Boat Life and Beyond

Our first full day on the boat! Wow, although a bit old (40 years) the boat is not a boat but a ship (or so the argument on board goes). It's cool, it's medium size, it's a cruise ship. Various lounges, three small pools, two cafeterias, several theatres, a small fitness centre and comfortable cabins. You definitely have to be careful with what you eat. There's lots of food and plenty of choice and yes very easy to gain 8 lbs per week. Although are several minor "hiccups" with facilities and such (i.e. there still furnishing facilities and receiving supplies) I'm confident we will be able to set sail on September 5th.
Today we had a full day of orientation (i.e. explaining the components of the program, meeting key people including the ship captain) which included an experiential port program (we were divided into teams and went on a bit of a treasure hunt in Athens). Lots of fun and great to get to know our team members. Davis was our group photographer and the main actor in our 60 second Scholar Ship commercial.
We have 4 more days of orientation and they are full days. No sitting around the pool for us.
Thoughts - very surreal being on the boat - very cool boat - neat people from various parts of the world - great to be experiencing this with Davis - great learning already and it's only been a few days - looking forward to learning and experiencing more - travel can teach us so much - the Scholar Ship has all the components to be an outstanding learning experience (global subject matter, port programs, on-board programs, community, research and extension programs, diversity . . .)! More later . . .
-Ken

So Dad mainly covered everything, but there are a few things I would like to add.
The boat is really awesome. It will obviously take some getting used to, but I can tell it will be super fun.
One thing I am really excited about is that there are 2 photographers/videographers that are really awesome. They seem like cool guys. I talked to them about stuff and they seem like they could use some help. I volunteered myself to be their slave. I am so excited that they are on the ship.
I really find alot of this stuff that the adults talk about interesting. I like hearing their opinions about alot of things. I could see myself following Dad's footsteps somewhat.
Well, I guess that is all for now. Dad covered most of it!
Love you all.
-Dave