Wave after Wave

Reporting live from Semester at Sea. Hello everyone and welcome to my first real blog post. I'm currently writing this as we are less than 170 nautical miles away from port in Hawaii. While waiting for our next meal, I figured this would be a good time to say hi and let everyone know that we survived the first week. The sun sets at 17:55 and dinner is always around 18:30, unless were especially hungry. For all those wondering, the food isn't fabulous but the company sure is. 

Tonight is our first logistical pre-port meeting, marking the first stop on our multi-country world tour, except Hawaii is still in the US but we can pretend. Shout out Jamie- see you soon!

Shout out to Maggie for being roomie goals. Her and her ear plugs keep me moving forward. 

Here are some of the key things that I have learned so far.

In my schedule, A days are for class and B days are for tanning and catching up on reading. 

Life vests are under the bed but they suffocate you.

If in the unusual case of any problems, my sea reports to the B deck. 

The iced tea in Berlin restaurant is horrible. Sorry Zoe and Caster and Juj for making you drink it. 

The professors love to chat. Two nights ago we watched the sunset alongside a bunch of professors.One of them was even offering to take pictures of people. 

Running on the treadmill is really nauseating. Would not recommend. For all the haters out there, yes I ran on the treadmill. 
 
​Yesterday was a special day because I got to go on a tour of the bridge. That's where the captains steer the ship. I asked if I could hang out for longer, but I don't think they appreciated the distraction/unnecessary entertainment. This ship has four engines, but we are currently only using two. We use approximately 47 tons of fuel each day and each ton costs upwards of $700. Its the little things. 

Our final segment is for those wondering what my day-to-day life is like, so heres a good rundown. Wake up in the morning. Steal lots of fruit from the restaurant. On A days four classes in a row then to the pool deck and wander till dinner time. Post dinner, there are always some activities like a seminar or movie night. Haven't participated in either but eventually I will. On B days, wake up, lounge, read, lounge, read, etc. Every night at 22:00 there are brownies on Lido. Get there early because by 21:50 there is an aggressive line. And only get the brownies with the white frosting on top. 

For those of you that have made it this far, email me (alana.entin.sp18@semesteratsea.org) with your favorite knock knock joke, so I know what I'm working with in terms of an audience. 

xx, 
Alana