5/13/09
9:19
**then I wrote this about a week ago, but I got carsick while writing so I had to stop….how ironic
So I wrote all that a week ago. While I was still on the ship. Now I am home in Minnesota. I’m actually currently on my way to pick up my car from Houston, Minnesota. Yay my very own set of wheels! I was wondering how I would go about picking up my car, completely forgetting that there is , in fact, public transportation in the United States and I can use it! Who knew?
So let me finish my Guatemalan adventures. Jill and I waited outside the ship for our bus to arrive to take us to Pacaya Volcano. We held onto our trips tickets that we are required to give to the trip leaders. Well…I held onto my ticket. Jill “lost” hers. She says it blew away in the wind, but that just seems like a lie. She actually did lose her ticket, but the trip leader seemed a bit skeptical and her nickname for the day was GWTBA (Girl Whose Ticket Blew Away).
Once on the bus we met our topnotch tour guide Chiki. He was pretty entertaining, knowledgeable, and rather cute…for a short guy. He pointed out the steaming volcanoes in the distance and then Jill and I proceeded to PTFO (pass the F out). I kept jolting awake whenever my mouth would fall open, though, because I guess subconsciously I get embarrassed when I sleep with my mouth open. Just a little interesting fact about me.
About an hour and a half later we arrived at Pacaya. As we got off the bus, it was swarmed with little children trying to sell us walking sticks or marshmallows or a horse-ride up the volcano. I didn’t partake in any of these superfluous items, but many of my fellow SASers did including my favorite faculty dependent, George. George is a second grader and he is hilarious. First of all, he lifts weights up on Deck 7 with all the big boys. He makes the funniest faces while on the weight machines too. I crack up every time. On the hike he would jam his walking stick into the ground, or hit branches and plants with it, and eventually he resorted to throwing his walking stick like a javelin. What a kid.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Guaaaats
5/4/09
11:17
*I wrote this all like three weeks ago and never posted it….my bad
I found a dress and shoes for the ball. Took lots of pics on my top-notch disposable camera…told everyone I’d give them doubles. It was pretty funny to be like, “Don’t forget to wind it! Oh is the flash on?” Funny and obnoxious at the same time. No worries I’ll just get all of Jill’s photos.
So ‘Guats’ in the words of Win. The trip has come full circle. We started out in a Spanish-speaking country, we ended in a Spanish-speaking country. I traveled with Greg, Alicia, Caroline, Lia, and Jill a few days in Spain, I traveled with them for a few days in Guats. I stayed at Cat’s Hostel in Spain, I almost stayed in a hostel called El Gato Negro in Guats. Interesting, eh?
The first day I skipped the diplomatic briefing because I had stayed up pretty late the night before. I’m glad I did, though, because the diplomats just freaked everyone out and made some people not even want to get off the ship. Overall in Guatemala I felt pretty safe. I’m sure if I lived there permanently I would not feel the same, but in my brief time there I was never really uneasy or fearful for my well-being.
At about 10:30 or 11 we got off the ship. There were shuttles running every 15 minutes or half hour that took us from the port to the city entrance, because it was a pretty long walk otherwise. Greg, Alicia, Caroline, Jill, Brendan, Lia, Mike, and I took the shuttle and began to barter with taxi drivers to find a good price to go to Puerto Istapa. There was one taxi service at the city entrance charging ridiculous prices for a ride because they knew we had no other choice unless we wanted to take a long walk into the city. We finally found a ride for $5 a person and we hopped in the taxi van.
We had decided to go to this little city called Istapa because according to the pictures and little excerpts on it given by SAS at the Field Office, it is a nice little town with a beautiful black sand beach and lagoon. Well, either the Field Office lied or something changed drastically since those pictures were taken. The town was tiny, there were only locals and when we got to the “beach”…well do the quotations explain that?
Our taxi driver dropped us off at this little shack on the water facing a sandbar. He gives us his number so we can call him to get a ride back and then he calls over the man who is supposed to take us in one of these rickety, old boats lining the shoreline, across the dirty lagoon to the sandbar where the beach is. The boys had wanted to go deep-sea fishing here, because they had also read that was possible. So while they were checking to see if they could get fishing poles and other gear, all of us girls played with the cutest little puppy EVER. There were so many stray, mangy dogs in Guatemala. So many sickly puppies. It was sad.
