This post was written last night, but due to problems with internet service, I could not post today. Take care all!
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My very patient friends, I wish that blogging was easier right now, but we were so packed with getting ready to pick up students in the Bahamas and now having them all on the ship (around 700!) my schedule is a bit packed, but I anticipate that very soon I will be able to spend more time and thought on blogs and keeping you informed – and hopefully interested in our journey.
We left Norfolk on Tuesday, August 26, and traveled for two days, filled mostly with meetings, but also great times talking about how excited we are for the voyage and for meeting our students over dinner on the back deck of the 6th deck dining hall. There we watched the sunrise for breakfast and enjoyed the peacefulness of lunch and dinner. What has been particularly wonderful is meeting the crew. Many we know by name, and they knew our names before we arrived. It’s daunting to learn their names, but they are so vital to the success of this group, and to find out the real scoop both on ship and on port (they know where the great places to eat and cheap places to buy phone cards).
We arrived in the Bahamas in the afternoon on Thursday, August 28. It was a balmy day, and most of us were donning shorts or summer dresses. After our meetings a few of us took off to sight see in town. Curtis Hoover (LCC), Amy Hill (LCC) and Brook Cashman (Asst. Field Office Coordinator) and I walked around town. It was definitely the slower season for Nassau, and all the stores were closed when we arrived and it was difficult to actually spend our time. At least for me, I was pretty exhausted, and a nap sounded wonderful and the heat and humidity sapped my energy. I headed back early to grab a quick bite before our parent reception.
This was an incredible fair. Chocolate Taj Mahals and Great Walls. Hundreds of parents flowed in to see the new home for their students. I was lucky to speak to so many parents and let them know that they were in good hands.
Afterwards, a few of the staff headed back into town to toast our new trip. A few of us not knowing where to head, decided to head to a rather popular, touristy joint (which will remain nameless to protect the innocent). Unfortunately this meant seeing future students getting as drunk as possible and several parents looking on with glee or looking on with pleasure. That weirded me out, but I was told by a staff member who is a millennial (i.e. someone born after 1981) and that was what she would do. I’ve never seen my parents as my friends, but I guess the time is ‘a changing. After a quick drink, we headed home to wake up bright and early for the students to board.
Today has been amazing, great, overwhelming, and a little exhausting. I feel pretty good about knowing most of my students and where they are from. I even met a student, Erika, from El Paso who is at Stanford, which makes me SO happy. We’re hoping to have a Stanford social and an El Paso (low key and inclusive) to get to know each other. But everyone is so special in their own way (both positive and challenging) and I think I will have a great group of students. I’m not sure if I have mentioned, but instead of the typical floor situation, we have decks. And we are in charge of partial parts of the decks, which we call “seas”. Mine is the Bering Sea, which is pretty hilarious since I’m always cold :D.
We left the Bahamas about two hours ago, and people were up top hooting and hollering. Parents waved from the pier and some even made signs for their students. It was so wonderful. We have some last meetings tonight. So I will sign off until tomorrow…
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Almost at the Bahamas!
Hello Everyone
What an exciting and overwhelming few days this has been. Though we only alighted on Monday, August 25 and departed Tuesday, August 26, so much has happened and we are happily awaiting our students who will be meeting us in Nassau in the Bahamas.
Most staff and faculty arrived mid-day on Monday, excited and giddy with the prospect of sailing around the world. The ship (not boat as we are constantly reminded) is massive, impressive and daunting. We entered the gangway and our luggage followed us up later.
My cabin, though modest, is incredible, the best part of which is my large window. I wake up with beautiful sunlight and bright blue waves rolling majestically outside. I have yet to spot any creatures of the deep as of yet, either from my room, decks, or gym, but I have heard that someone on the elliptical machine saw dolphins swimming by the ship yesterday.
Our faculty and staff are incredible to say the least, and it will be difficult to not want to sneak into classes to listen to these formidable teachers. In particular, there is a professor out of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill who is teaching a course on comparative education that I’m hoping to sit in at least a few classes. It’s hard to pull myself away from school!
Leaving the port, or embarkation, is beyond the superlatives that were so readily used: amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable! It was a totally overwhelming experience with a mix of emotions. One many wanted to share with someone the cared about, and so, many were on the phones with loved ones. We left the Norfolk harbor around 9pm, and the darkness the water in the bay was thrilling and imposing. My fellow staff members (they are our great leader Cindy Z., Nikki, Brooke, Curtis, Amy, Bill, Shalina, Neal, and Tosh) and I headed to the Faculty and Staff lounge, on the top deck facing forward to toast the beginning of our voyage. It is an incredible space with full windows and you can watch as the ship marches on.
I will not bore you with the details of our meetings, but as we are all new, they were intensive and now we are set and prepared to facilitate and create an incredible experience for our students and for ourselves. All that is lacking is a little breathing time for us to, as at least the movie Elizabeth Bennett states, “admire the general splendor”.
As I write this we are closing in on the Bahamas, and parents will be boarding this evening to acquaint themselves to the place their children will be living for the next 4 months and hopefully alleviate their fears. Many of us hope to have a short time to at least hop on land and see the Bahamas.
As my time runs away from me, I want to say thanks for reading again. I love each one of you. Joy, this is pretty amazing. And David Pe, Edgar says “hi”.
Please comment I’d love to hear from you.
PS. I will try to post pictures really soon!
What an exciting and overwhelming few days this has been. Though we only alighted on Monday, August 25 and departed Tuesday, August 26, so much has happened and we are happily awaiting our students who will be meeting us in Nassau in the Bahamas.
Most staff and faculty arrived mid-day on Monday, excited and giddy with the prospect of sailing around the world. The ship (not boat as we are constantly reminded) is massive, impressive and daunting. We entered the gangway and our luggage followed us up later.
