3/23/07
07° 42.60N
082° 9.93E
Almost to India! We are currently traveling around the island of Sri Lanka on our way to Chennai, India. Everyone is super excited and ready for a true cultural experience. I’ve heard from past voyagers that India is the most shocking port-of-call that we will visit. They say, “it will literally change they way you see the world and how you interact with it.” Bring it on.
Anyway, the last several days on the ship have been a doozy. We started our leg Between Mauritius and India with the Sea Olympics. Students competed against one another in basketball, dodge ball, tug-of-war, rely races, lip sync, synchronized swimming and many, many others. I did the tug-of-war with 9 other teammates from the Bering Sea. Let’s just say we got smoked. Tug-of-war takes on a whole new meaning when you are on a ship that is rocking back and forth. Long story short, my team as a whole didn’t do so well in the Olympics. It looks like we will be disembarking last in San Diego. On another note, I had a great conversation with the captain the other day about pirates. According to captain Jeremy, we have two defense mechanisms to use against pirates. First, we have speed. We are on one of the fasted cruise ships in the world…we will outrun any pirates. As we travel through the straights in Southeast Asia, Captain Jeremy says we will be going full speed during the night in order to avoid an encounter. We have yet to travel full speed. Second, we have fire hoses. In the event that pirates do catch us and are able to reach the side, we will blast them away with fire hoses. Um, let’s just hope there are no pirates. Other than that, my week has been primarily occupied with midterms. Studying is hard to do on this ship, but everyone seems to manage. Oh yeah, one more thing. We have some Indian inter-port lecturers on the ship for this leg to supplement our curriculum and class discussions. They are great. Both of them graduated from the very reputable Indian Institute of Technology system in some sort of science/engineering field. They have provided some very applicable and thoughtful insight as we prepare for our travels through the world’s largest democracy.
Another interesting fact…last night we set out clocks forward 1/2 hour. India is one of the only, if not the only, country in the world with a time zone only 1/2 hour ahead or behind the rest of the world. Weird.
Ok well, I’m off to take a midterm. I’ll be back in a week to fill you in on my new perspective of the world. Over the course of my visit to India, I’ll be checking out Chennai, Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal) and Varanasi. So excited!
Peace out,
Mike
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
3/19/07
12° 42.48S
066° 27.62E
Surprise, surprise, Mauritius was another incredible port of call. Although our stay was brief (only 3 days/2 nights), we certainly made the most of the experience. Mauritius is a small African island off the coast of Madagascar with brilliant coral reefs, white sand beaches and clear blue water. The island was originally settled by the French, but now has substantial Indian and African influence. However, it is also obvious that the British left their mark as people drive on the left side of the road on the island. Apparently some SAS students struggled with this on their vespas. Haha, I would have killed myself.
The first day, I joined a small group and headed 50km south to Tamarin Bay to go surfing. A cyclone had just passed through the area leaving a great, but not typical, break on the west side of the island. Being an Idaho boy, I spent my fare share of time buried face down in the white wash gasping for air as my ship of a surfboard dragged me by the leash. However, I did manage to snag some gnarly (have to chose the correct terminology here) rides as well. Great surf, warm waters and a sunset made for an absolute picturesque setting. If only my camera could have taken the beating that I did that day. That evening 150 SAS students and I checked into some villas on Flic and Flac beach.
On day two, I met up with some friends and set out for the east coast of Mauritius for a day of sailing. After a 45 minute drive through beautiful sugar cane fields and steep, wooded mountains, we arrived at our catamaran that would be our home for the day. A day of swimming, snorkeling the reef, BBQing on the boat, sightseeing waterfalls, relaxing and visiting the white sand beaches (think Corona commercial) awaited us. We visited a small island called Il de Cerfs, which was on nearly every Mauritian postcard. The island had a beach about the size of a football field submerged 6”-12” under crystal clear water. I could have spent a week on that beach alone. That night I headed back to the villas for an evening of dancing at the beach bar Shots.
