I’m currently sitting in my cabin on the MV Explorer, out in the middle of the ocean. This is so surreal! I can’t believe I’m actually here since I have been waiting for this for so long. I have so much that I already experienced at our first port within the span of a week so I am definitely excited for the rest of this voyage. I’ve done so much that I don’t want to forget so I’m trying to play catch up and remember as much as I can. Living in our villa at the Bahamas for a week was amazing. It was the best way to kick off the voyage. There was so much that went wayward on my trip from the moment I arrived at the airport. First off my flight got delayed and I sat in the plane for about an hour and was just so eager to leave already. That on top of all the other mishaps that followed was really stressing me out, but after all that craziness it’s been smooth sailing ever since (no pun intended). Well actually, the ship is swaying and I’m starting to get used to it although it is really making me drowsy. I’m really glad I got to experience life in the Bahamas and be on the island. It was somewhat of a culture shock for me, especially when we were off doing things outside of the more touristy areas. Like for one thing, it seemed like the Bahamians liked to run on their own time and it almost felt like there was no sense of time on the island. I won’t forget my first encounter at the restaurant nearby the villa we were staying at where we had our first meal. The place is called Nesbitt’s and it is definitely catered to the locals. I walked in with a group of the girls I was staying with and literally every head turned to stop and stare at us because we definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. It felt like a scene out of a movie. Also, people who live here are super chill and just not afraid to do what they want sometimes. For one thing, the bus drivers and cab drivers are crazy! They blast their music and do what they want. One of our drivers actually stopped to holler at a girl on the street who was just minding her business and going for a run. One time our cab driver pulled over at the gas station and didn’t bother to turn off the engine. That is so dangerous and I can’t believe that don’t realize that when there are signs up that say to turn it off! Other than that, the beaches are amazing and it was so cool to be swimming in the ocean with the fish, turtles and sting rays. Towards the end of the week, a lot of SASers were arriving and most of them were staying at the Sheraton where we usually lay out on the beach. That’s definitely when it started to hit me that this trip was happening. We went through so many intros and met people from all over the states. Of course, being the (almost) token Canadian on the voyage I got a lot of: a) Oh you must be a huge hockey fan! b) You are so lucky you have free health care or c) Canadian eh? Do you guys also say ‘aboot’? The Maymester voyage also ended in the Bahamas so it was so great to meet people who sailed on the previous voyage and to see how everyone just got along so well and were super tight. They gave really great advice as well. It’s so amazing to think that their voyage was only 26 days or so and there were almost half as many voyagers that there are on ours. My last night in the Bahamas before boarding was the most insane night ever. I am actually so thankful I’m here right now. As scary as it was, it was definitely an experience I will never forget. I spent the night in the hospital in downtown Nassau and woke up at 2am thinking I got robbed or something. The people with me were sent home at midnight because of the policy so I had to muster up some courage to get myself home safely and get ready to board the ship the next morning at 8:20am. I was luckily driven home by a really nice policeman named Officer Roll. Everyone was super nice and friendly there, especially one of the nurses named Patrice who was taking care of me. She even took down my name to add me on Facebook afterwards. When does that ever happen in Toronto? People really were right about how awesome having free healthcare. It was sad to see the Bahamians in the hospital who were sick. I just wanted to get home right away and meanwhile there were patients who were actually sicker than I was. But I was really freaking out at that point. I am so incredibly lucky that people were kind enough to take care of me even though we literally just met and that my phone, wallet, credit cards, and everything was found and safe with my friends. It’s actually a coincidence that the girl whose sister and friend helped me that night is my next door neighbor on the ship! Since being here, it’s been pretty overwhelming. When I first got here it was kind of empty since they started alphabetically and people started to trickle in. There are so many students! And there is actually a lot to do. Although we’re at sea and won’t touch land for the next ten days, apparently we will not really have as much spare time as we think. I love it here so far and I’m extremely excited for everything that’s going to happen. Last night was such a scary moment for me but this day has just made it so much better and hopefully I can move past everything and continue having the time of my life! I have so much more to say but our first day at sea has just been so jam packed with meeting people, having orientation and meetings. I actually gotta wake up tomorrow morning for a 9am meeting and after 3 hours or so of sleep last night I think that’s what I need to go do. I’ll update soon with everything from the first day or so but for now I gotta catch some z’s. With love from the MV Explorer, - D