Here we go!

Just a short update as we launch into voyage 2...

I am so happy I stayed to see this. The program is really coming
together. More organization, more systems in place, and most of all,
more confidence in knowing what we are doing. Staff Orientation
began on Dec. 27 (I still can't believe we only had a 3-day
turnaround time.), and the students arrived on Jan. 2. They've been
great, and I've really enjoyed getting to know them already. Not
that I don't miss some of our other students. I still feel in
transition as I step into my new role but am trying to be patient
despite the discomfort at times. And my two partners, Cherine and
Sarah, are amazing.

We already had our first open mic, dances in the Student Center, a
"Hot Topic Dinner Forum", a "Mix It Up" Dinner Night (where you draw
a name of a Peace Maker and sit at the corresponding table), and now..

We are sitting in the waters outside of Shanghai. Why, you ask?
Because we are surrounded by immense fog, and the conditions would
not allow us to dock, as we were scheduled to do this morning.

I live on a ship.