11.16.12
Everyone should go 'like' the Semester at Sea Facebook Page! The video
of "Donate Maybe" is going to be up today! ISE loved it and so it'll be
up sometime in the near future! :)
SH
Friday, November 16, 2012
Adventures in Buenos Aires!
11.16.12
Good morning everyone!
My time in Buenos Aires was loads of fun, and it was one port that I basically did not have anything planned! So the first day all I did was walk around and hit the main areas of the parts of the city that were closest to port. The group I traveled with found a Starbucks, and were super thrilled. (I hate coffee, so the only things there I would want are the pastries!)
That night I went with Ben, his brother Jake, and their friends. We went to a place called The Roof...which was really cool, mainly because it was on top of a roof haha. While I was there, I met this really cool girl named Anna from Switzerland! She had been in Buenos Aires for 3 months studying abroad, and she wrote on my map some of the highlights that she wouldn't want people to miss while they were in Argentina!
So the next couple days I followed her advice! I traveled with a few people each day, but it always varied! With Colleen, Amy, and Megan Drew, I went to this interesting cemetery. It isn't like the ones we have back in the States. It basically is monuments for those who have passed, and their coffins may be in there, or it could be ashes. Some monuments are for families and have multiple people there. You could look into them, some had stained glass, but all were taller and larger than me! It was also concrete, there was no grass in this cemetery. I have some pictures that I would love to put up when I get home! We also went to this metal flower that was nearby, called Floralis Genérica. What was really amazing about this giant flower is that it closes at night, and in the morning it opens up again! Like some flowers actually do!
The day after this Colleen and I went to the Pink House! It's like the White House, but a) it's pink and b) the President does not live there, it's only a place of work. We didn't get to go in, but it was neat to look at it! We joined with our friend Jonathan later that day and attempted to go to the area of La Boca. In this area, there are special houses that are painted all different colors! We finally made it there, but it took about 5 hours because the tour guide, the tour guide! told us the right bus to catch, but the wrong stop, which led us in the wrong direction. It was quite the adventure, but like I mentioned before, we finally made it, and the houses were really special. I got a lot of pictures, and the scene looks like something out of a story book! Everyone should look it up until I have the opportunity to put pictures up here!
Our last day in Buenos Aires I managed to get a free service trip to a program called L.I.F.E. Playtime program. It was a lot of fun, and I bought the kids a soccer ball to play with too. We made masks, played soccer, some children just made/decorated shapes like flowers or hearts! I'm glad I was able to go, and I wish we would have had more time with them! Not only that, but I thought maybe it's time to learn another language as well, because it wasn't just me who had a very difficult time communicating, it was everyone. Maybe if I have time I'll look into that once I'm home!
It took a night to reach Montevideo, which I'll write about next!
SH
Good morning everyone!
My time in Buenos Aires was loads of fun, and it was one port that I basically did not have anything planned! So the first day all I did was walk around and hit the main areas of the parts of the city that were closest to port. The group I traveled with found a Starbucks, and were super thrilled. (I hate coffee, so the only things there I would want are the pastries!)
That night I went with Ben, his brother Jake, and their friends. We went to a place called The Roof...which was really cool, mainly because it was on top of a roof haha. While I was there, I met this really cool girl named Anna from Switzerland! She had been in Buenos Aires for 3 months studying abroad, and she wrote on my map some of the highlights that she wouldn't want people to miss while they were in Argentina!
So the next couple days I followed her advice! I traveled with a few people each day, but it always varied! With Colleen, Amy, and Megan Drew, I went to this interesting cemetery. It isn't like the ones we have back in the States. It basically is monuments for those who have passed, and their coffins may be in there, or it could be ashes. Some monuments are for families and have multiple people there. You could look into them, some had stained glass, but all were taller and larger than me! It was also concrete, there was no grass in this cemetery. I have some pictures that I would love to put up when I get home! We also went to this metal flower that was nearby, called Floralis Genérica. What was really amazing about this giant flower is that it closes at night, and in the morning it opens up again! Like some flowers actually do!
