international dateline.

noontime position: 28˚ 50.3 minutes N, 169˚ 50.1 minutes E

sunset today : 1725 hours

sunrise tomorrow : 0539 hours

distance made good from honolulu : 1828 nautical miles

distance left to reach yokohama: 1609 nautical miles

average Ship speed: 15.9 knots (about 16.5 mph)

depth of the ocean below me: 5176 m

I will never officially experience or be able to fathom 7 September 2007.

Therefore, the remainder of this post is dedicated to that fated-from-the-very-beginning-of-this-voyage day.

R.I.P.

7 September 2007

i have been needing to write for a few days now…however, i saved this post until this specific time because i really wanted all of you [who are still experiencing the seventh] to feel the full gravity of this situation. a mere thirteen hours ago i was on a westward bound vessel approximately eight hours behind american eastern standard time. however from midnight to 2am this morning the Ship traversed the international dateline… and so did i….

the international dateline was one of the craziest things about the actual voyaging part of this voyage for me (catch any recurring themes here). what exactly would it feel like to completely never know what is is like to experience a day? many times we find ourselves complaining about « wasting a day » or « losing a day completely » because we haven’t gotten done what we wanted to get done or have slept or anything else of the like. but to truly lose a day? the international dateline to me always seemed like a magical place of myth and wonder where the world came together but couldn’t sync up. magical beasts, pirates, mermaids, narwhales, and puffin birds inhabited this area and to cross the line meant you definitely were treading treacherous waters. it turns out that it really is kind of like that...

last nite around 2200 i went outside on the top deck foreward. all the lights on this area of the vessel had been turned off and groups of people were sprawled every which way to take in the stars. Kat, Jade and i rightly plopped ourselves into this swell of people and gazed whilst listening to a professor reel off stories, mapping coordinates, and relative stars of constellations. i heard tales of queens and dragons, hercules and other deadly warriors, and magic arrows and lucky creatures. whether any of this is true does not matter::: a short time later the international dateline finally became a reality for me and it truly was mystical. i had been looking forward to that time for so long. anticipatory for so long, i even shed a tear when the ship technically underwent its passage through the profond and unknown depths of this line. what i learned about this whole situation of which i had meditated for so long?:::

imagination truly can and do shape realities.

in some ways the world actually has been flattened for me and my whole mates on the high seas. we have all experienced (or not experienced) the changes that the world has undergone for so long. we actually know how the ocean feels where the world comes together; and more importantly, we can now look to our next adventures in unknown lands with unknown sights and unknown people.

I feel that is sufficient enough dawdling on one of my favorite ponderances for this post however, on to new things:::

Hawa’ii------

Honolulu was a very low-key experience for me. i intended for it to be this way so that i could get used to the travelling thing and revel in my one day there where i could still use my own currency and not have to do any math whilst purchasing goods [or vaccines in my case].

i woke up around 0620 and immediately leapt from bed to take pictures of the first land i had been close to since embarking five days prior in Ensenada. then i proceeded to realize that hawa’ii is part of the us and I would be able to use my cell phone for one last time before actually truly setting out on my voyage. so i immediately called my two best friends and surprised them. i called pretty much everyone i could think of to call. All. Day. Long. i really do miss all of you very much. around 0700 Kat and i went to the seventh deck to check in with customs [since the last place we had « technically » been was Mexico]. we then went to breakfast and ate outside overlooking the harbor and downtown areas of Honolulu. to this day, that breakfast was one of the most beautiful i have ever experienced. the volcanic mountains loomed in the distant behind the stark and tasteful buildings of the small downtown area of the city. everything was sunny and hot and delicious and tropical. it really could not have been better. then a few hours later (around 0940), we disembarked and walked around a little. at 1000 Kat was catching a van with a bunch of other kids who had independently set up [a Long time before the voyage] a trip to go skydiving on the North Shore of Oahu…so, i walked a bit more then got directions and a map to take a bus down to Waikiki Beach. i had made it!

down in Waikiki, i walked around for a Very long time taking in the sights and scenes. somehow coincidentally we had berthed at Honolulu on the birthday of the last queen of Hawa’ii, Queen Lili’oeukulani [sp?]. there were little cabanas and tents everywhere with families and friends eating together strewn all down the parks along the shores and the beach itself. this made for Very nice walking for me! i finally decided to rent a bicycle [and with the gracious help of my mum and my bestest, alex], i found a place, the guy gave me a discount [« as long as [i] get it in before five! »], and i biked around the island, enjoying the tropical fare. i found a nice Thai/Hawa’iian restaurant at which to eat. afterwards, i went into a little internet café to check out information about registration for next spring semester [its on October 28^th for all of us seniors if you’re wondering kids], etc.

