Another Trip Around the World?

Grettings readers and fans, It's come that time again where I'm feeling the itch to travel the world. But, alas, I need your help! I need you all to vote for me at: http://www.worldtravelerintern.com/member/jenna-uliano/ If I break into the Top 50 I have a chance of becoming a World Traveler Intern for STA! So go vote now!

Update?

Because many have been asking, here is the link to our blog entries in Berlin. These were compiled between myself, Brendan Rimitez, and Jennifer Swift as the Quad News Editors who went to Berlin. Editors Abroad

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready to Go...

Once again, I find myself packed and preparing to leave the country. It's so odd to be sitting here knowing that another adventure is about to unfold. A new culture, new people, new country. My passport will be worn out after all of this--I'm going to need to retire it. Well, maybe not just yet.

After Wednesday's meeting with David and the rest of the Berlin bunch (you like that one, don't you?) I've never been more excited. This isn't the same as Semester at Sea--and I don't think anything ever will be. But it's different in a good way. Six days full of touring, panel discussions, conference meetings and internationally known Nobel Peace Laureates. This will be interesting and unique all in one big trip.

I've got enough school work to get done between now and my return, it's unreal. But like any good over-achiever, I'll somehow get it all done without sacrificing my grades or the experience. Thank God for 8+ hour plane rides! And aside from all my work, I'll also be keeping up with this blog AND a second blog! (Which, by the way, you should all read: Editor's Abroad)

The other blog will be maintained by two of my friends and co-editors on The Quad News--the independent online paper we work for. It will discuss the panels and discussions we sit in on and our experiences as students. It should be good. Anyway, somehow I'll balance all this work and whatnot while away. It also helps that college kids are professional non-sleepers. Somehow we manage to live a stimulating life on coffee (or alcohol) and all-nighters in the library.

Of course last night was no different for me as I was up until 3 this morning, too excited for sleep (not to mention the fact that I started packing at 1 am). And now it's just one more class and then off to the bus I go. Down to the airport and then hopping on a flight to Germany.

I just hope I packed everything I'll need!

Bonus Port: Berlin, Germany

It's time to whip that passport out again. Next destination? Berlin, Germany.

I am one of the lucky few students who will be traveling with the Albert Schweitzer Institute to Berlin for the Nobel Peace Lauriates Summit ceremony. From November 6-12, I'll be galivanting around Berlin, helping members of the United Nations and various Nobel Peace Lauriates. As the assistants to Mr. David Ives, executive director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute, we will (hopefully) be given access to exclusive conferences and panel discussions.

Ives's main goal of the conference is to convince President Mikhail Gorbachev to come to Quinnipiac as a guest speaker--and we're there to help convince him. We going to show Gorbachev that the students at Quinnipiac aren't as apathetic as they say and that we'd highly appreciate his presence at the university.

Amazingly, the university is funding majority of the trip so for less than the price of a one-way plane ticket to Berlin, we're being put up in housing, supplied all meals, and flights. Of course, to balance all of this out, I need to be willing to miss school for a few days, and put my most professional face on when dealing with the honorable people. I guess the open-mouthed gawking will have to wait.

And no worries readers--I'll be blogging my experience from overseas and most likely writting a story (or two) for The Quad News.

So really, how lucky am I?! Bahamas, Spain, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China, Hawaii, Guatemala--and now Berlin? Customs is going to have a field day with my passport.

This is my first big adventure after Semester at Sea. And that lull I was dealing with all summer and this semester is gone. Now the only question that remains is--what am I going to pack?

The Overachiever

I am a self -proclaimed overachiever. I am okay with work, but I definatley didn't sign up for this.

This semster at school has been, by-far, the most stressful semester--and to think it's barely October.

It's 6 am--I have yet to go to sleep for the night. As a matter of fact, I just finished my homework. Now it's time to wash my face, brush my teeth, change into pjs, and crawl into bed...at least until my alarm wakes me up at 9 to get ready for class. It almost makes me wonder, should I just stay awake and sleep later?

Most people will say, "Well it's your problem that you are so stressed. You've taken on extra credits and more extra-curriculars then necessary." And while part of me does agree, I know I can handle the workload. I enjoy a heavy workload. I work better under pressure and, quite frankly, I study better in front of the television or with music on. Oddly, it's just the way I work.

