Views of the World

I suppose that it is finally time to finish off my Scholar Ship entries. I've been home for just about 3 weeks now and finally have the time after the busy holiday season to update.

( Three Chinese cities in two weeks & saying goodbye )

I have to say, that I never expected the Scholar Ship to affect me the way it did. I learned so much from the program - the vast majority not in classrooms. But I think that's the beauty of the program. We all taught each other, and I learned more from exploring countries on my own and listening to my classmates onboard than I could ever learn in a school setting. This was truly an intercultural experience and I am so glad that I was able to participate in the inaugural voyage. The Scholar Ship has changed me in ways that I'm sure I'm not even fully aware of, and as sappy as it sounds, I don't regret it a bit, because I'm sure that all the changes will only make me a better person.

I can’t believe that it’s been so long since I’ve written! I got really caught up in exams, essays and presentations after Australia, and was pretty much a hermit while I finished. It seemed that everything came due and once, and assignments and due dates kept changing last minutes, which wasn’t making it easy to pace myself.

( ”Oz )

Okay everyone! Special, limited time offer! If you’re thinking of applying to the January 2008 voyage of the Scholar Ship - and I *highly* recommend it - I can get you a waiver on the application fee of $50. And I'll put in a good word for you too :)

Just comment on this entry with your email address and where you’re from, and I’ll send you the code to waive the fee. If you’ve been wavering on applying, I’ll just say that this voyage has had problems, it’s true, and it was to be expected with any new endeavour on this scale. However, I’ve also seen some of the changes coming up for the next voyage, and it looks like quite a lot of improvements have been made. I’ve had an amazing time so far, and there’s still three countries to go!

Also, as an added incentive, I’ve been told that there are still quite a few scholarships available, so definitely apply for those as well!

Good luck all!

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve written! I suppose that so many exciting things have been happening that I haven’t had time to update my journal. Now I’m going to have problems catching up!

( ”New )

Hello again from the Pacific Ocean, on the way to New Zealand!

On our first day in Tahiti we didn’t get to leave the ship until after noon, but that let us watch the islands appear in the morning as we sailed in. The water there is the most gorgeous shade of clear blue, and the islands are more rocky than I’d expected with rugged mountains overshadowing the cities on the coast. It was fantastic to see everyone onboard so excited and happy. I saw more smiles that day than I think I saw in the previous week! It was just a stressful time with midterms and essays due, so everyone was ready for a break... I certainly was.

Papeete was a bit different than I expected. I suppose I expected it to be a bit more like France, since it is a French territory, but it reminded more of Panama, without the creepy factor. It felt like a very safe city and everyone was so friendly. We docked right in the midst of everything too, which is really nice. It’s an easy walk to get anywhere... except the beach, of course, but I have no desire to go there anyway. Too restless after being on the ship for so long to want to just lay on the sand. Instead, I wandered around the city, shopping and seeing the sights. I didn’t buy much, as everything was so expensive! To buy a Happy Meal at McDonalds was $10US! Needless to say, my money went quickly. But I bought black pearls!!! Can't wait to show everyone, and I got a fairly good deal too.

The second day in Tahiti was Hallowe’en, and we had a party on the ship after departing. I was pleasantly surprised at some of the costumes people came up with! I was a black cat, which, while not very original, was at least unique on the ship. There were pumpkin carving and costume contests... but I left pretty early, around midnight, since I had a presentation in my class at 8:30 the next morning.

And now I’m busy again with classes, presentations and papers. All in all, it’s not too difficult. I am looking forward to arriving in New Zealand, since our AFP there actually looks pretty interesting. We’re getting lectures from some pretty well-known people in academia. And on some interesting topics too, mostly New Zealand’s relationship with the United States and the Rainbow Warrior Affair.

That’s about it for now! Ciao.

I’m almost halfway through our now 13 day journey to Tahiti - we’ll be arriving midway through October 30th since we stopped at the Galapagos Islands to evacuate another student - and there’s a lot more to do this time than when we crossed the Atlantic! If it’s not school assignments, studying for exams and writing essays, then it’s club meetings, or working a shift in the Port Programs office, or one of the many parties that seem to almost spontaneously appear every night. Overall, I’m enjoying the activity. It’ll be good to keep busy now that our free internet is gone for the rest of the voyage. :(

Anyway, this is just a quick update. My days are pretty full, although I finally saw the movie Rent last night, for the first time, and it was fantastic! I’ll be watching another movie tonight, but this one is for my International Political Economy class, so I’m sure it won’t be nearly as entertaining. We have two free days coming up, and I’m really looking forward to a real weekend for once, and the opportunity to catch up on some of my readings.