The third day (St. Patrick’s Day), I spent the day at the beach before heading to a friend’s birthday BBQ high above Tamarin Bay. As the trip came to a close, we celebrated our final “westernized” port of call until we arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii. From here on out it is going to be uncomfortable culture shocks that will certainly change the way I view the world. I hope I’m ready!
I would consider Mauritius to be the “spring break” stop for SAS. We were very much on a vacation. Yea, there was an interesting culture on the island, but it’s like visiting Cabo, Mexico for the culture. Not many people do it. I am very happy we stopped for a break, but I am also excited to continue our journey into Asia. I have six days of classes ahead of me before we arrive in Chennai, India. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks,
Mike
12° 42.48S
066° 27.62E
Surprise, surprise, Mauritius was another incredible port of call. Although our stay was brief (only 3 days/2 nights), we certainly made the most of the experience. Mauritius is a small African island off the coast of Madagascar with brilliant coral reefs, white sand beaches and clear blue water. The island was originally settled by the French, but now has substantial Indian and African influence. However, it is also obvious that the British left their mark as people drive on the left side of the road on the island. Apparently some SAS students struggled with this on their vespas. Haha, I would have killed myself.
The first day, I joined a small group and headed 50km south to Tamarin Bay to go surfing. A cyclone had just passed through the area leaving a great, but not typical, break on the west side of the island. Being an Idaho boy, I spent my fare share of time buried face down in the white wash gasping for air as my ship of a surfboard dragged me by the leash. However, I did manage to snag some gnarly (have to chose the correct terminology here) rides as well. Great surf, warm waters and a sunset made for an absolute picturesque setting. If only my camera could have taken the beating that I did that day. That evening 150 SAS students and I checked into some villas on Flic and Flac beach.
On day two, I met up with some friends and set out for the east coast of Mauritius for a day of sailing. After a 45 minute drive through beautiful sugar cane fields and steep, wooded mountains, we arrived at our catamaran that would be our home for the day. A day of swimming, snorkeling the reef, BBQing on the boat, sightseeing waterfalls, relaxing and visiting the white sand beaches (think Corona commercial) awaited us. We visited a small island called Il de Cerfs, which was on nearly every Mauritian postcard. The island had a beach about the size of a football field submerged 6”-12” under crystal clear water. I could have spent a week on that beach alone. That night I headed back to the villas for an evening of dancing at the beach bar Shots.
The third day (St. Patrick’s Day), I spent the day at the beach before heading to a friend’s birthday BBQ high above Tamarin Bay. As the trip came to a close, we celebrated our final “westernized” port of call until we arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii. From here on out it is going to be uncomfortable culture shocks that will certainly change the way I view the world. I hope I’m ready!
I would consider Mauritius to be the “spring break” stop for SAS. We were very much on a vacation. Yea, there was an interesting culture on the island, but it’s like visiting Cabo, Mexico for the culture. Not many people do it. I am very happy we stopped for a break, but I am also excited to continue our journey into Asia. I have six days of classes ahead of me before we arrive in Chennai, India. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks,
Mike
Saturday, March 10, 2007
3/10/2007
34° 13.81S
025° 0.64E
Well hello! I am now back on the ship after an incredible stay in Cape Town, South Africa. I can’t even express in words how amazing my experience was in this prospering town on the southern most tip of Africa. I love this place!
The first day a group of friends and I hiked Table Mountain, which is a flat-topped mountain that often gets a cloud layer resembling a tablecloth. After and hour and a half of grueling hiking, we reached a beautiful overlook with sights of Cape Town and the surrounding area. The top of the mountain had a very European looking restaurant, bar and tram. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that I was in the Swiss Alps. I guess the 85° March weather gave it away. After taking a scenic ride down the tram, we grabbed a late lunch in the marina for beer and burgers. Way to be cultural, eh? Well, that night I made up for it by eating crocodile at Mama Africa’s on Long Street. A live band, amazing food, great company, and fabulous South African wine made for a very entertaining evening.
