Day 2 – Orientation

August 29th

Meetings all day
After too little sleep, I meet some girls for breakfast and schmoozing. Since we’re heading West across time zones, we loose sleep each night. I had a heated debate with some girls about when to take birth control. Taking it on New York time means eventually waking up in the middle of the night when we are in Malaysia. Taking it on ship time means not taking it in 24 hr increments. It was a hilarious discussion that caught the ears of many male fans. The rest of the day was packed with orientation meetings that went all day till 10PM. We reviewed honor code, global studies, health and safety, library resources and field programs. In the first meeting, they introduced all faculty and staff, including “The Voice” who reads announcements over the PA system. Sometimes I feel like I’m on Big Brother bc they make it impossible to not have The Voice find you. During our break, almost every student scrambled into the computer lab to get “wired” to the real world. I found out that we get 150 free internet mins, free email, free printing and a list of educational sites that are also free. Otherwise, we have to pay for mins spent online. That really cuts down on Facebook time. I have a new email address: cqfisher@semesteratsea.net, but I routed my Vandy and AOL emails to this one. Feel free to choose the one that strikes your fancy when trying to contact me. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to skype since it eats up too much of my megabites/min when on the ship.

Secrets, Secrets…
During a room investigation, Julie and I found notes written on the back of a picture that hangs above my bed. Past students left hints and advice on what to do and not to do while on the trip. Here are some of my favorites:

- Fall 2007 “Many left because of pregnancy… mmmm babies”
- Summer ’08 “Sneak on booze on your body (ziplock bags in your boobs)”
- Spring 08 “They drug test… and make you pay for it, so don’t bother”
- Spring 2008 “Studying is a joke, jut cheat”

Some of the scribbling seems to suggest there is a hidden room on deck 5 near the dining hall behind a classroom. I’ll let you know if my Sherlock skills find it. I also found a secret compartment under the desk in our room. All you have to do is unscrew this board under the desk and there is a bit of space to hide things. Now all we need is a screw driver, but as Julie ingeniously suggested “All we really need is a butter knife!”

Nighttime
After a quick shower, most students headed to the decks to hang out. I met a really enjoyable Bermudian named Kyle, who explained the world of Taiwan to me, and ran into friends playing catch phrase. As Kyle and I chatted about his year abroad in Taiwan among other things, we watched the distant lights of Cuba glimmer off the starboard side. Unfortunately, stars are not as visible as I had expected because of the ship’s lights. Regardless, Julie and I easily fell asleep to the slow rocking of the ship. Tomorrow is the first day of class!

Highs and Lows
My high was discovering the hidden notes from past voyages. My low was witnessing another student cup barf in her hands during her first experience of seasickness.