Last Day in Halifax & Embarkation!!

Halifax, NS: Day 2

For dinner the night before I boarded the ship, we were adventurous…just kidding. Instead, we went someplace familiar… Alexander Keith’s! I think it is funny that out of all the places in Halifax, we went to the same place for lunch and dinner. It was very good though, and everyone was content with there meals. I got a blueberry salad (I will miss Panera!) and both of my parents ordered soup. Of course, we enjoyed some more freshly brewed ale during our meal, and then continued back at our hotel, where we spent time in the restaurant bar. It was very nice sitting and chatting with my parents, while watching pedestrians (there were some interesting ones!) from full-length windows. My parents treated me to two long island ice teas, which were scrumptious! After that, it was time for bed… for I had a busy next day ahead!
Today we woke up around 7:30 a.m., for I had to be down at the pier between the hours of 9 and 11 to go through customs and board the MV Explorer! I was super excited, but quite tired as my mother snored a good part of the night. Nonetheless, I was up and ready to go, and on our way down to the ship, we stopped and had breakfast at a place by the name of Smitty’s. I ordered eggs, pancakes and bacon, and everything was delicious! We left there around 9:30, and arrived at the loading station around 9:45. I was stressing because I didn’t want to be late, even though I had plenty of time…but worrying is what I do best.
After our work-study meeting and lunch, we were able to get off the ship for the afternoon. We we’re told it would be around 3:30, but in reality I was done at about 12:30. So, to kill time I began unpacking my clothes and settling into my cabin. My cabin, a quad, is number 3148, with two people in each room. I had another work-study student staying in my cabin, so we were able to get to know each other and pick our rooms before our other two roommates boarded the ship. We felt kind of bad, and it was a hard decision, but we chose the room with the ocean-view. The other room, connected through a door, does not have a window. I was tempted to pick that room for it could be pitch black at anytime, and everyone knows how much light bothers me when I am trying to sleep! Our room, though, is also the VERY LAST room on the 3rd deck in the back of the boat, right next to the engine. I have to walk down a long hallway every time I want to basically go anywhere on the ship. And since it is located in the back of the ship, it is quite noisy and we tend to feel a lot of the rocking.
The first roommate I met is named Shannon from Colorado. She seems extremely nice and funny! We have gotten along very well thus far. She signed up for many SAS trips, and we have one in common, the Capri and Anacapri excursion in Italy. On the voyage, she will be working in the store. After chitchatting and unpacking, I got off of the boat to wait for my parents, who were meeting me at the pier at 3:30. When they arrived, we ventured out to Peggy’s Cove.
Peggy’s Cove is about an hour’s drive outside of Halifax. I had never heard about it before. I guess my parent’s learned about it from some people they talked with while visiting the Citadel (an old fort) earlier in the day. I am glad my parents were able to check that out because I know how much my dad likes those historical type things! Peggy’s Cove was beautiful. It was very small, but they had a gorgeous old lighthouse surrounded by huge rocks that you could walk out on (at your own risk), overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. They also had a small café and gift-shop, where my mother indulged in some seafood chowder. After that, we stopped at a mall for some food. I got a subway sub and a Dairy Queen sundae….a good meal before lots of dining hall food!
At 7:00 I re-boarded the ship to help get ready for the Parent’s reception that was to begin at 8 p.m. on-board. I was super EXCITED for my parents to see my new home for the next 67 days! They ended up really enjoying it, and SAS put out a really nice spread! They had fresh fruit platters, vegetables, mini-sandwiches, wine, etc. To top it off, however, they had these amazing sculptures made out of chocolate (although I heard they were fake!) of some of the various sites we would be seeing on our journey. Included for example was a giant Parthenon and the Sphinx. During the reception, my parents received a tour and I was able to show them my room. After that, we mingled with some faculty for about an hour or so. Every faculty seemed amazingly nice! We met the Oceanography, English and Spanish teachers…as well as my business professor. To finish off the night, there was a meeting for the parents in the Union. We only caught the tale-end of it, but basically the gist was how amazing the program is, and how fortunate we should be for being able to be apart of it! Thank you mom and dad! And one of the speakers said this to the parents (I thought it was pretty funny!): “Tomorrow, when you have to say good-bye to your child and ship pulls away, you will be all tears while your son or daughter will be all smiles. However, when everyone meets again in Norfolk, Virginia, you will be all smiles while your child will be in tears.” However, saying good-bye to my parents as the reception came to a close around 10 pm was not an easy thing to do. There were lots of hugs, and I will miss them oh so dearly! I will be more than thrilled on August 23rd when I can be reunited with them! I will be smiling for that!

