Blog 4

On January 27, we would get to Honolulu, and I had to get up at 7AM to go to my SAS Pearl Harbor trip. I woke up in my dark windowless hole of a cabin, showered, assumed the whole world had all stopped, then got to the gangway to realize that a huge amount of students were already lined up and anxious to go seize the day. I got on the bus and we headed out for Pearl Harbor. I saw some cool artifacts in the museum; like letters from soldier's, pieces of the ships and planes, maps and diagrams of the routes and outplay of the events, and depictions of the attack. We saw about a 20-minute movie which was very moving and then got on the fairy to take us to the memorial. The memorial is a long and skinny, white structure that rests on top of the hull of the sunken USS Arizona. Very cool! The Arizona was the big battle ship that was hit directly on its ammunitions chamber and took the most damage, killing 1100 men, who are still inside. The ship is still visibly leaking oil and will continue to for hundreds of years. After that, we all went to the submarine museum, which was cool, but we were all pretty tired and ready to get back to our own ship. The Pearl Harbor experience was worth it and I'm glad I went, but the whole thing could have been squeezed into an hour and a half rather than the four that we took.

I returned to the ship, had my free lunch aboard, and then set off for Waikiki beach. It was a very touristy and crowded beach, we ended doing a little boat ride for 20 bucks which was very cool and cruised up and down the cityscape of Honolulu. I got a cool picture of me driving the boat. This was some more good bonding experience for a lot of SASers who joined in, about 30 of us or so. After, some of my pike bros and I went back to the ship after they had a good laugh at a particular video that they took of me. I had made plans that evening to meet up with one of my friends at home who was in Honolulu on an internship for the semester. I had to take another nap that evening and then woke up around 9PM and left the ship. I met my Colorado buddy at a bar called The shack, but couldn't really stay out too late because of my plans for an early deep-sea-fishing adventure at 5:45AM the next morning. I went to Senor Frogs to meet up with some more people and enjoyed the atmosphere there. I hung out with a girl named Betsy who is on the ship and we spent some of the night hanging out.

The crew that I've kind of been hanging out with and had planned to go fishing with are Tim, Jeff, and Jimmy; cool guys from southern-Cali. I slept on Jeff and Tim's floor that night just to make sure I didn't sleep through my most expensive trip yet. I was able to scrape myself off their floor, and we were on a charter boat about 30 minutes later. It was a good day of chillin' and fishing, though we never actually caught anything, damn! A little disappointing, but I drank a Corona and the captain had a CD with Tech N9ne, and it was all good! The rest of the fellas' started feeling sea sick or hung over, or whatever… and I clearly enjoyed myself the most. I would say Jimmy was hurting the most out of us. I saw a couple hump-back whales and two submarines that morning. One, just the periscope and the other fully exposed out of the water. It was disappointing that we didn't catch anything, but I guess it's the luck of the draw. We got back in Honolulu and returned back to the ship in time to catch lunch, I did a little more exploring and then took a short nap before dinner. That night, I was on the phone with a girl from home for a chunk of time before we departed and before I lost service. It left kind of a bad taste in my mouth as we left the port, no worries though. Everyone seemed to be on the 7^th deck as we shipped out and the lights of Honolulu at night were an amazing sight. I played some cards up on the deck and talked Fraternity-stuff with Tim before we parted and finally went to sleep concluding the Hawaiian adventure.

Blog 3

It is January 29, 2010 and I, and the rest of the passengers aboard the MV explorer have departed from Hawaii and have set forth for a twelve day journey to Japan. This morning as I type this out, I am getting used to the ever-present rocking of the ship once more, which I seemed to have taken for granted on Hawaiian dry land, no big deal, though; I'm sure I won't even notice in a few days.

The first day in Hawaii, we were docked in Hilo on the big island.(This is actually what they call it – the big island), I got off the ship and headed on down to a beach called Richardson, which turned out to be mostly rocky and less sand, though we made it pretty fun either way and all the kids seemed to end up there. I did some climbing around on the igneous rocks there and cut up my feet pretty badly, one big slice on the bottom of my heel. But it was gonna take more than that to stop me from enjoying my time there. I kept on exploring and found a sea turtle that was literally swimming laps in a small pool. I broke the state law and went to go touch it, it was worth it!

