Life on the MV Explorer is so much fun - we were a little antsy yesterday, though. I think it was our ninth day on board, and everyone was excited to get out and walk around a little. On Tuesday, we finally left the Atlantic Ocean and sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar. I stood at the front of the ship and watch us approach Spain on the left and Morocco on the right. They are actually eight miles apart, but they look closer when you approach them from far away.
Classes were really taking up a lot of my time lately. We have class everyday, which is quite different then the once-a-week-business that I am used to at Maryland! It is very intense and I feel like I am constantly reading in order to keep up with everything. Because the semester is so abbreviated, on Wednesday (our last day at sea until we got to Europe), I actually gave my final presentation! haha Isn't that funny? It was on Spanish higher education and my partner Megan and I pretty much rocked it. : ) Haha, no really it was very interesting! We have like 22 class days total, and I think we've had about seven of them so far. I am learning really interesting things, though.
For all of you higher ed people who are interested...This week we talked in depth about the Bologna Agreement which was signed in 1999 by a lot of countries across Europe. With the agreement, those countries are required to standardize their higher education programs, so that it will make study between countries easier and will also help educators/employers because they will know that the student had a certain amount of education. (A bachelor's degree is three years under the Bologna, for example) Before, countries had all different requirements - seven years, two years..so it's awesome that they are doing this. It puts a lot of pressure on the US, though. We've got to get our act together because European higher education is really taking over! It will be cool to ask faculty/staff/students about how it has affected them when we visit universities in our ports! (See? For all you who thought I was on a "cruise"...I AM learning stuff - hence the term..."academic voyage"! haha)
Today, we arrived in Barcelona! It was awesome! Barcelona is RIGHT on the water, so we are planning to come back to the ship each night! Semester at Sea has a shuttle bus that takes us right into the downtown area - in like 5 minutes! : ) Spain is glorious. I think it was like 80 degrees today and perfectly sunny - in a way that only a beautiful Spanish afternoon can be. (sigh!) We docked at 8 AM and then we had a "diplomatic briefing" where a officer from the US consulate in Barcelona came aboard to tell us not to buy drugs and stuff...the usual, you know. We were cleared by customs (they have our passports, so they do it all at once!) and then we got to leave the ship. Erin, Haley, Colleen, Amanda - my new friends - and I left the ship and shuttled-it to downtown. We spent the day walking lazily around the city, just exploring and gradually making our way to the sights. We have four whole days here, which is awesome! It's nice not to be rushed. It's also cool because I've been here before (when I was studying abroad in '08), so a lot of things are familiar. It's interesting, though, because today I discovered a side of Barcelona that I hadn't seen before…we walked around, getting lost in the twisting side streets. I was so focused on visiting the main attractions the last time that I was here that I miss out on how much personality the side neighborhoods have! No orange trees like my beloved Sevilla : ( but the streets and sidewalks are exactly the same. We also went into the Barcelona Cathedral today and the smell of incense brought back a wave of memories from Sevilla for me…I remember that the streets smelled like that – especially after the Semana Santa processions (remember Mom and E?!). It made me tear up a little to think about how much I miss my Spanish family and my friends that I made in Sevilla. I WISH there was more time in Spain so that I could visit, but it’s too far… and plus I would miss beautiful Barcelona! I am going out tonight to see a really cool fountain show after dark and then we are going to a tapas bar for dinner around 10:30 PM or so…SO SPANISH! I love it. Today, I drank a café con leche (KB, I thought of you, buddy!) and I thought I was in heaven…then we stopped at a tapas bar this afternoon and it was FANTASTICO – cold beer and delicious tapas…what more could one want??! After tapas tonight, there most likely will be dancing! It should be really fun! : )
For all of you reading - love you all and I am missing you. Please please please write and let me know how things are going. I might not get back to you right away, but I would love to hear!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Days 7, 8, and 9 (June 21, 22, 23): Still chugging along…
Today, we sailed through the Straight of Gilbralter! It was amazing – we saw the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) on the left and Africa (Morocco) on the right. They are only 8 miles apart! It was really cool, but super windy and COLD, surprisingly. The ship actually had to slow down to pass through because it is a “high traffic” area. They have to get permission to pass through, kind of like an airplane does when it gets cleared to land.
The last few days have been busy and ship life is kind of taking its toll on me. Yesterday was, without a doubt, the roughest day at sea. The swells were HUGE and the ship was rocking so much that it was difficult to walk. I spent almost all day in bed, which stinks because I had a lot of homework and internship work that didn’t get done. : ( It’s a little frustrating because I am used to running, running, running to accomplish my to-do list, but here on the ship, my time is dictated by the size of the swells! I can’t do homework if I can’t sit up! AH!
I'm so sorry if it sounds like I have been complaining...to put things into perspective, I actually had 2 really good days, when I didn't need drugs, sea-bands, or anything! :) Yay me! I thought I had found my sea-legs, but then I had a slight relapse...
Things with school have been really busy, but I am finding time for fun, too. There was a dance party in the super-duper-really-sweet faculty and staff lounge last night. :) It was great – open bar, good food! After the dance party, I went to sleep, woke up 4 hours later, gave my final presentation for my International Perspectives class, and then went back to sleep immediately after. Yikes! I feel like it is FINALLY Friday. Tomorrow begins the weekend! : ) We will be in Barcelona first thing in the morning. We are just going to walk around the city tomorrow and see where the day takes us. I feel so relaxed about my time in Barcelona because I feel like I hit all of the major sites when I was here for a weekend in 2008, so I am not as stressed and thinking…oh I have to see that! Ah! Can't wait to get OFF the ship and get things started!!!
The last few days have been busy and ship life is kind of taking its toll on me. Yesterday was, without a doubt, the roughest day at sea. The swells were HUGE and the ship was rocking so much that it was difficult to walk. I spent almost all day in bed, which stinks because I had a lot of homework and internship work that didn’t get done. : ( It’s a little frustrating because I am used to running, running, running to accomplish my to-do list, but here on the ship, my time is dictated by the size of the swells! I can’t do homework if I can’t sit up! AH!
I'm so sorry if it sounds like I have been complaining...to put things into perspective, I actually had 2 really good days, when I didn't need drugs, sea-bands, or anything! :) Yay me! I thought I had found my sea-legs, but then I had a slight relapse...
