We're gonna win Twins
we're gonna score
we're gonna win Twins
watch that baseball soaaaaaaaar.
Crack out a homerun
Shout a Hip Hooray!
Cheer for the Minnesota Twins Tooooooooooodayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!
Go TWINS!!!
(Molly I want a 2006 homer hanky if they come out with one!!!)
Monday, September 25, 2006
Around the ship pics UP...
While you all are waiting for our Hong Kong pics, which I hope to have up sometime today... you can go and look at the Around the Ship Pics. You may have tried to do so from the Photo page before today and been rejected but now you may view them. Those of you who know Tim Trevin will enjoy some pics of him, I get a cut of any blackmailing that is to be done.
Also some good shots of how HUGE my head is.
PHOTO PAGE
joe
Also some good shots of how HUGE my head is.
PHOTO PAGE
joe
Goodbye Hong Kong, Hello Viet Nam!
There is so much to say!…
We had a blast in Hong Kong. On the one hand, I’m VERY glad we were able to stay in H.K. for four days because it feels like we barely scratched the surface of this amazing international, multicultural city. On the other hand, I feel like we missed out on a truer experience of China since Hong Kong is a former British colony and English is spoken practically everywhere. Well… since we already need to come back to Japan, we’ll just have to come back to China, too!
It was amazing to come into Hong Kong by ship. You get a real perspective on the immensity of the city and the endless rows of skyscrapers. It almost made NYC seem smaller than I remember.
We spent the first day exploring the city –walking EVERYWHERE. It’s a mesmerizing place to walk around in. I LOVED the hustle-bustle everywhere. It reminded me of NYC at rush-hour. Love it. Our ship was docked in Kowloon harbor, so we had to either take the “Star Ferry” over to Hong Kong island, or take the subway. Let me just tell you that during the 4 days we were docked in Hong Kong… not one, not two, not three, but likely 8 to 10 different cruise ships docked and left while we stayed. Almost all of the cruise ships were docked for about 12 hours… I only saw one that stayed overnight. Made me wonder what it is like to only have 12 hours in all of Hong Kong. We are lucky.
The first day, we explored Kowloon and ended up at the Hong Kong Museum of History. I love museums, but you never really know what you’re going to get. This museum? Totally amazing. It was a very interactive museum, where each room you walk into deluges your senses with sounds, visions, text, and interactive videos. We could have taken 4 hours – easy – to get through the museum, but it was almost too much to take in. It walked us through Hong Kong’s history from pre-historic days to the present. I would highly recommend going to this museum FIRST if you ever find yourself in Hong Kong. It set the stage for the remainder of our time in Hong Kong and provided rich context to all that we saw.
That evening, a big group of us rode the Peak Tram up to the top of Victoria Peak for a breathtaking view of Hong Kong.
p.s. Traveling with more than 5 people is too difficult. SOMEHOW we managed to travel with 12 people up the top of the peak, have dinner and drinks, and make it back to the ship with one extra person! But – in general – I’m the type of person who is too concerned about everyone having a good time that I can’t just enjoy myself if there are too many people around.
So – next day – Joe and I traveled as a duo, and we rocked the city! We decided to explore Hong Kong island and saw a ton. We took the world’s longest escalator (about 20 minutes!) up to the Botanical & Zoological Gardens and then headed over to Stanley Market via the double-decker bus!! Woo-hoo! It was an exhilarating ride to sit front row, Deck 2 of a double-decker on some pretty freakin’ narrow lane roads!! It was scaaaaawwwwwy. (you know the voice).
So… My friend J.B. just gave me shit for writing too much on our freakin’ blog. I already have a full single-spaced page of text and I haven’t even gotten to day 2. Maybe he’s right?!? You’ll know who to blame now when my blogs become bullet points. Shiggity-jiggity (a J.B. saying).
Okay – so, Day 2, continued.
Double-decker bus? Scary.
Stanley Market? Fun shopping, but Joy sucks at bargaining.
Times Square of Hong Kong? Super busy, hustle-bustle. FUN!!
Joe and I ended up at this British-style sports bar where they only served beers the size of my head!! Yahoo.
Day 3.
Joe and I went on our first Semester at Sea trip to explore “Historic Hong Kong.” We thought we had seen everything in Hong Kong, but it turns out – we hadn’t!
Our first stop was to the fishing village, which really provided a contrast to the city life of Hong Kong. Our tour guide said that the family fishing industry is dying out because the young kids of fishing families are being lured into city life to join the corporate world. It was amazing to see!
We rode the Peak Tram again to the top of Victoria Peak in the day time. We had a great view because it was very windy which helped to blow away some of the smoggy-froggy cloud layer.
We ended up leaving the trip a little early so we could change and get ready to see a performance by the Hong Kong Dance Company. Date night for Joy & Joe! We got a ‘lil dressed up and adventured to the New Territories via the uber high-tech subway system in H.K. When we arrived at the box office and I asked if we could purchase tickets for this evening’s show, the guy shook his head as if to say, “You’ve got to be kidding me, this show has been sold out for months.” I almost started to tear up when he said, “Wait – just for tonight, I’ll sell you these two tickets” (as he points to two seats on the seating chart with big X’s through them). He says they are obstructed-view seats, but we don’t care!! And… turns out? The only possible obstruction is if there is a small butterfly flying in the upper right hand corner of the stage. SUPER GOOD SEATS. The performance was aesthetically absolutely amazing. It was called “Dream Dances” and was intended to lure the audience into a dream-like state. It was so beautiful… they utilized all sorts of beautiful costumes, Chinese fans, draperies, petals floating from the ceiling… it was amazing. I didn’t want it to end! It was a real highlight of our trip!
Day 4.
Joe and I went on another SAS trip to Lantau Island, which is a beautiful, largely undeveloped island (minus Hong Kong Disneyland – don’t ask.) We ventured to the largest (seated) Buddha in the world, had an amazing vegetarian meal at the Po Lin monestary, and rode the newest gondola over the island (only open for one week!) It was absolutely gorgeous – I need at least a week to explore all the hiking trails on the island. It was fun traveling with the SAS students, too. There’s been some drama on the overnight trips, but the day trips are pretty tame.
Okay, I’m going to wrap this up now so I can have a Corona and try to talk J.B. into playing a game of Golf with me and some other peeps.
Hope all is well out there! We miss you!!!
We’ll be in Vietnam in 36 hours!!!
We had a blast in Hong Kong. On the one hand, I’m VERY glad we were able to stay in H.K. for four days because it feels like we barely scratched the surface of this amazing international, multicultural city. On the other hand, I feel like we missed out on a truer experience of China since Hong Kong is a former British colony and English is spoken practically everywhere. Well… since we already need to come back to Japan, we’ll just have to come back to China, too!
