Sailing Along the West African Coast

Location: 4 degrees N, 3 degrees W

Hello everyone! 6 days have gone by since we were last in a country and now there are only 16 hours left till we are in another! I’m VERY excited for our time in Ghana! This past week has been filled with classes, work, studying, and a lot of fun happenings.

I have a work scholarship with SAS, which was originally with the Campus Store. However, there were too many of us so some got switched over to other needed ship jobs. So last Tuesday, our first day back on the boat, I started my new job as the Life Long Learners Tech Helper. Life Long Learners are people of all ages who travel with SAS, sit in on or take classes, and explore the countries. Since they are of many different ages, they differ on levels of tech-savyness. I meet with them one-on-one in 2 one-hour sessions a day with whatever help they need on their computers, cameras, or iPods. I am enjoying this job a lot! It’s great to hear their stories and see their enjoyment in learning what we find easy on a computer. And they sure give me some good laughs! And I’d like to share some with you:

I’ve helped a few set up a blog and put up their first post. One lady (who is a hoot) said she’s going to subscribe to mine and then just plagiarize everything. Haha. If you’re reading this, hey Susan!

Another was going through her emails and found one titled, “How to keep your husband pleased when you’re old.” She started reading the first few numbers to me, and you can imagine how they might go... Haha! She was laughing hysterically and I didn’t know whether she or the email was funnier!

After a couple of sessions with another lady, she began to tell me how she wants me to visit her in California after SAS. Aww, how sweet! Then she went on to tell me that when I do, she’ll have her 22-year-old music/theatre major grandson show me around San Francisco. Haha! Then she threw a pitch on him! Haha! So she wants to set me up with her grandson.

I am participating in a program called Vicarious Voyage. A group of SAS students gets matched up with a U.S. classroom and the class vicariously lives through our travels to learn about the world. There are about 30 matches with SAS. My group has a 3rd grade class in Virginia! We got a packet from them and each of the 18 students wrote letters to their pen-pals! So I now have 3 new pen-pals ☺ They’re just adorable. One of them said, “My favorite color is pink. And for some reason I like dark blue.” Haha, what a crime ☺

Another SAS program is Shipboard Families. Staff and Life Long Learners can sign up to “adopt kids” and students can sign up to have an “extended family.” I met my new extended/adopted family for the voyage! There are 5 “kids” and our mom/auntie is an RA. She was a SASer 9 years ago! We all hit it off right away and had a game night last night. We’re already planning other things to do together. It’ll be a great shipboard family.

I’m in a club! It’s called Signing at Sea, a group to learn and use sign language! We had our first meeting and learned some general basics to start conversations. I’m so excited to learn another language on this voyage! Quick fact: Sign language is actually not universal. Each country has its own versions. Some signs may be similar, but we have our own, the Spanish have their own, etc. Also, people using sign have their own accents, just like we speak with accents. And lastly, we get to choose how to sign our name. You use the first letter of your name and then choose a gesture that describes something about you. My name is a K by the corner of my mouth because I laugh so much ☺

As we travel along the West African coast there have been quite a few dolphin spottings! Small groups of them will wave jump a little distance out from the ship. It is so neat to see them having fun in their natural environment!

SAS put on a Talent Show! The talent here would impress you! Some of the acts were a Michael Jackson tribute, Tahitian dancing, a comedian, and a man of many different accents.

The best part of the whole week took place two nights ago. A small group of us slept outside on the ship’s deck! It was just amazing. Looking up at thousands of bright stars… hearing the crashing ocean waves… watching heat lightening far off in the distance… talking with quality friends… and even seeing a shooting star! The night was cut short when we were shooed off the deck at 3:30 am because the winds were getting too strong. But that night was amazing and it will definitely be happening again!

This next comment is to all of you who know me quite well… You may be wondering about the ice cream situation here, since it’s a very important part of my life… The ship in fact does not have free ice cream. Whoa! I know I know, no worries, I’m still surviving. It costs about $3 a cup… and I fear of buying my first cup because I’m sure a second, third, fourth will come soon after. My goal is to not buy ice cream on the ship the entire semester. (Although we have had it as dessert 2x so far! You can bet I got it then!) As far as the countries go, I made it one of my goals to try it in each country… to compare ice cream styles of course! I was avoiding telling my SAS friends my craze over it in hopes that it would take my mind off it. Then I found out that my friends are just as obsessed as I am!!! Haha! We might’ve had it everyday in Spain… haha. I did better in Morocco; I only had it once! I guess since I’m so deprived of it on the ship I must make up for it in ports. Right? ☺

Well, it’s been a fun week on the ship and pretty busy (but a fun busy). I’m pumped for Ghana tomorrow, especially after our Dean of Students rapped about it last night. This ship knows how to have good fun! I’ll be very excited to share my Ghanaian adventures with you too! Until then, enjoy the blossoming colors in the trees and the sweet smell of autumn. Bye!