: ( Last Port : )

It is so frustrating when this happens. Our email system is not very reliable. You get so close to finishing a huge email that you are sending to your blog about your whole trip and it times you out. When you get back on nothing saved and you have to start all over. This time was the worst. I learned my lesson from the times before so I started copying it when I finished. I was just about to finish and copy when it freaked out and logged me out. I lost the whole thing I spent an hour writing.

Anyway…

The trip is almost over. That is good and bad news. As you can tell there are some things (like my email) that I will be ready to get away from but there are many things that I am going to miss. Hawaii was a great last port and I would really like to journal about it (again, but this time in Word processor to save me some frustration).

In Honolulu we went to the Dole Plantation and to the beach. Dole is the major producer of pineapples and they have the world’s largest maze on their grounds in Hawaii. It’s a fun maze. First you get your ticket and they mark the time you start. You have to go through the maze and find all eight secret locations that have boxes on your ticket. When you find each secret location you get the secret code from the booth that is there. It’s cool because it has a slot that lines up perfectly with the corresponding box for the code. Each code was some kind of Hawaiian figure that you stenciled. After you were done you timed out and see if you got done faster than you friends. We finished in thirty-six minutes.
In Hilo we went to the beach again and to the hot ponds. We went to a black sand beach in Hilo. The sand is made from the lava that flowed through there at one time but has been turned into sand from being hit with waves for a long time. At this beach (Richardson’s Beach) we swam with a sea turtle! It was huge but a local saw it and told me it was a medium sized turtle. I was proved wrong but I had never seen a turtle so big.

Later in the day we went to the hot springs. They were natural hot tubs that were the size of ponds. The ground water runs past lava flows and warms the water that dumps into the ocean. They had the area blocked off in a way that channeled cool water in from the ocean and kept most of the hot water in. It was not exactly like a hot tub. It was not as hot. It was so much better. The water was more like a perfect bath. Not too hot and not too cold. We also brought glow sticks because we got there at sunset. By time it got dark the glow sticks added to the atmosphere. The water was so clear and shallow enough that you could put the glow stick in the water and see everything in the water. We all got different colors so all you could see was a bunch of colors in the water.

In Honolulu and Hilo we spent most of the time relaxing. We were either relaxing on the beach or on the “The Bus.” The public transportation was not the best but it was the cheapest way to go. The cabs were ridiculous (ten dollars for two miles in a cab or $2.25 for two rides on “The Bus” that took forever to get anywhere).

Also, we got a surprise day in Honolulu. A storm has been coming from Japan across the Pacific to Hawaii. To avoid it we were rerouted back to Honolulu and got an extra day in Hawaii. Unfortunately, we still have finals tomorrow so all day today, even though we are in Hawaii on a beautiful day, most of us had to study. However, studying on the beach beats being cooped up in your cabin. The storm was not anything to worry about, it just would have made it difficult to take finals. Now we will be behind the storm and will not have to worry about the current being as big.

Well, next stop San Diego. I can’t wait to see everybody. I’ll be home soon!

It's been a while since I have written. The last few weeks have been jammed packed with stuff. We had three days between Vietnam before we got to China. Then, once we left China, we only had another three days before we got to Japan. So much has happened that I am just now getting the chance to sit down and write about it. Along with all the traveling, classes are winding down for the semester so I have a lot of work to do. These next ten days are pretty much like finals week. Plus, there will be another one after Hawaii. However, I'm not complaining. I am still enjoying the traveling.

In China I mostly hiked the Great Wall. The first day the ship made port in Hong Kong. I only had the one day in Hong Kong to travel but luckily I had a connection in Hong Kong that showed us the highlights. It just so happened one of my friends has an uncle living in Hong Kong. We spent the day riding the tram and seeing all the buildings in the city. We also got to have some Dim Sum and see Devil Beaters. Dim Sum is a lot like tapas from Spain. It's basically a bunch of smaller portions of a variety of foods. The restaurant we went to was supposedly famous but is being torn down very soon. After, lunch was the Devil Beaters. They weren't much of a sight but very interesting to see. They are older women who practice voodoo. It's a dying trade in Hong Kong but you can still find a few in one particular area. If you ever need to hex someone you go to the Devil Beaters with something of that person and they will perform a hex. Luckily for all the people I know, I couldn't think of anyone who needed hexed.

