First off, the students are very tired when they get back from their days in port -- they either go on the field programs sponsored by the ship, or they travel independently, and tend to be exhausted when they get back. Then, the seas were rough this entire six-day period, and many people were frequently cranky and seasick.
On the 11th, they were given an assignment for a five-page essay based on the readings they'd done for the core course, which was due in 48 hours. Some resentment on the amount of reading required for the course had been simmering, and this seemed to set it off, leading some students to circulate a petition with some complaints about the core course. Basically the complaint was that the core course was a history course rather than a current events course, there was too much reading for the course, and the course was harder than previous core courses had been. (I will note that the UVa students seemed to have no trouble or complaints with the readings or assignments.) This whole thing stirred up and subsided within 3 days.
Anyway, Dean David had left the ship when we arrived in Guayaquil, on a previously scheduled trip to Paris for a conference, leaving Ricardo Padron as the Acting Academic Dean. Dean Ricardo did a great job in finding a consensus among the faculty on this issue, and addressed the students directly on the issues they had identified. While there was still some grumbling, the problems seemed to die down by the 13th.
(Synchronized water ballet by Dean Ricardo and Dean John -- Photographer unknown.)
The Sea Olympics were held on the 14th. No classes were held and all day the various seas competed for the honor of being the first off the ship when we return to San Diego. Events included Team Spirit, the Obstacle Course, Twister, Limbo, Lip Syncing, and of course, the Synchronized Swimming Competition, held in the ship's pool, some 10 feet by 8 feet. The highlights were the Arabian Sea swim team, and the special synchronized swimming ballet performed by Acting Academic Dean Ricardo and Executive Dean John. It was quite cold, and Dean John performed in a wet suit. The next evening, the winning Arabian Sea swim team posed for pictures to benefit the Students of Service; they demanded a picture with the librarian, so who was I to say them nay!?
The next couple of days were very quiet - everyone was busy studying for midterm exams and getting their plans set up for five days in Chile. On the 15th, Brian Owensby gave a great current events lecture in the core course in preparation for Chile, about the U.S. plot to overthrow Salvador Allende in the 1970s. That bit of current events was a big surprise to many of the students, I'm sure.
