Orientation Day- June 18

Today’s blog is going to be relatively short and simple. It can be summarized in 1 word: Orientation. We had orientation from 9 am until 5 pm, then deck, or “sea,” meetings and book discussion groups for the rest of the night until about 9:30.

Orientation was boring, as expected. It was speaker after speaker telling us all the rules and regulations and things we needed to know. ALL. Day. Long. Somehow I managed to stay awake during it all.

In fact, I don’t really even know what else to say about it! We got short meal breaks, then had to go back to listening to speaker after speaker and presentation after presentation.

Our “sea” is starboard deck 3. We are the Caribbean Sea, and our color is blue. At the end of the voyage, we’ll have a “Sea Olympics” and compete against the other seas.

The book discussion groups were okay. We were supposed to have read “Triumph of the City” before boarding the ship, and we would discuss the book as a group activity. I got lucky, and my group met in the faculty lounge! This is on the top deck, deck 7, at the very front of the ship. It is a room panoramic with windows. I have to admit, it was tough concentrating on the book discussion when there was a beautiful sunset right outside! Most of the students didn’t read. I read the first 8 pages…and that was a lot compared to most people. We were still all able to have the discussion about cities, and whether cities really are better than suburbs and rural towns (as the author suggests). Of course, I am biased since I didn’t grow up in the city. I prefer towns. :) The discussion was interesting since there was a diverse group of students in the group. The author’s side was that cities are what advance the world forward based on a number of reasons. Since people are all congregated, there is more human contact, spread of knowledge, and innovation. Companies are in close quarters and must compete to succeed. Also, since everyone is congregated in one place, the carbon footprint is less. In my opinion, I prefer rural areas. I think the quality of life is better. Yes, there are more interactions in cities, but they are often quick hellos and goodbyes whereas in a town, running into people means having actual conversations with content. Of course there are exceptions. I prefer the slower moving life. I actually think I would like a nice balance, and suburbs provide that too. Or maybe even something between a suburb and town! :) In the book, the author made a statement that people reported greater happiness in cities, but did not give any citation. The entire group caught this and agreed that it is probably actually the other way around. Anyway, now I’m just rambling but you get an idea of how the book discussion went!

One thing worth mentioning about the day was dinner! A group of us met on Deck 5 (the dining hall that isn’t as busy) for dinner at 6, and so began “on 5 at 6”—our regular routine now. We sat on the starboard side and met some really nice crew members! They are mainly in the dining hall to make sure the food is put out and to make sure people clean up after themselves. Darwin and (the other one whose name I forget right now!!) went above and beyond, and were serving people their drinks, clearing plates, and checking to see if there was anything else we wanted. It’s buffet-style, so they didn’t have to at all! We talked to them a little bit and somehow I ended up being called the trouble-maker. I think it was from walking to the table—the ships rocks constantly and I just can’t walk straight. I most likely almost caused some kind of collision or spilling or falling…it wouldn’t be surprising. Anyway, somehow I got the name “Trouble Maker,” so every time Darwin sees me it’s- “Hi TM!” It’s my goal to get everyone else nicknames, too!

Well, that’s about it for that day. I went back to the room to get ready for classes to start the next morning, so my night was pretty uneventful. Showered and slept, then woke up for classes!

Embarkation Day! June 17

After waking up and doing my new bug bite-care ritual, I finished getting ready and somehow managed to fit the extra things I had left out into my suitcases. I honestly don’t know how. All the other girls had check-in at around 9, but since my last name starts with T, I of course wasn’t until 11. I was not about to take a taxi alone, though. I’d heard they’ll sometimes let you on before your time if you have a good enough reason, and I figured I did. Checkout took awhile, but went smoothly. We just split the cost 3 ways, and it was easy. Then came the complicated part.

We walked out of the hotel to where all the taxis were and of course had to wait for a long time. Everyone else was trying to get to the same place we were, and everyone else also had 2 giant suitcases and 1-2 carry-ons. Since most of the taxis are big taxi-vans, we found a group of 7 and attempted to all fit in. I’m not sure if we ended up fitting all 7 of us into that one taxi, but it was an adventure trying. The taxi driver was loading all of our luggage, and ran out of room after about the third person’s bags. It was ridiculously hot and he was sweating like crazy, but the people who work in the Bahamas are so hospitable to the tourists. They know it’s their job and they really do put 100% into it. It’s so different than America!

