It is not down in any map; true places never are. ~Herman Melville
LIFE OF LUXURY? The perks of living on a cruise ship: we are disgustingly pampered. All of our dining halls have waiters. They clear our tables, get you drinks, help you with your trays, etc. The second you put your fork down, someone comes right to the table and whisks it away. If you finish your orange juice, you can probably expect an offer for a new one. In our cabins, our cabin steward (mine is Hector, from the Philippines) cleans our room, makes our bed, and folds our clothes every day. It is unbelievable. The crew is amazingly nice and extremely popular with the passengers. They sing and make conversation, they are just the coolest and the nicest and a huge part of our community. They have been living on this ship for years, 8 months at a time, working 12-hours a day and still treat everyone like family. The purpose of the crew on the ship is not to do all this, however. They are also our guides in case of emergency or abandonment of ship, they are our firefighters, and they provide daily maintenance to keep an entire hotel, university and home in tip-top shape.
SHIP FOOD: The food on the ship is growing on me. It’s a lot of pasta, fish, meat and potatoes. Did I mention a lot of potatoes? And the meat is usually pork or beef, or some other non-chicken. For some reason, I used to hate it but now I’m enjoying it. The desserts are really good, and there’s always salad. The food is picked up in ports, so today I had a yogurt that was in Portuguese from Brazil. Brazilian grapes are huge and have tons of seeds. For American food, you can pay $ for pizza, burgers, ice cream, popcorn, etc on the 7th Deck Pool Deck.
BRIDGE TOUR: I had a bridge tour last week. The bridge is where the Captain drives the ship from. Unfortunately, it’s not really like that though. There is not even anyone driving this ship. It is all automatic and run by a GPS system. The 2nd Officer gave us our tour and he says it is boring and it is mostly paperwork that needs to be done, not navigating. There are always at least two officers up there though, constantly watching the water. Pirates can be a concern for SOME of the areas we are going to, but they really pose no threat. We are the fastest passenger ship in the world and no one could ever catch up to us. Not only that, but they could never climb up. We do have stabilizers. I might just have misunderstood that whole concept, but I believe there is some sort of chamber of water on the 1st deck that pushes the water either to the left or to the right to counter-balance the rocking of the ship. I am trying to think of what else I learned today on my tour—but it was really interesting.
SEA OLYMPICS: The Sea Olympics is coming up and that is a HUGE deal. Everyone has a sea (I’m the Aegean, and our color is green). This forms our “residence hall” for the entire voyage. We’re competing in a TON of different and random events. This will not surprise you.. but I am competing in teams for Synchronized Swimming and the Lip-Synch contest so that should be pretty funny. We have a good group that realizes the humor of these events and we’re kind of excited to see what we end up with. I don’t remember all the other events, but my favorites are the mashed-potato sculpting contest and the toilet paper fashion show. The Olympics were the day after Cape Town, but because the Captain anticipates rough seas that day, they are on March 8th now. We already won the pre-Olympics Challenge Pep Rally in which we had to make a cheer in 1 hour.
LIVING THE DREAM: The dream is being lived. I will have photos soon, but picture hundreds of college students laying-out in the sun on lounge chairs, sipping on smoothies, possibly by the pool and maybe with a textbook in hand. It is always nice weather; always at least 80 degrees. Between classes I can just sit and layout in the sun. Instead of going to take naps in my cabin, I can just fall asleep next to the pool with the ocean breeze blowing by. What season is Massachusetts in these days? Winter? Hah. This is what my life has become. In reality, we’ve all been doing less and less of this because classes are catching up to us.
RUMORS- Being stuck on a ship for 3.5 months generates a LOT of rumors. We all know they’re rumors because everything begins with “I heard.” No one actually has a source. The Dean started a section in his daily memo called “Rumor Ranger” and lists all the rumors. We are not being followed by a submarine for security. We do not have an extra day in Hawaii. And we have had no pirate encounters yet. In Global yesterday we hit a huge on-coming wave and the whole ship shook, so I exclaimed that we had just hit a whale. At lunch later that day, a girl sat next to me and said “I heard we hit a whale today.” AMAZING.
CABIN: My Mom is still under investigation for the placement of my cabin. I live next to the Hospital and across from the Counseling Center. Whether my mom is secretly plotting to control my mental and physical health from thousands of nautical miles away or not, I do live in the oddest part of the ship. My cabin is on the 2nd deck, so I am all the way on the bottom. The average hallway on this ship has about 200 students because they are the length of the entire ship. My hallway has 6 of us. And we have only about 60 of us on our entire floor. The rest is occupied and strictly off-limits to passengers, mostly because they cabins of the officers and other crew members. My roommate is from Florida and we get along fine. He is a nice kid and we’re it is not bad.
5th GRADE: My brother is a 5th grade teacher and his class is following me around the world this semester. I’ve had the cool opportunity to send his class letters from every port, and just recently sent them a package of currency, brochures, restaurant menus, etc from the ports so far. It is really fun to have them follow me and rumor has it they are throwing me a welcome back party. I have heard there is also a bulletin board in my honor. SAS offers a similar program where we can become pen-pals with classrooms in the US, but this one obviously is a lot more personal for me and I will have the opportunity to talk with them when I get back.
GLOBAL STUDIES UPDATE: The first 40 minutes of Global today was one of the professors running around with a cow-bell trying to hypnotize people. 40 minutes. I am in college. I think.
CLASSES: Very busy.
HEALTH: You would think I would make it a whole semester! I picked up something nasty in Brazil in the food and just finished antibiotics!
OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE WORLD MUCH: We just watched the Super Bowl today. Someone’s parents taped it and mailed it to Africa. They played it in the Union and on all the TVs on the ship. During the actual game, we had to all gather around one laptop linked to Internet-radio and we all listened to it. Even a month later, the outcome is still depressing.
**I already posted some pictures. My better pictures are coming. South Africa was amazing and you will hear about it soon.**
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Pictures!!
Puerto Rico: http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068030&l=e9895&id=24205401
Carnaval in Brazil: http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068034&l=07ef8&id=24205401
The rest of Brazil: COMING SOON.
Carnaval in Brazil: http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068034&l=07ef8&id=24205401
The rest of Brazil: COMING SOON.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Ship Life (Part 1)
Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. -Andre Gide
Since I’ve been away almost a month and written NOTHING about ship-life yet I have way too many things to say. I could write forever, and so I did. Sorry if it’s long, but I think it is mostly interesting stuff and hopefully worth your time, plus, most of it is sort of the “FAQs” I’ve been getting from school and back home. This is only some of what I will write, and I will post Part 2 another time…
[the use of “tomorrow” “today” “yesterday” or any other reference to time is completely irrelevant so ignore it]
THE OCEAN: Right now there are 20-foot waves crashing into my cabin window, and it’s been like this the whole day. At lunch today, a bunch of plates slid off our tables, food went flying and made a big mess. Every time the ship rocks, you can hear something in the distance break. People’s drawers are flying out of their cabinets, books are falling from the library, and the campus store is a mess. Everyone is walking into each other and people look like their walking sideways. Whenever I saw people walking with trays at lunch I would yell “Stay low! Stay low!” and make a big deal out of it for no reason just to embarrass them. We’re all having fun with it, although at some points there is definite fear. The captain and his crew keep making safety announcements reminding us not to walk barefoot, secure out items, don’t use the elevators, etc. Outdoor decks 5 and 6 are closed for now, and so is the 7th deck bow. They actually just bolted-shut a metal cover on my window—I guess in case it breaks. I’ve been waiting for rough oceans since I got on the ship so I am soaking it all in and loving every moment of it. In reality, the oceans are not bad and the crew all laughs at us because they’ve seen this a billion times before. Some people have seen dolphins this voyage and I have not yet, so I am angry about that. Apparently South Africa is good for seeing whales in the distance… wish me luck.
