Still Afloat

Yes, I am still here. Sorry for the long silence, we've been a little busy. Things that have happened since my last post:

- We all went to Morocco, but on different trips. If you had asked me a few months ago whether I would be able to decide with five minutes notice to send my son and husband on a four-day hiking trip in Morocco while I went on a camel trek with my dad, my answer would most certainly have been different.  I liked Morocco way more than I expected, and camels about as much as I expected.

- The Spring 2013 academic voyage (S13) ended on Thursday morning. Part of me wants to write volumes about the closure of this amazing, complicated, unforgettable experience. Part of me will still be processing it all years from now. I'm going with the still processing part for today, but will try to write some about it as things settle into a routine again. 

- The May 2013 enrichment voyage (EV) started on Thursday afternoon. Yes, you read that right. I had about 3 hours off the ship in Barcelona, then back on to start the final part of this journey. About a third of the voyagers boarded on Thursday, the rest yesterday. The demographic and feel of the enrichment voyage are very different than the academic voyage, and we've all experienced the most significant culture shock of any part of our voyage so far. Here's a quick list of things that are the same and things that are different:

Different:

1. On S13, we had about 50 lifelong learners and around 600 students. On the enrichment voyage, there are about 50 students and the rest are lifelong learners, around 400 I think. 

2. There is a higher volume of questions in the library so far on the EV, but the variety is smaller. Schedule and directional questions are popular as always, as are travel questions. Instead of questions about reserve books for courses, requests for reading recommendations are a hot item.

3. Most learning is in short, 1-hour lectures, rather than traditional multi-session courses. There are a few workshops taught by faculty, though. Sr is thinking of taking one on ornithology and environmental conservation.

3. Our room is smaller, and on a lower deck. It rocks noticeably less when seas are high.

4. The food is much better. We've already seen more ice cream, fruit, and salad in two days on the EV than we saw during the entire S13. One of the dining halls now has sit-down meals. It takes some getting used to seeing the crew so formal, and the tables with linens and more forks than I know what to do with.

5. The faculty lounge is no longer just for faculty, and no longer a quiet work space during the day. Quiet reflection spots are a bit hard to find, but I expect that may improve as people start attending lectures and getting settled into routines.

Same:

1. The numbers of faculty and children are about the same on both voyages. The children's program is a bit more like camp, with activities in both the mornings and afternoons. Jr and Sr are still doing some writing and other homeschool work on sea days.

2. Travel books are still the most popular thing in the library.

3. The ship still rocks in rough seas. The Mediterranean is usually calm, but we are really rolling today.

4. People who travel on the ship are friendly, smart, and interesting.

5. The crew are wonderful. I think they are as happy as we are to see familiar faces. Denver, Paul, and Martin (some of the housekeeping crew members who take care of the library) came in to the library while I was writing this section, they all laughed when I told them I was writing about how nice they are.

We dock in Monaco tomorrow though we will spend most of the day in France, then right on to Livorno, Italy the next day with no sea day in between. I told Sr that sailing from Monaco to Italy is like moving your car from one end of the parking lot to the other.

Pictures:

Library work study student "photo shoot" in the stacks, Alumni Ball at the end of S13, Parc Guell in Barcelona.