Traveling from Japan to Australia marks the longest stretch of on-ship time for this voyage, 10 full days at sea. The week has gone surprisingly fast, with classes and special planned events. I spent the early days of the week getting caught up on my classes. Of course, I did this while sunbathing by the pool. After a few days of sunbathing in the middle of the ocean, I have a guaranteed tan for the next six months. The pool is the hot spot, it is filled each day with ocean water and drained every night. Tuesday (7/15) we crossed the equator which is called Neptune Day. We held an initiation ceremony to transform Pollywogs (first-time equator travelers) into Shellbacks (sea faring veterans). This ceremony is disgusting to say the least. Traditionally Pollywogs have their heads shaved and are covered with fish guts. We created our own rendition of Neptune ceremonies with the dean and captain acting as the sea gods. Dressed in bed sheets and body paint, they gave us clearance to cross the equator. Although I have crossed the equator before, I joined the line of Pollywogs. (I guarantee there is no airline that stays in business after putting passengers through this ceremony, so I knew I would never do it again). We were marched through the ship and brought poolside where we were dumped with fish guts (actually, a potent mix of ground food waste). The anticipation and stench in the air was almost as bad as having it dumped on your head. As soon as it was dumped on me, I had instant gag reflex as if I didn’t look horrible already. From here we swam through the pool and were sprayed with salt water from the ocean while we kissed a dead fish. I survived the ceremony, and after a grueling round of paper, rock, scissors between my roommates and me, it was determined that I would be the first one to shower. I felt that I had paid my dues to the sea gods and didn’t partake in the rest of the festivities: the head shaving. There are quite a few bald heads now wandering the ship, including my roommate Jessica. The women who shaved their heads donated their hair to the Locks of Love Organization, which make hairpieces for children suffering from long term medical hair loss. It took a few days to wash the fumes from my hair, but I did just in time for our second theater performance. This show was a 1920s murder mystery. It was an improv show of sorts. We were given an outline of the plot line and characters that we developed on our own. We rehearsed scenes, but with the nature of the show they changed each time. I played the role of an all-girl gang member. We all dressed, walked and talked alike. Our job was to dispose of the “dead” bodies. Whenever my gang and I entered the room, the Pink Panther theme would play. Our roles were made more difficult because our costumes consisted of walking in sync while wearing stiletto shoes on a swaying ship. Regardless, it was a blast and the show was a success. To round out the week, we held Sea Olympics. Our residence halls are divided into seas, mine being the Ionian Sea. We held a day long event of competitions between the seas. The events ranged from sporting events to male bikini competition and synchronized swimming. It was a close race all day as my sea vied for first place. The last event was the determining point pusher, an event called Sea Idol (our rendition of American Idol). Our contestant wooed the judged and took first place, giving our sea the points we needed to come out as the Sea Olympic champions. Our prize: first to disembark from the ship at the end of the voyage. After closing ceremonies everybody gathered on the pool deck for a celebration BBQ. We watched a beautiful sunset at sea that we have become accustomed to, knowing that when the sun came up we would find ourselves on land again in Brisbane, Australia.