TIME ZONES: We’ve been going through time zones almost every other day. 5 times between Brazil and South Africa!! Since we’re going East, we LOSE an hour. And this will eventually happen TWENTY-FOUR TIMES to us this semester! It is the WORST. Whether an hour makes a difference or not, the fact that some higher-power has literally taken an hour of your day is annoying. I have 8am classes everyday and since I wake up at 7am for those, it is like I am waking up at 6 am every other day. In the alternate semesters when they travel West (the pre-brain surgery route) I would have gained an 1-hr of sleep 24 times, which would be amazing. To counteract the forces of time zones, we nap like it’s our jobs.
CLASSES: Because of our 9-day trip to Cape Town, classes have really started to pick up. Global Studies, the class with all 735+ of us, is taught in the Union and also broadcast to all the TV’s in the classrooms and lounges. Global Studies is an exhibit of how much of a whack-job some of our professors are. Seriously the stuff we do/hear/learn from them is hilarious. We spent the entire class yesterday clapping-out African beats and rhythms and singing the South African national anthem. Every class one of the English professors reads obscure poetry. Professors play tapes of Brazilian frogs or sing native tunes to us. All our professors have traveled the world or have extensively lived abroad, and most are overqualified to teach what they do, but they are all a bit loopy. After some complaints, Global Studies is starting to get more serious with some actual political/economic issues (today was land reform in Africa, yesterday was AIDS…but then again, tomorrow’s lecture is “animals you see if you go on a safari” so there you go). My writing class is a joke—I have no idea what is going on, and we’re not really writing anything. I think I am just going to print out this blog for the last class and hand it in for my final portfolio. My Development Economics class is really interesting, and my professor is really great. She ties in so much of what we do in port to our curriculum, which is exactly what’s supposed to happen. I hate math, numbers, charts and data so eventually I will probably have a mental breakdown. I dropped my Documentary Theater class due to lack of interest. Instead, I picked up Intro to Archaeology. I love my professor and the class is usually interesting. Homework has been tough to do because it is much more fun to socialize than sit by yourself and read a text book (it’s like I have 700 roommates). I don’t know if I am expecting amazing grades this semester or not… we’ll see, I hope so.
THE SAS COMMUNITY: One of the best things about Semester at Sea is the community that surrounds it. Just to give you the range—there are 4 and 5 year olds running around, and there are senior citizens on this ship. The kids are usually the sons and daughters of the faculty, and the older folks are part of the Life Long Learners program. I am in the “Big Brothers/Big Sisters” club, so I am a big bro to Eric who is 9-years-old and is the son of our Assistant Executive Dean. It is such an awesome thing to do, I am so glad I did it. Me and him play “Table/Chair/Sandal Ball” and “Elevator Ball” basically random games me and him invented on the ship using the package of bouncy balls I gave him for his birthday. I am also part of the Extended Family Program. Extended families are adults on the ship (staff, faculty) that are set-up with students and together they become a “family.” My “Mom” is one of the history professors and we have dinner together with my “siblings” once a week. Outside of those programs, I have also gotten to know a bunch of the RDs, the nurse (naturally), and the Director of Student Life really well. I really enjoy getting to know the adults, and I know all of the adults absolutely love talking to the students too, so it’s great. It’s also really cool (and occasionally awkward) to have your professors around...constantly. Instead of “Office Hours” they just ask you to meet them for lunch or dinner. The faculty even come to the student events like the dances and socials. We call most of them by their first names, and for the most part they’re all pretty cool. They also have a team in the Sea Olympics.
SAS KIDS: You would think SAS kids are those that care about the world, culture and want to make the best out of their time here. Unfortunately that is not the case for a lot of kids here. For the girls especially, a lot of them are here on “vacation” and don’t give a flip about anything. I try not to judge, because in the end I don’t really care what people end up doing with their experience, and besides, a lot of them are nice people to begin with. There are plenty of people that get a good experience out of this. For me, it’s about traveling and culture when the sun is shining, and then doing whatever you want when the sun goes down. On another topic, what is cool is that SAS kids come from all over. I am friends with one or more from Norway, China, Puerto Rico and Brazil, although Int’l Students are a minority. All different parts of the U.S. are well represented. I love southern and western accents. It is cool to meet people that are so different because of their geography—nice to get away from the LongIslandNewJerseyConnecticutMassachusetts-ness of Quinnipiac. There are 74 here from Univ of Colorado-Boulder! And also a ton from Chapman and schools in California.
SOCIAL LIFE: I do have friends. I don’t know if I have a “crew” necessarily, but so far so good and I love the people I hang out with. I’m not really sure if “crews” will actually exist on this ship, just because it’s such a melting pot of people all going through the same experience. I meet new people every day. Sometimes it is hard because the ship can be big and the days get busy so you don’t always see everyone you want when you want. I basically just try to be friends with everyone, and make sure I’m eating lunch/dinner with people I’ve lost touch with or haven’t seen in a while. For travel, sometimes it can be random because people have different plans and do different things. Like in Brazil some of my friends spent lots of money to travel really far (Amazon or Rio in Brazil, and people going on Safaris in Africa). I am saving my money for the Great Wall in China and maybe the Taj Mahal in India. Preparing for ports is sort of stressful for me, mostly because I like to know who is “around” so I don’t end up randomly by myself, not that I really think that would happen. But with people doing a million different things, and some people having to go on trips for their professors, it can be difficult to figure out how traveling in port will pan out.
NEPTUNE DAY: Today was Neptune Day. We were all woken up by a parade of crew and staff wearing Viking gear(?) who walked through the hallways and banged on pots and pans outside our doors at 7:30am. Grr. Then, we were told by “the voice” to report to the 7th Deck. To please King Neptune and his wife, we must get fish guts poured on us, jump in the pool, kiss a fish, then kiss King Neptune’s ring (this is at like 8am). As an optional sign of respect, we could shave our head. Every year it’s sort of a big-thing how many GIRLS will shave their heads. We set a record this year for girls completely shaving their heads (don’t know the #, I’d say 30?). I shaved my head, so I sort of look like I just had surgery again…and I have gotten questions about the scar, but it’s barely noticeable and it still looks pretty bad-ass plus makes for great conversation (don’t u think?). For lunch on Neptune Day we had cheeseburgers and hotdogs and FRENCH FRIES---a little taste of America! Ohh man, I was freaking out.
TO KEEP YOU IN SUSPENSE, HERE ARE SOME CAPTIVATING TITLES FOR PART 2: ship food, getting pampered, bridge tour, sea Olympics, living the dream, rumors, my cabin, my roommate, and 5th grade….
