Monday, January 28th, 2008: Day Six
Yesterday was a pretty good day—the best yet I'd say. Tricia and I walked to Condado Beach (about a 15 minute walk) and crossed about 5 or 6 lanes of traffic to get there and back, haha... On the way back, we asked some policemen if there was a safer place to cross, and if there were any crosswalks nearby. As it turns out, crosswalks pretty much don't exist and jaywalking is not illegal in Puerto Rico! The police officer took us to the other side; you just have to be careful. Anyway, I had a great time on the beach, and I took some pictures and drew in charcoal the lifeguard's stand and a palm tree in the background. I am really, really enjoying drawing (at least with charcoal). Then, I got a virgin pina colada—when asked if I wanted with or without, I said no. Even though I am of age (the drinking age is 18 in P.R.), I was still not interested. It was very tasty and much too expensive... Then, Tricia and I went back and met up with Kim, her friend, and we walked into San Juan yet again. I have huge sores on my feet thanks to all this walking around, but I'll get used to it eventually. Oh, I forgot to mention that I worked out in the morning and the workout room was completely abandoned because everyone was out in port. That's an ideal time to go, as it turns out. Anyway, we got some Coldstone, because we figured it would be the last time we would be able to have some :-P Then, I went to Bioluminescent Bay. It was so. awesome. The sky was perfectly clear (this was at night, by the way), so the stars were so easy to see. I've never seen more stars in my life. It was absolutely beautiful. I got on a two person kayak with John, a guy who goes to school in Connecticut at that school that starts with a Q. He was really nice and we had a good conversation. Anyway, as we entered the cove, all of a sudden our oars started glowing. It was so neat. I smacked my hand in the warm water and it looked like green sparks were emanating from it. The only way to describe the way the algae glows is to say that it looks like they're coming from a sparkler. They dance around for about two seconds when you agitate them and then you can't see them anymore. Apparently each dinoflaggelite (sp?) only lives for about 5 hours. Then, we got to the bay, and they glowed without us even touching them! The sky was still very clear and I saw a shooting star... it made me think of Alex. Then I had a good conversation with a girl named Brittany on the way home on the bus, who has the same concerns as I do about friends. She has been the third wheel, like me, and been ignored in that instance; she feels daunted because everyone else has already formed cliques; and she feels like there is no chemistry between her and the people she meets. The chemistry thing is the biggest for me... I mean, the people I meet are really nice, but there not interesting enough for me. I hate to sound like I think I'm better than them, because I don't, they're simply not suited for me and I can tell. Well, I really need to go now because I have a lot of things I need to do before 1:00 when I go on the Seven Seas kayaking trip, because Kim didn't want it so she gave it to me! she just wasted $60 :-P Oh well. I think it'll be lots of fun! I hope I don't get sunburned...
Michelle <3
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008: Day 7
Sorry I keep talking in past tense, but I've been too tired to talk about my day on the actual day that things occur... I'm sitting here on my bed after having gone to Global Studies, listening to music, and looking at my pictures of friends and family. You guys mean so much to me (even more so now that I have pretty much no one I consider a friend in whom I have all confidence and that special kind of camaraderie that I enjoy with my friends back home—not that I have no friends, but they're basically people I just hang out with who are really nice and whatnot, but not the type of people I would have girly sleepovers with or something lol) and I think of you all every chance I get. I would like to apologize for having used specific names in a negative way in one of my posts a few days ago... However, I will not apologize for my having been negative and saying the things I did. I refuse to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, and will therefore write what I choose to write (excluding names in a negative way from now on, of course), so if you want the truth, then please continue to read my blog. If not, then I invite you to seek information elsewhere. I saw a lovely group of SAS students last night chug alcohol just before going through security (alright desperate!!!) and I know some people succeeded in smuggling alcohol on the ship. I think it's pretty dumb that they would do that, as they would be the only people drunk and it is a serious risk to their continuing to be an SAS student. If caught while at sea being drunk and when it's not a pub night, they'll be expelled= stupid risk. May I take this moment to note that I am not against the use of alcohol; merely the abuse of it, and many people have done it on this trip. I feel that it is something to be enjoyed in moderation. I try to keep things in my life kept in moderation, and I think that that is a very important lesson we all need to learn at some point in our lives in all things. Also, I would like to point out that a friend told me that the huge box of free condoms for our use is quite literally completely empty. I'm just glad that they're using them at all! Forgive me for always ranting, because I promise I am a very grateful person for having this wonderful opportunity. I just wish more people would see the big picture here and realize that there's more to life than that of a party. I feel very sorry for these people. I have yet to meet someone like me, who doesn't get drunk at all; it's a lonely existence... Anyway, yesterday was lots of fun. I went to the kayaking thing that Kim gave to me and Melissa was on the trip. She's really