Derek Fullager
10/6/95 aboard Concordia
Moroccan Street Games
Today has been the fastest-paced and most stressful day that I have had on board Concordia. I had to wake up at the numbing hour of six o'clock so that I could finish my Anthropology project on time. Once again my procrastination has gotten me in trouble. My research topic is "What do children from around the world do in their spare time?" I had a lot to write about because during our four-day inland trip to Morocco I observed kids playing many different games.
One simple game involved throwing a big rock at a 2 by 4 which was propped vertically into a drainage grate. The object was to knock the 2 by 4 out of the drainage grate and onto the road. The person with the most knock-outs wins. The thrill that these young boys got out of this simple game baffled me. Their accuracy and the dings on the road told me that they played this game a lot. They invited me to play but I ended up making a fool of myself by completely missing the board.
Along with working on my Anthropology project, I also had to study my knots, lines, and procedures for setting the sails, and we had a PE test today. I am convinced that teachers plan it so that tests and assignments are all due on the same day.
Once I made it through all the academic obstacles, the day took a positive upward turn. We arrived safely in Cagliari. Ihave never been to Italy and I am dying to taste the food. Thank goodness we get a few days off from classes while we are here.
Jay Banister
Moroccan Street Vendors
Andrea Versteeg
Spanish Island of Mallorca
When we reached the shore, we couldn't believe how clear the water was, and many people decided to go swimming later in the day. When you looked up at the city, one sight that really caught your eye was a huge cathedral, complete with two spires. I visited this cathedral, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The stained glass and stone work were amazing, and there were many beautiful statues.
Palma was a great city, with a lot of stores containing extremely nice (although probably expensive) clothes. There was even a MacDonald's, which many of us were happy to see! It was a great day, and it was nice to have a break from our schoolwork on our way to Cagliari.
Tonight, most of the students are studying for our physical education test, which is coming up tomorrow. We have to know the names of all the lines (there are more than 100 of them!) and what they are all used for, the names of all the sails and how to set them, and how to tie nine knots that are commonly used on the ship. Everybody is studying especially hard for this test, because if we don't get over 80% on it, we aren't allowed free time off the ship when we get to Cagliari on Friday. We're all excited about getting to Cagliari, so hopefully everyone will pass!
Marie-Lou Poisson and Marie-Soleil Joly
Visiting Morocco
When we first arrived on the Concordia in August, the ship seemed huge. But, as the trip goes on, it seems to get smaller and smaller. In fact, we are now realizing that we have become a small community isolated from the rest of the world. We have our own distinct culture and rules as well as our own way of dealing with things. We have adjusted ourselves to the continually changing environment, so going back to our "country" meant getting back to normal life.
Within the first day we were back to our daily routine: breakfast, Colors, clean-up, classes, day watches as well as mariners (night) watches, but also going to bed and falling asleep to the motion of the waves, seeing the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises, and staring at the moon and the horizon for hours and hours... Ah! We missed you Concordia!!
October 4, 1995 aboard Concordia
I have decided to write about something that will be with us all along our voyage. It is the friendly game we play with street vendors all around the world. We argue and fuss over dollars, cents, escudos, dirhams... whatever currency we are dealing with. The common name for this ritual is bargaining or bartering. The vendors sometimes start off the bidding for an item to be purchased at up to 10 times the actual price. The buyer is expected to offer less than the starting price. They then proceed to find a price somewhere in the middle of the two prices. It is impossible to know what a foreign object is worth if you have not first looked at the buying price of a similar object. Most students on Class Afloat jump at the first thing they see. Because we are somewhat impatient, many of us feel like we have made a bad buy or that we have been ripped off. Many of these street vendors do not make a very good living, so when you realize that they got the better end of the deal, you don't feel so bad giving up those extra few cents or dirhams.
October 4, 1995 aboard Concordia
This morning the S/V Concordia made an unexpected but welcome stop at the Spanish island of Mallorca, in the Mediterranean Sea. We were ahead of schedule, so the captain decided it would be okay for us to spend the day on this beautiful island, in the city of Palma.
October 4, 1995 aboard Concordia
Visiting Moroco was quite an experience. We have to say that seeing our floating home, the Concordia (which we have finally become familiar with) really felt good. In fact, after four days of inland programs, with food that we were not used to, narrow roads, people begging at our feet for us to buy something from them, where only the Moroccan people find their lives normal, it really made us realize how much we take things for granted.
Introducing ||
Concordia ||
Students & CrewCurrent Position || Logbook || Journals || FAQs
Q&A || Special Offer || Bibliography || Glossary
Class Afloat / Ocean Challenge / OceanChallenge.com