February 7, 2007

Puerto Rico: Day One

Puerto Rico was fun, but in the ways I did not possibly expect. On Wednesday morning I woke up at 6:15 in the morning to go up to 7^th deck in order to see us pull into our first port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Long story made short: the group I was hanging out with for the beginning of the voyage is not really the group I am going to continue to be traveling and being with for the rest of this voyage. But, things could change…only time will tell. They’re not being very nice or genuine, and those are not the people I want to spend my time on this voyage with. The view was excellent as we pulled into San Juan. We circled around the island a little bit, and passed Fort El Morro and saw the sunrise and it was simply awesome.

Right after we docked, the governor of Puerto Rico boarded our ship, along with the Secretary of State! We all gathered in the Union and before the Puerto Ricans came in, the San Juan press boarded and came into the Union, followed by Desmond Tutu. Then the governor came in and spoke to us. Roberto, a student on ship from PR, had the honor of presenting our gift to the governor…what a special thing for him! He spoke in Spanish to the governor and had pictures taken by the press, so it was really cool for him.

In order to go through immigration they called us up by seas to retrieve our passports, meet face to face with an immigrations officer and then give our passport back. It really didn’t take very long, so pretty soon, I was on Puerto Rican soil. The day before we learned about the commonwealth system in PR, so it was nice to disembark and throughout the days I was able to talk to a couple Puerto Ricans about their thoughts on the current system.

I met up with Brianne, Janet, Jika (who is from Mexico City!), Matt Hershberger, and some other random people. One of the best things about this trip even now is that people are all so willing to just hang out in port…almost none of us had hung out a lot before, but we didn’t have any plans for Puerto Rico, and we all decided to head out into old San Juan.

We made the 25 minute walk from the boat to Old San Juan and it was killer in the hot humid heat! I don’t think I could handle living here! I am almost longing for the snow and cold at home!! We wandered around the beautiful streets of San Juan, and slowly but surely we all broke off into smaller groups. I ended up with Jay, Jika, Janet, and Brianne. We were still wandering, but getting hungry when we asked an older man on Calle de Fransisco if there was an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant nearby. His name was Pedro and he personally showed us to a restaurant called El Jibarito. He walked in, called out “cinco!” and got us a table. The food was excellent! I had a veal stew with yellow rice and chicken sausage! I also got passion fruit juice which was refreshing! As we were eating Roberto walked in with his friends, so we knew we had a good place when the native Puerto Rican came in!

After lunch we walked up to Fort El Morro. It was what we saw when we came in on Wednesday, and the view all the way up there was simply fabulous. To the right down the cliff was a white sand beach and an old cemetery with beautiful statues. To the left was a rocky slope, with the cerulean waves crashing on the rocks. It is hard to give words to the feeling of being up so high, with the wind blowing, and the sound of waves crashing beneath. The word freedom comes to mind. Even this soon into the voyage that is becoming a theme…I am doing the things I never thought I could do, and not doing the things I always thought I would do. It’s an incredible and liberating feeling.

After Fort Morro we went and got a mojito at the local bar and then went to the ship for dinner and then we headed out to the Welcome Reception! We joined up with Cristie, Denise and Ashley and got in line. We boarded the bus, with our leader, Emily Allina, who is a nurse on board. We were told that we were headed to Caribbean University in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. It was about a 30 minute bus ride, and when we arrived there was a massive line of students waiting for us. There were girls in stilts, people in demon outfits, a drum group playing…it was great!

We went to an auditorium and watched a movie (ALL IN SPANISH!) about the university and then heard from its dean and one of the professors. The mayor of Bayamon issued a special city proclamation in honor of our coming, and sent one of Puerto Rico’s great actresses to present it to us. After that we processed in a big festive line to what was like the North Quad at BW. However, they had great Puerto Rican food waiting for us, and dancers performing! This incredible troupe of dancers performed traditional Puerto Rican dances to upbeat music all night long. Towards the end of the night they had us on stage too. There was girl from Caribbean University that I had been talking to all night long whose father lives in Cleveland. She is coming this summer and so we exchanged phone numbers and she is going to call when she gets to Cleveland. It will be unique that she was able to give me a slice of Puerto Rican life and hopefully I can show her around the Cleveland area a little bit!

