tonight

Eyeopening, beautiful talk by a really cool female astronaut (and dean of fall 2013 SAS), breathtaking full moon and impromptu salsa to break up the monotony of reading. Nice correspondence from the middle of the cornfields. Ireland in 2 days and we won't be homeless.

Life's good.

Things I take for granted at Reed

This comes from observations on ship and conversations with other students about their schools

1. Professors
2. The Scrounge and amount of food waste that helps reduce
3. The amount of needless stress/pop quizzes/participation for the sake of participation reduced because of the grading policy
4. AOD policy
5. CSOs instead of police on campus
6. What it means to be a Reedie

So thankful. And that's not even counting Renn Fayre.

Topsy Turvy

I severely underestimated the power of the ocean. Waves are hitting 5m swells, and it's getting pretty intense on the ship. Plates were sliding off tables at lunch today, and someone got slammed straight into the window. I personally have walked straight into a pillar.

Most of the time I find it pretty fun though. When else can you walk around like you're completely drunk, except its because you're losing control of your limbs? It's almost like a humongous roller coaster. And after a while you get the hang of it. You start to time your step so that it lurches you forward instead of to the side, and it feels great to walk and yet feel like you're running. Of course the ship then hits a mega wave and you get completely thrown off balance. It's also funny to see everyone swaying in rhythm to the music of the creaking walls or sliding objects.

Still enjoying getting to meet new people and finding out everyone's story. It's actually been an eye-opening insight to a more conventional American college, although in so many ways this is nothing like it. One of my friends from a huge university was telling me about how much he loves this smaller, more intimate setting and many other reasons why this is completely different from his school, and it struck me, and made me really happy, that everything he listed was basically all the ways this is also similar to Reed. So… for the 12032 people here i've met who don't know about Reed, and the angst I feel momentarily when I realize that's basically what it's gonna be like among employers, i'd say it's worth it.

Also, i learnt the Korean alphabet yesterday and its written construction (so I can finally make sense of the words now), from a white boy who's spent all his life in America. How cool is that.

Thunderstorm!

In the middle of a wicked storm right now - the choppy waves and incredible sky are a whole different sort of captivating. Also spotted my first whale in the distance today. i want all these firsts to last till the end of the journey, but objectively speaking I also know that's pretty impossible.

Honestly did not expect the presidential scholarship research to be so much work, or the reading load of our different classes, but at the risk of sounding like a complete utter freak, I quite like it. Even if everything else is the polar opposite of what I love about Reed, the academics are shaping up to be pretty similar. Some of the faculty I've met so far (and they just sit with you over meals so it's a fairly intimate affair) are just such multi-faceted individuals. I mean, it must take a certain calibre to sign on for a voyage this demanding at their age, and sometimes it's hard to fight with the sheer wealth of life experience. I'm also the only one on board idiotic enough to take five classes… and try to audit another two, so wish me luck. It's just so hard to choose. How do you assign values to different fields of knowledge? Okay. End of geek speak. Time to ramp up the social game.

Also started planning for Ireland. If the level of excitement and feeling of \omg i'm not gonna have enough time aaaah how is 4 days enough/ is going to be repeated for all ports, I'm in some serious trouble. Preview: stunning scenery, oyster feasts and the Killers.

…. What school?

Beauty

First dolphin sighting (of hopefully many to come) today! They were just swimming in the wake of our boat, a fair distance off, but definitely visible.

And as I set in my deck chair, enjoying one of the best sunsets I've ever seen (and its tough to beat Sabah's…), surrounded by the ocean, it just hit me how lucky I am. Of course I've heard it before, from people at home or at Reed who don't get to do this, or other SASers congratulating us on the presidential scholarship, but it's so different to intrinsically feel fortunate yourself. Perhaps i had certain subconscious fears or misgivings before?

Anyway, today I realized that no matter how tiresome the socializing that's going on now may be, or how much work we didn't realize we would have to do as presidential scholars that is now coming to bite us in the butt, I am going to school in the middle of the freaking sea. The sheer beauty of what surrounds us and the parts of the world that we will soon explore overrides ANYTHING. I feel like i could be content just sitting on deck, reading a book into sunset, every single day. But the beauty is, I can actually do that, and so much more.

