Lalalala

Hey guys. I'm in Global Studies... ehh. I've got drawing today, though, which should be fun. Love you all!

January 30, 2008: Day 8

Hello all! Ok, last night: I signed up for yearbook, but only because I want to learn as much as I can from the ship's photographer, who has promised to teach us as much as he can. I wish I could pick his brain and find out more about the industry... hopefully that will happen sometime during this voyage for me. It could be a really great opportunity for referrals as well. Anyway, I'm really excited about contributing my photos to something awesome like the yearbook. I'd be so proud if some of my photos were selected for it. Now for my day today: I woke up at 7 am to get in line for drop/add. Drop/add is entirely by a deli line take-a-number process... So, even though I got there at 7:20 am (20 minutes after the registrar's office opened), I got number 121. Ouch. Apparently some people literally camped out but got kicked out at 1 am. So, it took all day (fifteen minutes before 7 pm, when the office closed) for me to finally be able to request my classes. I got transcendentalism, but what I really want is the history class, because I know for sure that that would transfer and count for credit, which would be awesome!!! So, I took another number: 361, which is ridiculous. I'm told by Marie, the registrar, that this is by far the most hectic drop/add in SAS history—usually the max is about 200 people wanting to change classes. It appears that this voyage is a record breaker in some areas: 732 students (total of 800 plus bodies on the ship) is a record, and the drop/add is much larger than usual. Anyway, I enjoyed a chocolate croissant and fresh fruit as usual on the aft deck 6 outside for breakfast... it was very nice weather. It's been significantly breezier at night lately, though, so no one sits on the outer part of the deck because rolls and napkins go flying everywhere. After breakfast I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't, then showered, and went to Global Studies. We learned about the slave trade because there is a significantly large population of African-descent Salvadorians so it's important to know how they got there and what contributions they made to society (which are major). We learned about candomble, the local religion which is a fusion of Catholicism and whatever African religion it was the slaves brought over with them. I've heard of it before, and that it is a very interesting event to witness. I wish I had more time to do it this time (I have no doubts I will come back again to visit sometime in the future), but as I am doing Carnaval the first night and leaving that night for the Amazon and won't get back until the day that we leave, I don't have my hopes up that I will have a chance to do it this time. I really want to make shopping a priority in this port because I really, really need clothes and the things that they have to offer there are going to be amazing. Anyway, I went to my drawing class and we did contour drawings, which are basically drawings where you don't look at the paper at all and follow the lines of whatever it is you're drawing with your eyes and hand at the same time. It's an exercise to help hand-eye coordination. Before that class, though, I started feeling anxious at lunch for no reason at all, so I decided that I was probably really stressed (I often keep myself so busy that I don't realize I'm stressed—go figure :-P), so I went to the counselor. She informed me that I have anxiety and told me how to get over it... I first have to accept that I have it, and I do. So, that's a good start. I feel better now, though, that I talked with her, because we're trying to figure out why it is that I have no connection with anybody else, it seems, and the only thing we can identify that makes me especially different from everyone else is that I am not a partier. That should hardly be something that would prevent me from being friends with people and feeling a connection with them, so I dunno. I've done everything I can to inspire friendships, so I realize that this is a test of patience. Being an impatient person, I am unwilling to wait for things to start happening. Anyway, I called Alex, and it was great to hear his voice :-) I've decided that because I have been thus far pretty cut off from everyone, I don't care if I use up my internet minutes, and (sorry Mom) I don't care if I use a few minutes on my cell phone while on roaming if it means that I can feel like I am in decent connection with my friends and life back home, which makes me happy. I just want to be happy... I also signed up for an a cappella group that our dean has organized, his specialty being music. I'm pretty excited about it, minus the a cappella part, because I get lost so easily when there isn't any music to back me up—especially if there are many different singing parts than my own. But, it's a challenge, and I love challenges because they make me better, so why not do it? It's worth a try, at any rate, and maybe I could be even better at singing by the time I come home, which would be super cool. Well, the ship has gotten back to its regular amount of pitching and rolling—I knew that walking down the hall in a straight line wouldn't last long :-P Right now we are off the coast of Suriname (granted, we're very far away from it, but it's the closest country to us at the moment), and I would also like to point out that this is at least the third time I have heard A Goofy Movie's "Eye to Eye" today. I absolutely love this song. Well, I've come up with an amazing Valentine's Day gift for Alex—I won't disclose it just yet, of course, but I really hope it works out, because I really want to do it right. I appreciate everyone's emailing, messaging, and commenting me—it makes me feel loved :-)... I also just met up with my Amazon group, and we're going to leave the ship at 11:00 pm on the last night of Carnaval, which really sucks. Our flight doesn't leave until 2:30 am... urgh. Well, it'll be worth it, I'm sure, and maybe someday I'll come back for a full week of Carnaval to make it up to myself :-P I'm also quite excited because I'm getting my very first massage EVER tomorrow—the Jade Spa is offering relax packages (just what I need!) for $20, and the one I am doing is a scalp, neck, and shoulder massage for 25 minutes, which is an incredible deal, so I'm reeeeeeeaally looking forward to it. Then, after that, I have time for a nice nap, so that will be great. Well, that's all for now. Much love to you all,

