it is 1:28 am and I am back in my room. I was out on deck 7 for a bit after our pre-port meeting. That meeting stretched for hoursssssss. There was a cool presentation from a student who was onboard with us from Dominica State College about Dominica. That was great because I am signed up for a community service based project with the students from her school. I wonder if she'll be the main person. Anyhow, there was a lot of history and stuff to be learned. It was fascinating of course because many of us were clueless and people were still pronouncing Dominica as "Doe-men-eh-ca." You know like Dominican Republic. But obviously it is not the same pronunciation and Dom-eh-nee-ka holds a level of meaning for its people. Had another great conversation with Malachi regarding deaths and funerals - pretty random I guess. But one of our fellow SAS'er just got the news about the passing of his father and left yesterday. He said he would reconvene sometime later in the voyage. We also got to talking about sleep quality while on the ship… and that lead to sleep apnea. Which led to the conversation of insurance and how it is of the top three things not covered (AIDS, Diabetes type 1 and Sleep apnea since most people do not use the device once prescribed). Prior to that conversation, I had went to the Main Dining Hall for the late night snacks they now have available, which are essentially old desserts from dinner that were leftover. Met 2 guys I've been running into from Moorehouse (daniel and Ian)  and one girl from Atlanta Tech (Kayla). All great people and it was refreshing to hear their stories and celebrate the fact that we were a part of the diversity percentage. Spent quite a bit of time talking to them and eventually we moved the conversation up near the pool and pool bar. I hadddd to order a "large" vanilla ice-cream cone… It was $2.50 which isn't bad at all, but I have to suppress these urges for sweet sweet junk food ;/ Found out a bit about Kayla's situation and made me think about the one I have with my folks. It's funny how the oppression or adversity you experience from those you would like to support aids in shaping you into the most phenomenal individual--ever. I gotta say, it granted me the opportunity to write some pretty amazing essays so in retrospect, I suppose I am grateful for the life experiences whether wanted or forced upon my shoulders. I have accomplished some pretty awesome things and have collected (haha) or accumulated a host of lifelong friends and support system. But moving forward (since I am tired and we are arriving in Rosseau, Dominica at 8am!! But my alarm is set for 7:15 because I gotta get that breakfast in…whoohoo! haha. My meeting with my boss went well as usual. I brought up the idea for our Sea meetings regarding Long Distance relationships. Semester at Sea has been synonymous with being the reason for breakups whether during or post the voyage. It generated a lot of conversations among students and there was a discussion page dedicated to it on our Spring 2011 SAS Facebook group. Years or length of relationships prior to this expedition seem to pale in comparison to the amount of change that occurs once one has taken this journey. Apparently, we will outgrow the ones we love and/or become so attuned to our needs we will desire more and will be comfortable at that point with going forth towards what we deserve. Not a bad thing, but also not an easy position to be in…. Okay… gotta get some sleep!!! I am free tomorrow to explore Rosseau with any friends who aren't doing anything. I have my service on Sunday. The sucky thing is everyone is doing mostly cool watery stuff in Dominica. They are snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, scuba diving, water tubing and or kayaking. Or combo of them all… I unfortunately have not learned to swim… okay, let's correct that. On a number of occasions I was taught with others how to swim… I just repetitively failed to comprehend or at least command my body how to mobilize! I can't seem to synchronize my legs and freaking, arms!!!! I end up looking like a drowning puppy. I can float pretty darn well and I will continue to tell that to people. If I could be trusted to float, I could follow through. But with the high tides and currents that we will encounter, it made no sense to jeopardize my life (obviously). Today was the first day of my three other classes: Global Studies, International Perspectives on Family Violence and Social Justice and Altruism. The first one we talked about the importance of maps and the propaganda that can be involved depending on the intention of the mapmaker. The second we defined and had a rather interesting discussion on the definition of maltreatment, child abuse, domestic and family violence. The last was engaging on all levels: the professor was enthusiastic and very personable. He also said a lot of stuff like it is his job and his motive to make us cry. He wants to shake us up to our very core and redirect our self-absorbed ways until we can't think, breathe or sleep regarding anything else. Pretty profound session, very amazing man. I am pumped! Let's do this class… I - cant- keep- my - eyes- open- night world!

