It happened, it happened, we are sailing away on the MV Explorer! What a day this has been. This morning we got up at 7am and went to the gym at 7:30 (that is reserved time for the faculty) then we got some breakfast and headed back to our cabin to get some work done. The internet woes are already hitting us. Everything is very slow but you just have to adjust your mentality and it is fine. I have actually really enjoyed not having my phone for the past 12 days for so. Much more free time!

The students began embarking at 9:30am and that lasted until about 1:30pm. It was so fun to see them come aboard and find their cabins and their roomates. Geno and I headed off the ship a little before lunch to buy some travel mugs, loofahs, etc and we had some lunch at the big West Quay Mall. We headed back to the ship and tried to get some work done until our first full ship meeting at 8pm but it is hard to work with all of the energy on the ship. Geno said where he was sitting it looked like an anthill that had just been stepped on.

We had our first lifeboat drill. We all got the lifejackets out of our cabins and headed to our muster stations. The men stood in the back and we made lines of women and children in the front. They called each individual name about 600+ people and made sure we all knew which lifeboat we were suppose to be in , etc. They also made sure we were dressed in warm clothing, closed toed shoes and a hat. This is what we would need to be in if we had an emergency.

The student were everywhere and they we so excited to be here. During this meeting all of the students got to meet our amazing deans and the other faculty and staff. It was a very rowdy and fun meeting. The community is very energized!

After the meeting we had a quick faculty meeting and then we all went outside onto the decks to see the ship depart at 9pm. The students were cheering and the children of the faculty were singing songs from FROZEN…ha ha! It is an incredible feeling to be a part of this amazing team. The faculty and staff gathered in the Glazer Lounge which is a beautiful lounge fully surrounded by glass where we continued to watch the ship depart and had another good opportunity to socialize. We have so much fun up in the lounge. It is really a place where everyone can relax and release the stress of teaching and preparations.

Tomorrow we have orientation for the students all day and a few meetings for us. Right now as I right this we are bouncing along as we leave Southampton. The ship feels a little like it is vibrating because we are trying to pick up speed. So far no rolling though! Whew!