The driver packed as many bags as he could into the back of the taxi-van, then started trying to fit some in the front seat. He pushed my bag in and knocked his rear view mirror right off! He just laughed and shrugged his shoulders, and said it’s better than breaking his window like he did the day before. It was quite the ordeal trying to fit all the bags along with all the people. We all felt so bad standing and watching, but he knew what he was doing and didn’t want help. Once we all crammed in, we had to get to the port. Well, since half the tourists on the island were trying to get to the port too, it took quite awhile. Everyone else was on some kind of edge of the taxi or had a source of airflow (hot, though) at them. I, however, was the only person stuck right in the middle with absolutely no window crack to stick my fingers out of or put my face up to. After about 25 minutes of sitting in traffic, my body started getting panicky. I couldn’t move my legs because they were pinned under all the luggage. The luggage was starting to push on and rub my bug bites, majorly irritating them. On that note, my bug bites had gotten even worse. When I woke up in the morning, they had developed clusters of blistery fluid-filled bubbles at the center of each one. Some of the huge red swollen circles were starting to deform and develop tails pointing upwards. Even the ones on my arms and shoulders were growing tails and spreading. Okay, back to the taxi. So along with the current claustrophobia I was experiencing and the misery of my bug bites, it was SO stuffy and hot. I got to the point where I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was at that panicky point where I was on the verge of literally getting out of the car because I was so desperate- I couldn’t move, I was in so much pain, and I couldn’t breathe because it was so hot. The taxi driver heard me ask if anyone had a paper of some sort to fan myself with, and handed me a booklet. It was actually a BahamaHost Lesson 2 booklet- how to be a good host to tourists! It was funny that he gave that to me- he was currently putting it into practice! I somehow made it to the port, and we got our bags and tipped him extra- he was definitely the best taxi driver we’d had. He let us ask him questions along the way, too, and answered everything we wanted to know!

We got to the ship and prepared to get in line. Only thing was…..we had to walk for about ten minutes to GET to the back of the line. In the sun. :( I’m talking, walking for ten minutes, THEN came the line we had to wait in. Well, at that point I wasn’t worried about getting to the ship before my 11:00 check-in time. There was no way I’d get there before then! Luckily, we moved up enough in the line so that we were waiting in the shade after awhile. We waited for about 2 and half hours in the brutal, humid heat and finally got to the front. I found out my room number and proceeded to the security line. I had to take out all of my paperwork, including proof that my hair straightener and curling iron were auto shut off. I got through! Just before getting onto the ship, I had to turn in the immigration form I got at the airport. Luckily it was still in my backpack…nobody told us we’d have to present it again after the airport. I had to search for awhile, but found it thankfully. I turned in my passport as I got onto the ship--  I was on my new home!! We were directed first up to the Union to go through all of the registration steps- it was a room full of tables we had to circle around. Yes, I signed up for classes, yes I took my alcohol awareness test, yes I took my moral code (in the airport, right before leaving!), yes I signed up for trips, and I got my medical insurance card. When I was at the medical table, I took the opportunity to show them my lovely bites- that now resembled giant welts. I showed the Physician’s Assistant and Doctor and they were slightly shocked. They took me right down to the Walden Clinic on the second deck, and got me in a room to see me. The Doctor had to go back up to the registration table, but the P.A. stayed to check out my bites.

She didn’t have to look at them for very long before telling me that she was really worried about them. Yes, I was too! She said the most worrisome part was that each bite was swollen to an abnormally large size and had developed a tail. All of the tails, regardless of whether they were on my legs, arms, or shoulders, pointed toward my heart. She described to me that when something poisonous was trying to attack your body, it got into your blood stream and made its way to your heart. And that’s why all the tails were doing that. Then she told me she thinks it’s developing into staph, and that we wanted to stop it early when we could so it wouldn’t get too serious. She immediately put me on antibiotics and steroids (lots of them), and warned me that I would probably have the appetite of two men for the next couple days. She then sent me off to lunch after telling me not to touch or scratch or pop the blisters, in order to prevent spreading. I got to lunch, found some of my hotel roomies, and proceeded to eat three platefuls of pasta. She really wasn’t joking when she said I would get a huge appetite. After lunch, I went to my room and met my roomie! I unpacked a little bit, and then heard a knock. The P.A. was at the door and had calamine lotion for me!!!!!! That has seriously been one of the highlights of my trip. Is that sad? I guess it just goes to show how miserable I was! I immediately covered myself in the calamine lotion and was now everything but presentable to the rest of the world. Great first impression on my roommate, huh? First, walking in with diseased-looking skin, then being covered in calamine lotion. She was super nice regardless and we chit-chatted as I unpacked some more. It was finally time for the muster drill. Well, I had to put my clothes on and get up the station. Once the calamine lotion was dry, I put leggings over them to keep it on. I wore sweats over the leggings because we were required to wear long pants for the muster drill, and put on a long sleeved shirt and close-toed shoes. Keep in mind that I was still in around 100 degree weather….

Luckily I got to blend in with everyone else in my pants, so nobody had to question why I was dressed so warmly. The muster drill alarm sounded and the Captain spoke, so Lauren (my roommate) put on our life jackets and made our way up. I brought my little camera and documented some of it. :) We had to stand for awhile until everyone was accounted for, and only one person was missing. When that person showed up, we were dismissed and the Captain said we had done one of the best muster drills he’s ever had. Apparently he never says that!

After the muster drill was embarkation. We all went up to the top deck and waved goodbye to Nassau as we pulled out of port and started on our way. There was a group of parents we could see who were waving back at us! THEN, it was really hot. The rest of the ship had taken off their pants and long sleeves and were back in shorts and tank tops. Not me. Nope! I was still in my 2 layers of pants and 2 layers of tops. I wasn’t about to be making more first impressions with my bites and bright pink calamine lotioned skin…I thought it would be better if people just thought I was crazy for wearing long sleeves. Needless to say, though, I was sweating like a pig! Once we were on our way to Spain, we went to dinner and ate again. I met some more people, then went out on the deck to play catch phrase with them as the sun set. At night, we had our first snip-it of orientation. We had a welcoming lecture to attend. I don’t really remember the details of it- probably just a condensed version of all the info we got at all-day orientation the following day. After orientation, I showered and got ready for bed. It was time to sleep in my new bed for the next 2 months! The gentle rocking of the ship rocked me to sleep and I was out like a baby in no time.

