Semester at Sea Fall 2010

Day 1 (2010/09/09)

As what was assumed as a cost saving measure, the MV skipped refueling in Gibraltar so we arrived in Morocco a day early at about 1500. Casablanca’s port is largely industrial and we had to be shuttled to the gate due to its size. Grant, John, Amanda, Courtney and Jess were heading out to the market, so I joined them. Morocco is definitely not as pedestrian oriented as Spain; it was common to cross 6-direction interactions with no crossing signals. The Casablanca market was very crowded and lively. Merchants were very aggressive and bargaining to less than 25% of asked price was always necessary. We passed through the food section which was interesting to say the least. There was raw, unrefrigerated meat everywhere and chickens being slaughtered on the spot. I decided not to buy anything from the market because I didn’t know what to pay for anything yet. Since Ramadan was coming to an end most things were closed, including food. We went back to the ship around 1800 and I decided to stay in that night. I had a train to catch to Marrakesh, where my camel trek was based, so going to bed early wasn’t a bad call.

Day 2 (2010/09/10)

The trains in Morocco aren’t the most reliable so we wanted to head to Marrakesh early. After a quick breakfast on-ship I met up with my German friend Alex, a different Amanda and her roommate Alexa. We got into two Petit Taxis (small red Peugeots) and were off to the train station. Driving in Morocco is a crazy free-for-all where lanes are rarely obeyed. The drivers tried to change the prices once we got there and got pretty mad when we left them. We later found out that we still got shafted on the cab but it was only $3 USD per cab so no big deal.

The train tickets to Marrakesh only cost 90 dirham (roughly $12) for what is theoretically a 3.5 hour ride. The train cars and cabins were in good conditions considering the relative wealth of Morocco. There was just enough A/C to prevent sweating. A couple hours after we departed the train rolled into a train station in the middle of nowhere and stopped. After about 15 minutes we found out that the engine had died. Two hours later a diesel engine came from another station to pull us the rest of the way to Marrakesh.

The walk from the train station to the Marrakesh medina was only about half-hour. Finding our hostel was a bit of an adventure and took us through numerous back alleys. The hostel itself was heavily decorated and looked amazing. We were all starving (I hadn’t eaten since breakfast) so we wandered into the market. At night, the Marrakesh medina market transforms as vendors set up tables and food stalls. We stopped at a stand that sold bowls of snails and decided to split a bowl. Surprisingly, it tasted great (better than escargot in my opinion) but was still a bit sketchy and possibly undercooked. We made our way to a table and for less than 50 dirham each we had ourselves a feast: couscous, chicken, sausage, multiple skewers and salad. Morocco will probably be my favorite food destination on the trip before we get to Asia.

Day 3 (2010/09/11)

The mini-buses from the camel trek came to pick us up early in the morning. The size of our camel trek more than doubled as people joined last minute. I spent the next 10ish hours with 16 people driving towards the edge of the Sahara. We passed through the high Atlas Mountains which proved to be an interesting experience. We were passing cars around blind corners with non-guardrailed sudden-death drops. The mountains were beautiful and home to many Berber villages. We stopped for a tasty lunch before arriving at our final destination a few hours later.

It was already dark when we got on our camels and into the desert. The camels were strung together in groups of about four and lead by a guide. The sky was completely clear and the Milky Way was brilliant. The amazing view provided enough distraction from my crotch being pulverized by the camel. It took about an hour and a half to reach the camp. The nomad camp was composed of a number of semi-permanent tents filled with mattresses. We pick out tents and then enjoyed dinner with wine. Everyone had a great time and the guides really entertained. There was drumming and singing and dancing late into the Saharan night.

Day 4 (2010/09/12)

We were woken up early by our guides. Some people were sand boarding on the dunes next to our camp. I didn’t have enough time to go, but I climbed of part of the way for a better view. The sunrise over the Sahara was breathtaking. We were quickly ushered back on our camels so that we could get breakfast and back on the buses. The desert was very different in daylight and provided some spectacular views. It got hot very quickly, so I was glad we left so early in the morning. The ride back was hot and uneventful; I tried to get as much sleep as possible.

