变动.
This is the Chinese word for change. And walking off the ship for the last time, back into the real world, I realized I had changed. Physically, emotionally, spiritually- this trip had molded me into a new person in just under 4 months. I now knew what it meant to look poverty in the face and feel completely powerless to stop it. I knew what death smelled like and what real fear was. But I also found out what happiness was; what it feels like to stand on the edge of my future and not know what may lie ahead. Looking at the sunrise over Florida on that last morning, I didn't know exactly what these changes would mean for me in the months or years to come, but I knew that they would come- eventually.
I knew that the world I had left, what seemed like a lifetime ago, would now be different. Like an old pair of jeans that doesn't quite fit anymore. And I had thought that maybe the people who I'd known and loved for my entire life just wouldn't understand me anymore. On the ship, my friends and fellow shipmates really got me. They, too, knew what India smelled like, and how amazing a sunrise in South Africa was really like. The people at home....wouldn't. If I needed something on the ship, there was no doubt that someone would be there- only a few doors away. Whereas at home, communication has been reduced to e-mailing or texting each other. Our executive dean, Les McCabe, always quoted the Archbishop Desmond Tutu by saying, "Ubuntu", which roughly means "people are people through other people". I knew that the people I had met- Kelvin, the cab driver from South Africa; Samak, the orphan from Cambodia- had made me the person I have become today. Watching the ship pull into the last harbor, my new friends- no, my new family, stood there in silence not saying anything for fear of time running out. All feeling as though there was a rug under our feet being pulled out slowly, with no way to stop it. I, along with everyone else, was in denial of this chapter of our life coming to a close...fearful, excited, and anxious for what was to come. We all knew our lives would never be the same. How could they after this amazing journey? After our Semester at Sea.....
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Home
Hey everyone...
We're home. Can't believe it's over.... We'll update soon with the last few days on the ship and extra thoughts and such soon, but until then, just wanted to let everyone know to e-mail us at these addresses from now on: sshields_007@yahoo.com, shield41@msu.edu. Also, our new phone numbers are: Sarah- (269)274-4890, Kate- (269)274-5783.
Thanks for reading, everyone, and leaving comments!! It was an amazing adventure, but now it's only the beginning, so stay tuned :-)
-K & S
We're home. Can't believe it's over.... We'll update soon with the last few days on the ship and extra thoughts and such soon, but until then, just wanted to let everyone know to e-mail us at these addresses from now on: sshields_007@yahoo.com, shield41@msu.edu. Also, our new phone numbers are: Sarah- (269)274-4890, Kate- (269)274-5783.
Thanks for reading, everyone, and leaving comments!! It was an amazing adventure, but now it's only the beginning, so stay tuned :-)
-K & S
Monday, May 4, 2009
Guatemala
The last port. The last country. The last adventure....
Guatemala was amazing! But before we got there, this was the country everyone kind of forgot about. It was right around finals, we had already been back to the US (Hawaii), and it was at the end of the voyage. And on top of that, everyone scared the crap out of us before we arrived, saying that it was on its way to being a failed state, the situation was unstable, and that we would most likely be robbed or mugged while there. So this was a port that we all had somewhat lower expectations for. But I think that's why it turned out to be so great- it was ten times better than we could've ever thought it would be!
Two nights before we arrived, one of our fellow students, Eric, gave a fantastic pre-port that told us all about it, showed us what it looked like, and what to do when we get there. We had really no idea what we were going to do, and the night before we arrived, we (the five of us) were invited by John (one of the ship's doctors) and his wife, Sage, to go ziplining with them and their extended family. So, the first morning, after the diplomatic briefing (again, scaring us into basically staying on the ship), we boarded a shuttle to Antigua, which is about an hour and a half away. We slept the whole way, and we were there at around 11 am. The tour company wasn't coming to pick us up until 1:30, so we had some free time to look around. Antigua is a beautiful city! It is paved with cobblestone streets, the buildings are all colorful, and the people are so nice. One of our friends, Jen, came with us, and we ate at a great restaurant and talked for a while. We all walked around the town square and shopped for a little bit, and then went to the trucks to go up the mountain to zipline! These trucks looked like safari vehicles- open air utility trucks with a canvas top- and we drove these the twenty minutes or so to the company's location in the mountains surrounding Antigua. On the same property is a coffee farm, so we saw the SAS trip, and once we had all paid and ready to go, we started our ascent to the top. There were about 17 of us at this point, and we all sat in the scary trucks that drove on very narrow roads, close to the edge of cliffs, up to 6,000 ft where the ziplines were. We got suited up in harnesses (which looked very good on us, if you wanna know), and they gave us a little instruction before we just started going. It was so much fun! We were surrounded by trees and lush greenery on all sides, not to mention we were on top of a mountain! Ziplining was really exhilarating and a little scary, but we all had such a good time! We did 6 regular lines, about 100-200 meters, and then we got to go on the "Canyon Express", which is a 500 meter line from one mountain to the other and then back again. It was awesome!! I was the first to go, and they just pushed me off of the platform and I sailed through the air, looking down at the valley where the town of Antigua stayed tucked away, and the wind was rushing through my ears- I was going so fast. The best part was hearing people come across, especially Emmett, who screamed like a girl and kicked his legs out like a bicycle! It was definitely an experience! We were all full of adrenaline and excited that we just got to do ziplining in Guatemala! We said thank you to the tour guides (they were sooo nice!) and made our way back down the mountain and into Antigua. From there, we had about 3 hours until the shuttle back to the ship was leaving, so we had pizza and walked around. The interesting thing was that everything closed at 8 o'clock or earlier. We were getting ice cream and the shop we were in closed before we were even done, and our plan to go shopping was ruined when the market, and every other shop, closed as well. So we ended up walking around the square, meeting and talking with other SASers who were waiting, and playing funny word games. The shuttle came, and we drove back to the ship, exhausted from the day. On our way, we saw a volcano (I believe it was Fuego) that was erupting. Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes, and some of them are still active. The lava was shooting out of it, and the fire blazed against the contrasting night sky. It was an amazing sight to see!! Back on the ship, we hung out with the girls and Pat, and said goodbye to Joan, who was leaving the next day.
