It's actually over - I can't believe it

Thought I would just update you a bit on the goings-on here on the ship as we get ready to depart – sorry that I haven’t been more detailed. I promise that I will update about Asia, Hawaii and Guatemala once I’m back at home and have nothing much else better to do.

We had a formal, sit-down dinner, the annual end-of-the-semester dance, the Ambassador’s Ball, rather than the usual buffet. The food was SOOO good. I had a steak! All of my friends looked really nice and we got a nice group photo with the captain of the ship after dinner. Then, I met up with some other friends after wandering and taking pictures with everyone. We goofed around in our fancy dress and took pictures in the library and on the back deck before the dance started. It was fun too, but TONS of people tried to squeeze onto the dance floor, so it was hot and sweaty and everyone was stepping on each other. Then when the ship rocked some would fall over while they were dancing or because of their high heels. Haha. We also had gone through the Panama Canal during the day -- that was more or an interesting experience than I thought it was going to be. I’ll have to post pictures later. They had a few lectures and then had a guide chime in over the outside PA and tell us about what we were passing. The locks were really awesome -- watching the ship go up and down and the gates open. We passed a couple ships that were just about the maximum size -- one huge cargo ship, another that I think had natural gas -- and others that were small – one guy mooned us as we passed their sailboat!! Haha!

Then I spent most of the next morning swapping pictures with my girl friends and then had choir practice in the afternoon. I had my last "family" dinner and my Mom and Dad both gave us each a book -- Levinia, my mom, gave us a book by Desmond Tutu because she was his secretary for like 30 years (and she JUST retired before the voyage started...how crazy is that?) and Terry, my dad, gave us a book that he WROTE about the South African arms deal (I don't know what exactly that entails...but hopefully I can read the book and that will make it clearer).

We had another choir practice after dinner because we were preparing two songs for the convocation and one wasn't really ready, so we practiced for like 2 hours. Then I came back and started, slowly but surely, packing. It took me ALL night, but I finished in time to get a shower and go to breakfast before we were supposed to rehearse for convocation this morning.  All of the luggage is to have a colored tag with our names and cabins on them, corresponding with our "sea" color. We're purple. Then our luggage will be taken off the ship.

AND the convocation was this yesterday morning. I think our singing went really well! We sang a piece called "Homeward Bound" (not the Simon and Garfunkel...it was more like a folk song. It was really pretty. They had the captain speak, a faculty speaker and two student speakers. They also recognized all the 4.0 students (I wasn't on the list cuz of my freakin B in Global Studies...) but Liz, my roommate, was on the list, which was kind of cool. Then they played a slideshow of photos, which was just nice at first -- it had some goofy music at the beginning. Then another familiar song came on...it was one that one of the students, Stephanie, had performed at the Talent Show! She was sitting right behind me! And the song was just so fitting and she was completely shocked that they used it. We were both crying! She even had to get up and leave to compose herself. Then the dean, Les McCabe, talked and then we sang again – the alma mater – it was really nice. We messed up the end a tiny bit at the end, but it all turned out pretty well.

Last night was like the last night at summer camp – everyone wanted to stay up late and hang out with their friends one last time! This morning at 6:30 a.m. we had a wake up call to “Coming to America” by Neil Diamond. It was great! Haha. Then I went to breakfast and we got closer and closer to land. I went outside and I cried a little when I saw the ship pull into the port. Our last one. I will probably be a wreck when I have to say goodbye to friends in about 2 hours (the ship’s not supposed to be cleared for a while). I'm in the second to last group to get off the ship -- lucky, huh? Haha. Dad is getting to Florida around 10:30, so I expect him at the port around 11 and then he'll have to wait around until I get off the ship, I guess. Then our flight back to Pittsburgh is around 6 p.m. because SAS told us not to make them before then in case of any hold ups with getting off the ship and we'll get there at midnight (which kind of stinks - there's a lyover in Atlanta). Hooray!! I'm so excited that I'll be sleeping in my own bed tonight!

