Ghana

“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it”

~W.M. Lewis

Ghana stole my heart. From the second we arrived I felt welcome and comfortable. The day we arrived I took a tour with SAS to the castles and slave dungeons. We saw Elmina castle as well as Cape Coast Castle. It is very hard to describe the way it felt to stand in the slave dungeons. Being in the exact place where millions suffered, waiting for their fates, was chilling to say the least. My friend Jill and I didn’t say a word to each other the entire time. It was horrifying, powerful, and extremely educational. The Atlantic Slave Trade is a topic covered in every social studies class from elementary school on, but there is absolutely no way to really get a sense of their horrible conditions until you see it. We were locked into two dungeons. The first was used for soldiers who were drunk or misbehaving. There was light, and plenty of windows to allow air circulation. The next one was used for slaves who misbehaved or tried to revolt. The only source of air or light was through the very small hole in the metal gate. It was absolutely suffocating, and the scrapes in the walls from shackles and nails made you feel like you were in the middle of a horror movie. It was completely terrifying, but I think it was an important experience. We also saw the men’s and women’s dungeons, and the tunnels finally leading to “the door of no return”. This is where those that survived the dungeons were brought to board the ships. We were told that the dungeons would be packed with hundreds of people, which was unimaginable, because we were feeling claustrophobic with about 25 of us. It was an incredibly powerful experience, and images of brands and shackles are still burned into my mind.

Our spirits were lifted, however, by the locals outside of the dungeons. One young boy gave me a seashell with my name painted on it, and another guy gave me a bracelet. We also learned how to play some instruments that were kind of like maracas. I had fun exchanging key chains and stories with people, and everyone was very nice. The next day I went on a canopy walk in Kakum National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous! The bridges were very high up, and very narrow and wobbly. I’m not going to lie, I felt a lot like Indiana Jones. I could’ve done that all day, I was having so much fun! We weren’t able to see too many animals, because all of the forest elephants and monkeys are nocturnal. We then went to eat lunch (delicious Jalof rice…I couldn’t get enough) and listen to the bamboo orchestra. The music was beautiful and the dancing was amazing! The dancer pulled some of us up to learn one of the dances. Yes I did go up, and yes I had the time of my life! They were kind enough not to completely laugh at us trying to do their dances…again, amazingly nice people.

            The next day I went to habitat for humanity. It was very fun and a very rewarding experience. I definitely plan on getting involved with more projects in the future. I was put on plaster duty, so by the end of the day I was completely covered in mud and cement. I think I got pretty good at it by the end of the day though! Some of the kids from the village came to eat lunch with us. One of the boys was about 14 years old, and he had skipped school because he had to go get water for his family. The well is about a two mile walk, so it took the whole day to get enough water. I think one of my favorite parts about the trips I did was the drive there. There is so much to see just looking out the windows. Women carrying amazingly large baskets on their heads, children bathing out of buckets right in front of their houses, people pulling in giant fishing nets on the beach. It is such a different lifestyle there, and it was beautiful to see the way they live. We passed by some villages that were entirely made up of grass and mud huts, with no electricity, no running water, and goats running around everywhere. To us, it seems so different, maybe even primitive, but to them it is all they know. I loved watching the kids wrestling with each other, playing soccer, and just smiling from ear to ear.

            We went to the beach the next day, which was quite an adventure. In Ghana you can hire little busses called tro-tros. Normally they hold about 10 people…our group had 16. Somehow we managed to squeeze everyone into one and made it to the beach. The tro-tro drivers stop all the time to do errands or talk to friends. On the way to the beach, our driver stopped to get himself some fried plantains, dropped off his recycling, and paid off the cops so that he wouldn't get fined for having too many people. The beach was incredibly beautiful and the water was so warm! I got stung by jellyfish a few times, but I was so enthralled by the beach and the people that I barely noticed. We brought some candy and gum and passed it out to some of the kids. They sat with us for hours, playing with our ipods and our cameras. We played soccer, and rock-paper scissors, and tag with the kids, it was so much fun! I even tried to balance one of the little girl’s baskets on my head….I was horrible at it, but it made her laugh pretty hard! We ate fried lobster and drank fresh pineapple juice, I was in heaven!

