Sunday, August 27th, 2006
Hi everybody! We left San Diego at 11:30am on a shuttle to Ensenada, Mexico. Mom and Dad and I stayed at the Huck’s for my last night in the US and Joanie, Jan and John came to The Sheraton marina to say goodbye. My shuttle was filled with people from all around California and we all got to know each other on the hour and a half ride down there. We entered into Mexico fairly quickly and just had to highlight our names on a list but crossing the border wasn’t very difficult.
The difference between the US and Mexico was immediate right when we crossed over. The first hour we saw mostly shanty looking houses built into the side of hills that looked pretty seriously impoverished. These were all directly across the highway from the ocean on the opposite side. There were also a lot of apartment developments built and advertised along the way but it didn’t look like a single person had moved in or would be too interested because there was nothing but dry land and freeway all around them. Once we got past the small towns we took a long winding road along the coast to Ensenada. It was a beautiful view of the ocean because the road was a few hundred feet up from shore. The ride took longer than we all expected but once we came around a curve on the road we saw the city of Ensenada. There was a lot more going on there but everyone on the bus was looking for a glimpse of the boat in the harbor. Our bus was one of the last to arrive and we had our passports checked while we crossed into the harbor area.
When we got off the bus our we went through metal detectors with our carry-on bags and we were invited onto the ship and given our student ID cards that give us access to our rooms, check us into the ship, and are like our credit cards for everything we buy on board. Our luggage was waiting for us in our rooms (we were already being spoiled) and we went through a line to make sure that we had all of our visas, medicine, and account paperwork. Then I went to find my room and meet my roommate. I’m in room 3016, which is on the 3rd deck and just about 10 doors down from the front stairs on the port (left) side. My room is pretty tiny but after having bunk beds with Kate in 12X10 foot rooms at Vandy anything is easy to live in J My parents had been on ship the night before for a reception so I got a post –it note on the door wishing my luck from them and the Huck’s (thanks!) When you enter the room there is a small bathroom on the right and a closet to the left and then it opens up to a space that is probably 10X12 feet. We have a small TV (that only shows the weather and travel channels, as well as exactly where the ship is at all times, the temperature, and how fast we’re going), and underneath it is a tiny refrigerator and three drawers. There is a small vanity with a desk and two chairs in the room, and then our beds are about three feet apart against the walls with our porthole behind us. It’s a squareish window that’s about 2 1/2 by 4 feet and only the rooms on the outside of the ship have them (as my mom said we “sprung for the port-hole”, thanks dad!). There is even about a foot and a half of space across in front of the porthole where a person could sit and we climbed up there at one point when there was a whale sighting announced over the intercom. Everything in our room is really clean and they change our sheets and clean our bathrooms every day for us. My roommate wasn’t in the room when I arrived so I put down my bags and went out to explore the ship. I met a girl names Karyn who goes to UCSD that I had met in Oakland at an incoming students/alumni meeting so we walked around together to check out our new campus.
The ship is unbelievably nice. It was a former cruise ship that was built in 2001 and converted to the new Semester at Sea ship in 2004. Everything is totally up to date and nicer than most college campuses. There are 7 decks all together (if you want to see a virtual tour there is one of the boat linked on www.SemesteratSea.com). I’m trying to figure out where everything is, but it’s pretty confusing at first. There are two sets of stairs and elevators at the front and back of the boat and it’s easy to get lost wandering though hallways. The outside decks are beautiful, there is a swimming pool (it’s not filled yet) and lounge chairs on the 6th, with a big rounded bar that serves food and beer and wine (only on Pub nights). There is a lot of room to walk around outside and check out the scenery. Indoors there are classrooms, libraries, a campus store, information desks, dining areas, and a lot more. After walking around the ship and meeting a lot of people (everyone is friendly and always introduces themselves), I went back to my room and met my roommate! Her name is Stefanie and she’s from Plano, Texas. She walked in and I introduced myself and she said, “Thank god you’re normal!”…and I said the same thing. She’s very bubbly and sweet and has a southern accent, which reminds me a little bit of Vandy. We talked a little bit about where to unpack all of our stuff in the little room and then went to get lunch with some of our “neighbors” who live on our hall. The halls are nicknamed after different Seas, and we are the Mediterranean Sea. There are a good amount of kids from California and Colorado, I even met someone two doors down from Menlo Park.
