Monday, September 7, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Power, Privilege and Pre-port parties
Being a staff member on Semester At Sea gives us (some, all-be-it limited) power. With power comes privilege, and one of those privileges is the faculty staff pre-port party. First some back story, in an effort to encourage students to use the most of their time in port, SAS does not do student beverage service (formerly known as pub nights) on the evening preceding arrival in a port (providing one of the few nights that the LLCs can all gather together. The faculty and staff however have both happy hour and evening beverage service in our lounge every night, even while in port!
A returning faculty member, Agustin, mentioned previously, told us that it is tradition to have a fac/staff pre-port party following the logistical pre-port meeting. He said the evenings usually go on far longer than the bar tender is serving and thus we go to our cabins and bring up our own beverages at that point. The disco lights are on and the music is more lively than usual. Being the young group of the staff the Living Learning Coordinators wanted to make sure our presence was known.
Boy did we let our presence known! Many of us quickly found our way to the lounge after the logistical meeting and were ready to celebrate our successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and completion of the first ‘week’ of classes. It started off harmless, a few people at the bar, and pockets of people at tables here and there. As we had high winds last night, the typically open public area on deck 7 outside the fac/staff lounge was closed for safety reasons. At one point, allegedly brought in by a faculty member, four students came in to see the full moon and the beautiful reflection on the water. A hush fell over the crowd as we realized our sanctuary had been infiltrated. Luckily the students were quickly whisked away, our heart rates returned to normal and peace and joy were restored to our little fac/staff village.
The drinks continued and Agustin went to get his iPod to play some great Spanish music to ‘set the mood’ for our days ahead. It didn’t take long for the dancing to begin and sure enough, all but one of the remaining faculty members, besides Agustin of course retreated to their cabins. Grant soon took it upon himself to figure out how to use the fog machine and the fun continued. The last call bell rang; we placed our final orders and continued to dance through the evening as we made our final stretch to Spain. Sure enough, a few choice beverages were brought up from some of our cabins and the celebration stretched into the early morning hours.
We all had moments of appreciation for the opportunity to work for SAS, to have such a fun group or colleagues, and excitement for the first port tomorrow. As I returned to my cabin where my pillow was in a pool of moonlight that was so perfect it could have been a lighting set up on stage, I knew the 6:30am call for sunrise would come earlier that I would like. It was however entirely worth it.
Cheers,
P
A returning faculty member, Agustin, mentioned previously, told us that it is tradition to have a fac/staff pre-port party following the logistical pre-port meeting. He said the evenings usually go on far longer than the bar tender is serving and thus we go to our cabins and bring up our own beverages at that point. The disco lights are on and the music is more lively than usual. Being the young group of the staff the Living Learning Coordinators wanted to make sure our presence was known.
Boy did we let our presence known! Many of us quickly found our way to the lounge after the logistical meeting and were ready to celebrate our successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean and completion of the first ‘week’ of classes. It started off harmless, a few people at the bar, and pockets of people at tables here and there. As we had high winds last night, the typically open public area on deck 7 outside the fac/staff lounge was closed for safety reasons. At one point, allegedly brought in by a faculty member, four students came in to see the full moon and the beautiful reflection on the water. A hush fell over the crowd as we realized our sanctuary had been infiltrated. Luckily the students were quickly whisked away, our heart rates returned to normal and peace and joy were restored to our little fac/staff village.
The drinks continued and Agustin went to get his iPod to play some great Spanish music to ‘set the mood’ for our days ahead. It didn’t take long for the dancing to begin and sure enough, all but one of the remaining faculty members, besides Agustin of course retreated to their cabins. Grant soon took it upon himself to figure out how to use the fog machine and the fun continued. The last call bell rang; we placed our final orders and continued to dance through the evening as we made our final stretch to Spain. Sure enough, a few choice beverages were brought up from some of our cabins and the celebration stretched into the early morning hours.
We all had moments of appreciation for the opportunity to work for SAS, to have such a fun group or colleagues, and excitement for the first port tomorrow. As I returned to my cabin where my pillow was in a pool of moonlight that was so perfect it could have been a lighting set up on stage, I knew the 6:30am call for sunrise would come earlier that I would like. It was however entirely worth it.
