**Warning. This post, like all posts about ports-of-call is very long. I tried to break it up as best as I can!**
I am safely returned to the MV Explorer after a complete four-day stint in Spain. Writing to you from the water again, I can tell you that Spain has englightened me and had a profound effect on me. If I could describe Spain in one word, it would be this: “Finally”
In the words of a tour guide that I met and became good friends with in Madrid, “We have been held down so long, by dictatorship, by oppression, by a bad economy… finally we can live and grow.” And they so have. Madrid is a bustling metropolis, but it’s not what you’d expect. There is no skyline. There are no tall buildings or glowing neon lights or times-square-like-economic-districts. Instead, Madrid mixes the ancient Spanish civilization with the desire to become more modernized, and you can tell. A funny fact, Madrid isn’t built on any natural body of water or entry to the country… I asked the tour guide ‘why is Madrid here? Why not, like 40 miles north, or down in the south?” He said that the king and queen liked the climate and just decided that this was as good a place as any to build a castle… and so Madrid was born.
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Day 2
After a great day in Cadiz, we boarded the 7:40am train for Madrid. Having been raised in my father’s house, I of course was up all night tossing and turning in anticipation, and was up at the crack of the dawn, packed and ready for the adventure. When we agreed to meet at 0645 in Tymitz Square (central plaza on the ship), I was of course there at 6:40. The rest of the group, however, was not, and my stress level rose frantically as time went on. We didn’t end up leaving for 30 minutes (blood pressure through the roof) and had just a minute or two to spare when we reached the station. Still, we boarded and headed north for a 5 hour journey through the spine of Spain.
Spain is a beautiful, country-sided nation. Between major cities of Cadiz, Sevilla y Madrid, there isn’t much except farms and small towns cut into the rolling countryside. As the sun came up outside our train, we saw more and more of the small pueblos that exist all the way throughout the country. Traveling roughtly the distance between Virginia and New York city, the journey was a tad on the long side, but well worth it.
We made it to Atosha Train Station in Madrid- the site of the horrible terrorist bombings a few years ago- and our first challenge arose. I was the only person in the group who spoke Spanish, but was lacking a term that was all of a sudden of necessity: the Subway. We needed to find the subway to get to our hostel, and yet, I knew not how to speak of it. So, in a pretty comical moment, I asked one of the train conductors where “el tren pequeno que esta debajo del ciudad” is. Roughly translated, I was looking for “the little train under the city.” We found it, and I spoke with the tellers in spanish- there is NO ENGLISH and eventually discovered what we needed and what train to what stops etc., and soon we were topside and outside of our home for the next 2 nights, Cat’s Hostel. We had a 10-bed room that I booked for friends and it was preeettyyy tight. 5 bunkbeds were as well as on top of eachother, but hey, it worked, and we really had a lot of fun. Cat’s is beautiful, and boasts free internet and even a bar in the basement- it is truly a young backpacker’s dream.
Checked in, we walked around the city to el Plaza Mayor, the huge city square surrounded by ancient walls. It is truly a sight for the eyes. We had a great lunch, all 14 of us, and laughed and reveled in the fact that we were sitting in Spain
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That night, we decided to participate in a ‘pub crawl.’ This is clearly a brilliant idea invented by the Spaniards. Before I get to that, a little bit on the schedule in Spain:
Work starts at 10:30-11am, and is in 2 sessions. The first session goes until 2 or 3, at which point EVERYTHING closes for siesta. Then businesses re-open at 4-6 after lunch and a nap. Restaurants don’t serve dinner until, at the earliest 10 or 11pm, and the bars open not earlier than 1 or 2 in the morning. It’s incredible. The dance clubs don’t open until- no joke- 3 or 4 in the morning and stay open until 7ish . I have never seen people party as much as the Spanish.
Back to the pub crawl. For a mere 10 euros, our group of Americans were led to 3 bars and a club, each we would stay at for about 30 minutes or so. At each place, we got a free drink(s), and needless to say, by the end of the third bar, everyone was in great spirits. The bars were a lot of fun, and played mostly American music, another example of our globalization. The Spanish were friendly and excited to dance with us, and fascinated with our lack of salsa skills. I, on the other hand, equipped with an hour lesson aboard the MV Explorer was quite confident in my Salsa skills! After the third bar, we couldn’t take any more partying. This was at about 4:30 in the morning. After this, in true Spanish fashion, we partook in an ancient post-bar hopping tradition: Churros con Chocolate. We hiked from the hostel to a famous place, and had some amazing fried-dough dipped in chocolate. We returned at the ripe hour of 5:30 in the morning and crashed for some much needed sleep.
