We have been on the ship a little longer than expected because of the missed port of Mauritius. While I was disappointed about skipping the island, it hasn’t been too bad catching up on sleep and school work. On the 13th of March we had “Sea Olympics” which is kind of like sleep away camp Color War. They divided everyone on the ship into seven seas that participated in events and games throughout the day. Some of the favorites were Tug-Of-War, Synchronized Swimming, and Trivia. There was then a “Closing ceremony” to announce the winner. My team came in 4th place, but the dance my roommate and I coached won first in it’s event. We were definitely more excited than 20-year-old people should have been over it, but what can you do. It was a fun day and was a good distraction from the loads of work we all have coming up as we approach finals, and the end of the trip.

Every day of this trip I have to pinch myself to remember that it’s not a dream. I often find myself having to take a step back to realize how insane it truly is. The other night I was sitting with friends on the 9th deck, that overlooks the ocean, when someone got a message on their phone that they now had cell service from Madagascar. A few hours later, we could see Madagascar off the Starboard side of the ship. Last night as we approached Africa, we could see city lights twinkling in the distance. My roommate Hannah and I were chatting and she said “Hey did you see Africa out the window?” and I responded with “Yeah! Did you see Madagascar the other night?” Hannah then pointed out how hilarious it was that this was just a casual conversation for us at this point. I truly cannot wrap my head around this whole experience. Visiting Africa has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and now I can see it out my bedroom window. I cannot wait to get there and experience all that it has to offer.