SUNDAY 1/20/13 cont. – SATURDAY 1/26/13    Honolulu to Yokohama Continues

Semester at Sea Website:  www.semesteratsea.org

Sunday 1/20/13 – I last left off on Sunday 1/20/13 with: “Since departing Honolulu, we have been chugging pleasantly along at about 20 knots with warm weather in the 70s, blue skies, and pleasant breezes.  Tonight we cross the International Date Line, so when we wake up tomorrow it will be Tuesday, 1/22/13 instead of Monday, 1/21/13!” 

We did cross the International Date Line last Sunday night, so woke up the next morning and it was indeed Tuesday.  I think we’ve also gained one hour at least three nights since then.  One of my dearest wishes came true – a 25-hour day – at least for a few days this week!   J 

Tuesday 1/22/13 – After four consecutive days of classes, we all, students and faculty, had a respite on Tuesday.  It was Study Day!  But it was followed by another four consecutive days of classes as we continued across the Pacific from Honolulu to Yokohama.  I spent it trying to get numerous course things caught up and also got a little exercise. 

One of the Semester at Sea Staff posted a sign and picture outside the cabin that she and her boyfriend share.  It was a big picture of the two of them and a sign that said, “Cutest Couple” with an arrow towards them.  So as a little joke I put a picture of John and me below it with an arrow to us as “Cutest Couple”.  They thought it was hysterical!   

 

Wednesday 1/23/13 – The warm weather and sunshine continued, making for pleasant dining for all three meals on the Deck 6 outside dining area. 

 I usually eat with other faculty and their families, but sometimes some of the Life Long Learners.  It is a nice opportunity to rotate among different people and get to know them better.  Occasionally I eat with a table of students. At  2100 hours in the Glazer Lounge the Faculty, Staff, and Life Long Learners had a “karaoke” event.  I’d not done this before and it was a lot of fun, with quite a range of songs chosen to sing by different people.  

 

Glazer Lounge is reserved during the day for Faculty, SAS Staff, Life Long Learners, and the Unreasonable Institute folks (“the Unreasonables”) to work.  It’s quiet there, with coffee and tea available, and has huge windows looking forward and to the side so has great views out over the water.  Speaking of the view, it is sort of strange to travel on the ocean for days and never sea another ship.  From 1700 – 1800 hours, the bar in Glazer is open for the same groups and is usually very well attended.  Can’t beat a glass of wine for $3.50!  It’s open again at 2100 hours, but I’m usually moving towards bed then in deference to my 0500 hours arising time each morning.

Thursday 1/24/13 – Today was a B Day, so I taught my Genomics course at 0800 and my Introduction to Public Health course at 1540.  All classes are 1 hour 15 minutes long.  Somewhere in there I decided to treat myself to a massage at noon in the Spa up on Deck 7, which felt great. I’d been following the path of the ship that is displayed on the TV screen in my room – showing latitude, longitude, speed, course, and time of day – and been expecting us to head north rather than continue west.  But the Captain elected to continue west for a bit longer to try to avoid a storm.  Speaking of which, so much for the calm seas because it got rough again. 

Thursday evening, the Academic Dean who is from UVA, Sharon Hostler, had a dinner for UVA Faculty in the private dining room on Deck 5.  The Captain and Hotel Manager joined us as well.  Around 20 Faculty and family enjoyed a lovely dinner with better than usual fare and good wine.  Everyone cleaned up quite nicely!

Friday 1/25/13 – Very rough seas the night before -- the worst so far.  The rolling of the ship wasn’t what interrupted my sleep, but we were now heading straight into the waves which caused the bow to slap down and send up big spray, often causing a big ba-boom sound.  Around 3:45 I’d been awake for quite some time and couldn’t get back to sleep, so decided to just get up and get to work for my 0800 hours Epidemiology A Day class. 

Saturday 1/26/13 – Finally we headed north towards Japan.  At noon we were about 300 nautical miles from Japan.  Unfortunately we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a storm, which was much more than the Captain had anticipated.  We’ve spent most of that day with gale force winds, which they expect to continue during the night.  The waves were very big and impressive.  The ship made a lot of noise when the bow slapped down, and it also sent up huge sprays of water back over the windows up in the Glazer Lounge on Deck 7!   

Some of us were sitting up there in the early evening watching it all as the sun was setting.  It was very challenging to walk around, with the irregular sudden tilting of the ship to one side and the other.  Teaching in the classrooms was especially challenging and best done sitting down.  Now we understood why the crew put ropes around the stacks in the ship’s library to keep the books from falling off.  Ah, the Pacific in the winter!

