Survived the storm!

I am not going to lie… There were moments last night that I was scared we may not make it. Hurricane force winds (65 mph), and waves exceeding 25 feet… some of my cabin furniture came free of the wall and flipped to the other side of the room. I was sliding down my bed. Drawers were opening and closing. It was terrifying. I went to bed at 9:00pm thinking I would sleep through the worst of it but was woken up multiple times through the night. Lets just say that I was so thankful to wake up this morning in calm waters with land in sight!

Video I put together of the waves mixed with some videos/photos from others onboard (sorry for the cheesy music! I was trying to get rid of some of the silence/people who weren’t me talking :) )

I hope it works!!!

Today is my duty day. 24 hours on the ship. Japan shut down our internet so my plans of job searching and trip researching are put on hold. Luckily, a lot of people uploaded movies to the share drive, and filled me up before they left. I‘ve already worked the gangway (it took until about 2:00 for our ship to clear immigration), cleaned my cabin, took a long wonderful stable shower, watched Hunger Games, and am now starting on Dexter and resume work. I honestly could fall asleep right now!

“Secure everything…”

We’ve hit a storm. Captain was doing an amazing job weaving in and out of storms but we’ve hit one… Classes were cancelled. In the dining hall the cupboards were opening and spoons and forks came flying out… I joked that I felt like I was in Beauty and the Beast (but I did!). My steward told me to “secure everything” when I walked into my cabin. I spent the last hour shooing people inside from the outer decks standing near the railings or jumping up and down…. these are the things that make me nervous for our future. At moments my Deck 3 window is completely under water. They say the biggest waves we’ve hit are 30 ft… and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I went up to the Faculty/Staff lounge.. the highest indoor point on the ship and the waves crashed up over the windows. Below are photos from my day. I am hopeful others will follow my lead and have dinner and then go to bed! We have an amazing crew and Captain and I know that we will keep safe… and hopefully we will make it to Japan on time!

The good news? I don’t feel the least bit seasick!

My morning started sitting in on a class with Guest Lecturer Archbishop Desmond Tutu. His laugh makes my day.

and a random sweet moment of friendship… :)

The waves starting…

The storm coming…

Waves on waves on waves

I woke up at 3 am (one of the many times I woke up last night) and looked out my window. It looked a little like what Dorothy saw during her dream of the tornado in the Wizard of Oz. There was rain and wind and huge waves and a guy on a bicycle (not really). When I got up around 8 the rain had stopped but the waves were still huge! Here are some photos.

I’ll have to go upstairs and see what the measurements are. My guess is 6-7 meters.

 

If all goes according to plan, tomorrow we will arrive in a wintry Yokohama. I am on duty the first day. The government requires us to shut down our internet upon arriving in port, so I will be doing a lot of movie watching, reading, and job applying! :) I am hopeful that the port will have wireless so during one of my breaks I can call home and catch up. If not, the hostel we are staying at in Tokyo will have internet. I’m sure it will feel funny to sleep without rocking! <3 This was the longest stretch without seeing land on our voyage, and you can tell students, staff, and faculty alike are all ready for a little space from each other and a little solid ground!

I’ve got an easy day today – At 0930 I am going to sit in on a class that Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the guest lecturer for. Student Life meeting at 1230, Zumba at 1900 (assuming the waves calm a little), and then onto 2000 for the pre-port meeting where we will learn all about the logistics of Japan! Pretty easy calm day. At some point I am going to borrow some movies from my coworkers and set up my line up for tomorrow! Luckily, they all brought REALLY awesome movies!

Until next time! <3

I almost forgot! Last night during the Japan Explorer Seminar, I learned that there was an argument over the size of CDs when they were created. One of the lead designers said to his team, “I don’t care what size it is but Bethoven’s 5th Symphony must fit on it and it is 56 minutes long”. That is how the size of the CD was determined! (I think it was his 5th Symphony!) Pretty cool!

