By Arne
Having been on the Thor Heyerdahl for nearly two weeks now, we can say the Thor is our new home! After we solved lots of problems, we all started to make ourselves comfortable, got used to getting up early and to organize ourselves in our small private room. We all grew to one piece, to one group of teenagers following one dream, having fun, learning to get to know our boarders and exploring new things. The two weeks we have been on the Thor Heyerdahl feel like over a month. We have explored and learned so many new things.
After we passed the NOK (Nord-Ostseekanal) the first people out of our group started to get seasick. Only a few could fight against their seasickness. This first week in the North Sea showed the strength of our group. Those who could fight against their seasickness helped those who couldn´t cope with the waves. We had days where half of the ship was seasick, but thanks to all those who helped, most of us got over it after three to four days. Getting closer to England the water got clearer, and we saw the first dolphins, jumping out of the water. The dolphins’ silhouettes in front of the reflecting water caused by the moonshine felt magic. Even the weather got better, we could even take our first meal outside, in the sun and pull out our first shorts. It´s really special how our group works together, like if we had known each other for ages. We play together in our free time, help us in our project groups or when we are seasick . We help each other whenever we can.
Each day on the ship is different but built up in the same way. Everyone of us is divided into a different watch-group. Each watch lasts three hours, you have to do two each day and they are always nine hours apart from each other. So for example you have your watch from 5am to 8am and from 5pm to 8pm. You are only allowed to eat during the eating times. If you don´t follow these rules, there will be a consequence. Breakfast is from 7:20am till 10am. That’s the only meal the watches eat separately. Lunch is between 12am and 1pm. That´s the only warm meal we have every day. After lunch there is teatime at 4 pm, where we get some coffee, tea and some biscuits or cake. The last meal, dinner starts at 6pm. Between all those meals we have our watch time, nautical study hours or some free time, where we can learn by ourselves, chill outside or just sleep in our rooms. All students on this ship are on one level. So everyone has the same amount of space, the same watch time of six hours a day and everyone can shower every three days for one minute. Every day a watch is responsible to keep one area of the ship clean, like cleaning the toilets. One big advantage is the size of this ship, you are never alone, you always have somebody to share your thoughts and feelings with.
You all probably know that we have to cook our meals by ourselves. One group of four people is responsible for our meals every day. This group consists of one crew member and three students mixed up from different watch-groups. Cooking for 50 people worked surprisingly well.
All of us are integrated, everyone has his /her place in this group, and that’s what I think is special about this ship. Everyone stands together, combined this means we are a strong group, ready to force our boarders. So many new things we have explored and so many new things we will explore and this in this group will be awesome. Teamwork is the key in this project.
I think we all miss our family and our home, but here on the ship, we have so many new things to explore, that we often don´t have the time to think about our problems.