The next morning, our plan was to stand in line and see if we could get tickets to climb Pacaya volcano. Victoria, Stephanie, Amy, and Pat already had tickets, so we got out there at 6:45 to see if there were extra seats on the bus. It turns out we were not the only ones with that plan because we ended up being 4th and 5th in line. We waited and waited, and at 7:15, Kate O. told us that they could only take 4 of us. And since we didn't want to split up, the first three got to go, and we were left on the pier, waving pitifully at the girls and trying to decide what we were going to do. There was another trip leaving at 8:30 that was going on a service visit to Camino Seguro (Safe Passage) in Guatemala City, so we decided we were going to try and get on that one. We went inside, hung out for a while, and then went back out and stood in line- again. After only about ten minutes, though, Kate told us that we could hop on because some people hadn't shown up. Yay! So all of a sudden, we had new plans, and we were on our way to the capital led by one of the professors on the ship, Mark Shadle. When we got there, we were taken to the city dump, in the middle of zone 3, where thousands of people work everyday (they are called huejeros) to pick through the trash. They find anything they can- cardboard, plastic, clothes- and resell it to companies or other people for a minimal amount of money. They even take out old food that's been thrown in there, re-cook it, and sell it to the other workers there. There is a market economy down in the dump, which means these people could dig through the waste and chemicals for 6 hours one day and not make anything, if people aren't buying what they're trying to sell that day. The dump is about 10-12 km long, and we were standing at the edge of it, looking down into a very steep ravine at all of these people walking through garbage, just trying to make a living. We stayed there with our guides and asked a ton of questions, and then we drove to a different zone, at the opposite end of the dump, to see the Camino Seguro facilities. The first building we went to was the gymnasium (where the kids are taught to play basketball, lacrosse, an even break dance!), the pre-school rooms and playground, one of the cafeterias- where the kids are fed most likely their only meal of the day, and some of their offices. The kids were so adorable! We played with them on the playground, and they were fascinated with our cameras, so we took a lot of pictures. After we were done there, we drove to their final facility, which is their main building. This houses the grade school to high school kids, another cafeteria, the mothers' building, and the clinic, which is run by Bayer. The children come after school- about 1:30 or so- and eat lunch, do homework, and take English classes. Then they have time to be kids for the rest of the afternoon before they return home. The mothers' building was a new addition a few years ago, and they have the moms of the kids in the program come in throughout the week to learn English, math, reading and writing, and other things. This enables them to get ahead in life and get a job that allows them to not have to work in the dump. The program works around their schedule, and it gets the family and community involved instead of just the kids. Just recently, actually, the mothers started making jewelry out of material they would find in the dump (magazines, plastic, etc), and people who would come to the building started to notice it and wanted to know if they could buy it. So the moms got together and started a business...all by themselves. They were taught how to run the meetings, keep inventory, balance the accounting part of it, and the business just took off. Now they sell their jewelry to the U.S. and around Guatemala, and they are making more money than they did working in the dump, so most of them don't work more than one or two days a week there anymore. We got to see some of their jewelry, and we all bought A LOT of it. They were so excited! Now that I've told you about the program, let me tell you how it all got started. Hanley Denning, who lived in Maine, was in Guatemala studying Spanish for a few years, and a week before she was supposed to leave, a friend brought her to the dump and showed it to her. At this time, in 1999, the kids were all still working in the dump, some as young as 3 years old, and she felt like she had to do something. So she called her parents back in Maine, told them to sell all of her stuff- car, computer, everything- and with the profits from that she started Safe Passage. At the beginning, there were only about 50 children, and it slowly started to grow. They added the new buildings, and the program started to gain interest and funding. The, in January 2007, Hanley was killed in a car accident in Antigua. Everyone back in the U.S. heard about what she had been trying to do, so that year, the program got millions of dollars in donations and sponsorships, and they were able to add families. Now they have almost 600 kids, which is great because you can actually see that helping the whole community, instead of just one or two kids. I was so glad we got to go and see it, and I hope that we can volunteer for them or with them sometime in the future! After we left Camino Seguro, we drove back to the ship, sleeping the whole 2 hours, and when we got back, it was only 4:30. So we decided to go out to dinner, and Kevin, Amy, and Ellie were getting ready to go out. In Puerto Quetzal (where we were docked), there is nothing to do- it's all farmlands and industrial complexes. We decided to take a cab to the restaurant on the other side of the port area, and we got caught in a nasty rainstorm. We watched the lightning out over the water during dinner...it was pretty cool. Until the power went out at the restaurant. haha. But we still had a great time, and when we got back, we got some homework done and hung out on the ship until we went to sleep.
The next morning (last day), we got up at 6, had a little breakfast, and met for our mountain biking trip. We had two busses, and we left for Antigua at 7. Kate and I (and the rest of the bus) fell asleep on the way there. About 45 minutes into it, we hear our driver yelling and our bus started to swerve and brake really hard. We woke up just in time to see a chicken bus (the really crowded busses that the locals ride in) slam into an 18-wheeler. It turns out that the chicken busses had tried to pass one of our busses, and the semi-truck was in the oncoming lane. So it swerved, trying to avoid a collision, jack-knifed, and the bus ran right into the back end of it. It was crazy! The truck was blocking the entire road, so we just sat and watched all the people on the bus jump out, some bleeding, carrying all of their stuff. Our guide and one of the videographers, Skye Fitzgerald, ran out immediately to try and help, and we gave them our water and any first aid stuff we had on the bus. After about a half-hour, they moved the truck and we were finally able to continue the drive. None of us slept after that, we all just watched the road like a hawk, and we narrowly avoided two more accidents involving chicken busses. Needless to say, we were all very excited to get to Antigua in one piece. We went to a building where they were storing all of the bikes, then found one that fit each of us, grabbed our helmets, and we were off. Antigua is made up of cobblestone streets, and if you've never ridden a bike on them, let me tell you- it's tough! You pedal really hard and only get two feet. We rode through the streets, on highways, to 3 or 4 different villages and towns. It was amazing! We even got to see the oldest church in Guatemala and the place where our guide proposed to his wife! The surrounding areas are lush and green, and the little towns were adorable and tucked into the mountainsides. We were having so much fun!! And then......Kate decided to flip over her handlebars. We were on a dirt path, and I guess she hit a rock or something and went flying. She's okay...she got a huge scrape on her arm, and a few more bruises and cuts all over her left side. But she laughed it off and kept riding. And now she has a great battle wound/souvenir from the last port. haha. So after that, we kept riding, and it was brutal!! We were all huffing and puffing, and we thought our legs were going to fall off! I don't know why we signed up for it, since we all knew we were out of shape being on the ship, but we did, and we were struggling. We went up really steep hills and through hard terrain. But that's what made it really fun! We were all dying together, and it turned out to be a great bonding experience. We were all so happy when we got done! Except none of us could walk! We had a little bit of free time in Antigua after we got done, so a bunch of us went out to lunch and got some last minute shopping done before getting back on the busses. As soon as we got on the busses, we all passed out, and didn't wake up again until we pulled into port. It was about 5 o'clock, and on-ship time is 6, so when we got there, there was gigantically long line! There had to be at least a couple hundred people waiting to get on the ship! But since we were on an SAS trip, we knew we couldn't get dock time, which was nice. We waited in line and saw everyone coming back form their trips, and eventually, we took one last walk up the gangway in time to send postcards and take showers before dinner. Then we all stood out on the back deck and watched as the ship slowly pulled away. There was a lot of hugging and picture-taking because we all knew that the next time we stepped off the ship, it would be in the United States. I can't believe it.
Guatemala quickly became one of our favorite countries...probably because we didn't have any expectations, and probably because it was a TON of fun. We are really glad we got to go there and hope that we can go back one day and bring some of our friends. I know everyone would love it! Stay tuned for an entry about everything that's been going on on the ship since we've been back soon...
Miss and love you!!!!!
K & S
Guatemala was amazing! But before we got there, this was the country everyone kind of forgot about. It was right around finals, we had already been back to the US (Hawaii), and it was at the end of the voyage. And on top of that, everyone scared the crap out of us before we arrived, saying that it was on its way to being a failed state, the situation was unstable, and that we would most likely be robbed or mugged while there. So this was a port that we all had somewhat lower expectations for. But I think that's why it turned out to be so great- it was ten times better than we could've ever thought it would be!
Two nights before we arrived, one of our fellow students, Eric, gave a fantastic pre-port that told us all about it, showed us what it looked like, and what to do when we get there. We had really no idea what we were going to do, and the night before we arrived, we (the five of us) were invited by John (one of the ship's doctors) and his wife, Sage, to go ziplining with them and their extended family. So, the first morning, after the diplomatic briefing (again, scaring us into basically staying on the ship), we boarded a shuttle to Antigua, which is about an hour and a half away. We slept the whole way, and we were there at around 11 am. The tour company wasn't coming to pick us up until 1:30, so we had some free time to look around. Antigua is a beautiful city! It is paved with cobblestone streets, the buildings are all colorful, and the people are so nice. One of our friends, Jen, came with us, and we ate at a great restaurant and talked for a while. We all walked around the town square and shopped for a little bit, and then went to the trucks to go up the mountain to zipline! These trucks looked like safari vehicles- open air utility trucks with a canvas top- and we drove these the twenty minutes or so to the company's location in the mountains surrounding Antigua. On the same property is a coffee farm, so we saw the SAS trip, and once we had all paid and ready to go, we started our ascent to the top. There were about 17 of us at this point, and we all sat in the scary trucks that drove on very narrow roads, close to the edge of cliffs, up to 6,000 ft where the ziplines were. We got suited up in harnesses (which looked very good on us, if you wanna know), and they gave us a little instruction before we just started going. It was so much fun! We were surrounded by trees and lush greenery on all sides, not to mention we were on top of a mountain! Ziplining was really exhilarating and a little scary, but we all had such a good time! We did 6 regular lines, about 100-200 meters, and then we got to go on the "Canyon Express", which is a 500 meter line from one mountain to the other and then back again. It was awesome!! I was the first to go, and they just pushed me off of the platform and I sailed through the air, looking down at the valley where the town of Antigua stayed tucked away, and the wind was rushing through my ears- I was going so fast. The best part was hearing people come across, especially Emmett, who screamed like a girl and kicked his legs out like a bicycle! It was definitely an experience! We were all full of adrenaline and excited that we just got to do ziplining in Guatemala! We said thank you to the tour guides (they were sooo nice!) and made our way back down the mountain and into Antigua. From there, we had about 3 hours until the shuttle back to the ship was leaving, so we had pizza and walked around. The interesting thing was that everything closed at 8 o'clock or earlier. We were getting ice cream and the shop we were in closed before we were even done, and our plan to go shopping was ruined when the market, and every other shop, closed as well. So we ended up walking around the square, meeting and talking with other SASers who were waiting, and playing funny word games. The shuttle came, and we drove back to the ship, exhausted from the day. On our way, we saw a volcano (I believe it was Fuego) that was erupting. Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes, and some of them are still active. The lava was shooting out of it, and the fire blazed against the contrasting night sky. It was an amazing sight to see!! Back on the ship, we hung out with the girls and Pat, and said goodbye to Joan, who was leaving the next day.
