Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 17...St. Patty's Day! I had no idea until I walked into class today and someone announced it. Kind of sad how I never have any concept of the day or date anymore. Our schedules revolve around A days and B days for classes so we don't need to know which day of the week it is. It is weird not having a repetitive schedule to follow.

(ps- Happy Birthday Billy!)

 

So I am back on the ship now after 6 days of traveling throughout India.  What an experience!  The first day I spent in a slum in Chennai which is in NE India.  Second day I flew to northern India and traveled around New and Old Delhi.  The third day I took a 2hour train to Agra and saw the Taj Mahal :) and the fourth day we drove 5 hours by bus to Jaipur, "the pink city" where I got to ride an elephant up a hill to a huge fort.  Then the fifth day I took two flights from Jaipur to Cochin where I came back to the ship. Five days of living in India was the perfect length of time. I got a feel for the culture and experienced the ins and outs of India.  But it was so nice seeing the ship again and it felt good to be home in a comfortable setting with drinkable water.  I was told that there comes a time during our voyage when the ship becomes our home. Not just as a living quarter, but a place in which we call our home and miss when we are away.  And I felt this after being away from the ship for 5 days in India.  I think most of us feel the same way after being in a culturally different place for a period of time. It is a nice feeling of coming back home. But don't get me wrong, as different and difficult as it was at times, I loved India. Especially because of the people I encountered along the way. I enjoyed it so much I would actually consider coming back and living in India for a few months to teach English.  I don’t really see that in my “life plan” for teaching as of right now, but that is something I would keep in the back of my mind to consider.  I visited an elementary school my first day in India.  They were learning English when I arrived.  All of the children were so excited to see us and very welcoming.  It was saddening to see their learning environment though.  Each classroom consisted of four walls, a roof, and the floor: basically, a bare, cement room. They sat on the ground and used their practically broken backpacks as ‘desks’.  It would be a dream to go back to California and fundraise enough money to give to this school to provide them with tables and chairs.  I don’t know if that is too farfetched, but I want to at least try.

 

Today in our global studies class four fellow students and one teacher spoke about a person who has impacted their life so far on this voyage.  Most of them lectured to us about their special person but my friend Toby showed a video he made about his experience in Viet Nam with some people he encountered. It was SUCH a great video. I saw him later and asked him if I could have a copy of it to bring home and show all of you because his video is the essence of Semester at Sea.  We go to these countries not only to learn everything about them and to sight see, but to form relationships with people and hopefully connect nations to build a more peaceful world.  

 

Our global studies teacher pointed out that we are now sailing home.  crazy!  We have reached the furthest point from the US and will now get closer and closer to home.  I left for this trip 2 months ago today and I have exactly 7 weeks until I arrive in Fort Lauderdale!!  49 days until I see my family again, 50 days until I am back in Torrance, and hopefully 51 or 52 days until I visit Thousand Oaks.

 

In a few days we have “Neptune Day” where we get the day off from classes and celebrate the fact that we are crossing the equator.  Apparently they make everyone ‘do something’ for crossing the equator as a ritual or initiation.  Mrs. Anunson told me that when she did Semester at Sea they filled up the swimming pool with garbage and made them walk through it.  (did I get that right Mrs. A?) and I have heard some other rumors on the ship of what may happen.  Including that, there is a tradition that happens every voyage on Neptune Day where people shave their head.  I don’t know why this is a tradition, but it is. I have to ask Ashley this because she went on the last voyage in the fall, but word is on the ship that 50 girls shaved their heads on Neptune Day in the fall. That-is-CRAZY!  I know a girl on this voyage that has already committed to doing it.  I’ll write a blog afterword to tell you all about Neptune Day.

 

Next country: Mauritius. We are currently around 1,800 nautical miles from Mauritius. It is 84 degrees outside and the water temperature is also 84 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lovely. J  and tonight we set our clocks back again 30 minutes, so now we are exactly 12 hours ahead of you. Weird and so cool.

 

My blog for Cambodia and Viet Nam is almost done.  I am so far behind on it!!! Ah!  And then I have to do the India blog before Mauritius.