Academics:
International Studies
Tina F.
Semester At Sea
Journal #2
September 8, 2003:
Hello Everyone!
We are now close to Russia, and only 3 days from our first port, Kobe, Japan. It is still quite cold outside, and the pool hasn't been filled yet. The waves are very big today; the seasickness is getting to everyone once again. I personally feel fine, but a little tired. There have been many dolphin sightings today, hundreds of them along the boat, which is really cool!
^ pictured above: Tina on the front deck of the S.S. Universe Explorer proudly wearing her Schreiner University t-shirt.
Classes are good, I have 3 quizzes on day B5, which is Mon., Sept. 8 to ya'll. This is something I need to explain to all of you. We have classes everyday we are not in port, so there are no weekends on the S.S. Universe Explorer, which can make things a little crazy. Plus, we are now one day ahead of you guys, so the dates are also messed up. So in order to keep things in order we speak in A and B days. We have A day classes and B day classes, except for Global Studies which we have everyday at 0900 everyday (we also go by military time on the ship). So, whenever we leave a port we start with an A or B day and then go from there. I somehow got all of my classes on B days, which is kind of nice. I am taking Sociology of Gender, Urban Anthropology, Consumer Behavior and the required course, Global Studies.
 The ship is nice, our room is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. There is plenty of room for my stuff. I live in an outside double which means that I have one roommate and a porthole. The porthole is actually a very nice size window where we get a lot of light. All of the rooms are different.
^ pictured above, Tina's room with roommate Patrice in bed reading...
Some rooms have a bathtub, we only got a shower. We also have a T.V. but only the Semester at Sea channel comes in. Luckily my roommate brought a laptop and the third season of Sex and the City. Everyone brought lots of movies, so we can watch those when we get really bored.
My roommate's name is Patrice and she is from California. She goes to school at the University of Miami and is on the rowing team there. She is very cool and we get along very well. Today she invited me to go sky diving in South Africa...hmmmm..we will see about that.
There are two dining rooms on the ship, and the Harbor Grill which is open after dinner if you want to buy a hamburger or a snack. We have 3 meals a day and the cafeteria is open for an hour and a half for each meal. That means there is a lot of standing in line. With 600 kids plus staff, faculty and crew you often find yourself standing in line for anything. At 2200 hours sandwiches and snacks are put out for those late night munchies, they get eaten pretty fast.
As for entertainment, there isn't much. The bar is open every three nights which means that those few nights that it is open it can get pretty crazy. These are called pub nights. Karaoke and dancing usually follow after the bar closes. They serve beer, wine and wine coolers. There was quite a bit of puking off the side of the ship, I personally had no problem holding everything in. On non-pub nights we watch movies, play games or socialize. The faculty and staff put on community college presentations most nights. These are on all kinds of things, certain countries, and subjects that might interest us. Last night I went to one on speaking Japanese.
We also do a lot of exercising. There is a U track on the Boat Deck (that is the deck my room is on, each floor has a different name) to run on, which isn't too bad if you have music. It can be boring sometimes considering it takes 18 U's for each mile. There are a ton of fitness classes to go to. I go to a physical training class every A day at 1300 hrs that is taught by a couple of my friends that are in the army. It is very, very hard. The workout room is okay, there are exercise bikes, 2 machines and the rest is free weights. Just about everyone works out just to have something to do.
Everyone I have met is really nice. There are kids from all over the country. There are a lot from Colorado and Pittsburgh. I have met a few that are from Texas, but most of them just go to school there and are from other places. Unfortunately no one has heard of Kerrville or Schreiner. Whenever someone asks me where I go to school I just tell them a small school in Texas.
It is very interesting to see how different places can be. For instance, in Southern California water polo is very popular. It is like football in Texas. Some of my friends have never heard of black-eyed peas (the food, not the band) or chicken fried steak. Anyway, I have made some good friends and it is really cool to meet so many people. Everyday I meet someone new.
Well, there is plenty more that I could write about life on the S.S. Universe Explorer but my exercise class is about to start and I haven't missed a class yet! Sincerely, Tina
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