2013-12-21 Winter Solstice 
【Aiden in English】 When the alarm clock woke me this morning, I thought today would be another boring day at sea when Nautica Oceania was en route to Mahe, Seychelles, from Male, Maldives, crossing the Equator in the Indian Ocean. But oh, how I was wrong. From the beginning of time, seafarers had partaken in ancient ceremonial initiations for crossing specific global navigational coordinates. Such practices were so vintage in origin that their derivation had been lost. Still, it was believed that initiations in such secret societies began in the Middle Ages and may have originated with the Vikings. Here we were for the Equator crossing ceremony. All Polliwogs, soft and gushy creatures that had never crossed the Equator, had to take an initiation ritual and join the secret society of Shellbacks, the complex and demanding creatures that had crossed the Equator.
This was my second time by sea, after crossing the Equator twice by land and four times by air in the past. However, I still did it for the thrills after King Neptune, the master and ruler of the seas, was calling the Polliwogs. First, you had to kiss a red sea bass. If you thought that was bad enough, you also had to be drenched in a gooey substance that included food bran, flour, chowder, oats, and maybe a little glue. As I approached the fish, the smell hit me like a slap to the face. Now I was standing before the fish, staring at it. The one reason I passed was that Emily, behind me, slapped me forward into the fish. Let's just say trash couldn't even be compared to sea bass. Moving on, the gooey substances were poured onto me, and my stomach flip-flopped as it went down my shirt. It felt like tiny bugs crawling all over my body, and they even went into my hair (which wasn't too bad considering that I didn't have long hair).
Right after that, the first place I went to was the pool shower, but it was too late. The goo had hardened on my skin and hair. So no matter what I did, it wouldn't come off. If you were very fashionable, then this was not your thing. But strangely, even though it was gross and disgusting, it was also fun. I probably won't do this again, but doing these things gave me a story to tell children when they think something is gross or disgusting.
【紅霞譯文】
早晨我被鬧鐘吵醒，心想今個兒海上飄泊將很無聊，“大洋·航海”號遊輪離開馬爾代夫首都馬累“宮殿”前往塞舌爾共和國馬埃“神賜”島，正在印度洋穿越赤道。天吆，我真是睡昏了頭。
有史以來，每當初次穿越地球特定緯度時，海員們都要舉行灌頂儀式以示慶祝。如今這種傳統雖已無法考證，但從中世紀起，據說海盜最先發起秘密社團各種入會儀式，這就是為何我們要有穿行赤道洗禮的來由。今天，從來沒有穿越赤道的脆軟“嫩蝌蚪”將正式加入曾經穿越赤道的“老水手”行列。
雖然這將是我有生以來第八次海陸空穿越赤道，但我還是積極響應大洋領袖“海王星”首領的號召，興致勃勃地參加隆重而特別的慶典活動。按照慣例，人們首先得親吻紅鱸魚，當然這還不算完，接下來再被澆上由麩皮、麵粉、海鮮雜燴、麥片、也許還有膠水調製的漿糊。當我向魚走近，異味立刻撲鼻而來。我站在魚前端詳了一會，不料艾米麗從後猛推一把，結果我匆匆完成了這道程序。要知道，當時的感覺比嗅到垃圾桶的味道還難聞。再說漿糊澆身一事，我內心翻江倒海，好像小蟲子在我身體上頭髮裡面爬來爬去，幸虧我寸頭短髮，豁出去無大所謂。 完事之後，我趕緊跑去游泳池邊沖水龍頭，可惜已經來不及了，漿糊黏住皮膚頭髮根本洗不下來。如果你愛時尚，這絕對不是你想幹的事情。奇怪的是，雖然它看起來有點噁心，但弄在身上還是挺有趣的。或許我會下不為例，可是這樣一次經歷足以叫我大長見識，將來我甚至可以“以老賣老”告訴子孫後代。 Today in History(歷史上的今天): 2012: Vina Del Mar the Vineyard at Sea, Chile(智利海上葡萄園) 2010: 月全食(Total Lunar Eclipse) 2009: 新西蘭懷歐塔普地熱仙境(Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, NZ) 2009: 新西蘭羅托魯瓦(Rotorua, NZ)  Equator Crossing Ceremony (慶祝穿越赤道)
 Polliwogs & Shellbacks (“嫩蝌蚪”與“老水手”12-21-2013)
 Pre-Celebration (慶祝前 12-21-2013)
 King Neptune (“海王星”首領 12-21-2013)
 Kiss a Red Sea Bass (親吻紅鱸魚 12-21-2013)
 Drench a Gooey Substance (澆漿糊 12-21-2013)
 Gooey Stuff w/ Food Bran, Flour, Chowder, Oats, & Glue
(麩皮、麵粉、海鮮雜燴、麥片、膠水組成的漿糊 12-21-2013)
Shower (沖浴 12-21-2013)  Post-Celebration (慶典後 12-21-2013)
 Thrill after the Ceremony
(事後按耐不住激動的心情 12-21-2013) Crosslink(相關博文): Across the Indian Ocean(穿越印度洋) 5th Grade(小學五年級) | 
