there is hope.

In the past two days my faith in humanity and the true goodness of people has been revived. Additionally, I am thanking God for the true blessings He has recently rained down here in Oregon.

T, a loving and energetic woman who works for our campus dining company, has recently experienced a MAJOR family emergency. She is unable to afford a ticket to get home to the Philippines to be with her daughter (the injured party) much less afford to take the time off of work. The situation is dire enough, however, that she can't afford not to go.

The word about this went out to the students, faculty and staff and I am f.l.o.o.r.e.d by the out pouring of love and generosity from the campus community. Within a day and a half we had more than enough money to buy a ticket. And, as if that wasn't enough, the Lord helped someone step forward and donate an entire airline ticket through his frequent flier miles. More than $1300 has been collected and will be used to assist with the additional expenses and medical care. The money is still rolling in steadily and there has been the promise of more upon the return of many who are currently away for spring break. The abundance of God's work continues to bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart.

I often get frustrated about the politics and practices etc. at the university. However, this is exactly the type of community I want to be a part of in my job. I have fallen in love with the WU family this week and T is going to be with her daughter by the end of this weekend. It is really amazing what can happen when everyone gives.

Keep it up. Pay it forward. Thank you WU. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Can anyone say double standard?

I was faced with a big sister reality this week. We all know that I'll take off gallivanting around the world anytime and not worry too much about it. And I've discovered that when my friends or students head abroad I'm nothing but excited for (and somewhat jealous of) them.

However, when my "baby" brother Nick (20) announced that he was heading to London over his spring break, I instantly started to worry. I was happy that he had decided to start traveling as he's always been a homebody, but dang... those big sister instincts sure did kick in.

He left this past Friday and we had a nice phone conversation before he took off... I was giving him some last minute (solicited) advice and that led to an "in case of an emergency, here are some options for you..." speech. After I'd given a few examples he started laughing and pointed out the statistical likelihood of my "possible scenarios." Maybe it's because I do too much work with risk management, maybe it's because I've found myself in situations that were a little sketchy while traveling or maybe it's because Nick has always had a wild streak to him. In any case, I was feeling protective and worried.

Upon further reflection I remembered that I had those same feelings when Dan (my other baby brother, 24) trekked across the country this past summer to move to a new state (approximately 5 months after I did the same thing).

I am so grateful for both of my younger brothers and love them dearly. Even though they are intelligent and completely capable men, I still get protective. I can only imagine what it'll be like if I ever have kids... heaven help them.

My Car is Growing Moss.

Not kidding. My car has moss growing on it. It is official, I dwell in rainy Oregon where moss apparently grows on everything. Tree branches, roof tops, my deck, my car. After another year or so I'm thinking it will probably start growing on my back.

Who wants to come visit?

Seriously? Seriously.

College students. First I was one. Then, I studied them. Now I work with them and there are still some days that I just don't understand them at all.

Today I was cleaning up our front office area and was dropping some papers into the files when I noticed an application from a freshman woman for an upcoming program. This application was stuck in with a few other apps and there was a picture lying on top of it (not stapled or paper clipped). The app that she had filled out required 3 photos to be attached (for ID purposes).

Well, this freshman student decided that the best photo of her to submit for id purposes was one of her (in sunglasses that covered half of her face) holding a Malibu Rum bottle up next to her face. Oh, but it gets better. She is apparently in a CAR according to the background. Winner. Please, will someone tell me what world is this an appropriate picture to submit with an application? ugh. I will say, however, I'm looking forward to that teaching moment.

I think I might be related to the Karate Kid.

As I was getting ready for bed tonight I noticed a fly buzzing around my bathroom. I'm not sure where said fly came from, as it's about 30 degrees outside and I was under the impression that flies are more abundant in the summer months. In any case, I realized that I don't actually own a fly swatter. Well, I decided that fly was not going to cohabitate with me this evening and decided to catch it. I grabbed a piece of TP, waited until it landed and BAM. Got it. First try. I am apparently stealth-like at midnight.

Next time, I will attempt this feat with chopsticks. That might be more impressive eh?

TIREd AND cold.

So, last Thursday I got up at 4 a.m., yes, there is a 4 a.m. A time I thought only existed in the college and breastfeeding years. I got up at this time so that I could take a group of four twenty-somethings to a conference in exotic Spokane, WA. (Now, how's that for an exciting destination on what was started as a travel blog?)

We've spent the last 4 days going strong from 9 a.m. until roughly 12 a.m.- 1 a.m. at this conference. It was a good time and they were a great group, but I'll admit, we were all sorts of ready to get home Sunday. Everything went smooth with the flight and such and as we shuttled back to the long term parking we laughed a lot and got into an interesting ethical discussion (about a seemingly pointless topic) which entertained a number of the other passengers on the bus (and probably irritated a few as well).

