The second level of the ship has more participant restricted areas, along with a medical clinic and some student cabins. The third and fourth are all cabins inhabited by students and staff members. I am on the 4th deck and I believe it’s the best because I am centrally located to all the good stuff on the ship. Directly above my cabin is the 5th Deck Main Dining Area. This is the fanciest of the two dining areas and is often used for more formal events. Although it is also used for regular meals as well. Also on the fifth deck is Tymitz Square (named after a rich alum of the SAS program) where the various dean’s offices are located. Also located on this deck is the reception desk where I spend more time than I should buying phone cards to call home. Can you believe they sell phone cards for $20…..now how many minutes do you suppose one gets for that large sum of money…….13 measly minutes. Yeah, a little on the expensive side!!! I keep looking for the Caribbean Dream cards but they tell me they wont work on the shipL
Anyway deck 5 also contains some of the fancy cabins on the ship. Deck 6 also has a dining room which leads out to a outdoor dining area. It is very nice to sit out and have your meal alfresco on a sunny afternoon while watching the ocean waves! Deck 6 is the heart of the shipboard campus with the majority of the classroom spaces, the campus store, library, computer lab and union all occupying the remainder of this level.
Deck 7 is a very interesting space. On deck 7 you will find the wellness center which contains a spa. Yes, we have a spa aboard this ship. Crazy I know but I think I will get a massage before getting home. I hear their massages are wonderful. They are relatively reasonably priced- $55 for an hour. Also on Deck 7 are the nicest cabins on the ship. Sandra Day O’Connor and Julian Bond stayed up there when they were on board. The deans also have their quarters in this area. Cabins on Deck 7 have private balconies…..very fancy!! Deck 7 is also home to the faculty-staff lounge---students are NEVER allowed in this space. (well they are allowed by very special invitation). As it’s a forbidden area, all the students want to go in there. It doesn’t help that the deck has large floor to ceiling windows which provide excellent views for the faculty and staff. But also gives the students a perfect view of everything they are missing. …… sort of evil, I know. The students also want to come into the FACStaff lounge because it is the only place in the ship where alcohol is free flowing. Students are allowed to drink on the ship but in a very restricted fashion so they long to get drinks as easily as the faculty and staff do in the lounge. I personally do not spend too much time in the lounge because its in the front part of the ship…..the front of the ship is usually the most rocky when we are going through choppy waters. A final thing on Deck 7 is the pool. Yes, I said pool. It is a relatively small pool and I think I heard someone say during a tour that the pool water is filtered ocean water but im not sure. At the pool, lots of people lay out and work on their tans. As I am naturally golden brown I am not usually hanging out in this area. Well, sometimes im there but not really by my own desire. The pool deck is where a limited amount of alcohol (3 drinks) are served to students wishing to partake in adult beverages on certain nights from the hours of 9pm-11. I can explain the whole alcohol policy to you if you are interested.
Work on the ship: so since last august when I was offered this position, I have been explaining to people that this was my summer JOB….that while I would be doing some travel, my primary function on the ship would be that of staff member. Most people laughed when I said that and said yeah right. Well I can report that I have been W-O-R-K-I-N-G hard. Since the students boarded the ship in Halifax, I have been working 10-18 hour days. If I get to bed before 2am it’s a miracle. My daily schedule has gone a little something like this:
All members of the shipboard community are required to attend Global Studies class, in which we learn about the history, politics and culture of the places we will be visiting. The class begins at 9:15am and ends at 1030am.
After that I usually did some administrative work—send emails, catch up with folks, book rooms.1215-1500 (that’s 3pm to you land lovers!) I was in a student life meeting
1500-1730 I did more administrative work and preparation for my student meetings.
1730-2300 I had a slew of student meetings. I advise/lead/coordinate all the student groups related to diversity, multiculturalism and intercultural competency (its currently 11 groups). I am also responsible for a “Sea” otherwise known as a floor, of 83 students. I also have an “extended” family of 4 students I meet with.
