Well on our way to Ghana. I still haven't really haven’t been able to wrap my mind around the fact that I’m going around the world, or that my next stop will be in Africa. I just got back from a sea meeting about the Sea Olympics. A sea is pretty much a deck or a certain number of rooms, for instance the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and I’m part of the Aegean Sea. I have 72 people in my sea. The sea Olympics is very much like Olympic day from elementary school. It’s going to be held on February 3rd when there is no class and every sea will compete in are around fifteen events like three legged race, trivia, dodge ball, basketball, crab soccer, and even synchronized swimming. I signed up for volleyball so hopefully I can make it past tryouts because there are a lot of in the sea and only two people can play in volleyball. Oh, the water filtration system wasn’t really working its best today, so all the water on the ship has a salty tinge to it. That means shower water, tap water, water they serve, and even the water machine in the garden lounge. It’s almost unbearable, but if you drink it fast, you can almost get it down without dry heaving. As far as classes go, there really hasn’t been too much work. I must say, I thought I was going to be swamped with work but so far, the academic side of this voyage is more or less lacking. I’ll probably end up eating those words later. I also heard that in while on a trip in Manaus, people got scratched by a monkey and had to end up getting rabies shots. I’ll be sure to let you know if I see someone foaming at the mouth. I saw some flying fish for the first time today, it was pretty cool. They jump maybe about a foot out of the water and then spread what looks liked wings and glide a few inches above the surface of the water for anywhere from 3 to 10 seconds. It’s actually really cool to see 4 or 5 of them do it all at once. I tried to get pictures and videos, but it’s kind of difficult. That was my entertainment for today between classes. Not much else is going around the ship. Plenty of rocking and rolling, which makes me tired. I'm losing an hour of sleep tonight too so I'm going to go to sleep.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Rio de Janeiro
So it all started after I got back from the tropical hotel on the 23rd. I was the first one in the union for our Rio like a Native trip. Everyone else started to pile in and I realized I didn’t know any of them except Amanda who later became my buddy. Once everyone was accounted for, we all got on a bus and went to Manaus International Airport. A lot of people were tired and many people were sleeping on the ground and using their backpack as a pillow. After the first flight I was pretty tired. It was about 3 and half hours long and I didn’t get too much sleep. The second flight was about an hour long. It was very sunny once we got off in Rio. We met our tour guide named Rodrigo who reminded me of the main character for the movie Despicable Me. Once we boarded the bus, Rodrigo started to talk about the history of Rio. I don’t remember what exactly he said because I was so tired, but I remember him saying that 11 million people live in the greater Rio area. He also referred to the city as Rio Janeiro, not Rio de Janeiro. But anyway, the bus took us to Copacabana beach where we had breakfast at Nescafe Kiosk which was really good. They had all sorts of bread, cheese and meat to make breakfast sandwiches. After that, we were supposed to go on a bike tour of Copacabana but I was quite exhausted so I decided to head right back to the hotel, as did Andrew and a few lifelong learners. We stayed at the Windsor plaza a few blocks down from Copacabana palace and the beach. After meeting my roommates, we all met in the hotel lobby to go on a jeep tour through a favela. The jeeps that took us to the favela stood out quite a bit. It was pretty obvious that we were tourists. Rio is situated very strangely. Unlike you would expect, all of the rich people live near the beach and towards center city while all of the poor people who live in favelas are high up in the hills with great views. Once we got to the top of the favela, the view of Rio was breath taking. Surprisingly, all of the inhabitants of the favela were very welcoming. They would wave and say hi to us as we walked by their homes. Rodrigo said that they were proud that people from all over the world would come and visit their favela as opposed to another. Many of the houses were basic shacks, yet most