The second day in China I left for Beijing. Later that same day the ship left to make port in Shanghai. The ship would take a two day trip to get there and then stay one night in Shanghai. When we left Hong Kong it was near the 80's. It was hot. Just a few hour flight up north to Beijing it was below freezing. They had gotten their second snow a couple days before we got there. That made for a difficult hike on the Great Wall. The Wall is not in the best conditions in some areas so you pretty much had to slide down parts of it. Climbing up was even harder in some areas. Some parts were completely intact, but others hardly had stone in it anymore. Other times we had to completely get off the Wall and walk along it. These were the places where bushes and trees were growing through it. After two days of hiking, I was ready to go to Beijing. It was cold and tiring but very fun. It actually reminded me of Indiana. It had the corn fields and all. Made me miss home.

In Shanghai I mostly shopped. I feel like that's all you can do in most cities. The weather was not all that nice so it was hard convincing yourself to go out anywhere. It was cold and rainy the whole time. We actually had to extend our stay in China by one day to avoid rough seas. We were happy about that because it gave us one last chance to do it right in China.

After a few more days of class it was to Japan. In Japan I was traveling independently. (That is, not on an SAS trip) I did, however, get to do a home-stay. On the first night in Japan I was matched up with a student from Yokohama City University. There was a group of SASers who were escorted to the university by one of the students (Now). Once we got to the university we had a little program and were matched with our student. The student I was matched with was Hiromi. She lives with her older sister Kanae and her mother Emiko. They were extremely nice to me. Hiromi brought me to a Japanese book store because she new I liked to read. It was interesting to see what it was like. She showed me her favorite books which were Harry Potter. Had she not told me what they were I would not have know that they were Harry Potter books. In the States those books have a very distinct look to them. The ones in Japan looked nothing like those books. They seemed skinnier and the covers had a completely different kind of picture on them. It's funny what things can be different.

After the book store we went to Hiromi's home. Her Mom made us dinner which was excellent. It was a salad that had shrimp in it, some breaded sides (one of which was an egg; I loved it), chicken, sushi, and pineapple for dessert. We also sat at a kotatu after dinner. I had no idea what this was. I had never heard about it before but I loved it too. It was basically just a table. Not any table however, it had a blanket that went over it and a table top. Under the table was a little heater. It was low to the ground so you sat on the floor and put your legs under it. It kept you really warm while you conversed with your family/friends. We talked all night about many things. I also got to take a Japanese style bath. In Japan, you take a shower and then relax in a bath of hot water. It's almost like a hot tub but they do it every night. They only use one bath of water for the whole family. Since you have already taken a shower there is no need for soap or bubbles, you just relax. Then the rest of the family does the same thing with the same bath. After that I slept on a Japanese style bed which is a very comfortable mat that lies directly on the floor. The next morning I woke up and Hiromi brought me home. I was on my way to Tokyo Disney Land!

The last days in Japan were spent in Various cities and in Disney Land. Disney was so much like Disney in Florida. The only difference was that everything was in Japanese. They had Space Mountain, It's A Small World, The Tea Cups, The disney parade, and many other Disney favorites. One thing that made it different was the enthusiasm of the workers. They were ten times more excited when they directed you places. It's hard to believe they could be happier then the happiest place on earth but they managed. After Disney, we visited several districts of Tokyo; Shabuya, Nippori, and Asakusa. Then it was off to Kobe to meet the ship and head off to sea again.

Last but not least are my shout outs for Vicarious Voyage. I have been getting all of your emails and enjoyed reading them. I can't wait to get back and talk to all of you when I visit Valley in December. It's coming up!

