Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

After returning to Birmingham, I repacked my bags and headed to visit another friend, Victoria, currently living in Colchester (a small town about one hour east of London). This sounds like it would be easy, but let me tell you…hauling all the bags around via train, tube, and bus was not a fun task. At this point in time, I already couldn’t wait for the time when I’d be in my cabin on the ship and not have to haul everything around until we port in Fort Lauderdale, FL on December 16^th.

Luckily I arrived in Colchester as planned and Victoria was ready and waiting! We headed to her house (which is a nice size for one person) and decided to cook dinner that evening. It was nice to have a home-cooked meal (not to mention the glass of Pims) and just relax after traveling. We stayed in and played Ticket to Ride Europe (for any of my friends who enjoy board games…czech…no wait…check this one out. It was excellent!) and then spent the rest of the night catching up and discussing when to go to London and the plans for the rest of the visit.

The next day we decided to head into the city to see a musical. We both had wishful thoughts to get tickets to The Book of Mormon, but couldn’t get them (not surprisingly). Thus we decided on one neither of us had seen, Spamalot! After navigating the city and finding our hotel (which is much easier with a small backpack and nothing else), we headed out to the show. It was almost identical to the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and just as funny! One of the best parts of the show was when an actor on stage broke character and was just laughing during a scene. However, Kevin, who is finishing up his acting program in Birmingham informed me that sometimes actors actually PLAN to break character during a show. This is called corpsing. After talking to Kevin, it sounds as if the Spamalot actor was corpsing, but I’m just going to pretend it wasn’t on purpose…though either way, it was hilarious.

Kevin met Victoria and I in London the next day and we spent it just walking around different parts of the city. Kevin ran some errands, so we would followed him to where he needed to go and explored those areas. We were mainly around the River Thames (see picture of Victoria & I at the Tower Bridge…not the London Bridge) all evening before heading back to the hotel after closing down a bar at midnight. The next day we headed our separate ways (the next time I see Kevin, he may be a major actor somewhere…fingers crossed (or…break a leg) for your upcoming showcases in NY & LA!). 

After returning to Colchester, Victoria and I decided to eat out for the evening and follow it up with a quiet night in (after a few busy days of being a tourist). The next day was spent doing errands around town, figuring out a bus schedule to Southampton (where the SAS ship is docked), visiting museums, and finally making another home-cooked meal (figured I’d be having ship food or eating at the various ports for the next four months)!

My entire 11 days in the UK (and Prague) was quite a lovely time and I really enjoyed spending so much time with Victoria and Kevin! Hopefully I’ll see them both again sooner rather than later.

In the morning I was off to Southampton, where awaited the MV Explorer!


Take your love and your pleasure as you find it. Do not worry so much of the future that you let today pass you by. You are happy...need you know more than that?

Prague Pictures...Czech

Here are a handful of pictures from my trip to Prague:

View from the plane as we are entering the city

Kevin & I eating at a rooftop restaurant (which at first was full, but didn't have reservations or a wait list). Luckily we got in before the sunset with the Prague Castle in the background

View from the rooftop restaurant of the Astronomical Clock, Tyn Church, and the Astronomical Clock, the Tyn Church, and the Old Town Square

I don’t know if Tim Tebow is still the talk of the town now that he’s a New England Patriot, but Kevin showed respect for the former Denver Bronco by “Tebowing” in the St. Vitus Cathedral (inside the Prague Castle walls)

 

Shooting a crossbow in the Prague Castle Armory...bullseye (well, at least my first shot)

 

The Petrinske Sady (Eifle Tower-ish structure) in Prague - 299 steps

View from the top, with the Prague Castle in the background

 Another view from the top of the Petrinske Sady: The city and The Charles Bridge

Praha...Czech Check!

After getting to Birmingham, UK and spending 36 hours with Kevin Taylor, it was time for me to go….with Kevin to Prague! I have wanted to go to Prague since my backpacking trip with Molly in 2009, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

After two short flights we landed in the Czech Republic with a lovely view out our window.

After navigating (rather easily) to our hotel, we dropped our bags (next to the single double bed in the room…Kevin would have probably cuddled up next to me anyways), and headed out to the Old Town Square. There seems to be a ton of stuff going on in this rather touristy square at all times. In just our first visit we saw a number of street performers (including acrobats advertising for girls in writing on their backs…in English…strange), a couple getting married and tossing a bouquet, the Astronomical Clock, the Tyn Church, and a rooftop dinner with a wonderful view.

The next day we continued our tourist route and hit some major sites, including the Charles Bridge (though technically this occurred at 3am…no story to share here) and the Prague Castle. At the castle took tours of the old palace and church, climbed the tower (which offered a great panoramic of the city), and shot an old school crossbow!

