Blogging is how I entertain myself when it's late and I can't sleep or a strange/boring movie is on. I just had class then a burger and fruit smoothie while a few of us sat outside on a deck. The weather is so perfect! For the past 2 nights we have lost an hour each night and we're losing another one tonight... It's catching up and making me a little off on meals! I packed popcorn (those little yummy kettle corn mini-bags) but there are no microwaves :( I left some shirts on my bed this morning and our steward, Dante, a little Polynesian guy, folded them perfectly and color stacked them- how precious. He comes in and makes our bed every day, which is so cool! During the afternoons they don't play movies, I guess to get people not to sit in their rooms, which I'm doing right now! I'm listening to Thinking of You, while watching the TV map showing where we are in the ocean; I'll fill you in on what it says:
Latitude: 38 degrees 17.2N
Longitute 042 degrees 52.1W
Course: 82 degrees
Speed 21.3 knots
Time: 13:44:40
Date: Fri 18 Jun
Rumor has it that there are awesome stories on the backs of pictures in rooms. Shea and I just took a big, decorative picture on our wall off to look at the back. Everyone has been sharing stories of what is written on the back of their pictures in their rooms. Ours had a lot of tips and advice for ports and stuff, as well as hilarious stories/situations, we may add to it after the trip when we have something to write about!
I think I'll go to the lounge area now to hang and study my map for the quiz!
Today, while sitting outside, I saw a guy wearing a Cottages of Norman shirt. It looks the exact same as the Cottages of Lubbock one so he stood out! We started talking and he said that he goes to OU and works at the Cottages. I thought that was a funny connection, and his name was Marcus! Then Shea and I sat on a deck for a few hours reading and stuff right before dinner (which was delicious tonight except for the bread pudding dessert)
Each hallway is divided in half and everyone is in different seas. My hallway’s half is the Caribbean Sea and it is THE BEST! We are the most spirited and loud! Tonight, during our mixer, we walked around the entire ship with a stereo, dancing and clapping/being obnoxious, it was funny to see people’s reactions; they all want to be in the Caribbean Sea! Tomorrow we are doing a surprise stomp routine before the Global Studies class (which EVERYONE will attend and see us…) We went out on a front deck to practice so no one would see, it was hilarious trying to organize it (in the powerful, crazy wind) and make it serious and funny at the same time! Tomorrow, right before class, we are going to walk down to the front stage and surprise everyone with our awesome stomp routine. We also have chants/songs we sing randomly at dinner. For one, our leader Chela, shouts in a Jamaican accent "WE BE JAMMIN" and we all respond, "YA MON", it's great. Should be pretty interesting tomorrow!
After those few hours of fun, we went to another optional information seminar, for about 45 minutes. It was about the food in Spain; what to expect, when to eat, where to go, what words mean, etc. It was really helpful and there are seminars each night about the country we are headed to! Such a cool concept! After that we went to the room and got all cute and clean. We headed up to the top deck where everyone hangs out. Tonight I met a girl from UT that knows a ton of my friends at Tech and knows girls from my high school, cool connections! Then, for the most of the night, we hung out with 2 guys from Whitehouse, 2 of the nicest guys on this ship! We started planning out what we were going to do as a group in Spain and talked about making trips in other countries.
Tomorrow night is a “dance” party, nautical themed! Should be fun because now everyone pretty much knows everyone!
PS there are so many engineering guys on this ship! and so many people from Cali and Pitt! and lots of sorority/fraternity folks.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding is on, so I’m going to watch it while I study my intricate map again!
Days are SO LONG but when I go to sleep at night, the day seemed so short! The days all mush together and it’s the best feeling because there’s no need to worry what day it is, the “voice” informs us at noon :)
Here is Semester at Sea’s blog, which has more detail about what goes on overall!
http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyage-blog/summer-2010/the-past-isn-t-dead.-it-isn-t-even-past.php
Friday, June 18, 2010
Caribbean Sea- YA MON!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Rockin' and Readin'
This morning (June 17) we woke up at about 7:00am to the ship rocking. It has been the most extreme rocking that we have experienced so far! All of my stuff on the night table flew onto the floor, the room was creaking, and the drawers were opening and slamming shut every few seconds! It was crazy, and not the best wake up call. We lost an hour of sleep last night so my alarm didn’t wake me up, the rocking did.
