Hello everyone!

Hello my American friends/family! Though I guess some of you may be outside these our United States so hi to you too… if I really must.

Juuuust kidding. So here I am, on a ship! Or a boat, as I keep calling it… even though everyone over 30 immediately corrects me because this is most definitely not a lowly “boat.” Anyway, I am so, so sorry for not updating this earlier. I had a bit of technological angst when I discovered that, once I went south of Virginia, my computer has about a 15-minute battery life. This gave me the urge to throw my computer off a ledge, preferably into some body of water. This of course would have been very convenient given my proximity to plenty of ledges and more water than I can shake a stick at. That is a colloquialism, right? I believe I heard it on a commercial once so that’s enough evidence for me.

So yes! The ship. It rocks. A lot. And not metaphorically. It rocks a lot more than most people were banking on, it would seem… seeing as there was much sea sickness the first night. I was luckily spared from lovely puking or anything else so glamorous. I more just get dizzy when I’m not out on deck. Outside feels normal since you can see the waves but once you’re inside it’s like you’re in some kind of office building attached to a tilt-a-whirl. Or like you and all the people around you have developed some sort of severe inner ear problem where you all wobble around and bang into each other. Funny yet painful. And awkward if it’s in a tight space and you’re the only one who seems to be having so much trouble balancing. Oh, sad me.

I really only get nauseated when I’m trying to read/write which, again, made updating difficult. But no more excuses! I swear. I only feel bad for being so neglectful of my duties to keep people up to date on my progress. Even my parents have only received a few calls, thus making me the worst daughter ever. Again: sorry. For serious.

Anyway, let me see if I can give ya’ll a rundown of what’s been going dooooown. I’m currently in the Atlantic ocean, north of Brazil and headed towards Salvador. I will be hitting the city right at the end of Carnival and going into crowds where apparently people will try to steal my things and make out with me. I’m convincing myself that this is all hearsay and that I’ll be fine. I’ll then be heading off to Rio at 1:45 in the morning (a time which, if fate is kind, is a typo). Woo!

The people I have met have been overwhelmingly awesome. Sure, I’ve encountered the required quota of eye-rolling inducing folks but, overall, people seem very cool. I’m impressed, to say the least. I really feel free to be my goof troop self and sit with anyone I please at dinner. I’ve never really been this casual with people so it’s freeing in a way. Suffice to say, I’m enjoying it.

The crew is also, shall we say, awesome (I obviously need to expand my vocabulary. Pretend not to notice). Everyone is really nice and I’m kind of obsessed with the captain and first mates. The captain is from Croatia and made jokes. This makes him automatically win my affection. I also love the safety officer. He’s from the Ukraine and has a very dry sense of humor. Everyone else has been extremely kind, though it is odd getting used to people making my bed every day (I know… insanity) and taking my dishes and such. I feel pampered and it makes me slightly uncomfortable. I of course try to compensate by awkwardly meeting the crew halfway in taking my plates to them which they almost seem to appreciate. And by appreciate I mean find humorous.

My roommate is also awesome. She’s a very sweet and unassuming person and we’ve already had some late-night bonding. Hooray! She actually kind of reminds me of Amanda Rummel so, Amanda, I am thinking of you daily. Not that I wouldn’t anyways.

I guess I should talk about some of the places I’ve been, shouldn’t I? Well, the flight from BWI to Charleston was fine though early. On the way to the Bahamas I got a glimpse of some tropical islands, something I’ve never seen before. Suffice to say, I was quite excited.

Nassau is an odd place. It’s a weird mixture of old and new worlds where there’s obvious poverty living beside western businesses and tourists. I’ve never really been anywhere like it before and, honestly, I’m still not sure what I thought about it. We got to stay at Atlantis (I know – swanky!) which was kind of amazing. Sure, I always talk about wanting real experiences and not packaged resorts but, really, this place was stunning. It was like Disney World but where you drink and gamble. I couldn’t help but be taken in by the aesthetic beauty of it – the guy who designed it really did a gorgeous job of combining nature and architecture. It felt a little overindulgent since I’m not used to places like that but, still. All part of the experience.

Leaving mom was hard. But I’m glad that she got to see where I was and that she got to meet some of the other parents. Still… it was hard.

Anyway, Puerto Rico! Okay first off: I want to move there. It was one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever been. The weather was lovely the whole time and I really did love it. I wish I had gotten to go out salsa dancing one of the nights but oh well.

Okay, so I’ll try to give a rundown of what I did. The first day I went on a city orientation tour. This was nice and gave me an overview of what San Juan was like, though there was a little less walking than I would have preferred. We went to the old fortress and got to see where the Spanish set up camp. The whole time I couldn’t help but feel I was in Florida though, given the English signs and American road systems. It was weird but nice to have some familiar things in such a foreign place. I think India will shock that right out of my system.

After that, I went on a rainforest hike… which is exactly what it sounds like. The forest was the El Yunque rainforest located in the mountains outside of San Juan. We drove up into a mountain, past thick foliage and waterfalls to near the top of the mountain. The views were ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like it. I wish I could post pictures but I’ll get charged a huge amount extra if I do.

Anyway, we then hiked down a portion of the mountain, all the time beside a waterfall. It was so beautiful, I can’t describe it. After spending some time splashing around in a pool at the end of the trail that was fed by the waterfall (I didn’t have my bathing suit so my splashing was relegated to foot-type splashing only), we hiked back up. I only stopped once – something I consider an accomplishment – and that was mainly because I couldn’t fight the feeling that the ground was still rocking. Apparently you get that way after being on the water for a while. That explains Jack Sparrow looking drunk all the time… I can assume that I didn’t look much better.

