Social Media Starvation

I've been off social media for almost a week now. In Laura's world, a week without having gone on any social media sites is challenging, with the exception of Facebook where I used up 5 precious minutes of my allotted 120 minutes of internet usage to quickly check my page (I couldn't help it).

I would encounter a funny moment and would almost automatically phrase the experience in 140 characters to put on Twitter, or I would see something so picturesque that I'm already thinking of a caption for it when I share it on Instagram. And so far, I've already taken at least 300 photos, all of which I am itching to upload on Facebook. But then I realize I CAN'T. The struggle is real.

It's taking a while, but I'm letting myself be completely okay with this lack of social media interaction. As I've said in one of my previous posts, this might actually be a refreshing experience. It allows me to fully immerse myself in this adventure without any outside distraction, and forces me to truly interact with my fellow SAS-ers personally, and not just through virtual connection.

Not having constant access to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook also makes me value the art of emailing more. The excitement I used to get from new Facebook notifications, Twitter mentions, and Instagram likes is now the thrill I get upon seeing new messages on my SAS email inbox. Since it literally is my only source of communication with my family and friends, any email I get from them is like gold! I absolutely love reading emails first thing in the morning! I also enjoy writing them, especially when I have a bunch of stories to tell. It's so different trying to share your experience with only your words, than have Facebook photos do the talking.

It feels a lot personal, too, whenever I would read emails from my close friends and learn what they've been up to from the stories they would tell in a long email update. It makes me appreciate the little things so much more, like even just the fact that they took time out of their day to write to me. Aside from my family, it's mostly my Westmo friends whom I've heard from, so if you're my Manila friend, get your act together and email me!!! Lol just kidding..But not really.

I'm hoping to get wifi in a cafe once we get to Germany, though. But until then...sayonara social media!

Privet!

That's 'hello' in Russian! After five days of sailing, the MV Explorer finally docked on it first port of call: Russia!! Or to be more accurate, Российская Федерация (Russian Federation)! 

Jessica and I woke up around 7 this morning and immediately saw how close we were to the land outside our window. After five days of seeing just the ocean in all its glory, the sight of land so nearby was exciting! We headed up to breakfast around 8 where a lot of the other students were already positioned outside the deck, wrapped in sweaters to combat the chilly Russian breeze, and armed with their cameras to capture our first entry into the Russian port. 

Our view of the city from the ship deck! Port of St. Petersburg, Russia 

 

Sadly, though, I won't be able to actually get off the ship and visit St. Petersburg!! :( I didn't have enough time to obtain a Russian visa when I was back home in Manila because I prioritized the other visas I absolutely needed in order to even sail, as recommended by SAS. With Russia, I can sail even without a visa, but I would just have to detained on board. See below:

FALL 2013 VOYAGE VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR PHILIPPINE PASSPORT HOLDERS

Absolutely Required to Sail:

UK, Schengen (European Union States), Ireland, South Africa, Argentina, USA

Required (but can sail without and be detained on board):

Russia

Required (but can be obtained upon arrival in country):

Ghana

Not Required:

Morocco, Brazil

So although I am very sad that I'm technically already in Russia but can't actually go out and explore the country (so near yet so far!!), I'm still thankful that I was able to get the six absolutely required visas. Otherwise, I won't even be able to sail! Had I tried to apply for a Russian visa, I wouldn't have had time to complete the six more important ones, which would have led me to being denied boarding to sail. I would rather miss out on Russia, than miss out on the whole SAS journey! I try not to be too sad because I've got all these other countries to go to, and such exciting activities lined up for each of them! That is optimism for you. 

And since we don't have classes while in port, I have  the next 3 days to catch up on sleep, get ahead with some schoolwork (yes, I've already got homework), and create art pieces for my photography and art classes. I'm taking this opportunity to sort of just wind myself down after almost a week of adjusting to the jive of things which was pretty exciting but tiring at the same time. 

After this weekend, we head off to Germany! I am now doubly excited for that!

I've Got Mail

If you find it in your heart to send me mail (not email)..guess what?? You absolutely can!! So do it. Haha, just kidding. (But not really)

Anyway, below are instructions for sending mail to the ship. You can refer to my previous post (The Great Itinerary) to take note of where I will be at which dates so you know which port to send mail to!

P.S. My birthday is on the 12th of September. Just throwin' that out there ;)

Sending Mail to the Ship

Important Reminder: Mail to those aboard the ship should be addressed as follows:

MV Explorer - Fall 2013 Voyage
ATTN: Laura Angeline Pastores
Port Agent Address (from list below)

Mail

Please note that mail service is unreliable in many of the countries we visit. ISE does not assume liability for lost, damaged, or undeliverable items or the costs associated with the return or forwarding of items.