Ship life…

Last night was the first night that the waves woke me up. I remember waking up and thinking “oh crap, we just hit an iceberg” and then I fell back to sleep. It can get really loud and harsh when the waves get high enough and we hit them at the right angle. Often a loud smack followed by shaking and creaking and the like. WEIRD! But I’m feeling good and my head cold is gone, so onward and upward!

 

We just found out that some of the ports we are docking at will interfere with our internet to shut it down. It’s unbelievably eye opening to see what countries do to censor their people. I’m on duty the first day and was hoping to catch up on some job searching but I will do all my research before port and use my day to work on cover letters and my resume. I’m kind of looking forward to a quiet day on board, where I can get a lot of stuff done! My cabin needs cleaning (I am hardly in there), I have postcards to write, and to catch up on my journal (which somehow I haven’t written in since Hawaii!!!) and emails. I get three half hour breaks and hopefully there will be some yummy food and a food store near the port so I can get some essentials. We’ll see!

 

Time change is proving challenging, though I can see how travelling East would be more problematic. Almost every night since leaving Hawaii, we have gained an hour. In addition to that, on Sunday January 20th at 2359 (or 11:59pm) we crossed the international dateline which catapulted us to Tuesday January 22. That was one week where I didn’t have a case of the Mondays! Time travel is cool.

 

Two days before each port, the coordinators for the Lifelong Learners do a tasting. I am so excited to see what is on the menu for Japan tonight! For the Hawaii one they had some tuna, mango pudding, coconut shrimp, bbq chicken, and.. well I know there was a 5th but am not sure what it was. Anyway, the food is delicious and it gives me the chance to try things before the port. :) After that I’m back on Beverage Service, which I think will be pretty mellow considering there is rumor the seas might get rougher. (YUCK).

 

The ship is pretty great. In addition to the classrooms and offices we have a cardio workout room, weight room, basketball/volleyball court, computer lab, bookstore, snack bars, library, two dining halls, and a pretty neat pool space. My equally favorite and least favorite place on the ship is the faculty/staff lounge. There are no students allowed in there. It’s beautiful with so many windows, but proves to be a rough place to hang out when the seas are rough (why it qualifies as one of my least favorite spots). At night, and in calm seas it’s very peaceful and the deck surrounding it is equally as beautiful. It is also a great place at night with impromptu dance parties, games, etc.. very fun.

 

Last night I had a cookie social with my sea. I got to meet so many more of my residents and learn some more about them. We also made a lot of friends.. it’s not often you see cookies on the ship so we made friends fast!

 

The crew is unbelievably awesome and take great care of us. You can order a cake for people’s birthday’s and for Kindra’s they googled a recipe and made a delicious vegan cake for us. It was wonderful! They are very accommodating. My cabin steward;s name is Joseph. He’s awesome but I rarely see him. I leave early in the morning for the gym and breakfast and after that it’s go go go! I’m usually not back until he’s long gone but he is quite wonderful.

 

I actually am finding that I packed pretty well for this. There isn’t much I brought that I haven’t used yet which is refreshing. I need to start reading again. I think that is the only thing I REALLY wanted to do on this voyage that I haven’t done yet.

 

I think that’s all that’s going on here! Until next time <3

The little things…

It’s amazing how much I take for granted in my everyday life. The ability to easily communicate with my family, watching tv, being able to “get away” from your job, reliable internet… this voyage has taught me just how much I was taking for granted. Do I think the students, faculty, and staff are forming better and richer relationships without cell phones? Of course. I think it’s great, but I’d also like to hear Ryan’s voice as he tells me about Steven’s basketball game and talk to my sister regularly.

My AHA moment of this was the other night when bananas were finally put out! I hadn’t seen a banana since I left VA. I had two, with peanut butter. It was glorious. The next day at lunch I had two and a half thinking that was the last bunch… They’ve had them everyday since and now, I hope I never see another banana. Haha!! That’s clearly an exaggeration but they were great and I didn’t realize how much I missed them!

