Once again at sea!! WE left San Juan, Puerto Rico last night at 2300 hours! It took us 35 minutes just to turn the ship around to head out of the harbor. By that time of night I was exhausted from the day’s adventure.

At 0700 I boarded a van with eight other SAS girls. We had all signed up for this Tanama Cave and River Adventure before we left for Nassau. The adventure was led by Acampa Adventures, a local sporting good store. Our guides, Roqi and Jaime led us into the rainforest. It took us and hour and forty-five minutes to end up in some guy’s driveway in the middle of these lush, green rolling hay stack hills, as they call them. We also stopped at a local bakery where I came across Mallorca (My-york-a), delicious sweet bread that Kristin and I had eaten the previous day at a café in Old San Juan. Once we were stopped, everyone in the group was handed a helmet, harness and a pair of gloves. A random guy from upstate New York, who was visiting San Juan with his wife who was at a conference joined our group, his name was Walter. We headed up this road that shortly became a single track path heading down and then up and then back down. The entire day I don’t think we walked on level ground, maybe except when we were swimming in the river. We saw three amazing caves with humungous stalagmites and stalactites. These caves were covered in bats and guano! You could hear their whistling above your head. The Tanama River is unique in that it disappears into sink holes and caves and then reappears down the valley later. We swam in the river and then headed up another driveway to Jose, Monica and Aliha’s house. There, Monica had made a delicious lunch for us complete with a tasty dessert. Jose is an organic farmer that owns 10 acres in the forest where we were hiking. Him and his wife host tours in the bottom story of their jungle bungalow for a living, besides the once a month trip that Jose makes into the city to sell his produce. Aliha is a three year old boy who constantly entertained us with his dance moves and climbing skills. After lunch we walked in their backyard where we saw a large platform about 10 feet up in the air with a cable. We were to begin zip lining!! I was the second to last to go. There were two 500 foot zip-lines and three smaller ones that went over the river. It was so exhilarating! The last zip-line had a very hard landing with a short platform. One girl actually rica shaded of the mattress that was strapped to the tree where the platform landing was. We slowly and tiredly made our way up-hill back to the van, very muddy and wet. I took a video while I was zip lining and some awesome pictures! I can’t wait to share them, hopefully when I find an internet café while in port.

Today I had three classes; one of them seems pretty hard- Human Effects on Coastal Systems. It will be a very interesting class but a lot of work. My roommate Lauren is in that class and a girl that was my kayaking partner in the Bio Bay named Mason. After classes I caught up on sleep and then we I woke up Lauren, Kristen and I headed to yoga. We were disappointed when the class was full, but ended up doing pilates with a girl on the other deck. Passed St. Lucia and St. Vincent Islands in the Lesser Antilles (I think I got the names wrong in some emails). You could tell the Islands were VERY populated by the numbers of lights visible. The sunset tonight was beautiful with the clouds in the distance. There was actually a cruise ship on the horizon. Its silhouette was visible and made for an awesome picture. Too bad my camera was in my cabin, but as we watched the sunset with the Student Life director, he reminded us that we had over 99 more sunsets! Haha.

I was able to actually study in one of the classrooms tonight. I do have a lot of reading and already a paper due in two days. Its funny, you loose track of the date because all you’re concerned about is in how many days it will take us to get to the next port and if it is either an “A” or a “B” day. It’s difficult to study in the library or in your cabin because the library has limited space and anywhere else on the ship is pretty noisy. Tonight was the activities fair where we were able to sign up for student life organizations like clubs, wellness activities, yearbook etc… I signed up to help the children’s coordinator on board, be part of the Extended family program and Vicarious Voyage. Extended family is coordinated with the lifelong learners, faculty and staff onboard (extended learners: older people that sit in and audit our classes, many have very interesting and intriguing stories to tell) where we have dinner once a week and talk. I’m excited to get into a routine of classes, working out, studying, sleeping and eating. The limited internet access is very frusterating with the expected research we are suppose to conduct with some of our classes. Oh well, back to the books that they used in the olden-days (grandma!). Haha.

