Neptune Day!

Neptune Day begins with teachers and the crew marching down the hall at a lovely hour (7:30 - hush, we’re college kids, it’s early) banging on drums and other assorted objects. Or so I am told. I heard it, sure, and for a good hour after they went by my door I could still hear it, but by the time I got my glasses on and got our door open they were already halfway down the hall. Jesse, our room steward, tried to convince us we had to go up on deck right then, but he was tricking with us. We probably should have anyways, because we got no more sleep. I guess the staff decided to set up shop with their drums right above our room. Fun.

Finally we all got called up on deck so the Neptune Day celebrations could commence. Something was going on when we got up there, but little shorty me couldn’t see anything. My guess is it was the Captain shaving the two raffle winners heads? Finally King Neptune and Queen Minerva (two teachers) made their way to the pool deck. We all had to recite an oath to King Neptune, and then the ritual to prove we Pollywogs were ready to become Shellbacks began.

To prove this, you go and stand in the wave pools on the side of the pool, where a crew member pours fluorescent blue and yellow “fish guts” on your head - nobody really knows what’s in it, but it sure stunk so I’m guessing there was some fish in there somewhere. Then you jump into the pool. Now, this sounds like it would be refreshing. It’s not. It’s extremely salty, and all the fish guts are draining right into it. Plus, if you’re short like me and can’t keep your feet on the pool floor when the ship rocks it’s full of people to bump into. Then you climb out of the pool and kiss a fish on the lips (you’re not alone anymore, Glenn!). It’s very salty, again. Then you kiss Queen Minerva’s ring, and finally you kneel to be knighted as a shellback. The particularly adventurous then go to shave their heads. We had a good number of kids do it; I have no idea how many, but there are lots of baldies going around now.

Public Service Announcement: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! Holy crap you’re old! Haha I still love you. But seriously now. You’re old. Over the hill. I thought it was particularly fitting that your birthday was spent by kids getting their heads shaved. The barbers weren’t as good as you, though. There are a lot of patchy kids walking around. Also, I don’t know if Mom told you, but we can see birds now because we’re close to land, and they’re called mashed boobies hahaha.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing on deck (which is somewhat dangerous for me - the wind keeps you so cool that you don’t realize how hot and dehydrated your body is really getting from the sun, so I’ll have to be more careful next time) and napping. Tonight we have our first cultural pre-port to find out more about Brazil, and tomorrow we have our logistical pre-port, which I guess is the more safety side of things. Then the next day we’ll be in Brazil! Crazy to think it’s so close already. I probably won’t update the blog until after Brazil, unless I find a cheap internet café or something on my trip and have the time. But I love and miss you all and I’m still available by e-mail for the next 2 days! I can’t tell if I’m receiving all the e-mails sent to me, so if there’s one that it seems suspicious I haven’t responded to yet, re-send it just in case or ask me if I got it.

Just thought I'd let you know...

I am on the equator as we speak. (Well maybe not with the e-mail delay. But my time right now, 6:59 PM. 5:59 EST, 2:59 PST, the rest of you can figure it out on  your own).

Overwhelmtion... is that even a word?

First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOOBAH! You’re getting so old I can hardly keep track of it! No really, how old are you? Haha :P I hope you have a wonderful 13th birthday, Glenn, and eat lots of cake for me! I had sherbert at lunch, but that just doesn’t compare.

Today has been both good and bad. It started out very good. We got our second batch of trip sale confirmation this morning. I got the FDPs (FDPs are basically field trips for our classes)that I needed as well as a trip to Robben Island, and I got the Tsinghua University trip in China. (I really feel like I’m copying you now, Thomas!) Apparently I was really lucky to get the Tsinghua trip - my roommate got bumped from it, as well as 35 other people. The other university trips, however, had a good amount of open space in them. The Tsinghua trip has the best itinerary though, in my opinion. We get a day in Hong Kong, where we port, and then we fly to Beijing. While in Beijing we get to see the Great Wall, Beijing Zoo (PANDAS!!), Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Olympic stadiums, and an acrobatic performance. From looking at it, it’s the most jam-packed university trip, and I’m very excited to be able to see all of those places in just 4 days, and then fly to Shanghai for a day there and then boarding the ship again.