of them had satellite and a decent sized TV. Once we got to the bottom, we needed to wait for the other group to come down. On the way back to the hotel, the driver of our jeep bought a jack fruit from someone on the side of the road while we were stopped at a red light. It was kind of sweet; I thought it was pretty good. Once we got back to the hotel, me and Andrew (not the same Andrew that I met earlier) decided to buy a bottle of Bacardi and drink a little before we went out to dinner with Stevie, the other Andrew, Malachi, Jamie, and Bryan. We went to a restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel. I got a beer and Caesar salad with filet mignon, which was really good. The total was 27 reals, which is around 15 dollars American. After going back to the hotel with everyone, we decided to drink a little more and then wander down towards the beach to find a bar. We weren’t the only ones either. I think it was agreed that everyone did the same. The bar that we ended up going to was filled with old men, and hookers along with little kids wandering around and trying to sell gum and small candy bars. I ended up deciding to go across the street to a beach bar where it was cheaper and a lot less crowded. It was probably one of the greatest moments to be able to relax on Copacabana beach with people my age. The city was beautiful at night. I ended up walking back with Jasmine, Jamie, and Andrew and went to sleep around 1:20. The next day, kyle, my other roommate from Boston, enlightened me to the fact that he tried to bring two hookers back last night but got stopped at the door to the hotel. Not really thing most sanitary thing I would have done. The next morning, we all met in the hotel lobby to get on the bus and take us to the Sugar Loaf Mountains. The first mountain we hiked up but some people, mostly lifelong learners, decided to take the cable car. It wasn’t too bad of a hike compared to Sleeping Giant Mountain. Once we got to the top, the view was incredible. You could see the city for miles and miles. I didn’t realize how big Rio was before I got to the top. Then we took the second cable car up and the view from there was even better. A 360 degree view of the city of Rio and the ocean. After taking the cable car back down the mountain, almost everyone signed out and claimed independence from the percussion class in order to spend a day at the beach. Andrew and I decided to have some Bacardi before we went so we relaxed on Copacabana beach for around an hour before getting dinner at a restaurant across the street from Windsor. At this restaurant, the waiter spoke French better than English so I ordered in French and actually got what I wanted; who would have thought French class could have paid off. After dinner, Rodrigo told us to go to the top of the Windsor for a surprise before we went sambaing. Once Andrew and I got there, the bartender gave us free drinks along with everyone else on SAS. Once we got to the samba club, we all ordered more drinks and some people got dinner, and then we hit the dance floor. I didn’t know how to samba, so I watched people before I asked Amanda to dance with me. We both had no idea what we were doing but it was so much fun. Then Amanda didn’t want to dance any more, but I still did, so I danced with Sarah. When she didn’t want to dance any more, I danced with Liz. After Liz had enough, I danced with Alex. When Alex was tired, I danced with Carter. I think I learned that when I drink, I like to samba. After we left the samba club, people were going out to other clubs, but I went to sleep at around 1:30. The next day, we all met in the lobby again at 9 and got into two separate buses to go to see Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Mountain. We arrived at a train station at around 10, but it wasn’t your typical train, more like a slower monorail. It took us up to the top of the mountain, right at the feet of the Christ Redeemer statue. The view from there was better than the view from the Sugar Loaf Mountains. I don’t know what combination of words I have to say in order to give that view justice. Once we took the train back down, we all went to a smaller beach called Prainha. It was about an hour drive, but worth it. The water and the waves were great. I ended up throwing a Frisbee the whole time with Kyle, Brian, David, Hacob, Amy and two Brazilian kids that were around ten years old. It was a perfect ending for my time in Rio.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Manaus Tomorrow!