Since I’ve been away almost a month and written NOTHING about ship-life yet I have way too many things to say. I could write forever, and so I did. Sorry if it’s long, but I think it is mostly interesting stuff and hopefully worth your time, plus, most of it is sort of the “FAQs” I’ve been getting from school and back home. This is only some of what I will write, and I will post Part 2 another time…
[the use of “tomorrow” “today” “yesterday” or any other reference to time is completely irrelevant so ignore it]
THE OCEAN: Right now there are 20-foot waves crashing into my cabin window, and it’s been like this the whole day. At lunch today, a bunch of plates slid off our tables, food went flying and made a big mess. Every time the ship rocks, you can hear something in the distance break. People’s drawers are flying out of their cabinets, books are falling from the library, and the campus store is a mess. Everyone is walking into each other and people look like their walking sideways. Whenever I saw people walking with trays at lunch I would yell “Stay low! Stay low!” and make a big deal out of it for no reason just to embarrass them. We’re all having fun with it, although at some points there is definite fear. The captain and his crew keep making safety announcements reminding us not to walk barefoot, secure out items, don’t use the elevators, etc. Outdoor decks 5 and 6 are closed for now, and so is the 7th deck bow. They actually just bolted-shut a metal cover on my window—I guess in case it breaks. I’ve been waiting for rough oceans since I got on the ship so I am soaking it all in and loving every moment of it. In reality, the oceans are not bad and the crew all laughs at us because they’ve seen this a billion times before. Some people have seen dolphins this voyage and I have not yet, so I am angry about that. Apparently South Africa is good for seeing whales in the distance… wish me luck.
TIME ZONES: We’ve been going through time zones almost every other day. 5 times between Brazil and South Africa!! Since we’re going East, we LOSE an hour. And this will eventually happen TWENTY-FOUR TIMES to us this semester! It is the WORST. Whether an hour makes a difference or not, the fact that some higher-power has literally taken an hour of your day is annoying. I have 8am classes everyday and since I wake up at 7am for those, it is like I am waking up at 6 am every other day. In the alternate semesters when they travel West (the pre-brain surgery route) I would have gained an 1-hr of sleep 24 times, which would be amazing. To counteract the forces of time zones, we nap like it’s our jobs.
CLASSES: Because of our 9-day trip to Cape Town, classes have really started to pick up. Global Studies, the class with all 735+ of us, is taught in the Union and also broadcast to all the TV’s in the classrooms and lounges. Global Studies is an exhibit of how much of a whack-job some of our professors are. Seriously the stuff we do/hear/learn from them is hilarious. We spent the entire class yesterday clapping-out African beats and rhythms and singing the South African national anthem. Every class one of the English professors reads obscure poetry. Professors play tapes of Brazilian frogs or sing native tunes to us. All our professors have traveled the world or have extensively lived abroad, and most are overqualified to teach what they do, but they are all a bit loopy. After some complaints, Global Studies is starting to get more serious with some actual political/economic issues (today was land reform in Africa, yesterday was AIDS…but then again, tomorrow’s lecture is “animals you see if you go on a safari” so there you go). My writing class is a joke—I have no idea what is going on, and we’re not really writing anything. I think I am just going to print out this blog for the last class and hand it in for my final portfolio. My Development Economics class is really interesting, and my professor is really great. She ties in so much of what we do in port to our curriculum, which is exactly what’s supposed to happen. I hate math, numbers, charts and data so eventually I will probably have a mental breakdown. I dropped my Documentary Theater class due to lack of interest. Instead, I picked up Intro to Archaeology. I love my professor and the class is usually interesting. Homework has been tough to do because it is much more fun to socialize than sit by yourself and read a text book (it’s like I have 700 roommates). I don’t know if I am expecting amazing grades this semester or not… we’ll see, I hope so.
THE SAS COMMUNITY: One of the best things about Semester at Sea is the community that surrounds it. Just to give you the range—there are 4 and 5 year olds running around, and there are senior citizens on this ship. The kids are usually the sons and daughters of the faculty, and the older folks are part of the Life Long Learners program. I am in the “Big Brothers/Big Sisters” club, so I am a big bro to Eric who is 9-years-old and is the son of our Assistant Executive Dean. It is such an awesome thing to do, I am so glad I did it. Me and him play “Table/Chair/Sandal Ball” and “Elevator Ball” basically random games me and him invented on the ship using the package of bouncy balls I gave him for his birthday. I am also part of the Extended Family Program. Extended families are adults on the ship (staff, faculty) that are set-up with students and together they become a “family.” My “Mom” is one of the history professors and we have dinner together with my “siblings” once a week. Outside of those programs, I have also gotten to know a bunch of the RDs, the nurse (naturally), and the Director of Student Life really well. I really enjoy getting to know the adults, and I know all of the adults absolutely love talking to the students too, so it’s great. It’s also really cool (and occasionally awkward) to have your professors around...constantly. Instead of “Office Hours” they just ask you to meet them for lunch or dinner. The faculty even come to the student events like the dances and socials. We call most of them by their first names, and for the most part they’re all pretty cool. They also have a team in the Sea Olympics.
SAS KIDS: You would think SAS kids are those that care about the world, culture and want to make the best out of their time here. Unfortunately that is not the case for a lot of kids here. For the girls especially, a lot of them are here on “vacation” and don’t give a flip about anything. I try not to judge, because in the end I don’t really care what people end up doing with their experience, and besides, a lot of them are nice people to begin with. There are plenty of people that get a good experience out of this. For me, it’s about traveling and culture when the sun is shining, and then doing whatever you want when the sun goes down. On another topic, what is cool is that SAS kids come from all over. I am friends with one or more from Norway, China, Puerto Rico and Brazil, although Int’l Students are a minority. All different parts of the U.S. are well represented. I love southern and western accents. It is cool to meet people that are so different because of their geography—nice to get away from the LongIslandNewJerseyConnecticutMassachusetts-ness of Quinnipiac. There are 74 here from Univ of Colorado-Boulder! And also a ton from Chapman and schools in California.
SOCIAL LIFE: I do have friends. I don’t know if I have a “crew” necessarily, but so far so good and I love the people I hang out with. I’m not really sure if “crews” will actually exist on this ship, just because it’s such a melting pot of people all going through the same experience. I meet new people every day. Sometimes it is hard because the ship can be big and the days get busy so you don’t always see everyone you want when you want. I basically just try to be friends with everyone, and make sure I’m eating lunch/dinner with people I’ve lost touch with or haven’t seen in a while. For travel, sometimes it can be random because people have different plans and do different things. Like in Brazil some of my friends spent lots of money to travel really far (Amazon or Rio in Brazil, and people going on Safaris in Africa). I am saving my money for the Great Wall in China and maybe the Taj Mahal in India. Preparing for ports is sort of stressful for me, mostly because I like to know who is “around” so I don’t end up randomly by myself, not that I really think that would happen. But with people doing a million different things, and some people having to go on trips for their professors, it can be difficult to figure out how traveling in port will pan out.
NEPTUNE DAY: Today was Neptune Day. We were all woken up by a parade of crew and staff wearing Viking gear(?) who walked through the hallways and banged on pots and pans outside our doors at 7:30am. Grr. Then, we were told by “the voice” to report to the 7th Deck. To please King Neptune and his wife, we must get fish guts poured on us, jump in the pool, kiss a fish, then kiss King Neptune’s ring (this is at like 8am). As an optional sign of respect, we could shave our head. Every year it’s sort of a big-thing how many GIRLS will shave their heads. We set a record this year for girls completely shaving their heads (don’t know the #, I’d say 30?). I shaved my head, so I sort of look like I just had surgery again…and I have gotten questions about the scar, but it’s barely noticeable and it still looks pretty bad-ass plus makes for great conversation (don’t u think?). For lunch on Neptune Day we had cheeseburgers and hotdogs and FRENCH FRIES---a little taste of America! Ohh man, I was freaking out.
TO KEEP YOU IN SUSPENSE, HERE ARE SOME CAPTIVATING TITLES FOR PART 2: ship food, getting pampered, bridge tour, sea Olympics, living the dream, rumors, my cabin, my roommate, and 5th grade….
