Mile 8: Excursions!

Ok, now for some fun stuff! June = Planning Port Activities! The end of June means Semester at Sea finally posts their field programs (excursions you can buy while in various ports) and students/staff/faculty can register in advance. There are so many cool trips and its really hard to know which ones are worth purchasing vs. ones I can do on my own. How much of my time in port do I want to devote to planned/scheduled excursions? How much time do I want to explore on my own or just wander? Really tough questions, I know. 

Let me give you a sliver of the options: Surfing lesson in Barbados's beautiful waters anyone? (That one filled up real quick, as you might imagine). Or how about a scenic drive to Ireland's Cliffs of Moher? Three day trip through the Amazon rainforest in a riverboat? Or maybe a cooking class in Morocco is more your cup of tea (which is also good in Morocco!). Russian ballet performance in St. Petersburg? Yeah, I want them all too.

So, what did I do? I made three decisions about these excursions. 1. I'd pick ones that seemed especially enriching to me academically and culturally. 2. I'd pick ones that I could not do on my own. 3. I decided to allow myself one or two that are an absolute musts and then buy some later if they do not fill up.

Now, there is a seriously good chance I will meet some incredibly cool people and travel with them as well so I opted out of the "Tour of the city by foot" tours available. I also said "um, no" to ones way over my budget (some excursions are over $1000!). I also began looking up sites/attractions/cultural points of interests in most of our ports to get a sense of my travel priorities. After some (still more to come) research, I've signed up for the following excursions:

1. St. Petersburg - Hermitage Museum, Winter Palace and City Walking Tour - I know, I just got through telling you that I said "no" to the walking tours but I got this one because of my visa situation. Since I opted not to get a Russian visa, I can't leave the ship without being on a SAS excursion. So, this tour will allow me to see many of the sites in STP at one go. Also, my class field lab is in Russia and it takes us to other locations on Day 2 of our visit there. I'm still contemplating what to do on Day 3.

2. Antwerp - Day Trip to Amsterdam - I choose this one because technically we are not allowed to leave the country we land in at each port. So, if we land in Belgium, we can go explore on our own, but can't leave Belgium. Amsterdam (in the Netherlands) is not on our itinerary so the only way to see it is through this SAS excursion. Can't wait to cruise through all the canals and add yet another country to my itinerary!

3. Dakar - University Welcome Reception - In Senegal, we have the opportunity to spend an evening with faculty and students from a university. I jumped at this chance to engage with academics because I'd love to see how their education compares with the US and learn about alternative educational pedagogy. I'd also like to make some contacts and network in the future. Easy peasy decision there.

4. Accra - Service Visit: Pencils of Promise - In Ghana, there are a number of opportunities to give back to families, students and schools. This service visit takes us to the Pencils of Promise grassroots organization that helps to build schools for children in underprivileged areas. This organization, started by a SAS alum, provides education, shelter and other resources for these children. On this excursion, we will get to meet and interact with these students for a few hours,  talk with the district Director of Education, tutor students on various subjects and help build a school! For me, its an opportunity to provide a smile, a hug, a lesson and some gifts (like candy, school supplies, etc). Mostly though, I imagine they will be teaching me more than I can ever give them.

I could scan the list of SAS excursions for hours (ok, already have) and I get so giddy at the thought of seeing such amazing places along with students. Of course, there are a few on my "maybe" and "wishful thinking" lists as well, such as Salsa lessons in Cuba, visiting the Rock of Gibraltar in Cadiz, sharing a meal with a Moroccan family, and seeing the Tijuca Rainforest in Rio de Janeiro. Which of these sounds good to you?? SAS people, which ones did you pick? SEND ME YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, I'd love to hear from you all.

50 days left before the trip of a lifetime!!

Mile 7: Travel To-do Lists

So, we are about 2 months out from the amazing trip awaiting me and 600 students! I've been slowly prepping for the trip (gathering supplies, polishing syllabus, watching youtube videos of the boat,  dancing around in excitement, etc) but my to-do list seems to be growing every time I check something off.

