Wear Sunscreen Kids!

Wear sunscreen kids! I know the cool kids aren't doing it, but I promise, it will save you a lot of pain later; I have found out the hard way.

This morning I woke up to a nice little surprise- my entire body ached and burned. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I woke up on the ship, or in hell. Unfortunately, once I was able to drag my sorry body out of bed, I looked in the mirror to find one girl, pink and burnt to a crisp. Ouch! It seemed my idea of dabbling on spf 15 sunscreen in the morning had worn off towards the end of the day and I got scorched. Even the white of my forearms that I thought would just stay eternally pasty were bright pink. Most of my body had not been spared except the outline of a swimsuit, which you can imagine looks incredibly odd now. And of course to make it worse, one side of my face was burned. Apparently when your eyelids burn (well one in this case) they swell up... So now I look really odd with one puffy eye, and one normal one. So WEAR SUNSCREEN! I suppose the only silver lining is that it will all tan over in a few days, but for now- Lobster Girl sails the seas!

Goodbye to Blue Hawaii

Sadly it is time to say goodbye to Hawaii. Today was my last day on the island and I think I'll miss it quite a bit. I went off on my own today so of course it always leads to adventure. Looking for bus routes, places to eat etc. It was fun just to soak up the last bit of land before we embark on the next part of the voyage, an 11 day sail to Japan. (Actually its 10 days because we cross the international dateline, but honestly, who cares? It will be a crazy long time at sea regardless.) What's even worse is that there is class practically everyday! No weekends! Don't get me wrong, I love my classes, but I don't know if I love them that much.

On our way back to the ship, we weren't sure how to catch a bus back from the beach, so we ended up walking the 5 miles. It took about an hour but it was worth it. It was a beautiful scenic walk along the beach and through the city, and we even met up with some fellow SAS students who decided to do the same. Haagen Dazs ice cream was our treat to ourselves where I got raspberry and lemon (Lemon on the bottom of course! My favorite) We had to be back by 6 for on ship time. If you are late, you get dock time in the next port. 1-15 mintues late to on ship time means you have to wait 3 hours in the next port before you can get off, and each 15 minute increment you are late adds another 3 hours! So needless to say I was worried about having to wait in the security line. But we got there with 45 minutes to spare. I was seriously felt up and violated by security (apparently I might be trying to smuggle alcohol on in my "cleavage" so they had to check all over...)- and of course i burt out laughing when they did this. But once they figured out I didn't have contraband, they let me go and write my postcards and take a shower. Phew! What a long day it was, but it's nice to be back on ship.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Went to sleep last night in Hilo, and woke up the next morning in Honolulu- and I didn't even know we had moved! I guess I am really getting used to the whole living on a ship idea if I don't even notice when the ship moves now. It was certainly a nice surprise though, Honolulu is on the island Ohau (as opposed to The Big Island) and seems to have a bit better weather. It was sunnier, and less chance of rain. So what did I do with a day that was practically all sunshine? Hit the beach of course! Unlike Hilo that has mostly rocky shores, Honolulu is famous for some of its sandy beaches- most noteworthy Waikiki.

Most of my morning consisted of laying on the beach soaking up the rays as only the best of the professional sun worshippers do (yes, I learn from the best Anne Russell!) while Skye hit the waves with surfing lessons. He was so good! Immediately when he got out there he was able to stand up! I have to say not only was I impressed with his skills, I was really proud to call him my brother; Even when he fell. We broke for lunch at the famous Cheeseburger in Paradise where I slurped down a pina colada and (attempted) to finish a gigantic bacon cheeseburger. Mmmm mmm! Delicious!

