Adventures Around The World - Semester at Sea Spring 2007
This blog chronicles my voyage around the world as a faculty member on the Spring 2007 Semester at Sea voyage (The ship stopped in the following ports: Nassau, The Bahamas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Salvador, Brazil; Cape Town, South Africa; Port Louis, Mauritius; Chennai, India; Penang, Malaysia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong; Qingdao, China; Kobe, Japan; Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA; San Diego, California, USA)
Friday, January 9, 2009
Two Years Later...
It is now approximately two years after I embarked on my Semester at Sea voyage...
As I read through the memories in this blog, I fondly remember the voyage as one of the happiest times of my life. The smiles on my face in my photos aren't the "forced" kind you see in so many photos - the truth is I couldn't stop smiling on the trip....and I haven't smiled as much in a long time! The combination of traveling to new locations and the constant stream of new information flowing to my brain each day was something I had needed for a long time. The social atmosphere on the ship and having so many like-minded, adventurous new friends on board only heightened the experience. The only bad thing about the trip is that you have to "come back down to earth" after having such a great "travel high" for three and a half months! I guess the main thing I've come away with from this trip is that I know I need to keep moving and learning and DOING in order to keep myself happy. In doing that, it forces me to push myself out of my comfort zone and I think ultimately that is what everyone needs to grow as a person and gain any sort of lasting knowledge about oneself. It also forces one to live outside his/her own head - and for me, as someone who is naturally more introverted, I tend to do well when I'm more social and "out and about" than I typically might be.
To anyone who asks me about the experience of Semester at Sea, I tell them it was the best thing I ever did. I highly recommend the program for any students reading this and wish world travel were a mandatory requirement for students. If you can afford to go on Semester at Sea, do it. You won't regret it and it will help you grow as a person by enabling you to be more confident in dealing with unfamiliar situations and people. Moreover, I think Semester at Sea helps voyagers to not only become more confident in their ability to "navigate the world" but also to navigate the vision they have of themselves. In every account I have read of various experiences people have had on Semester at Sea, it is overwhelmingly positive and life-changing. Yes, every voyage has its mishaps or disaster, but those are to be expected when a ship full of hundreds of individuals sets forth on a trip around the world. It is actually pretty amazing that the program runs as smoothly as it does given the scope of the endeavor. Overall, I have been very impressed with how Semester at Sea has been run by the Institute for Shipboard Education and find the administration to do a fine job in trying to anticipate most every need or problem that could occur on the voyage. It is a wonderful program and I would hope to one day be able to travel on the ship again - either as a faculty or staff member or, perhaps, one day as a "lifelong learner"...
group photo taken when the ship was docked in Kobe, Japan
I now can check these things off my list of things to do in life...
I need more travel partners and adventurous friends to make these adventures all the more fun! Who's with me??? I'm determined to do all of these things in my life!!!
A student on the ship compiled an Excel table of the daily latitude/longitude reports that were posted on the ship each day. Below is a link to the file.
Over the course of the trip, I kept a spreadsheet with all my expenses for the entire trip. This included everything from start to finish - the costs of visas, prescriptions, doctors appointments, field trips, cash spent, etc.
Here are the results:
All costs (the total cost for all field trips before any discounts, costs for doctor's appointments, visas, travel to and from the ship, all purchases made on the ship, all cash spent): $10,057.51
Adjusted costs (I subtracted all of the discounts I got for being trip leader, reimbursements and stipends given for shipping items to and from the ship, for visas and travel to/from the ship): $7314
Expenses after deducting what I was paid by Semester at Sea (I got $1919.14 deposited into my bank account once a month for three months as payment for my work on the ship): $1557.06
I could also theoretically make an argument that I was paid more than the $1919.14 a month because I had all my meals on the ship included and I didn't have to pay for my cabin or any utilities on the ship either...if I factor that in, I probably made a profit by doing this trip. As far as actual money I'm out in doing this trip, having an out-of-pocket expense of $1557.06 for a semester of traveling around the world - you can't beat that!