It is Saturday, 9ish am and I am sitting in one of the very comfortable arm chairs waiting for my class to start. Guess what? Last night I wrote a very detailed blog outlining what happened on Wednesday January 12th-yesterday, Friday January 14th. I didn't think to save it or copy it and stupid email timed out when I tried to send it to my blog address :( I could not sit still and rewrite hours of writing. Actually I wanted to hurt somebody haha, so instead, I took a walk. Ended up hanging out in Malachi and Kyle's room for a bit. It was a great destressor although both of them kinda gave me the "duh" face haha. I had a blonde moment with that blog, I definitely won't be doing what I did yesterday everrr again. I haven't been keeping up with as I should so that's what sucked about finally doing so on my down time. Either way, it was a lesson learned. Stayed in their room talking for a few hours. We were actually in limbo because the ship had made a stop in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Unfortunately it was just to refuel since we will be sailing across the seas. The view at night was spectacular but during the day would have been better for pictures. It's interesting that the minute San Juan came into sight, we were immersed with sounds. There were frogs croaking and faint sounds of music being played in the city. It was definitely a tease being so close but yet so far since we were confined to the ship and it was essentially turned off. We or I should say those who had their cell phones on were able to make calls again. Everywhere I turned people were on the phone! i walked into my room earlier to my roommate crooning on the phone with her boyfriend so I definitely gave her the space she needed and about-faced. haha. One of my friends Megan asked if I was going to call my parents or anyone special and I had to catch myself. :( Womp womp. Taking this note in a different direction: breakfast is by far one of the better meals of the day. I seriously get sick when I think of skipping it because lunch and dinner are hit and misses. Although the breakfast I just had more or less consisted of a croissant, mixed fruit (I picked out everything but the watermelons and pineapples haha) and home fries or potato wedges. I didn't mention the eggs because while they looked like eggs, they didn't taste like eggs hahaha. I am 97% certain they are powder based product and the gooey, unnatural texture/taste confirms this theory. I prefer the omelet that they have every now and then because it hides the taste and discontinuity of the meat and "egg". Just walked into the Union for my first class of today. It is the mandated Global Studies. Everyone on the ship is enrolled in this class, but we are split into A or B days. I am stuck in class on Saturday but iI'll tack the Mon, Wed, Sat schedule rather than Tues, Thurs, Sun for the bulk of my classes. So my A days will only consist of one class. Right now, we are listening to the professor speak. It is crowded in here so I can't imagine how testing and things will go. Those who have no seats are standing around awkwardly, trying to get out people's way. But let's go back to what happened these past three days while I am willing to think back!

Friday, January 14th- I slept until 11ish because I had no class until 4:15pm. That felt amazing and I almost forgot what sleeping in felt like. Definitely a luxury considering how exhausted we are on a daily basis. The other thing is the drowsiness and sleepiness that comes as a token of being on a ship in movement so… personally I don't mind it at all. The best sleep I have had thus far has been on ship rather than land.d I knock out the minute I lay my head down. Yesterday I was very focused on getting what I needed done. I completed my additional field trips form and submitted it to the Field Office. This was probably ineffective since I now heard that we will get our requests by lottery rather than first come first serve. Womp Womp. The forms weren't due until this upcoming tuesday by noon so I guess I didn't get rewarded for my speediness haha. I really hope I do get everything I wanted though but I guess, I guessssss I wouldn't be too bad off exploring without any preplanned activities. Hey, everything happens for a reason and part of the attitude to be learned during this trip is to go with the flow more often. I went to my first class which was Music and Cognition and it dually taught by a husband and wife. One is a specialist in Music, the other is a specialist in Psychology so the class will be taught in that fashion. I thought it was an interesting class based on the description listed in the course outlines, and after the first initial one, this suspicion was accurate. We were played 8 examples on the violin. We then had to discern whether or not it was considered "music." That raised a debate regarding the interpretation of music and what constituted as music. Then we had the psychology aspect in that we had an experiment. Had to close our eyes and listen to an audio clip, then we got to watch it, and then we watched it the third time to see if as a result of the explanation and visual + audio aid, our comprehension of the clip changed. This is a highly effective exercise and we got the point to be made very quickly. This was the same way we viewed music or how we tried to process music and sound. Then I met with Amy to brief on the night's second sea meeting. One of the students on our floor came up to us and inquired about changing her room (she had one roommate) to a single. She was adamant about this decision even when we explained to her that it was not possible. All roommate changes would be made after Brazil. She kept saying how she was willing to pay for the single and she didn't care how much it cost… made me quite aware of the discrepancy of folks on the ship. She clearly had money to throw away. The "issue" she mentioned was completely fixable. As a previous RA, I picked up that she wasn't someone comfortable with confrontation. I asked her if she had that conversation with her roommate regarding the usage of her things. She was willing to drop a ridiculous sum of money for a single, instead of letting her roommate know that she was not used to or okay with sharing her personal items. She didn't even know her roommate's name upon questioning. She said she didn't want it to become more uncomfortable if she brought up that issue but it became very clear that the discomfort resided in her and her alone because she hadn't clued her roommate in about her feelings. Interestingly enough, I am relatively cool with the girl she she was referring to. Hmm. But we gave her the advice, it's up to her to utilize it. We also mentioned that there was an opportunity to talk about it due to the roommate agreement which would be due by Saturday at noon. She didn't seem as sure but hey, from now to Brazil she has an option of either speaking  up or avoiding the situation and coming up missing up short. Sea meeting #2 was successful. We make a great team. This time we gave details regarding Sea Council and Sea Olympics for which we needed two reps for our sea. The "fish" handshake was a riot. It definitely went over well and I think the handshakes Amy comes up with, differentiates us from other seas and certainly the structure of their meetings. Did I mention that I caved in and brought a pack of Twizzlers??? Honestly, I was salivating over those things! I am so regretting the fact that I didn't pack any junk food. I have somewhat of a Twizzlers addiction and I should have brought a case of them for times like these! The tinny pack sold iat the Piano bar is $1.20 for like, 6 tiny ones. I am so desperate at this point I may end up swiping my card for a few more throughout the semester. I am going to try and keep it at a minimum though since I am not trying to spend more money than necessary--and certainly not on ship junk food. Much rather it be done on food, realllll food once we port =)