The afternoon was another beach fun-filled hour or two where this time I tried my hand at surfing. Ok... actually I tried boogie boarding, but honestly it was essentially the same thing. However I did not have the same set of surf legs as Skye. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I ski and he snowboards so he has a leg up on the whole balancing act. Either way, I spent the majority of my time in the water just trying to keep afloat and paddling as hard as I could (it wares out your arms!) I managed to pop up once, but frankly I stayed closer to shore so I didn't catch many good waves. In my class, Sociology of the Sea, we are reading Jaws, and all I could think about was the first scene where a girl goes and swims just 50ft from the shore and... Gulp! there she goes! I wasn't quite ready to be shark bait today, but I did have a lot of fun and I am sad tomorrow is my last day in Hawaii!

Hilo, Hawaii

At 5:00 in the morning we were awakened by the PA system asking us to go to the top deck to basically clear customs; aka just get our passport and for 5 seconds let a guy match our face to our photo. Why we had been yaned out of bed at that hour I didn't know and even though was excruciatingly early, luckily it didn't matter. We had docked in Hilo, Hawaii! Hilo means "twisted" in Hawaiian, and is a small town of 30,000.

In the morning I was lucky and saw about 5 humpback whales off the back of the ship. They were so beautiful jumping through the air and flipping their tails in the green water. Afterward I went to a hula dancing workshop where I learned the history of hula and if I do say so myself, I now have quite a set of hips I can shake about... well sorta. hehe

Hilo wasn't exactly what I was expecting. There are no real beaches, just rocks. And there are few palm trees, but more trees that have roots growing from its branches to the ground. It was pretty fun to walk around downtown though. There was a candy store called sugar coastal candy (made on the big island!) and men were giving flowers to girls for their hair on the side of the street. It was lively despite its small size.

A luau was the event for the evening where I tried traditional hawaiian cuisine and got to show off my hula skills again! The food looked sort of normal, but frankly had a very weird taste. On my plate were the following:
Macaroni-potato salad
White Rice
Pulled Pig- very salty with an unidentified marinade that gave an odd after taste
Squid Spinach- very sweet... but um, ew!
Long rice noodles with little bits of chicken- slimy in the sense it felt like I was slurping down little earth worms
Poi- A traditional hawaiian paste made from tera (a root vegetable) It was purple in color and had the consistency of glue. Sort of tasted like that too.
So... needless to say I wasn't that hungry after a few bites of my meal, however I was lucky and earlier in the day was able to snag some snacks from a nearby Wal-mart.

Tomorrow I'm not sure what I am doing. I hope to get up to Rainbow Falls or maybe the volcanos. But I will try to leave you with a picture (my first one!) until my next post which should be coming soon!

Sea Swells

I've had some emails asking me where I am currently and what the weather is like on the ship. Currently I am in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on my way to Hawaii. The seas are ridiculously choppy, and we frequently have massive swells. So much so that my parent's bed slides around the room. i think of it kind of like a continuous roller coaster. Or at least like that viking ship that goes up and down. The reason this is happening so often is because the low pressure in the oceans here is the worst its been since recorded in 1800. Also, we narrowly avoided the massive hurricane-like storm that is currently pummeling the California coast. And two other storms seem to be just behind it. Hawaii however apparently has beautiful weather, so hopefully that's something I have to look forward to. It seems I spoke to soon earlier about fairing well during class in regards to being stable. I have fallen out of my seat multiple times and frequently into other people's laps. I'm working on packing on the pounds to keep myself grounded a little bit more. We'll see how it goes though.

Classes continued...

So as promised, I have my second update on classes. Today was the last day of "new classes." And I love them just as much! I really feel like and incredible nerd for all this enthusiasm abut school, but it really is true. I love them.

Marine Biology: Abel
Despite being at 8:00am, I really enjoyed this class. I wasn't a big fan of bio in high school, but marine biology is definitely much more interesting. I love watching shark week in the summer, so I figured I would enjoy something along those lines. The professor is clever and can rattle off fun fish facts at a speed I've never seen anyone one do. I think it'll be a really fun class.