It is really early in the morning here. I think I might have to get up this early to just get fast internet on board. At least I only have to wake up and play on the internet for a few minutes and go back to sleep rather than having to swim 1000s of yards. I feel your pain girls!

Love you family and friends! Thanks for all the awesome comments!

Leaving San Juan in 1.5 hours. Tried to upload more pictures, but failed. I'll keep trying. More later. 7 days to BRAZIL!!! Love you

Hi All,

I’m in Puerto Rico and it is gorgeous! I totally didn’t expect this much history in this state. Yes, a state. Puerto Rico is part of the United States. However they don’t pay federal taxes like we do. Population 6 million on this little Island. I woke up yesterday and went up the sixth deck to have breakfast. A bunch of us were sitting outside on the patio eating when we were met by the porter that boarded the ship to help guide us through the harbor. The scenery was beautiful! Largest ruins of fortress that were built in the 16th century with rolling grass lawns covered the hillside. There is a lot of development going on here in San Juan. After we docked, the clearing process of over 800 people takes forever. Luckily, we were off the ship in an hour and 40 minutes after we docked. Four of us, Kate, Shane, Kristin and I toured downtown San Juan. We saw the two beautiful fortresses (they are actually US state parks) San Cristabol and San Felipe de Morro. We also had lunch at a cute little café called Yuga. The people that ran the restaurant were very sweet and kind making us whatever we wanted. I opted for a chicken Quesadilla, I mean it has to be pretty hard to mess up a Quesadilla. The views bright colored buildings, cobble stone roads and arched balconies are mesmerizing.

Last night I had my first field program, the Bioluminescent Bay. I totally didn’t know what to expect. After an hour and a half bus ride we pulled up to this little beach where there were hundreds of kayaks sitting in the water with glow sticks as lights in the front and the back. It was about 8pm. After a quick kayaking 101, 50 of us in tandem kayaks all in a straight lined meandered through this mangrove forest. Kayaking in the pitch black told to just follow the boat infront of you is scary, difficult and frusterating at times. If you didn’t follow the person infront of you, you and your paddling partner found yourself tangled in roots that hung from the trees. We paddled for what seemed like FOREVER and then finally the sky opened up and it turned into a huge bay! The bioluminescent dinoflagellates glowed brightly with ever stroke of your paddle. You could splash water on your leg and your leg would glow!! It was amazing. Needless to say I was exhausted and slept very well last night.

Woke up this morning and had breakfast out on the 6th deck. No one is in the computer lab right now, so I figured I could type up something pretty quickly. I have no plans today, but a couple of us wanted to go to Walgreens to buy some last minute items before we enter real foreign countries. I have a trip tomorrow called the Organic Tanama River and Cave Adventure- sounds intense. Thanks again for all your comments. Again, I don’t know how much I will be able to blog while I’m at sea, but hopefully often, depending on the speed of the internet and availability.

Classes aahh

Currently at 20 degrees 36.9 North, 69 degrees 7.63 West.

Internet is not a available as I was hoping but I will attempt to do my best. We are allowed to send free “email postcards” from the Semester at Sea website so I may end up doing that daily rather than trying to post everyday. Depending on how many people are online determines the speed that the internet runs. Also, pictures take FOREVER to upload so I may just end up posting a bunch in port at an internet café, if at all possible.

Yesterday felt like the longest day ever. We had Orientation in the morning, Lunch, Orientation, Dinner, and Orientation. It feels like we’ve been on the ship for weeks rather than two days. I’m looking out our window on the fourth deck and the swells are about 5-6 feet. We are going 13.1 knots. The ship is the fastest in the world and can go up to 35 knots! I hope we’re able to see that sometime. Our orientations were about safety, the wellness clinic, field programs, library/ internet resources, classes etc… Last night, as we were eating dinner out on the 6th deck there was the most beautiful sunset! The sun set behind these white puffy clouds. You could see the rays of sunshine that were silhouetted in bright pink and yellow colors. If the internet is going fast, I may try and post a picture. We ate dinner with the video guy that is making the movie of the voyage. I was able to workout after our last orientation. Talk about difficult! Have you ever tried spinning while on a moving ship? I watched the girls on the treadmills try and stay in the center as they swayed from side to side-pretty hilarious.