It was amazing to come into Hong Kong by ship. You get a real perspective on the immensity of the city and the endless rows of skyscrapers. It almost made NYC seem smaller than I remember.
We spent the first day exploring the city –walking EVERYWHERE. It’s a mesmerizing place to walk around in. I LOVED the hustle-bustle everywhere. It reminded me of NYC at rush-hour. Love it. Our ship was docked in Kowloon harbor, so we had to either take the “Star Ferry” over to Hong Kong island, or take the subway. Let me just tell you that during the 4 days we were docked in Hong Kong… not one, not two, not three, but likely 8 to 10 different cruise ships docked and left while we stayed. Almost all of the cruise ships were docked for about 12 hours… I only saw one that stayed overnight. Made me wonder what it is like to only have 12 hours in all of Hong Kong. We are lucky.
The first day, we explored Kowloon and ended up at the Hong Kong Museum of History. I love museums, but you never really know what you’re going to get. This museum? Totally amazing. It was a very interactive museum, where each room you walk into deluges your senses with sounds, visions, text, and interactive videos. We could have taken 4 hours – easy – to get through the museum, but it was almost too much to take in. It walked us through Hong Kong’s history from pre-historic days to the present. I would highly recommend going to this museum FIRST if you ever find yourself in Hong Kong. It set the stage for the remainder of our time in Hong Kong and provided rich context to all that we saw.
That evening, a big group of us rode the Peak Tram up to the top of Victoria Peak for a breathtaking view of Hong Kong.
p.s. Traveling with more than 5 people is too difficult. SOMEHOW we managed to travel with 12 people up the top of the peak, have dinner and drinks, and make it back to the ship with one extra person! But – in general – I’m the type of person who is too concerned about everyone having a good time that I can’t just enjoy myself if there are too many people around.
So – next day – Joe and I traveled as a duo, and we rocked the city! We decided to explore Hong Kong island and saw a ton. We took the world’s longest escalator (about 20 minutes!) up to the Botanical & Zoological Gardens and then headed over to Stanley Market via the double-decker bus!! Woo-hoo! It was an exhilarating ride to sit front row, Deck 2 of a double-decker on some pretty freakin’ narrow lane roads!! It was scaaaaawwwwwy. (you know the voice).
So… My friend J.B. just gave me shit for writing too much on our freakin’ blog. I already have a full single-spaced page of text and I haven’t even gotten to day 2. Maybe he’s right?!? You’ll know who to blame now when my blogs become bullet points. Shiggity-jiggity (a J.B. saying).
Okay – so, Day 2, continued.
Double-decker bus? Scary.
Stanley Market? Fun shopping, but Joy sucks at bargaining.
Times Square of Hong Kong? Super busy, hustle-bustle. FUN!!
Joe and I ended up at this British-style sports bar where they only served beers the size of my head!! Yahoo.
Day 3.
Joe and I went on our first Semester at Sea trip to explore “Historic Hong Kong.” We thought we had seen everything in Hong Kong, but it turns out – we hadn’t!
Our first stop was to the fishing village, which really provided a contrast to the city life of Hong Kong. Our tour guide said that the family fishing industry is dying out because the young kids of fishing families are being lured into city life to join the corporate world. It was amazing to see!
We rode the Peak Tram again to the top of Victoria Peak in the day time. We had a great view because it was very windy which helped to blow away some of the smoggy-froggy cloud layer.
We ended up leaving the trip a little early so we could change and get ready to see a performance by the Hong Kong Dance Company. Date night for Joy & Joe! We got a ‘lil dressed up and adventured to the New Territories via the uber high-tech subway system in H.K. When we arrived at the box office and I asked if we could purchase tickets for this evening’s show, the guy shook his head as if to say, “You’ve got to be kidding me, this show has been sold out for months.” I almost started to tear up when he said, “Wait – just for tonight, I’ll sell you these two tickets” (as he points to two seats on the seating chart with big X’s through them). He says they are obstructed-view seats, but we don’t care!! And… turns out? The only possible obstruction is if there is a small butterfly flying in the upper right hand corner of the stage. SUPER GOOD SEATS. The performance was aesthetically absolutely amazing. It was called “Dream Dances” and was intended to lure the audience into a dream-like state. It was so beautiful… they utilized all sorts of beautiful costumes, Chinese fans, draperies, petals floating from the ceiling… it was amazing. I didn’t want it to end! It was a real highlight of our trip!
Day 4.
Joe and I went on another SAS trip to Lantau Island, which is a beautiful, largely undeveloped island (minus Hong Kong Disneyland – don’t ask.) We ventured to the largest (seated) Buddha in the world, had an amazing vegetarian meal at the Po Lin monestary, and rode the newest gondola over the island (only open for one week!) It was absolutely gorgeous – I need at least a week to explore all the hiking trails on the island. It was fun traveling with the SAS students, too. There’s been some drama on the overnight trips, but the day trips are pretty tame.
Okay, I’m going to wrap this up now so I can have a Corona and try to talk J.B. into playing a game of Golf with me and some other peeps.
Hope all is well out there! We miss you!!!
We’ll be in Vietnam in 36 hours!!!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
phew...
so it is like crazy late and we pull into Hong Kong in less then 5 hrs... very exciting.
Our internet has been crappy since we left Japan but I finally have the Japan photos up and a new Photo page http://joeandjoy.com/Photo.html
There isn't a link yet from the main page but I hope to do that soon.
we had very little weather except for the first night out of Japan... we did a great job of avoiding the Typhoon
enjoy the photos ... and no one has won the trivia contest yet... check out the Hawaii photos for the question...
joe
Our internet has been crappy since we left Japan but I finally have the Japan photos up and a new Photo page http://joeandjoy.com/Photo.html
There isn't a link yet from the main page but I hope to do that soon.
we had very little weather except for the first night out of Japan... we did a great job of avoiding the Typhoon
enjoy the photos ... and no one has won the trivia contest yet... check out the Hawaii photos for the question...
joe
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Hello from south of Japan!
Hello from the outskirts of Typhoon Shan-Shan!
Well… as many of you are probably aware, we are (were) in the vicinity of a pretty powerful typhoon named Shan-Shan. Its projected course overlaps directly with our original itinerary to Qingdao, China so we are experiencing our first redirected path! We are skipping Qingdao, China altogether, and are – instead – heading directly to Hong Kong. For the most part, everyone is okay with this decision because:
a) It is good to avoid typhoons!
b) Many folks’ trips to the Great Wall of China will still happen – they’re just going to be departing from H.K. instead of Qingdao.
c) Hong Kong is such an amazing city that many people are happy we will be there for 4 days instead of only 2.
