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.