One day at Sea: Turkey Day (Monday, July 19):

Is it Thanksgiving? No! But it’s TURKEY day! On the ship, we have one day before we arrive in Turkey, so all day was spent preparing the passengers for port – and there are NO classes! I got to sleep in today – until 9:30 – and then went to a morning session on Turkey culture. I had lunch on the sixth deck and then blogged and did some research about Turkey (things to do, see, and eating).

In the afternoon, my Student Affairs at Sea class had a meeting about Sabanci University, which is the university we will visit while in Turkey. After this orientation, we had a Q and A-type meeting with Randy Lewis, a fellow voyager who has had a long career in Student Affairs and who has sailed on SEVEN Semester at Sea voyages! Can you imagine?! He had a lot of interesting stories to tell, that’s for sure. Later that afternoon, I went to a session with inter-port student from Turkey, did some more blogging (I AM trying to catch up!), then went to super-sweet faculty/staff lounge for a happy hour/reception hosted by the deans.

Right after the reception, one elderly couple on board (the Huey’s) celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows at sunset. The Captain said a few words and then they each exchanged vows. It was one of the simplest ceremonies that I’ve ever seen, but it was really touching. How special to be able to do that! They asked their Semester at Sea “extended family” to stand beside them throughout the ceremony, which was really sweet. Both she and he were choked up during their vows. There were not many dry eyes in the house! (I, of course, was a mess the entire time…what can I say??) It was beautiful.

We had a 20:00 (8PM!) pre-port logistics meeting in the union to get some further advice for our stay there. I’m not sure what to expect from Turkey. Many past-travelers have said that Istanbul is their favorite port on this voyage, so I am excited, but I am not sure of what to make of the political and social situation…there are some interesting/oppressive laws in Turkey - youtube is banned, for one thing. Also it’s illegal to disrespect/disagree/make fun of the government or Ataturk, the leader…interesting to think about.

After all of the pre-port sessions, I headed back up to the Lounge to hang-out for a bit that night. Tom, the assistant dean, set up a karaoke night – totally hilarious. I did not sing, however, on account of they did not have any Spice Girls. Haha It was fun to chill for bit and watch everyone being silly.

It’s crazy – I am losing track of time this summer. I no longer look at a calendar and when I talk about things in the past, I always say things like “Remember Croatia…Day 3? That was awesome…” or “When is that assignment due? C15?” I never really know what day of the week it is, but I am always acutely aware of what time it is at the present because everything that happens on the ship is so precisely timed. Isn’t that weird? Also, if it weren’t for this blog, I wouldn’t even know what date it is!