Cheers,
P
Friday, September 4, 2009
Cultural Pre-port: Cadiz
The two nights prior to each port the entire shipboard community is encouraged to squeeze into the Union and have a crash course on the culture of the country/port city we will soon experience first had. I’ll do my best to share some of the highlights of each pre-port.
Cadiz, Spain
- Even vegetarians should try the ham.
- If you meet someone you are interested in, don’t try to shake his or her hand, do the double kiss.
- If you want to look like a tourist, wear white socks with sandals.
One of our students from Spain shared this valuable piece of info - In Spain you go stay out until 5:00, 6:00, even 7:00 in the morning, drink to have fun, don’t drink to get drunk, you won’t last.
One of the professors from Spain, Agustin and his American wife Tammy did a great activity of Spain vs. US stereotypes. Where he encouraged the students to shout out different stereotypes they have heard of Spain, he and his wife could address them and then he would share a stereotype of Americans from the Spain perspective. A few of the best were that all young US men wear baseball caps and adult men where cowboy hats. Another was that the most important thing in the US is football and beer (many of our students seemed to agree with this by the applause he received). On the flip side, our students said in regards to Spain, ‘they have crazy hairstyles’ Agustin said ‘yes, you’ll see a lot of mullets, I don’t get it.’ Then the best laugh of the night was when a student said “All the men from Spain are really attractive” and I’m sure winning big points, Tammy quickly grabbed the microphone from Agustin’s hand and said “Yes, yes they are”
Cadiz, Spain
- Even vegetarians should try the ham.
- If you meet someone you are interested in, don’t try to shake his or her hand, do the double kiss.
- If you want to look like a tourist, wear white socks with sandals.
One of our students from Spain shared this valuable piece of info - In Spain you go stay out until 5:00, 6:00, even 7:00 in the morning, drink to have fun, don’t drink to get drunk, you won’t last.
One of the professors from Spain, Agustin and his American wife Tammy did a great activity of Spain vs. US stereotypes. Where he encouraged the students to shout out different stereotypes they have heard of Spain, he and his wife could address them and then he would share a stereotype of Americans from the Spain perspective. A few of the best were that all young US men wear baseball caps and adult men where cowboy hats. Another was that the most important thing in the US is football and beer (many of our students seemed to agree with this by the applause he received). On the flip side, our students said in regards to Spain, ‘they have crazy hairstyles’ Agustin said ‘yes, you’ll see a lot of mullets, I don’t get it.’ Then the best laugh of the night was when a student said “All the men from Spain are really attractive” and I’m sure winning big points, Tammy quickly grabbed the microphone from Agustin’s hand and said “Yes, yes they are”
Running on the ocean
After an admittedly lazy running summer I started running again yesterday. The ship’s cardio room is pretty small and only had two treadmills that are constantly in use and the ship does not have a way to run a full loop on the ship like many larger cruise ships. After feeling a little cooped up and pretty lazy I decided to try running back and forth on the 7th deck outside the faculty staff lounge. Having been running on the beach for the last 5 years I thought that I really had it made, but this is even better. It is amazing to be running and see the ocean spreading out all around you for as far as the eye can see.
The ocean breeze potentially giving the faculty and staff in the lounge a view more than they had anticipated as it tosses my shirt and running shorts about, the ships tipping giving me a bit of an incline and the sunshine giving me a healthy dose of vitamin D. I’m going to try and have a friend take a few pictures as I run back and forth. I think it might become one of my favorite things. Also, I usually go around 4:30 thus keeping me out of the staff bar for happy hour – that’s a good thing.
The ocean breeze potentially giving the faculty and staff in the lounge a view more than they had anticipated as it tosses my shirt and running shorts about, the ships tipping giving me a bit of an incline and the sunshine giving me a healthy dose of vitamin D. I’m going to try and have a friend take a few pictures as I run back and forth. I think it might become one of my favorite things. Also, I usually go around 4:30 thus keeping me out of the staff bar for happy hour – that’s a good thing.
