SAS Presentation

Friday January 21, 2011 Evergreen and I will be giving a presentation on our Semester at Sea Voyage.  Anyone who would like to attend is more than welcome.  Before the presentation there will be a fund raising dinner for the youth group starting at 6:00 pm, so I estimate that we will start the slides at 7 -7:30.  This will all be held at the Norris Religious Fellowship located at 23 Dogwood Rd.  Google knows where it is but I wouldn't trust all of its directions.  Thanks everyone for your interest in my voyage, I hope you enjoyed reading about it, and I hope I didn't ramble too much. 
Thanks
Jocelyn Borgers

Last Day on the Ship

Today was the last day on the ship.  Everyone has managed to stuff everything into the many bags they have brought with them or bought along the way.  Tomorrow we arrive in San Diego and have to go through customs.  Everyone is scrambling around getting people to sign things and sharing videos and pictures and just hanging out for the last time on the ship.  It's a bitter sweet moment.  We are all so excited to go home but really sad to leave our ship community and all the friends we have made.  We stayed up really late last night hanging out playing cards and packing.  Today we all dragged our suitcases to designated areas so they can be taken off the ship for us.  If they didn't do this I don't think that I would ever make it off the ship because I have so much stuff.  I will try to get some sleep tonight so I am wide awake tomorrow (standing in line is hard work). 

Hawaii

The first day in Hawaii I went with some of my friends to Diamond Head.  We hiked up to the top where an old fort was.  It was really windy and so not too hot at all.  The view was amazing.  after getting back down we got shave ice.  We caught the bus to Perl Harbor but it was really late by the time we got there so we only got to go in the submarine and the museum.  That night we ate at a Japanese restaurant before walking around Honolulu.  While walking around we ran across a "First Fridays" concert.  We stayed and listened to a really good ukulele player and ate fresh homemade Popsicle that we bought at a stand.  Mine was banana cream pie, yum! 

Day 2 in Honolulu we took a bus and a taxi to Honuma Bay where we snorkeled in the coral.  I got a sunburn that day but it was well worth it.  That night on the ship we sailed to Hilo. 

The first day in Hilo Jen, Laura, and I went to Rainbow falls which was really neat but what I like the best was the giant tree beside it.  This tree was amazing it was like thousands of tiny trees bunched together as one giant tree.  We spent a while climbing in it.  After that we walked to the downtown where we ate lunch and looked at all the little shops.  We called a taxi and went back to the ship where the three of us got ready to go to the lu'au.  The lu'au was at the University of Hawaii in Hilo.  The cultural club put it on for us.  It was not like the normal tourist lu'au that everyone thinks of but it was still neat.  We learned how to make lei's and saw some hula dancing and ate Hawaiian food.  After getting back to the ship we decided to go to the mall to see a movie.  We saw Tangled in 3D and I must say that I highly recommend it. 

The last day in Hawaii eight of us rented a car so we could drive to Volcano National Park.  We bought lunch to take with us and had a good day at the park.  On our way back to Hilo we stopped by Rainbow falls again for those who hadn't seen it yet.  Evergreen agreed with me that the falls were cool but the tree was really the highlight. 

Now we are back at sea.  I have 2 finals tomorrow and one the day after then I will be done!  Today the ship is really rocking even though it is so sunny and pleasant outside. 

San Diego in 4 days, Home in 5.  It has all gone by so fast. 

Don't Rock the Boat (Ship)

Since we have left Japan several days ago the ship has been rolling and pitching a lot.  For some people like me this is just an annoyance because it is hard to walk to class.  I feel sorry for the others who are sea sick.  The Ambassadors Ball happens right after Hawaii, then the final exams.  Everyone is study and finishing last minute projects.  All that’s left after finals is packing and getting off the ship.  Soon it will all be over.  I will be really happy to get home again but sad to leave the ship and all the friends I have made.  But for now it’s back to the books. 

Today is Tomorrow and Tomorrows Today

How many people can say that they had two days that were November 27, 2010?  Well at least the thousand people on this ship can.  We crossed the International Date Line sometime yesterday November 27, 2010, a Saturday.  Guess what today is?  If you said November 28, 2010, a Sunday, you would be wrong.  Today is November 27, 2010, a Saturday.  If you are now confused as to how this is possible don’t worry, you are not alone.  My friends and I have had numerous discussions and we still haven’t quite been able to logically explain this, other than saying time travel.  We have also only confused ourselves more by talking about things we need to do on the 27, wait which 27, which Saturday?  The ship does make this a little easier by saying that yesterday the first 27 was B19 and today is A20.  But even so…  Yesterday (B19) one of my friends set her phone to reminder her about a meeting she had the next day (A20).  Her phone promptly went off at the correct time but on B19.  She looked at me and wanted to know why her phone was going off.  “I asked you what day tomorrow was and you said Saturday” she said angrily, I replied “Tomorrow is Saturday and today is Saturday and the next day is Sunday.” 

Other than us having our fun little word mix ups we are studying and writing a lot of paper, finishing several projects and taking naps.  We only have 5 more days before Hawaii and then finals start. 

Kobe, me and a hat.

Me in my new hat from China infront of the Kobe Tower

Yokohama, Japan

The last day in Japan, Evergreen and I spent in Yokohama. We walked around the city from 9:30 to 12:30 when we went to the train station to meet Evergreens friend who lives an hour away from Yokohama. We ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant in a mall food court before having another crepe, this time apple, cinnamon, and whipped cream. We walked back to the ship so Evergreen's friend could see it, then while Evergreen walked her to the subway station I took our bags and stood in line to go through security and get on the ship. I waved goodbye to our last foreign port from inside because I went outside and couldn’t take it because it was so cold. Of course those of you that know me know that I get cold easily anyway. My friends didn’t think it was that bad so they stayed outside and watched us take off. It was a good day. Now begins the long stretch to Hawaii.

Tokyo, Japan

The first day in Yokohama we took the train to Tokyo for the day where we met some of our friends. We went to a temple, we went shopping, I got this really awesomely delicious crepe filled with bananas chocolate whipped cream and gelato. We sang karaoke for 2 hours in a karaoke room; it was a lot of fun. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant where I got one of the best pizzas I have ever had: chicken, bacon, and potato. An interesting combo from the sound of it but it really was really good! Evergreen and I took the train and got back to Yokohama at 12:00 am just in time for the rain to start. We walked back to the ship in the rain, my shoes where really wet.

In-Transit day

The next day was an in-transit day as we traveled with the ship to Yokohama (some people traveled independently to Yokohama). It was so nice to relax for once. I woke up at 7:30 am for breakfast then went back to bed till lunch. After lunch I caught up on some school work before dinner. After dinner Tesia, Natalie, Evergreen, and I watched the movie 17 Again. It was a nice day

Kyoto, Japan

The next day Katherine, Evergreen, and I had a field trip to some temples, gardens, and a castle. They were all really beautiful especially the Japanese maples with their leafs red and yellow. All the fall colors made me think of home. The weather was almost perfect, a little on the cool side but not too bad.