If you decide to send letters, postcards, or packages, we recommend using a courier that will provide a guaranteed delivery date and tracking number. Please do not send any mail to the ISE headquarters in Charlottesville, Va. or to the University of Virginia for forwarding.

Packages

Due to the cost of handling and receiving packages in each port of call, the recipient's shipboard account will be charged a fee of $10, $25, or $50 depending on the size of the package. For each package received, the recipient's shipboard account will be charged accordingly. The fee is inclusive of imposed duties, local taxes, and any other cost associated with receiving the package. Should the sum of fees and taxes exceed $50.00, then the actual amount incurred will be charged. Fees will be assessed according to the following scale:

• $10 fee – Small flat parcels like heavy duty envelopes
• $25 fee – Medium parcels up to 7 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ x 14 1/2″
• $50 fee – Parcels larger than 7 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ x 14 1/2″

We do not recommend that you send any of the following items: food (snacks, chocolates, candies, etc.), electronics, medication, credit cards, currency, or valuable items.

Mailing Addresses

PORT	ADDRESS OF PORT AGENT	SUGGESTED AIRMAIL DATE
Saint Petersburg, Russia Phone: 7 812 635 8282 Fax: 7 812 635 8280	INFLOT WORLD WIDE 1 Gapsalskaya Str. - 6th Floor 198035 ST PETERSBURG RUSSIA	08/16/2013
Hamburg, Germany Phone: 49 40 325 796 0 Fax: 49 40 325 796 25	SARTORI & BERGER Mattentwiete 6 20457 HAMBURG GERMANY	08/21/2013
Antwerp, Belgium Phone: 32 3 546 44 18 (24/24) Fax: 32 3 401 71 04	ACB AGENCIES BVBA Handboogstraat 20 2030 ANTWERPEN BELGIUM	08/20/2013
Le Havre, France Phone: 33 2 3519 7340 Fax: 33 2 3519 7398	EURO DOCKS SERVICES 164 rue Victor Hugo 76600 LE HAVRE FRANCE	08/30/2013
Dublin, Ireland Phone: 353 1 819 2600 Fax: 353 1 855 1566	BURKE SHIPPING GROUP Ltd Berth 32, Ocean Pier Alexandra Road DUBLIN 1 IRELAND	09/04/2013
Lisbon, Portugal Phone: 351 213 928 340 Fax: 351 213 958 753	SOCIEDADE CCIAL COTANDRE Av. 24 de Juhlo, 126-3° 1350-346 LISBON PORTUGAL	09/11/2013
Cadiz, Spain Phone: 34 956 276 212 Fax: 34 956 276 766	PEREZ Y CIA SL C/ Ecuador 2 11007 CADIZ SPAIN	09/13/2013
Casablanca, Morocco Phone: 212 522 48 47 30 Fax: 212 522 48 47 93	LASRY MAROC  30 Avenue des FAR 20000 CASABLANCA MOROCCO	09/19/2013
Takoradi, Ghana Phone: 233 31 202 2000 Fax: 233 31 202 3167	HULL BLYTH Main Harbor Area / Harbour Road POBox 210 TAKORADI GHANA	09/27/2013
Tema (Accra), Ghana Phone: 233 22 300 894 Fax: 233 22 202 989	HULL BLYTH  Seatec House / PO Box CO 214 Akosombo Road TEMA GHANA	09/27/2013
Cape Town, South Africa Phone: 27 21 419 8660 Fax: 27 21 413 0290	JOHN T. RENNIES & SONS 19th Floor, 1 Thibault Square POBox 702 CAPE TOWN, 8001 SOUTH AFRICA	10/09/2013
Buenos Aires, Argentina Phone: 54 11 4587 4515 Fax: 54 11 4587 4522	TAMIC S.A. Larrea 54 Boulogne - Pdo de San Isidro BUENOS AIRES, B1609EBB ARGENTINA	10/24/2013
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Phone: 55 21 3849 5858 Fax: 55 21 3849 5830	OCEANUS AGENCIA MARITIMA Rua Sao Bento 8 / 12th Floor RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ ZIP 20090-010 BRAZIL	11/01/2013
Salvador, Brazil Phone: 55 71 3022 0239	OCEANUS AGENCIA MARITIMA Av da França 164  SALVADOR -BA, ZIP 40010-000 BRAZIL	11/13/2013
Havana, Cuba Phone: 537 866 4101 Fax: 537 866 4133		TBA

On another note, if you would like me to send you a postcard from any of the places I'll be going to, email me your address and I'll do my best to mail you a lovely postcard with a sweet dedication on it! Hashtag aww.

Bloggin' By The Baltic!

Date: 26 August 2013

Place: Cabin 3053

Ship Location (as of the moment): Baltic Sea, headed to Russia

Greetings from the MV Explorer!

Yay, my email-to-blog system works!! Are you ready for a long read? You better, because here it comes! Oh my, where to start?! I've only been on the ship for three days, and yet there is already SO much to tell! 

