MAR 24
Well hello there! Long time no talk! Okay, so I realize that’s because it’s been a while since I’ve written anything at all. So, what’s been happening? Umm…well, I’ve been to Mauritius, sailed for another six days, and we arrive in India tomorrow morning. Oh, and the whole country knows we’re going to be there…one of the inter-port lecturers informed us that our date of arrival was announced on prime time television…EVERYBODY knows we’re going to be there! Also, Chennai isn’t one of the main cruise ship ports and since they know we come every year…we’re pretty much expected.
And what about Mauritius? I had an amazing time while there. No, I didn’t really do a whole lot…but that is what was so great about it! All three days (but really it was only two and a half because we got into port at noon rather than 8am…and then had to wait for the ship to be cleared) Ivan and I just wandered around the waterfront and downtown. Being so simple, this was definitely my cheapest port: <$100 including all trips. (Alright, Puerto Rico was pretty cheap as well…but from now on…every other place will be over that for certain because of presents…man, I won’t have room for my clothes on the way back!) We ate out for every meal – this one restaurant downtown looked kinda questionable…but the food was good – and every other place was on the waterfront. Actually, that place downtown wasn’t really all that bad in comparison to this French restaurant: so while there I spoke French as much as possible, and when ordering my dish I asked for the chicken salad, but to exchange the chicken liver (they have it ALL over in Mauritius!) for grilled chicken. The waiter guy said okay. So, they bring me my dish… ½ was the salad I ordered without any chicken, and the other ½ was grilled vegetables with chicken liver!!! Mom, you’ll be proud of me…I ate it. I justified it as a cultural experience…but that was a one-time thing never to be repeated. Ever.
So, back to this speaking French thing…that was an interesting experience as well. So, I spoke as little English as possible while there, but was forced to sometimes. I guess my anglicized Quebec French accent was a little difficult for some of them to understand… and they were also confused about where I came from. They were pretty excited to hear I was Canadian, and then all too glad to talk about Celine Dion. Ummm…I’ll just leave that one alone. Oh! And speaking of being a few years behind…they clothing fashion was from the 90’s! Sorry to inform you Breanna and Chelsea, but I DIDN’T get you any shirts from there…seriously, you guys are missing out.
Anyway, I haven’t really been talking about anything informational about any of these ports… so I thought I’d just add a little blurb in here about Mauritius as a country. For those who don’t know, it’s a little volcanic island to the east of Madagascar, and part of the African continent (oh, I had to memorize all the African countries for Global Studies). This used to be a popular place for pirates, and before the first people landed, the only mammals on the island were bats - that means there are no indigenous people to the island. Today the island is inhabited by mainly Africans, Indians and Chinese because of the slave-trade and from this being a major stop-over for trade (mainly textiles). Long story short…there are many different cultures, ethnicities, religions, etc. there and all are very accepting of each other. Their political and voting system ensures all are well represented (over 10% saved for minorities who aren’t actually voted in)….it’s a really complicated system and I don’t really remember much of how it was structured…it’s kinda like what we have in Canada with how we vote for seats in parliament…okay, so I’ll stop trying to explain it, I’m failing miserably.
Our first day back on the ship we had Sea Olympics…basically our halls are divided into Seas (I’m part of the Caribbean) based on what deck and port or starboard, aft or forward. We could sign up for different activities…so I went for the relay race and ended up with Orange Pass. What’s Orange Pass…well, in a group of 7 we had to pass an orange between us using only our necks. Yeah, Ivan took some pictures.
Oh! And speaking of pictures…I’ve posted some on another site…but of course I can’t remember what that is right now! I’ll have to look it up when I have Internet connection later tonight (when I’ll be posting this). I’ll probably have that added as a post script, or maybe in a message of its own.
Anyway…so that’s basically what I did that day for Sea Olympics, that and homework.
Last night while at work (aka behind the desk of the library) it was announced that Archbishop Desmond Tutu will be holding a mass for Passover and Easter morning! I was really disappointed because I didn’t get the opportunity to go to mass for Lent, Holy Thursday, Good Friday…or anything of the like. I haven’t even really had the opportunity for a mass at all because of the wonky schedule on the ship! (We don’t go by days of the week, so I really don’t even know what day it is today.)
Well, I’m off to explore India soon. I’ll let you know how my travels turn out. Take care all at home…and I’ll see you in 50 days! Yes, that’s right…I’m at the halfway point of my voyage – so hard to believe!
Muah!
Lindsay
March 25, 2007
March 14, 2007
Just before Mauritius
MAR 14
Okay, so I WOULD be totally pumped about arriving in Mauritius tomorrow morning, but right now I’m sitting in my Women’s Studies class just about to write an open book exam. Okay, so open book isn’t that bad, but we just found out that it was going to open book this morning after another professor looked at her test and told her there was no way we could write the test unless it was open book!!! AHHHH!! This is already my least favourite class…even below economics.
Oh, and speaking of macroeconomics, I wrote my exam for that class two days ago; I think it went pretty well. I have to admit, could have done better if I’d actually studied a little more, but after learning that same material three times, I felt pretty confident walking into the midterm.
After the exam:
Wow, I just found out that due to rough seas we won’t be docking into Port Louis until ~4 pm tomorrow. Basically, this means we lose one of our three days in port. I’m lucky in that I didn’t make any plans…no tours, no expectations, no having to decide between activities, no disappointment. Why such unexpected waves? I guess there’s some big storm quite a distance away, but we still feel some of the effects. No, nothing major – actually these are just like the conditions from our ‘roughest day at sea’. I feel bad for those plagued with seasickness, but I’m quite fortunate in that I have yet to experience the slightest upset.
Now that’s out there…back to the exam I’ve just written. I think I did surprisingly well! I mean, not that I don’t expect to do well on tests I write, but the whole reason for it being open book scared me just a smidgen. Even though I hadn’t prepared much for lack of knowing what to study, I did what I could and that seems to have been enough since I didn’t even really NEED my texts. Actually, the test was unnervingly easy…either the professors seriously underestimate our test-writing abilities, I’m really smart, or I completely missed the point on the three essay questions and failed the test.
And since I’m on the topic of exams, I just wrote our second Global Studies test yesterday and got an 84%. This isn’t as good as the 94% from the first one, but an average of 88% in the class rumored to be the hardest I’ll ever take in my undergrad career…I’m pretty okay with it! (It might help to know the format for each of these four Core tests is 50 multiple choice questions – m/c and I are generally NOT friends. At all.)
