Ship Life

After unpacking, I realized that I have way too many clothes. The original plan was to take only what I needed and not try and fill the empty room in the suitcases with stuff just because I could, that was a fail, but challenge number 2 was mine! Lucky for me, the closet is much bigger than I expected and although a bit cramped, everything fit just fine.

We boarded the ship yesterday morning and have been in orientation meetings with the entire ship, our floor (sorry, im supposed to call them decks), and another small group which we can refer to as the reflection group, until right now, 10 pm of day 2. Luckily in between all of that Karissa and I had time to set up our room so it is really very comfortable. We decided to bring duvets with us so that it didn’t feel like we were leaving in a hotel for 3.5 months and I’d have to say it was a great idea cause our room definitely looks like its our own. Ill post pictures as soon as I can. The internet connection isn’t usually strong enough to upload them so ill have to find an internet café in port.

We had club sign up’s tonight and I signed up for photo club, service learning/community service, arts and crafts with the kids of teachers onboard, and a program that semester at sea has called extended families where you get a member of the faculty/staff or a lifelong learner as a “family” member along with some other students and you have dinners and activities with them.

Challenges number 3 and 4 made themselves evident today:

3) As I was thinking about what to write tonight, I realized that I am writing this blog for my friends from school, my family, and everyone in between. I usually write for the person that I am writing to and I hope you can all see where this is a challenge when writing to such a huge span of ages, personalities, and interest in what I’m doing. So, I have decided that I am going to try to write for me, and I hope that I don’t bore any of you, but you can all let me know how im handling that challenge with some emails! slhakim@semesteratsea.net (we don’t have to pay for internet to use our SAS email account).

4) Making friends. I have to keep telling myself that it really is only the second day on the ship (referring to this vessel as a boat is a NO NO!) It took me about a semester, maybe a little longer, to form my group of friend at Bentley, and for those of you that are reading this, you are really the best group of people I could have ever imagined getting to know and enjoy at college. In our reflection groups tonight we discussed the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, some of you may have heard of it. Im not going to go into a synopsis of the story but the title comes from the following passage

“The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stanger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you take tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything…”

Perhaps in the American culture tea can be substitude for meals, or in the instance of college…shots (haha). But in all seriousness, for most of you reading, we have already shared three cups of tea. So to summarize my blabbing on about challenge number 3, it is to have three cups of tea with the people ill be surrounded by day in and day out for the next 102 days. Wish me luck!

First Things First...I'll Eat Your Brains

(mom, grandma, auntie, it’s just a song!)

I guess I should start from the beginning. I was born on February 13, 1990 in Santa Monica, CA…

Just kidding! As eager as im sure you all are to know my life story, im going to try to keep this blog to my travels and experiences on Semester at Sea. The beginning of that story, I don’t clearly remember. There used to be a TV show that is a vague memory at this point, but it was a high school on a cruise ship, im pretty sure my interest sparked there. Add to that the many cruises and traveling I’ve been fortunate to do with my family and a craving to experience new things, and you get the desire to study abroad on Semester at Sea.

A lot of people like the idea of being in one location for their study abroad programs because it gives you the opportunity to become a part of another culture and get to know an area as if it was your home. I chose to do Semester at Sea because I’m curious to learn about all different cultures and hopefully will be able to go back to some of the places one day. Not to mention, most of the places im going to get to visit are countries that I probably could never in a million years convince my mom to take me. Europe, she is all for it, Ghana, not so much!

The first challenge of the trip has already come and gone. That would be, packing. If you know the depth of my closet, and you saw the size of my cabin, you would understand. As my cousin Allie once said, “I don’t like editing my papers and I don’t like editing my clothes” touché. Hence the reason I have two overweight suitcases, a large carry on, and there will probably be some spelling and grammatical errors in my writing. Challenge number 2, fitting it all into my room. Karissa (my cousin who im rooming with) and I have already decided that there will be stuff everywhere, but hopefully we will be able to see the beds and the floor for the first few days…stay tuned for the results!

Around the World in 104 Days

Itinerary

Depart Nassau, Bahamas Jan 12, 2011

Roseau, Dominica: Jan 16-17

Manaus, Brazil: Jan 23-27

Takoradi, Ghana: Feb 6-10

Cape Town, South Africa: Feb 17-22

Port Louis, Mauritius: Feb 27

Chennai, India: March 6-11

Singapore: March 16

Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam: March 19-24

Hong Kong / Shanghai, China: March 26- Apr 1

Kobe / Yokohama, Japan: April 4-8

Hilo, Hawaii: April 17-18

San Diego, CA: April 24

Journey

Welcome each new bend in the road with wonder and anticipation
And taste every magnificent adventure…
At the end of the journey you will be wiser…at peace with yourself…and you will see the world through new eyes
-Patsy Gaut