Shipboard Update

An update from the Bridge...

There is so much that happens onboard the ship, and each day feels like a flood of moments.  It's like drinking out of a fire hydrant--I want to take in as much as I can, yet there is only so much that I can take in at once.  I'm sure I have said this before.

Well, we have just arrived in Cape Town and are waiting for the ship to clear!  I woke up early this morning to watch the sun rise over Table Mountain, as I remember it being such a spectacular sight from two years ago with SAS.  It was a cloudy foggy morning, so we only saw partial faint images, yet beautiful nevertheless.  The scene itself was almost surreal because at one point the Captain stopped the ship, and we had to wait for the fog to clear, similar to when we were in Shanghai at the beginning of our journey. Actually, I think it's very symbolic for this to have occurred again at the "midpoint" of our voyage, as it truly feels like a midpoint in so many ways.  It's a midpoint in time, as we now have less than 2 months left.  It's a physical midpoint, as we sail around the southern tip of Africa.  And it's a time for all of us to reflect on where we are and where we want to set our intentions for the remainder of this journey.  It's like "half-time" (Funny to use a sports analogy when I don't play sports.)--an official "break" point, that although short, seems like a good time to re-evaluate, regroup, and reset my intentions.  We have the potential to work very long hours onboard, and because there is no natural boundary between our work lives and personal lives, it takes a conscious effort to create and honor those boundaries for myself.  That's my intention.  I don't want to forget that I am living on a ship, sailing on the ocean.  And from my experience with SAS, I know that the things I will remember and miss the most will have nothing to do with the intranet, the checklists, the order forms, and the meetings.  

So in thinking about what I will remember, or rather what I want to remember, here are some of the highlights, mixed in with  a few little tid bits... 

* Hunger Banquet--This event was carried over from the first voyage, as you might recall.  It's an exercise that simulates the unequal distribution of food in our world.  You randomly drew whether you were in the upper, middle, or lower economic group and received food rations accordingly.  I was in the middle SES group but felt so awkward being there, especially as the people from the lower SES group watched us get our food.  Many of us ended up going to sit with the lower SES group and shared our food with them.  It was an interesting exercise, and might have been even more impactful after India.  What was interesting was my first reaction: As I got up to get food, I couldn't make eye contact with the people in the lower SES group because I was ashamed at the privilege I had.  It took a few moments to realize this and for me to consciously turn and face them.  I wonder how often I do that in real life.  It wasn't until I went to sit with people from the lower SES group, that I felt a little less self conscious, yet there was still a sense that I didn't belong, that I didn't really know the experience I had temporarily chosen (because people in upper and middle SES groups actually have a choice, right?) to step into.  In some ways, I felt like a fraud, and it definitely left me thinking, which in the end, is the intention of the event.

* Cultural Shows: We have an amazing student leader, Pablo from Spain, who is organizing a series of cultural shows with Ann (one of our IRC's--if you remember from the first voyage, she's the one I was with in Portugal when that lady yelled "CHINA!").  So far we've had "Asian & Australia Night" and "Africa & Middle East Night", and they've both been such a hit!  Each show consisted of a series of performances (dance, music, song, poetry), stories, and presentations.  I love to see the look of pride on people's faces as they are sharing about their culture and being appreciated for doing so.  I did a mini-presentation during "Africa & Middle East" Night with Malak (She's half Iranian, half Mexican.) and David (Iranian, too), two of our fabulous students.  And both from California.  Our little presentation was hilarious and very improv.  About twenty minutes before the show, we dressed up David as "Haji Firooz" (the herald of the Persian New Year--like Santa Claus).  I didn't grow up with Haji Firooz, and neither did David, and neither did Malak, yet we whipped together a random little costume for David to wear on stage--with a sign that said "I am Haji Firooz".  It was one of those stories that's funnier in the moment, mainly because of it's randomness.