Everyone was excited to get off the ship Sunday morning in Yokohama – both to be in Japan and to be done with the storm.  The night before we arrived in a port there is a mandatory “Preport Meeting” that everyone must attend.  It was so rough that they televised the Preport Meeting on the TVs in our rooms if you did not want to go to The Union (biggest classroom/meeting room that holds 300) to view it live.  We were supposed to arrive in Yokohama Sunday at 0800, and expected the Pilot to come on board at 0830 hours to guide our ship into the harbor.  At 10:30 PM with the wind and waves were still going strong.

I was in The Union Saturday morning sitting in on a class that had invited Desmond Tutu to come and talk with them.  He is really quite amazing – 82 years old, very witty, and also very inspiring.  We refer to him as “the Arch” and call him “Arch”.  He is sailing with us until Cape Town at the end of April. 

I packed a small bag to take on the Field Program that I signed up for in Japan.  I’d settled into my cabin and routine here on the ship, so had to stop and think about what I needed to take for four days on the “Yokohama and Kobe Overland Tour”.  Oh yes, and highs in the low 40s were predicted in Japan so I hauled out my winter coat and boots and clothes.   And some Japanese Yen.  Next time I will report on my adventures in Japan, including staying one of the three nights in a ryokan. 

In the meantime, here’s a sunrise crossing the Pacific between Honolulu and Yokohama.

Blog Catch-up  Sunday 1/06/13 – Sunday 1/20/13

Semester at Sea Website:  www.semesteratsea.org

It’s been so busy since leaving Cville, that I’ve never gotten this old blog started.  So I will try to do a little catch-up now.  It’s hard to believe that we have been gone for almost two weeks – and that John will be meeting me in Shanghai in two weeks.  So many new experiences have occurred since departing and so many new people have been met. Here’s a quick rundown….

Sunday 1/06/13 – John dropped Susan Fraimen and her husband, Jeff Smith, and I off at Charlottesville Airport (CHO) at 5:20 AM.  Flew to Dulles, and then non-stop on to San Diego.  Checked into hotel, walked to Target to “provision” things for the voyage.  It was pretty funny to be walking around Target in San Diego where I really knew no one, but kept running into ship people I “knew”.  So, how much contact lens solution does one need for almost four months?  J  Reception that evening for Semester at Sea (SAS) Spring 2013 Voyage Faculty and Staff.  Hardly knew anyone there, but I know most of them now!

Monday 1/07/13 – Faculty and Staff orientation in the morning at hotel.  Line up late morning to board buses to SAS ship, M/V Explorer, which was berthed in San Diego Harbor at Pier 3.  Upon arrival at pier, we checked in with passports, luggage scanned as if boarding airline, bags tagged for delivery to cabins and went on, boarded and were screened to enter ship.  Upon arrival in my cabin (see picture), everything was waiting for me and I saw my new “home”.  My port-side cabin on Deck 4 is very spacious and well-appointed, with a big window, closets, sitting area, and nice bath. The ship seemed big and confusing in the beginning.  Which way was fore?  Which way was aft?  What was on what Deck, and what Deck was I on?  It seems funny, because now it is all so familiar – especially because a  bunch of us have been walking at 1500 for 30 minutes – covering Decks 2-7, inside and out, all ends of the ship, up and down and all around.   Before the students boarded Tuesday morning, we all ate our meals in the Garden Dining Room on Deck 6, which has a nice outdoor eating area at the stern of the ship.  Quick lunch, followed by a little time to start to unpack and “build my nest”.  Then more orientation in the afternoon.  2100 that evening was “On Ship Time”; 2145 was mandatory lifeboat drill and muster stations; and at 2300 we departed San Diego for Ensenada, Mexico and it really started to seem real.  Boy, it was great with only about 100 of us on the ship!

Tuesday 1/08/13 – Introduction of Faculty, Staff, and Families, Captains and Ship Leadership. Team Meetings.  Computer set-up, and some free time.  Everything seemed sort of discombobulated and with no routine yet, but that all came very quickly.  Rosa is my cabin steward and takes good care of me, making my bed in morning and turning bed down at night, and keeping my cabin clean.  I’m trying to figure out how to work without a desk, and getting all my class materials organized.

Wednesday 1/09/13 – In the morning, 630ish students start arriving from bus from San Diego.  Lots and lots of luggage – some by bus and most by truck.  1500 “on ship time”, followed by mandatory lifeboat drill and muster stations.  @1700 M/V Explorer departs Ensenada, with much excitement, for our first Pacific crossing to Hilo.  2000-2100 welcome and introduction of Faculty and Staff to students.  Still trying to figure out what’s where on the ship and computer, internet, and intranet workings.  There are two dining rooms on the ship – Garden DR on Deck 6, which is smaller and has outside eating area aft (where I eat whenever possible) and larger dining room on Deck 5.  Each has buffet long on two sides, an area with soup or hot cereal depending on meal, and another area with sandwiches and desserts.  The wait staff are all incredibly pleasant and spoil us Faculty. 