The second day it rained for what must have been the first time all summer in South Africa. The locals were shocked! My roommate and I took cover in a local coffee shop to people watch and take in the culture. After a day of checking out everything Cape Town has to offer, we headed out to Moyo for dinner. Moyo is a restaurant serving an enormous variety of local foods in a buffet style atmosphere. Sitting around a candle lit dinner with about 35 SAS students, I proceeded to eat myself into a food coma. Our faces were painted, a live band played, traditional dancers circled the tables and fires burned under the full moon. Three trips through the buffet line, one trip through the dessert line, and five bottles of wine later our table of 8 received a bill of 2649 Rand. Amazingly, that’s only about $28 U.S. per person. If you ever make it to Cape Town, be sure to swing by Moyo. You won’t be disappointed.
The third day, I joined a group of SAS students and headed up to the winelands for a day of mountain biking and wine tasting. First, we drove up to Stellenbosch for an awesome mountain bike ride in the lush mountains. I could have sworn that I was in New Zealand. We then headed to Lanzerac, a vineyard on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, for a picnic lunch and wine tasting. Lanzerac was the first winery to produce a Pinotage, which is basically a cross between red and white wines. Next we drove to Frankschhoek, or the French Corner, to visit the Mont Rochelle winery and check out the traditional town. After an afternoon of cycling and wine tasting, I had come to the conclusion that I will someday retire on a South African vineyard.
The fourth day was an entirely different South African experience. At 9:00am, I boarded a bus and headed out to a township for a day of service with Operation Hunger. First, we toured a community with no electricity, no running water and only two makeshift schools designed for students as old as seven. Words can’t even describe what I saw. This particular community was opposed to the current government regime, and therefore, was entirely neglected when it came to funding. At one point we were walking down a dirt street in the village when a tour helicopter flew overhead. Talk about a juxtaposition of serious wealth inequality. After speaking with the town leader, we headed to a Rastafarian community to do our real service project. Operation Hunger had asked us to weight all of the children in the community in order to gain a better understanding of the health situation in the area. Many of the children were severely underweight, suggesting malnourishment is very likely. All off the SAS students felt so bad that we gave our box lunches away on the spot. I have never felt so unjustly privileged as I did that afternoon on the bus ride to the ship.
The last three days of my visit I headed up to Kruger National Park for a safari. SAS put us up in a four star hotel (SAS always travels with class and a big price tag) on the edge of the Crocodile River. The next several days we went on game drives, ate amazing food, learned about the South African wildlife and explored some beautiful African savanna. During the game drives, I saw lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras, rhinos, hippos, wild dogs, wildebeests, antelopes, crocodiles and many, many others. One evening we had a Boma dinner, which is basically an African luau. African dancers performed around a fire while we enjoyed native cuisine under the stars. Couldn’t ask for much more.
Sorry about the lengthy entry. I seriously could have written 30 pages and still not conveyed what I experienced in South Africa. What an amazing place! We are at sea for the next four days before we arrive in Port Louis, Mauritius. Check back in a week or so for more.
Keep it real.
-Mike
34° 13.81S
025° 0.64E
Well hello! I am now back on the ship after an incredible stay in Cape Town, South Africa. I can’t even express in words how amazing my experience was in this prospering town on the southern most tip of Africa. I love this place!
The first day a group of friends and I hiked Table Mountain, which is a flat-topped mountain that often gets a cloud layer resembling a tablecloth. After and hour and a half of grueling hiking, we reached a beautiful overlook with sights of Cape Town and the surrounding area. The top of the mountain had a very European looking restaurant, bar and tram. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that I was in the Swiss Alps. I guess the 85° March weather gave it away. After taking a scenic ride down the tram, we grabbed a late lunch in the marina for beer and burgers. Way to be cultural, eh? Well, that night I made up for it by eating crocodile at Mama Africa’s on Long Street. A live band, amazing food, great company, and fabulous South African wine made for a very entertaining evening.