Day 3
We woke up and decided to do something called a free-walking-tour. There, a 28-year old guide named Adrian met us and explained the tour: we owed him nothing. At the end of the tour, we could decide how much the 3.5 hours was worth us and give him that much. He assured there were no strings attached, and was genuine throughout. Knowledgable, personable and one of the most friendly people I’ve ever met, we ended up spending the entire day with Adrian, went to lunch with him, and was invited to his birthday party that night across the street. He was great, and so insightful into the Spanish culture. I took the entire afternoon to ask him all about his culture, his history, and to brush up on my Spanish. He informed me of the liberalization of his city, Madrid. Franco, the dictator was conservative and oppressive, and wanted Spain to forever remain that way. But, as another example of how extremism has a 0% success rate, Madrid is now, 25 years later, one of the most liberal places in the world: homosexual marriages are legal. Prostitution is legal with controls. Sex-changes are legal, and paid for by the government’s health care plan. But, as Adrian pointed out, you cannot change back under the plan. You can walk completely naked throughout the city legally. But, if you have even a pair of shoes on, it is illegal and indecent exposure to wear nothing else. It’s all or nothing.
We saw the royal palace, El Prado Art museum, the central bank, house of parliament, puerta del sol, we saw it all, and walked so much before a great lunch.
That night, we decided on Mexican food, and found a place in the directory. I called to reserve space in the restaurant and attempted to explain that we had 14 people. Most of the restaurants are extremely small, so this was very difficult. In Spanish, the guy told me to come by at 11:30 or so for dinner (not too late), and we set out later to walk there. A little confused at the directions, we walked for like 30 minutes with still no promise of finding the place. To make matters worse, that little sub-concious was talking to me, telling me that the neighborhood was getting less and less safe. The amount of grafitti had increased exponentially, and I knew we should probably turn back. Such is traveling in a foreign country.
We found the place and had the most amazing Mexican food. It was great. That night, 3 of the girls who were supposed to return to Cadiz that day didn’t make their train, and ended up in Madrid one more day. To save money, we decided that we should just cram them into our tiny room. And so, last night, 14 people stayed in one tiny room. We all got real, real close after that night. But in order to get them in, we had to be sly- equipped with a plan, we elaborately brought people upstairs and then switched keys to sneak in more people under the hostel’s nose. It wasn’t exactly smuggling drugs, but the adrenaline rush, I imagine, was just as potent. We stayed up til 3 am laughing and talking in bed before finally crashing.
We awoke early, and caught a train south towards Cadiz and the ship. We did some last minute shopping, had a nice last Spanish lunch, and then boarded the ship, bound for Morocco.
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Thoughts
What a country, Spain is. The people are friendly and happy, and as I said, are finally available to live to their full potential. Adrian said something really amazing to me. He told me that with Franco as dictator, Spain did grow, but they didn’t have one fundamental thing: rights. Rights, he said, were so important to his people that they never accepted Franco, no matter what he did. As if he was being quoted for a textbook on democracy, he said “sin las derechas, tenemos nada,” “without our rights, we have nothing.”
Now, Spain is the 7th richest nation in the world, is growing, and is economically stable. It’s poverty rate is low, its people educated, and its future promising. The culture is rock-hard, and has not given in to European or American influence as much as others. They retain their Spanish charm and excitement. I really want to come back here to learn more Spanish. I felt so comfortable conversing in Spanish without English, but there was much that I had trouble expressing. I feel that with some time immersed, in just a few months I could become fluent.
Safely aboard the ship, this program is amazing. We have returned to the sea, complete with 4 days of stories and experiences. Dinner was spent catching friends and comparing notes. It’s that aspect of sharing our collective consciousness that truly makes this a learning and developing time for us all. The seas are rocky tonight; captain Jeremy assured us that we should put our valuables on the floor since “they will probably end up there anyway.” Tomorrow, we will stop in Gibraltar to get fuel (no getting of the ship) and then its on to Casablanca, at which we arrive on Monday. I will fill you in on details of my trip in Morocco tomorrow.
Adios del mar afuera de Espana,
Greg.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Days 10-13. SPAIN.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Pictures!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Day 10. Spain Day 1. Habla Ingles?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Re-live the Magic of Embarkation
The SAS Videographer put together this clip of Embarkation from the Bahamas last week.