Thursday, January 13th was a down day for me. It was not only excruciatingly long since it was the official day after disembarkation, but it was a day that I crawled inside of myself. Looking back, I guess I was pretty depressed or something. I didn't even realize that I was also wearing all black. I wasn't in the mood to socialize or chat with any friends- actually idly best to avoid em to be honest. I also missed lunch, dinner and I can't remember if I went to breakfast…. I think I did since we had to begin orientation by 9am. Anyhow, orientation lasted darn near all day. While we had a few breaks in between, there was a ridiculous amount of speakers and presentations. I didn't mind the Captain's so much because his British accent was lovely ';) hahaha. Otherwise, we were alllllll drained and somewhat annoyed out the lengthiness of the whole ordeal and the structure of the day. It didn't seem to sink in that we were all catching up on sleep and that we had a long day of madness the day before. But the Dean of Students, Sunny Lee said it was the last long day like that, and that was comforting. We also had to do a writing assessment which freaked us out since we were hearing about it for the very first time. It was mandatory and a bunch of jokers decided to skip out n it only to hear announcements with their names to report to classroom #5 and take it. Hahaha. It was a series of multiple choice questions based on reading passages, some grammar and verb usage agreement questions and then a writing prompt. Overall, not worth stressing over and went smoothly. We were split by our last names so it was kinda weird taking this exam in the Garden style eating hall, but it was spacious and got the job done. After that, headed back to my room. Did a lot of laying in bed and listening to the SAS explorer music channel. The familiar songs of pop and r&B made my life back at home not as far away, so comfort was something I guess I was searching for. I also did a lot of thinking regarding the message the shipboard counselor  talked about. She said that for many of us we will embark on an emotional journey. Actually it was a no brainer for that part. The part I was dwelling on was the timeliness she mentioned on the timeliness of this undertaking. Some will experience emotional unraveling early on in the process, midway and towards the end. I don't feel that I have had the ultimate experience (obviously there will be many more moments like this) but I definitely had a day of reflection and gloominess. It was as though I was finally addressing any underlying or weird mixed emotions about the whole ordeal. I can't say that it has really sunk in yet, but slowly but surely I am getting there. The other thing was the feeling of ultimate separation. I am always in transition in that I am constantly searching for ways to shed my old skin and shine light on my authentic self. With that includes placing myself in "uncomfortable" but manageable situations. Most people avoid going outside their comfort zones but I thrive on it. I am constantly seeking ways to overcome my own insecurities and discomforts… it can be a basis of how I view myself, it can be a focal point for honing into my ability to work effectively as a future psychologist. Either way, it is a necessary and ever winding journey. Watching students pour onto the floor, trying to fin their rooms was amusement in itself. The vulnerability was present and the eagerness to be experts although they had just gotten there. This very same attitude is the one I naturally have in life… kinda like the standards for growing up in New York Even if you don't know, you walk and govern yourself as if you do. This isn't to say that ignorance is the way to go…. Anyhow, RA duties include lounging around and heaping any frazzled folks find their rooms. I was running on little sleep because I had went to sleep the night before (Wednesday) around wish am, and had to wake up for breakfast at 6 am. Then the check in orientation meeting for work-study was at 7 am. We got back from hanging out (first walked to Senor Frogs but they had a cover charge of $10 and no one wanted to pay it since we knew they were taking advantage of the fact that SAS was primary business + they hadn't charged the night before or any other time, so then we ended up at Bambou which had better music but wasn't made known to everyone so we ended up leaving early). Then got back and worked on the bulletin board and hung up the magnetic name tags for my 63 residents. Boarding the ship (for everyone else) would begin at 8 am and would last until 2 pm so we would be busy for sometime. It was cool seeing everyone from the towne now on the ship but it was again, not my day. We also had our first sea meeting in which we met with all of the residents on the sections designated as Red Sea. It was a brief one so it went by smoothly. We also had our common reading group which are also called cultural reflections groups. Basically, the entire shipboard is required to read two books: Three Cups of Tea and The Poisonwood Bible.

