Treadmill B is the only treadmill for the 700 or 800 of us living on the ship. Today "B" also stands for bobbing -- the ship is bobbing like a cork in the Indian Ocean as we approach the Cape of Good Hope and the Atlantic. There are waves, swells, and winds; the sky and sea are dark, with rains coming. Every once in a while the ship lurches -- as some say, it seems like we hit a whale.
So, I am particularly proud to have had a successful 30 min. run this morning (30 is the full allocation). If I look down at the letter B on the frame of the treadmill, and keep it lined up with the center of the rails, and keep concentrating, it is possible to run (not too fast) under these circumstances.
As for stretches on the aft deck, the Ship's movement does a good job of turning a a static stretch into a dynamic stretch. Sitting and lying on the mat is a little like trying to make your bed while you're in it -- the wind keeps trying to wrap the mat around you.
No matter what, I do not intend to take another Meclizine -- it totally put me to sleep a couple of days ago. Some say 1/4 is enough to fight the sea sickness. I have been eating ginger from the Japanese temple. Actually the worst of the bobbing will probably be in the night, and unfortunately, it may be dark as we round the Cape of Good Hope.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
What time is it? Where are we?
Who knows? Every once in a while they say "you get an extra hour of sleep tonight". India and Burma were "half off" like Newfoundland. In other words, we adjusted our clocks by a half hour for those countries; then, of course, we had to adjust 1/2 hour back. Two nights ago AND tonight we are getting an extra hour of sleep to get lined up for South Africa.
And, speaking of South Africa, we have tucked in close to land even though we have 2 days before arrival. There are large swells in the sea, and apparently there would be even larger ones if we were further out. What this means is that we have been traveling all day in sight of land -- seeing some cliffs, plateaus, and small settlements. At noon we were 729 miles from Capetown and traveling at a little faster than usual speed.
And, speaking of South Africa, we have tucked in close to land even though we have 2 days before arrival. There are large swells in the sea, and apparently there would be even larger ones if we were further out. What this means is that we have been traveling all day in sight of land -- seeing some cliffs, plateaus, and small settlements. At noon we were 729 miles from Capetown and traveling at a little faster than usual speed.
Who knew haiku was a team sport?
But my team came in second on the ship! "Study day" had a few distractions with the Semester at Sea Olympics. the opening ceremony featured team banners and cheers. Will's kickball team lost to students in an early round, but he put in a strong showing in the backward spelling bee! The faculty, staff, and life long learners were together as a team, and the students were organized in their residence units. In addition, the kids (17 and under dependents) fielded a team -- the Loch Ness Monsters.
Events included the frozen t-shirt contest, musical chairs, SAS trivia, rock/paper/scissors (done as ship/captain/wave), and tug of war. Imagine synchronized swimming in our pool, only slightly larger than a hot-tub. Teams of 4 danced, splashed, jumped and rode on shoulders. Our team, the Golden Odysseys, had two people who really knew how to do synchronized swimming, and they recruited two others to stand nearby and wave their arms to the music.
Overall winners will be announced tonight at the closing ceremony.
Haiku had a Semester at Sea theme and could be composed ahead of time. I wrote many, and had teammates vote on their favorites at lunch to narrow it to six. After the contest, those who wanted had a chance to read a few more. The first was my team entry; some others might not make sense if you were not here.
Events included the frozen t-shirt contest, musical chairs, SAS trivia, rock/paper/scissors (done as ship/captain/wave), and tug of war. Imagine synchronized swimming in our pool, only slightly larger than a hot-tub. Teams of 4 danced, splashed, jumped and rode on shoulders. Our team, the Golden Odysseys, had two people who really knew how to do synchronized swimming, and they recruited two others to stand nearby and wave their arms to the music.
Overall winners will be announced tonight at the closing ceremony.
Haiku had a Semester at Sea theme and could be composed ahead of time. I wrote many, and had teammates vote on their favorites at lunch to narrow it to six. After the contest, those who wanted had a chance to read a few more. The first was my team entry; some others might not make sense if you were not here.
Vanishing pole star,
Gibbous moon over aft deck --
Now the southern cross
Aft deck sunset,
Layers of clouds, golden light --
Students at the rail
Tropical island
Rainy sugarcane vistas --
Fermented to rum
Imaginary
Line across the night sea --
Must placate Neptune
Anointed with goo,
Dripping, now kissing the fish
And Neptune’s diamond
First, Aloha shirts,
Kimono, longhi, sari --
Now elephant pants
Monday, March 24, 2014
A bit of luxury
There did not seem to be too much more to do in Kochi, Kerala, India after a couple of days. I rummaged in the guide book for nearby sites, and saw an interesting backwaters area and high country with tea. Escaping the heat to the mountains sounded like a good idea, but I did not know how to go about setting this up.
In India, we had a travel advisor-type person aboard the ship each day from 10 to 4. So Will and I each packed a small backpack for a few days with the hope that we could make this work. When he came aboard at 10:00 am, I showed the travel advisor the things that we hoped to do...... he told us that we could hire a driver, he indicated what it should cost, and he told us how to go about finding a good driver.
