One Year Later

So it's been one whole year since I embarked on my journey around the world. So where am I now? Since disembarking the MV Explorer for the last time, I've had a lot to adapt to. Life when it's not on a ship is just not the same. I don't have the beautiful view of the ocean anytime I poke my head out the door. I don't have the amazing crew saying "hi" anytime I pass by. I don't have a handy dandy green sheet telling me all that I need to know to get through the next week and port. The list can go on of all of the things that I don't have now that I no longer live aboard the MV Explorer, but the list of the things that I do have greatly outweigh it.

Upon returning home, Amy and I were forced to deal with the reality that our dear friend Ashley Valente would not be there to greet us off the plane from San Diego, as we had planned, and she would not be there for any other occasion again. It was a harsh reality, and honestly, I’m still coping every day. The days following our return were filled with grief and mourning as we attend the wake and funeral of one of the most amazing and beautiful friends I had ever known. It is times like these when you realize what is important in life. It is the people around you, your friends and family, that gets you through everyday, and they are the ones that matter.

Returning to “regular” life was hard enough without having to cope with the loss of Ashley, but it was something that I needed to do. I was no longer on the MV Explorer and I was back in Wilmington, Massachusetts, my home. I returned to work at the good ole’ 99 Restaurant where my amazing co-workers greeted me back with open arms, even my new general manager, whom I had never met until I was back in the states asking for hours J Getting back to this routine was not the easiest thing. I was used to getting up and exploring a new country every week, and now I was getting up and going to work or starting the new semester at Salem State. It was a hard adjustment, to say the least.

School started up again, much to my chagrin. I was jumping back into classes headfirst and before I knew it schoolwork was taking over my life. Not to mention that while going to school full time, I was also working thirty to forty hours at work. Needless to say I did not have a lot of time for friends and fun. But it is times like this when you realize who your friends really are. Yes, I was going to school and working a ton, but my friends and I would make sure to make time to hang out whenever possible. We were all still reeling from Ashley’s death, and we all needed to rally around each other and help each other through it, even though all of our schedules were extremely hectic. Just knowing that my friends would always be there, no matter how often we saw each other or not. I always know that I can call them up and they will be there in a second.

It still seems like a dream that in one year’s time I sailed around the world and learned so much about the world and my place in it. Semester at Sea taught me so much about who I am as a person, and the impact that I can have if I set my mind to it. From all that I’ve seen in the various countries, I know that in some way my goal in life is make a difference, as small or as big as it may be, whatever it may be. I no longer take things for granted because you never know when it wont be there anymore. There have been days since I’ve been home that have seemed like they are the worst days, whether it’s because I’m stressed out with schoolwork, had an argument with a loved one, missing loved ones, or just missing the ship and my life a year ago, but then I remember the villages in India or the poverty in Ghana and I realize that there are people who would kill to have what I have. My worst day could be their best day and just knowing that makes me have a different outlook on the situation.

I don’t know what life holds for me or what the next page in my life’s story holds, but the one thing I do know is that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. I have amazing people by my side in my family and friends. Semester at Sea changed my life and I am forever grateful. I have my whole life before me and I’m just taking it one step at a time, one day at a time. In the words of Desmond Tutu, “continue to be idealistic. Dream, dream, dream the craziest dreams.” And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. 

Last Day on the MV Explorer :(

I cant believe that this is my last day on the MV Explorer. This trip has been the voyage of a lifetime and now I am going around the ship taking pictures and trying to capture these last few moments as much as I can. I am filled with sadness, but it is for more than just because I am leaving this ship and these amazing people whom I have come to love and who have become a second family to me these last few months.

 

I, unfortunately, had to change my plans in San Diego and change my flights so that I could go home much sooner than expected. Yesturday, Amy and I got probably the worst news we could have gotten. Our best friend, Ashley Valente, was killed in a car accident early that morning. It was such a hard day and it is still a state of shock and anger and sadness. We are just trying to cope right now and get through these next couple of days before we can be home. I have never felt this much pain and I dont know what to do about it. We are trying to be there for each other as much as we can, while dealing with our own grief. We are able to be home Tuesday night and the services will be on Wednesday and Thursday so we will be able to be with all of our friends and family during these hard times.

