ever grateful.

As I sit in the faculty staff space on the seventh deck, I am watching
the rough Atlantic churn itself and my stomach. There have been moments
in the last two days that I've wished (for brief seconds) that I was on
land. More so, I'm ever grateful that I get the opportunity to
experience the vastness and mightiness of this ocean - even if it is
showing off it's power a bit more than I'd like. Four more days until
land...

the beginning...

Lat 43º 15.92N
Long 064º 21.03W
Speed: 11.6 knots

Hello! We are currently sailing along the eastern coast of Canada and
are scheduled to port tomorrow morning at 0800. We have had two full
days of training since sailing away from the Boston port on Sunday
evening. It has been such a joy to be back at sea and back on the MV
Explorer. This is truly a unique opportunity and I struggle to
communicate just how lucky I feel.

It is very odd to be here with a whole new group of staff and faculty,
but we are quickly getting to know one another and are beginning to
build some wonderful relationships. The past two days have flown by
quickly and tomorrow we will get to wander around Halifax for a bit
before the first of our students (work-study) arrive on the ship. I will
be supervising nine work-study students and am eager to meet them
tomorrow. We will host a reception in the evening for the families who
were able to bring their students to meet the ship. It is always a blast
to see the parents and, not unlike the parents of first-year students,
they bring an amazing excitement, nervousness and energy to the ship.

Thursday morning we will board the rest of the students and then we are
officially off for a voyage of a lifetime. I'm very excited about the
role I will be serving in on the ship, but I must admit that it's been
an odd shift away from the student life work that I'm so accustomed to
doing. I think this work in Alumni and Development will be good
experience and an engaging challenge for me.

miss and love,
kate

and.... we're off!

Well, the months of planning, getting vaccinations, obtaining visas, moving, packing, unpacking, repacking, repacking, repacking (ad infinitum) is all going to pay off today! 

I will board the MV Explorer for this next adventure in a couple of hours and I am beyond giddy with excitement. Returning to the MV Explorer feels like I'm returning to a home I so desperately love. One of the reasons I love it so much is the amazing family that I joined when stepping on board. The students and staff of F06 really made the voyage what it was and I carry them in my heart as I set sail again. I am confident that the F12 students and staff will be just as amazing, but I'm feeling nostalgic for the F06ers now. 

I'm usually a "carry-on only" type of traveller, but I will admit that I have definitely overpacked this time (oy). Here's hoping my fellow staff members don't judge me too much (and that I'll actually be able to lug it all to the ship). More later. For now... time to pack up again and get ready to head to the port. Below is a map outlining our voyage (image courtesy of www.semesteratsea.org).