I'm on a ship in the Middle of the Atlantic!

Well let’s do a run down of the last few days I have had since I left home! I flew out of LAX at 10:38pm arrived in Baltimore at 6:41AM plane delayed so I missed my flight in Toronto to get to Halifax arrived in Halifax an hour later and had the person I was sharing a room waiting for me with two other people from her flight, there were semester at sea kids everywhere particularly everyone that was work study. Lindsay is the girl that I met at the airport along with Kelsey and Kareem…we then all proceeded to the Westin, and Kelsey ended up staying with us instead of going to the hostel by herself. I had lots of fun with them. The next day we got up and headed out to the ship to check in for work study. Had some orientation type stuff and they put us straight to work for a few, later that evening we went out with another girl named Alyssa, and sat at a restaurant and chatted and had some hummus and what not. We didn’t go to “The Dome” where everyone was meeting at from SAS because we heard from the locals it was sketchy and not to go on THURSDAYS lol. I was supposed to meet Mike there, but I didn’t go and then when I saw him he said yea neither did I. It’s pretty fast paced going on the ship once the other 460 or so students got on, it’s funny to see how people self select themselves with others on the ship and great to meet tons of people, we are much smaller than most Semester at Sea communities but it’s a lot of fun so far. I found out that I am working for Student Life as their Activities Program Assistant…aka. I DO ALL THE ACTIVITIES…it’s like being Jesse or now Ryan as PB Director but not PB under you, and with 1/16th of the resources and funding. Yea…. So I am supposed to put on events every day except two days before port while at sea just for an hour and a half and what not so if you have any ideas that could be thrown my way for activities on a ship with not even markers and no funding let me know! Leaving Halifax was amazing, I couldn’t believe it, when we  finished our lifeboat drill and then we all go to the top it was sooo crazy I got chills because we were finally and there was no going back, but WHO WOULD?! Orientation day sucked it was soooo long and the ship was moving which doesn’t make me sick at all instead I fall asleep on every soft surface I sit and since this is a ship,  that used to be a cruise ship…that is all there is…MAJOR PROBLEM. I can’t really read without falling asleep lay in bed without doing anything. I have so much reading it’s ridiculous I don’t know how to read 181 pages in two days, craziness. My class schedule is interesting but “flexible”. That word is in quotations because it’s the word of the ship we have to learn flexibility in order to overcome our limitations here on the ship. Today was A Day 1 or A1 as we call it first day of classes I had Global Studies and Multicultural Detective Fiction. Tomorrow is B1 so I have Interpersonal Communication and Deviance and Social Control, the professors are awesome (and as I write this I am pretty sure I just heard thunder….crap) and very helpful I love this whole integrated learning thing on the ship having the Life Long Learners and LLCs (formerly known as RDs) and just the family or spouses of faculty and staff. I’m loving it so far and found a group of people for Spain, unfortunately I will not be making it to Granada for La Alhambra like I wanted as time will not permit it but Seville is a go! ☺ And I have a group, like they say, just go with the flow and it will work out so I am pretty much set for everything up till Ghana assuming I get the day trips I want. Sale 1 is taking place and I am sure it’s going to be difficult I didn’t get a home stay and it’s required for a class. Well I have written way too much but last but not least here is some ship terminology for you when I use it.

Forward – front of the ship
Aft – back of the ship
Starboard – right side
Port – left side
Deck – not level or floor
Voyage – not cruise
And finally it’s a friggin SHIP not a BOAT!
LLL – Life Long Learner
LLC – Living Learning Coordinator (formerly RDs for you previous SASers)
CEO – no one knows, but it’s the RAs they changed the names though it’s a new program

P.S – we are the 100th voyage and we have the best shirts everrrrr! And I am the yellow sea deck three in the ghetto haha four of us in one room lame but whatever!

Well, it's time!

So as I write this post I am about 24 hours and some change away from being on my flight headed to Halifax, Canada. What am I feeling? Oh everything possible, you think after leaving for a semester to DC that I'd know how to handle this, but nope, leaving the country and really not seeing anyone I know for 4 months that my friends is a scary concept. I have packed my life into two duffel bags, which tomorrow still need some rearranging for weight limits, and getting rid of some stuff since I think I could lose a few tops, I don't even remember packing pajamas to be quite honest. I have my new billabong backpack I bought today, and my REI hiking/daypack to be filled tomorrow with leftovers and dvds and all that good stuff. I'm sure I am forgetting something but almost positive I will find it in Halifax if need be.