·      The Ship – My new home for the next 112 days! The MV Explorer is actually a lot nicer than what I had imagined. Of course, I wasn't expecting it to be as grand as the Royal Caribbean cruise ships, but it's definitely up there! While it is smaller than the holiday cruise ships, the interior is just as fancy. It's like a hotel, a university, and a dorm all rolled into one big ship. And in many (if not all) ways, that's exactly what the MV Explorer is!

The Room/Roommate – Or the "cabin/cabin mate", as the SAS officials insist we call it. My cabin is on the outside third deck, meaning I get to have a window, hurray! Personally, I think the cabin size is just right for two people living on a ship for almost four months. It is plenty cozy and comfy, and has enough storage space for me and Jessica, my cabin mate from California! She is the bomb dot com slash awesome. We are basically like the same person, it's crazy. I am so, so, SO thankful we got paired to be roommates, err, cabin mates, because we get along really well. What I'm most grateful for (and this is such an answered prayer) is the fact that it almost seemed as if Jessica and I completely skipped the awkward stage most roommates have (or any two people in general) when they first meet each other! The moment I walked into our cabin (she got there first), we just clicked right away. It was awesome. We're liked attached to each other's hips now, except for today when we had to go separate ways because we had different classes. :( *sniff*

 

·      The Shipboard Life – Life on the MV Explorer is pretty chill. Very casual and laidback. The only dress code rule is to always wear footwear. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served everyday at designated times. There are two dining rooms, a library (the biggest one on any cruise ship! Holla), a computer lab, a gym, a spa place, an outside basketball court (surrounded by nets so the ball won't go flying out into the sea), a snack shack, a wellness center, a counseling center, nine classrooms, and a big student union room. All of these places are staffed by super friendly workers who are mostly Filipinos! It's so funny how they would always be so surprised when I greet them in Tagalog. I would say, "Hi Kuya/Ate!" or "Salamat po!" and they would take a step back and go, "Uy! Pilipino!" Haha! I would then converse with them some more, giving myself a taste of home again. And even just for that, I am so thankful!

 

·      The SAS Class System – We had our first day of class today! As a rule, each student can only take up to 12 credits, so I am only taking four classes this semester: Photography, Mixed Media Visual Journal, Women's Health in Developing Countries, and Global Business Ethics. This is how the SAS class system works: There are no weekends. Every time we are not in port, we have class. That means that every time we are at sea, sailing from one country to the next, that's when classes are held. While at port, there are no classes, so that kinda serves like our weekends, only a thousand times better because it will be spent in different countries every time!! Classes are categorized under either A day or B day. I have three of my classes on A day, and only one on B day. Tomorrow is B day, and I get to sleep in because my only class isn't until 2pm. Hurray!

 

·      The Field Labs/Field Programs – Field labs are the mandatory excursions, or field trips, tied up with each of our classes. For every class we have, there is a required field lab in a certain country on our voyage itinerary. For example, my field lab for Photography is in France, where we would be exploring the city of Le Havre while completing a task assigned to us in relation to our photography class. We are supposed to communicate what the city represents through a portfolio of our photos. For Women's Health in Developing Countries, our field lab will be in Accra, Ghana, where we will be interacting with some locals and studying the main issues women face in the country such as female genital cutting. Field programs, on the other hand, are the optional trips offered by SAS or that are planned independently.

 

·      The Internet – Ah, the Internet. How I miss it so. Although the ship is equipped with wireless internet service, it is very limited and extremely expensive. Each student is allotted only 120 minutes of internet for the whole semester. Yup, two freakin' hours for almost four months! However, we are granted access to our SAS email without having to use our minutes, which is good enough. I guess it would be sort of a refreshing experience to be off Facebook/Twitter/Instagram for a while. But today I got an email from Facebook saying I have pending notifications and that I might have missed some popular news event from my friends recently. Even Facebook misses me! Haha. It was so tempting to click on that link that says, "See all notifications". That was such a tease.

 

Phew. I think that's it for now! I really tried my best to keep it short and un-boring, but I did want to share more specific details about the whole SAS program and how it is now that I'm actually here living it! I am so incredibly thankful for this opportunity.

 

Papa and Mama, if you are reading this, I just want to thank you both again SO MUCH for letting me go on this experience of a lifetime! Also, thank you, Westminster!! I'm just so happy to be here right now. I do miss home, I do miss Westmo, but I know that what I will get out of this adventure will far outweigh any sadness that I might feel caused by homesickness. Thankfully, homesickness hasn't really hit that bad yet!

