Time for a quick blog post: we have about 16 hours before we're scheduled to land in Yokohama, Japan early on the morning of Sunday, January 27. I think we're all about ready to reach land after about 10 days at sea. Today is by far the worst sea weather. There's a low pressure system that's resulted in high winds, sea swells of 4 meters, people and objects getting knocked over, and general rough travels on the ship.
I'd have some pictures to post, but all the exterior doors are off-limits, elevators are closed, and everything that can be tied down is tied down. Today the kids did not play ball on the top deck. Today the silverware flew out of the cafeteria drawers as the ship lurched. Most of the windows and portholes on the ship, no matter what deck, are constantly being splashed by sea water.
Whitecaps are visible out the windows. Wind is whistling in the hallways. My Biomedical Ethics class adjourned early because several students had to make a dash for the restrooms. I've heard several faculty who have been on semesters before state that this is the worst they've seen.
So far, Ellen, Jasper, and I are holding up okay. I've been able to balance pretty well, and I think it's in no small part to spending many Saturdays trying to stand upright on bouncing hay wagons. Having mastered the side stance is a good skill to have right about now. I'm hoping that if I can make it through this without turning green and getting sick, I may just make it the whole journey without erupting.
What I feel is that I'm somewhat inclined to say to mama nature, "bring it", and we can say we made it through without a scratch. The ship is sturdy. Stuff slides around but can be tidied up. But just this one big storm will be fine, thank you.
Domo arigato.
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