boston to halifax 2012

Semester at Sea, Fall 2012. So it begins.

It took a day or so to quit weaving through the ship like the proverbial drunken sailor, and considering that one of my sea legs was wobbly already, this was a huge accomplishment. Now that the boat is docked in Halifax, however, I already miss the rocking waves that must remind me of how the I-who-was-not-yet-an-I, the primordial me, once floated around, growing. I feel the same today, my mind and world expanding.

I was reminded last night by our Executive Dean, John Tymitz, and our Academic Dean, LaVahn Hoh, that this experience changes lives. They were addressing a room full of parents who had boarded for the day, a few of whom had actually sailed on previous voyages, as early as 1972. Now they were sending a child on this amazing adventure. The ship is sponsored by the University of Virginia, and for some reason, it took me until last night to remember that I’d wanted to attend UVA when I first applied to universities at the age of seventeen. A few years after that, I’d also wanted to do a semester abroad. It seems like now--some decades later--I’m having the chance to do both. To imagine, truly, is everything, or at the very least it is the beginning of everything.

The parents debarked last night, and today, close to 500 students from 196 universities will board the MV Explorer and join the journey. Some staff who were onboard only for orientation will leave, connections that already feel much stronger than those usually formed in four days.

The crew--all 181 of them--are amazing. I have to say, my favorite crew member thus far is named Ismael...and yes, he gets the Moby Dick reference all the time. I haven’t seen a whale yet, but you never know. Other crew members that rank high are Dante and Reynaldo, our cabin steward. I know many of the crew’s faces better than their names at this point, but I’m learning. I’ll have to find the statistic on how many countries they represent. Our captain is from the Ukraine, commanding the fastest cruise ship perhaps in the world. At one point, I saw us at 12.1 knots. I’ll have to see how fast she can actually go. I’ve set my watch and clock to 24-hour time, and I say things like “starboard” and “aft” with increasing regularity.

The faculty and staff are also wonderful. I think there are about 70 of them. I’ve already been invited to assist with a video storytelling class. Of course, I’ve worked out three times already. The weights are up on the seventh deck (the highest, not counting the observation deck), and I’ve never had a more amazing view while doing pull-ups. As expected, the equipment is flaked with rust, but if that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have the view. The first day I worked out, a small yellow bird hopped around my feet. I have no idea where it came from--we were miles out to sea--but clearly, it was unafraid of human company. Yesterday, I saw a ladybug on the back of a chair. My aunt says these are my grandparents here to see me off safely.

As for how I spend my days, the ship has a library onboard, but I’ve spent a lot of time looking out at the ocean. Yesterday, we got to leave the ship for the first time and went into Halifax for the day. A great opportunity to walk around in a city that reminded me a lot of Boston. After walking, I sat with a glass of iced tea, monk blend, at the World Tea House, where owner Phil gave us a mini-lesson on his different tea blends and let us use his phone to locate a camera store. The tea was a refreshing break from the coffee on the ship, which I’m convinced I’ll get used to if I drink enough of it. Hey, I’m grateful there’s coffee! We also had lunch off-ship at an organic spot called the Wooden Monkey. The food onboard is good if somewhat bland, having to meet so many tastes, but I’ve had salad, vegetables, and meat or fish at every lunch and dinner. In fact, I eat more vegetables and a greater variety here than at home...and I don’t have to chop them up.

So, here are my pictures worth a thousand words for the day. I’ll see you again once we dock on the other side of the Atlantic. Even with the fastest cruise ship, it’s going to take a while :).