The students who stayed at our complex were actually very nice and respectful that we were there to relax. The only student problem we had involved a student who actually was staying a few places down but came to our complex to crash our pool. And this girl, who is one of my residents on the ship, literally crashed our pool. She was drunk and being dumb by running around the pool and she slipped and busted her head off the concrete. Here is how it played out: I was in one of the villas trying to teach a few of the staff members how to play asshole when Marcia, a fellow RD, came in and said she needed some sober to help a student who is hurt. When I got out there she was lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and unconscious. Seeing her like that totally freaked me out. It brought back memories that I never really wanted to think about.
Fortunately Jay, the IT guy who is really cool, snapped into action and helped bring the girl back to consciousness and keep her from freaking out. She refused medical help and luckily one of the staff that was there was the ship’s nurse Monica and she checked her out and said she was fine.
After we calmed her crying drunk friends down and got this girl up and coherent. We all figured this drama was over and we could get back to our vacation. I went up to my villa to grab something from my room and as I walked back outside I saw this girl running by the pool again and of course she slipped again and cracked her head. About this time all us staff had the same reaction (excuse the language) “You stupid bitch.” She was unconscious again and we had to call the ambulance. When they got there the girl refused to go to the hospital which was probably a good thing since the driver reeked of alcohol. We decided to just have the girl’s friends walk with her back to her place and put her to bed. It was way too much drama for the night.
So besides that whole incident the rest of our time in Mauritius was incredible. The beaches were some of the most gorgeous beaches I’ve ever seen. It seemed totally surreal that I was just swimming in the ocean just off the coast of Africa. This whole trip has been filled with surreal moments like that. One of the funniest incidents of the trip was the lunch Craig (the director of Student life), Marcia, Kelly (who works in the bookstore) and I had at this hotel/restaurant we stumbled on during our walk through the small island village. All of us were in the mood for a hamburger and when we looked at the menu the burgers that they had listed were under the chicken section. So since we were confused Marcia decided to ask the little Indian woman, who spoke little English, if the burgers were indeed hamburgers. Marcia asked “Are the burgers hamburgers?” To which the women just seemed to give that confused smile people give when they don’t know what you are talking about and said yes. Marcia wasn’t sure so she asked again, “Are they cow?” Again a confused smile and a yes. Still unsure Marcia decides to ask one more time, “You know cow… Like MOOOO!” Yes, she started mooing at the woman. It was surreal and hilarious. The best part is the woman looks at us and without missing a beat says, “You mean beef?” I can’t even begin to describe how funny this situation was. We must have seemed like the most obnoxious Americans ever but we were the only ones there and how great of a story must that woman now have. I can see her going home that night and telling her family about these crazy Americans who started mooing at her.
The two days on the beach were not nearly enough. On our last day in Mauritius I spent the day walking around Port Louis with Kelly trying to find a patch and a magnet, the two things I’m collecting from each port. We had a great day and I got to call home and talk to Mom and Dad. (Sorry Rose that I missed you before you went to school.) I do miss everyone but I’ve been doing really well about not being homesick and trying to just enjoy the voyage.
We left Port Louis on time and without any student incidents. The next few days at sea were really stressful for me since the Sea Olympics were on the 4th. The Sea Olympics are my big event, an all day competition that pits the seas against each other in games like the tug of war, synchronized swimming, dodge ball, twister, limbo and overall spirit. My sea, the Arabian Sea Enchanted Leprechauns and the Mystical Pot of Gold, came in 7th out of nine but I was still proud of their effort and how they came together as a group. More importantly the whole day went off just about perfect. I was lucky in that I had a wonderful student, Kyle, step up and help me run the events all day. It was good that she did because I was running from one event to the next making sure everything was set up and troubleshooting any problems that came up along the way. When it was all said and done I got numerous compliments on how great the day went and how good of a job I did. It was a great feeling that people really think I did something really great and that everyone seemed to have a good time.
And now that my big event is over I’m in retirement. Bring on India. Hopefully I’ll find an internet café and get some pictures upload.
PS I know some of you have asked about the “special someone” I mentioned previously. Okay here is a little bit about her. Her name is Kelly, she is from Seattle and she is totally amazing. She is very soft-spoken but she has an incredible singing voice. She let me hear her former bands cd and I was blown away by her vocals. Steve you will really like the sound, kind of Postal Service.
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