Life on the ship is moving fast. I can't believe that we sail for Ensenada on Sunday. There is still so much to do. Right now the ship is gearing up for two days of celebration activities to honor two men who have given 31 and 28 years of service to Semester at Sea, respectively. This all starts tomorrow. As a result, we are reaping the benefits of tons of free food and drinks. There are also loads of people (SAS donors, family members, and alums who have supported the program over the years) who boarded the ship today and will depart the ship on Sunday before we sail. It seems like you only have to sail one time to become a permanent part of the SAS family. From what I understand, these events make the goings on of the ship even more hectic than they usually are at the start of the voyage. As a first-timer, ignorance is bliss! My days have been full getting things ready for the students to come on Sunday. I'll need to oversee Community College sessions, which are basically sessions where faculty, staff, students, and lifelong learners (adult participants who pay to come on the voyage) can present on topics of their choice. Their topics can be academic in nature or pertain to something much more serious like procrastinators anonymous. These "community colleges" happen every night we sail with the exception of the two days prior to our arrival in any port. I am also responsible for academic advising with individual students, supervising a work study (work study students receive a 40% break on tuition in exchange for 3 hours of work per day when we are sailing) organizing the add/drop days (two days of course adding and dropping, where I manually enter add/drops into a database and then coordinate the purchasing of texts with the ship's bookstore) and supporting my dean with any academic issues that arise. Then I have random jobs like selecting movies to play during the evenings and supervising the scantron grading of global studies exams which are exams that all students on the ship have to take (I knew there was a reason I needed this Ph.D.). Fun stuff. I am also getting anxious to do some shopping at the Semester at Sea store (think UVa bookstore the first time you went in high school) but because we are in port, the store isn't open. US Customs forbids it! It's only open when we are at sea. In two days 638 students will board from over 252 schools and over 15 countries. ...
7 comments:
Well, such service you shall receive. Please. It's only fitting for the Mrs. and you know what I mean. Although, I admit, I am concerned that you have not been given your own personal shopper and stylist--you shouldn't have to wait for stores to open.
Yay, thanks for the blog. It's perfect--I love keeping up with you! Henry and Beckham say woof.
Lexy-
Miss you already! I am so excited to be blogging. Can't wait for the next one!
Slap - your blogs are awesome. I wish I could be jetsetting with you! I hope you're wearing lots of mascara. xox
So glad to hear you are having fun. I'm personally glad that Lauren was the voice of reason in my absence. ;) Enjoy all the fun - the students are lucky to have you.
Your boat sounds amazing! And congrats on getting a super room! I hope the good people and free treats keep on coming. Hope you had a good first day with the students. Argh (that was a pirate voice)enjoy the open sea matey.
AA - oscar nominations all around! They saved their best performance for the JPJ. Our Interim Dean called it "a solid performance". Some minor glitches with power and lights, but all in all, a great 1st time in the JPJ.
Great job with the blog. It is nice to be able to keep up with you. Makes me miss you less. And as for the yoga mat, I would have totally let you take that with you. Matter of fact, imagine that I was helping you instead of Lauren ....that could have been big trouble. I can see a U-Haul rolling up to the ship.
Party on Friday - we'll have the first toast to you. xxoo
Alexis: It's so fun to follow your adventures. We miss you here but I can't wait to hear more about your travels! Andrea
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