Another taste of Hawaii... Honolulu

We arrived in Honolulu on Wednesday morning.  I ate my breakfast out on the deck and looked out at yet another beautiful sunrise, over a city I’d have the privilege of exploring for the next two days.  I got an early start and headed off to my trip to Pearl Harbor memorial where I spent most of my morning.  This was an unforgettable experience.  Seeing the parts of the ship just beneath the surface of the water made it very real to me and it was even more moving to see all the names of the people who died written on the wall at the memorial.  Although it was a deeply saddening experience, I knew it was important to take the time to remember those who lost their lives in the attack.  After our tour, our bus driver brought us to the national cemetery which overlooks the entire city.  He also took us to visit some other historical sites in downtown Honolulu.

After I got back from Pearl Harbor I met my friends at Waikiki beach and went on another boat ride, which may or may not have been called a “booze cruise.”  I figured I did my historical deed of the day so it would be okay to have some typical college fun.  The captain let us take turns driving the boat and we were out on the water just as the sun was setting so it was beautiful.

That night I made the decision that we would go out for a delicious meal since I was pretty disappointed with the food I’d had at the lu’au earlier in the week.  So, I orchestrated my own field trip to a place called Duke’s which is located right on the water.  We ate delicious food, listened to a great live musician, and we were sitting in grass huts under the stars—it was much better than the lu’au in my opinion.

The next morning we went out for breakfast in Waikiki and our outdoor table happened to be overlooking a courtyard where more live music and dance was being performed.  It was a great way to start the day.  We also happened to be sitting across the street from Godiva and next door to Coach.  Downtown Waikiki has incredible shopping.  The street along the beach is filled with every upscale store you could imagine.  Every time I peeked in a window, I had to keep reminding myself of the bargaining opportunities I would have later in China and Vietnam.  Regardless, who wants to shop when there’s a beautiful beach to swim at across the street?  So that’s exactly what I did, until we had to be back on the ship again. And I’ll continue to be at sea for 12 days until we get to Japan on February 9th!

The caves we saw on our snorkeling trip

At the Lu'au.... attempting to braid a ti-plant (something Hawaiian's use to make grass skirts, necklaces, headbands, etc.)

Aloha from Hilo!

We arrived in Hilo on Monday (January 25^th) just in time to see the sun rise.  It was so nice to finally see land!  On our first day there, my friends and I took a cab to a local beach called Richardson’s beach.  A lot of SAS students were there so we mostly just hung out and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the view of the ocean.  We even saw a whale! 

That night, I attended a Lu’au, which was an organized trip through SAS.  Here, we watched and participated in some Hawaiian traditions, including hula dancing, and ate authentic Hawaiian food.  I have to be honest—I would have preferred the food we’ve been eating on the ship.  Pulled pork, some sort of squid dish, and their infamous “poi” are not for me.  But overall it was a good experience and the performers were excellent.

After the Lu’au, we went to a local bar called Shooters where a lot of SAS students had planned to meet up.  The place was packed with SAS students or “SASers” (the nickname given to Semester at Sea students.)  I’m sure we were the most people the bar had ever seen on a Monday night.  They even hired a DJ when they knew we were coming.

Our second and final day in Hilo I went on the Captain Zodiac snorkeling excursion, another trip I signed up to do through SAS.  We took a bus to Kona, which was about two and a half hours away from our port.  When we arrived we were split into groups of 12 and a speedboat took us out into the middle of the bay.  We were surrounded by incredible cliffs and caves, the weather was amazing and the boat ride out into the bay was so much fun—I would’ve had a great day even without the snorkeling.  However, once I got in the water, I was amazed at all the beautiful fish and coral reefs I saw.  I’d never seen so many different kinds of colorful fish, (except in my marine biology book which, believe it or not, I have managed to find time to read!)  I even impressed my marine biology teacher today when I told him I saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal beached on the side of the bay, which we had learned in class is a critically endangered species.  I have found that science is much more interesting when you are seeing it in real life instead of in a textbook—hopefully this will be reflected in my grade! 

 

My Yoga Class

I had 64 people come to my yoga class yesterday!  I was worried when I saw the entire deck filled with people.  I thought for a second I was in the wrong place but then people said they were there for my yoga class.  I couldn't believe it!  I admit I was a little nervous.  I knew it was going to be hard to demonstrate and explain the poses when not everyone could see and hear me. (Not to mention we are still on a moving ship.)  But I did the best I could and I think it went really well.  I already have people telling me that they are sore and had no idea yoga was so intense!  Plus this is a great way to meet people- even if I don’t know all of them yet, after listening to my voice for an hour, they definitely know me!

