Day 112: The Alumni Ball

Today was a weird day, because it was the alumni ball. And not because the alumni ball was weird but because we had been anticipating it for so long and how it was here and we were living it. 

That was weird. 

I started my day with my bio exam. I am not really sure how I did, it didn’t go very well. Mostly because scientific names are not my forte. Right in the beginning of our exam someone started hammering really loudly right by our classroom. It went on for so long that it actually became comical. It would get quieter and then go back to loud. It stopped for 5 minutes and then started up again. 

Eventually Professor Young told us that we were allowed to leave to escape the hammering if we needed to, as long as we brought our exams back on time. After the 5 minute silence, when it started again, a lot of people left. I was not one of them, I stuck it out. It was hard, but I hope I did ok. 

After I turned in my exam I was going to take a nap. But then Molly emailed me and said that she wanted to eat on deck 7 because it was probably going to be the last time we would be able to. So I went to her room and watched her start to pack by shoving clothes in a duffle bag until it was time to eat. 

Again, the best burger ever. I am going to miss those deck 7 burgers. 

After that it was already time to go to the wellness center to get our hair done. Wooo being a girl and needing all day to get ready! Actually it was more that 1pm was the only appointment they had. 

She did my hair like Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. It was all curled in the back and the front was pulled back in braids. It was pretty, I loved it. 

Molly got her hair done at 2 and then for the rest of the afternoon we sat in Molly's room as she did other peoples make up. Jessi had gotten her hair done at the same time as me and did not like what had been done at all, so I fixed it for her.  It actually came out really pretty. It was in a braid bun and then hung down curly to one side. 

Molly actually had a schedule of the people who she was doing makeup for. The first person she did was India, who had tried to win the auction item but lost, so Molly offered to do it anyway. 

Then she did her own, then she did the girl who actually won the auction item. Then she did mine, then Emily's, then Marie's, and finally Lillian's. 

I also had to fix Amanda's hair. It just wasn’t coming out how she wanted it, so I took the curling iron to it and it came out perfect. Apparently I had a way with hair.  

It was an exciting my moment zipping up my dress. We had to call Lillian to come to Molly's room to help. We couldn’t get it over the seam. After a bunch of tries Molly was holding it together and Lillian was zipping and all of a sudden she starts to exclaim, "It's going, it's going, it's going!" And then when it way all the way up, "It's there!!" And we all started jumping up and down. 

We were all ready at 7:30 and walked around the ship taking pictures, including a visit to Tymitz square to take a picture with Captain Jeremy. Which, by the way, that photo made it onto the Semester At Sea official Instagram.

Our dinner seating began at 8:30. There was an early seating at 5:30. With how long it took us to get ready it was a good thing we did not choose that seating .

It was in the fifth floor dining room and was fancy dining, we had already ordered our food. We were handed a glass of champagne as we walked in. We were at table 18, which was to the left. I sat with Molly, Amanda, Lillian, Marie, and Alexandra. 

Everyone was running around and taking pictures even as our food was being served. 

I had the bruchetta for my appetizer, then we had broccoli soup, then caesar salad. I had the beef for my main course. Dessert was baked Alaska. The waiters actually paraded the flaming cones around the room before they were served. It was all very overwhelming and delicious. And my dress was very tight so that made eating extra exciting. 

When dinner was over we all we all went up to deck 7. The party had already started for the early seating so we just joined in on the dancing. I could only dance for three or four songs before I had to take a breather. My dress was really, really, tight. 

The dance was supposed to go until midnight but in the middle they extended it until 1 am. That would have been awesome except for the fact that we had to be completely packed before we were allowed to disembark in the Bahamas the next day. And all of us were not even close to being close to packed. 

So the dance ended for us at about 10 of midnight. 

We were up until 2 am packing. It was a processes. Eventually I just started shoving things place. So, for the most part it is organized. Kind of. 

Taking my dress off was a very mixed feeling moment. I could breathe again, so that was a good thing, but it was so pretty that I just never wanted to take it off.  

This blog makes the whole day sound really short and boring but in actuality it was really long and emotional. Because of that I don't have much to say about it. It is hard for me to capture the essence of the day with words. It was a day of feelings, as I am sure the next three days will be as well. 

It was definitely a night to remember.