:o)

Day 2 of the voyage, and people have gotten over the sea sickness for the most part, though a few people have been out since we set off yesterday. So far, I enjoy the new routine of waking up early, watching the sun rise over the smooth morning waves, then going to breakfast where everyone is already sitting around the clean diner-style tables. I even like the way the ship rocks back and forth, though it’s making a lot of people sick. It makes basic things like walking and carrying things really hard, and you have to be careful about doors because they’ll start slamming against walls if you leave them open. I like it because it feels like we’re on a really spacious airplane, or sleeping in a rocking crib. Getting work done is really hard, but I enjoy a good excuse not to do Calculus. We looked at the gym the other day, and while all the weights are on secure shelves, I can’t imagine getting any proper exercise when gravity is so inconsistent. 

So far, we’ve met a few of the ship’s sailors. I don’t remember everyone’s names, but we’ve learned a little about the Captain (who also runs the hospital and the merch store), the third mate (who was mainly concerned about us climbing to high places, pictured below), the cooks (Who always say “Come back again,” when you thank them), and the engineers. They’ve been really friendly to us and we’ve already gotten to hear a few of their stories. For example, one of the engineers walked into the galley asking if any of us marine science people knew about sea birds. We shook our heads and he said there was a wounded bird on the bridge. I’m not sure what they’ll do with it, since only its wing is broken, but he sat down with us to eat food afterward and talked about how he used to throw scraps to alligators in Louisiana, and how one time a parrot camped out on his ship off the coast of Central America. We’re clambering to call dibs on interviewing all the crew members, though we far outnumber them.

– Sasha Koulakova