The second day it rained for what must have been the first time all summer in South Africa. The locals were shocked! My roommate and I took cover in a local coffee shop to people watch and take in the culture. After a day of checking out everything Cape Town has to offer, we headed out to Moyo for dinner. Moyo is a restaurant serving an enormous variety of local foods in a buffet style atmosphere. Sitting around a candle lit dinner with about 35 SAS students, I proceeded to eat myself into a food coma. Our faces were painted, a live band played, traditional dancers circled the tables and fires burned under the full moon. Three trips through the buffet line, one trip through the dessert line, and five bottles of wine later our table of 8 received a bill of 2649 Rand. Amazingly, that’s only about $28 U.S. per person. If you ever make it to Cape Town, be sure to swing by Moyo. You won’t be disappointed.
The third day, I joined a group of SAS students and headed up to the winelands for a day of mountain biking and wine tasting. First, we drove up to Stellenbosch for an awesome mountain bike ride in the lush mountains. I could have sworn that I was in New Zealand. We then headed to Lanzerac, a vineyard on the outskirts of Stellenbosch, for a picnic lunch and wine tasting. Lanzerac was the first winery to produce a Pinotage, which is basically a cross between red and white wines. Next we drove to Frankschhoek, or the French Corner, to visit the Mont Rochelle winery and check out the traditional town. After an afternoon of cycling and wine tasting, I had come to the conclusion that I will someday retire on a South African vineyard.
The fourth day was an entirely different South African experience. At 9:00am, I boarded a bus and headed out to a township for a day of service with Operation Hunger. First, we toured a community with no electricity, no running water and only two makeshift schools designed for students as old as seven. Words can’t even describe what I saw. This particular community was opposed to the current government regime, and therefore, was entirely neglected when it came to funding. At one point we were walking down a dirt street in the village when a tour helicopter flew overhead. Talk about a juxtaposition of serious wealth inequality. After speaking with the town leader, we headed to a Rastafarian community to do our real service project. Operation Hunger had asked us to weight all of the children in the community in order to gain a better understanding of the health situation in the area. Many of the children were severely underweight, suggesting malnourishment is very likely. All off the SAS students felt so bad that we gave our box lunches away on the spot. I have never felt so unjustly privileged as I did that afternoon on the bus ride to the ship.
The last three days of my visit I headed up to Kruger National Park for a safari. SAS put us up in a four star hotel (SAS always travels with class and a big price tag) on the edge of the Crocodile River. The next several days we went on game drives, ate amazing food, learned about the South African wildlife and explored some beautiful African savanna. During the game drives, I saw lions, giraffes, elephants, zebras, rhinos, hippos, wild dogs, wildebeests, antelopes, crocodiles and many, many others. One evening we had a Boma dinner, which is basically an African luau. African dancers performed around a fire while we enjoyed native cuisine under the stars. Couldn’t ask for much more.
Sorry about the lengthy entry. I seriously could have written 30 pages and still not conveyed what I experienced in South Africa. What an amazing place! We are at sea for the next four days before we arrive in Port Louis, Mauritius. Check back in a week or so for more.
Keep it real.
-Mike
Thursday, March 1, 2007
3/1/2007
33° 17.98S
004° 43.41E
I can’t believe it’s March! This winter has gone by so fast. Well, we are now within several hundred miles of Cape Town, South Africa and what an adventure it has been crossing the Atlantic. Three days ago we crossed over the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is the tallest mountain range in the world. The water depth as we crossed the ridge was 6,000 meters and change. Even at one of its shallowest points, this ocean sure is deep.
Finding things to do on a ship for eight days can be difficult, but I think we have all managed to keep ourselves sane. On February 24th, we were entertained with Neptune Days, which is a celebration in honor of the sea Gods when we cross the equator (although we didn’t celebrate it as we crossed the equator). The crew came through the halls at 7:30am banging pots and pans to awake everyone. The festivities then took to the pool deck where the captain, painted green, poured fish guts on each student while inducting him/her into a life at sea. That afternoon about half of the student population shaved their heads. Because I shaved my head before departure, I was able to escape this initiation. Other than that, I have written about one paper per day, ate lunch with the captain, listened to Archbishop Desmond Tutu speak, and participated in my first ever kick boxing class.