For lunch that day, we went to a Mexican restaurant, I know Mexican in Hawaii, right? But I wanted some chips and salsa damnit! We all enjoyed a margarita and had a really fun waitress. A less rocky beach was right across the way, so we got a case of Carona's and me and 6 others, including a kid named Cory, who was celebrating his 21^st birthday did some drinking on the beach. It was just like any Corona commercial you've ever seen, except with black sand. The 7 of us, or so; played some red light- green light, had chicken fights, (me and a girl named Taylor dominated), and buried each other in the sand. My bed still has sand in it from that one. Most everybody that night went to the SAS sponsored Luau, which I heard was a bust and I'm glad I napped through it. That night, the word got out for all the under 21-year-olds that they were not carding at a bar called Margarita Village. So naturally, all flocked there. I got there once I had rolled out of my nap, showered, and then flew solo. I ended up buying a generous amount of drinks for more than a few people to cheers to the voyage, after I made a deal with the bar tender. (Don't get mad Mom, I'm a natural business man, just like my father).

The next morning, I woke up around 10:30 and set off alone again. I spotted two girls who I had seen from the boat and caught up with them. I spent most of that afternoon with Dani and Melinda; two nice, southern Californian, good-looking girls, one was a kappa, and they both were… I think half-Asian. The three of us had lunch at a Hawaiian burger place with a very nice middle-aged waitress who was just the epidemy of Hawaii. She was Hawaiian looking, very nice, kinda dumb, and looked like she was acquainted with maryjane. She was a very sweet lady though, somehow she had messed up the bill and Dani's meal was on the house. We left her a nice tip and set off for downtown Hilo on foot. We saw so many cool looking trees, including a humongous tree that I decided to climb the vine high-school-gym-rope style. I dunno why, but that tree was the coolest part of my day. We got to down-town Hilo and I got a snow-cone and the girls actually met up with some locals they had met the previous evening and left with them in their windowless, white, molestation van. (I-shit-you-not) This was their plan the whole time though, and I thought it would be better that we parted at that point, don't worry I've seen them both on the boat, since then, and they're still intact.

I got back to the boat the day after and lounged out on the pool deck until the sunset with my pike buddies from other schools. That night we would depart for Honolulu and be there the

Blog 2

Greeting from the Pacific Ocean,

It is day 7 aboard the MV Explorer, and day 6 of classes. It is already such an unreal experience that I can not but I am going to attempt to put into words. We haven't even been to the first port yet but the experience of even being at sea for 7 days has been it's own. The first night of orientation, we were told the waters were going to get rough, but we had no idea how rough they would be. Friday night was the worst, Saturday morning everyone told stories of how bad it was in their cabins the night before. dresser's tossed about, broken electronics, entire dining tables and chairs shifting a few feet, and TV's falling off their mantle. In my room, all we dealt with were the dresser drawers slaming open and shut all night, hearing the TV rotate round and around the lazy Susan is sat on, and the slide of the soap and shampoo bottles from the bathroom.

These minor set backs, however have not stammered any of my enthusiasm for the experience. I have met so many interesting people so far that have such an enthusiasm adventure, it can only bring thing s for the future… and you'll be delighted to know that the ocean has been restored to it's calm waters now that the storms off the coast of California are dying down.

Aboard the ship, classes began on Tuesday and have proved to be very interesting indeed. The teachers are very diverse, but the thing about teachers is that they are people too, and they can be read and rationalized with. As bad as that sounds, the dean continues to stresss that an important virtue is flexibility. The teachers are here for the same reasons that we are, to see the world. I find my classes interesting, though the only thing I would change, is that the theme of the voyage is sustainability, and I've been a little hippy'ed out the past week. I'm sure I have a thing or two to learn however. Who knows, maybe I'll come back a tree-hugger yet.

