Day 2

Day 2

Last night I attended the activities fair. I didn’t sign up for much though because I’m already doing vicarious voyage. There was not a big variety of activities, but the dean said that many students choose to start clubs. One student is already working on starting an astronomy club. The ship would be a perfect place to see stars!

Today was fairly uneventful. Someone said that people had seen a dolphin today, but it’s probably just a rumor. I woke up at 7:30 to go eat breakfast. It’s true that breakfast is the best meal of the day on the ship. There is almost no variety of food for lunch/dinner. It’s not horrible, but you get sick of it pretty fast. After breakfast I went to the gift shop and bought a few t-shirts, a hoodie, and an SAS blanket. I spent a little more than I had planned, but I think it was worth it. The rocking of the ship has been CRAZY. It’s gotten to the point where things are sliding off our dressers and we have to keep one hand on our plate/drink at dinner so it doesn’t end up on the floor. Luckily, I’m still not seasick! I am however, feeling a little homesick. I’m not used to being away from home for an entire semester. I already miss my family, especially my furry family.

I started two of my classes today: History of Jazz and Multicultural Detective Fiction. I like both of them so far, but there is a ton of reading involved. Tomorrow I start my other two classes: Global Studies and History of Ancient China. We lose another tonight. I’m pretty sure we lose an hour every night until we Spain, in about 5 or 6 days.

Oh! I don’t think I’ve mentioned my ID number yet. I’m number 100. On voyage 100. I should get SOMETHING for that, right? :)

Embarkation and Day 2

Embarkation turned out to be a fairly easy process. I woke up at the wee hour of 6 o’clock (That’d be 4 o’clock for all the American readers.), trekked to the ship, and waited to pass through security. Although the line looked long from a distance, people moved up quickly. Upon boarding the ship I had to pass through 8 “checkpoints.” These stations were just making sure that I’d paid all of my money, didn’t have any trip delays, and other general information. After that I was able to check out my cabin, #4151. My checked luggage arrived about 5 minutes after I did so I went ahead and started unpacking. Luckily, both of my suitcases fit perfectly under my bed. After getting settled in I left the ship to find my dad and get some lunch. We considered a few different places, but eventually decided to try some local subway. Then we walked down to the harbor front and back to the ship. I told him a final “farewell” and got back on the ship.

My roommate had arrived by the time I got back on the ship. Her name is Alison and she is from Baltimore. She seems pretty cool. I think we will get along fine. Me and a few of her friends went up to the top deck to socialize. I’ve met quite a few people, but I’m having trouble remembering everyone’s name. The muster drill was a pain. We had to stand in rows on deck 5 for almost an hour. After the drill was over we were ready to set sail. Although parents were not allowed very close to the ship, I could see my dad waving to me just outside of the pavilion. I stood outside watching land get smaller and smaller until we were finally completed surrounded by ocean. I was pretty exhausted by that point so I headed down to my cabin and went to sleep.


DAY2
Day 2 was the first day in a long time that I have actually eaten a real breakfast. I had a pancake, some mixed fruit, and scrambled eggs. It was delicious! So far, all we’ve down today is attend multiple lectures on rules. Most of the information was just common sense: Don’t plagiarize, don’t steal peoples stuff, etc. At 11:30 I went to deck 6 for lunch. It wasn’t quite as good as breakfast, but it wasn’t bad. The rice curry was REALLY good. After lunch we had another 3 hours of lectures. I was hoping to buy a few shirts today, but the store is closed until tomorrow. We lose our first hour tonight. I’m already tired as it is so hopefully my first day of classes wont be too bad. I know this has been said in every other blog, but it’s really funny to see people trying to walk straight while the ship is rocking. Luckily, the rocking doesn’t seem to be affecting me too much. In fact, I enjoy the rocking! The water is a gorgeous crystal blue and we’ve had mostly smooth sailing these past two days. There is an “activities fair” tonight. Next blog will be about my first day of class and the activities I decide to join.

In Halifax!

Halifax is a lovely place and the people are all really friendly! My dad and I spent the morning just wandering around the harbor looking at all the different ships and shops. Our hotel is about a 10 minute walk from the harbor. Although we couldn’t get very close, we could at least the MV Explorer! Don’t worry Nichole, I’ve already taken quite a few pictures. Along side the Explorer there are two other cruise ships docked. The Caribbean Princess and the Carnival Triumph.
After finding the ship we decided to eat at a small restaurant located inside of the pier. I just ordered a plain turkey sandwich and chips but it was still pretty yummy.

