We could all learn a little from Lady Gaga. No, I’m not saying to wear ridiculous outfits made of meat, Kermit the Frog, bubble wrap, or any other zany material, and I’m not saying to make inappropriately long music videos featuring coarse nudity, themes involving murder and/or suicide, and excessive alcohol consumption, but I think she said it best during her early days to “just dance, it’ll be okay.”
Dance is a great way to release pent up energy, get some exercise, or just shake what your mama gave you (otherwise known as your booty). On SAS, there is certainly no shortage of dancing, and last night was a prime example. One of my bosses in the Communications Office, Spencer (the photographer!), has conceived the “SAS Dance Tribe,” a group of students devoted to silently boogieing down through the corridors of the MV Explorer. Yes, silently. But Sam! You need music to dance! What has the ocean done to you crazy fools? Well, a lot, but that’s another story.
It’s not entirely silent, but it’s titled that because there’s no sound system involved other than each individual persons iPod. Basically, Spencer created an hour long playlist of various songs that we were to all play at the same time and get down, shimmy, cha cha, tango, groove, or any other variation of simply dancing, or moving your body to the beat. We busted our moves from the Union, in and above Tymitz Square, in the Library, past the classrooms, in the Piano Bar, through the Garden Lounge, outside on the 6th and 7th Decks (despite ridiculous winds), wherever our perpetual beats took us. The best parts were the looks people gave us. Honestly, though, Shakira’s hips don’t lie, so why should ours?
Upon completion of the not-actually-silent silent playlist, some of us joined the shipboard community at large for a dance party in the Union (with a DJ and speakers and a single rhythm to dance to, mind you). Already drenched in sweat, I kept on dancing through the night, schooling a few poor souls in the occasional dance off. For a skinny white Jewish boy, I can really shake my tailfeather, though my mother probably would disagree. I’m really feeling it this morning; I’m quite sore. Was it worth it, though? Absolutely. Why pass up the opportunity to have some fun and release some steam after our first Global Studies exam and discussion day? There’s no reason, I say! No reason! Well, unless you have a broken foot or some horrible terminal disease, of course, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to anyone on the ship, which is a good thing.
Interesting feature of dancing on the ship: the motion of the ocean. Seas have been rougher than sandpaper, so we’d all shift a few steps throughout the Dance Tribe and the party in the Union. (I know the ocean to sandpaper is a weird comparison, but that’s all I’ve got right now. Work with me here.) Let’s be honest for a moment, though: that was part of each of our individual improvised routines, and it looked really, really awesome, despite making things a bit tricky at times.
T-2 days until South Africa. Even though I used it in Ghana, it still applies: Waka waka! This is Africa!
P.S. I'm at work right now, using my other bosses Internet. I'm a sneaky sneak, I know.
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