Here are some sketchbook bits from my first days onboard. (I don’t know how anyone makes it through safety/environmental training without a sketchbook!)

Speaking of environmental training: The training is about how the ship’s recycling, air and water systems work, so that no-one clogs the water filtration system with used condoms, or gets hurt from chemicals or large machinery. The officer stuck this clip-art in the middle of the training to wake everyone up and get a laugh. I can sympathize with that, but the joke got under my skin. It was a safe joke for him: there were over 70 men in the training, and maybe 8 women. He made a joke for the men, and it was fine with him if the women didn’t like it–in fact, that made it funnier. Am I being oversensitive and humorless, like a good feminist?

We just spent 3 days crossing the Tasman Sea, which is the kind of sea that necessitates leaving out little barf bags by all the elevators. We also turned our clocks forward two hours, heading east to New Zealand. Tempers were short by last night.
Today I’m sitting in a park with sunshine and internet, and everything seems fine!