Happy Valentine’s Day. Guess what!?! I officially crossed the Equator a couple hours ago. Just like the NFL’s infamous yellow line, there was a bright green line painted across the ocean and the ship “bumped” as we crossed the Equator and journeyed forth into the Southern Hemisphere. Who’da thunk? I took a few pictures to commemorate. I’ll do my best to upload one or two. We’ll see how successful I am. One is of most of the Student Life Team, though none of us look very good in it, and the second is of me and RD Lesley. We did some silly pictures too, but I'll save those for the slide show when I return.
The last few days have been incredibly hectic. I’m glad to say that things have finally settled into a routine. First, there’s Global Studies in the morning, (followed by a nap) then the Student Life Team meeting, then working in the office or the Student Life Desk, student group meetings, AFTerHours, and then an hour or so hanging out with fellow staff members in the Faculty/Staff Lounge (a.k.a. my favorite place on the ship). Time seems to be sailing by, pardon the pun. Speaking of Global Studies, the class has proven to be pretty interesting. There have been a couple of classes in particular that shared interesting info. I leanred all about the First, Second and Third world nations and their distinctions (second world nations aligned with the USSR in the Cold War). Yesterday was a great class on Ecological Sustainability. I never knew studying the environment could be so much fun. Today’s class was on global oppression, specifically as it exists in Brazil... fascinating stuff. The class is team taught by all of the professors on board, each speaking on their areas of expertise. We’ve already lost two hours since leaving the Bahamas, and we will be loosing another 4 between Brazil and South Africa. I think that means my attendance at Global Studies will start to wane as my need for sleep increases. I’m not supposed to play hooky, but I’m hoping you all won’t tell. Cool?
Our first day back on board we had our Activities Fair, which was a huge success. I had a table set with 8 groups ranging from my spirituality groups (Bible Study, “Jew Crew,” Spirituality Programming Committee, and Religious Exploration) and my diversity groups (Women @ Sea, People of Color @ Sea, LGBTA @ Sea, and Diversity Programming Committee). 8 groups in all, but students came around and decided to create another few groups. My favorite group is the Organized Atheists. It was two guys who wanted an alternative to all the “Bible study crap,” as they put it. I told them they could hold meetings in their room, and be co-Presidents if they so chose. That seemed to suit them just fine. As things were winding down, Ron Wisner (“the Voice”) came by and put a buzz in my ear. I received a very special invitation.
The next morning, Archbishop Desmond Tutu himself was going to hold a small Eucharistic service in the Executive Dean’s cabin, and I had been invited. It was to be a small affair with the Dean’s and their partners, the Director of Student Life, Administrative Assistant Shayla (who is one of my favorite people) and a few students. I was asked to choose a few students to bring along. 7:30 the next morning, I found myself sitting in one of the posh 7th deck cabins with the Archbishop and about 10 others for a small mass, led by Tutu himself. The realization that I was in the middle of the Atlantic being honored with a private service from the Nobel winner himself, was dizzying. He is such a small man in terms of stature, but he really fills a room with his personality. He always seems to be smiling, and is very gracious. He shook hands with each person in the room and made a point to connect with everyone. He gave a short sermon during the service and spoke about the infinite love of God and the concept of eternity in Heaven. He said that even though people will be in Heaven for all eternity, no one will ever be bored. This is because time flies when you’re having fun, and there is no greater joy than experiencing the infinite love of God. He described Hell as a place with a table heavy with delicious food but surrounded by thin hungry sad people with spoons too long to feed themselves. In Heaven, it is the same scene, but the people there are jolly and fat because they use their long spoons to feed one another. He spoke a lot about developing community. It was awe inspiring.
What was not awe-inspiring was the first night of beverage service at our AFTer Hours, which we hold in the pool bar on 7th Deck. The new system they are using has the folks purchasing drink cards and then getting their cards stamped for each drink they purchase. They can redeem the card for a new one once it is full of stamps. They are limited to 6 drinks a night, 2 at dinner and 4 at AFTer Hours. You’d think that 6 drinks would be enough, but they all seem to complain that they aren’t able to get drunk. Needless to say, I’m not very sympathetic to their plight. The first night we held AFTer Hours, the students swarmed and tried to get as many drinks as they could. Once they realized they weren’t going to get more than the 10 allotted to them, they sort of gave up and left. Today, being Valentine’s Day and all, the crowd was the biggest yet, and the students were really out of hand. I was stuck with the fun task of policing the line to stop people from cutting. I have never been disrespected as much as I was this evening. It brought my spirits down. The only thing that made it OK was that a lot of the students were really thankful that I stopped people from cutting the line. I’ve decided that I really enjoy almost every aspect of my job, even staffing the Student Life Desk in Purserer’s Square. The only thing I don’t enjoy is working AFTer Hours. Well, no job is perfect, right?