Thursday 1/10/13 – Seas very rough and lots of folks not feeling so great.  Worked on course prep, found classrooms, and explored ship some more.  Worked and finished preparing for A Day classes the next day. 

Friday 1/11/13 – A Day classes start.  Class Days on the ship are divided into A Days and B Days.  My Fundamentals of Epidemiology class (15 students) is at 0800 on A Days, while Genomics and Public Health: Behavioral, Social, and Ethical Issues (7 students) is at 0800 and Introduction to Public Health (30 students) is at 1540 on B Days – each  lasting 1 hour and 15 minutes. Seas still very rough and it was a challenge to walk around due to the pitching of the ship.  I figured that if this kept up it would make for “thunder thighs” and strong “glutes”.  Still lots of people feeling seasick. 

Saturday 1/12/13 – Seas are calmer now.  B Day classes start.  Getting up at 0500 each day to finish up prep for 0800 classes.  Most time each day is working on class prep.  Evenings 1700-1800 the bar in Glazer Lounge at the front of the ship is open for Faculty, Staff, and Life Long Learners (LLLs), so that is my social time.  The view through its big windows looking out over the bow and to either side is great.  During the day, the Glazer Lounge is reserved for Faculty, Staff, and LLLs, with many folks working up there in what is reminiscent of study hall!

Sunday 1/13/13 – Monday 1/14/13 – Calmer seas and classes continue.  Things are starting to feel much more routine and familiar. 

Tuesday 1/14/13 -- @0800 Pilot comes out on yellow boat, climbs up ladder onto our ship, and helps guide our ship into Hilo Harbor, where we spend the next two days berthed.    Because we were coming from Mexico, everyone on the ship had to go through US Immigration.  Sixteen agents came on the ship; we went through line to retrieve our passports and turned them back in at the other end of the line.  Once all 1,000ish passengers cleared, we were free to disembark and many students went off to do things in Hilo. I walked into town both days (2+ miles) and explored Hilo a little and had lunch.  The second day was big Hilo Farmer’s Market and watched Hula Dancers while eating lunch.  I thought Hilo was OK, but not great. 

Wednesday 1/15/13 – “On Ship Time” was 1800 and amazingly enough, only one person was late.  Being late for “On Ship Time” results in “Dock Time in the next port – something like 2 hours Dock Time for every 5 minutes late.  At 2000, the Pilot arrived by boat to guide us out of Hilo Harbor and we headed overnight for Honolulu where we the ship would “bunker” (take on fuel).  We were supposed to arrive Honolulu at 0800, but it was 1130 by the time we arrived and the Pilot came out to guide us in and we docked.  Because we were just “bunkering” there and not cleared by Immigration, everyone had to stay on the ship and it was business/classes as usual.  Honolulu was beautiful, and entering the harbor was spectacular with Diamond Head and Waikiki off in the distance. 

Thursday 1/16/13 – While in Hawaii (both Hilo and Honolulu), it was a great treat to have my usual Verizon cell phone and Wi-Fi service so I could talk with folks, speedily send e-mails, and have fast Internet.  The Internet on the ship is painfully slow – like working on a modem in the old days.  I’ve taken to having something next to me to read, so as not to go nuts.  Taking on fuel in Honolulu was supposed to take 6-8 hours on Wednesday.  We anticipated leaving that evening to head to Japan, which is an even longer Pacific crossing than from Ensenada to Hilo.  However there was a big storm between Honolulu and Japan, so our Captain elected to keep us put until he was sure it was safe and therefore we did not leave Honolulu until Thursday noonish. 

Sunday 1/20/13 – Since departing Honolulu, we have been chugging pleasantly along at about 20 knots with warm weather in the 70s, blue skies, and pleasant breezes.  Tonight we cross the International Date Line, so when we wake up tomorrow it will be Tuesday, 1/22/13 instead of Monday, 1/21/13!  Since leaving Ensenada, we have already changed time zones three times (or is it two?)  It’s definitely much better going west and be gaining an hour every few days.

On the blog of one of the other faculty, he has set up a Google map that plots our location at noon each day, which is sort of fun to look at.

http://johngirard.net/sas/

More later.  Hopefully more frequently!  ;-)

And so it begins....tomorrow fly to San Diego!

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