Michelley :-D

January 31, 2008: Day 9

So, we are now off the coast of Brazil, which is awesome, but we still have a long while until we get to Salvador—not until February 5^th will we arrive. But, in case you were wondering, we are at: 6 degrees latitude and 47 degrees longitude. I woke up late today and missed breakfast :-( Sadness. I do love those chocolate-filled croissants... I really hope I don't gain weight on this trip, but you will be proud of me to hear the fact that I eat a salad with lunch and dinner every day (otherwise I would never get filled up :-P). I haven't worked out since Puerto Rico, but oh well. I just sang for an hour—that burns some calories, I hear. So anyway—I'm trying to be more positive for you guys in these posts of mine, so I hope you're happy, haha. I'm sure not as much as I would like to be, but whatever. Half of Global Studies today was taken up by this guy who literally talked about this hallucinogenic plant found in the Amazon and the culture that surrounds it for 45 minutes... it was god-awful boring. But, our interport lecturer from Brazil, Javier, made it much more interesting after that because he talked to us about Carnaval. I'm kind of regretting not having gotten a space in the blocos or camarotes because I'm probably going to get beaten up or harassed. Yaaaay. Apparently in Salvador the big thing is to kiss everyone—sometimes French kissing lol. I shall guard my mouth and avoid eye contact with everyone... urgh. I don't want the "herps," as Tricia says, in my mouth, nor anywhere else, thank you very much. Anyway, I just have to find a guy to come with me to protect me... uhhh yeah. If I can't even get myself a friend then how am I supposed to get a guy to come with me?! *sigh* I'm pretty darn sick of this and almost on the verge of wanting to come home. I will not come home under any circumstances (except for obvious stuff like family issues or whatever), but I still almost wish I could. Well anyway, I succeeded in dropping my arts administration class, and I added Transcendentalism. It's going to be cool, but lately I haven't wanted to go to any of my classes thanks to feeling very apathetic about everything around me, so I'm as excited about it as you can expect me to be in this situation (not very). My massage this morning was wonderful. The a cappella group met in our dean Max's office and we sound pretty good for having only learned and practiced the song together for an hour. I have the melody line with another girl, which is the most important part, but I'm so bad about losing my note! I don't mind, though—I know I'll get better. It seems like the girl I'm doing it with really doesn't like the idea of the group, though, so I might end up doing the melody line on my own lol... I really want to try, I really, really do. I want to be a better singer and I think this would help me to become one. Anyway, I see people around me getting hugs, and I'm really jealous of them. I miss getting and giving hugs, very much—I'm so used to getting so many each day that I've realized how much I enjoyed and relied on that human contact... Well, I need to go to the yearbook meeting. Much love to you all!

Michelle