Zoya and I have successfully moved into room 3033 on the MV Explorer. We share meals, hallways, and classrooms with some of the brightest professors I've ever met and some of the most interesting students in the nation (and Ecuador, Colombia, Mauritius, India, Mexico and, of course, Bulgaria...) Our room is small, but not unbearably so. We have two twin beds, a bathroom and "large" window in our cabin. Some students paid a slice more and have a "sitting area" or even their own singles. Others, who paid less, have no window or sitting area. Cave life, anyone?

Monday's beautiful and teary Mexican afternoon was filled with emotion. The chaotic environment of the ship, the 1,000 new faces, the lack of solid ground, the unfamiliar movement of the floor and horizon outside our window stirred excitement and anxiety in every one of us, which may be one of the reasons it's so simple to make friends. What else is one to do if she "accidentally" bumps into that boy who's carrying his guitar case up to deck six by the pool because a big swell shifts its way below our bow? Say, "Hi," of course!

I've only had one class so far: Global Studies. This is the mandatory class for every member aboard the ship, including the faculty and staff. We made our way into the Union (the center for all shipwide meetings and performances) at 0920 to the beat of Polynesian folk music. Professor "Mac" began his lecture with a discussion about how he's traveled to 97 different countries and how our all-incorporating course will run. We will study a country's economy, culture, history, geology, and politics before entering it.

Upon docking at each country, we are required to actively study through our experience, bringing back photos, interviews, and the like for quarterly quizzes and projects. Propose what you will, but there is no better way to learn.

In other news, I've just returned from my first full independent yoga session on deck five. Fortunately, my seasickness has just about worn off, thanks to the patch and lots of water, which is more than some students and teachers can say (three cheers for meclazine!!). Swaying back and forth with the water, the ship is ceaseless in its rocking. Three a.m.? Rocking. While you're eating lunch? Still rocking. As you carry hot coffee to the back deck? Rocking. During yoga? Rocking. During lecture? You better believe this thing is rocking. The weird thing is I'm almost used to it. By tomorrow I might not even notice the movement.

(Note: It is now "tomorrow" middleoftheseatime and I do not need any medicine. I can barely feel the movement.)

In the interest of trying to save my internet minutes, this entry will be long and will span the course of the past four days aboard this ship. (This was written Thursday.) As of this evening, I've had all of my classes, each of which has enormous mind-broadening potential. One of my professors is extraordinary. She is an octogenarian German woman who now teaches physics at UVA and has three PhD's and can claim being an inventor of the electric hairbrush and also the upcoming electric-something motor. (It sounds better when she says it, in front of the 35 enthralled students who signed up for her class.)

Her class is called "Science and Religion." Already I've talked with several students about what the course is about (proving without a doubt the existence of life after death by way of conflating all the world religions into one set of principles and marrying them with physics, laws) and our immediate reactions to it (huh???).

My Art class is packed with art focused bandana-wrapped heads, and my Women's Studies class probably has 37 women and three men. Despite there being large classes, the intensity of this program and the closeness in which we all live together has already made this experience somewhat of a gem. Eating with professors and their families, constantly meeting new people, looking up from my computer screen right now to a view of a seemingly unending ocean.

We arrive in Honolulu on Sunday where I plan on snorkeling and buying more nuts (please send!) before re-boarding the ship for the 10 day shiptrip to Yokohama. Fortunately, I think I've found a way to combat cabin fever for those long stretches between countries: I've started a yoga class. I'll be teaching a few times a week starting the Monday we return from Hawaii - and it seems everyone is interested. Even the Life Long Learners are going to join! Although balance poses are impossible, the view from cobra overlooking a fantastically blue ocean is unparalleled.

Big wrap around support hug. More soon.

Love,

C