These five days at sea ended up being a whirlwind but a much needed break from running around a foreign country. The first two days were spent at sea, catching up on school work, writing papers, giving presentations, sunbathing and sleeping. Our third day was an off day and at first no one knew what to do with ourselves. We were all thinking, “What the heck do we do without classes?” Well, SAS took this opportunity to ask us for more money! Day 3 at sea was the Shipboard Auction that featured artwork, clothing, vacations, food, dinner dates, stargazing, packing assistance, powerpoint tips, etc. etc. etc. I was very amazed and impressed by the items students and faculty came up with to donate. There was a silent auction going on for most of the day and the live auction after dinner. Most of the trips were auctioned in the live auction and went for a lot of money. A trip to Pakistan for a week with a private cook, driver etc. went for approximately $2,000. Sounds like a great deal compared to planning the trip on your own but still a big chunk of money after going on this voyage. I was shocked by some of the money people were spending. Up until this point I hadn’t really noticed how many of the students on this trip are really really privileged but tonight really brought out how spoiled some people are.
Day 4 and 5 at sea were class days again, we have been working on a class project for my education class. A lot of work and research and group meetings but still better than writing another 5 page paper. One night we watched the movie Casablanca in the union as a group. I had never seen it before and I thought it was great. I am a little bit sad I won’t have time to visit Rick’s Café when we finally arrive in Casablanca but I will try to make it there one day. Even though I know that Sam won’t be there.
Day 5 was spent bunkering in Gibraltar again. It was kind of a long day and we speculated as to where Gibraltar really is. If anyone knows who it belongs to or any other information please share! The last night after pre-port we gathered in the Golden Palace for Jon’s haircut. He has beautiful brown hair a la Zac Effron but decided it needed to go before our camel trek in Morocco. Erik grabbed the clippers and I grabbed the scissors and we went to town. An hour later Jon had a fantastic mohawk and looked like quite the BA. There was a pile of hair on the ground that looked like a dead cat but he looked great. The crew kept passing us as we worked through the mass of hair on his head and giving us crazy looks. I am very proud of the result and can’t wait to see his parents’ reaction when they see him in Virginia!
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I went on a bridge tour today and was very surprised to see that only two people work there at a time. We learned about all the gadgets on the “dashboard”, the computers, the flags, and all that jazz. We each got to take a picture in the “captain’s” chair, looking with binoculars out at the wide open ocean in front of us. It was really neat and interesting but I don’t think I could ever work there. Too many flashing lights, buttons, phones ringing, and fire alarms going off for me.
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Erik tried to shave my arm hair with the clippers; he might have gotten a patch.
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