I am lucky to be working with 2 wonderful graduate assistants who do an amazing job supporting me but all this for 8 days straight takes its toll.
Despite this RIDICULOUS schedule I love working with diversity related student groups. There is something about sharing experiences with students who are often the ones left out in most circles that speaks to my soul.
In any case, I keep telling people that I will stop working once we reach Barcelona. As we reach Barcelona tomorrow, I’m doneJ ……I’m a workaholic so this is highly unlikely.
My Favorite days on the ship:
So overall I found ship life to be both exhilarating and confining. Its amazing to know you are off heading somewhere wonderful with such a relatively small group of people. However being on a seven level ship with a group of people for eight days can be so stifling. I think I definitely had a case of cabin fever several points during the voyage. Some things that helped lift my spirits:
- - talking with my boo through MSN chat or briefly on the phone
- - Hearing from my mom and sisters. Calling my dad for Father’s day.
- - chatting with family and friends.....if you are on MSN chat, Gchat, or FBchat and you see me online, please say hey! I love hearing from folks back home. {thanks MG for chat time!}
- - Videos and pictures of my nieces (thank God for FB!)
- Passing through the Azoros (a series of small islands off the coast of Europe). We passed by them on the morning of 6.19. although we we quite a way from the coast it did my soul good to know that we were not alone on this big ocean. It can sometimes feel very isolating not to see another vessel or sign of life for several days. I could see small clusters of homes perched on the hills. Although it felt like the middle of nowhere to me, someone called it home and that helped settle me.
- 10pm sunset on that same night. On this same night I saw the beautiful image of sea, sky and land, I also was able to witness a beautiful sunset at about 10pm (2200!)! that is so late, I know but it was a nice breezy evening and the colors of the sky hitting the ocean water were simply magnificent.
- Random sightings of marine life: so I don’t like to look out into the ocean that often because on the choppy days, looking into the water made it worse…..but on some of the calmer days I was fortunate to catch glimpses of dolphins, flying fish, a big starfish and whales. Amazing to see them in their natural habitats out in the middle of the ocean. Really makes you pause to consider the magnitude of God’s power. Just being surrounded by water prompts celestial reflections and I am so blessed to have these opportunity to take this all in. so often in our busy industrialized lives we become disconnected from God’s magnificence as represented by the natural world. It is so very amazing to be in its presence daily! Really helps you to feel reconnected to nature. I must admit however that I will be very happy to be back in a very industrialized solid land tomorrow!
- - Yesterday, June 22 we passed through the Strait of Gibralter. AMAZING!! I know I use this word a lot on this blog but that’s because so much of it is, truly amazing and no other word will do as an expression of all that is going on. So we passed through the strait at about 4pm. It was an event for the entire shipboard community. Everyone came out to check it out. It was amazingly windy on the front of the ship, felt like a wind tunnel and people had to hold on or risk being thrown about. But the feeling of having Africa (Tanger, Morocco) on one side and Europe (Gibraltor, Spain) on the other was absolutely awe inspiring. I don’t think I can fully capture it in words. I took a video, will try to post but in case it doesn’t ask me for it when I get home. Carved into the ground on the Moroccan side as you entered the strait there was some Arabic writing. None of the people around me read Arabic but we were able to find out later that the writing translated to : God, Country, King. One of the Saudi students aboard the ship explained to me this is significant because this is the order in which Moroccans will strive to lead their lives: by following God, then county and then the King. I thought it interesting.
- - Its interesting how the color of the water changes with the temperature. When its cold out, like when we were in the North Atlantic right outside Canada, it was so very cold and cloudy, the water was a dark gray color. Now that we have reached the sunny Mediterranean, the water is a smooth, glassy blue. It is so gorgeous and really makes me want to get out there and start enjoying Barcelona!!!
- I must go now, its late (we are 6 hours ahead of EST) and so much to do on the morrow. Ta ta for now! I will try to update more regularly now that we are in port. I don’t want to lose my memories so will try to capture them soon after their occurrence: )
