Just Keep Sailing

After having ‘been in’ Benin, being ‘gone’ to Ghana and getting ‘to go’ to Togo, we are now making the voyage to South Africa! The journey through the Atlantic has been exciting! The first few days of the sail were beautiful! I forgot how much I enjoyed sailing! We then spent a few days holding onto the constantly-moving environment and strapping ourselves into bed at night as the seas became quite rough! The seas have calmed again allowing for some beautiful days on the bow of the ship – watching for whales, dolphins, seals, sharks and yes….even penguins!
Contrary to what many would expect, being confined to a 500 foot ship surrounded only be water on all sides….is actually quite fun! Thanks to some very creative and fun crew members, there have been a lot of great activities!

1. A massive game of ‘gotcha’ proved to be nerve-wracking as we all watched our backs in the dining room and hallways, avoiding the crew member who had your name. I sacrificed my life (in the game of gotcha) to this dolphin…just when I turned to admire the dolphin….Squirt. GOTCHA!
2.The IMAX theatre really wouldn’t do Titanic justice as much as being ON a ship, hearing waves crash and feeling the cold breeze as Jack slips away into the cold abyss of an ocean while Rose passionately blows her whistle to alert the attention of the lifeboat that would come to her rescue. Never let go. Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” has never sounded so beautiful.

3. Hob Nob Olympics. Hob Nobs are cookies that are very effective for seasickness. Teams of 4 competed intensely at different events to win the Hob Nob box trophy. Here is our team…the Peptos. Another possible remedy for seasickness although I haven’t tested out this theory yet.
4.My list of teaching vocabulary has been extended…or maybe just ‘modified’.
a. “Hands to yourself” has become “two feet on deck!”
b. “Sit down in your chair” has become “try to hold your book down as you work
on the floor since your desks and chairs have toppled over”
c. “You feel sick? We’ll call your mom” has become “You feel sick? Watch the
horizon.”
d.“Recess!” has become “Whale watching time!”

5.‘Under/Over the Sea’ Day was our most recent spirit day. We had the entire cast of Spongebob join us as well as sailors, sea animals, ships, and seaweed.


6.Camping took on a whole new meaning when we had a girl’s sleepover on deck 8!

Just to name a few! Now we can see the beautiful coastline of South Africa! Land ho!