Life Aboard the MV Explorer!

Hi!! So I'm still in catch up mode for my blog so I apologize and I will try to stay on schedule in the future. Here's a recap to the best of my memory of the past five days on the MV Explorer!

 Monday, June 17^th: The day we left for the ship! I managed to make it to the lobby of the hotel with my now FIVE bags all in one trip! We missed the first shuttle so while we waited for the second one, we made friends with some SAS people and ordered drinks in the lobby. My wine was very good! We then took a shuttle to the port in Southampton where we BOARDED THE MV EXPLORER!!! My excitement at that point was absolutely unreal. My cabin was much nicer than what I was expecting and I had no problems unpacking; we even had an extra drawer of space! We had a lifeboat emergency drill at 16:00 (everything is in military time) and then we left shore at 17:00 (5 pm).  We then ate our first dinner on the ship and had a sea floor type meeting at night. My floor is called the 'Red Sea'.

Tuesday, June 18^th: Orientation Day. From 09:00-12:00 and 14:00-16:00 we had orientation meetings in the Union. They told us important info on procedures and academics and staying out of trouble and what not, but it was a very tiring day. The main news I remember learning about was the status on our trip to Istanbul. As many of you know, the citizens of Istanbul have been protesting their government for the extreme way the police treated their citizens while they were engaging in non-violent protests. Unfortunately we will not be going to Istanbul as planned due to all the riots currently going on. Semester at Sea deemed it to be too dangerous to bring five hundred something American students there, which I completely understand, but am still a bit disappointed about since I was looking forward to this city a great deal. Instead, after Antalya Turkey, we will be going to the Greek island of Crete for a couple of days! And then we will travel back to Turkey to the city of Kusadasi. I had originally had a field lab for Law and Society in Istanbul, but it has been rescheduled to take place in Athens. Also, the field program I was looking forward to most (Cappadocia hot air balloon) was based out of Istanbul, but I believe they are still trying to make it work and will just have us fly from Kusadasi to Cappadocia instead. I am HOPING we will still be able to go because I am SO excited for this trip! Main points to take away from orientation: We are on a SHIP, not a boat, we live in a CABIN, not a room, and they are called DECKS, not floors. So then after orientation we ate dinner, which always consists of pasta, salad, some meat, and potatoes. I would be fine eating just the salad, however they only offer two salad dressings and they are very unusual! To be honest, I am already kind of tired of the food because it's the same thing everyday.  We then attempted to get our email set up and then went to another sea meeting.

Wednesday, June 19^th: Happy 21^st Birthday to my friend Dom from UD!!! Today was the first day of classes. I have marine bio from 08:00-09:15, Architecture of the Mediterranean from 10:45-12:00, and then Law and Society from 13:55-15:10. Marine Bio was very interesting and I really enjoy my professor. Architecture is in the Union, where the rockiness of the boat is UNREAL. Halfway through class I wasn't feeling great so I left for my cabin, took a 15-minute nap, and then came back for the end of class. Law and Society seemed like it would be very interesting. I received a lot of reading homework for all three classes, but that's expected when you are taking 9 credits worth of classes in a matter of 20 days. I believe I took three naps this day as the seasickness was starting to kick in. Meals are kind of difficult because the two dining halls are only open during certain hours. Breakfast is from 07:00-08:30, lunch is from 11:30-13:30, and dinner is from 17:30-19:30. Being that I have an 8 am class, if I want breakfast I must get it before my class, which is a little difficult. The nice thing is that my classroom is literally 30 seconds away from the dining hall. I think my favorite thing out of what we've been served so far is the fish. I'm trying to stay away from the pasta and potatoes since I'll be feasting in the ports on the exotic cuisine, but it is a little difficult when that is all there really is to eat. The campus store opened today and I bought a blanket (the ship has been really cold at night), a postcard of the MV Explorer to hang in my room, a long sleeved shirt which has all the countries and their flags that we will be going to on it, a pink SAS sweatshirt, a SAS blue t shirt, and a little SAS bear. Everything was basically sold out by the end of the day so I'm glad I got this stuff when I did. At night, Shannon, Kelly, Kelsey and I just hung out in our cabin attempting to do homework. The sea sickness was so extreme at that point that I couldn't stand on the floor without running for the bathroom or back to sitting on my bed. I then showered (very difficult without a door on a rocking ship) and then went to bed. I've been lucky in the aspect that once I lay down to go to sleep, I sleep through the night without waking.

Thursday, June 20^th: This morning I only had time for coffee before Marine Bio. After class I went back to the dining hall to work on this blog and get some more coffee. However, being that it is not eating hours, they took away the coffee mugs! I then asked the coffee bar if I could have just a cup (they charge for their coffee) and they denied me so then I bought a tumbler from the campus store (overpriced of course) and used it to get my coffee fix. This tumbler will come in handy though because it's 16 ounces compared to the itty bitty size coffee mugs they give you at meal times. I know I will use it every day I'm on the ship for coffee, and will also have it as a souvenir after my time at Semester at Sea. I'm currently in the dining hall facing the ocean as I type this rocking up and down. It's so crazy to me that there is no land around us anywhere; all I can see is ocean. It truly is beautiful.  I always feel so at peace when looking out at the water, it makes me really grateful for this opportunity. I spent the rest of the day in my classes, napping, and having a movie night with the girls.

Friday, June 21^st: Another normal day at sea, except that for the first time since we've been here THE SUN CAME OUT! We've been in sweatpants and sweatshirts (although some girls take time to get dressed up and wear dresses….HA)_ since Monday since it's been so cloudy and chilly! After Marine Bio and Architecture, we actually brought our laptops outside and worked in the sun; it was so nice!!! I noticed everyone gather to the starboard side of the ship so I went over to see what the commotion was. At first I didn't see anything, but then I spotted it! There was a whale moving through the water! I captured a picture of him blowing water through his blowhole! This was super exciting for me because it was the first animal I've seen in the ocean so far. It just confirmed for me how awesome of an opportunity Semester at Sea is, and how it is unlike any other study abroad program out there...it's way better! I then went to my Law and Society class where we were honored to have the US Ambassador speak to us. It was such an incredible opportunity to have someone so unbelievably important talk to us about the 9/11 attack and international affairs. We learned all about how the government responded to the 9/11 attacks and how they went to their alternate location with no windows everyday at 6am all the way until Christmas, where they decided to move the work day back to 6:30 am. I was in shock that someone so important took the time to board the MV Explorer from London to Morocco to share her expertise and intelligence with us and I am extremely appreciative of this opportunity! The rest of the day I have planned for dinner at 1800, Staying Healthy and Safe in Country meeting 1900-2000, Cultural Pre-Port meeting 2000-2100, and then drinks on the 7^th deck until 2300. Unfortunately even though tomorrow is Saturday, I still have classes and my first Marine Bio quiz at 0800 and an essay due in my Law and Society course. So I'm off to take care off those now, but I'll update tomorrow before I arrive in Morocco on Sunday morning! Miss you all! Feel free to email me at leah.francis.su13@semesteratsea.org !!! Oh and here's some pictures from my cabin and the ship!