The Two-Week Countdown

Thirteen weeks down, two more to go…

 

Is it really the eve of December?  Where has the end of August and all of September, October, and November gone?  Have I really been away from home for three whole months?  Looking back on my voyage around the world, it seems as if time just disappeared.  I’m sure the twenty-three hour days I’ve had to deal with have had something to do with this!  Talking to my friends and family back home on Thanksgiving made me realize that three months time hasn’t put distance between us at all.  If anything, being away for three months has brought me closer to home (this is something that many of us are feeling now and it might be a hard concept to understand if you haven’t experienced SAS).  What I mean by this is that when you see your family and friends on a regular basis, you begin taking this luxury for granted.  After three months of being separated from everyone back home by thousands of miles and a few continents, I’ve gained a new sense of appreciation for all of you at home.

 

Being on American soil for Thanksgiving was definitely a treat.  I literally jumped up and down and screamed aloud after stepping off the gangway in Honolulu.  There were a few parents there of some students and they were probably thinking “Who is that crazy girl and why is she acting like that?”  :-)  I was bummed that I couldn’t be home to enjoy an amazing turkey dinner, but I wasn’t too bummed figuring I got to spend Thanksgiving in Hawaii.  Even if it was only for less than half a day, I still was able to touch land and break up the monotony of sailing in the Pacific Ocean for 18 days.

 

Like many people, I spent some time lying on the beach in Waikiki, some time walking around Honolulu, and (I’m almost ashamed to say it) some time shopping at Wal Mart (I just cringed…).  I had to get toothpaste!  I swear.  You should have seen the amount of stuff people were buying!  Shopping carts filled with chips and cookies and soda…it was like seeing a group of ten year olds run into Wal Mart without adult supervision, making a beeline toward calorie heaven.  It amused me.  I am not without guilt though.  I bought a bag of dark chocolate peanut M&M’s, a box of Special K Red Berries, and a box of Wheat Thins.  Mmm Mmm.

 

I wish I had more time to spend in Hawaii…It’s a beautiful place and everyone was so friendly.  I heard from a few people saying that the locals “picked” on them, but can you blame them?  I walked alone for part of the day, just strolling down the street, and I think people thought I was a local, or at least not a tourist.  On the other hand, most of the SASers were in groups of at least four or five people, carrying big bags around, and had their cameras glued to their hands.  If that doesn’t scream tourist, I don’t know what does. 

 

Over the next couple of days, we’re all going to be “studying”, or at least attempting to, for our final exams.  Tomorrow is my last official class and then I’m done for the semester.  This is the first time ever that any voyage of Semester at Sea has finished classes AND finals before the last port of call.  I can only imagine the celebrations that will be taking place the minute people step foot in Puntarenas.  I’m doing an independent whitewater rafting, camping, and zip line canopy tour trip the first two days and then on the third day I’m going to try to go horseback riding through the rain forest.  I hope I can make this happen…I’ve gone three months without riding.  That’s three months too many.

 

I’m looking forward to coming home in two weeks time and I find myself wondering what my homecoming will be like.  I already know there will be tears…whether they’re happy tears to see my mom waiting in a crowd of a thousand parents in Miami, or sad tears to say goodbye to the people I’ve spent over three months traveling around the world with.  I don’t think certain emotions will set in until after the first few days home.  My roommate and I talk about how we’re going to need to call each other whenever we see or hear something that reminds us of SAS because no one else around us will understand.  Yes, I’ll be telling you all stories of my adventures for weeks to come, but I don’t think it’ll be the same as actually being there…it never is, unfortunately.  I’ll try my best not to talk too much, or show you hours of video clips, or make you watch a thousand-picture slideshow…but I can’t make any promises :-)

 

As the next two weeks begin to wrap up, I want to make a few different blog entries.  In one, I want to talk about the highlight of each of the countries I visited, in another one I want to talk about the top ten things I’ve learned from SAS, one about the things I wish I had known before getting on the ship, and I’m sure there will be others.  If any of you have any suggestions for a blog topic that you want to read about, let me know and I’ll do my best to fulfill your suggestion.

 

That’s all for now!

 

Amanda

 

p.s.  We had “Thanksgiving Dinner” yesterday and the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce were actually pretty good.  I wasn’t pleased with the periwinkle colored “sweetened mashed potatoes”.  I’m not sure if it was the purple food color that threw me off or if it was the fact that they added sugar to regular mashed potatoes.  It’s one thing to die Easter eggs and sweeten iced tea, but do both of these things to mashed potatoes?  That just ruined it for me.

 

p.s.s.  I promise I’ll finish my India blog soon!