Things with school have been really busy, but I am finding time for fun, too. There was a dance party in the super-duper-really-sweet faculty and staff lounge last night. :) It was great – open bar, good food! After the dance party, I went to sleep, woke up 4 hours later, gave my final presentation for my International Perspectives class, and then went back to sleep immediately after. Yikes! I feel like it is FINALLY Friday. Tomorrow begins the weekend! : ) We will be in Barcelona first thing in the morning. We are just going to walk around the city tomorrow and see where the day takes us. I feel so relaxed about my time in Barcelona because I feel like I hit all of the major sites when I was here for a weekend in 2008, so I am not as stressed and thinking…oh I have to see that! Ah! Can't wait to get OFF the ship and get things started!!!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Day 6: Atlantic Ocean. Still.
Today, we lost yet ANOTHER hour of sleep. Everyone was dragging to get themselves to our early morning classes. Did I mention that my second class (Global Studies) is required for the entire shipboard community? Staff, students, and life-long learners alike. The union – which is really just a large stage and seating area, is where most students attend class. The others who don’t fit in the union fill up the other classrooms on the ship and watch the lecture that is streamed into the “satellite rooms”. The weird thing about the satellite rooms is that you see the power point slides with the professor’s head pasted into a corner on the screen. It’s a little weird to watch in the over-flow classrooms because class is happening just a few feet away. On the other hand, no one will notice if you dose off a bit…hehe
Because my eyesight is back (yay!), I did my class readings and then I treated myself to a nice nap this afternoon, which was fantastic. I am still taking sea-sickness meds, but just twice a day now – and no patches! As long as I don’t move too quickly, take the stairs slowly, and sit outside on the deck most of the afternoon/evening, I feel fine. I spent too much time this morning on my computer while going up-and-down and paid for it later with a killer headache. : ( Feel better now, though.
Tonight, I was on deck patrol – I had to guard a staircase to make sure no one took alcohol down to the lower decks. Fun. : / Since barely anyone was using my stairs, I got to watch the beautiful sunset off the seventh deck and then see the darkness creep into the sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It is still crazy to me that in every direction that you look, there is NO land. It’s unbelievably pure and refreshing. Every once in a while, I forget that I am on a ship. I know that sounds silly, but when you are inside the ship, I feel like I am a part of a sound community. Even though our time together has been extremely brief, I already find myself recognizing people in the hallway and saying hello to the crew members that I see every morning at breakfast or at lunch. The community is growing smaller by the minute.
And then you step outside to one of the decks. All you can see in all directions is wrinkles of blue water and you feel so small, so insignificant! I felt tonight, for the millionth time since this trip began, just how fortunate I am to be experiencing this!
Because my eyesight is back (yay!), I did my class readings and then I treated myself to a nice nap this afternoon, which was fantastic. I am still taking sea-sickness meds, but just twice a day now – and no patches! As long as I don’t move too quickly, take the stairs slowly, and sit outside on the deck most of the afternoon/evening, I feel fine. I spent too much time this morning on my computer while going up-and-down and paid for it later with a killer headache. : ( Feel better now, though.
Tonight, I was on deck patrol – I had to guard a staircase to make sure no one took alcohol down to the lower decks. Fun. : / Since barely anyone was using my stairs, I got to watch the beautiful sunset off the seventh deck and then see the darkness creep into the sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It is still crazy to me that in every direction that you look, there is NO land. It’s unbelievably pure and refreshing. Every once in a while, I forget that I am on a ship. I know that sounds silly, but when you are inside the ship, I feel like I am a part of a sound community. Even though our time together has been extremely brief, I already find myself recognizing people in the hallway and saying hello to the crew members that I see every morning at breakfast or at lunch. The community is growing smaller by the minute.
And then you step outside to one of the decks. All you can see in all directions is wrinkles of blue water and you feel so small, so insignificant! I felt tonight, for the millionth time since this trip began, just how fortunate I am to be experiencing this!
Day 5: Atlantic Ocean –‘bout the middle
Ok, so some really cool and not-so-cool things happened to me today…
But first, I want to back up and tell you about a really awesome experience I had last night! One of the astronomy professors on board offered to lead a group up to the eight deck to show us some of the stars! Someone got permission from the Captain to turn off all of the lights on the top of the ship, so it was easy to see the sky – with no lights on the ship and no ships or land for miles and miles and miles! It was a little cloudy, unfortunately, but we did get to see some beautiful constellations. I am really excited, too, because I heard that on August 11, there might be a meteor shower! I am hoping to sleep out on the deck that night so I’ll have a front row seat!
Waking up for my 8 AM class this morning was very difficult – because we lost ANOTHER hour of sleep last night. The ship’s clocks are all moved forward one hour each night – so we are gradually moving into Spain’s time zone. I’m getting less and less sleep every night which is starting to get to me. I definitely thought that I would have a lot of downtime here on the MV Explorer. However, it seems like every minute of the day is jam packed with activities. There are classes and homework and from 8-9:00pm each night, there are Explorer’s Seminars, which are extra lectures from experts who are sailing with us between countries. They are really cool and so far, they have been focusing on Spain. Tonight’s lecture was all about Spanish food…which…anybody who knows me at all can tell you that is one of my very favorite subjects in all of the world. At the end of the lecture, I was literally salivating for all of the wonderful things that I will be eating in just a few days. Salty olives, cold beer, tortilla de patata, chewy jamon, rich and creamy manchego cheese, robust red wine, and paella! Yummm…
SO when I’m not in class or at other various activities, I’m usually eating. They serve 4 meals a day…if you can believe it. I only eat three, though. Breakfast is from 7:30-9:30 am, lunch is from 11:30 am-1:30pm, dinner is from 4:30-6:30 pm, and fourth-meal is from 10:00-10:30pm. (Rachy, fourth-meal made me think of you.) I skip the fourth meal on account of it’s an insane amount of food, and you KNOW how I can get at buffets!
The food on the ship, though, has been surprisingly good. I imagine that I will probably grow sick of it as some point, but there has really been quite a bit of variety – lots of good grilled fish, salad at every meal, good pasta with different sauces….problem is…the desserts are fabulous, too. Angel food cake with berry compote, banana bread, chocolate pudding… I had a piece of chocolate cake yesterday that was heaven – with powdered sugar on top if you can believe it.
