Japlans

GREAT NEWS, GUYS. Tomorrow we will be docked in Japan!

I’m starting to get sea fever. Is that a thing? Probably not, but I figure it’s worth its own term.

Sea Fever

Noun

·      The mindset you find yourself in after spending over a week at sea. It’s symptoms include (but are not limited to) seasickness, delirium the need to hug a tree, see a bird, walk down a street, a burning desire for sushi (exclusively from Japan and China),  and the even stronger longing to GET OFF THE SHIP.

So there. It’s got a definition and everything.

I don’t think I’m the only one with sea fever. And by think, I mean I know that I’m not. Whether it’s sick of pasta, potatoes, or popping Dramamine every few hours- everyone seems to be excited/anxious to take a break from life on board.

Especially after last night’s swells.

I remember complaining about the rocking of the ship on the way to Hawaii- and I realize now how tame the sea really was.

Last night, they were so strong that at one point during dinner, we hit a particularly large (and unexpected) wave which caused plates full of food and drinks to go flying. Sounds fun, huh?

To my COtH friends- you KNOW what came to mind as soon as dishes hit the ground. Not to worry, I held it in.

Anyway.

After that episode, one of my friends decided that she couldn’t make it any longer, and just needed to go to bed. The rest of us remained in the dining room until it was time to go to our “cultural pre-port” in the union. We carefully selected seats in the center/back of the union because it seems to rock less than anywhere else in the room.

It wasn’t enough.

About half an hour into  the lecture, my body said no more. I had to leave. Not because I was going to get sick, but my head started to feel foggy and nausea was setting in. I stumbled through the back row of people and made a beeline for me room. As soon as I got in I put a handy dandy seasick patch behind my ear and laid on my bed. You can feel the waves fairly well in my room, but the bed soaks up a good portion of the impact. I decided that the patch was not working quickly enough so I took a Dramamine to back it up and returned to bed. Shortly after, my roommate returned from the cultural pre-port with a couple of my friends in tow.

They came to make sure I was doing alright. They really are the best. More on them later, I’m sure.

The two of them hung around for a few minutes and then headed to bed themselves. Keep in mind that it is about 9:00 at this point.

I got under the covers and closed my eyes and drifted off to a much needed sleep. Glasses on and all. I was out for the count when I woke up to what sounded like a cannon blast outside of our window- and discovered that the seas had gotten worse. I had a hard time getting back to sleep so I took a zzquil. Thaaaat did the trick. I wound up sleeping for 14 hours total. It was AWESOME. The waves were still pretty big today- but nothing could bring me out of my 14-hour-sleep-I’m-going-to-be-on-land-tomorrow high.

I’m looking forward to talking about something other than seasickness on here (and I’m sure you all are as well)! Exciting things are to come.

FINALLY, what you’ve all been waiting for. My Japlans.

I’m going to try to jot down my plans, so you see what my original intentions were- and then we can all laugh at how different reality is.

Day 1: Get off the ship and take the first train to Tokyo for sushi and shenanigans

Day 2: Field Lab in Kamakura at a Shinto shrine. Return to the ship and travel to Kobe

Day 3:  On board karaoke, movies, and games

Day 4: Explore Kobe and find a good place to eat some Kobe beef

Days 5 & 6: Mountain top temple retreat, then depart for China

And I hope exciting things are happening for you.

Things I Love About Today:

1. In less than 24 hours I’ll finally be in Japan

2. Me and my friend Sarah took pictures yesterday and I finally uploaded them