Wednesday, January 12th- we were scheduled to leave the Bahamas by 5pm, but due to the snow storms in the east coast the ship decided to hold off until 8pm. I am happy I didn't experience any delays, I didn't know if that would be the deciding factor in whether or not this voyage would be possible .Had to be a significant amount of students unable to get here for the ship to wait though so there is power in numbers. It was exciting to board the ship for the very first time. Some people had went to see the ship tours and all of that stuff.. but it was a brand-new experience in total for me. I have never been on a moving vessel nor have I mastered the art of swimming so talk about chances haha. It was just my luck that the line I presumed was the back was actually the front so I slipped unnoticed and became the 2nd to board the ship. I had left around 11ish from the towne because there wasn't any clarity about the time of our meeting and whether there were any changes. Turns out there was, and we would be boarding from 12-2pm. That's what I mean by luck because the line was humongous. Had I had a ton of luggage or traveled with parents and friends, my entrance into the line would have been noted and I would have had to go to the back haha. Gotta say, that one duffle suitcase was enough work for me. It was a nuisance. Absolutely a nuisance. It made no sense to take a taxi because the taxi's look like mini buses, and that was just too big for just me alone. And it would cost me about $5 when it was merely walking distance. The only downside was the humidity, corroded streets and bustling pedestrians, the hill , and just narrow alleys and sidewalks. My freaking suitcase kept getting stuck in the cracks on the sidewalk and flipping over. At times I was dragging it even though it has wheels I thought wouldn't fail me! I a spectacle. I must have made many people laugh. I was hot and bothered by the time I reached the terminal to board the ship. Maybe getting in second was the reward haha.. I was a little concerned about turning over my passport and yellow fever card in exchange for my SAS ID. But I realized that's the better position to be in because if they lost either of the two, it would be on them hahaha. They are currently holding them to get the other visas' we would need since we were only required to have the first 4 of the countries of which we would arrive to. I unpacked in my room and it was all dandy. I was happy I hadn't added anything else to my bags because it was "just enough." I literally put everything away from my suitcase so that was fantastic. In our orientation, we met our Work study supervisors who I was sitting next to the whole time haha, and found out that there was only me, her and another girl who will be working together this entire semester. So it'll be a intimate experience and an opportunity to have one-on-one conversations. We all clicked really well and Alyssa, the other work study student whose position is program assistant, clicked really well. We worked on the bulletin stuff in our new office. Actually, we laughed the whole time and had lots in common. We printed all that we needed for the bulletin and then headed back to the towne to hang out with folks. It was our "last night" in Bahamas so there were a few plans floating around. But then we returned to the ship to sleep

Yet Another Morning in the Bahamas!

The time is 9:44 am, the weather is horrifically humid. You know the type of "hot" where you take a shower, and then another, and then another. Yeah that's the weather thus far. I am sitting at the table with the girls and our breakfast and laptops (as usual haha). Today is the day! Today sometime around 10ish I will be leaving to head to the ship whoohoooooooooooo. I can't wait to get onboard. Funny story- we were talking about swimming and I confessed that I am not a swimmer. People have tried to teach me in the past... for whatever reason, I just can't synchronize my legs and arms to move forward lol. The good news is I am a darn good floater... don't know how relevant that will be (haha) but hey, every little bit counts. The other thing I am excited to learn is that economy isn't just a lower section of the ship... there is an economy section on each deck. I was originally placed in Deck 4 inside, so because I was bumped into economy... I am wondering if I will be in the economy section on Deck 4...

Funny story- Yesterday, I met Malachi for the first time. He was one of the people I corresponded not "a lot" but more than some of the other SAS'ers prior to this trip... It was sooo funny because everyone has been introducing themselves to others solely based on facebook stalking. There have been a number of hilariousssssss moments like that where someone has either come up to me or my friends or vice versa and say... hey you're ___. I remember you from facebook... or take Ritika who practically knows everyone's names (and a few facts about them... definitely a facebook stalker lol). She even told someone that they looked different from their profile picture but she was still able to make out it was them... hahaha. But everyone is guilty of it, I know I am. It's like even if you don't say anything, mentally you're putting names to faces and thinking of their emotional distresses aired on facebook... haha. So back to the Malachi thing, I just felt a tap on my shoulder and saw him smiling... and naturally you think "you recognized me out of all these folks" hahaha... Courtesy of facebook I tell ya! But he told us that he had literally just got here from the airport, dropped his things off... and then his roomie Kyle dragged him out to Senor Frogs... poor boy was tired... hadn't eaten, and after attempting to hold a conversation with us he fell asleep... twice! When we left, he was sleeping so we were sooo worried whether he would make it home okay since he was staying at the Wynd (across town somewhere) and his roomie was drunk... But fortunately, he is okay!