Later we wandered downtown just looking at different shops and possibly a place to eat for dinner. We found a really interesting store called the “Freak Lunchbox.” It sold all types of old fashioned novelty/joke items and different types of candy including Wonka Bars and Gummy Brains. I bought a delicious chocolate shake and an assortment of chocolate and gummy stuff to hopefully take on the ship.

I board the ship at 8 am tomorrow morning! I'll post about embarkation and ship life tomorrow.

4 days to go!

It's almost time to set sail! I'm busy packing and trying to make sure I've got everything ready. My cats new favorite place to sleep is my large suitcase. She is currently sitting on my pillow and refuses to leave my bed. I think she realizes that I'm about to leave.

Visiting Hawaii is going to be awesome! Not just because it's going to be December and freezing in K-ville, but because I'm going on a Lost tour! I can't wait to see where they filmed my favorite show. The tour visits about 25 different locations such as: Jacob's Cabin, the tempest, the hill where they filmed all the Darhma van scenes, and even the beach where they filmed the initial plane crash! It's rare but the tours sometimes even see actors. Pictures on the site showed people meeting Terry O' Quin and Micheal Emerson. Season six starts filming on the 25th and lasts until April so I hope I get to see someone famous!

Two weeks to go!

Holy crap! It's hard to believe that I leave for my amazing voyage around the world in only two weeks! It doesn't even seem real yet.

I've bought most of the things I plan to take, but I haven't even started trying to shove everything in suitcases yet. How does one pack for enough stuff for four months in only two suitcases? "Packing" for my freshman year of college was a much different experience. My dorm was litterally a 5-7 minute walk from my parents house. Needless to say, I didn't do much "packing" at all.

I'm not sure how much free time I'll have, but I will try to update this blog as much as possible. Students got only 250 minutes (yup, minutes!) of free internet. After that it's 40 cents a minute. Luckily, we do get a free email address to use. Mine should be Arconner@semesteratsea.net

While on my journey, I'll be earning 12 transferable college credits. My classes all look pretty interesting, but we'll see how I feel once I start having to do work haha. I'm taking Global Studies, Multicultural Detective Fiction, History of China I, and History of Jazz.

I'm not used to getting and writing snail mail, but I'd like to ask people if they would send me short letters every now and then. I'm sure I'll go stir crazy if I don't hear from home for four months. When sending mail please mark “MV Explorer – Fall 2009 Voyage” on the first line and “Attn: Participant’s Name” on the second line. The Port Agent’s Address (from the list below) should be written on the subsequent lines. Here is the list of the places I'll be visiting and their addresses.

Cadiz, Spain: Airmail no later than Aug 21st. Arrive Sept 5th.

Perez Y CIA S.L.
C/ Ecuador, 2
11007 Cadiz, SPAIN

Casablanca, Morocco: Airmail no later than Aug 27th. Arrive Sept 10th.

LASRY MAROC S.A.

30 Avenue des Far
20000 Casablanca

Accra, Ghana: Airmail no later than Sept. 8th. Arrive Sept 22nd.
HULL BLYTH

Seatec House / PO Box CO 214
Akosombo Road
TEMA

Cape Town, South Africa: Airmail no later than Sept 19th. Arrive Oct 3.
John T. Rennie & Sons

19th FLOOR
No.1 Thibault Square
8001 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Port Louis, Mauritius: Airmail no later than Oct 1st. Arrive Oct 15th.
Ireland Blyth Limited Oct 1
Shipping Operations Department
No 6 Dr Ferriere Street
Port Louis, MAURITIUS

Chennai, India: Airmail no later than Oct 9th. Arrive 23rd.
J. M. Baxi & Co.
3rd Floor, Clive Battery Complex
4 & 4A, Rajaji Salai
Chennai 600 001, INDIA

Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam: Airmail no later than Oct 2oth.Arrive Nov 3.
General Forwarding Agency Oct 20
5th Floor Osic Building
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
D. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM

Hong Kong/Shanghai , China:Airmail Oct 28th. Arrive Nov 11th.
Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd.

Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor
N° 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG – CHINA

Yokohama/Kobe, Japan: Airmail Nov 6th. Arrive Nov 20th.
INCHCAPE SHIPPING SERVICES
F Asahi Seimei Yokohama Honcho Bldg
36, 4-Chome Honcho, Naka-ku
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 231-0005, JAPAN