Ensenada

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu

Left the hotel this morning at 8:30 and got on a shuttle headed for Mexico.
We had to cross the border of course so we stopped there for a minute. I
was surprised how quickly we went through security there because of how many
of us there were. So then we traveled the rest of the way towards
Enseneada, about an hour and a half drive. But here's the thing about
Mexico:

Mexico is brown.

Everywhere we looked in Mexico, it was dirt and mud houses. It got a little
depressing until we got to the ocean. And then oh my gosh. It's
B-E-A-U-T-IFUL here along the water. The houses are so interesting and so
bright and the water is sooo blue. I didn't know they made ocean that blue.
It almost makes up for all the dirt.

Getting onto the boat was only a little harder than getting into Mexico. We
had to go through metal detectors and have our carry-ons searched. Then we
had to exchange our passports for ID cards to get into our cabins and stuff.
Once we got on the boat, We stood in line for about an hour going through
registration. They had to check our tuition status, registration, trips,
health paperwork, everything. Then finally we got to go to our cabins to
meet our luggage, which was being searched by Port Security. I was on one
of the earlier shuttles so I got to the room way before my roommate did.
It's little, but it doesn't seem so bad. We have 2 beds, a desk, a table, a
closet, a bathroom, a tv, and a mini fridge. And the best part: we have a
porthole!!!! Right now it's showing the dock, but soon we'll be able to see
the ocean.

I've been exploring the ship all afternoon since I'm unpacked. It's pretty
amazing. Dining rooms with good food (already tried it), a spa, a library,
pool, lots of decks, weight room, student union, school store, and lots of
decks overlooking the ocean.

There's orientation stuff tonight, and a life boat drill soon, so it'll be
pretty busy now. I can't believe I'm actually here!