So... I was sitting on the top, talking with some friends when the wind caught my smoothie! Rather than wipe it up and waste it, I drank it off the deck! I really know how to gross out some people. However, there was so little of it left that it wouldn't actually come up through the straw. Lone behold, we sailed straight into a storm in the next five minutes and before I could finish, a massive rainstorm washed it away. Good times!!

AT THE EQUATOR! The weather made it a "blah" day. It was cloudy and windy. But fun to do and will be fun when we do it again.

The Bacardi Rum Factory in Puerto Rico! The tour is free and they give you two free drinks! The guy on the left is Andrew (from Virginia) and Eddie is in the middle (from California).

A night out on the town in Purto Rico. So much fun!

Puerto Rico... Look's like a postcard. It was so beautiful there.

Sunrise in Puerto Rico. For each port, it is becoming tradition to drag myself out of bed for our arrival. For each city thus far, we have been arriving as the sun rises. Most of our ports willl be the same. Therefore, I will have pictures of the sun rising in several cities around the world. Good morning Puerto Rico!

Our first sunset after setting sail. It was so beautiful, but it was only the first of many. It really is a wonderful benefit to watch the sunset just about everyday. It's the same sun each day, but it always looks so different. The views from the ocean are breathtaking!

The Atlantis in Nassau. I almost didn't post this picture because it looks the same as anything you can find on google. But it's mine.

Photos...

Me with my life jacket before our fisrt lifeboat drill. This picture was taken in my room. Notice the pictures and papers on the wall are held up with magnets. Tape is a prohibited item on the ship but most of the walls are magnetic. I am sitting in front on more pictures I took to decorate with.

Nassau & Puerto Rico

Me in front of the ship before we left Nassau. Our ship is actually very small next to the huge cruise ship on the right. However, the mv Explorer is the fastest ship in the world. So... at each port, as we pull in and dock between huge ships that make our look like a paddle boat, we just say to ourselves, "Yeah, but our ship goes faster!" Those other cruise ships are massive, though.

Pictures this...

So I am having a fairly difficult time uploading picture from the ship for a few different reasons. I will try to post some once I get to land. I know you're waiting in suspense....
FYI... The entire shipboard community was updated about the NIU shootings this morning. I know a few people at that school that I knew from grade school years. Please keep those people in your prayers!