Last night we put on a trivia contest for the students. I t was awesome! The students were so into it and the questions turned out perfectly. I have to say, I’ve learned more in the past two weeks on this ship than in the past few years, and after putting together that trivia game, I feel ready for Jeopardy (but not really)! I joked that my brain was swollen! My favorite trivia question was “South Africa is the only country to have two Nobel Peace Prize winners living on the same street. Who are they?” The answer? Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela! The students impressed me with how brilliant they are, and I think their professors were also impressed and pleased when they would call out the correct answers to things they were learning in class. :)

Today I went on a bridge tour with my sea. The bridge is where the captains steer the ship. It’s on autopilot almost the whole time we are at sea (mostly only taking it off when we are going into or leaving port). We had a wonderful woman giving us the tour. She did a great job of explaining all the phones, radars, buttons, etc… I don’t think I could take over steering if I had to but I could try! Below are some photos from the bridge!

Bridge tour VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We have six channels on the TV in our cabins. One channel tells us where the ship is and plays (sometimes) really great music (sometimes not great music)… There is an informational channel (which will play our evening lectures), and the other 4 loop mostly movies for class. I rarely get a chance to watch, let alone be in my cabin for more than sleeping or dropping something off, but today I am relaxing in here to help finish off my head cold and to rest my back a little. One of the classes must be learning about gender stereotypes because there is an awesome video on right now talking about music and advertising and all things that define what we need to do to be a man and woman. Its good. It reminds me that my parents did a super awesome job raising us as confident, strong, and loving women. The continuing theme through all of these documentaries is in how you were raised, so I’m very thankful for the people around me when I was growing up and learning what it meant to be a woman. Gives me a lot to think about.

The only other notable thing this week was that we crossed the international date line. We went right from Sunday January 20 to Tuesday January 22 (if this was a normal job I would be pumped to not get a case of the Mondays but it's not so all the days feel the same anyways!). Time travel was messing with people. We have three people who had their birthdays wiped, and celebrated MLK day a day early! So crazy and so cool!

Time to catch up on my journal! I’m a few days behind in that! Til next time!!! :)

Didn’t have to pump our own gas!

Yesterday we docked in Honolulu to get gas.




Isn’t it pretty?

The gas station for ships is quite interesting. A huge barge pulls up next to us and attaches all kinds of things and we sit for 8 hours! (photo below)


(please excuse my thumb! LOL)

We were supposed to leave after we fueled but due to bad weather in the Pacific we are sitting comfortably docked to Honolulu. Close enough to see the fun, and enjoy the beautiful weather but not able to get off and explore!! The students have been great about it – I think when everyone realizes that the 13m waves we were facing are twice as bad as the 5m waves that made everyone sick the first day, they can understand! I am certainly very thankful!!

It also gave me a good opportunity to catch up with some people via phone and FaceTime <3


Hewwo, sweet boy!

For those who like to see where the ship is located daily (mom), one of the faculty on the ship and his wife are posting the coordinates on their blog. You can find that here: www.johngirard.net/sas/

Some of my lovely coworkers are blogging as well, so if mine aren’t as interesting, or you’d like to look for hopefully not embarrassing stories about me you can follow them here:

Jason & Kelly: http://gulliverstavern.blogspot.com/
Willard: http://whereswillard.blogspot.com/
Rachel: https://singoutloud.jux.com/
Craig: http://craigatsea42.blogspot.com/
Kevin: http://deanmckeeatsea.blogspot.com/
Christine: http://christineatsea.wordpress.com/
Elizabeth: http://wanderlustlikeyoumeanit.blogspot.com/
Travis & Josh: http://jtendlessadventure.tumblr.com/
Tom (writing for his 5 year old son Parker): http://parkeratsea.blogspot.com/
And the voyage blog (at the helm): http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyage-blogs/spring-2013/