What I did not sign up for, however, was a mass of professors who have the single-minded view that their class is the "best" class in the entire world and therefore my life should revolve around it. Sorry professors, that's just not the case.

My problem with this semster is that I have professors who refuse to assign work more than 48 hours in advance, and when they do assign it, it's hours worth of work, that clearly I cannot prepare for unless I have multiple hours to dedicate to it. Where I normally can keep two steps ahead of my work, I am working up to the minute to get things accomplished in preparation for class. Unfortunatley, I have yet to find the balance for this semester.

Granted, I am taking an extra 3-credits (one course), and while 19 credits may seem to be a large course load, I feel that if I took one class out of my schedule, I'd still have massive amounts of work to do and keep up with. On top of my class work and classes, I am president on the Society of Professional Journalists and an editor for the Quad News. Editing does take up a lot of time, but pending I have decent writers who are learning and developing in their craft, my task will get easier. Mind you, I'd also like to keep developing my own skills and maintain a somewhat steady writing schedule. And as prez of SPJ, we're working on creating a portfolio workshop for the school this fall...and I certainly can't let the ball drop on that.

My problem is that I hold my academics and my extra-curriculars at the same level of importance in my life and I refuse to let one drop and suffer to benefit the rest. I think it's important to build my resume up and my portfolio, but I also know that my transcript will say a lot about me if I end up decided to apply to grad school.

And that leads to the idea: are potential employers looking for a B+ student who is very involved or an A+ student with a dull, empty resume? But that's a different topic, for another day. Possibly a day when I have time to breathe and relax my mind.

Keep Moving Forward

It's surprising to think that six months ago my life consisted of travels and excitement, adventure and mystery.

Now instead of the ocean waves gently rocking me to sleep, I deal with late nights in the library and crawling into my squeaky, stationary bed sometime between 1 and 2 am. I no longer can talk with Kristen until the wee hours of the morning about the global exam we didn't study enough for, or our favorite memories thus far and the memories we are bound to have.

Now, my room is quiet and lonely. The open windows allow me to hear the passing cars and the quiet hooting of an owl, constantly reminding me of my static life.

It as if Semester at Sea put me on a high. Country after country, from the Taj Mahal to the Great Wall, how could you possibly be disappointed or upset about any of those experiences? Leaving each port and anticipating the next adventures only made life more exciting.

Life is different now. And that's not necessarily a good or a bad thing. It's just a fact.

I feel as if I was floating on a cloud, soaring high above the world--untouchable. And suddenly, I was dropped like a sack of potatoes, left to pick up the pieces of my life and start with this new perspective on life. The only problem is that my life didn't drop onto solid ground. Picking up the pieces isn't as easy as I anticipated it would be.

I am running in place, pushing myself faster and faster and yet I am going no where.

Instead, it's like I've fallen into a pit of quicksand. Every move I make to pick up a piece makes me sink faster. Naturally, human instinct is to stop moving. But if I stop moving, I still end up sinking. It's just a slower and longer process. So what's better? Should I sink slowly and allow life to pass me by like a movie of my life, but I'm only in the audience? Or should I keep moving? Keep pushing up, hoping to overcome the struggle?

19 credits. President of the Society of Professional Journalists. News Editor of the Quad News. And trying to find a job…it's going to be a long semester.

Just remember: deep breaths.

The Final Port

Another port is over, but I must remember that this is it—the last three days on land as a Semester at Sea student. Still, we all suppressed our depression and realization of arrival and had a blast in Guatemala.

Prior to our arrival in Guatemala we were warned by the Institute of Shipboard Education that Guatemala has a very high crime rate and that recently tourists have been a target in a few crimes. Due to the high crime rate in cities like Guatemala City, Semester at Sea implemented a curfew for all students staying onboard. Everyone who was staying on the ship needed to be back by 11 pm, and those staying off the ship were requested to be back at their hotel at a decent hour. After some serious cabin fever from long days at sea, the fear of being a crime target in Guatemala, finals, and Swine Flu (which, I must report, has NOT hit Central America yet)—you could say we’ve all been a bit stir crazy onboard.