We’re losing two folks from the voyage so far. One of them is a woman who decided to remove herself from the voyage in Puerto Rico. She was dealing with a lot of issues, and had recently begun counseling. Evidently she felt like she would be able to cope through the voyage but realize pretty quickly that it wouldn’t work out that way. The second loss is one of our Lifelong Learners named Bill. He is in his 80s and started to have chest pains. He’s spending the last couple days till we get to Salvador in the ship hospital, and then will return to the US. Oddly, while he was in the hospital, he kept asking to see me. The other Lifelong Learners came down to visit, as did staff and administrators, but the only person he wanted to speak with was me. This seemed really strange to the hospital staff, and definitely weird to me. I had only had one short conversation with Bill to gauge his interest in being a part of our Bible Study groups. When I went in to see him, he ended up talking for about an hour about his faith, and his family, and the books he was reading. He showed me photos of his grandkids and jabbered on about things. Even now, I don’t really understand why Bill felt connected to me and wanted to see me, but I hope I was able to provide some comfort for him. I’m going to go back and visit a couple more times before we get to Brazil.
I’ve held a ton of meetings in the last couple of days, and met with almost all of my student groups, which has given me the chance to interact with a whole new batch of students. They are all really activated, and want to be involved, and make a difference and connect. I’ve had some great conversations with our students of color, and connected really well with our Jewish students. I don’t know how it has happened so quickly but they are comfortable coming to me with their concerns. I think this is in large part to the fact that there are not many people of color on the staff. The Christian students have also taken to me since I am the one leading the charge to form Bible study groups and Spiritual Programs. I’m pretty excited to see what all these students come up with in their new groups. I’m guessing the fruits of their labors will start to show up on our next leg between Brazil and South Africa.
Well, the lights of the coast of Brazil are visible off the starboard side of the ship. We’ll be following the coast for the next couple of days till we reach the port. Not a bad way to end the night… seeing the twinkling lights in the distance. A couple days back we sailed between the island nations of St. Lucia and Martinique and then came with 20 miles of Barbados. It was a fun day sailing through the Lesser Antillies. Well, time for bed. I miss you all. Happy Valentines Day to everyone back home.
XOXO -me
The last few days have been incredibly hectic. I’m glad to say that things have finally settled into a routine. First, there’s Global Studies in the morning, (followed by a nap) then the Student Life Team meeting, then working in the office or the Student Life Desk, student group meetings, AFTerHours, and then an hour or so hanging out with fellow staff members in the Faculty/Staff Lounge (a.k.a. my favorite place on the ship). Time seems to be sailing by, pardon the pun. Speaking of Global Studies, the class has proven to be pretty interesting. There have been a couple of classes in particular that shared interesting info. I leanred all about the First, Second and Third world nations and their distinctions (second world nations aligned with the USSR in the Cold War). Yesterday was a great class on Ecological Sustainability. I never knew studying the environment could be so much fun. Today’s class was on global oppression, specifically as it exists in Brazil... fascinating stuff. The class is team taught by all of the professors on board, each speaking on their areas of expertise. We’ve already lost two hours since leaving the Bahamas, and we will be loosing another 4 between Brazil and South Africa. I think that means my attendance at Global Studies will start to wane as my need for sleep increases. I’m not supposed to play hooky, but I’m hoping you all won’t tell. Cool?
Our first day back on board we had our Activities Fair, which was a huge success. I had a table set with 8 groups ranging from my spirituality groups (Bible Study, “Jew Crew,” Spirituality Programming Committee, and Religious Exploration) and my diversity groups (Women @ Sea, People of Color @ Sea, LGBTA @ Sea, and Diversity Programming Committee). 8 groups in all, but students came around and decided to create another few groups. My favorite group is the Organized Atheists. It was two guys who wanted an alternative to all the “Bible study crap,” as they put it. I told them they could hold meetings in their room, and be co-Presidents if they so chose. That seemed to suit them just fine. As things were winding down, Ron Wisner (“the Voice”) came by and put a buzz in my ear. I received a very special invitation.
The next morning, Archbishop Desmond Tutu himself was going to hold a small Eucharistic service in the Executive Dean’s cabin, and I had been invited. It was to be a small affair with the Dean’s and their partners, the Director of Student Life, Administrative Assistant Shayla (who is one of my favorite people) and a few students. I was asked to choose a few students to bring along. 7:30 the next morning, I found myself sitting in one of the posh 7th deck cabins with the Archbishop and about 10 others for a small mass, led by Tutu himself. The realization that I was in the middle of the Atlantic being honored with a private service from the Nobel winner himself, was dizzying. He is such a small man in terms of stature, but he really fills a room with his personality. He always seems to be smiling, and is very gracious. He shook hands with each person in the room and made a point to connect with everyone. He gave a short sermon during the service and spoke about the infinite love of God and the concept of eternity in Heaven. He said that even though people will be in Heaven for all eternity, no one will ever be bored. This is because time flies when you’re having fun, and there is no greater joy than experiencing the infinite love of God. He described Hell as a place with a table heavy with delicious food but surrounded by thin hungry sad people with spoons too long to feed themselves. In Heaven, it is the same scene, but the people there are jolly and fat because they use their long spoons to feed one another. He spoke a lot about developing community. It was awe inspiring.