"Attention Ships Passengers, Attention Ships Passengers"
A neat part of the SAS shipboard experience is the bridge tour. In a relatively small group of 15 people we are taken into the back stage area of the Union and then via key pad entry (which was not nearly as impressive as I had first thought when I realized that the magical sound that occurred when the crew member entered the code was actually just Ana turning on her annoying loud camera) we are taken into the Bridge – the main control station for the ship. As we walked in the first thing we noticed was that on one was sitting at the Captain’s chair. Should we be concerned?
The crew member told us all about the systems, from the high tech to the very low tech. He asked what the most important piece of equipment in the room is and being a smart ass of course I said the coffee maker. Obviously there is THE Captain but the ship has a crew of 30 who work the bridge from the mappers (probably not the technical name) to the mechanical guys. He showed us the satellite phones, the GPS, the radars, the ship-to-ship instant messenger type thing, and the night vision capabilities.
As I had heard before, he told us that our ship is the fasted ship of its kind in the world. A wife of a faculty member asked about what sort of defense the ship has against pirates (ARRRRR!) and the crew member said with a smile and the push of a button on the computer showing four huge engines (only one of which is usually used) ‘we would just outrun them’. He told us that if we went full speed we would have made it from Halifax to Cadiz in 4 days instead of the 7 we are taking to allow time for classes. However in our last days of travel the Captain will ‘let it rip’ and push to all 4 engines towards San Diego so we can experience it. A few of my co workers were joking today that the Captain would come on and in his awesome British announcer voice say “Attention ship’s passengers, attention ships passengers. HOLD ON”
The crew member told us all about the systems, from the high tech to the very low tech. He asked what the most important piece of equipment in the room is and being a smart ass of course I said the coffee maker. Obviously there is THE Captain but the ship has a crew of 30 who work the bridge from the mappers (probably not the technical name) to the mechanical guys. He showed us the satellite phones, the GPS, the radars, the ship-to-ship instant messenger type thing, and the night vision capabilities.
As I had heard before, he told us that our ship is the fasted ship of its kind in the world. A wife of a faculty member asked about what sort of defense the ship has against pirates (ARRRRR!) and the crew member said with a smile and the push of a button on the computer showing four huge engines (only one of which is usually used) ‘we would just outrun them’. He told us that if we went full speed we would have made it from Halifax to Cadiz in 4 days instead of the 7 we are taking to allow time for classes. However in our last days of travel the Captain will ‘let it rip’ and push to all 4 engines towards San Diego so we can experience it. A few of my co workers were joking today that the Captain would come on and in his awesome British announcer voice say “Attention ship’s passengers, attention ships passengers. HOLD ON”
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rocking the boat and chasing the clock.
Our first day at sea with the students had a few rocky moments. The sea was not rough at all by seasoned sailors standards but there were multiple times while looking out my window all I saw was water, then sky, then water, then sky, then water, then…well you get the point. My dresser drawers flew open and the juice on my shelf slid into the catch bar (those ship engineers really knew what they were doing). It was as if I was riding one of the big pendulum pirate ship rides at the fair.
It’s a strange enough to loose an hour each spring but for the past three days in a row we have been loosing one hour each night. Tonight the captain has given us a break but only for tonight, tomorrow and the day after its back to the 23 hour days. However after Cadiz we will gain two hours in one evening before reaching Ghana, only to lose an hour for two nights in a row when we leave. It makes my head spin and I can’t even imagine trying to figure out what time it is now back in LA.
Cheers, P
It’s a strange enough to loose an hour each spring but for the past three days in a row we have been loosing one hour each night. Tonight the captain has given us a break but only for tonight, tomorrow and the day after its back to the 23 hour days. However after Cadiz we will gain two hours in one evening before reaching Ghana, only to lose an hour for two nights in a row when we leave. It makes my head spin and I can’t even imagine trying to figure out what time it is now back in LA.
Cheers, P
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
What a week!
Greetings from the MV Explorer sailing through the Atlantic Ocean.