In case you haven’t been able to tell with the lightheartedness and positivity of what I’ve written post-exam, I’m in a really good mood right now. I have a pretty good feeling that has something to do with getting those three major tests and a major paper out of the way, as well as knowing my weekend starts tomorrow…or after my next class that will end in just under two hours (3:30pm). :D
FYI: I’m currently in the GMT +4 time zone…this makes me 10 hours ahead of everyone in Regina. So…when I finish my class, it will only be 5:30am at home!
Really, that’s all there is to tell for now. I’ll try to keep what I tell you guys to the more interesting facts…just so happens school has been my life for the past 6 days and that’s really the most interesting bit of information to tell you.
Oh! There IS something else. Have I ever told you guys about birthdays on the ship? For a surprisingly appropriate price we can order cakes from the kitchen so we can celebrate people’s birthdays. Yesterday was Angela’s birthday (friend), so I had some pistachio ice cream cake. Mmmm. And four days ago was Ericka’s birthday (coworker in the library)…more ice cream cake. And sometime between Puerto Rico and Brazil was Erika’s birthday (the 2nd of three work study students…this one also in the library), and for this one we had some layered jam cake. (Mom: this is the vegetarian Erika who loves Indian food and was at the Towne Hotel).
Salut!
Lindsay
P.S. Update at 10pm: we’re to arrive in Port Louis tomorrow at noon with the help of improved waters.
MAR 15
Just thought I'd say hi before I post...I'm sooo excited to speak French with everyone in just a couple of hours!!!!
A dimanche!
Lindsay
Okay, so I WOULD be totally pumped about arriving in Mauritius tomorrow morning, but right now I’m sitting in my Women’s Studies class just about to write an open book exam. Okay, so open book isn’t that bad, but we just found out that it was going to open book this morning after another professor looked at her test and told her there was no way we could write the test unless it was open book!!! AHHHH!! This is already my least favourite class…even below economics.
Oh, and speaking of macroeconomics, I wrote my exam for that class two days ago; I think it went pretty well. I have to admit, could have done better if I’d actually studied a little more, but after learning that same material three times, I felt pretty confident walking into the midterm.
After the exam:
Wow, I just found out that due to rough seas we won’t be docking into Port Louis until ~4 pm tomorrow. Basically, this means we lose one of our three days in port. I’m lucky in that I didn’t make any plans…no tours, no expectations, no having to decide between activities, no disappointment. Why such unexpected waves? I guess there’s some big storm quite a distance away, but we still feel some of the effects. No, nothing major – actually these are just like the conditions from our ‘roughest day at sea’. I feel bad for those plagued with seasickness, but I’m quite fortunate in that I have yet to experience the slightest upset.
Now that’s out there…back to the exam I’ve just written. I think I did surprisingly well! I mean, not that I don’t expect to do well on tests I write, but the whole reason for it being open book scared me just a smidgen. Even though I hadn’t prepared much for lack of knowing what to study, I did what I could and that seems to have been enough since I didn’t even really NEED my texts. Actually, the test was unnervingly easy…either the professors seriously underestimate our test-writing abilities, I’m really smart, or I completely missed the point on the three essay questions and failed the test.
And since I’m on the topic of exams, I just wrote our second Global Studies test yesterday and got an 84%. This isn’t as good as the 94% from the first one, but an average of 88% in the class rumored to be the hardest I’ll ever take in my undergrad career…I’m pretty okay with it! (It might help to know the format for each of these four Core tests is 50 multiple choice questions – m/c and I are generally NOT friends. At all.)
In case you haven’t been able to tell with the lightheartedness and positivity of what I’ve written post-exam, I’m in a really good mood right now. I have a pretty good feeling that has something to do with getting those three major tests and a major paper out of the way, as well as knowing my weekend starts tomorrow…or after my next class that will end in just under two hours (3:30pm). :D
FYI: I’m currently in the GMT +4 time zone…this makes me 10 hours ahead of everyone in Regina. So…when I finish my class, it will only be 5:30am at home!
Really, that’s all there is to tell for now. I’ll try to keep what I tell you guys to the more interesting facts…just so happens school has been my life for the past 6 days and that’s really the most interesting bit of information to tell you.
Oh! There IS something else. Have I ever told you guys about birthdays on the ship? For a surprisingly appropriate price we can order cakes from the kitchen so we can celebrate people’s birthdays. Yesterday was Angela’s birthday (friend), so I had some pistachio ice cream cake. Mmmm. And four days ago was Ericka’s birthday (coworker in the library)…more ice cream cake. And sometime between Puerto Rico and Brazil was Erika’s birthday (the 2nd of three work study students…this one also in the library), and for this one we had some layered jam cake. (Mom: this is the vegetarian Erika who loves Indian food and was at the Towne Hotel).
Salut!
Lindsay
P.S. Update at 10pm: we’re to arrive in Port Louis tomorrow at noon with the help of improved waters.
MAR 15
Just thought I'd say hi before I post...I'm sooo excited to speak French with everyone in just a couple of hours!!!!
A dimanche!
Lindsay
March 10, 2007
South Africa
MAR 1
Wow, I can’t believe it’s already March AND I’ve already been on the ship for 26 days…this is the ¼ mark! When I think about it, yeah, I’ve already done quite a bit of stuff…but there’s still so much to do! Something tells me this voyage is going to end before I’m ready to go home.
About a half hour ago, we got the most amazing message from The Voice (the person who speaks over the intercom): we DON’T have to change our clocks tonight!!! Wohoo!!! Having 23 hour days definitely makes life just that much more different while on the ship; right now, we’re in the GMT +1 time zone along with Amsterdam, Vienna, Rome and Stockholm. That means I’m 8 hours later than everyone back home in Regina. (I’ve kept my computer on ‘home time’, which is showing 5:37am on March 1…here it’s 1:37pm, same day).
Tomorrow we arrive in Cape Town…I have SO much planned for this upcoming week and definitely not enough time to do it all. Tomorrow morning I’m getting off the ship as soon as I can along with 10 other students to fly to Johannesburg. Don’t worry – no, I’m not staying there very long (you probably don’t want to know this Mom and Dad…but in case you didn’t know, Jo’burg is the crime capital of the world). We’ll be there for just one night in a highly rated hostel…that’s why it costs the grand total of $12 US for one night. The 3rd we will be picked up from said hostel in the wee hours of the morning to start our day with a 6 hour car/van ride over to Kruger National Park. I’ll have to fill you in on the specifics of this wonderfully cheap safari costing a meager $300 US (once again highly rated…so I’ll just have to see what ‘highly rated’ in South Africa actually means). Actually, everyone seems to be envious of the good prices I found for everything…even my round trip flight is only $70 US!! So, because I planned this trip on my own rather than letting SAS do the work, I’m saving ~$1000 US (more or less depending on what safari I would have chosen). Anyway…back to the itinerary, on Monday the 5th we’ll be taking a scenic route on our way back to Jo’burg (adding an hour or two to the drive), then flying back to Cape Town expecting to arrive back at the ship around 11pm local time.