I watched the sunset last night and realized that I can’t even believe I’m coming home – since we’ve been gone for so long, it’s like this distant, unreachable place, but now I’m going back! It’s been tough to be without my family for this long, so I’m excited to see them again. But, this has been an incredible experience, which I can’t express in words. From Spanish cathedrals, Moroccan markets, Namibian deserts, South African townships, Indian streets, Thai temples, Vietnamese people, Chinese palaces, Japanese cherry blossoms and Guatemalan students, I have tried to enjoy as much of this trip as possible and I am so grateful and understand what a privilege it has been to travel on a ship for 108 days with 700 other students. I’ve made great friends from all over the country and earned credits, but more importantly I’ve grown as a person and seen the world! I leave you with a quote that was hanging on one of the staff member’s doors: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

The Panama Canal today -- coming home soon!!

Guatemala was an amazing experience. I corresponded with Primitive Methodist missionaries Grace and Juan Par and they came and picked me up from the ship and were amazing hosts all three days in the country. I was truly blessed that they were so giving and so gracious. We drove on the first day from Antigua, where we ate lunch and went to the market, to their home in Santa Cruz del Quiche, which was about four hours away. The next day we visited the Colegio Evangelista Metodista Utatlan (Utatlan School). I had heard of the school since I was a little girl at my church. My grandma was so involved with mission work that she also constantly kept the Pars’ name familiar in my mind. I could not believe I was actually at the school. I also met the two students that my church is currently sponsoring through a scholarship. It was incredible and really emotional. The impact that this trip has had can truly been summed up by my experience in this last port. The once-in-a-lifetime places I went and people I’ve met have had an indescribable impact on me as a person and my outlook on life. There are only six more days left in the voyage and I promise to update more, especially since my finals are finished! The ship will go through the Panama Canal today and I have also realized that in and of itself that is a unique experience. If I don’t update sufficiently before I get home, I promise to do so once I return. See you all after May 6 – and you’re all invited to my Welcome Home party on May 16. Email me or call the house to find out more info. :o).

The Panama Canal today -- coming home soon!!

Guatemala was an amazing experience. I corresponded with Primitive Methodist missionaries Grace and Juan Par and they came and picked me up from the ship and were amazing hosts all three days in the country. I was truly blessed that they were so giving and so gracious. We drove on the first day from Antigua, where we ate lunch and went to the market, to their home in Santa Cruz del Quiche, which was about four hours away. The next day we visited the Colegio Evangelista Metodista Utatlan (Utatlan School). I had heard of the school since I was a little girl at my church. My grandma was so involved with mission work that she also constantly kept the Pars’ name familiar in my mind. I could not believe I was actually at the school. I also met the two students that my church is currently sponsoring through a scholarship. It was incredible and really emotional. The impact that this trip has had can truly been summed up by my experience in this last port. The once-in-a-lifetime places I went and people I’ve met have had an indescribable impact on me as a person and my outlook on life. There are only six more days left in the voyage and I promise to update more, especially since my finals are finished! The ship will go through the Panama Canal tomorrow and I have also realized that in and of itself that is a unique experience. If I don’t update sufficiently before I get home, I promise to do so once I return. See you all after May 6 – and you’re all invited to my Welcome Home party on May 16. Email me or call the house to find out more info. :o).

Oops

Hawaii is six hours behind, not six hours ahead. (Thanks Dad!) Sorry. Call me! :o)

In the U.S.! Briefly.

We dock in Hawai'i tomorrow! It's the United States! People speak English! They use the dollar! They have Taco Bell! Haha. Just kidding. Actually, the thing I am most excited about is being able to use my phone without it costing an arm and a leg. SO, if you would like to call or send me a text message, my phone number is 724/309/9687. I don't remember my ring tone and I hardly remember how to use my phone, so it will be SUPER EXCITING if you send me a text or give me a call. I WOULD LOVE IT! I will, of course, be traveling and might be busy, so definitely leave a voice mail and I will try as hard as possible to return your call as soon as I am not busy visiting Pearl Harbor, etc. PLEASE, HOWEVER, be aware that Hawai'i is six hours ahead of the east coast, so be courteous and do not call or text in the middle of the night for me and I will try to do the same for you. ALSO, this applies for Sunday and Monday ONLY. I will be traveling to Guatemala and they are definitely not on the AT&T plan. Haha.