Last Day in the Bahamas- June 16

If I’m being honest, it’s really June 20 and I’m looking back at the quick notes I wrote for June 16 to fill in this blog. I have more recent ones already written, but I want to post them chronologically to make it less confusing! So here I go to try my best to remember the events of June 16, 2011. :) And also, I acknowledge that I might mess up some of the details. I just finished reading some of my psychology book, and learned all about immediate & short-term memory loss. SO there is a very good chance that I will have forgotten about 50% of the details. :) More on that when you get to the June 20 blog!

In the very early morning, I remember waking up just enough to scratch at my legs that were itching like crazy. I was dreading waking up and having to deal with bug bites, so I just itched them and went back to sleep. If I recall correctly, I was having dreams about bedbugs! And when I finally did wake up, my legs were indeed covered in bug bites (and bigger than normal!). I figured that either I was bitten when I was at the Jacuzzi the night before, or that a mosquito or insect had gotten inside my sweats and went crazy biting me in the middle of the night. Either way, it was super itchy. I showed the other girls and they were shocked at how many I had! Just on my legs, there were 16. These bites were itchier and more miserable than normal, so I tore apart both suitcases to find hydrocortisone cream, Benadryl, and Tylenol. And so began my days of drowniness…

As the day progressed, the bites on my legs started getting bigger. Since I had internet at the time, I decided it would be wise to look up the diseases I might have gotten from this insect that attacked me and feasted on my blood. Very characteristic of me, huh? Well, I unfortunately discovered (after reading tons and tons of articles on WebMD and Wikipedia and CDC and other news sites) that there was a recent outbreak of Dengue fever in the last month or two- IN the Bahamas. Well, that was wonderful! I read all about terrible extreme flu-like symptoms that took 4-6 days to appear, and stayed for at least 10 days, and all I could do was wait for this terrible occurrence. And on top of that, I’d be in the middle of the Atlantic when it would all start. If I had to get airlifted out, I wouldn’t get to go on Semester at Sea! And what if it lasted through Spain and Italy!? If you know me well, you should not be at all surprised by these thoughts. And I was pretty convinced. I emailed my amazing doctor parents, and they agreed that it would be bad if I did get it, and that there was no way to know other than waiting, but hoped for the best and told me that they too (along with the bugs) think that I am very sweet. Thanks, guys! ;) As the day went on, they were getting uncharacteristically huge, and I was getting freaked out. I hadn’t read anything about Dengue fever bites swelling to enormous sizes before the symptoms came, but maybe I hadn’t done enough research. I was still taking Benadryl religiously and rubbing hydrocortisone on constantly- I even brought it down to the beach. That day was very…slow… and… relaxed. Or maybe it was just the Benadryl! We lounged on the beach and by the pool, and took some pictures around the hotel. I stayed in the shade since I had previously gotten splotchy sunburns, plus I didn’t want the sun to suck out the minimal amounts of energy I had left. By the time we left the pool, a couple more bug bites had developed on my legs, and on of my arms and shoulder. As time continued to pass, one or two would keep showing up randomly. I think my final number was around 25. And remember, these things were giant. You’ll understand when I post the picture- and it’s the day I got them, not even at their worst!

We left the pool and went up to the hotel room to order Domino’s. :) We took turns showering, and ate the pizza as we were getting ready. That night, we planned to go to Senor Frogs (and actually go in this time). There was a big plan for everyone going on Semester at Sea to meet there on Thursday night before we boarded the ship the next day, just so we could start meeting each other. We planned ahead and left before 7 to take the bus and get there for only $1.25. Well, everyone else had the same idea and the bus was PACKED. I’ll have to find some pictures from it- I might have even taken a video. I was sitting in the aisle on a “seat” with someone on my lap, and people alllll around me. It we got into an accident of some sort, none of us would have been able to budge since we were all packed in so tightly like sardines! We got off the bus downtown because some girls wanted to look around at the shops, and possibly the straw market. I had been to the straw market in 6th and 8th grade, and remembered being pretty overwhelmed. Since they wanted to go though, I was up for it too. I didn’t want to be alone in Nassau! We walked around, took lots of pictures (posted on my Facebook from before I left the Bahamas), and shopped in some of the small stores, but the straw market had already closed. We were near the port, so we took a picture in front of the MV Explorer! It was crazy thinking we’d be on it the next day, and for the next two months! We saw a really pretty fountain behind a gate, and were admiring it from a distance. A man came up to us and asked if we wanted to go in—we all freaked out a bit. Then he said he was security of the building, and told us what it was and what he did. I felt a bit uneasy (so from then on we decided to verbalize our gut feelings) as some of the other girls did, but a couple had already gone in and we weren’t about to let them be in there alone. In my head, I saw him locking us in and then go from there…yeah, bad. Apparently some of the other girls had thought the same! It ended up being fine- he took our picture in front of the fountain, told us all about what the buildings were (business buildings of some sort- I forget by now). We got out of there safely, then discussed how we wouldn’t be doing things like that again unless everyone agreed on it. See, living and learning! :)