The past week has flown by but somehow it seems as though I have been on the ship far longer than a week. When I last wrote I was about to leave my hotel to board. So lets begin. Last Monday Eddie and Bridget, who shared the hotel room with me, had so much stuff they took a cab to the port. Grant and I packed very light in comparison so being stubborn and cheap we both chose to walk the 8 blocks or so. I found my way to my cabin on the 2nd deck and quickly began to unpack. My porthole was larger than I had expected it to be and the circular window indeed gave it a fun nautical feel. There is a heavy steal plate that can be closed in the event of rough waters. We began our ship orientation a few hours later which included introduction of the Ship captains as well as introductions of the executive dean, academic dean, dean of students (my supervisor) and the rest of the faculty and staff. Our training is organized by main office staff who all work in Charlottesville VA, so they will sail with us to Halifax. After our first meeting we all made our way up to the 7th deck for our welcome reception. Our lounge is a great space and I know that I will very much appreciate our hideaway.
Before we could set sail we had our first lifeboat drill. Being the only person on the 2nd deck at that time, I made it to my muster station and realized that I had an entire lifeboat to myself. I like those odds. Soon after we gently pushed away from the port of Norfolk and passing over the Chesapeake Bridge we set off for the Pacific Ocean. The ship is impressively stable while docked at port and gave many of us a false sense of stability so it was not long before we were bumping into walls and grabbing for handrails while we tried to develop our sea legs. The sky quickly darkened turning into night and we soon lost sight of the lights on land bringing an end to our first day. As I got into bed and shut off the light I realized another perk of being on the bottom deck. The moonlight reflects off the white crashing waves and creates a sort of light show on my ceiling. An ever-changing wave of light lulled me to sleep that night as thoughts of the journey spun through my head.
The ships medical team and captain are very concerned with the likelihood of a swine flu outbreak on the ship. As we have much lower numbers, nearly 200 lower than usual we have a number of empty rooms. SO after many conversations between the admin team and the main officer in VA, they decided that the second deck should be cleared and held for quarantine. As a result, I packed up and moved up to the 4th deck and my students were dispersed between the various spaces on the 3rd and 4th deck. Upgrade!
Training is now a blur and it already seems like weeks ago when we arrived to bagpipes in Halifax and our students boarded. The LLC (Living Learning Coordinators) team is the catchall crew. Because of this I have discovered a potential career should I leave student affairs. Working for the Canadian TSA was an experience to say the least. Understandably students’ baggage went through scanners and one of my favorite co-workers Ana and I worked at the carry on scanner. With direction of Rhonda and Jill, the official Canadian TSA staff (Hi R & J) Ana would ask the student to open their bag and show us the questionable item. The items in question include the usual; drugs, weapons, knives over three inches, open containers of liquid, and tape. Yes, tape. We only use magnets on the ship. 75% of our cabin is metal and the tape damages the walls. One of my favorite things to confiscate was curling irons and straightness that did not have an auto shut off switch. While Ana and I were the third round of inspections we still found quite a few, maybe two dozen to be exact. Additionally, students are not allowed to bring alcohol on the ship and staff and faculty can only bring on two bottles at each port, and we must be subtle in caring the items on. We found two students who must have gone to great lengths to replace 5 bottles of water in the middle of a case with vodka. Before this discovery our ship security would open one or two bottles per case, and not delicately either. The guy would rip the box or plastic right open and pull out a few bottles, open them, smell them, even take a sip in a few case. Once we found vodka twice we went on red alert. We opened EVERY bottled beverage that was brought to the ship. It was a mess but ultimately I think it will make our life easier, at least for this first crossing.
Following a second lifeboat drill, for which I received numerous complements on my ‘serious voice’ instructing students, staff and faculty in my new muster station to remain quiet the entire time, the MV Explorer blasted it horns three times signaling its departure. And with that, the 100th voyage was underway. The students had two long days of orientation and have now had two days of classes. We arrive in Cadiz, Spain on Saturday and then I’ll be heading to Seville with one of the other LLCs, Grant for a nice student free trip.
Some pictures will be posted soon.