In between meals today, I signed up to go on a “Bridge” tour. The crew members take up a small group of passengers to the control station of the ship. It was very interesting – they have a button for just about everything that happens on the ship. They monitor every little detail of our consumption. There is actually a water purification system on the ship, so we are drinking/cooking with/and showering in sea water which has been purified (KB – I think this niche could be your new career calling!) In addition to all of the tracking equipment, there is a back-up plan/button in the control station for just about anything that could go wrong on the ship. And then there’s another back-up plan in case the first back-up plan fails! My favorite part is that, in the case of a power outage AND none of the generators work, there is a phone that you can power by hand to make a call. It makes me feel safe to know that everything is under control up there in the Bridge. Those dudes (yes, all dudes, no women…bah) really know what they are doing!
Another cool thing that happened was that I (along with the other Student Affairs at Sea folks) got invited to a party tonight hosted by the deans in the super-fabulous-and-classy 7th deck lounge. There were tons of delicious appetizers (chicken and beef skewers, egg rolls, spinach quiche, cheese and crackers, meatballs) and of course, lots of wine. It was so fun because a lot of the staff and senior crew were in attendance. And… the best part is….I got to meet the Captain of the ship, Captain Jeremy! I was chatting with another staff member when the Captain had an opening and Erin and I swooped right in there, introduced ourselves and chatted for a few minutes. It was so cool! I got a picture, too! : )
Now, I also mentioned that some not-so-cool things happened to me today as well... Last night, I began to notice that I was having trouble seeing my computer screen. I thought that it was weird that when I went to start my readings for my classes, the words were all blurry. I thought I might just be tired, so I took out my contacts and went to bed. Today, I woke up and could NOT see the face of my watch. Although my near-sight was completely blurry, I could see at a distance just fine. Also, what was really weird was that when I closed one eye, I could see out of the other just fine, it was only when I had both eyes open that it was impossible to focus.
Naturally, I started to panic. What could have happened to my eyes in the last two weeks since I had my contact lens prescription checked?? It was extremely unnerving to me, although my friends thought it was HILARIOUS when I was trying to read something with my arm all the way stretched out as far as it could go. Finally, I realized that it might have something to do with all of the medicine I’ve been taking to avoid (or in my case, reduce) sea-sickness. I found the box for my sea-sickness patches and with great difficulty (no nearsight, remember), I discovered that the temporary loss of eyesight is a common (and rather severe!) side-effect of the drug. Because I like being able to see things in general and also had to do the readings for class, I was forced to remove my patch (at the expense of motion-sickness). : ( My eyesight improved just a few hours later, and I (and the ship’s doctors) believe that it will return to normal by tomorrow. Whew. Super scary. I’m going to bed tonight before the drug wears off, because I don’t know if I’ve found my sea-legs yet. I am so thankful for my eyesight, though, that I can definitely deal.
But first, I want to back up and tell you about a really awesome experience I had last night! One of the astronomy professors on board offered to lead a group up to the eight deck to show us some of the stars! Someone got permission from the Captain to turn off all of the lights on the top of the ship, so it was easy to see the sky – with no lights on the ship and no ships or land for miles and miles and miles! It was a little cloudy, unfortunately, but we did get to see some beautiful constellations. I am really excited, too, because I heard that on August 11, there might be a meteor shower! I am hoping to sleep out on the deck that night so I’ll have a front row seat!
Waking up for my 8 AM class this morning was very difficult – because we lost ANOTHER hour of sleep last night. The ship’s clocks are all moved forward one hour each night – so we are gradually moving into Spain’s time zone. I’m getting less and less sleep every night which is starting to get to me. I definitely thought that I would have a lot of downtime here on the MV Explorer. However, it seems like every minute of the day is jam packed with activities. There are classes and homework and from 8-9:00pm each night, there are Explorer’s Seminars, which are extra lectures from experts who are sailing with us between countries. They are really cool and so far, they have been focusing on Spain. Tonight’s lecture was all about Spanish food…which…anybody who knows me at all can tell you that is one of my very favorite subjects in all of the world. At the end of the lecture, I was literally salivating for all of the wonderful things that I will be eating in just a few days. Salty olives, cold beer, tortilla de patata, chewy jamon, rich and creamy manchego cheese, robust red wine, and paella! Yummm…
SO when I’m not in class or at other various activities, I’m usually eating. They serve 4 meals a day…if you can believe it. I only eat three, though. Breakfast is from 7:30-9:30 am, lunch is from 11:30 am-1:30pm, dinner is from 4:30-6:30 pm, and fourth-meal is from 10:00-10:30pm. (Rachy, fourth-meal made me think of you.) I skip the fourth meal on account of it’s an insane amount of food, and you KNOW how I can get at buffets!
The food on the ship, though, has been surprisingly good. I imagine that I will probably grow sick of it as some point, but there has really been quite a bit of variety – lots of good grilled fish, salad at every meal, good pasta with different sauces….problem is…the desserts are fabulous, too. Angel food cake with berry compote, banana bread, chocolate pudding… I had a piece of chocolate cake yesterday that was heaven – with powdered sugar on top if you can believe it.
In between meals today, I signed up to go on a “Bridge” tour. The crew members take up a small group of passengers to the control station of the ship. It was very interesting – they have a button for just about everything that happens on the ship. They monitor every little detail of our consumption. There is actually a water purification system on the ship, so we are drinking/cooking with/and showering in sea water which has been purified (KB – I think this niche could be your new career calling!) In addition to all of the tracking equipment, there is a back-up plan/button in the control station for just about anything that could go wrong on the ship. And then there’s another back-up plan in case the first back-up plan fails! My favorite part is that, in the case of a power outage AND none of the generators work, there is a phone that you can power by hand to make a call. It makes me feel safe to know that everything is under control up there in the Bridge. Those dudes (yes, all dudes, no women…bah) really know what they are doing!