My roommate, Anna

Life on the ship

There is so much to do while we are on the ship and I’m trying to get involved in as much as possible.  On Thursday I taught my first yoga class and had 10 people!  Then I had so many people asking me about the class that I decided to do it again yesterday (even though I’m only scheduled to do it every other day) and I had 19 people!  Both days I had a good mix—a few guys in each class, a couple of professors, and even one of the kids on the ship.  Since there are so many children, I’m going to do a separate kids class tomorrow.  I can’t wait!

Doing yoga outside on the deck while looking out at the ocean is one of the most beautiful and relaxing experiences.  The only challenge is the rocky waves and the wind.   It is difficult to do basic poses, let alone teach them, when the ship is rocking back and forth.  And the ship has been moving so much.  The water is even starting to splash up onto my window!  Supposedly it is nothing to worry about but I’ve never experienced such rough seas.  Our dresser drawers fall out in the middle of the night and plates fly off the tables at dinner.  When we lie out on the deck, all the chairs shift from one side and then to the other.

Not only do the rough seas make doing yoga interesting, but trying to run on the treadmill is quite an experience.  The ship rocks so far back and forth that you have to hold on with both hands to stop yourself from sliding off of one side. Some people make it look effortless and don’t even hold on, but I’m not taking any chances; I fasten the safety device to my shirt with pride.  With all the risks involved in traveling—catching  malaria, getting lost in a foreign city, or getting attacked by a wild animal in the Amazon—there is no way I’m going down because of a treadmill!

Aside from yoga and working out, I have also been going to a morning meditation class and I’m planning on taking a spiritual dance class tonight.  I love being able to try all these new things!  I’m also signed up for “Vicarious Voyage,” a program that pairs up SAS students with an elementary school from the United States and we become pen pals and send them packages.  I’m excited to do this since I remember how much I loved having a pen pal when I was younger.

I also signed up to get an “Extended Family,” which is an assigned group of about 5 students and an adult (professor, lifelong learner, etc.) who will meet on a weekly basis and serve as your family away from home.  I really like this idea, even though I know it won’t replace the wonderful family I have at home.

I also introduced myself to a few of the families and offered to babysit, so hopefully I’ll be doing that soon.  Maybe I’ll meet a few more in my yoga class tomorrow.  The kids on the ship are all so adorable.  I can’t wait to get to know them.

Well that is all for now… just a few more days until Hawaii! I can’t wait!

The Ship!

Almost forgot I'm taking classes!

Classes began on Tuesday.  I’m taking four courses: Global Studies; Theology, Spirituality, and Ethics of Sustainability; Marine Biology; and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Human Sexuality.  In each of my courses we will be incorporating the concept of “Sustainability” into our discussions since this is the theme of the spring 2010 voyage. 

Global Studies is a required course so we meet every day in a big lecture hall.  Many of the teachers and their families sit in on this course, as well as, the Life Long Learners.  In this course we will learn about the countries we are going to be visiting with a global and comparative approach.  We have guest speakers from each country we visit who come on the ship at the port before.  The teacher for this course is so funny and makes everything really interesting. 

My Theology teacher is also really funny.  Come to think of it, all of my professors have a great sense of humor which makes class much more enjoyable.  In my theology course we will be exploring the theological, spiritual, and ethical perspectives on environmental issues that are becoming increasingly important across the globe.  We will look at the relationship between religion and nature, as well as, the sea as a religious symbol.  We will also be discussing animal rights and the spiritual value of vegetarianism.

In each of our classes we are required to do field work and submit a certain number of journals or reflections about each trip we take.  We have an opportunity to go on field programs led by our teachers or we can write about another trip or individual traveling we did.  For my theology course, one of the options is keeping a food log or reflecting about the food we eat.  This is interesting to me because I’ve recently been thinking a lot about vegetarianism.  Prior to this trip, I hadn’t been eating red meat or pork and since I’ve been on the ship I haven’t had any chicken either, only fish.  It was not intentional but now I’m thinking it might be neat to experiment with this, especially since we will be discussing vegetarianism in class.