Tonight Tatiana is staying because Chance left... I won't be here since I am opting to spend the night on the ship... ahhhhhhhhh that's gonna be nutssss! Welps, gotta get freshened up and leave the lobby... I am coming back to the towne later because it's where I have free wifi and I want to upload all my pics I will have of the ship prior to the 12th. Later folks!

2nd Night in the Bahamas

The night is young! The night is young! But I am sooo tired. Haha. A very popular complaint from many of us. Today, we walked sooooooo much! We woke up to Ritika's alarm at 7:10 am. Chance was the first to hop in the shower, then Kayla or maybe first versa.

I am actually continuing this post at 1:19am.... when I first started it, the time was somewhere between 7 and 8 pm. I am beyond exhausted. I had a very packed morning, satisfactory but oh so tiring. After breakfast, we headed out not really sure what we would do today. We got sidetracked by a market across the street and ended up walking through it. There was amazing plait work and of course the usual touristy bags and souvenirs. It lead us on the other side of the road towards the ship and dock so we walked down the pier a bit. Finally concluded we would take the trek to Paradise Island. Now this was essentially on the opposite side of the island and much more tourist-y. Certainly explains why it was much more gorgeous haha and expensive. We had to walk for darn near 30 minutes and even cross a bridge. It was worth it though. We had a blast walking through the strip (Atlantis resort). There were overpriced elite shops and the influence of the American culture was prevalent. We made sure not to buy anything from those stores for the sake of gaining an authentic Bahamian experience. We tried the sample of the Original Recipe Rum cake. It was delish! This was after we left the casino - funny story. We walked up to one of the machines (none of us had gambling experience haha) one had a credit of .20 cents. We then walked over to the penny machines and with no success tried to play so Emily cashed it out. Definitely had to put in more than a penny or play .20 cents worth haha. We each played one of those "three in a row" kind of games for a $1. Emily won $1.75, I lost mines on the wheel of fortune, Ritika lost within one try and luckily found a dollar on the floor so she got hers back! After that we were (and I admit lol) thinking "Hmm..." I wonder if there are any machines sitting with something.... haha

But we left and headed back towards the hotel. We needed to make sure we caught everyone at a good time to finally sit down and split the monies amongst us. We took a detour towards some Market Paradiso spot just to find cold beverages. Ritika and I passed up the overpriced options and suffered it out on the longggggg 30 minute plus walk back to the hotel. Another cool thing was the very same place was like a ferry terminal and offered some cool packages for parasailing, taking a picture with dolphins and snorkeling. None of us were prepared to do any of the above and definitely did not have extra funds to spend on them. I feel like I have been here forever and have to remind myself that it is a transitory location and that I still have 12+ more countries to go to. This is only the beginning. The journey hasn't even began yet.

So we got into the hotel. We end up having a complicated ending to the money situation... one of the girls felt she was forced to sleep in.... (drumroll) the bathtub because she didn't feel comfortable crawling into bed last night. Mind you, she went out (and came back really late...she saw us getting ready for bed before she left) and we all stayed in so we were sleeping when she came back late night. She felt that everyone should (and we complied...eventually) pay $2 or in essence, she shouldn't have to pay as much because she did not sleep in a bed last night. As I pointed out to her... that was the dumbest thing I ever heard, and it was a poor choice on her part. We were all sleep, no one would have expected or required ANYONE to sleep in a bathtub...and lastly, we left room for her and the discomfort was more of her personal problem. Emily was the negotiator and we did as she asked, but I had to make sure she knew that we weren't pushovers. That was completely illegitimate and a poor excuse. Especially since she slept in the bed while we went to breakfast earlier this morning... It's early on in the trip so I guess taking the peaceful option wasn't such a bad idea haha... again, it was a red flag and we all called her out on her obvious and (immature) efforts to swindle us haha.

Chance got back and he made a face when we told him to add $2 to his portion of the fee. I and Ritika couldn't stop laughing. I guess the stupidity was sinking in about the whole situation. Who does that? Who would rather crawl into a dinky (okay not dinky per se, but gently used bathtub with a blanket) instead of tapping someone (worse case scenario) and saying hey, I need a little more room. The other factor was she was relatively drunk last night so I completely saw it as a faulty excuse. Womp womp! Next...We were free to leave the room once we cleared that situation up because we didn't want to inconvenience anyone. We walked alllllllllllll the way past the road the taxi took us from the airport to the hotel to the "fish fry" marketplace. We ended up at some "Twin Brothers" place where they had signs saying they were feature on CNN or some other publications for great and tasty food. I had some Bahamian-style Conch fritters - which was like deep free conch with what tasted like a stuffing of some sort with scallions. A side of plaintains and a side of macaroni and cheese... I also had some type of drink that tasted like a pineapple soda... It had some fancy Bahamian name though. We were incredibly stuffed early on... definitely due to our stomach shrinking. We hadn't eaten since breakfast so while we were hungry, we just couldn't eat any more.

