watch president obama, listen to his speech and to know that i can tell my kids/grandkids that i was sailing on my voyage, in the atlantic, when our historic 44th president came into office. everyone was clapping & cheering the whole time, and there were definitely some tears. we are going to have an inaugaration party tonight (with champagne?!) to celebrate, which should be fun. i'm looking forward to it.

 

tomorrow marks our first day of classes! yikes! i have them 8-12 & then i'll be done for the day. the bookstore also opens tomorrow, so i would love to get in there early and grab a sweatshirt before they are all gone, as the rumor is that once they are sold out, thats it. we also begin losing time tonight, as we will for the next 5 days or so, to be on-time for spain. yikesssss.

 

 

i just also wanted to take some space here to let you all know that i am thinking of you, wishing you all could be here to experience this with me, and to let you know how thankful i am for your support.

 

 

 

xo