I thought he did a great job of really capturing the moment and emotions of when we left. Truly, it did get quiet and surreal on the ship, and after the noise of the horn and the screams of the crowd, a noticeable hush hit did us as we realized the gravity of the situation.
Awesomely, I am in the video!! There is a close-up of me waving the Maryland Flag off the front of the ship as we pulled away. The pic is about 55 seconds from the END of the video. I know you'll enjoy it.
Here it is:
http://www.ise.virginia.edu/video/S09/vid_1.html
Greg
Monday, January 26, 2009
Day 8. Almost...
We are getting close, and the shipboard community is evident of that fact. We hit some waves today, there is a storm ahead, and everybody is getting a little land-hungry. Today in Global Studies, we learned of the rocky history of Spain. I was so angry. Having taken 7 years of Spanish, I figured I had a pretty good handle on Spanish history and culture. I knew nothing. I was ashamed at myself, and truthfully, angry that I never learned it.
For instance, Spain was ruled by a facist dictator all the way until 1975! After Franco, that dictator, finally died in ’75, the country was able to spit out a democratic constitution in only 3 years. As our lecturer put it, those few years were on constant teetering, whether Spain would grow into a new democratic society or revert to the oppression they had dealt with throughout the past century. At one point, with the entire Spanish government assembled in parliament, socialist thugs broke through the entrance and took the members hostage, claiming a coup d’etat. As David Gies put it, for everyone in Spain, this was it. The King Juan Carlos would surely endorse the attackers (he had supported them in the past) Things would return to the socialist hell again. In a surprise move, the King appeared on TV and said that the country would not give in, democracy would ensue.
It did. Spain is now a thriving society and continually surprising its citizens and tourists alike. They are still deep rooted in Spanish culture and custom, friendly, outgoing, and welcoming… of course, the beauty of this trip is this is what I’ve learned. What they actually are, I’ll learn first hand in just… well, 24 hours!
My friends and I booked a hostel in Madrid tonight. We got a 10-person room right off the main drag in a hostel that was rated the number one place for hostels in the country! All for only 20 euro a night. Fan-tastic.
Cultural Pre-Port
Before every port, the shipboard community comes together for 3 meetings. The first was tonight at 2000, called cultural pre-port. The purpose is to prepare us for cultures and customs that we will see off the ship. We discussed music, transportation and the likes, and also the way that Spaniards see the United States these days. Tomorrow, the 2nd of those meetings occurs, called Logistical Pre-port. This covers the- you got it, logistics of the stop. Where the ship is located. Health and safety, hospitals, on-duty numbers and the like. Finally, upon arrival, our last meeting occurs. This is the Diplomatic Briefing. At each country, a member of the US Diplomatic team (embassies, state department, etc.) meets us at the dock, boards the ship and gives up-to-the-minute information about individual places in the country.
ISE does a great job in preparing us, and I feel great about the whole thing.
Wednesday morning, I’ll be up at 4:00 AM. Why? Because I will be standing on the bow (forward) of the ship looking out at the horizon in front of the ship. I’m determined to see the first lights or glimpse of Spain appear where there has been nothing for 8 days. It’s going to be a great moment.
The ship loses one more hour tonight, and when I awake, I will be on the same time zone as those in Spain. BOO YA. We are now EST + 6 Hours. Wow.
Talk Tomorrow.
Greg.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Day 7. 1 week later, clubs and noises.
I can’t believe it’s been a week. I’m terrified. It’s all going by so fast, and yet I’m loving every second. I’m glad so many of you got to check me out on the video clip, and that I didn’t look like too much of an idiot. I swear it was really wavy that day.
Speaking of waves, the explorer picked up some of the rock-y-ness today. I was sitting out on the fifth deck aft with friends doing work and all of a sudden we realized that the ship was pitching at like 30 degrees. It’s been really stable the past few days, so it was a bit of a rude awakening.
Alright. The noise. Right now it’s 00:51 (1251 am) on Monday early morning, really it’s an hour later because we have to change our clocks tonight. The reason why me and all of the starboard side of the ship is up so late is because there is this HORRIBLE noise off our side of the ship. Every time the ship pitches towards our side at all, a creaking runs the length of the walls- it sounds like a horse is being choked to death. It is loud and terrible. I’ve tried to search for answers and here’s the best I can come up with. The ship has things called stabilizer fins that protrude out from one or both sides to prevent the ship from rocking as much. While this is good, apparently our fin is in need of some serious oil cans. And until that happens in Spain, it’s either creak-city or fall flat on your face bumpy. I keep reminding myself that flexibility is the mantra to live by, however, and I’m sure it’ll all work out.
