First Impressions

I am a human lobster. Yep, even though I am a native Arizonan, I managed to get horribly sunburned before I even boarded the ship. I'm "that guy" right now, and people keep looking at me funny because they think I am blushing/looking guilty and sweating... when the truth is, my skin is burning and I just wanna strip down and stand in front of an air conditioning unit. Oy vey! Ok... did you enjoy that moment of humor. it's all true... and no, I didn't take any pictures. Evidence of this, I don't need. Now on the what I've been doing so far.

How can I even begin to describe the last few days? I arrived in the Bahamas on Monday evening. It was a weird moment to realize that I really have started this journey. As I sat in the airport in Ft. Lauderdale waiting for my flight to Nassau, I thought I felt my cell phone buzzing in my pocket. Then it occurred to me that I had already shut it off, and I was on my own. In that moment I really began to miss my family and everything familiar. Fear not, dear reader, the quick moment of homesickness passed. I boarded the prop plane that took me to Nassau and we sailed out over the Atlantic. As a nice surprise, I looked down and realized were flying over the MV Explorer. That’s right, Semester at Sea was just leaving Ft. Lauderdale making its way to Nassau, and there I was sailing over head beating them there by a day and a half.

I got to Nassau, and despite some worries that my bags wouldn’t make it, they beat me through Customs and were waiting for me outside the gate. My taxi driver did a nice job of telling me all about Nassau (fact of the day** Nassau is on the Island of New Providence, and is the capital of the Bahamas, but nt the largest city. That distinction belongs to Freeport.). I must admit, Nassau didn’t seem like much to me. Then we crossed a bridge onto Paradise Island, where all the flashy resorts are located, and it was a whole different world. Expensive yachts, high end fashion houses, glitzy casinos. Quite a contrast from the other side of the bridge. I checked into the Comfort Suites and when I walked into my room, I met two of my new RD coworkers. Mindy (32) from Wisconsin, and Matt (22) from Washington State. It’s a strange sensation to walk into a room and meet two strangers that you’ll be spending a lot of time with for the next 3 ½ months. It reminded me of an episode for the MTv Real World. This is the true story… of 9 RD’s… picked to work on a ship… etc. Mindy and Matt are great, and we headed over to the posh Atlantis Resort and checked out the giant aquariums and casino. I have never, in my entire life, been to a resort this large. The place sprawled on for miles. The next morning we headed over for a day of relaxation by their many pools, and enjoyed their water slides. Yea, what a tough life. I gave myself an extra day in the Bahamas in case my flights got screwed up, or my luggage took a detour, and instead I spent the whole time at the pool. Ahhhh… just what I needed to get into the right mindset for a new job. What I didn’t need… was the massive sunburn I got as a result of falling asleep in the sun and being too lazy to unpack my sun block. Yes, Mom… I know that was not a very smart move. I’m dealing with the consequences now (as you read above). Oy vey!

The night before we boarded to ship, Mindy and Matt and I had dinner with Tom (29), another RD and his partner Emily. They’re from Jersey, and we all had a nice time swapping stories and getting even more excited about our voyage. Oddly, I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I think it’s strange that I had no issues snoozing before that, but not on Tuesday night. Luckily my adrenalin and excitement carried my through Wednesday. Walking up the dock and seeing the ship looming overhead was a feeling I shan’t soon forget. I boarded the gangway onto Deck 2 and had my bags inspected before heading up the Deck 5 and Purser's Square. This ship is magnificent. I’ve been telling people that this isn’t going to be some kind of cushy cruise, but rather a "voyage of discovery." And while all of that is very true, this ship really is like a floating palace. It’s beautiful, and comfortable, and elegant, and I cannot believe that I will be spending the next 3 ½ month here. My jaw was hanging open for most of that first evening. In Purser’s Square, I met Beth, my new boss, and she gave me a big hug, and introduced me to a few of the other new cast of characters. Then I was given a key card, and was off to my cabin. It turns out that we have more students on our voyage than any Semester at Sea voyage has ever had before. As a result, none of the staff members have cabins with portholes. There are so many folks on this voyage, that all the crew quarters on the front of the ship’s 3rd deck have been taked over by staff members, and there are even a couple of RDs placed up there as well. Their quarters are a bit smaller, and somewhat spartan, so I’m felling pretty good about my new home. My cabin is an inside cabin on the lowest deck of passengers, in the middle of the ship. It’s also shaped a little differently than the other cabins. It’s not as deep, but wider, and has a slightly more spacious bathroom. Because I am near the engines, my cabin always has a low rumble/hum to it, and the floor vibrates a bit. I was worried about this, but now I’ve decided it's even a little comforting and will lull me to sleep at night. Once I got unpacked, I felt like it was a really nice little nest, with my family photos, and the picture of the Mesa Staff and beach in Newport. I’m also lucky to have Nelly, my cabin steward, around to help me out. She seems like a real sweetheart and makes my bed each day before turning it down each night. I am a very spoiled boy, indeed. Speaking of my bed, it's a twin bed, and is going to have to stay that way for the entire voyage. Let's just say that my 6'3" frame is going to have to readjust to this new reality. We'll see how things go. I didn't sleep very well last night. I think it was a combo of anticipation, small besd issues, and the fact I was schvitzing like a pig thank's to my lobster status. Oy vey!