My next course, Marine Biology also has some interesting field work options.  For example, I’m already signed up to do a snorkeling excursion in Hilo, Hawaii next week.  I also have an option to write about the marine life I see at each port or the type of sea food that is served in each country.  So my “homework” is to go to sea food restaurants and write about what types of fish they have.  I don’t see this being a problem, especially when I get to Japan—I can’t wait to try the different types of sushi!

My fourth class, Human Sexuality, seems like it’s going to be a really interesting course.  Not only will we be covering different aspects of sexuality but we will be looking at it with a cross-cultural perspective.  It will be interesting to see how differently sexuality is expressed in each of the countries we visit.  Our field work assignments will require us to write about a topic involving sexuality in three of the countries we visit.  Examples of these topics include family planning and contraception, sexual violence, sexual orientation in the media, sexual exploitations, etc.   I really like the trips that my professor is leading so I am signed up to do two of them.  One of these is a trip to the Chu Chi tunnels in Vietnam and then visiting local homes on the border of Cambodia.  The second is visiting the SOS Children’s Village of Bambou in Mauritius.  Although they are not directly related to our course (my professor teaches several different courses), both of these trips will undoubtedly give me information for my field assignments on sexuality.

I hope my classes continue to stay interesting because we have classes for 6 days straight until we get to Hawaii.  It will feel weird going to school on Saturday and Sunday, but it is well worth it to have off in Hawaii!

All Aboard!

I cannot put into words how incredible this trip is going to be. I can already tell after the first day that this is going to be one of best experiences of my entire life. Before now I did not fully grasp the idea that for the next four months I will be living on a beautiful ship, with the most awesome people, and traveling around the world to the most interesting places. I feel like this must be a dream!

The shuttle from the hotel in San Diego to where the ship was docked in Ensenada, Mexico was only a couple of hours. As we were driving I could sense everyone’s excitement and anticipation. From the moment we stepped off the bus until we were in our assigned cabins, we were greeted and directed by some of the friendliest and most welcoming individuals I’ve ever met. The faculty, staff, and crew are so genuinely excited and enthusiastic about our experience that they really set the tone for the trip. The same goes for all of the students who are eager to meet new people, try new things, and fully immerse themselves in the SAS experience.

It is so obvious that every single person on this ship genuinely wants to be here so there is so much positive energy. The professors are so passionate about learning and traveling. Most of them are not only professors for classes but they are also involved in a lot of other activities on board. They want to talk with us outside of class, travel with us, and allow us to get the most out of our experience. After listening to their stories and hearing what they had to say in our orientation, it is obvious that they have so much insight and will be incredible resources to all of us. In addition to the professors and their families, who join them on the voyage, there are also Life Long Learners who are basically people who have a passion for traveling and learning and want to be a part of this experience. Many of them are older and have years of knowledge and wisdom to contribute. At our orientation we also heard from the dean of students, members of the medical team, counselors, and even the captain of the ship—all who show a dedication to making this trip the best it can possibly be.

On a more personal note, I finally met my roommate. She is from Kentucky, goes to school at Vanderbilt, has 6 brothers and sisters, and is in a sorority. She is so friendly and has the most adorable southern accent. It also doesn’t hurt that she has great taste in clothes so I am sure we will be sharing. However, I will hardly be spending time in my room when there is a beautiful ocean outside and literally a “boat-load” of amazing people to meet. I cannot tell you how many boat/ship puns I’ve heard since I’ve been here (“we are all in the same boat,” “that ship has already sailed,” “you are going a little overboard,” etc.)

I keep reminding myself that this is school and not a vacation. But this is hard to do when you are drinking a mango fruit smoothie outside on the pool deck with seagulls landing next to you and a man named Ishmael clearing your plate. I can definitely get used to this life! I have to comment on how awesome the crew members are. They are from all over the world and many of them have been traveling with SAS for years and have been to many of the ports we will be going visiting. They are so friendly and willing to answer all of our questions about life on the ship.

So far, everything is great. The only issue I’ve experienced on the ship is sea sickness. Even though I feel fine, many people have been vomiting. For those of you who don’t know, I do not do well with other people throwing up. So it has been quite a challenge, especially when people are charging out of the room with their hands over their mouths. Maybe this experience will help me to overcome my phobia. I’m trying to look on the bright side.

Lastly, the internet is very slow and we only have a limited number of free minutes. I don’t mind this except for the fact that it is hard to update my blog, so I apologize for the delayed posting.

