At Sea

Dancing to the Nexus

            On Thursday, 4 Oct, we started the day with breakfast and Tai Chi.  Because it was very hot on deck, the hottest thus far, Jeanine cut our routine short.  Afterwards, we talked with our Australian friends, Gail and Jim, for a couple of hours.  Apparently, there had been a lively discussion between the Democrats and Republicans at their dinner table, and they wanted to know the differences between the parties so that they would feel capable of joining in tonight’s political discussion.  We learned that, in Australia, voting is mandatory for all citizens.  (However, a few citizens sign in to get their ballot, only to rip it up and toss it in the trash!)  In mid-afternoon a genealogy interest group met.  (No, we were not the instigators.)  Probably between 25 and 30 people attended.  Each told what they were doing, and quite a few called themselves “newbies.”  For our part, we described some of the interesting results of our research and told of our new participation in DNA genealogy and what we have already learned from it.  Tonight we had a full table for dinner, following which we danced until almost 8:00 P.M.

On Friday, 5 Oct, we slept late, right through Tai Chi.  When we ate breakfast with Gail and Jim, Gail said Tai Chi was stopped early again because of the heat.  For our late lunch, we had pizza in the upper Atrium, where we watched the “egg drop,” a contest to see who could drop an egg down to the bottom floor without its breaking by using whatever creative means they could find to cause a gentle drop.  At dinner, our table was full again, with lively conversation.  Afterward, we danced for 45 minutes to The Nexus; also, Toby and Sue stopped by to see us dance, and to talk with us between dances.  Tonight we set our clocks back again so we get another hour of sleep – how wonderful!  Tomorrow we have an excursion to American Samoa but don’t have to get up early.