Reflecting...

The past few days have been amazing and shaky all at once! We are actually passing through very rough waters due to the storms in California. The Captain told us that all airports in California were closed yesterday, so that storm is affecting the waters of the Pacific. Hopefully things will be a bit better from Hawaii to Japan, but overall I believe the Pacific has the most turbulent waters!

It’s so funny because at lunch/dinner plates and food goes flying during big waves and it’s almost for sure that all of your books and journals will fall over from your dresser in the middle of the night! I’ve learned to just sleep through it…

But nonetheless, the journey has been exciting! I’ve had the opportunity to participate and sign up for student organizations and activities which I’m really passionate about! The set up for this program is amazing. We learn about the culture, religion, politics, economy of each country/port before we arrive. So for this week, we have been having guest lecturers from Hawaii. One in particular, Dr. Fisher, from Maui, has been explaining to us the rich cultural history of the Polynesians and the “spiritual being” the Polynesians believed in; “mana”. It was with this “mana” they sailed across the Pacific Ocean on double stranded canoes without any guarantee they would find land!

I’m looking forward to learning about the culture and traditions of the Polynesians and how they are conserving their practices…this will make my trip to Hawaii ten times more meaningful!

The Global Studies course is the only course which is required for all students aboard. We have a lot of our guest lecturers here and learn about the many problems that face the world today. Some jaw-dropping facts we learned yesterday included:

There will be more than 20 million orphans due to AIDS in Africa by the end of 2010.

Half the world lives on less than $2 a day.

The life expectancy for men and women in many African countries, including Uganda is 45.

I feel like although I’ve read about some of these facts in textbooks, for some reason, when I’m on this ship, looking at pictures taken by previous students, working with professors who have lived in many of these countries for a couple years, and knowing that I myself will be visiting some of these areas, I really feel a sense of obligation now. Although I probably should have felt that long before, I know the feeling is much more powerful now…. I am looking for ways to make differences with whatever knowledge/capabilities/resources I have at this point in time. I have become involved in a Vicarious Voyage program, in which we go back to elementary schools in our hometown and educate them on global diversity, and I’ve also signed up to volunteer at a number of orphanages and a school for the Blind in Saigon.

I have met a girl from New Jersey with whom I've become really good friends. Her name is Chi-Chi and she’s originally from Nigeria. We have discussed SO many things thus far, and we’re both really similar in many ways..it’s so interesting to see the many similarities between the Nigerian and Indian cultures. Another thing which we talked about was how incredibly lucky and fortunate we are to be on this voyage. We both know that so many people would die to just visit one of these countries, and here we are going to TEN! Sometimes I don’t even know what I did better/right as compared to the next person to deserve an opportunity like this! (But I have a feeling I should give the rents some credit here! Thanks Mom and Dad!)

I guess this time before going to the ports and enjoying has really made me take a step back and see how fortunate I am….Although it may sound cheesy, but there’s something about being somewhere in the middle of the Pacific ocean and staring out into the black night with stars that almost look touchable and hearing the waves below, that makes you feel helpless, but powerful at the same time….