WEEK 2

Notes and Highlights from Week 2:

-Josey has a problem flooding our bathroom at least twice a week, she might just sink the ship one of these times (see picture for reference)

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-I suck at ping pong, but I should get a little credit because ping pong is hard on a moving ship

-To all the adults, phones with cords are now cool again

-Fun fact: our water has chlorine in it so 4/5 blonde’s have green hair at the moment

-Sometimes watching more than one movie in a row is a crucial part of your mental health

-Random food cravings come regularly

-Fun fact: Elvin, our cabin steward loves us and cleans our room every other day AND does our laundry… what does this ship not have?!

-Sticky notes are one of the best inventions when you have no other means of communication

-People get a little delusional when left on a ship for 10 days at a time

-Seeing a rainbow over the ocean is cooler than on land 

-Fun fact: the ship we are on is called the German Love Boat because it is the German version of the American TV show the Love Boat… they film on it when SAS doesn’t use it

-Your screen time goes up because of all the games you play during Global Studies, not because of social media

-Its so cool looking at the sky at night in the middle of the ocean

-Every Minnesotan is sitting on the deck in the sun in the 60 degree weather while everyone else is still inside in scarves (some even in boots)

Week 2, whaaaaaaaattttt a week. Well technically, its been like 10 days, but were going to consider this week 2. So much to tell you even though we haven’t done anything. Here it is, in no particular order!

This has been and will be our longest stretch on the ship, 10 days (Hallelujah were done). I mean we did a week then a day in Hawaii then 10 days, so its been longer. Its been a delusional 10 days of class, pool, food, and movies. Nobody can tell you what day it is (accept if its an A or B day), what the date is, how long we’ve been here, or where the heck we are. 

As we travel west, every few days we gain an hour, which sounds fantastic in theory. But when it happens every other day for like two weeks, your body is like what the heck are you doing to me!! Everyone is sort of in this perpetual state of delusion because of the constant change to our circadian rhythm. Well, actually it could be because we haven’t seen land for a while or the sun is getting to us. Must be something, man I don’t know.

Because of this, every morning WITHOUT fail we wake up before 7:15, even when we have the chance to sleep in. The only good part about this is that we get breakfast every morning, which is quite the spread. Happy to report they have cereal and for anyone who knows me this is an incredible feat (HECK YA to frosted flakes everyday). 

P.S. the food in general is pretty good too, enough to keep me happy at least!!! 

The talk on the town (ship) lately has been about the 5 Love Languages talk that one of my professors randomly did at night. She anticipated 20 students, but our whole Union was packed (I think it was half because people knew how awesome she was and half because we had nothing else to do). Everyone loved it and is now using the 5 LL to a whole new level, it’s absolutely hilarious. A few of Josey and I’s friends made us go to pub night claiming as friends we weren’t providing enough quality time (who would have thought that boys would actually use school as an argument point?).

The whole getting used to school again deal has been a rough go. Having class on Saturdays and Sundays feels like it should be illegal, but I guess the argument is that we don’t even know what day of the week it is, so I digress. And to be fair, we are in class like 3 hours a day and spend the rest of the day at the pool, watching movies, or finding random entertainment, so I can only complain a little. 

Speaking of movies (a favorite topic), Josey and I watched THREE the other day. We had class for an hour in the morning, but the ship was moving so much everyone felt sick and holed up in their rooms for the day. Obviously we did the same and it was a highlight for sure (don’t worry won’t happen often). 

Also speaking of Josey, guess what she did. Somehow, she managed to flood our bathroom to the point that it flowed OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM (again). We had to call the emergency line to get them to fix it because she was worried the ship would sink. If I come back with grey hairs and wrinkles, you all know why (I say with love).

With so much time on our hands, a ton of clubs and groups have been forming. One that Josey, Kyle, and I are all doing is Christians at Sea. It’s actually run by the other kid from Bethel, Brad, who came up with a cheesey, but accurate slogan: We are on a vessel, and we are vessels. Its been so incredible finding a Bethel-like community while thousands of miles from home!!! 

I mentioned in my Hawaii post that our dean of students, Marnie, wanted us to have our ‘ocean moment’ where we appreciate and soak in the ocean being our home for a few months. I experienced one while snorkeling in Hawaii, but had a second this week. Sitting out on the back deck watching the waves and enjoying the ocean breeze, oh my, it’s like a postcard. I was  listening to the song ‘Oceans’ by Hillsong which puts a whole new meaning and feeling to that song. This was my second ocean moment. You haven’t experienced listening to that song unless you’ve listened to it on the water… all I can say is God is truly incredible. 

The last thing I wanted to mention, was something that we were talking about in one of my classes, Product Design. The basis of this class is using the process of Design Thinking on products, services, and your life. Its loosely based on the most popular class taught at Stanford, Designing Your Life, which is a crucial part of the class I’m taking too. Both in and out of class we’ve talked about statement, “if it’s not actionable, it’s not a problem. It’s a situation, circumstance, or fact of life.” Made me think a lot, maybe it’ll make you think too.

Okay, that is all I’ve got for now. Or rather all I feel like I should tell you, but I could write another two full pages. If you feel like emailing me, please do!!! My email is katelyn.larson.sp19@semesteratsea.org 

Stay tuned for Japan, 

Katelyn!!!!!