Then he asked about where we were going to stay. There was a well-reviewed place listed in Lonely Planet, and he said it would be the best place in the area. He made a reservation and negotiated a price.
Then we debarked and forged our way through the throng of taxi drivers to the "facilitation center." Inside a basketball court sized space was one desk and 4 chairs. We showed the fellow there where we wanted to go, and asked (as we had been told to do) for an experienced driver. The fellow then talked to some drivers and negotiated a price for us. During this process, we kept asking, is he experienced?
A piece of paper was filled out with the driver's name and license number -- one copy for us and one for the facilitation center.
This set us on a good course! He said that he would drive carefully, and did. Good thing too, because there were about a billion switchbacks on the trip. Drivers get commissions by delivering customers, so we were primed to resist his suggestions. But when he suggested that we stop at a spice garden and spice shop, we were pleased to do so. The most local spices were pepper and cardamom, but we saw samples of many others, and even bought a little.
Then our driver suggested an elephant ride. Lots of students had done rides in Burma, and we were not that attracted to the idea. But we were driving right by, so stopped and did an elephant ride for a half hour through some woods/tropical landscape. It was actually quite fun. The driver then offered all kinds of other options for the evening -- night jeep ride, massage, theater production, who knows what else. When we turned him down, he asked if we were happy. When we said yes, he was fine and relaxed. We agreed on a morning meeting time -- it turns out that there was a bunkroom for him to stay in at this place.
The driver phoned ahead for directions to our place, and found it easily. Totally lovely. We had a large room with a balcony looking over the tea fields and the mountains. Air was good, it was cooler, and altogether pleasant. We arrived in time for tea -- with Indian snacky things. After tea we walked up to a promontory to get a view over the whole area.
Later was a grand Indian dinner -- excellent soup, 4 curry dishes, rice, local bread, and a desert. I took pictures of every dish. The Kerala cuisine has lots of coconut, and thus tastes very rich. After supper, a staff person was waiting with a flashlight to show us back to our room.
In India, we had a travel advisor-type person aboard the ship each day from 10 to 4. So Will and I each packed a small backpack for a few days with the hope that we could make this work. When he came aboard at 10:00 am, I showed the travel advisor the things that we hoped to do...... he told us that we could hire a driver, he indicated what it should cost, and he told us how to go about finding a good driver.
Then he asked about where we were going to stay. There was a well-reviewed place listed in Lonely Planet, and he said it would be the best place in the area. He made a reservation and negotiated a price.
Then we debarked and forged our way through the throng of taxi drivers to the "facilitation center." Inside a basketball court sized space was one desk and 4 chairs. We showed the fellow there where we wanted to go, and asked (as we had been told to do) for an experienced driver. The fellow then talked to some drivers and negotiated a price for us. During this process, we kept asking, is he experienced?
A piece of paper was filled out with the driver's name and license number -- one copy for us and one for the facilitation center.
This set us on a good course! He said that he would drive carefully, and did. Good thing too, because there were about a billion switchbacks on the trip. Drivers get commissions by delivering customers, so we were primed to resist his suggestions. But when he suggested that we stop at a spice garden and spice shop, we were pleased to do so. The most local spices were pepper and cardamom, but we saw samples of many others, and even bought a little.
Then our driver suggested an elephant ride. Lots of students had done rides in Burma, and we were not that attracted to the idea. But we were driving right by, so stopped and did an elephant ride for a half hour through some woods/tropical landscape. It was actually quite fun. The driver then offered all kinds of other options for the evening -- night jeep ride, massage, theater production, who knows what else. When we turned him down, he asked if we were happy. When we said yes, he was fine and relaxed. We agreed on a morning meeting time -- it turns out that there was a bunkroom for him to stay in at this place.
The driver phoned ahead for directions to our place, and found it easily. Totally lovely. We had a large room with a balcony looking over the tea fields and the mountains. Air was good, it was cooler, and altogether pleasant. We arrived in time for tea -- with Indian snacky things. After tea we walked up to a promontory to get a view over the whole area.
Later was a grand Indian dinner -- excellent soup, 4 curry dishes, rice, local bread, and a desert. I took pictures of every dish. The Kerala cuisine has lots of coconut, and thus tastes very rich. After supper, a staff person was waiting with a flashlight to show us back to our room.
Have you ever seen a Chinese or Japanese person with missing teeth?
This was one of the lines by our guide at the tea museum in Munnar, Karela, India. The guide was trying to convince us to drink green tea. Have you ever seen a Chinese or Japanese person with a belly? How come Chinese and Japanese people look younger than their years? It is all because of green tea.
He suggests that you put a few green tea leaves in room temperature water in the morning, and drink from the bottle all day, topping it up as needed. He suggests that the different substances will be extracted from the tea at different rates throughout the day. And without using hot water, it will never taste bitter. Good for your teeth, heart, skin, cholesterol, diabetes, and entire body.
