The Straight of Gibraltar

June 22, 2010

After almost a week at sea, we finally saw land today. We went through the Straight of Gibraltar, and as soon as students saw land, classes practically ceased to exist. So many students were out on the port watching our first major sight of land. So on one side we saw Morocco & the other side we saw Spain...both ports that we'll be seeing on our voyage.

We hit land in a few days and you can already feel the excitement in the air. The Living Learning Coordinators (LLCs...aka me) put out a big sheet of butcher paper out for people to start discussing independent trips, and the first sheet filled in a day. We put a second sheet out and it's already filled as well. It's hard getting and/or keeping students' attention on things with Barcelona so close!

I'm really excited about Barcelona, although I'm not sure exactly what to expect. I don't speak Spanish, so the language barrier will be most interesting. :|

First Day of Classes

Did you see "You've Got Mail"? Do you remember when Tom Hanks' character talks about bouquets of newly sharpened pencils, that's what I totally think about on the first day of school. Well....today the scent that has overtaken me is the smell of the ocean air. Let me tell you...the scent of pencils will never do it for me again. ;)

This morning we were all awoken by drawer doors opening and closing. The ocean was very choppy and I actually had to resort to using the seasick patches. I was hoping that the Meclizine could handle it, but I was mistaken. I couldn't stay in bed because it was too rocky and I couldn't stand because it was too rocky. What do you do then?

Despite all of that, the students started their day pretty early, trying to make it to breakfast before their 8 o'clock classes so the dining halls were pretty full. They were just excited and still trying to get used to the rocking while the staff were still trying to catch up on sleep that they lost during orientation and the first few days at sea with the students.

Everyone on the ship is mandated to take a class called Global Studies. It's taught by Professor Bowler, who is extremely entertaining and very educated on the history of the Mediterranean. Because every student, faculty and staff is required to take this class, we have to utilize all the classroom on the ship as satellite rooms. It's a lot more fun being in the Union, so it's really funny to see students waiting outside the Union for the doors to open.

Tonight was also the beginning of the Explorer Seminars that I'm required to coordinate. During the time we are at sea, I am required to schedule programs from 2000-2100 (8-9pm). The programs are supposed to be academic/educational, something about our future port or a personal development topic. It's been a little stressful trying to figure out the process, but I think I'm getting a handle on it. Professor David Gies, from UVA is our Interport Lecturer...and actually will also be the Executive Dean on the Fall 2010 voyage. He is so well versed in Spain & Barcelona, that he's offered to lead 3 Explorer Seminars while he's on the ship (he'll be leaving when we get to Barcelona). We also have a resident clown. Quite the combination but all fun in the process. Thankfully this evening's Explorer Seminars went very well. Hopefully the rest will too! Keep your fingers crossed!! :)

Arrival of Students!

\Tuesday, June 15 - Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The day that we've all been waiting for is here. The students came on board and we're finally leaving to start our journey across Europe and the Mediterranean. But before that happens, the students have to get onto the ship but there's been some delays. According to Canadian law (not sure exactly what law it is), there are required breaks and a mandatory 1-hour lunch break. So, when 12 noon rolled around, the entire port had to shut down. We still had students waiting to get up on the gangway and they were all stuck! We have such amazing students though. No one really complained, even though it took most students 2-hours to actually get on the ship. We've had a few people's luggage not make it onto the ship, but it'll be waiting for them when they get to Barcelona. It's been great to see the students all help each other out with different outfits. They're really taking care of each other, which is awesome! :)

Leaving port this time was a lot more celebratory than when we left Florida. The parents, ISE and other S@S alums were all there to see us off. It was very fun seeing all the students out. There were a few tears from the students, and many from the parents, but in the end everyone was happy for this journey to take off. :)

The process of the students getting on the ship is very much like Move-in day on campus. They get their keys, a whole lot of info, and then the Living Learning Coordinators (aka RAs) are there to greet everyone. They all filled out roommate agreement forms and we had "Sea Meetings," which is like a traditional hall/floor meeting.

Wednesday, June 16th



This day was filled with lots of information to orient them with the UVA honesty code, introduction to Global Studies, which is required of all students, faculty and staff to attend, and a lot of safety information from the Deans as well as our ship's Captain. Needless to say, they were a bit done when I met with them for our second Sea Meeting. I kept it simple and sweet....and we took our sea picture. I promise to update photos later, when I have a stronger internet signal.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Sunday, June 13 - Monday June 14

You'll have to excuse the delay on this blog. I've been trying to write down at least something once a day, but the Internet is so slow on the ship I haven't been too successful. So this update might be just a few days late! ;)

Sunday was another long day of training. It's crazy that our graduate students, Lifelong Learners and the Teachers at Sea program will all be boarding on Monday. The last day of training was also the last night for the Forum on Global Engagement. We concluded with a very nice sit-down 3-course dinner. Everyone keeps warning us to not get used to the food that we were getting during training. I'm a little afraid to think what exactly will be in-stored for us for the rest of the voyage.