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Salvador, Brazil
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”
-Maya Angelou
In the days leading up to Salvador, Brazil, the ship was full of nervous tension and anxiety. We were sailing into a country known for its urban violence and petty crime, and on top of it all, we were arriving at the height of its criminal activity—Carnaval. People jokingly said things like “I’m not getting off the ship.” In our pre-port meetings it seemed we weren’t learning how to avoid problems, but rather how to handle its inevitability. Girls getting earrings ripped out of their ears, or being dragged down the street by a motorcyclist clinging to a backpack were just some of the images we were given. “Don’t be scared, be prepared”; WWAP (walk with a purpose); and, “Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes” included the pieces of advice we were given before disembarkation.
Now several nautical miles away, I still have mixed feelings about Brazil. I met interesting people, saw amazing things, ate delicious food, and witnessed the Afro-Brazilian culture. However, blanketing their strengths are their weaknesses. Cab drivers took advantage of our money, people got mugged, harassed, and worse. For every pleasant experience in Brazil, I had 3 unpleasant ones. I was sick of constantly making sure I had not been pick-pocketed, sick of people selling me things, being charged double or triple, and sick of not being able to walk places at night. I was helped and I was misled. I was respected and disrespected. Homicide committed by Brazilian police is the third-leading cause of death among children and adolescents. I didn’t know who to trust, who to talk to, who to smile to, and who to avoid. Puerto Rico was a breeze, and now, there were challenges. But, I did some amazing and awesome things in Brazil, and just because these “challenges” made everything either scarier or more difficult, I survived it and I did have a tremendously great time.
On the first day immediately after the ship was cleared by Immigration Officials, I headed out with a group of 5 into Salvador. I was dressed for Carnaval: mesh shorts (no pockets), a white under-shirt, and $15 currency in each shoe. No camera. No wallet. No reason for anyone to touch me. The only thing that set me apart was my skin color, as 70% of Salvador is black (and the other 30% don’t actually seem to exist?). We walked right into the heart of Salvador for Carnaval.
Carnaval put us right into the middle of 2 million people. Salvador is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “Biggest Party in the Universe”—I was right in the middle of it. We got pushed around the streets, trying to find the best place to watch Brazil’s most famous pop-artists perform. They sang from the top of huge, lit-up trucks as they slowly plowed through the crowds. We pretended to mouth the Portuguese lyrics just to fit in. Whatever the people around us were doing—we did. We were timid at first, but after a while we grew less and less afraid of our surroundings. With the Brazilian military on every street corner and surrounded by handful of sympathetic locals, we were going to be just fine.
We grabbed a few drinks and danced alongside Brazil’s highest-paid and most famous singer, Iveche. We danced with those around us, picked up some new moves, and high-fived people along our way. I stopped along the sidewalk and held a small child above my head so that he could see above the crowd. I didn’t speak their language and Spanish could only convey so much to them. It didn’t matter. Partying was universal. In the country with the largest gap between the rich and the poor in the entire world, it didn’t matter if you lived in a mansion or a shanty town because everyone was there for the same reason; “Carnaval” is an all-inclusive and embracing concept.
After a dinner break on the ship, we went out again from 8pm to 4am for more of Carnaval. It was crazier, more intense, and more fun. We made friends. We had people that didn’t even speak English buying us beer and candy, and we played “charades” in the middle of the street as a way to communicate with them. We danced around, found our professors in the crowd, and soaked every moment in. Our white-ness and obvious American-ness seemed to attract people for the right reasons. We were safe, seemingly appreciated, and had the absolute time of our lives.
After waking up at a casual 1pm the next day, a group of us went to the market then lounged by the pool on the 7th deck. That night, we went to a churrascaria rodizio for dinner. Here, everyone gets a card with both a green and a red side. If your card is showing green: you want more meat. More meat means exactly that—you’ll be bombarded by waiters armed with knives ready to cut anything right onto your plate. I had, among other things, ostrich, chicken hearts, and “feet” (to this day we still don’t know who’s feet they are). We were there for several hours, eating everything that was cut onto our plate, and hilariously fumbling in our Sportugish (using Spanish and English as a means to talk in Portuguese).
The next day I spent the morning in Pellourinho, the tourist district, to take some pictures and give the locals an opportunity to bombard me with their useless items. The streets are cobblestone, winding through small neighborhoods and offer an amazing backdrop of blue skies, a gleaming ocean, and interesting architecture. That night, a huge bunch of us went to a soccer game. It was everything you’d imagine a soccer game in Brazil (not to mention South America, as a whole) to be. It was crazy, fun and extremely cultural.
Day 4 I went on an SAS trip to a Brazilian favela (shantytown). The trip may end up being one of the more memorable experiences of this voyage. We walked through the poor community, shacks piled upon each other and kids roaming the streets, many of them without shoes. We visited an elementary school and spoke to one of the teachers there. She makes very little money, and receives very little funding for the school from the government. Although school wasn’t in session because of Carnaval, all the kids from the village came to greet us outside their school. We gave them gifts, and spent the rest of our time playing and interacting with them. “Touring” poor communities is a confusing concept, and had we not been welcomed by these children, I would have thought twice about visiting. I will say, though, that the people of this community were not embarrassed or ashamed of their poverty. They were proud and confident. They stood next to their shacks with smiles on their faces; they are a strong people, with a willingness to live and work hard.
In the afternoon, Bob, Sarah and I took a ferry to Itaparica Island for the rest of the day. We lounged on the beach, swam in the crystal-blue waters, and had a drink with a local family. The island has an amazing view of the Salvador skyline and it has a great beach-town feel, though mostly for the upper-middle class. For our last night in Brazil, a small group of us went to Rio Vermelho, the rich district of the city. We ate some queijo coalho (fried cheese, amazing), beiju doce com coco y chocolache (coconut, chocolate and sweet milk, baked), caiparinhas (their national drink), listened to live music, and made friends with our Sportugish.
To their credit, SAS did a great job preparing us for Salvador—we were extremely well-cultured and educated. I am grateful for the experiences I had, good and bad. On this 9-day journey to Africa, I find myself more and more remembering my positive experiences in Brazil rather than the negative ones. In fact, I play my new Carnaval CD incessantly!
[ Sorry, no pictures to share…at least not until I find Internet in Cape Town. I know I haven’t posted anything about ship life, classes, etc. I will do my best to give you a quick overview of life on the ocean soon. Until then, 200 pages to read and an exam await me…]
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Puerto Rico
“Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.”
–Alexander Solzhenitsyn
It sounds cliché, but pictures can’t describe my time in Puerto Rico. It’s not because it was that beautiful that an image could not capture its character, but rather, a picture is simply that, a picture. A picture would not describe my conversation with an old woman on a public bus, capture the feelings of getting robbed and scammed on our first day in port, capture the sounds of the salsa music in the streets of Old San Juan, nor would it portray my new relationship with some Puerto Rican friends. For everything else—the buildings, the Spanish ruins, the cobblestone streets—I have pictures for, mostly for the reasons they are the most easy to forget.
On our first morning in Puerto Rico, some friends and I headed toward Old San Juan. Stopping for pictures of the ocean and for the occasional iguana crossing, we continued along to San Cristobal Fort and to the cliffs jutting into the ocean to explore. We diverted to the State Capital Building of Puerto Rico, before continuing to Old San Juan.
