Getting to Know You

As I mentioned before, 28 people on a boat.  We are sailing on a pretty good sized boat, but it s not exactly a yacht, so we had to get to know each other pretty quickly.  On the second night, this was accomplished by a time honored favorite, the animal game.

What?  You say you don t know the animal game? You haven t lived.  The game involves the group clapping in time, then one person does their own animal move, followed by someone else s animal move, thus passing the turn to that person, who does the same.  If it sounds juvenile, that s because it is.  The majority of the boat formed a huge circle on the deck, and those who didn t play were watching.  We each picked an animal, invented a motion, and got down to business.

Led by Crab, an 18-year-old Aussie, we spent a couple of hours chanting animal names and doing animal moves.  The consequence is that I still see people as their animal first, and spent most of the next day calling people Elephant, Fox, or Crocodile.  It s getting better now, I am starting to put names to faces and eliminate the animal titles, though I still respond to the names Lauren and Shark.

Bear, bear is in action

The result of our entire boat getting on really well is that we travel in large groups.  Tonight is no exception, as I am due for dinner in half an hour, when 22 of us will be meeting at the docks before going for pizza and pasta.  It s a mixed group, aged about 18 – 30.  A substantial number of people are teachers in their other lives, but there is also a forensic scientist, a charity fundraiser, and someone who plays online poker for a living.  The people I meet  while traveling really change my perspective on career possibilities sometimes.

I will get some photos up as soon as I have more time onshore, hopefully tomorrow.  But if you are desperate for a visual, just imagine blue skies, masts swaying in harbours, and extremely happy people walking around in swimsuits.  This is my life.

The crew.

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