Throughout our time there we made good friends with the vendors that set up at port when we got there. They all had amazing memories, and they knew exactly who you were and what you wanted to buy every time you walked past. That night, Jill and I hung out with some of the guys and learned how to play drums. It was definitely addicting! I spent hours learning different beats and songs! Finally, at 1:30 in the morning we went back to the ship with swollen hands and amazing memories. Jill has been wanting to get dredlocks for a while, so our last day was mission day. I had some souvenirs to buy, and we needed to find somewhere for Jill to get her hair dredded. Luckily right out of port we ran into a friend I had met a few nights before, named Elvis. He completely took care of us all day. He took us to the bank, the post office, and found someone who would do Jill’s hair. For the rest of the afternoon we sat on the street, ate tiger nuts, and talked about our lives while about three people worked on Jill’s hair. Elvis was hilarious and very nice. When I kept thanking him for helping us out so much, he told me “you don’t have to thank me, we all need each other, it's the way it should be”. How true is that? I found myself shocked at how friendly and helpful every one in Ghana was, but really they have it right. It should be like that everywhere! My experience in Ghana was incredible to say the very least. I was sad leaving the other ports, but this time I actually felt like I was saying goodbye to friends. I absolutely intend to go back someday. I learned and saw some amazing things, and I fell in love with the people there. American guys definitely need to learn some things from Ghanaian men…they know what romance is, that's for sure! I wish I could show everyone the things I learned and felt while I was there, but I know that won’t be possible. Just know that I loved it in so many ways! =) Next stop South Africa! Miss you all!

Slideshow is below =)

Ghana Slideshow!

Here today, Ghana Manana =)

Saturday February 5^th, 2011

“The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes”

~Marcel Proust

It has been nine days since we left Brazil, and everyone is itching to get off the ship tomorrow in Ghana! I’m not going to lie, though, it’s been a very fun nine days! It was my friend’s 21^st birthday a couple of days after we left Brazil, so we surprised her with a nice dinner. The ship offers these specialty dining nights that you can pay extra for. It was so worth the money! We had a five course meal complete with champagne, paté, and some amazing soufflé (makes you wonder where they’ve been hiding all this gourmet food)! I have been taking a lot of time to reflect on everything I have experienced so far, and what I am about to see as we travel further and further around the world. I have had some amazing discussions with professors, staff, even Captain Jeremy, about everything I’ve seen and the fire it has sparked in me. Sailing down the Amazon was definitely amazing! There was so much to see, and it was pretty cool waving at people in their tiny little fishing canoes. After 2 days of smooth sailing up the Amazon, we were all a little bit nervous about crossing the big, bad Atlantic. It really hasn’t been bad at all. The Atlantic Ocean was good to us. Even through some storms the water stayed calm! It has definitely been a pleasant surprise, since we were all bracing ourselves for some major rocking. Some people got bit by monkeys in Brazil, so I’m sure they haven’t been having the best time, considering the long series of rabies shots they are going through right now. And a few other people were on IVs (lets just say they had a bad case of “Brazil Belly” and they were all dehydrated). But so far no serious disasters!

            I have had some very thought provoking classes the past few days. In my environmental science class we talked about wealth and quality of life. My eyes are really opening to how extremely stressed we are as Americans. When most of the rest of the world is just happy if they get dinner that night, we are worried about the next car we want to buy and what the latest fashion trend is. We always want bigger and better and faster, the thought of starving or extreme thirst would never even cross any of our minds. But for so many people that's all they know. Here we are preaching to other countries how they should live and how they should protect the environment…they are probably thinking “yeah when I can live like Americans maybe I will have energy to think about conserving resources”. Its really scary how wasteful we are, and we don’t even realize it, because that's just the norm in the US. In Dominica if you don’t have food one night, you can walk right over to your neighbor’s house and they will gladly share with you, not as a favor, just as a way of life. If I walked over to my neighbor’s house in Colorado Springs and asked if I could eat dinner with them tonight they would think I was crazy. We are so absorbed with this every man for himself, constant competition lifestyle that helping out a neighbor without getting something in return in just out of the question. It made me think of swimming class in 9^th grade. I remember getting in the pool and complaining about how cold it was. The teacher told us that if we just relaxed our muscles, our bodies would warm up faster, because when you tense up you are just making it worse. Maybe that's what we need to do. Just relax our lives. We are so tense and competitive, maybe if we just relaxed, helping out anyone in need wouldn't seem like such a burden. If we weren’t so obsessed with being the richest or the skinniest or the smartest, we could step back and realize that while I’m eating a dinner that could feed a family of five, some little girl in Nepal is waking up and praying that today is not the day that she gets sold into sex slavery. Those are real things. They aren’t just scary stories. Every day 30,000 children die of completely preventable causes, starvation, malaria, thirst…these are all things that we could prevent. Yet when 3,000 Americans die in one day, wars are waged, millions upon millions of dollars are poured into funds that go to the affected families….millions of dollars that could have easily saved 30,000 children every day for months. These children also lost loved ones, usually their entire families. Only these kids don’t have the state of New York to provide grief therapy and compensation, in fact they don't even have a meal for the day, or shoes to wear. I’m not being insensitive towards Americans affected by 9/11, but the fact of the matter is even without all of the donations, each family involved would have received more in compensation than most people in the world will ever see in their lifetimes. The UN calculated that if the wealthiest countries of the world donated 0.7% of their GNP, we could end poverty the world over, The United States, the great and benevolent world power….yeah we managed to scrape together 0.1% of our GNP. I honestly don’t even think that people would notice that 0.7% went to starving children in Africa. We would still be waking up and getting our Starbucks, driving our SUVs, and coming home to a fridge full of food and prime time TV. These are things that I have been thinking about a lot lately, and yes, its been a very frustrating few days of realizations. Luckily there are some amazing and inspirational people on board to help me work through the confusion and frustration.