We were soon approached by a frantic American seeking our help. A tall man from Wisconsin sporting a fanny-pack and sunglasses, the man told us his traumatic dilemma. He and his dad were visiting the island the previous night when, in a bad neighborhood, his dad got mugged and badly hurt. Having no money and no luck with the Puerto Rican police, the man was in need of a small cab fare of $22 to get back to his cruise ship. Inspired by his story and his courage, we donated $25 so he could return back.
It was frustrating to learn from a local islander that the “man from Wisconsin” was a complete and utter fake—his story was his long-time “gimmick.” Retelling the story to other SASers, we soon learned that we weren’t the only ones fooled. The man, we assume, made a hefty profit from our shipload of sympathetic college students. It was disappointing but nonetheless a good lesson to learn for our next and possibly most dangerous port, Brazil.
We continued further along to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant we found called Yeyos. The lunch menu was handwritten on a small piece of notebook paper and taped to the counter. We sat as an old woman cooked for us, serving us roasted chicken, rice, beans and fried plantains all for less than $6.
Leaving the restaurant and pulling out an old piece of paper from my back pocket, I had written down the directions to Club Gallistico—a chicken fighting arena. Cockfighting in Puerto Rico is a HUGE sport (and somehow still legal despite P.R. being a U.S. Territory). With some interested co-travelers, we navigated our way to the bus terminal to take the “A5” to Isla Verde. A 45-minute adventure that tested my developing Spanish proficiency, we finally ended up at the cockfighting arena. The pictures and video are self-explanatory; it was a disturbing sport to watch. I was immersed as a spectator in a sport I may never understand. We left with a deep sense that this was just the beginning—that this semester we would often have to take ourselves outside our comfort zone.
That night a small group of us got a van to drive us one-hour to bioluminescent bay. Greek philosopher Aristotle described the phenomena of bioluminescence: “You strike the sea with a rod by night and the water is seen to shine.” It is a marine phenomenon where living organisms emit light through a process of oxidation. There are only 4 “biobays” in the world, and Puerto Rico has 3 of them. We kayaked through the dark night with a tour guide 3 miles through a mangrove forest. Putting our paddles in or shaking our hands and feet in the water, the water glowed and sparkled. It is impossible to explain, but believe me it was awesome. We had fun kayaking through the jungle at night—and the full moon and bright stars certainly helped make this night a memorable one.
The next morning my friend and I were approached by a reporter from Nuevo Dìa, Puerto Rico’s daily newspaper, on an article about SAS. After, we headed to Old San Juan to walk around for the day and visit another fort El Morro. Later that afternoon we headed to El Yunque, the only rainforest protected by the U.S. Forest System. We hiked through the forest and swam underneath the waterfalls. On the way home we went to another random restaurant for more native food and more fried plantains.
That night we went out to Calle San Sebastian for some “local beverages.” Being among the hundreds of SASers at the raggaeton and salsa clubs, I was fortunate to meet some local Puerto Ricans our age. I spoke Spanish to them while they spoke English back to me, as it was practice for both of us. The several hours of hanging out with the native islanders and sharing about ourselves was by far the most amazing part of Puerto Rico. I was actually connecting with their culture and at the same time speaking their language with near-fluency like I’ve never before.
The last day I was exhausted. I slept-in, went to Starbucks for Internet, Walgreens for some stuff, walked around the Old San Juan for a while, then headed back to the ship. The highlight of the day was buying a copy of Nuevo Dìa and seeing my picture and quotes translated into Spanish. Back on the ship, the Executive Dean and some other SAS administration were amazed that myself and two others made the local paper. In the end, it was as if Puerto Rico made an impact on me, and I somehow left my mark on Puerto Rico.
VIDEO CLIPS FROM SAN JUAN
–Alexander Solzhenitsyn
It sounds cliché, but pictures can’t describe my time in Puerto Rico. It’s not because it was that beautiful that an image could not capture its character, but rather, a picture is simply that, a picture. A picture would not describe my conversation with an old woman on a public bus, capture the feelings of getting robbed and scammed on our first day in port, capture the sounds of the salsa music in the streets of Old San Juan, nor would it portray my new relationship with some Puerto Rican friends. For everything else—the buildings, the Spanish ruins, the cobblestone streets—I have pictures for, mostly for the reasons they are the most easy to forget.
On our first morning in Puerto Rico, some friends and I headed toward Old San Juan. Stopping for pictures of the ocean and for the occasional iguana crossing, we continued along to San Cristobal Fort and to the cliffs jutting into the ocean to explore. We diverted to the State Capital Building of Puerto Rico, before continuing to Old San Juan.
We were soon approached by a frantic American seeking our help. A tall man from Wisconsin sporting a fanny-pack and sunglasses, the man told us his traumatic dilemma. He and his dad were visiting the island the previous night when, in a bad neighborhood, his dad got mugged and badly hurt. Having no money and no luck with the Puerto Rican police, the man was in need of a small cab fare of $22 to get back to his cruise ship. Inspired by his story and his courage, we donated $25 so he could return back.
It was frustrating to learn from a local islander that the “man from Wisconsin” was a complete and utter fake—his story was his long-time “gimmick.” Retelling the story to other SASers, we soon learned that we weren’t the only ones fooled. The man, we assume, made a hefty profit from our shipload of sympathetic college students. It was disappointing but nonetheless a good lesson to learn for our next and possibly most dangerous port, Brazil.
We continued further along to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant we found called Yeyos. The lunch menu was handwritten on a small piece of notebook paper and taped to the counter. We sat as an old woman cooked for us, serving us roasted chicken, rice, beans and fried plantains all for less than $6.
Leaving the restaurant and pulling out an old piece of paper from my back pocket, I had written down the directions to Club Gallistico—a chicken fighting arena. Cockfighting in Puerto Rico is a HUGE sport (and somehow still legal despite P.R. being a U.S. Territory). With some interested co-travelers, we navigated our way to the bus terminal to take the “A5” to Isla Verde. A 45-minute adventure that tested my developing Spanish proficiency, we finally ended up at the cockfighting arena. The pictures and video are self-explanatory; it was a disturbing sport to watch. I was immersed as a spectator in a sport I may never understand. We left with a deep sense that this was just the beginning—that this semester we would often have to take ourselves outside our comfort zone.
That night a small group of us got a van to drive us one-hour to bioluminescent bay. Greek philosopher Aristotle described the phenomena of bioluminescence: “You strike the sea with a rod by night and the water is seen to shine.” It is a marine phenomenon where living organisms emit light through a process of oxidation. There are only 4 “biobays” in the world, and Puerto Rico has 3 of them. We kayaked through the dark night with a tour guide 3 miles through a mangrove forest. Putting our paddles in or shaking our hands and feet in the water, the water glowed and sparkled. It is impossible to explain, but believe me it was awesome. We had fun kayaking through the jungle at night—and the full moon and bright stars certainly helped make this night a memorable one.
The next morning my friend and I were approached by a reporter from Nuevo Dìa, Puerto Rico’s daily newspaper, on an article about SAS. After, we headed to Old San Juan to walk around for the day and visit another fort El Morro. Later that afternoon we headed to El Yunque, the only rainforest protected by the U.S. Forest System. We hiked through the forest and swam underneath the waterfalls. On the way home we went to another random restaurant for more native food and more fried plantains.
That night we went out to Calle San Sebastian for some “local beverages.” Being among the hundreds of SASers at the raggaeton and salsa clubs, I was fortunate to meet some local Puerto Ricans our age. I spoke Spanish to them while they spoke English back to me, as it was practice for both of us. The several hours of hanging out with the native islanders and sharing about ourselves was by far the most amazing part of Puerto Rico. I was actually connecting with their culture and at the same time speaking their language with near-fluency like I’ve never before.