I’m finding the education here to be borderline socialist. So far we have spent most of our time discussing globalization (90% of the time talking about why it is so bad), inequality, sustainability, and discrimination. The other day our global studies professor ended his lecture claiming that an article by Jeffrey Saches’ on development was “wrong, wrong, wrong.” If you don’t know anything about Saches, he’s like the Tiger Woods of developmental economics. Who would argue that Tiger Woods doesn’t know how to play golf? The comment may have come out “wrong”, but it really didn’t surprise me much considering Saches personifies capitalism. This ship seems to have a strong distaste for capitalism. Regardless, it’s a great learning experience to hear this perspective.
On Friday, March 2nd, we will be arriving in Cape Town, South Africa at 8:00am SAST (GMT +2). I have a full week of adventures planned, so check back next week for more goodies.
Thanks for you support!
Best,
Mike
33° 17.98S
004° 43.41E
I can’t believe it’s March! This winter has gone by so fast. Well, we are now within several hundred miles of Cape Town, South Africa and what an adventure it has been crossing the Atlantic. Three days ago we crossed over the mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is the tallest mountain range in the world. The water depth as we crossed the ridge was 6,000 meters and change. Even at one of its shallowest points, this ocean sure is deep.
Finding things to do on a ship for eight days can be difficult, but I think we have all managed to keep ourselves sane. On February 24th, we were entertained with Neptune Days, which is a celebration in honor of the sea Gods when we cross the equator (although we didn’t celebrate it as we crossed the equator). The crew came through the halls at 7:30am banging pots and pans to awake everyone. The festivities then took to the pool deck where the captain, painted green, poured fish guts on each student while inducting him/her into a life at sea. That afternoon about half of the student population shaved their heads. Because I shaved my head before departure, I was able to escape this initiation. Other than that, I have written about one paper per day, ate lunch with the captain, listened to Archbishop Desmond Tutu speak, and participated in my first ever kick boxing class.
I’m finding the education here to be borderline socialist. So far we have spent most of our time discussing globalization (90% of the time talking about why it is so bad), inequality, sustainability, and discrimination. The other day our global studies professor ended his lecture claiming that an article by Jeffrey Saches’ on development was “wrong, wrong, wrong.” If you don’t know anything about Saches, he’s like the Tiger Woods of developmental economics. Who would argue that Tiger Woods doesn’t know how to play golf? The comment may have come out “wrong”, but it really didn’t surprise me much considering Saches personifies capitalism. This ship seems to have a strong distaste for capitalism. Regardless, it’s a great learning experience to hear this perspective.
On Friday, March 2nd, we will be arriving in Cape Town, South Africa at 8:00am SAST (GMT +2). I have a full week of adventures planned, so check back next week for more goodies.
Thanks for you support!
Best,
Mike
Friday, February 23, 2007
2/23/2007
15° 38.98S
035° 22.73W
Welcome back! Well, I am now back on the ship after 5 unbelievable days in Brazil. My first experience in the southern hemisphere was more than I could have ever expected. Right from the beginning, I was in awe at how different the culture was in the area. We had a lady from the U.S. State Department join us before debarkation for a diplomatic briefing on Brazil. She told a terrible story of a Brazilian child being murdered in Rio de Janeiro (I will spare you the details here), which scared the heck out of everyone. I have no doubt some students didn’t even get off the ship as a result. It was a totally inappropriate start to our visit. As we were coming into the harbor, I was shocked to see the size of Salvador. Music was still filling the streets as the Carnival festivities wore on from the night before (it was 7am). It certainly was not difficult for me to come to the realization that I was no longer in the states.
