Trick-or-Treat, It's Time For Sweets...Check Out This Blog, It's Really Neat!!

The following is a shared journal entry:

October 30, 2005
Another Day

Between our constant studying we are enjoying the comments from first mom and dad, then the ton from Ashley who, of course, gets a special callout as you have really contributed to our experience and the smiles we receive from your messages really help brighten the day. You would think with all the wonderful things we have done we wouldn’t need such simple surprises as a message on the blog, but these are the small things we look forward to the most, especially at sea. B loved her email from her stuffed friends at home.

We have sent five more postcards, which means nineteen total, have left from Myanmar – Heather saved one because it is of Bagan with the thousands of stupas. Departure is around noon tomorrow and we received the Hawaii and San Diego field program packet, choosing hopefully the trip to Pearl Harbor, the Arizona Memorial, and a city orientation of the Polynesian culture and sites. Though a luau in the evening sounded fantastic it overlapped with this trip and we figure it will be easy enough to experience the beach and luau aspects of the culture when this tour ends in the early afternoon, not to mention purchasing hundreds of pineapples.

We have five days until Vietnam, and our third upcoming Global Studies Exam, which means that we are hard at work studying once again. It was laundry day for the Bering Sea and of course we cannot wait, or we lose our chance before Vietnam. So we sent some of the not so nice items in the extremely rare case that the water is not filtered through yet. At least that way if anything gets messed up it will not be a huge loss, and if everything comes back fine then clean clothes at last!

So we had the hardest time trying to figure out what to put all of the candy in for trick-or-treating and transformed our now empty BJ’s cracker pack box into a masterpiece for all the sweets – jolly ranchers and Doublemint gum. Of course we have to represent!

We are missing everyone at home and cannot believe that we are leaving Myanmar. It seems like we have been here forever and the panorama outside our window has become so familiar. Will it be as emotional a departure as South Africa we cannot say, but we have seen so much of such an amazing country despite the political situation. We thought a lot about PopPop today and how much we miss him; his absence even more stark because of the loss of Nana and our trip that is so very much, we believe, in memory of their legacy. Even the fact that we are heading to Vietnam, though he did not fight in that war, reminds us of him, probably because of his pictures during the Second World War with the Mighty Eighth.

We don’t really remember what it is like at sea, as we only spent one day between India and Myanmar on the waves. Heather has been praying for split pea soup or sweet and sour pork over white rice, two of her favorite meals on the ship, but we were pleasantly surprised by lunch today. Two pieces of meatloaf, which made us wish for homes, and two stuffed peppers later we were, excuse the pun, but stuffed. Though everything at home is better we loved the stuffed peppers as a change from the chicken and pasta dishes.

With luck water restrictions will conclude tomorrow evening after Halloween and everything will return to normal. We cannot wait to find out about all of the Boo day spectacular events.

We wanted to leave a little note about a question in an email concerning our new roommates – Bearing and Awoo! The campus store has brown and white teddy bears, the white look like polar bears and of course, two cute faces smiled at us the day after the Olympic victory, these white fuzzy little bears wearing charcoal, navy t-shirts in our colors. Bearing and Awoo came home with us!! B loves them, though Wilty not so much. Of course many bears, brown and white, still remain in the store sporting various colored t’s but these friendly faces were a small treat to keep us smiling as we knew we were leaving the ship for an extended trip and we dislike being away from the comfort of our cabin since none of the hotels seem to come close to the coziness and security our small room offers. At night all we had to do was think of Bearing and Awoo, B too, waiting for us on the ship.

Well that is all for now as we wait for Halloween and Vietnam/Cambodia. Good night! Stay tuned for awesome photos and more stories…thanks to everyone, Sandy, Ashley, and of course, Mom and Dad. You make us smile!

Heather's Journal Entry:

October 31, 2005
Halloween In Myanmar

So the day started out just like any other day of classes, except for the bottle green of the rice paddies outside the window and the row upon row upon row of teak. We went to breakfast hoping to see Pat after her trip to Bagan, but breakfast came and went without our usual tea and coffee morning routine. Oh well, things will get back to normal when we return to sea. After breakfast we decided to hang our pumpkin banner across the window and a smaller one from our door, before putting our laundry out for Dalphon, which we decorated with a Halloween poem that he loved. It read, “Trick or Treat, it’s time for sweets. Give us clothes that’s clean and neat!” We are wearing our University of Maryland jack-o-lantern T-shirts and we have certainly received plenty of comments on how cute we look. One year from now I will think back and say, as I look at a picture of me in this shirt standing on the deck before a view of the pastoral Burma, “One year ago I spent Halloween morning in Myanmar! Can you imagine?”

The most exciting thing about our departure was the continual presence of the golden stupas some that have even turned up on the pictures and the magnificence of the Shwedagon Pagoda from the sea. Amazing! Indeed every few minutes I would say, “Look, another stupa. Do you see it?” I so very much wanted to capture in pictures the glory and presence, not to mention the abundance of these wonderfully gilded steeples and the thrill of them each time they peek above the green foliage of the jungle. Unfortunately, I am afraid that this is something that must be experienced and cannot be adequately expressed in words of images. Sadly this is the last time I will see the stupas, but hope that we will study them in Asian Art where I can add the true joy of their presence into our discussions along with some of our own photos.

