We've just left Honolulu and are on a course to Yokohama, Japan. This will be our longest stretch of days without seeing land, nearly 11.
In Hilo, we took an all-day trip to the Rainbow Falls, Volcano National Park, and the Queen's Garden. At night, we went to a local dive bar called Shooters. About 50 Semester at Sea students had to be served by one over-worked bartender.
In Honolulu I was fortunate enough to have lunch with my godfather Steve who's retired and lives on the island. That night several of us went to dinner and relaxed on the beach.
We're planning to stay overnight in a Buddhist monastery in Japan, a place called Koyasan.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Off to Japan
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The work begins
So the assignments are finally rolling in and work has begun. I've started reading for some of my classes, but it's a bit of a struggle to get through pages of dry material on the deck of a cruise ship.
MLIA (Acronym for My Life Is Average) Post:
Today I was studying today with this girl Amanda from Puerto Rico and I asked her what she was reading. She told me she was reading the material for global studies, but that she reads slow in English. I told her I do too. MLIA.
I've started planning an independent trip to India to see the Taj Mahal. Most of the Semester at Sea sponsored trips run over $1,300, so a group of us are trying to organize a trip for under $500. Hopefully it will work out.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Border Control
As we took the shuttle bus from San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico, we were driven through border control. Several students were called randomly off the bus to be searched. Mexican border control employees stood outside with what I can only guess were standard MP5 automatic guns. We waited for nearly half an hour to get through, with people trailing back into the buses slowly after being searched. One kid who had sat silently with his sunglasses on and hood up the entire ride, sitting silently, finally returned to the bus. As other students looked to him for an explanation or anecdote about what happened, he only remarked, “They took all my blow,” and the bus erupted into laughter.
The first day
We pulled away from the port in Ensendada today. I've been meeting some really cool people and talking about some amazing upcoming adventures. My biggest trip so far will be sleeping overnight on the Great Wall, complete with breakfast served in the morning. I plan on re-taking surfing lessons in Hawaii, so we'll see how that goes. More to come soon, but it's late and I gotta get up early for breakfast.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Arrived at the Sheraton
It's the first day with fellow SASers and so far I've had a great time. A group of us went downtown San Diego to explore the town, then had a relaxing evening by the pool. We're all ecstatic to start our journey tomorrow and still slightly in disbelief of the trip that lies ahead.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
2 days left in Arlington Heights
Today I almost finished packing and talked to my girlfriend Hannah on Skype. In 2 days, at 5pm on January 17th, 2010, I'll begin my journey of 24,000 nautical miles, circumnavigating the globe.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Itinerary
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