Embarkation!

I am in utter disbelief! I cannot believe that Semester at Sea’s 99th voyage is underway… and I am a part of it! Everyone I’ve met on the ship thus far seems to be in accordance that it doesn’t feel real. The ship, the people…just everything is amazing! I am very fortunate to be a part of such a prestige and life-changing experience. I intend to live it up, and enjoy every moment of it (although the boat is quite rocky now!). Today I met my two other roommates for the first time and they also seem great. Kate is from Chicago and Candace is from NJ. Kate and I have many trips together, including the Morocco camel trek and Capri & Anacapri. I cannot wait for all of the trips!! In addition to my roommates, everyone on the ship is eager to get to know one another.
Anthony’s room is 4043, which is a deck above, on the other side, and much closer to the front of the ship than mine. He has two roommates, Bo and Kevin, whom he did not know before. However, funny story: they all met at the airport on the way to Halifax, then shared a hostel together, and then all went out on the night of the 15th! It was a surprise when they found out on the 16th that they were all sharing a cabin! They all get a long great so far, and they seem like such nice guys! Kate, Shannon, and I have been hanging out with Anthony and his roommates often, and for the most part have been going to meals together.
We sailed away from Halifax, Nova Scotia yesterday right on time, at 5 p.m. It was a great feeling, and we had great weather. The sun was shining, and I’d guess in the 60’s. All of the students piled out on to the decks for embarkation. I stood outside with Anthony, his roommates, and two of mine. There were bagpipe players in addition to some parents and friends waving good-bye to us as we pulled away. And I had never seen a tug boat before, so that was interesting watching them help us leave. Everyone was taking tons of pictures while I stood with my movie camera, ready to capture the beginning of our voyage on film. However, right when I went to record, I realized that there was no tape in, so I spent a good ten minutes fumbling with the package trying to get it open. Oh well. I did manage to get some footage of Halifax though. I will definitely film the departure from other ports!
The day after embarkation, we had a full day consisting of various orientations. But first, at 9:00, we all met with our assigned small groups to discuss the community reading, Amartya Sen’s Identity and Violence. After that, we went through other basic things, like safety, ship rules, and the introduction of faculty and staff. I actually decked out of some of the afternoon orientations and went back to try and sleep in my cabin. Everyone has been pretty exhausted, and it is hard to find time to catch up on some Z’s.
Also, the weather got pretty rough today. The ship was really rocking, and it was raining. We also must have hit some good waves because when we were in the Union it felt like the ship rocked front to back instead back and forth and everything rattled… it was kind of scary for the some 500 + people in there at the time. Many people on the ship have been feeling seasick. One crewmember, for example, who has worked on the ship for 11 years, has been very sick (& he has never been seasick before!) Fortunately, I have been fine. I took a bromine about an hour before we left Halifax, and another one 24 hours later.
After all of the orientation sessions, we had dinner, walked around and met some new people. Then we rented a game from the Purser’s desk, Taboo, and found a group of other students to play with. It was a good time. The weather was getting a little worse, however, and I had found it very difficult to get to sleep that night. The ship’s clock also advanced one hour the night of the 17th, and will do so tonight as well (the 18th).
So, as I am writing this, it is about 7:15 p.m. on the 18th of June, which was the first day of classes. I had global studies with the rest of the shipboard community from 9:20 – 10:35, followed by global music from 10:45 – 12:00. After those, I had a nice 4-hour break. From 4:15 – 5:00 I was in Business, Politics & Culture of the European Culture. Thus far, that class has been my favorite. Anthony and I share every class together, and its nice… it’s bringing back memories from high school! The weather today has been so much better! It is finally sunny outside, and overall smoother sailing, although still rocky (I think it will always be rocky since it is a fairly small ship).
And pub nights begin tonight, from 7 – 9 pm out on deck 7, and I imagine there will be a fairly large crowd since it is pretty nice out. I know I plan on being there to meet some great new people… But I guess that’s enough for now! I love everyone!! <3

xoxo
-Erika