The only other concrete plan I have for this stay is to go sandboarding on the 6th. I’m not really certain how much of my day this will take. And sometime within my remaining two days I hope to climb Table Mountain, visit Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner), walk along Long Street (the main drag), do a township tour, see some gardens (supposedly quite beautiful), bike to the wine lands….and there’s more that I can’t think of at the moment. I have already cut out bungee jumping, sky diving and cage diving from my list of activities. Something tells me I’m going to want to come back here at some point in my life and spend a couple of weeks checking out more places.
Oh! And speaking of Nelson Mandela…that reminds me: Archbishop Tutu spoke to us yesterday and today for our Global Studies class (which has definitely become my favourite class). Wow, he is definitely very insightful and has some great things to say. Really, he talked about everything and anything from current situations in South Africa to past situations in SA to situations in other countries. He talked about childhood experiences and experiences of his own children. He’s a cute old man.
I would say ‘farewell’ or ‘goodbye’ in Africa’s language…but I’d just be saying ‘farewell’ or ‘goodbye’ - English is one of 12 official languages! And the 12th was just recently added: sign language!
Talk to you all later!
Lindsay
P.S. Heather, you’ll be happy to know I’ve had no side effects from my Malarone…and no, I have not been trading pills with anyone.
MAR 6
Hello! So, I’m back from the safari and I STILL have three days to just relax! I could definitely get used to this 7 day weekend thing – sure, the 7 days of class gets pretty tiring, but the time off is so worth it!
MAR 9/10
Okay, so I totally got disturbed while writing my last blog…it’s nearly impossible to find a block of time where I’m completely alone! People know where I work, where I live, where I eat…and everywhere else is ALWAYS filled with other people. Actually, Ivan and I did find a hallway with an Internet connection that nobody knows about, with the exception of the faculty living down that hall, so we sometimes go there to finish assignments. I think that’s half of what makes getting work done so much harder in this environment – there are people everywhere you go, and you’ll know the name of at least 1/3 of them (yes, we even know the faculty in the hallway…but there are much fewer of them, especially at 2am).
And now for the wonderfully AMAZING safari that I am soooo happy I booked! It turns out that being cheap doesn’t necessarily have to mean lesser quality; I was pretty certain of that already, hence the fact I went with a cheaper tour. To start off, we had no problems getting cleared off the ship, rounding up people, and making it to our flight with ample time to eat some lunch and wait in long lines before boarding the plane. We flew with Mango airlines and I just had to include that because of the wonderfully orange everything…the orange plane, the orange safety instructions, the orange menus, the orange tickets, the orange things that go on the seat behind your head, and the orange shirts everyone wore. Actually, the only thing just as amusing is how the uniforms of the stewards and stewardesses matched the chairs – grey for the pants/skirt and blazer with a bright orange top. On this orange infested plane were two really nice stewards – Tee-Kay and another local name – who gave us a free bag of the local beef jerky, or biltong, because we’d never had any before. Maria, Wendi and I took a picture with them just as we were leaving the plane. This first bit of the trip got me totally pumped…seriously, how can this safari go wrong when it starts of sooo good?
In Johannesburg we waited a while to get our free pickup from the Mufasa Backpackers people…we weren’t about to complain about something that was free. When we got out to the hostel…wow, it was so amazing! The only people staying there were the 11 of us – myself, Wendy, Ivan, Eric, An, Jessy, Dorothy, Dana, Ally, Jackie, and Maria – Charlie from England who was celebrating her 22nd birthday that night, and some other guy from Montreal who spoke a little French with me. :D Tawynee and he husband – the owners – made us all a traditional Africaan supper that was really, really good (especially after eating ship food for so long!). On a side note…no, I didn’t spell Africaan wrong, they are the descendants from the Dutch who colonized Africa (aka the Boers) along with the British. Anyway, yeah, we had a really good time there, all for only ~$13 pp.
The next morning was our (free) pickup by Safari Rangers. There were two vans, so we divided into a group of 5 who went with Sam, and group of 6 with Gavin. I was with Gavin, the three boys, Maria and Wendy, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way! We were a great group to be together (the more tranquil half). We started with a long drive to Kruger National Park that took from 8am until supper. Why so long? Well, it was a fair distance, but we also stopped every hour or so to stretch our legs, buy some snacks, go to the washroom, refuel, and/or eat. Really wasn’t that bad of a drive…we slept a bit, but mostly talked about everything and anything and the scenery around us.
That night was the official start to our Safari experience. Have to admit, wasn’t the best kick-start this part of the trip, but we did see a beautiful sunset and moonrise on the night drive to make up for the lack of animals. When we got back to the camp (which we’d set up ourselves, tents and all), there was a delicious supper waiting for us, prepared by none other than Gavin. That man, he has many talents hidden up his sleeves! I definitely ate way too much of the steamed-with-no-butter vegetables and chicken. Once stuffed beyond belief, we sat around the campfire and waited for the lunar eclipse to start…and then to finish (well, I only waited up for the full eclipse and not the removal of it because it was already past 1am, but crazy Maria, Ivan and Gavin all waited for the end).
The next morning we woke up and went on a morning drive. To sum it up so I don’t have to tell you guys this about every drive…overall we saw many elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, duiker, antelope, and impala, and a few buffalo, baboons, crocodile, warthogs, vultures dwarf mongoose, hyenas, bush babies, waterbuck, eagle owls and hippos…and that’s all I can think of. After this drive we got back to the camp, showered, packed up our tents, ate brunch (mmmm, so good!), then drove off to go to another part of Kruger. I really don’t remember how long this drive was, but we stopped along the way and saw some more animals again, so there was no complaining from any of us. As soon as we got to the location for our second night, we were offered an astronomy safari for $16 US that was originally something like $40 US, so we took it! We went to the top of this mountain and looked through a telescope at some cool start clusters, Saturn (you can ACTUALLY see the rings around it!), the moon (almost blinded us), and some cloud of dust that looks like a star from far away. Okay, so that sounds a little geeky, but it was fun! AND this included drinks (the only wine I had it South Africa, and it unfortunately wasn’t all that good), and some snacks (those, however, were quite excellent). Then we finished the night with another game drive (part of the same package). When we got to the camp, they had once again prepared an amazing supper, this time of some soybean something, steamed-with-no-butter broccoli and cauliflower with feta cheese, and little squash cut in half with a little corn and melted cheese on top. There were some other things, but that’s pretty much what I remember…the important part is that it was REALLY good. Oh, and then we made smores. We were too lazy to put out our tents again that night, so instead we slept under the stars we’d just studied.