One in particular is Andrew Briggs, who is an SAS alumni who saw his calling in Uganda. He started a non-profit called Freedom in Creation. They set up schools in refugee villages for escaped child soldiers and slaves. There are actually more slaves today than there were during the Atlantic Slave Trade! He helps them recover through art therapy. He then takes their artwork and displays it around the world in galleries and cafés. The money he raises at these benefits goes directly towards the school and the village, and they use it to install fresh water wells for the village. Many of these children escape horrific wars and terrible conditions only to contract cholera or hepatitis from unclean drinking water. Meeting these amazing people helps me to breathe a little bit easier, and reminds me that there is so much hope and opportunity out there. Anyways there was my rant that has been running through my head the past nine days.

We were able to get a tour of the bridge (where the boat is operated), which was very cool. It was great to be right in front of the ship and see how everything works. The Captain even came up to talk to us and answer some questions. He is very nice and very funny. My favorite thing he said (when asked if he ever gets bored, and if he ever gets off the ship in port) was “well I’m the boss so I can do whatever I want….they say that absolute power corrupts, but I think absolute power is rather neat” (in a British accent). He is very funny and a firm supporter of the Semester at Sea program. I was also adopted! We have a program called extended families, where lifelong learners adopt students. I have a single mother. Her name is Evelyn, shes from Austria and has all sorts of interesting stories. My sister’s name in Emma and she just graduated high school, so this is her first college experience! Evelyn is so sweet she always calls my room to wish me luck on tests and we all get dinner together every now and then. It's a lot of fun!

And then there was Sea Olympics…. Each hall is considered a different “sea”. I am a part of the Mediterranean Sea, and every year since the very beginning of SAS, Sea Olympics has been held. It was incredibly fun. We had an opening ceremony, and every sea had to come up with a cheer or two and present their banner. The next day was all events. I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard. The events included synchronized swimming, hula hoop, crab soccer, wheelbarrow race, card stacking, and so so many more. Everyone was very spirited and EVERYONE was wearing their sea’s colors (GO GREEN!). All of the students represented seas around the world (i.e Red Sea, Yellow Sea, Baltic Sea, Bering Sea, etc), and then the lifelong learners (the older group on our voyage) were the Sea Salts, and the faculty and dependants were the Luna Sea (pun totally intended). Let me tell you, the Sea Salts’ synchronized swimming team was absolutely hilarious. Imagine four older guys in speedos, doing a very graceful routine to the Star Wars theme song. In fact there wasn't a single routine that didn’t have me on the floor laughing. I was very impressed. It was such a fun day, and at the end they announced the winners. The grand prize was getting off the ship first when we arrived in San Diego. We didn’t win, but you can be sure I had the time of my life.

