December 11, 2013 at 12:37 am

OH MY GOD!!!

I’m awake in the middle of the night and it feels likes a ginormous seesaw right under us. Thankfully, Kathleen and I each put a patch under our ear about a few hours ago or I think I would be sick. BAM! What was that noise? We keep moving forward at full speed ahead.

“You’re going to have a wild ride once you hit the Drake!” The words were repeated in my mind by a colleague of Byron’s at the airport. THERE WE GO AGAIN! Geez Louise, what was that noise, did we run into an iceberg?! We’re supposed to hit the Drake Passage tonight and now I think I know where we are…whew, what a fun ride!!!

Oh no. Something just fell in our closet. We were supposed to Drake-proof our room last night which I thought we did a good job of. I hear Kathleen coming out of the top bed to see what it is.

Oh never mind. We leave our cabin to find the ladies room. “Nicole, you’re walking like you’re drunk.” You honestly can’t walk in a straight line here. Apparently according to a staff member who’s been on like 12 of these trips, said that these are the worst swells he’s experienced. And now I know why there’s a railing in the restroom. Hold on or you might topple over!

Sleeping in bed, my body literally slides back and forth, back and forth.

Later today…

It feels like I’m back in class. We attended 2 lectures today: one on Who Owns Antarctica? And the other on photography. I’m always tired, and I feel like dosing off in the middle of the presentations. Did you know that no one quite owns the continent – it’s divided by who has “claimed” it: the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, Norway, France. But really anyone can go – the continent is mainly used by researchers and scientists.

We also got to go on the Bridge:

RING, RING, RING! Yesterday we had a safely drill. Kathleen and I were the first back to our room, and took out the life jackets. Okay to sum up that experience: Kathleen would live. I would live if it didn’t matter that I had my life jacket inside out. And Kim would die since there’s only 2 life jackets in our room. Also, say you were stuck in that lifeboat for 3 days? Well they kept emphasizing the fact to bring our med prescriptions. Forget that, we plan on bringing the barf bags and Dramamine because you’re going to be stuck in a boat with about 60 people and when someone is about to get sick, well there is nowhere that stuff can go. Yuck.

They even put out those bags everywhere on the ship. When you climb the stairs you pass by 3 of them on each level.