Getting to see China, Europe, Greece, and Italy, were one of the best parts. But that's not the only good thing about the program, once you drop off the animals, the crew members play baseball and volleyball, table-tennis tournaments, fencing, boxing, reading, whittling, and other games to pass the time on the way to our next destination.

Before you get to have all the fun and free time, you have to take care of the animals. That means feeding and watering them, but there are some risks. On my second trip, I was put on duty as a night watchman, and one rainy night, after making my hourly report to the captain, I slipped on a wet step and fell down the ladder on my backside. My heart was beating faster than ever as I shot towards an opening on the side of the ship. Luckily, there was a small strip of metal along the edge that stopped me from plunging into the Atlantic, but I had cracked my ribs, disabling me to do work for a few days.

But the fun and travel is worth the hard labor and pain.