A few reasons why students are NOT happy with this plan:
a) Some people really want to see what this ship can do in a storm. (I am not one of these people.)
b) Now we will have 4 straight days at sea instead of a quick 2 days, so nobody is too psyched about that.
c) Japan was SO MUCH FUN, I think everyone is super anxious for our next port.
We were rockin’ & rollin’ last night out on the open seas. We were told to secure our belongings from shelves and desks if we don’t want anything broken or falling down. They’ve also closed off some of the decks because of high winds. YIKES! :} I think it’s pretty scary when the ship rocks dramatically, but other people just think it’s fun. Maybe I just need to get used to it. It makes my head feel all swimmy, but at least I’m not getting seasick. Many people had a rough night last night.
Anyway – JAPAN!!!
Joe and I had an amazing experience in Japan. Definitely a place we plan to return! Our first day was spent wandering around the port city of Kobe with mesmerized looks on our faces with the expression somewhat like, “I cannot believe we are actually in JAPAN!” As I said earlier, I really enjoy the difficulty of communicating in Japan because it makes for some interesting surprises with getting around and, especially, eating!! Many times we just pointed to pictures on the menu, or pointed to the widespread use of plastic food replicas! It is funny to see plastic food displayed in the windows of many restaurants, but it is very helpful. Some of my favorite foods in Japan are udon noodles, green tea soba noodles, and all of the super yummy bakeries that seem to be on every corner!!
We already told you about the baseball game… after that we headed to the city of Kyoto on the Shinkansen (bullet train), which is the home of many, many historical Shinto and Buddhist temples and shrines, all of which are absolutely majestic and beautiful. We enjoyed trying to decipher the bus maps, jumping on the buses, and trying to find our way to the different sites. Sometimes it was very easy, and sometimes we found ourselves having to backtrack a bit. Once Joe posts our pictures from Japan, you will be able to see each of the shrines & temples we visited. I think Joe wrote a brief description with each picture…
Anyway, while we were in Kyoto… Joe, Gail, and I spent some major brainpower trying to decide whether to climb Mt. Fuji or not. The weather was not cooperating, and since it is the off-season, the trek to arrive at the mountain involves a six-hour train, bus and taxi excursion from Kyoto. After much deliberation, we decided against the Mt. Fuji adventure. And… I’m happy to say – it was very positive decision for us. It allowed us to go on many more culturally-centered adventures, and we heard from many students that their excursions to Mt. Fuji were – while amazing – very rain soaked and VERY COLD. Some folks spent a lot of time getting to the base of the mountain, only to turn around halfway up because of the weather.
So… since we skipped Mt. Fuji, we had to take advantage of our Japan rail pass which basically gives us the ability to ride the Shinkansen and many other modes of transportation without having to purchase individual tickets. The first place we went was to Osaka to ride the Giant Wheel (aka, Ferris Wheel), which is the 3rd largest in the world. WOO-HOO! It was fun, and also a little scary to be up that high on a ferris wheel! It gave us great views of Osaka at night, and – for me – it made up for not going to Fuji. Don’t ask why. The next morning we were off to Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial Museum. I knew that it would be a powerful place, but I was totally overwhelmed by the energy of Hiroshima and the museum. First of all, I feel like I never truly learned about the dropping of the A-bomb beyond a quick paragraph or two in my history courses in high school. It was very interesting to learn about the events leading up to the end of WWII from the perspective of the people in Hiroshima. While the museum explains the history and chemistry/physics of the A-bomb, the real beauty of the peace memorial museum is that it is largely focused on creating peace throughout the world and avoiding nuclear war in the future. I found it to be an amazing example of humanity reaching out from the depths of an immense tragedy to bring positive messages and strength to the rest of the world.
After Hiroshima, we ventured to the small island of Miyajima, south of Hiroshima, which is a sacred island. It was an amazing contrast in the sense that it was super serene and quiet, whereas the other areas we visited in Japan were densely populated, hustle and bustle cities. Miyajima has a very tranquil quality to it, and after arriving on the short ferry ride from Hiroshima, we were greeted by a bunch of little deer, who Joe will have to describe for you to get the full effect.
We stayed at another ryokan, which had the added pleasure of a Japanese bath. If you have never experienced a Japanese bath, you need to do it. It is luxurious!! First you shower, shampoo, and soap up outside of the rock and wood surrounded bath, and then you soak in a super hot tub with water flowing all around you. It was wonderful!!
It rained a lot while we were on Miyajima, but the rain gave the island a somewhat tropical quality. Joe and I woke up early the next morning to hike 2/3 of the way up to Mt. Misen – the tallest mountain on the island. The path was largely stone and cement steps leading all the way to the summit. Very beautiful!
On our way back to Kobe from Miyajima, we stopped in Okayama to see one of my students, Yulin, from UC Santa Cruz who is teaching English to Japanese students through the JET program. It was so great to see Yulin! We had lunch with her and chatted for 2 hours before we had to head back to Kobe. TIME FLEW SO FAST! We were not ready to go back to the ship! Once we got back to the ship, we were informed that the captain wanted to haul butt out of Kobe because of the impending storm. So, we helped to hustle everyone onboard and we set said immediately away from the storm.
As I write this, we are still rocking pretty significantly. It is impossible for anyone to walk straight. It’s kinda funny actually.
Well… I’m off to get some work done. Thanks for writing comments!!
We miss all of you and love to hear from you, even if it’s a quick sentence or two!
A big shout-out to our UCSC friends: Hope move-in weekend goes swimmingly!! We’re thinking about you!!!
Well… as many of you are probably aware, we are (were) in the vicinity of a pretty powerful typhoon named Shan-Shan. Its projected course overlaps directly with our original itinerary to Qingdao, China so we are experiencing our first redirected path! We are skipping Qingdao, China altogether, and are – instead – heading directly to Hong Kong. For the most part, everyone is okay with this decision because:
a) It is good to avoid typhoons!
b) Many folks’ trips to the Great Wall of China will still happen – they’re just going to be departing from H.K. instead of Qingdao.
c) Hong Kong is such an amazing city that many people are happy we will be there for 4 days instead of only 2.
A few reasons why students are NOT happy with this plan:
a) Some people really want to see what this ship can do in a storm. (I am not one of these people.)
b) Now we will have 4 straight days at sea instead of a quick 2 days, so nobody is too psyched about that.
c) Japan was SO MUCH FUN, I think everyone is super anxious for our next port.
We were rockin’ & rollin’ last night out on the open seas. We were told to secure our belongings from shelves and desks if we don’t want anything broken or falling down. They’ve also closed off some of the decks because of high winds. YIKES! :} I think it’s pretty scary when the ship rocks dramatically, but other people just think it’s fun. Maybe I just need to get used to it. It makes my head feel all swimmy, but at least I’m not getting seasick. Many people had a rough night last night.
Anyway – JAPAN!!!