Ka'de, you were saying that you were interested in knowing more about South Africa and that you are interested in football. Well, football (soccer) as South Africans know it is coming to Cape Town big time. Cape Town is going to host the next big soccer tournament. They have been developing their city and building a new city that you could see from almost everywhere in Cape Town. I hope you are able to catch the big game and relate to it a little after spending some time studying South Africa.

Jarret and Kaitlyn you two both wanted to know more about Hong Kong. I only spent one day there but i did learn a lot from my friends uncle. One cool thing to know is that the city is placed partially on a steep hill. It's so steep that they built and outside escalator that brings you up the street. It is super long too. Another cool thing is that you can take a tram up to the peak in Hong Kong. The tram brings right into a mall at the top of the mountain.

Brianna you wanted to know more about about Japan. You specifically wanted to see it because you haven't seen it before. This is an interesting place to see because it is so clean, organized, and the buildings are very advanced. You could see things like high tech car garages. When you pulled the car into the garage you parked on a large round disk. The disk rotated to get you in the right direction to pull into a spot. Once you pulled into the spot a huge machine lifted it up and out of site so that the next car could park. It was crazy.

Manny and Jordan you guys asked about Mexico and Canada. I wish that I could tell you more but I didn't really get to see much of either of them. In Canada I only stayed for a few hours. I did get to see Halifax which is a very pretty sea side city. As far as Mexico goes, I didn't get to visit it but the Mexico border is very close to San Diego. It's only about an hour drive away. Some people talked about visiting Mexico when we got back but it's not a good idea. Maybe I will get to visit it some other time or maybe you will have to go and tell me about it. I love to hear about peoples travels.

If any of you have any questions let me know. I will be back in the States soon and look forward to it.

Hello Vietnam!!!!!


Vietnam for me was two days of Ho Chi Minh City and three days of Cat Tien National Park. I had a great time and got a lot of shopping done. Also, I got a good amount of exercise out of the hikes in Cat Tein.

The first two days were my shopping and Ho Chi Minh experience. I'm really glad that I got a book about Vietnam on my flight to Halifax (Thanks Rex), though, I haven't been able to finish it yet. The book gave me a fairly accurate precursor to the city and culture. Everyone there rides motorcycles or anything similar to them. Compared to the amount of motorcycles there are very few cars and trucks. The traffic here is crazy. Nobody ever stops unless there is a light telling you to. At intersections that have no lights the crossing roads have traffic that acts like schools of fish. They flow together and apart with minimal bumping and collisions. Crossing streets like this is even more interesting. We had a little demonstration that helped us out before we got there. Basically, you wait for the best time to step out into traffic and once you start you do not stop. At a steady pace you continue through the traffic until you reach the other side. It can be pretty terrifying at times.

We got a good joke out of this situation. We had just gotten to Ho Chi Minh and we were a bit lost. We were more deciding where to go then lost. I was frustrated with our big group and it's indecisiveness. All big groups start out this way. While everyone was deciding, I went ahead and made the decision for myself and crossed the rode. While I was in the middle of the rode one guy asked me where I was going but I kept going. He crossed the road too and asked me, "Why did the Sam cross the rode?" I responded, quickly to my surprise, with, "Because he started and couldn't stop." You have to love the cheesey Vietnam jokes.

Both of the first two days in the city I spent shopping and treating myself to the high life. The high life is pretty inexpensive in Vietnam. The conversion was one U.S. Dollar to 17,586 Vietnam Dong. It was confusing at first because you felt like you were spending a lot of money. After a while we realized that the 40,000 Dong shirt we bought was really about two dollars. I got a lot of stuff here. I even went and got a Vietnamese message. We got one for an hour and thirty minutes and it only cost us thirteen dollars. In the U.S. cheap messages for one hour cost sixty dollars. We got a deal, for sure.

