The shipboard auction the other night was RIDICULOUS! It was to raise money for future SAS voyages.
Some of the items that were in the live auction portion were breakfast in bed by a dean of your choice, a picture with the Captain at alumni ball, one of the teachers sweatbands, a map of the fall 2012 route, a SAS flag, front row seats at the talent show, a hour of juggling lessons, captains hat, and a weekend at one of the lifelong learners house in Utah.
Now out of those items which ones do you think went for the highest? And how much do you think people payed for them?
The highest out of those was the Fall 2012 map of our voyage and it went for $2,600. To get the SAS flag ended up being $2,500. The cheapest thing that people bid on was the chance to have coffee with the captain and that was $70. Oh and the juggling lessons went for $550 and my friend bought that....out of all the things to bid your money on....
My friends and I pooled our money together to win cooking lessons with the ships head chef in the main kitchen AND to have a special dinner!
After a few minutes of persuading the person I was going against, I also won something in the silent auction! It turned out to be a pretty good deal too, we split the prize and the cost!
I am NOT good at these types of situations. My heart was racing and when my friends and I were bidding on the cooking lessons our other friends were bidding on it too! There was so much tension in the room and it seemed like the bidding was going on for forever!
ALSO our dean of students told us if there was over 50% participation we would get a taco day!!! Fingers crossed! The food on the ship is getting really old and I don't want to keep on getting dinner from the deck 7 pool bar!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Shipboard Life
Thankfully the weather has been so beautiful recently. I've just been hanging out on Deck 7 either doing homework or reading a book. I haven't felt stressed since I've been on the boat. I think that the worst news I've gotten is that my iPhoto book can't be over 100 pages.
We are currently in the Amazon making our way up to Manaus. The Captain came into my Leadership Development class the other day and told us that going through the Amazon is one of the hardest and stressful things. There are no updated maps of the Amazon so we picked up a pilot who knows the way through it. All the currents create islands in the water and because of this the ship had to slow its speed down. The water is also brown...its disgusting! All laundry services have been suspended until we get out of the Amazon and they aren't treating any more water. We have to be very careful and cautious about how much water we are using. The drinking water already tastes like chlorine so I think I'm going to have to start either using my Brita water bottle or buying huge bottles from the campus store.
Although I've had a lot of papers and work due in my classes during this crossing, there have been a lot of fun and interesting events happening on the ship recently. Today during Global Studies we had the U.S. Ambassador of Brazil present! He is also coming into my Leadership class tomorrow to talk to us about his various Leadership roles throughout the years. He is hoping to become the Ambassador of either Iraq or Afghanistan after his term in Brazil. Last night the comedy class performed in the Union. It was hilarious! They did skits about life on the ship and poked fun at our deans. The night before that the crew put on a talent show. There was a HUGE line to get into the Union...even 45 minutes before the show started! It was really funny to see the crew perform. Most of them danced but there was a band and someone did stand up. The show was to raise money for the crew. Last year they used the money they raised to go on a group tour in Argentina.
Tonight we have the talent show! The line to get into the show is going to be ridiculous. At the auction the other night, some people bought VIP seats for over $200! Hopefully I will get a good seat!
We are currently in the Amazon making our way up to Manaus. The Captain came into my Leadership Development class the other day and told us that going through the Amazon is one of the hardest and stressful things. There are no updated maps of the Amazon so we picked up a pilot who knows the way through it. All the currents create islands in the water and because of this the ship had to slow its speed down. The water is also brown...its disgusting! All laundry services have been suspended until we get out of the Amazon and they aren't treating any more water. We have to be very careful and cautious about how much water we are using. The drinking water already tastes like chlorine so I think I'm going to have to start either using my Brita water bottle or buying huge bottles from the campus store.
