And we're off!

Wow! I keep pinching myself to see if I'm really here and I think it's finally sinking in. People have warned me that the internet is going to be really slow on the ship. Unfortunately, they're right. So while I'd like to update my blog daily, the reality is that it might be a little less frequent than that. We'll see. :)

So, what has happened so far. At approximately 1:30pm yesterday, I made my way to Port Everglade and boarded the MV Explorer. It is a beautiful ship! Soon I was greeted by many of the other Living Learning Coordinators (LLCs). Kevin offered to help me with my bags, because the elevator was not accessible to us. I should have warned Kevin that Virgin America allows bags to weigh upto 70lbs and mine weighed a hefty 68.5lb. He was a trooper though. Thanks Kevin!

I literally dropped my luggage and headed back to Tymitz Square (where a lot of the administrative duties take place & where the Purser is) and we decided to tour our home for the next 2-1/2 months.

It was a rough agenda. Meet & greets...snacks...welcome reception with free wine (I didn't partake though)...then dinner. While the LLC team were hanging out on the fifth deck, we noticed that Sandra Day O'Connor, whom the LLCs have lovingly nicknamed S-DOC, was at the table next to us. We tried, in our most creepiest way possible, to take pictures of ourselves with her in the background. We later found out that she didn't mind taking a picture with us. ;) I should mention that while we are traveling to Halifax to pick-up the students, there is a special forum on global engagement that Julian Bond and Sandra Day O'Connor are speaking at. Not many people can say that they've shared meals and conversations with these two extraordinary individuals...but I can! :)

We had the traditional Lifeboat Drill and then at approximately 2300 (11:00pm), we left port. Now, I've never been on a ship before and I've seen a lot of cruise departures on TV, but this wasn't one of those moments. We began to move and no one said anything. There was no shouting, no confetti, no loud music. What kind of Bon Voyage is this?! The moment quickly passed as our boat successfully made a three-point turn to avoid the Dole cargo ship that was blocking our way. Nicely done Captain!

Then it was off to bed for preparation for the first day of training. YAY!