Came back to the hotel... lounged around a bit... also how I fisrst began this blog... then I ended up heading with my roomies with Jamie and bunch of folks. The current big thing was some beach party... we went for a bit (it was in its early stages so nothing was really established) so a huge group of us ended up going to Senor Frogs. That place was huge with open views of the water and the ship =) It was funnn... definitely an entertaining people watch experience. We couldn't stop laughing. This one particular older gentleman was ridiculously intoxicated and he was floating around dancing near us (and other unhappy females)... he looked like he was hardly cognitive of his body motions. The music selection wasn't as great as I would hope but there were enough good songs to hold our attention. The energy was there... I was just tired, the demographics were different and it was hard to stay interested when we all wanted to know where everyone else was... I guess we shall find out tomorrow. Everyone will essentially be here because we board the ship really early in the morning on the 12th!!

We were hungry and started walking towards McDonald's that we saw earlier but although it claimed to be 24 hours.... the store area closed (drive thru remained open). Ritika and Emily were game for climbing over the grass area and walking towards the drive through to order... Aisha and I talked them out of it... lol. McDonald's isn't all that great for that added complication. We ended up at Imperial again because its a "23 hours 7 days a week spot." It was where lots of folks go for late night meals so there were some obnoxious characters.... was relieved when I got my fish and chips.... fortunately we got outta there in a decent time and just came back to the hotel room, ate and watched a little tv.

I am tired. I haven't slept since 8ish this morning, and my feet are screaming for rest haha. Can't wait for tonight's sleep because I have a longgg fulll exciting day ahead of me. Check in for workstudy on the ship is from 10-12 or 12-2....not sure which one is accurate but I am following the first one. In which case the mandatory meeting will be at 1 pm... then I have access to the ship (cafeteria, my cabin) from that day forward. Anyhow, I can barely keep my eyes open and the more time I spend typing on this thing, the less I have to sleep!!! Ciao

Good Morning Bahamas Style!

So it's about 8:35 in the morning. I am pretty excited for the day's activities. Ritika set her phone alarm to 7:10 and then we (5 folks in total haha) waited to take showers and get dressed. Funny done and eating in the lobby. Continental breakfast is from 7:30-10am and it includes bread, coffee, hot water, salami, yellow American cheese, hard boiled eggs, jam and sugar. Pretty continental eh? haha. Oh wait, can't forget the slices of orange. The salami and cheese remind me of the little italy in NY moments with my dad (sampling pieces of salami with goat cheese). Either way, it was good but certainly "lighter" of a breakfast than anyone of us anticipated. Anyhow, it's funny to see everyone with both plates and laptops. More than likely on facebook or updating their blogs. Speaking of which, I am happy we have frequent internet here... this will probably be the most that I update my blog haha. On the ship, we won't have much free internet, and not to mention, it will just be too much to do or see. Facebook should be the least of my worries. Should because I know I will miss it (shaking my head).

I don't think I'll be paragliding/sailing today. I spoke to someone yesterday about it and they said the price was somewhere around $70ish dollars for a few minutes... maybe 10. I don't know but it just sounded like a rip off. I know nothing about parasailing so for all I know 10 minutes for $70 may be a fantastic deal. We'll see. I told myself today will be a picture-taking day. I haven't taken ANY yet and I feel like I am taking things for granted. I mean, I literally feel at home and time seems to elapse effortlessly around here. I don't know if that's because I've been a woman on the move since forever (so home is where the heart is) or because I am not carrying around a watch or cellphone. Actually I am sure it is a combination of all of the above. I am relatively good at adapting to places and situations so I think that has become a staple in how I view the Bahamas.

Yesterday night when we left in search of night life, we ended up at the beach haha. First we walked down the street from the hotel in search of the restaurant/bar that had a open roof top. That's how we heard music and people laughing when we first left in search of food. We figured the vibe was exactly what we wanted and went there. Gotta say, the music was great-- it was a Latin American spot... I am a fan of the culture and love dancing (some days) so I was pumped! We went outside on the deck but it was hard to hear with the music pulsating in speakers behind us, so we moved inside. Inside a pair was dancing salsa so that was entertainment. Ended up ordering a drink (funny how we weren't carded... I am legal but still). I asked the bartender what would she recommend and went with her suggestion. It was some kind of pineapple, coconut concoction. Pretty delish! By then we were more interested (okay they were more interested) in walking and talking so we left.