I then called it an early night because I had to get up the next morning to go to Ponce, the second largest city in Puerto Rico, and Tibes, and old indigenous ceremonial ground. At Tibes we got a tour of the small (and freezing) museum and then saw a documentary in a small (and freezing) auditorium. After that, we got to see the actual ceremonial grounds. The people who lived there (whose names are escaping me at the moment) all died out around the time the Spanish came, due to the usual cause of disease. They think some survived and got to Venezuela where their descendents still live today.

Our tour guide was quite possibly one of the most eccentric people I have ever met. Ever. I had to fight the urge to laugh the entire time he talked. He was about my height and I at first assumed he was Puerto Rican, given his complexion. He then revealed that he was in fact from New York but was trained by the Navy to speak proper English, hence his British/New York accent. I caught it on tape because I knew I’d never be able to recreate it. He also told us that women are angry and vengeful, that all bodies of water are female because they’re unpredictable, and that he had just discovered he was Jewish, in spite of the fact that both of his parents were Puerto Rican. He then proceeded to make many offensive Jewish jokes. It was awkward.

We then went to Ponce. Unfortunately everything was closed since it was a Sunday but we still got to see people preparing for Carnival and families spending their Sundays together. I then decided that Ponce was the city for me because, really, it was adorable. Every house was colorful and, while it was definitely a city, it had a more small town feel. So cute.

When we got back, I went off with another group to go to a bioluminescent bay. We drove for about an hour and a half and, at 10 at night, arrived to what appeared to be a common meeting place for locals to sing and dance. Stray dogs were running around and we were directed to a bathroom with no light and some sort of questionable liquid on the floor. Basically, I did some gymnastics and somehow changed from jeans into a one-piece bathing suit. Be impressed. I sure was.

We then proceeded to the departure point (a beach) where we met our guides and were directed to our kayaks. Since I was near the end of the line, I was told that I had to go with a tour guide. Though I was sad to bid my partner goodbye, I decided that, hey, this would be easier since the guide would do the hard part with the rowing and I wouldn’t have to feel so stupid when it became obvious that I had no clue as to what I was doing.

Being in the back with the guides ended up being really fun, seeing as they decided that, because they were bored, they were going to make the tail end of the group an impromptu dance party. One of them turned on his cell phone, playing whatever he had as we paddled from the dark shore into a small inlet. Pretty soon, you couldn’t see anything save the glow sticks on the front and back of the kayaks and the stars peaking through the branches of the mangrove trees that lined our path. The air was fairly cool with a nice breeze and, when the cell phone wasn’t rocking out, we got to hear the sounds of the coqui, the national symbol of Puerto Rico: a tree frog. It was beautiful.

As we went further, I began to see something odd in the water. At first I thought I was just seeing the bubbles from the paddles going into the water but then I realized it was way too dark to see that. My guide then instructed me to put my hand into the water. I was amazed when the water around my hand sparkled as I moved it – like little glowing bubbles. This glowing is a natural occurrence; there is a single-celled organism that lives in some bays in Puerto Rico as well as a few other places in the world that glows when it moves. It’s kind of what the firefly glow looks like, only more brief and all over the place. Also, the organism can’t control the glowing.

We went a little further and ended up in a larger inlet, the sound of the ocean not far away and the glowing now all around us. The stars were really bright – there were only a few clouds out and no moon. We all grabbed onto each other’s kayaks and gathered around the main guide to hear him tell us about the bay and how it works. It was really peaceful and amazing. I still can’t believe I’ve gotten to see something so beautiful.

On the way out, one of the pairs kayaking near us purposefully capsized so that they could see what it looked like to be submerged in the water (technically you’re not supposed to swim there – stingrays and all that). It looked like glowing snow angels. So cool.

Anyway, by the end I was tired and covered in orangismy and mangrovey water. It was a really amazing experience and not one that I think I’ll soon forget.

The next day I didn’t feel very good (I went to bed with a sore throat) so I tooled around old San Juan for a while. San Juan is pretty but odd in the way that you can only find American stores or tourist shops. I couldn’t find a single authentic place. But it’s okay since I’d rather live in Ponce anyway.

So that was Puerto Rico! In a nutshell with all the unimportant bits (hopefully) weeded out.

As far as classes go, mine are going well. The rocking of the ship makes it difficult for me to stay awake/read but I’m getting better. Hopefully my narcolepsy will go away. The food is fine by my standards and there are smoothies if I ever feel the need. I’ve gotten to do yoga out on the deck during the sunset so that in itself is pretty darn amazing.

Besides that, being on the ocean is a lot less disconcerting than I was expecting. I really love being so near to the water, though the confines of the boat are getting to me. Sitting on the deck and watching the water has become something I love to do, rain or shine. I almost like the rain better, actually. The ocean is really cool when it gets all grey and angry.

I also saw about 4 flying fish today and another school of fish jumping out of the water. Amazing.

So there you have it. If you read this whole thing then, by all means, pat yourself on the back. You’re amazing and deserve chocolate or cookies or something. I’m about to fall asleep, seeing as it’s almost two here. I apologize for any/all typos that are probably rampant in this thing but bed is more important than proofreading.

I love and miss you all!

-Krista