Four Days Living On Basil And Parmesan

annay53
Sep 23, 2016
2 min read

“PDW: a wasted week away from the classroom.”

I believe that the statement above is completely false. There will be those few killjoys who will say that PDW was a redundancy and our time would’ve been used more effectively at school. But to that I say no! This week we spent away with a group of people who could barely be trusted with keeping a frisbee safe let alone an entire boat was, and I say this with little hesitation or doubt, the best week away I’ve ever experienced.

In three words I can sum up the trip. Fresh. Fok. Fatma. The three F’s that I live my life by, and always will. And by those three, we on the Basil and Parmesan boat came to realise that we didn’t need all those balls to be happy, or the activities that the other boats payed for. All we needed were those two ingredients, aka the only things we ordered, and our daily dose of Green Day and other emo tunes (you know you loved it). Friendships were made, ships sailed, songs were changed up to fit our conservative language, and the amount of random boats who waved back when I stood up and screamed at them to wave back is something I will be proud of forever.

To any ninth grader who will have the privilege of going on this freshing awesome trip, I give you this piece of advice. When Fatma asks for four people on deck, she means three. But when Fatma asks to pull, you pull goddamit. Don’t mess with Fatma, she has the strength of 50 sailors in her arms and the anger of a tiny chihuahua if you don’t loosen the rope. And Gerard, Gerard is just chill. Too chill for the realm, he transcends the meaning of chill to the point that he wears two pairs of jeans because he can. God of Chill. No but seriously, pack a small bag because the rooms are smaller than Fatma’s patience and be sure to wear a gas mask when entering the shower. You’re welcome in advanced.

But really, I couldn’t have wished for a better boat for this trip. The memories I made with these weird, slightly crazy people are truly some I will never forget. Watching Luke, Ewan and Tuomo throwing jellyfish at each other, Mr Max’s utterly fabulous dancing, Mr Dalesio’s creative punishments, and the shower I never had the pleasure of entering, Anna Catherina and the things we experienced on her deck will always hold a special place in my cold, black heart. Thank you.