Cheers,
P
The past week has flown by but somehow it seems as though I have been on the ship far longer than a week. When I last wrote I was about to leave my hotel to board. So lets begin. Last Monday Eddie and Bridget, who shared the hotel room with me, had so much stuff they took a cab to the port. Grant and I packed very light in comparison so being stubborn and cheap we both chose to walk the 8 blocks or so. I found my way to my cabin on the 2nd deck and quickly began to unpack. My porthole was larger than I had expected it to be and the circular window indeed gave it a fun nautical feel. There is a heavy steal plate that can be closed in the event of rough waters. We began our ship orientation a few hours later which included introduction of the Ship captains as well as introductions of the executive dean, academic dean, dean of students (my supervisor) and the rest of the faculty and staff. Our training is organized by main office staff who all work in Charlottesville VA, so they will sail with us to Halifax. After our first meeting we all made our way up to the 7th deck for our welcome reception. Our lounge is a great space and I know that I will very much appreciate our hideaway.
Before we could set sail we had our first lifeboat drill. Being the only person on the 2nd deck at that time, I made it to my muster station and realized that I had an entire lifeboat to myself. I like those odds. Soon after we gently pushed away from the port of Norfolk and passing over the Chesapeake Bridge we set off for the Pacific Ocean. The ship is impressively stable while docked at port and gave many of us a false sense of stability so it was not long before we were bumping into walls and grabbing for handrails while we tried to develop our sea legs. The sky quickly darkened turning into night and we soon lost sight of the lights on land bringing an end to our first day. As I got into bed and shut off the light I realized another perk of being on the bottom deck. The moonlight reflects off the white crashing waves and creates a sort of light show on my ceiling. An ever-changing wave of light lulled me to sleep that night as thoughts of the journey spun through my head.
The ships medical team and captain are very concerned with the likelihood of a swine flu outbreak on the ship. As we have much lower numbers, nearly 200 lower than usual we have a number of empty rooms. SO after many conversations between the admin team and the main officer in VA, they decided that the second deck should be cleared and held for quarantine. As a result, I packed up and moved up to the 4th deck and my students were dispersed between the various spaces on the 3rd and 4th deck. Upgrade!
Training is now a blur and it already seems like weeks ago when we arrived to bagpipes in Halifax and our students boarded. The LLC (Living Learning Coordinators) team is the catchall crew. Because of this I have discovered a potential career should I leave student affairs. Working for the Canadian TSA was an experience to say the least. Understandably students’ baggage went through scanners and one of my favorite co-workers Ana and I worked at the carry on scanner. With direction of Rhonda and Jill, the official Canadian TSA staff (Hi R & J) Ana would ask the student to open their bag and show us the questionable item. The items in question include the usual; drugs, weapons, knives over three inches, open containers of liquid, and tape. Yes, tape. We only use magnets on the ship. 75% of our cabin is metal and the tape damages the walls. One of my favorite things to confiscate was curling irons and straightness that did not have an auto shut off switch. While Ana and I were the third round of inspections we still found quite a few, maybe two dozen to be exact. Additionally, students are not allowed to bring alcohol on the ship and staff and faculty can only bring on two bottles at each port, and we must be subtle in caring the items on. We found two students who must have gone to great lengths to replace 5 bottles of water in the middle of a case with vodka. Before this discovery our ship security would open one or two bottles per case, and not delicately either. The guy would rip the box or plastic right open and pull out a few bottles, open them, smell them, even take a sip in a few case. Once we found vodka twice we went on red alert. We opened EVERY bottled beverage that was brought to the ship. It was a mess but ultimately I think it will make our life easier, at least for this first crossing.
Following a second lifeboat drill, for which I received numerous complements on my ‘serious voice’ instructing students, staff and faculty in my new muster station to remain quiet the entire time, the MV Explorer blasted it horns three times signaling its departure. And with that, the 100th voyage was underway. The students had two long days of orientation and have now had two days of classes. We arrive in Cadiz, Spain on Saturday and then I’ll be heading to Seville with one of the other LLCs, Grant for a nice student free trip.
Some pictures will be posted soon.
Cheers,
P
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