Much to B's dismay, the car was still parked in the same spot, but, upon closer examination ... oh yay. a flat tire. Fabulous. (This, by the way, is my third flat in 2 months). We got that changed (thank you AAA) and set off to find someone to either patch it or get a new tire (I was definitely hoping for the patching option as it's much more affordable for this ballah on a budget).

This proved to be a more difficult task than expected, but eventually (2 hours, 2 stops, and 3 towns later) we arrived at a tire service that was open on a Sunday and that wasn't creepy.

We went for a late lunch across the street while the car was being serviced and were told that they'd call as soon as it was finished. Well, an hour and a half later we were still sitting at our table waiting for the phone call. We headed back over just to check in and lo and behold, it had been finished for quite sometime. Sweet. Thanks for the call.

We got back to Salem with no major highway difficulties (luckily) and I headed home (finally) after dropping the students off. I arrived at the house and was greeted by a slip on my front door that read "your gas service has been disconnected" dated Friday. No explanation. I didn't initially think this was a big deal, I wasn't going to be cooking anything and I figured I'd just call in the morning, right?

Well, the house is new to me and it took me a bit to remember that in this place, unlike the old place, the gas bone's connected to the HEAT bone, the gas bone's connected to the water bone... etc. How nice that the water heater only came to mind about 10 minutes after I'd applied a cleansing face mask. How fun to wash my hardening face with frigid water.

So I bundled up and hunkered down for a chilly night. I called the gas co this morning (they apparently had no record of my account, I'm 98% sure I called to set it up the same day I called the electric company). They're coming to fix it, sometime ON WEDNESDAY. Burr. Thank goodness for friends who have futons.

Is anyone still reading this? Probably not. But if you are, thank you. I just got internet at my house and will be updating much more often. Check back this week for more stories!

how beautiful!

Hi friends!

Check out Pictures at Sea for some additional photos.

These are not photos that I took, rather, they are the incredible work of Patrick Cavan Brown, our staff photographer.

musings

Dear F06 RD staff,
One year ago today my life changed for the better. One year, 365 days, 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes ago you came into my life and I began "meeting" each of you via e-mail.

I had no idea that the new names rapidly appearing in my inbox, RM, JP, JG1, JG2, SH, GW, DB, TT and eventually NN, would, just a few months later come to mean so very much to me.

These early emails provided me with a mix of emotions that I now struggle to explain. I was in awe at the caliber of professionals I was going to be working with, I was eager to see if we'd just be colleagues, or if we'd be friends. I was intimidated by what you had all done in your pre-SAS lives and tried desperately to imagine how I was going to keep up with you.

I felt behind in researching our ports, as I had no money to buy travel books and had very limited access to internet last summer. I felt bad that a couple of you had to keep forwarding me SAS info that, for some reason, I never received! But the biggest emotion was how very lucky I was to have this opportunity and how excited I was to actually meet you all in person and share the unknown adventure that was waiting for us.

I never imagined that a year later I would view each of you as not colleagues, not as merely friends, but as family. I can't believe how close I feel to you, even though we may only talk periodically. How, I'd pretty much do anything for you or even just to spend time with you (including registering/training for a half-marathon) seriously, yes seriously (how did you talk me into that)?

I love you all and just wanted to say how grateful I am for your love, friendship and impact on my life. Rick, thank you so much for hiring me (us), I don't know that I can actually articulate how very grateful I am. Thank you all for giving my life a before and an after.

Happy one-year anniversary of our "meeting."

love,
kate

The girl I referenced in the previous post is the one in the green dress on my left. She and her friends spent a signifcant amount of time with us that morning. Also pictured are staff members Natalie (blonde) and Jenny (brunette). Danelle took this photo.

Myanmar/Burma: part 3

We arrived at the port and I struggle to describe the collision of nervousness and excitement. I remember thinking that I really didn't want to get off the ship - I was that nervous. After we finished distributing passports, I climbed off the ship with Natalie, Debbie, Nam and Jenny and we headed out to explore Yangon (Myanmar), also known as Rangoon (Burma).
We boarded the shuttle bus and headed into Yangon just shortly after we ported. The ride to the city was remarkably quiet, I can only imagine what was going on in the heads of my fellow shipmates, just based on what was in my own head. I prayed quietly to myself for the people that we were seeing along the way and for our own understanding and safety while in this country.