Finally, we headed over to Senor Frogs and (thankfully) got in for free. Just to be safe, we had gotten some free vouchers at the hotel before we left that said no cover—we were serious about not paying! We got in, and it was crazy. Apparently there was a high school graduation trip in Nassau at the same time as us, and they were all at Senor Frogs too. Senor Frogs was as densely packed as the bus we took to get there! Okay, sorry, a little nerdy…but seriously. Anyway, it was really fun meeting people and socializing and getting excited about Semester at Sea. Some of the new high school graduates who weren’t legal to drink in the States but could in Nassau were acting like madmen- they were wreaking havok. Most of the SAS kids hung around the sides rather than the dance floor and mixed and mingled and got to know each other there. I had a lot of fun talking and hanging out. I spent some of the night looking for my future roomie- Lauren! I only knew her from Facebook. We had randomly friend requested each other through a SAS group, and started talking and decided to request each other as roommates. I knew she’d be there so I kept my eye out! Finally just before we left, I was in the bathroom and saw her walking out. I ran up to her and said hi- she was just as I had expected! She had to go right away because she was trying to find someone so they could go, but I would see her in the morning. On a side note- while in the bathroom, I asked someone who worked at Senor Frogs if they normally got bitten by bugs like this (and showed her my bites). She look disgusted and asked if I had a disease. Not quite the response I was hoping for……..

We left Senor Frogs via taxi-bus and got back to the hotel safely. Now it was time to get ALL my clothes, currently strung across the hotel room due to my frantic Benadryl search in the morning, back into the vacuum bags and get my suitcases shut. Now, THAT was going to be a problem. While packing at home initially, I laid on the bags and rolled on them and probably looked like a freak trying to get the air out to seal them. Well, I tried to do that in the hotel room, but 1) the girls found it quite hilarious and kept taking pictures of me, and 2) I couldn’t even kneel because my bug bites were so itchy and painful. They were still growing, and I was getting more worried! They even were developing bumps in the centers! First task, though? Get packed. I SOMEhow managed to get everything in- well, except for the things I needed the next morning. And just as I was about to go to sleep, I realized I had included all my PJs in the vacuum bags and packing….so I had to start over. Welcome to my life. I finally got to go to sleep, and had to wake up just a few hours later in the morning. You’ll have to stay tuned for the next blog to hear about that, though! Trying to sleep that night was like trying to sleep on Christmas eve (well, with the addition of an itchy/burning factor)- I was so anxious!!

Isaac

On my last blog post that actually had substance, I left off right before I started talking about Isaac. So I will pick up right where I left off! And bear with me, a lot has happened since then so one of two things will happen: this post will be very long, or I’ll get tired and break it up into multiple. Here we go!

So Isaac was down at the pools of the Sheraton just hanging out while we were in the Jacuzzi. A few minutes after the four of us girls got down there and had our toes in it, he came over and got right in. At first, we all felt a little weird and weren’t sure if we wanted to stay or talk to him, or really how to react. We soon realized that this came from “fear of the unknown”- just because he was different than us, we didn’t feel completely comfortable around him and didn’t know how to act. We weren’t sure if he spoke English, if he wanted to talk, or what! Finally after a couple minutes, we struck up conversation with him and that was the end of the uneasy feeling. We soon learned quite a bit about him and gained an appreciation from his perspective on life- very sincere and honest.

To be honest, I’m not sure how much of what he told us is true and how much he was “playing” us. You’ll see what I mean! Isaac is a 15-year-old who just finished tenth grade. When he first told us his age, I didn’t believe him one bit. He was pretty small, and I would have guessed he was about 8 or 9. I asked if he lives on the island or if he was visiting, and he said he lives here and always has. He has been to New York City and Miami, and REALLY wants to go to NYU for college- that’s his current plan! He wants to go into management and business, particularly in the cruise business. He finished at the top of his class and got very good grades, so as a reward his mom was letting him stay at the Wynham (the hotel over, also very nice) for two or three weeks by himself, and he could have friends over if he wanted. That’s the part we weren’t very sure about, because it is so expensive! Then we saw him pull out his nice blackberry and starting texting his girlfriend (as he told us). He was definitely from the Bahamas, based on how he talked and what he knew about the island, so we knew he was telling the truth about that. He said his mother was a cop, and he was an only child. I asked about crime, and he said the crime rate is already at “60” so far- I wasn’t exactly sure what the number signified but he said it was very high compared to normal. 

Then we started asking more about the island and culture. He said most people speak both English and Bohemian, but primarily Bohemian when not around tourists. We asked about taxis and rates and prices of things, and said that almost every tourist here is ripped off, and particularly the older and younger ones (elderly ages and our age). He told us we needed to turn people down for the prices they offered and simply walk away- if there were enough of us, they would really want to get business from us since it would bring in at least a little profit. We told him we had gone to Senor Frogs, and he told us to be careful down there- that’s not nearly the worst part of the city of Nassau, but for girls like us we needed to stay in groups.