Amanda and I decided to stay another night in the hostel before heading back to Casablanca. We booked for another night and cooled off in the pool. The water was amazing after the long day; staying another night was a great decision. After a while we walked to the medina market to grab dinner. I tried to soak as much of Marrakesh in as I could.

Day 5 (2010/09/13)

After a relaxing night and a wonderful breakfast at the hostel, I was ready to hit up the market. I put my bargaining skills to the test and dropped some dirham on numerous items. I bought a shirt, pants, a poof cushion and souvenirs among other things. We stopped at some gardens nearby before catching a cab back to the train station. It was a luckily uneventful train ride back to the Casablanca.

Day 6 (2010/09/14)

I had two goals set for the last day in Morocco: buy stamps and visit the Hassan II mosque. I left the ship with Alex who also wanted to see the mosque. We arrived just in time for a tour, which is the only time foreigners are allowed inside. The mosque was truly impressive and has the tallest minaret (tower) in the world. A retractable roof (for climate control), a roughly $800 million price tag and grounds for over 100k worshippers are just some of the Hassan II’s features. We left towards the city center and by following partially understood directions in French we ended up at the post office. After a bit more wandering we found that one of the nearby hotels had Wi-Fi and booze so it was a natural SASer hotspot. Alex got his internet, but I was tired so I went back to the ship for food. The air in Casablanca was terrible on this last day so I ended up getting a little sick. I didn’t bother going out again before on-ship time. Soon enough, we were already leaving Morocco. The mosque had a green laser directed towards Mecca at night which was cool to see as we pulled out of port.

Anonymous asked: What is the best thing you experienced in Spain? Must be a great time since you are too busy to update you blog. LOL

Tapas and sangria after a hot day. LMAO

Anonymous asked: We hired a replacement. He spends 15-20 minutes on his hair, safely above your average. Also, he is in your cubicle, using your "junk".

I’m irreplaceable, don’t you forget.

Day 1 (2010/09/04)

After an entire week at sea, we were all very happy to finally be in Spain. We decided to wake up early to see the pilot and tugboats bring us into the port as the sun rose. Cadiz is a relatively small port city in southern Spain. The streets were mostly pedestrian oriented so it was easy to get around by foot. We grabbed some coffee in a nice and walked around a bit stopping at the beach to cool off. We stopped at an Italian restaurant for lunch and I tried sangria for the first time, awesome. After lunch, I met up with Kate and Shannon who I had planned to travel to Sevilla with ahead of time. The train ride was uneventful but I passed the time chatting with some other SASers. The first thing we all noticed about Sevilla is that it is hot; the temperature was about 40C/104F when we arrived. Our hostel was located in central Sevilla so we took a public bus which was very nice. We stayed at the Garden Backpacker hostel which I would definitely recommend. They had fairly nice rooms, very friendly staff, an awesome rooftop terrace and a garden/patio/bar in the back. After some limited nighttime exploration of Sevilla we found a very expensive, elaborately decorated restaurant in the English Quarter call The Mafia. It was late-ish and we were exhausted so we went back to the hostel and crashed.

Day 2 (2010/09/05)

The hostel we were staying at offered a city tour for a 5 Euro donation so we decided to sign up. The tour guide was slightly drunk from the night before and decently funny. We stopped by another hostel and picked up 15 or so Belgian girls. It gave me an opportunity to practice my French skills which, I was reminded, are lacking. I started a couple grammatically sketchy, poorly understood conversations but it was fun none the less. It was Sunday and Spain is still very Catholic so little was open. We walked around quite a bit, stopped by the Jewish quarter to check out some shops. The hostel staff was awesome and was able to point us to one of the very few restaurants that were open that night. I got fried zucchini tapas and a beer to cool off after the hot day. We joined everyone in the garden for a couple rounds of honey rum shots and got a pitcher or two of sangria. We found some Americans who were staying at the hostel and talked with them until the garden closed.