Kristen and I decided to end our voyage with some fun exploration and good adventures. Accompanied by our friends Phil and Bryan, we made the last three days really count. As our first real friend on SAS, it was really great to close out the semester with our friend Phil and we really did a bang out job. The MV Explorer docked at 8 am in Puerto Quetzal, about an hour and a half or so outside of all the real towns. That being said, we previously made plans to stay in a hostel in the town of Antigua, instead of sleeping on the ship in our last port.

On our first day in port we went on a SAS trip to the Filadelphia Coffee Farm. We learned about the process of picking beans and how they are roasted and then, of course, we sampled some fabulous coffee—and then, after sampling, bought a few bags to bring home. Unbeknownst to us, the coffee farm was about 20 minutes outside of Antigua. So instead of heading back to the ship with our trip leaders, we left the trip early and the guys at the coffee farm arranged a shuttle for a HUGE group of us to get into Antigua. Of course, this shuttle was nothing short of a pickup truck. We rolled into town a few minutes later and did some exploration.

As always, the first stop was at the ATM to get some money. After that Bryan did some bargaining and got us a horse and buggy ride around Antigua. The half and hour tour consisted of a guide, Carlos, who spoke no English, so I ended up translating with Kristen. It was lovely anyway—we saw the ruins of the town and some old churches and really oriented ourselves in the town. After that we found a tour agency (which are literally everywhere—restaurants have them, hotels have them, the bank has one) and booked a trip for our last day to hike an active volcano.

Completely famished, we did what all college kids do best—find the local pub. And here we uncovered El Monoloco—and for those of you lacking in Spanish Translation: The Funky (Crazy) Monkey. Ironically the bartender, Zach, was an American from Minnesota who moved to Guatemala two years ago and just stuck. We rolled in around 5 and the place was dead—just the way we like it. We sat at the bar and watched a few basketball games and baseball games. However, we learned that from 5-8 it happened to be Happy Hour, which meant buy one-get one free on vodka drinks, rum drinks, and beer. Oh and did I mention it was Ladies Night too? We hit the jackpot. Needless to say, within an hour SASers were piling into the bar and by 9 we were…quite satisfied. Bryan had a service trip in the morning, so I bargained us a cab back to the port and we made curfew. Along the way the boys had a restroom stop on the side of the highway and we had a little Backstreet Boys karaoke in the back of the cab.

The next morning, Bryan went into Guatemala City on his service trip while Phil, Kristen, and I made our way back to Antigua. With our infamous backpacks, we cabbed it back into town and got lunch at a wonderful little authentic place. We stuffed our faces with nachos, guacamole, chile rellenos and a special chicken soup. After a full meal, we walked off our food and did some serious shopping. Between the clothes and the gift stores, Antigua was just one giant market. As one of the safer cities in Guatemala, we had no problem getting around or translating with any of the locals. Even our broken high school Spanish got us by. Eventually we decided to find our hostel and check in and meet up with Bryan.

With only one minor complication in our reservation the hostel was quite nice…simple, but nice. Our four single-bed bedroom with private bathroom happened to by a two single bed and one double bed bedroom with a private bathroom. Kristen and I ended up sharing a bed while the boys got to each have their own single. Typical. It was really more amusing than anything. It seems that Kristen and I are getting closer and closer. Last semester we shared a room, now we share a cubby, and last night we shared a bed. What next?

Anyway, the boys got their haircut while Kristen and I did more of what we do best—shopping. And after we exhausted ourselves out, we all met back at the Monoloco with our friend Zach (the cutest 28 year old bartender ever). Kris and I were offered jobs for the summer bartending, which I feel I may want to take that offer up (just kidding Mom). After a few beers, free shots, margaritas and some food we were in love with Guatemala. Well, we were back for Happy Hour and by 10 our night ended. We grabbed a tuk-tuk in the rain and made it back to our hotel, laughing the whole way.

And then for some God-forsaken reason the boy’s alarms went off at 5 this morning. That’s when it hit us all—we had a tour company picking us up at 6. Well we slept in for another half an hour and then got ourselves together to meet up with the guide. A shuttle picked us up at 6 sharp and inside were, you guessed it, a whole bunch of SASers. Together we hiked an active volcano today.