The bad came when I realized that I didn’t get the Habitat for Humanity trip in South Africa. Every day but one is booked up, and the one open one conflicts with my Robben Island trip. Both of those trips are the two things I most wanted to do in South Africa, so it’s very disappointing. I think I’ve decided to keep my Robben Island trip instead of doing it indy because there’s a fairly large chance tickets will sell out and I won’t be able to do it. As much as I would like to do a service project (and the Habitat is one of the only ones on this trip where you actually help, not just observe), I have had experiences like that before. As meaningful as they have been and as much as I want more of those experiences, I know that I will have a chance to do Habitat builds in the future (although they might not be in South Africa) but I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to go to Robben Island and I don’t want to miss it. I’m still going to try and buy a Habitat day from somebody or get on the trip the day of if someone doesn’t show up, though.

I am a bit nervous that when everyone is gone on their safaris I won’t have anyone to travel with in South Africa. It’s a bit terrifying at this moment to think of indy traveling, because the people that I have befriended are doing a bunch of SAS trips so I can’t travel with them. I know I still have lots of opportunities to meet people to travel with, but it’s a huge unknown right now, and that’s frightening. Plus adding up the cost of my SAS trips so far is freaking me out; I know I don’t have to pay it all off immediately, but I don’t want to be in debt to my parents forever, and it’s already a pretty big number and I know I’m going to be spending more. Looking at it makes me leery to even pay $1 for a Diet Coke, because that’s a dollar that could go to those trips. It’s been a bit of an overwhelming day, to say the least. It’s the kind of day that I really miss being able to pick up the phone and call home for reassurance :-\ 

The other day we had to fill out all of our customs forms for every single country; it was absolutely insane. India even made us declare what types of electronics we were bringing into the country, from cameras to iPods. We went through a lot of white-out and a lot of confusion. The best part was hearing multiple guys say “I wish my mom were here to do this for me!” Tomorrow should be better though! No classes and Neptune Day! You’ll hear more about what that’s all about tomorrow (and there’s another birthday wish coming up!) Big big day tomorrow. Tonight, after my one more class that is, they’re showing Pirates of the Caribbean in the Union, so that should be fun too. I’ve been a party pooper a lot of nights because I can’t stay up late when I have class at 9 am. I got too spoiled last semester with no classes before noon.

Life at sea, take two

So I wrote one of these earlier today, but the free e-mail ate it and didn’t even leave any crumbs behind, so I’m giving it another shot. This time, however, I’m being smart and typing it in Word first.

Semester at Sea has officially begun! Orientation is over (and boy am I glad! It was so boring and most of it I already knew... although no one else seemed to know it all - I guess I over-researched just a bit) and classes have begun. The ones I had today seem good - World Lit is like the other two I’ve taken, although I won’t have any SparkNotes to help me out, and Zen Buddhism is like Barney McGrane take two, although a little less spaced out (I think he just did a few less drugs than Barney). Global Studies, however, is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Half the students are in the class together - there are 672 students on this voyage. Yeahhhhh, my largest class to date has probably been 30 students at most. We’ll see. Tomorrow I have the class I’m most excited for, Travel Writing; I’ve already had the teacher for World Lit though.

We spent most of today bunkered in Puerto Rico - I don’t know if there’s a difference between bunkering and docking, someone let me know! Anyways, we couldn’t get off because of classes and how short of a stop it was which was lame, but I got to watch us pull in past Old Town San Juan as I was eating breakfast on the deck. Too cool. And since it is US territory, I got to make some phone calls home. It hasn’t been long at all, but it was already nice to hear familiar voices and talk instead of e-mailing. It was also nice because it meant the first day of classes was free of motion (although there were lots of test safety alarms that interrupted). And after last night, it was much needed. I can’t even begin to explain how much we were rocking. It was incredible and nauseating, but Dramamine helped. Those darned pressure point armbands didn’t, though! They were so tight that I still have marks on my wrists from them, and I took them off this morning. I actually think it might have bruised. I don’t care if they do help, I’m not putting them back on.