Another cool thing that happened was that I (along with the other Student Affairs at Sea folks) got invited to a party tonight hosted by the deans in the super-fabulous-and-classy 7th deck lounge. There were tons of delicious appetizers (chicken and beef skewers, egg rolls, spinach quiche, cheese and crackers, meatballs) and of course, lots of wine. It was so fun because a lot of the staff and senior crew were in attendance. And… the best part is….I got to meet the Captain of the ship, Captain Jeremy! I was chatting with another staff member when the Captain had an opening and Erin and I swooped right in there, introduced ourselves and chatted for a few minutes. It was so cool! I got a picture, too! : )
Now, I also mentioned that some not-so-cool things happened to me today as well... Last night, I began to notice that I was having trouble seeing my computer screen. I thought that it was weird that when I went to start my readings for my classes, the words were all blurry. I thought I might just be tired, so I took out my contacts and went to bed. Today, I woke up and could NOT see the face of my watch. Although my near-sight was completely blurry, I could see at a distance just fine. Also, what was really weird was that when I closed one eye, I could see out of the other just fine, it was only when I had both eyes open that it was impossible to focus.
Naturally, I started to panic. What could have happened to my eyes in the last two weeks since I had my contact lens prescription checked?? It was extremely unnerving to me, although my friends thought it was HILARIOUS when I was trying to read something with my arm all the way stretched out as far as it could go. Finally, I realized that it might have something to do with all of the medicine I’ve been taking to avoid (or in my case, reduce) sea-sickness. I found the box for my sea-sickness patches and with great difficulty (no nearsight, remember), I discovered that the temporary loss of eyesight is a common (and rather severe!) side-effect of the drug. Because I like being able to see things in general and also had to do the readings for class, I was forced to remove my patch (at the expense of motion-sickness). : ( My eyesight improved just a few hours later, and I (and the ship’s doctors) believe that it will return to normal by tomorrow. Whew. Super scary. I’m going to bed tonight before the drug wears off, because I don’t know if I’ve found my sea-legs yet. I am so thankful for my eyesight, though, that I can definitely deal.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day 4: In the Atlantic...somewhere
Today, I had a very startling wake-up experience. I was in a deep sleep at 6:30 am and all of a sudden, the ship took a really strong swell to the starboard (right) side. Everything that was on a shelf in my cabin – water glasses, my clock, all of my papers/notebooks, toiletries, etc. - FLEW off of the shelves. Of course, it was pitch-black (no window!), plus I was groggy from waking up, plus I could hear things falling and was not even sure where they were flying from or if they were going to hit me! Scary stuff. Luckily, nothing hit me and nothing broke. I got up after that and wave-proofed the cabin immediately (basically, I just put things into drawers so they couldn’t fall). It was a really rough morning at sea. The boat was rocking like crazy. I was fine when I woke up, but as soon as I started moving, things went downhill. Can you imagine trying to take a shower in a bathroom the size of a refrigerator? While rocking back and forth sporadically? While feeling like you wanted to toss your cookies? Yeah…not good.
However, class must go on, right? I pulled it together the best I could (meaning my hair was NOT dry) and then sprinted the 3 flights of stairs to my first class (International Perspectives on Higher Ed – yay! At 8 AM…boooo). I walked into the classroom and my heart dropped a little. ALL of the chairs were facing the aft (back) of the ship…meaning that I would be “riding” backwards for the next hour and fifteen minutes. AHH! Needless to say, I had my head down and my eyes closed the entire time to keep it together. In my next classroom (Global Studies), the chairs were facing the front part of the ship – thank goodness. MUCH better. After lunch on the deck – facing the front of the ship, I felt 1 million gazillion times better. It is still pretty rough out there, although the weather is not bad at all – it’s actually a beautiful sunny day in the 70’s.
Also, once you get past the danger of it all, it is actually very funny to be walking down a corridor in the ship and then find your entire body is being pulled sharply to the right or left. It reminds me of being in Noah’s Ark (a Kennywood amusement park ride, for all of you non-Pittsburghers who did not get the reference.) The best part is that if you look down the hall at that exact moment, you can see everyone else in the hallway having the same experience. It’s pretty funny. My other favorite part is that everyone (including myself) has started to walk around like little penguins – with a wide stance (so it looks like waddling) and their hands out and down to keep balance. And when the ship experiences a strong rock, all of those penguins start to stagger a little – like they’ve had too much to drink! Haha so amusing.
So, in summary, what I have learned today so far…
1.) You never know when objects might fly off the shelf at you, so be prepared for anything (I might buy a helmet just in case. Frankly, I think it should have been on the Recommended Packing List).
2.) Seasickness can be cured by sitting on the back deck NOT looking at the beautiful ocean (…and if anyone needs me, that’s where I’ll be until we get to Barcelona)
and 3.) Sometimes walking like a drunk penguin is necessary.
However, class must go on, right? I pulled it together the best I could (meaning my hair was NOT dry) and then sprinted the 3 flights of stairs to my first class (International Perspectives on Higher Ed – yay! At 8 AM…boooo). I walked into the classroom and my heart dropped a little. ALL of the chairs were facing the aft (back) of the ship…meaning that I would be “riding” backwards for the next hour and fifteen minutes. AHH! Needless to say, I had my head down and my eyes closed the entire time to keep it together. In my next classroom (Global Studies), the chairs were facing the front part of the ship – thank goodness. MUCH better. After lunch on the deck – facing the front of the ship, I felt 1 million gazillion times better. It is still pretty rough out there, although the weather is not bad at all – it’s actually a beautiful sunny day in the 70’s.
Also, once you get past the danger of it all, it is actually very funny to be walking down a corridor in the ship and then find your entire body is being pulled sharply to the right or left. It reminds me of being in Noah’s Ark (a Kennywood amusement park ride, for all of you non-Pittsburghers who did not get the reference.) The best part is that if you look down the hall at that exact moment, you can see everyone else in the hallway having the same experience. It’s pretty funny. My other favorite part is that everyone (including myself) has started to walk around like little penguins – with a wide stance (so it looks like waddling) and their hands out and down to keep balance. And when the ship experiences a strong rock, all of those penguins start to stagger a little – like they’ve had too much to drink! Haha so amusing.
So, in summary, what I have learned today so far…
1.) You never know when objects might fly off the shelf at you, so be prepared for anything (I might buy a helmet just in case. Frankly, I think it should have been on the Recommended Packing List).
2.) Seasickness can be cured by sitting on the back deck NOT looking at the beautiful ocean (…and if anyone needs me, that’s where I’ll be until we get to Barcelona)
and 3.) Sometimes walking like a drunk penguin is necessary.