The last three days I was in the rain forest at Cat Tein National Park. The worst part were the leeches! They were everywhere and they were determined to get you. Every hike we went on we had to where leech socks. These are socks that that go up to your knee. You put them on over your socks, in your shoes, and over your pants. At about the shin you rub a special chemical that deters the leeches. When we first got there and saw all this stuff we did not take it all that serious, but after a few minutes on the hike we were thankful for the preparation. Other than the leeches the three days were great. We saw so many creators; spiders, snakes, beetles, frogs, birds, and many other things. The best time to hike was at night though, it was more dangerous. More animals came out at night that you would never see during the day.

After the whole five days I was exhausted once again. Two solid days of hiking was a great exercise, add city mayhem, little sleep, and traveling, we were bound to be tired in the end. Now on to China! I will mostly be hiking the Great Wall. Woot! More exercise.

P.S.
Alex was interested in India and I left him out in the last blog. He was saying that he chose India as his country of interest because they wear different clothes than we do. India does have some very interesting clothes. Many people still wear the traditional clothing but they also wear more western clothes. The western clothes are much like we wear; shirts and jeans. The traditional clothing for women are Saris, which are large pieces of cloth rapped around the body in a specific way. The traditional clothes for men are long shirts that go down to the knee and matching pants. The name of the outfit has slipped my mind. There are also many variations on these clothes, as there are in the west. I was able to buy the males outfit and I plan to wear it when I come to visit Valley Mills so you guys get to have a visual of the clothing.

I know it has been a while since I have written but I have been distracted with school and the aftermath of India. There was a lot to take in while I was there. Most of what I did while I was there was non-stop. The first day was a free day and I have an interesting story about it. For a large part of the time I went on a trip to the Taj Mahal. This was the non-stop part. SAS trips tend to be that way. The last day I took a trip to Mamallapuram and Kancheepuram. The trip was to see all the temples that these two cities are famous for. In the end I had a great time but it was exhausting.

The first day we started by going to the Georgetown Market. It wasn't much. It was mostly just a short street with western clothing for sale and a few local goods. The area also had a hotel with a great restaurant and a Hindu temple. You could find temples anywhere. After doing a little shopping and eating at the restaurant we went to the temple. An older man stopped us just before they were opening the temple back up for the afternoon. He was a nice old man but firm. If we were not supposed to do something, like take pictures of certain things, he would not hold back. He started us off with a crash course in Hinduism. I did not pay attention too much for two reasons. The first reason is following what the Hindus believe is very hard. It is so complex. That is not an excuse for not listening. I wanted to know more about the beliefs but I could not concentrate enough to appreciate it. I was distracted. All I could think about is why his man would just come up to us and be so helpful and informative. In the back of my mind he could not just being doing something to be nice. That was hard for me to understand for some reason. He did everything for us. He told us that we had to take off our shoes before going in and got them in a safe place where they would not be stolen. He showed us around the temple and explained every inch. Then, at the end he wanted money. We had to pay for each camera we used to take picture and we had to pay him. He was a tricky, sweet old man. I knew he wanted more than just to be nice. I think I knew that because it is so common every where in this world. We have to survive some how I suppose.

After the tour of the temple we met another man. We were getting our shoes from the "safe place" and that is when Nagu came up to us. He started talking to us about how he had met other people from SAS from previous voyages. He was also talking about us coming back to his house and meeting his family, which sounded like a bad idea from the start. I would hope that to all people this sounded like a bad idea. He was very informative and nice too. He wanted to help and being tourists with no idea we would take anything we could get. We wanted to go to an internet cafe (so I could get on my blog/facebook/email to talk to you). He wanted to show us. We followed him down a couple streets (well populated, no worries). On the way he bought us chai tea, India is famous for it. Once we got to the cafe he got us cheap prices. Had we gone in alone they would have seen that we were tourists an automatically charged us more like everyone else in India (and other countries for that matter). He got us the Indian man's price. He arranged to come back and meet us so that we could hang out with him. We were glad to get rid of him for a bit to talk it over amongst ourselves.