Day 3 (2010/09/06)

Kate and Shannon decided to spend the morning shopping so I quickly escaped to try and find Ariel and Loryn who had arrived in Sevilla the night before. I couldn’t find them at their hostel, but luckily I saw them at a restaurant nearby. We walked around a bit and grabbed some tapas. The sun was really beating down so we stopped at a café along the river for a pitcher of sangria (I was pretty much addicted at this point) and a plate of olives. We visited the Archivo de Indias which contained many historical documents from the times of Spanish colonialism and imperialism. There were some original documents from Columbus which was cool. Everyone had been spending too much money in Spain so we went to the Mas supermarket and picked up some food to cook for dinner back at my hostel. I got a big portion of fresh tortellini, pasta sauce and a peach all for 2 Euro which is a bargain in my book. Kate and Shannon were back at the hostel and I watched an old, independent movie called Paris, Texas. When that was nearly over I took advantage of Euro shots and bottomless sangria at the hostel and set out to meet Ariel and Loryn and find some food. We bumped into John, Jess and Courtney who were all SASers I hadn’t met before. We found some tasty seafood tapas of some sort and went back to our hostels to call it a night.

Day 3 (2010/09/07)

My last day in Sevilla was set aside for the historic stuff. I ate some breakfast crepes with Ariel and Loryn at a nearly café and said my goodbyes as they had a bus to catch back to Cadiz. I went with Kate and Shannon to visit the ancient cathedral called the Giralda. It had an impressive bell tower which offered an equally impressive view. After another trip to the archives, the final destination was the gardens of the Alcazar. To be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment but for zero Eruos it was no big loss. We went back to the hostel to prepare for our return to Cadiz. We met another SASer, Tabi, who was also staying at the hostel and watched The Virgin Suicides before taking the bus to the train station. Three hours and half a liter of sangria later I was back in Cadiz. I found a few people back on the ship to get dinner and couple drinks with. The baby squid tapas were noticeably delicious as were the pitchers of sangria.

Day 3 (2010/09/08)

I didn’t really have much planned for the last day in Cadiz. We went to the tower of the local cathedral and got some internet in. I tried to soak up as much good food as I could before returning to the ship. I had some great coffee and a bunch of chocolate churros. We walked through the open market but we’re not allowed to bring unsealed food back on the ship so we didn’t buy anything. I dropped my last 4 Euros on a stamp and some things at the grocery store before heading back to the ship. It wasn’t long before we were on the open ocean again.

Spain to Morocco (2010/08/27 – 2010/09/03)

A few days have now passed since embarkation in Halifax. I have had two sessions of each class (two A-Days and two B-Days), and already have a fair idea about each of my classes. The mandatory Global Studies class is tedious but I have had much more boring classes in the past. The material is taught strait out of the book so most people either do the readings or attend class; I chose the latter. Managerial finance is the business class I’m taking and it may even prove useful in the future. There are a lot of finance/business terms that I need to memorize but the mathematical side of the class is elementary. Globalization is taught in seminar format but the class in unfortunately boring and the professor mediocre at best. The one class that I was most interested in, Sustainable Communities, turned out even better than I had initially expected. Rocky Rohwedder is a very engaging professor and clearly has a lot of experience in the area.

Life on the ship (not boat as we are often corrected) has already become routine despite us traveling for less than a week. We experienced rough seas the first few days as a result of a nearby hurricane. A lot of people got sea sick and I decided to take the free medication until the seas calmed down. After a day or so the captain engaged extra engines in addition to what we normally cruise on. This means we covered a lot of distance much faster than we were scheduled to so, as a result, we have slowed dramatically over the past couple days.

There are many toolbags on the ship, herein referred to as SASsholes, but there are just as many nice and interesting people. I am glad that I came to the ship without knowing a single person as it would be easy to fall back into the comfort of people you know.

The next post will cover Spain and I will hopefully have some more internet to upload pictures with.

Anonymous asked: How is your hair always so perfectly perfect?

It takes 5-10 minutes a day, safely above average for men.

Anonymous asked: I noticed you are being chased by hurricane Danielle positioned at 40 N and 52 OW this morning Monday and the ship was at 40 , 45 yesterday...where does that leave you today? In the eye of the storm? no....let me know. Tai

We put on all four engines and got around the worst of it quickly. Safely in Spain now.