Day 3: Atlantic Ocean, Off the coast of Canada
Today, I woke up feeling MUCH better than last night. My head still hurts (kind of like a dull, but consistent pressure headache that I can’t seem to kick. After breakfast, everyone on the ship was required to attend an orientation session. This morning’s sessions were on academic integrity (only the 8,133,847th lecture I have heard about this throughout my college career), library resources, and field trips. It was super-long, and I still have about 4 more hours to sit through this afternoon. I am taking some materials to read for the afternoon session so I can try and get a jump start on my classes – which begin tomorrow at 8 AM! Yes, 8 AM. I think that it’s a little ironic that I’ve successfully managed to avoid 8 AM classes throughout Penn State and Maryland, but I have to get up early EVERY single day of my SUMMER voyage…oh dear. Not that I’m complaining…just sayin’ is all.
Later in the day…
Tonight I went to a Involvement Symposium in the union. It was really interesting to see how closely the Semester at Sea program actually resembles a floating campus. For example, almost every college would have an involvement fair of some sort at the beginning of the semester. On Semester at Sea, instead of having a fair, each of the staff coordinators/advisers stand up in the union and say a few things about their program and then place themselves in different areas of the ship. The students then walk around to the different classrooms and sign up to participate in various committees, activities, or groups. It is interesting to see how this familiar event is modified in order to be manageable on a ship!
After the Involvement Symposium, I went to my “Sea” meeting, which is like a floor meeting. I helped to run an icebreaker type game to help the students meet each other. After the meeting (around 10 pm), Erin, Kevin, and I went up to the super-special-and-exclusive faculty and staff lounge. Kevin is the LLC (or living learning coordinator) for our sea – the Mediterranean Sea! He’s probably the most easy-going and patient person I’ve ever met and I think the three of us are going to make a great team! So…in the extra-awesomely-cool lounge, there were a bunch of faculty and staff having a birthday party! They were celebrating all birthdays from January until June….which, as some of you might recall…includes ME! Yay! You know how I LOVE a good impromptu birthday celebration. Especially when I happen to be one of the guests of honor! (And especially when there’s wine! And cake!) haha It was fun! I got to meet some other staff on the ship…including a man commonly referred to as “The Voice.” His real name is Tom and he is like an assistant dean or something, but one of his jobs is to make all of the ship’s announcements (aka being "The Voice") which he takes very seriously. His dry sense of humor is hilarious and when we hear the signal, everyone stops what they are doing to listen to what he might say next. Overall, it was a fun night. It’s nice to be making more connections outside of my program. The people on this ship have such interesting and diverse experiences. It's cool.
Later in the day…
Tonight I went to a Involvement Symposium in the union. It was really interesting to see how closely the Semester at Sea program actually resembles a floating campus. For example, almost every college would have an involvement fair of some sort at the beginning of the semester. On Semester at Sea, instead of having a fair, each of the staff coordinators/advisers stand up in the union and say a few things about their program and then place themselves in different areas of the ship. The students then walk around to the different classrooms and sign up to participate in various committees, activities, or groups. It is interesting to see how this familiar event is modified in order to be manageable on a ship!
After the Involvement Symposium, I went to my “Sea” meeting, which is like a floor meeting. I helped to run an icebreaker type game to help the students meet each other. After the meeting (around 10 pm), Erin, Kevin, and I went up to the super-special-and-exclusive faculty and staff lounge. Kevin is the LLC (or living learning coordinator) for our sea – the Mediterranean Sea! He’s probably the most easy-going and patient person I’ve ever met and I think the three of us are going to make a great team! So…in the extra-awesomely-cool lounge, there were a bunch of faculty and staff having a birthday party! They were celebrating all birthdays from January until June….which, as some of you might recall…includes ME! Yay! You know how I LOVE a good impromptu birthday celebration. Especially when I happen to be one of the guests of honor! (And especially when there’s wine! And cake!) haha It was fun! I got to meet some other staff on the ship…including a man commonly referred to as “The Voice.” His real name is Tom and he is like an assistant dean or something, but one of his jobs is to make all of the ship’s announcements (aka being "The Voice") which he takes very seriously. His dry sense of humor is hilarious and when we hear the signal, everyone stops what they are doing to listen to what he might say next. Overall, it was a fun night. It’s nice to be making more connections outside of my program. The people on this ship have such interesting and diverse experiences. It's cool.
Day 2: We embark!
Day 2! Already! I woke up in pitch darkness this morning to a man’s voice telling me to get up and get ready for embarkation. I had one of those panicky moments when you can’t remember where you are, but as soon as I found the light and realized that the man’s voice was coming through the speaker system and he indeed was NOT in my bedroom, I felt much better! Just a note about my cabin…since there is no window, it is VERY dark when the lights are out. It is similar to living in a cave (or at least what I imagine that would be like…) It’s a little unnerving, and I am thinking I might have to invest in a small night light.
Breakfast was great – pancakes, omletes, fresh fruit, yogurt, oj, sausage and potatoes. Yum. This morning, I attended a meeting with the Life-Long Learner program so the coordinators could explain our priviledges as more “seasoned” travelers. In addition to having access to that fancy lounge on deck 6 and having extended internet time, and I can drink alcohol whenever I want to (and bring it on the ship). Since the drinking age in most international places is 18, Semester at Sea allows undergrads to drink during “Beverage service.” The students are only allowed 2 drinks at dinner and then 3 more drinks later in the night. (I know it’s spread out, but isn’t that still a lot?!) Oh well, apparently they have a voucher system that keeps track of everything, so it theoretically works pretty well.
The life-long learner program is pretty awesome. It’s mostly older, retired folks who love/tolerate students and want to see the world. I sat next to a couple at the meeting this morning who will be sailing on their second voyage this summer. I asked what brought them to the Semester at Sea program (rather than a traditional cruise) and they said that they love the ship and program and additionally, they wanted to travel now before they can’t climb stairs anymore – which is very logical! It is an interesting mix of people and I am looking forward to more conversation with them.
