I’m on the boat! Classes start tomorrow morning. The ship is much more cruise-y than I expected. I think there will definitely end up being a divide between those focused on academics and those . . . not so focused, but that’s fine. There are a million and one clubs I want to get involved in. The people are great, and I’m making lots friends. We had about a billion hours of lectures today about safety, health, more safety, academic honesty, don’t get so drunk you can’t stand up straight (I can’t stand up straight on this boat and I’m 100% sober!), H1N1, and so forth. Seriously, lectures all day. Breakfast. Talks. Lunch. More talks. Meet professors. Dinner. More talks. Sea meeting. (Your “sea” is like a floor meeting in the dorms. It’s like your wing of the boat). My room is great! It’s small and quaint, but I like it a lot. It’s definitely on top of a motor – I can hear and feel it, but that’s completely fine. I don’t mind in the least. It’s the sound and feeling of saving money! Hurray for economy housing! It’s crazy waking up in the morning and looking out my window to see ocean. Just ocean. This is going to be an amazing trip.
Oh! Side notes. I DON’T have facebook, skype, other websites, or anyway to post my pictures. We get 2 hours total of internet time for the whole trip (besides school research). And my phone doesn’t work. I have a new e-mail. Contact me at: ljcarpenter@semesteratsea.net
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Oh Canada. . .
The highlights of my Canada experience can be easily summed up in three words: Scally, Sean, and Sara. Scally and I first crossed paths when I was wandering around Halifax. We did the typical pass-a-stranger-and-smile thing. Plus I was super stoked to be in Halifax, so I was smiling anyways. Later I was following the sound of bagpipes (weird, but true) and we crossed paths again. This time we stopped and talked, and I ended up hanging out with him and his friends for the remainder of the day and into the night. The following day held a similar pattern. Scally, Sean, and Sara are the type of people you feel instantly at ease with. Genuine, kind, thoughtful, hilarious, smart, talented people. They’re truly amazing and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to spend time with them. Basically, it was a really, really wonderful two days.
Boston!
Boston was a lot of fun! Kate picked me up from the airport, and, after changing, we went out to a lake. We walked half way around the lake and then went in.
That morning I had been in the heart of New York City, and now I was floating in a beautiful lake looking up at the clouds. Amazing. The water was the perfect temperature that made is cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough to never feel like you were cold or chilly. After swimming (or in my case, floating) for quite some time, Kate and I walked the remainder of the perimeter of the lake.
Then we went to a beautiful ice cream place where I had watermelon kiwi sorbet. The “small” was probably about the size of two fists. Needless to say, I couldn’t finish it – despite the deliciousness.
The next day Michael drove me into Harvard Square, where I started my explorations for the day. I wandered the campus and felt grateful for going to Berkeley. Harvard was nice, but it wasn’t a fit for me. It was too . . . nice. Pretty. Quaint. Berkeley is a much better fit for me. Then I took the train to downtown Boston where I walked the majority of the Freedom Walk and explored for the rest of the day. I think one of my favorite places was the Christian Science area. Not because of what it stands for (Christian Science isn’t really my thing), but because it was so beautiful! There was a big “reflection pool” and a beautiful building that looked kind of castle-ish. But my favorite part was a large fountain that squirts up water; it was full of kids running in and out, getting completely soaked . . . Of course I had to join them. It didn’t matter that I was probably older than most of them by 10 years and the rest of them by at least 5 years. It was totally worth it. That night I met up with Kate to help her move a rug then we went to a cookout at one of her staff’s house.
Next day consisted of continued exploration. I met some nice people, but mostly I just wandered aimlessly around the city. It really is a great city. Saw Fenway Park and (more importantly) the Boston Legal building, along with other landmarks and places of interest. Then I came home, packed my bags, and headed off for my next adventure.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
New York
New York was amazing! I don't know how New Yorkers got a reputation for being rude and stuck up, because I found them quite wonderful. Everyone I talked to (taxi drivers, random people on the street, the people next to me at the play. . .) were amazing, friendly, and helpful. First day I had dinner with Claire in the Greenwich Village area, which was great. That girl is amazing - she can be completely in the fashion industry but still know how ridiculous the prices are. So I slept at her house that night.
In the morning I headed uptown to the Time Square area and did some tourist-y stuff, which was fun. Then I went to the UN! I was kind of bitter about having to go through the "visitor" entrance. I feel like there should be a special door for people who want to work there or who will eventually work there. Oh well. Hopefully next time I'm there I can go through the real door. I loved being there. That is a building (or a couple buildings) full of people trying to solve the world's problems. Just thinking about it is cool! Their job is to try and achieve positive peace; they strive to get past the absence of war and achieve harmonious coexistence. I find that a very noble goal and something I would love to be a part of.
While I was at the UN, I met some really cool people about my age that I ended up hanging out with for a bit: Brian, Shavana, & Elena. Elena was visiting from Russia and Brian & Shavana were showing her around. So I spent a couple hours with then; we got lunch, took the UN tour, looked at exhibits, took funny pictures in a sample refugee tent, and took "diplomatic" pictures in the general assembly. I really enjoyed being with them. Elena and I are both hoping to someday work at the UN, so hopefully I'll see them again in the future (plus I invited them all out to California).