And, people don't believe me. What preparations do you need to make really? Just put a swimsuit in your bag and you're all set! Well, yes, but also, no. Closing up shop (aka my home and life) for four months means I have to cover all of my bases for stuff I would have done during that time, well some of the important stuff anyway. So, here are my to do lists (yeah, multiple).

Semester at Sea List
- Go to the doctor and get medical clearance form completed
- Get Yellow Fever Vaccination (thank god my mom is a smart woman and knew exactly how to get me the shot easily - apparently these are hard to find! When I got mine, it was the last one they had for three months. Phew - this is done too).
- Get prescriptions for malaria and sea sickness pills
- Complete visa applications for Brazil and Ghana and send to Travisa (this is one is done!)
- Find maps for port cities
- Exchange small amounts of currency - Pounds, Rubles, Euros.
- Make multiple copies of all documents (passport, ID, credit cards, insurance card, yellow fever card, etc)
- Book travel from Florida to home
- Reserve hotels in London
- Research past SAS blogs for tips and tricks for packing and living on the ship (this becomes an addictive hole I sink into and never want to come out of).
- Generate a list of Writing Center programs and outcomes (since I'm the Director on board!)
- Generate flyers and announcements for Writing Center promotion
- Prepare lecture to give to the entire student body on the ship (No, I'm not kidding. Thankfully it should be about something that you know how to do already. Still, I have no idea what I'm going to talk about yet)
- Prep for Writing Course - assignments, course calendar, some daily activities.
- Prep for Writing Course Field lab in St. Petersburg


Home University List
- Return Parking pass
- Finish committee work
- Submit leave of absence paperwork
- Cancel health insurance (don't worry, I do this because SAS has insurance of its own)


Personal List
- Go to do the eye doctor
- Go to do the dentist
- Shop for snacks, personal items, clothes
- Notify credit cards of international travel
- Hug my family (alot!)
- Pay car registration
- Forward mail (or change address)
- Hang out with friends I won't see for a while
- Research ports to plan things to do in different cities
- Renew lease for my apt
- Find a subletter for Fall semester
- Take car to dealership for annual inspection (thankfully this is still covered under warranty)
- Buy International Calling card (phones on board cost a bundle - like $4/min - and our cell phones international plans are super expensive too)
- Download Viber, Tango and Vonage Apps on my phone to make free calls home when I have good wifi in port.
- Update addresses for friends and family (you know you all will be getting postcards right!?)
- Get business cards made (Dad did this for me, thank you!)
- Forward University and Personal email to SAS email
- Pack (In a future post, I'll include my packing list, which is almost 4pgs right now)

- Pack. Repack. Pack again.

Wishful Thinking List
- Prep new course I teach in the Spring - choose readings, work on course calendar
- Send out poetry for publication (since this is the "reading period" for a lot of magazines and journals)
- Work on academic article for publication

PHEW! That's a lot. And, I'm sure there are things I have yet to think of. So, what do you think guys? Anything else you all do before you leave for vacation?

Mile 6: Visas!

Brazil, Ghana, Russia, oh lord!

Man, visas are serious work. I know that we are going to a lot of countries, and luckily only five of them need tourist visas, but there is a lot of paperwork to fill out. Semester at Sea says that we need to get a Ghana, Russia and Brazil visa before we embark on the ship and we will also get a Cuba and Senegal visa on board the ship. Travisa is the company hired by SAS to deal with tourist visa stuff so we have to fill out the visa applications, the travisa application and include lots of other goodies like extra passport photos, copies of proof of address and a yellow card copy.

* Recently, SAS shortened our stay in Russia from 5 days to 3 because staying in Russia for 3 days and only going on SAS generated excursions does not require a visa. Some students will get visas anyway because you have to have one if you are leaving the ship on your own (outside of any SAS created activity). I think they were trying to save us money (since the Russia visa is like $350) but students are not happy about the shortened trip. My class is already doing a field lab in Russia so I opted not to get one but I am looking forward to some of the field programs.*

It took me a couple of hours to get through all the rules and paperwork, time well spent to make sure that the applications are done correctly and stuff doesn't get delayed. But, there is a slight glitch - Brazil is hosting the world cup this year! So, visa applications are severely backed up! Fingers crossed it gets here by the end of July!

