10/20/09
SEA OLYMPICS! It was a crazy day. We had opening ceremonies at 9am and that is where the beginning of the games also started. There was the picture with the torch contest, and your seas chant. Captain Jeremy is the person who officially opened the games. I made my way to where my first game was on deck 6 aft. The game was flip cup which was played with water not beer.. sad I know. We were competing in teams of 10 and the winner moved on. Well apparently not everyone decided to show up so 3 boys had to go twice. We ended up losing and were eliminated. I decided to go up to deck 7 to watch the beginning of synchronized swimming. Surprisingly it was mostly guys that were participating and it was absolutely hysterical. For my sea it was 4 girls that did a good job, but not good enough to pull out a win. I walked over and watched volleyball too. And guess what? We lost that too. We did pretty well in the pull-ups competition; the guy on our team did 25. After that I ran downstairs and watched my friend play Pictionary. There was a tie-breaker and we lost that too. I missed the extreme musical chairs, but apparently we didn’t do well in that either. We were off to a rough start in the morning until I went to watch the spelling bee. We ended up placing 3rd which was better than the rest of the competitions we were in. then, it was about a 2 hr break for lunch and games would resume around 1:30-2pm.My friend was in the popcorn eating contest and that was hysterical to watch. We placed second in that too! I didn’t realize my next game started at 2:15 not 4:15 so I ran to the aft deck 6 to play. It was water pong, civil war style. It was best out of 3. And I was on the 3rd team. The other team cheated and were just annoying the entire time. We ended up losing so I went and relaxed up on 7th deck. I watched some of the sweatshirt medley and then watched the dodge ball finals. Something we were actually in! We lost that too though. I decided to try the Caramel Coffee Freezer for the first time because it was so hot and I was already sunburned. It was AMAZING! It reminded me of dunkin donuts coolattas. I will definitely be getting more of them. Then, it was on to the relay which consisted of about 234233 different things and it was a timed event. If I can remember all of the events I’ll be lucky, but here it goes: butt scoot, dizzy bat, wheel barrel race, swim for a question, mystery cocktail, water pong into pitchers, three legged race, picture drawing, fishing, and run down to the podium. We came in 2nd in this event! The last event that I watched was Don’t Forget The Lyrics. We ended up placing 2nd but it was stupid because the judges changed the rules in the middle. Completely unfair, but we took the 2nd place with pride. Then, it was on to the BBQ I had a cheese burger and some potatoes. It was heaven! I relaxed outside with a few friends and saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen on this trip. I took tons of pictures of it, the clouds and sky were amazing. I watched slumdog millionaire in one of the classrooms. I had seen it before, but only once so I was really excited to watch it again. After that I went to bed.
10/21/09
Today I spent most of the day just relaxing and taking a break from everything. I did only have one class which was Deviance and Social Control. There was a debate today on legalization of Prostitution. It pretty much turned into a screaming match after the arguments were presented. I thought it was hysterical. It was getting really intense so eventually my professor stepped in and opened it up to the class. That didn’t make it any better because everyone wanted to have the last word. I did get my midterm back and I did really well so I am happy about that. I had dinner with my friends it seems like it’s the same old every time; pasta, potatoes, and meat. Everything is really plain, but I just eat it anyway. Then, we had cultural pre-port at 8pm. It was really interesting and was mostly presented by our two interport students and Sanjoy the lecturer. After that was over I went to watch You Don’t Know Jack which was a gameshow that the programming board was putting on. It was really funny and some of the questions were impossible to answer, but it was a good time. It was really annoying though when some of the pairs were cheating by showing their answers to the partners by reflecting the image on their whiteboard off the mirror behind the audience. In the end two sisters ending up winning and the prize was special dining which is a 5 course meal that is nothing compared to the regular ship food. That ended around 11pm so I went to bed.
10/22/09
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEAN! You are getting old hahaha. Today I had global studies and the interport lecturer Sanjoy gave an interesting presentation. He spoke mainly about the diversity and rich history of India. It definitely kept my attention. After that I picked out my classes for the Spring Semester and then had lunch with my friends. I had two more classes in the afternoon which weren’t bad; International Law and Sociology of Marriage and the Family. I relaxed for awhile after class and then had dinner on the 7th deck with my friends because the main dining food sucked. I had a pizza which was my first on the ship it’s nothing like pizza at home, but it was good. I also had another coffee caramel freezer, soooo good. Then we had time before logistical preport so we decided to play SORRY. I lost both times and came in 4th. It clearly wasn’t my day. After we finished we went down to logistical preport and sat through an hour and a half presentation. It was full of useful information such as don’t drink the water, be careful of the food, don’t use tap water when brushing teeth, close mouth when showering, mesquitoes are a problem use DEET, don’t use public buses, and don’t answer to the beggars or give them money. These are just a few of the important details that we were given. Other than that HAVE FUN! I came back to my room and did all of my packing! Oh and as for what am I doing in India is a ton of things! I joined a group on facebook in the summer of people who were interesting in doing some traveling independently from SAS, but with a tour company. So, I was able to join up with them and pay half the price that SAS was asking for. I’ll copy and paste my Itinerary below.
