Today was a B Day

Take a guess at what "B" stands for. Maybe you are thinking "bad" or "busy", but that was really a trick. "B" merely stands for a schedule day. On the ship, we don't operate classes on Mon, Wed., Fri. kind of schedule.  We just have classes that meet on A days and classes that meet on B days, and those alternate. Because classes sometimes meet during the weekend and not at all on a Monday if we are not in port, this is the way to equalize classes. For example, we might end this week with the last class on an A day, and then head into port for four days.  On the first day back at the ship, classes scheduled for B days will meet.  It's a different rhythm such that you aren't dependent on the day of the week, and we often don't really know what day that is. So, some courses that are scheduled for A days met for the first time yesterday, and the rest met today, a B day.  But, if you want the "B" to stand for something, let it be "better" to reflect a number of students who were seasick yesterday.  Color has returned to the cheeks of most of them.

The B day was a little concerning because most of it was going to take place while the ship was traversing the Kiel Canal. Take a minute to read the Wikipedia link.  This canal is like a river that runs right through the countryside with beautiful scenery and people waving. You are literally just feet from the forests, fields and villages on each side, and everyone waves at the ship and the passengers.  I said this was a concerning day because there was fear that students in classes would be distracted by the beautiful scenery just outside the windows of the classrooms.

The students seem to be taking the classes seriously.  I hear them talking about how they are planning to spend their time, and much of in involves reading or studying.  They were certainly in the library today.  Eleven percent of the students are studying business--the biggest major on the ship--and I think most of them made it to the library today.  The topic of the day in the library seemed to be "balance of payments".  I also met 3 UVa students today--the best and the brightest, of course.

Nancy continues to work on her water coloring and was grateful for the calm waters and great scenery of the Kiel Canal.

We had a "Dean's Reception" this evening with wine and cheese for the faculty and staff as thanks for getting the voyage off to a great start.  It also helped integrate the faculty and the staff which are two distinct groups under two different Deans. The staff include the RDs (resident directors) who live on the floors with the students and all other student life staff.  There is a big age difference between the two groups, so it is important to find ways to get them together. Nancy and I, along with most of the faculty, continue to find ways to join students for meals and conversations.  This is really on of the things that makes Semester at Sea unique as a college experience, and it goes both ways.

Two things were noticeable in appearance today.  Most of us were wearing our newly acquired Semester at Sea Apparel, and a significant number of people could be spotted with a patch behind an ear to ward off sea sickness.

As we exited the Kiel Canal, the setting sun was a nice backdrop for us.