So I've been thinking of writing this post for a while, and now that I'm halfway through this 14 day trip across the ocean I figured why not do it now? We also had our Halloween dance tonight and I didn't want to go to bed after it but also didn't want to do homework so might as well right? I don't think a lot of people really understand what life is like for us SASers a many call us (SASshole is also a popular one). I'll answer some common questions, clear up some misconceptions, and give a type of "day in the life". So without further ado, here is life at sea.
Some common questions
1. What's it like to live on a ship?
It's definitely interesting, honestly I find it pretty similar to being on a campus, we just can't walk as far. There are some differences obviously. We have snack bars and a pool and see our professors walking around in pajamas. It's really cool though because it's a very right knit community, you see people in countries that you don't personally know but you know are on SAS and automatically look out for eachother or say hi.
2. Do you take classes?
Yes, I'm taking 4 classes. Most students are but some are doing five. There are two class days A and B and 6 class periods a day. Before coming on the ship you make your schedule and register for classes just like any other college. I'm taking international business, international marketing, intercultural communication, and modern evolutionary theory. Most classes are small and in normal classrooms. Some classes have desks, some have tables, some have booths like a dining hall. Every student is required to take a "global lens" course which is a large lecture in the union. A lot of kids skip though. Classes can be really difficult or really easy depending on the class or professor (same as normal college). Mine are a mixture of the two.
3. What kind of people are on the ship/ how many people are on the ship?
There are about 600 students on the ship, maybe more maybe less I don't really know. There are also some lifelong learners which are adults who take classes, professors, deans, crew, and their families. So yes, there are children on the ship. There were some really little kids 2, 4, and 6 but their family was only partial voyagers and left us after morocco. There are probably ten other kids though ranging from probably 5 to 12 with a few older teenagers. As for the students there are A LOT of west coasters and southerners. Aka we are not at Bentley anymore, it's quite the culture shock for us. The kids are super friendly though, lots of really crunchy kids and there are some great artists, musicians, etc that make things really interesting. Also, the majority of people are in Greek life which is really cool. I've met a ton of Alpha Phi girls which has also been really cool. It's definitely a new experience for me and I'm going to miss these people a ton.
4. Do you get homesick?
There's always a little part of me that misses home or thinks "I wish so and so were here for this" or things remind me of people and I miss them but I don't get very homesick. The hardest thing about semester at sea is certain times, especially on these long treks when you're overwhelmed or frustrated or annoyed and you just want to make a phone call and you can't. It's hard to not be able to talk to people or to send an email and only go back and forth once per day or have people not answer at all. Emailing is like our texting, you don't have to put much into an email, it's just nice to hear from different people outside of the ship.
Some misconceptions:
1. I'll send Tori this funny article online
WE DO NOT HAVE INTERNET, please stop sending me links, I can't open them we get two hours for the semester.
2. I'll tag Tori in 46 awful pictures on Facebook.
I can't even defend myself or untag pics, c'mon guys like I said, no internet.
3. Semester at Sea is a booze cruise
I do not drink on the ship, there is sometimes alcohol available, two tiny glasses of wine or two beers at dinner, then on nights they let us go crazy 2 hours after dinner ends we can have 3 more. Did I mention each drink is $4?
4. There must be so many hot guys on the ship
Good news dad! No worrying about boys, the ship is 70:30 girls to guys. 90% of these males are super artsy or very west coast. Not really my type, they make great friends though.
5. Being on the ship must be super boring.
While there are some points when it's like "what should we do now..?" There is actually a lot to do on the ship. We have world cafés every night which is usually someone talking about an issue or topic, there are clubs, everyone has movies and we share them with each other, there are also tons of board games. You also can't go wrong sitting by the pool all day, we haven't had much bad weather (knock on wood, rumor has it we're hitting a storm soon) Sometimes the ship even plays movies in the union. We've also had students put on plays, open mic nights, a talent show, each "sea" or your floor/section of your floor has occasional programs, and there are tons of clubs.
6. Not having technology must suck
I must say I miss instagram and texting and I always think of stuff to tweet but it's actually been amazing. At dinner you actually talk to people for hours, and get to know them, and pay attention. When I come home I'll probably be horrible with my phone because I'll still think I can't use it.
I can't think of anymore off the top of my head right now, but I'll give a little day in the life so you can get a feel for what I do on a daily basis. We don't really do days of the week, like I actually have no clue what today is. We have class every single day at sea with the exception of a couple study days, saved solely for these long stretches. We have 12 days of class and 2 study days on this 14 day stretch. Of course I do different things day to day but this is usually my standard B day.