The next morning, our plan was to stand in line and see if we could get tickets to climb Pacaya volcano. Victoria, Stephanie, Amy, and Pat already had tickets, so we got out there at 6:45 to see if there were extra seats on the bus. It turns out we were not the only ones with that plan because we ended up being 4th and 5th in line. We waited and waited, and at 7:15, Kate O. told us that they could only take 4 of us. And since we didn't want to split up, the first three got to go, and we were left on the pier, waving pitifully at the girls and trying to decide what we were going to do. There was another trip leaving at 8:30 that was going on a service visit to Camino Seguro (Safe Passage) in Guatemala City, so we decided we were going to try and get on that one. We went inside, hung out for a while, and then went back out and stood in line- again. After only about ten minutes, though, Kate told us that we could hop on because some people hadn't shown up. Yay! So all of a sudden, we had new plans, and we were on our way to the capital led by one of the professors on the ship, Mark Shadle. When we got there, we were taken to the city dump, in the middle of zone 3, where thousands of people work everyday (they are called huejeros) to pick through the trash. They find anything they can- cardboard, plastic, clothes- and resell it to companies or other people for a minimal amount of money. They even take out old food that's been thrown in there, re-cook it, and sell it to the other workers there. There is a market economy down in the dump, which means these people could dig through the waste and chemicals for 6 hours one day and not make anything, if people aren't buying what they're trying to sell that day. The dump is about 10-12 km long, and we were standing at the edge of it, looking down into a very steep ravine at all of these people walking through garbage, just trying to make a living. We stayed there with our guides and asked a ton of questions, and then we drove to a different zone, at the opposite end of the dump, to see the Camino Seguro facilities. The first building we went to was the gymnasium (where the kids are taught to play basketball, lacrosse, an even break dance!), the pre-school rooms and playground, one of the cafeterias- where the kids are fed most likely their only meal of the day, and some of their offices. The kids were so adorable! We played with them on the playground, and they were fascinated with our cameras, so we took a lot of pictures. After we were done there, we drove to their final facility, which is their main building. This houses the grade school to high school kids, another cafeteria, the mothers' building, and the clinic, which is run by Bayer. The children come after school- about 1:30 or so- and eat lunch, do homework, and take English classes. Then they have time to be kids for the rest of the afternoon before they return home. The mothers' building was a new addition a few years ago, and they have the moms of the kids in the program come in throughout the week to learn English, math, reading and writing, and other things. This enables them to get ahead in life and get a job that allows them to not have to work in the dump. The program works around their schedule, and it gets the family and community involved instead of just the kids. Just recently, actually, the mothers started making jewelry out of material they would find in the dump (magazines, plastic, etc), and people who would come to the building started to notice it and wanted to know if they could buy it. So the moms got together and started a business...all by themselves. They were taught how to run the meetings, keep inventory, balance the accounting part of it, and the business just took off. Now they sell their jewelry to the U.S. and around Guatemala, and they are making more money than they did working in the dump, so most of them don't work more than one or two days a week there anymore. We got to see some of their jewelry, and we all bought A LOT of it. They were so excited! Now that I've told you about the program, let me tell you how it all got started. Hanley Denning, who lived in Maine, was in Guatemala studying Spanish for a few years, and a week before she was supposed to leave, a friend brought her to the dump and showed it to her. At this time, in 1999, the kids were all still working in the dump, some as young as 3 years old, and she felt like she had to do something. So she called her parents back in Maine, told them to sell all of her stuff- car, computer, everything- and with the profits from that she started Safe Passage. At the beginning, there were only about 50 children, and it slowly started to grow. They added the new buildings, and the program started to gain interest and funding. The, in January 2007, Hanley was killed in a car accident in Antigua. Everyone back in the U.S. heard about what she had been trying to do, so that year, the program got millions of dollars in donations and sponsorships, and they were able to add families. Now they have almost 600 kids, which is great because you can actually see that helping the whole community, instead of just one or two kids. I was so glad we got to go and see it, and I hope that we can volunteer for them or with them sometime in the future! After we left Camino Seguro, we drove back to the ship, sleeping the whole 2 hours, and when we got back, it was only 4:30. So we decided to go out to dinner, and Kevin, Amy, and Ellie were getting ready to go out. In Puerto Quetzal (where we were docked), there is nothing to do- it's all farmlands and industrial complexes. We decided to take a cab to the restaurant on the other side of the port area, and we got caught in a nasty rainstorm. We watched the lightning out over the water during dinner...it was pretty cool. Until the power went out at the restaurant. haha. But we still had a great time, and when we got back, we got some homework done and hung out on the ship until we went to sleep.
The next morning (last day), we got up at 6, had a little breakfast, and met for our mountain biking trip. We had two busses, and we left for Antigua at 7. Kate and I (and the rest of the bus) fell asleep on the way there. About 45 minutes into it, we hear our driver yelling and our bus started to swerve and brake really hard. We woke up just in time to see a chicken bus (the really crowded busses that the locals ride in) slam into an 18-wheeler. It turns out that the chicken busses had tried to pass one of our busses, and the semi-truck was in the oncoming lane. So it swerved, trying to avoid a collision, jack-knifed, and the bus ran right into the back end of it. It was crazy! The truck was blocking the entire road, so we just sat and watched all the people on the bus jump out, some bleeding, carrying all of their stuff. Our guide and one of the videographers, Skye Fitzgerald, ran out immediately to try and help, and we gave them our water and any first aid stuff we had on the bus. After about a half-hour, they moved the truck and we were finally able to continue the drive. None of us slept after that, we all just watched the road like a hawk, and we narrowly avoided two more accidents involving chicken busses. Needless to say, we were all very excited to get to Antigua in one piece. We went to a building where they were storing all of the bikes, then found one that fit each of us, grabbed our helmets, and we were off. Antigua is made up of cobblestone streets, and if you've never ridden a bike on them, let me tell you- it's tough! You pedal really hard and only get two feet. We rode through the streets, on highways, to 3 or 4 different villages and towns. It was amazing! We even got to see the oldest church in Guatemala and the place where our guide proposed to his wife! The surrounding areas are lush and green, and the little towns were adorable and tucked into the mountainsides. We were having so much fun!! And then......Kate decided to flip over her handlebars. We were on a dirt path, and I guess she hit a rock or something and went flying. She's okay...she got a huge scrape on her arm, and a few more bruises and cuts all over her left side. But she laughed it off and kept riding. And now she has a great battle wound/souvenir from the last port. haha. So after that, we kept riding, and it was brutal!! We were all huffing and puffing, and we thought our legs were going to fall off! I don't know why we signed up for it, since we all knew we were out of shape being on the ship, but we did, and we were struggling. We went up really steep hills and through hard terrain. But that's what made it really fun! We were all dying together, and it turned out to be a great bonding experience. We were all so happy when we got done! Except none of us could walk! We had a little bit of free time in Antigua after we got done, so a bunch of us went out to lunch and got some last minute shopping done before getting back on the busses. As soon as we got on the busses, we all passed out, and didn't wake up again until we pulled into port. It was about 5 o'clock, and on-ship time is 6, so when we got there, there was gigantically long line! There had to be at least a couple hundred people waiting to get on the ship! But since we were on an SAS trip, we knew we couldn't get dock time, which was nice. We waited in line and saw everyone coming back form their trips, and eventually, we took one last walk up the gangway in time to send postcards and take showers before dinner. Then we all stood out on the back deck and watched as the ship slowly pulled away. There was a lot of hugging and picture-taking because we all knew that the next time we stepped off the ship, it would be in the United States. I can't believe it.