Brazil

Brazil was much more amazing than I thought it would be. I didn’t really know what to expect and it was not one of the places I was most excited to go to. However, I was pleasantly surprised and I had a really great time there. I didn’t have much of anything planned so I was able to play it by ear. I had talked with someone about going by bus to Lencois for a couple of days but then ended up not going. The ship arrived on the last day of Carnival and that had everyone excited. (I didn’t know much about that either but it apparently has a reputation and is officially the biggest party on earth according to Guinness.) There is somewhat of a routine to get to get up at the butt-crack of dawn and watch as the ship sails into the harbor of each port city. It really is a great experience and also makes for great photo opportunities (oh the sunrises!!).
The first night, I went out with a group of people to join in the festivities of Carnival on the street level. It was apparently a pretty gutsy move to take my camera, but I survived without being robbed, pick pocketed, molested, or violated. Salvador is a dangerous city and we were all warned to an extreme. But I made it through just fine. My impressions of Carnival were much better than I expected. I had a really good time and have some fun pictures to show at a more feasible time. It was crazy fun!!!
I spent the daytime hours walking around the city, taking pictures, enjoying local food, and checking out the markets. I tried Capoeira which is some sort of martial arts type dance that is very popular there. I was able to interact with the guys doing it and they tried to teach me but I wasn’t very good.
Thursday evening, we were able to experience Brazilian soccer. It was highly anticipated by everyone on the ship and nearly a third of the students went to the game as an organized trip through Semester at Sea (SAS). Many of the other students were on trips to the Amazon or to Rio. The game was a lot of fun and our team won 2 to 0.
Another night, I went out to dinner with a small group of friends and we ate at a restaurant outside where a guy played a guitar as another guy sang. It was a very, very nice dinner and evening. I am learning how fast paced everything in America is. Brazilian dining is meant to be enjoyed and not rushed. We were at the restaurant for about 3 hours just for dinner, but it was very enjoyable. I loved it. We then walked through the city for a bit and stopped for a local desert. I can’t remember what it’s called but it’s a frozen fruit mix that looks like mud (you can add granola to it if you’d like). It was a scrumcious desert though.
The last day, I headed to a beach. People knew we were Americans just by our swimwear. Brazilian females (including young ladies) wear thong bottoms and very tiny tops while the men (including the young ones) wear Speedos or small and very tight shorts. I got a little sunburn. I slightly underestimated the power of the sun close to the equator against one coat of SPF 45. It really wasn’t too bad though and it’s making its way into a nice tan I have been eagerly awaiting.
We headed back to the ship a little early on the last night because there was a huge BBQ onboard. Because a lot of people came back early for the special dinner and everyone else was back onboard on time, we left the harbor over an hour early and are now en route to Capetown!! I have so many great things lined up for that port and some things I am going to try to plan once I get there (including sky-diving is time allows).
Meanwhile, we are busy with classes and homework while at sea. Everyone is preparing for the Sea Olympics which is a day-long event for everyone to participate in and compete against other teams (teams are selected based on which deck you live on). They are really working hard to hype everyone up for it and whichever teams wins gets to get off the ship first when we return to the states and disembark (rumor has it that it can take about 6 hours to get people checked out and off the ship in Miami). I hope we win!!!
The big event between now and Capetown is Neptune Day, which as I mentioned is being celebrated on Valentine’s Day. There are no classes!!!!! I only have another day or two to finally decide if I am going to shave my head or not!
I can’t wait to write about Africa. It’s gonna be a long entry though; we are there more days than any other port and I am going to have a lot to write about. So far, I have a Habitat for Humanity project to work with, a day long visit to the Amy Biehl Foundation of Trust, an Operation Hunger service visit, and trip to BUSH Radio, and a township visit to learn about the music and dance of the culture. Independently, I am planning trips to Robben Island, a hike up Table Mountain, and possibly a sky diving trip if time allows. I am most excited about Africa I think. It is somewhere I have always wanted to go, secretly. Aside from that, it will be our first chance to really see a country that is vastly different from ours. Puerto Rico is very Americanized and along with Salvador, quite touristy. Salvador has a very different culture and a larger language barrier, but it was very much a tourist spot in some aspects. However, in South Africa, I will be able to venture away from the “developed” city of Capetown and into the villages and townships to experience the way of life there. I am excited to interact with the people and can’t wait to share it with you!
Watch out Africa, here I come! We are still crossing the Atlantic as of now, but will arrive in Capetown in just three short days!!!

On the ship...

Crossing the equator: Traditionally, Semester at Sea celebrates “Neptune Day” when the ship crosses the equator. Neptune Day is a day-long celebration that emulates an old sailor tradition of taking an oath, shaving your head, and doing something with fish guts. I am still unclear of the details but the big question here is… Are you going to shave your head? As a female, its somewhat difficult to imagine myself without any hair, but there are quite a few men on board who are adamantly sitting this one out. I am still up in the air about whether or not I will do it, but you should know that I am seriously considering it. Why be a part of something as big as this voyage and not go all out with it? (my answer is… I’ll be bald!) But really, I want to go all out and live it up. Technically, we crossed the equator for the first time Saturday, February 2. However, Neptune is being celebrated on February 14 to break up our long trip of crossing the Atlantic. We will be crossing the equator again after leaving Mauritius as we return to the Northern Hemisphere.
The Superbowl: Being that we are on a ship, we were unable to view the Superbowl in the traditional American way. However, some guys got together and were able to broadcast it over the internet for our audible pleasure. They asked people to sign a petition saying they would not use the internet during the hours of the game so that there would be enough signal to service the broadcast without any problems. It went fairly well and I’ve got our crowd on video, but we lost signal/connection at a few crucial moments. It was a very creative way to carry out a piece of our culture so many miles from home. Rumor has it that someone’s parents will be sending a tape of the game for our viewing pleasure sometime after Africa. In the end, some were upset and some were thrilled. To add my two cents in… especially not being able to see anything, it was very much a fourth quarter game!!!

The fish ate my homework...