The ship is fabulous. A little less over-the-top than your typical passenger cruise ship, but still elegant. Another difference is the cafeteria style dining rooms and classrooms. But the service is equal. We get brought drinks and have our plates cleared for us; our room steward, Jesse, makes our beds and cleans our room every day. It’s a little strange to be waited on when you’re in school, but they’re so nice you feel like you’re insulting them if you don’t let them do their job.

Just as a reminder, my free e-mail is MAHelme@semesteratsea.net; it seems to come in on the hour, which is really nice. I’ve already signed up for NYTimes headline updates (I’m still in shock from McCain’s VP pick - by the way, the ship is arranging to have the debates recorded and sent to us on DVD, which will be so nice). But aside from the national news, I want your news! I don’t want to just talk at you through this blog, I want to talk to you! And you can also feel free to comment on here - I get sent the comments so I can keep up with it.

E-Mail

I haven't gotten all the kinks worked out in the free e-mail system yet, so I haven't sent out a mass e-mail yet, but if you're reading and want to contact me, the address is MAHelme@semesteratsea.net Feel free to use and abuse it! I want to hear from you!

Everything is going great so far, although I don't have much time to write right now because of lots of orientation lectures. We're chugging along and rocking to and fro - we had to pick up speed to make up for lost time navigating around rough waters caused by Tropical Storm Hannah. Classes start tomorrow!

I love and miss you all!

Bahamas!

I'm in the Bahamas now! It's fabulous. The Atlantis is mind-boggling amazing. There's a waterslide that goes through a shark tank, as well as tunnels you can walk through and see all sorts of fish and sharks and stingrays. I learned the difference between a girl shark and boy shark hahaha. We went swimming with dolphins Saturday morning. Amazing! Our dolphin was Sasha; she was rescued from Hurricane Katrina and she likes to hula-hoop. I got a picture kissing her, it's adorable. The water slides here are amazing fun. Conch is delicious. Sam, Glenn, and Dad went home yesterday to start school, so now it's just Mom and I for 4 more days. I'm going to have to re-pack entirely, which sucks, but from one of the waterslides you can see where the boat docks so I'm getting excited waiting for the MV Explorer to come in! I miss you all and I'll be in touch.

Pre-Sale Trips!

16 days and counting, and I finally found out about my pre-sale trips! I wanted these trips, run through SAS for varying reasons. Although they're generally more expensive than doing them independently, I think the extra costs are worth it in each case.

The first trip I got is in Brazil - I want to do a trip through SAS here because it's the first port, and I don't want to gamble on whether or not I'll have people to travel with yet and it will be a good opportunity to meet people. I signed up for a 3-day trip to Iguacu Falls. I'll get to see the falls, which are wider than Victoria and higher than Niagra, by air, land, and water. I also get to cross the border into Argentina! (We're not allowed to cross country borders unless we're on trips with SAS for safety reasons.)

My second pre-sale trip is in India - I'm doing this through SAS because as a white, American female, I am not comfortable travelling alone in India. This trip will take me to the Taj Mahal and Varanasi for 3 days.

My third and final pre-sale trip is when we're at port in Viet Nam and will be taking me to Cambodia for 3 days to see the temples of Angkor Wat. This trip can only be done through SAS because we're crossing country borders. It's supposed to be one of the can't miss trips, and since I'll still have time to explore Viet Nam, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tack on another country to the itinerary.

Besides these trips, I have arranged a safari in Namibia with around 10 other students through Facebook. I'm very excited about this trip because not only do I get to do a safari cheaper than the ones in South Africa, but there's sooooo much I want to do in South Africa and now I don't have to worry about fitting a safari in there too.

