Posts from the Pacific

After getting my e-mail figured out on the third day (and being able to tell my parents I was safe and did in fact make it to the ship) things around here have been going pretty smoothly sans the rocking of the waves. I started classes and I think I am going to really enjoy them. On A days, I’ve been taking Consumer Behavior, Religions around the World, and World Performance and Theater. On B days, I’m taking Anthropology, and Mass Communication and Human Behavior.  All of the professors seem very interesting and the course load doesn’t seem too difficult, but it should keep me occupied while on board.

 To add the fifth class was a lot of extra hoops to jump through. The registrar said that they don’t usually advise 5 classes on board because there is so much to do on board that it would be way too hard. But, there were still 30 of us waiting outside her office on drop-add night. My rationale is that I can take my art credit on the ship since I’m already here, or I could take another night class this summer. I added theater, and I am happy that I did because the class actually seems really cool, and for our field lab we are going to see The Crucible in Singapore.

The days leading up to each port, there have been pre-port discussions about the culture and history of Hawai’i. We had a lecture on the oceans and what types of animals we will see on our way there (I have yet to see any of them, but I still have hope!) These animals are mostly birds, dolphins and whales, and we've been told to keep a weather eye on the horizon for them. There was also a lecture on the volcanoes but I had to miss it because I was standing in line for an hour trying to add my 5^th class. Last night, we heard the history of Hawai’i and tonight we will get a general overview of the culture, sights to see, and things to do in Hilo.

There is also a program called the Unreasonable Institute on board that will be bringing multiple entrepreneurs and mentors for students to meet and get the chance to work with. Last night after the pre-port discussion, they interviewed Time Magazine’s Hero of the Planet Hunter Lovins, who has been working to stop the climate change for the past 60 years.

Arch Bishop of South Africa Desmond Tutu has been onboard with us and will be until Cape Town. He is a very social guy, and though I have yet to have a conversation with him, he did wave and smile when I said “good-morning” to him at breakfast, so we’re making progress.  In the dean’s memo last night, there was also rumor control that the dean could neither confirm nor deny that the Dalai Lama will be on board or a bit, so fingers crossed!

We finally get to Hawai’i tomorrow which is great because I think we are all super tired of the ship. I can’t even imagine how we will feel on our way to Japan. But luckily we are getting our two longest legs out of the way. I also found out that the ship is going half speed so we will have enough days for classes which is frustrating. I personally think each class should be longer than an hour, but we have a shorter amount of days of classes and longer time in port, or we hit more ports. Although I really shouldn't be complaining about class on the boat just because it’s already better than sitting in a classroom in NC.

XO,

Sara

“Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part of” – Hermann Broch