We came home after that, and Brianne, Elise, Bryan and I decided we weren’t going to go out. However, we decided that we really wanted to just get a drink and relax after a really crazy and rushed day. WELL, on the way home from Bayamon, Brianne was really proud of herself because right across from the ship she saw “St. Tropez Disco Pub” We thought “this is great! We can just kick back right across from the ship and have a drink or two and get back on.” Naturally we walk across the street, and go to the door only to be given really funny looks. The man says, “No Ladies Allowed” and so we inquire further. It turns out that this place is actually a strip club at best, and who knows what at worst. Haha Oh Puerto Rico.

February 8, 2007

Puerto Rico: Day Two

And Day Two started off with a bang. Kaitlyn, Cristie, Brianne, Ashley and I headed to the Bacardi Factory. We caught a cab right outside the port authority and he said he would drive us all the way to the factory for 9 dollars each. Sounded cool right? Well..he was all over the road, never in a lane and it was the scariest ride ever. Once we arrived at the Bacardi Factory, we told him that we wouldn’t need him for the ride home, but he still wanted his round trip fare and he was a little scary so we just gave it to him.

The Bacardi Factory was simply amazing. Little thing I never knew: Rum is made out of molasses. It was gorgeous and we really learned a lot. I know what you are all thinking: what is there to possibly learn at a rum factory? Well…we actually learned a lot about the histories of both Puerto Rico and Cuba, where Bacardi was founded. It was fascinating to learn about the background of people who came to Cuba and the state of the company there today and things like that. Some lucky few received videomail from me at the Bacardi factory including my mother! Haha I’m sure she was overjoyed to see my shining face standing in front of a wall of rum bottles. Sorry mom…but it was a good trip!

At the end of our tour we were given two tickets for free drinks at Casa Bacardi! Haha Again…sorry mom, but I drank a mojito at 10:30 in the morning. They weren’t very strong though, since they were free, and it was just nice to have a cold drink in the warm breeze! We heard that it was just a short walk to the ferry, so when we left the factory we made the trek down a long and dirty road. And…I’d never been honked at so much in my life by trucks. Blech! So…we kept walking and walking and walking…and we stopped to ask a postman how far it was to the San Juan ferry and he said at least a mile and a half more. At this point, my Tevas were digging into my feet, and everyone was hot, so we flagged down the next taxi we saw, and made it to the 50 cent ferry!

After we arrived in Old San Juan we found a dinky local Puerto Rican diner and sat down and ordered…we got papaya milkshakes…and their specialty? The hamburger. Haha I took a taxi back to the ship because I was meeting my neighbor Bryan and his girlfriend Elise to go to Kmart at the mall to stock up for the rest of the voyage on food, water, juice, etc. haha However…we just ended up walking back to Old San Juan, so I wasted six bucks on a cab fare. I did get to change out of my Tevas into flip flops, so it might have been worth it. Haha My blisters are so ridiculously huge and gross! After shopping at Walgreen’s and not finding much, I caught up with Brianne, Ashley, Kaitlyn and Cristie again. We stopped for coffee, shopped at some Puerto Rican clothing stores (I didn’t find anything! Almost bought a cute sun dress, but I saw the tag was 50 bucks, and that stopped that!) We came back to the ship, and met Marissa Flores for dinner at the 7^th deck snack bar before departing for bioluminescent bay.

It was an hour and 15 minute van ride to Bioluminescent Bay, and once we arrived we put on bug spray, life jackets, took off everything but our bathing suits and hopped into our kayaks. I split one with Brianne, and for once, I was the more experience person and the calm one. Haha We started in a big open area, and then kayaked twenty minutes through the night sky and mangrove trees on both sides. Brianne was up front and once we almost crashed into a mangrove, but only once!