We headed down to the port to stare at the ship some more. It was hilarious because after a few minutes we were standing and Justin was squatting complaining about his legs (he was the one who wanted us to leave and walk!! ha) Anyhow, we stared at the ship and watched who we presumed were crewmen walk around. No one could believe that this was happening and more amazingly, the ship we would call home for 4.5 months in a matter of days. The ship had a string of lights overhead and kind of resembled a party cruise ship. We all know that isn't the case of course ;) Took a walk some more to the "beach" which wasn't really a beach just a few ways down from the port with sand haha.. Walked the scary ways to the tip of the pier and sat with our feet dangling over the water. You never really notice how big the sky is until you are staring at a blanket of mist and ominous but beautiful waters...and when you look up there are surprisingly bright stars... Sat for a few hours just talking about life and laughing away. It's always fascinating to see how people bond and the nature of how they do so.

We were the poster of diversity...and literally met hours ago but there we were talking as though we had known each other for years. Within our peripheral was the ship and other boats that were pretty much in the middle of the water. The lighthouse would flash and that was startling from time to time... there was also a huge ship/ferry that came into view and then turned around and came back where it came from. At the conclusion of the night (when everyone was shivering after sitting by the water so long) we climbed up and headed back to the hotel. It was soooo crazy walking down the streets as if we lived here all of our lives. I mean, a police car screamed past us (shook us up a bit no doubt) and the traffic was still rampant and frightening (almost manic if I may so so myself). There is definitely a different set of fear for habitual jaywalkers like myself. haha. There was a 24 hour McDonald's, Burger King and a number of chinese restaurants en route.  One in particular was most funny to us. It was called "Da' Sizzle" and it was a chinese restaurant owned by a Bahamian.

Side note: I am still figuring out how to link my blog to my email and facebook but it is proving more difficult than I thought. Anyhow, I am running out of things to say right now because I would much rather get started with my day than sit here on the internet haha. Guess a blog would be advantageous if I recorded everything in the moment. It's kinda irksome to have to give a recount of last night's festivities. haha. Speaking of which, tonight everyone will be heading to a bar/club called "Senor Frog." Tonight a lot of folks (particularly the work-study folks) will arrive since we have to go to training tomorrow. So it will be quiteeeeee a day! OKay enough typing/talking, more doing. Talk to ya later!

First Night Unfolding in the Bahamas

After I wrote the first post upon my arrival, I walked with one of my roomies to find food. We ended up at "Imperial" which was the place folks recommended (cheap food). Not to mention, two of the SAS'ers came into the hotel lobby with delicious smelling plates of fish & chips. It was enough to remind me that I hadn't eaten and I needed to fix that problem. It was kinda funny though. The hotel staff came up to them and told them they usually aren't okay with outside food consumed in the front like that but they were nice enough to let them finish. Out back there is a patio, roof top with seating, and a pool. It's nicely lit with christmas lights. Did I also mention there is a talking parrot? I thought it was fake at first, but it is certainly real and he is quite a character!

Anyhow, we wandered into Imperial and looked at the very limited menu. I got "chicken in a bag" after asking what it was. Comical name for "fried half chicken and french fries" haha. Anyhow, with that I ordered a mystic, but I was having trouble seeing the flavor to direct the woman so I said, "the one on the bottom." One of the little boys in the store was standing by me waiting to grab his order and he said, "you talk funny. The one on the bottom" he echoed. Hahahahaha. I was so surprised that all I could do was laugh. We sat and ate with another SAS'er who was very cool. Had lots of laughs and I gotta say, after swapping stories about the feasibility of SAS, one could only be in awe. It takes a lot to apply, get accepted, have no money, but stay determined. We are all proof that when you want something you can have it. Seriously.

When we left, a homeless guy was outside asking for money. Jack offered him some tea. The look on his face was classic. What am I going to do with this? was more or less what he said. How am I going to get hot water was another question. Jack was relentless and simply said, hey, drink it cold. Tea is good for you. haha... At the end of the block we looked back and he was still grumbling but he took the tea. =) Funny indeed. We took a walk towards the docking port to see the ship. Can you say beautiful? No really. The ship is a beauty, and I've never really referred to anything as such. It was difficult to get close to it (obviously) but it was an almost majestic moment haha. Can't believe that because I have work-study, I will be boarding one day earlier than everyone else (on the 11th) and will spend a night on it. We've discussed it on our forum and it should definitely be eerie but a lively experience.

Came back to the hotel, split and went our respective places. Ended up watching iCarly and most recently, food network (love that show!!!! love the fact that I can view it down here even more!!! haha). Dozed off to sleep for a bit until our room phone rang indicating our other roommate (unbeknowest to the front desk of course) was here "visiting." We came out, helped bring her stuff in the room until the front desk called the room saying the "visitor" will have to pay if she is staying haha. So far, we've managed to avoid them... we're hoping it doesn't backfire since the last thing we would need is a full room inspection since there are about 6 of us in total...for the price of two hahaha. Speaking of which, two of the people staying with us left out earlier and now we don't know how to contact them since no one's phones are on. The problem is there is only one key haha, and we aren't planning to be in the room. Although.....I am soooo sleepy, but I feel bad trying to sleep when there is sooo much to do and see here. We saw a few restaurants and bars a little ways ago. Plus since we are in the heart of the Bahamas, there are lots of venues accessible. It is Sunday though so not to much will be open, but we are all eager to get out and explore this beautiful city.