The last day I was exhausted. I slept-in, went to Starbucks for Internet, Walgreens for some stuff, walked around the Old San Juan for a while, then headed back to the ship. The highlight of the day was buying a copy of Nuevo Dìa and seeing my picture and quotes translated into Spanish. Back on the ship, the Executive Dean and some other SAS administration were amazed that myself and two others made the local paper. In the end, it was as if Puerto Rico made an impact on me, and I somehow left my mark on Puerto Rico.
VIDEO CLIPS FROM SAN JUAN
swimming in the Rainforest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIUcJmeZwC8
at a cockfight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DigYkUG4fvQ
Monday, January 28, 2008
Quick hello from the PR
I'm at a Starbucks in SAN JUAN stealing some WiFi.
I did upload some pictures and a video from our departure and the ship. Enjoy..
SAS Departure/Ship (photo album)
http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065681&l=b29b2&id=24205401
Leaving from Nassau (short video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgHF5opT4mI
I did upload some pictures and a video from our departure and the ship. Enjoy..
SAS Departure/Ship (photo album)
http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065681&l=b29b2&id=24205401
Leaving from Nassau (short video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgHF5opT4mI
Friday, January 25, 2008
...aaand we're off !
November 11th 2006.
This is the date that appears at the top of my course schedule.
Its 8-point, Times New Roman font, and upper right-hand corner placement tells me that the date is nothing important or special, and certainly not the purpose of this document. I can’t think of any holiday or any other reason for anyone else in the world to care about November 11th 2006. For me, however, it is the word—just one word—that accompanies this date that gives it a lot more meaning.
Admitted: 11/11/2006
It is the date that the Institute for Shipboard Education and Semester at Sea approved my application to sail on the 95th voyage of the Semester at Sea program. That was 779 days ago; 18,696 hours ago I officially learned I would be embarking on the “voyage of discovery.”
I sit here today, a student on the fastest cruise ship in the world, among 735 college students who will join less than 1% of the population who can call themselves circumnavigators.
The M.V. Explorer has surpassed everyone’s expectations. It is an amazing ship that shouldn’t be judged from the outside just because it’s for “college kids.” It’s as nice as any other cruise ship floating on water today. Overall, I think we were all taken aback by the ship’s movements. While most sat in the Union (auditorium/lecture hall) on the first night for opening remarks, many found themselves in the bathroom puking and holding on for dear life. We’re all a little nervous what the “real seas” will bring, as we have been told the ship’s movements thus far have only been a “1, on a scale of 10.” The rocking, as I say, is great because it constantly reminds you how awesome it is that your college campus floats on salt water.
The first full-day on the ship, “orientation day”, was mostly on ship safety including detailed instructions on what to do in the case of a “man overboard.” And in case you were wondering: yes have to, among many other things, shout “man overboard!” It has happened before, although not recently. It would take the ship 35 minutes just to turn itself around to get someone!! We can NOT play in the lifeboats. Doors must be kept shut at all times as the waves will cause them to shut abruptly, putting our fingers at risk. And, oh yes, we had the ever so important yet excruciatingly horrible lifeboat drills. For these “emergencies,” we must go to our cabins and put on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, closed-toed shoes, a hat and our life vest: perfect attire for our tropical and equator-wavering itinerary.
Socially, everyone on the ship is extremely nice and outgoing and participating in the same daunting task of making friends. Everyone introduces themselves to everyone and then whenever you see them again you can’t remember their name. The questions, the answers and the topics of discussion are all the same. It is an exhausting and robotic process. The reward, however, is being able to walk onto Deck 7 Aft and know at least 3 people lounging by the pool. Either way, the ability to sit with random strangers at meals or strike-up random conversation on the staircase is a custom that should exist in communities everywhere.
I do miss the Internet and cell phone, though I am slowly weaning my reliance on them. I have 250 Internet minutes on an Internet built for 50 people and that acts like it was invented in 1992. I made the mistake of opening my QU e-mail today, which showed 30 completely useless e-mails regarding things happening on campus of no importance to me. Thank you for your e-mails, by the way. My G-mail account was full of love and I think it’s important to stay grounded on a trip like this, and to remember “where we come from, and where we call home.”
Tonight we have our cultural pre-port meeting to prepare for our arrival in Puerto Rico tomorrow!!
This is the date that appears at the top of my course schedule.
Its 8-point, Times New Roman font, and upper right-hand corner placement tells me that the date is nothing important or special, and certainly not the purpose of this document. I can’t think of any holiday or any other reason for anyone else in the world to care about November 11th 2006. For me, however, it is the word—just one word—that accompanies this date that gives it a lot more meaning.
Admitted: 11/11/2006
It is the date that the Institute for Shipboard Education and Semester at Sea approved my application to sail on the 95th voyage of the Semester at Sea program. That was 779 days ago; 18,696 hours ago I officially learned I would be embarking on the “voyage of discovery.”
I sit here today, a student on the fastest cruise ship in the world, among 735 college students who will join less than 1% of the population who can call themselves circumnavigators.
The M.V. Explorer has surpassed everyone’s expectations. It is an amazing ship that shouldn’t be judged from the outside just because it’s for “college kids.” It’s as nice as any other cruise ship floating on water today. Overall, I think we were all taken aback by the ship’s movements. While most sat in the Union (auditorium/lecture hall) on the first night for opening remarks, many found themselves in the bathroom puking and holding on for dear life. We’re all a little nervous what the “real seas” will bring, as we have been told the ship’s movements thus far have only been a “1, on a scale of 10.” The rocking, as I say, is great because it constantly reminds you how awesome it is that your college campus floats on salt water.
The first full-day on the ship, “orientation day”, was mostly on ship safety including detailed instructions on what to do in the case of a “man overboard.” And in case you were wondering: yes have to, among many other things, shout “man overboard!” It has happened before, although not recently. It would take the ship 35 minutes just to turn itself around to get someone!! We can NOT play in the lifeboats. Doors must be kept shut at all times as the waves will cause them to shut abruptly, putting our fingers at risk. And, oh yes, we had the ever so important yet excruciatingly horrible lifeboat drills. For these “emergencies,” we must go to our cabins and put on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, closed-toed shoes, a hat and our life vest: perfect attire for our tropical and equator-wavering itinerary.
Socially, everyone on the ship is extremely nice and outgoing and participating in the same daunting task of making friends. Everyone introduces themselves to everyone and then whenever you see them again you can’t remember their name. The questions, the answers and the topics of discussion are all the same. It is an exhausting and robotic process. The reward, however, is being able to walk onto Deck 7 Aft and know at least 3 people lounging by the pool. Either way, the ability to sit with random strangers at meals or strike-up random conversation on the staircase is a custom that should exist in communities everywhere.
I do miss the Internet and cell phone, though I am slowly weaning my reliance on them. I have 250 Internet minutes on an Internet built for 50 people and that acts like it was invented in 1992. I made the mistake of opening my QU e-mail today, which showed 30 completely useless e-mails regarding things happening on campus of no importance to me. Thank you for your e-mails, by the way. My G-mail account was full of love and I think it’s important to stay grounded on a trip like this, and to remember “where we come from, and where we call home.”
