Getting With the Program

We've been on the ship for several days now, and are immersed in shipboard life.  The faculty had special seminars on how to teach when seasickness is a factor  - not looking forward to that!

Last night, 600 parents came aboard for a reception, to view their childrens' cabins, tour the ship and ask questions of the staff.  I guess I was expecting to meet "rich" folk, but many of the parents I spoke with shared their struggles to give their son or daughter this great opportunity, and hoped their child would have a positive experience even though they could not afford many of the expensive shore excursions.

One mom toured the dorm sized room, with bunk beds, one dresser, one desk and three closets, and declared, "this will NEVER do!"  Her daughter's stuff would exceed all the storage area, so what would her roommate do?   I guess they'll work it all out tomorrow…

Now it's Wednesday, and 733 students are filing aboard, looking a bit bewildered, but definitely excited and ready to go!  From time to time, we can hear a male "whoop!" as he strides up the gangplank.

Once all were aboard, we had the first of our monthly lifeboat drills – we had to don long pants, a long sleeved shirt, closed shoes, a hat and a big orange life preserver (with reflective patches and flashing light!) and line up at our muster stations, where roll was called.  

We got to look at the lifeboats (they look very sturdy, not at all Titanic-like!) but didn't actually have to board.  Our group got commended for listening and being quiet (I did very well in civil defense drills back in the '60s too – who remembers those?  Get under your desk and wait for the Big One!)

At 1700, (that's 5pm for you landlubbers) we cast off, and with three very loud blasts of the ship's horn, we are underway!

Postcard from Nassau, Bahamas

Greetings from the Bahamas! Jim and I got up VERY early Friday morning to get to the airport, and three flights later (Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Nassau), here we are…

Is it winter where you are? Not here! Blue skies, balmy breezes and ideal temperatures… and where else does a three piece reggae band play for you while you stand on the Customs line? 

Our hotel room has an ocean view on two sides, and life is good, although they do drive on the wrong side of the road here (left is right and right is wrong, is what our friendly taxi driver told us).

We walked down Bay St. to the Straw Market, where Bahamian women offer the tourists trinkets made in China "on sale just for today!" We struck out to look for some authentic Bahamian cuisine for dinner, and found "de Fish Fry" that had just what we were after – rice and beans with Jamaican Jerk, spicy fish and a local beer called Kalik. The local speciality here is Conch Fritters.

On Saturday we boarded the MV Explorer that will be our home for the next 108 days. It is a super modern German ship built in 2002 for a Greek cruise line that went out of business after 9/11/01 due to the lack of American tourists, and UVA picked up for a song. We got a tour of the bridge (Our captain is from Croatia and the second in command is from Romania) and the ship is definitely state of the art.

When we received our cabin key, we couldn't believe our luck – we are on the top deck, in a deluxe king suite with a sitting room, a full bath with marble floors, and our own deck with lounge chairs…Wow! We thought the professors would have to travel down in steerage – this really can't be beat! All the stuff we brought stored away neatly in the long wall of closets and cabinets, and there is a maid dedicated just to our floor who sneaks in and folds the end of the toilet tissue back into a little point whenever we leave the room. This will take some getting used to…

The teachers and staff have several days of orientation and meetings before the students arrive next week. Here's what we know about the students: there are 733 undergrads from just about every state and several foreign countries, 70% female, and 12 Lifelong Learners coming along for the ride. There are 30 professors, most accompanied by a spouse, partner or family member, some returning for a second or third voyage, and also from all over the US and the world.

Well, off for my morning stroll…. More to come! Karen