Good news! I was invited to become a part of the Intercultural committee of the Ambassador’s club here on the ship. Basically, SAS welcomes different people on the ship throughout the voyage when in port. This ranges from diplomats who arrive to give lectures, inter-port students who provide cultural insight, and others, like American nationals abroad, embassy workers, and even educational members abroad. One or two US Women’s volleyball players may come aboard, I’ve heard. Anyway, our job is to be there to welcome, wine and dine them, and introduce them to the shipboard community. It’s a prestigious job, and I couldn’t be more excited to get it! Tomorrow we meet to find out what duties we’re all doing in the first port, Spain, in 2 days.
Now on to Spain. Today in global studies, David Gies, a US native and knight of the Spanish crown gave his first lecture on Spain. He is, by all accounts a genius, and has written many books on Spain… and like I said, is a knight to the Spanish country. He’s also hilarious, and a very personable guy. Today he talked about the different things we’ll see in and around spain, and the different historical events that have happened to provide for what we’ll see. It’s SO COOL to hear about on our WAY to the country. I can’t even explain.
Tomorrow, we learn more about Spanish culture in global studies, and tomorrow night we have our first CULTURAL PRE-PORT, where we learn the ups and downs, ins and outs of Spanish culture (things to and not to do while in Spain). Needless to say, tomorrow’s blog should be quite informative! I’m also pleased to report that Bradee will be joining our trek to Madrid, and I’m sad to say Chazz won’t be- he’ll be on an SAS trip in the south. It’s all good, his itinerary is gonna be great. Here’s my itinerary at this point:
Wednesday: Arrival 0800. Tour Cadiz all day. At night, partake in a great SAS trip and FDP (faculty directed practica): FLAMENCO NIGHT and BULLFIGHT! With my professor of Media Studies
Thursday: Early train through Sevilla to Madrid. Get to Madrid early aft’n, drop stuff in hostel and start looking around. David has provided a bunch of sights we must see. Experience Spanish nightlife and sleep soundly in Madrid
Friday: All day in Madrid
Saturday: Early train back to Sevilla, take a look around and then finish journey back to Cadiz. On-Ship time is 1800, Depart Cadiz at 2000.
We are extremely excited, and anxious to see land. Hopefully all will go well, and we’ll be in soon- the ship is getting very antsy!
We do lose another hour of sleep tonight as I mentioned. We are now at EST + 5 Hours. Only one more to go to get on local Spanish time.
Talk tomorrow!
Greg.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Day 6. Stop Being Embarrassed!
When did our culture become so embarassable!? Better yet, when did we as a culture make our fellow people so embarrassed!? Fine, fine, I know, it’s not a big deal- but the deal is, it prevents you from doing things, from having fun. Many times I have participated in an activity- or more importantly NOT participated in an activity because I was afraid of being embarrassed. On the ship, it’s just not so. People get up and sing with horrible voices! They play guitar and snap strings in front of 500 people! We laugh and joke and make fools of ourselves… and what does everybody do? They laugh, and clap and encourage it even more. It approaches (and possibly eclipses) even my days at summer camp as far as encouragement of fun behavior is concerned. Today, I decided I wouldn’t be embarrassed any more.
The ship hosts many “Explorer Seminars,” basically an opportunity for individuals who have any unique talents to have an audience and impart their knowledge on others. People do them in photography, in art, in music, the captain, I hear is planning one just about being a ship captain. Tonight was a seminar on salsa dancing. My friends and I went and of course stood in the back and watched- I was far too embarrassed, and had no idea what I was doing to take part. Until finally, something clicked within me; nobody, and I mean nobody knew what they were doing. None of us did. I grabbed a partner and we salsa’ed the crap out of that place… and while I doubt I’ll win any medals, I could probably hold my own on a dance floor. It was great. We were all stepping on eachother and looking like idiots- and laughing our asses off the whole time. A great moment.
This eve, clubs had their first meetings. I joined one such club: The 24-Hour Pirate Watch Club, “dedicated to the vigilante protection of the M.V. Explorer.” In it, we decided on secret handshakes and anti-piracy tactics, the best that we came up with was hurling deck furniture off the 7th deck. Bring it, Blackbeard, we’re ready. Additionally, I took a leadership role in the Scuba club, in which we hope to get some dives in at ports like South Africa, Maritius, and Thailand. I’ll keep you updated as that planning gets underway.
I spent a lot of time reading for classes. They’re a lot of work, I already told you… but, man, they are.
