Greeting from the Amazon!

        Our voyage is really picking up as we approach Manaus, Brazil on Sunday! The MV Explorer entered the Amazon River Wednesday night for the first time in Semester at Sea history!  It is unlike anything I have experienced yet, all of a sudden the rocking motion ceased and we were surrounded by brown murky fresh water.  Looking out the windows we can see land on both sides and the sky in covered in clouds. 
        Yesterday was a great day. I had all my classes and did not feel seasick at all. No headaches or tiredness was keeping me down and I was able to listen to all my lessons which were quite interesting. My favorite of the day was a presentation from a guy who is sailing with us on the first part of the voyage. He just finished his graduate degree at UVM and presented his research to us all about coffee! It was so interesting to learn about an industry that is not yet mechanized yet and how this thing that we so often take for granted is produced and a look into the lives of the families who harvest it.  One thing I took away from it is to be a smart consumer and find out where the coffee is coming from and look for brands that guarantee a percentage to the farmers. So that’s just one little tidbit of my day.
        Last night my friends and I went to our first “Pub Night” on the ship!  Despite the long list of rules (including no card games, no music, and no “rapid consumption”) and the three drink limit (of wine or beer) it was actually pretty fun and a good way to socialize! 
In the midst of this party we noticed a group of kids all surrounding an area of the deck. When I went over to see what was going on I looked down and there was a HUGE BUG on the deck. When I say it was big I mean like over 5 inches. It looked more like an animal to me, yuck! So you can imagine how excited I am now to be spending 3 nights on a small riverboat in the Amazon! In rereading the description of my riverboat trip I saw that activities include: catching alligators with our bear hands, and fishing for piranhas! I will definitely be packing the bug spray and I am hoping to develop more of an appreciation for the great outdoors! Wish me luck!!
So for an update on cabin life, my roommate and I have been getting along great. Last night we bonded over trying to remember all 5 members of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, I never thought I would forget them! We also discovered that both of our moms did Semester at Sea…. THE SAME YEAR! What are the odds.
Well I am going to go enjoy not having class for a week =) and try to soak up some sun.

Miss you all so much! 
- Cassie