All of our kayaks were tied together once we reached the actual bioluminescent bay, and we were given the science behind it, and then allowed to jump in. I don’t remember all the science, but special plankton exist in 4 bioluminescent bays throughout the world. Three are in Puerto Rico and one in Japan. When disturbed, they shine and glow. The ones in this specific bay glow a green blue. When you move at all in the water, the entire spot around you simply lights up. Unfortunately, there aren’t any pictures of this, because when light hits it, they become translucent. That is why this trip is only offered at night. It was definitely worth the 65 bucks and I would definitely do it again! It was incredible to lay in the water, gaze up in the night sky, and then see the water shimmering.

After we came back, we all decided that we were going to go out to San Sebastian Street, the big night life scene. Brianne, Marissa and I showered quickly and then caught a taxi up to San Sebastian. We eventually found our friends sitting in a park, and so we got out and went to Café San Sebastian. I got a Medalla Light, which is one of the beers produced in Puerto Rico. It didn’t really taste like beer, thank goodness, and was actually pretty good. One of my guy friends bought me a Cuba Libre (it’s a rum and coke, but if you ask for a Cuba Libre it has to come with Bacardi and has a lime! Learned that at the Bacardi factory!) We walked around to a couple of bars, and met up with Brad, Michael, Jayme and Victor, but Ashley, Cristie and I headed back pretty early because we were exhausted and there wasn’t anything incredibly exciting going on.

February 9, 2007

Puerto Rico: Day Three

In the morning Brianne and I walked to Old San Juan to hit up the grocery store, Pueblo, and get the rest of the things we needed, and then we came back to the boat, dropped our stuff off, and headed to the beach! It took a while to find, but as soon as we got there, Janet, Jika, Ashley and another girl from Mexico were just getting there too. Everyone from SAS was there it seemed like…we hung out with Matt and some other guys. We put our sunscreen on and headed into the water. It was beautiful. We got out after about half an hour, put more sunscreen on and just slept in the sun for an hour and a half or so. I figured I lathered a lot of sun screen on, so I would be ok, but no.

I look like a walking talking lobster. I have sunglass tan lines on my face, and I cannot move most parts of my body. I have not gone outside at all today because I can barely move. I wore my tankini yesterday, so I also have this impressive stripe of red across my lower back from where the tankini came up. My lips were also a little swollen, so I now know the real meaning of sun burn!

We came back to the boat around 4 pm, even though on ship time wasn’t until 9. There were a lot of people back already because no one wants to risk dock time after the first port! Brianne, Elise, Jeff, Bryan and I were in the classroom across from the Piano Lounge and Elise broke the couch. Haha It is definitely not a comfortable couch because it is all just plywood with just a little padding and a cover. haha

We ate dinner here and then just sat outside with Elise, Bryan, and the other girls. I really couldn’t move. We stayed out long enough to see us pull out of Puerto Rico, and then I came in and went to bed just before midnight and talked to my roommate for a little bit.

February 10, 2007

B1

Woooot…second day of classes. Okay…not that exciting. I can move a little more today, thanks to Brianne letting me use her Aloe gel! I met up with the Ashley, Cristie and Brianne for breakfast, and then we trekked to global studies so we could sit in Dr. Wes’s discussion group section. Haha Global Studies is ridiculously boring. When you look around the Union there are people sleeping, people who have the almost asleep bobbing heads, people so bored they can’t even take notes, and then those of us who take every last note even when we want to beat our heads against the tables.

The good part about global studies today was the discussion time during which we talked about the conversations we had with people in Puerto Rico about their status with the United States. Almost everyone I talked with was okay with the idea of continuing on as a commonwealth, but there were a few voices about statehood. However, almost no one heard a lot from people who desired total independence. We also began discussing Brazil and the geo-ecological status of the country. Dr. Ebersole lectured on biology and Dr. O’Brien on the plate tectonics that effect the nation. That part was pretty good.

After global studies I talked to Dr. Wes about adding his International Political Economy course, because I was worried about being at a disadvantage because I have not taken micro or macro and I am just now in Intro to Int’l Relations. We talked for a bit, and decided it would probably be best to not add that specific course. Now, I am looking at adding either Sustainable Communities with Dr. Rocky Rohwedder (yes…said like Rocky Road-er haha) and if I can’t get that, than I am going to add School and Society with Rocky Rohwedder, and if I can’t get that, my last ditch effort will be to take three courses from the same professor, by taking Western Civ I with Dr. Joyce. I am waking up at 6 am to go get in the add/drop line because it starts at 7 am and I have an 8 am class. I will be camping out, but for a class and not concert tickets.