Before I go, I have to tell you what a feeling it is being where I am. I know I said I promised not to get used to this life, but after 6 days, I already have. It’s so easy to forget how amazing it is- we’re halfway across an ocean! There is NOTHING around us. I had a long talk with a lifelong learner, Les, who brought me back to earth. As we were standing there chatting about his life as a fishing-boatman in Alaska, he pointed out a big plume of mist in the distance… it looked a heck of a lot like a whale. We couldn’t be sure, and kept looking for a repeat performance, but no digs. I’d like to hope it was, though.
Plans are finalizing for Spain. Me, Victoria, Stephanie, Nate, Pat, Taylor and Lia are hoping to spend day 1 in port in Cadiz, and then leave early day 2 for Sevilla, and then continue north to Madrid. We’ll stay in Madrid the 2nd night and 3rd night, and leave early on the 4th day to head back south towards Cadiz. We’ll spend the day around Sevilla and Cadiz and then hop back on the ship towards Morocco. Even though I love the ship (and I really, really do) I miss land. Terribly. It will be wonderful to wake up early on Wednesday to see something other than water on the horizon as we begin our first port-of-call. I invite you to check out a map and proffer any advice you may have if you’ve been in the area!
Before I forget, check out http://semesteratsea-spring2009.blogspot.com/ It is the official SAS blog by a great guy I met today. He worked in the white house as an aid to Bush’s top energy advisor. He isn’t a student, rather hired to keep a blog. There is a video on it from the past few days about signing up for activities. I am in it! (he showed it to me) I’m sure you’ll like it, and MomMom, I advise you to grab a box of Kleenex before you watch it! Just kidding :-) .
We lose another hour tonight. Grrrrrr. We are now EST + 4 Hours.
Talk tomorrow
Greg
Friday, January 23, 2009
Day 5. A Day of Choices.
At noon everyday, Luke “The Voice” comes on the loudspeaker. <i>Ding Dong</i> “Good afternoon, here is your noon report,” he says. After that, he provides us with pertinent information: everything from air temperature to the time the sun will set off which side of the ship. Mostly, we just glaze over and continue our lunches- while knowing the depth of the ocean beneath me is interesting, it isn’t exactly breaking news, you know. Today, however, everyone perked up when Luke read one piece of information.
“Distance traveled from Nassau,” Luke read, “1,822 nautical miles.”
“Distance to go to Cadiz Spain,” then he paused. Everybody fell silent. Luke continued, with a touch of regret just barely perceptible in his voice: “1,901 nautical miles.”
The lunchroom exploded. It was as if our team just lost the superbowl. This was the noon that we were to eclipse the halfway point, and we fell short by 44 stupid miles. Still, by this evening, we’ve well passed that point, and our journey across the world’s Atlantic ocean is closer to its end than its beginning, quite an accomplishment. Nassau seems like just a memory now. I can’t wait for tomorrow lunch, it’ll great to hear the good news.
With our approach to Spain nearing, our requests for SAS Trips for the first few ports were due in at 2000 to the field office. This meant sitting down with friends and deciding what we wanted to do alone, together, anyway… you get the idea. After that, we turned our eyes toward spain. I think I’ve decided on Madrid with a few friends. Once I’m sure of the details, I’ll fill you in, but I’ll tell you this much. It is very hard to plan a multi-city from the middle of the ocean. I tried to buy train tickets online. Then I got to the end where it asked for a shipping address. …um….?
Oh well, we’ll figure it out.
Let’s see… I was emailed about weather. It’s been beautiful! We had one mini-rainstorm, but other than that sunny and 70 degrees! I feel like the second half of the trek will cool down a bit since Spain saw snow last week (booo), but no use for sweatshirts or coats yet. And yes, mom, I will wear my coat when I need to.
At 1730, we ushered in Shabbat on the ship with a small singing and candle-lighting service off the main dining room. It was nice as you can imagine. After the brachot, somebody remarked “…and this is officially the most obscure place I’ve said that blessing.” He was completely right. We are in the middle. Of. Nowhere.
Tonight we had open-mic night, where fellow voyagers who were musically inclined or good at stand-up comedy got up and performed. They were so talented! We all enjoyed it thoroughly. Maybe if I work up the chutzpah, I’ll get up there and play the one song I know on guitar (tom petty’s freefallin… a winner, I know).