Once again, sorry to disappoint and not have updates. I am working on Thailand and hope to post that. Perhaps after Hawai'i I will work backwards from there. I haven't decided yet. Sorry. I got a B on the Global Studies test! Hooray! And an A on the Downside of English essay, which I believe I mentioned earlier. I haven't gotten my second essay back yet.

Two nights ago we had a ship-wide talent show and there were a lot of great acts with a lot of talented people. The adults on the ship did a Gillian's Island parody song. Two girls did a Tahitian dance, one tapped, two others did contemporary dances. One girl did a Chinese yo-yo act and another kid juggled. A bunch of people played the guitar and sang (one did an acoustic medley of rap songs - it was awesome). One kid did stand-up and was hilarious. Two kids did an amazing parody song about the ship, complete with costume changes. One guy sang an aria. And a girl and a guy did an amazing spoken word poetry.

And I was in it too! I sang with the a capella group, Sound Waves, which formed at the beginning of the semester. We sang the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. It was really good, I think. One of my friends took some video, so I'll have to show it off when I get home. We had two soloists and one guy as a beat boxer. I had lots of fun! It made me want to sing all night long!

Updating while Procrastinating

Sorry that I haven’t updated in a while – I wanted to let you in on what’s been happening on the ship since Japan, partially out of guilt and partially because I have a paper to write and I’m procrastinating.

After Yokohama we got back on the ship without very much trouble. In Japan the immigration officials had to see all of us physically to stamp our passports, so we had to do the same procedure to get back on the ship. Japan was incredible – I will get to that later, however. Everyone had to stand in line and wait to be checked back on. Then, our long stretch at sea began to Hawaii. Yokohama at night was beautiful. There’s a big Ferris wheel at an amusement park right near the harbor, so as the ship pulled away the whole skyline was lit up, including the Ferris wheel that had patterned lights and a large clock in the middle. I was sad to go, since I had such a great time in Japan.

After that, I knew I had a paper due, so I needed to work on that. It was for my linguistics class, “English as a Global Language,” the subject was the downside of English as a global language, which we had discussed in class. I finished that off just in time to have a day to study for the Global Studies exam (remember, that’s the class that everyone on the ship has to take). Because of all our time changes, we had two Easter Sundays, since we were set to cross the International Dateline, but my Easter was filled with writing that paper and the next studying for the exam. There was a sunrise “service” on the top deck on the first Sunday and I went to that. It was nice and there was a good turn out. One girl played some praise songs on her guitar and everybody sang and then another student gave a short message about the life of Jesus. It was nice, but it was really cold up on the deck – I had to wear my winter coat because of the wind! The Jewish students on the ship have been celebrating Passover and they have a separate buffet line at all the meals for them. I thought it was just being strongly suggested, rather than totally prohibited to go in the Passover line, so the first night I had some matzah and cream cheese – it was so good! We don’t get cream cheese any other time, so I didn’t realize I missed it so much! Haha. The next day they made an announcement about not eating there, so I haven't tried to sneak any more. Then the next day, April 13, we had the Global Studies exam. I should find out what I got on it within the next day or so, we’ll see how that turned out.