Although I've had a lot of papers and work due in my classes during this crossing, there have been a lot of fun and interesting events happening on the ship recently. Today during Global Studies we had the U.S. Ambassador of Brazil present! He is also coming into my Leadership class tomorrow to talk to us about his various Leadership roles throughout the years. He is hoping to become the Ambassador of either Iraq or Afghanistan after his term in Brazil. Last night the comedy class performed in the Union. It was hilarious! They did skits about life on the ship and poked fun at our deans. The night before that the crew put on a talent show. There was a HUGE line to get into the Union...even 45 minutes before the show started! It was really funny to see the crew perform. Most of them danced but there was a band and someone did stand up. The show was to raise money for the crew. Last year they used the money they raised to go on a group tour in Argentina.
Tonight we have the talent show! The line to get into the show is going to be ridiculous. At the auction the other night, some people bought VIP seats for over $200! Hopefully I will get a good seat!
Monday, November 12, 2012
URUGUAY
SAS gave us the option to travel overland to Uruguay from Argentina. There were probably 60 SAS kids who did. We left pretty early in the morning to go to the ferry. It was a high speed one that only took 2 hours to get to Uruguay. Three of our friends didn't make it on the ferry because it was sold out. They took a plane which was only 20 dollars more for a 1 hour trip, and they got to the house three hours before we did. They definitely got the better end of the deal.
The MV Explorer was literally 20 feet away from where the ferry dropped us off. We ran onto the ship and got clean clothes and bathing suits and went to the bus station. The town that we booked a house in was called Punta Del Este which was about 2 hours away from Montevideo. The bus had free wifi!...but I didn't know about until we were almost about to get off....ugh!
The house we booked was literally called "The Castle". It was the most beautiful house I've ever seen. 6 bedrooms, infinity pool, and was right on the beach. IT WAS AMAZING. There are personalized POSTCARDS for this house....if you're lucky, maybe you will get one of them. The house could fit over 16 people and was actually pretty reasonably priced and at least in this house I had my own bed! We hung out at the pool for a few hours, it was really hot in Uruguay. It was really fun just to hang out for hours with good company.
We went to eat at Moby Dicks (Mom & Dad..isn't there a restaurant in Cape Cod called that?) and later we went to a local bar where all of the other SASers were. There really wasn't anything open in Uruguay this time of year because it was the off season. There were radio stations who actually announced that there were over 100 SAS kids in town. We ended up going home pretty early to watch the rest of the elections. It was weird not being in the states for it. There were definitely a lot of different points of view in the house and the arguments only got more and more heated towards the end of the night when we found out who won. I wish that people would just respect other peoples values and views.
The next day we walked around the town. There was literally nothing open. The big thing was a statue of a hand coming out of the sand. It was pretty cool but really weird! We went back to the house for a little bit to hang out and make an MTV spoof of Cribs. It was the only logical thing that we could do to show off the house. It turned out to be hilarious. Afterwards went on a two hour horseback ride! It was so much fun! I haven't been on a horseback ride probably since Girl Scouts in middle school.
That night we invited 3 friends over for a BBQ and bonfire. While a few of my friends were napping, my friends and I were eating cheese and crackers and watching TV when over 30 SASers walked into our house. Apparently our 3 friends told a few other people to come over to our house for dinner....some of the people who came over literally thought that "The Castle" was a bar. Everyone had a lot of fun which is great, but we just wish we knew about it before everyone showed up!
The next day we went back to Montevideo because the ship was leaving for Rio at 6. A few of us from our big group left early to walk around Montevideo and shop at the local market. Compared to Buenos Aires, Montevideo was really not built up at all. It reminded me of Sevilla, Spain. There were a lot of old buildings and cobble stone streets. We were off the ship for 7 days so when I got back I was SO TIRED. I slept from 7pm until 11am and I'm still exhausted.
I'm glad that we didn't spend our nights in Montevideo because one of the kids on the ship actually got a glass bottle broken on his head and was mugged. It was really scary to hear about and makes me a little afraid for Rio. We keep on getting more emails about safety precautions to take when traveling in Rio and our pre-port tonight didn't help at all. I'm definitely going to money belt it up!! Nonetheless I'm so excited for Brazil and had an amazing 7 day adventure with my friends in Argentina and Uruguay!