We got a taste for emergencies on the high seas today. Around noon, the captain came on the PA system. For those keeping score at home, when someone from SAS comes on with announcements regarding programming, they are introduced with a Ding Dong. Usually, as I said above, we tend to phase out unless something sounds interesting or dangerous. When the Captain comes on, he gets a loud Ding, and we perk up. He is, after all, the captain. The crew ran an emergency drill, to simulate as if they had to evacuate us to lifeboats. Awesome. That would be one hell of a story. Either way, it’s great to know they’re prepared.
I feel so spoiled because... NO TIME CHANGE TONIGHT! I’ll actually get some sleep. As the "big guy" would say, it’s fan-tastic. Still EST + 3.
Love you all
Greg.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Day 4. Yes, you ordered a pair of ?Sea Legs???
I think- emphasis on think- that my sea-legs have arrived. MAYBE. But for the first time since I’ve boarded the Explorer, I haven’t felt as much rocking as I have, and the seas weren’t any easier today. Just goes to show you what your body can achieve with a little adaptation here and there.
SAS’s classroom programs are amazing. Too amazing- they’re a lot of work! Who wants to read 4 chapters of an evolution text when you’re on a ship crossing the Atlantic. The professors are all very down to earth, though, and know that there are tons of distractions, as you can imagine. One of the interesting things, that differs from a land-based campus is the interactions with professors. In the US, I have no problem getting *some* work done before heading off to route 1 with some friends. Here, when you decide to head to ‘Pub-Night’ on the 7th deck to enjoy some drinks with friends, you have just as much chance as running into the professor who’s paper you’re supposed to be working on. It’s a cool thing though. Today I sat down and chatted with the Exec. Dean Les McCabe, who is also the CEO of SAS over a nice Bud Light- this type of conversation just doesn’t exist as much as it should at home.
Another great example; the showing of the movie ‘Haze,’ in the ship’s union at 1900. The documentary follows a 19-year old boy killed during a binge-drinking hazing incident at the University of Colorado in Boulder. We had a great candid discussion about the culture that I live in, the millennia kids who have exploded when it comes to alcohol in the United States. Being a member of a fraternity, I was vocal about saying that not all greek organizations put up with this nonsense, and that we too look down at our greek counterparts when they have accidents like this. As someone said, though, it’s nice to be able to have this conversation. It should happen more often; the less taboo, the safer.
I took a tour of The Bridge, the ship’s ‘cockpit’ today. It was AMAZING to see the bow of the ship in action, jumping the waves, and the millions of buttons, dials and crew-members who make her work. While we are flying across the Atlantic, at nearly 20 knots, I found out that the Explorer is only making use out of 2 of the 4 engines she has. At ‘Full-Speed Ahead,” the ship rounds 35 knots. This is unheard of for a vessel this size. The only time we’ll do this is when we go through the straits of Mallaca near Malaysia and Thailand, in order to avoid the piracy that flourishes in the area.
Planning is still going strong for Spain which is now only 5 full days away! We lose another hour of sleep tonight- killer- to keep prepping for our arrival. Tomorrow morning will be EST+ 3 hours.
I almost forgot, Grandpop emailed me about my cabin. I live on the 3rd deck (of 7) in cabin 3081. I have an outside double with a window about 3 ft by 4 ft. I’m very close to the water, and I spend at least a few minutes every night before I go to bed watching the waves fly by. The upside is that this low, I don’t have much tilting when we go over waves like you do up on deck 7. Don’t get me wrong though, I forgot, and left my shampoo in the shower rack and was awoken by a nice BANG in the middle of the night the other night when the ship crested a big one. The room is small, but cozy, and I recently purchased and hung a huge world map over my bed… since then I’ve felt a lot better about my small room J.
Talk tomorrow.
Greg.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Day 3. Classes + Waves + First Pub Night = Nausea
Good late evening from the MV Explorer.
The Atlantic Ocean must be pissed about something, and she is letting her anger out on us! Even me, who is usually not phased by motion sickness found myself really struggling to keep my dinner down. It’s all part of the fun, and the deans and lifelong learners assure me that it’s only temporary. My Sea-Legs can’t be far away from arriving, now.
Classes started this morning. For me, I had an early morning biomedical ethics class at 0800. What an experience. I never thought I’d be taking college courses 10 meters from a whipping ocean out the window, but here I am. At 0920, me and the entire class took our first “Global Studies” course. This course is the flagship (no pun intended) of the SAS program, a multi-disciplinary course regarding social, political, scientific, economic issues in each region and port we travel to. The entire ship shuts down; all shops, the pool, the dining centers, the gym- they all close to accommodate Global Studies. The ship packs into the Union, or into one of the many satellite classrooms, in which the lecture is piped in via projector. The class is informative and detailed, and I’m both excited and anxious at it’s prospects.