That night there was an event to help raise money for the student activities on the ship – a silent auction, live auction and raffle. I bought some raffle tickets for things like first person off the ship in Florida, last person off the ship, a milk and cookies party, a pizza party, free laundry and others. The silent auction had things like making the announcement that the ship is cleared, flags from the sea Olympics, a SAS gift pack usually given to the interport lecturers, a pair of overalls signed by the crew, a guitar lesson and other things. I wanted to win a poster that was apparently made in Kobe with a picture that had the ship in it. It was a poster for a park in Kobe and had some cherry blossom trees in it overlooking the port with the ship – I had a bidding war, actually with a girl who lives across the hall from me, and put in the final bid, but I kind of scribbled it because it was at the last second, so they gave it to the other girl. I asked her if I could just take a picture of it and that will have to suffice. The live auction was really fun – some guy paid $50 for four boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Another girl paid $240 for a map with the ship’s course on it signed by the captain. There were also simple prizes like a Hawaiian ukulele and 30-minute lesson, figurines from China, a movie party with popcorn for 10 people, but other donated items included trips from some of the faculty and lifelong learners – a trip to boat on the Chesapeake Bay, a week in a time share on the Grand Cayman Island, a weekend in a condo in Hawaii, a week for eight to 12 people in a condo near Yellowstone, a weekend in a cottage on an island near Seattle. They were all pretty cool and went for what I thought was pretty cheap, but I didn’t bid on any of those because of long term planning and lack of funds and all that. I was really excited for the one item I did bid on – two tickets in the Diamond Club section behind home plate at a Phillies game with seat side refreshment service, donated by a girl whose dad gets season tickets. I knew Tim would have been really excited (and he was in an e-mail reply that I sent him) and I even bid up to $250, but there were still lots of people willing to pay that and they ended up going for $350, which was too rich for my blood. Haha. It was still fun.

Then the day after that, yesterday, we finally got a day off from classes – it was nice. I should have worked on my second paper (the one I am procrastinating about right now), but, since it was our day off, I watched a movie in the morning, but did a little bit of research in the afternoon. We had a ship group photo yesterday, but it was at 8 a.m. (of course, it’s at 8 a.m. on our freakin’ day off...I think someone said it was because of the way the light was...whatever.) and I don’t think everyone came, but I was in it. They also took pictures of everyone by school. Penn State has 16 students – I think 11 came for the photo and we had two alumni in the picture too: one who is a living-learning coordinator (like an RA) and his fiancé, who works in the computer lab. One girl brought her Penn State football blanket and held it up like a banner in front of us. The alums brought their camera, so I’ll have to get a copy from them. After the picture I asked everybody if we could do a “WE ARE…PENN STATE” cheer and we did! It was great! I didn’t realize I missed that so much! It was kind of surreal – doing the cheer that is so familiar, which I haven’t done all semester, on the back of the ship with all the water behind us. Sometimes, I STILL can’t believe I am doing this, even though the voyage is closer to the end than the beginning.

So, now, the inevitable – writing this paper. I will update about Asia as soon as possible – I want to update the blog as much for everyone reading as for me – I sadly couldn’t keep up my journal and the blog at the same time – the journal only has up to Namibia. I hope to get around to updating that too, eventually – some people on the ship put a priority on their journals, but I tried to focus more on the blog, so that everyone at home would keep updated too!

So, we really have schoolwork to do? Crap.

Japan was incredible. I traveled with four other people throughout the country, seeing Hiroshima, Kyoto, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Tokyo and Yokohama. There was not a dull moment the entire time. We saw and did things I can't even believe I actually saw and did -- real geishas in Kyoto, hundreds of cherry blossom trees, the peak of Mt. Fuji (it was foggy when we got there), a capsule hotel, hot springs bath, Shibuya crossing, Harajuku girls and a Japanese baseball game, among other things. The country and its people were beautiful and kind. I will go back to Japan some day, there's no question about it.

I PROMISE to update from all the way back in Thailand as soon as some of my schoolwork calms down in the next three or four days. We have nine days on the ship before Hawaii.

We're all in school mode once again -- another Global Studies exam coming up and I also have two papers due. All this amazing experience comes at a price, I guess!

Oh, and HAPPY EASTER! We get to have two because we're crossing the international dateline! But, none of the fun celebrating, sadly not even a day off (We have class! Both days!). I will be going to the sunrise service tomorrow morning, though, if I can get up on time.