MAY 10

Oh goodness, now how did I forget to mention the Ambassador’s Ball in my last post? This event took place the third last night before Hawaii. It was a formal supper and dance event that everyone has been looking forward to for a large portion of the trip, and the reason why so many people had suits and dresses made in Vietnam. The committee in charge of this worked very hard to decorate and organize for our theme: Oh, the Places We’ve Been. The menu included numerous dishes from the countries we’d just visited, like sushi for Japan and a spinach cheese dish with naan for India, and they had set up different themed areas to represent those countries for pictures. Dessert included a giant chocolate Taj Mahal. That was a great night.

That’s it for now…I’m supposed to be writing my take-home Music final. Ah, it’ll never cease to amaze me how, even without Internet and a television, there are still so many ways to procrastinate!

Lindsay

MAY 22

For anybody who is still checking this site…this will be my last post. As all of you know, I’m back at home, safe and sound. Mom and Dad came to San Diego to pick me up – let’s just say it was a good thing they brought extra bags! What can I say? They were mostly filled with presents for the family.

Thanks for reading!

Lindsay

MAY 9

AHHHH!!! Is it really almost over? Here I am sitting in my room procrastinating from studying for finals. Seriously, this semester has gone by way too fast for my liking.

This past week and a half has been spent on the ship with the exception of one day in Hawaii. Ship life is still ship life, but Hawaii was definitely a nice break. Really, it’s just another tropical island, but getting some time off from class was definitely welcomed. I started the day on the beach, and then went with a smaller group for a hike to some falls in the rain forest. Oh, and when they say rain forest, they know what they’re talking about; the walk up was beautiful, but when we got to the top it started pouring! By the time we’d walked back down, we were all completely soaked through, and my flip flops had splashed mud all up my back. When we got back to the ocean, I went swimming with my clothes on still over my bathing suit. After drying off in the sun, we went walking to pick up Selena who was coming to meet up with us, went and had supper at La Cucaracha (Mexican food), and then it was time to head back to the ship. :( I think everyone on the ship agrees that it’s become strange to be able to communicate clearly, know exactly how much we’re spending, be able to read the street signs, and pay more than 5 dollars for a meal; even in Japan where everything was expensive, if you really looked, some type of meal could be found for that cheap.

Since coming back on the ship, I’ve written my first final: geology. That went surprisingly well for only studying the two hours before – of course I chose to stay up all night talking the one night before an exam I hadn’t yet reviewed for.

What next? Well, one more study day, then my two last finals, two packing days….and then San Diego. I know I’m going to miss the ship life, all the people, and just everything else that goes along with it. I even don’t really mind my job all that much! Oh, and the best part about my job: last night I took a nap and woke up a few minutes past my scheduled work time, so I put on a sweatshirt, threw on some flip flops, and ran upstairs still in my pajamas. And did anybody care? Of course not! I don’t normally walk around in pj’s on the ship, but it’s nice to not have to worry about things like that.

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned, but the ship is a very casual place, and it’s the not unheard of for some of the professors to show up to their 8am classes with bed-head, wearing sweats, and pillow wrinkles on their faces (okay, so this is really just one prof, but I’ll leave her name our of this). In this relaxed atmosphere it’s been really nice getting to know people, such as bosses and educators, on a more personal level. There’s no denying it, I don’t know how I’m going to go back to a normal university at a normal campus… on land! I love the rocking of the ship; I feel so at home here.

Just so you all know the plan for going back to Regina: Mom and Dad are coming to pick me up in San Diego, and we fly back to Calgary the next morning (Tuesday, May 15) for an undetermined amount of time. Really, that’s all I know of so far. I’ll probably post one more time before I get home, so I’ll see if I know more then.

Lindsay