Guatemala quickly became one of our favorite countries...probably because we didn't have any expectations, and probably because it was a TON of fun. We are really glad we got to go there and hope that we can go back one day and bring some of our friends. I know everyone would love it! Stay tuned for an entry about everything that's been going on on the ship since we've been back soon...
Miss and love you!!!!!
K & S
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
From the Middle of the Pacific
4/26/09
So we’ve been at sea for a loooong time. Sixteen days in all, with a brief but welcomed stop in Hawaii. There’s a lot going on on the ship…enough to keep us very busy every day! We went on a bridge tour, which was so cool! They take you up to the front and out onto the bridge, and we got to learn about all of the controls, look out the front windows for pirates ;-) and even sit in the captain’s chair! Dad- you would’ve been proud- we were talking with the first officer in boating terms. It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad we got to do it. We went to see the shipboard play a few days ago. It was a Greek tragedy, and we didn’t really get what was going on the whole time, but the acting was phenomenal, and we all liked it. We also had our sea social for the Bering Sea. The food was great- spring rolls, ice cream, mini hamburgers, cookies, chips & salsa…it was all delicious and we were very excited! We went up to the faculty/staff lounge and ate until our pants were tight. Yummy! We officially finished up classes, which is an amazing feeling, but also sad. No one can believe the voyage is almost over. And yet it seems like January was a different lifetime. The other night, we had a small reflection-type thing where some students, staff, and faculty members got together and talked through what the ending of the trip would feel like. It was good to get some perspective from a few of the staff that had been on it before, and they gave us some great advice. We have a full reflection/re-entry day on May 4th, so this was just a preview, but it was really great of them to do it for us.
A few nights ago, we had formal dining (by “we” I mean the twins, Pat, and us). You have to sign up for it in advance, and everyone gets dressed up and goes downstairs to classroom 9 where they have nice tables and tablecloths set up. When you sit down, they serve you champagne, and you get the choice of meals that are all fancy, and it consists of five courses! We all ordered the spring rolls, garden salad, beef & broccoli soup, herb chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese, and ice cream cake delight for dessert. It was fantastic! We were all dressed up, and the food was absolutely delicious and not like regular ship-food at all!
My extended family had a card night, and we played hearts for almost 3 hours! It was so much fun, and I’m really going to miss seeing them all the time around the ship and for “after-country” dinners on the 6th floor. Joan, the nurse, is leaving in Guatemala because she has an award to accept in New York City, so we had a surprise going away party for her. Her extended family told her they wanted to have a game-day, so she shows up, and about 30 of us were in the room yelling surprise, and she had a scorecard with her because she was ready to play cards! It was awesome! She is such a sweetheart, and we all will miss her so much! The last evening church service was last night, and Luke went up and spoke about the trip and how God changed him and others along the way, and it was really powerful. There’s going to be one more morning service on Panama Canal Day. Our movie night was SO fun! We got popcorn and sodas, about 12 people showed up (Stephanie, Victoria, Kelly, Greg, Phil, Brian, Patrick, Mike, Rachel, Amy, Eric, and Jose), and we watched Wedding Crashers! It was hilarious. I love that movie!!
Speaking of movies, we have all been really excited because they have been showing good movies on the loop! The Breakfast Club, Clueless, AND Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were on! We, of course, watched the last one three times in a row, and it was fabulous. It’s funny the things we are all amused by on the ship! Other things going on: we’ve been playing with Ellie a lot (what’s new?), and she has grown up so much! She talks all the time now, she’s super smart, and has the best manners. Every morning, she knocks on our door for breakfast and we eat together, and then we play until Global Studies. Then, we usually play with her until her naptime if we don’t have class, and she always comes to visit me when I’m working. Her favorite thing to do is play hide-and-seek behind the stacks of books. She’s absolutely adorable, and we’re going to miss her sooo much! We had our last Global Studies exam, which was horrible, and a lifeboat drill, which wasn’t too bad. We’ve been losing a LOT of sleep, and everyone is so tired from the constant jet lag. Other than that, we’ve just been getting ready to take finals and planning for Guatemala. We’re not entirely sure what we’re doing yet, but anything should be fun! We’ll let you know when we get back!!
Miss you and love you all!
-K & S
So we’ve been at sea for a loooong time. Sixteen days in all, with a brief but welcomed stop in Hawaii. There’s a lot going on on the ship…enough to keep us very busy every day! We went on a bridge tour, which was so cool! They take you up to the front and out onto the bridge, and we got to learn about all of the controls, look out the front windows for pirates ;-) and even sit in the captain’s chair! Dad- you would’ve been proud- we were talking with the first officer in boating terms. It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad we got to do it. We went to see the shipboard play a few days ago. It was a Greek tragedy, and we didn’t really get what was going on the whole time, but the acting was phenomenal, and we all liked it. We also had our sea social for the Bering Sea. The food was great- spring rolls, ice cream, mini hamburgers, cookies, chips & salsa…it was all delicious and we were very excited! We went up to the faculty/staff lounge and ate until our pants were tight. Yummy! We officially finished up classes, which is an amazing feeling, but also sad. No one can believe the voyage is almost over. And yet it seems like January was a different lifetime. The other night, we had a small reflection-type thing where some students, staff, and faculty members got together and talked through what the ending of the trip would feel like. It was good to get some perspective from a few of the staff that had been on it before, and they gave us some great advice. We have a full reflection/re-entry day on May 4th, so this was just a preview, but it was really great of them to do it for us.
A few nights ago, we had formal dining (by “we” I mean the twins, Pat, and us). You have to sign up for it in advance, and everyone gets dressed up and goes downstairs to classroom 9 where they have nice tables and tablecloths set up. When you sit down, they serve you champagne, and you get the choice of meals that are all fancy, and it consists of five courses! We all ordered the spring rolls, garden salad, beef & broccoli soup, herb chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese, and ice cream cake delight for dessert. It was fantastic! We were all dressed up, and the food was absolutely delicious and not like regular ship-food at all!
My extended family had a card night, and we played hearts for almost 3 hours! It was so much fun, and I’m really going to miss seeing them all the time around the ship and for “after-country” dinners on the 6th floor. Joan, the nurse, is leaving in Guatemala because she has an award to accept in New York City, so we had a surprise going away party for her. Her extended family told her they wanted to have a game-day, so she shows up, and about 30 of us were in the room yelling surprise, and she had a scorecard with her because she was ready to play cards! It was awesome! She is such a sweetheart, and we all will miss her so much! The last evening church service was last night, and Luke went up and spoke about the trip and how God changed him and others along the way, and it was really powerful. There’s going to be one more morning service on Panama Canal Day. Our movie night was SO fun! We got popcorn and sodas, about 12 people showed up (Stephanie, Victoria, Kelly, Greg, Phil, Brian, Patrick, Mike, Rachel, Amy, Eric, and Jose), and we watched Wedding Crashers! It was hilarious. I love that movie!!