After that meeting, the Student Affairs at Sea, the Teachers at Sea, and the lifelong learners broke into their groups. My group met with Kathy Manning, who is the faculty member in charge of running the program. She gave us some general information about the class requirements for International Perspectives of Higher Ed and told us more about how to find the resources we would need this summer. After that, Erin and I headed down to our lobby on the 3rd deck to greet the undergraduates who were moving in – did I mention they checked in over 700 students in 6 hours? That’s amazing. In general, it felt very similar to all of the other orientations that I’ve helped with, so I am glad my Student Affairs skills are coming in handy. : )
After lunch (beef stew, mashed potatoes, pasta primavera, and a delicious salad), I kept running around and meeting people, then took a quick power nap before our captain came on the loud speaker to tell us all about the evacuation drill. When they sounded the emergency signal (7 short beeps and one long tone), we had to put on long pants, long sleeves, and closed toed shoes and grab our life preserver. We ran up to the fifth deck and had to wait their while they made sure that everyone was accounted for. When we passed the drill inspection, we were cleared to set sail! After the drill, we went to the top of the front of the ship – deck 8, forward – to see the sights and then down to the back (aft) of the ship to wave good-bye to all of the parents, families, and staff who won’t be joining us. It was such a cool sensation to finally pull away from the port! I can’t believe after months of planning and anxiety, I am actually here! The sun came out as we pulled away from Canada, which made a beautiful reflection on the water.
Almost immediately after we pulled away from the port, I began to get queasy. I have been wearing my sea-sickness patch since yesterday in preparation, but it was still pretty bad. After hanging out in the super-exclusive faculty/staff lounge in the front of the ship (probably my favorite room so far), I ate dinner on the deck to get some fresh air. Dinner was good – salad, some pasta with tomato sauce, grilled citrus mahi mahi, and steamed veggies. At least sea-sickness has not spoiled my appetite…yet…
Tonight, we had a general orientation meeting for every passenger on board. The deans of the voyage talked to us and there was even a special appearance by our captain – Captain Kingston. The administrator who was introducing the captain told us that the captain would be late because he was trying to steer the ship to stabilize the motion. The captain was 15 minutes late to his own speech! It was fine with me, though. I really wanted him to take his time, as long as he could stop that godawful up-and-down, up-and-down motion. Needless to say, it did not stop. I think it might have gotten progressively worse throughout the evening – the crew warned us that it was going to be a really choppy night. Right now, I feel like my head is going to explode and my stomach is just going to give out on me at any moment. I am praying that I wake tomorrow with my sea legs, because if it is like this for the next 7-8 days as we cross the Atlantic, I am flying home from Barcelona – for real. Or if it gets to be too much, I swear will call for someone (the coast guard, most likely), to chopper me out of this vessel asap! Damn these sea-sickness patches! They aren’t doing squat. Blahhhhhhh…..
That’s all I can write for tonight…because I think I might have to go throw up. More tomorrow when I feel better, hopefully!
Breakfast was great – pancakes, omletes, fresh fruit, yogurt, oj, sausage and potatoes. Yum. This morning, I attended a meeting with the Life-Long Learner program so the coordinators could explain our priviledges as more “seasoned” travelers. In addition to having access to that fancy lounge on deck 6 and having extended internet time, and I can drink alcohol whenever I want to (and bring it on the ship). Since the drinking age in most international places is 18, Semester at Sea allows undergrads to drink during “Beverage service.” The students are only allowed 2 drinks at dinner and then 3 more drinks later in the night. (I know it’s spread out, but isn’t that still a lot?!) Oh well, apparently they have a voucher system that keeps track of everything, so it theoretically works pretty well.
The life-long learner program is pretty awesome. It’s mostly older, retired folks who love/tolerate students and want to see the world. I sat next to a couple at the meeting this morning who will be sailing on their second voyage this summer. I asked what brought them to the Semester at Sea program (rather than a traditional cruise) and they said that they love the ship and program and additionally, they wanted to travel now before they can’t climb stairs anymore – which is very logical! It is an interesting mix of people and I am looking forward to more conversation with them.
After that meeting, the Student Affairs at Sea, the Teachers at Sea, and the lifelong learners broke into their groups. My group met with Kathy Manning, who is the faculty member in charge of running the program. She gave us some general information about the class requirements for International Perspectives of Higher Ed and told us more about how to find the resources we would need this summer. After that, Erin and I headed down to our lobby on the 3rd deck to greet the undergraduates who were moving in – did I mention they checked in over 700 students in 6 hours? That’s amazing. In general, it felt very similar to all of the other orientations that I’ve helped with, so I am glad my Student Affairs skills are coming in handy. : )
After lunch (beef stew, mashed potatoes, pasta primavera, and a delicious salad), I kept running around and meeting people, then took a quick power nap before our captain came on the loud speaker to tell us all about the evacuation drill. When they sounded the emergency signal (7 short beeps and one long tone), we had to put on long pants, long sleeves, and closed toed shoes and grab our life preserver. We ran up to the fifth deck and had to wait their while they made sure that everyone was accounted for. When we passed the drill inspection, we were cleared to set sail! After the drill, we went to the top of the front of the ship – deck 8, forward – to see the sights and then down to the back (aft) of the ship to wave good-bye to all of the parents, families, and staff who won’t be joining us. It was such a cool sensation to finally pull away from the port! I can’t believe after months of planning and anxiety, I am actually here! The sun came out as we pulled away from Canada, which made a beautiful reflection on the water.
Almost immediately after we pulled away from the port, I began to get queasy. I have been wearing my sea-sickness patch since yesterday in preparation, but it was still pretty bad. After hanging out in the super-exclusive faculty/staff lounge in the front of the ship (probably my favorite room so far), I ate dinner on the deck to get some fresh air. Dinner was good – salad, some pasta with tomato sauce, grilled citrus mahi mahi, and steamed veggies. At least sea-sickness has not spoiled my appetite…yet…
Tonight, we had a general orientation meeting for every passenger on board. The deans of the voyage talked to us and there was even a special appearance by our captain – Captain Kingston. The administrator who was introducing the captain told us that the captain would be late because he was trying to steer the ship to stabilize the motion. The captain was 15 minutes late to his own speech! It was fine with me, though. I really wanted him to take his time, as long as he could stop that godawful up-and-down, up-and-down motion. Needless to say, it did not stop. I think it might have gotten progressively worse throughout the evening – the crew warned us that it was going to be a really choppy night. Right now, I feel like my head is going to explode and my stomach is just going to give out on me at any moment. I am praying that I wake tomorrow with my sea legs, because if it is like this for the next 7-8 days as we cross the Atlantic, I am flying home from Barcelona – for real. Or if it gets to be too much, I swear will call for someone (the coast guard, most likely), to chopper me out of this vessel asap! Damn these sea-sickness patches! They aren’t doing squat. Blahhhhhhh…..