We woke up at 4:45 for the second morning in a row, packed up, and then hit the road. This morning was different, however, because we were on our way home. We stopped about an hour down the road for some breakfast (I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated granola and yogurt so much) and then hit the road again. We searched for animals for the last time on our ~3.5 hour drive out of the park as we headed toward some beautiful sights. The first area was Three Rondavels, a gorgeous canyon where a battle for ownership of the land took place. The next was Lisbon Falls, a set of beautifully quaint waterfalls with rocks and pools at the top and lush greenery alongside the river at the bottom. Our final stop was at God’s Window, a cliff that overlooks the countryside. Okay, so really my descriptions don’t do these sites justice….I’m in the process of loading some pictures so you can hopefully see them all soon. :) We ended the Safari with a crazy ride back to the airport (we drove a 6.5 hour drive in only 4.5 hours…don’t worry Mom and Dad, he was a very good and safe driver) to get us there in time to catch our 8:30 flight. When we got home, I went straight to bed – I was tired after 4 hour sleeps with very little napping.
The rest of my time in Cape Town was really fun…but I won’t be going into nearly as much detail. I spent most of my time with Ivan since we wanted to do the same things. We went to the market a couple of times (I wish I would have bought more presents there…but I’d already spent sooo much money in this port!), ate a lot of really good food (story to come), hiked Table Mountain our last morning, visited a township (where the blacks were forced into during the apartheid).
Okay, I just have to add a little side note once again and let you all know that right now, as I type, we are just entering the Indian Ocean and we are going through the roughest waters expected on this voyage…I LOVE IT! So many people have gotten sick already this morning, but I find this crashing over waves really fun. And to top off the experience, I’m sitting in the Union right now, at the front of the ship where it’s rockiest and someone is playing the piano in here…totally amazing! This is a great morning so far. Oh, and I guess I should add that I’m in here because we don’t have classes today. Why not? Your guess is as good as mine, and I’m not about to complain about it. So, my plan for the day is to study for the three tests I have before Mauritius and start on some of the 4 papers I have due before then – we have 6 days until our next port.
So, about this food story: one of the nights Ivan and I went out for supper to this African restaurant. We decided to try some local food, so I got this curry chicken pancake…little did I know it was really a crepe wrapped around chicken curry with syrup over top! Surprisingly it tasted pretty good - the curry wasn’t very strong and something tells me if you add sugar to anything it will taste okay. After we’d eaten we decided to get some dessert, except that this restaurant only had ice cream, so we headed over to this Italian restaurant nearby. We walked in and right in front of us was this really tasty looking chocolate cake, so we sat down and got our menus. First of all, we sat down and the people beside us just got this really tasty looking bread basket filled with different breads, so we held on to our menus until after they gave us ours. Then we ordered two desserts: one gelato (because I’ve never had any) and something else that was really good (some sort of vanilla and chocolate layered light pudding-ish thing…okay, so it’s hard to describe). After we’d eaten those, we remembered about the chocolate cake at the entrance that wasn’t on the menu…so I asked the waiter “Ummm, there is this really tasty looking chocolate cake near the entrance, could we get a slice of that as well?” And the 60 year old man beside us leaned over just after we ordered “You know, I’ve always wanted to do that.” That comment made my night. We got our cake, and ate it – it tasted just as good as it looked…maybe even better. We sat and had a lovely conversation with the older couple sitting beside us for a while, and then headed back to the ship. That was a great night.
So, I really don’t know what else to say! If you have questions…just leave them in a comment.
Oh, and Kate is still winning with the mail competition…I’ve only received mail from her so far. Thank you Kate!
Well, I’d better post this and start on some homework…this is going to be a very busy stretch of classes!
Bye!
Lindsay
Wow, I can’t believe it’s already March AND I’ve already been on the ship for 26 days…this is the ¼ mark! When I think about it, yeah, I’ve already done quite a bit of stuff…but there’s still so much to do! Something tells me this voyage is going to end before I’m ready to go home.
About a half hour ago, we got the most amazing message from The Voice (the person who speaks over the intercom): we DON’T have to change our clocks tonight!!! Wohoo!!! Having 23 hour days definitely makes life just that much more different while on the ship; right now, we’re in the GMT +1 time zone along with Amsterdam, Vienna, Rome and Stockholm. That means I’m 8 hours later than everyone back home in Regina. (I’ve kept my computer on ‘home time’, which is showing 5:37am on March 1…here it’s 1:37pm, same day).
Tomorrow we arrive in Cape Town…I have SO much planned for this upcoming week and definitely not enough time to do it all. Tomorrow morning I’m getting off the ship as soon as I can along with 10 other students to fly to Johannesburg. Don’t worry – no, I’m not staying there very long (you probably don’t want to know this Mom and Dad…but in case you didn’t know, Jo’burg is the crime capital of the world). We’ll be there for just one night in a highly rated hostel…that’s why it costs the grand total of $12 US for one night. The 3rd we will be picked up from said hostel in the wee hours of the morning to start our day with a 6 hour car/van ride over to Kruger National Park. I’ll have to fill you in on the specifics of this wonderfully cheap safari costing a meager $300 US (once again highly rated…so I’ll just have to see what ‘highly rated’ in South Africa actually means). Actually, everyone seems to be envious of the good prices I found for everything…even my round trip flight is only $70 US!! So, because I planned this trip on my own rather than letting SAS do the work, I’m saving ~$1000 US (more or less depending on what safari I would have chosen). Anyway…back to the itinerary, on Monday the 5th we’ll be taking a scenic route on our way back to Jo’burg (adding an hour or two to the drive), then flying back to Cape Town expecting to arrive back at the ship around 11pm local time.
The only other concrete plan I have for this stay is to go sandboarding on the 6th. I’m not really certain how much of my day this will take. And sometime within my remaining two days I hope to climb Table Mountain, visit Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner), walk along Long Street (the main drag), do a township tour, see some gardens (supposedly quite beautiful), bike to the wine lands….and there’s more that I can’t think of at the moment. I have already cut out bungee jumping, sky diving and cage diving from my list of activities. Something tells me I’m going to want to come back here at some point in my life and spend a couple of weeks checking out more places.
Oh! And speaking of Nelson Mandela…that reminds me: Archbishop Tutu spoke to us yesterday and today for our Global Studies class (which has definitely become my favourite class). Wow, he is definitely very insightful and has some great things to say. Really, he talked about everything and anything from current situations in South Africa to past situations in SA to situations in other countries. He talked about childhood experiences and experiences of his own children. He’s a cute old man.
I would say ‘farewell’ or ‘goodbye’ in Africa’s language…but I’d just be saying ‘farewell’ or ‘goodbye’ - English is one of 12 official languages! And the 12th was just recently added: sign language!