The day after this Colleen and I went to the Pink House! It's like the White House, but a) it's pink and b) the President does not live there, it's only a place of work. We didn't get to go in, but it was neat to look at it! We joined with our friend Jonathan later that day and attempted to go to the area of La Boca. In this area, there are special houses that are painted all different colors! We finally made it there, but it took about 5 hours because the tour guide, the tour guide! told us the right bus to catch, but the wrong stop, which led us in the wrong direction. It was quite the adventure, but like I mentioned before, we finally made it, and the houses were really special. I got a lot of pictures, and the scene looks like something out of a story book! Everyone should look it up until I have the opportunity to put pictures up here!
Our last day in Buenos Aires I managed to get a free service trip to a program called L.I.F.E. Playtime program. It was a lot of fun, and I bought the kids a soccer ball to play with too. We made masks, played soccer, some children just made/decorated shapes like flowers or hearts! I'm glad I was able to go, and I wish we would have had more time with them! Not only that, but I thought maybe it's time to learn another language as well, because it wasn't just me who had a very difficult time communicating, it was everyone. Maybe if I have time I'll look into that once I'm home!
It took a night to reach Montevideo, which I'll write about next!
SH
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Re-Reading blog posts
11.15.12-
wowww...I need to learn to re-read some of these! There was an awful
grammatical error in the last one, that I can't wait to have internet so
I can fix it!
I meant to say:
Nov. 20th-Where in the World are you? (***Wear what you bought in port!)
MB! More later tonight! :)
SH
wowww...I need to learn to re-read some of these! There was an awful
grammatical error in the last one, that I can't wait to have internet so
I can fix it!
I meant to say:
Nov. 20th-Where in the World are you? (***Wear what you bought in port!)
MB! More later tonight! :)
SH
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
A Successful Day Here on the MV Explorer!
11.14.12
First I'd like to say CONGRATS to Kim! I knew you would make it into
Med School! :) Great job girly!! Love youuu!
Secondly, I've had a long, but pretty great day! It didn't start that
amazing since I haven't been feeling well, but it definitely got better
throughout the day!
First, at work, we got a lot done for the Shipboard Drive-which starts
tomorrow! We have Spirit Week lined up too!
Nov. 15th- Show your SAS Pride!
Nov. 16th-Mismatched Day
Nov. 17th- Dress to Impress! (Day of the Auction)
Nov. 18th-Game Day Attire
Nov. 19th- Rep your Home University
Nov. 20th- Where in the World are you? (Where what you bought in port!)
Nov. 21st- Sea Spirit!
Overall, it's going to be a great week! And I also got to be on the
"Bing Bong!" It's the P.A. system of the ship! I've been wanting to
say something on it all semester, and finally I had the opportunity to
today! :)
Not to mention that, but I FINALLY SAW A WHALE! Actually, just the tail
of one slapping the water a bunch of times, but I count it!! Guess
they're not so fictional after all! :)
Well I have a lot to do before tomorrow! I've got to be at work at 6:30am!
SH
First I'd like to say CONGRATS to Kim! I knew you would make it into
Med School! :) Great job girly!! Love youuu!
Secondly, I've had a long, but pretty great day! It didn't start that
amazing since I haven't been feeling well, but it definitely got better
throughout the day!
First, at work, we got a lot done for the Shipboard Drive-which starts
tomorrow! We have Spirit Week lined up too!
Nov. 15th- Show your SAS Pride!
Nov. 16th-Mismatched Day
Nov. 17th- Dress to Impress! (Day of the Auction)
Nov. 18th-Game Day Attire
Nov. 19th- Rep your Home University
Nov. 20th- Where in the World are you? (Where what you bought in port!)
Nov. 21st- Sea Spirit!
Overall, it's going to be a great week! And I also got to be on the
"Bing Bong!" It's the P.A. system of the ship! I've been wanting to
say something on it all semester, and finally I had the opportunity to
today! :)
Not to mention that, but I FINALLY SAW A WHALE! Actually, just the tail
of one slapping the water a bunch of times, but I count it!! Guess
they're not so fictional after all! :)
Well I have a lot to do before tomorrow! I've got to be at work at 6:30am!