What was not awe-inspiring was the first night of beverage service at our AFTer Hours, which we hold in the pool bar on 7th Deck. The new system they are using has the folks purchasing drink cards and then getting their cards stamped for each drink they purchase. They can redeem the card for a new one once it is full of stamps. They are limited to 6 drinks a night, 2 at dinner and 4 at AFTer Hours. You’d think that 6 drinks would be enough, but they all seem to complain that they aren’t able to get drunk. Needless to say, I’m not very sympathetic to their plight. The first night we held AFTer Hours, the students swarmed and tried to get as many drinks as they could. Once they realized they weren’t going to get more than the 10 allotted to them, they sort of gave up and left. Today, being Valentine’s Day and all, the crowd was the biggest yet, and the students were really out of hand. I was stuck with the fun task of policing the line to stop people from cutting. I have never been disrespected as much as I was this evening. It brought my spirits down. The only thing that made it OK was that a lot of the students were really thankful that I stopped people from cutting the line. I’ve decided that I really enjoy almost every aspect of my job, even staffing the Student Life Desk in Purserer’s Square. The only thing I don’t enjoy is working AFTer Hours. Well, no job is perfect, right?
We’re losing two folks from the voyage so far. One of them is a woman who decided to remove herself from the voyage in Puerto Rico. She was dealing with a lot of issues, and had recently begun counseling. Evidently she felt like she would be able to cope through the voyage but realize pretty quickly that it wouldn’t work out that way. The second loss is one of our Lifelong Learners named Bill. He is in his 80s and started to have chest pains. He’s spending the last couple days till we get to Salvador in the ship hospital, and then will return to the US. Oddly, while he was in the hospital, he kept asking to see me. The other Lifelong Learners came down to visit, as did staff and administrators, but the only person he wanted to speak with was me. This seemed really strange to the hospital staff, and definitely weird to me. I had only had one short conversation with Bill to gauge his interest in being a part of our Bible Study groups. When I went in to see him, he ended up talking for about an hour about his faith, and his family, and the books he was reading. He showed me photos of his grandkids and jabbered on about things. Even now, I don’t really understand why Bill felt connected to me and wanted to see me, but I hope I was able to provide some comfort for him. I’m going to go back and visit a couple more times before we get to Brazil.
I’ve held a ton of meetings in the last couple of days, and met with almost all of my student groups, which has given me the chance to interact with a whole new batch of students. They are all really activated, and want to be involved, and make a difference and connect. I’ve had some great conversations with our students of color, and connected really well with our Jewish students. I don’t know how it has happened so quickly but they are comfortable coming to me with their concerns. I think this is in large part to the fact that there are not many people of color on the staff. The Christian students have also taken to me since I am the one leading the charge to form Bible study groups and Spiritual Programs. I’m pretty excited to see what all these students come up with in their new groups. I’m guessing the fruits of their labors will start to show up on our next leg between Brazil and South Africa.
Well, the lights of the coast of Brazil are visible off the starboard side of the ship. We’ll be following the coast for the next couple of days till we reach the port. Not a bad way to end the night… seeing the twinkling lights in the distance. A couple days back we sailed between the island nations of St. Lucia and Martinique and then came with 20 miles of Barbados. It was a fun day sailing through the Lesser Antillies. Well, time for bed. I miss you all. Happy Valentines Day to everyone back home.
XOXO -me
9 comments:
Happy Valentine's Day, my son! That bed IS samll! I can't imagine mass with Desmond Tutu et al on the open seas. Sounds like things are going well, except the drink tickets. Give my regards to the co-presidents of the athiest's club! I'm proud of you. Get some rest and be safe (I had to say it!). Love, Mom.
Dear Drew,
Do me a favor and go see Bill before he leaves and pray with him. But before you do please ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in what he would have you say. I believe you will both be blessed.
Thank you for your time.
May God bless you and all the other sas'ers
dear drew, after reaking your blog, i have to tell you that i am so happy you are on board! have you met theo? if so can you please tell him 'peace & blessings from his mom. thanks karma
I just have to laugh that the greatest legacy we F06er's left behind was to name the thing we hated the most - the AFTerhours. Say hi to Miss Shayla for me.
Dear Drew -
I love your writings - please continue. i am sadly surprised that your staff lacks the diversity you had at UCI. As for AFTerHours - what we called the pub, social hour, taverna...i remember those nightly duties and really had to tell myself, "what does not kill me will make me stronger" haha. can't wait to hear about brazil -
anna
I admire you Drew, what an amazing experience you are having and memories you will not soon forget! Tell the booze-thirsty kids to build a bridge and get over it!!
Love ya, mean it!
Drewbie, I would think that long the spoons in Heaven would be "Golden Spoons" of course!
Don't let the boozers make you frown, and cause you to feel a little down, just try to think of a happy happy clown!
Ah! The dreaded AFTerhours! It was my least favorite part as well... but someone has to do it and it may as well be the RD's, right? ;) I am really glad to know that they took my suggestion about the drink cards! I hope they are working out better than the drink tickets, though I am assuming there are still flaws with the new system. Good luck with that! =) Your position sounds awesome, and I am so glad you were hired to be the Diversity/Spirituality RD. Can't wait to hear more about your programs... Peace and Love to Bill. :)
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