Day 2!!!

Hey everyone!  Right now I am in my room looking out my window at the endless, beautiful ocean.  It is absolutely amazing and breathtaking.  The Bahamas started my trip.  There were about 12 SAS students who stayed at the Paradise Island Harbour resort, myself including.  About 6 of us hung out for the 2 days, and a few of us ended up going to Senor Frogs the night before the ship departed (Sunday night).  Senor Frogs was overrun with SAS students and it was fun to have our first looks at each other.  Monday we stood in line after line after line but finally I was on the ship!  We had our Muster drill, where we all put on our life jackets, and will be having three more over the course of the trip.  Soon after that we left.   At 5pm on Monday, January 19, 2009, my life truly began.  You all have no idea how absolutely empowering it is to be on a ship with about 730 other students all anxious to travel the world.  As I waved bye to my dad and the rest of the parents I felt the excitement of everyone.  We passed by one more island and have been in the open ocean ever since.  We had a few meetings yesterday and then had plenty of get to know you free time.  Everyone is sooooo nice it is insane!  I am hanging out with a large group of people from the hotel plus a few others we have met along the way, but more particularly I am spending a lot of time with Nick (from Cabrini who I had previously met), Colin (I forget where he is from), and Dave (from DC but he goes to U of Miami).  Everyone is amazing.  We have had meetings all day today and it was really boring, but tomorrow we start classes!  Also, today during our free time lots of people went swimming and layed out, but I choose just to relax clothed in the sun.  It is surprisingly warm at the moment, but I am sure that it will get cooler as we get farther into the Atlantic.  My room is bigger than I thought that it would be and there is plenty of storage.  The bathroom is very big and the shower is bigger than on a cruise I had gone on previously.  My roommate, the big test, is very nice.  Kayla and I will get along great.  We have a fridge which we are looking forward to filling once we get to Spain.  One of the best things about this ship is our captain…he is British and has the best accent ever, so whenever he comes over the loud speaker all of the girls hearts melt.  Today I we all watched Obama get sworn in…we didn’t have to watch it as it wasn’t mandatory, but almost everyone chose to watch it which was amazing.  We clapped and cheered and stood as we gazed out into the endless ocean.  Everyone cared, and everyone felt the energy in the room as our nation changed before our eyes.  Tonight brings dinner (which isn’t too bad) and one more meeting, then more socialization and tons of sleep.  The rocking is the best thing for sleep…its like being a baby again.  It is hard to stay awake in all of the boring, yet important, meetings.  Starting tonight and for about the next 5 or 6 nights we loose an hour of sleep!  Yikes!  Well I hope to hear from everyone.  My email is ckmathues@semesteratsea.net .  Please take the time to email me, as I wish to hear from everyone.  Today I stood on the deck with the wind blowing against my face.  I looked at the water foaming around the boat as we passed through the waves.  I feel so drawn to being here.  I know I am here for a reason.  This world is a beautiful place, and the ocean is the best place to realize that.  We may be a tiny boat in comparison to the enormity of the ocean, but the 1000 people (students, staff and crew) who are on this ship, we all feel like the biggest thing in the world. Finally, I won’t be able to post or email pictures because of restrictions on email, but I will be sure to share all of my pictures when I get home! I miss and love you all!