I suppose i'll need to be remembering this post if I ever feel frustrated or unhappy in the next 106 days. Then I'd probably ask myself wtf I was on as I wrote this. Lol.

But all I'll have to do is look out a window to be reminded of the beauty of this world. :)

Day 0

Hello from the MV Explorer! The ship has left the Halifax harbor, so we are finally sailing on the open Atlantic Ocean now, and we can definitely feel it. It was a surprise – I thought that with a ship this big, the waves would be negligible, but seasickness is starting to become a major concern already. Apart from the usual symptoms, we are finding ourselves unusually tired from doing nothing and always hungry.

It's strange being back at 'school', especially since this is such an unconventional setting, but then it seems that because of that they are really emphasizing the scholarly aspect of it (so far at least). After a near perfect summer and a great freshman year, there is a bit of reverse culture shock. The ship is definitely predominantly white, and the students come from schools very different from Reed. It's really a new environment and after a languid comfortable summer, I feel like I'm being thrust into a whole new America I didn't experience in my first year of college. Still trying to grapple my way around, but it's cool. Have definitely met some potentially amazing people already, so I probably need to get off my lazy ass and stop my aversion to socializing… Zzz. Also, I have a pretty cool roommate! SHE HAS PURPLE HAIR HAHAHAHA thank god my purple bits didn't exactly work out because that would have been too bizarre. Side note: still hate my highlights, fml, need to start learning to direct the hairdresser instead of being completely ambivalent.

Some other thoughts:
- The sea is gorgeous. This is probably a little premature, but I really can't foresee myself getting sick of the view even at the end of the voyage.

- I love the ship. I'm not sure what I was expecting, or if I even paid it much thought in my whole consideration of SAS, but my little windowless cabin is cozy enough and the classrooms that used to be lounges are just cutely quaint. Food is definitely not the highlight, but the crew are amazing people. It really does seem like the journey itself will be a highlight on its own, apart from the 14 countries we are visiting.

- The lack of technology access available feels slightly unsettling (also, I apparently didn't log out when I first set up my internet account or something so I completely burned through the 120 minutes on NOTHING. Fml x100. Have to speak to, or try to beg, someone tomorrow to get it back) but I wish we could mandate days like that in real life! So refreshing not to have everyone at the table half checked out because they are checked in to their phones. Of course this means not being able to glance down at your phone in awkward social situations, or it gets annoying trying to figure out ways to keep in touch, but we're programmed to deal.

- Did not bring enough warm clothing. Ship is really FREEZING.

Hey I just met you

I have to be at the airport in less than 4 hours and I'm still packing... what possessed me to book an ungodly 8.10am flight?! Oh right. There weren't many options.

As a closure to summer, I say: Here's to glorious, languid days of catching up with loved ones and the joy of comfort in doing absolutely nothing together; to exploring new places with my eyes wide open and revisiting old sites with newfound perspectives; to meeting interesting people with the conscious knowledge that its getting harder and harder to sustain new relationships as we grow with age; to returning and still loving this sunny island I call home.

I'm really excited, but it's a little harder to leave than I'd expected. Why are goodbyes harder the second time around? Have been mulling over this for a while, but it's still hard to pinpoint an exact answer.

What's meant to be, will be. I've a feeling I forgot to pack something really important, but bring it on - I'm ready for SAS.

One week to Halifax

In 7 days, I'll be embarking on the Fall 2012 Semester at Sea Atlantic Exploration.

It promises to be epic, but at this point, these are the things I'd like to remember:

1. To approach every port as though it was the first or last; to never get jaded or tired by months of being constantly on the move.

2. This strange feeling of infinite excitement to face the complete unknown, combined with the slight but very tangible dread of leaving the comforts of home and family behind.

3. How much work I've put in for the voyage so far, and to justify that by getting fully involved with ship life, keeping up the academics and making full use of our extremely limited port time!!

4. Where I came from, and where I'd like to be.

5. To make note of options for continuity.

Here's to 107 days, 16 cities and 14 countries!!!!