Lots of reading!! I haven’t figured out how to send them all to my email so I can read their posts when they update and with limited internet, it’s kind of “big brother style” (the reality TV show) where I don’t know what’s going on in my friend’s brains until after the season is over and I watch the season and see all their testimonials! LOL

I’m in the faculty/staff lounge – Archbishop Desmond Tutu just walked in and is drinking a diet coke and reading on his ipad… file that under things that are adorable. He is one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met. He reminds me of my grandfathers - very quiet and strong and almost commanding respect without even trying, while still being super goofy and fun and giggly. Such a cool guy! I was on a manhunt for his books in Hawaii but to no luck! I will try to find some in Japan (fingers crossed!)


Panorama of the Faculty/Staff Lounge with Hawaii in the background. Quiet during the day, not as much at night!!


With Archbishop Desmond Tutu

ALOHA! (part 2)

  Now, for what you’ve all been waiting for! Photos from the voyage so far!!

Early Trip & Cabin Tour VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Ensenada & The Trip to Hawaii VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Hawaii VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This morning, as I was trying to upload my blog, unsuccessfully we saw our first whales on board!


Check out those plumes!!!

ALOHA!

Sunday was a rough day at sea… the waves had calmed but everyone was so ready to get back on land. It’s a little disheartening because the trip from Hawaii to Japan is going to take twice as long! I think once we hit Vietnam and the weather warms, it may be easier since people can sit on the deck and get some fresh air. Nothing really of note on Sunday – my work study student is pretty awesome, we had a tasting of Hawaiian fare (which was pretty good), and I had a mini dance party in my room to the station that shows where the ship is and plays some music… destiny’s child came on and some bruce springsteen… it was pretty good!! After that I was on bar service duty… we have a lot of duties. :P Bar service is like chaperoning a dance but not as fun. I stand in a corner and make sure no one brings in water bottles, bags, and that no one leaves with beer/wine. There is no music, no dancing, and we just stand there and watch the students talk for 2 hours. Hopefully people will start talking to me soon! LOL oh well!

Hawaii was pretty great! Day one (after we cleared customs which ran VERY smoothly and was awesome) we explored downtown Hilo, had sushi for lunch, and then made the ever important Target run (this girl SERIOUSLY needed some cold meds.. it’s coming, I can feel it). After attempting to navigate the Hawaii bus, and with the help of a few “friendly” locals, we made it back to the ship with enough time to drop off our loot and head out to dinner. I had serious plate envy at dinner… like I honestly have never had it that bad. I ordered fried shrimp (which was delicious), and it came with AMAZING macaroni salad, and mashed potatoes (and gravy). Craig and Willard had the Mocho Loco (which I didn’t order for dinner because I was expecting to have it for breakfast) which is (layered in a bowl starting with the bottom) two cups of rice, choice of meat, gravy (the brown kind), and two eggs. Craig let me try his (he had a beef patty and chili as his meat) and it was soooo dang good. I regret not getting it with sausage… or spam… or really anything.

On Wednesday I made much better food decisions. We went to the Hilo market (which might be the most favorite thing I’ve done so far). At the market I had a croissant and hibiscus tea with a hint of orange (DELICIOUS) for breakfast.. then I got going. We sampled all kinds of food and fruit. I split a giant avocado with Kelly, tried star fruit, and hawaiian sweet bread. Everyone was so nice. We spent a long time in the food section and then went over to the craft side. There was some really neat stuff. After we walked downtown, went in a few shops, and made our way to the post office where I sent two packages and 9 postcards on their way to the mainland. We then stopped for "lunch". I had curry chicken empinada and an egg roll and Ube ice cream (which may have been my favorite thing I ate). Ube is the Hawaiian sweet potato, and it's BRIGHT PURPLE (go tigers!), and tastes delicious without being too sweet. After the post office we met up with the rest of the group back at the market and grabbed a van cab to Rainbow Falls which is a beautiful waterfall. We took some photos, explored a little, and headed back to the ship.
Ship time was awesome.. we were expecting huge lines when we got to work at 4:00. Then the radio said there were only 136 not yet checked in. Then two buses pulled up and we were only missing 30.. steadily everyone got back to the ship. Everyone had to be on board by 6:00pm… we had all but one on board at 5:45pm. I am honestly so proud and impressed by this community! The students, faculty, and staff all got back and it was wonderful! No one was running to get the ship, no one was late, no one tried to bring on contraband. It was quite refreshing compared to the horror stories I’ve heard about past voyages. I have to say, we have a really great community going so far and I think it’s largely due to the respect the students have for our executive dean. He’s straight with them and honest, and pretty awesome. I truly hope that this continues throughout the voyage!