This morning I woke up at 730am after loosing ANOTHER hour of sleep due to the time change. Kristen and I wanted to be the first at the bookstore when it opened at 8am. I bought a Nalgene bottle, a long sleeve customized shirt that has the flags of all the countries we will be visiting and a very comfy blue sweatshirt. After breakfast, everyone on the ship attends Global Studies in the Union and satellite rooms for 75 minutes. (Every class is 75 minutes!) We learned about Puerto Rico’s culture, language, geography, and architecture. Then ate lunch with new people! Two of the guys were from Texas and had hilarious accents. I had a class immediately after lunch- Marine Biodiversity and Conservation taught by Dr. Tatjana Good. Tatjanna (as she prefers to be called) is also the yoga instructor on the ship! She is very sweet and I’m excited for the class. We will be visiting many different ecosystem, fish markets and monuments, especially in Malaysia and Cape Town. My busy days are “A” days where I have two classes back to back after lunch- World Literature and Human Effects on Coastal System. After class, I laid out on the 7th deck basketball courts, along with the rest of the student body and listened to my ipod and read. It is hard to believe that this is school. I feel like all anyone ever does is eat, study and lay out. Tonight we have a pre-port meeting because we dock in Puerto Rico at 0800 tomorrow. I have two trips planned- visiting the bioluminescent bay on Saturday night and going on a Organic Tanama River and Cave Adventure on Monday.

Thank you guys for your comments! Stevie- I hope training is going well! I miss you girls lots!
I love you family!

WOW! What a day!!!! I’m currently on the ship at Latitude: 25 degrees 38.48 North, Longitude: 076 degrees 29.57. It is 10:30pm at night.

Arrived at the cruise ship terminal and immediately saw a VERY long line of students with huge suitcases. Kristen had already checked in earlier so I was on my own. The first line I saw was very deceiving! After dropping off my luggage with my room number on it and cleared through the Nassau Customs, I waited in another line to receive my ID card/ room key and turn in my passport. Once table was cleared I waited in line to board the ship. Once on the second deck, my backpack got searched, walked through a scanner and headed up to the sixth deck to turn in more forms, my yellow fever card among other things. Then finally I was able to go to my room! I’m on the fourth floor starboard side towards the bow. My roommate’s name is Lauren Brown from Issaqua, Washington. She is an Environmental Science major from Linfield University in Oregon. I met her parents who traveled with her, they were very kind. Her mom reminded me a lot of Mrs. Sharp! She is a swim instructor and lifeguard and swam last year for Linfield!

My luggage was finally delivered after a few hours of touring the ships seven decks and I was able to unpack and spend time with my roommate. At 1530 hours we had a lifeboat drill! We had to all wear closed toed shoes, hats, long sleeves and a huge life vest in 80 degree humid weather. The drill last about forty-five minutes and we were all dripping wet with sweat. After that we secured a spot on the 6th deck stern to wave goodbye to the parents. We embarked right on time-1700 hours. It was sad watching the many mom wave and cry goodbye, many holding signs and banners. A little bit of homesickness hit but quickly went away as we maneuvered between the last red and green buoys of Nassau Harbor (Dad!). Right after we embarked, dinner was scheduled in both the dinning rooms. We had delicious tacos for lunch and pasta with fish for dinner. It is going to take a lot to get used to someone waiting on you- bringing you water, clearing your place etc…Kristin and I ate with two of Lauren’s friends from Linfield and their roommates. One of the most challenging things right now is remembering everyone’s names and faces because they are all sooo new! After we ate dinner there was an hour orientation briefing where we were introduced to our Croatian captain, important faculty, life-long learners (senior citizens that audit classes while aboard), staff and most importantly our chef! Student Life does kind of like a peer group thing where cabin numbers are divided into seas. Lauren and I are part of the Bering Sea Team where we will compete in the Sea Olympics on our way from Brazil to South Africa.