 

So with the sadness of leaving this voyage and the unbearable grief over losing Ashley, this voyage is coming to an end on a very sad note. I cant change that, as much as I want to, I cant but I know that in a few days I will be home with everyone who I know and love and everyone who knew and loved her as much as I did and we will be grieving together and for the forseeable future. I know that she is watching over us and is our guardian angel. She will never leave our hearts.

 

All I can do right now is try to capture these last few hours that I have on the ship before we disembark tomorrow morning, as hard as that might be.

 

Thank you Semester at Sea for giving me the semester of a lifetime. I have learned and experienced so much and am eternally grateful. I am forever changed and I just hope that all that I have learned will help me in the future to make a difference in this world.

I've Had The Time of My Life.

Now that the Alumni Ball is over, and I am officially an SAS Alumni, it really means that this voyage is coming to an end. It just doesn’t seem real to me right now, that I’m not going to be off the ship in a couple days with this semester complete. I feel like I am going to be in San Diego, looking for my green sheet letting me know when on ship time is to let me know what day and when I have to be back on the ship. It doesn’t seem real that I’m not going to wake up every morning and see all of these people who have grown to be my family. I have spent the last three and a half months with these people and can’t imagine leaving them so soon. I am going to miss them so much. I just don’t think it is going to really hit me until I am in San Diego and I can watch the ship pull away and I’m not on it, or when I am at home for a couple days, or even weeks, and realize that this journey in my life has ended and all that I am left with are the memories and experiences.

I know that this voyage is a time in my life that I will never forget. I have learned so much, in the classroom, and especially out of the classroom. This experience taught me so much about life and the world that I would have never been able to learn in the classroom back home. I got to go to an actual bull fight in Spain, trek through the Sahara Desert on a camel and sleep under the stars in Morocco, help build a house for Habitat for Humanity in Ghana, see the view from the top of Table Mountain in South Africa, see the home of the extinct Dodo bird and hike to amazing waterfalls in Mauritius, learn of the child labor situation and interact with many of these children in India, see the craziness of the shopping in Singapore, learned to bargain while in the markets of Vietnam while also visiting and climbing through the Cu Chi Tunnels, hike and sleep on the Great Wall of China in China, travel all over the city and see cars being produced in Japan, see the Pearl Harbor memorial in Hawaii, and so much more. This is the most valuable education I could have possibly gotten, because I was able to interact with all of the people in these countries and learn about their life, because they are people too and they have stories to tell.

I just hope that the rest of this shipboard community from the Fall 2010 Voyage remembers the truly amazing gift that we have been given to be able to embark on this voyage. I hope that they remember what they have just done (we just circumnavigated the globe!!) and use this experience to make a difference in the world and change it for the better. This is our time to make a difference and learn from our experiences to create a better world for tomorrow. We have been given this opportunity to sail around the world. I just hope that it isn’t taken for granted.

As sad as I am for this voyage to end, I am so excited to see my friends and family again! I miss them all so much!

Imagine the World as One

Alumni Ball—December 10, 2010

The Alumni Ball has finally arrived. We have been planning this for months and it is finally here. This is the time in which we all become Semester at Sea Alumni. It sounds so weird to say that, especially since it has been a long time coming.

The day started off with the dreaded Global Studies final exam. We had all been studying for our other finals for about three days, so this one was just the final straw and we could not wait for it to be over. We got to the test and were done in about 30 minutes—not too bad. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, so that was a relief. The end of the test was what started the excitement, because once the last question was answered and the test was turned in, we were done with school work for the semester!!

As part of the committee, we were responsible for coming up with/making the decorations for the event later this evening. So we got together and finished making the million hands that we had and the posters with different quotes on them to hang around the main dining room.

Our theme for the ball was “Imagine the World as One” so we came up with the idea to have hands all around the room decorated in different ways (flags from the countries we have visited, the ten different seas that make up the voyage, ones that the kids decorated, even ones that spelled out “Imagine One World”). So we had them hung up all around (there were about 200 of them) and then we have two different posters (one with Imagine the World as One—Fall 2010 Voyage with the world in the background, and then one with a Desmond Tutu quote “Continue to be idealistic. Dream, dream, dream the craziest dreams” which he said in the global studies lecture on Oct 2, 2010 on this voyage). The decorations came out awesome!

Before the first seating was going to arrive, we needed to set up the dining room. The crew took care of setting each place setting, but we needed to arrange the programs and the SAS lapel pins that we all receive. Once that was complete, we could all disperse and finally get ready.

