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Well my first two weeks out of the States have been exciting, overwhelming, fun, fast-paced, and very, very busy. I know a lot of you have been anxious to hear of my adventure, and I apologize for keeping you in suspense as I’ve been adjusting to life at sea. As it turns out, internet time on the ship is limited. Each passenger gets a set number of ‘free’ minutes and after that you are charged by the minute. Therefore I decided to just type one long entry for each port I visit, instead of daily updates.
On January 31st my parents and I flew down to Nassau, Bahamas. We enjoyed a nice vacation relaxing on the beach and soaking up the sun. We went snorkeling several times and saw some beautiful fish. There were butterfly fish and parrotfish, barracuda, sea cucumbers, yellow tangs, cuttlefish, starfish, conchs, and a whole bunch I can’t even name. We enjoyed a great Bahamian meal at the local Johnny Canoes restaurant and were treated to traditional music played by beautifully costumed musicians. (See photo). On Friday the 2nd we headed over to the Atlantis resort. Unfortunately they charge $88 per person, per day to swim in their pools and use the facilities so instead we toured the hotel and walked through their huge aquarium. (See picture of gigantic manta ray). Then we returned to Nassau and walked around town, enjoying a festive lunch at senor frogs accompanied with a round of delicious margaritas.
Sunday I finally boarded the MV Explorer, and let me tell you, it is an amazing ship. There are seven decks on the ship, and the first three are student rooms. Deck 5 has a dining area, faculty and staff rooms, and Purser’s Square (main administrative offices). Deck 6 has the huge student union, all of the classrooms, computer lab, library, a piano/ study lounge, and the campus stores (textbooks, clothes, school supplies, etc). And Deck 7 has a gym, spa, bistro, pool, faculty lounge, and basketball court.
Food onboard isn’t bad. It’s served buffet style during limited hours of the day. My favorite dishes so far have been lamb curry, barbeque ribs, and teryaki chicken. Every meal they serve salad, bread, soup, potatoes, pasta, some kind of meat (chicken, beef or pork) and some fish, and mixed vegetables –each with varying spices each day to give different flavors.
The rocking of the ship has several effects on people on board. Many find it soothing and often puts them to sleep during class. Others, like me unfortunately, are more sensitive and get a bit queasy. Many people miss class cause they are sick, and others get nauseous from just reading their textbooks.
The students and faculty here are really amazing people from not only across the US, but also around the globe. There are 702 students, 17 life long learners (adults taking classes including a 91 year-old), faculty and staff, and of course the wonderful crew. With so many people, I tend to meet new people every day wherever I go. It’s so fascinating learning more about each of their lives, where they are from, their ambitions, and what they hope to get out of this experience. I already have about a dozen close friends that I hang out with regularly and I plan to add more to the list.
Classes seem interesting so far, although lectures are mostly introductory background. I think Marine Biology or Amphibians and Reptiles will be my favorite. Global Studies is a mandatory course for all students and meets daily. We discuss topics pertinent to each port – culture, history, social justice, economics, language and so much more. There are also interport lecturers from each country we are visiting who give us insights to the local cultural, political, and environmental climate. The theme for this semester’s Global Studies course is “patterns of conflict and paths to peace in a diverse world”. I got a 90 on our first exam, so it was nice to set off on the right foot.
I’m also taking a class called School and society. Even though I’m not an education major, I think this course seems pretty fascinating. There are several members of a non-profit organization traveling with us onboard called Global Nomads. They use satellite live-feed video to connect schools (mainly high school level) in the US to schools all over the world. These sessions are open-ended discussions for contemporary topics ranging from the HIV/AIDS epidemic, terrorism, to just daily life. I will be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sit in on their programs in Brazil, and possibly another in South Africa, India, Malaysia, Vietnam or Japan. I am really thrilled to see the interactions between kids from around the globe and I’ll keep you posted on those experiences. If you’d like to check it out, Global Nomad Group’s website is www.gng.org. There are video clips explaining more about their program including documentaries on many of their interactions.