 

Good night! :)

 

P.S. Since I'm writing this blog via email and not on my actual blog site, I still have to find out if we can post photos to go with it. I'm afraid it'll cost me a lot of data transfer because it's sent through email, and I only have a limited amount of data I can download/upload! So as of now, no pictures yet. :(

P.P.S. I really am having social media withdrawals, so I would love to hear from you guys, too! Send me an email at laura.pastores.fa13@semesteratsea.org! I don't have access to my other emails' contact list, so I only know very few email addresses. Shoot me an email, even if it's literally just a "hello", just so I can save your email address on file! Now na.

Testing!

Hi everyone! If you can see this entry posted on my blog, please let me know by dropping me a message and emailing me the subject title: "It works!!" at laura.pastores.fa13@semesteratsea.org! :) I want to see if using my SAS email to post blog entries work!

Love from the MV Explorer,
Laura

London, Baby!

I've always wanted to go to England, ever since my two older sisters did a summer study exchange program there ten years ago! I've always thought London was such a beautiful place, judging by the many amazing photographs of the city's popular attractions printed on millions of posters, books, brochures--you name it, Big Ben's in it! Now that I'm finally here, I can't help but just be sooo thankful and excited!! 

Given that I basically only had half a day to explore London earlier today, the challenge was to see as much of the city as I can with the energy I have left coming straight from a 24+ hour travel from the Philippines. If you know me well, you know I love my sleep. It took major effort not take a nap as soon as I reached my hotel room. It was too dangerous. I knew if I would give in, I'd be sleeping 'til the next decade. And that's not cool, because then I'd miss the whole four months at sea haha.

Just a side note: One of of my friends from Westmo, Abylay, is also going on this same voyage, yay! I am so relieved and so happy he is going on this trip, too! It makes a world of a difference when you have someone you know go through this whole new experience away from both our comfort zones. We'll be facing a whole new crowd, a drastically whole new environment, and basically a whole new semester! It's so much easier to approach people when you have a friend literally by your side, right next to you. It's not so dyahe to just come up to strangers and introduce yourself!

So anyway, a lot of other SAS voyagers started checking in to the hotel and getting themselves settled. As soon as Abylay was able to check in a room with his new friend Cody, we knew we couldn't waste any more time just hanging around the hotel. It was time to see London! A lot of the other people were still waiting on rooms to be available, so Abylay and I just went ahead and decided on our own plans. Well, we didn't have any. Haha!

We asked the hotel concierge if they had any suggestions on what good tours we could do in a day. He offered us a tour package from the hotel that costs 150 GBP which can be split up between two people, or among three or four. A driver would be hired to drive us around the main tourist attractions, and then he would just bring us back to the hotel after 4 hours. I thought it was a good deal, but only because I didn't want to do more research on tours and stuff like that! Haha. Gorabels lang ako. But then after we thought about it, we decided to just wing it and explore on our own! Maka Dora eh.

The Great Itinerary

Semester at Sea

Fall 2013 Voyage

London, England - Aug 23-24

St. Petersburg, Russia - Aug 29-Sept 1

Hamburg, Germany - Sept 5-8

Antwerp, Belgium - Sept 12-14

Le Havre, France - Sept 15-16

Dublin, Ireland - Sept 20-23

Lisbon, Portugal - Sept 27-28

Cadiz, Spain - Sept 30-Oct 1

Casablanca, Morocco - Oct 3-6

Takoradi, Ghana - Oct 15-16

Accra, Ghana - Oct 17-18

Cape Town, South Africa - Oct 26-30

Buenos Aires, Argentina - Nov 12-16

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Nov 20-22

Salvador, Brazil - Nov 25-27

Havana, Cuba - Dec 9-11

Florida, United States - Dec 16

With this epic itinerary, who wouldn't be excited?! AAAHHHHH! 

❤✈

Here We Go!

With an hour and a half to spare, the last of my 6 required visas, the Argentinean one, has finally been approved and released! Never did I think I would literally spend my whole summer working on these visas. And never did I ever imagine I would still be dealing with it up to my very last day here in Manila!! Gah, the stress!

But it's all good in the hood now! I can finally breathe and relax, as I have about an hour until I have to leave for the airport. My bags are all packed, my visas are all cleared, and even the rains have stopped! Question now is-- am I ready for possibly the biggest adventure of my life?!

Stay tuned!

Ahoy Matey!

Hello everyone! I have created this blog especially for my upcoming adventure with Semester at Sea, where I will be part of the Fall 2013 Voyage! I will be on a cruise ship that will also serve as my school for one semester! How cool is that?! Our "floating university" will be taking us across Europe, Africa, and South America--3 continents, 15 different countries in 3 1/2 months! Say what?! AWESOME.

I hope to write as much as I can about every adventure in every country I will be visiting. I officially start this journey in a little less than 72 hours! Aaaahh!! So now I am currently tied up with all the packing and preparations before the great departure. But keep a look out for more posts in the next few days! I just wanted to get this blog rollin' before I head off :)

See ya!