10/23/009
WE ARE IN INDIA!!!!!!! We’ve arrived at about 830 am. We had a diplomatic briefing and the ship has been cleared. I am catching up on blogs and journals as I am not leaving for my trip until 1:15pm. I am really excited because this is a completely different kind of experience for me. I mean that because I am not with SAS, there is no trip leader or anything. I am really excited for it and so are the other 29 people. I’m not good friends with any of them so it will be a good thing for meeting new people! I just wanted to add that I am currently 9.5 hours ahead of EST so for those of you who are emailing me it may be delayed awhile. I will be on this independent trip from the 23rd-26th. The last day I have a FDP that is my professor running it called Socioeconomic Problems in Chennai. It states we are not allowed to bring cameras as I will be going into the poorest areas of Chennai and understanding the problems that are prevalent. Well, I have to go finish getting ready for my trip! I miss you all so much and cannot wait to see you in DECEMBER!
Itinerary:
Delhi-Agra-Varanasi Tour
23rd Oct.09 / Fri / Arrival Delhi from Chennai
On arrival at Chennai dock meet assist and transfer to Chennai airport to board the flight to Delhi. On arrival in Delhi meet assist and transfer to hotel. Later proceed to visit sightseeing of Delhi covering India gate & President House. Dinner at hotel. Night stay in Delhi.
24th Oct.09 / Sat / Delhi - Agra & Agra - Varanasi
Early morning pick up from hotel & transfer to railway station to board the superfast air-conditioned train to Agra. Breakfast in the train, Arrive Agra in approx. 02 hours & visit to Fatehpur Sikri-a perfectly preserved red sandstone “ghost town” which was the estranged capital of mughal emperor Akbar, built in 1569 and deserted when its water supply failed. Later visit AGRA FORT - Fort built in red sandstone with its magnificent palaces, halls of public and private audience and the beautiful gardens. This is where Emperor Shah Jahan was kept under house arrest by his third son Aurangzeb and spent the last year of his life viewing the Taj Mahal from across the river Jamuna. After lunch at good local restaurant. After lunch excursion to TAJ MAHAL at sunset- Built by Shah Jahan, the Taj is a white marble memorial to his beautiful wife Mumtaz Mahal. This monument took 22 years to be completed and was designed, and planned by Persian architect Ustad Isa. Apart from its stunning design balance and perfect symmetry, the Taj is also noted particularly for its elegant domes, intricately carved screens and some of the best inlay work ever seen. Evening dinner at local restaurant and transfer to railway station to board the air-conditioned train to Varanasi. Overnight in air conditioned sleeper class.
25th Oct.09 / Sun / Varanasi
Arrive Varanasi, said to be the India’s most sacred city situated on the western bank of the holy river Ganga. It is also the oldest living city in the world. As a place for devotion and worship, with hundreds of temples dotting the city, sunrise on the river front as seen from a boat can be a spiritually uplifting sight. It has a fascination uniquely its own, a quality of sublime beauty, a timeless eternal appeal. Varanasi is the city which cannot be described, only experienced. Meet assist at the railway station and transfer to hotel. Later sight seeing of Varanasi (the oldest and holiest city of India) covering Temples, Aurangazeb’s Mosque and one of the biggest university of India. Afternoon lunch at good local restaurant. Evening view “Aarti” ceremony on the Ghats. Dinner at hotel. Night stay in Varanasi.
26th Oct.09 / Mon / Varanasi
Morning boat cruise at the river Ganges to observe the way of life of pilgrims by the Ghats. Later excursion to Sarnath,10 kms. East of Varanasi, is one of the Buddhism’s
major centers of India. After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha came to Sarnath where he gave his first sermon. Visit the deer park and the museum and later back to Varanasi. After finishing the lunch at good local restaurant transfer to airport for
flight to Chennai via Delhi. On arrival in Chennai meet assist at airport and transfer to dock to board the ship.
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