Day 0

Hello from the MV Explorer! The ship has left the Halifax harbor, so we are finally sailing on the open Atlantic Ocean now, and we can definitely feel it. It was a surprise – I thought that with a ship this big, the waves would be negligible, but seasickness is starting to become a major concern already. Apart from the usual symptoms, we are finding ourselves unusually tired from doing nothing and always hungry.

It's strange being back at 'school', especially since this is such an unconventional setting, but then it seems that because of that they are really emphasizing the scholarly aspect of it (so far at least). After a near perfect summer and a great freshman year, there is a bit of reverse culture shock. The ship is definitely predominantly white, and the students come from schools very different from Reed. It's really a new environment and after a languid comfortable summer, I feel like I'm being thrust into a whole new America I didn't experience in my first year of college. Still trying to grapple my way around, but it's cool. Have definitely met some potentially amazing people already, so I probably need to get off my lazy ass and stop my aversion to socializing… Zzz. Also, I have a pretty cool roommate! SHE HAS PURPLE HAIR HAHAHAHA thank god my purple bits didn't exactly work out because that would have been too bizarre. Side note: still hate my highlights, fml, need to start learning to direct the hairdresser instead of being completely ambivalent.

Some other thoughts:
- The sea is gorgeous. This is probably a little premature, but I really can't foresee myself getting sick of the view even at the end of the voyage.

- I love the ship. I'm not sure what I was expecting, or if I even paid it much thought in my whole consideration of SAS, but my little windowless cabin is cozy enough and the classrooms that used to be lounges are just cutely quaint. Food is definitely not the highlight, but the crew are amazing people. It really does seem like the journey itself will be a highlight on its own, apart from the 14 countries we are visiting.

- The lack of technology access available feels slightly unsettling (also, I apparently didn't log out when I first set up my internet account or something so I completely burned through the 120 minutes on NOTHING. Fml x100. Have to speak to, or try to beg, someone tomorrow to get it back) but I wish we could mandate days like that in real life! So refreshing not to have everyone at the table half checked out because they are checked in to their phones. Of course this means not being able to glance down at your phone in awkward social situations, or it gets annoying trying to figure out ways to keep in touch, but we're programmed to deal.

- Did not bring enough warm clothing. Ship is really FREEZING.