In order to arrange the ball so that everyone could sit in the main dining room, we needed to have two separate seating’s, since not everyone can dine in the main dining room at the same time since there is not enough room. So, the first seating was at 5:30pm with Desmond Tutu and Dean Sue and the next at 8:00pm with Dean David and the Captain. I was at the second seating. There was the entertainment portion of the ball that would take place at the opposite time to which you were dining (if you were at the first seating, you went to the entertainment in the Union after dinner, and if you were at the second seating, you went to entertainment before dinner). The entertainment (at least at the session I attended) was multiple students performing “If You’re Out There” by John Legend and two of my friends Marissa and Krissy singing “ You Got a Friend in Me” by Carole King. There were also a few poetry readings and then Photo Mike presented the slideshow that we have been waiting for so long to see. This was a combined video/photo slideshow from the entire voyage from embarkation to the end, which is rapidly approaching. The slideshow was amazing and almost made me cry. It is going to be put in the public folder on the computers so I will be able to put it on my flash drive so that everyone at home can see it.

Dinner was amazing! It was a five-course meal consisting of appetizers (bruschetta), broccoli and cheddar soup, Caesar salad, Filet Mignon (yummmm!!!) and then a dessert buffet to follow upstairs on the sixth deck. There were other menu options, but this was the dinner I had and it was amazing!!

At dinner, Amy was the one who introduced Dean David, and she was even the host of the entertainment portion. She did an awesome job and I was so proud of her. She was able to be the one to announce that we are all Alumni now!!

After the dinner and entertainment portions were complete and dessert was served, there was a dance up on the 7^th deck by the pool bar. It was honestly hilarious because it felt like we were back in 6^th grade at the dances we used to have. Just picture this: DJ, strobe lights, awkward grinding, and random hookups happening. It was hilarious to watch and take pictures of.

The Alumni Ball was so much fun and it was such a good way to end the voyage. We have two more days filled with reflections and convocations and some more packing! (my room looks like a bomb went off. We have been packing for days and now our suitcases can’t fit under the beds anymore, so they are placed all over the room and you need a map key to navigate your way around it. It’s bad!!) Two more days then disembarkation and then three days in San Diego before flying back to Boston!! I miss Boston so much and hope there is snow on the ground so I can have a white Christmas!!

Reflections

As we were all on the ship that night, I went up to the 7^th deck to watch us pull out of the port and it all hit me. This was the last time we would be pulling out of the port, the last time I would be getting on the gangway to get on the ship. I got really sad for a while. This journey is coming to an end and my emotions are all over the place. I’m not going to lie when I say that I am so excited to go home and see all of my friends and family, but at the same time I am incredibly sad that this time in my life is ending. It is just all starting to hit me now.

Last night we had a meeting about disembarkation in San Diego and finding out all of the logistics of how the morning of Dec 13^th is going to go. I just have to enjoy San Diego as much as possible and then be ready to go home, which I know I will be. I miss everyone so much. So once Dec 16^th hits and I am on the plane on my way back to Boston, I will be happy and excited to see everyone. I am just sad that this voyage is coming to an end and I will have to watch the ship sail away without me on it. Maybe I should sign up for the Open Ship the day after we get off, just so I can get back on again?!?! haha trust me I’ve considered it.

Aloha :)

When we were able to clear the ship upon arrival in Honolulu, Amy, Ashleigh, and I got off the ship and wandered around for a little bit. We had to find an ATM and then decided to just wander around the island for a little bit. We made our way across the city, and found a mall with California Pizza Kitchen. We had been craving some good ole’ American pizza so we knew we were in the right place. And when I looked at the menu and found Strawberry Margaritas I was in heaven. I hadn’t had a margarita in almost 4 months and I was due haha.  It was so weird because this was the first port that I actually got carded and my driver’s license actually meant something again. I actually felt like I was at home again. It was nice.

After a day of wandering around the city we sat outside and watched the sunset and got dinner and then just relaxed for the night. We were going to get up really early to go into the city the next day.