SH
Sea Olympics and Halloween!
11.14.12
Hey everyone! I know I've been lagging on the blogging, but hopefully
this week won't be as hectic as I think it might be and I'll have some
time to write! (The shipboard drive starts this week!!)
Anyway, on to more fun times here on the MV Explorer! Every semester
(except summer) there is a competition between the seas called the Sea
Olympics! The seas are determined by where you live on the ship. I'm
part of the Red Sea, and we're one of the smallest seas!
Well the events started with our opening ceremony to which each sea had
the opportunity to do a lip sync. Our sea used songs from around the
continents that we went to, including The Lion King's "Circle of Life"
and the movie Rio's "Let me take you to Rio." I have all of the lip
sync's on video! So in order to rally our sea, everyone wore bright red
and we painted our faces with tribal symbols! Jacques, the Sea Olympics
Coordinator, got up to say a few words before the competition began, to
which our sea started chanting, "Moses, Moses!" He told us later that
it took everything in him not to start bursting out laughing!
There were over 30 events for people to participate in, including dodge
ball, a few relay races, Jeopardy, a scavenger hunt, and even more!
There were two secret events, and I was a part of one of them...it turns
out that the two comedians on the ship were going to try to make us
laugh and we couldn't even smile! Can you believe I was one of those
who tied for first?! Crazy isn't it haha. Actually, Jacques was
surprised at how many people didn't get out-I think about 6 per round
(there were two rounds) all tied for first!
Overall, the day was pretty fun, but our sea came in 7th place. This is
partially attributed to the fact that we are smaller than over half the
seas! (The biggest seas have over 70 people!) But, it just means we
get to sleep in a little bit longer I suppose, and have more time with
the ship! The prize for coming in first in the Sea Olympics is getting
off the ship first in Florida when we come back to the states!
Then there's Halloween on the ship too! It was also a great day! I
dressed up as a pirate, how ironic haha. A lot of people actually
dressed up though! Grace and Owen, the twin 2 year olds were Mickey and
Minnie, while their older sister was Ariel! Some other people were
zombies, dolls, nerds, etc. Danielle was Katniss. Amy didn't have a
costume, but she lives in the Caribbean Sea on the ship, so we wrote
that on her Sea shirt and we became Pirates of the Caribbean!
Dean John wore this really bright orange shirt. I told him the last
time he wore it that he looked like a giant pumpkin and he should wear
it again for Halloween...so what does he do? He wears it again, and
lets me make him a face out of construction paper! :) I can't wait to
show everyone the pictures! It was definitely an awesome costume, if I
do say so myself! :P
Later that night, we had a dance party in the Union, and the music was
basically all the hits of the 1990s...it was a throwback for sure! But
it was a good night too! During snack time, I gave my pirate hat to one
of the crew members so he could have a costume for the crew party that
was going on at the same time! I'm glad he was able to use it! :)
When the waves aren't so treacherously huge, life on the ship is pretty
normal and a lot of fun! I know for a fact I'm going to miss this when
I get home!
SH
Hey everyone! I know I've been lagging on the blogging, but hopefully
this week won't be as hectic as I think it might be and I'll have some
time to write! (The shipboard drive starts this week!!)
Anyway, on to more fun times here on the MV Explorer! Every semester
(except summer) there is a competition between the seas called the Sea
Olympics! The seas are determined by where you live on the ship. I'm
part of the Red Sea, and we're one of the smallest seas!
Well the events started with our opening ceremony to which each sea had
the opportunity to do a lip sync. Our sea used songs from around the
continents that we went to, including The Lion King's "Circle of Life"
and the movie Rio's "Let me take you to Rio." I have all of the lip
sync's on video! So in order to rally our sea, everyone wore bright red
and we painted our faces with tribal symbols! Jacques, the Sea Olympics
Coordinator, got up to say a few words before the competition began, to
which our sea started chanting, "Moses, Moses!" He told us later that
it took everything in him not to start bursting out laughing!
There were over 30 events for people to participate in, including dodge
ball, a few relay races, Jeopardy, a scavenger hunt, and even more!
