We do big things.

      From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream.  That’s how we win the future.

      We’re a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company.”  “I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree.”  “I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try.”  “I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there.  I know we will.”

      We do big things.  (Applause.)

      The idea of America endures.  Our destiny remains our choice.  And tonight, more than two centuries later, it’s because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

      Thank you.  God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Across the Atlantic:

Catch ya later, Brazil…So long, Amazon River… Hello, Wide open Seas…. And See you very soon, Africa!  We left the brown waters of the Amazon last night and entered back into the deep blue ocean.  For the students who get seasick, it isn’t the best of news… but I honestly missed being rocked to sleep at night! 

Our small group discussion groups meet after every port and last night’s talk brought some profound thoughts to my crazy mind.  I loved hearing about everyone’s experiences in Manaus, Rio, along the Amazon, and in the rainforest.  One thing my group leader said that I thought about a lot was that traveling does not really bring about any new informational knowledge.  If someone were to ask me six months ago if I knew that there are murder crimes in Dominica every day I would have said yes.  If I knew there is poverty in Brazil I would say yes.  If I knew there is child slavery in India or pollution in Japan… My answer to all of these questions would be “yes”,  What traveling does is broaden your emotional knowledge.  Seeing is believing.  It is experiencing the murdered individual’s friends and family, the poverty stricken children in Brazil, the slaved children in India, and the polluted air in Japan.  That is what makes someone a traveler. 

Side Note: One of the SAS trips in Manaus to a village had a little teething monkey running around… Turns out 18 students had to get rabies vaccinations, in total worth $100,000! No worries, though, we’re good to go!

“The real voyage of discovery lies, not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”      -Marcel Proust

HEY EVERYONE!
Along with my blog, go to semesteratsea.org and read the "Currect Voyage Blog"  It has tons of interesting stuff of it in much more detail than I go on here!

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving - We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but we must sail, and not drift, nor lie like at anchor." -Oliver W. Holmes

The Longest Stretch:

Yesterday we departed Manaus, Brazil.  Number Two of this incredible journey is over.  18 days in, and 86 more to go.  I have met friends that I feel like I’ve known for a lifetime and experienced things that I never imagined doing. For the first time in Semester at Sea history, the MV Explored sailed down the Amazon River to Manaus, Brazil.  Despite it’s sketchiness, I am glad I had the opportunity to go to Manaus.  It was dangerous, but I feel it was the best was to experience real culture.  I hiked through the rainforest, saw beautiful waterfalls, participated in a cultural Samba, sat at an outdoor concert in Portuguese, saw a beautiful opera house, witnessed a fish market (gross), zip-lined, visited a riverside community, took disabled children to the zoo, and tons more.  I didn’t want my list to take up my whole blog… I also go to hear amazing stories from other students and their adventures.  My friends, Eric and Jake, along with 4 other students and 4 staff did a four night/three day service project painting a school and visiting a village on the Amazon.  They have the craziest sotries… Which brings me to this: On one of my walks back to the ship from the market area I had a super awesome conversation with a man named Bill, who was hired a month before the trip left from Nassau to put some service projects together.  After experiencing the two service projects in Brazil and my volunteering background I had to get involved.  We talked about how SAS offered few service projects and not everyone got in to all the ones they wanted.  Well, turns out I talked to another girl about the same thing, and we are all going to try and do everything we can to put some more together in the remaining countries.  Also, I went to a meeting about a foundation called Freedom In Creation.  This is an organization that was created by an SAS alumni, Andrew.  The mission is to empower war-affected or at-risk communities through increased access to therapeutic qualities of art, international education, and fresh drinking water.  I wont go into this in debt but pretty much I want to get involved.  I may start something in La Crosse or at Viterbo or all of the above.  We’ve already started a SAS chapter of the program and we’re planning a benefit concert on the ship.  Check out freedomincreation.org!

