My Suite Life on Deck!

    Ever thought about what it would be like to live in an enclosed area, with the same 700 people, for 4 months, in the middle of the ocean? Me either. Coming on this voyage, my worries were about being in country and what I would see around the world that would change my life. What I didn't realize was that there would be just as many challenges in my everyday life while at sea. As of today, I have been at sea for 4 days. Non stop motion and rocking, for 4 days, and I still have 2 days to go before we arrive to Manaus, Brazil. Between classes and work, the rocking starts to become the norm, as everyone fights to stay on their feet. Lucky for us, we have had calm waters thus far. I have heard that the time between Ghana and South Africa, and parts of Asia, is when to expect chairs flying and people falling. I am happy to say that I am no longer getting sea sickness, nor am I taking any medication for the motion!
    FOOD. I have never been in the situation that I had to eat cafeteria food for an extended period of time. Well, that time has come, and it is hard. No one understands what I would do right now for some of mommy's rice and beans..Our menu on board consists of the same breakfast everyday, and different variations of pasta and potatoes for lunch and dinner. Also the cafeteria is only open limited hours, 3 times a day. Oh, and there are no Hot Cheetos for purchase, and a diet coke is $2.
    How about a day in the life of Maya at sea. Maya W. that is, there is also Maya A. and Maya T. They are both my friends, and we have fun introducing ourselves at the same time. Also, I work with Maya A, so they always mess up our schedules. OK. Our classes are broken down by “A day and B day classes” instead of “MWF, TTH”. For example, today, Saturday, is an A day and tomorrow a B day. Then, we will have Monday through Saturday off in Brazil. Also, between each set of classes is a “reading day”. Now why can't regular school be like this? This morning I woke up at 7am. My roommate came back from the gym and turned on all the lights and started throwing pillows at me. Better than an alarm clock? I'm not sure.. we are on the same morning schedule, so we always wake up at the same time. We got ready and headed to breakfast. For breakfast I had eggs, POTATOES, pancakes, and fruit. I usually have cereal or oatmeal, but was hungry this morning. After breakfast, I headed to my class called Rhetoric of Equality and Social Justice. Doesn't this class just scream “Maya”!!?? I love it. After class I went to the “Field Office” to make sure that I am signed up for all of the trips in all of the countries that I want, and that I need for my classes. After an hour of questions and teeth pulling, I am good to go! I headed back to my room for nap time. My ROOMMATE was already sleeping and ahead of the game. I have too much reading to do, so I headed to the Piano Lounge instead of napping today. I am getting much reading done as I write this blog..can't you tell? After this, I have class again at 1, and then work right after. Oh lunch is somewhere in there. After work, I will have more time to study, and then dinner. After dinner, we usually have meetings or just time to do whatever. I personally am a fan of the 7th deck, observation deck with friends and card games. CARD GAMES. We have no facebook, no youtube, not texting, no tv. We have quality time with people, and we all give 100% of our attention without any distractions. There is a different kind of friendship that is formed on this trip because of the amount of time we spend together, and the experiences we share together.
    For once after the age of 5, I was told that NAPPING is normal and understandable for everyone on the ship. Dr. Bill told us that we don't understand how many calories and how much energy we are using just so that we can stand and walk on this ship. It is a constant balance that we must maintain in order that we don't fall to the floor. He said that it is normal to always be sleepy, and to always be hungry. That, and that there are 7 flights of stairs between the bottom of the ship and the top.
    STUDY TIME is hard on the ship because I have to be in complete silence to get anything done. The only place to do this is in my room, but because I am on a lower deck, there is too much rocking and I just want to sleep, or I start feeling bad. SLEEP time is amazing though. I cannot complain about being rocked to sleep every night to the sound of waves crashing on my wall.
    PROFESSORS are amazing. I love them. I saw my Language and Globalization professor and his family on a hike in Dominica, and I see my other professors all the time at meals, and just walking around with their families. It's pretty neat. Some of the best classes I have ever taken!
    TOILETS are especially fun. So far on the voyage we have had 2 hand towels flushed down the toilet. This in return backed up a whole floor of toilets, and caused the whole half of the ship to smell like sulfur. What a joy that was!
    Intranet on the ship will make anyone want to jump overboard. The only real times it works is early in the morning, or late at night. But, on the rare occasion that it connects, everything is delayed. Maybe it has something to do with our 1 satellite, and that we are in the MIDDLE of the ocean. Today I overheard someone say, “after dinner I am going to party, and by party I mean check my e-mail”. I could not say it any better! I do enjoy getting e-mails, it makes me happy :)
    On Tuesday, I will be headed to RIO for the whole 3 days in Brazil, which I am pretty excited for! PICTUERS PICTUER PICTURES. I know, I am working on it! Hopefully in Brazil :)