Turns out, the boys couldn’t go fishing so instead we just decided to just hang out for a while, maybe get some lunch on the beach. From where we were standing, it appeared that there were some makeshift huts with food signs and benches. They looked empty, but we thought maybe they just weren’t open yet.
Well we reached the sandbar and everything was empty, closed, there was nothing. There were 3 other people on the sandbar. Two Guatemalan fishermen with nets, and one Israeli surfer, who was vacationing here. His name was Aaron and we all chatted with him for a while about his travels and about the area.
Although things hadn’t gone according to plan, no one was fretting and we all frolicked in the ocean and rested on the hot black sand. I wore my new swimsuit. Yeaaaah.
The marine life had it out for Alicia this day. The first time we all took a dip some THING bit her foot. She ran out…or hopped out yelping in pain. It wasn’t a bad cut or anything but I could definitely see bite marks or scratch marks or something. We took a break from the ocean after that and dried off in the sun. We were all starting to get hungry at this point and Aaron had recommended a good pizza place in town. We gathered our things, and Alicia decided to go in the ocean one more time. This time she came running out, looking a bit panicked again. She told us she had just been swimming in the waves, minding her own business, when she felt something on her head pulling her down. She brushed it off and looked at what it was and found a pink squid swimming away. What the hell? A squid? We all laughed at and then sympathized with poor Alicia. I would have FTFOed in that situation. Freaked the F out, for those of you that don’t know the lingo.
It took a little while to get the attention of our boat driver to come pick us up from the sandbar again, but he finally made his way over and we hopped in. Aaron came too and got dropped off in the little beach hut he was staying at. What a cool life: to come and stay in a country for 3 or 4 weeks, explore for a few weeks, surf for one week.
Back on the mainland, we went in search for the pizza place. It didn’t exist or no one would help us find it. So we ate at this tiny little restaurant that was probably no bigger than my living room and only had one cook. She set up a table outside for us under the awning and took our orders. Brendan, Mike and Greg got burgers and fries. Us ladies split a plate of some sort of meat (beef? Very well marinated), chips and bean dip, and tortillas. It was quite tasty. We also partook in some native Guatemalan beer: Gallo. Tasted good with lime.
After lunch we headed back to the ship to freshen up after a sweaty, sweaty, black sand encrusted day. We ate dindin on the ship to save some mula. It was a pretty decent dinner. Spinach frittatas. Soo good. And for dessert: Paris Brests. Yes, breast was misspelled on the label. These Paris Brests were like an eclaire with mocha filling. Three Paris Brests: delicious. Inappropriate and immature jokes that ensued: innumerable and priceless.
After dinner, Lia, Alicia, Jill, Caroline, Doug and I called our taxi driver from earlier and got a ride into Puerto San Jose. We went to a restaurant that probably would have been hopping on a Friday or Saturday, but it was Tuesday and it was empty. Hit songs from the eighties were blaring over the speakers as we all sat at a table and ordered a drink or two and ate some appetizers. Our driver and his friend joined us. After a bit a group of locals came in and they were traaaaaashed. This one flamboyant guy kept getting up and drunkenly shaking his bum or thrusting his pelvis. We loved him. He was a HIT.
After a half hour or so at this restaurant we strolled around the town. Jill really wanted papusas which are some sort of street food she had eaten a lot of in her three weeks in Guadalajara last summer. We didn’t find these, but Lia and her bought some beef tacos from a street vendor. I think we were advised not to eat street food. Pssshh.
Jill bought a Regatone CD from a vendor and then we sat in skatepark with all the locals kids and teens. We watched them play, fight, skateboard, and canoodle. After a bit we headed back to the port. On our walk to the shuttle we heard loud music bumping and the rowdy voices of …could it be? Fellow SASholes? Indeed, there was a restaurant/bar right outside the shuttle pick-up that was swarming with SASers. There was a band playing America hits and lots of dancing and drinking going on. We stayed for an hour or so, but the last shuttle to the ship was at 10:45 so we caught that.