The alarm goes off at 7:10, then we snooze it until like 7:35 and finally get up and throw on leggings and a t-shirt. We walk up to the sixth floor over to the garden lounge (the smaller dining room) to our classroom which is a room inside of it. Walking anywhere on the ship takes 5 minutes max. I usually grab a muffin to eat in my international business class which starts at 8. After class I either go to the computer lab on the other end of the ship or go back down to take a nap. You can nap at all times because we have no window so it is always entirely pitch black. Our steward cleans our room on B days so I always come back to a made bed and tidy room. Not cleaning is great. I usually do homework up until lunch which I eat on the fifth floor in the main dining room, at 12, Peggy one of our deans comes on with the afternoon announcements. After lunch i either stay there to work because it's usually quiet or go up to the seventh deck which is the pool deck. On nice days students are laying on chairs all by the pool or on towels around it. There is usually someone playing music, it's not very conducive to work but I love being out there and watching the ocean. Sometimes someone spots a whale or dolphins and everyone sprints to the side of the ship to see. At 3:50 I have my second class of the day, evolution, after almost 6 hours between my first and second classes it's tough to sit through but I haven't skipped any of my 4 classes yet! Class ends when Peggy comes back on with our nighttime announcements, then I head over to the garden lounge for dinner. Our favorite crew member, Darwin, works in the garden lounge and hooks us up all the time, he's the man. We usually sit around in the lounge for a while talking and people will come in and out. Sometimes at night we'll go to a world cafe, or go up to the top deck to watch the sunset, or watch a movie, or just stay and do homework. Snack time is at ten but I don't eat it a lot. I usually go to the gym (if I go which is rare) at about 10:30. There's nobody there at that time, you have to sign up for equipment usually and it's only for a half hour so it sucks which is why I wait. It can be tough to work out when the sea is really rocky sometimes too. Luckily the only food they feed us is pasta, potatoes, and bread. After the gym I'll usually go to fill up my water bottle in the garden lounge, the only spot where you can do it, then shower and go to bed.
Not a super exciting life but everyone has a routine. We switch it up a little everyday too. When we're in port is when we really have fun. I feel like I covered a lot in this blog. Feel free to comment/email me any other questions you have or stuff you wanna know. I'm still begging for emails on this stretch to entertain me. I hope this all makes sense, fun fact: I don't proofread my blogs. I also can't respond to your comments (see misconceptions above). Hope everyone had a great Halloween!
Some common questions
1. What's it like to live on a ship?
It's definitely interesting, honestly I find it pretty similar to being on a campus, we just can't walk as far. There are some differences obviously. We have snack bars and a pool and see our professors walking around in pajamas. It's really cool though because it's a very right knit community, you see people in countries that you don't personally know but you know are on SAS and automatically look out for eachother or say hi.
2. Do you take classes?
Yes, I'm taking 4 classes. Most students are but some are doing five. There are two class days A and B and 6 class periods a day. Before coming on the ship you make your schedule and register for classes just like any other college. I'm taking international business, international marketing, intercultural communication, and modern evolutionary theory. Most classes are small and in normal classrooms. Some classes have desks, some have tables, some have booths like a dining hall. Every student is required to take a "global lens" course which is a large lecture in the union. A lot of kids skip though. Classes can be really difficult or really easy depending on the class or professor (same as normal college). Mine are a mixture of the two.
3. What kind of people are on the ship/ how many people are on the ship?
There are about 600 students on the ship, maybe more maybe less I don't really know. There are also some lifelong learners which are adults who take classes, professors, deans, crew, and their families. So yes, there are children on the ship. There were some really little kids 2, 4, and 6 but their family was only partial voyagers and left us after morocco. There are probably ten other kids though ranging from probably 5 to 12 with a few older teenagers. As for the students there are A LOT of west coasters and southerners. Aka we are not at Bentley anymore, it's quite the culture shock for us. The kids are super friendly though, lots of really crunchy kids and there are some great artists, musicians, etc that make things really interesting. Also, the majority of people are in Greek life which is really cool. I've met a ton of Alpha Phi girls which has also been really cool. It's definitely a new experience for me and I'm going to miss these people a ton.
4. Do you get homesick?
There's always a little part of me that misses home or thinks "I wish so and so were here for this" or things remind me of people and I miss them but I don't get very homesick. The hardest thing about semester at sea is certain times, especially on these long treks when you're overwhelmed or frustrated or annoyed and you just want to make a phone call and you can't. It's hard to not be able to talk to people or to send an email and only go back and forth once per day or have people not answer at all. Emailing is like our texting, you don't have to put much into an email, it's just nice to hear from different people outside of the ship.
Some misconceptions:
1. I'll send Tori this funny article online
WE DO NOT HAVE INTERNET, please stop sending me links, I can't open them we get two hours for the semester.