From there I went and checked into my hostel then did more tourist-y stuff, including a night tour of the city. I met a guy who was visiting from Holland, which was pretty cool. He's was nice and super into photography, so I was able to learn a little bit from him.
After that, I went to a comedy show. I had been warned that the show was interactive and comedians tend to single out their audience members, so I was supposed to sit in the middle to back where I was less of a target. Problem was, though, when I got there I was just on time instead of early, so I didn't have a lot of seating options. I had two options, actually: 1) Sit to the side, alone. Or 2) Sit dead center, front row next to two other girls. So the way I saw it, I could sit alone with the potential to not be noticed, but if I was noticed it would be as the girl sitting alone - which didn't seem safe. Or I could sit with the other girls, probably get noticed, but at least give the illusion of being with a group. So I sat with the girls front and center. And every single comedian found it hilarious to point out the three white girls (us). It didn't help that the girl I was sitting next to was obnoxious and loud and would talk back to the comedians in a way that she thought was cute and flattering but was actually quite a put-off. So she drew a lot of attention, and that drew a lot of attention to me by association. I debated between speaking up and saying I wasn't with her or keeping my mouth shut and letting people think I was. I kept my mouth shut. Why take risks when you're traveling alone?
The comedians were pretty funny. At least some of there stuff. A lot of their material really surprised me, though. The east coast is way more racial than the west coast, I think. Not necessarily racist, race is just more of an issue there. It really surprised me. White comedians talked about wanting to be black, black comedians talked about wanting to be white. One black comedian went on this huge tangent about how cool it would be if UFOs came and the aliens were black people and all the black people could go back to their home planet. Then all the white people on earth would celebrate forever and ever. Those kind of jokes just made me. . . sad and confused. Confused because that sounds like it's spoken from a incredibly different stage than I thought we were at as Americans and as human beings. I thought we were past these intense racial divisions, or at least somewhat further past it. And sad because in order for him to incorporate something into his material, he has to be pretty darn sure that it's funny. And things are only funny if people can relate to them. So he has had enough reinforcement of this idea that black and white people would be happier on different planets that he felt comfortable putting it into his comedic material. What type of life did he have growing up that gave him this perspective? How did he get treated and see other people get treated? Why can we, as humans, move past this stupid division based on the social construction of race? A lot of the jokes I heard were rather disheartening. I really thought we were a litter further past that.
Went home right after. The next day was spent doing more exploring. I went to the Met, which was amazing!! I swear, I could live in there and never get bored. . . That's not true. I might eventually get bored. But at least not for a week or so. My favorites were probably the American statues from the late 1800s early 1900s. They just had so much life and spirit to them. But, really, everything was amazing. I also really liked Picasso's "Girl in White." I think that's what it was called. I don't know what it was about her, but something seemed vaguely familiar. The entire museum was beautiful. I really enjoyed every inch of it (except the medieval stuff, that just didn't really appeal).
After that I went to SoHo, but then I remembered that I didn't really like shopping and left. Shopping is expensive and rather pointless when I already have everything I need. But it was nice to see the area. Then I went to Ground Zero. I was there 6 years ago, and it doesn't really look like they've done anything since. . . There were a lot of people there advocating for the conspiracy theory that 9-11 was an inside job. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about that. 9-11 completely transformed the world, international relations, and interpersonal relations. I don't like to think that I could live in a world (or country!) where governments would kill off their own people to further their personal agenda. I feel like that should be reserved for movies. Still, though, some of the evidence they present is pretty hard to argue with. It's all a very confusing subject for me.
Then I wandered around the financial district (bought Chris a birthday present!) and jumped back onto a tour bus. That's where I met Luis. Luis is one of those people that just makes you smile. The type of person that still swings himself on the seats instead of walking down the isles and the type of person to occasionally let the words of the song in his head slip though his mouth. He was also the tour guide. We talked in between him pointing out buildings on the microphone. He told me about things to do in Boston (where he's from) and about other cool parts of New York. Quite an enjoyable tour ride.
Then I bought some street food, changed, and headed off to Broadway where I saw The Lion King. Truly an amazing show! If they had kicked me out after the opening scene I would have been completely satisfied. I totally bought into the make believe world they created. The costumes and sets were beautiful, the actors were talented, and the music was amazing. I cried when Mufasa died, and I am not ashamed.
From there I went to the Top Of The Rock and got a beautiful view of the city. Then back to the hostel.
Next morning I went to church then (after going to the wrong terminal - they have two Delta Terminals a bus ride from each other) boarded a plane to Boston.
What a wonderful trip!
In the morning I headed uptown to the Time Square area and did some tourist-y stuff, which was fun. Then I went to the UN! I was kind of bitter about having to go through the "visitor" entrance. I feel like there should be a special door for people who want to work there or who will eventually work there. Oh well. Hopefully next time I'm there I can go through the real door. I loved being there. That is a building (or a couple buildings) full of people trying to solve the world's problems. Just thinking about it is cool! Their job is to try and achieve positive peace; they strive to get past the absence of war and achieve harmonious coexistence. I find that a very noble goal and something I would love to be a part of.
