Water Water Everywhere

Today’s revelation: The Ocean is HUGE. It’s absolutely ginormous. Unbelievably big. I honestly never understood how big the ocean was until now. We have been sailing for five days (I think – it is starting to seem more like weeks and months) since we left Hawaii and are still only a little over halfway to Japan. We’ve been traveling about 18-20 knots the entire time. Since we’ve been at sea, I have seen three things: the ship, the sky, and the water. Well, actually yesterday we saw a beautiful rainbow that arched the entire way across the sky and today at dinner a school of dolphins swam past the ship. But we’ve spent so much time staring out at water that I’ve started to notice differences in the size of the waves and the sheen of the water (you can tell when it is raining far away because the surface of the water looks less shiny and more grey). In other words, I am very much looking forward to seeing land again. Somehow, in all my planning for this trip I only ever thought about the time spent in other countries, not the amount of time that would be spent getting to other countries (Which at the moment is turning out to be a LOT of time).

So how have I been spending my time? Well since I only have class for about three and a half hours a day and not a whole lot of work to go along with my classes (lots of reading… but that’s not too bad) I spend a lot of my time sleeping and eating. I’ve had lots of time to exercise in our tiny little gym where running on the treadmill becomes not just a calorie-burning workout but also an exercise in balancing on the rocking ship. When I go eat with friends, we normally stay at the table for at least an hour just kindof talking. At night, we still play cards and board games, we watch movies, and sometimes we end up out on the deck simply watching the stars. I can’t even spend my time cleaning or cooking because the ship’s crew does that for us. I keep trying to remember how on earth I spend my time back on home – I guess class and work just take up considerably more time back in the ‘burgh. And ultimate! I am definitely missing going to practice (so you guys who are there better be appreciating it!!)

Tonight I went to a lecture by the biology professor onboard the ship who was talking about her experiences as a national park ranger. She told us a lot of amazing stories about fighting fires and rescuing people who had fallen over the edge of the Grand Canyon. It was pretty incredible; I had never realized how many exciting things happened in national parks….. ahhhhhh parks….. land and trees and plants and animals…. How I miss thee!

The most exciting thing that has happened is actually something that didn’t happen. We sailed across the International Dateline yesterday. Which means that yesterday was September 6th and today is September 8th. So I’m hoping that all of you out there who did get to have a September 7th enjoyed it, because for me September 7th, 2007 is the day that simply did not exist in my life. It is actually slightly creepy to realize that everyone else in the world had the chance to live a day that I didn’t get. Everyone on board the ship felt bad for the kid who didn’t get to have a birthday – I guess sailing is a good way of staying young.