1/2 Education and 1/2 Nightmare + I suck Writing in my blog

Well this is one of the first times I have updated my blog since I have been at sea, so I am trying to get better on the second half since half of the voyage. So this is what has been happening in Mauritius (our 5th port) and on the M/V Explorer. First in Mauritius, this is one of the shortest ports we have ever been in, we were there for a total of 8 hours!! In that 8 hours some of the worst things have happened while on this trip in term of binge drinking. We have been at sea a total 4 days from Cape Town and after Mauritius another 6 days until we get to India. So a lot of people decided to go all out on this trip and set up a booze cruise which was one of the most fun days I have ever had.
        I know a lot of you probably reading is like Travis you are an idiot for telling us about this stuff and it just sounds like a booze cruise all together and your not getting any education. Believe me. We got one hell of an education both about short port times and drinking too much. I am gonna try and talk about this next experience in a positive light and explain to you what I learned.
        While I took part in the booze cruise and probably around another 100 students, nothing happened to any of us except a few scrapes from slipping on the boat while it was moving (before we started drinking). This one kid which did nothing like a booze cruise ended up in the intensive care unit in Mauritius. When he got back to the boat he was foaming at the mouth, non-responsive, and could barely move. The crew automatically knew what was up, the kids he was with told them what happened and he needed care STAT. Apparently, (there have been many versions of this story floating around) he went on a ropes course trip and was out in the sun and salt all day (any island mates reading this you know what that does to you) He got 1 hour of free time and sprinted to the bar and drank plenty (on a empty stomach and little water). On the bus ride back he started to black out. He ended up in the ICU while the boat had to disembark due to port reservations and time schedules.
        The ship board community was completely shocked by this behavior because he was not the type of guy that was wrecked every night while in port. The staff was shaken up by the experience because this time last semester a kid died because in Vietnam and OD (over dosed) on heroin (watch American Gangster for more information on Vietnam drugs). Anyways, we got a call telling us that he was responsive and still living but he was about as close to death as possible. The community called a meeting and for once cut the bullshit and told us what was up.
        Some of the things discussed at this meeting was, how they have told us 1,000,000 + to not drink and they know it’s not gonna stop. This showed a prime example of how we need to watch out for each other and that did happen in this case. They wanted to use this as a learning example, because I have heard these reasons before and I see myself as a very responsible drinker. As for health care goes, we are entering Asia and guess what it’s not like America. Some of these places may have band-aids and gauzes but nothing to treat excessive intoxication. So it’s extremely important to watch out in Asia on this topic. The other learning example was when we are in out next short port Singapore. If you do anything such as spit on the side walk or be a dumbass your in prison.
        The attitude on the boat has changed a lot about this topic and we are rallying to bring back this student. The deans are listening because the only thing stopping them is grades and missing class so their looking at his academic record. I know some of you reading might also disagree but many will not understand this experience and the closeness it brings to people around you.
        Anyways on a less heavy note we are currently speeding towards India and we passed Diego-Garcia Island which is a huge US military base (owned by British though) and we had to drop a few people off there to get medical attention for unrelated reasons to Mauritius. I have never seen a more fortified island it was so strict. Navy seals had to come on board to search for drugs and what was funny was I have never seen men look at women like that before. It was like when the nerd looks at his crush and his friend pushes him to say something. They were all senior officers to which I found ironic according to stripes on their uniforms.
        This is about all I got to talk about so I hope no one is worried and I am having the time of my life (non drinking too). I will try and update this tomorrow on a less heavy topic and talk about ship life before I hit India. I will not update my blog for about 6 days while in India because ill be traveling all over hopefully meeting up with a friends who is over here now. Ill let you know how that goes.