The first day we hit up Carnival in Salvador. Salvador is considered to be the original party city where 2 million locals celebrate the coming of Lent with music, food and dance. After exploring the local culture all day, we headed off to Bahia for the evening’s festivities. Musical floats circled the city as people ate cheap food, drank cheap beer, and danced to Brazilian/African dance music. At one point, my friends and I were the only Caucasians in a crowd of 200,000 or more. Talk about feeling like a tourist! Many, many of my peers were mugged...some at knifepoint. Did you know there is actually a law that one doesn’t have to stop at a red light at night when driving in Brazil? I guess the idea is to keep citizens from being jumped while stopped at the light. Yikes! Although Carnival was a rather sketchy experience, I don’t think the true nature of Brazilian society can be judged off this annual party. I met many locals who were very kind and genuinely wonderful people.
The second day I headed to Lencois, a town 300km inland of Salvador. Lencois is located in a beautiful national park where I did a ton of hiking, swimming and checking out the local culture. The local food was amazing, the people were wonderful, and our hotel was immaculate. We had a guide, named Roi, who was super gnarly and hiked us to death. One day we hiked for 9 hours, half of which was in a downpour. Unfortunately, the rain happened to come during the first half of the hike leaving us to hike in soggy running shoes for the rest of the day. Words can’t explain the beauty of the area. Rivers, waterfalls, caves and cliffs fill the surrounding wilderness landscape. The town of Lencois was a fun mountain town with stone streets and small, bright colored buildings. The nightlife was mellow, but very welcoming. Many of the locals spoke decent English and were very fun to talk with. On the way back to the ship, we drove through Salvador’s favelas. The favelas are endless slums built on the outskirts of Brazilian cities, only some of which are supported by electricity and water. Talk about an eye opening experience.
Now I'm back on the ship and headed for Cape Town, South Africa. We should be there in 7 days or so. Classes, sleep and many, many papers will occupy my time. I'm totally exhausted! Sleep doesn’t exactly take priority in this lifestyle. Check back soon. I’ll keep you updated on my transcontinental travels.
Till then,
Mike
15° 38.98S
035° 22.73W
Welcome back! Well, I am now back on the ship after 5 unbelievable days in Brazil. My first experience in the southern hemisphere was more than I could have ever expected. Right from the beginning, I was in awe at how different the culture was in the area. We had a lady from the U.S. State Department join us before debarkation for a diplomatic briefing on Brazil. She told a terrible story of a Brazilian child being murdered in Rio de Janeiro (I will spare you the details here), which scared the heck out of everyone. I have no doubt some students didn’t even get off the ship as a result. It was a totally inappropriate start to our visit. As we were coming into the harbor, I was shocked to see the size of Salvador. Music was still filling the streets as the Carnival festivities wore on from the night before (it was 7am). It certainly was not difficult for me to come to the realization that I was no longer in the states.
The first day we hit up Carnival in Salvador. Salvador is considered to be the original party city where 2 million locals celebrate the coming of Lent with music, food and dance. After exploring the local culture all day, we headed off to Bahia for the evening’s festivities. Musical floats circled the city as people ate cheap food, drank cheap beer, and danced to Brazilian/African dance music. At one point, my friends and I were the only Caucasians in a crowd of 200,000 or more. Talk about feeling like a tourist! Many, many of my peers were mugged...some at knifepoint. Did you know there is actually a law that one doesn’t have to stop at a red light at night when driving in Brazil? I guess the idea is to keep citizens from being jumped while stopped at the light. Yikes! Although Carnival was a rather sketchy experience, I don’t think the true nature of Brazilian society can be judged off this annual party. I met many locals who were very kind and genuinely wonderful people.
