Today, the students arrived. They arrived in stages on buses from San Diego, and were met by ship faculty, staff, ISE staff, and family members of all the above. It was truly a joint effort. The students reported that they had about a 30 min delay at the Mexico border, and several buses experienced search dogs on the bus. When they arrived at the port, there was a series of stations to go through--checking documents, passing out ID cards, getting set up with the purser (keeper of shipboard accounts), luggage checks, etc. The biggest hassle seemed to be students who had electric hair straighteners and dryers without any evidence that they had automatic shutoff (for fire safety regulations). We helped one woman in the library who looked up her appliance online to get the specifications, and she was allowed to bring her straightener on board.
As students arrived, they were cheered by a group of ISE staffers, and responded with waves and picture taking.
There is definitely an energy shift on the ship. The afternoon was spent exploring the Explorer--often in packs of students and sometimes with roommates. They actually came through the library and helped me consume a large bag of candy that I had brought for the occasion. They were all willing to stop in the library and make introductions and chat. At the end of the afternoon, I could remember about 8 names. I'm already ahead of my goal for learning names.
Then we had the lifeboat drill. It went smoothly, and we passed thanks to the willingness of the students to seriously engage in the process.
We finally were able to leave port around 6:30 after a short delay for an"emigration issue". When the ship left the dock, a huge cheer went up from the students who were finally really beginning their voyage. We sailed into a beautiful sunset, and you could see seasick patches on many of the students.
In just a few minutes, we will have our first orientation meeting with the students. They are going to be a fun addition.
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