Almost There!

We will be arriving in Hilo, Hawaii tomorrow morning around 8 a.m. I'm so excited! I don't have any field labs or trips for this port, so my biggest plan is to buy things that I forgot and to stock up on food and snacks! Everyone else I've talked to seems to have the same idea. Me and a group of people are going to do a little exploring of the island, go to the Farmer's Market and just hang out on the beach. This will be my most "relaxed" port. We'll be there for 2 full days.

As part of an assignment in several of my classes, I have to keep a "field journal" where I make entries about what I see and experience that relates with course material in each port. For example, one of my courses is "Music Cultures," so I'll look for specific examples of music in Hawaiian Culture. "Anthropology of Religion" and "Intro to Anthropology" are the other two courses that have that requirement. All of my classes have been very interesting so far, and I think I'm really going to enjoy them! Having the opportunity to be taught by some of the greatest professors from all across the country (and even the world) is just incredible. The ocean view out the windows during class isn't so bad either. :)

I still haven't been seasick, and I've surprisingly been sleeping very well! I've woken up a few times during the night when the ship hits a random big wave, but other than that it's been great! I talked to someone today that told me this was the first day they have even come out of their cabin because of how seasick they were. :/

I had an actually conversation with Archbishop Desmund Tutu yesterday!!! Me and my friend Kaitlynn walked into the campus store to look at sweatshirts and he was the only other person in the store. We only talked for like 2 or 3 minutes, but it was still amazing to even have the chance to speak with him. That's definitely something that I will never forget.

There is a group of mentors and entrepreneurs called "Unreasonable at Sea" traveling with us on this voyage. I would definitely recommend looking them up on the Semester at Sea webpage. (If I had global internet access, I would give you the link). For the next couple of weeks during the times we are at sea, they are going to have different mentors give presentations in the evenings. Last night, the speaker was Hunter Lovins, Time Magazine's "Person of the Year!"

 Also, I heard there is the possibility of the Dalai Lama joining us!!!

We have our first pre-port mandatory meeting tonight! There will be one on the night before we get into each port. They're going to tell us what we need to know about health and safety, travel, and other important information.

Here are a few pictures that I have taken since the first day. They'll get more exciting when I actually have pictures from in-country travel to share!