Greetings from San Diego!

*Quick note- This was written Sunday morning, but because of internet problems, I could not post it until now.

San Diego:

Since I last posted, things have been pretty crazy—lots of last minute things to do and people to see. My mom put together a little Bon Voyage party for me with some family, friends, and neighbors on Thursday night, which was really nice. It was funny because people were saying their final goodbyes and I still hadn’t even packed. It probably wasn’t so funny to the rest of my family who knew I’d be rearranging luggage on the way to the airport….and they were right. Luckily I made the weight limit!

I arrived in San Diego on Friday night. I successfully made it through my first time flying alone and managed to get to my hotel with my two huge bags. The hotel was recommended by Semester at Sea so many of the people staying there were students going on the trip, I even requested to have a roommate from SAS. However, I wasn’t sure that I would see my roommate because I was just planning on dropping my stuff off and going to meet Eliakim (my roommate from St. Joes who is spending the week in LA), her boyfriend Adam (who lives in LA) and our friend Anne (who is spending her winter break in San Francisco). However, as I was leaving our room, my assigned roommate walked in, so I introduced myself and decided to invite her out. I hadn’t known her more than 5 minutes and we were already sharing a cab downtown and talking about how crazy it is that we will be spending the next four months together sailing around the world. Her name is Jane and she goes to USC. I know that she probably won’t be my roommate on the boat, but I’m really excited to have met someone from SAS that I get along with so well.

On Saturday Eliakim, Adam, Anne and I went to the Zoo. It was a lot of fun! We spent the rest of the day in downtown San Diego and at night we went out for dinner (Jane joined us again). At dinner we celebrated Eliakim’s birthday since none of us will be with her on her real birthday, January 18th. (Happy Birthday Eliakim!)
As the weekend comes to a close, I cannot believe that the day is finally here! After all the immunizations, the visas, the planning, the packing, etc… I cannot believe I’m actually leaving today!

One last thing, my family informed me yesterday that there is now a large map in our kitchen titled, “Where in the World is Kelly?” with a picture of my face, which they will move around so they can follow me where ever I go. I bet a lot of families think of this idea or joke about it, but my family actually would do it, which is why I know I have the best family—and that’s one thing I don’t need to travel around the world to realize. (Aw, don’t cry Mom. Or at least remember statements like this when you are paying my credit card bills... Just kidding! ...But seriously).

The countdown begins...

In exactly 10 days I will leave home and begin my traveling. On January 15th I will fly to San Diego. I will spend two nights there and then take a shuttle to Ensenada, Mexico. On that day, January 17th, I will board the boat, which will become my new home for the next 3 and 1/2 months of my life!

I'm so excited, but still have so much to do! It is hard to imagine now all the things that I will need for 109 days- especially when I'll be going to 10 different countries with varying weather conditions. Luckily, I am a pretty light packer, always prepared for weather conditions, tend to be very organized, and probably won't buy/accumulate too many things while I'm on my trip....... For those of you who don't know me, I am being very sarcastic.

I pack four bags when I go away for a weekend, how on earth can a cram a semester's worth of things into just two bags?!

What I said about never checking the weather could work to my advantage. I never look at the forecast while I'm home and never dress appropriately for the weather now anyway, so maybe I'll be fine while I'm away. For example, I left my winter coat at home when I went back to school after Thanksgiving- not because I forgot, but because I told my mom "I wouldn't need it since I'd be home for Christmas in no time." (Let me tell you, 3 weeks is more than enough time to make you realize that moms are ALWAYS right.) I also wore moccasins without socks in the snow on several occasions. And I don’t even think I own an umbrella. In fact, I'm so wrong about the weather, I'm actually a good indication of what the weather is NOT going to be like. So, under these circumstances (traveling the world), while others are freaking out because they forgot their “water-proof, snow-proof, insect repellent, snap-off, zip-up, convertible hiking gear," I'll be content in whatever I'm wearing.

However, this doesn't mean that I won’t find a reason to buy things that I "desperately need” for my trip. I’ve been known to spend money a little too freely, sometimes even money I don’t have (I may have overdrawn my bank account a few times, one of them being last week). You should have seen the look on the guy at the bank’s face when I told him I’d be traveling to 10 different countries. I don't know who is more nervous, him or my parents.

Needless to say, this trip is going to be an adventure... but then again, with me, it always is.