Tonight we have our cultural pre-port meeting to prepare for our arrival in Puerto Rico tomorrow!!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Paradise Island, Bahamas/Atlantis
We sat at the table digging into our overpriced burger, portabella mushroom sandwich, Caesar salad and sesame shrimp dinners. The high-end restaurants were basically unavoidable at the Atlantis Resort, and at this point my $22 burger seemed like a reward for my long morning of travel and my long day of aimless wandering around the island. Each turn, door, or staircase led us to a new building, pool, lagoon, bar or restaurant; it was clear this resort was an infinite complex big enough to sink the island itself. The Atlantis was just like my $22 burger—large, piled-high and, for the most part, well-done. But it wasn’t until five bites into that burger that I realized how over-the-top this place really was.
Before I knew it, our nice family dinner on the outside patio of an overpriced restaurant turned into a Bohemian Mardi Gras celebration large enough to blow an eardrum. With drums, whistles, and large music instruments I haven’t seen since my 5th grade holiday concert, the Atlantis staff took to the streets for a surprise Kamikaze-style attack on shoppers and dinner-eaters alike. Hidden behind their enormous masks and feathers that would put the NBC peacock to shame, the twenty or so performers somehow managed to pull everyone in a 1-mile radius onto the streets of Atlantis to dance, scream, and look like idiots. Thank goodness for Happy Hour, because the citizens of Atlantis were loving it. A non-stop party ensued—a message to the tourists of Paradise Island that this vacation would be an unforgettable one, even if it’s just to forget how much you paid for it all. The Atlantis, the unknown mythological lost-city was rebuilt in the Bahamas to never, ever be lost again.
The week shared by my mom, dad and Katie was just like our experience at that family dinner—completely unexpected, accidental and unanticipated. On Day 1, my dad sat at the bar next to Derek Jeter who was here to play in Michael Jordan’s Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament (as was Mike Piazza, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciapara, and a slew of others). We also went to Atlantis’ Dolphin Cay where we sat on the sand and watched Hurricane Katrina survivors (we’re still talking about Dolphins) flip, trick and make us laugh. And for the biggest surprise of Day 1: Mom, Dad and Katie did it all without any of their luggage! (Which the airline finally delivered at 10pm that night.)
Day 2 brought us a sunny morning for Atlantis’ main attraction, their pools and waterslides. With rain clouds approaching, that evening we found a great sports bar in the casino for drinks and the Patriots game. Later at night I went out to dinner with some SAS kids who were here a few days early.
We woke up for Day 3 with two surprises right outside our balcony. The fist surprise was that my home for the next 3.5 months, the MV Explorer, was in clear view right from our hotel room, docked right in downtown Nassau—an exciting yet annoying tease and distraction for the next few days. The second surprise was that it was still…somehow…. cloudy, windy and cold (for the Bahamas). But, being the hardcore family we are, Dad, Katie and I hit the pools until Mother Nature, in the form of torrential downpours, told us to go back inside. We then took the afternoon “over the bridge” to Nassau for some lunch and shopping, and a closer look at the MV.
Day 4 brought great weather and we hit the water park and beach all day.
Right now the hotel is full of SAS kids, I would say at least 400 of us at this point. Last night a TON of us gathered at the hotel lobby bar for a really fun time. I met tons of people and we completely took the place over. Later, a bunch ended up downtown at Senor Frogs but a few of us decided to keep it local and headed to a nightclub in the casino. Everyone is super nice and is just ready for a great time.
Tomorrow I board the ship at 8am. My parents are on board now for a parent’s party, and I can’t wait until they get back to tell me all about it.
We depart Nassau at 5pm which, from what I hear, is one of the more memorable and emotional parts of the trip. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Wish me luck!
Before I knew it, our nice family dinner on the outside patio of an overpriced restaurant turned into a Bohemian Mardi Gras celebration large enough to blow an eardrum. With drums, whistles, and large music instruments I haven’t seen since my 5th grade holiday concert, the Atlantis staff took to the streets for a surprise Kamikaze-style attack on shoppers and dinner-eaters alike. Hidden behind their enormous masks and feathers that would put the NBC peacock to shame, the twenty or so performers somehow managed to pull everyone in a 1-mile radius onto the streets of Atlantis to dance, scream, and look like idiots. Thank goodness for Happy Hour, because the citizens of Atlantis were loving it. A non-stop party ensued—a message to the tourists of Paradise Island that this vacation would be an unforgettable one, even if it’s just to forget how much you paid for it all. The Atlantis, the unknown mythological lost-city was rebuilt in the Bahamas to never, ever be lost again.
The week shared by my mom, dad and Katie was just like our experience at that family dinner—completely unexpected, accidental and unanticipated. On Day 1, my dad sat at the bar next to Derek Jeter who was here to play in Michael Jordan’s Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament (as was Mike Piazza, Mia Hamm, Nomar Garciapara, and a slew of others). We also went to Atlantis’ Dolphin Cay where we sat on the sand and watched Hurricane Katrina survivors (we’re still talking about Dolphins) flip, trick and make us laugh. And for the biggest surprise of Day 1: Mom, Dad and Katie did it all without any of their luggage! (Which the airline finally delivered at 10pm that night.)
Day 2 brought us a sunny morning for Atlantis’ main attraction, their pools and waterslides. With rain clouds approaching, that evening we found a great sports bar in the casino for drinks and the Patriots game. Later at night I went out to dinner with some SAS kids who were here a few days early.
We woke up for Day 3 with two surprises right outside our balcony. The fist surprise was that my home for the next 3.5 months, the MV Explorer, was in clear view right from our hotel room, docked right in downtown Nassau—an exciting yet annoying tease and distraction for the next few days. The second surprise was that it was still…somehow…. cloudy, windy and cold (for the Bahamas). But, being the hardcore family we are, Dad, Katie and I hit the pools until Mother Nature, in the form of torrential downpours, told us to go back inside. We then took the afternoon “over the bridge” to Nassau for some lunch and shopping, and a closer look at the MV.
Day 4 brought great weather and we hit the water park and beach all day.
Right now the hotel is full of SAS kids, I would say at least 400 of us at this point. Last night a TON of us gathered at the hotel lobby bar for a really fun time. I met tons of people and we completely took the place over. Later, a bunch ended up downtown at Senor Frogs but a few of us decided to keep it local and headed to a nightclub in the casino. Everyone is super nice and is just ready for a great time.
Tomorrow I board the ship at 8am. My parents are on board now for a parent’s party, and I can’t wait until they get back to tell me all about it.
We depart Nassau at 5pm which, from what I hear, is one of the more memorable and emotional parts of the trip. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Wish me luck!
more pics from the Bahamas: http://quinnipiac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064914&l=2ced9&id=24205401
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Classes
A list of classes I’ll be taking.
Global Studies (required)
Objectives:
1) To provide basic information about: the physical and cultural geography and the environmental issues; Key historical events; The current religious, social, economic and political situations of each country visited. (65%)
2) To present regional and global issues which in various ways affect the countries on our itinerary. Examples include ethnic relations, population, poverty, ethnic/religious conflicts, technology, status of women, human rights, environment and globalization. (25%)
3) To emphasize the similarities and differences in the variety of human experiences and to assist students in developing the observational and analytical skills needed to draw cross-cultural comparisons. (10%)
Development Economics
Course Description:
Why are some countries rich and others poor? What can be done to stimulate growth? Is globalization good or bad? There are central inquiries around which the field of Development Economics is organized. Unfortunately, economists do not have clear, precise answers to these core questions. We can identify different measures of development, but there are alternative views of key driving forces. Unlike the usual course with a textbook, this could will be organized around three books: Guns, Germs, and Steel; The Wealth and Poverty of Nations; and the Elusive Quest for Growth. We will augment our reading with the incredible opportunity we will have to see the social, political, and economic situation of a variety of countries.