Our first orientation meeting was full of pomp & circumstance. We were officially welcomed to the 92nd voyage of Semester at Sea, and indoctrinated to the program. All of the faculty were introduced, and their bios were read and discussed. Then the staff were introduced, but they didn’t give any detail about any of us. It was interesting just how quickly they made the distinction between faculty and staff quite obvious. They have since done a great deal to discuss how we are all equally important. I sincerely hope that the faculty feel that way. Stay tuned for an update in that area. After we met all the SAS big wigs, we had a nice reception in the Faculty/Staff Lounge. It is on the 7th deck, at the top of the ship and has windows all around. The reception occurred just as the sun was setting over Nassau and the Atlantic. I stood at the front of the ship, in the lounge and couldn’t help but stare out the windows. It’s as if each new step in this experience makes it seem all the more real. I met up with Dia, an old UVA friend & fellow alum who is serving as the Registrar for the voyage, Shayla the Administrative Asst. who has a bunch of friends in common with me, and Arnie Medvene one of the counselors in the Counseling Center from the University of Maryland where I did my Counseling Practicum during my masters program. It was really great to see friendly faces amongst the crowd, but truly everyone has been wonderful. The other RDs seem really great. Rounding out the team are Stephanie Sue (33) from the Carolinas, Erica (28) from California but studying in Australia, Daniel (31) who lists his home as “the world,” Lesley (26) from Hawaii, and Melanie the Asst. Director of Student Life from Washington State. They’re a fun bunch. We’ve already had some laughs. I think we’re going to get along really great. Today we had a long day of orientation activities and tours of the ship. My head is spinning! There have been some changes this voyage from past voyages. I was glad to learn that we won’t have to sell drink tickets to students. I had heard horror stories about that process, and the new one seems a lot more reasonable. We’ll see how it comes together. To balance things out we have new duties like in port-responsibilities in the evenings, and staffing the desk in Purser’s Square from 2-11pm. Ugh! But if I get frustrated, I just throw my hands up and form a biiig circle over my head to remind myself that I’m goin’ around the world!

We learned a little more about our Field Programs and trip leadership. I found out that I’ve been selected to be a Trip Leader for almost all of the trips that I am on. This will include being the only trip leader on a 3 day trip to Rio de Janeiro for Carnival with 40 students. Yikes! What have I gotten myself into!!! I actually think it will be just fine. I’m also leading a trip for a safari in Africa and a couple smaller trips in Puerto Rico. All of them will be a great chance to meet the students and learn more about them. Speaking of the students, I got a list of the 70 folks who will be my residents on the Aegean Sea. There are 20 men and 50 women. Turns out that this is pretty representative of the male/female ratio on the voyage. I can’t wait to meet them all this Sunday.

After dinner tonight, a bunch of us went into Nassau to grab some ice cream, and I desperately wanted to buy some Coca Cola to fill my fridge. You have to buy Coke on the ship. Well, when we made our way into town at 8:00pm, we learned that everything in Nassau closes by 7:00pm. Well, everything other than bars, and none of us were really in the mood to booze it up. So back to the ship we came which suited me just fine. Since I didn’t sleep a wink last night, I am hoping that once I log on and put my blog up, I am going to try to get some good sleep tonight. Tomorrow Desmond Tutu and his wife will join us on board, and we have another full day of orientation. The next few days will be a whirlwind, especially when the students come on board on Sunday. It may be awhile before I put up another entry. So until then, I hope things are good stateside. I send my love to everyone. XOXO -me