There are still questions about the classes I am taking and how it all works with the traveling. I am enrolled in 12 credits (the norm for this adventure) and classes are only held while the ship is at sea (not when we are in port). Global studies is the name of the course that everyone on the ship attends. It covers the historical, cultural, industrial, religious, etc., aspects of each port country and area that we travel to. We study that place we are going while we are en route and after we leave that port there is a test on it. The other classes I am in are HIV/AIDS, Choices in Relationships: An Introduction to marriage and family, and Expository Writing: Awareness of Self and Others. The HIV/Aids class is taught by a professor who is 73 years old and lived in southern Africa for most of his life. He has worked for many years toward AIDS awareness and education and is now teaching this course about how it is effecting the people and how it effects so many other countries. The Expository Writing class is also interesting. I took it to make sure that I would have some sort of journal at the end of this voyage and with this class I am sure to. We write about a page a day and turn in a final draft of several for a final portfolio. The Marriage and Family class is very very intersting. It is taught from a very sociological point of view by a professor who has taught, been married, and been a relationship counselor all around the world for over 35 years. He is very knowledgable and entertaining. This class is probably my favorite at this point because it is very thought provoking and the professor is so great! However, for those who know my current relationship status, it is an emotional slap in the face each session.
The classes are semi-challenging to balance with all the fun and excitement surrounding them. They are really taking seriously so don~t think that its just one big party on the ship. There is alot of reading required and when the ship already rocks you to sleep and you try to put reading in the mix, you can~t count the sheep fast enough. Not to mention that the direction we are going, we lose an hour every few days so you never catch up on sleep.
I will be writing soon about Brazil. We are leaving tonight en route Capetown, South Africa. I am so excited for that port, words won~t do it any justice. I am also planning to post some pictures soon so keep checking in!!

First Impressions

So far, I have been on the ship at sea for 8 days. We stopped in Puerto Rico for 3 fantastic days and I was able to see and do some really fun stuff. I walked around San Juan for the first day and also experienced the Bioluminescent Bay the first night. The second day was very relaxing and some friends and I walked around the open air market in the afternoon, took some pictures, and slowly made our way to the beach just before sunset. We were back on the ship for dinner and then went out dancing that night. It was a lot of fun and my shoulders even got some sun!! On Monday, our last day in Puerto Rico, I went on a tour of a Psychiatric Hospital. With my experience as a nursing student, I found it quite interesting to see a bit of healthcare in another country. However, because Puerto Rico is a US Territory, they abide by our federal laws. Hence, much of the hospital was the same, but it was interesting to see, nonetheless. Monday afternoon I toured the Bacardi factory then stopped for some traditional Puerto Rican food before heading back to the ship in plenty of time for our departure at 11pm. We have since been on our way to Brazil. I don’t have anything planned for Brazil, but I am eager to see and do some more independent travel and perhaps even work on getting some sun!!
Classes are going well. They are very interesting with very experienced and qualified professors. I am amazed at how much I am learning in the classroom on this voyage. I thought the classes were just the required stuff and the countries and their cultures would be the eye opening part. It’s turning out to be very well rounded which just excites me all the more.
On ship life… I have made good friends with several of the 20 work study students and although we have been stickin it out with each other since the beginning, we have met a few others along the way. This voyage has the largest student population than any previous Semester at Sea voyage and it is truly incredible to be “stuck” on a ship with so many people from so many different places and backgrounds. My roommate and I get along really well. In fact, we both were awarded the work study scholarship and were able to meet two days before the ship left Nassau. She’s one of the people I’ve been spending a lot of time with and I am really grateful that is working out as well as it is. The food is great. Each meal is an all you can eat buffet with a full wait staff. I have been eating more than enough at each of my three meals. The ship crew, including the wait staff in the dining halls, is absolutely incredible. They are by far the best workers in customer service I have ever come in contact with. They are all so polite and will bend over backwards for you at anytime. It is very nice be taken care of in that way, but a little hard to get used to. I feel very spoiled by them. For instance, if you leave your cabin for breakfast or for a class in the morning, your bed will be made, clothes folded, linens replaced (room in order) by the time you return. Above that, the crew really seems to enjoy doing it. Another example, the crew will nearly follow you to your seat in the dining hall to ask you what you want to drink before you even sit down, or be there to take your tray immediately, or remove your plate from the table before you’ve decided if you really want the last bite or not. They are incredible people who also come from all over the world and have unique stories themselves. Tomorrow is the first laundry day…how exciting!! 3Until next time, I will be en route to Brazil and will have lots to share about my experiences there as we will be there for 5 days. Feel free to post any questions or email them to me.