Dean Dan was so impressed with how spirited we were (AKA extremely loud and competitive), he is having the Super Bowl streamed to the ship tomorrow night! Everyone is very excited, it should be a fun night! I’ll be watching the game with all of you…only I’ll be watching it from Africa! And just to put the cherry on top, he also told us last night at the “State of the Ship Address” that he wrote a letter to Bono, who will be in South Africa when we get there (yes I already have tickets to the U2 concert in Cape Town), asking him to come sail with us for a few days. When I asked about it he said….”yeah how do you write a letter like that? It took me forever! But I came up with…’Dear Bono, I am writing to you from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean’…that way he will have to keep reading!” Cross your fingers for us! We may be fortunate enough to have Desmond Tutu and Bono on the ship with us….talk about a double whammy! Work is going really well, we are planning out a really cool ball for the end of the voyage. I am slowly getting used to being in class on weekends, and then having a whole week off to, ya know, explore AFRICA! We also lose an hour about every other day…I am 10 hours ahead of Hawaii right now! So weird! Its mid afternoon here and no one Hawaii is even thinking about waking up yet! I also have a special Valentine this year…Hershey’s chocolate. The shipboard community is getting together to send “hate mail in a heart”. Not as mean as it sounds, but basically a couple of girls came up with the idea to send valentines to the big wigs of Hersheys to ask them to join the movement against child labor in cocoa plantations. A lot of us participated and Hersheys is definitely getting a lot of valentines this year!

I am very, very excited for Ghana, and everything to come, my friends are beyond amazing and my classes are eye opening! Still happy, still learning a lot, still missing you all…but WOW I love it here! =) More to come! Thank you all for reading! It means the world to me!

Short slideshow below =)

Some pictures from the boat

Brazil! =)

Brazil is incredible. The first day we arrived at port I was a little bit nervous. Walking around town was very unnerving and I felt like I was constantly looking over my shoulder. That feeling did not stay long, though. Every day I am feeling more and more comfortable here! We went on a tour through Semester at Sea called Amazon Explorer the first day. We all boarded a riverboat and traveled about 30 minutes upstream to the “meeting of the waters”, which is where the Amazon river meets with the Rio Negro. What is incredible about this place is that the two waters do not mix. It looks like there was a massive oil spill and the black water of the Rio Negro was completely separated from the brown waters of the Amazon. But the water is not black (and trust me it is VERY black) because of pollution, it’s simply a matter of the composition of the water.  It is truly a fascinating phenomenon! After seeing the meeting of the waters we traveled through a small inlet and went to see some floating villages. The guide told us that people love to live in floating villages because if they ever get into a fight with their neighbors, they just move their house upstream. We ate at a floating restaurant and tried some delicious fish, including Piranha and Pirarucu. Of course I really had no idea what exactly we were eating until we actually saw a Pirarucu. It is the world’s largest freshwater fish (if any of you have seen “River Monsters” you have probably seen it), and I’m just glad they waited until after we finished eating to show us one! We they walked a little ways into the jungle to see the giant lily pads. There were alligators and monkeys and quite a few rustles through the leaves that we weren’t sure about (stories of anacondas in the area had us all on edge). We then got into small canoes and went to see a family in one of the river villages. They had a display of some really big fish right there next to their living room. They also have a very, very big tree near their house. Apparently the water level is often high enough that the only way to see the tree in by canoe, but we got to walk. One of the daughters had a pet sloth that we all got to hold (so cute…can I have one mom and dad?????). We returned to the big riverboats and fished for some piranhas. I wasn't very lucky, but quite a few people caught some! It was really an amazing experience and I loved every single second of it!
