My Fishy Valentines Day Kiss

February 14. For a lot of people, that means romantic dates, roses, and a box of chocolates. For others, it means a bottle or two- or 4- of alcohol watching sappy romance movies wondering where Prince Charming is. For us, it means being drenched in fish guts, kissing fish, and shaving heads. Literally. Welcome to Neptune Day, where you are initiated to the ocean. We woke up to the banning of pots and pans at 7 AM, then went onto the 7th deck to watch the “King” and his guards come in. Then, people line up to get fish guts poured onto them, clothes and all, and jump into the pool. After you get out of the pool, you kiss a fish, kiss the King’s ring, and eventually, people shave their heads. While I would never shave myself bald, I did lather myself in some delicious intestinal yum yum’s from some aquatic lifeform. I think I saw about 20 girls shave their long, gorgeous hair right off. Meanwhile, the meager 18 boys are running around saying how weird it feels to lose an inch of hair. OKAY, boys. You badasses you. It also happens to be our worst day at sea yet. It isn’t out of the ordinary to walk down the hall and watch everyone walk into the wall. At lunch you watch your plates slide across the table. You’ll hear the trays in the kitchen go off the racks one by one, or see a sea of glasses pour all over the deck. So what else is February 14 to me? Well, more exciting than Valentine’s Day or even Neptune Day, is the fact that we’re halfway to Africa. You have NO IDEA how excited I am excited for Africa alone. I’m a little worried for others at Pre-port meeting. They may not know what to do with me and my intense pangs of excitement. I’m spending the first few days on a tented safari, so that pretty much means roughing it with the big 5. For the last couple days I’m looking into shark diving or ostrich riding. Haha, even typing it now… who would have ever imagined being able to say the phrase “I’m four days away from being in Africa” legitimately? Probably the best Valentine’s Day gift ever. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! MUAH ;) lol