Happy Thanksgiving! :)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to share how incredibly thankful I am for the gift of life. I know it sounds way too cheesy and overrated, but that's okay. I'm allowed to be cheesy on Thanksgiving Day :)

I am thankful for my wonderful family, my awesome friends, and this amazing semester I am having. I am living my "once in a lifetime", and I couldn't be happier. I am thankful for the love of God, and the grace and mercy He shows me everyday. It still stumps me sometimes trying to grasp just how great His love is for me.

And finally, thank YOU, dear readers, for taking time out of your day to check out this blog :) Hopefully you're not getting too bored with what I write!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Lots of love from the Atlantic Ocean,
Laura

MOROCCO: Casablanca & Marrakech

Backtrack: Morocco

03 October 2013

Thursday

Hello, Casablanca! We arrived in Morocco at around 7 this morning and could hardly believe we have reached a new continent. When I think of Africa, I automatically picture the safari, wild animals, and the desert. And yet the tall buildings that surrounded the ship port we were in destroyed this preconceived image of Africa I'm sure a lot of us had and reminded us that there's SO much more to a place than what you stereotype it to be.

Prior to our arrival in Morocco, we were briefed on the cultural and logistical aspects of the country. We were told early on that because of the religion they follow, Morocco is a very conservative place where shorts and sleeveless tops are not appreciated on women. Shoulders and knees must be covered at all times, and in some parts of the country, a hijab (a head wrap) is required. 

I went on a city tour of Casablanca today and had to dress appropriately. That meant that despite the hot and humid weather outside, I had to cover myself up and fight through the heat! Thankfully, the dress I wore was breezy (but long, of course) but I could have lived without the sweater I had to put on. 

We visited the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world, where people gather everyday to pray five times throughout the day. The architecture was really pretty, and the inside was huge! The beauty of the mosque really reflected how much the Moroccans put value in their religion.

The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

A stroll through the Habous Quarter was also part of our tour. The Habous Quarter was a medina, or a market place, where sellers had their products displayed out in the open along the streets. These are stuff that do not necessarily have a set price--the value depends on who the customer is. This is where tourists like us had to learn the game of bargaining, lest we get overcharged. It's exactly like trying to haggle in the tiangges back in the Philippines! 

The Royal Palace was located near this medina, but I'm not actually sure if the important royal people of Morocco reside in said palace. We went inside and only got to tour some of the outdoor areas of the palace which were lined with walls that had such gorgeous and intricate carving designs! 

Entering the Royal Palace

Royal Palace outdoor garden gates

Sailing to Salvador

I know I said my next posts would be on my adventures in Africa, buuut.. I haven't quite gotten around to that yet. I've been slacking. GUILTY.

Right now I'm in another cafe (surprise, surprise) with two of my friends in Salvador, Brazil! We left Rio de Janeiro 4 days ago, and was in transit at sea for 2 days on the way here. A lot of students and faculty members did overland from Rio to Salvador, so there were only about 250 out of the 700+ people on the ship during our transit, which was so nice! It was like sailing on a private yacht!

The transit was so much fun because my whole group of friends, except for Jess, stayed on the ship for the sail to Salvador, too. And since it was just a transit between two cities in one country, we didn't have classes those whole two days on the ship! We played sardines, card games, took photos, did girl's night, and basically took advantage of having the MV Explorer to ourselves. 

Here are some photos from our two free days at sea :)

Girls Night at Cabin 3053: Playing M.A.S.H.  (P.S. I ended up "marrying" my Ship Crush hihihi)

Using the ship's elevator bar as my ballet barre

BAHAMAS

About midway into the semester, talks of the possible docking of the MV Explorer in the Bahamas circulated the SAS rumor mill. There were students who were dead set in believing that we will be stopping by the Bahamas once we sail out of Cuba and head towards Florida.

"It doesn't take 4 days to get to Florida from Cuba! There has to be a stop over in the Bahamas."

They said.

Then there were people who insisted that a surprise stopover in the Bahamas was SAS's way of going all out to celebrate this 50th anniversary voyage. We are very special that way, after all. We feel like we deserve such a surprise.

Then during ship bridge tours, where students get to see the inside of the Captain's workplace (and get to sit in his chair and wear his Captain hat), members of the shipboard community caught sight of a Bahamian flag carefully nestled in between the other flags of the countries on our voyage itinerary. (It is maritime law to carry the flags of the countries your ship will be docking in)

"Now why would there be a flag of the Bahamas on board?"

They wondered.