While I was at the UN, I met some really cool people about my age that I ended up hanging out with for a bit: Brian, Shavana, & Elena. Elena was visiting from Russia and Brian & Shavana were showing her around. So I spent a couple hours with then; we got lunch, took the UN tour, looked at exhibits, took funny pictures in a sample refugee tent, and took "diplomatic" pictures in the general assembly. I really enjoyed being with them. Elena and I are both hoping to someday work at the UN, so hopefully I'll see them again in the future (plus I invited them all out to California).
From there I went and checked into my hostel then did more tourist-y stuff, including a night tour of the city. I met a guy who was visiting from Holland, which was pretty cool. He's was nice and super into photography, so I was able to learn a little bit from him.
After that, I went to a comedy show. I had been warned that the show was interactive and comedians tend to single out their audience members, so I was supposed to sit in the middle to back where I was less of a target. Problem was, though, when I got there I was just on time instead of early, so I didn't have a lot of seating options. I had two options, actually: 1) Sit to the side, alone. Or 2) Sit dead center, front row next to two other girls. So the way I saw it, I could sit alone with the potential to not be noticed, but if I was noticed it would be as the girl sitting alone - which didn't seem safe. Or I could sit with the other girls, probably get noticed, but at least give the illusion of being with a group. So I sat with the girls front and center. And every single comedian found it hilarious to point out the three white girls (us). It didn't help that the girl I was sitting next to was obnoxious and loud and would talk back to the comedians in a way that she thought was cute and flattering but was actually quite a put-off. So she drew a lot of attention, and that drew a lot of attention to me by association. I debated between speaking up and saying I wasn't with her or keeping my mouth shut and letting people think I was. I kept my mouth shut. Why take risks when you're traveling alone?
The comedians were pretty funny. At least some of there stuff. A lot of their material really surprised me, though. The east coast is way more racial than the west coast, I think. Not necessarily racist, race is just more of an issue there. It really surprised me. White comedians talked about wanting to be black, black comedians talked about wanting to be white. One black comedian went on this huge tangent about how cool it would be if UFOs came and the aliens were black people and all the black people could go back to their home planet. Then all the white people on earth would celebrate forever and ever. Those kind of jokes just made me. . . sad and confused. Confused because that sounds like it's spoken from a incredibly different stage than I thought we were at as Americans and as human beings. I thought we were past these intense racial divisions, or at least somewhat further past it. And sad because in order for him to incorporate something into his material, he has to be pretty darn sure that it's funny. And things are only funny if people can relate to them. So he has had enough reinforcement of this idea that black and white people would be happier on different planets that he felt comfortable putting it into his comedic material. What type of life did he have growing up that gave him this perspective? How did he get treated and see other people get treated? Why can we, as humans, move past this stupid division based on the social construction of race? A lot of the jokes I heard were rather disheartening. I really thought we were a litter further past that.
Went home right after. The next day was spent doing more exploring. I went to the Met, which was amazing!! I swear, I could live in there and never get bored. . . That's not true. I might eventually get bored. But at least not for a week or so. My favorites were probably the American statues from the late 1800s early 1900s. They just had so much life and spirit to them. But, really, everything was amazing. I also really liked Picasso's "Girl in White." I think that's what it was called. I don't know what it was about her, but something seemed vaguely familiar. The entire museum was beautiful. I really enjoyed every inch of it (except the medieval stuff, that just didn't really appeal).
After that I went to SoHo, but then I remembered that I didn't really like shopping and left. Shopping is expensive and rather pointless when I already have everything I need. But it was nice to see the area. Then I went to Ground Zero. I was there 6 years ago, and it doesn't really look like they've done anything since. . . There were a lot of people there advocating for the conspiracy theory that 9-11 was an inside job. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about that. 9-11 completely transformed the world, international relations, and interpersonal relations. I don't like to think that I could live in a world (or country!) where governments would kill off their own people to further their personal agenda. I feel like that should be reserved for movies. Still, though, some of the evidence they present is pretty hard to argue with. It's all a very confusing subject for me.
Then I wandered around the financial district (bought Chris a birthday present!) and jumped back onto a tour bus. That's where I met Luis. Luis is one of those people that just makes you smile. The type of person that still swings himself on the seats instead of walking down the isles and the type of person to occasionally let the words of the song in his head slip though his mouth. He was also the tour guide. We talked in between him pointing out buildings on the microphone. He told me about things to do in Boston (where he's from) and about other cool parts of New York. Quite an enjoyable tour ride.
Then I bought some street food, changed, and headed off to Broadway where I saw The Lion King. Truly an amazing show! If they had kicked me out after the opening scene I would have been completely satisfied. I totally bought into the make believe world they created. The costumes and sets were beautiful, the actors were talented, and the music was amazing. I cried when Mufasa died, and I am not ashamed.
From there I went to the Top Of The Rock and got a beautiful view of the city. Then back to the hostel.
Next morning I went to church then (after going to the wrong terminal - they have two Delta Terminals a bus ride from each other) boarded a plane to Boston.
What a wonderful trip!
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