There were two secret events, and I was a part of one of them...it turns
out that the two comedians on the ship were going to try to make us
laugh and we couldn't even smile! Can you believe I was one of those
who tied for first?! Crazy isn't it haha. Actually, Jacques was
surprised at how many people didn't get out-I think about 6 per round
(there were two rounds) all tied for first!
Overall, the day was pretty fun, but our sea came in 7th place. This is
partially attributed to the fact that we are smaller than over half the
seas! (The biggest seas have over 70 people!) But, it just means we
get to sleep in a little bit longer I suppose, and have more time with
the ship! The prize for coming in first in the Sea Olympics is getting
off the ship first in Florida when we come back to the states!
Then there's Halloween on the ship too! It was also a great day! I
dressed up as a pirate, how ironic haha. A lot of people actually
dressed up though! Grace and Owen, the twin 2 year olds were Mickey and
Minnie, while their older sister was Ariel! Some other people were
zombies, dolls, nerds, etc. Danielle was Katniss. Amy didn't have a
costume, but she lives in the Caribbean Sea on the ship, so we wrote
that on her Sea shirt and we became Pirates of the Caribbean!
Dean John wore this really bright orange shirt. I told him the last
time he wore it that he looked like a giant pumpkin and he should wear
it again for Halloween...so what does he do? He wears it again, and
lets me make him a face out of construction paper! :) I can't wait to
show everyone the pictures! It was definitely an awesome costume, if I
do say so myself! :P
Later that night, we had a dance party in the Union, and the music was
basically all the hits of the 1990s...it was a throwback for sure! But
it was a good night too! During snack time, I gave my pirate hat to one
of the crew members so he could have a costume for the crew party that
was going on at the same time! I'm glad he was able to use it! :)
When the waves aren't so treacherously huge, life on the ship is pretty
normal and a lot of fun! I know for a fact I'm going to miss this when
I get home!
SH
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Thanks!
11.11.12
So...I have a lot to write about, but I just wanted to give two shout
out thanks!
The first is to Jessica! I loved the Thanksgiving turkey hand!! I
really liked how you had the new itinerary, and how the middle of the
hand is like the Atlantic Ocean and the areas of the world connecting
it!! It's proudly hanging on my ceiling right now, and I was going to
make some after Rio! :)
The second is to Kim! You're the best friend ever! Thanks so much for
getting all my brothers from PSP and then some to sign some cards! I
miss you all very much, and it was the sweetest gesture!! All the
messages were so nice (even Rossy's haha) and I miss all my brothers! I
won't lie, it made me tear up a little bit! I can't wait to be home and
see everyone again! :)
Love you all and miss you just as much!
SH
So...I have a lot to write about, but I just wanted to give two shout
out thanks!
The first is to Jessica! I loved the Thanksgiving turkey hand!! I
really liked how you had the new itinerary, and how the middle of the
hand is like the Atlantic Ocean and the areas of the world connecting
it!! It's proudly hanging on my ceiling right now, and I was going to
make some after Rio! :)
The second is to Kim! You're the best friend ever! Thanks so much for
getting all my brothers from PSP and then some to sign some cards! I
miss you all very much, and it was the sweetest gesture!! All the
messages were so nice (even Rossy's haha) and I miss all my brothers! I
won't lie, it made me tear up a little bit! I can't wait to be home and
see everyone again! :)
Love you all and miss you just as much!
SH
Thursday, November 1, 2012
South Africa!
11.1.12
First I would like to say, I'm only an hour ahead of Kentucky! How
crazy is that?!
Secondly, what you've all been waiting for! My times in South Africa!
:) I won't lie, I definitely watched The Lion King the night before we
got into port too haha.
Well the first day in South Africa, my friends and I just walked around
the mall area for a little bit. The port of South Africa reminded me a
lot of the port in Halifax, but the mall area reminded me a lot of
home. We walked around because we had an appointment at 3pm to visit
SANCCOB. SANCCOB is a penguin rehabilitation center for South African
penguins. I found out about it by volunteering at the Newport Aquarium
this past summer, and when realized I would be able to visit, I made an
appointment so my friends and I could!
