Sailing, Sailing

So we have been at sea for about a week now and the weather has been amazing. A couple days it felt like we were hardly moving at all. One day the water was so flat, it was almost unbelievable to see. The calm weather is great for sailing on a ship full of non-sailing people though - very few people have gotten seasick, which really helps to build a relaxed and fun atmosphere in the ship. It helps me as well because none of the students in my class seem to have problems, even in rough seas, so I still have to have enough energy to catch up with them. Because we have to have at least 180 days of school in a year, we have to teach during the sail. I am all for changing our schedule to sailing during the summer months, which would be great for the school, but I am not sure about everyone else :)

I was able to take my class up to the bridge on Thursday, which was fun - what other school has a sailing bridge that they can visit whenever they want?! We had several discussions about what to touch and what not to touch before we went up :) but the kids did a great job. There are also two little glass squares on the floor on either side of the bridge that look down into the water. Most of the kids realize now that they can stand and lay on the glass and love it - although one did refuse to even put a toe on the glass for fear that he would fall into the water :) They also each got to 'drive' the ship -- well, turn the wheel, which really did not do anything because the computer was driving, but they did not seem to notice. I think a couple times the waves rolled the boat a little bit at the right moment and they thought they really were turning something.

We left Tenerife last Saturday in the afternoon and will arrive in Benin on Monday. It is one of the longest sails that the Africa Mercy has taken since leaving England. It should be exciting on Monday when we dock. There will be a welcoming ceremony and hopfully lots of people will be able to get through security checks in the harbor and be able to greet us. Somehow a crowd always makes things more exciting. I should be able to get some pictures and put them up next week. The dock in Benin is supposed to be very different from Liberia, so I am sure there will be new and exciting stories to share soon.