If I really want to be a jerk, I could even factor in the money I was getting paid from Pine Manor College during this time too. They initially were going to deduct whatever I got paid by Semester at Sea from my paycheck because they said I couldn't be "paid twice" for things done on a sabbatical leave. This never happened though because others have pointed out that you could be making money doing consulting during a sabbatical leave as well. Hence, I WAS essentially "paid twice" during my sabbatical leave - I got paid by Semester at Sea AND I continued receiving my salary from Pine Manor. For the number of weeks I was away, I have figured that my earnings from Pine Manor totaled approximately $8021.23 after taxes. If I subtract the $1557.06 out-of-pocket expense from the regular salary I was getting from Pine Manor on my sabbatical leave, that leaves me with a PROFIT of $6464.17...so I actually MADE money by going on this trip around the world!!!!! Wow! How crazy is that!? I'm definitely very, VERY lucky! Of course, I'm still struggling to make ends meet on my regular salary in general, but I can't complain about the great opportunity to take a sabbatical leave and travel the world!
I thought it might be a good idea to list other faculty/staff blogs so that when I revisit this blog in the future, I can read through the memories of other people on the voyage as well. So here are some of the faculty/staff blogs I've found...
I arrived home. My parents picked me up at the Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, this morning and we drove back to their house in Warminster, Pennsylvania. I plan on sleeping most of today!
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
The ship is scheduled to arrive at 0800 in San Diego, California, USA.
Apparently everyone is expected to get off the ship sometime between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm. Faculty/Staff/Lifelong Learners are supposed to get off the ship second. The "Aegean Sea" hallway of students will get off first because they won first place in the Sea Olympics that occurred weeks ago. The rest of the students get off in the order in which they placed in the Sea Olympics. I anticipate getting off the ship around noon or so and having my two suitcases and a large box shipped via UPS. I will then try to find a post office so I can ship two boxes of books back via Media Mail. I'll be flying home on a nonstop flight that leaves San Diego at 9:45 pm tonight and arrives in Newark, NJ, at 5:52 am tomorrow morning. I will probably have from 1:00 pm until 7:30 pm to keep myself busy and see some of San Diego. I'm sure I am going to be dead tired though so I guess I could always take a nap in one of my friend's hotel rooms if I really need to (considering that most of my friends are planning on staying up all night for one last party). I know that Shannon is planning on organizing everyone who is still around for one last group dinner in San Diego at the Old Town Mexican Cafe. That will probably be around 6:30 pm though so I'm not sure if I will be able to stay the entire time or not.
Update:
I stayed up with everyone in the Faculty/Staff lounge where we had our party and some people made signs for their parents who are meeting the ship in San Diego.
making signs in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship (clockwise from front: resident director Tom, resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, nurse Emily, photographer Micah's wife Theresa, Global Nomads Group director Mark)
AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
nurse Emily and photographer Micah's wife Theresa in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
A group photo in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship (front row: AV coordinator John Paul, IT coordinator Matt; middle row: nurse Brenda, nurse Emily, photographer Micah's wife Theresa, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon, Global Nomads Group editor Joanna, assistant field office coordinator Kristen, administrative assistant Shayla; back row: Global Nomads Group documentarian Ben, videographer Joe, resident director Matt, Global Nomads Group director Mark, video editor Jon, assistant librarian Sherri)
IT coordinator Matt dancing in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
taking a group photo on the floor of the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship (clockwise: videographer Joe in the red hat, photographer Micah's wife Theresa, Global Nomads Group editor Joanna, IT coordinator Matt, resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, Global Nomads Group director Mark, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon, nurse Emily, Global Nomads Group documentarian Ben, assistant field office coordinator Kristen)
We had to get out of the lounge at 3:00am though so I headed back to my room and took a shower before getting about three hours of sleep.
approaching San Diego, California, USA on the ship
graduating seniors (in the Vietnamese hats) in the Union on the ship attending Convocation - Archbishop Desmond Tutu is in the front of the photo in the blue shirt
Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the Union on the ship speaking at Convocation
video of Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the Union on the ship speaking at Convocation
We will advance our clocks by one hour tonight which will make us 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.
Update:
Today I have some meetings with students - those who got their final grade for the semester and who apparently want to negotiate with me. Blargh. I hate those meetings. There has also been a student who is getting an A and who asked me if I gave A+s because her other professors were. I told her I didn't. She seemed a little anal throughout the entire semester though about being perfect at everything so it's no wonder that she wants to see an A+ on her transcript. I have no patience for people like that - it makes no difference whatsoever to their GPA, but they are so fixated on stupid little things like that.
On another note, today is packing day. I have most of my stuff packed up, but I still have some stuff I need to shove in there. Faculty/staff are supposed to put our luggage in the hall tomorrow by 10 am so that the crew can take it to the second deck. Everyone has color-coded tags that correspond with what hallway or "sea" they live on and faculty/staff have their own separate category. They apparently off-load the luggage when we arrive and then we recollect our bags in the terminal. There will be UPS services there so we can ship stuff home so I'm planning on doing that.
