Suite Life on Deck

Today we woke up and packed everything up to go down to catch our
shuttle outside of the hotel. We got our name tags and boarded the
shuttle around 8:45. It honestly looked like driving through New Jersey
for the hour and a half ride, lot of farms and cows. It wasn't a very
exciting ride until we got a first sight of the ship. We made it to the
docks around 10:15 and we were through security and were on the ship by
11. We went through check-in and then made it up to our room. We are all
the way at the end of the hall. The only room past us is an emergency
exit. The room is small, but not extremely, it is a nice size to live in
for 2 and a half months. Our luggage got here super fast so we were able
to unpack. No more living out of a suitcase for us. We met our neighbors
to the other side and they seem really nice. We had lunch and got our
email fixed and of course took a nap. Around 5 we had to gather in our
muster stations to practice an emergency drill. Those life jackets are
so attractive, at least they are my favorite color; orange. There we met
a lot more people. It is now 7:20 and we just finished dinner. The food
is buffet style, not that great but not terrible either. At 8 we have an
introduction meeting and the ship leaves at 9 tonight! Tomorrow we have
an orientation before classes start the next day. Once we leave tonight
we are on our way to our first port; Lisbon, Portugal!!