I didn’t have class today, so what did I do? Lay out in the sun of course! it was around 80 degrees and humid, comparable to a cool summer day in Florida. Classes have been going great. Global studies has been a breeze so far. I was assigned to a group of 7 total people and we need to make a PowerPoint presentation surrounding the theme of HIV as it relates to locals in South Africa. Aside from that, no work outside of class. International business is turning out to be pretty easy as well. My professor is from the University of Florida and he seems really cool. We have only had to read outside of coming to class. The big project requires us, working alone, to come up with a product that would sell well in any port that we visit. He hasn’t told any details past that, so hopefully it’s nothing too hard. My world religions class is interesting. My professor is a very…spiritual guy, but knowledgeable nonetheless. We’re required to do 3 FDP’s (faculty directed practica) and write a 750-1000 word paper for each one expressing our opinion about the religion that we learned about and what we thought of the port itself, all of which are due towards the end of the voyage, which isn’t too much to ask for by any means. My human effects on the coastal systems class is quite a bitch though. My professor is great, but the work load is a little overwhelming. We’re required to do 3 FDPs and write a 1500-2000 word paper on each FDP about what we did, what kind of system it was, and basic threats that system is exposed to, and each paper is due two days after we leave the port the FDP was in. Plus, we have to individually make a 10 minute presentation which is due towards the end of the semester. A little much for now, but manageable. My music class seems like it’s going to be pretty easy. My professor is a crazy older Indian guy with a thick Indian accent, but he seems really cool. He shared his first Grateful Dead concert experience with us during the first class. He told us how his roommate showed up in their apartment with his girlfriend, explained to him that they were doing LSD and how to get to the concert, and then how he was engulfed in a smog of marijuana smoke when they arrived. But anyway, we’re only required to do 2 FDPs and write at least 1000 words each about anything involving the music we learned about in port. That can include what type it was, how we thought it sounded, what instruments were being played, how the instruments were made, anything like that. But no real outside work for that class aside from reading. Well, think I’ve explained my academic situation thoroughly enough, hope you’re happy mom. The Roommate situation is great. We don’t see too much of each other but when we do, we get along pretty well. Oh, did I mention he’s gay? I think I’ve brought this up to date well enough. Tomorrow is Manaus and I’ve got all day to explore before my flight to Rio! Definitely should be a good time. I’ll try to update this as much as I can in Rio.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Amazon
The title pretty much says it all. I woke up this morning and I was in the Amazon River. I remember learning about it back in elementary school, all the shit saying it was a mile wide and everything, but it’s entirely different when you’re in it. I can look to one side and see trees in detail, but when I look to other side, I can barely see the coast. The water is the same color as mud, completely opaque. I’m fortunate enough to be enjoying near 80 degree temperatures at 5:30 in the evening. Hope this weather lasts for awhile. The day after we left Dominica, the seas were extremely rough. It was pretty entertaining to see the parade of people walking out of my global studies class with their hand over their mouth or a nauseous look on their face. Plus watching them actually walk out was hilarious. We have a different speaker every time we have class. today’s speaker was, well bland. She talked about the economically stand point of the “global south” or third world countries. It was educational, but dry. The speaker before her was very active in helping young girls from Naipaul stay in school instead of being sold into slavery. He was a psychologist that wrote and published over eighty books so he knew a thing or two. His presentation was a lot better than the one today. Aside from all of that, there’s really nothing to do on the ship after class aside from work, eat, sleep, talk or watch one of 6 channels on tv. Only a few days until we get in Manaus, then off to Rio!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Dominica
Today, (Monday Jan 17)I got to go snorkeling in Champagne Reef. Got to see all kinds of stuff. Just got back on the ship and I'm really tired. All in all, pretty great first port. Still 100 days left, can't wait to see what else I encounter.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday Jan 16 - Dominica
Just wanted to let you know classes are all good. My music teacher is pretty funny and my human effects on the costal system prof seems prettty good too. Looks like theres gonna be a lot of work so I'll be kinda busy when I'm at sea.Friday - Jan 14
Stopped in Puerto Rico to take on fuel. Here is shot of fuel ship. Took my first malaria pill - ship made a big deal about it. Boat has been rocking a lot. I'm ok but a lot of people are getting sick. Haven't seen anyone get sick but I have seen lots of spots. I'm fine just tired all the time.
Thursday Jan 13
Wed Jan 12 - On the Ship
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
MV Explorer sendoff from Nassau
It was an emotional evening for many parents as the MV Explorer set sail for it's 104 day Semester at Sea journey around the globe. Many parents stood on the pier as the ship broke port and sailed out of sight for it's next port-of-call in Dominica.Congratulations and good luck Kevin -- Michelle, Mom and I hope you have a fantastic voyage and many great experiences. We'll see you in 104 days in San Diego.