I am excited, I can't believe it's finally here, I've been waiting for this day for two years and it wasn't easy getting here either, but all the stress and troubles and financial figures have worked themselves out and tomorrow when I get on that plane and go to bed for the night and arrive in Canada the next day, it will be well worth it. Sure I am going to cry, but who doesn't cry, it's natural. I'm about to learn to get out of my comfort zone like no one's business, I'm gonna see things very few people will ever get to see and do things even fewer will ever do. I'm going to live up this moment like none before. And of course I am going to miss my beloved family and friends.

Emily, thank you sooooo much for all your help, you could have made me figure it out on my own but you were very helpful, I promise to e-mail you and let you know all the crazy adventures, and ship experiences just because we both know, you will be the only one who gets it, and I will make sure to get dressed, to "go up" and laugh when I do it :).

I'm really excited, and sure as hell nervous and as much as I talked to Emily I still have NO IDEA what to expect, I am ready to meet new friends and meet the ones I am already friends with like Mike the guy from Colorado who we've both already decided is going to be my bestie on the ship. Now I am not the type for experiencing wonderful things on my own, but I am sure I will think of all you that I love so much with every experience I have and at times wish you were right beside me, but know that I can't wait to see you all in January and share all of our adventures abroad we've had!

So my friends, this is the last you will hear from me until I get settled on the ship, to my family that reads this, thank you for being so wonderful and helpful in making this experience possible. if anyone wants to e-mail its: aaramos@semesteratsea.net or aramos@clunet.edu

Much Love,
A-Ram

29 Days!

Holy Crap.

Still a lot to do, and way overwhelmed with everything between work and SAS. Well this is going to be insane but I am so ready and nervous and excited. You think after all the talking I have done with Emily picking her brains to pieces that I would feel like I know what I am getting myself into, I still have no clue what to expect. I've been avoiding doing a day count for the last two weeks because I didn't want to know how close it was getting but I thought it was finally time. So since the last post I have changed and added to my list of what I will be doing. So here is the updated itinerary for myself for each country that I have figured out.

Canada: Explore and go to the club everyone is meeting at.
Spain: Sevilla
Morocco: Marrakech and Camel Trek in the Sahara 4 days / 3 nights
Ghana: still NO IDEA
South Africa: Shark Cage Diving, Skydiving, explore Cape Town (not completely planned yet)
Mauritius: Catamaran, Service Visit, and something else (not completely planned yet)
Vietnam: Hanoi visit, Halong Bay Cruise, Ho Chi Minh shopping day.
India: Dehli, Agra, Varanasi, Kate (hopefully, playing it by ear)
Hong Kong: day of exploration
China: Beijing - Great Wall of China (hike and sleep on), Acrobat show, village visits, Olympic Venues, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, Shaghai.
Japan: homestay one night, and some other stuff that I haven't figured out yet.
Hawaii: surfing, and seeing New Moon in theaters.

So yes, I still haven't set in stone anything in Spain, Ghana, SA, Mauritius, or Japan. So we will see what everyone else on the ship decides to do. I still need to turn in some paper work that I haven't gotten to do, get my yellow fever vaccination, malaria pills, couple of books, another luggage, currency, flight, hotel and I am good. Man...oh and I gotta slang some blades to make some more money. So until either the night before I fly out or the day I move in/on the ship!
A-RAM

70 Days!

-70 days as of Friday, June 19th that we depart from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
- 69 days till I get on the ship because of work study
- 68 days till I get to Halifax.
...not that I am counting or anything...

I'm excited, nervous and scared...and waiting with each day making me a little more anxious. haha.

I feel like I need to get some more research done, but I think I am going to be okay.

Planning China has been going nicely, and I am glad so many people are interested in joining this amazing adventure.

I don't know exactly what I want to do or see in each country yet but here are some tenative ideas:

Canada - whatever I can!
Spain - seville / la alhambra / barcelona
Morocco - marrakech / saharra
Ghana - ...no idea... beach town
South Africa - Skydiving / Shark cage diving / cape town / safari
Mauritius - Scuba diving
India - Kate :) / Taj Mahal / Dalit Village
Viet Nam - ...no idea...
China - hong kong, beijing city tour, sleep on great wall of china, shanghai
Japan - disneyland, hiroshima, tokoyo, ice bar
Hawaii - zip lining, surfing, skydiving again, see New Moon (yes, I will go watch a movie cuz it's Hawaii and not a a foreign country), call Matt Sagum!


I need to get my plane ticket, shots and pills, books, and figuring out my packing situation hah! OH man...