The bus deposited us at Traders Hotel which was along the lines of a Hilton - as Nam would say, it was "boo-gsee-la-la." We walked in, traded American dollars for local currency and then decided to see the real Burma, as we well knew Traders was not a good representation of it. I took a deep breath as we walked out into the somewhat paved streets and headed off to no where in particular. Instantly people surrounded us, welcomed us, stared at us, said hello/wanted to practice English, wanted to sell us postcards/flowers. The Burmese people were so welcoming and friendly most of my fears vanished quickly. We found sanctuary from the sales people by deciding to check out the pagoda at the end of the street (not the Shwedagon, but a smaller one).

We removed our shoes, and set foot inside the shrine area. No one was allowed to wear shoes when inside the pagoda. I figured that, in addition to respect, it would help keep it clean. Yeah, not so much. I could feel the layers of dirt under my feet mixed with a dampness that I assumed was rain. The floor was made of a cool (originally white) marble. It started to rain while we were wandering around and we then proceeded to slide across the marble floor. I remember thinking carefully about every step that I took. I did not want to fall and (inevitably) break a bone of some sort. I was guessing that Myanmar was not the place I wanted to visit a hospital.

There was a group of children that followed us through the whole thing, asking questions, giving us information etc. One of the young girls (about 13) spoke incredible English - and dang - was she intelligent. All I could think about during conversations with her was how much potential she had and wondering, what she could do if given the opportunity for a better education/college/etc. This young girl made more of an impact on me in 20 minutes than I thought was possible.

The rest of the day was spent walking the streets, meeting people, getting stared at, getting my hair pulled (see earlier post) and attempting to figure our way around - it was great. We went to get traditional Burmese food that night and hopped a cab to get to a place the port agent had recommended.


One of the streets we walked down

When we first got in the cab I feared that we would never make it to the restaurant. You could definitely see the road through the floorboards, there were no seat-belts and the engine's purr sounded like a hemorrhaging cat. The cab director talked to us (in broken English) and we were luckily able to communicate where we wanted to go. This man then put us in a cab with a different driver, and the two of them argued (not in English) for about 5 minutes. Yikes. I still don't know what was said, but we did make it there in one piece.


The view from our dinner table - and a full moon to boot

We bused back to the ship and I got ready to lead my first field excursion the next day.

Myanmar/Burma part 2:

I had a sense of nervousness with each port that we sailed into, Burma was no exception to this feeling. In fact, the nerves were actually multiplied for this port. As I mentioned, I knew very little about the country, the people and what to expect - this country was different that any other place I'd ever traveled.

As we sailed into the the 2000 year-old port of Thilawa I couldn't help but realize how much the water had changed, literally, overnight. Unlike the azure blue pictures I've posted priviously, the water near Burma was brown, thick and murky. The land was a lush green and there were tiny little fishing boats everywhere. As we sailed into the Yangon River and toward the port, the water seemed to thicken.

This was part of the reason that the ship and the passengers had been put into water conservation mode. We were instructed to take short showers (water on, rinse, water off, soap up/shampoo, water on, rinse, water off) and to use as little water as possible during our stay in Burma, the days between Burma and India and again while India. The ship produces its own fresh water, however, the ship was not able to process/filter the water that existed off the coasts of Burma and India. The ship was also not able to get fresh water pumped in from the port in either of those countries and the sailing time between the two didn't allow for enough time to replenish the supply. If we had started to run low, fresh water would have only been available on the ship for 2 hours a day. Luckily, people obliged and this didn't have to happen.

I remember standing on the back deck with Jonny watching as we sailed on the muddy water. As the crew began tying the ship to the dock we spotted the Shwedagon Pagoda in the distance - located in the center of Yangon (Rangoon). The Shwedagon Pagoda is one of Yangon's biggest tourist attractions and was built almost 2500 years ago. We'd heard much about this Buddhist shrine on the way to Myanmar/Burma, but I was surprised that we could see it as well as we could, as Yangon is about an hour by bus from the port.


The view on the sail into Burma

One of the most vivid images from sailing into that port was the fishing boats. Many of the fishing boats were made out of a dark wood and had a blue tarp on the top. That morning, I remember seeing one lone boat that had filled with water, and whose tarp was floating on top of the water. There was no one in sight and I can't help but wonder what happened to the fishermen on that boat, as there was no sign of life around that area. I hope that there was another fishing boat around him at the time and that he was taken to safety.

This voyage has made me even more grateful that we have fresh, clean water - from the tap - in the US. It is now something that I think of every single time I turn on a sink or hop in the shower - how many people will never experience that luxury? I know I've met a lot. How many others just waste it, as if it's not a precious commodoty? Unclean water is the cause of many diseases and, if clean water was available - think how many lives would be saved or, at the very least, changed.