We eventually started to ask Isaac some personal questions- just to find more about who he is as a person. At one point, he said something about our God and Creator, so I asked if he was a Christian. The sincerity of his answer really struck me. “No, not at all. Right now, I’m the farthest thing from a Christian. I do things that are bad and I keep doing them and living that life. I cannot call myself a Christian and a follower of God if I am like this. If I call myself that, I know I am lying. I know I want to be, but in order to be I need to change how I live. You can’t say you believe one thing but act completely opposite; that’s just lying. I believe in God, but I still need to become different to call myself a Christian.” It was really interesting to me how he was honest and straight with his answer- he wasn’t going to try to say he was. He knew the life he was living, he knew the life he wanted to be living, and he didn’t try to make excuses. It was crazy to me that at 15 someone could be so honest about that, because I grew up surrounded by people saying one thing and acting like another, and constantly making excuses. It was really refreshing to hear an honest answer. In fact, I do remember what he was talking about originally. He said there are people who do Voodoo and there are “Witch Doctors” but he really doesn’t like that because it is not in honor of our God. I think it was also refreshing to hear his response because at 15, and even at 20 now, people in America get very defensive when talking about religion and the idea of God, and many people simply refuse to talk about it or think about it or acknowledge it at all. I don’t think I realized how sick I was of people just shutting it out and having “off-limits” topics of conversation. I liked his openness. We continued asking him about many things- family, culture, the schools in Nassau, and many other things we wanted to know.

In the middle of talking, a group of girls started screaming closeby on the beach. He immediately jumped out of the Jacuzzi and ran over, only to return with a huge sand crab in his hands! It was about 5 inches from claw to claw. Eventually he threw it back over into the sand, and we continued talking.

At one point, another group of college students came into the Jacuzzi with us. There was a hose going into the Jacuzzi, and Isaac was playing with it and pretending to squirt us with it (actually doing it later). The new people saw this and seemed to be uncomfortable with the fact that he was in the Jacuzzi too; they too quickly commented that the beach is probably better and how they should go there. As they left, they had faces that looked annoyed and almost superior; this really bugged me. I could kind of relate to how they felt, since I felt a tad bit uncomfortable at first too. However, after striking up conversation I realized how neat it was to talk to someone with a life so completely different than my own. I was a little upset by the fact that these students judged Isaac SO quickly and immediately put him on a level below them. Yes, he was different that what we were used to, but then again we were in THEIR country, and we were about to go on Semester at Sea to gain a greater understanding of the world. Also, there were 4 other girls at the Jacuzzi too- clearly he couldn’t be too scary! He definitely saw what happened and seemed to be a little hurt, but at the same time he was used to it. Later on, he really did start squirting us with the hose after we’d been talking for about an hour, and instead of throwing a fit and getting mad, I realized that it really is JUST water, he was lonely and was just trying to make friends and laugh with us, and that the experience of meeting him was a very good one.

As I fell asleep that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about Isaac. I’m so glad people have been telling me to get out and meet the locals and hear what they have to say. Rather than staying in my own little bubble where I could have made it a vacation consisting of only things I was comfortable with, I was really impressed by Isaac and now realize that it really is important to talk to people in the places I will be visiting. Since then, I’ve made it a point to strike up conversation with taxi drivers, waitresses, and others in the Bahamas. Of course, I know I need to be safe and only approach people in appropriate settings and situations, but I also realize that if I had not had this experience with Isaac, I probably would have stayed in my little bubble of comfort and not realized the importance of talking and listening to what others have to say.

I feel like I learned so much in just one conversation about life and culture in the Bahamas. I am beyond excited to have many more conversations like these with people in the 9 countries I visit, and I can’t wait to gain that much more perspective from different people in different cultures across the world from me!

Quick Update: New Email!

Hey everyone! Today I boarded the MV Explorer and am currently somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Since the waves are huge out here and the ship is smaller than an average cruise ship, the boat’s-a-rockin! Luckily, I haven’t gotten sea sick yet (fingers crossed!). On another medical update, I have a crazy bug bite-gone-infected thing going on. I’ll give some more details in the next blog, but it’s bedtime for me! I have to wake up early to go down to the medical clinic in the morning, then I have orientation from 900-1730 (see how cool I am using military time??). :)

Anyway, I just wanted to do a quick blog update and let you know that I got my new email and it’s all set up! The one I posted earlier is actually wrong- no middle initial. But since I have no internet (I’m posting this through free email) I can’t edit that. SOO I will say it here!

***** E-mail: jtaft@semesteratsea.net *****

*note: I CANNOT receive pictures, unless they are less than 4 kB. This means the picture would have to be smaller than the size of a postage stamp…

I know it sounds pathetic, but all of us are going through connection-to-the-world withdrawals here with no Facebook or internet! We all very much appreciate the emails we get (hint, hint!). :)

It’s really cool being unplugged from technology, and meeting and communicating with people on the ship purely through face-to-face interactions. We’re stereotyped as the generation of technology, and as people who are unable to make real connections and have face-to-face relationships. We’re currently proving whoever said that wrong! It’s neat to meet and talk to people completely different than me that I normally wouldn’t hang out with. Also, my roomie is so nice and sweet! We are getting along great so far. :) Hopefully we only get closer!

Email is our only means of communication with the rest of the world, and it is really slow so if I don’t respond right away please forgive me!

(And Mom: I know the “huge waves” line is stressing you out…but please don’t let it!!)

:) Check back for more later!