Second Update:
After the slideshow, Micah (the ship's photographer and one of my friends on the ship) made the following website available for people who wanted to order the slideshow and to order additional images:
in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship - everyone was trying to eat up and share whatever food we all had left
art history professor Robin and politics professor Simon's wife Anne-Claire in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
me, art history professor Robin and politics professor Simon's wife Anne-Claire in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
political science professor Giles and me in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
assistant field office coordinator Kristen and video editor Jon in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
photographer Micah and resident director Mindy in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship (clockwise: mental health professional Marvel, politics professor Simon's wife Anne-Claire, photographer Micah's wife Theresa - standing, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon, nurse Emily, resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily - standing)
We will advance our clocks by one hour tonight which will make us 4 hours behind Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.
photographer Micah's wife Theresa, me, assistant field office coordinator Kristen, resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon on the 7th deck of the ship
assistant field office coordinator Kristen in the deck 6 cafeteria on the ship
assistant field office coordinator Kristen, resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, nurse Emily, IT coordinator Matt, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon in the deck 5 cafeteria on the ship
baby Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship) and me in Purser's Square on the ship
baby Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship) and me in Purser's Square on the ship
baby Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship) and me in Purser's Square on the ship
baby Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship) and me in Purser's Square on the ship
registrar Dia and baby Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship)
some students with baby Ryder (his dad was another professor on the ship) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Deck 5 of the ship by the elevators
Today is a "study day" for students. Classes that met on "B" days this semester will have their final exams tomorrow.
On the agenda for me is the following:
Birthday party in the Faculty/Staff lounge for the Executive Dean (Time: 1730)
Dalit Village party in classroom #8 (Time: 2100)
Birthday party gathering for the Executive Dean in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the birthday party gathering for the Executive Dean in the Faculty/Staff Lounge on the ship
"Dalit Village" party in classroom #8 with other staff/faculty (left to right: IT coordinator Matt, photographer Micah's wife Theresa, resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon, Global Nomads Group editor Joanna, assistant field office coordinator Kristen)
"Dalit Village" party in classroom #8 with other staff/faculty
(note: this is one of my pre-scheduled posts set to appear at 5:00am EST each morning I am in a port city. I will post follow-up information about each trip once I am able to get back on the computer.)
The ship is scheduled to arrive at 0600 in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA. We will be in Hawai'i for only 1 day.
Today I'm going to go to the Global Nomads Group broadcast that they are doing from the ship from 8:30 am until 9:30 am. Archbishop Tutu has agreed to participate in this program so it should be interesting to watch him participate in the broadcast.
After the broadcast, I am going to rent a car for the day because it apparently will be well worth it to spend $35 or so on a car rental instead of getting taxis to go places. Students aren't allowed to rent cars in any of the ports so I guess that's another nice thing about being a faculty member on this trip. Also nice is the fact that if you are over 25 you don't need to pay extra to rent a car in the U.S.
Prior to leaving for the Semester at Sea voyage, I ordered a "Go Oahu" card for $59 (a one-day card) from the website www.gooahucard.com. Having the card will allow me to have admission to lots of attractions and tours on the island. I will probably try to hit most of the main attractions that I have access to with this card today.
I am going to be going skydiving too I think (unless I completely chicken out - no payment has been made yet!). The reservation has been made for 1:30 pm at a place called Skydive Hawaii. One of the students in my classes said she wanted to go so we booked the reservation a few days ago. She has since gotten several of her friends to go as well so I think she added them to our reservation. I'm nervous, but you have to figure that now is the best time in my life to do something like this - no young children yet, no spouse. It's a scary thing to do, but you have to figure that it's probably no more dangerous than driving a car. Besides, if it's your time to go, it's your time to go...you might as well be doing something fun and making the most out of life. That's my thinking at least. Since it will obviously be a tandem jump, I have to figure I'll be strapped to someone who knows what he/she is doing...so all I have to do is enjoy the experience. Everyone who has done skydiving in South Africa said it is well worth it, so I guess this is my chance to try it. I know it will only be a one-time thing for me, so I'm getting it out of the way on this trip and then I can say I experienced it!
