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Wednesday, November 19 ("Travel Questions"/ sailing to Hawaii): You know, traveling with other people has its pros and cons. Based on my collective travel experiences during this voyage, I can whole heartedly say that it's not where you are, it's who you're with. Okay, yes, place helps but not the most critical factor. Sure, you can be in Italy with the grouchiest person who dampens your experience. Or, you can be in nowhere Kansas, laughing it up with friends. At the end of the day, it's the people—NOT the place.I kept joking with my Japan travel buddies and I told them I plan to write a travel questionnaire. The reality is you can't travel with everyone. Traveling is such an intimate thing and you have to make sure your travel partner suites your style (gosh, sounds like a marriage plan—LOL). Important travel questions include:
*Do you need an itinerary? Not necessarily, but I need a general framework. Tell me what you wanna see and do so we can loosely map it out.
*What range would you spend on lunch? A good lunch…anywhere from $20-$25.
*What range would you spend on dinner? A good meal could take $60 outta my purse…*Write out your ideal travel day. It depends on my mood!!
*Would you enjoy a tour guide while traveling? Yes, day one should be with a tour guide. You get lots of information that can inform you.
*Ideally, what time would you go to bed? Wake up? Of course I'm going to be late and waking up early. We got things to see! Places to be. Besides, maybe we can take a mid-day nap.
*How would you feel if there was silence between us? Great! I need silence. Every moment doesn't have to be filled with talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Speak if you have something to say. Don't speak if you're just filling air.
I said I wanted Japan to be low-key, lazy, restorative experience. It wasn't. Although I enjoyed Japan, I didn't get the rest I really wanted. So I decided I might travel alone in Costa Rica…with my own agenda…just relaxing, on the beach, drinking a little somethin', somethin'. I grabbed my Lonely Planet travel guide and logged online to start searching. Costa Rica, here I come…
Thursday, November 20 ("Remembering Kurt"/ sailing to Hawaii): Several students worked together to organize a memorial service to honor Kurt's life. They did a great job! I think people are dealing with the lost as best they can, but it's hard. If anyone needs support, they can talk to two ship counselors who have training and professional experience dealing with these kinds of situations.
Saturday, November 22 ("Intent vs Impact"/ sailing to Hawaii): Yesterday, while I was eating dinner, a student of color asked to speak to me. We talked after dinner and I learned that she had a negative class experience due to a professor's cultural insensitivity. After hearing her concerns, I approached the faculty member, explained the student's concern, and arranged a meeting for the three of us.
When we met the professor admitted that he could have been more aware of his comment. Now his admission of ignorance would have been ideal…a simple, "I'm sorry" goes a long way. But no! He decided to go beyond the "I'm sorry" and tried to downplay/dismiss her concerns. Before I could jump in, the young woman stood up for herself; she told the professor that his comment was inappropriate because she experienced his words in a belittling way.
Essentially, the entire incident was a case of intent versus impact. The professor did not have a negative intent, but (BUT! BUT! BUT!) the impact was negative for the student. For some reason, the professor was not grasping the concept. As a white male, he tried to place himself in an under-privileged group…some crap about his northeastern (Jersey, Bronx, Boston) accent, which—by the way—you can hardly hear. I pushed back a little and tried to help him take responsibility for his comment…acknowledge how it made her feel…and apologize in class. Our conversation ended with him agreeing to do those things.
Saturday, November 22- no class day ("International Dateline"/ sailing to Hawaii): Yep, a second November 22, like Bill Murray's movie Groundhog Day. When we woke up this morning we repeated November 22nd because we passed the international dateline. Now, instead of being 21 hours ahead of the U.S., we're several hours behind the west coast. My brain hurts from trying to make all the time zone calculations.
It was a no class day, which folks needed. A day to catch up on tasks and to-do lists. My to-do list item: LEARN MY LINES! I was so excited about the Vagina Monologues, but now it's turned into extra work. I know, I know—what did I expect, right? The unfortunate reality is that I still have three paragraphs to memorize and the show debuts in a little over one week. Today I was practicing like a mad woman screaming about angry vaginas in my cabin. I rehearsed with Savannah and she told me to release more of my anger. Gosh, I guess I'm not much of an actress, but I'll give it my all.
Later in the evening, one of my residents did a French manicure of my nails with pinkish tips instead of white. A few people hung out and told me all the things I'm probably not supposed to know about their love lives and the goings on of undergraduate ship life. I "heart" my students!
Thursday, November 27 ("Hawaiian Turkey Day"/ Hawai'i): Welcome home—almost! Hawai'i…a forgotten part of the U.S. I had an early breakfast, sat on the back deck, and proceeded to call people. It was so good to chat with folks. Actually, there were tons of people on their cell phones because we all service coverage. I called a handful of people and several asked about Curtis. Umm, yeah, so Curtis and I are not a romantic pair…just travel buddies. Curtis, a PhD student, is an openly gay man living in Finland. We have similar interests and get along really well, so we make good companions. The end…sorry to burst bubbles!
I spent my Hawaiian Turkey Day with Curtis (lol). We had an agenda: Walmart, lunch, beach—in that order. We went to Walmart first because we had to get packing boxes, Snowflake gifts, snacks, etc. After our purchases, we dropped our things on the ship and went out to lunch. I had a beautiful spinach salad with goat cheese—delicious! I miss salad. I tried a bit of Hawaiian stuffing, sausage, and other things that just didn't taste as fantastic as that salad.
After lunch we walked on Waikiki Beach. I sat on the beach talking to people while Curtis went off shopping. Our afternoon ended with an amazingly perfect sunset (see pics). We returned to the ship to work on ship time. A few days ago the Living-Learning Team had been told Hawaii would be the worst port; Last year over 150 in line pass on ship time. The Living- Learning Team brainstormed incentives (free internet, special dinner, & football broadcast) to lure folks back to the ship early. Well, the plan worked! One person was not accounted for five minutes after on ship time…he showed up and by 9:15pm the shipboard community was on board.
Tonight we have seven sailing days from Hawai'i to Costa Rica.
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