--- PUERTO RICO ---
Wednesday February 7th we arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Early in the morning, the Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila welcomed us with a powerful speech emphasizing the fact that many things in life come and go – friends, family, and love – but what will last with you forever is your education. That message really struck me and made me consider just how fortunate I am to have received the education that I have. Only one percent of the whole world’s population has been to a university or college, and it’s just amazing to take a step back sometimes and appreciate what we have. After the governor left, everybody on board had to make their way to the faculty staff lounge to get our passports officially stamped before we could leave the ship. As you can imagine, this process took a long time. Finally I stepped onto land again. This in itself was pretty interesting. After being at sea for just two days, I noticed I would still feel the rocking motion of water while positioned on sturdy land. It was quite an experience wobbling around San Juan, but fun nonetheless.
My first day in port was spent on a city orientation tour. My group boarded a small bus and drove past pop-singer Ricky Martin’s condo complex. After making our way through San Juan we stopped at the capital building. It was a domed building along the water’s edge and didn’t look like much from the outside. But once we got inside I was amazed. The dome was beautifully decorated with scenes of Puerto Rico’s history. From the capitol building we made another stop at Fort San Cristobal. This was the fortified city long ago. We visited the dungeons where prisoners awaited their deaths and saw the etchings they made in the dungeon walls. There were also museum exhibits showing traditional clothing throughout time and the weapons people used. From the top layer of the fort I was taken aback at the magnificent views of the Old San Juan area. After this tour a few friends and I wondered around Old San Juan and made our way back to the ship. We stopped at the Café Mallorca and I enjoyed their delicious mallorca special, which was a sandwich with chicken salad and scrambled eggs mixed with peppers.
The second say in port I went horseback riding in the Hacienda Carabali. We took a 45-minute drive to the ranch and then each were assigned horses – mine was named Bart. The trail ride was about two hours long and took us through forests, horse farms, and along a river. About half way through we dismounted and took a break along the shady river’s edge. We set off again picking up some speed and trotting along the path. I was really excited by the fact that I got to canter (a speed in between trotting and galloping). Then we entered tree iguana watch territory, and luckily we found some. These iguanas just basked in the sunlight on tree branches and were about four feet long. Later on our trail guide spotted a baby iguana in a low branch and grabbed it. I even got to hold the wild iguana! (See picture). Afterwards we headed back to the ranch and left for the ship. I’m so glad I had the chance to horseback ride again. It’s something I’ve always loved doing and I hope I get another chance along this voyage.
Our last day in Puerto Rico I went on a bike riding eco-tour. We set off at 8 in the morning and arrived along the beaches. I was fitted for my helmet and picked out my ride, and we set off on a boardwalk through the mangroves. Many people sped to the front of the line, but I pedaled more leisurely to enjoy the surrounding environment. I kept hearing noises, and although I kept searching for animals in the mangroves, we were moving to fast to spot them. After about four miles we stopped along another pristine beach with crashing waves. Although the water looked so refreshing and inviting we were warned not to go in because of the tide and its huge waves. After a half hour we went back the same direction we came through the mangroves. Then at the ending point we got to relax on a calmer beach. The water was gorgeous and warm. Many people just sunbathed on shore but I ventured out through the lagoon to the tidal pools that provided the boundary to the crashing waves. I climbed up to the tidal pools and investigated the small fish, hermit crabs, corals, and anemones.
After I got back to the ship, Rachel (a University of Maryland student) and I walked about ten minutes through town to the beach where lots of students were relaxing by the water. The beach was beautiful – warm sand, perfect temperature water, and a great view of the capital building and Fort San Cristobal. Like during the biking trip, there was a rocky boundary between the crashing waves and the shore, which provided an interesting setting. The waves would crash and overflow the rocks but then they would get trapped within the rocks so waves came at us in every direction. That was the perfect way to end our visit to Puerto Rico, just a relaxing day at the beach.
We arrive in Salvador, Brazil tomorrow morning around 0700. We crossed the equator two days ago, and king Neptune was upset we didn’t celebrate Neptune’s Day (more on that later, scheduled for February 24th).
Like I mentioned earlier, I’m planning on updating this website after each port to fill you in on my exciting adventure. I posted a handful of my pictures, so make sure to check those out. Trust me, I have a ton of other pictures but it takes forever to load them on the internet so I’ll post a bunch more when I’m back in the States. Catch up with you after Brazil!!!
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