The little things

As the voyage continues I am beginning to get into a pattern. I get up, get breakfast and go to class. Then I read (I have lots of readings for each class and estimate about an average of 60 pages a day of required readings). After a little reading I try to get a spot on either the treadmill or an elliptical machine in the gym. More reading follows, then lunch with friends and a nap (the nap can also be before lunch, it still varies). At the end of the day are explorer seminars, clubs, and pre-port lectures (these are mandatory). Dinner is somewhere in there between 5:30pm and 7pm. The group of friends I have been eating with recently tries to set a record of how long we can spend at dinner. We talk about the ports, what we're doing/planning in country, how our classes are going, and other random stuff. Then I get on my e-mail, see if anyone loves me and write an entry for all my peeps and other interested persons. So far, that is a typical day at see.

Today was the first day I used a treadmill on the ship and it was a new experience. In front of the treadmill is a mirror. When I looked at the mirror I could see myself leaning one way, straightening out, then leaning the other way as the ship sways back and forth. However, when looking at the display on the treadmill I would get off the rhythm of the ship and lean in the wrong direction or, forget to lean. In these instances you have to quickly regain balance, or grab the hand grips while you reset yourself with the ships movement. It was just fascinating to look in the mirror and see me going from one side to the other, creating a 65 degree angle or so at some points.

Sun. When traveling on a ship, surrounded by water and in the tropics, be careful of the sun. I am coming from a north west winter climate (non sun) so I thought I should slowly and carefully get my skin ready for Hawaii. I went out on the deck to read for an hour yesterday. The place I chose had no direct sunlight. I got to read my books and all was well. I even saw a flying fish. It was small and far away but it could fly for a long time. Today, I thought I would increase my sun exposure by going outside for half an hour in a unprotected area. After about twenty minutes i could feel that I was already getting too much sun and went in to put on my heavy duty sunscreen. Too late. I was already burned. Not a bad burn, i didn't know it had happened until dinner time. But burned nonetheless. The lesson here: Always use sunscreen, no exceptions! (Usually I know this but sometimes I need reminding)