After an hour and fifteen minute hike to the top, where we literally feet away from blistering lava and magma, we were exhausted. The 45 minutes hike back down seemed like a real breath of fresh air. It was exhilarating, nonetheless. Some people were roasting marshmallows at the top in the lava, but the sticks would burst into flames almost instantaneously.

Once our hike was over and we were back in Antigua it was time for a quick lunch, errands, and a final cab ride back to the ship.

It’s bizarre to think that it’s the beginning of the end. With less than a week left of my world tour, I’ve come to realize that today was the ending of a chapter in this voyage. Today I experienced the last time I’ll walk up the gangway and swipe my ID on the MV Explorer. The next time I am greeted by the gangway will be when I leave for good…only a few days from now.

In The Blink of an Eye

I just don’t understand. Someone has definitely hit the fast forward button on life and whoever you are, you better cut it out! Time is a figment of my imagination lately.

The alarm goes off every morning, I go to global at 9:20, I have lunch at 11:30, the noon report comes on over the PA, I go to class, I come back to the room, do some homework, wait for the evening announcements at 5:30, have dinner at 5:35, come back to the room, hang out with friends, turn the lights off by 1, and stare at the ceiling until the alarm goes off again.

After we “gained” that day on Easter, I can’t sleep anymore. I internal clock is MESSED up. Lose an hour here, lose an hour there—I don’t even know what day it is half the time. Here we go again, losing another hour, crossing into another time zone, and preparing for finals—it doesn’t seem fair; I’m not ready. My head is still laying on the beach in Hawaii.

And then, with the snap of a finger, April is almost over, Hawaii is figment of the past, and Guatemala lies somewhere in the distant future.

This morning was my last day of Global Studies. We have our final tomorrow and course evaluations have been fluttering throughout the hallways. I blink my eyes and when I open them I’m somewhere new. And while I’m trying to catch my mind up to speed, my body has already moved on to the next place.

Our first day in Hawaii was a relaxing one. A group of us (Kristen, Luisa, Elle, Jen and I) decided to head to Waikiki Beach for the day and soak up the sun. Luisa’s 21st birthday was on Monday, our second and final day in Hawaii, and we had plans to go to the Cheesecake Factory for some good ‘ole American style food for dinner that night. And as we’re walking out of the pier, SURPRISE, her boyfriend is waiting there for her. It was cute. He and his friends made a surprise trip to Hawaii for her birthday. Our massive group headed to the beach and in no time the tan lines became redefined.

The next morning, Kristen and I headed for Pearl Harbor with an SAS tour—which we nearly missed due to our lazy alarm clock. We took a tour of the memorial museum and the Arizona memorial and I’m not gonna lie—I was disappointed. I really thought it would be more than what it was. The building was under renovations so maybe that’s why, but it seemed really…I don’t know…out dated? And I really felt like it was a waste of my time to go through SAS. Oh well.

Kristen and I split from the group early and then went shopping, a favorite past time of mine. We found Wi-Fi for an hour and wrote some e-mails. We had lunch at the cute restaurant called “Cheese Burger”…I’m sure you know what they sold. It was wonderful being back in a country of comfort. The language barriers become over whelming after a while. But at the same time it was such a weird feeling being able to speak English so fluently and then having to deal with American money and prices. At times I felt that I was talking down to people because I kept anticipating a language barrier. Obviously that was not the case—I even met another Long Islander! Hawaii was nice, but it went by too quickly.

Before I know it I’ll be home again, something I’m half looking forward to and half dreading. The transition is going to be a big one and though there are some things I’m absolutely looking forward too, there are definitely things I’m going to miss.

But I really have no idea where the time has gone. I really need to stop blinking…

Déjà Vu--The Second April 12 of 2009

Happy Easter!

It’s just around 6 in the morning, so I’m a little sleepy, but I felt this blog needed to be written, even if it is a short one. Therefore, please don’t mind any grammatical errors—though I now wish I had an excuse for the errors in some of my other entries. Oh well…I digress.