That night Caroline, Alicia and I ho’d it out in Alicia’s room for several hours just talking about the voyage, about our families, about our feelings and thoughts. It got rather emotional. Alicia and Caroline are pretty homesick and need their mommas. I kept reassuring them that we only had one week left. All the while, as I comforted them, I couldn’t help but think, “Only one week?! How? No! I want more!”
It ended up being a pretty late night (3am) and I had an early morning ahead of me what with my adventure to climb A VOLCANO!!!! No worries, I don’t need sleep.
The volcano climb was my last SAS-sponsored trip and I was really excited to hike it and that Jill would be accompanying me on this venture.
11:17
*I wrote this all like three weeks ago and never posted it….my bad
I found a dress and shoes for the ball. Took lots of pics on my top-notch disposable camera…told everyone I’d give them doubles. It was pretty funny to be like, “Don’t forget to wind it! Oh is the flash on?” Funny and obnoxious at the same time. No worries I’ll just get all of Jill’s photos.
So ‘Guats’ in the words of Win. The trip has come full circle. We started out in a Spanish-speaking country, we ended in a Spanish-speaking country. I traveled with Greg, Alicia, Caroline, Lia, and Jill a few days in Spain, I traveled with them for a few days in Guats. I stayed at Cat’s Hostel in Spain, I almost stayed in a hostel called El Gato Negro in Guats. Interesting, eh?
The first day I skipped the diplomatic briefing because I had stayed up pretty late the night before. I’m glad I did, though, because the diplomats just freaked everyone out and made some people not even want to get off the ship. Overall in Guatemala I felt pretty safe. I’m sure if I lived there permanently I would not feel the same, but in my brief time there I was never really uneasy or fearful for my well-being.
At about 10:30 or 11 we got off the ship. There were shuttles running every 15 minutes or half hour that took us from the port to the city entrance, because it was a pretty long walk otherwise. Greg, Alicia, Caroline, Jill, Brendan, Lia, Mike, and I took the shuttle and began to barter with taxi drivers to find a good price to go to Puerto Istapa. There was one taxi service at the city entrance charging ridiculous prices for a ride because they knew we had no other choice unless we wanted to take a long walk into the city. We finally found a ride for $5 a person and we hopped in the taxi van.
We had decided to go to this little city called Istapa because according to the pictures and little excerpts on it given by SAS at the Field Office, it is a nice little town with a beautiful black sand beach and lagoon. Well, either the Field Office lied or something changed drastically since those pictures were taken. The town was tiny, there were only locals and when we got to the “beach”…well do the quotations explain that?
Our taxi driver dropped us off at this little shack on the water facing a sandbar. He gives us his number so we can call him to get a ride back and then he calls over the man who is supposed to take us in one of these rickety, old boats lining the shoreline, across the dirty lagoon to the sandbar where the beach is. The boys had wanted to go deep-sea fishing here, because they had also read that was possible. So while they were checking to see if they could get fishing poles and other gear, all of us girls played with the cutest little puppy EVER. There were so many stray, mangy dogs in Guatemala. So many sickly puppies. It was sad.
Turns out, the boys couldn’t go fishing so instead we just decided to just hang out for a while, maybe get some lunch on the beach. From where we were standing, it appeared that there were some makeshift huts with food signs and benches. They looked empty, but we thought maybe they just weren’t open yet.
Well we reached the sandbar and everything was empty, closed, there was nothing. There were 3 other people on the sandbar. Two Guatemalan fishermen with nets, and one Israeli surfer, who was vacationing here. His name was Aaron and we all chatted with him for a while about his travels and about the area.
Although things hadn’t gone according to plan, no one was fretting and we all frolicked in the ocean and rested on the hot black sand. I wore my new swimsuit. Yeaaaah.
The marine life had it out for Alicia this day. The first time we all took a dip some THING bit her foot. She ran out…or hopped out yelping in pain. It wasn’t a bad cut or anything but I could definitely see bite marks or scratch marks or something. We took a break from the ocean after that and dried off in the sun. We were all starting to get hungry at this point and Aaron had recommended a good pizza place in town. We gathered our things, and Alicia decided to go in the ocean one more time. This time she came running out, looking a bit panicked again. She told us she had just been swimming in the waves, minding her own business, when she felt something on her head pulling her down. She brushed it off and looked at what it was and found a pink squid swimming away. What the hell? A squid? We all laughed at and then sympathized with poor Alicia. I would have FTFOed in that situation. Freaked the F out, for those of you that don’t know the lingo.
