Halfway To Spain

The Voice announced that we were halfway across the Atlantic as of this morning. So, that means that I'm about as far away from anything as I can be while still being on the planet. It also means that we're getting closer to land every minute.

My Ecoacoustics teacher led us through a wild exercise. We all closed our eyes for 60 seconds of silence, and concentrated on the ambient noise of the ship. Engine rumble, creaking of the room and furniture, waves splashing, the voices of students walking by. We discussed what we heard, and then repeated the exercise, with the instructions to first shift your attention rapidly from element to element, and over time pick one to concentrate on. The third time we ran through it, he told us to concentrate only on the creaking sounds, and we drew visual representations of what we heard on paper. Then we compared the different drawing techniques we all used. All this is training us for deep concentration techniques that we'll use to guide our "sound walks", where we'll record various elements of natural sound environments and later assemble them into musical compositions. This is blowing my mind.

Everything is picking up steam and it's starting to feel like school. Last night I decided to take a walk around the outside decks before bed. The sky was clouded over, and without starlight, all you can see is pitch blackness. I've never faced anything like that and it's still on my mind.

Settling at Sea

It's our fourth day crossing the Atlantic. I'm starting to fall into more of a rhythm with the ship's unique schedule. There are no weekends, only "A" or "B" days that alternate continuously between ports. Each night we set our clocks forward an hour to keep up with the changing timezones. Yesterday was our first full day of classes. I realized I haven't mentioned what I'm studying here, so let me go ahead and do that.

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Global Studies and the Human Mosaic - this course is required for everyone on board. It gives an overview of the geography and cultures of the places we'll visit, and also provides a broad history of how human cultures develop in relation to the theme of the voyage - "Migrations."

Marine Biology - the professor has a great sense of humor and it should be an interesting class.

Ecoacoustics - this class will discuss acoustic properties of different locations. We'll collect recordings and assemble them into musical pieces. (Yesterday we listened to an incredible piece, called "Beneath the Forest Floor" by Hildegard Westerkamp. Definitely Google it and take a listen.)

Technosonics - the history and properties of electronic music around the world.

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So I'm keeping really busy with researching trips, getting into the coursework, meeting people, and exploring the more remote parts of the ship. There's still a long way to go before we reach Spain on the 28th. For now, it's a period of settling and beginning.

OK!

I don't even know where to start.

I just sat here for five minutes looking at a blank screen because there is so much to say I can't pick a place to begin.

The ship is absolutely beautiful. The pictures I had seen of the interior didn't prepare me for how stunning it actually is. I basically feel like I'm living on a campus mixed with a five star hotel, that rocks a lot. About the rocking: there's a lot more movement than I expected. I'm doing my best not to stumble around too much and run into people, and I might be getting the hang of it. Big cowboy gunslinger steps seem to work well. The movement was actually really comforting last night. I felt like I was being rocked to sleep. Our cabin is cozy, and just big enough for everything we brought.

Leaving Nassau was a pretty powerful experience. "The Voice" came on the intercom and announced that we'd be leaving soon. Everyone stood on the outside decks and watched as the land slowly shrunk away, until we lost sight of it completely. I feel small compared to the vast amount of water that stretches in all directions during the day, and the pitch blackness at night. Last night, I spent some time lying on the deck with some old and new friends. There was a warm breeze and the stars were startlingly bright.

It's my second day on the ship. Today has been mostly filled with orientation-type presentations, but we did get to set that all aside to watch the inauguration. It was unforgettable: cheers and enthusiasm and joy. Obama's speech was uplifting and I can't wait to hear that John Williams arrangement again.

There's so much to take in that it's honestly overwhelming. I'll try to organize my thoughts a little more and post again soon. For now, I want to end by saying that my spirits are soaring, and I know that this is the beginning of something inspiring and changing.

Yes, The Water Is Really That Blue

Not quite on the ship yet but here are some impressions of Nassau, Bahamas.
Very friendly airport. There were no less than three greeters when we stepped off the plane, who shook our hands and welcomed us. The customs line had a live reggae-ish band, and the customs officials were friendly. This is obviously a country that wants to make a good first impression.
No one had told me that they drive on the left side of the roads here, so the ride to the hotel was a bit shocking. (I added the first new word to my travel vocabulary: jitney.)
The port town isn't too different from Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. There were a few things out of the ordinary, though:
First, the stores and shops here cater to a wide range of tourist types. I saw Gucci and diamond stores on the same block as shops that advertised "3 T-shirts for $10!" as well as crafts booths where local people were selling wood carvings. Some stray dogs wandered the street, and drivers honked to scare them out of the road. A shady guy was selling condoms out of a plastic shopping bag.
But all in all, this doesn't feel too foreign. Everything is in dollars, the stores play MGMT, and the tourist souvenirs are tacky.
I did get a glimpse of my future home:

I'll move in tomorrow morning. Byebye, Bahamas.