Talk to you all later!
Lindsay
P.S. Heather, you’ll be happy to know I’ve had no side effects from my Malarone…and no, I have not been trading pills with anyone.
MAR 6
Hello! So, I’m back from the safari and I STILL have three days to just relax! I could definitely get used to this 7 day weekend thing – sure, the 7 days of class gets pretty tiring, but the time off is so worth it!
MAR 9/10
Okay, so I totally got disturbed while writing my last blog…it’s nearly impossible to find a block of time where I’m completely alone! People know where I work, where I live, where I eat…and everywhere else is ALWAYS filled with other people. Actually, Ivan and I did find a hallway with an Internet connection that nobody knows about, with the exception of the faculty living down that hall, so we sometimes go there to finish assignments. I think that’s half of what makes getting work done so much harder in this environment – there are people everywhere you go, and you’ll know the name of at least 1/3 of them (yes, we even know the faculty in the hallway…but there are much fewer of them, especially at 2am).
And now for the wonderfully AMAZING safari that I am soooo happy I booked! It turns out that being cheap doesn’t necessarily have to mean lesser quality; I was pretty certain of that already, hence the fact I went with a cheaper tour. To start off, we had no problems getting cleared off the ship, rounding up people, and making it to our flight with ample time to eat some lunch and wait in long lines before boarding the plane. We flew with Mango airlines and I just had to include that because of the wonderfully orange everything…the orange plane, the orange safety instructions, the orange menus, the orange tickets, the orange things that go on the seat behind your head, and the orange shirts everyone wore. Actually, the only thing just as amusing is how the uniforms of the stewards and stewardesses matched the chairs – grey for the pants/skirt and blazer with a bright orange top. On this orange infested plane were two really nice stewards – Tee-Kay and another local name – who gave us a free bag of the local beef jerky, or biltong, because we’d never had any before. Maria, Wendi and I took a picture with them just as we were leaving the plane. This first bit of the trip got me totally pumped…seriously, how can this safari go wrong when it starts of sooo good?
In Johannesburg we waited a while to get our free pickup from the Mufasa Backpackers people…we weren’t about to complain about something that was free. When we got out to the hostel…wow, it was so amazing! The only people staying there were the 11 of us – myself, Wendy, Ivan, Eric, An, Jessy, Dorothy, Dana, Ally, Jackie, and Maria – Charlie from England who was celebrating her 22nd birthday that night, and some other guy from Montreal who spoke a little French with me. :D Tawynee and he husband – the owners – made us all a traditional Africaan supper that was really, really good (especially after eating ship food for so long!). On a side note…no, I didn’t spell Africaan wrong, they are the descendants from the Dutch who colonized Africa (aka the Boers) along with the British. Anyway, yeah, we had a really good time there, all for only ~$13 pp.
The next morning was our (free) pickup by Safari Rangers. There were two vans, so we divided into a group of 5 who went with Sam, and group of 6 with Gavin. I was with Gavin, the three boys, Maria and Wendy, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way! We were a great group to be together (the more tranquil half). We started with a long drive to Kruger National Park that took from 8am until supper. Why so long? Well, it was a fair distance, but we also stopped every hour or so to stretch our legs, buy some snacks, go to the washroom, refuel, and/or eat. Really wasn’t that bad of a drive…we slept a bit, but mostly talked about everything and anything and the scenery around us.
That night was the official start to our Safari experience. Have to admit, wasn’t the best kick-start this part of the trip, but we did see a beautiful sunset and moonrise on the night drive to make up for the lack of animals. When we got back to the camp (which we’d set up ourselves, tents and all), there was a delicious supper waiting for us, prepared by none other than Gavin. That man, he has many talents hidden up his sleeves! I definitely ate way too much of the steamed-with-no-butter vegetables and chicken. Once stuffed beyond belief, we sat around the campfire and waited for the lunar eclipse to start…and then to finish (well, I only waited up for the full eclipse and not the removal of it because it was already past 1am, but crazy Maria, Ivan and Gavin all waited for the end).
The next morning we woke up and went on a morning drive. To sum it up so I don’t have to tell you guys this about every drive…overall we saw many elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, duiker, antelope, and impala, and a few buffalo, baboons, crocodile, warthogs, vultures dwarf mongoose, hyenas, bush babies, waterbuck, eagle owls and hippos…and that’s all I can think of. After this drive we got back to the camp, showered, packed up our tents, ate brunch (mmmm, so good!), then drove off to go to another part of Kruger. I really don’t remember how long this drive was, but we stopped along the way and saw some more animals again, so there was no complaining from any of us. As soon as we got to the location for our second night, we were offered an astronomy safari for $16 US that was originally something like $40 US, so we took it! We went to the top of this mountain and looked through a telescope at some cool start clusters, Saturn (you can ACTUALLY see the rings around it!), the moon (almost blinded us), and some cloud of dust that looks like a star from far away. Okay, so that sounds a little geeky, but it was fun! AND this included drinks (the only wine I had it South Africa, and it unfortunately wasn’t all that good), and some snacks (those, however, were quite excellent). Then we finished the night with another game drive (part of the same package). When we got to the camp, they had once again prepared an amazing supper, this time of some soybean something, steamed-with-no-butter broccoli and cauliflower with feta cheese, and little squash cut in half with a little corn and melted cheese on top. There were some other things, but that’s pretty much what I remember…the important part is that it was REALLY good. Oh, and then we made smores. We were too lazy to put out our tents again that night, so instead we slept under the stars we’d just studied.
We woke up at 4:45 for the second morning in a row, packed up, and then hit the road. This morning was different, however, because we were on our way home. We stopped about an hour down the road for some breakfast (I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated granola and yogurt so much) and then hit the road again. We searched for animals for the last time on our ~3.5 hour drive out of the park as we headed toward some beautiful sights. The first area was Three Rondavels, a gorgeous canyon where a battle for ownership of the land took place. The next was Lisbon Falls, a set of beautifully quaint waterfalls with rocks and pools at the top and lush greenery alongside the river at the bottom. Our final stop was at God’s Window, a cliff that overlooks the countryside. Okay, so really my descriptions don’t do these sites justice….I’m in the process of loading some pictures so you can hopefully see them all soon. :) We ended the Safari with a crazy ride back to the airport (we drove a 6.5 hour drive in only 4.5 hours…don’t worry Mom and Dad, he was a very good and safe driver) to get us there in time to catch our 8:30 flight. When we got home, I went straight to bed – I was tired after 4 hour sleeps with very little napping.