On our way to Global Studies we were stopped by a medical emergency, the ethnomusicologist professor being taken off the ship in a wheel chair. Dean John told us in class that he had experienced some cardiac problems and had apparently had a heart attack in the early hours of the morning. We were told that he was taken by ambulance to Yangon to be airlifted to Bangkok for tests before a determination would be made as to his status aboard the ship. Hopefully everything will be all right and he will return to serenade us once more at the Pre-ports with his choir of students and adult passengers and Gamelan orchestra.

After Global Studies we went to lunch where large jack-o-lanterns sat on the buffet with wide toothless grins and tufted hair. Hopefully they will be there for dinner for us to get pictures, as they are quite professional and a true joy to look at on this special day. We made our way up to Deck Seven to see the ship pull out of the harbor, and of course the bugs were there for the sendoff as well, but only the large green grasshoppers. I guess that they just could not go without saying goodbye. I certainly hope that the chef does not plan to use them in the Halloween festivities, though Ormond told us that there would most assuredly be brains. Which incidentally, last night he told he wanted to bring us chocolate chip cookies, but because he was so busy the moment slipped past. Megan took a picture of a smaller boat at port, and upon reviewing the pictures we both laughed when I told her its purpose – the poo poo ship, as they occasionally came along side to suck the waste from the Explorer during our port stay.

Though we did not have Travelers’ Journals today because of a special extended class we held earlier in the voyage, we stopped by the classroom to turn in our second travel essay before returning to our room, where we found Boo Gram’s from our friends aboard the ship. Megan and I sent one to eachother, in addition to one from Pat for each of us with a cute little poem, “Roses are red, violets are blue, here are some treats for your tea for two.” And of course it would not be Halloween without a trick for a treat, one from Borin and Dreesilla – though we imagine these to be from Bob and Betty just starting the spooking a little early. We shall find out later. So now we have a small stash of Gummy Bears and Rice Krispies Treats, not to mention that Megan surprised me yesterday after a quick errand with a Three Musketeers, one of my favorites, and a Butterfinger for her.

Finally it was time for the bewitching hour to begin as the Academy kids began trick-or-treating before the college-aged students. We gave out so much candy and at last the jolly rancher reserve is much more manageable for two. Everyone really loved our costumes, many of the other students parading around as flight attendants, crayons, witches, monsters from the abyss, rice paddy pickers with their straw triangular hats, and the widest display of foreign fashion in one place. Though my favorite would have to be our next-door neighbors who decided to be the Lundy twins and even borrowed our beaded purses for the night as everyone on board has commented on their beaded intricacy and indeed knows them as a symbol of us.

After the door to door of treats and tricks we made our way to the Garden Lounge for a demonstration in pumpkin and vegetable carving before being handed our very own pumpkins and sharp knives, which wearing silk we decided to pass. We saw Pat and Betty, though Bob was feeling under the weather and stuck in bed. We will make him a get-well card with a picture of us at Halloween since he missed our Burmese princess costumes. Again, everyone thought we looked beautiful in our silk gowns and it was fun to watch as heads turned at our appearance. Everywhere you looked ghosts and ghouls wandered the ship carrying candied and caramel apples. Even Chris had to stop us to find the perfect lighting for a photo shoot and so perhaps sometime you should check his website to see if he has downloaded anything for Halloween under shipboard life to find us.

At last we purchased a phone card and I fear that our calls home are quickly becoming quite predictable. Last time we had a huge “Good morning” from Cherylie who absolutely knew it was us, even though it was evening and not the start of the day on the MV Explorer. “Boo” she yelled, though she had to admit that two earlier calls from which she assumed to be us prompted her into readiness at our cute little voices. Sad to say, no Joe, he was at work and we so very much wanted to hear his best ghostly moan. As we post this I know that it is still the bewitching hour at home, so happy trick-or-treating! We love to call home on special days and we are still trying to figure out when to call for Thanksgiving, when it is turkey day here, or turkey day there. Mom and dad, are you still going to the ocean with everyone? If you were we would love to try to call the cell to hear a chorus of Happy Thanksgiving from everyone. Or if you were just getting together as usual than it would be fun to correlate our call when you are all together. Though I would be prompted to purchase two cards just to spend more time talking to you when you are back at home.

Happy Halloween!