* Intercultural Communications Class: Someone somewhere along the line decided that it wold be helpful for our Onboard Life team to audit an Intercultural Communications, given that all our students are taking it.  Some of the OBL team already have a background in intercultural communications, but I hadn't, so it's been particularly helpful for me.  Not only am I learning more about the field, but it also helps me to be more familiar with the models, concepts, and terminology that the students are learning.  One model in particular is called the "Intercultural Communications Competence Staircase Model", where people may move through stages from Unconscious Incompetence to Conscious Incompetence, to Conscious Competence, to Unconscious Competence.  The final stage is the one which reflects one's ability to spontaneously move in and out of communication with people from a new culture--In other words, they can "code shift" effortlessly between intercultural communication systems.  We've also been learning about differences in communication styles--high context vs. low context, direct vs. indirect, circular vs. linear, etc.  Very cool, as it draws attention to the subtle nuances and the complexities of a given culture.  

* Career Planning: It's been really fun to continue applying my career development experience to the program.  I've started a Career Advising Group, set up individual appointments, and am working with students to organize career panels, the first one which was a couple of weeks ago and went really well!  Since UC Berkeley is one of our steward universities, I asked if I could post and distribute their materials to our students.  They have a very comprehensive job & internship guide,so that's been a great resource. The programming has also been a nice way for me to feel like I am contributing something important and valued and to connect one-on-one with students.  More and more I have been thinking about starting "re-entry"  work with study abroad students and incorporating the career planning piece.  I think it would be fun to actually start such a program on a land campus.  Could be a possible "next step" for me...

* Lyrical Fun: One of our students, Nick, is directing a musical, and he asked me if I would help write lyrics.  This has probably been one of my highlights in the voyage so far.  Our sessions have feel like what I would imagine a creative music team session to be.  I wrote some lyrics, another student named Nate wrote the music, and together, we put the words to a melody.  The song is called "Oceans Apart", and when I hear Nate play and sing it (because we all know the singing is not coming from me:), I feel so moved and excited and proud.  What's so funny to me is that when I think back to when I was little, my neighbor Amy C. (from Texas) and I would write and sing songs!  We even "hired" our neighbor Brannon to be our "Manager" for five cents an hour!

* TSS Research Institute: One of the unique aspects of TSS is that it has a component for oceanography and atmospheric research, which is cool because when you think about it, we have an opportunity to collect ocean data from points where no one else has collected before.  Two of the IRC's that I supervise (Dana and Mel) are part of the Research Team, so I have been interested in learning more about it from them.  Dad, I know you are smirking right now--Takes you back to the Krebs cycle days, doesn't it?  So, a couple nights ago, we had the opportunity to sign up to help with the research team's XBT deployments, which involved shooting a probe down 760 feet to measure the ocean's temperature.  Once the temperature is gaged, it appears as a graph on a computer.  I got to do two of them in row, and it was very cool.  And in case you are dying to know...The temperature measured at 760 meters was between 8 and 9 degrees celsius.  Just a little something to tuck away.  I feel so scientist-ish.  

* Yoga: Derek, our Recreation Specialist, talked a few of us into leading yoga classes, and now Pat (our Academic Dean) and I are leading a yoga class every Green day morning (Our class schedule consists of   "Green" and "Blue" days.).  At first I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing--Teaching it is more difficult than I thought it would be.  I was always used to just focusing on what I was doing, that having to call out and explain postures to a group was different.  But now Pat and I have a little routine down,and it's been great!  Our classes are at 7:15 am outside on the Aft deck--such a nice way to start the morning.  I've toyed with the idea of going through a yoga teacher training course, and now I'm really considering it.  

* California Dreamin': The other night I had a dream, and in that dream, I was hugging my mom.  I woke up that morning with such a warm comforting feeling.  I realized that it had been a long time since I dreamed about anything outside  of our little ship world.  It was really refreshing. 

Okay, I just re-read these last few lines...Haha, yes I am 30 years old:-)