Some of you may ask, “But Jenna, why are you awake so early, especially when you have no classes today?” “Oh,” I would reply, sarcastically. “I’m awake because my family decided to wish me a Happy Easter back on the East Coast. Isn’t that nice of them?”

I’m pretty sure Kristen is lying in bed right now, wishing I never woke her up. I think I’ve developed some African elephant tendencies as I sounded like a herd of them in a stampede coming out of my room. My phone shrilled alive sometime late in the hour of 5:00 and I stumbled to answer it, tripping over cords and plugs in our dark room. Screaming on the phone to hang on a minute I attempted to find my room key and a pair of shoes so I could run out on the 5th deck and not disturb everyone around but. Failure. Instead, I found myself shoeless, out in the bright hallway, sitting in the stairwell (as it was wayyyy to cold and windy outside).

Anyway, today is the second day I’ve celebrated Easter—as a matter of fact it is the second day I am living April 12, 2009. You see, yesterday was April 12, 2009: Part One, if you will. I went to classes, had my meals, studying for an upcoming global test, went to the gym, and showered— everything you would do in a normal day. But then I went to sleep, woke up, and suddenly it was April 12, 2009 AGAIN! We have crossed the International Dateline.

Today marks the official day where I am no longer ahead in time of the East Coast, and subsequently home, but now I am behind in the times. Now instead of calling my family when the day is over I can call them with a new optimism for the day to come. *Sigh* It’s like time travel…on the open sea!

Well, Hawaii is next and all I have to say is: BRING ON THE SUNSHINE AND VITAMIN D! China and Japan were way too cold for my liking—it felt like being back in New York. Brr. I think two days, lying on the beach will certainly enhance my cultural and academic experience. Waikiki Beach is calling my name.

While I’m here…before I go crawl back into my bed to contemplate more theories of evolution for global studies (not) I’d like to send a message out to my family. First off, lay off the wine Grandma! You’re starting to slur your words…not a good sign. *Shakes finger* (Seriously…she doesn’t even remember my name!) Everyone else…keep that wine flowing! I’m sure Dad has enough stocked in the house to last you all…a lifetime…or at least until dinner is served. Mom—I’m not in the kitchen with you, so try not to splatter any sauces, burn yourself, or cut open any fingers. I’d like to come home with you intact. Oh and make sure you wish Anthony a Happy Birthday this week! I miss you guys like crazy! Only 3 weeks and…3 days…until I’m home. Family party then? Yes. Mom—start planning that. Just kidding…don’t you dare!

Words of thought: Lettuce, Turnip and Pea. Goodnight guys!

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

*sigh* Here I am again—looking over at the MV Explorer from the port terminal—attempting to figure out the wireless situation and digest yet another country. It really takes a lot out of you, traveling, that is. With just about a month to go there are times I still feel like I’ve never set sail. It almost doesn’t seem real—sitting in Japan, looking out at the Pacific Ocean.

Yesterday we arrived and docked in Kobe, Japan. It was another early morning, starting with a diplomatic briefing that Kristen and I diligently watched from the television in our cabin. Still it wasn’t until sometime in the early afternoon that we were allowed off the ship. Immigrations and Customs took a few hours, especially because we are the size of a small country, floating around the world.

But once we were off the ship, we headed straight into town via the monorail system. Of course, armed with the phrases “hello”, “goodbye”, and “thank-you”, we felt ready to explore and get lost—a new specialty of mine. A group of us—Kristen, Colin, Collin, and Keith—decided to head to Hiroshima for the day and visit the A-bomb museum. It wasn’t my first choice for a day trip, but I figured what the hell—when will I be in Japan again? So off we went on the adventure of a lifetime. From the downtown area of Kobe we took the subway to the JR train station where we just made the next bullet train headed to Hiroshima. The train, which was more like an airplane, was decked out with velvet, reclining seats and had a “train attendant” who was pushing around the drink cart. Oh and did I mention that there are no open bottle laws here? Right, so more sake please! An hour and a half later on a 300 km/hour train we arrived at our destination. By this time of course it’s about 4:30-5:00 and the museum closes at 6:30, so we rushed through the memorial gardens, took a few pictures and headed straight for the museum. It was an expensive trip, but worth the money.