It took a little while to get the attention of our boat driver to come pick us up from the sandbar again, but he finally made his way over and we hopped in. Aaron came too and got dropped off in the little beach hut he was staying at. What a cool life: to come and stay in a country for 3 or 4 weeks, explore for a few weeks, surf for one week.
Back on the mainland, we went in search for the pizza place. It didn’t exist or no one would help us find it. So we ate at this tiny little restaurant that was probably no bigger than my living room and only had one cook. She set up a table outside for us under the awning and took our orders. Brendan, Mike and Greg got burgers and fries. Us ladies split a plate of some sort of meat (beef? Very well marinated), chips and bean dip, and tortillas. It was quite tasty. We also partook in some native Guatemalan beer: Gallo. Tasted good with lime.
After lunch we headed back to the ship to freshen up after a sweaty, sweaty, black sand encrusted day. We ate dindin on the ship to save some mula. It was a pretty decent dinner. Spinach frittatas. Soo good. And for dessert: Paris Brests. Yes, breast was misspelled on the label. These Paris Brests were like an eclaire with mocha filling. Three Paris Brests: delicious. Inappropriate and immature jokes that ensued: innumerable and priceless.
After dinner, Lia, Alicia, Jill, Caroline, Doug and I called our taxi driver from earlier and got a ride into Puerto San Jose. We went to a restaurant that probably would have been hopping on a Friday or Saturday, but it was Tuesday and it was empty. Hit songs from the eighties were blaring over the speakers as we all sat at a table and ordered a drink or two and ate some appetizers. Our driver and his friend joined us. After a bit a group of locals came in and they were traaaaaashed. This one flamboyant guy kept getting up and drunkenly shaking his bum or thrusting his pelvis. We loved him. He was a HIT.
After a half hour or so at this restaurant we strolled around the town. Jill really wanted papusas which are some sort of street food she had eaten a lot of in her three weeks in Guadalajara last summer. We didn’t find these, but Lia and her bought some beef tacos from a street vendor. I think we were advised not to eat street food. Pssshh.
Jill bought a Regatone CD from a vendor and then we sat in skatepark with all the locals kids and teens. We watched them play, fight, skateboard, and canoodle. After a bit we headed back to the port. On our walk to the shuttle we heard loud music bumping and the rowdy voices of …could it be? Fellow SASholes? Indeed, there was a restaurant/bar right outside the shuttle pick-up that was swarming with SASers. There was a band playing America hits and lots of dancing and drinking going on. We stayed for an hour or so, but the last shuttle to the ship was at 10:45 so we caught that.
That night Caroline, Alicia and I ho’d it out in Alicia’s room for several hours just talking about the voyage, about our families, about our feelings and thoughts. It got rather emotional. Alicia and Caroline are pretty homesick and need their mommas. I kept reassuring them that we only had one week left. All the while, as I comforted them, I couldn’t help but think, “Only one week?! How? No! I want more!”
It ended up being a pretty late night (3am) and I had an early morning ahead of me what with my adventure to climb A VOLCANO!!!! No worries, I don’t need sleep.
The volcano climb was my last SAS-sponsored trip and I was really excited to hike it and that Jill would be accompanying me on this venture.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
NUGGETS OF WISDOM WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF THE PAINTING IN MY CABIN
NUGGETS OF WISDOM WRITTEN ON THE BACK OF THE PAINTING IN MY CABIN:
(beware – some of these get a bit explicit, so just prepare yourself now)
Get it girl…uh
- anonymous
Tips for SAS:
1) Varanasi=lots of dock-time, long story
2) Buy raffle tickets at Walmart in different colors for drink tickets
3) Drug tests are a myth, have fun!
4) Fuck MAD bitches in Mauritius but don’t remember anything
5) Don’t fuck with Tina she might eat you
*the rest is unreadable but there are about 5 more tips
Tips from Spring 2008:
1) Have no regrets if you have sex with a dirty whore in Mauritius, people will forget about it. Every port -> new stories
2) Watch out for Canadians. (They are very fertile and get pregnant easy.)
3) Don’t hang out with GINGER KIDS!!
