Well, we have 2 more days until we get to Ghana. Yesterday we went through a storm so all of the smooth seas we were talking about went out the window and several people were sick again. Nancy is taking some Cipro because she can't seem to kick the revenge...5 days is enough to try to make it through, right?!

Anyway, enough of that. Lets talk about our extended family on the ship. There is a program available for the students called Extended Family. Students can sign up at the beginning of the voyage and be linked with a member of the faculty, staff, or a Lifelong Learner that will be a mentor, friend or just someone to hang out with and have fun.

We signed up for the program and we now have 4 children of our own. Actually, they are not children, they are college students, but they are call us Mom and Dad which is a RIOT! We had dinner together once and then the other night we had dinner again and they taught us a bunch of card games like spoons and other things. It is really nice for all of us to have a little group that we feel is someone we can depend on. Yesterday it was Emily's (one of our "kid's") birthday so we made her an oversized birthday card and went down to her room before she got up and put it on her door. We are sneaky little parents. Anyway, they all seem very nice.

I wish you could see the lounge where I am sitting writing this e-mail, but it would make you jealous. It is a room on the top deck of the ship, at the front, that is basically all windows and the faculty come here to work (we have quiet hours all day) and we just work and look out over the ocean... CRAZY.

Fun Facts:

-One of the students is collecting shoes for an orphanage in Ghana. She is also collecting cash donations - $5 will buy one pair of shoes

-There is a Sustainability Club on the ship that works to lower the water usage, food waste, etc. Every day the numbers are posted. Yesterday we had 77lbs of food waste from the ship - we are getting there...

-The food that we waste is mashed into large pellets and released into the ocean for the fish. Those fish had taco day yesterday!!!