Megan's Journal Entry:

October 31, 2005
Halloween in Myanmar

After eating lunch in the Garden Lounge at last, where six carved pumpkins with chilling, bloodcurdling faces, intricate spiraled tendrils sprouting from their heads, large bulbous noses, and glaring eyes, we headed to the front deck to watch our departure from Myanmar. Only several others, less than ten, had decided to make an appearance on the bug-infested deck, littered with live crickets ranging from small to uncomfortably large. Yes, we managed to maneuver over the doorway and hop to the rail, Heather leaving me for a brief second to take some photos from the other side of the deck of those stupid stupas, a medium hopping pest deciding to cling to my pumpkin T-shirt. It hopped off nonchalantly onto the railing, seconds before my complete breakdown and mental realization of what had occurred. Disaster averted, we managed several photos of each other, and the port where a film crew and photographer had arrived to capture our departure. It was most difficult to watch the vista of bottle green rice paddies in the intense heat of the afternoon sun, large clouds white and fluffy against the blue of the sky, slowly grow smaller as we made our way towards the mouth of the muddy river. About twenty golden stupas specked the landscape in intervals, I trying just as hard as Heather to seize one of their glittering crowns in the click of the camera shutter. Shwedagon Pagoda even made a goodbye appearance as we passed the city center, its size overshadowing the other smaller stupas amongst the agricultural landscape.

It took several hours for the ship to clear the muddy mixing of the delta. Water is still being conserved as the Voice has announced. And even though our laundry was taken this morning with the intention of being washed, they will most likely not be returned for several days as they are now on hold. Linens and bedding have moved to the front of the line so our personal laundry will have to wait. We wish they would have opted to hold off on students dirty apparel until they were prepared to launder them as several of the items, if we had really wanted or needed them, could have been hand-washed. Its not inconveniencing though and today is Halloween so little else matters. With our Maryland Halloween T-shirts we are clearly the only two students who are celebrating this holiday to the fullest. Most likely others will appear later in costumes, but to wait until the late afternoon to celebrate seems such a waste.

We have a banner we made with paper pumpkins that is hanging from the opening in our window, another on our door. Boo grams were delivered, each of us receiving three – one from each other, Pat, and the mysterious Boris and Dreesilla? We have a feeling this is Betty and Bob, our adopted family and with Gummy Bears and Rice Krispies it seems much more like Halloween. Don’t worry mom and dad, our parents onboard and Pat has taken care of us. While it may not be Milky Ways and Nutrageous, Halloween is not the same without candy. We are hoping perhaps cider will be a surprise at some point of the day, but this is perhaps wishful thinking. However, if there are carved pumpkins it could be reasoned that cider is not too much of a wish, as they always seem to be prepared for such occasions.

We are studying for a couple hours before dinner, after sitting a half-an-hour in the Union while the Gamelan class practiced, the absence of Mitch Strumpf clearly being felt. Professor Mitch Strumpf is the ethnomusicologist and teacher, also the director of the chorus who has performed South Africa’s national anthem among many other regional songs. After Dean Tymitz announced of Mitch’s heart attack and his expected transport to Bangkok by this evening, the shipboard community is missing the loss of one of its family. Even though we’ve only enjoyed several meals with Professor Strumpf, his smiling face on the pier in South Africa as he sat in the shade of the hotel, and his multi-media clips of performances and music around the globe, it is quite a misfortune for his presence will be missed. It is possible he will rejoin the ship at a later date and we certainly hope it will be in the near future as the choir and other performance groups, under his guidance, will not avoid being forgotten at pre-port presentations.

We are preparing for our costume party and trick-or-treating, using the curling iron before dinner to spiff up the hairstyle and become glamorous. We will go to dinner in our day apparel and then make the switch afterwards, touching up the makeup. Trick-or-treating begins at 1845 for the Explorer Academy, the several students onboard, and at 1915 to 2000 the remainder of the ship joins the activities. From there we are going to a either a scary story session where caramel apples and other special surprises we will given out or a pumpkin carving session where the head chef will demonstrate how all the spine-tingling Jack faces came into existence for this creepy evening. Then it is back to the room to study some more, these Global Studies exams are serious!!

Trick-or-treaters in the most ridiculous costumes knock knocked on our door for the hour of fright, most memorable were the crayons, flight attendants, and monks. We were, of course, beautiful and the photographer Chris took a ton of pictures of the two of us, so be sure to check his site sometime in the near future as they may end up there. From the large batch of jolly ranchers and Doublemint gum, the minutes passing with Mannheim Steamrollers Halloween Monster Mix playing in the background, the candy dwindled. And while it was not all dispersed, perhaps the less than one pound remaining will be much more manageable. Apparently we had the “good stuff” and were glad of the compliment.

We left for the pumpkin carving session, halted by our next-door neighbors, Pia and Jacqueline who needed a favor. We had been talking with them and laughed over the idea that they would be us for Halloween. With matching tops, yellow and green and our beaded purses, they posted paper on their backs that read “Lundy Twin A” and “Lundy Twin B”. It was indeed funny to witness the sight, and I must say Heather and I make much better twins.

At the pumpkin carving session we, at last, found Pat and shared stories of our travels briefly, over her oohing and ahhing at our silk gowns. The pictures do not do these creations justice, but they are an idea of the glitter and glam. Everyone loved our gowns, evening the dining staff that were still in the Garden Lounge cleaning up from dinner. The pumpkins here are not quite orange, but rather large and it was interesting to see the ornate creations come to life.

We returned to our room around nine thirty, called home, and studied for about an hour before deciding our eyelids could barely remain open another minute. Sleep came on quickly and if we have to loose another hour and a half before Vietnam I hope it will not be tomorrow. Trick or treat at home!!!