But, there were also those who chose not to get their hopes up. They either refused to believe any part of the rumor, or they simply believed that even though we might be stopping over at the Bahamas, it would only be for technical reasons such as bunkering, and that we won't actually be allowed to get off.

Finally, two nights ago during logistical pre-port, our Executive Dean and Academic Dean silenced the rumors once and for all.

"Yes, we are getting off in the Bahamas!!"

They happily announced.

I will never forget the amount of cheers and the deafening sound of thunderous applause that followed. We were all so excited not just because we get to go to another country (our 16th one!!!), but mostly because by the time we get to Bahamas, we would be done with all things school related on the ship! Meaning we can bask under the sweet Bahamian sun, spending our last few days together worry-free. It would be like spring break!! Perfect way to cap off the voyage.

So yes, ladies and gentlemen: WE ARE GOING TO THE BAHAMAS!! Wuhoo! I guess some rumors turn out to be the truth! YAY SAS FALL VOYAGE 2013!! :) YEAH BAHAMAS SEE YOU SOON

Rio, Realization, Etc.

Hello from Rio de Janeiro! It's our second day in Brazil, and I've been having an awesome time so far, like always! Honestly though, when am I not having an awesome time?! Forrealz. It was just earlier today when I realized that I haven't had a bad day this semester, on or off the ship. I've had stressful days where I'm up to my elbows trying to balance schoolwork and travel, but I can't even really consider those bad days because somehow the adrenaline kept me going! It was an incredible realization for sure. But then again, that also scared me because in less than a month, this semester would be over! *cue parade of mixed feelings*

ANYWAY-- Just a heads up: I'll be doing more "backtrack" posts to try and get you guys caught up! My next blog entries will be about Morocco, Ghana, and South Africa. And possibly some random ones about ship life in between!

Happy reading!

The Long Stretch

So it's day 12 out of 13 on our Atlantic crossing to South America! I can't believe we're arriving in Argentina tomorrow morning! I can't wait to be back on land again!! Upon leaving South Africa, I was dreading this 2-week sail thinking it would be such a drag just being stuck at sea. But to my delight, it actually turned out to be a super fun stretch! 

Although classes have kept me busy (papers here, presentations there) ship activities have kept me and the entire shipboard community entertained, starting with the tri-annual Sea Olympics, followed by the SAS Talent Show!

SEA OLYMPICS

This is one of the most exciting and most anticipated events in an SAS voyage! Students, faculty, and lifelong learners are divided into different teams, or "seas", depending on where you live on the ship--which deck, and which side (port or starboard). A total of 10 seas now compete for the Olympic Gold. And what is the Olympic Gold, you ask? The Olympic Gold grants the victorious winners the choice on whether to disembark first or last once we get to Florida at the end of our voyage!

I've always bled blue when it came to school/team colors, but this time, I had to go GREEN! Gasp!! La Salle?! I had to. Kelly Green was my team's color, and our sea was called the Bering Sea! Our sea rivals were: Caribbean, Baltic, Red, Aegean, Adriatic, Mediterranean, Yellow, Dead (lol), and Diploma (get it? Diploma Sea. Har har. But that really was the faculty's sea name haha)

Bering Sea's lip sync routine! SAS Olympics Fall 2013

There were lots of Olympic events held like hula hoop, synchronized swimming, dodgeball, spoons, scrabble, volleyball, lip sync, and more! I participated in hula hoop and lip sync. Our sea didn't do so hot in the hula hoop game, but we definitely had fun with our lip sync routine! The lip sync event was basically coming up with a dance routine while lip syncing to the song(s). So it's pretty much all about dancing and singing without having to actually sing, which is PERFECTION for me since God and His angels know I can't sing to save my life. Maybe once I am able to connect to wifi again, I can upload a video of our debut! Lol

Backtrack: Porto and Espana

So I was mistaken when I thought that I could get you guys caught up with my adventures during this long stretch at sea, but there was no escaping schoolwork and ship activities! Things have been great but super busy on my end, so I didn't have much time to just sit and blog about the ports I've yet to share.

However, I just got done writing a paper for my Women's Health class, so guess what?? I actually have time to blog right now wuhoo!!

Let's see.. where did I leave off least time? Portugal? Spain? Wow those countries seem like ages ago!!! Hopefully I can still remember what I did haha!

Since I've shared some stuff on Portugal on my previous posts, I guess I can wrap it up by sharing this link that directs you to the official Semester at Sea blog: 

http://www.semesteratsea.org/2013/10/08/capturing-the-essence-of-lisbon-through-art/

It's a post on my field lab for my Mixed Media Visual Journal class, where we got to see much of the art in Lisbon. You'll get to see one of my sketches in one of the photos featured :)

And finally, to cap off my European journey, let me share some of the things I did during our short stay in our last European stop: Spain!