Mile 5: Ship Video!

And here's a video done by the SAS 2011 voyage that shows the ship as well. This is a fun one that uses a song montage to go through the ship. 

They sing in all languages, including Hindi at the 6.00 mark! Watch it!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pA_I2GrwpQ

Mile 4: MV Explorer

So, I get to live on a boat for almost four months. Obviously there are some potential downsides (sea-sickness, mundane food, the crowds) but there might also be a lot of interesting perks. So, I looked up my new home starting August.

The MV Explorer (a moving Godzilla) was built in 2002 by German shipbuilders and declared one of the "one of the safest ships afloat" by the Maritime Telecommunications Network. Its one of the fastest passenger ships on water. It measures 590 feet long, 25k tons in weight, 7 decks high, cruising speed of 28 knots, with a capacity of almost 850 people. Dang!

In terms of it being a floating university, this ship has a Student Union (below), two dining halls, one large pool, a workout room, a faculty lounge, 9 classrooms, a student merchandise store, a computer lab, a study area and a piano bar (what?!).

I'm not yet sure what kind of room I will get, but the word on the street is that profs get their own rooms and the nicer ones at that. I hope I get one with a balcony (can you imagine the sunsets!?) but I will probably have a nice window, which would be lovely. Honestly, I'd be happy to sleep outside on a lounge chair if it meant I could go on the voyage!

Ship Specs

Tonnage	25,000 tons
Length	590 ft. (180 m)
Beam	84 ft. (26 m)
Draft	24 ft. (7 m)
Maximum Cruising Speed	28 knots
Stabilizers	yes
Air Conditioning Throughout	yes
Outside Deck Space	30,000 sq. ft. (2.800 m2)
Passenger Decks	6
Pool Area	7,500 sq. ft. (700 m2)
Swimming Pool	1
The Union	380 seats
Main Dining Hall Deck 5	470 seats
Garden Lounge Dining Hall Deck 6	210 seats
Outside Dining Area Deck 6	110 seats
Glazer Faculty, Staff & Lifelong Learner Lounge	138 seats
Classrooms	9
Pritzlaff Study Area	104 seats
Passenger Capacity (double basis)	836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.ufLihJ5D.dpuf

Ship Specs

Tonnage	25,000 tons
Length	590 ft. (180 m)
Beam	84 ft. (26 m)
Draft	24 ft. (7 m)
Maximum Cruising Speed	28 knots
Stabilizers	yes
Air Conditioning Throughout	yes
Outside Deck Space	30,000 sq. ft. (2.800 m2)
Passenger Decks	6
Pool Area	7,500 sq. ft. (700 m2)
Swimming Pool	1
The Union	380 seats
Main Dining Hall Deck 5	470 seats
Garden Lounge Dining Hall Deck 6	210 seats
Outside Dining Area Deck 6	110 seats
Glazer Faculty, Staff & Lifelong Learner Lounge	138 seats
Classrooms	9
Pritzlaff Study Area	104 seats
Passenger Capacity (double basis)	836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.ufLihJ5D.dpuf

 

Here's a video done by a SAS videographer that answers the question "What is life at sea?" It has some really cool information about ship life. 

http://www.semesteratsea.org/2013/03/01/what-is-life-at-sea/

acts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.ufLihJ5D.dpuf

Facts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.46ayoxwV.dpuf

Facts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.46ayoxwV.dpuf

*Photos from http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/*

Facts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.46ayoxwV.dpuf

Facts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.46ayoxwV.dpuf

Facts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.46ayoxwV.dpuf

Facts at a Glance:

• Built in 2002 by the well respected Blohm & Voss shipbuilders of Germany
• Described by Maritime Telecommunications Network “as one of the safest ships afloat”
• U.S. and international health and safety ratings in the 99th percentile
• One of the fastest passenger ships of its kind in the world
• 590-feet, 25,000 tons, 7 decks, maximum capacity 836

- See more at: http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/deck-plans/#sthash.46ayoxwV.dpuf