Has an entire semester really passed since I disembarked from the MV Explorer? I can't believe it. I'm sitting here, feeling rather guilty for not updating this since January. So.. here I am, newly inspired due to a trip (that's in progress) back to the ship. That's right, in 2 days I will have the opportunity to reboard for a few hours and hang out with other SAS alumni! I can't CAN'T wait to walk up the gangway and see the crew again! I'm hoping that this will jump start the remainer of my blog posts for you.

peace.

Myanmar/Burma, part 1.

Now, let me take you back a couple of months to one of my favorite ports... I must warn you, this will be long, but hopefully interesting. I'll probably break it up into different posts for your reading ease.

Myanmar/Burma was the port that I'd been most conflicted about since I began reading about it and also the port that I knew the least about before the trip began. It was also the first country that I've traveled to that is governed by a military regime.

I learned that it is a country in which many folks have protested travel due to the oppression of the government on the people, the lack of support from the UN and other various reasons. A lot of tourism money gets put back into the government and it's important to be really careful where the tourist dollar or rather, the kyat, (pronounced chat) goes if one doesn't want to give a percentage to the government.

Myanmar's/Burma's name was changed by the military government in 1989. The folks that changed it felt that Burma was a vestige of European colonialism. There are many opposition activists that don't recognize the name change because the argue that such a drastic change should be approved by a national referendum, thus, it is a political issue.

I had no idea what to expect while traveling in this country and opted to do a couple of the SAS trips as I wasn't quite sure how difficult/safe independent travel would be in Burma. I'd signed up for these trips early in the voyage and after I began reading more and more about Burma and travel within the country, regretted it, as I didn't know which companies we would be using and how much of my money would go somewhere I didn't want it to go.

I had been assigned as a trip leader for 2 of the trips and decided not to back out of that privilege/responsibility. As it turned out, I'm glad I didn't back out - even though we all know how I feel about group travel - I could have not experienced some of these things that I'll write about on my own.

Life between the voyage and now.

Well, I'm sorry that it has been so long since I've posted. I'll try to briefly explain life over the past few weeks and then jump back into the voyage - as I'd rather be there right now anyway!

After arriving back in the states I got the opportunity to visit with some family and friends in Florida and St. Louis. I headed up to Ames for a visit and to meet the movers and just before I got there found out that my grandmother passed away. I then spent a night up in Ames and headed back to the St. Louis area for the funeral.

I then headed to JC and KC to see the family and friends. The day after Christmas I headed to Omaha and had a blast visiting with a few friends from undergrad - a great mini-reunion of sorts. From there, I took off on my trek half-way across the country in order to begin the next chapter of my life here in Oregon.

Luckily, I didn't have to make the drive alone. Hassan offered to drive it with me and we had a good time. Four days in a car with one person is a lot to ask of anyone - especially after not having seen that person, or really talked, in 3 months! =) I'm surprised he didn't leave me somewhere along the highway! =) Just kidding... Needless to say, we didn’t drive each other too crazy.

We took 80 West all the way to California, visited Ang and her family in Salt Lake, spent a day bike riding in San Francisco, and took the scenic route up the coastline of CA to Oregon. All in all it was a nice trip, but I was definitely antsy about getting to OR.

I began work the day after we arrived and have been going full steam ahead ever since. I'm beginning to settle into my duplex and will post pictures once I have cleared the boxes. Oh, and maybe after I acquire some furniture as well. =) I really like my new job thus far and am enjoying the students. It has been hard to be back in the states and, although I've been so happy to see everyone, I miss the ship, the people and ship-life desperately.

The USA.

ok...so I've officially been back for a week. We made it safely through the Bermuda Triangle and had rather somber arrival (on the ship side anyway - the parents that were there waiting were ecstatic)! It's been rather hectic and crazy, first Florida, then St. Louis, then Ames and now back to St. Louis.

My grandma passed away yesterday and I'm heading back for the funeral. I feel so blessed that I got to spend about 4 hours alone with her on Tuesday - I was so worried that she'd pass while I was at sea, but she held on for a bit. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers, especially my dad, his brothers and my grandpa.

We will return with the regularly scheduled programming next week, until then, there won't be any time.

Can't wait to catch up with you all - give me a call - the cell is back up and working.

A huge wake up call.

So...I just realized this morning that we are now officially on Eastern Standard Time. Auhgh!!! We're getting SO close! The students are finished with finals and today is filled with packing and convocation. We have to have our luggage to the second deck by 13:00 and then....let the tears flow - right? It's going to be a tough and emotional day. I'm posting because I'm, once again, putting the "pro" in procrastinating. Actually, I'm almost finished, and a little hesitant to finish.

