January 2020

Embarkation

Approaching the pier in our rental car, we caught our first sight of the MV World Odyssey and a wave of mixed emotions swept over me.  I felt excitement for the adventure ahead, nostalgia for the Spring 17 voyage shared with my family, and hesitation at the thought of leaving them behind.

The kids boarded the ship to help me move in. As we explored and reminisced, we were greeted by members of the ship’s crew, many of whom have sailed dozens of voyages. Shockingly, most remembered us by name.

The ship’s familiarity was comforting. Retired from its starring role as the “love boat” in a German TV series, it is a luxurious vessel with opulent décor that makes for a quirky university setting. We found our cabin on the 7^th deck port forward (left, front). It is just big enough to be comfortable and challenge our creative storage skills, and we have a large window that opens wide to let in the sea air.

Orientation began soon after the kids departed. Over the course of 3 days, faculty and staff (called “staculty”) prepared to welcome nearly 600 students to our floating campus. We learned both ship protocol and university protocol. We had our first life boat drill during which we donned our life jackets which are stored under our beds and mustered on deck 6.

As Assistant Director for Faculty Led Programs, I help plan all field classes and liaise with the faculty who lead them. There are approximately 70 field classes, which are the experiential, in-country component required for each course taught on the ship. In this role, I was on both the teaching and learning ends of the orientation. I share a cozy little office with three of the dearest humans on earth, Chris Churma and Ciara Cole. While we work closely as the “field team,” their focus is on field programs which are the optional excursions in each port that can be purchased. All together we will dispatch over 300 different programs.

My mom is working as the Assistant Coordinator for Lifelong Learners and was busy preparing for 26 non-traditional students to embark while learning her way around the ship. Most of the original group will travel the entire itinerary, and there will be 25 more who join for different legs of the voyage along the way.

Departure

Excitement mounted on the evening of January 3 as the engine began to hum. The crew went about the business of preparing to set sail. ISE staff (Institute for Shipboard Education, the organization that operates Semester at Sea) and loved ones disembarked. Chris’ position as Registrar at Colorado State University afforded him the opportunity to stay aboard to support the Academic Advisor while we sailed to Ensenada. It was a special gift to have that time with him.

The water was calm to Ensenada, and I was reminded that the best sleep I have ever had was at sea. The gentle rocking and comfy beds are like sleeping on a cloud. The next morning while still dark, we made way to the 9^th deck to watch the lights of Ensenada grow closer. We came alongside as the sun rose and the sea lions barked their welcome greeting.

Due to an old maritime law, the Jones Act, paying passengers can’t sail from one U.S. port to another on a non-US vessel. So while Semester at Sea Staculty can board in San Diego, students and lifelong learners are bussed across the border to embark in Ensenada. There was excited anticipation of the arrival of the first bus. From the outside deck, we watched the smiling, if nervous, faces of students as they made their way through security and onto the ship. Suddenly the ship was buzzing with excitement, as everyone found their rooms, met roommates, and perused orientation schedules. Mid-afternoon, anyone not sailing beyond Ensenada had to disembark, including Chris. In our 33 years of marriage, we’ve never been more than a week apart, and I knew he was headed home to send our oldest son, Will, off to basic training for the Air Force. So many emotions swept over me as we said good-bye. I watched from my cabin window as he and our friend, Sara, waved from the pier capturing every last second until the lifeboat drill alert sounded. We grabbed our life jackets and made our way to our muster station.

Rolling and Pitching

Clouds and a rolling sea characterized most of the days between Ensenada and Hawaii. When the ship “rolls,” it rocks side to side. For the most part, the rocking was gentle and the rainy days made it easier to spend much needed time in my office preparing for Hawaii. Mom and I settled into a routine navigating around one another to get ready for the day in our cute little cabin. We try to get to the gym by 5 a.m. Six treadmills look out the aft of the ship on deck 6. There are also three elliptical machines, and some weights, as well as some spinning bikes on the outside deck. There is a pretty consistent early morning crew of five or six staculty. Our workout is followed by watching the sunrise on deck 9 with a warm cup of coffee from our Aeropress, then breakfast in the Lido restaurant. When weather allows, we eat at outside tables surrounded by ocean and sky.

There are three restaurants on the ship. The Lido on deck 9 and the Berlin on deck 6 serve breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Each has its own “vibe’ and people begin to identify themselves as being in the “Lido camp” or the “Berlin camp.” The food is served buffet style and is quite good. The third restaurant is the Four Seasons. It is a small venue reserved for fine dining that can be purchased separately. Mom and I enjoyed a gourmet meal in the Four Seasons with some ISE staff and site visitors who disembarked in Hawaii, including champagne and four mouthwatering courses. Regardless of the venue, the staff pampers us. There are many who were here during our last voyage. Among them, Perry and Linval take extra good care of us in the Lido. They make us feel special preparing our beverages just the way we like and having them waiting at the table when we arrive. Linval will even offer an occasional serenade.

