Random Facts About Living On A Boat

I’m now in the Northern Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Canada and Spain. There is a three hour time difference between the boat and Eastern Time, and I haven’t seen land in three days. Haha this kinda sounds like the story of an abandoned pirate. It has been pretty dreary outside since we left Halifax, and the brackish waves create a sea of iron outside my porthole. It’s always chilly, windy, and usually drizzling when I go out to one of the upper decks. I’ve finally learned my lesson and started dressing appropriately for the cold weather though.

 

The second day of classes made me feel a little better about my Ethnomusicology course. I’m glad it’s pretty similar to anthropology. We actually did a mini fieldwork experience today in class where we had to go to a crowded spot on the ship and observe students while taking notes of what kinds of activities they were engaged in, what they were wearing, the setting, and the overall feel of the area. I definitely felt like a creeper staring at people, but wearing sunglasses would have looked even more odd, so I just accepted the creepy factor.

 

I learned more intricate details about Greek architecture in Art History, and decided to change part of my itinerary for Greece after hearing about some of the sites. We learned about this place called Delphi which was the sanctuary of Apollo (the god of music and art) set atop Mt. Parnassos. The legend states that Zeus wanted to find the center of the earth, so he released two doves to find the central point, and the two doves eventually met at Delphi. The site consists of a winding path called Sacred Way which is lined with a series of temples and structures leading up to a huge amphitheater and stadium at the top of the mountain. The views are supposed to be spectacular.

 

There’s a few random facts about the boat that might be entertaining to you guys. First of all, we are pretty much waited on hand and foot by the crew onboard. Like I don’t even have to make my own bed, it’s ridiculous. The stewards come into our rooms every morning while we’re in Global Studies and make our beds, vacuum, replace our towels, straighten our toiletries on the sink counter, and even fold any clothes that might be strewn around the room and place them neatly on our beds. It’s really like living in a hotel. At mealtimes they walk around asking everyone if they want more water, coffee, juice, etc. so we don’t actually have to get up to get them ourselves. Also, there is no tray-return area because they clear your table as soon as you are finished eating. They actually get mad at you if you try to put your plates up yourself. It’s really strange.

 

The food onboard is not so great. At first I thought it would be ok, but then they started serving almost the same things at every single meal. Guaranteed at every lunch and dinner there will be diced potatoes, some kind of bland pasta, a vegetable mix, rolls, some form of vegetable soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and salad. They only really change the type of meat, and it never really looks like the kind of meat the label claims it to be, aka mystery meat. I feel like I’m overdosing on starches (if that’s possible). I’ve kinda been living off peanut butter sandwiches, but one of my friends is deathly allergic to nuts and chocolate so I usually have to sit farthest away from her at the table because I almost always have one of those two foods haha. For breakfast and occasional lunches I try to sit with random people so that I’ll get to know more people on the ship, but I always go to dinner with the same group of girls.

 

At lunch they made an announcement over the intercom that the captain had to make a slight change in our sailing course, but didn’t say why. Later, I talked to this guy who was taking a tour of the bridge that morning, and he told us the real reason that we had to change directions. While he was on the bridge, another boat radioed our ship and said they spotted an iceberg slightly north of our current path. Supposedly the navigation crew started freaking out and called the captain down to the bridge. The students on the tour were like taking pictures and stuff the whole time so they made them leave, but the captain told the crew to take precautions by moving the course marginally so we wouldn’t risk being anywhere near the iceberg. It’s so Titanic! It’s crazy! I didn’t think it was that cold here, but I guess it takes a while for icebergs to melt.

 

The waves were wreaking havoc later that night, which just happened to be the night I decided to try out the gym. This is what I’ve learned from living on a boat…running on a treadmill with ridiculously huge waves rocking the boat = most difficult experience of my life! It didn’t even occur to me that running would pose a challenge, but once I turned on the treadmill and started jogging I almost flew right off. The treadmills are positioned lengthwise with the boat so when a wave hits, you can’t help but tip from side to side. I felt like I was running sideways. I literally had to hold onto the handlebars the entire time, which killed by arms. It’s so hard to run while keeping a death grip on the bars so you don’t slide straight off. Luckily there are mirrors in front of machines, and I found that focusing on the label on the center of the treadmill helped me stay in the middle of the belt. I had to make sure I was always lined up in the center which left no room for daydreaming/zoning out on nights like this. Haha. The elliptical was a lot better because you actually have constant contact with the machine.

 

The gym is tiny for how many people are on the boat. There are two treadmills, five ellipticals, three stairmasters, two stationary bikes, and a small set of free-weights and weight machines for the 750+ people on the ship. You have to sign up for the machines 24 hours in advance, and you can only sign up for 30 minutes on each machine. If you show up more than 5 minutes late for your assigned time you have to give up your spot. They put out the sign-up sheets at 7:00pm every night, and people must stalk the gym because within 5 minutes two-thirds of the spots are filled. I usually resort to going late at night so it’s not as crowded. The gym is right next to the spa (yes, there is a spa onboard), and within the first day people had already signed up for massages. They do everything there- massages, facials, pedicures, manicures, body wraps, haircuts, hair color, and a bunch of other stuff. It’s not too expensive, but I’d rather just save my money for the other countries.