Joe and I had an amazing experience in Japan. Definitely a place we plan to return! Our first day was spent wandering around the port city of Kobe with mesmerized looks on our faces with the expression somewhat like, “I cannot believe we are actually in JAPAN!” As I said earlier, I really enjoy the difficulty of communicating in Japan because it makes for some interesting surprises with getting around and, especially, eating!! Many times we just pointed to pictures on the menu, or pointed to the widespread use of plastic food replicas! It is funny to see plastic food displayed in the windows of many restaurants, but it is very helpful. Some of my favorite foods in Japan are udon noodles, green tea soba noodles, and all of the super yummy bakeries that seem to be on every corner!!
We already told you about the baseball game… after that we headed to the city of Kyoto on the Shinkansen (bullet train), which is the home of many, many historical Shinto and Buddhist temples and shrines, all of which are absolutely majestic and beautiful. We enjoyed trying to decipher the bus maps, jumping on the buses, and trying to find our way to the different sites. Sometimes it was very easy, and sometimes we found ourselves having to backtrack a bit. Once Joe posts our pictures from Japan, you will be able to see each of the shrines & temples we visited. I think Joe wrote a brief description with each picture…
Anyway, while we were in Kyoto… Joe, Gail, and I spent some major brainpower trying to decide whether to climb Mt. Fuji or not. The weather was not cooperating, and since it is the off-season, the trek to arrive at the mountain involves a six-hour train, bus and taxi excursion from Kyoto. After much deliberation, we decided against the Mt. Fuji adventure. And… I’m happy to say – it was very positive decision for us. It allowed us to go on many more culturally-centered adventures, and we heard from many students that their excursions to Mt. Fuji were – while amazing – very rain soaked and VERY COLD. Some folks spent a lot of time getting to the base of the mountain, only to turn around halfway up because of the weather.
So… since we skipped Mt. Fuji, we had to take advantage of our Japan rail pass which basically gives us the ability to ride the Shinkansen and many other modes of transportation without having to purchase individual tickets. The first place we went was to Osaka to ride the Giant Wheel (aka, Ferris Wheel), which is the 3rd largest in the world. WOO-HOO! It was fun, and also a little scary to be up that high on a ferris wheel! It gave us great views of Osaka at night, and – for me – it made up for not going to Fuji. Don’t ask why. The next morning we were off to Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial Museum. I knew that it would be a powerful place, but I was totally overwhelmed by the energy of Hiroshima and the museum. First of all, I feel like I never truly learned about the dropping of the A-bomb beyond a quick paragraph or two in my history courses in high school. It was very interesting to learn about the events leading up to the end of WWII from the perspective of the people in Hiroshima. While the museum explains the history and chemistry/physics of the A-bomb, the real beauty of the peace memorial museum is that it is largely focused on creating peace throughout the world and avoiding nuclear war in the future. I found it to be an amazing example of humanity reaching out from the depths of an immense tragedy to bring positive messages and strength to the rest of the world.
After Hiroshima, we ventured to the small island of Miyajima, south of Hiroshima, which is a sacred island. It was an amazing contrast in the sense that it was super serene and quiet, whereas the other areas we visited in Japan were densely populated, hustle and bustle cities. Miyajima has a very tranquil quality to it, and after arriving on the short ferry ride from Hiroshima, we were greeted by a bunch of little deer, who Joe will have to describe for you to get the full effect.
We stayed at another ryokan, which had the added pleasure of a Japanese bath. If you have never experienced a Japanese bath, you need to do it. It is luxurious!! First you shower, shampoo, and soap up outside of the rock and wood surrounded bath, and then you soak in a super hot tub with water flowing all around you. It was wonderful!!
It rained a lot while we were on Miyajima, but the rain gave the island a somewhat tropical quality. Joe and I woke up early the next morning to hike 2/3 of the way up to Mt. Misen – the tallest mountain on the island. The path was largely stone and cement steps leading all the way to the summit. Very beautiful!
On our way back to Kobe from Miyajima, we stopped in Okayama to see one of my students, Yulin, from UC Santa Cruz who is teaching English to Japanese students through the JET program. It was so great to see Yulin! We had lunch with her and chatted for 2 hours before we had to head back to Kobe. TIME FLEW SO FAST! We were not ready to go back to the ship! Once we got back to the ship, we were informed that the captain wanted to haul butt out of Kobe because of the impending storm. So, we helped to hustle everyone onboard and we set said immediately away from the storm.
As I write this, we are still rocking pretty significantly. It is impossible for anyone to walk straight. It’s kinda funny actually.
Well… I’m off to get some work done. Thanks for writing comments!!
We miss all of you and love to hear from you, even if it’s a quick sentence or two!
A big shout-out to our UCSC friends: Hope move-in weekend goes swimmingly!! We’re thinking about you!!!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
wholly rain batman
so we`ve got a little rain here in Japan but Kyoto is really nice, though we did not make it to any temples in time today. We have a very cool place to stay for the night though and we have mastered the Kyoto bus system.
I just wanted to let everyone know that you no longer have to be a registered user to comment. I clicked the wrong button sometime back and since I know that you all want to comment.... go right ahead!!!
good night
I just wanted to let everyone know that you no longer have to be a registered user to comment. I clicked the wrong button sometime back and since I know that you all want to comment.... go right ahead!!!
good night
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Konichiwa from Japan
Hello folks... sitting in a tourist office in Kyoto Japan...
we just took our first bullet train to get here and it was super smooth and yes very fast.
Not much time but wanted to just give a brief update. Japan is very nice so far, though we have a little rain. We went to a baseball game last night which was very neat (minus the drunk students) Now we are in Kyoto which is highly recommended for its shrines and temples and we hope to go to Fuji San from here.
now a word from Joy...
It is amazing being in Japan. I am actually enjoying the challenge of attempting to communicate and get around... it makes for an interesting day! Everything in Japan is so colorful and beautifully displayed. My friend Gail and I are enjoying purchasing random items out of the ample vending machines and discovering new tastes and treats! We are going to stay in a traditional Japanese Inn (ryokan) this evening and explore the temples and shrines around Kyoto.
Gotta go explore!
p.s. If anyone wants (please?) to send us real mail, the list of ports is on our joeandjoy.com page. You just have to make sure you send your letters at least 2 weeks in advance.
BYE!
Joe again... a couple of side notes... if you sent me an email, I probably didn`t respond but most of the work questions that were asked I say GREAT to (laundry, reccomendation)
Maybe if there is time later on this week I will be able to respond better.
Have a great move in everyone and I hear the Crown RAs are just rocking it... so keep up the good work!
we just took our first bullet train to get here and it was super smooth and yes very fast.