Side Note:  There’s two girls on the ship (age 8 and 10) whose parents are professors.  These two girls have been making friendship bracelets for two years and selling them for $1.00 each.  They have raised over $2,000 and are giving all of the proceeds to help fix a well in Africa so a community can have clean drinking water.  Each well costs $5,000 and 1 well can serve 1,000 people in Africa with healthy water.  All over Africa, people are dying of diarrhea due to poor water.  Children cannot go to school and adults cannot work.  Women have to walk miles and miles to collect stream water and risk sexual and physical violence every step of the way.  That is was Andrew’s program is all about, and something that has hit me pretty deeply already.  I’m sure my experiences in Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa will only cut me worse.

So I have learned that volunteering is, without a doubt, the best was to travel.  It brings you the most and best experiences and you truly walk away with something you are proud to share with others.  I also went to a Peace Core meeting tonight.  Not exactly sure what I want to do after college but taking in as much information as I can at this point… can’t hurt! This blog is a little scattered but I am also trying to stay in contact with the nurse on board to talk to her about service nursing after I graduate.

So now we’re off to Ghana.  8 days of class and one reading day, so a total of 9 straight days at sea.  The reading day is actually a pretty big event this time. It is Neptune Day and the Sea Olympics.  Neptune day is where we cross the equator on the Atlantic Ocean.  I’m not exactly sure what we do to celebrate but I know there is a head-shaving party.  (Don’t worry, I’m not shaving my head)  The ship is split into 7 different areas or teams in which we have meetings and dinners and what-not throughout the voyage.  It’s kind of like your general floor or block of rooms.  Each team is named with one of the 7 seas.  I am a part of the Aegean Sea. So at the sea Olympics we all compete in many events and obviously one team is declared the champions.  I’m excited.  Our team has two rules we are obligated to obey throughout the voyage.  #1: WIN #2: Do not forget rule #1.  So I guess we have to win! 

9 days at sea is going to be a long, but I will get a nice reward Sunday night when I get off the ship in Takoradi: WATCHING THE PACKERS WIN THE SUPERBOWL!

I want to end this blog post by saying thank you so much to all of you that read it.  I have been told via email by many of you that a lot of you look forward to it every day and by others that I should think about taking up a career in journalism or travel writing!  I don’t think I’m journalist status, but it does mean a lot that you enjoy my stories.  Also, I love getting emails! I’m not the best at replying super quickly but I will work on it I promise!  My email address is hmnoel@semesteratsea.net and thank you again for supporting me and my spectacular adventure, and as always, for reading my blog☺

Unity is Strength,
Hannah

Wednesday in Manaus:
My Faculty Directed Practica today was called Rio Do Sol and Zoo Visit with cancer patients in Manaus.  There is an outbreak of something here right now, though, so the foundation’s doctor did not allow the kids to go to the zoo, due to their highly susceptible immune systems.  Back up plan was just as good though! We went to a home for mentally disabled children.  On our way to the home, our guide (a lady whose name I forgot but is traveling with us to Ghana) told us everything we needed to know.  It was both touching and very sad.  The home consisted of children, ages 0-38 (mind you they have disabilities so they are considered children), all of whom had been abandoned.  That fact hit me hard.  Every one of these people had no home or family, they had been left on the streets for the sole reason of having a disability, mental or physical or both.  The home had a nursery, dorm rooms, kitchen, and a few common areas.  Not big by any means.  After our tour we went to the zoo and they children met us there.  We gave them lunch (hot dogs and coca-cola) and balloons.  Then we walked around the zoo for about an hour.  Before leaving we all sang a song together and many hugs were exchanged.  To us, students, it did not seem like a very eventful or long day.  But to those kids, it was probably the best day of their lives.  They had so much fun and it was incredible to see them smile and how happy a simple hour at the zoo with college students can make someone.  On our way back to the ship the guide reminded us how much she appreciated that we took time out of our trips to do that.  What I thought was amazing was when she explained how traveling is not just visiting places and taking pictures.  Real travelers engage.  They throw their whole selves into an environment, comfortable or not, and experience it.  That is what I did in Manaus, Brazil: travel and experience.

Thursday in Manaus:
I finished up a little shopping and walked around the city again.  The language barrier is very difficult to get around here.  I've met some great people, though, and had experiences I will never forget.  Today I talked to Bill, the service coordinator on the ship about setting up some more service projects in upcoming countries.  I am really happy I got to talk to him because service projects are where you come out with the best stories and meet the greatest people.  I will hopefully have many more stories comparable to my village visit along the Amazon River and my zoo visit with mentally disabled children.