Then there was Samba. What can I say about samba except that it was the most fun I think I have ever had in my life. It was a giant block party with lots of samba music. The best part about it, though, was that the music was not only being played live and broadcast on speakers, but the musicians were also throughout the crowd. It was quite literally a whirlwind of music surrounding you. We met a local girl named Anisi, who was amazingly nice and we all did our very best to communicate to each other even through the language barrier. She taught us some words and introduced us to her whole family. We even got to bang the drums for a while!
The next day we explored Manaus. We found ourselves at a shopping center and we met another very nice local who spoke some English. He learned everything he knows from watching ‘Friends’! His name was Marcos, but he said we could call him Chewbaka, because he could understand English but when he speaks he feels like Chewy. He was very funny and we learned a lot about Brazilian culture just from spending the day with him. I also successfully ordered a pizza for the whole group in Portuguese (along with a lot of hand gestures). That night we went to Brazilian Barbeque, which was delicious! You have a little card on each table, one red side and one green side. When its flipped to green they come around and give you different kinds of meat (everything from fish to chicken heart). I tried almost everything and it was all very delicious! The chocolate here is unreal, we all had to force ourselves to stop eating it!
We spent another day exploring Manaus, but this time we went to the outdoor market. We started at the fish market, which was great fun. Everyone wanted to be in our pictures and apparently they don't normally see a group of American girls walking through there cause we got some funny reactions. I could walk around those markets for hours! It was so much fun! We got some incredible espressos and some great souvenirs! We also met another local who was studying English and was very excited to be able to practice with us. He even took us shopping and helped us pick out some clothes! We ended the day with a very intense sunset over the Rio Negro.
The next day Erica and I had our service visit. We went to a home called “Abrigo Moacyr Alves”. It is a place for kids (ages 0-38) with special needs. It is technically an orphanage, but they kids are not adopted. The director said “there is no need, this is their home and we are their family and we are all very happy”. Our guide explained to us that 15 years ago no one saw these kids and other people in similar situations as their problem. They figured it was God’s will and they should not mess with God’s will. However, since the last president, Lula (sp?) was elected, the mindset throughout Brazil has changed. The home, which used to be moldy and missing walls in some places, is now a beautiful, clean, and warm home with plans to expand. We took a tour of the home and met some of the kids and staff. We met one very special little boy named Gabriel. He is about one year old and he is being cared for in the nursery. His mother could not afford an abortion, so she tried several times to abort the pregnancy using drugs and alcohol. But he really, really wanted to live and he survived all of that. They call him their little soldier, and there’s really no better name for him, you can tell by the way he was smiling. We were told to do our best not to cry in front of the kids, but you can imagine at that point it was nearly impossible. None of the kids had ever been to the zoo before so we all got on a bus and went to see it. They were all so happy! There was a clown to greet us and hot dogs and popcorn, they were very excited to try American food! At the end of the visit, two other girls along with Erica and I were fortunate enough to present the “One World Futbol” to them. Our guide translated for us that we were giving the home an indestructible futbol as a symbol of our friendship with them. The reaction was better than I ever imagined. They immediately started playing with it and giving us all kisses and hugs. One of the girls’ names was Juju, and she was beautifully inspirational. She gave every single one of us a big kiss, and brought us over to meet the staff, who she called her mother. Her mother translated what she wanted to say for us, which was “if I could talk to you I would tell you that you are all my friends and I am so happy to have met you, I will never forget today”. It was wonderfully fulfilling, and I know in my heart that someday I will be back there to see those kids. Overall Brazil has been fantastic! There is so much life and color and I definitely plan on coming back soon! Obrigada (hehe thank you in Portuguese)!


