Trying a fresh Oyster for the first time with my friend Emily Binkowski!
Tsujiki Fish Market!
The best sushi I have ever had, straight from the market!
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
We Made It To Japan!
Richie and I on the Bridge! (Where the captain steers the boat)
Arriving in Yokohama, Japan!!
Finally on land afar 10 days at sea!
Bullet Train to Tokyo
First legal drink, eh? (Drinking age in Japan: 20)
Exploring Dowtown Tokyo and found a sacred temple!
Red represents protection and the red torri's above represent a sacred place
Downtown Toyko (Shinjuku District)
Our first hostel! Each of us get a bed that we crawl into (:
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Life At Sea
The past couple of days the weather has been phenomenal-- sunshine
and blue sky as far as the eye can see! I've read a whole book on deck
two days ago, and fried myself in the sunshine. I've watched every
sunrise and sunset on the boat, but the best time is sitting under the
stars and talking for hours with friends on the back deck.
The other night a bunch of my friends and I went to pub night on
the 7th deck (the drinking age is 18 under International Water Laws),
and right after went to a Salsa dancing class in the Union. There was a
ridiculous amount of people trying to learn Salsa dancing, but it made
the night that much better. My friend Richie and I were learning the
dances together and then inevitably started making up our own moves.
He's actually really good, and I don't think I'm too bad thanks to Danza
Kaduro, Freshman year, Lexi and Reema! haha Anyways, there was a
competition at the end and of course we were all in. The next thing I
know around 100 people or so were surrounding Richie and I in a circle
and we were salsa dancing around acting like we actually knew what we
were doing. I mean, I don't want to reveal all of our dancing secrets
but one of the best moves was Richie ripping his shirt open and
shimmy-ing while I walked around him and clapped, and spun and dipped
(if you can imagine any of that)!
We definitely laughed the night away.
Something really exciting that happened today was that I went back
in time! SAS told us that when we went to bed it would be Monday, then
when we woke up in the morning it would be Wednesday! We didn't actually
cross the International Date Line at night, but they said we did for
class purposes the following day. But at 2:40pm we passed the Date Line
and we all ran from one side of the ship to the other and technically
"went back in time"! (;
7 DAYS TILL JAPAN
"Wherever you go, go with all of your heart." - Confucius
and blue sky as far as the eye can see! I've read a whole book on deck
two days ago, and fried myself in the sunshine. I've watched every
sunrise and sunset on the boat, but the best time is sitting under the
stars and talking for hours with friends on the back deck.
The other night a bunch of my friends and I went to pub night on
the 7th deck (the drinking age is 18 under International Water Laws),
and right after went to a Salsa dancing class in the Union. There was a
ridiculous amount of people trying to learn Salsa dancing, but it made
the night that much better. My friend Richie and I were learning the
dances together and then inevitably started making up our own moves.
He's actually really good, and I don't think I'm too bad thanks to Danza
Kaduro, Freshman year, Lexi and Reema! haha Anyways, there was a
competition at the end and of course we were all in. The next thing I
know around 100 people or so were surrounding Richie and I in a circle
and we were salsa dancing around acting like we actually knew what we
were doing. I mean, I don't want to reveal all of our dancing secrets
but one of the best moves was Richie ripping his shirt open and
shimmy-ing while I walked around him and clapped, and spun and dipped
(if you can imagine any of that)!
We definitely laughed the night away.
Something really exciting that happened today was that I went back
in time! SAS told us that when we went to bed it would be Monday, then
when we woke up in the morning it would be Wednesday! We didn't actually
cross the International Date Line at night, but they said we did for
class purposes the following day. But at 2:40pm we passed the Date Line
and we all ran from one side of the ship to the other and technically
"went back in time"! (;
7 DAYS TILL JAPAN
"Wherever you go, go with all of your heart." - Confucius
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
The back of the MV Explorer leaving Ensenada, Mexico!
The first sunrise (:
On the back of the pictures in every room previous students write advice to the new students on the ship! Its a tradition!
My roommate Emily!
Rainbow Falls, Hilo Hawaii
Black Sand Beach, Hawaii
Me swimming with turtles! @ambeekman
1 Week In 1 Post
We left San Diego by bus and drove to Ensenada, Mexico. When we arrived at port the ship was breath-taking! I still can't believe this is where I live and go to school. My roommate Emily is from Boston, a sophomore at Chapman, and she is the sweetest girl! We're in cabin 4136, on the fourth floor. Every other morning we do sunrise yoga with a good group of people outside on deck 7. I've realized that showering, reading, and working out are extremely difficult to do on a rocking boat but I'm starting to get the hang of it!
Fun fact: Google Semester at Sea in '05. There are videos of a 50ft wave crashing through the front of the boat and breaking all of the windows. Evidently, they even used their radio to say they were going down! Right as I learned this, there was an announcement that we would be hitting rough water the next day. Not what you want to tell a girl who's biggest nightmare is the ship sinking! haha Come hell and high water, eh? We were sitting on chairs up on deck 6 and the waves hitting the boat would rock it to the point of sliding on our chairs from one side of the deck towards the other. They closed the top and front deck because of high winds. Apparently the worst part is from Hawaii to Japan, its a two week stretch of high water that can get three times larger than that! Tylenol PM will definitely be on my side.
On a better note, living on ship is like a dream. After class, everyone goes to lay out on the pool deck. Some people read, listen to music, workout on deck, or journal. Its easy to forget that this is also school for us because its more like paradise! The people I've met are unforgettable, and this trip has only just begun!
I'm finally in Hawaii! We woke up early and watched the ship pull into port, while the sun was rising and our friend Brennan played ukelele! It was perfect. Today we went to Rainbow Falls, the local farmers market, ocean sushi (the best sushi I've ever had) and Black Sand Beach where I swam with enormous turtles! It was an amazing and beautiful day (:
I also won't be able to post until Japan in two weeks, so check back after that!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
'Twas the night before Semester at Sea
San Diego, CA January 9th, 2014 9:46pm
Goodbyes suck, period.
Today, in typical Amanda-travel style, I finished packing at two in the morning. Which was rather entertaining since we left for the airport at three thirty am! Momma Beekman and I spent the day walking around the San Diego bay front and exploring the city.
Last minute stresses are finally falling into place, and the excitement of the trip is setting in. Around 50 Semester at Sea students took over the first floor of the Hard Rock Cafe and we had dinner together. I made plans with Miles and Melissa to swim with sharks in Cape Town, and stay in the Marina Bay Sans Resort in Singapore (apparently there is an infinity pool on the top- google it, its insane). My mom went to a parent seminar on the MV Explorer, where she was able to walk around the entire cruise ship. She loved it.
There are some great people that are going to be on this trip, and I already know this is going to be a semester to remember!
xo
Amanda
Goodbyes suck, period.
Today, in typical Amanda-travel style, I finished packing at two in the morning. Which was rather entertaining since we left for the airport at three thirty am! Momma Beekman and I spent the day walking around the San Diego bay front and exploring the city.
Last minute stresses are finally falling into place, and the excitement of the trip is setting in. Around 50 Semester at Sea students took over the first floor of the Hard Rock Cafe and we had dinner together. I made plans with Miles and Melissa to swim with sharks in Cape Town, and stay in the Marina Bay Sans Resort in Singapore (apparently there is an infinity pool on the top- google it, its insane). My mom went to a parent seminar on the MV Explorer, where she was able to walk around the entire cruise ship. She loved it.
There are some great people that are going to be on this trip, and I already know this is going to be a semester to remember!
xo
Amanda
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