STAY WARM, WISCONSIN!

Hannah

PS It is like 95º here as we leave port

I had an absolutely phenomenal day! A group of 25 SAS students, three faculty, and a dozen students from UFAM (University of Brazil students) took a riverboat trip down the Amazon to an Amazonian Village.  Believe it or not, today was the very first time Americans have visited these people in their community.  Upon arrival, we hiked about 2 miles along the river.  The community of 120 people was spread out along like four or five miles on the shore.  The Amazonians sang, danced, read poetry, and gave up a presentation of their culture as a welcome ceremony.  Then we feasted and learned to dance. The children brought us to their school, which consisted of about 5 rooms and showed us some other areas of the village. Too many interesting stuff to even begin to write it all on here, but I will have tons of stories and information for all of you! We had lunch and did another two mile hike in the other direction, where we were shown how rubber is made from rubber trees.  You make slashes in the tree and the latex pours out, then you roll it into balls over a fire. It was a very long day but more than worth it.  We were all exhausted on the ride back but I did see some river dolphins! It was definitely an experience I would have never had without the Semester at Sea program.
My friends Dan and Ian found a sweet deal and we got fifty people together and rented a houseboat for 4 hours for 20 reais a piece. So I did that from like 9-1am It was a very fun time.:)

“We’re in Brazil!”

Best Party I have ever attended last night! Called “The Samba”. An area of the street was blocked off solely for this festival.  About 500 native Brazilians with every instrument you can drum or shake, dancing and playing in unison in the middle of the street. Beer and the strongest drinks I have ever had.  Danced the night away! It was ridiculously fun! I named this post “We’re in Brazil” because that is what we kept singing as we danced☺

My first two days in Brazil have been great.  It is nothing like I anticipated it being.  Opposite of Dominica except that they are both rainforests.  The city of Manaus is very sketchy/dangerous.  We were warned during our pre-port meeting of this… Do not go anywhere alone, always travel with a male, hold everything in front of you (purses/bags/cameras/etc)…. Its all true.  I don’t want anyone to think I’m in danger. I’m not! I’m having a great time. No worries!

Yesterday a group of us went to see “Where Two Waters Meet”.  It is were the Amazon River and river water from Columbia come together but do not mix.  We took a boat about 20ft long with ten seats out to the exact spot.  It is really awesome how you can see the line with dark brown colored water on one side and a creamy coffee color on the other.  After that we did a little fishing and shopping on this little store in the middle of the river.  I was loving this part…. Sitting at water level on a boat that goes 30mph tops, put my arm out the side to feel the splash… Mighty Mississippi style right there! We checked out a fish market and headed back to town (where the port is).

We shopped around a market that is only open on Sundays.  I got some goodies there… We visited with some hippie locals for a long time.  My friend Mel speaks fluent Spanish so she pretty much saved our day.  The locals made us rings out of wire, then one made me a flower and asked me to marry him (don’t worry, Mom, I’m not getting married). He did give me one dreadlock though! After having dinner and a shower on the ship we walked to the Opera House where there was a concert outside.  Awesome live music (even though it was in Portuguese).

Today I did a Semester at Sea sponsored trip.  We left at 7am and drove 2 hours to the middle of the rainforest.  We hiked to a cave/waterfall. Our guide was telling us about trees and Indian tribes but I was too far back in the hiking line to hear anything.  After that we hiked to a waterfall reserve and swam for about an hour.  Lunch was held at a little café, amazing Amazonian food followed by a zip-line across a river.  It wasn’t exactly all I expected it to be and I’m sure I could have done the same thing for a lot cheaper than SAS made me pay for the day but I did enjoy myself.

I hung out with Mel on the ship for the night.  Tomorrow I have another early morning/long day.  At 7am I am doing a riverside villages tour.  I’m not sure exactly what it consists of but I’m excited.  Tomorrow night we’re going to go to Buffalo steak house…. I hear it’s pretty delicious.  Wednesday I’m going to the zoo with cancer patients! That’s going to rock. I’m thinking I’m going to finish my Brazil trip with a little more shopping and just exploring more of the city.

