On the 23rd of October I had kitchen duty, so I stayed the whole day inside. We cooked fried rice and some other kind of sauce. The cooking is efficient and basic, because it takes time to get used to the small spaces and the kitchen utensils hanging from the furnace can easily get in the way. I found it extremely fun to cook food for 40 people, even though the portions were large and the washing of the dishes was tedious. It gave a feeling of satisfaction at the end of the day.
It is difficult to decide between climbing in the mast and playing football while you have free time. Even though it is hard to get used to the cramped spaces, and only being able to walk a few meters until you have to turn back around because you’ve reached the end of the ship. I was dying to run a little but I stayed behind and went climbing, which was exciting the longer you stayed up there the more at ease you felt. Not being used to the slight swaying of the ship I felt a little frightened at first when a gust of wind would come by, it was forgotten when I looked in front of me. The higher I went the more I saw. I found the Amsterdam skyline impressive from the deck of the ship which was nothing compared to the view I got up in the mast. But I soon had to go down and back to the kitchen.
Annick