A daily routine for me may start with me awaking to my asain roommate asking me if I want to go to a 7 AM breakfast, me declining, and then sleeping for two more hours. Waking up around 9 or 10 and taking some class reading to the 7^th deck where the pool is to where I get to catch somerays and study until lunch or class. Somewhere around that time, I try get in a workout with the limited workout equipment available. In between lunch/class and dinner, I usually just putz around and chill out, read, email, hangout on the deck, or whatever strikes my fancy. At dinner, I eat everything I can get my hands on, the food is very good, but I can see how it's gonna get old. It's the kind of thing where they have like 20 different ingredients and they just know a shit-ton of ways to call it different things, but they do always have PB&J.

After dinner, which is either on more formal, on deck 5; or more causal, in the garden lounge on deck 6; there may or may not be some type of event or informational meeting. We have preport before we port, to let us know about the place we are going, (where to go/not to go, what to do/not to do), or a social event. We have had event's like "speed-friending", or open-mic nights. Last night we had an open mic night and my Thai roommate sang "My Heart Will Go On". Actually he had my write out the lyrics for him… Dude I lost it, I died! I had to leave the room. No with all-do respect, good for him for getting up there. I would never have the balls to do that. After these events you can either go to pub night and pay $3.50 a pop for a maximum of 3 drinks (which does nothing for me), or you can do your own thing. I have been playing Pictionary, and charades below deck so far. (I-shit-you-not)

There are plenty of females aboard the ship and have mingled with many, there are a few girls on my radar right now, but anyone who knows me, knows… we will just see how things play out.

Tomorrow, we get to Hawaii and I am very very excited. This morning I got up for the sun rise but missed it just barely! Dah!! Still a beautiful sight, sitting on the deck sipping coffee and just enjoying the beautiful privildge to be in the moment, and the people who make it possible for me, love you mom and dad!

Blog 1

It is Day number 2 aboard the MV Explorer. It is already such an amazing experience. Yesterday at 9:00 AM, I departed from San Diego for Ensenada, Mexico. My original SAS bus trip was scheduled for 9:30 but they went ahead and threw me on the 9 o'clock. After a two hour bus ride through the jewel of Mexico - Tijuana, we arrived where our ship was ported, the great town of Ensenada. It reality, the coastal town was very beautiful and we were able to get off the ship for some real chips and salsa and collect some knick-nacks and a lifetime supply of chicklets.

We got back on the boat for a lifeboat drill and then were delayed slightly in taking off for "immigration reasons", or so the nice lady over the intercom told us. Seeing the sun set on the ocean in the 60 degree weather from a boat deck was one of the first of many absolutely stunning experiences. As we pulled away; the crew of students were yelling, clapping, and "wooting" with excitement. It was that feeling of the thrilling unexpected that I have felt many times in my life.

Aboard the ship, I have met so many different types of people so far. Before I even got on, I sat next to Austin on the bus, who along with Kiki and her roommate, later explored Ensenada together. The town was very interesting, and helped to keep me in check when I realize how good I have it in the US. My roommate whose name is Kyoktomo, but prefers to be called Emerson, or "M" is a student enrolled currently at the University of Virginia, but is from Thailand. He does a really good job of pretending that he knows what I'm saying most of the time. He is very nice and I think we will mesh together well, we have a lot to learn from one another. I sit with someone new every time we eat, and really, the food is not bad at all, but that was never my concern. I have met some individuals who I would be very compatible with, and I look forward to exploring the world with these people, including many Pikes.

The ship, which they have made it very clear, is a ship and not a boat; is very cool. It is big and blue with 7 decks, a basketball court, sauna, steam room, pool, workout facility, snack bar, massage parlor, piano bar, etc. After all, it is a converted cruise ship. All the classrooms are converted from cocktail lounges; and as for me, I'm layin' low on deck 2. We have RA's and mine is very nice and seems flexible and kind. Class will begin tomorrow, and its orientation until then.

It is still surreal that I am actually here. Waking up today was a little rough, I missed breakfast because they stop serving it at 8:30, ouch! It's alright though, I never eat breakfast anyway. Instead, I got a cup of coffee and sat on the deck in the cool morning breeze. Six more days until we get to Hawaii, and I'm sure they'll fly by, Until then I'll try to give ya' another update soon.

Best wishes from around the world,

Scotty