Anthropology of Food: Robbins
This class is more than just eating food. I never knew there was more to cultural traditions about food other than the cuisine, but there is so much more ranging from how one prepares it, how one eats it, whether its cooke, or raw, etc. I think I will learn a lot and I plan to try any and every kind of food in the ports. Chicken feet in China? Bring it on! If there's anything I've learned so far on this trip, is that it's live life to the fullest, and I plan to do just that!

Also, I just thought this was funny. Last night the swells of the sea were so bad that things fell off our shelves, our drawers opened and shut uncontrollably. It was a little scary actually. It has continued throughout the day, and in Global Studies today it go so bad that a few girls fell out of their chairs. I would like to brag however and say, I stayed completely stable! No unnecessary embarrassing actions from me today. Nope!

First Day of Classes

Ok, so I was going to wait until tomorrow so I could blog about all my classes at once, but I just can't resist telling you all about today. I only had two of my four classes (yes, 12 credits is considered a full course load, hehe) but they were AMAZING! I love them!

Global Studies, 9:30am-10:45am (A and B days)
Taught by Don Gogniat, this course is required for all students and is essentially the narrative of the ship. For the past few voyages, this is class is considered a "pile of shit" as some students have fondly referred to it, but frankly I loved it! The professor is incredibly knowledgeable, really funny, and rides a motorcycle (despite being a little on the older side. He is a geographer, which I hate to say I didn't know that profession still existed, but it seems like something I know little about and am really looking forward to learning about. He calls us "Academic Adventure-ers" and told us to "never let our age get larger than the number of countries we've visited." So far, I'm on track for that :) I have 16, but I will be adding 11 more after this trip!

Sociology of the Sea, 3:30 (A days)
Taught by Audrey Sprenger, this course is about stories of the sea. So far, I am absolutely in love with it! She is an amazing teacher (we had to re-enact the titanic on the edge of the ship for the first 15 minutes of class) and seems to know sooo much. She works at Harvard, but doesn't really believe in traditional academia. She lived in India for four years and is one of the leading experts on Jack Kerouac; she's even writing his biography and has many secret manuscripts and stuff. Our first book we're reading is Jaws, and we're going out at 9pm tonight on the deck to read it with flashlights under the stars with a shark biologist. I think it will be fun and scary!

Anyways, tomorrow I'll share about my other classes, but these were such a hit for me today that I just simply had to share.

Successfully Oriented

The students arrived yesterday and today was our first full day! It was so much more fun on the ship to have other students my age. Made the ship a lot less lonely. I've spent most of my time meeting as many people as I can. It seems its easier than meeting people at UVA for the first semester. I'm not sure why that is, maybe because I've already done it, and realized the trick is just go up to people and introduce yourself, or maybe I'm just significantly cuter now and people want to talk to me ;) just kidding. But it has been fun learning where everyone is from and stuff. There are about 36 students from U Colorado Boulder which makes up the largest population from one school. UVA has 16 students. So far I think I've met 5 of them.

I have met my roommate. She is a sophomore from U of California San Diego and is an aspiring theater and english major. She is nice, although we are certainly very different. Not a bad thing, just will make for an interesting 15 weeks. She has also been fairly sea sick this entire time, so I have not seen much of her. (Btw, I am proud to say although I am not the best at walking around the ship-falling on walls are a common occurrence- I have only felt a little queasy once on the rolling and slightly rough seas that we have been experiencing)

Today was orientation. Rather than having a week to be oriented, it was compressed into a total of 6 hours where everyone sat in the Union (a large room with lights almost like a round theater). We were told all of the regulations and procedures/policies, including honor, and behavior conduct. Reallll fun...

However tomorrow we start classes! I'm actually fairly excited. It's a great way to keep busy and distracted, and all of the professors are offering really interesting courses! But more about that after I've started.

