the last hour & goldfish!

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The last two days have been great. March 10 was a free day and it was also wedding day. I had cultural show rehearsal in the morning and spent the afternoon reading and beautifying myself for the wedding. We all filed outside at 5 for the ceremony, which was very multicultural. Not only was everyone dressed in outfits from around the world, but we had a non-denominational ceremony, a reading from the Bible, a Buddhist tradition of tying string on everyone’s wrists, and a Moroccan song celebration. We also had a band made up of people from 4 nationalities, a Bollywood dance and a performance by guys from Ghana. We all were served a dinner quite like Thanksgiving…turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy! It was such a delicious change from our everyday food in the cafeteria. While dinner was winding down, everyone was remarking about how “stuffy” the atmosphere was…both in terms of unnecessary seriousness (the couple aren’t exactly serious) and the weather was just muggy and gross. I was sitting at a table with a professor of mine and he dared us all to run and jump in the pool. Long story short, 2 minutes later I was floating in a pool of sea water in my formal dress with 6 or 7 other people. We cooled off and the bride and groom were actually grateful that we did it because it made everyone loosen up and have a good time! After drying off and changing, I headed upstairs for the reception. TSS contacted the bride and groom’s families and they wrote letters to be read during the reception. We had a champagne toast and danced the night away. It was a really beautiful wedding and it’s amazing to me that they wanted to share their day with 200 strangers.

The cultural show last night also went well. I dressed up in my country gear (mostly borrowed from other people on the ship!) and had a great time line dancing. I have a couple of good pictures that I will post once we’re in port.

Tonight is also the last hour we will be gaining for a while. As of tomorrow, we’re only 4 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time…we started off 13 hours ahead. That’s nine 25 hour days we’ve had in the last 2 ½ months. Once we leave Cape Verde, however, we’ll be losing time. We lose 2 hours to Barcelona, another 2 to Istanbul, and then gain 2 back to Lisbon. This is the last hour we gain before the 23 hour days start & I will appreciate every minute of it!

Also, when I was in Cape Town the last day I found a grocery store and stocked up on snacks for the long voyage that laid ahead. You’ll never believe what I found…Goldfish crackers!!!! I bought 3 bags and I’ve already made my way through 2 of them. I have a borderline worrisome craving for goldfish on a regular basis and I’ve never seen them outside the US before! So basically the only reason I’ve survived the last week is because of goldfish crackers.

I just got finished with my last presentation and got back a grade on a case study I handed in a few days ago. Good news on both. Now I just need to crank out this economics paper that’s due in 2 days (I hate economics) and I’ll feel like I can breathe a bit.

It’s been rainy today and I heard thunder for the first time in months. I think this is only the second rainy day we’ve had on the boat, so I can’t really complain (especially after living in Ireland!) We also re-crossed the equator last night so I’m again in the northern hemisphere. That means it’ll just be getting colder as the days progress, which doesn’t exactly excite me. I’m glad to be out of the extreme heat of Thailand and India, but I’ll be sad when I actually have to wear a jacket! I officially have decided I need to live in a place where it doesn’t get cold…winters just aren’t for me. I haven’t seen any significant snow in 2 years and I’m perfectly okay with it!

That’s all of my news from the boat. I’m just busy with school work & trying to figure out what I’m doing April 19 when we disembark in Amsterdam. If anyone out there in internet land wants to give me a job, I’m open to all sorts of suggestions! Hope everyone is having a great week! Xoxo Meg

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Comments

[Will]

Goldfish? ...cravings?
...you monster, that's the last time i take you fishing. Excellent work on the pool jump - did anyone get photos?! Hurry up and get to Barcelona please. Wxxx

[Mom]

Did you ruin your formal?
You know your mom has to ask if you ruined your dress jumping in the pool. And I'm with Will, I hope you have pictures! Did you ask the prof from Morocco to help with getting a summer job???? Have fun in Cape Verde! Love you, Mom xoxo