The MV Explorer was literally 20 feet away from where the ferry dropped us off. We ran onto the ship and got clean clothes and bathing suits and went to the bus station. The town that we booked a house in was called Punta Del Este which was about 2 hours away from Montevideo. The bus had free wifi!...but I didn't know about until we were almost about to get off....ugh!
The house we booked was literally called "The Castle". It was the most beautiful house I've ever seen. 6 bedrooms, infinity pool, and was right on the beach. IT WAS AMAZING. There are personalized POSTCARDS for this house....if you're lucky, maybe you will get one of them. The house could fit over 16 people and was actually pretty reasonably priced and at least in this house I had my own bed! We hung out at the pool for a few hours, it was really hot in Uruguay. It was really fun just to hang out for hours with good company.
We went to eat at Moby Dicks (Mom & Dad..isn't there a restaurant in Cape Cod called that?) and later we went to a local bar where all of the other SASers were. There really wasn't anything open in Uruguay this time of year because it was the off season. There were radio stations who actually announced that there were over 100 SAS kids in town. We ended up going home pretty early to watch the rest of the elections. It was weird not being in the states for it. There were definitely a lot of different points of view in the house and the arguments only got more and more heated towards the end of the night when we found out who won. I wish that people would just respect other peoples values and views.
The next day we walked around the town. There was literally nothing open. The big thing was a statue of a hand coming out of the sand. It was pretty cool but really weird! We went back to the house for a little bit to hang out and make an MTV spoof of Cribs. It was the only logical thing that we could do to show off the house. It turned out to be hilarious. Afterwards went on a two hour horseback ride! It was so much fun! I haven't been on a horseback ride probably since Girl Scouts in middle school.
That night we invited 3 friends over for a BBQ and bonfire. While a few of my friends were napping, my friends and I were eating cheese and crackers and watching TV when over 30 SASers walked into our house. Apparently our 3 friends told a few other people to come over to our house for dinner....some of the people who came over literally thought that "The Castle" was a bar. Everyone had a lot of fun which is great, but we just wish we knew about it before everyone showed up!
The next day we went back to Montevideo because the ship was leaving for Rio at 6. A few of us from our big group left early to walk around Montevideo and shop at the local market. Compared to Buenos Aires, Montevideo was really not built up at all. It reminded me of Sevilla, Spain. There were a lot of old buildings and cobble stone streets. We were off the ship for 7 days so when I got back I was SO TIRED. I slept from 7pm until 11am and I'm still exhausted.
I'm glad that we didn't spend our nights in Montevideo because one of the kids on the ship actually got a glass bottle broken on his head and was mugged. It was really scary to hear about and makes me a little afraid for Rio. We keep on getting more emails about safety precautions to take when traveling in Rio and our pre-port tonight didn't help at all. I'm definitely going to money belt it up!! Nonetheless I'm so excited for Brazil and had an amazing 7 day adventure with my friends in Argentina and Uruguay!
ARGENTINA
After 10 days at sea, I was so excited to get off the ship. The day before we arrived in port, 13 friends and I decided to book a house in Buenos Aires. It was a lot cheaper than a hotel and was in a great location. It was a SWEET house with a pool on the roof! Living the sweet life in Buenos Aires. The first day we walked around downtown and did a little bit of shopping. Buenos Aires really reminded me of New York City. There were a ton of people, little shops, and street vendors. Maybe I'll move to Buenos Aires instead of NYC after I graduate from Chapman! ....just kidding mom and dad, I definitely wouldn't be able to live there considering the fact that my spanish sucks. One of our friends on the ship knows someone who is studying abroad in Buenos Aires and told us to go to this famous pizza place called Cuartito. The BEST pizza I've ever had. Later that night we went out to a bar and then a club. Buenos Aires is actually insane, no one goes out until 3am. By the time we left the last club, it was light out. That was definitely a shocker.