Edwin

As I mentioned earlier, my Cabin Steward is named Edwin. Well, today I have had quite a few encounters with him. Early in the day, let's say 8:00 or so, I woke up. It's nice because I don't have a roommate right now so I have the entire (small) space to myself. I decided a shower would probably be best before I met the world. The showers on the boat are small, but nice and warm, and a good pressure. (Unlike the ones at UVA where it's a luke warm temperature that leaves goose bumps on your body and a pounding flow of water that leaves entire red splotches on your back) I was taking my time when all of a sudden I hear a knock outside my door. Clearly I can't get it since I'm in the shower...and the door to the bathroom is shut so saying "busy" would be useless. I figured whoever was at the door would go away, but suddenly I hear the creaking of the door and what I believe to be, "Hello! It's Edwin!" ... I didn't realize I had a caller. I stayed in the shower as long as I could until I heard the door shut a second time so that I knew he was gone. Phew! My room hadn't been cleaned so I guess he realized I wasn't ready. Ahh, but later in the day I leave and come back to my room, and what to I find? Everything cleaned! It seems dear Edwin wanted my room to be spotless (even though I had cleaned up mostly) He folded my clothes (and underwear) that were in a pile, put my bear on my pillow and ordered my toiletries in an order of most logical use: tooth brush, floss, face wash, face cream. Thank you Edwin. Everything seemed to have a place, except my wheat thins. It seems he hid them behind all of my other "healthy" food. Was he trying to send me a message? I'm not sure what his deal is. He seems very nice, thorough and efficient, although I want to point out that everyone else I've talked to does not have their underwear folded...

Ensenada, Mexico

So I can finally check off my list: sailed on a boat to another country. I'm currently in the Ensenada, Mexico port. We left last night at 11:00 and when I woke up we had arrived at about 9:00 the next morning.

The night was a little bumpy. Some rough seas resulted in a rocking affect. I definitely woke up a few times thinking the ship was sinking... but eventually got used to it and enjoyed the feeling of being rocked to sleep like a baby. Unfortunately it seems it worked a little too well since I missed breakfast, which according to everyone else, is the best meal of the day. But come on, do they really expect college students to get up between 7:30 and 8:30? It's bad enough getting up for a 9:00 class. But we'll see...maybe if the food is really good it will motivate me to wake up an extra hour early.

I've explored the deck a little (although I still don't know my way around quite yet, the ship is huge!) And so far I have managed to lock myself out of my room 3 times. I'm pretty sure my Cabin Steward, Edwin, thinks I either have a crush on him or am a complete ditz because I constantly seek him out and ask super sweet if I can borrow his key to get in my room. He raises his eyebrows and asked if I'll be here all semester. Yep... sorry, Edwin.

Sadly I tried uploading my mini video tour of the ship I made for you all to see. But unfortunately I it didn’t work. Well, we only get 125 free minutes and 50 MB of uploading. I didn’t know there was a limit to uploading MB, and I used all of my bandwidth… and still didn’t get it uploaded. So hopefully I will be able to do it later in port, but I might have to wait until an internet café in port or another time. ☹

The Golden State

Just settled into our hotel for the night in San Diego, and my, my is it gorgeous here! Just 12 or so hours ago I was freezing in Virginia (don't miss that snow one bit!) and now I'm relaxing on the balcony of our hotel room soaking up the sun. It's clear why they nicknamed California "The Golden State." It seems the sun knows no rest in the winter for it's 67 degrees outside! However I have to say, there is something I like about winter. Perhaps this is sad or a bit morbid, but I like it when the bees die. Most of them don't survive the winter, but in the summer I'm slightly afraid of the black and yellow things. They seem innocent in the "baby bumble bee" song, but up close they probably are just seeking revenge for pickin' up, squishin' and lickin' up the little baby bumble bees with their all-too-large stingers. In California... These little terrors don't seem to die. They were swarming around while we waited for a shuttle just outside the baggage claim and I, to say the least, was less than thrilled. But it seems that might be the only flaw of California so far. The sun sets in about 2 hours and I'm hoping to catch a few rays on the beach in between. Tomorrow we board the ship and set sail!!!

