Change of Plans/Morocco/Big Waves

Hey everyone!

So right now we're supposed to be out enjoying Morocco and good food and LAND. However, we are still stuck on the ship. Yesterday, there was some rough weather, so when we stopped at the Rock of Gibraltar to refuel, we actually didn't end up getting fuel at all and had to wait till this morning to do it. We found out last night at pre-port that we in fact were not getting to Casablanca at 8 am but were going to be lucky to get there by late tonight. Today was probably the worst day we've had on the ship so far, weather-wise. We didn't have classes, work, or anything, since today was supposed to be a port day, so we slept in. But when we got up we realized the ship was rocking so much and we were officially sea sick. We both took meclizine which knocked us out until 5 pm. Yep, we did absolutely nothing today! It felt good, but we missed breakfast and lunch, and kinda felt crappy all day.

Anyway, onto the happy parts of today! We found out our extended families today!! Extended family is where you sign up to be put into a "family" of a few other students and either a professor or lifelong learner's family. I (Sarah) am in Dr. G and Annie's (R2 & D2 haha) family which is so great because I love them and they are such nice people! Kate got into the Eaton family and has the CUTEST little brother, Christopher. We both had dinner with our families which was really good, although we both still felt kinda out of it. After dinner, we went to a safety seminar where Joe (the conduct officer on the ship) talked about how to be safe while in port. Then we went to Open Mic Night, which was awesome!! Two people wrote a song to the tune of "No Air" called "No Land", which had phrases like, "How do you expect me...to live all the time at sea...with the food so bad and no sleep..." It was hilarious! And Rachel got up and played guitar and sang a song she wrote. It was amazing!! She has such a great voice and the song was sooo good!

The waves were pretty rough all day today, but right after dinner, as soon as Kate and I started feeling normal again, Captain Jeremy got on the PA and told everyone to tie things down because it was about to get really rocky. He said there were estimated to be waves as high as 20 feet! And he was right. We were in our room and things were flying everywhere! The drawers were opening, sending things spewing out of them, everything fell off the desk and table, and not a thing was left upright in the bathroom. It was a little scary because we'd be trying to hold the closet doors closed but a wave would come and send us flying to the other side of the room with all our stuff. Looking out the window, you'd see the water one second, and the next, nothing but sky! We decided to go up and see what everyone else was doing, and we brought our cameras. In Tymitz Square, a bunch of kids were sitting in the middle so that when a wave came, they'd slide clear across the room and back again. I got it on video. It was fun for about 15 minutes! After it calmed down, we went upstairs to the bookstore and everything was on the floor, some stuff was broken, and in the classrooms, all the desks and chairs were knocked over. Apparently a bunch of dishes were broken in both of the dining rooms! Crazy experience and I definitely can't wait to get on land tomorrow!

We're leaving tomorrow morning to take a train to Marrakesh and hopefully get a hostel with Mike, Blair, and Sarah W. Rachel's gonna meet us there with Alex, too, on Wednesday! It should be fun, even though we have one less day. SAS told us in the beginning that flexibility was key, and with the itinerary change a month before sailing and now this, I think it's safe to say that this group is doing pretty well! We'll talk to everyone this weekend when we get back! Have a great rest of the week!

-Kate and Sarah

P.s.- I just want to give a "Hoot" to all my Chi O sisters!!! I love you all and miss you SOOOO much, you don't even know! My little has been keeping me updated on everything and I wish I could be there to spend time with all of you! I hope you're all having a great quarter and I can't wait to see you when I get back!