A Day of Relaxing and Learning

Yesterday afternoon and night, we embraced our exhaustion from traveling and lazily stayed in our hotel rooms, enjoying the view and the air conditioning. When we finally realized that it was 7 pm (the equivalent to our 4 pm) and we hadn't eaten since 4 am, we quickly jumped up and made ourselves presentable for dinner. We didn't feel like going very far, so we just went to a restaurant in the hotel- the cheapest one we could find that really wasn't cheap at all. Kristie got gnocchi, an entrée that was $30 for a very small serving! I felt like I was on my way to becoming broke from all the money I spent on taxis and tips, so I stuck with a $10 appetizer- a Caesar salad that ended up being 3 large pieces of lettuce with 2 croutons, drizzled with the slightest amount of Caesar dressing. THANK goodness for the complimentary bread, which filled me up about 10 times as much as my real "meal!"

After dinner, we walked around and explored the hotel. It's gorgeous and huge, and we went to the pools, beach, and casino. When we passed by the liquor store, we noticed how cheap the rum was and asked why it was so inexpensive. Because it's processed close by and doesn't have to be imported, it's very inexpensive so most drinks in the Bahamas are made with rum. I guess that makes sense! After taking pictures exploring the hotel, we headed back to the room to shower and relax for the rest of the night. We hung out in the room and our third hotel roommate Kelsey got in at about midnight! Of course we had to stay up a little and talk, and finally got to sleep at about 2. Because it was so late, we let ourselves sleep in…well, we decided that in the morning. We set the alarm for 9:00, but had a very short conversation while the alarm was going off that we were going to close our eyes again really quick—it's never really quick.

We woke up at 10:30 and jumped up to get ready for the day. We threw on our bathing suits and sundresses and took the bus (the 10, to be exact!) to the City Market. That was our first real taste of the Bahamas! Since we felt that dinner was too expensive, we chose to go to the market and get some breakfast foods, snacks, and water. We asked the concierge how to get to the bus and ended up having to walk about half a block (in her words) which was really about a quarter to a half a mile. We met up with two other girls and starting on our way! We were sweating like crazy by the time we reached the bus stop, but thankfully the bus pulled right up. Now, something as simple as opening a door should seem simple, right? Not so much. The bus doors were very weird and there was an art to opening them, so the bus driver was very impatient with us. The second the last girl's foot got off the ground he started taking off! We got to the City Market, and were trying to pay (only $1.25 each!). Of course, nobody had quarters and he didn't have change he would give us, so we just gave him a little extra and got off- and he started driving just before the last girl stepped out! Those bus drivers are sure in a hurry!

We got to the market and walked inside to find that we were in what looked like a typical grocery store- just what we were hoping for! There were a bunch of aisles stocked with American brands and some brands we didn't recognize. All of the price tags were in cents- so rather than $5.89, something would be 589 cents. We thought that was interesting! Since all the American food was imported, it was extremely overpriced. I almost bought a tiny box of Crystal Light for $8.00 until I realized that it was definitely not worth it. On the other hand, non-American products were extremely cheap! A bag of chips that were probably made in the Bahamas or somewhere close was 33 cents! We all bought sandwiches, fruit, and some breakfast bars and made our way out to the bus stop again. This time, we kind of knew what we were doing so it went more smoothly.

*Time out!* I definitely forgot to mention this yesterday, but in the Bahamas they drive on the opposite sides of the road! In the taxi from the airport, I had a minor freak-out when I looked up and we were driving next to someone going in the same direction as on, on a 2-lane road, and there was a car coming straight for us. After a second, I realized that the taxi driver was just passing the car next to us and that we were driving on the left side of the road! I guess I just didn't expect it since he was driving a car from the left side. Okay, *untime!*

We got back to the room and were surprised to find it crowded! Our fourth roommate had just gotten in, and she met some girls whose room wouldn't be ready until 3. All 4 of them had 2 huge bags, just like the rest of us, so in the room there were 14 gigantic bags and 7 people! We plopped down on the beds, cranked up the air conditioning, and chowed down on our newly purchased food. My turkey sandwich was so good, and so were my grapes! It was definitely worth the trip, both for the food we got (for cheap!) and the experience. We were proud of ourselves for taking the bus and succeeding!

Once we finished eating, I put my sunscreen on (like a good super-white girl) and we headed down to the beach. At first, we found a group of lounge chairs in the sun, but soon realized that if we were going to survive we'd need to find some shade. We were really lucky to find a palm umbrella with a couple lounge chairs underneath it.

 

Now picture this- a super hot day, lounging under a palm tree umbrella, sipping on a cold drink, looking out to the most gorgeous light turquoise water against white sand. There was fun music coming from the bar, and I was in the company of my new friends. I was loving it! I felt like I was in paradise- it was so surreal! We all felt the same way and decided to stay until the late afternoon- we wanted to take advantage of it as much as we could! At one point, a few of us went down to the water (like we did periodically to cool off) and were sitting/floating in the shallow water finding little seashells! No longer will I be buying pretty seashells from the stores- I have my own, and I found them! They're tiny, but they're very cute. :) I'll be putting those with the bottle Janie gave me (thank you! I'm doing it!) to fill with a scoop of sand from every beach I go to. While we were in the water, we noticed a huge thunder storm a little ways over on the beach. Some other people in the water said it had been there since the morning, so it was okay and not coming toward us. A couple minutes later, we saw a pretty big (at least to me) twister over a ways on the sand! Sand was flying everywhere and knocking over umbrellas and chairs! And a couple minutes after THAT, we noticed dark smoke coming from a different part of the island and assumed there was a fire. It was such a bizarre few minutes! 

