Mars in the Microwave
Location: Cape Town
We all cried on watch last night. It was a good cry, though. The kind of cry where you are overwhelmed with emotion. All the incredible memories are running through our minds, finding comfort in the presence of the people we've been living with for the past 86 days. As the program is coming to an end, our appreciation continues to grow. We stare at the sunset for an extra couple of minutes, we make an effort to talk to everyone, we stay up for each other's watch, we savor our time on the helm, and we appreciate the comfort of darkness that makes us feel at home on night watch. It's hard to explain the beauty of darkness and being out on the water. It gives us a sense of security and comfort, allowing us to discuss things we've never talked about before and learn more about ourselves and one another.
Watch team 2 (Ben, Kackie, Amanda, Charlie, Hannah, and I) was on watch last night from 8-12. Ava was on hour 3 of her 12-hour helm as our watch began. It was hard to tell who was truly on watch, though, because the sunset brought everyone up on deck. The sky was painted with every shade of pink, orange, and blue. Everyone took their final foulie pictures, danced like no one was watching, and filled their camera rolls with our fleeting moments of pure life. As it is our last night on the water, we have all become very reminiscent of the passage and the journey that Argo has taken us on. Our watch consisted of bioluminescent dolphins and many guest visitors, motivating Ava through her helming, vibrant stars, and good conversation. We sang, we laughed, we cried - and it was beautiful. Nineteen people who were nothing but strangers 86 days ago have become family. We rely on one another to get through the hard times and to celebrate the good ones. This experience would not have been the same without each and every individual who has been aboard Argo.
We all have found something to value in one another and found seemingly insignificant things that we will definitely come to miss. Announcements won't be the same without Amanda's announcement song and selling our cows. We won't know when Mars is in the microwave (mercury in retrograde?) without Juliette being there to tell us. Meal times will be quick and boring without Tomer's anecdotes. We will miss Will's inability to sit and Meg's reluctance to accept birds as marine animals. We will think of Ali every time we watch Outer Banks and Philip every time we hear the song Sticky. We will call Ainsley whenever we're unsure what to buy from Trader Joe's.
When we hear the song 28, we will have the urge to bang on the table thanks to Gabe. We will think of Bodhi every time we see a camera and Travis when we hear a sound effect in a movie. We will miss Charlie's ability to say the most perfect things at the most perfect time and the fact that Allie says hashtags a hundred times a day. We will beat social anxiety by channeling our inner Hannah and Ava and fighting the fear of dancing with strangers. When we see anyone doing pushups, we will think of Kackie dropping down mid-conversation to do them herself. We will miss Ben's facial expressions (specifically the height that his eyebrows can reach) and Kiley's ability to find anything 10x funnier than it actually is. And on the off chance we ever hear South African slang again, we might miss Callum, too. We have all found a reason to care about each other, and that is a beautiful thing to have come out of this experience. We all know each other and have had the opportunity to be our most authentic selves.
The day consisted of many lasts. Many people joined Ava at 5 am as she finished her 12-hour helm and joined in a dance party in celebration. My watch team was back on watch at 8 am. Work watch consisted of cleaning out the fridge, sun screening the dinghies, and removing rust stains. We all took our final turn on the helm. We were greeted with the presence of so many seals, seeing them swim around in the water or sunbathe on their backs. We then had Gabe's delicious ramen for lunch, followed by Philip's exciting destination presentation for Cape Town. He unfortunately disclosed that, contrary to popular belief, we cannot find love in Cape Town.
Nonetheless, we all rejoiced in excitement during his presentation for what was left in store for us. Many students then did their makeup exams while the rest of us began getting the boat ready to dock and started the boat to bed. We washed the booms, filled fenders, tied lines, and struck the staysails for the last time. Along the way, we saw a Mola Mola, which has been a bucket list item for many of us! As we approached the V and A, Allie gave us a boat tour of Cape Town, pointing out Table Mountain, the mall, the Ferris wheel, and many other exciting things. As Gabe drove us in, we passed through the draw bridge and saw the liveliness of the V and A dock. It's kind of overstimulating for us, but we're excited by the amount that we can do here. Once we docked, we finished the boat to bed and cleaned our PFDs. Gabe prepared a delicious Shabbat dinner for us, accompanied by Kackie's individual stovetop challah, which was so cute. We ended dinner with a squeeze involving our appreciation of the day, an appreciation of the person to our right, and an intrusive thought that we've recently acted on. Allie treated us to some shore time after cleanup, during which I can guarantee we will all indulge in ice cream.
Lasts are sad, but they don't need to be final. We had our last passage on Argo, our last sunset on the water, our last time on watch, our last time striking the sails, our last time on the helm, our last boat checks, and our last time docking. It's bittersweet to be coming to the end of the program. It's a beautiful thing to have the experiences that we've had that make it so hard to walk away. We are so lucky to have met the people that we've met that make it so hard to say goodbye. These are our lasts on Argo for now, but they don't need to be out forever. We will all leave Argo with a new sense of curiosity and a desire for more in all aspects of our lives.