Keeping Busy

I’m nearing the end of the long stretch of ocean-bound travel. You may wonder what I’ve been up to for the past week or so. The short answer is that I’ve been keeping busy. I’ve had classes, loads of reading for classes, and work that fill up most of the day. Yesterday I turned in two papers for classes and tomorrow I have two tests. But I succeed in having fun amongst everything else!

Every evening an array of activities, from fitness classes to lectures to movies, is offered. Some things relate to classes or are lead by faculty but a lot are headed up by students. Yesterday, for example, I went to a Zumba class, which is basically excitedly waving your arms around and stepping and jumping to upbeat music. I learned some of the movies from the dance in Slumdog Millionaire! Then, after studying for an hour or so, my Sea had a social where we watched Top Gun in the Union. The best part by far was the free popcorn and cookies. The cookies were SO GOOD especially because they never serve them in the dining halls.

Aside from planned activities, I really enjoy getting to know people on the ship. I have met people from all parts of the US, as well as Canada, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Norway, China, Japan, and Lebanon. Today at lunch my table talked about visiting Israel (most of them were Jewish) with the person from Lebanon. He said that he would love to visit, but strongly doubted that Israel would let him in, even though he was an American citizen, because his passport was issued in Beruit. It’s wonderful and unexpected to me that I learn so much about other cultures while on the ship; it’s an eye-opening voyage even without visiting any of the countries yet!