Oh my goodness! Ship life is an experience that is a complete, total understatement! I’m completely lost in the ship! I can’t tell you which was is forward, or what direction we are traveling. I couldn’t tell you how to get to the cafeteria or my room. Luckily, Kristin and Lauren are pretty well versed on the ship. Me on the other hand, I can’t tell the difference from one stair-well to the next. I’ve heard the ship gets really small really fast. Lots of people have been getting sea sick and you can definitely feel the rocking and rolling.

Now I’m just winding down from the day. I heard that the blogger website is free, in that case I will be able to blog more often than expected.

Some interesting facts:
- 733 students on this voyage (the largest in its history)
- The ship is 590 feet long
- 74 of the students are from University of Colorado, Bolder.
- California is the most represented state on the ship
- over 1000 people total on the ship

I guess we are heading into a mild storm. Its expected to rain in Puerto Rico!!

Thursday: slept pretty well, having to get used to the ships rocking.. You can really feel. I'm going to try and post pictures later.

Love you!

Boarding TODAY!!!!

I still can't believe it is only 5:30am back home!! I hope this means I'm adjusting to time change! Woke up at 7:45am and watched the KTLA morning NEWS! haha. We are beginning to pack up our huge suitcases and head downstairs for continental breakfast. Kristin has a taxi coming at 930am while I don't leave the hotel until 11am. Hopefully I'll be able to meet someone else in our hotel with the last name that begins with "V" so we can share a cab and be one of the last people to check-in. The port is about a 5-7 minute walking distance but there isn't a steady sidewalk and lugging 50 pound bags doesn't seem that fun. It would probably take me 30 minutes with my suitcases!

I'm hoping the check-in process goes well. Checking in 600 college students over a 4 hour period must be hard. Keep your figures crossed for a good roommate and room. The ship looks amazing! I'm so excited.

Not sure how busy I will be the next two days but hopefully will be able post sometime...

Bye Bahamas!

* Thanks for the comments! They really make my day!

Jan. 22, 2008- Today I woke up at 8am and realized that I had slept for 12 hours and that it was also only 5am back home. It was still raining and wet outside. Kristin and I had a mission today- to find the post office to buy stamps and mail postcards. We had a $4 continental breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the 5 minute walk to the touristy part of town. It was still overcast but surprisingly really warm. The large Disney cruise ship that was in port left and two other HUGE cruise ships came in. The MV Explorer looks miniscule compared to these gigantic fifteen story Carnival and Norwegian cruise line ships. Luckily, we found the cruise line terminal/ loading dock area and conveniently a post office near by. By then the sun had finally come out and the “liquid sunshine” as the lady that was trying to sell us beads on the beach called it, had disappeared. We decided to head back to the hotel to change into shorts and bathing suits and to try to connect to the internet again. The internet at the hotel, unfortunately, was not free but comforting to know that I could finally post on the blog and talk to family and friends. Around noon we laid out on the beach infront of our hotel until it got really overcast and windy out and then set off back into town to find lunch. The town was very crowded because both of the cruise ships arrived but we were able to find a cute little café that seemed really crowded and smelled great-Café Skans. We once again ordered hamburgers but were able to meet three other SASers who seemed really nice and excited. Then we visited the Nassau Pirate Museum Gift shop, Tartuga Rum Factory, British Columbia Hilton and the Straw Market.

Grandma- the Rum Factory’s Rum Cake was VERY Rummy! Cousin would’ve LOVED it!

After our adventure around town, we came back to the hotel too shower, watch TV, and play on the internet. We’ve met a few other SASers in our hotel.

I can’t wait for tomorrow! I board at 11:20am (8:20am PST). Hopefully I’ll be able to post tomorrow night or the next day when we’re at sea. Our first day of classes is Friday, Orientation on Thursday.

Pictures: top- our ship is to the right of the bigger cruise ship, you can only see the back of it. middle: the straw market- filled with wood carvings, straw materials and fake designer purses! last- outside the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory!

Our adventure at the Atlantis!! It was absolutely gorgeous!

Still hasn't sunk in..