The Brits brought the tea to India and planted it on mountainous land that was too steep for much else. Some of the plants in Munnar are 150 years old, and in China and Japan there are 400 year old plants. If you did not prune it, the plants would be 30 foot tall trees! In India, each bush/tree is pruned every 7 days, year round, forever.
Because of the constant pruning, the view of the hillsides is constantly the color of the fresh bright spring-green leaves that have been growing only a few days. It is an incredible view, kilometer after kilometer, up into the mountains. In Japan the tea is grown in straight rows (no surprise there). In India it is grown in more of a quilt pattern. This quilt becomes particularly festive when the women are there picking the tea.
In fact, it is not so much picked these days as pruned. They have clippers with a bag attached for collecting the prunings. Originally women picked the tea because of their fine motor dexterity; they still have this job. In fact, one man "controls" a crew of 25 women. Before they pick, they wrap their lower body in oilcloth or thick cloth, put on a long sleeve shirt, put cloths on their heads to protect from the sun, and put on gloves.
The original plantation that was the site of the tea museum was established quite early. As with other company towns around the world, workers were paid in company-specific coins. They were given health care and day care. Cows were introduced to give milk, and a veterinarian was hired.
What is the situation today? The workers own the plantation, and there is a veterinary research institute nearby. I cannot tell you what they are paid, and what expenses that needs to cover.....
He suggests that you put a few green tea leaves in room temperature water in the morning, and drink from the bottle all day, topping it up as needed. He suggests that the different substances will be extracted from the tea at different rates throughout the day. And without using hot water, it will never taste bitter. Good for your teeth, heart, skin, cholesterol, diabetes, and entire body.
The Brits brought the tea to India and planted it on mountainous land that was too steep for much else. Some of the plants in Munnar are 150 years old, and in China and Japan there are 400 year old plants. If you did not prune it, the plants would be 30 foot tall trees! In India, each bush/tree is pruned every 7 days, year round, forever.
Because of the constant pruning, the view of the hillsides is constantly the color of the fresh bright spring-green leaves that have been growing only a few days. It is an incredible view, kilometer after kilometer, up into the mountains. In Japan the tea is grown in straight rows (no surprise there). In India it is grown in more of a quilt pattern. This quilt becomes particularly festive when the women are there picking the tea.
In fact, it is not so much picked these days as pruned. They have clippers with a bag attached for collecting the prunings. Originally women picked the tea because of their fine motor dexterity; they still have this job. In fact, one man "controls" a crew of 25 women. Before they pick, they wrap their lower body in oilcloth or thick cloth, put on a long sleeve shirt, put cloths on their heads to protect from the sun, and put on gloves.
The original plantation that was the site of the tea museum was established quite early. As with other company towns around the world, workers were paid in company-specific coins. They were given health care and day care. Cows were introduced to give milk, and a veterinarian was hired.
What is the situation today? The workers own the plantation, and there is a veterinary research institute nearby. I cannot tell you what they are paid, and what expenses that needs to cover.....
Darker blue seas
Darker blue seas with more whitecaps, and spray blowing off the tops of the white caps. This image goes with a rocking ship. You can see the swells getting larger as we head south. Will it get rockier as we keep going south?
Meclizine is supplanting ginger as the treatment for seasickness, and students are getting dilated pupils again from mishandling their patches. (Hands much be thoroughly washed immediately.)
On the other hand, we have been having beautiful sunsets, and we have a study day coming up so I can catch up on grading. We will also have the ship-wide Olympics that day.
Meclizine is supplanting ginger as the treatment for seasickness, and students are getting dilated pupils again from mishandling their patches. (Hands much be thoroughly washed immediately.)
On the other hand, we have been having beautiful sunsets, and we have a study day coming up so I can catch up on grading. We will also have the ship-wide Olympics that day.
Dark blue sea
On the dark blue sea are scattered whitecaps. At bed-time last night, there was an announcement that we should put our cameras and laptops on the floor because rough seas were expected. This morning there are small piles of barf bags strategically placed around the ship. We are on the stretch of the Indian Ocean from the 20th to 35th latitude and to the point of confluence with the Atlantic Ocean. I guess this could be a rough stretch.
Every time there are public address announcements throughout the ship, I think of the public address system that Dan had in his house in Muraoka, Japan.
At 5:57 last night, I looked out my portside window to see a student sprinting for all he was worth towards the gangway to make the 6:00 on ship time. Students were hanging over the rail cheering him on! And they were ecstatic when he made it. Not quite everyone did make it on time -- they get "dock time" and have to stay on the ship for a few hours in the next port when everyone gets off.
Every time there are public address announcements throughout the ship, I think of the public address system that Dan had in his house in Muraoka, Japan.
At 5:57 last night, I looked out my portside window to see a student sprinting for all he was worth towards the gangway to make the 6:00 on ship time. Students were hanging over the rail cheering him on! And they were ecstatic when he made it. Not quite everyone did make it on time -- they get "dock time" and have to stay on the ship for a few hours in the next port when everyone gets off.
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