Love you all!


Slideshow is below!
Brazil Slideshow!

Dominica!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover.
~Mark Twain

We just departed Roseau, Dominica last night. It was absolutely amazing! Right when we got off the boat we were convinced by a cab driver to go to Mero beach, one of Dominica’s black sand beaches. It was much more exhilarating than we were expecting. The roads are very narrow and very windy, and drivers swerve to avoid all the potholes…basically it was terrifying. But the driver was very nice, and gave us a lot of information about all of the towns we passed on the way. He told us the first rule you have to know is “drive on the left side, the right side is suicide”, which I heard a lot while I was there. Turns out when you get a cab in Dominica you are basically hiring a chauffeur for the day. Our driver, Martin, waited for us until we were done at the beach. We tried telling him he didn’t have to do that, but his response was “no, no, no, you are my responsibility now”. That really portrays the attitude of a lot of the people in Dominica: very friendly, very helpful, and very eager to teach us about their island. The beach was incredible and felt untouched! Dominica’s main import used to be bananas, but that industry is slowly declining, so Dominica is turning towards tourism. It is still fresh on the island, so there are no big resorts and the culture is still very much preserved. Therefore the beach was even more incredible than I could have hoped for. I ate some fresh bananas, which tasted like they were rolled in sugar (best banana I have ever had), and talked to some locals who were playing music and making jewelry out of coconuts. One of the guys has been growing his dreds out for 16 years! After playing with some local children in the water and watching pelicans swoop for fish, I jumped back into the cab with Martin and he took me to the boat where I met my snorkeling group. Champagne Reef is truly well named. Parts of it are like swimming in a glass of champagne. It’s beautiful and the feeling of so many bubbles tickling you is absolutely euphoric. The marine life was thriving, it was really nice to see a reef that hasn't bleached and been stepped all over.
    After snorkeling we were given some complementary rum punch. The rum was locally made, but the punch was not at all what I was expecting. It was very gingery, and very strong. Definitely tropical, but not fruity at all. Speaking of rum, a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was filmed in Dominica, and the locals are very proud of that. Our taxi driver was even an extra in one of the scenes! I learned a lot about their culture just from talking to people around the beach and in town. For example, English is the official language, but they also speak a creole and patois (a result of the tug-of-war between France and England before independence). I learned “Ça qu’a fête”, which means “how are you”, “Muella”, which means “good”, and “Ou belle!” which means “you are beautiful”. Independence was gained from England in 1978, but a hurricane devastated the island shortly after, which set them back as a nation quite a bit. Still, one woman told me “ We are all very happy. Dominica is the wettest island of the Caribbean, so we have fresh water and fresh fruit. We make go broke from time to time, but we never starve. We are lucky”. She also told me about the oldest woman of the island. She died when she was 128 years old. When I asked how she giggled and said… “Because she drank a lot of rum punch! She was never stressed and she was always smiling, that is the secret”. So there you have it: If you want to live to be 128, just drink a lot of rum punch!
    The government seems to be very helpful. If there is a single mother who is struggling, the government will appoint someone to help with the kids, and they will help with school expenses. Health care is free to everyone, and those who live to an old age do not have to pay for gas and other amenities. Women politicians are said to be the strong ones. Men are known to be pushover but the women have an “iron fist”. They are also paid better than the men, and play the biggest role in expanding Dominica as a nation. The first women Prime Minister (the “Iron Lady”) insisted on bringing cable to the island (even though most people didn't want it) because she said it was important for Dominicans to see how lucky they are. A lot of people live or run their businesses out of old shipping containers. It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a very developed or wealthy nation, but they are the happiest people I have ever met. 
    The second day we took a trip around the rainforest to see the Emerald Pool and Trafalgar Falls. They were all absolutely breathtaking. It was pouring during the hike (imagine that, raining in a rainforest!), but it just made the falls twice as powerful. Right next to the falls are hot springs, so you can sit in the warm waters and still feel the mist from the falls. When we returned, Erica and I walked around Roseau for a few hours. Its fantastic, everyone is playing music, and there were a couple people even dancing in the streets. We had an amazing lunch at a small restaurant. I had chicken with “West Indies” sauce, spicy rice, and something that tasted very similar to taro. There was even dolphin on the menu, which surprised me quite a bit. It seemed to me that restaurants around there only had whatever the fishermen caught that morning, so I guess there are days where dolphin is available.
I loved every second of my time in Dominica, and I can’t wait to go back and really explore!
    The Atlantic is very, very rough. You get the feeling of free-falling every now and then, so a lot of people are getting sea sick. So far I am still doing OK, but the rough seas are going to take some getting used to! This morning’s global studies class was definitely worth mentioning. We had a guest lecturer talk about the foundation he created, called “Empowering Nepali Girls”. I was absolutely in tears the whole time, along with the rest of the class (even one of our resident “guidos” was sobbing into his shirt). He is a very passionate man who, about ten years ago, kind of stumbled upon this passion for saving young girls in Nepal from sex slavery, and he has been expanding his foundation ever since. He is very proud of the fact that him and his colleagues pay their own expenses when they travel to Nepal, and there is absolutely no overhead cost. They don't even have an office! I would encourage you all to at least look at the website (empowernepaligirls.org) and read up a little bit on the problem. It was probably one of the most influential 75 minutes of my life! Thank you all for all your support! =)


P.S. Sorry about the delayed blog posting. Slow and limited internet time is kind of forcing me to wait until we get to port to post anything!

 

The slide show is below! =)

Dominica Slideshow!

I'm Ready for What I'm About to See!