Expository Writing: Awareness of Self and Others Through Writing
Course Description:
This course provides daily practice in writing and understanding English prose: description, narration and persuasion. We employ the portfolio method, writing approximately a page a day in response to daily assignments and accumulating these short tasks into longer coherent portfolio of work for submission to the professor when completed and for presentation orally before the entire class in the concluding sessions. Many students will find the portfolio tracing their experiences in this semester is a valuable keepsake and will want to preserve it neatly and safely in a loose leaf binder of similar folder. Assigned work intertwines with the first-hand experiences of students in cultures we visit so that regular participation in approved practica in port is a necessary part of the course.
We will systematically apply Aristotle’s four modes of knowing (Analysis, Classification and Differentiation, tracing Effects, and exploring how things develop Organically) to experiences lived during the voyage to prompts supplied in class. Analysis demands, “What are the parts and how do they fit together?” Classification asks, “To what set does it belong and how is it unlike other members of that set?” A search for Effects explores, “What does it do?” An Organic explanation inquires, “Where did it all come from and how did it grow and develop?”
Documentary Theater
The course is designed to provide students with the following:
1) An introduction to documentary theatre as a significant form which dates back to the early twentieth century and which has flourished around the world in the pas decade;
2) An understanding of the potential of theatre to act as a platform to discuss social, cultural, and political issues, in order to gain public awareness and help to effect change; and as a means of staging voices and experiences often overlooked, as well as making connections among diverse groups;
3) An exposure to the specific issues presented by documentary writers in the plays studied in the course;
4) An opportunity to work with a group on a documentary project: Doing research; Learning about interviewing techniques, including preparing questions, listening, and recording material; Collating material and shaping it into a workable text; Finding theatrical and performative means to present the subject to an audience
5) An in-depth awareness of the documentary topic chosen, related to the Semester at Sea voyage
6) An experience of completion by having the documentary project presented to the shipboard community
Global Studies (required)
Objectives:
1) To provide basic information about: the physical and cultural geography and the environmental issues; Key historical events; The current religious, social, economic and political situations of each country visited. (65%)
2) To present regional and global issues which in various ways affect the countries on our itinerary. Examples include ethnic relations, population, poverty, ethnic/religious conflicts, technology, status of women, human rights, environment and globalization. (25%)
3) To emphasize the similarities and differences in the variety of human experiences and to assist students in developing the observational and analytical skills needed to draw cross-cultural comparisons. (10%)
Development Economics
Course Description:
Why are some countries rich and others poor? What can be done to stimulate growth? Is globalization good or bad? There are central inquiries around which the field of Development Economics is organized. Unfortunately, economists do not have clear, precise answers to these core questions. We can identify different measures of development, but there are alternative views of key driving forces. Unlike the usual course with a textbook, this could will be organized around three books: Guns, Germs, and Steel; The Wealth and Poverty of Nations; and the Elusive Quest for Growth. We will augment our reading with the incredible opportunity we will have to see the social, political, and economic situation of a variety of countries.
Expository Writing: Awareness of Self and Others Through Writing
Course Description:
This course provides daily practice in writing and understanding English prose: description, narration and persuasion. We employ the portfolio method, writing approximately a page a day in response to daily assignments and accumulating these short tasks into longer coherent portfolio of work for submission to the professor when completed and for presentation orally before the entire class in the concluding sessions. Many students will find the portfolio tracing their experiences in this semester is a valuable keepsake and will want to preserve it neatly and safely in a loose leaf binder of similar folder. Assigned work intertwines with the first-hand experiences of students in cultures we visit so that regular participation in approved practica in port is a necessary part of the course.
We will systematically apply Aristotle’s four modes of knowing (Analysis, Classification and Differentiation, tracing Effects, and exploring how things develop Organically) to experiences lived during the voyage to prompts supplied in class. Analysis demands, “What are the parts and how do they fit together?” Classification asks, “To what set does it belong and how is it unlike other members of that set?” A search for Effects explores, “What does it do?” An Organic explanation inquires, “Where did it all come from and how did it grow and develop?”
Documentary Theater
The course is designed to provide students with the following:
1) An introduction to documentary theatre as a significant form which dates back to the early twentieth century and which has flourished around the world in the pas decade;
2) An understanding of the potential of theatre to act as a platform to discuss social, cultural, and political issues, in order to gain public awareness and help to effect change; and as a means of staging voices and experiences often overlooked, as well as making connections among diverse groups;
3) An exposure to the specific issues presented by documentary writers in the plays studied in the course;
4) An opportunity to work with a group on a documentary project: Doing research; Learning about interviewing techniques, including preparing questions, listening, and recording material; Collating material and shaping it into a workable text; Finding theatrical and performative means to present the subject to an audience
5) An in-depth awareness of the documentary topic chosen, related to the Semester at Sea voyage
6) An experience of completion by having the documentary project presented to the shipboard community
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Welcome/Stay Tuned!
Stay-tuned for posts from around the world.
My itinerary is as follows:
Nassau, Bahamas
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Salvador, Brazil
Cape Town, South Africa
Port Louis, Mauritius
Chennai, India
Penang, Malaysia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hong Kong
Shanghai, China
Kobe, Japan
Honolulu, Hawaii
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
[transit Panama Canal]
Miami, Florida USA
I leave for the Bahamas on January 19th, and I hope to post shortly thereafter.
As a start, I created a post below telling a little a bit about the M.V. Explorer.
-Kevin
My itinerary is as follows:
Nassau, Bahamas
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Salvador, Brazil
Cape Town, South Africa
Port Louis, Mauritius
Chennai, India
Penang, Malaysia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hong Kong
Shanghai, China
Kobe, Japan
Honolulu, Hawaii
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
[transit Panama Canal]
Miami, Florida USA
I leave for the Bahamas on January 19th, and I hope to post shortly thereafter.
As a start, I created a post below telling a little a bit about the M.V. Explorer.
-Kevin
Sunday, November 25, 2007
My home "SLASH" campus..
This is the M.V. Explorer. It was built in 2002 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany. It is 590-feet long and is 24,300 tons.Features: wireless Internet; state-of-the-art classrooms; 8,000-volume library; 7 decks; 418 cabins; 2 dining rooms; computer lab; outdoor pool; fitness center; laundry service; basketball/volleyball court; spa/hair salon; and medical clinic.
This is what my room will look like.There was a porthole/no porthole option. I went with the porthole so I could constantly see that stuff i'll be floating on, and also it will hopefully bring some either literal or figurative sunshine into my day.
I won't know who my roomate is until I step-on to the ship.
Small desk area, TV, mini-fridge, and a private bathroom. There are some closets, but clearly I will not be able to pack much.
Everyone has a cabin steward that cleans your room, makes the bed, and folds your clothes. Although this is completely unncessary, it is a good to keep the ship from looking like a "dorm."
Apparently the ship is always cold and sweatpants and sweatshirts is the preferred lounging apparel. But just walk up a few levels, and pool-side studying awaits.
Apparently the ship is always cold and sweatpants and sweatshirts is the preferred lounging apparel. But just walk up a few levels, and pool-side studying awaits.
Most people remember the Explorer when it made national headlines in Spring 2005 voyage. This is when the ship found itself in the middle of 3 major storms, facing up to 50-foot waves with students on board. Everything, however, turned out fine (and now YouTube videos, of course, commemorates its events).
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