Today was the first day of classes. After waking up late, I ate a cliff bar and Shea and I headed to out Intercultural Communications class. It is a pretty small class, about 50 of us, and it doesn’t seem like it will be rough, thankfully. Since we were close to being late to class, the only seats empty were in the very front row, where we had to look up at the teacher. Hopefully that won’t happen tomorrow ☺ Next, we went to Global Studies, the class everyone is in together. Our teacher is so funny and has a dry sense of humor and great stories. He sings in random languages and it’s just hilarious. To start off, we have a quiz over the Mediterranean map (which is a great idea because that’s where we will be going!) and he lectured a little bit. We learned about the Greeks and gods. A lot of stuff that was mentioned today I learned in my Intro to Poetry class last semester, so I felt pretty comfortable. We learned about “The Mediterranean Memory” and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. He told us the story about Minotaur and how and why he was trapped in the labyrinth. We talked about certain battles and events that occurred in the places we are going. I think that it ‘s way more interesting learning about something that you are going to get to see. In regular college and high school, you learn about history from other countries that you may never go to, so it can be a bit boring. But since we are going to the place of birth of many things we learned about today, it keeps me interested and excited. For example, in Istanbul, there is a metal column called The Serpent Column. It was made by victorious Greeks who took it and placed it in their city for decoration and dedications to the gods at Delphi. It is metal and looks like two roped twisted together, standing up tall. . Lastly, I went to Global Music. It is about 30 students and I’m most excited about this class. Our teacher majored in ethnomusicology (Dr. Kaloyandies) and specializes in Greek music. Ethnomusicology is defined as the study of music in a culture. World music is defined as musical fusion from many cultures. He said that the objective of this class is to become open-minded about musical types and to overcome the judgments of certain music. In each port, we have to take notes on how we saw music and even how we engaged ourselves into musical performances. During class (which is going to be really fun and entertaining) he played a type of Greek music called “Rebetika”. It is said to be the music of the criminals and is referred to as “blues from Greece”. We will get to see people performing everywhere! As he played this really odd sounding, but pretty, music, he danced a certain dance and it was fun to watch. He seems very into this class and he seems like a great teacher. I’m most excited for this class!
Now that my classes are over (8-12pm), I just had lunch with a girl from TCU and one from Carnegie Melon. They live in my hall! I’m about to start studying my little map for the quiz and then read an article for Global Music. The article is about the first musical instrument ever found, a flute, 35,000 years ago!! After that, Shea and I will probably wonder around and just hang out with everyone. It is so fun here, like a vacation with 700 new friends. Maybe I’ll go get some chocolate ice cream or a fruit smoothie, YUM!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Bon Voyage!
This morning (June 15) I woke up around 6:00 and said bye to the cute cottage I’ve been staying in with my family in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia. We packed up and drove about an hour (got lost, we missed Exit 0… go figure) to Halifax, to board my new home!