Well, not the most entertaining post, but hopefully I’ll have access to internet in Tahiti and will be able to update from there. Yay for the beach!!!

Well, I’m back from my traveling in Ecuador. That was definitely something I had never done before, just packing a backpack and going wherever without any certain plans. It was actually exhilarating, especially after the overscheduling and guided tours that are often part of the Scholar Ship routine. I’ve realized that I *really* don’t like guides, and you seem to get to know a city/country much better when you can travel it on your own.

So, the last week I went backpacking with Moriah and Julie. We got off the ship almost as soon as it was possible... after a bit of a wait, of course, while everything was straightened out with immigration. Then we spent only a short time in Guayaquil, enough to pick up some snacks at the supermarket, before getting on a bus to Riobamba. That was a 6 hour ride, so we were pretty exhausted by the time we got to the city and the sun was already setting. We found a hostel for the night, and the next morning explored the market and some of the shops around the city center.

However, we quickly moved on to Banos where we figured there would be more to do. Banos is about an hour and a half from Riobamba, in a valley between several mountains and an active volcano in Ecuador’s highlands. It is a fantastic little town, very tourist and adventure-oriented, with lots to do. We went on a jungle tour one day, which involved probably close to five or six hours of hiking through the rainforest. Picture leaves bigger than your head, vines that masquerade as trees, gigantic insects, and torrential downpours - that’s a rainforest! It was actually a lot of fun, even though at one point our guide was definitely lost, as he had taken us on a path that hadn’t been used in three years - naturally it was completely grown over, and he had to use his machete to chop down plants and trees that were in our way. We had to use a vine to swing over ravines and even climbed an almost completely vertical hill after the rain. That I had the hardest time with - every time I grabbed a plant to pull myself up, I seemed to grab one with thorns! Needless to say, we were all covered in mud, soaking wet and with lots of aches and cuts after that day.

We also rented some horses for a day to ride around in the mountains. I was doing fine at first, even though my horse loved to gallop ahead of all the others. Then when I dismounted to change horses with my guide - as his was too slow - I fell and badly twisted my knee. The guide thought it might be fractured at first, and I ended up going back to the hostel early, since I couldn’t even walk because of the pain. Luckily, one of our roommates in the hostel was a doctor who grew up in California and was volunteering at the hospital in Banos. He recommended some ointments to put on my knee and got me crutches to use. Fortunately, I was not seriously injured, and just walked with a limp for the next few days, but I’m back to normal now!

We also did a lot of shopping in Banos. Ecuador has a lot of amazing textiles and jewelry and other products made from local plants and animals. There were some fascinating things, and I definitely had to stop myself from buying too much - prices were amazing as compared to what these things would be worth in North America. As it was, we had an interesting time trying to fit everything we bought into bags to bring back on the bus with us.

Ecuador really was a great country to visit. I’ve now seen an active volcano spitting out ash - although none of my pictures turned out because of the heavy cloud cover - and I’ve been up over 2,500 meters above sea level! I’ve seen guinea pigs being roasted over a spit at a restaurant - although I definitely didn’t eat them! - and I stood in a basket hanging from a zipline to cross a ravine over a waterfall. Some really amazing experiences. Everyone else on the ship seemed to have a great time too, especially those who went to the Galapagos Islands. I wish I could have gone, but it was a little too expensive for me. But those who did go say that it was worth every penny of the $1,600.

Anyway, I suppose that’s it for now. I’m trying to catch up on readings and studying for the 12 days at sea to Tahiti. Hopefully I’ll be able to post again soon!

Wow, looking back on my last entry, it was definitely written on a down day. Things have gotten better since then - Panama was very interesting, and I didn’t have an Academic Field Program, which made it even better as I wasn’t scheduled every single day. I didn’t have any definite travel plans like many of the other students on the ship, but I had a great time just the same. One day I spent touring Panama City, the museums and the ruins of the old city. I shopped a bit, of course!! There were some great malls and markets where clothes were very inexpensive. One shirt, however, I gave to my roommate since it didn’t fit me very well. I also took a canoe trip up the Chagres River and got to swim under a waterfall! And did some touring around one of the cloud forests. Overall, not a terribly exciting week, but I got to see quite a bit of the country.