The next morning we got up early, got breakfast on the ship and then made our way to Pearl Harbor! I was so excited to go. I have always wanted to see the memorial. We got there and had to wait for the next ferry to take us to the USS Arizona Memorial. So we wandered around the Remembrance Circle and Contemplation Circle, reading all of the plaques and seeing all of the photographs of what happened on that fateful day in history. It is one thing to learn about in through text books, but entirely something else when you are at the actual site where it happened and all of those lives were lost. We were taken by ferry to the memorial and walked through to the wall of names of those lost that day in the USS Arizona.  All 1177 names are written on this marble wall in remembrance, with 38 brothers and one father and son. We learned that on Dec 7, 1941, 21 ships of the US Pacific Fleet of the US Navy were either sunk or heavily damaged, and two of those ships still remain in Pearl Harbor today (USS Arizona and USS Utah). Walking through the memorial was a surreal experience because on this day and at this moment, I was standing over the USS Arizona where it was sunk on Dec 7, 1941, still leaking oil 69 years later and this was the event that led to the US’s entrance in WWII. It is such a major part of our nation’s history and I was standing there at the site and had to take a couple of moments to take it all in.

After leaving Pearl Harbor, Amy, Ashleigh, and I walked to Aloha Stadium, about a mile down the road. My dad and nana had been telling me for months about this huge flea market that takes place at Aloha Stadium on the weekends (they used to live on Oahu years ago so they had plenty of tips of things to do and see while here). Unfortunately when we got there we learned that there was a football game later in the afternoon, so the Swap Meet was closed. I was sad, but happy at the same time. I wouldn’t be spending any more money. After Vietnam and China, my wallet was smoking and needed a break, so even though I was sad I didn’t get to see the HUGE flea market, I was happy too.

We had time before on ship time so we were trying to think of something to do. We took the bus back towards the ship because there were some little souvenir shops that we wanted to make it to. So we went there and got some little things and were talking to the vendors and they told us about the beaches and state parks that we could go to, but to watch the time because when we would be trying to come back, there is going to be heavy traffic. So we would need to leave much earlier than we would normally plan to, because going to someplace that is only 15 mins away, can take up to an hour. We didn’t want to stress and risk dock time, so we got some lunch and wandered around the port for a little bit. Then we got back on the ship, changed into our swimsuits and went to the 7^th deck to get some tans while lying out. We figured we would do the same thing at the beach, but instead of running around stressing about the time, we can lie out and tan on the 7^th deck. I just wish we had more time in Honolulu, because there are a bunch of things I wish I could have done and seen like Waikiki Beach, but I’m sure I will return at some point in my life so it’s okay.

We all sailed over night on the ship to Hilo. When we arrived the next morning, Amy and I made our way to Richardson State Park, a black sand beach on the island. It was not what we were expecting but really cool. When we asked the people at the port for the nearest beaches we were expecting nice white sand beaches with sand and beach for miles, but when we got there, there were black sand and little patches of beach with rocks all around. The lifeguard explained that all of the beaches on the island are similar to this because this is the island that is mainly the volcano island so there is rocks and lava all around.  We made the most of it. Within an hour this patch of beach was invaded by SAS. Everywhere you looked there were more and more SAS’ers showing up. It wasn’t that bad though. I saw huge sea turtles which I was so excited about J We relaxed for a little bit and then went back to the ship to get showered and ready. We got tickets to a Luau that night so we got changed and then made our way to the bus to go there. It was an SAS trip so there were about 30 of us who got to go. It was at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. I was a little confused because anytime I thought of a luau I thought of being on a beach, not on a porch. It was still lots of fun though. There were different stations for learning how to make lei’s, hula dancing, tie dye scarf making, and stamp print making. There were so many of us that they needed to break us up, so I started off learning to make lei’s. These weren’t typical flower leis, they were made out of Hawaiian tea leaves and woven. It took some practice, but I eventually learned the hang of it and made a lei. I even wove a little flower into it. I was so proud of myself. Before I knew it, it was time to eat. I was a little nervous because by the looks of the menu, I wasn’t sure I was going to like any of the food. I was talking to one of the coordinators for the event, and he was telling me to try everything because even though it may look like you may not like it, but everything is so good. I even had my dad texting me telling me to try everything. So I went through the buffet line, and took a little bit of everything. From white rice, to roasted pig to squid in coconut milk, I had an array of food on my plate. I tried everything like I promised and to my own disbelief, everything was really good—even the squid. I hate seafood, always have, but for some reason, this didn’t taste anything like seafood. I don’t really know what it tasted like, but it was really good.