The past two days on the ship have been about as eventful as life on a ship can get. Professors and students are getting into the swing of things and we’re all pretty settled in.  My classes yesterday were really great.  I am especially excited about my abnormal psych class. We were put into groups for a case study, project, and paper, and my group’s topic happens to be dementia in Japan!  Perfect to go along with my gerontology minor☺

Last night there was an open mic night followed by a dance.  There are some incredibly talented people on the voyage! Singing, to piano, to fiddle, to opera, to guitar, to slam poetry!
The Amazon River is beautiful.  The sun is ridiculously intense.  Today was what they call a “Reading Day”.  We have a few of them and I guess they are made for us to catch up on our studies…..? Well I was woken by “The Voice” (lady who does announcements) saying, “Good Morning, Sorry for the interruption of your studies…” I am almost positive no one was studying much less reading anything today.  The pool deck was packed all day.  They can call it what they want to though, it was a nice break from classes☺

We arrive in Manaus tomorrow.  There was a pre-port meeting tonight, which did scare me a little… I’m glad I am not going to Rio, the most dangerous city in the world. Manaus is much safer, but everyone still needs to be on their toes.  It should be a wonderful time.  I will be zip lining through the rainforest, hiking to waterfalls and Amazon villages, visiting Two Waters, exploring the city, and visiting the zoo with leukemia patients…. 

I have been on the MV Explorer for ten days.  In the aspect of the people I’ve met… I feel like I’ve known them for a year.  Friendships build so quickly and everyone has such similar dreams.  In the aspect of what I have already done and what lies ahead.  One tenth of this is already over! Dominica was not one country I was particularily excited to go to, but it was absolutely amazing!  And to think that I still have nine tenths of this left! It will go by so fast…. And I know when I look back It will seem like a blink of an eye, but I will take in every single moment.
My favorite place of the ship in the seventh deck in front.  You cannot get out to the exact from like Titanic style, but close.  I was standing out there today and it’s the thought that always comes to my head that gets to me:  I still cannot fathom that I am really here.  I am in the middle of the Amazon.  Almost 2 stops down in my trip around the globe… This is really happening.

My skin in getting darker and classes are getting more in depth, that’s about all that is new on the MV Explorer though…. Had pasta and potatoes again for lunch (and every other meal) It’s not really that bad… Again, I can’t complain when I’m traveling the world! We entered the Amazon River last night around 11pm. We were told to secure all of our belongings hold on because they were bringing in the stabilizers in order to enter shallow waters.  So a ton of kids went up to the 7th deck for the exciting moment…. Which never happened. This is the first time Semester at Sea has every gone into the Amazon so they weren’t really sure what was going to happen. It’s smoother than ever before.  Everyone is grossed out by going from clear blue oceans to brown water… I on the other hand find it similar in color to the Mississippi.

Yesterday in Global Studies we had a speaker named Jeffery Kottler.  He began an organization ten years ago called Empowering Nepal Girls.  He first took interest in the topic when a med student of his named Kerin became an obstetrician and was incredibly interested in why Nepal has the highest rate of maternal death in the world. Kerin and Jeffery went to Nepal.  The trip took plane rides from L.A. to Bangkok to Katmandu to Nepal, then an hour bus ride, then a few days hike to the village.  As they spent time in villages in schools in Nepal, Jeffery noticed that girls were consistently disappearing.  He asked the principle why girls keep disappearing.  The principle responded, “You see that girl over there? Her name is Inu.  She is 12 years old. Her dad is an alcoholic.  She has two older brothers and one older sister. She will be the next to disappear.”  In Nepal it cost approximately 50 dollars to go to school for one year, every year after third grade. Inu’s family could not afford to send her to school after third grade, and could not afford to take care of the rest of the family to begin with.  She would be sold as a sex slave at age 12.  Girls in Nepal were more often than not sold into sex slavery, brought to brothels and raped sometimes 50 times a day.  They continued this slavery until the day they became too ill to have sex and usually died.  So Jeffery gave the principle the money to put Inu through school for a year, and promised to come back to Nepal every single year after to make sure she is still in school.  Now, Inu goes to a University of a full ride scholarship.  She is majoring in television production.  Other girls in Nepal have dreams of becoming doctors, nurses, teachers, pilots, but mostly to help those less fortunate like themselves.  Incredibly moving story and I wanted to share it with all of you. 