finally, i went to meet Kat at Ala Moana shopping centre for some « sightseeing » and necessities….PS:::that mall is incredible. there was everything imaginable from Sephora to Gap to Prada to Bottega Veneta to Chanel to an Apple Store to LeSportSac. it made for great sightseeing. but to tell the truth…we had gone because we had heard that there was a Wal-Mart close by and there were a few necessities that we needed to get there. thanks to my bestest again for painstakingly locating and somehow –by telephone- directing me on how to reach this [not so close] Wal-Mart. there, i took my prescription for the typhoid oral vaccine because those of us who hadn’t obtained it by this time were Strongly advised to do so while still in Hawa’ii because it was the last chance. so…heeding the onboard physician i finagled a prescription from the medical clinic on deck two before leaving and took it to the girl at the counter who duly filled my prescription [thank you nice girl who is preventing me from getting typhoid for the next five years]. we did a little more poking around and then made our way back to the Ship.

Conclusion::: i’m glad i had the chance to go to Hawa’ii. i never really thought about visiting the islands before so a day was enough of a taste for me. however after having that experience i am definitely tempted to return. the native hawaiians all try to scare the mainlanders about how much they don’t like tourists but i was stopped so many times while i was alone and helped by people who wanted to let me know this and that about the queen’s birthday celebrations and cultural goings-on. it was very nice.

still i trudge on…

I posted the other day about suggestions for Japan, etc. i’m still looking for them. so far my plans are to take the train with Kat and Jade to Tokyo for some fun, merriment and guiding with Andrew Kane [an acquaintance i have from BU who is currently studying in Japan]. from there we will make our way down to Kobe where we must meet the Ship before setting sail to China.

finally, some of the classes are pretty cool as well. i’ll give you just a few topics we’ve discussed along the way so i don’t bore you:::

karaoke

the nuclear weapons era

the american foreign service

those are all just half hour lectures we have had. however at one of the pre-port port meetings a student from Hawa’ii got up and did a traditional Hawaiian dance for everyone after a lecture about pearl harbor and hula.

it’s a pretty good time here still. i’m really enjoying it so much still. i’m signing out now so that i don’t ramble on for even longer. however, before i go…for those of you who know what i’m talking about:::

to commemorate my lost day at sea, i request that you play a certain specific Ladytron song…. you know who you are.

toujours mes amis.

ps...i edited my post from last week...so...you may want to reread it...it will probably make more since as far as retardation goes.

quickie.

hey all:::

just wanted to let you know i have a post in the werks for posting tomorrow night. i apologize for not having gotten pictures up...the internet connection here is REALLY slow. i plan on getting some stuff up in Japan while i'm there.

also--- please please please! give me any suggestions or desires for things you think i should do/see/participate/get while i'm in Japan...i'm planning my trip there right now!

a few shout outs really quickly as well.

daddy--i would love for you to try and contact your customer in tokyo...i'll be there the 12th-16th with a few people and will be meeting my friend Andrew Kane there for some tour guiding action.

bri-- 20597-003-39. ps i miss you.

everyone::

i ENCOURAGE you to contact me so i can get in touch with you!

new post coming your way soon.

signing out.

rock 'n roll with me.

initial reactions to this place were hilarious all around…they still are.

1) i am on a SHIP, not a boat…we will constantly be reminded of this.

2) it really moves…and you can feel it::: all. the. time.

3) it is the funniest thing to have no capacity to walk in a straight line –even without the aid of alcohol.

4) it is funnier still to walk down a hallway and see every single person in front of you swaying as if completely inebriated though clearly just trying walk normally and pretend as if they can.

5) putting on eyeliner @ 7:30 am on a moving vessel going 13-15 knots is really, REALLY difficult. [though i am beginning to feel like a pro]

6) showering takes on a whole new meaning when ‘slippery when wet’ actually is a caution that you know you have to take heed of or else.

7) there honestly must be something in the water, because these professors are a little exaggerated.

so basically, the gist of my experiences so far [while crossing the Pacific] are this—life is different on a SHIP and there are so many interesting, unexpected changes that i believe all of us will be catching up for a while.

before beginning the voyage one of the main [and most important] questions i had was:::

<>

well…my question has certainly been answered. time changes have a occurred and COMMUNICATE they have. let me tell you a little ditty:

it all began on a day like today [but much greyer] while sitting in an ‘assembly’ if you will about safety on board. the executive dean of this lovely endeavor was speaking about SHIP matters this and SHIP matters that…and then the lovely dean uttered the most beautiful words the 632 students on board the Explorer had dared imagine::