My time to board the ship (not “boat”, they stress this in humorous ways) was 9 but I didn’t get in line until around 930. The line was all the way down a street, in the cold, strong wind. It was funny because we all said they should move the line to the other side, where it was sunny. My parents and brother waited in line with me for about 30 minutes then they had to take my dad to the airport to fly back home. In line, I met a girl, whose name I forgot but I’m sure I’ll see her again, who is a Pi Phi at the University of Colorado. Interesting fact: 39 students are from U of Colorado on this thing! We waited in line together for about 2 hours. We joked that when we got to the front to go through customs, the workers would take a break. And then, as we were next to go through, a lady put a sign in front and said the workers were going on a “union break” for an hour! We sat and chatted, then got on finally! I got so lost on this huge ship, but there were helpers on every corner directing you to where you needed to go. Then, Shea and I sat in the room trying to figure out where to put everything. This room is so small but I have a feeling we won’t be in it much! It’s half the size that my dorm room was! Next, we had the emergency evacuation drill, where we stood in the dining room in bright orange bulky life jackets while the captain walked around and checked it all out. Once Shea and I settled in and unpacked, we wandered around, met some students, and ate dinner. While eating a fresh salad, chicken soup, and delicious mahi-mahi, we sat at the table rocking back and forth. It is a very weird feeling that may take a while to get used to! It’s easy to sleep through because it’s relaxing when you close your eyes. But, when you are walking down the hall and trying to drink hot coffee, you have to focus on what you’re doing; it’s a challenging task! After dinner, we met in groups and the Dean and some other teachers and staff talked about what to expect etc.
75% of the students on board are female, and the most populous state on here are students from California. It is a very interesting mix of people (708 students)! The faculty seems so great here. They all connect and seem very reliable and easy to talk to. I know that this is going to be an amazing, unforgettable experience, and this is just the first day!
There is a really funny guy who does all the announcements. He sounds like a robot then he will make a joke and it catches you off guard, making it pretty entertaining. “Hey. (long pause) Are you hungry? (long pause) Dinner is….” and he just says funny things in monotone. Earlier he said a meeting was cancelled and we thought he was done talking, and then we heard, “You’re welcome.”
So now it’s 22:39 (yes, we are learning military time) and I’m probably going to bed soon. It’s been such a long and exciting day!! Tomorrow breakfast is from 7-830, hopefully I’ll have an appetite that early, then we begin lots of fun stuff that I’ll write about later!
Ciao
June 16
I've finally got my e-mail set up and so I write an e-mail to this blog account and it posts it for me so I don't use internet minutes! This morning it was very strange waking up in a dark room, expecting the sun to wake you up. We went to breakfast around 8:00 and then meetings started around 9 and I'm just now getting back to my cabin at 5! The meetings were teachers and staff talking about codes of conduct, safety, and they provided us with some funny entertainment. The teachers and staff are all really good people and you can tell that they are full of humor. I'm starting to get my "sea legs" and I'm beginning to feel better when I'm sitting in a chair, rocking side to side, feeling a little off. Lunch was fun, Shea and I met a teacher and his family from Irving and we also met her art history teacher. We ate with a few guys and I think we've met them all (because they only take up 25%...) and next is dinner! The food is alright, but I'm still hungry after each meal (yes, after 2 servings of lunch and dessert). Luckily I have cliff bars and snacks in my cabin. Ok dinner soon, time to wander around the ship and watch the beautiful blue waves with a sunset and a sparkly reflection on the Atlantic water!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Halifax tonight, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean tomorrow!
Nova Scotia has been so beautiful and I've had a great time traveling with my family! I've taken way too many picture already (wait.. too many? no way!) The first day, we got a rental car (bright blue ghetto dodge charger..) and drove about an hour to our beautiful rental home outside of Halifax. It is surrounded by a bay on both sides with a great view of sailboats and other boats docked in the bay. There are ducks and seagulls everywhere! The neighborhood looks like a postcard and is very quaint! We've eaten great crab, lobster, and seafood chowder every single day :) Yesterday we went to ride the tidal bore (one of the 7 places in the world to do it) it's basically river rafting, but wayyyy different. It is very hard to explain it, but it was a once in a lifetime experience! Then, we went to a place called Peggy's Cove (We never found out who Peggy was...) and it is a breath taking lighthouse on the edge of Nova Scotia where all of the artists and photographers go. I wish I could upload photos but.. can't. There is so much more I could go on about but I think this is all the time I have! Tomorrow morning I get on the M.V. Explorer (which I saw a few hours ago, my stomached dropped, exciting!) and then sail away! In a week I'll be in Spain, crazy! I look forward to meeting so many people and just havin a good time with my cousin! And it allll begins in the morning :)
I miss everyone! Hopefully I'll write again soon!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