nice, and it was great to hang out with her. I let her use my camera, which I brought with me in a ziplock bag, and we both got some really good pictures. The water felt so wonderful and it was great to get some exercise in the great outdoors. When we got back at 6:30, we rushed to get a quick shower, and then we headed out to Old San Juan in a taxi to go to Starbucks for some free internet (a piece of advice for you future SASers out there: almost all of San Juan, we all discovered, has free internet, and there's a cheap internet cafe near Coldstone and Western Bank... I heard Baskin Robbins and McDonald's had free internet as well—McDonald's is literally a 2 minute walk away, and therefore the most convenient). At this point (7:15), Melissa and I were getting anxious to get some authentic Puerto Rican cuisine (I want to get authentic local food in every port), so we left two minutes later and walked around for 30 looking for a P. Rican restaurant. I knew of Mofongo, so we headed in that direction, and we finally got there at about 7:50. We wanted to get back by 8 because on-ship time was 9:00 and we figured there'd be a huge line for everyone to get back on the ship, so we were in a hurry. We quickly ordered a beef mofongo (which turned out to be what Melissa calls a Puerto Rican pot pie: it arrived in a cool wooden chalice that had a plantain-cornmeal type of layer with the beef inside it... really good stuff!) and as it turned out, we could get internet access for free!!! Yay! So, Melissa and I checked Facebook and whatnot, which was awesome. Then, at 8:15, we rushed back to the ship and no taxis were occupied, so we were like oh my goodness! We're going to be late! So we started running toward the ship and finally a very nice lady taxi driver picked us up (another piece of advice: walk as much as you can when it's safe!!! I walked a ton, got foot sores and blisters to prove it, and still spent a ton of money on taxis... it really adds up quickly). I had mentioned to her that I had heard that there was an article about Semester at Sea in the local paper, and she gave me hers! It was so nice! It's a good thing that I can read Spanish—it was really fun trying to translate it. It's going to be a great souvenir and I'm so excited that I am one of the few who got one! :-D Anyway, we got patted down by security and our bags checked quite thoroughly for hidden alcohol, and got back on the ship. We left Puerto Rico and I am soooo glad to get at sea again. I was getting anxious to get to Brazil. It's going to be unbelievable. The rocking on the ship is pretty much nonexistent now—I can walk down the hall completely straight! I wonder how long it will last... I hear it gets much worse, but you get used to it. I actually enjoy it—it makes life onboard a ship quite interesting. I'm thrilled, too, that we're having an activities fair tonight, which will be very nice to be able to sign up for clubs and things. I think I might get bored being at sea for a whole week, but at least classes will help with that. I haven't been yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop my Arts Administration class—if it doesn't transfer, I don't want to waste my time. I just hope there will be an opening for the history class I want, which will transfer. I would like to take this moment as well to reflect more on ship life and give you all a better idea of what I've experienced thus far as a passenger. The MV Explorer is NOT a boat—it is a ship. Don't call it a boat or you will get reprimanded. Cliques form very quickly but don't be daunted—everyone's very friendly and open to meeting new people. Sitting alone at dinner won't last long—someone will come sit with you (I'm always the one to go sit with other people). Roommates aren't bad at all and I don't mind having one (this is my first time sharing a room with someone)—mine's very nice and she's a great person. Classes will be a joke and we only have 23 days per class, which is ridiculous. There is a surprising amount of variety in the food thus far—the fruit is actually pretty fresh (we'll see how fresh it will be in 7 days, however...), but the bananas thus far have always had lots of brown spots (even when we're in port, which doesn't make any sense to me). Breakfast is easily the best meal and is worth waking up at 7:30 or 8 for a chocolate-filled croissant, yogurt, and an omelet. The water tastes like chlorine and it's a very good idea to have something to flavor it with. When the seas are pretty rough, you will feel yourself lifting and sinking into your bed at night (a cool sensation!). The walls are PAPER THIN oh my goodness! I wish my neighbors would realize this (drawers opening and closing, toilets flushing, conversations, music, EVERYTHING can be heard)! The lifelong learners are super nice and there are a few children on the ship as well. Everyone's very nice but a lot of us (myself included!) have a lot of growing up and maturing to do from this experience. Seasickness patches are $18 each on the ship, when you can get 90 for the same price at home in the US. I should have brought a ton more clothes... I've worn the same t-shirts three times now—yuck! I saw dolphins briefly this morning, which was awesome. When everyone has free time, they go out on the decks and tan. The Union is the worst place to be in rough seas, as it is in the front of the ship and will move up and down the most; it's also the place we have to go for Global Studies and meetings, which is a lot of the time. Well, that's all I can think of right now... I love you guys to death and I promise that things are getting better and I will someday be more positive in these reflections of mine; it's just really hard to feel happy about things when you're treated like an extraneous body in a group of people sometimes, and when there are few people you'd actually want to hang out with. Please bear with me.
"I need you to know that I care, and I miss you."
Love,
Michelle
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