I really have no plans for any other countries besides abstract ideas - I'm waiting to see who I befriend on the ship so I can make plans with them. Just as a reminder, these up-for-grabs countries are South Africa, Malaysia, China, Japan, and Costa Rica. It's a bit intimidating to not have things booked before I leave, but I think it will help me loosen up and learn to live in the moment. South Africa I plan to do lots of day trips - vineyards, Roben Island, Table Mountain, and more! In China we port in Hong Kong and then are free to travel the country while the ship travels to Shanghai, where we will meet up with it. I just know I can't leave without going to the Great Wall and probably checking out the Olympic venues. Japan the plan is to buy a rail pass and travel like mad to hit as many cities as possible - We port in Kobe and Yokohama (same deal as in China) and I'm going to try to also get to Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Mt. Fuji at least, pretty ambitious for 5 days! We only have 3 days in Costa Rica, and it's the last port. Most of my time will probably be spent on the beaches since I'll be tight on money at that point, but I also reaaaaally want to do a canopy tour and conquer my fear of heights.


This weekend I went shopping for everything I needed for the trip. It's satisfying to have it done and everything sitting in my room waiting to pack, but it was so terrifying at the same time. How do I really know how much shampoo I need? I never really notice how long it takes me to go through a bottle, and why would I? It was always just a Target run away. Having to pack absolutely EVERYTHING I will need for 3 months is very scary. This is not the trip to forget to pack your underwear, to say the least!

Waiting

40 days and counting (my countdown is shorter than most other SAS kids because we're heading to the Bahamas so early)

I feel like I'm in such a weird limbo, like I'm going to be stuck working 7 days a week forever. It feels unreal that in a little over a month I'll be boarding the ship for the first time, my future home for 3 months. But at the same time, I can't even imagine that I won't be headed back to Chapman in the fall. It's scary to think about life going on there without me, and all my friends headed to different destinations around the world.

Don't get me wrong though, I am incredibly excited for this opportunity. Most of the time I am overcome with my excitement and I just can't stop talking or thinking about it, but the nerves sneak in every now and then. I should find out which SAS pre-sale trips I got in about a week. I have to start getting my shopping done and stuff I need to pack together, considering the week before I leave will be spent roadtripping to see Envy on the Coast :D I can't imagine a better way to spend my last week of summer, but it's going to make things a bit hectic.

That's all for now. I know no one is reading this blog yet but it's very cathartic, and when I do send out the blog address everyone will be able to get a glimpse of what was going through my mind in the days leading up to this experience.

Classes

I signed up for my classes this week and got all of my first choices - I stayed up until midnight thinking (wrongly) I could register then, and woke up early. I think I was one of the first to register; I guess I was a little overeager because I had heard lots of people didn't get the classes the want. But that's done now and I just have to worry about whether or not I got good teachers, since I'll be seeing them a lot! We operate on an A/B day schedule - days of the week have little significance haha. Here's my schedule for the semester:


A Days:
0920 -1035 -- Religion, Politics, and Society (Global Studies A)
We had a choice between two global studies classes, so half of the students will take this class at the same time and half will take the other. It will help us get a broad understanding of all the countries we are visiting and is taught by all the professors.

1045 -1200 -- World Literature

1545 -1700 -- Zen (Buddhism)


B Days:
1300 -1415 -- Writing About Travel

So I'm home from Chapman. I haven't unpacked yet - that makes it too real that I won't be going back there for nine months. Nine whole months. Damn, that sucks. Instead, I'm concentrating on everything and anything Semester at Sea related. Yesterday I went to the library and checked out a plethora of Lonely Planet books. Let the travel planning begin! Before the semester begins and we leave port, my mom and I are going to spend a week in the Bahamas, and Sam, Glenn, and Dad will be joining us for a weekend since their first week of school is when I leave. But that should be a fabulous one-last family hurrah. And honestly, who can complain about a week in the Bahamas?

99 days until I leave the first port to begin my journey!