BLOG Saturday, August 29, 2009

 

So here I am at the end of my second day and I love being on this ship!   So much fun to watch the kids, to begin talking to some of them.  We're kept busy with meetings, orientations, speeches from the Captain on safety, from deans on this an that..it's all way too much for me.  I feel like I'm the deer in the headlights – where to go for this or that, which way is forward, which way aft.  Where's that piano bar again? Everything will come clear sooner or later and people are wonderful. 

 

Have I met any interesting people?   When I went to dinner I didn't see any LLL's so I chose to sit down at a small table with one young man, Zach.  He lost his father, who was a producer at CBS in London, years ago.  Airplane crash I think he said.  He's majoring in film production at a school in Canada but lives in LA.  His mother was a production designer.  He's been working as an assistant to a British actor/director/producer.  In Ghana he's meeting up with some people to make a documentary about getting funds for IT stuff in Ghana. Forget what the outfit is, but he heard about it though Safe Crossings? (org for kids who have lost parents?).So with that our conversation was off and running. Told him about No Next and SuperSibs and the camp and Did You Do Your Homework and, oh, we just had a great conversation.

 

I'm taking my time with my fellow LLL's.  Don't want to be quick to judge people – one of my big character defects.  Everything is just in the initial stages: confusing and a little hectic which is fine because I have this wonderful haven called cabin 5019.  As I type the moon is reflected on the passing water over my left shoulder.

The bed is like a cradle – heavenly.  I only wish I had the bladder of a baby! I woke at 3:30 this morning to, you know, go. (Lucy didn't like for us to say the word 'pee') and later lay in the cradle hugging myself, looking out at the waves and just giggling softly to myself.  I LOVE being on the ocean – day or night, especially in this very fine weather.

 

"When all of a sudden, a stoorrrrrmm awose!"

 

Today a beautiful African American girl was introduced to me.  She does something in communications and wants us to meet so she can interview me about my 4 kids who went on SAS for a story she's writing – not sure which publication – the on board one or for some alumni thing.

 

At lunch today I was picking the brain of the professor of Chinese art and studies – an American guy whose expertise is in Chinese pottery from pre-historic times to the present.  Was that interesting? Oh yes!

 

I'm going to do my best to chronicle this experience but, man alive, it's going to be a challenge because already I can see how jam packed each day will be with one great thing after another.

 

If only I could fill in the holes of my Swiss cheese short term memory center, I'd be fine.

 

Leaving on Friday was unbelievably exciting.   Took off my orange sweater (in spite of having to bare my upper arms) and waved it at the crowd on the shore at Point Pleasant Park.  Did you see that, Chrissy?  Probably not, but I did it! And it was fun.

 

I'm writing this as a Word document and will try to copy and paste it and find out tomorrow, I hope, how to send it out.

 

I love being around the kids, checking out their hair and clothes and the way they talk to each other…just the body language is fun to watch.  I love being on this ship.  It feels like I could just move in permanently.  In fact I was talking to a woman from Seattle – a youngish retired school teacher, Jennifer- this morning who went with her mother on the 08 Christmas Enrichment voyage (no students). I told her this feels so much better than the idea of any assisted living joint.  And she pointed out that, yeah, and there's a doctor on board and good food and exercise equipment, not to mention all the other percs.  Hmm Christmas voyage.  Hmmmmmm…

 

Gotta stop now and go figure out some things about field trips and classes I might want to sit in on.  It does seem, however, that this is going to be a jam- packed experience whether or not I attend even one class.

 

Sunday afternoon – August 30, 2009

 

For weeks the days passed at a snail's pace. Already I can see that now they're racing and this will be over all too soon.  How I wish all of you were here.

Global Studies lecture was this morning.  Excellent speaker talking about how we live in rapidly changing times, revolutionary times. He began his speech with "How many of you remember the time when there were no cell phones?" Glory be, I almost remember when there were no phones!  Then he went on to sustainability.  It made me feel as though I've been living in a dark cave somewhere, completely out of touch, which, of course, isn 't true, but one realizes how fast things are changing and how nearly impossible it is to keep up with it all.

 

This afternoon I attended a class entitled Intro to Documentary Film Making.  The professor is Paul Wagner who won an Academy Award for his 1983 film, "The Stone Carvers", which we watched. Such a pleasure. I just might stick with this class.

 

I think we were traveling at 20.9 knots when we left Halifax and have been moving along at 14.7 or so today.  Some side-to-side rocking but the sea looks pretty flat. Looking out the door I get the feeling that if I turn around and look the other way, I'll see the beach and all the swimmers and the beach clubs.  There are little pieces of yellowish/tan seaweed floating by every now and then.  No dolphins or whales yet.  We passed a tanker going the opposite way this morning. Otherwise we are only a spec and the ocean is all there is out there.  Wonderful.