At 1615, later in the afternoon, I had my last class of this ‘A- Day,’ a course called “Media as Message, Massage, Mirage.” I can already tell this will be a fascinating course full of information. As a past-journalism major, my interest in the media is very high, and in each country it is unique and fascinating. The professor seems well-traveled and brilliant. I can’t wait to meet him.
One of the great things about SAS so far is the ability to just sit down, anywhere, with anyone, at any time and have a meaningful conversation. And I mean anyone. It happens with students, with professors, with those double your age. Anyone. Today I had a great conversation with the Academic Dean, Reg Garrett, and a couple students. We talked of views of Americans, expectations of ports, and misconceptions of the world. It was fascinating.
I’ll tell you, at nearly each meal, I get something to eat and walk aft to the outside deck to enjoy my food with friends. We sit just a few meters from the rushing sea by us with nothing but clouds and good company around us. I remarked today that I hope that this never becomes routine. I hope every time I walk out there I realize just how amazing and special that is… it’s unbelievable. I wish every one had this opportunity. We are so lucky- never think that each and every one of us students takes this for granted.
Tonight we had an involvement fair in which I signed up for a few clubs and opportunities. I met with some friends to plan travel for Spain (7 days away), played cards, and went to the first pub night. Pub nights are a mix between a bar and guantanamo bay. For good reason, the ship’s crew monitors alcohol intake. You are allowed four drinks per night, no excessive drinking, etc. It’s just funny though to watch the precautions; crew guards the stairways and doors leading from the top deck to make sure you’re not whording alcohol… It’s all in good taste, but funny nonetheless.
Tomorrow, the first ‘B-Day’ of classes. I plan to work out at 0830 before global studies at 0920.
FYI: the ship moves forward 1 hour again on its trip to Spain tonight. We are now at EST +2 hours. Also, THANKS FOR COMMENTING (And Emailing!)!! Especially you, Chazz’s Mom! Haha. I LOVE to hear from all of you; if there’s something you want to know more about, don’t hesitate!!
Talk tomorrow,
Greg.
P.S: Dad, I know you're chomping at the bit, the toilet flushes are air-induced. It sounds like a rocket takes off every time you press the damn button.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Day 2. We Have a New President!
Yes, I saw it. We all did.
At 1100, the ship used its bandwith to connect to C-SPAN live and the entire shipboard community paused to watch the swearing in of the new president. Sitting among my new shipboard family, from all walks of life and generations, the moment was perfect. The ship erupted in applause and watched in awe at the peaceful transfer of power that happened before us. It doesn’t have to be said that that transfer isn’t a given; and to many of the countries I’m going to on this voyage, it doesn’t exist at all. I think we all realized that today. Our exec. Dean also made a great point: Our children will ask us where we were when Obama was sworn in. We’ll be able to say we paused and watched it from a ship circling the globe in the mid-atlantic! Unbelievable.
Today was long, and tough. We hit some rough(er) seas around the time the Inauguration began (I hope it’s just a coincidence), and it has been trying since. The ship pitches and rolls like crazy sending you flying into walls or railings or, mostly, other people. We laugh it off and smile, and use the opportunity to introduce ourselves again.
Everyone is so great. I have meet a lot of friends, and tons more names and faces that have yet to be committed to memory.
We spent the day in all types of orientation meetings; from procedures in port to safety and health at sea led by the captain himself. One of the toughest things, that I never expected, is staying awake for all of this. Imagine slowly being rocked to sleep- at all times. Yeah, it’s like that. You want to listen, but your body, tired and weak from the travel and new adrenaline takes its cues from the ships and drifts off. I find myself staring out at the water that’s flying by and just daydreaming a lot. Then I hear the captain say something like: “… and that would kill you…” and I hone back in.
After dinner we had an inaugural party. It was impromptu, the admin decided on it yesterday. Just goes to show you though, the ship’s crew is AMAZING- they decorated, baked cakes with American flags, and poured 1,000 glasses of champagne for the community to toast with. They are insanely hard workers, I’m in awe.
Before heading to bed, we played some cards on the top deck. I came back to my cabin and got ready for CLASSES tomorrow! Tomorrow is an A-DAY (the ship splits its academic days into A and B, days of the week don’t exist). I have Biomedical Ethics at 0800, Global Studies at 0920, and ‘Media as Message, Massage, Mirage’ at 1645. I’ll be sure to fill you in on all of those courses.
