On our way to Hilo

We are walking the hallways and decks as if we are all drunk, swaying from side to side. It will take five days for us to get to Hilo, Hawaii, through open waters. Topy and I are wearing the wrist bands for motion sickness and taking Dramamine, having seen some children of faculty members become sick. We are told over and over again to wash our hands thoroughly and to use hand sanitizers that are in the corridors everywhere.

Our vessel, the MV Explorer, was built a decade ago by a Greek shipping magnate who went bankrupt. It was purchased by the Institute for Shipboard Education in 2006. It has been fitted with classrooms, a library, computer lab, fitness center, a spa, several dining rooms, an amphitheater that holds 900 people, a swimming pool, seven decks and a faculty lounge for adults only.

Our cabin is spacious with plenty of storage space, a refrigerator, a TV (with which we can participate in classes via closed circuit), a desk, a loveseat, a table, telephone and more.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, is available for chats and lectures, as are all the faculty, spouses and the staff of SAS.

I am looking into auditing an anthropology and a world religions class. Women Writers of the World sounds like an interesting one too. In addition we have a choice of four seminars to attend every day. And on this ship we talk only about Day A or Day B (no Mondays thru Sundays). No days of rest really. We also keep losing an hour after so many nautical miles as we sail westward. When asking directions, you have to know if you are at Port or Starboard Side or Forward and Aft of the ship.

It is a learning experience in all sorts of ways.