Summer, and the time that passed.

The task to explain all that has happened between my last post and this one is insurmountable, truly. As in, I won't be attempting to anytime soon. The thought of whether to start a new blog in general is still appealing. But time has indeed passed, Semester at Sea concluded, and life has brought me to this point. Class is out once again, summer is here, and the gears of life are switching. The travel bug is ever present. Monday I am going to Orlando to be with Ashley and David for as long as the'll have me. Or, as long as my back can take sleeping on a couch. It is going to be amazing, I know. Being amongst God fearing people sounds so refreshing. Being in the heat sounds so, refreshing? Maybe more so the promise of change.

jw

Halfway to Spain

A quick update:

Blog updates are probably going to be struggling - I can tell. The internet here on the ship is very limited. So I am writing these on a sticky and then posting as fast as I can so I don't take up too much internet time. Of course I could get online once I am in a port, but it's obvious that spending time in a cafe writing about a country without having yet been around and having a cultural encounter is pretty useless. So this will have to do for now, until I figure out how to update it more frequently.

We are a little more than halfway through our crossing of the Atlantic. It really makes you feel small when you sail day and night for 4 days with nothing but water in every direction. We have only seen a single cargo ship the entire time.
My roommate is a 6'8 guy from the Sudan. He speaks his native tribe language, Arabic, and English. He was thoroughly impressed with the few words I knew courtesy of the Rizkallas. We have stayed up talking late into the morning about all sorts of things already. I can tell already that these moments are going to be some of the most rewarding moments of the experience. He is actually one the most popular kids on the ship, being a gem because of his size, broken english, and dark, dark, skin color. But that only goes so far, and Sam being one of the nicest guys I've met so far takes his popularity status the rest of the way, all the way to the top. My board outside gets flooded with comments for Sam. I tell him to get his own board for his fan-club, and he laughs. He really likes me though, probably because we know each other the best on the ship. Nothing's better than when in a crowded room he comes up and puts his arm around my shoulder and says "sup roomy". Instant cool points right there for being so tight with "Sam the man".

When previous voyagers explained that the food gets repetitive, they were being misleading. The should have said the food is repetitive. The first implies that the food collectively, gets old after awhile; that the same types of food over and over can get repetitive. But the truth is, the food is quite literally the same thing over and over. They do not even try to hide this fact. Every meal consists of salad, pasta, potatoes, a meat, and soup.

Edit: todays meal did not have potatoes. There was great rejoicing.

Classes are going alright. I have a global studies class that everyone is required to take, 2 business classes with the same professor, and a community service type class. The professors have already assigned an amount of reading that is beyond what is physically possible to read in the allotted time. I have already come to accept that while school is important on this trip, it is not what's most important, and not by a long shot. Don't worry mom and dad, I'm doing my best, but let's be real here. Traveling around the world isn't the best studying environment; being locked in a room with coffee and textbooks is, meaning, we are out here to experience something greater than the satisfaction of good marks on a transcript come semesters end. I'm out adventuring the earth. I'm going to enjoy it, and enjoy the people I am with, to the fullest.

I am starting to gather quite a bit of friends; acquaintances and such. I would say I know about 40 people by name so far. I have a smaller group of friends deemed my "default pod" (the default people I hang out with, being most comfortable with so far). Some are already starting to seem like pretty serious friendships. I'm stoked

jw

ps: Sam just asked me if I saw the dolphins swimming along with the ship today. I missed them. Crap.

Showtime.

Well today was just like any other day. Ate the same breakfast that I literally have eaten every day this summer. Washed the face, read my bible, went to the gym; everything a man needs. Tomorrow will be a different story though. I will soon be waking up to a 2:30 am alarm; getting on a plane, saying goodbye to everything I have ever known. The the start of the craziest adventure of my life will be underway. A little melodramatic? Yeah probably, but truth nonetheless.

So, here it is. The night before - after months of preparation. Mom is making my favorite dinner. I'm watching movies with my friends just like any other day. Really, no better way to spend a last day at home. The aura of imminent change hangs around. As slowly as time passed this summer, it seems now to be barreling on like a train, even if I wish I could slow it down - it won't; it's time. The last post from the comfort of my couch concludes with this. From here on out, the words you read will be formed from parts all over the world. Adieu!

jw

Funny the way it is...

...the range of emotions regarding physically being at school. Sure homework and finals can do that to your stamina, but it is still entertaining to acknowledge how badly I wanted to come home; how ready for summer I was - now here not 2 months later, screaming to get back. If there was any part of Semester at Sea I am not looking forward to, it would be having to forgo this Fall at Western. I'm gonna miss it terribly. I already do. In a weird sense, I am already looking forward to coming back; coming back with stories to share. Coming back to see everyone again. I know that moment will be an awesome time. Being comfortable again. But that is what this trip is all about, getting out of the comfort zone.

jw

A Proper "About Me"

It dawned on me that if I were to parish, and all that was in my Eulogy was information regarding my generic major choice at a slightly above average college, I'd be turning in my pretty suit six feet under. The truth is when I wrote the about me I was lazy, or maybe perhaps didn't really grasp the power words can have. I know my friends and family have their opinions of me. But they have never read my opinion of myself; what I'd be like in a story staring me, authored by me. I believe there would be a difference. Not because I have multiple identities with different groups; I actually strive to have the opposite. But because different people have different exposure. Some see the worst, others the best; Some more, others less. Some the humorous and some the serious. I believe this is true for all of us. It was at this realization that I decided to take advantage of a more in depth about me section. Maybe one I wouldn't mind hearing at my own funeral. The tricky thing about this is I don't think I've grown up enough yet. I don't know If I will ever be able to comfortably try and describe who I am through a computer screen. One thing I am sure of is the importance I put on being relational. Sort of funny considering the impersonal nature of writing itself; maybe that's why I've never done so until now (being a time when I'll be away from everything I've ever known, and leaving behind breadcrumbs of my trip seems like a way to remain close). Relational. It's how I have always been. Divulging words onto paper or in a screen seems so trivial compared to talking with people; sharing life in real time. Yet I have to admit, the allure has always been there. To write. To be able to show a side of myself to others in a way that cannot be seen in real time. Maybe even to discover a side of myself I never knew existed. I suppose the true about me section will have to be a work in progress, and one that we'll all be discovering with time. My only prayer is that people won't be as ignorant as I was. Thoughts like, blogging is for hipster, attention-seeking indie kids with leftover teenage angst needing to vent - were all too common. Honestly that description came a little too natural even still, and I probably am still captive to those judgements. But it's not about that. I don't have an agenda. I actually don't even really care if people read this. I think the beauty with words is that they can transcend all the garbage labels we associate them with. For me, a sports playing, jock, weightlifting, video-gaming musician, perhaps the most unlikely to find an inner voice; for me to feel the need to express words yet not act, would only be doing myself a disservice. So don't be foolish like I was. Don't subscribe to unfounded preconceptions of what bloggers/writers/journalists look like - or would have to look like to be any good even. Just enjoy this inconsequential blog that I'm pretty much doing for my own benefit, and for the friends and family wanting a little update here and there about my travels. If you find that are not enjoying it, there's a convenient "next blog" button up at the top that will be right up your alley.

jw