See you soon. Maybe I'll be able to catch up on the blog finally! Don't worry, I've been making notes and definitely won't forget anytime soon.

The Triangle.

Um yes, the end to our trek around the world is a nice sail through the Bermuda Triangle. Just in case we become part of the myth/legend of the triangle, know that I love you all! The Captain seems pretty relaxed about it, but our exec. dean has quite a story from the time he sailed in '84. Everything was ok, but dang, kinda creepy. Here's hoping it all goes well! Some folks started to get a tad nervous tonight when we started hitting some rougher seas than we've had the past 2 days...it does add a bit of excitement around here. It's a rockin' tonight and is making packing a tad difficult!

"There is no end to the adventure we can have, if only we seek them with our eyes open." - Jawaharial Nehru

Well, we are in the middle of the 9 day stretch to get "home" (Florida). I can not believe this voyage is near completion and am starting to get rather sentimental (shocking, I know). I hate (hate, hate) good-byes, and tears well up when I so much as think about leaving my coworkers, students and the crew. I can't believe how much of a family the people here on the ship have become and I am so in love with the community that has developed. It's like saying good-bye to family members, many of whom I will (probably) not see again. Although I am so excited to see and talk to all of you, I honestly think that I'm going to go through some serious withdrawal when I leave these people!

This realization hit me hard this week during our passenger talent show. As I sat and watched such incredibly talented people come together and put on an amazing show, I realized how grateful I am for the way this community has learned to function as a cohesive unit. I love the fact that we have kids, college students, and adults of all ages, sharing such an amazing adventure. This voyage has been something that has touched each one of us in different ways, and none of us are, or will ever be, the same as we were when we first set foot on the MV Explorer.

There are various (and seemingly random) groups that have bonded together with common interests - folks that have made life-long friends - folks that have "adopted" students as their own kids and grandkids - folks that are scared to leave one another and face their own lives without the others. Unless I have the good fortune to work on this ship again, I would venture to say that I will never again have the opportunity to live and work in such a closed, self-sufficient community.

So many people talk about "getting back to reality, back to our 'real jobs,'" this has been so unreal that it's difficult to think and accept that this IS our reality right now - this moment! Maybe I'm not as eager to get back because the reality that awaits is new and very unfamiliar? I'm so afraid that I'm going to get back to the states and that this is all going to feel so distant, so unreal. There are so many emotions inside right now and I want to be able to fully experience them right in the moment. I don't want it all to feel like a dream.

Part of the reason that my blog is so far behind, other than the fact that I've had little time, is that I know I can never truly explain to you everything that I so desperately want you to understand. Seeing the countries has been great, but being on this ship has been just as wonderful of a learning and growing experience.

Right now I'm sitting on one of the side decks of the ship, enjoying a brisk evening with a nearly full moon shining over the water. I am dreading the snow that is abundant in Missouri these days and will really miss the peace and serenity that I find out here in the middle of nowhere, on the rare occasion I have an entire deck to myself.

We have been lucky for about the last 36 hours, as the seas have really calmed down. The first two days of this stretch were some of the rockiest we've had and I, along with everyone else, wanted to get off of this ship ASAP. Now that the seas have settled and the weather is nice, I could stay here for a long time.

Ok... so my goal in blogging tonight was to write you about the Myanmar port. I'm going to get to that now. I do plan to catch you up on all of them, but as you've noticed, sometimes I have to go a tad out of order. Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading!

Austria...

Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts. They paid off! The student is doing very well, surgery was successful and she still has feeling in her legs! She will walk again! The docs are expecting a full recovery and she wants to run the Boston Marathon in the future! Still has a lot of pain, but it well on her way.

I was ordered out of the hospital today (by the student and her folks) and I ended up taking her dad to the Bellvedere. It is one of the Hapsburg palaces and it houses one of my favorite paintings. Last time I was here it was closed, but.... I got to see it today!!!! So excited! Then later I took her mom to my favorite resturaunt here in town at Stephensplatz. (Can you believe I was able to find it again Mom?!? Missed having you there though!) It was so fun to see both of them experience a new country for the first time and the student was glad I got them both out to see a bit of the city.

I fly to Spain tomorrow afternoon and will be meeting the ship early on Thursday morning. It's been so odd not being on the ship and I almost feel as if it has all been a dream. I'm sure I'll fall back into ship life quickly. =) I can't believe this is our last port and that I'll be back in the states soon...it's going to be so surreal.