2. I'll tag Tori in 46 awful pictures on Facebook.
I can't even defend myself or untag pics, c'mon guys like I said, no internet.
3. Semester at Sea is a booze cruise
I do not drink on the ship, there is sometimes alcohol available, two tiny glasses of wine or two beers at dinner, then on nights they let us go crazy 2 hours after dinner ends we can have 3 more. Did I mention each drink is $4?
4. There must be so many hot guys on the ship
Good news dad! No worrying about boys, the ship is 70:30 girls to guys. 90% of these males are super artsy or very west coast. Not really my type, they make great friends though.
5. Being on the ship must be super boring.
While there are some points when it's like "what should we do now..?" There is actually a lot to do on the ship. We have world cafés every night which is usually someone talking about an issue or topic, there are clubs, everyone has movies and we share them with each other, there are also tons of board games. You also can't go wrong sitting by the pool all day, we haven't had much bad weather (knock on wood, rumor has it we're hitting a storm soon) Sometimes the ship even plays movies in the union. We've also had students put on plays, open mic nights, a talent show, each "sea" or your floor/section of your floor has occasional programs, and there are tons of clubs.
6. Not having technology must suck
I must say I miss instagram and texting and I always think of stuff to tweet but it's actually been amazing. At dinner you actually talk to people for hours, and get to know them, and pay attention. When I come home I'll probably be horrible with my phone because I'll still think I can't use it.
I can't think of anymore off the top of my head right now, but I'll give a little day in the life so you can get a feel for what I do on a daily basis. We don't really do days of the week, like I actually have no clue what today is. We have class every single day at sea with the exception of a couple study days, saved solely for these long stretches. We have 12 days of class and 2 study days on this 14 day stretch. Of course I do different things day to day but this is usually my standard B day.
The alarm goes off at 7:10, then we snooze it until like 7:35 and finally get up and throw on leggings and a t-shirt. We walk up to the sixth floor over to the garden lounge (the smaller dining room) to our classroom which is a room inside of it. Walking anywhere on the ship takes 5 minutes max. I usually grab a muffin to eat in my international business class which starts at 8. After class I either go to the computer lab on the other end of the ship or go back down to take a nap. You can nap at all times because we have no window so it is always entirely pitch black. Our steward cleans our room on B days so I always come back to a made bed and tidy room. Not cleaning is great. I usually do homework up until lunch which I eat on the fifth floor in the main dining room, at 12, Peggy one of our deans comes on with the afternoon announcements. After lunch i either stay there to work because it's usually quiet or go up to the seventh deck which is the pool deck. On nice days students are laying on chairs all by the pool or on towels around it. There is usually someone playing music, it's not very conducive to work but I love being out there and watching the ocean. Sometimes someone spots a whale or dolphins and everyone sprints to the side of the ship to see. At 3:50 I have my second class of the day, evolution, after almost 6 hours between my first and second classes it's tough to sit through but I haven't skipped any of my 4 classes yet! Class ends when Peggy comes back on with our nighttime announcements, then I head over to the garden lounge for dinner. Our favorite crew member, Darwin, works in the garden lounge and hooks us up all the time, he's the man. We usually sit around in the lounge for a while talking and people will come in and out. Sometimes at night we'll go to a world cafe, or go up to the top deck to watch the sunset, or watch a movie, or just stay and do homework. Snack time is at ten but I don't eat it a lot. I usually go to the gym (if I go which is rare) at about 10:30. There's nobody there at that time, you have to sign up for equipment usually and it's only for a half hour so it sucks which is why I wait. It can be tough to work out when the sea is really rocky sometimes too. Luckily the only food they feed us is pasta, potatoes, and bread. After the gym I'll usually go to fill up my water bottle in the garden lounge, the only spot where you can do it, then shower and go to bed.
Not a super exciting life but everyone has a routine. We switch it up a little everyday too. When we're in port is when we really have fun. I feel like I covered a lot in this blog. Feel free to comment/email me any other questions you have or stuff you wanna know. I'm still begging for emails on this stretch to entertain me. I hope this all makes sense, fun fact: I don't proofread my blogs. I also can't respond to your comments (see misconceptions above). Hope everyone had a great Halloween!
Ok So define what a "very west coast" guy is? Having lived on both coasts I didn't realize there was a difference. (Thought they were just as dumb on both coasts) ..LOL Love You..
ReplyDeleteYou do a darn good job if you really aren't proofreading! I would kill to have your experience. Keep them coming. Can't wait to hear from your mouth!
ReplyDeleteLove you and miss you!
Gma xoxo
Living my dreams thru you Tori, what a once in a lifetime experience your having..most people only dream of what your doing.. continue to enjoy every moment, think of all the memories your making.. :)
ReplyDelete