My cabin, though modest, is incredible, the best part of which is my large window. I wake up with beautiful sunlight and bright blue waves rolling majestically outside. I have yet to spot any creatures of the deep as of yet, either from my room, decks, or gym, but I have heard that someone on the elliptical machine saw dolphins swimming by the ship yesterday.
Our faculty and staff are incredible to say the least, and it will be difficult to not want to sneak into classes to listen to these formidable teachers. In particular, there is a professor out of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill who is teaching a course on comparative education that I’m hoping to sit in at least a few classes. It’s hard to pull myself away from school!
Leaving the port, or embarkation, is beyond the superlatives that were so readily used: amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable! It was a totally overwhelming experience with a mix of emotions. One many wanted to share with someone the cared about, and so, many were on the phones with loved ones. We left the Norfolk harbor around 9pm, and the darkness the water in the bay was thrilling and imposing. My fellow staff members (they are our great leader Cindy Z., Nikki, Brooke, Curtis, Amy, Bill, Shalina, Neal, and Tosh) and I headed to the Faculty and Staff lounge, on the top deck facing forward to toast the beginning of our voyage. It is an incredible space with full windows and you can watch as the ship marches on.
I will not bore you with the details of our meetings, but as we are all new, they were intensive and now we are set and prepared to facilitate and create an incredible experience for our students and for ourselves. All that is lacking is a little breathing time for us to, as at least the movie Elizabeth Bennett states, “admire the general splendor”.
As I write this we are closing in on the Bahamas, and parents will be boarding this evening to acquaint themselves to the place their children will be living for the next 4 months and hopefully alleviate their fears. Many of us hope to have a short time to at least hop on land and see the Bahamas.
As my time runs away from me, I want to say thanks for reading again. I love each one of you. Joy, this is pretty amazing. And David Pe, Edgar says “hi”.
Please comment I’d love to hear from you.
PS. I will try to post pictures really soon!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Shoving off from Virginia
I arrived in Norfolk, VA late afternoon, and after a quick cab ride from the airport to the hotel and a short exploration of the downtown area (essentially empty due to it being a Sunday evening) I settled down in my hotel room. My two friends, Bill Heinrich and Heather Ricks, recently married, shared the room with me. Bill will also be working on the ship as a Living Learning Coordinator like myself, and we worked together at UCSC for two years.
Luckily, our hotel is poised two blocks from the ship, but we still are not sure how we will manage to take all our luggage from the hotel to the ship. Possibly, a short cab ride. We will be boarding around noon and getting our cabins ready for an hour or so. Training for our positions will begin tonight, but we’re not heading out of port until Tuesday night. We arrive Thursday, August 28th in the Bahamas where we have a parent reception, pick up the students and then head out for Brazil. It’s exciting to know that we are less than two weeks from being in Brazil. Woo hoo!!!
Unfortunately, I was reminded today that I forgot to bring a watch. As an ardent anti-watch user, I have relied on my cell phone or not cared enough to need to know the time. This time around, though, I will need to make it back to the ship at specific times, so it may behoove me to procure one on the voyage.
We are not certain as of yet, our access to the internet. So my apologies if you do not hear from me for a few days. Have a wonderful rest of the week, and you will hear from me soon!
Luckily, our hotel is poised two blocks from the ship, but we still are not sure how we will manage to take all our luggage from the hotel to the ship. Possibly, a short cab ride. We will be boarding around noon and getting our cabins ready for an hour or so. Training for our positions will begin tonight, but we’re not heading out of port until Tuesday night. We arrive Thursday, August 28th in the Bahamas where we have a parent reception, pick up the students and then head out for Brazil. It’s exciting to know that we are less than two weeks from being in Brazil. Woo hoo!!!
Unfortunately, I was reminded today that I forgot to bring a watch. As an ardent anti-watch user, I have relied on my cell phone or not cared enough to need to know the time. This time around, though, I will need to make it back to the ship at specific times, so it may behoove me to procure one on the voyage.
We are not certain as of yet, our access to the internet. So my apologies if you do not hear from me for a few days. Have a wonderful rest of the week, and you will hear from me soon!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Welcome Aboard!
Hello Everyone!
Thank you for signing in to my blog. I am so incredibly excited that you want to share my experience on the Semester At Sea (SAS) trip! I've tried to make my blog as user friendly as possible. If you look to the right column you will see several links to interesting sites. You can watch my progress around the world through my Google map and the SAS map. Also, if you would like to send mail (but no packages!), there addresses and Airmail dates on the mail link.
As of right now, I don't have much to report. I'm getting ready to head out of El Paso, TX for Norfolk, VA very soon where we will begin training and start heading off to the Bahamas to pick up students.
Again, thank you for checking out my site. I will be sending out a weekly email with my blog link as a reminder to check out my blog. As I stated in my email, if you would rather not receive an email, just let me know and I will take you off.
Take Care!
Angelica
Thank you for signing in to my blog. I am so incredibly excited that you want to share my experience on the Semester At Sea (SAS) trip! I've tried to make my blog as user friendly as possible. If you look to the right column you will see several links to interesting sites. You can watch my progress around the world through my Google map and the SAS map. Also, if you would like to send mail (but no packages!), there addresses and Airmail dates on the mail link.
As of right now, I don't have much to report. I'm getting ready to head out of El Paso, TX for Norfolk, VA very soon where we will begin training and start heading off to the Bahamas to pick up students.
Again, thank you for checking out my site. I will be sending out a weekly email with my blog link as a reminder to check out my blog. As I stated in my email, if you would rather not receive an email, just let me know and I will take you off.
Take Care!
Angelica
Saturday, August 9, 2008
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