Not much time but wanted to just give a brief update. Japan is very nice so far, though we have a little rain. We went to a baseball game last night which was very neat (minus the drunk students) Now we are in Kyoto which is highly recommended for its shrines and temples and we hope to go to Fuji San from here.
now a word from Joy...
It is amazing being in Japan. I am actually enjoying the challenge of attempting to communicate and get around... it makes for an interesting day! Everything in Japan is so colorful and beautifully displayed. My friend Gail and I are enjoying purchasing random items out of the ample vending machines and discovering new tastes and treats! We are going to stay in a traditional Japanese Inn (ryokan) this evening and explore the temples and shrines around Kyoto.
Gotta go explore!
p.s. If anyone wants (please?) to send us real mail, the list of ports is on our joeandjoy.com page. You just have to make sure you send your letters at least 2 weeks in advance.
BYE!
Joe again... a couple of side notes... if you sent me an email, I probably didn`t respond but most of the work questions that were asked I say GREAT to (laundry, reccomendation)
Maybe if there is time later on this week I will be able to respond better.
Have a great move in everyone and I hear the Crown RAs are just rocking it... so keep up the good work!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Please make comments!
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Looking at Japan Right Now!!!
Just wanted to say hello! We are sitting up in the lounge at the front of the ship peering out at our first international port... JAPAN!! We had an awesome pre-port community lecture last night, where I ended up in tears after a few of our students presented our two Japanese interport students with thank you gifts for joining us from Honolulu to Kobe. I should explain... at each port we pickup one or two international students who are from the port to follow. For example, we picked up two students from Kobe, Japan while we were in Honolulu so that they could travel with us and share their knowledge en route to Japan. In Japan, we'll be picking up a student from China who will travel with us through Hong Kong.
Anyway -- the excitement is extremely high this morning. At barely 5am I heard loud cheers in the hallways as folks were beginning to see the lights of Japan. It's about 6am right now, and practically the entire ship is up & awake peering over the railings in anticipation. It is still unbelievable to me that we will be arriving in JAPAN in less than 2 hours. Hello? We will be in Japan? How amazingly privileged and lucky are we?
A few quick stories before I sign off. Yesterday we had a tour of "The Bridge"-- the main control area of the ship. It was very interesting to see all of the equipment and the 24-hour watch schedule for the officers. I've heard stories about some of the areas in which it is difficult for the officers to manuveur the ship... Kobe can be one of them because of all the fishing boats, some of which are not expecting a giant cruise ship to be appearing in the early morning hours. Another difficult area is when we come around Malasia & Singapore because the straights are so narrow. It will be fun!?
We ended our evening last night with a staff party thrown by the Executive Dean -- chips and salsa and margaritas! What more could you ask for? Well... of course this lead to some more interesting activities. The faculty/staff lounge was transformed into a night club last night -- fog machine and all!!! -- and practically all of the staff and some of the faculty peformed karaoke until about midnight. Some of the classic performances were "Copa Cabana," "Piano Man," "I Got You Babe," and the ever-classic full staff rendition of "YMCA." It was HILARIOUS. I was dragging a little this morning, but it's pretty easy to get excited.
Our plan for the day is to walk into Kobe and explore the city for the afternoon, and then a bunch of us are going to a baseball game in Osaka!!! I'm also hoping to ride the giant ferris wheel in Osaka... good times!
Joe says "hi!"
He will be posting our pictures from our bridge tour and from karaoke later...
Love You All!!! :)
Anyway -- the excitement is extremely high this morning. At barely 5am I heard loud cheers in the hallways as folks were beginning to see the lights of Japan. It's about 6am right now, and practically the entire ship is up & awake peering over the railings in anticipation. It is still unbelievable to me that we will be arriving in JAPAN in less than 2 hours. Hello? We will be in Japan? How amazingly privileged and lucky are we?
A few quick stories before I sign off. Yesterday we had a tour of "The Bridge"-- the main control area of the ship. It was very interesting to see all of the equipment and the 24-hour watch schedule for the officers. I've heard stories about some of the areas in which it is difficult for the officers to manuveur the ship... Kobe can be one of them because of all the fishing boats, some of which are not expecting a giant cruise ship to be appearing in the early morning hours. Another difficult area is when we come around Malasia & Singapore because the straights are so narrow. It will be fun!?
We ended our evening last night with a staff party thrown by the Executive Dean -- chips and salsa and margaritas! What more could you ask for? Well... of course this lead to some more interesting activities. The faculty/staff lounge was transformed into a night club last night -- fog machine and all!!! -- and practically all of the staff and some of the faculty peformed karaoke until about midnight. Some of the classic performances were "Copa Cabana," "Piano Man," "I Got You Babe," and the ever-classic full staff rendition of "YMCA." It was HILARIOUS. I was dragging a little this morning, but it's pretty easy to get excited.
Our plan for the day is to walk into Kobe and explore the city for the afternoon, and then a bunch of us are going to a baseball game in Osaka!!! I'm also hoping to ride the giant ferris wheel in Osaka... good times!
Joe says "hi!"
He will be posting our pictures from our bridge tour and from karaoke later...
Love You All!!! :)
Saturday, September 09, 2006
YAHOO TO JON!!!
A big shout-out to my little bro, Jon, for completing his first olympic distance triathlon at Pacific Grove! My dad said he clocked him at about 3:03!!!! DAMN! That is awesome! I'm so sad that I couldn't be there... I'm even tearing up a little right now!!!!
YOU ARE AWESOME, JON!!! I'm so psyched for you! Get ready for Wildflower in May... we're doing the half-iron together!!! (okay, maybe the olympic... we'll see how we feel).
LOVE YOU LOTS!!!
YOU ARE AWESOME, JON!!! I'm so psyched for you! Get ready for Wildflower in May... we're doing the half-iron together!!! (okay, maybe the olympic... we'll see how we feel).
LOVE YOU LOTS!!!
Friday, September 08, 2006
More than Halfway to Hawaii
Halfway to Japan
Joe and I began our day yesterday doing yoga on the back deck with one of our very talented students, Kailani. It started raining in the middle of the class, but all of us just continued through a number of poses with the rain falling all around us. It was great. I think yoga is definitely going to be my source of balance on this ship because there is so much going on all the time! Every day just flies by. Thank goodness we’ve been gaining an hour practically every day, BUT today we LOST a whole day. For those of you out there who are reading this on Thursday 9/7, let us know how the day went, eh? We went straight from Wednesday to Friday. One of my students’ birthdays was on 9/7, so I made him a “Happy Un-Birthday” poster for his door.