Speaking of movies, we have all been really excited because they have been showing good movies on the loop! The Breakfast Club, Clueless, AND Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were on! We, of course, watched the last one three times in a row, and it was fabulous. It’s funny the things we are all amused by on the ship! Other things going on: we’ve been playing with Ellie a lot (what’s new?), and she has grown up so much! She talks all the time now, she’s super smart, and has the best manners. Every morning, she knocks on our door for breakfast and we eat together, and then we play until Global Studies. Then, we usually play with her until her naptime if we don’t have class, and she always comes to visit me when I’m working. Her favorite thing to do is play hide-and-seek behind the stacks of books. She’s absolutely adorable, and we’re going to miss her sooo much! We had our last Global Studies exam, which was horrible, and a lifeboat drill, which wasn’t too bad. We’ve been losing a LOT of sleep, and everyone is so tired from the constant jet lag. Other than that, we’ve just been getting ready to take finals and planning for Guatemala. We’re not entirely sure what we’re doing yet, but anything should be fun! We’ll let you know when we get back!!
Miss you and love you all!
-K & S
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Pictures
We know you've all been waiting, so here you go...
Angkor Wat at sunrise. Siem reap, Cambodia
The MV docked in Hong Kong harbor
Our wonderful guide, Tony, with Tara and us before leaving Beijing
The whole group of us in Shanghai: the twins, Kevin, Amy, and Ellie. Pat's taking the picture.
Movie night! Watching Mulan after leaving China with Greg, Patrick, Victoria, and Stephanie
Kelly, Alex, and us at the baseball game in Yokohama, Japan
The girls, Kate & I at a garden in Tokyo, Japan
Sunset in the middle of the Pacific
Skydiving!!
That's all for now. Enjoy!
Angkor Wat at sunrise. Siem reap, Cambodia
The MV docked in Hong Kong harbor
Our wonderful guide, Tony, with Tara and us before leaving Beijing
The whole group of us in Shanghai: the twins, Kevin, Amy, and Ellie. Pat's taking the picture.
Movie night! Watching Mulan after leaving China with Greg, Patrick, Victoria, and Stephanie
Kelly, Alex, and us at the baseball game in Yokohama, Japan
The girls, Kate & I at a garden in Tokyo, Japan
Sunset in the middle of the Pacific
Skydiving!!
That's all for now. Enjoy!
Aloha!
Hawaii.
Beautiful.
Those two words go together like peanut butter and jelly (mmm). Hawaii is a tropical paradise, and the weather while we were there was absolutely perfect, which made it all the more amazing! We were docked on Oahu, in the city of Honolulu, and we pulled in at about 6 am on Sunday. Because it’s Hawaii, and because we haven’t done it enough on this trip, we woke up for the sunrise at about 5:40 that morning and went out on deck 7. There were already a few people out there on their cell phones (being back in the US, most people’s cell phones worked again), and we ended up not being able to see the sunrise because it was blocked by all the tall buildings downtown. But it was quiet and serene, and we were very excited about being on American soil again. At about 6:05, we heard a song being played and didn’t know where it was coming from until we heard Luke’s voice on the loudspeaker saying, “Wakey wakey…it’s time to get up. Rise and shine!!” The song was, very fittingly, “Living in America”. It was quite hilarious to us since we were already awake, but I’m sure some people on the ship were not too happy about it! The reason we were woken up so early was because the immigration process was going to take such a long time. We had to go up to the faculty/staff lounge and complete a face-to-face inspection with the customs officials. They started calling the seas, and Kate and I waited patiently in the library until our sea was called….last. We didn’t get done until 7:30, and by that time, everyone was up and eating breakfast. So we went to eat breakfast after that, and everyone was in the dining hall. And I mean everyone. The line on both sides went out the door to the deck, and people were eating standing up because there weren’t enough tables. So we decided to wait and get ready first. We took showers, got dressed, and got everything together that we would need for the day, and then ate some fruit loops in the dining hall. It was so funny to walk around the ship because literally all you would see were people on their cell phones. Everywhere you looked, there was someone talking, or shouting, into their phone, and Jerry (the videographer) even got people to line up on the back deck while talking, and he ran down the line with his camera to capture the cell phone madness. We didn’t have a cell phone so we felt a little out of place, but it was still funny to watch! We did borrow a friend’s cell phone to call Mom, and it was great to talk to her without a delay for once. It almost felt normal to talk to her again, like it was no big deal, even though it’s been hard to do the past few months.
A few days before docking in Hawaii, we had decided to go surfing with my boss, Lisa, and two other girls who also work in the library. She set it up with firefighters ;-) who were going to teach us how to surf, and we were all pretty excited. However, when Lisa called them to ask when we would be picked up, they cancelled. They didn’t even really give her a reason, so we were bummed. But, making lemonade out of lemons, Kate and I decided to go skydiving instead. So we met up with a bunch of other people who were taking a shuttle out to the place and headed out. It took about 45 minutes to get there, and on the way, our driver played a bunch of new songs we hadn’t yet heard (new to us, he said they were old because they came out in February). It was strange to have a driver who spoke English- usually they don’t talk to us so this was a real treat to be able to ask him questions and talk to him. The drive was really fun! Once we got there, we saw people falling from the sky trailed by huge parachutes, and we started to get really nervous. Not to mention, right after we got there, we had to sign our life away. They literally had forms that said, “If you agree not to sue us if you get injured or die, sign here”, and they outlined how you could get injured on the next page. It was pretty crazy, but we were all so excited. So we waited a few minutes, and a few people got called to go. They got suited up, ran to the plane, and about 15 minutes later, we saw them coming down and landing in the field. We waited for more people’s names to be called, and then we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Eventually they said that the trade winds had picked up, which was dangerous, so they were waiting until they calmed down. So we got some ice cream and hung around talking for about two hours. We used our friend Laura’s phone and called Anna. It was great to talk to her!! We told her what we were doing and she didn’t believe us at all! Then we basically spent the rest of the time talking about how much we missed each other. It was awesome. After almost three hours, the people in charge said they were canceling any more jumps for the day, and that we would need to reschedule. So we set up for a van to come pick some of us up at 6 am the next day, but because Kate & I, and a few other people, had a trip in the morning, we asked to be picked up at 1 pm. We drove back to the ship and had some lunch, and then Kate and I went to help out with an open ship program that we had agreed to be a part of.
The program allows potential students and parents to come see the ship, ask questions, and get a tour, and they needed us there to help out. There turned out to be about 15 people, and the director, Marty, talked about ISE and Semester at Sea for a little while before showing a promotional video that we had all watched about 100 times before coming on the voyage. A few other SASers showed up to help, too, and we were talking about how weird it was to be watching the video again after being on the ship and in the middle of our voyage. It was a very strange feeling. At the end, they show students getting off in Florida, reuniting with their parents and family members, and it was so sad. Jillian, Kate, and I started tearing up because we knew that would soon be us, and we didn’t want to think about it. After the video, we got asked a lot of questions- everything from classes to the food to what our favorite port was. It was cool to talk about our experience with people who didn’t know what it felt like, but at the same time, it was hard. We could try to describe how amazing the Taj Mahal or Angkor Wat was to see, or how it felt to talk to the children in Khayelitsha, but they didn’t really understand. It was definitely a preview of how it’s going to be to go home and try to tell everyone about this spring. At the end of the session, we all gave tours, which was easy. It felt like last summer again! I was able to answer all of their questions and relate my own experiences about what it was really like to live on a ship for 4 months. Altogether, the program went well, and I would love to do it again for anyone who’s looking at possibly doing SAS in the future because it’s an amazing experience, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone! The rest of our night was spent walking around Honolulu downtown and Waikiki, eating at Planet Hollywood (very cool), and just relaxing. We got back to the ship at around midnight and slept until our alarm went off at 6:45 am.