After breakfast we make our way to Global Studies, a course that is attended by every voyager. It focuses on global citizenship, intercultural competency, port country discovery, and oceans. The course is co-taught by three faculty who are brilliant, engaging and fun. To date, the rest of my day has been spent in my office scrambling to be sure things are in order for our first ports. Our team has an incredible synergy, so we are able to put in long hours and have a blast doing it. Part of Mom’s job is planning and co-leading an educational seminar that follows Global Studies for the Lifelong Learners. She spends the rest of the day working on projects together with the LLL Coordinator, Kathy. We may or may not meet up for lunch or dinner, but always reconnect for the evening seminar, a series of presentations by staculty on topics that highlight the diverse areas of expertise among us. Most days also include winding down for a bit in the Fritz, a lounge at the back of the ship reserved for staculty.

Before our first port, students had the opportunity to attend classes and, just like at their home universities, go through a drop/add process. Unlike at home, in order to accomplish this task, all wifi on the ship was shut down and directed to four computers in the library. With the ISE home office and CSU Registrar’s office on-call at home, students rotated through a series of stations staffed by staculty as we processed their requests. It was fun to rally together to managing a task made challenging by our “at sea” status.

As the Hawaiian Islands came into view on a map that is projected onto TVs in our rooms, we attended our first “Logistical Pre-Port,” a time when the leadership team shares information to prepare the shipboard community for our time ashore. The excitement was palpable as we learned the plans and protocol for immigration and disembarkation, as well as the announcement that the Mayor of Honolulu was declaring January 11 Semester at Sea day.

The stop in Hawaii is just for one day to refuel as we make our way across the vast Pacific, so unlike other ports, in order to disembark, students are required to participate in a field class or program in Hawaii. During a rainy early morning arrival, we watched from deck 9 as we sailed past Diamond Head and came alongside not far from Aloha Tower. Chris, Ciara and I began the process of dispatching over 500 individuals on a multitude of programs and classes. At the same time, I was on the phone with our tour operator working out some last minute complications.

Once the immigration process was completed, groups met in classrooms and prepared for the day. Mom and I led a field program that took us to the north side of Oahu for a beach clean-up and barbecue. Our busses were greeted by Kim and Jack Johnson, a special surprise for voyagers. Kim and Jack run the Kokua Hawaii Foundation which often partners with another foundation called Sustainable Coastlines. After sharing about the great work they are doing with their foundation, Kim, Jack and others affiliated with the foundations led the group to the beach. Though it was a rainy, blustery day, we collected hundreds of pounds of microplastics that had washed ashore. While that seems significant, each wave only brought more such that it was difficult to tell we had been there at all. We had a delicious lunch at a local farm to table restaurant, Kahuku Farms and spent a lovely afternoon learning from local volunteers about the important work they are doing to raise awareness about the plastic crisis. After a delicious, homemade dinner we said good-byes and returned to the ship. It was an honor to work alongside and learn from Kim, Jack and the many others who are so passionate and dedicated to this very important cause.

Pitching and Rolling

Exhausted, we both fell asleep before setting sail. When we awoke the next morning, we had left Oahu far behind. There are twelve days at sea between Oahu and Kobe, Japan on this voyage, which provides a unique opportunity to build relationships and develop routines. Following each port, staculty lead reflection groups with students to process their experiences in-country. It was fun to meet the students who will be a part of our group for the rest of the semester and hear about the things that have impacted them most, both on the ship and in Hawaii. We also are hosting a “ship family” of nine students. There are nearly 300 students participating in this program and it is Mom and Kathy’s job to organize it. For all the complications with technology and logistics, the kick-off went without a hitch.

The captain came on the intercom to announce that we should prepare for rough seas. We had all adjusted pretty well to the rolling motion, but as the swell grew to above 12 feet, the ship turned into them leading to more pitch than roll. The motion on the ship now is back to front and is significant. Sitting on the back deck, the horizon completely disappears as bow dips and the stern rises. It’s a new kind of balancing act moving forward and back rather than side to side. Creaks and groans emerge from the bowels of the ship as it ventures through the crashing waves.

Since leaving San Diego, we have set our clocks back six times. On January 15, we crossed the International Date Line and jumped ahead to January 17. We heard the 16^th was a great day, so while we were sorry to miss it, 25 hour days are fantastic – well worth having to skip a day here and there! It can get a bit confusing, though, so a common question among voyagers currently is, “now what time (or day) is it?” We have also been blessed with sunny, warm days. Students work at tables outside on the Lido Deck, drinking smoothies and taking study breaks in the pool.

Two days until Japan, the energy has shifted toward making plans for time ashore. Before my friend, Sanjay, left the ship in Hawaii, we marveled at what an impossible notion it is to create a university on a ship and sail it around the world, and yet, it works. Rolling or pitching, it is a blessing to be “Making Waves” as a part of this amazing program.