Lunch was served in a dining hall on the 5th (I think) and they served salad, vegetables, pasta, and some other basic stuff that wasn’t bad at all, they also have peanut butter and jelly for anyone who wants it. After eating lunch with a big group of people we were supposed to have our “life-boat drill” at 4pm but it was postponed because a lot of the luggage hadn’t gotten to people’s rooms yet and we needed to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, and closed toed shoes for the drill. The boat started moving around 5pm and everyone crowded around the railing to watch as we left Ensenada. It started to really sink in that this boat will be our home for over three months and we have about 5 solid days on it until we reach Hawaii.
Stefanie and I went back to our room and started to get unpacked and changed for the lifeboat drill. There is a voice that comes on over an intercom a to tell us anything we need to know, it’s a loud beep followed by instructions telling us what we need to do and it’s really obnoxious. We got instructions for the drill after the signal for emergency (7 short horn blasts, followed by one really long one). So we got our florescent orange life jackets from our rooms and went up the stairs and outside to our stations where we were checked in and lined up. We stood next to the lifeboats, which are really big and look like little submarines and can fit over 100 people in each of them. The captain came by and spoke to us about being silent during the drill (He is Croatian and speaks with a really heavy accent and he was really serious so people were a little scared of him, but my mom of course met him the night before and loved him because he was Croatian). When we finished the drill it was time for dinner (which is served pretty early from around 5:30-7:30). We went to eat and stood in a long line before having roast beef, potatoes, pasta, bread and vegetables. The food has been good so far but I’m already starting to miss the stuff that I love from home.
We had meetings after dinner for the captain and crew to introduce themselves and then meetings with our halls and RDs (sort of like RA’s in college, they help with any problems and oversee the halls). While we walked to our meeting in the “Piano Lounge” we passed by one of the snack bar type places on the boat that has a popcorn machine and some girl had just thrown up right in the walkway on the carpet. I watched about 12 people almost step in it and we kept telling people but nobody was looking. A lot of people had been getting seasick all day. We sat down for our meeting and Stefanie put napkins on the puke for people to see it but one lady wasn’t looking and didn’t hear us warn her and she fully stepped on the napkins in sandals…it was disgusting.
After the meeting everyone was really tired and we went back to our rooms. Stefanie brought a ton of movies that she burned onto CDs so we watched a move with some friends from down the hall. It was pretty difficult for five people to watch a movie in such a small room but we crowded on our twin beds and watched on her laptop. We fell asleep afterwards and slept really well all night. The rocking of the ship is much more intense than I expected but luckily I haven’t gotten seasick. It actually kind of puts you to sleep so I’m sure it will be difficult to stay awake during classes. The beds are really cozy even though they are small and I’m sure I’ll be taking a lot of between-class naps with the shades pulled down over the porthole.
Monday, August 28, 2006
We woke up fairly early and Stefanie is posting a blog also so we both decided to get started writing. We both couldn’t believe how much we had written just about the first day. Everything sounds amazing and there really isn’t a bad thing about this ship. We don’t hit land for I think another 5 straight days and I think we’ll be dying to get off by then but for now it’s a lot of fun. The weather has been overcast all day and it’s crazy to watch the white-caps on the water right outside my porthole. We have had orientation type meetings since this morning and they have basically all been really repetitive and pretty boring, it feels like being a freshman again. Classes start tomorrow and I’m sure I’ll have the hang of life on a ship by the time we make it to Hawaii. I think this morning they said we have only traveled a little over 300 nautical miles and it’s a long way there. We are going at about 16 to 17 knots (they tell you this on the ship TV station) and the captain said that if we have a day of good weather and calm water they will turn on all four engines and go full speed (30 knots). There is a lot more down time than I expected so it’s a good thing my roommate has so many movies, but I’m sure we’ll be busier once classes start tomorrow.
I already put a bunch of pictures up in my room from home with magnets and I’m trying to take some as well but carrying a camera around is a hassle on the ship since all you need is your ID card. I was on the internet already today for about 15 minutes which is a big chunk of the 250 that we get for free…so I’ll be going through those minutes quickly but I’m trying to only go on every few days. It’s fun to get emails though! So feel free to send them and I can write letters and mail them out at ports if I have everyone’s address. This is probably the most boring blog I’ll have because we haven’t started traveling but keep checking back and I’m sure they’ll get more interesting.
I miss everyone! Hope everything is well in the US…
P.S. apparently we never actually cross the Equator on this trip so don’t worry about me shaving my head!
My roomate and I on the deck
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