Monday morning, we woke up, ate breakfast with our neighbors, and then boarded a bus to go on a SAS trip to Pearl Harbor. This was one of the places Kate and I were so looking forward to going on the trip because, as you know, we are huge history buffs, and WWII is our favorite time period. So we drove to the memorial, got our tickets, and were ushered into a theatre to watch a video explaining Pearl Harbor, what led up to it, and what happened on that day in 1941. The movie, which lasted about 23 minutes, was excellent. It was very objective, just stating the facts, and it included a ton of footage from that time period and the actual day of the attacks. It was very interesting, and I like it a lot! After it finished, we got on a shuttle boat that drove us out to the Arizona memorial. The weather was beautiful, the water was calm, and it was hard to imagine what had happened almost 68 years ago. The destruction, fires, and death that had taken place back then was a complete contrast to what it looked like today. There was absolute silence as we walked onto the memorial and looked around. The building was actually built on top of the USS Arizona, which was never recovered from the harbor, but became a shallow grave for almost 2,000 men who lost their lives that day. All of the names were etched into the back wall, along with the names of surviving men who chose to be entombed with their ship when they died, two of which were as recently as 2008. It was eerie, but at the same time, peaceful, and I couldn’t help getting the feeling that I was one of millions of people who had already visited, and who were yet to come after me, and it felt less-than significant. It was very cool to see it in person, though, and I’m so glad we got to go. After taking a few pictures, we took the boat back to shore and looked around the museum and gift shop. Kate and I got a paper signed by a veteran who was there, and we bought a few books. The trip continued after the memorial, and we took a city tour of Honolulu. We got to see the Palace downtown, which is the only one in the US, the Punchbowl cemetery for military personnel and their families, and a few other historical and political sites. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, so it turned out to be a pretty great morning!
After getting back to the ship, we ate in the dining hall (they had fries!!), and then got ready to go skydiving- again. We went outside to wait, tried to call people but it wouldn’t work, and then sat drinking chocolate milk from Starbucks while waiting for the shuttle. Of course, with our luck, it never showed, and we waited around for it until about 1:45. A van from another company came to drop people off who had just gone, so we asked if they would take us back so we could do it, too. He sad he had to drive to Waikiki first but that he would be back to pick us up. So again, we waited and waited (sensing a pattern?). Just when we were about to give up, at 2:40, he came back. YAY! So we hopped in, immediately fell asleep, and were woken up as we pulled into the mini-airport. Side note: the show Lost is filmed on Oahu, and the plane that they use is kept at this airport. Pretty cool, huh? So anyway, we got there, filled out more papers, and within 15 minutes of arrival, we were in the plane flying up to 14,000 ft! It was kind of insane. When it was time to jump, they opened the door, and Kate, along with her tandem partner, fell out of the plane. I was like, whoah- she just dropped out of this plane!! Then it was my turn, and I can’t even describe to you what it is like to be up that high in an airplane and then just fall from the sky into nothing. It’s so loud you can’t hear anything but wind, and you twist and turn and float while looking at all of Oahu underneath, waiting for you. After about 60 seconds, my tandem instructor, George, pulled the chute and we began floating around, as if we had wings. He pointed out all of the sights below, and we flew over the ocean and back, and at one point, we even went through the middle of a full circle rainbow! It was incredible! I saw Kate parachuting a few hundred feet away, and then I watched her land. When it was our turn, George guided us smoothly to the open field, and we glided down, landing on our butts, and then I collapsed, with a huge smile, in awe of what had just happened. Then I got up and ran over to Kate and we just hugged and laughed. It was SOOO awesome! We took a few more pictures, paid, and then drove back to the ship. It was 5:00 by the time we got back, and on-ship time was 6, so we hurried to get everything we wanted from the small mall in front of the terminal. We saw Kevin, Amy, and Ellie, just returning from the beach, and they bought us ice cream ☺ and then we ran into Pat who was eating and waiting for the twins to get done so they could head back also. We went to a convenience store and bought wheat thins, gummy snacks, rice krispie treats, and magnets, and then we bought a couple Hawaii shirts before running back to the ship. There was a loooong line to get through security and get our bags checked, and the minutes ticked closer to getting dock time. Thankfully, we made it with nine minutes to spare (!), and we filled out postcards and talked to everyone about their two days on the island. Kevin was nice enough to let us use his phone, so we called Dad & Kathy, Mom, Jenna, and Liz! It was so great to hear their voices and talk to them all, even if we did wake a few of them up (sorry!). I can’t wait to see everyone in a few weeks!
Last night, we unpacked all of the stuff we got (Amy also picked us up some peanut butter, pop-tarts, Doritos, granola bars, and panda-cookies!! She’s awesome!), played with Ellie, and went out on deck to get some pizza and talk with the twins and Pat. They told us all about their trip to Kuaii to see a family friend, and we went to their room and showed them pictures from skydiving. Then we came back up, read our books, and went to sleep by 11:30. We lost another hour of sleep last night (8 hours total since leaving Japan), and we’re going to lose another 3 before Guatemala! We are definitely all feeling it, and finals are coming up in the next few days, along with FDP’s to turn in and papers to turn in! We’re having a sea-social tomorrow night, which should be really fun, and we get to have a movie night with popcorn and soda (from the auction), and invite 7 friends: Victoria, Stephanie, Pat, Gregg, Tara, Rachel, and Kelly. We’re watching “Wedding Crashers”, and that’ll be on the last B day of classes. It’s gonna be so much fun! We get to Guatemala in a week, and then we have 5 more days until we reach Ft. Lauderdale. I’ll keep you updated on everything going on, since there’s a lot!
Love you and miss you all!!
K&S
Beautiful.
Those two words go together like peanut butter and jelly (mmm). Hawaii is a tropical paradise, and the weather while we were there was absolutely perfect, which made it all the more amazing! We were docked on Oahu, in the city of Honolulu, and we pulled in at about 6 am on Sunday. Because it’s Hawaii, and because we haven’t done it enough on this trip, we woke up for the sunrise at about 5:40 that morning and went out on deck 7. There were already a few people out there on their cell phones (being back in the US, most people’s cell phones worked again), and we ended up not being able to see the sunrise because it was blocked by all the tall buildings downtown. But it was quiet and serene, and we were very excited about being on American soil again. At about 6:05, we heard a song being played and didn’t know where it was coming from until we heard Luke’s voice on the loudspeaker saying, “Wakey wakey…it’s time to get up. Rise and shine!!” The song was, very fittingly, “Living in America”. It was quite hilarious to us since we were already awake, but I’m sure some people on the ship were not too happy about it! The reason we were woken up so early was because the immigration process was going to take such a long time. We had to go up to the faculty/staff lounge and complete a face-to-face inspection with the customs officials. They started calling the seas, and Kate and I waited patiently in the library until our sea was called….last. We didn’t get done until 7:30, and by that time, everyone was up and eating breakfast. So we went to eat breakfast after that, and everyone was in the dining hall. And I mean everyone. The line on both sides went out the door to the deck, and people were eating standing up because there weren’t enough tables. So we decided to wait and get ready first. We took showers, got dressed, and got everything together that we would need for the day, and then ate some fruit loops in the dining hall. It was so funny to walk around the ship because literally all you would see were people on their cell phones. Everywhere you looked, there was someone talking, or shouting, into their phone, and Jerry (the videographer) even got people to line up on the back deck while talking, and he ran down the line with his camera to capture the cell phone madness. We didn’t have a cell phone so we felt a little out of place, but it was still funny to watch! We did borrow a friend’s cell phone to call Mom, and it was great to talk to her without a delay for once. It almost felt normal to talk to her again, like it was no big deal, even though it’s been hard to do the past few months.
