The ship is German.
Thank goodness I went to Austria last summer and understand some German, so as I boarded the ship I knew exactly what “Wasser Closet” meant (bathroom). Our ship, the 
MV World Odyssey, is a luxury five stars cruise that sails around Europe during the summer… And I thought I was about to be grungy for the next four months. It’s based off the MV Deutschland, a German TV show that was based off the American show, The Love Boat. Some might also say that you find love here. But, there’s a catch: the boat is 77% female!!! I’m thinking Hunger Games Part 4: Katniss and 300 other girls fight for Gale and Peeta. Or a new season of the Bachelor, every guy gets 20 girls each.
My “sea legs” have yet to kick in. The ship finds it funny to push my body from one side of the room to the other, throwing off any kind of balance I have. Even when I’m standing still I sway back and forth like I’m grooving to jazz music. The good thing about the rocking is that it puts you to sleep every night. Do we think I will survive Yoga on the boat? Stay tuned.
I’ve met so many people from across the country and across the world. I ended up being matched with a different roommate, Sara from Madrid, Spain. She’s teaching me Spanish and says I’m a natural with accents. According to her I “over packed” and brought my entire house with me on the ship. I call it “having options.” I’ve started to form relationships with people from countries like Myanmar, Spain, and Germany. It’s fascinating to learn about the similarities and differences of our cultures on a personal level. My German friends gave me new vocab to try out. They also informed me that I’ve been pronouncing the one phrase I thought I had down in German wrong, “Ich habe hunger”- I am hungry.
LMK if you can say these words:
Gähnen = yawning
Wie gehts = what’s up
Eichörnchen = chipmunk
Schreibtisch = office desk
The teachers here are incredible. My oceanography teacher lives in the Caymans, my nutrition teacher is a certified dietitian and expert in food, my global studies teachers are wizards in culture and have traveled all around the world, and finally, my marketing teacher is the guy who has written most of your marketing textbooks, K. Doug Hoffman. Go look at your textbooks and you will be amazed. I’ve learned more in five days than I have in a semesters worth at school. Do we think that’s concerning?
I’ve spent almost a week on the ship and I’ve already had two opportunities to share Jesus with people. It’s a pretty cool feeling when you have others asking you about your 
faith without bringing it up. Coming from a background where almost everyone I know are Christians, it came as a slight surprise when I was asked questions like what the Holy Trinity is and how many times a day I pray. This has also given me the chance to learn about other religions in depth. I’ve taken a religion class, but after listening to what they had to say, I realized I really don’t know much about other religions. I’m getting #cultured.
It’s only been a week since we left San Diego and boat life has been amazing. Every morning I eat breakfast on the deck with an ocean view, bask in the sun, and gaze upon a 360-degree sunset in the evening. No Wi-Fi has been hard, but it brings you closer to the ones around you, which I’m thankful for. It’s also amazing to find out that every time we have a time change, we GAIN an hour of sleep, and we change time zones quite often. I feel truly blessed now. I also never know what day it is as we refer to our days as A and B days. Though I miss being able to actually see land, I’m not letting one moment slip by.
Aloha from Hawaii!
XO,
Cat
Cat Across the Map 