Other things I need to do today are to try to find a Best Buy or Circuit City type of place so I can buy another memory card for my camera (I've already gone through one 2 GB card and am almost at the end of my second 2 GB card. I also need to find a post office so I can mail back the following:
my receipts for the expenses of shipping teaching materials to and from the ship to the Institute for Shipboard Education (Faculty get reimbursed up to $200 for this.)
my extra foreign currency (no coins) to the Foreign Currency Exchange Corp.
two boxes of books and DVDS that I used to teach my classes - I'll ship these back home via Media Mail since I don't care when they get back to me (though we really aren't supposed to take any boxes off the ship because I guess that is the deal with customs that we don't do that until San Diego...so if I do try to mail anything back it has to be something small enough that I can put in a backpack so that I'm not carrying boxes off the ship - maybe I'll just fill up a backpack with books once or twice and just go buy some boxes at an Office Max or Staples)
I may also go to a beach. Emily (the nurse) said she is thinking about renting a surfboard for the day and that she has heard that Hawai'i is a good place for beginners to learn how to surf. Maybe I'll meet up with her at some point. I'm not sure yet.
I also just got word that Lesley (the resident director from Hawai'i) is going to make a big group reservation at a restaurant called Duke's so some people might meet up there at 7:00 pm for dinner.
view of the port in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA from the ship
Attended the Global Nomads Group broadcast conducted on the ship with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu waiting to speak to students in classrooms in the U.S. via video conference during a Global Nomads Group broadcast in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking with classrooms in the U.S. via video conference during a Global Nomads Group broadcast in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
Global Nomads Group video from the video conference in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
Went skydiving. Still alive. Took up most of the day, lots of waiting at the place because there were lots of Semester at Sea students there (around 30 or more). Not really scared at all even though I was the last of the four people in my plane to jump, so I got to see all the others get sucked/jump out of the plane before me. 40 seconds of falling, all through a cloud. Good view once in parachute mode though. I took video with my still camera that was looped around my wrist while going down.
Photos are now posted, but I still need to get some more photos of me that are on other people's cameras. After skydiving went to Waikiki beach area and walked around then met up with friends from the ship.
Didn't rent a car after all and didn't use the Go Oahu card at all. Hopefully I can resell it on ebay since I haven't used it. Will write more detail when more time.
Sit in on the Global Studies core course that the entire ship "shuts down for" daily - it is held in the Student Union area of the ship with the lecture being broadcast on the closed-circuit TV system of the ship to the various satellite classrooms on the ship for those students who can't fit in the Union (Time: 0920 - 1040)
Sit in on the Global Studies core course that the entire ship "shuts down for" daily - it is held in the Student Union area of the ship with the lecture being broadcast on the closed-circuit TV system of the ship to the various satellite classrooms on the ship for those students who can't fit in the Union (Time: 0920 - 1040)
Surprise 35th birthday party for Mark in the "Dalit Village" (Time: 1920)
Sea Social #9 (Time: 2100 - 2230)
Update:
Apparently those who organized the surprise birthday party for Mark learned last night around midnight (when it was officially his birthday) that he doesn't like to celebrate his birthday. He doesn't like to be sung to and he really didn't want to make a big deal out of it. With this knowledge today, people were unsure what to do I think. Joanna (with Global Nomads Group) and Emily (the nurse) had been the main organizers behind it, putting notes on people's doors a few days ago inviting them to show up at 7:20 pm for this surprise. When I saw Emily at dinner at around 7:10 pm or so, I asked her "So who is distracting Mark to get him to show up at 7:30?" She said she didn't know what was going on and that Mark was in his room downstairs anyway so it wouldn't be much of a surprise. Regardless, we all gathered in Joanna's room on the opposite side of the ship and then walked over to stand outside Mark's door where a cake was placed that was ordered from the ship's kitchen. A number of faculty that Mark is friendly with were invited (some of whom had never been to this Dalit Village area of the ship).
getting ready to surprise Mark in the hallway outside his cabin
When someone knocked on Mark's door to come out, he eventually answered, but went to go close the door again upon seeing about 20 people out there with a cake.
Global Nomads Group director Mark opening his cabin door
When everyone said "Happy Birthday" I was watching 10-month-old Ryder and he basically had a really upset look on his face from all the noise. Once things quieted down, cake was passed around and I got a chance to play some more with Ryder.
Global Nomads Group director Mark cutting and passing out his cake to other faculty/staff members
nurse Emily and resident director Lesley having some birthday cake IT coordinator Matt having some birthday cake
me with Ryder (the son of one of the other professors on the ship)
After about a half an hour everyone dispersed and went back to doing work or going back to sleep. Everyone seems beat today. I popped into the Sea Social that was going on in the Faculty/Staff lounge and hardly anyone I'm friends with was up there. Everyone is basically laying low today since there was the party last night.
