Shiplife Till South Africa

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Shiplife 2

Sunday
TODAY! September 26th I am no longer a polliwog of the ocean. I am officially a shellback. I crossed the equator. Not just the equator but the prime meridian… Even better…. AT THE SAME TIME! Yeah, we hit 0,0. It was so cool. The captain then straddled the prime meridian so we could be in both hemispheres at once. I was pretty stoked. To make it even better, the one class I had for the day, my teacher canceled so we could partake in this special event. The rest of the day, I spent finishing up my paper and sleeping. A head cold came on.

Monday
I slept most of the day because of my head cold. I went to my 3 classes, but spend the days sneezing. Everyone was laughing and was like WHAT ARE YOU ALLERGIC TO IN THE OCEAN? Haha beats me. Apparently a lot. But I at least finished my paper and got a few hours of studying in for my first test on the ship.

Tuesday!
Today was the day we celebrated the crossing of the equator. Neptune’s day. They woke us up with drums, symbols and more drums going through the halls. I was glad I was up five minutes before this started because I had to use the bathroom. So after they woke us up I went up for breakfast. MMM French toast, but I didn’t eat it. I wanted cereal and they had my favorite Frosted Flakes! It was amazing. After that, we were told to go to the top deck and we just waited. Before we knew it the staff and everyone was coming out. They were painted and dressed up. Dean David is the funniest. He was King Poseidon (mom, he reminds me of Larry. You can only imagine) Well they made us do this ritual. Get fish eggs dumped on your head, jump in the pool then KISS a fish. Then on top of that we had to kiss the rings of Poseidon. It was so much fun. They also had it so you could shave your head. A lot of girls did it. I couldn’t. I like my hair too much, but I am impressed with the people that did. Well the designated shavers were taking way too long for people so my friend got his clippers and we went to my room to shave his head. Before I knew it we had about 10 people in my room and I was shaving Mohawks and helping people bic their heads. It was hilarious. I also helped like 15 other people touch theirs up or fix some parts. It was hilarious. All this ended about 2. Still not feeling good I took a nap till about 4. I then studied for another hour and went to dinner. They had a barbeque tonight! Hamburgers and RIBS! They weren’t great, but nothing you make for 600 people ever is. But I was so glad to have a hamburger. It’s awesome, barbequing in the middle of the ocean, off the coast of Africa… NO BIG DEAL! Then for dessert was ice cream. Literally the day couldn’t get any better, unless they canceled our test. However they didn’t. After dinner I studied for another hour or so and took the test. It was pretty easy, but of course there were some I wasn’t too sure of. After the test I shaved to more kid’s heads because they wanted their cuts fixed and shaved off. Then I typed up a one page paper and finished my blogs.

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Comments

[Mom]

Shiplife
Oh Ashleigh, you are so cute. I can only imagine what you are doing and how you live each day. How wonderful for you and the others to be able to bring a smile to a childs face, or give them the food they need and you take for granted. You are remarkable and this trip has to be the same. I can only imagine what this next port is going to be like. Cage diving with sharks? Are you sure? Please check the equipment and if it doesn't look right, feel right, then it isn't. I will anxiously be awaiting to hear from you after that and the bunjee jump. Get some rest, ship dr. should help with some cold medicine. Soup is always good. We love you. Pray for you and your safe voyage and compassion when you are visiting the places on your trip. I know it is a shock to you. hugs and kisses, mom and dad