Monday, June 14th
I woke up at 6:00am this morning to see the boat come into port. I was told that I should try to do this for every port that we come into. There were quite a few people on the deck, despite the damp air and very cold temperature. I can't tell you exactly what it was because I believe it was shared in Celsius degrees.

We had a good portion of the morning to late afternoon for ourselves so we all got off the ship (not a boat) and we visited the very charming city of Halifax, Canada. It's so cute.
After we went to the Purser's desk to return our passports, we headed out towards a boardwalk-like right outside the ship. People all wanted to try a "Beaver Tail" so we found a place that sold them. They're kind of like a flattened doughnut with many yummy flavorings. I split one with a friend, which was a good thing because they were huge! We got sugar, cinnamon & lemon. So yummy!

Afterwards a group of the LLCs made a trip to the local Walmart to get some snacks and some essentials. I went to Walmart looking for a simple black skirt (I left mine at home) but they didn't have any. So weird. All I needed was a simple casual black skirt.... :(

Next we needed to grab a quick lunch, so we found a food court area, and one of the restaurants was a Kushi (Korean Sushi) place. I had yummy duk-bok-gi (spicy rice cakes). This will most likely be my last Korean meal before I get back to the states. Sadness.

Once we got back to the ship, we had to get ready for the parents orientation. Parents were allowed to come onto the ship the night before the students move-in to get a better understanding of what their son/daughters will be experiencing. There were a lot of parents that came. Each of the LLCs were asked to give tours to the parents, and I actually gave a tour to the parents of the grad student who will be helping me this summer. It was just meant to be, I guess. ;)

After the parents left, the LLCs went right back to work. We needed to prep our "Seas" with fliers, welcome letters and the like. Although it meant a crazy late night, I'm glad that we got off the ship, got into the city and just experienced it all. It would have been nice to be there longer, but it just means that I'll have to come back again soon. :)

More Training...

Saturday, July 12, 2010

The day started off this morning with training regarding working as staff on Semester at Sea. This consisted of talking about the wonderful world of social networks. Of the approximately 75 faculty and staff members, can you believe that I am the ONLY one with a Twitter account. I can tell you that I was truly shocked. Although I don't utilize my account very often at all, I couldn't believe it. ;) We were highly encouraged to not "friend" our students until our voyage is over, which truly does make a lot of sense. I'm sure that there will be plenty of groups that will be created through Facebook anyway. :)

Today's training was quite disjuncted because Chief Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's (or as the LLCs lovingly call her S-DOC) session was this morning. I hope that when I am her age, I can be as sharp and witty. She has an amazing life story and even better stories. It was such an amazing honor to hear her.

After the keynote address, and lunch, we had some more training. The ship uses "Maxient", which is a database for conduct. This form will be used for conduct as well as for students as they request nights off the ship. It's quite a versatile program, although they haven't used it for very long. The struggle I had with the program is that the forms are public. At UCI we had a similar conversation regarding public incident reports for anyone to report something. I think I'll learn more about the flexibility of this program once I have to utilize it. Can you all pray that I never will?!

Next we met with the ship's captains and officers about health and safety roles and procedures. Like any other ship at sea, the MV Explorer is required to conduct a lifeboat drill at the beginning of every voyage. So on Tuesday, when our students get on board, the ship crew will conduct another lifeboat drill. This time the other LLCs and I will help staff the drill. Should be interesting. I will make sure to take a picture of the attractive outfit next for a blog update. :)

Next we walked the ship with Joe, our Community Resource Officer. Joe is a retired LAPD officer. He will be on duty every evening and walk the halls of the ship. It will be very nice having some backup during duty nights. I only three nights, but we'll see how busy they will be. :( Joe has been on several Semester at Sea voyages, so he's very familiar with where and how students try to hide things. He knows every nook & cranny of the ship. His expertise will be very helpful to the LLCs. ;)

After dinner, the LLCs met with Jill, Lynette and Cindy. Cindy was the DOS on the last voyage. She came to the meeting with so many treats. We finally got to speak about detailed responsibilities of each of the LLCs jobs. I left the meeting feeling a bit overwhelmed, because it would have been helpful to have had more of this information earlier in the week, but Cindy and Jill helped relieve some of that stress. I'm a little anxious about my relationship with faculty, as I will be leaning on them most for one major part of my job, but I had a brief conversation with Dean LaVahn and it was helpful to hear his vision for these special sessions.

