Rollercoaster

Life on the boat has been quite a bit more eventful than expected. Last night was an "I love the 80s" dance and I was in awe of how many people showed up sporting their 80s gear. Where did it all come from? I, of course, wore the shorts.

Earlier in the evening, I attended a lecture on how the ship manages waste. I found out some incredible things. Probably the most shocking was the amount of money spent on disposing of waste in port. On the last voyage, the cost of getting rid of waste in Hawaii for a 10 day period was half of a million dollars. Wow.

This morning began with another amazing discussion panel with the archbishop. Three faculty and three students were chosen to each ask a question based off a theme. The questions and response couldn't be any better. You could tell that they were all really from the heart. Even though some of the topics were heavy topics, Tutu kept it light by adding his own little humor. I've come to realize how much I tell about a persons character by the way they laugh. Listening to Tutu's laugh, I can feel the purity and richness that is in his heart.

"Religion is like a knife—it is not good nor bad. If used to cut bread, it is good. If used to stab someone in the gut, it is bad"
—Archbishop Tutu

Following the discussion, Dean John announced some very tragic news. The U.S. government has deemed it unsafe to travel Kenya because of possible terrorist action. Any ship, including all military vessels are being told to avoid the area. Even a military ship that was supposed to dock on the same day as our ship has been redirected. This came to the shock of many students and even though my African safari was one of the trips I looked forward to the most, I understand that the risk would be to great. I know they are making the right decision, because Dean John was in tears when he had to deliver this message to us.

My first inclination was to think that the Myanmar trip was canceled. As I have learned, the situation there is a lot more serious than I thought. The militant government is, among other things, breaking many human rights. The Archbishop even went as far as to express that, had he know that Myanmar was on the itinerary, he would have not joined us on the the voyage to South Africa.

We are not sure where we will stop instead, but hopefully we know soon.

Finally, the ship is really starting to rock and it is only expected to get worse. Its rocking a lot down stairs in my cabin on deck two and when its rocking down here, you know the boat is REALLY rockin'.