I’ve been noticing recently that the shipboard community is already a pretty tightly-knit group of people. It’s VERY cool. We haven’t even made it to our 2nd port yet, and I already feel like I recognize about 70% of the people on the ship, I have formed at least small connections with maybe 25%, and would consider 10% friends for life. Everything seems to run in fast forward because we are in a contained community. The Student Life staff was reflecting that we already feel like we’ve been working together for years. There are also already a few students who I absolutely adore. It is so fun to get to know the different people on the ship because you know you will be sharing such amazing experiences with them that no one else will. It’s a special community. Last night we had a giant BBQ out on the 7th deck, and you could feel the positive energy. Good stuff.
Joe, Gail, and I started to plan our Japan itinerary and I think we’re tentatively planning on venturing from Kobe to Kyoto to climb Mt. Fuji, then maybe Tokyo for a bit and back to Kobe. I’m also organizing an informal discussion on the ship about climbing Mt. Fuji since it’s 12,388 ft. high, and I’m not sure everyone who is planning to climb it knows what they’re getting into… it’s supposed to be an amazing experience to start the climb late in the evening – around 11pm or midnight – so that you arrive at the summit at sunrise. So, that’s our plan! J
Full Moon on the ocean tonight… woohoo!
Joe and I began our day yesterday doing yoga on the back deck with one of our very talented students, Kailani. It started raining in the middle of the class, but all of us just continued through a number of poses with the rain falling all around us. It was great. I think yoga is definitely going to be my source of balance on this ship because there is so much going on all the time! Every day just flies by. Thank goodness we’ve been gaining an hour practically every day, BUT today we LOST a whole day. For those of you out there who are reading this on Thursday 9/7, let us know how the day went, eh? We went straight from Wednesday to Friday. One of my students’ birthdays was on 9/7, so I made him a “Happy Un-Birthday” poster for his door.
I’ve been noticing recently that the shipboard community is already a pretty tightly-knit group of people. It’s VERY cool. We haven’t even made it to our 2nd port yet, and I already feel like I recognize about 70% of the people on the ship, I have formed at least small connections with maybe 25%, and would consider 10% friends for life. Everything seems to run in fast forward because we are in a contained community. The Student Life staff was reflecting that we already feel like we’ve been working together for years. There are also already a few students who I absolutely adore. It is so fun to get to know the different people on the ship because you know you will be sharing such amazing experiences with them that no one else will. It’s a special community. Last night we had a giant BBQ out on the 7th deck, and you could feel the positive energy. Good stuff.
Joe, Gail, and I started to plan our Japan itinerary and I think we’re tentatively planning on venturing from Kobe to Kyoto to climb Mt. Fuji, then maybe Tokyo for a bit and back to Kobe. I’m also organizing an informal discussion on the ship about climbing Mt. Fuji since it’s 12,388 ft. high, and I’m not sure everyone who is planning to climb it knows what they’re getting into… it’s supposed to be an amazing experience to start the climb late in the evening – around 11pm or midnight – so that you arrive at the summit at sunrise. So, that’s our plan! J
Full Moon on the ocean tonight… woohoo!
First Global Test
I know some of you are jealous of my mastery of the English language but no worries I will explain my secret to you. If the ship is going 17.8 Knotts then does it not make sense that we would be such and such Knottical miles from the closest land. I think so.
Anywho… not much new to report, Today is the first Global Studies test and it is sure to cause some controversy around the ship. I’m gonna take the test just for fun, 50 multiple choice, I’ll let you know how I do.
It is kind of weird being a day ahead of the states, I guess that means that today is move-in at UCSC. Hope it all went well!!!
The thing that is amazing on this Ship is that there is always so much going on and the students actually attend the programming. There was an open-mic last night and it was a lot of fun. I’ll post a humorous video from it later.
We are just North of a new Typhoon forming in the Pacific, we are in no danger but we had a lot of rain yesterday and we were rocking a little bit more last night than usual. But even with that they say this has been the smoothest trip SAS has seen in a long time. Wonder if it will stay this way?
3 days until Japan… getting excited and we actually have a plan.
Anywho… not much new to report, Today is the first Global Studies test and it is sure to cause some controversy around the ship. I’m gonna take the test just for fun, 50 multiple choice, I’ll let you know how I do.
It is kind of weird being a day ahead of the states, I guess that means that today is move-in at UCSC. Hope it all went well!!!
The thing that is amazing on this Ship is that there is always so much going on and the students actually attend the programming. There was an open-mic last night and it was a lot of fun. I’ll post a humorous video from it later.
We are just North of a new Typhoon forming in the Pacific, we are in no danger but we had a lot of rain yesterday and we were rocking a little bit more last night than usual. But even with that they say this has been the smoothest trip SAS has seen in a long time. Wonder if it will stay this way?
3 days until Japan… getting excited and we actually have a plan.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
PICTURE PAGES
phew... finally got some pictures up... Karen the IT staff member told me to go on aroun 0800 because either students are in class or they are sleeping... IT WORKED.
So here are some pics before Hawaii
And here is a fun little movie
So here are some pics before Hawaii
And here is a fun little movie
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
close to Midway
Greetings from 94 knottical miles from Midway Island, which is the closest piece of land to us at the moment.
Our latitude is 26 degrees 41.0 N
Our longitude is 177 degrees 23.7 W for those of you who want to map out where we exactly are.
It has been an interesting couple of days at sea since Hawaii. For one I can not get my damn pictures to upload and not only is it draining my precious minutes but it is making me crazy. But the much bigger thing is that we have moved into talking specifically about the Ports we are going to in Global Studies and while that was thought to be a good thing it ended up causing a HUGE stir on campus yesterday as one of the professors proved to be as ethnocentric as some of the students and managed to completely stereotype all of Japan and alienate many students and staff on bored. Hopefully, good will come from it as there was some students who banded together and are planning some things to hopefully change the course, that at the current state is heading down a negative path. Today, Global studies was much better as two other professors were able to undo some of the damage done yesterday.
Not sure if I talked about how crazy it was for me to be on land… I got more sick, though it still was minimal, while walking around Hono, then I did on the ship. And we were only on the ship for what, 5 days… Japan is going to be interesting.
Last night the whole ship had to fill out many forms for the various Ports we will be visiting and you have not seen chaos until you try and get 500+ people to fill out paperwork that in cases like Japan cannot have any mistakes.
In a couple days we will loose Sept. 7, so if someone out there would be so kind as to let us know what happens that would be great.
Speaking of rainbows… last night we went through a couple of Squalls and they produced the two most amazing rainbows. At one point you could see the rainbows going down into the ocean(possible illusion) and the colors were so vibrant that you could not see through them. Of course I did not have a camera with me so there will be no pics but the sunrise this morning was great and the picture is of that.
I think that is it for now… good day
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Post Hawaii Thoughts...
Post Hawaii Thoughts…
It is getting consistently more difficult to find time to write. But, here I am nonetheless, even though I have a ton of work to do. I’m feeling a little paralyzed by how much I have to accomplish before we get to Japan, but I’m sure it will be fine… may as well procrastinate a bit by writing on our blog!
