Journals, week of 04/15/96
Marie-Jeanne Godbout aboard Concordia, April 15, 1996Captain’s Inspection
Every Sunday when we are at sea and every time we come into port, we spend an entire day cleaning the ship. It has to be spotless for Captain's Inspection. On a normal day, we usually clean our cabins and public areas by making our beds and sweeping. These areas are inspected by our director. On Captain's Inspection days, we have extra duties in addition to our daily ones. We have to mop the floors, pass a damp rag on all surfaces, scrub our head, plus mop and scrub the passage ways, classroom, bridge, etc. We also spend at least one or two hours on deck scrubbing and removing rust. After all of this cleaning has taken place, the Captain comes around to inspect our work. He looks in every corner, behind benches and in any other spot dirt could be hiding. If we pass inspection, we have the rest of the day off to relax. If we do not pass we start over and clean until we do.Jen Kauffman aboard Concordia, April 9, 1996
Easter Journal
Easter began with the usual colours but it was made special with the help of our Polish crew and French-speaking students. They taught us other ways of saying 'Happy Easter' - 'Wesolego Alleluja' and 'Joyeuse Paques'.
The rest of the day continued on pretty regularly. Kelley and the galley crew, however, worked hard all morning and afternoon in preparation of a huge Easter feast. This feast included hala bread, salad, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, plenty of stuffing and a wonderful turkey. There was cranberry sauce and some apple crisp for dessert. But, being totally filled up on our dinners, we decided to save the apple crisp for another day.
While we were all feasting, the Easter Bunny swam up to Concordia (probably New Zealand) and jumped aboard. He snuck down below and hid Easter eggs in all different places and then jumped back into the water. After dinner, the students onboard scurried to hunt for chocolate treats. Some found dozens and dozens of treats. The long passageway became a battle zone as eggs flew from one end to the other. Poor Kristie, caught in the line of fire was pelted on her lower lip and the swollen deformity is still visible. Lukas found the special paper that won him a whole bag of eggs, lots of ammunition. Even after being thrown and tossed all over the passageway, the eggs were enjoyed. Easter ended with all the students having a full tummy of chocolate or a collection of eggs to savor another day.