We will get to Manaus, Brazil on Sunday.  I am really excited.  My first three days are filled with FDP’s (Faculty Directed Practica).  The first day I am going to a waterfall reserve and zip-lining (which has been on my bucket-list for quite some time), the second day I am hiking the rainforest with my psych class and visiting 5 different villages along the way, and the third day I am going to Rio Do Sol Foundation and Zoo visit with children who have leukemia and other cancers.  The next two days/night I have no idea…. But I am confident I will find something amazing to do.  Lilli, Ray, Mel, and I were talking about getting an Eco-Hotel.  I also want some swimsuits from Brazil (preferably a sweet one-piece!)

That’s all the news I have for you… but more to come.  Loving life.

Listen to “Set Sail” by The Movement.

Hello Hello

I woke up this morning for breakfast, which is surprisingly delicious on the ship.  I heard some people would like to know more about the ship…. It is six 7 decks.  The smallest cruise ship ever, sways more than any other so for the people who get sea sick it isn’t too welcoming.  Imagine sitting in class and ten people have to run out to throw up…. The seventh deck is outside, there is a pool, bar area, workout area, basketball court, and of course a tanning deck.  The inside holds a few rooms and a salon thing/treadmills and elypticals.  The sixth deck is where school happens.  The front of the ship is the union, where our global studies course is held, and anything else the whole shipboard community needs to attend (pre port lectures/ orientation/ movies) We can also get whatever goes on in the Union on our tv’s in our room.  Outside of the Union we have a small computer lab on one side and a library on the other.  Then there’s the school store, piano lounge, and cafeteria in the back.  On the sixth deck you are able to eat outside and admire the fact that you’re in the middle of the ocean. It’s amazing.  The fifth deck is the purser’s office and all other offices (field office, dean, etc), some rooms, and another cafeteria.  The fourth, third, and second decks are solely for room.  I’m SO glad I’m on the second and lowest deck.  For one, as you can imagine, we feel the LEAST amount of rocking of the ship… those poor kids on deck five and six!  Second, we get internet connection in my room…. Yes, I am blogging from my bed! Third, the view is just awesome, watching the waves at eye level right outside the window!

So that is the ship.  I sat outside and talked to this kid named Ryan yesterday just about taking this all in.  He was reading a book for a gender and inequality class while sitting around a pool in the middle of the ocean.  I was doing just about the same thing, except for my environmental ethics class.  You would think it’s easy to just sit and read, but we’re in the middle of the ocean, on a ship full of kids that are worth meeting! There’s so much more I want to be doing. It really is an amazing experience…. It is everything it is talked up to be, plus more that can’t even be explained.

But I have class at 9:20 and the walk across campus is pretty rough;)

Dominica Day 2:

Woke up bright and early I couldn’t get enough of this port.  We went to the post office to try to mail my mom my phone bar code (sorry, Mom…. TRIED is the key word) I’ll try again in Brazil.  We got a taxi driver named Juslyn to take us to the best beach about a half hour away in Mero.  On the drive there I immediately noticed all of the stray dogs and skinny cows.  Seriously, nothing like Wisconsin cows☹
The beach was black sand, which I was amazed by because I had never seen it before.  Ray and I spent about an hour collecting rocks and sea glass we can use to make jewelry. Then we had lunch and met a few locals.  Eric and I met a man who calls himself the Mushroom Man of the Rainforest.  Pretty awesome dude.  Had the thickest dreads ever. He and his wife own an organic farm in the rainforest.  They gave us their email and phone number because yes, I am coming back.  What I thought was really cool though, was his wife Christine, who is a registered nurse from Ohio, came to Dominica a while back, fell in love, and never went home.  She was crazy cool too.
After the beach we walked around town for a while and did some shopping, then jumped off the pier with kids before we got back on the ship at 4:30 to make 1800 DOCK TIME (pretty serious stuff). 
As I was sitting at dinner on the deck I talked to Dr. Bill about the medical school I noticed in the middle of town.  He said that his friend in a professor there.  It is very easy to get in to but 1 in 3 students drop out very quickly.  Instead of taking 3 or 4 years of med school like America, students study for 16 months straight 7 days a week! I can see why they drop out but it was interesting…. Might have to take up med school in Dominica!
Leaving Roseau was bitter sweet.  The end of our first port yet the beginning to so many more. Since I began this voyage I don’t think I have stopped smiling.  Everyone is just like me, ready to see the world. It is absolutely unbelievable. People talk about how lucky we are to be doing this but I’m not sure people understand how right that statement is.  This is the trip of a lifetime.  I have met so many great friends and seen so many awesome things already that if it ended tomorrow, it would have been worth every penny and all the trouble to get here. 