The second day I headed to Lencois, a town 300km inland of Salvador. Lencois is located in a beautiful national park where I did a ton of hiking, swimming and checking out the local culture. The local food was amazing, the people were wonderful, and our hotel was immaculate. We had a guide, named Roi, who was super gnarly and hiked us to death. One day we hiked for 9 hours, half of which was in a downpour. Unfortunately, the rain happened to come during the first half of the hike leaving us to hike in soggy running shoes for the rest of the day. Words can’t explain the beauty of the area. Rivers, waterfalls, caves and cliffs fill the surrounding wilderness landscape. The town of Lencois was a fun mountain town with stone streets and small, bright colored buildings. The nightlife was mellow, but very welcoming. Many of the locals spoke decent English and were very fun to talk with. On the way back to the ship, we drove through Salvador’s favelas. The favelas are endless slums built on the outskirts of Brazilian cities, only some of which are supported by electricity and water. Talk about an eye opening experience.
Now I'm back on the ship and headed for Cape Town, South Africa. We should be there in 7 days or so. Classes, sleep and many, many papers will occupy my time. I'm totally exhausted! Sleep doesn’t exactly take priority in this lifestyle. Check back soon. I’ll keep you updated on my transcontinental travels.
Till then,
Mike
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
2/13/2007
07° 59.10N
053° 2.00W
Hey there! Well, classes have begun and they certainly will not be a walk in the park. It looks like I will be doing a lot of writing this semester. I am taking Global Studies, International Political Economy, Economic History of a Global America and an anthropology course on gender, race and ethnicity. It should be interesting studying the economies, political systems, culture and social norms of the countries we visit.
Getting used to life at sea has been no easy task. The classrooms sway back and forth (especially the ones at the front of the ship), walking takes on an entirely new challenge, and the bedrooms are tiny. My roommate and great friend, Frank, snores so loud he often awakes himself. Good thing the beds are so close together that I can drill him with my pillow without leaving my bed. Another challenge of living of on a ship is meeting so many new people. There are 702 students on this voyage, about 600 of which I have met, and about 100 of which I can remember his or her name. This is an area that certainly takes some effort.
San Juan, Puerto Rico was amazing. I spent the first day touring Old San Juan with a large group of friends I met on the ship. First, we checked out San Cristobal and El Morro, both of which are forts used in the 16th century to protect the island and neighboring civilizations. We then cruised the shops of downtown and ate at a local bar. The local beer, Medella, is quite good. That evening we attended a welcome reception at a local university, Sacred Heart, for an evening of music, dancing (I attempted to learn how to salsa with the help of many Puerto Rican students), food and drinks. The culture in Puerto Rico, like many Latin American countries, is very cherished. The rest of my port stay consisted of touring the countryside, enjoying the beach and eating many, many hamburgers. One evening, I kayaked to one of the three remaining bioluminescent bays about 2 hours out of San Juan. We paddled up a twisting stream through a dark mangrove forest to reach the bay. Once there, we jumped in the clear, fresh water that literally glowed in the dark. Such an incredible sight to see! Overall, San Juan was a great start to my adventures to come.
Check back next week to hear about my travels in Brazil as I visit Carnival and a national park in Brazil named Lencois.
Thanks for tuning in…
Adios,
Mike
07° 59.10N
053° 2.00W
Hey there! Well, classes have begun and they certainly will not be a walk in the park. It looks like I will be doing a lot of writing this semester. I am taking Global Studies, International Political Economy, Economic History of a Global America and an anthropology course on gender, race and ethnicity. It should be interesting studying the economies, political systems, culture and social norms of the countries we visit.
Getting used to life at sea has been no easy task. The classrooms sway back and forth (especially the ones at the front of the ship), walking takes on an entirely new challenge, and the bedrooms are tiny. My roommate and great friend, Frank, snores so loud he often awakes himself. Good thing the beds are so close together that I can drill him with my pillow without leaving my bed. Another challenge of living of on a ship is meeting so many new people. There are 702 students on this voyage, about 600 of which I have met, and about 100 of which I can remember his or her name. This is an area that certainly takes some effort.