A few days before docking in Hawaii, we had decided to go surfing with my boss, Lisa, and two other girls who also work in the library. She set it up with firefighters ;-) who were going to teach us how to surf, and we were all pretty excited. However, when Lisa called them to ask when we would be picked up, they cancelled. They didn’t even really give her a reason, so we were bummed. But, making lemonade out of lemons, Kate and I decided to go skydiving instead. So we met up with a bunch of other people who were taking a shuttle out to the place and headed out. It took about 45 minutes to get there, and on the way, our driver played a bunch of new songs we hadn’t yet heard (new to us, he said they were old because they came out in February). It was strange to have a driver who spoke English- usually they don’t talk to us so this was a real treat to be able to ask him questions and talk to him. The drive was really fun! Once we got there, we saw people falling from the sky trailed by huge parachutes, and we started to get really nervous. Not to mention, right after we got there, we had to sign our life away. They literally had forms that said, “If you agree not to sue us if you get injured or die, sign here”, and they outlined how you could get injured on the next page. It was pretty crazy, but we were all so excited. So we waited a few minutes, and a few people got called to go. They got suited up, ran to the plane, and about 15 minutes later, we saw them coming down and landing in the field. We waited for more people’s names to be called, and then we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Eventually they said that the trade winds had picked up, which was dangerous, so they were waiting until they calmed down. So we got some ice cream and hung around talking for about two hours. We used our friend Laura’s phone and called Anna. It was great to talk to her!! We told her what we were doing and she didn’t believe us at all! Then we basically spent the rest of the time talking about how much we missed each other. It was awesome. After almost three hours, the people in charge said they were canceling any more jumps for the day, and that we would need to reschedule. So we set up for a van to come pick some of us up at 6 am the next day, but because Kate & I, and a few other people, had a trip in the morning, we asked to be picked up at 1 pm. We drove back to the ship and had some lunch, and then Kate and I went to help out with an open ship program that we had agreed to be a part of.
The program allows potential students and parents to come see the ship, ask questions, and get a tour, and they needed us there to help out. There turned out to be about 15 people, and the director, Marty, talked about ISE and Semester at Sea for a little while before showing a promotional video that we had all watched about 100 times before coming on the voyage. A few other SASers showed up to help, too, and we were talking about how weird it was to be watching the video again after being on the ship and in the middle of our voyage. It was a very strange feeling. At the end, they show students getting off in Florida, reuniting with their parents and family members, and it was so sad. Jillian, Kate, and I started tearing up because we knew that would soon be us, and we didn’t want to think about it. After the video, we got asked a lot of questions- everything from classes to the food to what our favorite port was. It was cool to talk about our experience with people who didn’t know what it felt like, but at the same time, it was hard. We could try to describe how amazing the Taj Mahal or Angkor Wat was to see, or how it felt to talk to the children in Khayelitsha, but they didn’t really understand. It was definitely a preview of how it’s going to be to go home and try to tell everyone about this spring. At the end of the session, we all gave tours, which was easy. It felt like last summer again! I was able to answer all of their questions and relate my own experiences about what it was really like to live on a ship for 4 months. Altogether, the program went well, and I would love to do it again for anyone who’s looking at possibly doing SAS in the future because it’s an amazing experience, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone! The rest of our night was spent walking around Honolulu downtown and Waikiki, eating at Planet Hollywood (very cool), and just relaxing. We got back to the ship at around midnight and slept until our alarm went off at 6:45 am.
Monday morning, we woke up, ate breakfast with our neighbors, and then boarded a bus to go on a SAS trip to Pearl Harbor. This was one of the places Kate and I were so looking forward to going on the trip because, as you know, we are huge history buffs, and WWII is our favorite time period. So we drove to the memorial, got our tickets, and were ushered into a theatre to watch a video explaining Pearl Harbor, what led up to it, and what happened on that day in 1941. The movie, which lasted about 23 minutes, was excellent. It was very objective, just stating the facts, and it included a ton of footage from that time period and the actual day of the attacks. It was very interesting, and I like it a lot! After it finished, we got on a shuttle boat that drove us out to the Arizona memorial. The weather was beautiful, the water was calm, and it was hard to imagine what had happened almost 68 years ago. The destruction, fires, and death that had taken place back then was a complete contrast to what it looked like today. There was absolute silence as we walked onto the memorial and looked around. The building was actually built on top of the USS Arizona, which was never recovered from the harbor, but became a shallow grave for almost 2,000 men who lost their lives that day. All of the names were etched into the back wall, along with the names of surviving men who chose to be entombed with their ship when they died, two of which were as recently as 2008. It was eerie, but at the same time, peaceful, and I couldn’t help getting the feeling that I was one of millions of people who had already visited, and who were yet to come after me, and it felt less-than significant. It was very cool to see it in person, though, and I’m so glad we got to go. After taking a few pictures, we took the boat back to shore and looked around the museum and gift shop. Kate and I got a paper signed by a veteran who was there, and we bought a few books. The trip continued after the memorial, and we took a city tour of Honolulu. We got to see the Palace downtown, which is the only one in the US, the Punchbowl cemetery for military personnel and their families, and a few other historical and political sites. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, so it turned out to be a pretty great morning!
After getting back to the ship, we ate in the dining hall (they had fries!!), and then got ready to go skydiving- again. We went outside to wait, tried to call people but it wouldn’t work, and then sat drinking chocolate milk from Starbucks while waiting for the shuttle. Of course, with our luck, it never showed, and we waited around for it until about 1:45. A van from another company came to drop people off who had just gone, so we asked if they would take us back so we could do it, too. He sad he had to drive to Waikiki first but that he would be back to pick us up. So again, we waited and waited (sensing a pattern?). Just when we were about to give up, at 2:40, he came back. YAY! So we hopped in, immediately fell asleep, and were woken up as we pulled into the mini-airport. Side note: the show Lost is filmed on Oahu, and the plane that they use is kept at this airport. Pretty cool, huh? So anyway, we got there, filled out more papers, and within 15 minutes of arrival, we were in the plane flying up to 14,000 ft! It was kind of insane. When it was time to jump, they opened the door, and Kate, along with her tandem partner, fell out of the plane. I was like, whoah- she just dropped out of this plane!! Then it was my turn, and I can’t even describe to you what it is like to be up that high in an airplane and then just fall from the sky into nothing. It’s so loud you can’t hear anything but wind, and you twist and turn and float while looking at all of Oahu underneath, waiting for you. After about 60 seconds, my tandem instructor, George, pulled the chute and we began floating around, as if we had wings. He pointed out all of the sights below, and we flew over the ocean and back, and at one point, we even went through the middle of a full circle rainbow! It was incredible! I saw Kate parachuting a few hundred feet away, and then I watched her land. When it was our turn, George guided us smoothly to the open field, and we glided down, landing on our butts, and then I collapsed, with a huge smile, in awe of what had just happened. Then I got up and ran over to Kate and we just hugged and laughed. It was SOOO awesome! We took a few more pictures, paid, and then drove back to the ship. It was 5:00 by the time we got back, and on-ship time was 6, so we hurried to get everything we wanted from the small mall in front of the terminal. We saw Kevin, Amy, and Ellie, just returning from the beach, and they bought us ice cream ☺ and then we ran into Pat who was eating and waiting for the twins to get done so they could head back also. We went to a convenience store and bought wheat thins, gummy snacks, rice krispie treats, and magnets, and then we bought a couple Hawaii shirts before running back to the ship. There was a loooong line to get through security and get our bags checked, and the minutes ticked closer to getting dock time. Thankfully, we made it with nine minutes to spare (!), and we filled out postcards and talked to everyone about their two days on the island. Kevin was nice enough to let us use his phone, so we called Dad & Kathy, Mom, Jenna, and Liz! It was so great to hear their voices and talk to them all, even if we did wake a few of them up (sorry!). I can’t wait to see everyone in a few weeks!
Last night, we unpacked all of the stuff we got (Amy also picked us up some peanut butter, pop-tarts, Doritos, granola bars, and panda-cookies!! She’s awesome!), played with Ellie, and went out on deck to get some pizza and talk with the twins and Pat. They told us all about their trip to Kuaii to see a family friend, and we went to their room and showed them pictures from skydiving. Then we came back up, read our books, and went to sleep by 11:30. We lost another hour of sleep last night (8 hours total since leaving Japan), and we’re going to lose another 3 before Guatemala! We are definitely all feeling it, and finals are coming up in the next few days, along with FDP’s to turn in and papers to turn in! We’re having a sea-social tomorrow night, which should be really fun, and we get to have a movie night with popcorn and soda (from the auction), and invite 7 friends: Victoria, Stephanie, Pat, Gregg, Tara, Rachel, and Kelly. We’re watching “Wedding Crashers”, and that’ll be on the last B day of classes. It’s gonna be so much fun! We get to Guatemala in a week, and then we have 5 more days until we reach Ft. Lauderdale. I’ll keep you updated on everything going on, since there’s a lot!