Dominca Day 1:
The first stop of this incredible voyage is behind me, but I will absolutely be going back.  Dominica was beautiful.  I woke up on the ship to a picture perfect view of the city of Roseau.  The city sits with the ocean on one side and continues into the gorgeous rainforest with hills all around.  A group of about 12 of us got off the ship with zero plans.   We found a tour guide/taxi driver to take us around the area for ten dollars! It was funny actually to watch the taxi drivers pretty much bargain for us…. They were fighting to get to be our guides and brought it down to ten all on their own.
The roads in Dominica are skinny and windy to say the least, and everyone drives very fast with no care in the world.  On more than one occasion I swear we came about feet away from being smoked by another vehicle (I may be overexaggerating a little) But a few times we actually had to stop and back up the way we came to let someone else through. 
Our taxi driver’s name was Benge.  He was really nice.  He made numerous stops for us to take pictures and look at the beautiful scenery around us.  It was even hard to take in, it was that amazing!  Our first stop was the Ti Tou Gorge.  A quote from my new friend Dan pretty much explains the day.  At the beginning of the hike he looks at me and says, “I am so happy right now” with the biggest smile on his face. We hiked across a skinny little bridge and swam through the gorge (cave like) to a waterfall within it.  There we got to sit right under the waterfall and jump off another area of it.  After swimming back out we found a different spot for the more adventuresome of us (me of course!) to jump off a 35 foot area. Thrilling to say the least.
Next Benge brought us to Trafalger Falls.  Where we parked was a little market area where some people shopped around for ten minutes.  We all grabbed a local beer and hiked to the bottom of the falls.  Trafalger falls consists of two huge and amazing waterfalls about 300 feet away from each other.  I know I am using the same words over and over again but that’s how great this is!  We hiked by hot springs and huge rocks to get to the bottom of Trafalger.
On the drive to our next attraction we stopped on the side of the road where a local man named Bub had just caught a boa constrictor.  He let us take pictures with it around our shoulder. Don’t worry, he was holding the head of it so it wasn’t going to bite us! Then we stopped at a sulfur pool area just to check it out.  Smells.
Benge brought us to a grocery store to buy some food because nothing is open on Sundays in Dominica.  Jake got ice cream, which melted in about five minutes because he didn’t have a spoon to eat it. We then drove us to a lookout area where we could see the entire city.  It was really beautiful.  Our ship looked very awesome from there.  We hiked down to the bottom of the hill and Benge met us there.  I collected about ten flowers to press, one time even made Benge stop the van because I saw the most amazing one ever!  My journal is going to be quite full.
Our tour ended there and a few of us went to jump off a pier right next to the ship.  I did some flips into the ocean.  We showered and ate dinner on the boat and went out on the town.  A club called Krazy Koconuts opened last night just for Semester at Sea kids and it was a hell of a time.  Day one in Dominica: Success.