Sending Mail

For all those who want to send me mail on my trip you now can do it! Here is the link to find out the addresses and and postmark date for me to receive it, but I'd love to hear from you all!

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2010/spring-2010-staying-in-touch.php

Thanks!

Winter Store-Away

I never have liked spring cleaning. It's usually boring, hot, and a plague to my lungs and nose with all the pollen floating around. But I may now have found a different version of cleaning to dislike even more: Winter Store-Away. The past few days have not been about a mass airing out the house or purging our rooms of unused items, but rather it has been a game of "where can we hide the most stuff." Because many people will be staying here while we are off, the house must look neat an organized. Not so much that we want to fare the 20-30 degree weather to open all the windows or wash the porches, but enough so that things look in tip top shape. Instead, Christmas presents have been put away, and all the food is being eaten in the house as if we need to hibernate for the winter and won't have any until spring. I suppose it will be nice to come back to, but for now it seems like a new museum is being opened up.

Packing...

For those of you who remember packing for your first semester in college, you probably remember putting all your favorite things from your room in boxes. Pictures to remind yourself of friends back home, your entire closet, a lamp, maybe a chair, etc. The mass of stuff you planned to take to college dorm life probably took up one full car or more, and it took multiple trips and a few hours to get settled into your new abode. I figured it would be similar packing for semester at sea. I mean, it's still college, and I definitely want pictures in my room and I'm in love with my comforter on my bed. But sadly it doesn't seem plausible to stuff a twin size comforter into two duffle bags... unless I would prefer to skip bringing any clothes what so ever. Obviously I am taking clothes to wear on the ship and a camera and a necessary toothbrush (and floss of course, gotta have that!) but there are a few more odds and ends I'm choosing to sacrifice space for.

Rubber Chicken: For some reason, this rubber chicken makes it to all dorm life I've stayed in...

A Coloring Book: Only My Little Pony will do. It's a fun way to blow off steam, and regressing back to childhood is always a blast.

Magnets: From what I've heard the walls in our rooms are painted with magnetic paint and we are not allowed to hang posters or anything with tape.

Stuffed Animal: It will be like Flat Stanley traveling the world... except a fluffy white polar bear names Hugs

School Supplies: While packing, I conveniently forgot that I would be taking classes on the ship, and will need paper and pencils to take notes with. Oops!

I'm sure there is plenty more, but I'm hoping I don't forget anything in my bag. I have a checklist and it's all I'll need!

FAQ

Ok, so this is my first official post! I'm starting this blog because, come January 13th, I will be embarking on the Spring 2010 Semester at Sea Voyage. This is for all my friends who want to follow where I am and what I'm doing. hopefully I won't slack off on posting (at least I tell myself I won't!) and it will hopefully give good insight into what I'm doing around the world. When people learn that I won't be at UVA for the second semester they frequently have the same questions, so I will try to answer as many as I can here on my blog. Hope this helps!

When are you leaving?

I leave to fly out on January 11 to fly to San Diego. I come back to Cville May 6.

What's your itinerary?

I board the ship in San Diego with my family on January 13, but the actual program starts on January 17 in Ensenada, Mexico. That's where all the other students will meet up. We then travel to Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, and Brazil. We come back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

What about your roommate?

I'm really sad to be leaving my roommate at UVA :( Love you Ashley! And I don't know who my roommate will be on the ship until we both get there, but I'm sure she'll be fun too!

Is it weird your whole family is going?

I'd be lying if I said no. But it's a pretty great opportunity, and I'm getting excited about it.

What's a Wharf Rat?

A wharf rat is a rat or a slang name for someone who stows away on ships on each port. I thought it was a clever name for my blog and I hope you all enjoy it! Feel free to follow me; I'd love to share my adventures with everyone!

Also, comments are definitely welcomed and encouraged! I'd love to answer questions, or have general discussions with others!