4) Girls that shave their heads on Neptune Day have low self-esteem and are easy
5) Smoke hash in India (you will trip balls)
6) Vietnam – eat snake and dog (ask for “Bark, Bark”)
7) Be careful of pissed of Malaysians (you may think Asians aren’t intimidating, but they know karate)
8) ALWAYS, ALWAYS bring booze on SAS trips
9) In this room… if and when you take showers … 50% chance you will get pregnant.
10) Buy a shit ton of hot sauce. If Mez is in the cafeteria, you’re stoked.
11) Beat up kids that wear crockies
12) Lastly, HAVE FUN, BLACK OUT,your best memories will be what you don’t remember
love,
Jeremy Schwartz
Summer 2008
1) don’t eat the food in Egypt… Pharoah will take revenge on you!
2) Don’t expect straight A’s… UVA hs upped the par of academics onboard
3) Smuggle drinks onboard, especially for the end (i.e. Ambassador’s Ball, I regret not doing it! Last pub night)
4) Sleep under the stars as often as you can
5) Don’t use facebook on board, it eats up all your minutes
6) Get to know people in your hallways….do homework in the hallways, etc.
7) BALTIC SEA fuckin’ rocks, baby ….#1 gold medalists, 2 semesters in a row!!! (if you have Iron Chef contest with pizza, make it a Thai pizza not Italian)
8) If you ever have to a tender, book a hotel (the tender stops going to the boast at 2)
9) Don’t travel to Moscow by yourself and make sure to master some Russian before entering the county
10) Make sure to cite in your papers and don’t use Wikipedia!!!
11) Make out with someone in every country and try to find someone on the ship too…to make ship times more “exciting”
12) Make sure not to miss you boat in the Greek Islands…it won’t be fun spending $700 to Serbia then Croatia cuz you didn’t get back in time
13) Eat tons of Belgian fries (put tons of Samuria sauce on it to too) and Belgian Waffles…they’re so good!
14) Make the most of life here and push yourself…have no regrets and you’ll have the time of your life!!! We certainly did!
-Andrea Kramer and Alli McSorely
p.s. Meclizine does not deactivate birth control
Practical Information (Fall 07)
1) Global Studies test will be harder than you think (Someone in wrote in different colored pen CHEAT next to this statement)
2) Egyptian police suck monkey balls, do not try to go to Israel
a. On that note, they will never check your passport for stamps in other countries
3) Buy a sitar in India or something equally ridiculous
4) India and Vietnam are the cheapest places, buy your shit there
5) You will not get tested for drugs unless they think your on them
6) Find out what Geocaching is if you don’t already know
7) At the end of the voyage, they will let you turn over-due library books for free
8) You can do anything in any country without SAS trips
9) Don’t be a “SAS-hole”
10) Duck-tape sets off metal detectors
11) Take the extra mattress from the bunk bed and put it on top of yours
12) Weight limitations in foreign airports are the same as the US (along with batteries)
More Summer 08
1) swim naked in the sea!
2) Get up for breakfast! It’s the best meal of the day
3) Get a Life Long Learner Family – they can bring things onto the ship that you can’t
4) If they have your cereal out, grab 10 boxes
5) In Croatia, moonshine – homemade wine and figs
6) Don’t freak out when something goes wrong, everything will work out. miss the tenders, stay out all night – these are the best memories you will have.
How 2 sneak on booze
1) do it first day in port
2) girls – in boobs (not vag)
guys – tape to thighs first day
OR
Buy juice cartons (1/2 gallon) open bottom with credit card. Pour booze in carefully (use funnel system) seal with super glue. Never fails.
*Next to this written in different colored pen, someone wrote “this is too elaborate. Read the situation, and pack accordingly. We got ten handles on in our legs/ bags/ under jackets/ taped to chest/ rectally….etc.
1) Have a foursome with your socks on, it’s really no THAT awkward
2) I blew my load on these walls, on this bed, in these eyes…
3) If you look really ahrd you can still the poop stain on the carpet in front of the bathroom…almost made it.
4) Condoms are overrated. Kids rule!
5) I may not know you, I may never meet you, but bro –your dick is the greatest!
6) And remember, there’s always time for one more shot with your best friends.