One of the highlight of my day was that my ship steward Auxilio converted my two twin beds into a queen-sized bed. I really just wanted to see if he could help me move the bed, but when I got back to the room it was already done. That is the best definition of efficiency. Thanks Auxilio!!

First Day of Training

Friday, July 11, 2010

So this morning I bolted out of bed because my alarm didn't go off. I later found out that while my phone had reconfigured to Eastern Standard Time, my iPod is not as intelligent. It was still on California time and so at approximately 7:15am (EST) I jumped out of bed for a 8:00am meeting. It would not be a good thing to be late for the first meeting with the Executive Dean.

At our first training meeting all the faculty, staff, and International Shipboard Education (ISE) staff were introduced before we spoke about Cultural Awareness and Ethics of Experiential Global Education. Before the students leave the Halifax port, the ISE staff want to have a talk about some of the ethics and appropriate mindset students should have as they're entering all these different conversations. All the faculty are paired up with a staff member to lead the discussion, so it should be interesting. :)

Next, we had the opportunity to hear Julian Bond speak. All I could say about that experience is AMAZING! He is such a dynamic and captivating speaker. He was also gracious enough to pose for pictures. I don't think many people can say that they've been this close to Julian Bond. Well, except the other couple hundred people on the ship right now. :)



My fellow LLCs and I have been enjoying our lunches on the deck of the main dining room. With a view like this, it's hard to imagine why. It also helps us warm up from our meetings, because the rooms are freezing. I am now regretting not bringing a thicker jacket, but of course that means I HAVE to buy a sweatshirt here. Tough....


After lunch, all the faculty and staff met regarding the Field Programs that S@S coordinates as well as announce the trip leaders. If you volunteer to be a trip leader for any of the different field programs, and are selected, you are able to attend these trips for a significant discount. Sometimes the trips are even free, depending upon the cost of the actual trip. I found out that I am going to be the trip leader for the cooking class that I'm scheduled for while I'm in Italy. I can't wait!!

Later this evening we had the opportunity to screen "Beyond the Call" with the director Adrian Belic. He documented these three men as they go out to provide medical aid and support to the most remote and dangerous parts of the world. They specifically go to countries where no one else will go due to safety and security. I highly recommend anyone to see it! The director Adrian, who is an alum of S@S, is extremely humble of the work he's produced. What an amazing way to end the night.

And we're off!

Wow! I keep pinching myself to see if I'm really here and I think it's finally sinking in. People have warned me that the internet is going to be really slow on the ship. Unfortunately, they're right. So while I'd like to update my blog daily, the reality is that it might be a little less frequent than that. We'll see. :)

So, what has happened so far. At approximately 1:30pm yesterday, I made my way to Port Everglade and boarded the MV Explorer. It is a beautiful ship! Soon I was greeted by many of the other Living Learning Coordinators (LLCs). Kevin offered to help me with my bags, because the elevator was not accessible to us. I should have warned Kevin that Virgin America allows bags to weigh upto 70lbs and mine weighed a hefty 68.5lb. He was a trooper though. Thanks Kevin!

I literally dropped my luggage and headed back to Tymitz Square (where a lot of the administrative duties take place & where the Purser is) and we decided to tour our home for the next 2-1/2 months.

It was a rough agenda. Meet & greets...snacks...welcome reception with free wine (I didn't partake though)...then dinner. While the LLC team were hanging out on the fifth deck, we noticed that Sandra Day O'Connor, whom the LLCs have lovingly nicknamed S-DOC, was at the table next to us. We tried, in our most creepiest way possible, to take pictures of ourselves with her in the background. We later found out that she didn't mind taking a picture with us. ;) I should mention that while we are traveling to Halifax to pick-up the students, there is a special forum on global engagement that Julian Bond and Sandra Day O'Connor are speaking at. Not many people can say that they've shared meals and conversations with these two extraordinary individuals...but I can! :)

We had the traditional Lifeboat Drill and then at approximately 2300 (11:00pm), we left port. Now, I've never been on a ship before and I've seen a lot of cruise departures on TV, but this wasn't one of those moments. We began to move and no one said anything. There was no shouting, no confetti, no loud music. What kind of Bon Voyage is this?! The moment quickly passed as our boat successfully made a three-point turn to avoid the Dole cargo ship that was blocking our way. Nicely done Captain!

Then it was off to bed for preparation for the first day of training. YAY!