Second day of classes on the ship. It was nothing less than amazing. I woke up and went to global studies, which is a geography based course we’re all required to take based on the countries and areas we will be traveling to. Random fact: If the Great Wall of China were to be placed in the United States it would stretch from New York City to mid Texas! We were put into groups of 6 to 7 to prepare for a research project we’ll be doing, which is about a 30 page power point. My group decided to study why and how there are so many inequalities in South Africa; for example: technology, health care, education, government, gender… I’m pretty excited about it!  Then I ventured around the ship for a while and had lunch with Rachel(Best friend so far from Rhode Island). My next class was from 12:12-1:30: Environmental Philosophy. It’s one of those classes that you sit in and your head just spins with questions… Philosophy is a crazy subject. I loved it though. After that I layed by the pool for about 2 or 3 hours.  Last class of the day was Abnormal Psychology, and of course I loved that one too! In every class we have a field component which means we have to integrate what we do in port with what we learn in class.  I’m going to try to do something with the elderly population in abnormal psych…. I just love old people:) That’s about all I got about classes right now… All good stuff

My mom wanted me to write about my room in my blog so here we go… You walk into a 2’ x 3’ walkway with a closet on your right and a bathroom on your left.  The shower is good sized and now that we have hot water in our room it’s even better! (I took three freezing cold showers) Then the room is about 16’ x 10’. A bed on each side, desk, small circle table, a table in the middle, some shelving behind out headboard area, and a circular sub marine-ish window. It’s not bad at all and my roommate ROCKS. We get along great!
So the two girls I’ve spent the most time with are Mel and Rachel.  I roomed with both of them in the Bahamas. They are so great. Both from Rhode Island.  Ray is exactly like me. It’s pretty crazy but I love her. I spend a lot of time in their room.

We arrive in Dominica tomorrow morning at 8am.  A bunch of us that didn’t sign up for any SAS sponsored trips are just going to meet up, have breakfast, and go free.  We want to find somewhere to hike; there are tons of waterfalls and beautiful sights. Come back to the ship and shower and meet some people that are just arriving due to the storms in the US (they didn’t make it to the Bahamas in time), then out on the town in Dominica! Then on Monday we’re probably going to find somewhere to snorkel. Gotta be back to the ship by 1800 on Monday. Ship time is a pretty big deal. For every fifteen minutes you are late you get an hour of “dock time” at the next port (You have to stay on the ship that long). But I don’t plan on being late☺
I wore my Packer jersey all day and it helped me meet tons of new people! My mother and Spencer have been updating me on Packer scores and now I have friends calling my room asking for the final score☺ GO PACK GO!

Alright, well I am going to go venture around the ship and go to bed. First port tomorrow! Thanks for listening (or reading).

Love you all!
Hannah<3

First day of classes and Ship Life

Today was our first day of classes. Every day at sea is either an A day or a B day. I have one class on A's and three on B's. So I rolled out of bed around 10 and went to my first class. As I sat next to the window and learned about the biomes of the world I realize this has barely even hit me. I am sitting in a class in the middle of the ocean! No land in sight! It is unreal and the craziest thing ever.  After class I met up with my roommate, Lilli and friend Ray and got some lunch, immediately changed into my swim suit and sat by the pool until 4:30. Rough life, I know:) I am in love with this! Also...... Tons of CUTE boys! Tomorrow I have Global studies, Abnormal Psychology, and Environmental Philosophy so my day will be a little bit busier..... I mean every class has about 5 papers and a research projects, so you can't give me too much crap about never studying!

The waves are absolutely incredible. I am reminded of my sister/best friend every time I stop to observe them.  I remember she couldn't stop talking about the waves when she came home from Australia. I was also reminded of her when I watched the sunset tonight. Every sunset its so awesome and the one over the ocean tonight was pretty sweet. LOVE YOU KIM

So, I have realized that it is ME who has the accent around here.  I think all my new friends have started a little "make fun of Hannah and her midwestern accent" club. haha just kidding, but they do like to give me shit for it.  Two boys, though, have told me they love it.  It's crazy... now that I've been called out on my "long O's and vowels", my "ya knoooowws" I actually realize how much I say it! They also like to throw the occasional "EH?" in their humor just for kicks, even though I don't say that....

Ship life is really fun. They food is okay... a lot of carbs. Ray and I ran sprints on the basketball court today because trying to run on a treadmill while on a rocking ship is NOT easy, we did abs, and lifted some weights. I'm happy to have a workout partner!