Our hour at the cafe was up. We had decided that Nagu was not that bad. He had been so nice and so helpful. Plus, we trusted the group we were in and had faith in each other to hold strong. Starting with a little reluctancy the night ended well. We ended up taking a rickshaw to a beautiful catholic church. He showed us around bit then we crammed back into the rickshaw. Then, we went to the beach and met up with some of his family. By time we got to the beach it was dark but that was when everyone relaxed. It was cooler during the night and a good time to wind down. We had Indian food from vendors, we got to see a parrot draw cards for a tarot reading, a friend of mine got to ride a horse along the beach, and sit by the water and talk. (By the way, this beach is one of the worlds longest beaches. It took a long time to walk across the beach to the water.) We also got to play a game. There was a wall of balloons set up. With a BB gun you shot at the balloons to see how many you could shoot. I think I shot the most. The beach was one of my best memories in India.

At this point we had spent a lot of time with Nagu and finally trusted him enough to go to his house (I would never suggest this. Although our experiences ended well). We took the rickshaw there. We met his mother and two kids that belong to his sister who had past away. They all lived in a very small room that was a kitchen. They had room for a sink, fridge, tv, a cabinet, and siting space. It really put things in perspective. In the end, the whole night was amazing. W enjoyed talking to Nagu's family and being with them for a few hours. It had gotten late and we had to get back to the ship. Nagu was nice enough to take us on the train that led us right back to the ship. And i did not mention but he paid for everything the entire night. He refused to let us pay anything but in the end we gave him plenty of money, plus some, for everything that he had done for us.

The rest of my trip did not compare to this day with Nagu. I even got to see the Taj Mahal up close and personal but the first day still trump all. The Taj was beautiful and we saw many other forts and castles that were much like it. In total, for the whole three day Taj Mahal trip I was only able to get about six ours of sleep. We were traveling so much and seeing so much that there was no time for sleep.

The last day I had another trip to see the temples. I was so tired that I struggled to appreciate them. The architecture was amazing, and so was the art. So much went into the temples. It was a fantastic bunch of places to see. The best part of the day was getting back to the ship and being able to sleep. A billion things were seen and done that it would take months to explain it all. I am very satisfied with this part of the trip but I will have to go back. There is so much more that I have to see.

Once again I am getting tired. Sleep is becoming more and more rare. I just don't want to miss anything. Tomorrow we wake up early to travel up river from the ocean to make port in Saigon. More adventures to come!

Memorial


As many of you know I am studying to be a Mortician. As it is part of my career I was able to assist in a beautiful memorial service that we had this morning in honor of a professor's son who died recently. She also invited any and all from the ship board community to take part and honor those they wished too. People honored family members, friends and even pets.

The memorial was a sunrise memorial. Not too long after sunrise at 6:30 a.m. a chaplain, Milton Oris, began the ceremony. These are his notes:

Order of Service – Thursday, Oct. 21, 2009 – MV Explorer

In Memory of Thomas Skokan
And the Lives of Other Loved Ones Now Departed.

1. Welcome to the Service

Thank you all for coming to this very special time on our voyage – to celebrate the life of Thomas Skokan and many, many others whose memories all of us here wish to cherish and honor this morning. I also with to thank a number of people were very helpful in preparing the service today including Ann and Sam, the members of the choir, and to Captain Jeremy for changing the course of the ship in recognition of the service this morning.

2. The Call to Worship

We have come together from different places;
We are at different stages in our journey through life.
Our paths are varied;
We look at life in different ways.

And so we have turned aside from our accustomed ways,
and are gathered here to do honour and praise to the life and memory of so many special people in each of our lives.
We come in sorrow, confronting the fact that life ends.
This is the condition of our birth, that at the end of the road, near or far, stands always our death. The need that is upon us is to accept both the glory and the tragedy of life, its holiness and its limits.

Peace be to this house
And to all who enter herein
We gather in grief, in promise, in love, and in hope
In the midst of sorrow we give thanks for life.