After a beautiful, relaxing, perfect day on the beach, we stopped at the pools then went up to our room. We all showered and got ready to go downtown, and finally left to catch the bus. Well, we found out the buses stop running at seven and what time was it? Seven. Of course. We settled on taking a taxi, and ended up paying $5 each for about a 2 minute ride—RIP OFF! We were going to dinner at a place called the Fish Fry- or so we thought. Turns out, it's not a restaurant but a district with tons of local seafood restaurants. We quickly got sucked into one and were promised a balcony table, so we hesitantly paid the taxi driver and went up get seated. The balcony was great and had a beautiful view of the water and sunset. Our waitress was a sweetheart! We all ordered a Bahama Mama to celebrate being together in the Bahamas to start our voyage- it was really good! We quickly put in our order, and ended up waiting two whole hours for our food. When it finally came, we scarfed it down quickly.

 

 

I'm typically a picky eater, but I'm trying to be much more open on this trip! I want to live and learn different cultures, and in order to do that fully I know I need to be more willing to try new things! So tonight, my big step was getting Conch Fritters as an appetizer. They were little bread balls with pieces of conch mixed in. It was definitely interesting! Since that was my big step, I decided it would be okay to get chicken fettuccini for my entrée. It was delicious! I don't know what made it better- the fact that it was actually good, or that I had waited SO long to get it!

We had a bit of trouble leaving the restaurant, as some drunk guys decided they didn't want to pay for the food they ordered and tried to put in on us. As we were leaving, a waitress stopped us and told us we hadn't paid and that we needed to please come with her. For a second it got a little scary because so many people were talking to us at once so worked at the restaurant and wouldn't accept the fact that we had our receipt and had JUST paid! Thankfully, our waitress let them know our situation and we were able to scoot on out of there. In the meantime, the other half of the girls had found a taxi and were talking to the driver. This time, we decided we would NOT get ripped off and that we'd ask the price before we got in. Luckily, this guy was only going to charge us $3 each. He drove us to Senior Frogs, and that ride went smoothly.

The second we got out of the taxi van (a little sketchy, I know- but that's how they all are…plus, there were 6 of us) and were instantly greeted by a woman who started putting bracelets on us "for free." Well, it turns out you had to give a donation and $5 was hardly enough. One girl had wandered over to a group of students our age, so as the rest of us walked away the lady muttered about 15 times that "that girl, she didn't pay. She didn't pay. She didn't pay. But that's okay, but she didn't pay anything. Nothing at all." Well, when someone says she's giving you a free bracelet, it's not reasonable to expect a certain amount! We just walked away and thankfully she left us alone after that.

We walked up to Senior Frogs, and there was a decent sized line. In front of us were some students who just finished the previous Semester at Sea voyage- the month-long "Maymester" all around central America. We talked to them and got some advice as we waited in line. When we got to the front, they tried to charge us a cover of $10 each. A bunch of people said they were here last night and didn't have to pay to get in, and we were so sick of getting ripped off, so we said no, turned around, and walked away. Tomorrow, we'll be getting there before 9 so there is no question, and we refuse to pay. We still got a picture!

The second we turned around to leave, about 6 different taxi drivers came up to us trying to get us to go in their taxi. This time, we were firm. We wanted to pay $3. Well, "government regulation" is $5, so we settled on $4 after a long time. We got back to the hotel and checked the sign of taxi prices, and found out that that particular ride was the right price but the first one was extremely overpriced. We had gotten jipped, and were so sick of feeling like pieces of meat that everyone wanted to get money from and take advantage of the fact that we were tourists. In fact, we were exhausted from the experience and even a little grumpy! But we learned our lessons; we had to learn the hard way, but we weren't about to keep getting ripped off.

After we hung out in the room for a bit, we decided to go down to the pool to meet some more Semester at Sea people. We met a bunch of people, but we met one boy in particular who stood out. He wasn't a part of Semester at Sea- he lived on the island and was 15- his name was Isaac. Everyone has been telling us to just meet the locals to get a feel for their lives, and that they're very sweet. We took some time to get to know Isaac, but it's 3:41 am right now so I'll have to tell you about him later! We even got a picture with him. Stay tuned!

Just as a wrap-up, today I learned 2 things: 

1) Don't get ripped off- we learned that the hard way.

2) Reapply sunscreen very often, or you will end up with splotches of sunburn. Not the most comfortable OR attractive thing!!

Arrival to the Beautiful Bahamas!

