appeal to the mass.es.

wow do i have a lot to catch up on!

i don't really know where to begin...

i've got some fantastic new ideas/old ideas that i've been meaning to do but haven't gotten around to for this little blog of mine. primarily i'm quite interested in trying to pull it together and really make something out of posting for all of you that i know already read this piece of internet [family/friends] and perhaps a few others out of sheer interest?

some of the ideas that i've been dreaming up include:::

-logging away some of the LONG PROMISED photos from my amazing circumnavigation experience
-beginning that street fashion project that i hint to in my blog description* [to be expounded on]
-suggesting more BOOKS/MOVIES!
-shuffling/filing away my interesting memories [in all facets/forms] that i want to keep
-announcements/stumblings that i deem absolute necessities for you people who like reading away into my inner and highly ridiculous psyche.

TA DA!

a long list of goals that i really think will help keep me motivated and on track for this semester. though it is my last [true] semester at BU it is not as easy as it sounds. i feel as if i am already taking up the habits of a much older person as i am waking up much earlier than my peers [for a 9am class, three days a week!] and thus am bedding myself much earlier as well. i have mostly introductory classes but one toughytoughy anthro senior seminar class:::

-Medical Anthropology [an210]
-Introduction to Biological Anthropology [an102]
-First-Semester German [lg111]
-Ethnographic Theory and Field Methods [an462]

an interesting semester to say the least. as of yet i am quite enjoying my classes but they are truly showing to have quite a bit of work. no complaints here though as i am quite excited to be back in Boston and shoving my nose to the books. the library has already seen my face for a good number of hours this semester and we've only been in class for two weeks. fancy that!

very many instances occur in small expanses of time and then all of a sudden that realization comes to you and you feel like taking a long hard "etic" gaze at it to see if what's going on is following a logical/necessary/crazy/fantastic chain or if you are just imagining the events that occur to you. i am feeling this weight right now -some of my fellow darlings have referred to it as a "quarter-life crisis" and as much as i adore that expression i don't know if i myself can subscribe to its full force of meaning. in essence there are lots of thoughts/decisions/plans that must be discussed internally in this very crucial time in my life. i've recently thought about a very logical and excellent line of further study for myself in the near future and have been applying as many connections and research suggestions as possible towards this grad school possibility. as i [and so many others i am close to] find myself to always be so fascinated and stimulated by many visual modes of representation i've put quite a bit of thought into how this can be applied or how i can apply myself to this idea in the future. so, i've done a bit of discussing with my dear friend, Austin, who is studying at a graduate school in Manchester, UK and have found an answer to some of my questions:::

visual anthropology*

that star absolutely coincides with the aforementioned idea of delightfulness and interest in street fashion because i think that it is a really interesting mode of expression not only in displaying how current trends occur but also whether or not these fashion styles/choices/ideas/musings happen to have [and yeah, they definitely do!] any impact on the future of the fashion world or even the future of certain fashion lines. enough said for now...if you have any questions about that idea feel free to ask me or make a comment....

at the moment i am a bit cold. boston is frigid. however, before i sign out for the night i will surely show you a few pictures of delightfulness to indulge in. also...for anyone who wants a quick/interesting/hard-to-put-down/somewhat riddle of a novel try:::

The Eye, by Vladimir Nabokov [only the coolest man ever to exist, a serious role model in all aspects of life]

enjoy some pictures!


an altar to three very important monks at Wat Traimit, Bangkok, Thailand


the head of the enormous reclining buddha at Wat Pho [Wat Phra Chetupon], Bangkok, Thailand


a night on the streets in the old city of Dubrovnik, Croatia


a view from the bell tower [the famous La Giralda, once a minaret for an Islamic mosque then transformed into the Christian bell tower] of Sevilla Cathedral, Sevilla, Spain


the entrance courtyard with Sevillan orange trees [a famous type] at Sevilla Cathedral, Sevilla, Spain



disclaimer::: some of these pictures were taken by a few friends and i thank them in advance for the sharing because they completely describe these places and views for me.

disclaimer?

The two posts that I made today were from December 1st and December 3rd on the ship. As it is now December 9th they are posted a bit late, but I wrote them anyways so that you could see what I was thinking as the voyage came to a close. I hope you enjoy them!

Surfing on a Rock-it. Crunch.

Jagged perfume bottles strewn ‘cross bathroom tiles…White paper bags lying atop tiny silver cylinders…Walking along without placing feet in front of each other…Excuses for bumping into people that have been attractive to you for three months…Doors swinging wide looking for precariously placed digits…

All in a Day’s Work.