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
~Ambrose Redmoon


Well it has definitely been a long time coming! After almost three years of planning we are finally pulling away from the Nassau Harbor on the MV Explorer! I have been trying to think of ways to express my gratitude towards all of my family, friends, loved ones, and professors. To be quite honest that would be impossible. I am forever grateful to every single one of you, more than I could ever express. This truly would not have been possible without all of your help and support. From my parents who were right by my side the whole time and helped me shop and get more prepared than I ever thought I could be, to my grandparents and other  family who helped me financially and gave me the best advise I could hope for. My professors who wouldn't let me give up (thanks Jeff!), and my friends and loved ones who supported me through this whole long process (Adrian, KC, Bri, Tessa, Lauren and so many others). Even going all the way back to high school, my IB teachers opened me up to a world beyond traditional textbooks and narrow curriculum, and pushed me to be adventurous and forever curious. You guys were always there to let me vent and, more often than not, brag (hehe I appreciate it Josh =p ). It definitely seemed like a long shot for quite a while, but here I am, we did it! And for that I send out the biggest thank you I could possibly muster.
    So where do I begin? Nassau was beautiful! Everyone was very nice, but you can’t help but think that it’s just the tourist façade in action. Still, everyone seemed very fun-loving and the attitude was intoxicating. I was able to spend a couple days there exploring with my mom, getting sunburned (of course), and trying to mentally prepare myself to leave solid ground for a few months. We even went to walk around the Atlantis resort, which is just as over-the-top as it looks in the commercials! Once I checked onto the boat it started to really hit me. As a work-study student, I was able to check in a day before everyone else. I know the layout of the boat relatively well…HAH! yeah right you all know me, I get lost every ten minutes. I’m not complaining, though, it is not necessarily a bad place to wander around. The boat is amazing and the faculty is unbelievable. One full day on the Explorer and I already feel very much at home, I even managed to enjoy my teeny tiny “shower cabinet”. My cabin is small, but cozy, and my roommate is great! We already have a lot in common! Every single person I have met so far is fascinating, and I can already tell that we will be close for the rest of our lives.
    Departure was more exciting than I thought it would be, and believe me, I had high expectations. Every time Captain Jeremy honked that horn I couldn't help but giggle and jump around like a 5 year old. I’ll admit it, there were quite a few tears of joy coming from me. After so much planning and stress and sacrifice, it was hard to believe that we were finally on our way. Then the part came where I had to try and walk  (alright I wasn't that coordinated to begin with, but it got worse). Every one is constantly walking in zig-zags, and I’ve felt drunk for the past 24 hours. It's a very weird sensation. So far no sea-sickness, just a lot of disorientation. Its really like a big, long roller coaster, so basically what I’m saying is….I LOVE IT! My cabin is right in the front of the boat so its like sleeping in a hammock that is constantly swinging. I can also hear every time a wave hits the boat. It’s very soothing for me, which just further proves that I belong near the ocean! I had a long day of standing outside of the harbor checking almost 600 students in, but I also got the advantage of personally meeting everyone as they came in. Obviously I don’t remember all their names, but I at least have some recollection of them! =) As I am writing this I am on day two of being on the boat. We have had a long, long day of orientation going over all the logistics of our lives for the next few months. The lifeboat drill was… well it was very boring, but good to know of course. The Captain is very nice and very funny, as are all of the other crew members. Its great to be able to see them around the ship and have conversations about places they have been. Standing on deck and watching the water and feeling the mist is unreal! I keep telling myself that this is actually happening, that this is finally real.
    Day three was when classes started. All of the teachers are very laid back, and all of my classrooms have big windows overlooking the ocean. I spent almost three hours outside on deck laying in the sun and watching seagulls dive after flying fish. Its strange (but great) coming back from class and having your bed made and fresh towels, and someone clearing your plates for you after every meal. The crew is so nice! Our steward, Julias, will come and talk with us sometimes, and the crew in the cafeteria often sing to us and give us great advice for the ports (keeping us laughing the whole time). We stopped in Puerto Rico for a few hours to refuel so of course everyone turned on their phones to call people. It was great to talk to some friends and family, but to be quite honest I am relieved that my phone is off again. It’s very liberating not constantly having technology to turn to. I signed up for a program called “One World Futbol”. Our mission is to get into groups, each with one of the special indestructible soccer balls they provide and go find a child who is playing with a toy that they had to make themselves, give them the ball, and maybe even play a game with them. If they are willing we will trade that ball with the one they made (often made out of plastic bags or banana peels), write a story, and post it to the One World Futbol page. The idea is that no matter how poor or where they live, every child has a right to play. I am very very excited about doing this and I can’t wait to get started! I am so happy to be here and I feel extremely lucky. These opportunities are out of this world (no pun intended) and I am ready for what I’m about to see! Thank you all for following my blog and supporting me so much, it means so much to me! We stop in Dominica tomorrow, so there will be another one soon!

Love always!
Hanna


Click on the slideshow below to see my pictures! Hope you enjoy!

Nassau and the first few days!

Mom's photos from our departure from Nassau

Here are Mom's photos from Nassau. Click on the link below to see a slideshow from my Picasa account.

Enjoy.
Departure from Nassau