In other news, sissy booked her flights and the travel agent confirmed all our plans so Sister Reunion: South Africa IS HAPPENING!!!! <3

In the middle of the ocean!

Hello from the middle of the Pacific Ocean!!! Today is our third day at sea, and the thirsd since we've seen land. I watched a great lecture last night on the oceans. I told the faculty today at lunch that I was thankful because I learned so much and he presented it in a great way; "like oceans for dmmies". I hope I didn't offend him!

We haven't seen land in a long time. There is over 15,000 feet from the top of the water (where we are floating) to the ocean floor below us. We've seen one piece of "trash" - a volleyball which we quickly named Wilson and screamed at, and two birds. I'm not sure what the second bird I saw was but I learned (in that awesome lecture) that the first bird following our ship miles and miles from land was an Albatross. Albatross's can go hours without flapping their wings (they glide so nicely), eat squid and small fish, and can not see land for years and be okay. SO AWESOME! I am hoping to see some whales, and (even though I am not that comfortable with them) dolphins soon! Apparently the closer we get to ports the greater our chances are for seeing awesome wildlife.

Last night we had our first bar service (where the students can purchase alcohol if they are over 18) and it went REALLY well. What a great way for them to socialize responsibly and get to know us a little as well. It was outside on the deck which is a little cold. I also got my first on deck hug last night. I was saving it for Archbishop Desmond Tutu but a student who was walking on the deck by the empty pool who I asked to get down because I was scared he would crack his head open with all the wild waves we've been hitting hugged me for caring about him. Adorable. The students are from all over the world. There are over 250 institutions represented (I already met and am best friends with two of the three Clemson students). They are truly a very engaged group, and so far, it's been a pleasure to work with them. It's so great to be in an environment where the students are so incredibly engaged in their learning (yes, I know, it's only day three).

I have been terrible at keeping up with my blog but am only a day behind in my journal! BK made me me a great journal with the dates and question prompts, inspirational quotes, and photos from home. I've been trying to take 30 minutes a day to just reflect and enjoy that time. Megan made me a journal of interesting facts about each port and other awesome daily treats. Today I hit a drawing from my #1 Reese. It made my freaking day.

To Recap on what you've missed:

• Move in day was GREAT! So much energy! I was given a job to help them in port filling out some paperwork before check in. Being on the pier in the sunshine with all that energy was awesome.
• Orientation was awesome... Students fell asleep a lot. 
• At the session where they introduced us all, Archbishop Desmond Tutu blew me a kiss and I almost died (the Archbishop is sailing with us through Cape Town as a guest lecturer).  After that when they introduced me, Kindra said some students behind her said "oooh she's so cool" which I will consider an EPIC win on day one!
• I already told you about the bird and Wilson sightings!

I'll post more from Hawaii, and hopefully some photos! I know I'll spend at least a little while catching up in the internet cafe. We will be hiking the volcano, taking a tour at the brewey, and doing some serious shopping!

Until Later!! Miss you all! <3

Setting Sail... with the students!

Hello!!! I have an hour until dinner is available and that is SO RARE these past few days so I thought I would do a super quick blog update to let you all know what I’ve been up to! Last time you heard from me I was gushing about the amazing staff I am working with, and after countless hours with them, I can assure you that is still true.