Sit in on the Global Studies core course that the entire ship "shuts down for" daily - it is held in the Student Union area of the ship with the lecture being broadcast on the closed-circuit TV system of the ship to the various satellite classrooms on the ship for those students who can't fit in the Union (Time: 0920 - 1040)
The Ambassador's Ball is basically two things - a sit-down dinner and then a dance afterwards. There are two sittings for dinner - one at 5:30 pm and one at 8:15 pm. I'm in the 8:15 pm sitting. When we signed up we had to say which of the three entrees we wanted. I chose the chicken teryaki (all of the food relates somehow to one of the ports we've visited). The dance is from 10:30 pm through 12:30 am and is apparently held in different locations on the ship with different kinds of music. That's all I know at the moment.
Other stuff I forgot to mention before:
Apparently in Kobe, the photographer Annie Liebovitz came on the ship to take photographs of Desmond Tutu. The interview with Brad Pitt has apparently been postponed until Hawai'i though and will be a phone interview.
These were the images of Archbishop Tutu that were taken while on the ship and then, obviously, later composited with George W. Bush and Brad Pitt for these covers
Second Update:
Went to the Ambassador's Ball dinner (not as good as the captain's dinner a few weeks back, but since they were cooking for so many more people this time around, I guess it wouldn't be).
My table at the Ambassador's Ball dinner on the ship (clockwise: resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily, resident director Tom, AV coordinator John Paul, AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon, nurse Brenda, me)
at the Ambassador's Ball dinner on the ship (clockwise: resident director Mindy, resident director Dan, registrar Dia, resident director Drew, resident director Lesley, resident director Matt)
at the Ambassador's Ball dinner on the ship (clockwise: IT coordinator Matt, Global Nomads Group documentarian Ben, nurse Emily, Global Nomads Group editor Joanna, assistant field office coordinator Kristen)
After dinner, the group of people I'm friends with headed down to the "Dalit Village" area of the ship (the area where a lot of the staff people have cabins that is in the front of the ship on the third deck). Our party basically was there while the students had a dance in the Union.
The faculty/staff after-party in the "Dalit Village" part of the ship (Deck 3 forward, crew quarters where some of the staff were housed)
registrar Dia, resident director Lesley and nurse Emily at the faculty/staff after-party in the "Dalit Village" part of the ship (Deck 3 forward, crew quarters where some of the staff were housed)
The faculty/staff after-party in the "Dalit Village" part of the ship (Deck 3 forward, crew quarters where some of the staff were housed)
AV coordinator John Paul's wife Shannon and resident director Tom's girlfriend Emily at the faculty/staff after-party in the "Dalit Village" part of the ship (Deck 3 forward, crew quarters where some of the staff were housed
video from the faculty/staff after-party in the "Dalit Village" part of the ship (Deck 3 forward, crew quarters where some of the staff were housed)
Global Nomads Group director Mark and AV coordinator John Paul at the faculty/staff "Dalit Village" party (Deck 3 forward, crew quarters where some of the staff were housed)
I got some use out of my German to find out that Mark can claim to be a count. (Not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds cool I guess...it seems like such an antiquated idea). Basically, I learned this because his birthday is tomorrow and the Dean's Memo that was put out yesterday has those people's names on it who would be having a birthday the next day. Mark's name was on it and in between his first and last name the word "Graf" appeared. For some reason I actually knew what that meant and said to him (in German) that I saw his name listed on the Dean's Memo and that I saw the word "Graf" which I told him I knew meant "count." He nodded and I told him "Graf bedeutet 'count' auf Deutsch, nicht?" (Graf means count in German, no?). He nodded again and I asked him if he was a count to which he nodded again. He said that most people would have no idea what that meant and I just told him I was all over that with my mad German skills. I'm not sure if he likes to keep this cool title a secret or not though - I'd make everyone call me "Count" if I had a crazy title like that. :)
On another note, bizarrely, the captain of the ship meandered into the Dalit Village area and started to "hang out" with us.
the captain of the ship hanging out with us in the "Dalit Village" area of the ship (Deck 3 forward, where some of the staff were housed)
The guy is not a conversationalist at all and it became pretty evident that he was a white elephant in the room. Very awkward. Everyone kind of gravitated to Emily's room and the captain was still standing outside in the hallway with a few people who were apparently trying to talk to him. Very awkward. Very weird.
video of Global Nomads Group director Mark taking a break from the party on the smoking deck of the ship addressing his thoughts on his 35th birthday (Deck 5 starboard)