Your scurviest sea-dog,
Rob Anderson F ‘08
This is the revolution
I have the solution
Take acid
Drop out
Drown in liquor and frolic about
-SAS ‘76
1) Go vegetarian, all the cool kids are doing it. (vegetarian is crossed out and GAY is written over it)
2) Work out for the few first weeks. You will feel better about yourself when your are too lazy to take the stairs at the lsat port
3) Forego Global for sleep
4) Do not be “that guy,” nobody likes that guy…certain things that qualify you as that guy:
a. Unprotected sex with hookers in Vietnam
b. Stealing alcohol from the Captian
c. Working out without a shirt one during Pub night
d. Excessive use of “bra.” “broseph,” or “dude”
e. Milking the camera for air time
5) If you are a girl and spend lots of time with the dependents, you are nice if you are a guy…creepy
6) Eat anything you want, but avoid water
7) Buy music in every port, music triggers memories
8) Attend evening lectures. They are often pretty dan good
9) The visas SAS gives you forbid you from leaving the country, do not learn this the hard way. Make sure you have a visa that permits travel outside of the country
10) Do not do overnight trips, unless they are homestays – this is my one regret with SAS
11) Bend the rules – rent a car, leave the country, just be smart about it, don’t blab about it to everyone
12) Pick who you travel with wisely, at the end you will remember who you were with more so than what you were doing
Fall 2006
1) drug tests are NOT a joke! They give you 30 days to clean up (this is crossed out and someone wrote SMOKE WEED!!)
2) your body is the safe zone for sneaking booze on. You’ll never be patted down except for in Hawaii
3) there’s no dock time in the last port, get wasted and be late…so are all the professors!
4) Random room searches do exists…but they’re not that random
5) The smoker’s deck = “wrong crowd” assumption >drug tests
6) RD’s aren’t you friends, they may be chill but they’ll turn you in.
7) Don’t underestimate global studies (next to this someone wrote this girl is just stupid)
8) Bring toilet paper to every port!
9) ALWAYS have a business card of the hotel you’re staying at…then when you’re drunk you can just hand that to the driver
10) “Live every day like it’s your last”
11) Don’t worry about people from home
12) Don’t worry about taking pictures of everything
13) Walk around open eyed…taking everything every port has to offer in.
-Dawn, Sarah, and Scribble-scrawl of a Signature
As for my tips:
1) Taste everything
2) Talk to everyone – locals and SASers, they all have an interesting story
3) Get to know inter-port students
4) Make friends with the crew – they will hook you up
5) Explore on your own
6) Ask questions, ask for help when you need it, don’t be afraid of strangers…just be cautious
7) Sing, dance, paint, draw, write
8) DO HOMESTAYS
9) Don’t plan, just go
10) Travel how you want to, with people who you enjoy – it’s not worth it to follow someone else’s plans and be with people you don’t like
11) Travel with new people constantly…it’s refreshing
12) In Thailand, GO to Koh Samet! Do NOT go to a pingpong show, it will scar you for life.
13) DO NOT bro out in the pool in your speedo…it is not attractive
Sunday, May 3, 2009
PANAMAAAA
5/3/09
13:41
First of all, it's May. What the hell?
Second of all, as of yesterday at 1:35 I became a junior in college. Upperclassmen woot woot. I finished my last final, aka an art project, two days ago and it turned out pretty well. It will be on display in the Academic Gallery, which "was created to showcase outstanding academic coursework demonstrated during Semester at Sea Voyages" according to Brad Miller the man in charge of academic support.
Third of all, I am slacking on writing my Guatemala blob. Not that it wasn't sweet, because it was amazing and one of my top favorite ports, mainly just because I've been lazy and basking in the sun. But I can't wait to discuss my experience with Clareybear, and don't worry I'll write about it tomorrow.
Fourth, today is Panama Canal Day and also the Ambassador’s Ball. We are going through the canal currently. It is hotter than the blue blazes, but it’s pretty cool to see land hugging our ship so tightly on each side. We’ve gone under bridges and there have been walls merely feet from my porthole. It’s nuts. And as for the ball tonight….well I have nothing to wear. Hopefully I can find a dress buy 8:30 tonight. And shoes. Yeahhhhh.
Home in four days. Can’t think about it yet.
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