The rest of my time in Cape Town was really fun…but I won’t be going into nearly as much detail. I spent most of my time with Ivan since we wanted to do the same things. We went to the market a couple of times (I wish I would have bought more presents there…but I’d already spent sooo much money in this port!), ate a lot of really good food (story to come), hiked Table Mountain our last morning, visited a township (where the blacks were forced into during the apartheid).
Okay, I just have to add a little side note once again and let you all know that right now, as I type, we are just entering the Indian Ocean and we are going through the roughest waters expected on this voyage…I LOVE IT! So many people have gotten sick already this morning, but I find this crashing over waves really fun. And to top off the experience, I’m sitting in the Union right now, at the front of the ship where it’s rockiest and someone is playing the piano in here…totally amazing! This is a great morning so far. Oh, and I guess I should add that I’m in here because we don’t have classes today. Why not? Your guess is as good as mine, and I’m not about to complain about it. So, my plan for the day is to study for the three tests I have before Mauritius and start on some of the 4 papers I have due before then – we have 6 days until our next port.
So, about this food story: one of the nights Ivan and I went out for supper to this African restaurant. We decided to try some local food, so I got this curry chicken pancake…little did I know it was really a crepe wrapped around chicken curry with syrup over top! Surprisingly it tasted pretty good - the curry wasn’t very strong and something tells me if you add sugar to anything it will taste okay. After we’d eaten we decided to get some dessert, except that this restaurant only had ice cream, so we headed over to this Italian restaurant nearby. We walked in and right in front of us was this really tasty looking chocolate cake, so we sat down and got our menus. First of all, we sat down and the people beside us just got this really tasty looking bread basket filled with different breads, so we held on to our menus until after they gave us ours. Then we ordered two desserts: one gelato (because I’ve never had any) and something else that was really good (some sort of vanilla and chocolate layered light pudding-ish thing…okay, so it’s hard to describe). After we’d eaten those, we remembered about the chocolate cake at the entrance that wasn’t on the menu…so I asked the waiter “Ummm, there is this really tasty looking chocolate cake near the entrance, could we get a slice of that as well?” And the 60 year old man beside us leaned over just after we ordered “You know, I’ve always wanted to do that.” That comment made my night. We got our cake, and ate it – it tasted just as good as it looked…maybe even better. We sat and had a lovely conversation with the older couple sitting beside us for a while, and then headed back to the ship. That was a great night.
So, I really don’t know what else to say! If you have questions…just leave them in a comment.
Oh, and Kate is still winning with the mail competition…I’ve only received mail from her so far. Thank you Kate!
Well, I’d better post this and start on some homework…this is going to be a very busy stretch of classes!
Bye!
Lindsay
February 25, 2007
Amazonia and Neptune Day
FEB 21/23
WE ARE THE ARAWANA’S!!! Yes, that’s right, I just got back from
Okay, so where to start...ummm, how about
The next morning at 1:10 we met as a group to head over to Amazonia, so I didn’t go out after
There is also something about SAS and not believing in rest! We sat on the boat for about 90 minutes as we traveled to one of the islands on the
The next two days were kinda repetitive: woke up at sunrise, walked around various rainforests, fished for piranha, swam and washed in the Rio Negro, toured and talked to the people from a village and a tribe (yes, there is a difference), played soccer against the tribe, stargazed, and ate some really good food (including the fish we caught). Don’t get me wrong…we still had a good time (it’s just easier and less time consuming to list it all off like that).
Our last two nights were pretty fun. The one night they took us out on the little boats they used for going ashore…but instead of doing something, we just drove for 5 minutes and then sat there…in the middle of the river....so we stargazed and talked. We were really confused…why were we just sitting there? And then they FINALLY started going back to the boat…but wait!!! There were fireworks and this whole little party set up on the beach! We ate really good barbecued food, and fresh fruit, and cake (it was one of the workers’ birthday), then played tug-o-war, musical chairs, and of course did the limbo. :D Totally amazing. And yes, talented me, I was dubbed the Canadian Killer that night because I beat out the Life Long Learner AND the professor in a row while playing musical chairs. What can I say??? I didn’t look at who it was…there were just two of us running for a chair! (oops…) Yes, I had fun – can you tell?
And the SECOND night…well, now that one gave the first night a run for its money. We went to this lodge for a tribal dance show. Actually, what they were doing is called the Boybumba, the second largest celebration in
Well, when I said we were up…I meant up dancing. Really, we didn’t go to bed until around 3am. “Why?” you ask… “SAS planned flights” I respond. Yep, we went back to the boat, packed our stuff, docked, drove to the airport, sat in the airport, and FINALLY got on to the plane.
After another wonderful night of sleeping in airports and on airplanes and on busses, we finally got back to
Speaking of dessert…I’ve given that up for lent! Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to go to mass (there were none offered when I got back), so I decided to do something. This may seem like an ‘oh, that’s too easy’ sort of thing…but this is extremely hard to do on this ship – it is a serious sacrifice! I’d said before that the food is okay. Yes, it is…but ‘okay’ food every 3 meals a day for 3 weeks…the desserts are tasting really good. The hardest part, is they always have really creative desserts, too…and I don’t get to sample them!!!
I’m back in my room right now, but I just got back from work – aka the library. I’m actually quite happy to have that job right now. I mean, with what other position would I be able to sit, read my textbooks, do my homework, and write out my blog AND get paid ~ $31for it?
Ciao!
Lindsay
P.S. An arawana is a fish that jumps out of the water to eat things off trees. There’s your fun fact for the day. :)
FEB 24
So, today we celebrated Neptune Day. Why didn’t we celebrate it when we ACTUALLY crossed the equator? Something about needing a certain amount of classes before our first Global Studies exam, and they wanted the test to be before
Side note: I got 94% on that test. :D
Anyway, because of the celebration we didn’t have any classes today. Wohoo! So, this morning we were all wonderfully woken up by the crew banging pots and pans all throughout the halls at 7:45. Sounds early…but oddly enough, I slept in for an hour!! So, I met everyone up at the 6th deck dining hall (aka The Garden Lounge) for breakfast, then went back down to my cabin to change – I didn’t want fish guts to be poured all over the shirt I was wearing. Yes, you read that right…fish guts! I guess it’s part of some sort of initiation or something…but we all had to (voluntarily) stand beside the pool and have ‘fish guts’ (or what Wendy says was really chunky sour milk) poured over our heads. Standing beside the pool was definitely NOT a coincidence…we all jumped in after to wipe off the fish. Lucky me, I was somewhere near the end, so I’m not sure if I really got any cleaner or if I just swam in salty sour milk (the pool is filled with salt water). Once out of the pool, we had to kiss two fish, kiss the ring of King Neptune, and then we were welcomed to the other side of the equator. The only other activities of the day were the shaving of peoples’ heads (another supposed tradition – this year we had a record of ~40 girls do it) and a barbecue up on the back of the 7th deck (The Pool Deck).