95 Days & Counting

Hello,
So a little update on Semester at Sea. I am officially going, a lot of things are finally coming together in terms of funding. For once in my life I received financial aid, I got $4,000 from the program through work study in the Student Life office, two hours a day every day that we are at sea but not in port. Also, my grandma decided to give me my money left by my great grandma early, sine I am not supposed to have it until I am 21, so that was another 5,581 dollars towards Semester at Sea that I was hoping she would give to me early. I am really excited! I love talking to Emily about everything. Right now I am planning the Great Wall of China trip or the entire China Indy Adventure which should be really cool since a lot of past SASers and have used the company and really enjoyed it. I can't figure out when I am going to go fly to Canada cuz I want to see some of Halifax but a lot of people aren't going till the 26th and I have to be on the ship the 27th so I want to go the 25th, hopefully more people will go and I can find some people to room with or something. I need to get working on my visas and stuff, I am being a total slacker, not okay, but I am also just working a lot right now, it's a Vector Summer you know what that means! I am actually having a horrible summer start. Oh well, I'll do better eventually...hopefully

The End is Here

Well, this is my last week here. Just finishing out the internship and packing up and getting ready to go. Can't wait to get to CLU to see all my besties! I land in LAX at 11pm on Thursday

Until Semester at Sea

A-Ram

15 Days & Counting!

So as my time here in DC starts to get a little more awesome, it is only 15 days until I return home to wonderful CLU and prepare for another adventure called Semester at Sea. This past weekend my dad was here again and we did a lot. The weather has been wonderful in DC, the cherry blossoms are blooming and the sun is shining, the paddle boats are out on the Potomac in the Tidal Basin, and the grass is green on the National Mall, finally the weather I've been waiting for! While my dad was here I checked off quite a few things from my list. The best part was staying at the Ritz Carlton and hanging out with the Detroit Pistons haha. We finished the two Smithsonians I hadn't been too and that my dad was interested in, then we had dinner at Tombs in Georgetown that Candice told me about Wednesday night. We also went to this homemade ice cream shop in Georgetown that Candice referred to me it was amazing! We went through GWs campus and got me a shirt and his shot glass, then we also treked through Georgetown's campus looking for their bookstore, which was impossible to find. I didn't want anything by the time we got it because it was so hot from walking everywhere. The Capitals Hockey game was amazing!! Go CAPS they are going to rock the play-offs! Jefferson Memorial and Cherry Blossom Festival were awesome! That's basically what we did in a nutshell! Now n exactly five short hours I will be waking up to prepare on the best adventure to date: a Supreme Court Oral Argument. YAY! A group of us are getting up early to make breakfast for ourselves and the boys (Kevin Bumb, Eric, and Tyler) and the girls (Me, Amanda, Heather). Pancakes are my deal, Eggs are Amanda's and the boys better bring the syrup! lol. Actually we all need to wake up first! Haha. Anyway, then after that, I have a field trip for Violence and Values at the Arlington Detention Center, they told the girls to wear conservative clothing and nothing that sticks to you, uhh jeans stick to you!!! This should be interesting haha. Then our field trip with LCWS is to see Chicago at the theater! It's going to be a long and exciting day! I'm most excited for the Supreme Court hearing of course, it starts at 10am but since so many people try to go we have to get in line by 6:30am-7am. I bought my plane ticket home! I will be flying into LAX on April 16th, at 11:06pm WOOOO! This weekend I am doing all my community service hours working at the Cherry Blossom Parade and then an easter egg hunt thing here at the apartments.

Semester at Sea changed the itinerary on us again, we are no longer going to Croatia, Egypt, and Turkey due to piracy issues that they are unsure will be resolved by the time we go. So now my itinerary looks a little something like this along with my cheaper tuition because I got moved to an Economy cabin! WOO!
Fall 2009 Voyage Ports:
- Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- Cadiz, Spain
- Casablanca, Morocco
- Accra, Ghana
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Port Louis, Mauritius
- Chennai, India
- Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
- Hong Kong
- Shanghai, China
- Kobe / Yokohama, Japan
- Honolulu / Hilo, Hawaii
- San Diego, CA

Yay! Although I had stuff planned, it's time to restart my planning now that my itinerary got changed. Emily I can't wait to talk to you about South Africa and Mauritius! Our Ghana stop is the first one EVER on Semester at Sea so that's really exciting! I'm a little nervous about the new African countries, but I think I will be okay, I just want to make sure I don't get sick or anything like that, I am really paranoid about that kind of stuff, I also have to get lots of shots before I go.

Anyway, DC is finishing out nicely, just one ten-page paper in my way, the debate and final test for Controversy should be a breeze, I hope I got an A on my presentation with my group last week because then I just need to Ace this paper and hopefuly get an A- but I'll more than likely get a B+ cuz he is not the greatest of professors.

Well I need to go to bed, long Wednesday ahead of me!

A-Ram

P.S - List continued after finishing some of it:
- Bureau of Engraving
- Mt. Vernon
- Resevoir
- Kennedy Center
- Eastern Market
- Army/Navy/Air Force Memorial