Driving to the harbour, I still didn’t feel anything. I was excited but beyond that, no scary feelings or anything unordinary. Maybe it’s still not real yet. The Bahamas are basically American life so it wasn’t a drastic change. We waited on line for about an hour to board. I saw the ship a few times in the harbour a few days before and it is small compared to the surrounding cruise ships. However, it’s still pretty big to me. It has a blue sign that says ‘Semester at Sea’ on it. It’s my home now. We went through all these check points and then went to my room on the third deck. 3075 with Jamie Barton. Funny thing – I am walking down the hall, mingling and I saw one of the girls I had dinner with last night. I said “Hey Jamie!” Then kept walking and turned around after a few seconds and saw her opening my door. She wound up being my roommate. So odd that we had dinner together the night before. And she thought, for a split second, that her roommate was this girl named Amanda who ditched her at the bar. But it is only me! She’s from California but goes to school in Hawaii and I am in love with her. We sat down and read the roommate survey and we agreed on everything. She’s adorable. I have a window in my room which I didn’t know I was getting. The beds are low and the drawers limited. But everything is cute. I have my pictures up on my wall and we designated each other’s drawer and closet space. It is not too hard to get used to. You do realize though how much room you really don’t need and how much stuff I really didn’t need to bring. Caitlin is across the hall and one of the girls I met the bar, Laura, is next door and she’s sweet.
Explored the ship and met a bunch of people and forgot everyone’s names. Jamie, Victor who was with us at dinner and I went into the pool and laid on the deck for an hour and chatted. I was telling them about the boroughs of NYC because they are West Coasters. The pool is small but good to cool off in. The pictures of the boat don’t do anything justice. Things are either bigger or smaller than they appear. The food is not bad and the staff cleans up after you for everything. It makes me nervous actually. I want to tell them ‘Seriously, I don’t mind bringing my own plate to the back.’ At first the boat seemed so huge because there are so many lounges and halls and staircases. Then you realized that you keep making circles. Everything is very modern: from the chairs to the stairs. The prints are very cruise ship and everything is small (which is so weird because this trip seems to make everything times 10). Parents were wandering around and I am glad my olds weren’t down there because it would be so hectic and emotional. We had a drill at 1600 for life jackets and it took way longer than it should. I met a girl from Stony Brook and her roommate from CT, outside of Danbury. We ran to the back of the boat as we were being tugged by the little boat (which is mind boggling how that little boat can pull such a large ship.) Then we met up with Victor and his roommate Blake for dinner. Again the food wasn’t bad and I smuggled PB&J and a banana out of the dining hall for our room. Blake, Victor, Jamie and I hung out in the room until we had a ship meeting at 2000. Boring as all hell to be quite honest. Just the usual “you are here to learn and experience” and “safety and cleanliness first!” Side note: a lot of places aboard the ship have hand sanitizer dispensers to try to keep everything clean. You have to use them all the time. Germs apparently spread faster on the ship than anything other university location. Makes sense. Then we had a floor “Yellow Sea” meeting with our RD who is pretty chill. Laura knows him from Washington State. Jamie and I went to the back deck to see if we can catch a glimpse of the stars but the lights were still on. I felt a jump in the pit of my stomach when I looked out onto the black ocean. Jamie felt it too. It was so dark that you couldn’t see the end of the wake or the horizon. I shivered. It is warmer outside than inside. Walking is hilarious, especially with Jamie. You feel a little tipsy and walk a little to the left, then to the right. We take up the whole staircase when we go down it. I really enjoy hanging out with West Coast kids because they are much more chill. Jamie doesn’t gossip and Victor is super chill. As much as I love you all on the East – it gets to be a little intense and there is a lot of pressure.
Monday was full of lectures and seminars about ship safety and the honor code. I brought my book to read and got through a good portion of it. I met some new people and chilled on the deck today while it was raining. It is so beautiful out tonight and I have a final meeting in a few minutes. I’m sorry that I have nothing more profound to say. But it is just normal life right now – mingling, and meeting more people than I can remember.
Tuesday – today – was the first day of classes. I am really excited about my professors. They have the craziest lives and are so enthusiastic. We land in Puerto Rico tomorrow morning and I have a kayaking trip in the afternoon then a Welcome Reception with a University. I have to go eat and then a meeting then there is Salsa dancing tonight. I’m sure you all know I am very excited.
I will try to send out emails when in PR.
Infinite xo’s .. Amanda Panda
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