Yep, so that was my day today. I didn’t do as much homework as I would have hoped, but it was nice to relax for a little while at sea just this once.
Happy Neptune Day!
Lindsay
February 16, 2007
Feb 9-16
FEB 9
Well, here I am sitting at the aft of the 7th deck, and sadly I’m officially finished here at
Lindsay
P.S. Oh, and I HAVE to give Kate credit and thank her for being the first person to send me mail while on the ship! :D Now, who wants to try for 2nd place??? Or, if you’re not up to sending a letter in the mail…and e-mail will suffice. Really. She’s also the first person to write me an e-mail, with Tamera in 2nd. Now, who wants to try for 3rd in the e-mail category?
FEB 12
Lindsay
FEB 15/16
Lindsay
FEB 16 – at night
Well, I just thought I’d complain for two seconds more: I’m going to my room in two minutes (after I post this) to do another assignment. Are the professors even allowed to have assignments due while in port?? Everybody else is having fun conversing, playing games, watching movies….and I’m reading an article and writing an essay due tomorrow by 2pm – there is no way I’m working on that while in port…I’m going to finish it tonight.
Oh, and the Global Studies test wasn’t all that bad. For having two hours of sleep…I think I did pretty well! (I just quickly went over the answers, I got about an 80% - definitely some stupid mistakes, though).
Lindsay
P.S. Dad, sorry to inform you, but Portuguese sounds a lot like other languages I have heard before... extremely close to Spanish.
February 8, 2007
Up 'till Puerto Rico
FEB 4
Hey, so today was our first official day of Semester at Sea…well, official as in everyone was on the ship together and the first day of our calendar. We haven’t really done much so far with the exception of a lifeboat drill and eat supper.
It was fun to watch the ship leave port this afternoon with the surprisingly few parents waving goodbye. Most of the students were at the back of the ship looking over the railings taking way too many photographs and videos. As for the rest…well, some were unpacking, others sleeping.
Oh, and speaking of sleep…that is definitely something I’m not expecting to get much of throughout the voyage; last night and the night before I got 4 hours of sleep because of too much to do and early mornings. For the next few days, things should be pretty slack and sleep should be more abundant, but once classes start and I have to read my many textbooks (at least two for every course) I’m sure I’ll be lucky to get 8 hours a night.
I met my roommate Holly Foresburg today as she went through my station of the check in process. (more below). From the couple short conversations we’ve had, she seems to be a really nice person and I’m sure everything will be fine between the two of us. She’s from Pittsburg (or Pennsylvania….I should really get the two straight), born in 1986, a dancer (we’ve agreed to look for dance pictures when in port so we can put them up), and in general a really reasonable person. I’m happy.
So, for work today we had to help everyone get on deck. They had us work students do everything from telling those coming aboard where to go to get to Student’s Union (where Core will be held) to collecting their passports to checking their forms were all handed in. Me, I was assigned the position of the last thing…making sure all forms were handed in and checking to see if they had cell phone numbers in case of emergency.
Oh! And I don’t think I’d told you yet…but there were 250 applicants for the student grant, and I was one of the 26 chosen! Yeah, I couldn’t believe that number when I heard it. And get this: one of the girls who got it talked to Ryan Roth (one of the guys involved in the decision of who got it) just before he read out our positions and declined the grant. Instead, she wanted to spend one last day with her parents, so she brought a check for 6,200 when she came on the ship next. Yeah, so much for the financial need requirement!
FEB 8
Hello all!
So, today is my second day in Puerto Rico. I love it. Nope, still not homesick, nor have I been seasick. Actually, the only thing I’ve felt so far is a rocking sensation while in port; it’s actually kinda cool.
We docked here yesterday at 8am, but didn’t get off the ship until noon. Why? Well, we had a presentation by the governor of Puerto Rico, then had this horribly long process of all 702 students as well as the 50-ish staff and other faculty members having to go to one room and pick up our passports, get them stamped, and then drop them off again.
So, when we finally got off we walked 35 minutes to Old San Juan, cut our group of 8 into two much more manageable groups (I was with Ivan and Wendy) and then continued for another 20 mintues until we got to San Felippe del Morro. This is a fort that protected the island and worked quite well until the US fianlly beat them (they had just been attacked by another country, or something like that). Anyway, it was a pretty cool place to look around. :)
Last night we went out to a Welcome Reception at the University of Puerto Rico. As soon as we got there they gave us some free (virgin) Pina Coladas and a little gift comprised of a glass, Puerto Rican flag, pencil and a bracelet - nothing spectacular, but a nice gesture. As soon as everyone was seated they served us a buffet supper of the local popular foods, and then taught us salsa. Okay, so really I just went up there to dance and have fun...I'd just learned how to dance this dance at home. Oh! And of course they asked for a volunteer to go up and demonstrate with the lady, so I went up. :) (What can I say...nobody else would go!) This ended at aroudn 10:30, so a bunch of us went out to some local bars with Roberto, a Puerto Rican who is on Semester at Sea.
Today we went out to the El Yunque rainforest and swam under the natural waterfalls. :) I absolutely love rainforests. This totally reminded me of when we were in Costa Rica....
Anyway, I’m at a bookstore with free internet right now, so I’m sending this as it is…I have to add more about my adventures in San Juan the next time.
Take care! (Oh, and I checked the temperature for Regina today…change the – to a + …and that’s what it is here!)
Hasta luego
Lindsay
P.S. The number for the temperature is 30…so make that a -30 for home and a +30 for here...in case I totally confused everyone out there.
Hey, so today was our first official day of Semester at Sea…well, official as in everyone was on the ship together and the first day of our calendar. We haven’t really done much so far with the exception of a lifeboat drill and eat supper.
It was fun to watch the ship leave port this afternoon with the surprisingly few parents waving goodbye. Most of the students were at the back of the ship looking over the railings taking way too many photographs and videos. As for the rest…well, some were unpacking, others sleeping.
Oh, and speaking of sleep…that is definitely something I’m not expecting to get much of throughout the voyage; last night and the night before I got 4 hours of sleep because of too much to do and early mornings. For the next few days, things should be pretty slack and sleep should be more abundant, but once classes start and I have to read my many textbooks (at least two for every course) I’m sure I’ll be lucky to get 8 hours a night.
I met my roommate Holly Foresburg today as she went through my station of the check in process. (more below). From the couple short conversations we’ve had, she seems to be a really nice person and I’m sure everything will be fine between the two of us. She’s from Pittsburg (or Pennsylvania….I should really get the two straight), born in 1986, a dancer (we’ve agreed to look for dance pictures when in port so we can put them up), and in general a really reasonable person. I’m happy.