SHERRY WINERY FIELD LAB

Since I've been bitten by the lazy blog bug, I will just copy paste the complete description (as written on our syllabus lol) of the field lab we did for my Global Business Ethics class while we were in Spain hehe:

"Spain is the third-largest wine-producing country in the world, just behind Italy and France and the wines are gaining an increasing market share in many countries around the globe. We will visit a winery that specializes in sherry and brandy production. Our goal is to learn first-hand about wine production and the associated ethical, environmental and sustainability issues facing the industry. After touring the facilities, we will meet with one or more managers to discuss their perspectives regarding the management of wine and sherry production with particular emphasis on ethical, environmental and social responsibility issues that face their firm.

Praying for the Philippines

Last night, I got an email from my sister Karla updating me with what's happening in the Philippines. I was devastated when I read that an extremely deadly storm wiped out Leyte, and that the death toll continues to rise. :(

During noon announcements on the ship earlier today, the news of the horrible typhoon was also brought up as the Academic Dean informed the community about it. Since most of the crew workers here on the MV Explorer are Filipinos, this sad news from home is a big deal to many of us on board.

Hearing news like that when you're away from home is awful. It hits me harder than if I were back in the Philippines, I feel like. I guess it's that feeling of helplessness and knowing that I'm so far away and can't really do much about it but pray, especially since I'm in the middle of the ocean right now and literally have nowhere else to go.

It just breaks my heart finding out that my home country has been struck with yet another natural disaster. Sigh. I really hope the families of the crew workers here are all safe and sound. The crew here has become like my Filipino extended family, and I'd hate to think that they might have loved ones back in Leyte who were affected by this typhoon :(

Thoughts, prayers, and love go out to my fellow Filipinos back in the Philippines.

SAS Presents: Desmond Tutu

On our last day in South Africa, we had the honor of having Desmond Tutu come aboard the MV Explorer. Desmond Tutu, the first South African Archbishop of Cape Town, is actually a Semester at Sea alum! Waddup, Archbishop?! He sailed with SAS some voyages ago, so it was definitely a pleasure welcoming him back on board, even for just a few hours.

He is such an adorable old man! His speech was the perfect mix of inspirational and funny. With every bit of wisdom he shared, he injected a bit of humor in it as well which had the whole shipboard community engaged, closely following his every word.

It was incredible being in the presence of such an esteemed man, one who has garnered so many prestigious awards (i.e. Nobel Peace Prize, Gandhi Peace Prize, and Presidential Medal of Freedom to name a few) throughout the years. 

"None of you are here in this world by mistake. We all have a purpose. None of you are an accident. Some of you may look like accidents, but you're not." (Lol) - Desmond Tutu

Amazing Grace

As we begin a new month (is it really November already?!) I thought it was just right to start it off with a Bible devotion my friend shared with a couple of us tonight, from a book called "Jesus Calling":

"Do not be discouraged by the difficulty of keeping your focus on Me. I know that your heart's desire is to be aware of My Presence continually. This is a lofty goal; you aim toward it but never fully achieve it in this life. Don't let feelings of failure weigh you down. Instead, try to see yourself as I see you. First of all, I am delighted by your deep desire to walk closely with Me through your life. I am pleased each time you initiate communication with Me. In addition, I notice the progress you have made since you first resolved to live in My Presence.

When you realize that your mind has wandered away from Me, don't be alarmed or surprised. You live in a world that has been rigged to distract you. Each time you plow your way through the massive distractions to communicate with Me, you achieve a victory. Rejoice in these tiny triumphs, and they will increasingly light up your days." 

As I continue to go from port to port, city to city, country to country, and from continent to continent, I sometimes find myself drowning in the hustle and bustle of it all. This constant travel is an adventure, for sure, but I will be the first one to admit that finding some "me time" that I can share with God is very challenging when you live in an environment that is always up and about. 

I do not want to lose sight of one my biggest goals on this voyage: to further grow spiritually as I deepen my faith while exploring and getting to witness the beauty of God's creation in different places. My faith is a very important aspect in my life. More than halfway into this semester, I am realizing I need to do better in staying close to God and striving to be the best Christian He wants me to be, while on SAS, and even as I disembark on December and live my life outside the ship. 

Thankfully, my God is a faithful and loving Father that even when I am distracted by the world, He makes sure I can still come back to His loving arms, and return my focus on Him. 

What an amazing God I serve! :)