Skip to main content

Lat: 28º 21.0 S Long: 37º 43.7E

Day 38

I have made a fatal error. I missed the deadline to study abroad in Madrid for the spring. I was so sure it was October 15. No, wrong. It was September 15. What am I going to do? My heart is broken. Yesterday, I was thrilled to have finished the required essays and used the rest of my internet rations for the semester to upload them. I was engrossed in the view of the eastern South African shore with its enticing green and foreboding mountains and mysterious fog and crashing waves. There were rumors of whales swimming alongside the boat.

But all that is sour now.

Why didn't I check, check and check again the deadline before I left?! I made sure to call my advisor and ask him what I needed to do. I faxed the appropriate forms to him. Why didn't I just fill out the application sooner and get it over with? Oh, maybe because I was too busy trying to get my yellow fever vaccination, malaria pills, chinese, indian and brazilian visas and figuring out what to pack for the weather in 10 different countries.

This makes me so sad. Sadness probably made worse by the miles of deep blue sea (indicating the color, not the depth, although it is very deep) and overcast, gray sky.

I've emailed my advisor to see what he thinks. And also the study abroad office to see if they'll still review my application. Not that many people apply for the Madrid Internship Program, right? There'll be openings for me. Right? Maybe if we sail fast enough around the world clockwise, it will be September again. But no, now I am about eight hours in the future.

Tangent: does that mean I'm older? I'll have my birthday 10 hours sooner than I normally would. So, I guess that does make me older. We should have sailed the opposite direction.

I'm going to go cry to Daniel.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Voyage Day 1–Aug 29, 2008

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...

For My Mother

My mom is not as knowledgeable in things computer- or internet-related. So this post is for her and people like her. It is an explanation of hyperlinks. Dear mom, As you read my blog posts, you may notice some words are a different color, as if they are being highlighted. Well, these words are the equivalent of a footnote in books. You can click on them for a further explanation or more information. A hyperlink is the term used for these special words. I hope that helps. Love you.

Lat:19° 47.6N Long: 069° 43.8W

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...