That’s all I can write for tonight…because I think I might have to go throw up. More tomorrow when I feel better, hopefully!
Day 1: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Today, I boarded the MV Explorer and begun the trip of a lifetime. Eight Countries, 66 days. One ship, 1000+ passengers. Two classes, one internship. Could I possibly TRY to squeeze more adventure out of one summer?!
Yesterday (June 13), I arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I flew in from Philly and was reminded yesterday how much I hate the Philly airport. It seems as if I never have any luck there at all. My flight was delayed about four hours and since I arrived 3 hours early, I literally sat in the airport at gate F5 all day long! The good news, however, was that while I was waiting, I met several other students who were going on the Semester at Sea voyage – Christine and Katie (from St. Thomas, Minnesota), Haley (from Philly – Drexel), Colleen (from Columbia Teacher’s College and New Jersey), and Christina (an undergrad from Florida University). All of them seemed really nice and I am glad that I wasn’t traveling (aka waiting) alone!
When we finally boarded the plane, we had to sit and wait while the crew sorted through and discarded luggage because the plane was “overweight.” Not even kidding. So after they decided this, they wouldn’t let some people board the plane. We had to wait while their luggage was discarded from the plane to make it lighter. The silver lining in all of this, though, is that 1.) I made it on the plane and to Halifax safely and 2.) my LUGGAGE made it as well! Horray!!!
So once in Halifax, we had to clear customs despite the complaints of several American passengers (“but it’s only CANADA for goodness sake!”). I made it through and somehow managed to manipulate my 125 pounds of luggage to a taxi-van with Haley, Christina, and Colleen. I am still amazed that ALL of our luggage (about 4 bags per person) PLUS all of us humans fit into the one van! We rode 45 minutes to the hotel (Four Points Sheraton) in Halifax where we met Erin. Erin, Colleen, Haley and I, went to dinner (with Christina and her roommate) to a pub on the waterfront and then the four of us shared a hotel that night. It was nice to hang out with them all – I’m glad that I got to connect with them BEFORE the voyage. It made me a lot less anxious about finding everything! Ah, the magic of facebook….
Today (Monday, June 14), we went to a cute little diner in downtown Halifax called “Cora.” I had eggs Benedict – served over an English muffin, brie cheese, and mushrooms with a side of roasted potatoes and fruit! It was so good and I definitely ate every bite! We walked around town for a bit afterwards, hit a drug store for last minute shopping, and then carted all of our luggage out of hotel storage into a taxi-van (again, I don’t know how exactly it happened!). The ride to the port of Halifax was about 5 minutes total, but I am SO glad we didn’t walk! It would have been ridiculous with all of those bags!
Once we unloaded, it took us about an hour to get through the tight security of the boarding area. They scanned and went through all bags and we were put though a series of metal detectors. They kept our passports at the boarding area, which surprised me a little. I guess they don’t want us to lose them? Or they want to make sure that we don’t try to leave the country? I don’t know…but I felt like saying…please don’t lose that, mister! Just in case they forget.
I met up with several of my cohort (aka seahort) mates when we first got on the ship (deck five – reception area). One of them was my friend, Greg Fink, who I met at Previews last year – in Vermont and again at PSU). I’m so glad he’s on this voyage. Surprisingly, he is the only male out of the 16 students in my program! Lots of pressure on him to bring the “male” perspective, I suppose! It is common for study abroad participants to be mostly women – in fact, 75 percent of students on this voyage are women.
I spent the afternoon exploring the ship with my seahort mates. The ship is huge! It has everything you need for a micro-community! Library, gym, lecture halls, bars, pool, basketball court, spa, computer lab, union, cafeteria, and tons of cabins. Because I am considered a “life-long learner” and not just a measly undergrad, I have access to the special (and very exclusive) faculty/staff lounge on the 6th deck. In addition, I have more internet access than others – students only get two free hours before they have to start paying! Yikes! They are giving us grad students 50 hours for the entire summer, which means I’ll definitely have to cut down on my facebook surfing, but should be able to get my research done.
My room on the ship is SMALL. And I mean SMALL. Not to mention, I am sharing it! It is on the 3rd deck and we are a part of the “Mediterranean” Sea. Instead of dividing the cabins into “floors” as they would in a traditional residence hall, they separate the different areas of the ship into “Seas.” I think it is pretty cool that I got the Mediterranean Sea – because that’s where we are sailing! It has two little beds, a mini (mini) fridge – which holds about 2 cans of pop, a narrow desk, some closet space and an efficient little bathroom. It is very clean, however, and all of my STUFF fits in here somewhere, so I guess it will work out just fine. No window, unfortunately, but I hope that I will only be sleeping here anyway. My roomie is Erin, who is very nice. She’s a little older, lives in Boston, and works at a Study Abroad provider company. She is also a student at Drexel – although it is interesting that they’ve never met because all (yes, ALL) of their coursework is done online. Crazy, isn’t it?
This afternoon we went to the grocery store right near port where I got a watch, so I will know what the heck time it is (without my phone), and some ginger ale to settle a potentially upset stomach. I felt a little whoozy when I got on the ship, so I put on a sea sickness patch and things started to get better only a few hours later. Tonight we had a brief meet and greet, had dinner on the deck, unpacked, and then went to the parent’s reception (good food, lots of wine). I missed Mom and Dad so much. I really think that they would have loved the program – especially Dad, because the speakers were cracking really corny jokes. : )
During the parents program, a few parents talked about how their students’ Semester at Sea experiences had changed their lives. One parent gave a testimonial and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! I can’t help it. I’m a weeper. That stuff always gets me. I’m not even kidding, they showed a video that documents the voyage, and when people were saying goodbye at the end of the trip, I started crying like a baby. I mean, I only met a few folks this afternoon, but I know that this trip will bond us in unimaginable ways. I am so confident of that I was literally sad (and crying about) leaving on the first night. Unbelievable!