Tomorrow, when I hopefully have some more time, I will blog you my cabin photos and some of the photos from Ensenada. I find that I am taking some photos but will also be stealing the photos of my colleagues so my album likely won’t be complete anytime soon!

Yesterday we had a LONG day of training but there was the light at the end of the tunnel (literally… Mexico). All I wanted all day was a taco and a beer and an hour or so without rocking (the Seas were ROUGH from San Diego to Ensenada!). After all of our meetings were done, we headed into town and found an amazing place where I got fish tacos, beers, and delicious guacamole.

Today the students boarded. It feels like a very different ship! SO MUCH ENERGY (and 700 more people!). Captain said it was the best lifeboat drill he’s ever seen though. Makes me feel good to hold the clipboard lol… like a fire drill on crack!

Tonight we’ll do our big welcome with the students and then have our first sea meeting..  GO BALTIC SEA!!! Tomorrow we sit in on a FULL day of Orientation (and hopefully I can sneakily blog!)

BK – I LOVE MY JOURNAL!!! <3

MV – I share your facts and quotes with the other RDs every day lol

Miss you all!

LOVE!

Had our meet and greet tonight then went to In and Out Burger with the Student Life Team.

I'm in love! These people are amazing. I'll write more tomorrow. We've got early training and I've been up for 21 hours. YUCK! <3

Will post photos tomorrow!

On my way!

So my bags are packed, my goodbyes said. I only cried a few dozen times. I have to say I have so much respect for the people who go overseas to fight for our country. Leaving you family, friends, loved ones, and puppy is so hard, and I can only imagine how much worse when it's for many more months in many more dangerous places than I am headed. So, thank you troops - leaving home is hard as hell.

With that said, the RC community threw me an amazing going away party! The spread was perfect for me - bubblecake, shrimp, veggie trays, even a chocolate fountain! The Res Life team went all out and I am so thankful. I miss them already! So many friends came to say their goodbyes. It was a nice time to see everyone collectively. The well wishes and support they showed will carry me the 8000 miles to shanghai and back. :) That doesn't even include the oodles of messages, facebook posts, emails, notes, etc... I got from my students. Truly the best students in the world!! (and in April maybe I'll be able to prove it ;)) Thank you so much RC for letting me come back and make an impact on the school that impacted me so much!

Yesterday, I dropped off Fletcher at Daddy's. Talk about heartbreaking. Saying goodbye to those two was the WORST. The whole 40 minute car ride from Mom's to Ryan's, Fletch had to be touching me. It was like he knew! A paw here, his head in my lap. If I moved him to, you know, drive, he would give me the stink eye! It was pathetic... but as soon as we got to Julies and Fletcher say her black lab Baylee, I knew all would be okay.. And only sobbed for a little while. I am hoping our reunion looks like the heart wrenching Purina commercials when the dogs owners come back from a tour of duty and the dogs go nuts. If it is, I'll make Ryan tape it and I'll put it on the blog. Maybe we'll get a Purina commercial!

I got to see Megan and Brady and the girls yesterday, and have lunch with Ryan and dinner with Mom and Dad and Grammm, and facetimed with Granny and Jaclyn so I had a very nice day full of my favorite people. I also let the lady at the threading place in the mall turn my eye brows to chopped meat and finished packing.. which if you read my earlier post, you knew I was DREADING!

That's the back of mom's car. Two huge duffels (47 and 47.5 pounds respectfully), a over packed bookbag, my pillow pet Snoopy (from Zach for when I miss Fletcher), and a tiny carry on with my outfit for tonight, toothbrush, etc. just in case. It's a beast to manage. Luckily dad helped me get it into the airport this morning.