San Juan, Puerto Rico was amazing. I spent the first day touring Old San Juan with a large group of friends I met on the ship. First, we checked out San Cristobal and El Morro, both of which are forts used in the 16th century to protect the island and neighboring civilizations. We then cruised the shops of downtown and ate at a local bar. The local beer, Medella, is quite good. That evening we attended a welcome reception at a local university, Sacred Heart, for an evening of music, dancing (I attempted to learn how to salsa with the help of many Puerto Rican students), food and drinks. The culture in Puerto Rico, like many Latin American countries, is very cherished. The rest of my port stay consisted of touring the countryside, enjoying the beach and eating many, many hamburgers. One evening, I kayaked to one of the three remaining bioluminescent bays about 2 hours out of San Juan. We paddled up a twisting stream through a dark mangrove forest to reach the bay. Once there, we jumped in the clear, fresh water that literally glowed in the dark. Such an incredible sight to see! Overall, San Juan was a great start to my adventures to come.
Check back next week to hear about my travels in Brazil as I visit Carnival and a national park in Brazil named Lencois.
Thanks for tuning in…
Adios,
Mike
Monday, February 5, 2007
2/5/2007
The journey begins. After months of preparation and anticipation, my Semester at Sea voyage is finally underway. On January 31st, I left my house in Sun Valley, Idaho and boarded a flight (or three really) for Nassau, Bahamas. My flight from Orlando, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas ended up getting canceled leaving me to travel back and forth across the country from Boise, ID to San Francisco, CA to Charlotte, NC and finally to Nassau. Great start!
In Nassau, I stayed at the Atlantis with several buddies from Sun Valley and Boulder as well as hundreds of other Semester at Sea participants. White sand beaches, clear blue water, various pools, waterfalls, waterslides and tropical drinks consumed much of my time. Other than the outrageous price tag, the Atlantis was perfect. A great resort, on a great island, with extraordinary people.
On the morning of February 4th, I boarded the MV Explorer to begin my journey around the world. The reality of what I was about to do was finally setting in. After spending several hours getting through customs and security to board the ship, I wandered the ship meeting my neighbors for the semester and checking out the facilities. Nearly every student mingled by the pool in the hot Bohemian sun that afternoon…what an awful way to start the trip. We embarked on our journey that evening setting to the sea. I never though I would be one to get sea sick, but boy was I wrong. The rock of the ship is very noticeable, especially for a person not accustomed to the water travel such as myself. After some medicine however, things were looking bright once again.
Tomorrow, we have our first day of classes aboard the ship and then it is off to Puerto Rico for three days. Check back in a week or so for more details on life aboard the floating campus as well as news from our first port stay.
Thanks for checking in…
Peace,
Mike
The journey begins. After months of preparation and anticipation, my Semester at Sea voyage is finally underway. On January 31st, I left my house in Sun Valley, Idaho and boarded a flight (or three really) for Nassau, Bahamas. My flight from Orlando, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas ended up getting canceled leaving me to travel back and forth across the country from Boise, ID to San Francisco, CA to Charlotte, NC and finally to Nassau. Great start!
In Nassau, I stayed at the Atlantis with several buddies from Sun Valley and Boulder as well as hundreds of other Semester at Sea participants. White sand beaches, clear blue water, various pools, waterfalls, waterslides and tropical drinks consumed much of my time. Other than the outrageous price tag, the Atlantis was perfect. A great resort, on a great island, with extraordinary people.
On the morning of February 4th, I boarded the MV Explorer to begin my journey around the world. The reality of what I was about to do was finally setting in. After spending several hours getting through customs and security to board the ship, I wandered the ship meeting my neighbors for the semester and checking out the facilities. Nearly every student mingled by the pool in the hot Bohemian sun that afternoon…what an awful way to start the trip. We embarked on our journey that evening setting to the sea. I never though I would be one to get sea sick, but boy was I wrong. The rock of the ship is very noticeable, especially for a person not accustomed to the water travel such as myself. After some medicine however, things were looking bright once again.
Tomorrow, we have our first day of classes aboard the ship and then it is off to Puerto Rico for three days. Check back in a week or so for more details on life aboard the floating campus as well as news from our first port stay.
Thanks for checking in…
Peace,
Mike
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