 

 View from my balcony

Well, I’m off! I’m currently sitting in the Newark airport en route to Nassau, Bahamas! The first flight was-- well, let’s just say that this should be an exciting trip if I already have stories after the first flight! Nothing major, just a little chocolate incident…

My awesome parents got passes (after listening to the airport kiosk worker’s life story…and son’s life story) to go through security and see me off at the gate in San Diego! I had to get patted down and go through the body scanner machine for extra security measures, but I think I may have done that to myself. I’m pretty sure I walked over there thinking it was the normal line. Oh well! After the scan, they checked my watch and….drumroll please….it was not a weapon. Then I sat at the gate, ate my CPK pizza (thanks Mom!), and hurried to finish my University of Virginia moral code test. I blame Dad for the last-minute tendencies I sometimes exhibit. :) On the flight, I was sitting next to 2 other college aged girls who took up only one seat each and did not smell-- 2 of my airplane pet peeves avoided, whew! Take-off and landing were a bit unnerving considering the size of my carry-on backpack, its inability to even begin to fit under the seat in front of me (let alone below my feet), and the requirement that “all carry-on bags must be stowed in an overhead bin or be completely under the seat in front of you.” For the 15 minutes before take-off and landing, I pretty much had my hands glued to my backpack because I was “getting something out” but yes, I would push it under the seat when I was finished. Thank goodness I was sneaky enough to get away with it!

For the first hour, I wrote in my journal a bit, gazed out the window into the dark night sky speckled with bright stars, and enjoyed just SITTING with nothing to do—I can’t even remember the last time I was able to do that! I’ve been so busy with planning and paperwork and studying for finals and moving out and packing that this was the first time I could finally catch my breath! I was thinking about starting my required reading (to be completed before I board the ship in 3 days…that currently remains untouched) on the flight, but that plan didn’t work out very well. Before I knew it, I had conked out and was waking up to the sight of THE most GORGEOUS sunrise!! It was JUST what I needed as a little encouragement. :) At that point, the flight only had about 30 minutes left. Needless to say, The Triumph of the City didn’t get touched. Actually I take that back- I did use it as a writing surface under my journal if that counts as anything! As expected, I pulled out my camera and started snapping away. The beauty of the sunrise couldn’t even be captured; the colors were so deep, it was almost surreal!

So as the plane was starting to descend, I realized I needed to turn off my iPod that somehow ended up underneath me. Well, I pulled it out only to find that it was covered in my favorite thing- chocolate. Melted. ALL over. And since it was all over the iPod…which was underneath me…that only meant one thing- chocolate ALL over my pants. Julia gets the smooth award for the week! I completely forgot I had eaten some of the chocolate that my amazing roomie Syd gave me (thank you!!), and must have put it in my lap to save for later. Anyway, thank goodness for the free Continental blankets (with water) that served as napkins. After some awkward looks while I was cleaning, it all came out!

Now my layover in Newark is almost over and we’re boarding the plane soon. I thought I’d be sleeping, but instead I’ve been eating and talking on the phone (shout out to Patrick who was up from 3 to 4 am to talk to me!!). My body is so thrown off and confused as to what time it is and if it should be eating or sleeping or what! (Boarding again, I’ll finish later!)

Kristie & I during our layover in Newark!

I’m finally in my hotel room, laying on the bed, SOOO relieved that I made it with all my luggage! Since I didn’t get my required reading done on the first flight, I was planning on doing it on the second flight. And some blogging. And writing in my journal. And listening to music. Well, I was on page 8 of the book and before I knew it I was waking up to the “prepare-for-landing” announcements. I shouldn’t have even bothered making plans for productivity during the flight. We had to fill out paperwork on the plane since we were entering a new country, so I rushed to do that and got off the plane. SO HUMID. Within a matter of seconds, I had gone from chilly with goosebumps to absolutely sweating. And the 5-ton backpack, big camera bag, and 3 blankets I had acquired…along with the sweater I was wearing…didn’t make me feel much better.

After walking ten miles to the immigration room and waiting in lines for 20 hours, I was able to go to the baggage claim. THANKFULLY both my bags had arrived! Now came the scary part- taking a taxi to the hotel! I was lucky to be traveling with Kristie, so we could do things together. It was both of our first times traveling this far (and internationally) alone! We walked out with our giants suitcases, wandered around for about 10 minutes until we couldn’t drag our bags any longer, then decided to stop being “men” and just ask for help. ;) We were lucky to get a nice taxi driver, but we felt so bad watching him try to fit our luggage into the trunk! It literally took over 20 minutes (no exaggeration this time!). Finally, he ended up putting a bag in the front seat and we were off. The paper hanging from his mirror said the rate was $50…so we were just going to suck it up and split it. But when we got there he told us it was $18 for the ride, and $4 per bag. Much better than we expected! Check-in also took awhile but we were just glad to be at the hotel. We got into our room and realized we were in paradise! The hotel is SO nice. We have a view of both the hotel resort and pools, along with the beach just beyond it. I am SO lucky to be here! For the rest of today, we’re probably just going to relax and get our bodies adjusted after traveling for so long and the time change. The next 2 days will consist of recovering from finals and traveling by RELAXING and having fun! This hotel (the Sheraton) is the one discounted by Semester at Sea, so hopefully I’ll get to meet some other SASers before I board the ship! :)

 View from my bed = paradise!!!

I’ll have internet at the hotel until Thursday night, so feel free to email me at my gmail address- jtaft22@gmail.com. I also might be able to use this email while in port if I find wifi. However, on the ship I will NOT have internet access at all and will have only an email provided by Semester at Sea. I haven’t received it yet (I will on Friday, and I’ll post it here), but it will MOST likely be jltaft@semesteratsea.net. That’s all for now- it’s time for Julia to shower and nap and enjoy the beautiful Bahamas! I miss you all already!