3. A Homily

Today our hearts are feeling the tragedy, the shock, and the sorrow that the death of a loved one brings and in the case of Thomas, sudden and premature. No philosophy or religion ever taught can prevent this wholly natural reaction of the human heart. We grieve over the good times no longer possible; we mourn the stories that might have been told. But we cannot reverse the tide and all answers to the question "Why?" are futile.
So family and friends gather together for many reasons. Life has touched them with a deep grief and they need one another's company for their own comfort. It is right that we should grieve, for grief is part of the healing process. It is also testimony to the worth to us of those for whom we grieve and of our affection for them.
At such a time the various faiths which sustain us separately come together in a harmony which acts across all creeds and assures us of the permanence of goodness and the value of a serviceable life.
Today we shall read poetry, talk about death and life and give thanks that Thomas and all our loved ones lived. There will be a time in the service when anyone here who wishes to honour a memory of a loved one will do so,

4. Readings From Our Faiths

Look to this day:
For it is life, the very life of life,
In its brief course lie all the truths and realities of our existence:
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of beauty;
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision;
But today well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope,
Look well, therefore, to this day.
- attributed to Kalidasa, 3rd Century Hindu poet

And from Kahlil Gibran, a Muslim poet, in The Prophet
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Now an Opening Prayer from our Christian faith
Holy Spirit of Life, Source of All Creation, we give thanks this day for the gift of life of all our departed loved ones. We are blessed by the memory of those most dear to us, who have lived their days, and have gone from this earth.
Console us who mourn. Heal the wounds of our mortal loss. Show us courage that against the richness of abundant life, the forces of death shall not prevail. In death, in life, in memory, and in hope, we discover the sacred dimension of all our lives which binds us together as we grieve in love as one. Amen.


5. The Choir – Morning Has Broken



6. The Circle Of Life

To everything there is a season
And a time to every purpose under heaven,
A time to be born and a time to die,
A time to plant and a time to harvest,
A time to hurt and a time to heal,
A time to break and a time to build,
A time to weep and a time to laugh,
A time to mourn and a time to dance,
A time to cast away stones and a time to bring stones together,
A time to embrace and a time to be apart,
A time to get and a time too lose,
A time to keep silence and a time to speak,
A time to love and a time to hate,
A time of war and a time of peace,
We should rejoice in our works for that is our portion.

7. Thomas’ Favourite Poem by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.






8. The Eulogy

Thomas Andrew Skokan, 25, died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday, September 12, 2007 He was born in Wheatridge, just outside of Denver, Colorado on July 19, 1982, After attending local schools he went to Metropolitan State College where he obtained his Batchelor’s degree in Science, with a major in chemistry and a minor in math. At the time of his death he was working for Bonfils Blood Center in Denver in tissue matching for transplants and as an IT specialist. He loved drum and bass music and was often a disc jockey at Cosmos, a local club. He was also an excellent chef and loved good wine.

Thomas loved to travel and one of his first major adventures was to be a student on the Semester at Sea voyage of 2002. This was a life changing experience for him. After his return he hung a picture of the deck of the ship and a wall hanging of Shiva that he obtained in India in his bedroom. His last trip a few months before his death was to Prague with Catherine, his frequent travel companion, a favourite city for both of them.

His other loves included snowboarding and his cats Herbie and Alex, who loved him as well for the kind and gentle person he was. Tom was very close to his large extended family including his parents Cathie and Jack, his grandmother, two sisters and two brothers, and many cousins and one nephew. He was also engaged to his soul mate – Ashley.

In the few weeks before his death there were three major and joyous family gatherings that brought them all together - a gift that was very special and for which family were all very grateful.

Thomas’s ashes have remained in the Skokan home since his death waiting for this special time and place for him to be returned to nature. It represents many things – his love of travel, his Semester at Sea voyage, and his very deep love of nature. This is the right time and the right place for him to return to Mother Earth.

9. Placing of the Ashes and Flowers

After Catherine has placed Thomas’ ashes overboard, others will be called to the rail to drop their flowers of remembrance. The names of those taking part in the ceremony, and the names of those they are honouring will be read out.
Dropping of flowers by Milton for all the others whose names are unspoken yet who live in our hearts will complete this part of the service.

