Today we officially entered the Amazon!! AHHHH! The
waters drastically changed from ocean blue to shades of green and
brown. Upon entering the Amazon, the river was so wide that we still
couldn't see land. Now, it's 11:53 pm so it's too dark to see land but
we are told that when we wake up we should see the coasts. During
lunch I saw a smaller ship in the distance, small ship means land is
close and after 4 straight days at sea it made us all pretty excited.
Last night we had our first weekly (when we're on the
ship) Shabbat dinner. It turned out to be a really nice, lots of
people showed up, some Jewish, some who were Jewish but had never done
Shabbat before, and some genuinely interested people. Some friends an
I led a short discussion about the meaning of Shabbat, then we did a
short service where we said a few prayers. The kitchen staff was nice
enough to bake us two fresh challas…they wouldn't give us wine but we
had some delicious grape juice…and as for candles, we printed a couple
pictures of Shabbat candles out and had one person at each table hold
the picture up during the prayer. After that we just sat around and
talked and enjoyed dinner and each other's company. It was so nice to
share something important to me with other people. It was also nice to
see other people's interest. During our dinner, the professor for the
class "World Religions" came in and asked us a bunch of questions, he
then asked me if myself and another friend could come into his class
the following morning to talk about Shabbat and Jewish customs.
The everyday schedule here is pretty interesting… it
really does not matter what day of the week here it is…we even have
classes on Saturday and Sundays, so the idea of time really becomes
lost here. Every student is enrolled in 4 classes, those classes
either meet on A days or B days. I chose to split mine up and I have 2
classes on each. The first two days at sea we had one A day and one B
day. My A day consists of global studies class at 9:20. Global studies
is the class that every student on this ship has to take, it is
offered both days though so that it's not 500 students trying to pay
attention to one professor at once. Global studies is really cool, the
professor is very knowledgeable about other cultures and history. In
between each port, during global studies class we focus on the country
we are approaching, learn about it's history, it's climate, geography…
etc. It's so nice, due to global studies I feel like I am able to
enter a foreign place with a better understanding and appreciation for
that place. After global studies I have a break until 2:20 where I
have a class called "Technology and reproduction- A Global
Perspective". This class is taught by a really passionate and quirky
professor and I am enjoying it. The rest of the day is usually spent
going to dinner, meetings for different organizations, and doing
homework and hanging out with people in the common areas. My B days I
have two other classes, one is called "Travel Writing". After two and
a half years of schooling where I have been in a major that requires
me to write very little, this class is SCARY for me. I think I will
actually take the most from this class as it is all so unfamiliar and
uncomfortable to me. The last class I am in is called
"Multiculturalism and Women's Rights", the material focuses on the
countries we are going to and I think it is going to be a really good
class.
After the first two days at sea we had what is called a
"Reading Day". A reading day is a college student's DREAM…(I wish we
had them at UMD). This is a day with no classes, and time to catch up
on work for you classes. Because we have such big breaks from classes
(when we are at ports) we have to cram a lot in when we are at sea, so
this day was really awesome and helpful. Today we had another A day,
tomorrow we have another B day, and then the following day is
dedicated to prepping for Brazil. TWO MORE DAYS TILL BRAZIL!
Today after classes I went up to the top deck to
participate in yoga. It was absolutely the most interesting setting to
do not just yoga, but any sport. I was standing there staring at the
Amazon River…sometimes I feel like I need to pinch myself and remind
myself that this is really all happening, it's all so surreal.
(It's now Sunday morning as I finish writing this blog
entry). Last night was a "Pub night"…at pub night they sell beer and
wine and you can get up three drinks. It was a fun night of
socializing and hanging out with people…I decided to get some ice
cream which was hands down the best ice cream I've had in a very long
time. Nights are the best here, I always say I'm going to get some
work done, blog and get to sleep around 12-12:30. Of course that never
happens, I end up doing less work then I want. Last night, for
example, I ended up staying up till 3 in the morning, not even
realizing how late it had gotten, just because I was in a really good
conversation with some people.
This morning and the ship was not moving. We had some
Americans that are currently in Brazil and working for the US embassy
come onto the ship this morning so we are currently anchored in the
middle of the amazon. There is land all around, and little ships pass
by constantly. It's amazing how much of a change it is from the last
land I saw…Dominica was full of mountains and hills, here the land is
SO flat. We will continue to be anchored here until 8pm after our
guests leave us, then we have one more day until Manaus and Amazon
adventures. I will be sure to update again later tonight!
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