Erin's Travel Blog

Day 10 Here's the low-down on what I've done so far today in Salvador. We were awakened by chaos in the passport department; they couldn't decide how the process was going to go. First it was by sea, then randomly by name, then they went ahead and had the de-briefing meeting, then the process went back to by sea with random face-to-face stamping. I could have slept in for longer. We finally disembarked after ten am and walked to the elevator that takes you to the upper city. The street we walked along to get to the elevator smelled like urine. Horses kept clomping by, I assume as a part of the Independence Day parade. They were setting up a marketplace in a plaza at the base of the elevator, which we perused, but didn't buy anything in. There was another plaza at the top of the elevator with spectacular views of the bay. People everywhere were were trying to sell us shell necklaces, straw hats and other things. There were street bands playing drums and different in...

Day 7 As you can see, we've crossed the equator. I am now in the southern hemisphere. And apparently we are ahead of schedule because tomorrow is Neptune Day. The ritual that happens when you cross the equator at sea for the first time takes place then. I am not allowed to tell you what that ritual is because it's secret. Almost like a hazing. That sounds ominous, huh? Now you're intrigued. Maybe I'll say something more about that after tomorrow, but for now I'll stick to things that have already happened. I want to talk about taking a shower on a boat. This is a difficult task. First of all, the shower is miniscule. I have to be careful so I don't hit my elbows on the walls when I'm shampooing. On the plus side, this shower seems bigger than the one I had when I went on the cruise with Grandmother. However, it is still very slippery in there. Tiles: they're a hazard. We don't have any of those little rubber gripper stickers shaped like fish or...

Day 4 at sea This whole journal-keeping thing is hard. When do people find the time to do this stuff? I feel as though I'll be constantly busy this entire semester. No time to relax on the beach or deck by the pool. We had our first classes yesterday–an A day. I had International Investments at 800 then Communication Across Race and Culture at 1425. It didn't take long for me to decide that I needed to drop the finance class. There was a suggested pre-rec of intro to macro, which I did not take of course, and I was completely lost. I felt better later, though, after I talked with another kid from the class who had taken both macro and micro and still didn't know any of the terms on the homework. I love my communication class. The professor is very cool and laid back. She wants everyone to feel relaxed and to not worry about grades. She is also a psychotherapist. That's pretty awesome. She reminds me of Shannon Boston in the way she is jolly and draws people to her...

Day 2 Wow. I thought it was crazy to have to get used to the motion of the train. But imagine if you were on a train 24/7–but it never stayed at a steady speed. The shifting of the boat feels like a train constantly speeding up and slowing down. We zig-zag through the hallways and rock to sleep at night. Today was a rather boring and exhausting day. We've been in orientation meetings from 9 am to 9:30 pm. I haven't seen Daniel since lunch. Oh well. I sat with Kellie and Kelly. Met a few more people. I just feel so worn-out from all the meetings. The boat's rocking makes me sleepy. I think the combination of those things makes it seem as though I've been on the MV Explorer for much longer than two days. Several people feel that way. But classes start tomorrow, so we can get into some regular kind of routine. Until Brazil that is. Speaking of which, I should check to see if Ricardo has emailed me back. That would be so fun if we could meet up. I went to sleep thi...

We have officially started our voyage today. I stood in line to board the ship in the sweltering sun for around 45 minutes, finally getting on the boat that will be my home for the next three months at 11:30 am (eastern time). They took my passport and vaccination records, handed me an insurance card, ID card and sent me off to my room. My roommate was already in our cozy cabin, 4157. Her name is Kellie, and she is a senior in some school in New Hampshire, though she is from New Jersey like everyone else on the east coast. She commenced unpacking while I waited for my own luggage to be delivered. It's so weird to compare the amount of stuff I seem to need up in Boston to what I brought on this trip. I needed to pack appropriate clothing for 11 different countries, oh and the ocean. But I was limited to two bags of up to 70 lbs (mine were under 50lbs) plus one carry-on. While I was packing, it felt as if I would never have enough stuff. As soon as I checked my bags at the airpo...