Location: Underway to Richard's Bay
Day 62?! Holy cow!! As we cross over into having less than 30 days of program left, both students and staff alike begin to become more introspective about the past 2 months. This morning, my watch team sanded down some bits of the cap rail and applied a fresh coat of varnish, reminding me of the legacy left behind by each and every person who has ever lived aboard Argo. Argo is 19 years old, and if you do the math, that means there have been well over 1000 people who have been lucky enough to spend time on board. Just like the 19 of us! It’s hard to imagine the many lives Argo has experienced. Right now, it feels like we are the only ones. But like I was saying, Argo’s upkeep is thanks to all of us. Although the legacy of each of her crew members may not be entirely obvious, Charlie, Hannah, Drazka, and Amanda left a lasting mark of their legacy with the repair work they did this morning. There are little signs of life all over Argo- maybe a sneaky initial carved into a bunk or a letter written in the guest book. I am constantly incredibly humbled to be a part of Argo’s story. Maybe someone should make a Facebook group for all of us. We can form some sort of secret society with Greek letters (Alpha Rho Gamma Omega?), or maybe the phonetic alphabet is more appropriate (Alpha Romeo Golf Oscar?). We could meet up once a year to share stories of ocean crossings, midnight pranks, and galley disasters over a glass of dishy-pit water. Everyone would have to balance on top of a yoga ball to mimic the rolling of Argo with the waves. In these Argo society meetings, we would, of course, only use our code names, also known as our helmsonas. As mentioned in previous blogs, helmsonas are awarded after someone helms for the entirety of watch 4 hours! Today, a new helmsona was released! After 4 hours on the helm, Drazka was officially knighted as Gordon Helmsy, highly appropriate because she is also often regarded as the best chef. Speaking of, I am very excited for her to be making breakfast sandwiches tomorrow morning with homemade English muffins. On yet another level of introspection, I think Allie and I might have twin telepathy or something. After all, we do sleep in matching pajamas with our brains about 6 inches from each other in our bunks at night. Life’s pretty awesome when you live and work with a best friend. But anyway, this morning, I was telling my watch team that if Sea|Mester has taught me anything, it’s that there is something to like about everyone. Every semester I live with a new group of strangers for 90 days, and every single time I come to the realization that everyone will find a commonality to bond over, given the opportunity. I hope everyone will leave on Day 90 feeling like they made the most of their relationships with everyone onboard. Coincidentally, this was the topic of Allie’s leadership class today. I think the message really hit home for a lot of people because Allie’s class showed appreciation for the day for a few people during the squeeze tonight. Day 1 often feels like ages ago. On Day 1 of the program, I asked Charlie to pretend to be the laz hatch so I could demonstrate how to open the laz. In all honesty, demonstrating how to open the laz using a human pretending to be the laz hatch is the most ineffective way to demonstrate how it should be done. That said, at least it’s funny. Tonight, I looked across the cockpit and in the middle of dinner, Philip and Charlie were reenacting the roles of “laz hatch” and “laz hatch opener”. It was awesome. Some things never change. Meanwhile, Hannah and Ava continue to giggle at the unknown. I’m not sure if they even know what they are giggling at. Ali practiced her British isms on Ben in preparation for when she goes to university in England. Bodhi photographed the moon. Ainsley told us about some of her most cherished possessions. Travis gave Charlie a haircut. Juliette told stories of her year abroad in Switzerland. It’s so fun to be here- 28 days. Please slow down!! Another thing I’ve been wanting to say that didn’t really fit anywhere else is that I bought a bootleg of Supergreens powder. I’m usually into this kind of potion, but I’m pretty sure this one is just hay. – I keep asking everyone if they would have packed a beanie if it wasn’t listed on the packing list. Most have said no. But I’m a firm believer that you should bring a beanie everywhere you go. Especially if it involves being on a boat. This is a PSA. – I bought the best toothbrush of my life recently. Curaprox Ultrasoft 5460. I’m not sure how expensive it was because I bought it in Mauritian Rupi, but I’m officially adding it to my list of great gifts to buy a friend.