I went to Medieval Travel Accounts with Dr. Joyce, and taking two upper level courses with her is going to be a very interesting experience. Elise is in that class, along with Megan from Bio Bay and a couple other people I’ve met. Ate lunch with Elise, Bryan, Jen, Christina, Jennifer and Jeff and then I took a nap while my roommate did her homework. I went up to Piano Lounge around 1545 and did homework until 1730. At about 1715 they made an announcement that there are going to be bridge tours tomorrow, so Elise and I ran to Purser’s Square to sign up, and there was already a line! There were 4 spots left when we got there and we got two of the three last ones for our time slot! SCORE! Tomorrow at 1045 we will be touring the bridge and seeing what the captain sees and sitting in his chair! However, they do not let us touch navigation, but that is a good thing since I nearly crashed Uncle Bob’s boat at Lakeside when he let me try to steer it! Haha

They also made an announcement about the alcohol policy on the ship. It used to be at the captain’s discretion that there would be pub nights called “AFTer hours” and people could purchase up to four drink tickets. The new policy is that alcohol will be available at all dinner and every night at sea except for the nights before and after we leave port. To do this you have to purchase a drink card at the Purser’s Office for 45 dollars. For that card you get 18 drinks. You can have two with dinner and four at night at the most. I understand their rationale in that they want to normalize having a drink with dinner and not having it be something that people in college to do simply get drunk. However, there are people on ship who take advantage of it. If I do buy a card, it will be one card to last me throughout the voyage, because I am not going to be that semester at sea kid who can’t remember their voyage, but I see no problem in having wine with dinner or a beer on back deck every so often. However, there are some very rich kids on this voyage who will keep buying drink cards and always be intoxicated. My roommate and I were just talking because we both like to do our homework or just write on deck 6. However, if there are always going to be people on deck 7 drinking, it won’t be that way anymore. We shall see. It is going to be an experiment for SAS and I hope my voyage can deal with it.

We ate dinner...came back to my room to do work, which we actually got done. We were motivated…if we finished our Puerto Rico papers for mysticism, we were going to reward ourselves with watching the movie “Saved!” tonight. Haha We went to the activities far and I signed up for hanging out with the children of faculty and staff (because I miss my daycare kids!), Students of Service, Judicial Panel, Spirituality Programming Committee, and being adopted by a faculty/staff member or life long learner. The “Ship Shrinks” had a fun table too where they were having people write down what they want to do with their future, and they are going to try to find lifelong learners/staff/and faculty to match us up with to talk about stuff. The “Ship Shrinks” as they call themselves are hilarious..Arnie is this hippie dude and Marvel has an adopted Cambodian daughter! It was so crowded in the 5^th deck dining room so I left!

I’m back here in my room writing and I should be doing homework…People who call this program kindergarten at sea need to really reevaluate what they are saying and talk to someone who has been on this voyage recently. This will probably be one of my most challenging semesters ever.

I also have to turn in my Sale #1 form tomorrow. I have decided to do a township visit and winelands tour through SAS, but my cage shark diving and Robben Island will be done independently in South Africa For Mauritius I plan on it being my spring break and going to the beach a lot, but I have also signed up for a Religion and Culture tour because it was colonized by so many different countries and has some very impressive religious buildings and history. I am also signing up for other trips, but really, I’m too exhausted now to list them.

I paused this entry to go watch saved with Elise, Rick, Jeff and a girl from Wyoming..aww memories of EYE…we were talking about the campus haha.

Anyways…good night…here are some good quotes from the last few days

“I was basically making out with the toilet last night” KClark on trying to find her face wash

“Did you know…you can ovulate four eggs at once” BTing for no apparent reason

“The Golden Ass is up and running.” Me – telling my mysticism prof that the “The Golden Ass” document was now working. haha