It is number ninety-six here on the MV Explorer and boy was it characteristic of things that I will both miss and not miss about living on a SHIP…

Today is the first day of finals for this crazy semester that I can’t possibly forget. Also, there was a storm north of where we were sailing all day…so…the ship was rocking quite a bit -much more so than normal Ship rocking (that none of us really even feel anymore). I actually find it weird when we are docked in port and I get in my bed on the SHIP and the boat does not rock me to sleep…. Nevertheless, it was exam time and everyone was walking out of line. To put it into my perspective:

0700---wake up; get ready for the day (while rocking hard)

0730-0758---breaky-break (tea, yogurt, cereal), last minute exam prep (still rockin’)

0800-0905---take and finish exam early (rock, rock, rock)

0915-1000---naptime to clear head and catch up on sleep (rockin’ the day away)

1000-1130---study for other final later in the day (hard rock steady)

1130-1245---LUNCH! (Still more rock-age)

1245-1345---study study read read (hard rockety)

1345-1440---group study times (can you guess?)

1440-1447---chill out on the back deck for brain clearing (rock me)

1455-1600---get thrown against wall while sitting and taking essay exam (TY Ocean!)

1610-1730---relax with friends (talk about rockin’?)

1730-1800---sit outside with friends eating (astonished that boat still rockin’ hard)

1800-1930---celebrate a friend’s birthday, yeah ice cream cake (rock around the clock)

1930-2000---study in room (hasn’t left yet)

2000-2130---pre-port Miami style (watching people sway while speaking in union)

2130-2345---chat with erik and matt, etc. (fall over a bit because of rocking)

2245---have a hard time falling asleep because of rocking, but hey! We retarded the clocks!

So that was my day. All I can say is that it was really really not a very fun thing to have to take Dramamine (for the first time, I might add) and ibuprofen @ 0700 because I didn’t want to do poorly on my exam. I am very glad to not have to try and concentrate and do well on papers and exams because the place where I reside is affected by some outside power that causes it too violently and quickly shift from side to side. If I didn’t have those responsibilities I would be totally down with the boat SHIP rocking whenever it could. However, it really just is not fun or enjoyable to try and take –not one, but TWO exams in that situation.

To be fair, I really am going to miss living on a vessel in the middle of the ocean:::

Being able to wake up and see nothing but straight blue all around me

Eating with nothing in sight but the blues of sky and sea (and clouds too)

The most beautiful sunsets and sunrises ever

The constant (gentle) rocking from head to foot that puts me to sleep every nite

The superhero feeling I get after shaving in these showers

How clearing my head is as easy as walking up to Deck 7

These things will be sorely sorely missed, no doubt. Obviously there are many other things I miss. However, I am also really looking forward to getting home and being in South Carolina for more than A week and half (JUNE), having a kitchen and a GROCERY STORE (!), boiled peanuts, consistent weather (whether it be SC or BOSTON!), my family and friends….you know…everything that goes along with returning home. It has been a long and fantastic three months and I would do it again in a second. However, it will be nice to get back to a new and different lifestyle.

(oh and if you haven’t guessed, the boat tossed my perfume to the ground so now my bathroom can smell very very very nice all the time for the next four days)

One Is Silver and the Other, Gold.

I don’t know what it is about these people but I am going to miss them so much. They are all so interesting and caring and free ---so enjoyable. I mean sure, yeah, we’ve traveled around the world together and gone through so much –we’ve really seen it all. It is so sad to think that it is now coming to an end. So Soon.

I’ve lived on a SHIP with these lovely ladies and gents for days, weeks, months (exactly 92, at the moment I write this!). It will be, and is, so difficult to say our goodbyes. We will never again be in the same place together like this. Again. EVER.

These beautiful friends I have have been with me as I’ve realized so much more about myself than I ever knew existed. Who knew I could cross the street like a superhero in Vietnam, speak Spanish to get by in Spain, or walk through impoverished streets without breaking down completely in India? These people have been there for all of that. How am I going to say goodbye to that? They have helped me reach this state of myself and boy, are they gorgeous while doing it!

Who will ever believe or understand the crazy good feelings of sweatiness and grooves at our Ipiz dance parties on the back of Deck 5? How about our gargantuan “family” Thanksgiving Dinner at Gibraltar? It seems that these three months have exacerbated all of our needs for friends and companionship so that the community we have now is so beautiful and unique and real in a way that generally takes much longer to develop.

These people know, as Darby rightly put it, “what makes me tick.” My parents knew too as they sent me along on my own lucky, lucky way. They sensed the intensity that would ensue from these travels and delightfully and excitedly urge me to find new friends and companions. I guess I completely underestimated this experience because I am so surprised by it all ---so overwhelmed by all of this love and understanding.

more amazing.

This country really is fantastic.
Sitting down feels amazing here. Places i´ve sat today:::

in a chair in front of a computer @ a hostel

at a cafe with two friends and a pitcher of sangria

at a bakery with a friend and a cup of coffee

in a chair in the kitchen of said hostel eating a delicious meal

i´m tired as anything but I just wanted to post quickly. i love everything here. always.