I’ve decided to take an additional class on the ship – “Women in World Religions.” The class meets every other day from 0800-0915, right before Global Studies, so it works out perfectly for my schedule. It’s taught by Carolyn Heinz, and she’s a great professor. I’m really enjoying the class so far, and since I’m so interested in religion, it will serve as a great context for all of the countries we are visiting. It’s a fun class, too, because it’s all female students (go figure) so it’s very empowering to have discussions with all women. Good stuff.
Our brief day in Hawaii was fabulous, as Hawaii always is. It felt amazing to set foot on land after being at sea for almost a week. Everyone was super anxious to get off the ship, so disembarking was a little chaotic, but I think everyone was off by 9:30am. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, so we spent a lot of our day just walking around Waikiki. First things first, Joe and I purchased our Japan rail passes for our adventures in Japan. It seemed believable that we were going to Hawaii, but now it seems unreal that our next port will be Japan! I am now further than I’ve ever been west of the island of Kauai. We have 8 full days on the ship until Japan, so I’m sure we’ll all be very anxious at the end of this stint at sea, too. Anyway – Joe and I, and one of my fellow RDs - Gail, plan to hike Mt. Fuji while we’re in Japan. (I know you’re jealous, Mom & Dad!!) We’ll need the rail pass to get to the mountain, plus we thought it would be a great way to see other spots in Japan like Hiroshima. We’re also signed up to go to a Japanese baseball game in Kobe, which I’ve heard is an awesome cultural experience.
Anyway – after buying rail passes we went to the one-&-only “Eggs ‘n Things” restaurant!! This place is said to have the best breakfast on all of Oahu, and – as some of you know - Joe really wanted to go there when we were in Honolulu for the marathon. It never worked out, mostly because there were always monster-long lines, BUT!! Yesterday there was only a short wait, and we officially got to experience “Eggs ‘n Things.” Among our friends at the table, we had delicious treats like french toast with papaya, macadamia nuts & whipped cream; fresh banana pancakes; and coconut waffles. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Needless to say, it was worth the stop. Next, we poked around the International Marketplace and then headed to Waikiki Beach to jump in the ocean!! It was absolutely gorgeous, the water was perfect, and it felt so good to swim and move my body in ways that I can’t on the ship. We also checked out the Okinawa Festival, saw some traditional dancing, and ate anidaga(?)– Japanese donuts. Yum.
We rounded out our day in Hawaii at the exciting landmark know as “FoodLand.” I know… not really exciting, but a little exciting in the sense that we were able to stock up on some treats that we may not see for a while, like wheat thins, cheez-its, red vines, … etc. It was a fabulous day, but way too short. I wish we had at least one more day in Hawaii, but I’m probably not as sad as the folks who have never been to HI before.
There was a little drama at re-embarkation… some students tried to smuggle alcohol on to the ship, but were largely unsuccessful thanks to the super strict port security. A few of the items used to smuggle in alcohol were: filling water bottles with vodka (seemingly a smart idea, but actually not), filling shampoo bottles with alcohol, and – my personal favorite – filling up BINOCULARS with alcohol. All unsuccessful attempts. I don’t understand how students can decide to spend their ONLY day in Hawaii constructing different ways to smuggle alcohol onto the ship. Is it REALLY that important, people?
For all of you out there who are reading this, please keep in mind that this is the MINORITY of students who are trying to do stupid stuff like this. In fact, most of their peers think they are dumbasses, too. Anyway – most of them got busted, and will face the consequences, so hopefully that will deter most folks from now on.
Well, I have got to get some work done! I’m frantically trying to coordinate the fitness class schedule for the ship, get intramurals going up on Deck 7, and start planning the Sea Olympics! In the meantime, I’m still trying to get to know all of the students in my sea, which IS NOT easy! I see some of them everywhere, but others are harder to locate on a daily basis. At least I know they aren’t going anywhere!!
A couple shout-outs:
Nancy – I’ve been meaning to tell you – Gretchen & Ray are on our voyage, too! Did you know that? They wanted me to say “Hello” and give you a cyber-hug!! They always say, “Oh, we LOVE Nancy!!!” They’re such great people.
Mom & Dad, and Ed & Zoe – SO GLAD I caught you on the phone yesterday… so fun to hear your voices!
Jon – Heard you were a bad-ass in the ocean the other day… You are SO READY for the triathlon on Saturday!!! I’m so excited for you and SO SO SO WISH I could be there! Please know I’ll be thinking about you A TON!!!
College 8 Peeps – Hope the beginning of RA training goes awesome!!!
It is getting consistently more difficult to find time to write. But, here I am nonetheless, even though I have a ton of work to do. I’m feeling a little paralyzed by how much I have to accomplish before we get to Japan, but I’m sure it will be fine… may as well procrastinate a bit by writing on our blog!
I’ve decided to take an additional class on the ship – “Women in World Religions.” The class meets every other day from 0800-0915, right before Global Studies, so it works out perfectly for my schedule. It’s taught by Carolyn Heinz, and she’s a great professor. I’m really enjoying the class so far, and since I’m so interested in religion, it will serve as a great context for all of the countries we are visiting. It’s a fun class, too, because it’s all female students (go figure) so it’s very empowering to have discussions with all women. Good stuff.
Our brief day in Hawaii was fabulous, as Hawaii always is. It felt amazing to set foot on land after being at sea for almost a week. Everyone was super anxious to get off the ship, so disembarking was a little chaotic, but I think everyone was off by 9:30am. It was absolutely gorgeous outside, so we spent a lot of our day just walking around Waikiki. First things first, Joe and I purchased our Japan rail passes for our adventures in Japan. It seemed believable that we were going to Hawaii, but now it seems unreal that our next port will be Japan! I am now further than I’ve ever been west of the island of Kauai. We have 8 full days on the ship until Japan, so I’m sure we’ll all be very anxious at the end of this stint at sea, too. Anyway – Joe and I, and one of my fellow RDs - Gail, plan to hike Mt. Fuji while we’re in Japan. (I know you’re jealous, Mom & Dad!!) We’ll need the rail pass to get to the mountain, plus we thought it would be a great way to see other spots in Japan like Hiroshima. We’re also signed up to go to a Japanese baseball game in Kobe, which I’ve heard is an awesome cultural experience.
