Strange and Unusual

Being in ship yard means a lot of things are different. Let me give you a run down:

1. There are far less people on the ship than usual

2. There are no children allow on the ship during dry dock (so that mean all the families move off the ship to other accommodations)

3. You have to wear closed toed shoes all the time (because of the safety hazards). Consequently, my nude flats are starting to look quite dirty and my feet are always hot; it is a trying time

4. Lunch is served on Saturdays (usually no lunch is served on the weekends)

5. No air conditioning 

6. Fresh water is extra limited, so that means being really strict about 2 minutes showers and only one load of laundry per week. Yes, it can get smelly.

7. The ship itself is very quiet. I don't mean because there are less people around, but because there are less generators and engines running so there is literally less ambient noise

8. South Africa is definitely not as hot as Madagascar (that's really good- see number 5)

9. When the water gets turned off for the day we get food brought in from outside (last week we got amazing butternut squash soup)

10. When they spray for bugs we get food brought in from outside too (yes, there are bugs). I don't like to squish bugs; I like to rescue them and set them free outside but here that just isn't possible. Sometimes you are way too far from a door, and the windows don't open, so I have become a bug murderer.
11. The wearing of a hard hat needs to be factored into how my hair gets done (again, life is difficult)

Besides all that, we have 3 captains on board right now. Two are acting (one is handing over to the other) and one that will take the position in several weeks. 

Have a great weekend!