< take into account the time changes, everyone.>>

yes, ladies and gents, it was these very words that began the saga…much to our delight, it was not actually the nite for the clock retardation [which in fact ended up taking place last nite]. Due to this known fact and the captain’s wise orders, the uncautious dean made an announcement over the ships intercom system to let us know this new tidbit::

< correct time for retarding the clocks for time changes. the clocks will actually not be retarded tonite, but will instead be retarded tomorrow> [shake, stir, repeat]

that’s right! mr. dean was mistook about the clock retardation. imagine….the following day, he again apologized for his early start to forewarn us about retarding our clocks. the day continued as normal with no retardation in sight…and them WHAM!^%$ we turn on our HIGHLY closed circuit television to see the plots, knottage speedage, handwashing directions, and latitudes of our mighty Explorer and what do we see?!

nothing. But a glorious bright yellow screen that simply says ‘Tonight Ship’s Clock Will Be Retarded One Hour’ in bright red[making all Spaniards proud]. ne’er one for missing out on wonderful photo opportunities the roomie and i snapped a few photos of the glorious view in mere seconds….and then proceeded to change the time on our bedside clock. however, it. does. not. end. there.

we were pleasantly surprised today to find that the clocks will have to be even more retarded this very evening and we have the very same yellow-lovely screen [which this morning we thought they had just forgotten to take down from the previous evening].

therein lies the answer to my question of questions. the clocks are retarded and we are given QUITE a bit of notices/forewarnings as to this case through our dean in every lecture letting us know about retardation five to six times a meeting/class. to think…i lose a day when crossing the international date line but…i get so many extra hours of sleep that it just TOTALLY makes it worth it. huzzah.

in other news--- my roommate is awesome, hilarious and fun fact: is from the same town where my dear friend, Alex Hamadey’s, dad resides in California. even more fun fact: they went to the same high school and she had a crazy ninth grade crush on him. she once asked him to go to a dance way back when and he turned her down because he was ‘going out of town that weekend.’ nevertheless, it’s a crazy coincidence that we happen to be rooming together, i think, since she has neither spoken to him nor thought much about him since that fateful shutdown.

yesterday was ‘student life signup day’ and Kat (my roommate) and i decided to make up our own club: ‘neon dance party classics’ -the aim of which is to dress up in the most obnoxious neon/80’s/aerobic/spandex garb and spontaneously have dance parties on the ship. we sort of made it up as a joke/for fun. however, it seems to have been the buzz of the sign-up fair and somehow without recruitment we accrued quite a few people interested in said club…so we’re pretty stoked about that and are in the werks as far as music/planning goes. i also decided to try and start a french conversation group on board but made the signup sheet rather late so we’ll see how well that goes over. and last, but not least, Kat and I wanted to do a joint dessert [because its great!] and music [because its horrible on the ship channel!] review show on the student TV channel:: SeaTV. we’ll see how all of that happens and i’ll keep you up to date on this beautiful piece of electronic communication.

i will leave you by saying that i hope you all enjoyed this first piece of info from aboard the SHIP of semester at sea. i’m enjoying it so far and oh yeah, the food isn’t bad at all and they clean our cabins every day! woohoo! i’m extremely sorry to those of you i couldn’t/didn’t get in touch with before i set sail but I hope you will keep reading and i encourage you to email me or leave your emailz as a post for me to put in my address book. i hope all of you are doing well and taking care. i promise i will get around to sending each one of you e-postcards one way or another, but if you have already gotten one i apologize for some of the repetition in this posting. i’d love comments from all of you to hear how you are, what you want to hear about, or anything else.

toujours.

ps:::did i mention its really tough to put on eyeliner on this moving thing?

---oh and i have yet to get seasick...keep your fingers crossed because there have been many casualties.

a bientot.

this is me signing out from the us. i'm leaving tomorrow morning @ 9am pacific. i will have my phone on tomorrow morning, but i will be turning it off by noon pacific time. i will miss so many many people and i am so so so so sorry to have not had enough time to call each and every one of you (or see you before i LEAVE!).

i would really like it if you would czech this business every once and a while so you know what i'm doing and also let me know how everything is occurring where i am not! please let everyone i would want to know about this blog know so they can catch up/contact me as well.

you should all have my email addresses by now...but if you don't then post on here and let me know and i will get in touch somehow.

i miss you already and i hope you all take care of yourselves.

ps....rip lovely ipiz.

and here's this info if you want it.

mapz.

UPDATE:::

so our itinerary was changed due to political circumstances in Myanmar...so alas i'm headed a few other places. the new route for my new adventure is all mapped out on the link below...enjoy/desire/be jealous/comment:

new map!

have a nice weekend folks.