SANCCOB was really awesome! We saw how they prepare the medication, the
different pens the penguins (and other seabirds) are enclosed in when
they are being rehabilitated, and even got a chance to see some penguins
being fed! We had a chance to see some birds in the ICU, which just
limited their flying capability so that they can be treated easier. The
people we saw feeding penguins were actually volunteers! One girl was
from San Diego, California. It was definitely an amazing experience.
SANCCOB also has some penguins that permanently live there. This is
because they have injuries that are detrimental to survival in the
wild. A couple penguins were missing eyes, one was missing a foot, and
another was missing a flipper! Then there was Rocky, the Rockhopper
penguin who lives there. She washed up on the shores there, and they
don't know which flock she belonged to, so she stays at SANCCOB. We
were allowed to pet Rocky, and I have some great pictures to show everyone!
The second day was much the first, we basically just explored Cape Town
and the area around the mall. There was a little craft market that we
also went checked out. But the third day, a big group of us went on a
safari!! It was at the Aquila Game Reserve. It was absolutely
freezing, however, and it was so cold that the company provided us with
blankets! I have some really funny pictures of my friends and I
huddling together in our bright green blankets. But we saw a ton of
animals! Right off the bat, we saw an elephant! (Did you know an
elephant grows into its skin? Its wrinkly when it's younger, and then
gets less wrinkled the older/bigger it gets!) We also saw ostriches,
zebras, rhinos, hippos, lions, springbok, wildebeests, cheetahs,
crocodiles, and even a leopard, plus more animals! Some of the animals
were put in pens because they couldn't live with other animals, or they
needed special attention. That's the only time when the reserve felt
more like a zoo, but overall, I enjoyed the safari a lot!
The fourth day was probably my favorite overall though. Originally, the
group I was going to go hike Table Mountain with was about 15, and
growing. Due to clouds over Table Mountain, it dropped to 6 other
people, and 4 of them were because I had mentioned it to my friend
Ashlynn, who got a group to go. So basically, it was me and Brett from
the original group. We took a taxi to Table Mountain and began our
hike. It was much different than Mt. Teide, because it was more
stair-like, than a gradual slope. I was definitely feeling it a couple
days after the hike. Well we start climbing, and we get about a third
of the way up, and it starts to rain a little bit. Not a problem,
because it was cooling us off. But the higher we hiked, the more rain
we got, the more it began to storm. We ran into some hikers and two
National Park rangers. The rangers advised us to turn around and head
back down. So what do we do? Naturally, we kept hiking up the mountain
haha. I wouldn't advise it to anyone to do what we did, but we didn't
have time to try again the next day, so that's why we kept going. A few
times, a couple of the people in the group (who don't ever hike) thought
about turning around, be we coaxed them to keep going. The weather was
absolutely horrendous by this point. I literally almost got blown off
the side, but thankfully Brett caught my arm before I got much further!
(Don't worry Mom and Dad, I wouldn't be writing to you right now if I
wasn't alright!) We finally made it to the top, where the winds were so
strong, and the rain was pouring. It literally felt like we were in the
middle of a hurricane, but the point is, we made it to the top!! It was
an awesome bonding experience, and we can say we made it to the top of
Table Mountain, one of the 7 World Wonders!
The last day in port I baby sat for a family that I'm pretty good
friends with here on the ship. They're going to come to Northern
Kentucky over winter break to visit their extended family, and then
we're going to get together one night! I'm really excited.
Overall, I had a great time in South Africa, and I definitely want to
come back because I was unable to shark cage dive and go to Robben Island!
Tomorrow we make it to Argentina! It's been a long 10 day trek across
the Atlantic, and I'm definitely ready to be on land again!
SH
First I would like to say, I'm only an hour ahead of Kentucky! How
crazy is that?!
Secondly, what you've all been waiting for! My times in South Africa!
:) I won't lie, I definitely watched The Lion King the night before we
got into port too haha.
