Day Two

Day two on our way to Cadiz, Spain, and consequently the first day of class.

Warfare in the Modern Era is going to kick my academic butt. The professor is a genuinely intelligent person (he explained that he reads 2-3 books a week to keep up in his field), and I can tell he will definitely challenge his students (i.e. ME).

The class is very discussion-based, and I feel intimidated considering that I had nothing but football and basketball coaches “teach” me history throughout high school (and I was not self-motivated enough at the time to learn it myself), so I feel like I have a pretty shoddy foundation on which to build.

But an uncanny amount of the time when things are hard, they also end up being very good for my being. So onward I shall go.

Global Studies was a little underwhelming today. But I’m sure it will pick up as the semester rolls on.

The over arching theme that was chosen for our 100th voyage is “Globalization and the Post-American/Flat World”. A fascinating topic indeed. The Global Studies course is very routed in examining the effects of globalization on societies around the world, and why it would actually matter that we talki to Depak from Bangalore when we call the 1-800-help-line. But more on that later.

I’m still meeting lots of new faces. It seems impossible to think we’re ever going to get past the “Where are you from/what are you studying phase?” but that’s basically the drill when your living with 520 new friends.

And a few fun factoids about the demographics of our ship…We have at least one student from every state in the U.S. and represent over 10 different countries. The biggest concentrations of students are from University of San Diego (lots of San Diego people in general) and Colorado University at Boulder. There’s one other student from Cal Poly Slo floating around here somewhere, but I have yet to meet him. And we are roughly 200 boys to 320 girls, a ratio quite different than at CP Slo.

My roommate and I ended the evening watching the always culturally astute film 10 Things I Hate About You (takes me back to junior high like nothing else can) on the miniscule TV in our room, wearing slipper socks (it’s FREEZING on this ship) and munching on trail mix. We find ourselves constantly exhausted A.) because we’re constantly meeting people B.) because we’re constantly being rocked to sleep by the ship and perhaps most significantly C.) because we are sailing east, we are losing hours every night (and will continue to lose hours for the next three nights until we gain a day)

And now for a few more anecdotes on the beloved rocking. Yesterday the drawers of our bedside table were opening and closing by themselves (Maybe that can help you to understand exactly what I mean by “rocking”). The way that our cabin is facing and arranged means that laying in bed you are rocked from head to foot, not side to side. This often makes me laugh because I can actually watch my roommate as she’s tugged slightly down her bed and pushed slightly up her bed as she sleeps (this is not exclusive to my roommate, but is rather a universal phenomena). I’ve found it helpful when in class or the dining room to choose a seat that rocks from side to side, and not backwards and forwards (while it may make me more sleepy, it keeps the queasiness to a minimum).

Alright, then. I’m putting a stop to this wordy brain of mine for now. Blessings to you all on solid ground.

Love. Anna

p.s. I'm a day behind, and trying to catch up. Look for another post soon.