It still hasn't really registered with me that I will be gone for so long. It still feels like I'm on a week vacation in the Bahamas. I wonder when and if it will ever hit... until then here is what we did on Jan. 21st, 2008

Woke up, 30,000 feet in the air, on the plane, as we were approaching Atlanta airport in Georgia. I was surprised to learn that it was almost 7am in Georgia but the sun hadn’t even risen yet. Luckly the gate of our connecting flight was only a 10 gate walk down the airport. Kristin and I had Cinnabon (Cinnamon Rolls) for breakfast and met a few other SASers, some with their parents, on our flight.

I slept most of the way during the two hour flight from Atlanta to Nassau. As the plane descended through the thick clouds I was shocked to see the most beautiful blue water. When I think of the Atlantic Ocean, I imagine cold frigid waters, however the water is even more amazing than Hawaii’s and reminds me a lot of Belize and the Caribbean. Arrived in Nassau around noon EST. The airport was very tiny and our luggage was one of the last to come out. We hired luggage man to help us carry our 60 + pound luggage. (Luckily I dodged the $50 overweight fee in LA, weighing 46 and 40 pounds). We had met a girl from Long Beach named Kara who shared a Taxi with us from the airport to our hotel. She has work study and had to board the ship yesterday around 3pm.

To our relief, we were able to check into our hotel early, around one thirty. Our room is on the fifth floor with an awesome ocean view. The end of this ship is visible from out make-shift 3 inch balcony with a sliding door. Surprisingly, the room is very large, two queen beds, bathroom and TV. After a nap and shower we took a taxi to the infamous Atlantis hotel on Paradise Island. It was pouring rain with Gail force winds! The Atlantis is simply magnificent!!! Walking through the entrance took my breath away! (see picture) We toured the hotel for a while and found the marina where we ate Johnny Rockets for dinner; our waitress’s name was Vannda! Probably the last hamburger I will have for a while- sad. After dinner we stared at the million dollar yachts in the Atlantis harbor while almost getting blown away by the wind. (see picture). We talked our way into gaining access to the pool and slide area at the resort. It reminded me of Wild Rivers with a lazy river and huge waterslides. It began to get dark so we decided to get a taxi to head back to the Quality Inn. Our driver, whose name we did not catch, entertained us with funny stories of his many taxiing adventures. It took us about 30 minutes to get back due to one-way streets, rain and traffic. It is weird driving on the opposite side of the road, even when you’re crossing the street you have to look the other way first! Strange. Arrived back and tried to connect to the internet, but no luck.

*Still have to play with image size to add more pictures...

Love you!

5 hours, 45 minutes!

In 5 hours, 45 minutes I will be on a plane bound for Atlanta and then too the Bahamas. By 930am, PST, I will hopefully be checking into our hotel in Nassau. I think you always are a little nervous/ scared to go through the whole check-in process at the airport, afraid they might throw away your toothpaiste or 3 oz. contact solution. Hopefully I will be able to post in Atlanta in the morning or maybe the Bahamas. Until then, I love you all! I can't wait for this journey to begin!!!

6 MORE DAYS and I head for the Bahamas! I'm feeling scared, excited, nervous, and anxious, among other things. My 4 page checklist is almost completely checked off! The mess in my room is slowly getting packed into two huge suitcases. Thanks goodness for packsaver vacuum bags!! I have nightmares of forgetting crucial things, like prescriptions, and find myself remembering to pack random things at the oddest moments, like when almost falling asleep! But all the work and anticipation is slowly becoming REAL. I've been reading tons of message boards and learning alot from alumni, which reassures me. Kristin and I will meet at LAX at 9pm on the night of the 20th and hopefully sleep all the way to Atlanta but I'm sure the excitement will keep us up!

I hope Nassau can handle 600 college students about to embark on a journey of a lifetime... we'll find out!

Some fun links:

Storm Stories Sprin 2005:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6DBGhXI586k

A Tour of the Ship (made by Alumni):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=x5OofqRON_c&feature=related

Semester at Sea Website:
http://semesteratsea.com/

MSN Semester at Sea Group:
http://groups.msn.com/SemesteratSeaSpring2008/messages.msnw

Kristin's Blog!

This is Kristin's blog. I will be traveling to the Bahamas with her!! 10 MORE DAYS!! I can't wait!

http://krikinatsea.blogspot.com/