Tonight clocks go forward one hour, and my synchronization with the East coast ends. See ya on the flip side in May.
Talk tomorrow
Greg
Day 1. The Voyage Begins
From the 7th deck of the MV Explorer, I could see nearly the whole island, but I wasn’t looking at the sights. My eyes were locked on my parents, who stood on the dock a few stories beneath me waving goodbye. After the lifeboat drill that the entire ship took part in, I hurried to the top deck, camera and Maryland flag in tow for the moment that I had been waiting for, dreaming about for a long time.
“All guests not traveling aboard the MV Explorer must disembark on the gangway now on deck 2,” came a voice over the loudspeaker. We were close. Very, very close to the beginning of our voyage.
We watched in awe as the stairs connecting us to land were stowed, and cheered loudly as the port-hand untied our last rope and tossed it into the sea. We were free from land, and all of a sudden, a gap began to form. What was nearly an imperceptible space between the ship and the dock grew to 5 feet, 10 feet, we were moving. Voyagers lined on all 8 decks smiled, cheered and wept as we realized that we were committed, no longer bound to just thinking about the voyage. For the first time, the voyage was reality. We were in uncharted territory. The clock was ticking.
Mom and Dad, who had been close enough to yell to easily became harder to see, then nearly impossible. Dad, waving his crutch in the air drew some applause and comments from my friends. I certainly appreciated it, it allowed me to spot him and mom for a bit longer. As we pushed further away, now far beyond shouting distance, I put my camera to my eye and zoomed in, and was able to spot ma and pa one last time. Then they were gone.
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The day began at an early 8:00 am when I woke up in the Atlantis in Nassau. I barely slept last night, anxious and excited as you can imagine. I finished packing and throwing odd items into whatever nook and crannie I could find. I walked down to the lobby, bags in tow, and ate breakfast with Mom and Dad before catching a cab to the ship; I’d see the parents later after I got settled on the ship, before leaving Nassau. After pulling my 100 pounds of luggage for 2 hours in a hot, sweaty line, I made it to the check-in. I must confess, though, nobody complained. We all understood; we were going around the world, how could a long line stress us out!?
I turned in my passport, scanned by bags, and then the moment came. I emerged from the cruise terminal and saw, live and in person my new home. I couldn’t hold back my giddiness. None of us could. The ship is so magnificent, words can’t describe. I am among 735 students, 73% of which are female (it’s a tough life, I know), 14 life-long learners (over 40 adults who want to travel the world with us),100 staff and nearly 200 crew. The ship is beyond well-kept. The crew is amazing at their jobs, and the ship takes pride in it’s beauty. My room is on the 3rd deck (of 8), room 3081. I met my roommate, Nick, who is a very fun, normal guy from PA. Any fears of a crazy uncontrollable mess I’d have to live with were eliminated immediately. I unpacked shortly, walked around to get my bearings straight, and then hopped off the ship for one more visit with Mom and Dad, and for that matter, land.
We had a quick lunch at a nice place in Nassau, and then sat and talked awhile at a starbucks by the ship. From the outdoor veranda, we could see the Explorer docked just a hundred yards away. We talked, laughed and then planned our final goodbyes (dad’s very particular, you know). Then we executed it. I hugged, kissed, nearly (but didn’t) cried. I swiped my new ID card and said hi to the ship, my only home for 9 days until Spain.
After we set sail, we soon realized that Sea-legs are hard to come by. Even as I type, on the aft 6th deck we are REALLY rocking. It is far more than I would have imagined. I can’t believe that this is normal, if (WHEN) we hit some bad weather, I know it will be an experience to remember. We laugh as we walk in zig-zags, bumping into one another in the small hallways and corridors.
Tonight we had some orientation activities, spoke of what to expect and what is expected of us. We heard from our Executive and Academic deans, the ship’s doctor, and the Ship’s Captain (or ‘Master’, as he is officially titled).
Tomorrow, the ship will be shutting down all internet activities at 1100 so that it can have all available bandwidth at its disposal. Why, you ask? Because they plan to tap into satellite television so that we can watch the inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington DC, live from the mid-Atlantic. Pretty. Damn. Cool. And no, we will not be doing that for the superbowl.
Besides that, no classes tomorrow as we are in meetings and orientation all day. I’ll be back tomorrow with some odd facts and interesting tid-bits. Until then, good night from the Atlantic Ocean!
Greg
Monday, January 19, 2009
And so it Begins... The BAHAMAS
First, welcome.