Thanksgiving was this past weekend, and I hope all of you back home in Canada appreciate the amazing meals that I’m sure you ate!! The Canadians onboard came together to celebrate: I believe there are 9 students (all girls) and 5 members of staff. We sat together at dinner - at which they served turkey, but nothing else related to Thanksgiving - and shared a bottle of champagne. I believe that most of the others on the ship were a bit bemused by our enthusiasm, but this has been the first Canadian holiday since we boarded, and it’s usually the first time students get to go home while away at university. I know there were a few who were a bit homesick. The funniest part was being asked by other nationalities what our Thanksgiving traditions were. The only response any of us had was to spend time with family and to eat! :)

I’m looking forward to crossing the equator tonight and landing in Ecuador in two days. I don’t really have anything planned for there either, but a few other girls and I are going to stick together and see what happens. Ecuador seems to be very nature and tourist-oriented. We got recommendations from one of the study-abroad advisors that are onboard right now as to some small towns that are interesting, since Guayaquil is mostly an industrial city. So I’ll probably be out of touch for that week.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who’s contacted me in the last few days!! I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, and hope everything is going well!

I cannot wait to get off of this ship! Thirteen days at sea may not seem like a lot, but the days get really long when you have no options to leave the ship and go onto land. I’m also glad that I will not have to participate in an Academic Field Program in Panama, as I think that I need some time to myself and away from certain other people on board. Not that there’s anyone in particular, but it’s difficult being cooped up with such a small group of people all day every day. I think that some people are also getting a bit disillusioned with the program, as it’s not exactly what they expected. I have to say that I’m not terribly impressed. The ship is nice, and the countries amazing, of course, but it seems like there are a lot of little details that get overlooked, so that everyone is scrambling at the last minute to make things happen. You also have to read the descriptions of the shore excursions very carefully, as some of them are a little overpriced for what you end up getting. Personally, I enjoy wandering the country on my own more than being in a group for a guided tour.

I’m not regretting this experience at all. I would never have been able to visit all these places on my own, and I’m seeing some amazing things. We’re going through the Panama Canal right now! But classes could be better and more related to what we do in port, and the AFPs could definitely be more interesting. The handholding and virtual babysitting is getting annoying too. Okay, let’s be honest - it was annoying from the very beginning. I haven’t been treated like I was five years old in a very long time, and it’s driving me insane!

Alright, I hate that this post is turning into a lot of complaining, but guess I just needed to get some things off my chest. I truly believe that by the next voyage, the vast majority of these problems will be solved and the trips will run much more smoothly. However, that doesn’t help those of us on the ship now.

At the very least, I’m looking forward to my free time in Panama - I’ve seen pictures of some of the local art, and I can’t wait to buy some! Also, I got a job working with the Port Programs group, who are amazing. That will give me some extra money, hopefully for in Australia next semester, and also give me some experience with the logistics involved in a program like this. I won’t start regular hours until after we leave Ecuador, but I’ve already been running little errands for them and taking over the Shore Ex desk for a bit when necessary.

Please email me! I’m getting desperate for news from home!

P.S. Lindsay, you asked about guys.... well, sorry to tell you that there are no prospects so far. Since girls are in the majority on our trip, the good-looking and ‘popular’ boys are constantly surrounded by the guy-crazy girls. It’s not pretty! lol... I’ll let you know if that changes though! :P
Ciao all...

Okay, so I know that this is supposed to be school, but the last few days have felt much more like summer vacation. We’re crossing the Atlantic now, and so have four days of classes, then one free day. Today’s our day off, and although I got up early as I usually do, nothing much is getting accomplished. I spent the morning and the first part of the afternoon laying on deck by the pool with my iPod and ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. That seems to be the gathering place for most of the students - especially since the days are so beautiful. Very hot, but with a gorgeous sea breeze. So far I’m loving the Atlantic!

The rumour is that we’re going to stop in Puerto Rico in the next few days, but I don’t know how accurate that is. They may need to evacuate someone for medical reasons - which would be the third person so far. No one is contagious, but we’ve been getting some strange sicknesses on board for some reason.

Soon I’ll be going to a lecture by one of the visiting academics on the ship. We have a few on board right now - one is part of the United Nations, and another advises large worldwide corporations. They’re both fascinating to listen to.

There will probably be another party or two tonight. Since we’re all stuck on the ship until Panama, we make our own fun :) and the Student Center always has music blaring in the evenings - or you can usually find a few groups partying in the cabins. I don’t think I’ll be bored as much now that the social life and clubs have really started. Plus, I got a bunch of Family Guy episodes to watch, so that will keep me occupied if I really get bored. But I really love reading emails from everyone... hint, hint! :)

Anyway, that’s about it for now. I’m about to head up to the soccer tournament - I’m curious to see how they’re going to go about it on a ship.

BTW... Happy Birthday, Caitlin!!