Things I've learned (an ongoing list)

1) Michelangelo might the the only person who could ever recreate this sky.

2) After two weeks of galley food (which is rather good), there is still nothing like homemade spaghetti.

3) While making homemade spaghetti, you can meet the woman who fries plantain chips to sell in the ship shop, and sometimes she'll give you a sample.

4) I really like plantain chips.

5) Everywhere you go, you will be photographed, gawked at, and smiled at. Some children will run up to give you a high five. Others will run terrified to their mother after you bend to their level and try to play with them. Especially if you are bright red from the heat and are wearing a blue Butler hat. Not that I've experienced this or anything.

6) The proper way to pack clothes is to fold them into pockets.

7) Water needs to be conserved on the ship, which means 2 minute ship showers and 1 load of laundry per week. This in turn means I will save hundreds of dollars on water bills when I return home, and people do laundry in groups so you can still have a lights, darks, and towels load.

8) Laundry day is so much more fun when you fold your roommate's laundry into pockets for them to discover after work. 

9) You will get proposed to on a regular basis. Right now my tally is Guinea - 5, USA- 0. 

10) If you want to attend a Africa Cup soccer game, you only need 4 bucks and a few street vendors with tickets in the same section.

11) The proper term for a soccer game is a football match.

12) You get instant respect on the way to said game if you sport Guinea's colors.

13) However, it's good to make sure you're seats are in the Guinea section rather than the opposing team's section (in this case the country of Niger).

14) This is what the Niger flag looks like. Our seats were right in front of it. With no one else around for at least 5 rows. 

15) The wave is cross cultural.

16) After listening to my NZ coworker, I really want to add the phrase, "Jolly Good!" to my vocabulary.

17) No matter how many times I try to incorporate "Jolly Good!", I will never sound like a Kiwi.

18) Chickens are everywhere.