Well the first day in South Africa, my friends and I just walked around
the mall area for a little bit. The port of South Africa reminded me a
lot of the port in Halifax, but the mall area reminded me a lot of
home. We walked around because we had an appointment at 3pm to visit
SANCCOB. SANCCOB is a penguin rehabilitation center for South African
penguins. I found out about it by volunteering at the Newport Aquarium
this past summer, and when realized I would be able to visit, I made an
appointment so my friends and I could!
SANCCOB was really awesome! We saw how they prepare the medication, the
different pens the penguins (and other seabirds) are enclosed in when
they are being rehabilitated, and even got a chance to see some penguins
being fed! We had a chance to see some birds in the ICU, which just
limited their flying capability so that they can be treated easier. The
people we saw feeding penguins were actually volunteers! One girl was
from San Diego, California. It was definitely an amazing experience.
SANCCOB also has some penguins that permanently live there. This is
because they have injuries that are detrimental to survival in the
wild. A couple penguins were missing eyes, one was missing a foot, and
another was missing a flipper! Then there was Rocky, the Rockhopper
penguin who lives there. She washed up on the shores there, and they
don't know which flock she belonged to, so she stays at SANCCOB. We
were allowed to pet Rocky, and I have some great pictures to show everyone!
The second day was much the first, we basically just explored Cape Town
and the area around the mall. There was a little craft market that we
also went checked out. But the third day, a big group of us went on a
safari!! It was at the Aquila Game Reserve. It was absolutely
freezing, however, and it was so cold that the company provided us with
blankets! I have some really funny pictures of my friends and I
huddling together in our bright green blankets. But we saw a ton of
animals! Right off the bat, we saw an elephant! (Did you know an
elephant grows into its skin? Its wrinkly when it's younger, and then
gets less wrinkled the older/bigger it gets!) We also saw ostriches,
zebras, rhinos, hippos, lions, springbok, wildebeests, cheetahs,
crocodiles, and even a leopard, plus more animals! Some of the animals
were put in pens because they couldn't live with other animals, or they
needed special attention. That's the only time when the reserve felt
more like a zoo, but overall, I enjoyed the safari a lot!
The fourth day was probably my favorite overall though. Originally, the
group I was going to go hike Table Mountain with was about 15, and
growing. Due to clouds over Table Mountain, it dropped to 6 other
people, and 4 of them were because I had mentioned it to my friend
Ashlynn, who got a group to go. So basically, it was me and Brett from
the original group. We took a taxi to Table Mountain and began our
hike. It was much different than Mt. Teide, because it was more
stair-like, than a gradual slope. I was definitely feeling it a couple
days after the hike. Well we start climbing, and we get about a third
of the way up, and it starts to rain a little bit. Not a problem,
because it was cooling us off. But the higher we hiked, the more rain
we got, the more it began to storm. We ran into some hikers and two
National Park rangers. The rangers advised us to turn around and head
back down. So what do we do? Naturally, we kept hiking up the mountain
haha. I wouldn't advise it to anyone to do what we did, but we didn't
have time to try again the next day, so that's why we kept going. A few
times, a couple of the people in the group (who don't ever hike) thought
about turning around, be we coaxed them to keep going. The weather was
absolutely horrendous by this point. I literally almost got blown off
the side, but thankfully Brett caught my arm before I got much further!
(Don't worry Mom and Dad, I wouldn't be writing to you right now if I
wasn't alright!) We finally made it to the top, where the winds were so
strong, and the rain was pouring. It literally felt like we were in the
middle of a hurricane, but the point is, we made it to the top!! It was
an awesome bonding experience, and we can say we made it to the top of
Table Mountain, one of the 7 World Wonders!
The last day in port I baby sat for a family that I'm pretty good
friends with here on the ship. They're going to come to Northern
Kentucky over winter break to visit their extended family, and then
we're going to get together one night! I'm really excited.
Overall, I had a great time in South Africa, and I definitely want to
come back because I was unable to shark cage dive and go to Robben Island!
Tomorrow we make it to Argentina! It's been a long 10 day trek across
the Atlantic, and I'm definitely ready to be on land again!
SH
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