10. The Choir – Take Me In



11. A Message to Us All

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep,
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

12. In Loving Memory of Thomas and all the others we honour.

Don’t grieve for me for now I’m free.
I’m following the path God laid for me,
I took his hand when I heard him call,
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, or play,
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
I found that peace at the close of the day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy,
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Oh yes, those things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life’s been full, I savoured much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief,
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, he set me free.

13. Closing Comments – I would now ask you all to join hands . . .
To all of you who shared this special and sacred time with Cathie – thank you for being here – and for celebrating the joys and sorrows of your loved ones as well.

Our service is now over – go forth with thanks and gratitude for all we have and for the blessings of this day. Blessed be all of you.

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As the names of all those who honored someone's death were read they threw flowers into the ocean which were taken under immediately by the path our the ship. As they did this, the ship sailed in circle a few times. We were in the middle of the Indiana ocean honoring those we love and remembering them as the sun rose over the calm ocean to begin the day.

Sea Olympics!


Yesterday was a great day. We woke up early to have breakfast and get ready for Sea Olympics. The first thing we noticed when we got to the Garden Lounge to eat was the the stillness of the water. It was erie how calm it was, there was hardly any ripples. We all figured that to be this calm and serene for the whole day there has to be something bad coming like a storm, but sure enough it never came. The water is still glassy and it's the next day. After breakfast, my sea had to collaborate.

The Sea Olympics consisted of 9 groups of people broken into groups named for a sea that we have come or will come close to on our journey. The groups were broken off by halls except or one group that consisted of the Life Long Learners (WOWs- waves of wisdom) and the staff and there families. They named this the "Nearly" Dead Sea. My sea w is one of the biggest groups on the ship because I live in one of the biggest an most used hallways. Our sea is call the Andaman sea which is located off the coast of Myanmar and Thailand. We will be passing through it after India on our way to Vietnam. The size of our group gave us the upper hand and the whole day we were the ones to beat.

The festivities started off in the union. Every sea paraded through the ship chanting and getting pumped for the competition. When we got there we got the rules and basis of the day described to us and then each sea was announced one at a time. This gave each sea a chance to present their torch (which we made and which were judged on for a points which were added to our overall score for the day). It also gave the chance for each sea to show the others what we were all about by sining our sea songs which we put together and were also judged. Our song won the competition and I think it was because it was so epic.

Our song began much like the song from Remember The Titans, "Everywhere we go! People want to know!..." In the end we added our own personal touch to the lyrics pretty much saying that we were going to triumph so beware. It also had some fun moves at the end. We did the roller coaster gig where one person is in front with their hands in the air and screaming. They move to one side as if the roller coaster is changing direction and the whole crowd does the same thing because we are following him. We are all screaming too so it has a good affect. He moves to every side and the very last time the leader has his hands forward and bends down and begins to scream very quietly. As he raises is hands we follow him slowly getting higher and higher and higher, louder and louder until we can't go any further and every one scream, "Andaman!!!" It was a good way to get the spirit going for the day. Like many of the games for the day we rocked this one and got first place.

There were many games and they were all judged. All the games had a first, second, third and fourth place except for the chin-up competition. In the chin-up competition the number of chin-ups achieved were the points you received. For all the other games first place got twenty points, second place got fifteen points, third place got ten points and fourth place got five points. The games included Olympic-esque activities- popcorn eating contest, synchronized swimming, chin-ups, spelling bee, dodge ball, trivia, simon says... (renamed Dean Byron Says... after our dean of students), and many other interesting twists to the olympics.

The day was beautiful throughout. The sun was shining, the temperature was high, the moisture was low, the sky was clear except for punctuating clouds, and everyone was in the spirit of the day. The games ended in time to have a BBQ and we all watched the sun set. I can't count how many times I heard positive comments on the sunset. Most people agreed that they have never seen one so beautiful. I got it on film and took pictures but it hardly justifies what we saw. It was a great day off from classes and to top it off the Andaman Sea got first place!!!! The reward is that our sea gets to be the first off the ship in San Diego. Really, the reward became a double-edged sword because after a day like that with all the people here I don't know that I will be so anxious to leave them when we get to San Diego.

