Day Two of Classes

September 2, 2005
At Sea

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

This morning I awoke early for breakfast at seven, in which very few students appeared to be up and about, effects from pub night still lingering. A few adult passengers, faculty and staff were already seated enjoying pleasant conversation and the rays of sunlight playing off the coverlet of whitecaps and surf beating against the hull. The map on channel two announced our location as nearing the Venezuelan coastline, having bypassed Aruba and Curacao. As I have been to both islands back in January, I feel a sense of familiarity at seeing the red line indicating our course near them.

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

Tomorrow we arrive in Venezuela! How exciting. When we looked out our window this morning we saw land. NOT Venezuela, but perhaps Curacao as the position report on the television places the MV Explorer between Aruba and Curacao headed straight for Bonaire. We must be getting close to land; there has been a sudden appearance of birds outside the window today soaring over the blue currents and around the ship in circles. In addition, we spotted another ship on the horizon that grew closer and closer as the day progressed.

We sat in the Union for class today and it is probably the worst room in regards to swaying back and forth, or dare I use the word pitching. I admit that I actually started to feel a trifle sick and immediately took Dramamine after the lecture. I am still modeling the extremely trendy sea-bands, as are several other students onboard. I would like to say that it is perchance an elite club, by invitation only because many of the students have no idea what the bands are for. The bands themselves are quite comfortable, yet the small white button that applies pressure to the inside of the wrist leaves a ridiculously red indentation on the skin and becomes quite uncomfortable after prolonged usage. In addition we are also wearing a quarter of the Trans Scop patch and thus far so good. It would seem that the blurred vision takes at least a day to develop and with the smaller dosage size we can easily remove it at the end of the day and reapply in the morning so as to avoid the whole blindness and dehydrated thing.

When we returned to our cabin after lunch we had a message awaiting us. Apparently the Global Nomads, a program onboard that broadcasts sessions back to the States, has asked us to participate in a project for MTV because we are from the University of Maryland. I can’t wait to find out more about it, and am anxiously awaiting my television debut!

Megan writes, “While I am not entirely sure of the details and would be most curious to learn more, it seems like a worthwhile venture. Any comments and thoughts from friends and family at home would be welcome. It is appealing to say the least, and I suppose obtaining a little more particulars would help me decide.”

They made a mistake in the Dean’s Memo broadcasted over the television, scheduling the Global Studies class at nine o’clock in the morning instead of nine twenty, and needless to say, most of the students arrived early for the class due to the time confusion.

“The Voice” on the noon report announced that we have sailed one thousand eighty six nautical miles since departure and have a remaining one hundred thirty one. I am told in actuality that we are nine miles from a small island off Bonaire, not Curacao of which I previously assumed (the name of which I have no idea how to spell without butchering). The seas are moderate today with a height of a little over three feet.

Megan writes, “As I look out of my window a visible etch of mountains is barely discernible, a small island off of Bonaire. Bonaire remains to be the only ABC island I have yet to visit, but does saying I have glimpsed its presence count? I think not, nevertheless sharing company with it for a couple of hours is ideal; it is a rift between the blue, a brief hiatus from the lull of waves extending north, south, east and west.”

We had our first Travelers’ Journals class this afternoon, which is treated much in the way of a Journalism course, and having once been a journalism student, I know that I will do just fine and have high expectations. It is a fairly small class and the best part is that we get to write a lot, both journaling and in-depth assignments. Professor Eastman is extremely nice and likeable, and has encouraged us to be very detailed. For once I feel like my flare for descriptive prose will be appreciated and I look forward to learning some techniques to improve my craft. Of course I relish in the fact that I finally have the long-awaited chance to let the gates of my vocabulary prison (of which has been locked for the better part of two years, occasionally letting a few escape) swing wide open instead of tailoring my writing to a more straight forward simplistic style.

Excerpt from Megan’s Journal:

The Travelers’ Journals class is based somewhat in journalism and fact-finding, so having began as a journalism major I will be able to utilize some of those skills, harvesting information and plucking images from the landscape around me for my three pieces. I also have to read a book to present to the class September 22, 2005. By the time the list came around the only options were the first and last book. I had hoped to read a book from South Africa or Kenya; surprisingly Out of Africa was an option. Oh well. I will have to purchase the book once we are back at sea as the store is closed while in port. That puts a bit of a crunch on the project, which I am sure that is why no one else signed up for the guinea-pig position. I know I will be prepared, seeing that I have already started material for A4 and B4 days.

Tomorrow we arrive in Venezuela and I am having an assortment of strange emotions. I feel like a cream-saver, anticipation from the moment the candy hits the tongue, sweet, concentrated, lingering. It is difficult to realize that four days are behind me already and Venezuela mere hours away. How exciting.

There is another pre-port meeting tonight and I find myself drained from the activities of the day that I can only hope the meeting does not linger particularly long. I am quite eager to get to Venezuela, Mt. Avila, and Margarita Island.

Excerpt from Heather’s Journal:

Max Brandt, the interport lecturer told us in class today that wearing shorts in Venezuela is like an advertisement for being mugged. Apparently tourists only wear shorts, as most of the locals wear pants. I am going to take this advice tomorrow and wear something that does not look like flashing lights to the native population, but will wear shorts during my stay on the island as I have been there already and know of what to expect.

At our pre-port logistics meeting tonight the Executive Dean shared with us some of the funny things he has heard students say over the past couple of days. First, “Do these stairs go down?” To which of course he did not reply but just looked at the stairs that do, of course go down. You had to be there, but it was funny. Second, “Does the crew sleep onboard at night?” And he said, “No, of course not. They sleep on the barge that we tug behind the boat.” And third, and perhaps the best, “Do you think the Captain could stop the ship for about an hour so that we could go swimming?” Response, “I don’t think so! We most certainly can not stop and frolic with the dolphins, porpoises, sharks, and other creatures of the sea.” Apparently the ship that we saw from our window earlier today is the pilot who will help guide the captain into the port.

It has been a very long day and I know that tomorrow will be longer. Hopefully we will post again when we return from Margarita Island on the sixth of September. Stay tuned…