Now I will tell you quickly about how awesome my parents are. They woke up at 3:00 am to drive me to the airport at 3:30. Helped me inside, and waited until I checked in. This guy in front of me was snarky with the woman behind the counter because HE couldn't just read the instructions at the kiosk (which I have ZERO tolerance for) and kept making comments like "oooh yea stellar customer service" very aggressively. Then realized I was checking in with the wrong airline. Dad helped me get my bags to the right airline and I remember thinking "Damn, is this how my travel day is going to start?". I was newvous. But everything else was so perfect. Everyone else I encountered was so nice. Through security at ROA to the man behind me in the bagel line who told me to take my time because he was in no rush and I was trying to maneuver my bags.. so why the delay at the beginning? Usually travel is all good or all bad. Well, after I got settled at the gate in Charlotte, I called mom. Turns out that on their way down 220 they noticed a barn on fire with the flames coming very close to the house it was behind. Dad got out and started banging on the door while mom called 9-1-1. My amazing parents woke up a family of five, two dogs, and a cat. While the people were outside and the house was already almost completely filled with smoke, they heard the smoke detectors finally go off. The fire department came. Dad emptied his wallet to the owner before leaving. I was chatting with mom (I'm on the plane by the way) a few minutes ago and she said she was so sad that she forgot to give me money that morning but she was glad they had money to give that guy. I was glad they did too. Everything happens for a reason - that mean guy, checking in at the wrong kiosk, mom being upset and forgetting to give me cash - all seemed to lead my awesome parents to help these people who really needed them. Anyway, I hope the family will be okay and land on their feet and I am SUPER proud of my parents.

I think that's all for now! The flight to San Diego is packed and I'm on a huge plan (3 seats each time) - does anyone know why they put the people who sit by the window in the later zone? You'd think they'd do the window seats first, then middle, then aisle right? But maybe they do the front plane first, and then go back.. and I'm always the last for my zone because who wants to sit on a plane longer than they have to?

Anyways, I'll tell you more about my two favorite gifts one of the days at sea where I don't have a lot to talk about but here are fun facts about San Diego courtesy of the best friend in the universe: Megan Via McDonald.

• San Diego was originally named San Miguel
• San Diego has more fleas than any other city (I'm not sure how they calculate that Meg - maybe by exterminator calls? Either way I hope they don't make their way onto the ship!)
• You're not allowed to swim in any lakes in San Diego (good to know!)
• Hypnotism was banned from public schools in the city (I think the students must have been hyptnotising the teachers to give them A's right?! Cuz if the teachers were hyptnotising students to behave better THAT WOULD ROCK!!!) 

And there are your fun facts. Now to finish this flight, meet Rachel at the airport, get to the hotel, and get settled before the meet and greet tonight!! Talk to you all later! 

What up 2013!?!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!

I had a great time ringing in the new year with my sister and some great friends, and that GIANT Tigers win didn't hurt either. I was at my favorite bar and in that explosive last quarter I had the whole place cheering along. It was wonderful. The only thing more wonderful was seeing this:

So, last year I wrote out all my resolutions using the tricks in SMART goal setting (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound for those who aren't familiar) and was all ready to plow through them. I lost the paper but it had to do with health and money and some other things I am sure... I'm sure I met some of them but this year, I'm going to do things differently.

This year, I'm going to love, grow, and take care of people and myself. Professionally, I'm going to take a page from Coach Swinney and encourage greatness in my students, and show how proud I am of them (I think I normally always do this but I want to be more intentional with it). I am going to be okay when I have "human moments" and try to be more present focused (Thank you Darrah <3). Most of all, I am going to be adventurous, both on my SAS voyage, and after! I'm going to hold the people I care about close, and be thankful for all the time I have with them. Finally, I'm going on a journey... not just the next job opportunity but a spiritual journey that I think will be fueled by the physical journey.

For those of you who like more traditional resolutions: I resolve that I will be packed by January 5,  that I will keep up with my blog, and that I will keep in touch with the classroom following me on my voyage. :)

Happy New Year my friends and thank you for reading!!! <3