So, for work today we had to help everyone get on deck. They had us work students do everything from telling those coming aboard where to go to get to Student’s Union (where Core will be held) to collecting their passports to checking their forms were all handed in. Me, I was assigned the position of the last thing…making sure all forms were handed in and checking to see if they had cell phone numbers in case of emergency.
Oh! And I don’t think I’d told you yet…but there were 250 applicants for the student grant, and I was one of the 26 chosen! Yeah, I couldn’t believe that number when I heard it. And get this: one of the girls who got it talked to Ryan Roth (one of the guys involved in the decision of who got it) just before he read out our positions and declined the grant. Instead, she wanted to spend one last day with her parents, so she brought a check for 6,200 when she came on the ship next. Yeah, so much for the financial need requirement!
FEB 8
Hello all!
So, today is my second day in Puerto Rico. I love it. Nope, still not homesick, nor have I been seasick. Actually, the only thing I’ve felt so far is a rocking sensation while in port; it’s actually kinda cool.
We docked here yesterday at 8am, but didn’t get off the ship until noon. Why? Well, we had a presentation by the governor of Puerto Rico, then had this horribly long process of all 702 students as well as the 50-ish staff and other faculty members having to go to one room and pick up our passports, get them stamped, and then drop them off again.
So, when we finally got off we walked 35 minutes to Old San Juan, cut our group of 8 into two much more manageable groups (I was with Ivan and Wendy) and then continued for another 20 mintues until we got to San Felippe del Morro. This is a fort that protected the island and worked quite well until the US fianlly beat them (they had just been attacked by another country, or something like that). Anyway, it was a pretty cool place to look around. :)
Last night we went out to a Welcome Reception at the University of Puerto Rico. As soon as we got there they gave us some free (virgin) Pina Coladas and a little gift comprised of a glass, Puerto Rican flag, pencil and a bracelet - nothing spectacular, but a nice gesture. As soon as everyone was seated they served us a buffet supper of the local popular foods, and then taught us salsa. Okay, so really I just went up there to dance and have fun...I'd just learned how to dance this dance at home. Oh! And of course they asked for a volunteer to go up and demonstrate with the lady, so I went up. :) (What can I say...nobody else would go!) This ended at aroudn 10:30, so a bunch of us went out to some local bars with Roberto, a Puerto Rican who is on Semester at Sea.
Today we went out to the El Yunque rainforest and swam under the natural waterfalls. :) I absolutely love rainforests. This totally reminded me of when we were in Costa Rica....
Anyway, I’m at a bookstore with free internet right now, so I’m sending this as it is…I have to add more about my adventures in San Juan the next time.
Take care! (Oh, and I checked the temperature for Regina today…change the – to a + …and that’s what it is here!)
Hasta luego
Lindsay
P.S. The number for the temperature is 30…so make that a -30 for home and a +30 for here...in case I totally confused everyone out there.
February 3, 2007
I've been on the ship!
JAN 29
So, I’ve officially left home and am on my way! So far, we’re off to a bad start: dad forgot his suitcase at home (we got it to us during our overnight in Calgary), I forgot my foreign currencies in the truck (luckily mom and dad can bring the second half of it when they come to meet me in Vietnam), “a fire alarm activated and [the airport] is investigating” just before we got off the plane in Toronto (which meant waiting a while longer before disembarking the plane), and we found out the hard way that the Toronto airport has no real breakfast food (mmm, eggs from a milk carton). So far we’ve only made it to the
Have you ever tried to use the internet in an airport that does not have wireless? Oh, it’s horribly difficult. I’m planning a safari for a group of 9 girls, including myself, and I need to e-mail the girls information about what flights to book and inform them that I’ve reserved space at a hostel (oh, I was supposed to do that, too). Well, it turns out the only place I could access the internet was from a little booth thing where, to type, I had to use a rolly ball and click each letter individually. Well, after trying to book the hostel and find the flight codes, both unsuccessfully because this little booth wouldn’t let me on to booking sites, I decided to send an e-mail and let them know that yes, I’d be giving them the information I’d promised to give the day before. So, I typed them an e-mail, and just as I was about to hit ‘send’, the screen went blank with the exception of a neon green box in the middle informing me that I’d reached the maximum charge possible: $5.35. Needless to say, I’ll be looking for an internet café when we get to
I’d have to say, the port I’m looking most forward to is
A la prochaine! (‘Until next time’ in French)
FEB 2-3
So, I’m on the ship, unpacked (for the most part) and LOVING IT!!! Every time I walk into my room, I have so many emotions running through me: excitement, anticipation, joy, and not a morsel of fear.
My cabin number is 3105.
While on the ship, I’ll be working 200 hours as the librarian’s aid along with four other students. Today was my first day, and so far all I’ve done is go through orientation and scan textbooks so that they can be posted on to the Intranet and read by students. I was really hoping to get a position with Administration, but c’est la vie and I’ll make the best of it!
Everybody on the ship so far is amazing! Yeah, sure, I’ve only so far met 27 students, the faculty and staff, but we all get along incredibly well. There are already a few hostilities toward others, but for the most part, everyone would agree with me. We (the work study students) have decided that we’d be okay with leaving dock and leaving the rest of the students behind. It’s going to be so incredibly crowded when all 702 students are aboard…. Oh, but Wendy and Sam would have to meet us in
Who are Wendy and Sam? They’re Ivan’s friends. Ivan is a fellow work study student and we’re amazing friends. Sam in Ivan’s cousin. Wendy is Ivan and Sam’s friend. How did I meet them? Well, they all three checked into the same hotel the same day as me, my mom and my dad. They walked down the stairs with their laptops, so I ran up to grab my own, sat beside them at the table, and said “Hi, I’m from Semester at Sea”. (SAS)
SAS are the magic words to meet people in
Ah, I’m having so much fun. There’s too much to tell. We’ve been busy all day every day since I’ve checked into the hotel in Nassau…I still have to finish unpacking my suitcases on the ship (I of course brought way too much), read through information, start writing in my journal…..but I AM taking pictures. J (Yes, Breanna, you’d be proud of me. I’m ACTUALLY using my camera!)
Anyway, I’m off to go back to the ship. Right now I’m using the free internet from the hotel we checked out of two days ago (Wendy and Sam are still staying here at the hotel and we’re allowed of the boat at night…so why not!?), but this will be my last time not paying for it….starting tomorrow when we leave Nassau, I have 250 free minutes and then pay 40 cents per minute. Ugh!
Buenas noches!
Lindsay
P.S. I got the greatest compliment today…I was told I sound like a Canadian. :)
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