After dinner, there were musical performances with traditional songs, and hula dancing. It was really cool to experience the culture in this way. I had a great time, and before I knew it, it was time to go back to the buses, to go back to the ship.

After being returned to the ship, Amy and I met up with some friends and hung out with them for a little bit. A couple of them had a little too much to drink, and Amy and I were completely sober, so we walked back to the ship with one of our friends, to make sure he got back okay. Even though that’s not what we planned on doing that night, it was fine because I would have rather known that he got back to the ship okay, then gone with the rest of the group and perhaps have too much to drink myself. It was the last night in the port that we would have and I wasn’t going to throw it away by drinking too much. So making sure that one of my friends got back okay was fine with me.

The next morning, a group of us (Amy, Ashleigh, Ellie, Cole, and myself) went to Waipi’o to look at Kaluahine Falls which is the highest waterfalls on the island of Hawaii. We were planning on taking a van tour or getting ATVs to go to the waterfalls, but when we got there, we learned that it was going to be $60 per person to go in this van to go to the bottom of the valley. It was actually ridiculous priced for the experience that you would have gotten. It was pretty much worth $15. The guy there told us that we could walk but be prepared because it was going to be intense. We were like it’ll be okay, we’ll just walk. It’s only a mile down and then a mile to the waterfalls. Shouldn’t be too bad, right? That’s what we thought, but when we started the walk, we soon learned how intense it was going to get. It was probably the steepest hill I have ever seen. It was physically impossible to walk normally down this hill. You were pretty much leaning back the entire time. We made it about half way down the hill and ran into a couple who was working on climbing the hill and they informed us that the waterfalls were not very visible and were not running with water, like the guy at the top told us. We were annoyed because if we were climbing down this hill to go see the waterfalls and they weren’t even worth it, then there was no point. They told us to go to Akaka Falls, which we passed a few miles back before arriving at these waterfalls. So we decided that instead of making it all the way to the bottom, only to get to the waterfalls, and to have them not even be worth it, that we would turn around, go to Akaka Falls and take our time seeing those ones before heading back to the ship before on ship time. So we started climbing back up the hill. It was pretty much a half hour of hell!!! It was probably the most miserable walk ever. Picture the Stairmaster 8000!! We made it eventually.

We made our way to Akaka Falls and grabbed lunch and ate it while we were there. These waterfalls were really cool, although you couldn’t get close to them. You walked around a route, that took you around to the different waterfalls, and you took pictures from further away. They were beautiful waterfalls but I would have loved to see them up close.

After going to the waterfalls, we went to YogurtLand. It was actually overwhelming. There was a whole wall of soft serve ice cream machines with about 14 different flavors and you take a cup fill it up with as much and with whatever you want. There are so many different toppings to choose from too and then go to the end and then weigh it and that is how much it costs. It was so overwhelming just choosing ice cream flavors, never mind choosing the toppings.

We all stuffed our faces with ice cream and then made our way back to the ship before on ship time.

I had such a great time in Hawaii. I just wish there was more time on each of the islands. I think it was the perfect port to end this journey. It was such a relaxing port and that was much needed. In every other port we have been going, going, going, and to have a port where we can just relax and lay on the beach for hours was perfect.

Now we are sailing back to the continental United States, a place I have not seen since August 26^th, 2010 and I could not be more excited. I miss my friends and family so much and cannot wait to be back home with all of you.

Love always,

Kayla <3 xoxo

Time Warp!!

Throughout this entire voyage we have been sailing along and becoming further and further along in time compared to the United States. At one point we were 16 hours ahead of the east coast. That was until yesturday. We passed the International Dateline and so we ended up repeating a day--November 27th to be exact. It was so strange because now instead of being 16 hours ahead, we are now 8 hours behind.

Essentially we had a chance to repeat a day and have a "second chance" if you will. We were the last ones to see daylight on November 27th. I am so amazed by this haha.

We are on our way to Hawaii and should be there on Friday. I am so excited to be back in the United States, but sad to leave the International Ports behind. I will finally have my phone back, so I wont have to worry about finding internet to be able to use Skype to call home either, which will be nice.

So feel free to call/text me when I am in Hawaii :) I'd love to hear from you all.

 

Love you all and hope to talk to you soon!

 

Love, Kayla <3 xoxo