Well Family and Friends, I have a meeting to go to.... I will be back soon! I might start some actual thoughtful blogs here soon.... I will give you guys a little slice of what we are talking about in our discussion groups and in my global studies class:)

Hugs and Kisses,
Hannah

ABOARD THE SHIP

Hello everyone!
I had a wonderful time in Nassau. I stayed with three wonderful ladies at the Quality Inn. It was right across from the beach and only a walk from downtown and a friendly internet cafe. We had so much fun walking the town and laying on the beach.  We boarded the MV Explorer yesterday, January 12th.  It was a pretty fast process.  We were scheduled to depart at 5pm Eastern time, but due to the storms in the states we did not depart until 8pm.  Most kids got on the ship on time but I know we did leave a few behind, who are planning to meet us in Dominica.  I woke up this morning to nothing but sea.  It is amazingly relaxing and simply beautiful.  The water is so blue! I was a little queezy last night, but never actually got sick and today I am much better. I wasn't too worried.  The nurse on board is in my small reading and discussion group and I talked to her.  Apparently we have a group of physicians from UVA joining us after India and they will be doing projects in numerous children and family hospitals.  She said they do their own work but if there is room for others she will keep me in mind.  I plan on talking A LOT with her.  I've met a few people from Wisconsin, we are pretty well represented on the trip! I am absolutely the one with the accent around here, but I have been told they love our Midwestern talk.  Yesterday and today are full of orientation and meetings, but I start class tomorrow. And I really need to get out on that deck and tan a little! I'm having so much fun and meeting more people than I can keep names straight. I love you all very much and I'm sorry this was all rambling... Take care. I will post again soon.
Good Things,
Hannah
P.S. I may have dreadlocks by the end of this trip. :)

Boarding Tomorrow

Woke up, came to an internet cafe, about to head to the beach, take the ferry over to Atlantis, walk back, go out to dinner for Mel's birthday, and then to Senor Frogs for celebration! I get on the MV Explorer tomorrow at 10am. We may be delayed on leaving though due to storms in the east. I am beyond excited! Short post, but I'm doing well. Still haven't fully figured out my phone but I'm hoping it works while I'm on the ship. No guarantees though. Love you all. Hope the snow is treating you well:P

The journey begins

I flew out of La Crosse at 6:55 yesterday. I made it to the Bahamas around 6pm! It is beautiful here. I am staying at a hotel with three wonderful girls, Melissa, Rachel, and Michelle. They are from up state New York and Rhode Island. They are so fun and a lot like me. I met people in the Atlanta airport which was convenient, sat by a kid named Kevin who is from LA but goes to UW Madison. He was really nice. I also met tons of people from Semester at Sea on the beach, and the locals are super nice. It was over 80 degrees today. Rough life, I know. It's about 6:00 here I'm in an internet cafe drinking a Kalik beer of the Bahamas. It's quite delicious. This place closes soon though so I can't say too much, but just know I am here safe and things are going great! I miss you all... My phone works sparingly so I can get emails, facebook, and BBM. and I would like to try skyping so someone try calling me please. I have to reboot my phone like every half hour.... so I probably wont keep it on me too much... But MUCH LOVE WISCONSIN!
P.S. MOM: My roomies loved the cheese sticks you sent. Classic Wisconsin thing to do:) 
First thing I've realized I forgot: My cord that hooks up from my camera to my computer. So I can't upload pictures.... Hopefully I'll find someone who has the same one.... We'll see. If not, I'll just have to show you all the pictures when I arrive home!

4 DAYS

Hey everyone! I am trying out this new "email to your blog" thing! I leave in four days. I can barely sleep I am so excited! This will probably be my last post before I get on the plane to Nassau, Bahamas! It is supposed to be 76 degrees when I get there. Rough life, I know. Well... I wanna say thank you to everyone who will be following me on the trip. I will try to keep you all interested as I see the world. One Love.
My friend, Kofi, from Ghana told me the other day something that will forever stick with me: Unity is Strength.
MEDASI (Thank you in Ghana),
H. NOEL