It’s Finally Starting to Hit Me (A Long Post)

I'm currently out in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, sailing away from
the Bahamas for Brazil. The water is pretty calm, though there is constant
swaying, which is making me a little dizzy. I still can't really believe
I'm starting out on a voyage around the world, but I have to say it's
finally starting to hit me.

My first thought about the ship, MV Explorer: Before I saw the ship in
person, I thought the ship was going to be a normal medium sized cruise
ship. However, when I arrived at port to check-in, the ship looked
massive. I was impressed by the size and overall appearance of the ship. I
,then, immediately stood in a long line to check-in. Checking in was
tiring for me because I had to lug about 120 pounds of luggage by myself
for about 20 minutes, but after constant grunting and sweating, my bags
were finally checked in and I was ready to board the MV Explorer.

The interior of the ship was truly bigger than I expected. There are about
eight large floors, all of which are still mazes to me. Moreover, the ship
is extremely nice; it felt like a real cruise ship rather than a college
feel, which I more or less what I expected. However, what really impressed
me were the services that were offered on board the ship. There is a free
maid service daily where the crew comes in the cabins to make the beds and
clean the rooms, including replacing towels and toilet paper. But what
really shocked me were the massage services they offered on the ship at
exorbitant prices. For example, they had a full body massage service for
80 minutes called the "Seven Seas Massage" which costs like $100. I'm
tempted to try this, but not now, maybe at the end of the semester when I
want to congratulate myself for successfully completing this experience of
a lifetime.

Now onto my cabin, I was satisfied with my cabin. I thought I was assigned
to a cabin with no windows, but long and behold, when I opened my cabin
door with my electronic card key, there was a port hole. I was excited for
that because, now, I can actually KNOW what time of day it is at all times
at sea. What the positives makes up for are brought down by the negatives.
The first negative is that my "super economy" room is right above the
engine, which means it can get a little noisy in the room, and the smell
of the engine lingers in the hallway outside my cabin. However, the noise
is constant and the smell does not linger in the cabin, which means I am
able to fall asleep nice and sound to the swaying of the ship. In regards
to the porthole, it provides a great view of the ocean, during the day and
especially during storms. For example, it was a little stormy when we left
Nassau, so during the night, I was able to see a dozens of lighting
flashes that illuminated the whole dark sky, a truly spectacular sight.

The most important part of the voyage is the students. Most of the
students were nice and down-to-earth people, and I have been hanging out
with a few of them. I can really see myself becoming really great friends
with several them. My roommate, Jamie, is from Oregon, and I'm glad to
have him my roommate because he seems like genuine and extremely
open-minded individual. In contrast with these nice and down-to-earth
people, there were a few people on the ship who felt a little fake and
superficial to me; it was made clear by a couple of them that they're
going to treat this cruise as a "booze cruise," which I believe it
completely ridiculous. Their parents did not pay $25,000 for them to
hook-up and get trashed in port. However, luckily, most of the students
are here to take full advantage of this voyage.

I'm currently at the computer lab on the sixth floor of the MV explorer.
As a look back at my day, I can say there will be many more of these days
where I will meet great people and where I will be annoyed at something.
However, at the end, I do believe it will have all been worth it. Until
next time:

Alan Shih at Sea