My life as a traveling teacher.

Bonjour France! Arriving in Saint-Malo, France, our first port, is as incredible as we had imagined it to be. We get to shore in the afternoon of the 19th, and the trials and tribulations we faced during our sail quickly become stories we now laugh whole heartedly at, instead of cry about. Here is a youtube video taken by one of our students during the storm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1MiREXAyPA Shortly after we dock, the faculty heads to a local seafood restaurant to celebrate Jason, our shipboard director’s birthday. I fall in love with France immediately. Not only does it not make me nauseous, but it also has 3 course seafood meals for under 12 Euros. Add cheaper-than-water-but-still-incredibly-good red wine to the mix, and I am now definitely in a state of bliss. We start trading stories of our experience weathering a force 9 storm. Christina and I fondly remember that fateful night/neverending day, and our state of utter invalidity. As you may recall, Christina became my roo...

So begins my dream job…my once-in-a-lifetime adventure that I have long pondered, hoped for, waited for… and am finally getting to experience. It begins in Bremerhaven, Germany, where we are acquainted with the Sorlandet, our home for the year, at a tall ship festival. We are to spend a few days as a staff getting to know each other, and experience a team-building sail to Norway, where we will eventually meet our students. The Sorlandet is beautiful. At first, I am surprised at how big she is… not sure what I was expecting, but this Norwegian beauty surpasses my expectations.. first few days are spent meeting fellow faculty members (all seem awesome, hurray!), jet-lag correcting, orientating and provisioning (translation: stocking food on board for the year). Then… seasickness. Our venture on the North Sea terrifies me, and makes me wonder if I am really cut out for this. How will I teach when I can hardly get out of bed? Brushing my teeth or taking a shower seems like a monumental tas...