Mauritius is Delicious, Fictious and Malicious


Half way through our journey around the world, five countries down and five countries to go. After visiting Cadiz, Casablanca, Accra, and Cape Town while simultaneously completing half of a semester of classes, Port Louis was a nice break from the chaos. We are constantly moving and doing new things. We are always meeting new people and adjusting to new places. We always come back to the normal stresses of class work and living very closely with one another. The time was right for a vacation and that was Port Louis, Mauritius.

While we were in South Africa many people asked us why we were there, like in all the other countries before it, and we told them the whole shpeel. The next question is always where are you gong next and of course in South Africa our next destination was Mauritius. Almost everyone responded by saying, "oh, vacation island," which was news to us. None of us had any idea what to expect from it. Most of us hadn't even heard of it before we got our itinerary, so we did what any normal person would do and we Google that stuff. Mostly we found tropical looking pictures and a few things about the country, like they speak French, English, and Creole. Aside from the few things we found on Google, Mauritius was fictious as far as we were concerned, that is until we got there.

This little island (you could drive to the other end in an hour and that's with traffic) was practically made for tourists. It seemed like the most popular thing to do here was lay on the beach, and that's just what I did. You could go hiking on the dormant volcano that created the island but we only had one full day to enjoy the beach and you could see the volcano any where you went on the island. Plus, this was the vacation we needed. A few other highlights of the island were Pomplamousse, one of the most famous botanical gardens in the world, and Saga Dancing, a traditional dance done by the Mauritians.

Aside from being on the beach the whole time I did visit a Non-Profit organization for children. This particular one is the SOS Children's Village in Beau Bassin. We basically went to hang out with the kids and see what their live were like. There were roughly 19 houses with seven to nine kids in each house. All of them had two care takers, a "mother" and an "auntie." The mother was the head of the house and the auntie helped the mother. Also, because there are two caregivers, one could watch after the kids while the other went home to visit their own families. These are women who don't have children of there own but do have extended family who they try to visit when they can. These women also do all of this for free. They are completely volunteer though I am sure that the housing, food, and other amenities are included.

The children, by the time they get acclimated to the village, have a "normal" life. They sleep in beds in house, go to school, come home and play for a little while before they have to do their homework, then, eat dinner and go to bed. Even though these kids are just "normal" they are the happiest bunch of kids I have ever seen. We got there right before most of them were getting home from school so we were able to learn about the village and ask their families a few questions. Then, the kids got home from school and the energy of the place shot through the roof, in fact, we stayed outside. They were running all directions, playing football (soccer), and imagining all sorts of things to do. Some of the students that I came with also brought stickers. Many of us were told that the kids love getting stickers. You knew when someone pulled stickers out because all the kids would swarm around trying to get there own and before long you saw kids pushing out of the swarm with their faces covered in all sorts of shapes.

The children also loved to help out. When we got there some of them were maintaining a garden. Every house had their own garden that was beautiful. They were well organized, watered, and not one weed existed any any of them. I talked to one of the mothers for a while and she said that they don't usually eat a whole lot of it but they are able to sell it to friends so that they can have a little bit of money for the family. The money could go towards games, clothes or anything else the kids would need at the time. We also saw some kids helping paint the trim of the houses. A few men had come to do the maintenance but sure enough the kids wanted to help. They picked up brushes and paint and joined the painting team. They all worked very hard in school and at home and deserved everything they had and much more.

I wished we could have stayed longer but now we are off again, back on the ocean blue. We are now traveling across the Indian ocean to Chennai (Madras), India. We will be there in four days and I am very excited. I'm starting to think that India is what I need. It's a very spiritual place and every bit of information I hear about it makes me more and more excited to get there. Talk to you soon...

Sam