PHOTOS

Day 30 (02-17-09)

Today is South Africa Day. It sounds more exciting than it really is. We basically just sit in meetings all day talking about South Africa and what to expect when we’re there. But the fact that we’re about to be in Cape Town is incredible enough in itself that I don’t even care. We get 5 days in South Africa, which is the longest we’ve had in any ports so far. Needless to say, I’m excited. What a weird phrase. “Needless to say.” People always preface their obvious statements with “needless to say,” so why say it? If it is truly so blatant that no verbal communication is necessary to convey your message, then you shouldn’t even say the statement in the first place. And if it is something that you want to tell people, it isn’t useless information, thus “needless to say” isn’t applicable, as you clearly do need to say your thought. But I digress.

Today, we did actually have the most exciting thing to happen on the ship in quite a long time. Ready? Wait for it… Taco Day. Oh man. Words cannot describe the wonder that is encapsulated in Taco Day. But I’ll try to make it happen anyway. Every day. For lunch AND dinner. There are 4 staples. Salad. Potatoes. Fish. Meat. The types of meat/fish and the way that these are all prepared may vary from day to day. But the ingredients are the same. Taco Day takes that formula and laughs in its face. Taco Day presents itself to you as a buffet of goodness, beckoning you to come and invest time in its deliciousness. Taco Day looks you in the eye and addresses you personally, saying, “You look hungry, Christopher. Come and fill your stomach with meaty, cheesy goodness. You call that a taco? Add some more sour cream! Don’t skimp on the salsa, either. We are friends, Christopher, and I will fill your mouth with an orgy of flavor to delight you until your plate is empty and your jeans feel tighter.”

Well, it’s sort of like that.

We also did our second evacuation drill today. It’s basically a half hour of standing on the outside deck feeling like a sardine packed in with all the other students/faculty members onboard. Lovely. More pre-Cape Town things will happen this evening, and then: South Africa awaits.

EDIT: So I realized in the last post there were some typos. Im human. I was tired. We all maek mistakes sometimes. If you cam’t deal with a few typos in a layd-back storytime-style blog, you’re taking your life way too seriously. Consider a massage.

Also, I believe I credited the Disney Animal Kingdom safari to Will Eisner. Slip of the tongue I suppose. Will Eisner was a graphic novelist who is usually credited with inventing the modern Graphic Novel. I was referring to the former CEO of Disney who spearheaded the creation of the Animal Kingdom in the 90s. Michael Eisner maybe? Something like that. You get the idea.

Oh, I had the opportunity to upload some photos to the picture page tonight. There are several from Neptune Day and only 1 from Namibia. I had to go to a meeting, so I couldn’t finish, but it’s more than were there yesterday, so it’s a start. Happy browsing.

Photos