Love you and miss you all!!
K&S
Friday, April 17, 2009
Looking Forward to Looking Back
Hellooooo!
So we have about twenty days left. It’s a little scary, if you ask me, and no one on the ship is really prepared for what it’s going to be like to come back to a place that, before we left was so comfortable, and now it’s going to feel completely different. It took us a while to get used to traveling and being without the comforts of home, and now we have adapted to our new environment- just in time to return home. There’s a whisper going around the ship. You can hear it in the dining halls and outside by the pool- the one question…What are you most looking forward to having when you get back home? And we’ve been talking about it a lot. What we’ve missed having, what we haven’t. So I thought I’d let you all in on our little game. Here are a few things we are going to be excited to have when we get back:
First, the food- mom’s chocolate logs & no-bakes, real peanut butter, Kathy’s tacos, Doritos, good cereal, microwave popcorn, pop-tarts, skittles, fresh fruit, milk, my dad’s pancakes, and ramen. Other things we are looking forward to: cell phones (really any consistent communication with the outside world would be great!), internet, cars (being able to go to the store and get something we need), more clothes, our little sisters to play with whenever we want, and CNN.
A few things we’re going to miss: having our friends/classes/food/everything within 100 ft walk from our room, the routine we’ve gotten into, being in a new country every couple of days, seeing/talking/having dinner with your professors (even seeing them laying out tanning or singing in the pool), the excitement of taco/BBQ days, waking up to see nothing but waves outside the window, Kenton (our cabin steward), our cute little neighbor/adopted sister, Ellie, being together at the “same school”, doing homework while tanning on the 7th deck, the wonderful crew, sitting in class while a man overboard drill is going on, the captain interrupts on the loudspeaker in his wonderful English accent, and the ship does a 180, the fun of rough seas- watching people try to walk/eat/sit in class while the ship is rocking, the awesome vocal stylings of Greg and Jillian, “Gooooood afternoon…” aka Luke doing the announcements in his creepy voice, being in a place “where everybody knows your name”, being in our own little bubble-in a sort of amazing alternate reality. That’s all for right now, but I’m sure we’ll think of more later.
As for ship life since we left Japan, there has been A LOT going on. We had our second global studies test, so the entire ship was studying for about two days beforehand, and you would randomly be stopped in the hallway by someone asking, “What is the Buddha of our time?” or “What are zooxanthallae?”. It went better than last time, but we were still all very relieved when it was over. We had the Students of Service Auction and raised over $12,000. Some of the prizes auctioned off were: Joe (our conduct officer and former LAPD policemen) tucking you in with a bedtime story, a trip for 8 to a cottage near Yellowstone Park, complete with a cultural and logistical pre-port from John, honking the horn as we pull into Ft. Lauderdale, a movie party for 10, including popcorn and sodas (which we won), and the chance to be “The Voice” for a noon announcement. It was really fun and we raised a lot of money (the money goes to charities chosen by ISE that we have visited this semester). We also had the “Explorer’s Got Talent” talent show last night. It was amazing. I swear it was a requirement for boarding the ship to have a special talent because there is so much of it on this ship!! There were acts like singing, playing guitar, Chinese Yo-Yo, tap dancing, lip-synching, swing dancing, spoken word, and more. The LLL’s even sang a song about SAS set to the tune of Gilligan’s Island, and Greg & Jillian did another amazing parody about SAS that was really fun. I sang a song while playing the piano and everyone said it went really well. I’m glad I got up the courage to do it…it was a lot of fun! The play is tonight, and we signed up for seating for the Ambassador’s Ball which is on May 3rd. The rest of the time has been filled with Scattergories, long lunches, studying, and sleeping. We arrive in Hawaii in 2 days, and we still haven’t quite figured out what we’re doing yet- except going to Taco Bell. haha. We’ll see. Until then…
We love you all and miss you tons!
K & S
So we have about twenty days left. It’s a little scary, if you ask me, and no one on the ship is really prepared for what it’s going to be like to come back to a place that, before we left was so comfortable, and now it’s going to feel completely different. It took us a while to get used to traveling and being without the comforts of home, and now we have adapted to our new environment- just in time to return home. There’s a whisper going around the ship. You can hear it in the dining halls and outside by the pool- the one question…What are you most looking forward to having when you get back home? And we’ve been talking about it a lot. What we’ve missed having, what we haven’t. So I thought I’d let you all in on our little game. Here are a few things we are going to be excited to have when we get back:
First, the food- mom’s chocolate logs & no-bakes, real peanut butter, Kathy’s tacos, Doritos, good cereal, microwave popcorn, pop-tarts, skittles, fresh fruit, milk, my dad’s pancakes, and ramen. Other things we are looking forward to: cell phones (really any consistent communication with the outside world would be great!), internet, cars (being able to go to the store and get something we need), more clothes, our little sisters to play with whenever we want, and CNN.
A few things we’re going to miss: having our friends/classes/food/everything within 100 ft walk from our room, the routine we’ve gotten into, being in a new country every couple of days, seeing/talking/having dinner with your professors (even seeing them laying out tanning or singing in the pool), the excitement of taco/BBQ days, waking up to see nothing but waves outside the window, Kenton (our cabin steward), our cute little neighbor/adopted sister, Ellie, being together at the “same school”, doing homework while tanning on the 7th deck, the wonderful crew, sitting in class while a man overboard drill is going on, the captain interrupts on the loudspeaker in his wonderful English accent, and the ship does a 180, the fun of rough seas- watching people try to walk/eat/sit in class while the ship is rocking, the awesome vocal stylings of Greg and Jillian, “Gooooood afternoon…” aka Luke doing the announcements in his creepy voice, being in a place “where everybody knows your name”, being in our own little bubble-in a sort of amazing alternate reality. That’s all for right now, but I’m sure we’ll think of more later.
As for ship life since we left Japan, there has been A LOT going on. We had our second global studies test, so the entire ship was studying for about two days beforehand, and you would randomly be stopped in the hallway by someone asking, “What is the Buddha of our time?” or “What are zooxanthallae?”. It went better than last time, but we were still all very relieved when it was over. We had the Students of Service Auction and raised over $12,000. Some of the prizes auctioned off were: Joe (our conduct officer and former LAPD policemen) tucking you in with a bedtime story, a trip for 8 to a cottage near Yellowstone Park, complete with a cultural and logistical pre-port from John, honking the horn as we pull into Ft. Lauderdale, a movie party for 10, including popcorn and sodas (which we won), and the chance to be “The Voice” for a noon announcement. It was really fun and we raised a lot of money (the money goes to charities chosen by ISE that we have visited this semester). We also had the “Explorer’s Got Talent” talent show last night. It was amazing. I swear it was a requirement for boarding the ship to have a special talent because there is so much of it on this ship!! There were acts like singing, playing guitar, Chinese Yo-Yo, tap dancing, lip-synching, swing dancing, spoken word, and more. The LLL’s even sang a song about SAS set to the tune of Gilligan’s Island, and Greg & Jillian did another amazing parody about SAS that was really fun. I sang a song while playing the piano and everyone said it went really well. I’m glad I got up the courage to do it…it was a lot of fun! The play is tonight, and we signed up for seating for the Ambassador’s Ball which is on May 3rd. The rest of the time has been filled with Scattergories, long lunches, studying, and sleeping. We arrive in Hawaii in 2 days, and we still haven’t quite figured out what we’re doing yet- except going to Taco Bell. haha. We’ll see. Until then…
We love you all and miss you tons!
K & S
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