Upon our return we found dinner back in Kobe at an upper scale restaurant and had dinner—the infamous Kobe beef. As Kobe beef is massaged and fed only the best kinds of grain and grass, the prices were a little out of the “college student” range, but we splurged a little bit. For $20, my 3 ounces of meat were quite tasty. However, when it arrived I wasn’t prepared for sushi—my meat was mooing in front of me. In the center of the table was an open grill where we were able to cook our own meat to our liking. So there the five of us are, barbequing our meat and veggies, laughing hysterical and cracking up the owner as well. Keith and the Collins decided to teach our waitress how to make an American tradition—s’mores. So at 11 at night, there we are, grilling marshmallows over the open flames and attempting to teach the camp traditions to our non-English speaking “friends”.

This morning Kristen had plans to go to the theatre with one of the Semester at Sea sponsored groups. It was something about two performances and a backstage tour, but the group was exclusive to Professor Eaton’s drama students and it was kind of on the hush-hush. Kristen got the inside scoop because he’s the director of the play she’s in. Anyway, Kristen and I managed to get the approval to tag along, but at the last minute I decided it was a little too expensive for my blood and not really how I wanted to spend my last day in Kobe. Instead I decided to have a little “Jenna-exploration” time. And that’s exactly what I did.

I slept in this morning until about 10:30, got up and took a hot shower and got ready for the day. Then I jumped on the Port Liner monorail into downtown. Now I know we’re really not supposed to travel alone, but I just put on my New York attitude and pretend I’m just traveling alone in New York City and I’m fine. I throw on my iPod and sunglasses and most people ignore me. However, I’m also not a blonde with blue eyes and Uggs on…I guess that draws attention in and of itself. Sometimes traveling with other people on Semester at Sea is a huge sign that says, “HEY, LOOK AT ME I’M A TOURIST—LOST AND CONFUSED AND VULNERABLE!” But aside from my height, I pretty much blend into the crowd…that is, until I open my mouth.

When I got into downtown I explored one of the malls, looking at all the fabulous clothes and bags I couldn’t afford to buy, nevertheless wear. Japanese people are really tiny—around the waist and in height—so the sizes aren’t really meant for people who, let’s face it, have a figure. Anyway, I made my way to the 9th floor of the mall where I found a movie theatre! Of course I couldn’t resist, even if the movie was in Japanese I figured it would be a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. I caught the 12:50 showing of Marley and Me—which was in English with Japanese subtitles. I’m not a crier, but I was definitely bawling in the theater. Luckily, it was dark so I didn’t draw too much attention to myself, but in the end I found out that emotions are universal and even if you can’t speak with the person next to you, they still understand. The Japanese woman next to me, who was about 85 and with her husband, or at least a man of the same age, turned to me with a smile on her face and tears streaming down her face and offered me a tissue. It was priceless. Little old ladies are adorable, but when they are about ½ your height, dressed in polka dots, wearing way too much perfume and don’t speak a word of English, being able to non-verbally communicate is just totally worth it.

What I still can’t wrap my mind around was the fact that I was probably one of the only people who understood Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson in the entire theater. Could you imagine having to read subtitles every time you see a movie? It’s like seeing foreign films over and over again. But I guess…that’s just it. We are foreigners. Huh. Weird. I guess I never think of myself as the foreigner.

Once the movie was over I treated myself to a little lunch at a café. I was going to have sushi at this restaurant with a conveyer belt and everything, but they were closing to prepare to dinner. I had a little sandwich, with god only knows what, and a coffee. On my way out I found a music and DVD store and did some exploring there too. In the end, I ended up just grabbing a coffee at Starbucks and heading back to the ship.

Let me just say that as an American we tend to always find one place that reminds us of home, where we knew we can feel comfortable. Sometimes it’s a McDonalds, but as I’m not really a fan, Starbucks in my place. I always know that an Iced Venti White Mocha will translate. And if you’re lucky, someone in there will speak English and you’ll find someone to chit chat with. We set sail tonight and have one day at sea before arriving in Yokohama, Japan. We had the opportunity to travel on land and then meet up with the ship, but I think the day of relaxation tomorrow is just what I’m going to need.