The student affairs grad students and the learning-living coordinators had a meeting after the reception to talk about duties for embarkation day, tomorrow (June 15). Apparently 711 students will be boarding tomorrow morning before 2:30 pm. Yeah, I feel like it is going to be a hot mess. Especially since it took us over an hour today and there was barely any line! Oh well, it was so nice that we got to come on early to get settled before the madness of tomorrow commences.
That’s it for now, Erin’s asleep, so I’m shutting down. Love always.
Yesterday (June 13), I arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I flew in from Philly and was reminded yesterday how much I hate the Philly airport. It seems as if I never have any luck there at all. My flight was delayed about four hours and since I arrived 3 hours early, I literally sat in the airport at gate F5 all day long! The good news, however, was that while I was waiting, I met several other students who were going on the Semester at Sea voyage – Christine and Katie (from St. Thomas, Minnesota), Haley (from Philly – Drexel), Colleen (from Columbia Teacher’s College and New Jersey), and Christina (an undergrad from Florida University). All of them seemed really nice and I am glad that I wasn’t traveling (aka waiting) alone!
When we finally boarded the plane, we had to sit and wait while the crew sorted through and discarded luggage because the plane was “overweight.” Not even kidding. So after they decided this, they wouldn’t let some people board the plane. We had to wait while their luggage was discarded from the plane to make it lighter. The silver lining in all of this, though, is that 1.) I made it on the plane and to Halifax safely and 2.) my LUGGAGE made it as well! Horray!!!
So once in Halifax, we had to clear customs despite the complaints of several American passengers (“but it’s only CANADA for goodness sake!”). I made it through and somehow managed to manipulate my 125 pounds of luggage to a taxi-van with Haley, Christina, and Colleen. I am still amazed that ALL of our luggage (about 4 bags per person) PLUS all of us humans fit into the one van! We rode 45 minutes to the hotel (Four Points Sheraton) in Halifax where we met Erin. Erin, Colleen, Haley and I, went to dinner (with Christina and her roommate) to a pub on the waterfront and then the four of us shared a hotel that night. It was nice to hang out with them all – I’m glad that I got to connect with them BEFORE the voyage. It made me a lot less anxious about finding everything! Ah, the magic of facebook….
Today (Monday, June 14), we went to a cute little diner in downtown Halifax called “Cora.” I had eggs Benedict – served over an English muffin, brie cheese, and mushrooms with a side of roasted potatoes and fruit! It was so good and I definitely ate every bite! We walked around town for a bit afterwards, hit a drug store for last minute shopping, and then carted all of our luggage out of hotel storage into a taxi-van (again, I don’t know how exactly it happened!). The ride to the port of Halifax was about 5 minutes total, but I am SO glad we didn’t walk! It would have been ridiculous with all of those bags!
Once we unloaded, it took us about an hour to get through the tight security of the boarding area. They scanned and went through all bags and we were put though a series of metal detectors. They kept our passports at the boarding area, which surprised me a little. I guess they don’t want us to lose them? Or they want to make sure that we don’t try to leave the country? I don’t know…but I felt like saying…please don’t lose that, mister! Just in case they forget.
I met up with several of my cohort (aka seahort) mates when we first got on the ship (deck five – reception area). One of them was my friend, Greg Fink, who I met at Previews last year – in Vermont and again at PSU). I’m so glad he’s on this voyage. Surprisingly, he is the only male out of the 16 students in my program! Lots of pressure on him to bring the “male” perspective, I suppose! It is common for study abroad participants to be mostly women – in fact, 75 percent of students on this voyage are women.
I spent the afternoon exploring the ship with my seahort mates. The ship is huge! It has everything you need for a micro-community! Library, gym, lecture halls, bars, pool, basketball court, spa, computer lab, union, cafeteria, and tons of cabins. Because I am considered a “life-long learner” and not just a measly undergrad, I have access to the special (and very exclusive) faculty/staff lounge on the 6th deck. In addition, I have more internet access than others – students only get two free hours before they have to start paying! Yikes! They are giving us grad students 50 hours for the entire summer, which means I’ll definitely have to cut down on my facebook surfing, but should be able to get my research done.
My room on the ship is SMALL. And I mean SMALL. Not to mention, I am sharing it! It is on the 3rd deck and we are a part of the “Mediterranean” Sea. Instead of dividing the cabins into “floors” as they would in a traditional residence hall, they separate the different areas of the ship into “Seas.” I think it is pretty cool that I got the Mediterranean Sea – because that’s where we are sailing! It has two little beds, a mini (mini) fridge – which holds about 2 cans of pop, a narrow desk, some closet space and an efficient little bathroom. It is very clean, however, and all of my STUFF fits in here somewhere, so I guess it will work out just fine. No window, unfortunately, but I hope that I will only be sleeping here anyway. My roomie is Erin, who is very nice. She’s a little older, lives in Boston, and works at a Study Abroad provider company. She is also a student at Drexel – although it is interesting that they’ve never met because all (yes, ALL) of their coursework is done online. Crazy, isn’t it?
This afternoon we went to the grocery store right near port where I got a watch, so I will know what the heck time it is (without my phone), and some ginger ale to settle a potentially upset stomach. I felt a little whoozy when I got on the ship, so I put on a sea sickness patch and things started to get better only a few hours later. Tonight we had a brief meet and greet, had dinner on the deck, unpacked, and then went to the parent’s reception (good food, lots of wine). I missed Mom and Dad so much. I really think that they would have loved the program – especially Dad, because the speakers were cracking really corny jokes. : )
During the parents program, a few parents talked about how their students’ Semester at Sea experiences had changed their lives. One parent gave a testimonial and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! I can’t help it. I’m a weeper. That stuff always gets me. I’m not even kidding, they showed a video that documents the voyage, and when people were saying goodbye at the end of the trip, I started crying like a baby. I mean, I only met a few folks this afternoon, but I know that this trip will bond us in unimaginable ways. I am so confident of that I was literally sad (and crying about) leaving on the first night. Unbelievable!
The student affairs grad students and the learning-living coordinators had a meeting after the reception to talk about duties for embarkation day, tomorrow (June 15). Apparently 711 students will be boarding tomorrow morning before 2:30 pm. Yeah, I feel like it is going to be a hot mess. Especially since it took us over an hour today and there was barely any line! Oh well, it was so nice that we got to come on early to get settled before the madness of tomorrow commences.
That’s it for now, Erin’s asleep, so I’m shutting down. Love always.
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