After only a few hours of sleep, we woke up and got ready for a Gay Pride Parade. Once we got all of the glitter on our faces, we realized it wasn't until next week. We decided to head over to La Boca instead. La Boca is a beautiful town full of different colors. There were a bunch of different street vendors and little markets. All of the buildings were full of tradition and each restaurant had either singers or flamenco dancers performing. Later that day a few of us went to the shopping district which was close to our house. All of the stores we passed were a mix between Anthropology, Free People, and Urban Outfitters. Everyone in Argentina has great style and are so hip! Three other girls and I went for a late lunch/early dinner downtown and then headed back to our house. We got ready and went to a local bar where other SAS kids were. There were a group of parents there visiting their kids! It made me sad that my parents weren't there with me but then made me more excited to see them in Florida. We left the bar to go to this club which had 7 different sections and was on the beach, it was crazy and overwhelming! Some SAS kids bought a VIP section which was outside. We all saw the sunrise and then headed back home.
The next day everyone was moving very slowly. We went to lunch with the whole group but decided to split up because everyone wanted to do different things. A few other girls and myself went to the city central and saw the Government buildings and came across a festival celebrating Buenos Aires and their traditions. Later on we saw a bike riot...well, it definitely wasn't a riot; it was just 400 people on bikes blocking the roads and causing delays. Our cab driver was so confused and didn't know what was happening. I thought it probably had something to do with decreasing the use of cars. That night our group decided to make dinner. It was a really nice change of pace and definitely took a lot less time. It always gets confusing trying to figure out the bill with such a big group of people. We made pasta and steak. It was a really fun "family" dinner.
The next day a majority of our group had a field lab for one of their classes on the ship. The rest of the group went to this famous cemetery. It was incredible! The amount of artwork and time that people put into their graves. It wasn't even a grave, it could have been a house. The cemetery literally felt like a town that (dead) people lived in. There were just rows and rows and rows of different style tombs. We didn't have a tour guide but every so often I would hear a person telling a story in English and I would listen in. Some of the stories I heard were incredible. There is a HUGE wait list to be buried in this cemetery. The last person who was buried there I think was in 2007 but I could be wrong.
Everyone met up around 7 because we had a bus coming to bring us to a soccer game! We were all so excited to go. They said that it would have been very dangerous if we went without a guide. The security at the game was ridiculous! There were 4 check points and you had 3 tickets to get into the game....not only that, but they didn't serve alcohol in the stadium because some crowds get "too rowdy" and people have DIED before! CRAZINESS! Anyways, our team lost but we all still had a great time!
After only a few hours of sleep, we woke up and got ready for a Gay Pride Parade. Once we got all of the glitter on our faces, we realized it wasn't until next week. We decided to head over to La Boca instead. La Boca is a beautiful town full of different colors. There were a bunch of different street vendors and little markets. All of the buildings were full of tradition and each restaurant had either singers or flamenco dancers performing. Later that day a few of us went to the shopping district which was close to our house. All of the stores we passed were a mix between Anthropology, Free People, and Urban Outfitters. Everyone in Argentina has great style and are so hip! Three other girls and I went for a late lunch/early dinner downtown and then headed back to our house. We got ready and went to a local bar where other SAS kids were. There were a group of parents there visiting their kids! It made me sad that my parents weren't there with me but then made me more excited to see them in Florida. We left the bar to go to this club which had 7 different sections and was on the beach, it was crazy and overwhelming! Some SAS kids bought a VIP section which was outside. We all saw the sunrise and then headed back home.
Everyone met up around 7 because we had a bus coming to bring us to a soccer game! We were all so excited to go. They said that it would have been very dangerous if we went without a guide. The security at the game was ridiculous! There were 4 check points and you had 3 tickets to get into the game....not only that, but they didn't serve alcohol in the stadium because some crowds get "too rowdy" and people have DIED before! CRAZINESS! Anyways, our team lost but we all still had a great time!
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