Halifax and Ship Life

The last few days have been…amazing. Literally-absolutely-couldn’t-say-it-any-better AMAZING. I’m caught in a whirlwind…experiencing everything so fast that I feel like my mind is in one place and my body just hasn’t caught up.

Being in Halifax has been awesome…it’s definitely a place that I would come back to…maybe even to live. It’s clean, beautiful, and the people were really nice. Getting on the ship was awe inspiring. The ship is one thing, but the people I've met on it are quite amazing as well. Ellie (Who was one of the people that I met at The Argyle during the SAS Meet and Greet) and I were staying at the same hotel, so we walked back after the Meet and Greet and made plans to go to the grocery store and board the ship together the next morning. Even going to the grocery store was an experience. Because of Airline weight restrictions I had to leave some stuff behind, and needed to get a few things. So we went to the grocery store with three things on my list: stain remover, mouthwash, and wrinkle release. I found two out of three, and decided to ask for the third, which was wrinkle release. I asked the closest worker I could find for it. He looked at me like I had just had just asked for a unicorn horn, and said, “Wrinkle release? Like for your face?” Wrinkle release for my face, not exactly what I would have thought....but anyway Ellie and I burst out laughing, and thanked him for his help. Needless to say, they didn’t have it.

Getting on the ship was an experience all on its own. There I was carrying two fifty pound duffel bags, a forty pound backpack, a laptop case, a bag of groceries, and a 50 inch long world map…basically my life for four months in a few bags…and man were they heavy trying to carry them all at once. Thankfully the port was not far from the hotel, and we were able to get there rather quickly…but we sure felt it after we were able to put our things down. We had to go through security, which for the whole time was a breeze (Even getting to Halifax, going through the airports was a breeze, no lines, no hassles…it was apparently meant to be.) and then we were finally able to get on the ship. The ship is gorgeous…for what it is at least. Who knew a floating campus could look so nice? The downside was learning that being in the economy cabins meant that I had a really small room, and TWO other roommates…not something I was expecting. Thankfully the roommate situation isn’t bad. Jonathan, and Aaron are both my age, Jon is from New Hampshire (another New Englander!) and Aaron is from California (Which is the home state of over a hundred students on this voyage).

The night that we got on the ship Ariel, Ellie, Heidi, Shelley, Megan, Michael, Damien, Tesha, and I went out and had a great time on the town. We walked around the city, and had a great time. Everyone but Heidi and I went back to the ship (Michael and Shelley didn’t have work study so they were no allowed on the ship yet) so we went to The Westin to hang out with Shelley’s friends Eloise and Stephanie for a bit before we went back to the ship for the night.

Classes have just started (Today was the third day of classes. We are on an A and B day schedule, having different classes each day, for me it’s two on A day, and two on B day) and unfortunately I have already missed a few. Having never been on a cruise or ship on this scale, I was not anticipating getting sea sick…I won’t make that mistake again twice. The first day of classes (August 29^th) was a rough day for me…our room is in the very front of the ship, and I woke up sick as a dog. I threw up before going to breakfast, tried to eat, and was unsuccessful…I could barely keep anything down. I made my way to my work study (I work in the library), and had to run to the bathroom and empty my stomach…it was awful. I was dismissed for the day and made my way back to my cabin…I threw up ten times that day…not fun at all, and I just wasn’t in the condition to go to class. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one (Even faculty who had been on several voyages with no problem were getting sick on this one, and many other people missed their first classes.) and my professors understood. I ended up going to the medical clinic later on when I still wasn’t feeling better, and they wanted to give me an “injectable” AKA a shot…I said no thanks and I ended up getting a patch that goes behind your ear…and so far I’ve been fine…so far.

I’ve honestly been having a blast…I’ve met people who I already don’t know how I have lived without in my life, and thankfully two of them live within forty five minutes from me, and a third lives a few hours away. I’m so happy that I decided to do Semester at Sea rather than go to Australia…good call on my part. Spain is four days away, and when I’m there I’ll be able to post pictures, and then I will update again with my adventures in Cadiz. Until then, I’ll be on a boat, and you’ll be reading this…but I’m sure we’ll be thinking of each other. I miss all of you!