It’s been a week since I left the Bahamas, but it feels
more like a month. Time goes by fast here; days go by in a blink of an eye with
classes, readings, meetings, friends, etc. However with the lack of sleep it
feels like I’ve been on the ship forever…and can’t wait to get off and explore
the Mediterranean! I have learned a lot on the ship though. For one, Semester
at Sea does an amazing job recruiting professors. All three of mine are awesome
and the others I’ve met are really cool too. Second, the Atlantic is
amazing…that’s all I can say, it’s simply vastness of it is incredible and the
colors, they’re just something else. Third, some people outside the northeast
have very…very interesting opinions, I won’t say more. Fourth, ship food is
surprisingly good. And fifth, sleeping is hit or miss. The waves will either
rock you to sleep, or the crashing of them against the hull of the ship will
wake you and keep you up the rest of the night.
Anyways tomorrow will be the last full day on the MV
Explorer before we port in Barcelona. Below is a list of things I plan to do…
1) Montserrat Monetary
2) See as many Gaudi structures as possible
3) Bike tour of Barcelona
4) Watch some Futbol in a Spanish bar
5) Monjuic Park run and day trip (probably on my own, see
the stadiums from the 1992 Summer Olympics)
6) Dow Jones Bar and Cupitos
7) Flamenco w/ dinner (maybe happening, idk. Not through
S@S)
Woke up in the morning around 7:30 to go for another 30minute
jog on the treadmill was going to bike afterwards but I didn’t want to be late
for my Global Studies class at 9:25. Turns out I had plenty of time to switch
onto the bike so tomorrow I plan to bike and run before class. Any who, on to
Global Studies! Sat with my roommates in the middle of the Union, all of us
complaining how we didn’t want to have to start writing papers or taking exams.
Much too our pleasure our Global Studies professor, Prof. Bowler, doesn’t want
to grade any long papers or exams…so we’ll only be having one 3 page paper and
3 multiple choice exams J.
Prof. Bowler’s lecture was pretty awesome. He’s a great teacher and is very
funny. Learned a lot about how the past is not the past; that memories of what
happened thousands of years ago are still on the surface of most minds in the
Mediterranean. After GS I have Developmental Psych with Prof. Medora. She’s
from India and has been on S@S once before. She’s very nice and seems to have a
lot of experience in the field of child development. This will probably be my
hardest class though…not college hard though, more like high school hard haha.
My last class of the day was Comparative Health with Dr. Powers (Bob Powers).
He’s my favorite of the 3 and has had an interesting life in the field of
medicine. Look up his profile on semesteratsea.org. Sat with one of the girls
who I met yesterday, Jen, and met another girl who is from Arlington, NY and
knows Mr. Gatta (my favorite ACI I’ve had the pleasure of working with so far).
Class ended at about 14:00 so I spent the rest of the day doing so readings,
meeting a few people, and relaxing by the ocean…good day. O, almost forgot, saw
two whales over starboard, no big deal.
Ran on the one of the two
treadmills abroad the ship today! I was quite the experience. Felt like I was
on a balance plate for 30 minutes but instead of standing still I was running.
No need for changing the incline of the treadmill, the pitching of the ship
causes you to run uphill one second, and then down the next. It was fun, great
proprioception training, but I doubt I’ll be able to go on it for more than 30
minutes. I figure I’ll cycle for 30minutes and then hope on the treadmill for
30minutes to get an hour of cardio. I’ll do that tomorrow morning before class,
and then try the weight room out in the afternoon.
The
rest of today was spent in meetings, kind of boring but important. Meet a few
more people most of whom turn out to be in my public health class. Well that’s
it. Will be spending the rest of the day chilling out on the decks and playing
basketball.
So it begins! Boarded the MV
Explorer yesterday at around 10:30pm from Freeport and set sail around 5:30pm.