Reporting live from the Bahamas!

So I am sitting in the hotel lobby with a few other SAS'ers and its funny... we just got here (finally all moved in the room -- it's gonna be a tight squeeze for all five of us crashing there for the night haha) but yet we are huddling over our laptops! Talk about thirsty for a little technology!! In fact, I can't imagine what this trip would be like without my latop. I am okay with the lack of a phone but no use of my laptop would be torture haha.

I gotta say, this is amazing to me. So far, it's been a surreal moment -- still can't believe I am here. In fact, I think that I won't "get it" until later on for our first night. Tomorrow, two of the folks rooming with us said they were going parasailing so I am going to do the same!! That should be an experience HANDS DOWN! The best part thus far, I gotta say is the usage of US currency. That has alleviated a ton of stress about monies and currency rate right about now...

The airport ordeal was stressful. I had one gigantic duffle suitcase which was regrettable large and obnoxiously heavy (but again, my plan was to stick to one suitcase and one carry on since I wouldn't be accompanied by anyone...) this proved an epic fail. Turns out I created a monster-- a big, heavy monster so I ended up paying overweight fees (the lady didn't tell me this was an option. She simply told me at first it was over 50 lbs -- 66 to be exact, and I had to remove some items or just forget it all together...this did not sound comforting so there I was, holding up the line fervently trying to take stuff out and place it in my carry on) Did I mention I ended up bringing two carry on's? My sister's backpack which I stuffed all of my SAS school stuff in, and then my laptop bag which served as the bag of miscellaneous paperwork & electronic stuff.

Long story short, it was heavy, I was tired and I didn't know what to do with the excess clothing. My best friend had also pulled off and left because of the 3 minute loading parking area. I overheard the guy in the next line telling the woman that he would just pay the overweight fee. Thank God. I mimicked and said the same to which she told me would be $50. I am not rich, but I gladly took it. I was flustered and worried that I would either 1) lose my luggage anyway since some SAS'ers reported their luggage lost/sent to the wrong destination, 2) and fear that I would miss my flight. The time was nearly 9 am. I then asked someone for the nearest way to the security check in and stood in line for it. Check in is always a pain, but it didn't take as long. Only down side is that my sister's backpack was dead after the process of overstuffing... it doesn't zip anymore. :( I was pretty annoyed, but hey what can you do. It's a nuisance but that's the necessary drama for an interesting plane experience.

This was my second plane trip. I admit, this time around I was a bit more nauseous and anxious. I took US Airways, Flight #1913. For whatever reason, the plane seem relatively small and prior to getting out the car at the airport, my best friend was telling me about his fear of small planes and how claustrophobic he was. Maybe it rubbed off on me. haha. I also was pretty hungry but didn't have the patience to stand in line and buy not-so-good, but insanely-expensive airport food. Truthfully, I definitely didn't want to lug it. My hands were all tied and that was already a pain haha. The take out was dragged out due to two planes in front of us. I didn't know this of course, so I mentally panicked a bit. I thought it was due to the snow that I could make out on the runway. But the pilot made the announcement and then I calmed down somewhat. I had my ipod on a bit, but took it off because it wasn't a great defense against my popping ears haha. Oddly enough, my hands kept going numb throughout the flight as well. I kept dozing in and out and having to massage 'em. We landed a lot earlier than expected - 12:30ish instead of 1:03 pm... or 2 hours and 52ish minutes which made me think, wow Bahamas is really close.

Baggage claim once we landed was equally as terrifying because I was expecting the worst but hoping for the best. Fortunately that was too much of a hassle. What was interesting was the accents and the change of culture. That was pretty cool... anyhow, we all crowded around the conveyor belt and waited for our luggage to appear haha. After about 20 minutes or so, it did and I had to worry about the next thing: getting a cab driver to head to the hotel! That was a breeze and I had a cab the moment I stepped outside haha. The gentleman was courteous and nice, he was familiar with Semester at Sea since it is about that time and they've had an influx of several hundred students haha. He asked me to write down the site for him so he could sign his daughter up which I thought was cute. The ride was about 25 minutes and cost me $28 (which was within the price range listed on google). What was scary but hilarious was how fast people drive...and how close to each other. Literally held my breath a number of times anticipating an accident but the car abruptly stopping, bumper to bumper. They also drive on the left side which was another surprise, and then they did crazy maneuvers if they wanted to pass so that was also a bit dangerous!! Anyhow, I think I updated as much as I could. I am getting antsy. Everyone is crowding up the lobby and now I feel like I should socialize haha.