Lesson Five: How To Treadmill in Zero Gravity

August 29, 10:00pm
We are officially at sea. The mild rocking and not-so-mild grumbling of the engines (I’m in the very back (stern) of the ship) is what I will be dealing with for the next nine days, until the ship gets to Salvador, Brasil, our first port. It is still so surreal: this is my life, this will be my next three months. One of the other BU girls is in the quad across from me! What with all the meetings and everyone not knowing each other, it’s a little bit like being a freshman. Lots of introductions that I won’t remember, although of course the important ones will stick. My camera is so amazing, its 24x zoom caught my family waving to me from Senor Frog’s just outside the port.

August 31, 10:07AM
After this I’ll be switching to military time, because that’s what we attempt to go by on ship, even though everyone just uses 12-hour anyway. No picture posts, it takes too long and wastes my internet. Check Flickr and I’ll make sure to try and comment so that you have stories and notes to go with the picture, like a sort of photo-blog. I have a kids’ blog too, unfortunately that is also going to have to be picture free, or at least picture infrequent, because the satellite internet is relatively slow here and I don’t want to waste my precious precious web minutes.
Had my first class today, Mental Illness Across Cultures. It seems like it’s going to be a really good class, but I’m also a psych nerd. 20% of our grade is going on service trips and practica, like visiting a group that teaches kids art and dance to keep them off the streets in Salvador.
I still can’t believe I will be living on this ship for the next three and a half months; it still feels like this will be a few weeks long and then back home. It’s weird to think that BU life is still going on, it’s like I transferred, but to a fun-house college where the walls move and your hallways sometimes smell like gasoline!
My room is basically the engine room. Anytime the ship is moving it grumbles and rumbles, varying in loudness according to our speed. Luckily I’m a good sleeper, it would definitely dislodge some. We (my roommate Jonnelle and I) are as far aft- that’s towards the back you unseaworthy people- as you can go. I actually like the room, and like what I’ve done with it decoration-wise better than I have for my rooms at BU.
There’s really nothing much to talk about because we haven’t gone to a port yet. We’re gassing up in Puerto Rico right now so I have occasional non-int’lly-roaming cell service- say goodbye to that shortly. The fact that this is school is kind of awesome, as I spent forty-five minutes yesterday watching the water and sitting on the “sun deck”.
Working out on ship is an adventure. No matter whether you are walking or running, you MUST hold on to the treadmill. I have pretty good balance, but my feet were wandering left to right to left with the rocking of the ship. The elliptical was even weirder because you’re not really walking or running at all. You can feel the rise and drop in pressure as you go over and under the waves, sort of like 50% underwater, 50% zero gravity. It is standard to see people wander somewhat drunkenly about the halls, holding on to walls on occasion.

I’ve babbled enough. Email me at laking@semesteratsea.net, because then I receive them for free!