Day 1 (2010/08/25)

After making red-eye connections in Calgary and Montreal I arrived at around 1030 (24 hour clocks from now on) in our first port of Halifax, Nova Scotia. I’ve been to Canada before but this was my first time in the east. After short ride to the city I checked into the HI Halifax hostel and grabbed lunch. I happened to be roomed with some French-Canadians and we decided to go grab some food. My French is lacking, but it was nice to hear the language again. A local alehouse had a special including 10 chicken wings and a pitcher for $11 which we couldn’t pass up. There was an un-official Semester at Sea meet-and-greet later in the night but the weather was bad, the drinks expensive and the mood was awkward at best.

Day 2 (2010/08/26)

I grabbed breakfast with Cody who is an international SAS student from mainland China. Upon returning to the hostel I was relieved to find that my delayed bag had made it from Calgary. It was already time to board the ship since I was awarded a work-study position in the on-board IT lab. After a series of metal detectors, pat-searches and x-ray machines I was allowed to board. I tossed my stuff on what I figured was the better side of the room (sorry then unknown roommate Eric) and went to some mandatory work-study meetings. It was easy to makes friends with anyone who was even remotely outgoing so we had a crew almost immediately. Once we were done with work things we went to the grocery store a few blocks from the port to stock up on snacks. After dinner we decided to hit up a few of Halifax’s many pubs. I didn’t want to get drunk but I took the opportunity to try out some of the local brews. In my opinion Keith’s Brewery tasted good enough but very light. I was in bed before midnight for 0600 wakeup the following morning.

Day 3 (2010/08/27)

The crew and I grabbed breakfast and went to our mandatory meeting in the Union (the largest conference/ballroom). Work-study students finished the registration process and then we prepared for general boarding at our respective positions. I spent some time in the computer lab where I will generally work, but that got a little slow so I helped direct people. Once everyone was aboard we but on our life-vests and were directed to our muster stations for an emergency drill. Some kid in my muster didn’t show up. It turns out he was blacked-out and couldn’t be woken. First-hand sources say they found something in his room; looks like we have some winners on the ship. Before I knew it we embarked and within a few hours land was out of sight. at sea

Anonymous asked: why are you bringing magnets? Prema
BTW you Rock!!

You can’t use tacks or pins in the ship’s cabins. The walls are magnetic and that’s the only way to hang things.

The Semester at Sea program offers over 60 classes that fill nearly 90 time slots taught by professors from numerous universities. The program is not targeted towards specific majors so classes are offered in a wide range of subject areas. While at sea, students attend class every day, including weekends, with a schedule alternating between “A-Day” and “B-Day”. In addition to lectures, each class can require up to two in-port trips (FDP) lead by the respective professor(s).

I am required to take all classes as “pass/fail” which means they will only count for credit and will not affect my GPA. To avoid being a complete slacker, I tried to choose the classes that looked interesting. I am going to be taking 12 credit hours (maximum allowed is 15) as do most SAS students.

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After months of anticipation my flight only one week away. I fly out the night of the 24th and will spend nearly 10 hours getting from Denver to Halifax. It’s all red-eye so hopefully I can get some quality sleep.

As long as this summer has seemed I still have quite a bit to do this week. I need to set up a new bank account, work two more days, get my hands on some foreign currency and… pack. I’m usually pretty bad with procrastination, but I’m still shooting for Saturday. Also, I plan on posting my packing list as it could be helpful for future SASers.

Now, the longest week of my life.

I am currently an Environmental Engineering major at the University of Colorado about to enter my junior year. This fall I will be leaving my usual coursework behind and will instead be earning credits while circumnavigating the globe. Along with roughly 700 other American students I will be visiting 10 countries aboard the MV Explorer on the Semester at Sea (SAS) program. The ship was purchased from a passenger cruise line and converted for academic use: conference rooms are now classrooms and the casino is now a library.

I decided to keep this blog during the voyage written record of my thoughts, adventures and experiences. This blog is for friends, family, future/past SAS students, or anyone who has any interest in what I write about. As a forewarning, I do write like an engineer. My word choice can be questionable, I may overanalyze and I sometimes write poorly constructed sentences.

I hope for this to be a highly detailed account of my journey. I will try my best to remain up-to-date and interesting in my posts. Most posts will be text only as the internet on the MV Explorer is limited. I will upload select photos in port when I have the opportunity.

Flickr: NineFingers