Anyway – after buying rail passes we went to the one-&-only “Eggs ‘n Things” restaurant!! This place is said to have the best breakfast on all of Oahu, and – as some of you know - Joe really wanted to go there when we were in Honolulu for the marathon. It never worked out, mostly because there were always monster-long lines, BUT!! Yesterday there was only a short wait, and we officially got to experience “Eggs ‘n Things.” Among our friends at the table, we had delicious treats like french toast with papaya, macadamia nuts & whipped cream; fresh banana pancakes; and coconut waffles. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Needless to say, it was worth the stop. Next, we poked around the International Marketplace and then headed to Waikiki Beach to jump in the ocean!! It was absolutely gorgeous, the water was perfect, and it felt so good to swim and move my body in ways that I can’t on the ship. We also checked out the Okinawa Festival, saw some traditional dancing, and ate anidaga(?)– Japanese donuts. Yum.
We rounded out our day in Hawaii at the exciting landmark know as “FoodLand.” I know… not really exciting, but a little exciting in the sense that we were able to stock up on some treats that we may not see for a while, like wheat thins, cheez-its, red vines, … etc. It was a fabulous day, but way too short. I wish we had at least one more day in Hawaii, but I’m probably not as sad as the folks who have never been to HI before.
There was a little drama at re-embarkation… some students tried to smuggle alcohol on to the ship, but were largely unsuccessful thanks to the super strict port security. A few of the items used to smuggle in alcohol were: filling water bottles with vodka (seemingly a smart idea, but actually not), filling shampoo bottles with alcohol, and – my personal favorite – filling up BINOCULARS with alcohol. All unsuccessful attempts. I don’t understand how students can decide to spend their ONLY day in Hawaii constructing different ways to smuggle alcohol onto the ship. Is it REALLY that important, people?
For all of you out there who are reading this, please keep in mind that this is the MINORITY of students who are trying to do stupid stuff like this. In fact, most of their peers think they are dumbasses, too. Anyway – most of them got busted, and will face the consequences, so hopefully that will deter most folks from now on.
Well, I have got to get some work done! I’m frantically trying to coordinate the fitness class schedule for the ship, get intramurals going up on Deck 7, and start planning the Sea Olympics! In the meantime, I’m still trying to get to know all of the students in my sea, which IS NOT easy! I see some of them everywhere, but others are harder to locate on a daily basis. At least I know they aren’t going anywhere!!
A couple shout-outs:
Nancy – I’ve been meaning to tell you – Gretchen & Ray are on our voyage, too! Did you know that? They wanted me to say “Hello” and give you a cyber-hug!! They always say, “Oh, we LOVE Nancy!!!” They’re such great people.
Mom & Dad, and Ed & Zoe – SO GLAD I caught you on the phone yesterday… so fun to hear your voices!
Jon – Heard you were a bad-ass in the ocean the other day… You are SO READY for the triathlon on Saturday!!! I’m so excited for you and SO SO SO WISH I could be there! Please know I’ll be thinking about you A TON!!!
College 8 Peeps – Hope the beginning of RA training goes awesome!!!
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Made it to Hawaii...
There is a huge line to get of the ship so I thought I would write a little note. Sailing into Hawaii was amazing. We woke up at 5:30 to see the sunrise and to see O'ahu in the early morn. Very beautiful, have some good pictures that I will post tonight or tomorrow. Also, fun video of the Pilot coming onboard...
Trying to get a Japan rail pass today and possible going to Pearl Harbor... we shall see... any plans we make will probably be changed so... no plans.
Aloha... joe
Trying to get a Japan rail pass today and possible going to Pearl Harbor... we shall see... any plans we make will probably be changed so... no plans.
Aloha... joe
Friday, September 01, 2006
Aloha!!!!
I’m sure everyone has noticed the stark comparison between Joy’s entries and mine. I’ve never been good at keeping a journal and I guess this is no different.
Like to give a shout out to the Crown RAs who, I believe, returned to campus today. I’m not really sure what day it is. We have gained an hour every night for the past 3 nights and I’ve lost any clue what day it is.
We can see Hawaii on the little map on our tv, should be able to see the big island tomorrow as we sail on by. We had really nice weather today and even sitting out on by the pool at 2100 writing this it is warm. The warm weather means that we now have a number of sunburnt students who sat outside all day long.
Haven’t been able to go to any classes except the Global Studies class because of my hours in the Text book center, hopefully that will change after Sunday, when I will be done with the text book portion of my job for awhile.
I enjoy the global studies class but I think I may be one of the few, I’ve been trying to think if I would have liked it as a 20 year old college student and I don’t think I would have. Sign of old age, I guess, or maybe its wisdom. It would be an impossible class to teach, you have students all over the ship so the class can’t be interactive or you leave half the students out and you have a number of other faculty members critiquing every class. Overheard some of them “objecting” to the way it was being taught but like I said, I happen to enjoy it.
Tonight we had a community college chat about malaria. Amazing the number of students who did not bring any kind of medication with them, not only for malaria but also for typhoid. Luckily, it is available on the ship.
The “Aft”er hours is mellowing out nicely, students have to study so the numbers of them drinking has gone down by almost half. Though I am still floored by how much the ship can turn into a trendy night club every night. Kind of weird and I get the feeling the students see this as more of a vacation then an education. I hope I’m wrong for most of them, but I know I’m not for some. Have a feeling this trip will make them even more ethnocentric then they already are, more sure that the U.S. is “right” in all it does, and there is nothing to learn from the rest of the world.
Time will tell… night!!!!!
joe
Like to give a shout out to the Crown RAs who, I believe, returned to campus today. I’m not really sure what day it is. We have gained an hour every night for the past 3 nights and I’ve lost any clue what day it is.
We can see Hawaii on the little map on our tv, should be able to see the big island tomorrow as we sail on by. We had really nice weather today and even sitting out on by the pool at 2100 writing this it is warm. The warm weather means that we now have a number of sunburnt students who sat outside all day long.
Haven’t been able to go to any classes except the Global Studies class because of my hours in the Text book center, hopefully that will change after Sunday, when I will be done with the text book portion of my job for awhile.
I enjoy the global studies class but I think I may be one of the few, I’ve been trying to think if I would have liked it as a 20 year old college student and I don’t think I would have. Sign of old age, I guess, or maybe its wisdom. It would be an impossible class to teach, you have students all over the ship so the class can’t be interactive or you leave half the students out and you have a number of other faculty members critiquing every class. Overheard some of them “objecting” to the way it was being taught but like I said, I happen to enjoy it.
Tonight we had a community college chat about malaria. Amazing the number of students who did not bring any kind of medication with them, not only for malaria but also for typhoid. Luckily, it is available on the ship.
The “Aft”er hours is mellowing out nicely, students have to study so the numbers of them drinking has gone down by almost half. Though I am still floored by how much the ship can turn into a trendy night club every night. Kind of weird and I get the feeling the students see this as more of a vacation then an education. I hope I’m wrong for most of them, but I know I’m not for some. Have a feeling this trip will make them even more ethnocentric then they already are, more sure that the U.S. is “right” in all it does, and there is nothing to learn from the rest of the world.
Time will tell… night!!!!!
joe
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