When I boarded the ship and made my way to room 3002 (deck 3 room 002) I was
expecting to find a small double with bunk beds, little storage, and no
window…much surprise when I discovered that 3002 is a QUAD with a giant square
window, four unbanked beds, 2 TVs (with 6 channels, one show’s the ships speed,
location, weather, etc., one is showing the Union, and the others are just
movies), and a closet for each occupant!!! When I walked in I was greeted by a
girl (whose name I’m completely blanking on) , which at first made me think I
was in the wrong room, but I soon realized she is my roommate’s, Keenan,
girlfriend. Both go to Coastal Carolina in South Carolina and study marine
biology. Keenan is from Indiana and I believe to be a modest runner, his
girlfriend who is from Wisconsin and is very nice. Not long after I finished
introducing myself to Keenan and his girlfriend (sorry I’ll find out and
remember her name tomorrow), did my second roommate Nick showed up. Nick is
from Idaho and plays lacrosse at a school in San Francisco where he is studying
kinesiology and is hoping to become a physical therapist (awesome right?!?).
Nick also has a girlfriend on the voyage with him who goes to the same school as
Nick and is double majoring in psychology and art history. She too is living on
deck 3, but is in a double and seems to be extremely jealous of here the Quad,
which she should be since it’s pretty sick.
After lunch I roamed around the
ship, unpacked, and met Tyler, the fourth and final roommate. Tyler is a work
study student from Little Rock, Arkansas. He’s a communications and music major
at a small Baptist school in Arkansas and seems pretty cool. I think it’s going
to be a great time living in 3002, however, there are some downsides to this
room. One, the Quad is split into two sub-rooms, Nick and I in the entry room
and Keenan and Tyler in the other. Keenan and Tyler’s room has all of the
outlets…why Nick and I have no outlets IDK. Two, there is only one tiny
bathroom to share between four guys, three of who have Global Studies at 9:25
together each morning. I’m hoping to run in the mornings so I NEED to shower
before class. Hopefully that won’t be a problem or maybe there is a shower in
the spa, I’ll find out either tonight or tomorrow. Three, the fridge is tiny
for 4 guys. I doubt I’ll have more than a Gatorade in there but that will take
up about half the fridge…oh well. Still I think 3002 is the best room on the
ship, it’s the only room I’ve seen or been in so far, but still I think it’s
the best.
At 4pm
we had an evacuation drill, took about 30 minutes but we had to stand outside
in the hot/humid Bahamas weather wearing pants, jackets, and life vests. It was
absolutely miserable. After that though we got to watch the ship depart
Freeport, which was nice but also nerve racking, as I realized that there was
no going back, I was in it for the long haul now. Also when the boat left port
I immediately felt the swaying of the boat, which was amplified as I made my
way to the dining hall for dinner. I’m going to get sea sick.
The
rest of the night was spent in meetings and making small chit chat with the
other students, all of whom seem very nice and pretty awesome. Tomorrow will
again be spent in meetings.
*RUNNING: Ran this morning before I left the hotel. Will
test out the treadmill tomorrow!!!
**FUN FACT: Behind each piece abstract art in the cabins are
messages from past voyagers. Some are funny, some are out right ridiculous, but
overall they give you a real good idea of what to expect and what to do while
on this voyage.
Final day before I board the M.V. Explorer! Got down to the Bahamas early yesterday and have just been chilling, training, and reading. Been reading this great article S@S sent out. It's called Shipping Out by David Foster Wallace and is about the "comforts of a luxury cruise", pretty funny and interesting stuff. Met a couple of people who will be shipping out tomorrow top, pretty nice. Well that's it, can't wait for tomorrow!!!!!
It's almost here! I can't believe it, it's been over a year since I got accepted to Semester at Sea (S@S) and now I'm just hours away from beginning my journey to the Mediterranean! The last month has been hectic with planning trips, ordering euros, sending in documents, and packing but it's almost over and the trip of my life is soon to begin! Couldn't have done it with out my Mom though. She has kept me focused on getting prepared for this and has helped so much with getting everything set and ready. Thanks Mom. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy the blog. My goal is to post thoughts and photos every other day while at sea and after every port. Feel free to comment or to send me emails at patrick.deedy.a12@semesteratsea.org.I'll try to reply in a timely manner. Below is a photo of what I'll be shoving into bags all day tomorrow. -Pat