At dinner we befriended a woman, Valerie (who is getting her PhD from Harvard), and talked her into going to a traditional Black Light Theater production, which apparently started in the Czech Republic. The show was called WOW and Kevin and I were really hoping the performance would be a memorable one…and was it ever. The description of the show was really deep…take a look:

During the show you will take a look deep inside your soul and learn how to free your inner child from fear. The spectacular non-verbal performance designed for the whole family tells the story of each one of us. At the end of performance you will easily understand why it’s called WOW.

The show opened with a performer dressed as a gnome (in neon clothing) who came out on stage and started talking in a voice similar to the Minions from Despicable Me. I’m pretty sure we apologized to Valerie about 5 minutes into it. The show was definitely unique and although we made fun of quite a bit of it (and needed some time to process the show afterwards), there were a few times when the performers did something that looked cool and it is definitely memorable.

Our next day was pretty relaxing as we just strolled around the city, visited the Petrinske Sady (Eifle Tower-ish structure), went to the Beer Gardens, and ate dinner with Valerie again. After dinner, Kevin and I decided to try and pretend we were 21 again by going on a Pub Crawl around the city with around 200 other people. This took us to 4 different bars, including the largest nightclub in Europe (or so they said), a 5-story nightclub with different music on each level. I believe we mainly stayed in the “oldies” section (fitting), though we did travel to the others as well. It was a late night for us…way too late…and a rough morning the next day. I’m not saying we were irresponsible with alcohol…it’s just our bodies hated us…and we seemed to ache all over. 

On our final morning/afternoon in Prague we checked out the Jewish Quarter of Prague. It was a very historical area with various synagogues (including the Pinkas Synagogue, which had the names of all 80,000+ Czechoslovakian Jews who died in the holocaust), a Ceremonial Hall (showcasing Jewish customs and traditions), and the Old Jewish Cemetery (which has over 12,000 tombstones and 100,000+ people buried in the small area).  

Upon leaving, I was extremely happy on our decision to travel to Prague. It’s a good-sized city with lots to do at a relatively inexpensive price. Navigating the city was extremely easy as well, as there were only three major metro lines cutting across the city in different directions. Finally, the food was fantastic! The dumplings (various kinds)…the goulash…the schnitzel…it was all delicious! 

PS: This will have to be my only post tonight, as the students board the ship tomorrow starting at 900…so in 7 hours! We depart at 1700 and will be on our way to St. Petersburg, Russia!

PSS: The internet is terribly slow on the ship and the pictures (that I was going to put on this post) are taking forever to download. I will try to find a better way to make this happen, so you can get a visual of my trips.

A span of a few heartbeats can make for a greater memory than the sum of a mundane year. 

All Good Things Are Worth Waiting For

After a long night organizing everything, packing, creating blog posts (see posts 1 and 2), and getting only a few hours of sleep...I was ready to take off for London! Unfortunately, American Airlines had other ideas in store.

I arrived to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at around 1:30pm with plenty of time to spare (those of you who know my traveling habits understand that I'd rather be at an airport 3 hours in advance, then cut it close). My journey was going to be pretty straightforward: Cleveland-Chicago-London.

One hour before we were supposed to be taking off from Cleveland, an announcement indicated the plane from Chicago to Cleveland was having mechanical issues and still at the gate. Right...not good. After waiting another hour with the plane still on the ground in Chicago, I realized my two hour layover plan was foiled and I'd miss my connecting flight to London. I got right on this, went to the counter where the employee was fantastic in scheduling me on another flight to London leaving from Chicago two hours later than my original...success!

With the additional time, I decided to go get some tea only to find out upon returning to the gate that the Chicago flight was cancelled entirely. Back to step one...but this time I was behind everyone else needing to change their flights at the counter. After this additional wait, I made it back up to the counter, where the employee remembered me and had already booked me on flights to London via Miami later in the evening. This employee was exceptional and he really gave me hope for the rest of my journey.

Three hours later, I had made it safely to Miami with a mere 15 minutes to spare to catch my flight to London. Whew...made it just in time! I'd be arriving in London and getting to Birmingham, UK only about 2 hours late...I'll take it. I found my seat, switched seats with a couple wanting to sit together (mom and dad...see, you can do this on future flights!), and was seated next to a nice couple from Argentina and a woman from Hamburg, Germany. They were excellent company as we awaited the final boarding procedures and were getting ready for take off.

Timeline that followed:
9:00pm: Boarded the plane.
9:30pm: An announcement about a light that was on in the cockpit that would delay our takeoff.
10:30pm: Still waiting for the maintenance issue to resolve the mysterious light; water was being passed out to passengers.
11:30pm: An announcement indicating they would allow people to head back into the airport (if they liked) while the issue was being fixed. I chose to stay on the plane (I chose...poorly).
3:00am: Flight was officially cancelled.
3:10am: In line at the American Airlines counter (behind all the smart passengers who left the plane earlier) waiting to book a new flight to London.
5:10am: Booked a new flight on Virgin Atlantic and was given vouchers for food/hotel.
6:00am: Arrived at my hotel for the "night" (6am-noon)

Thus...after "traveling" for 16 hours...I was now 2 hours further away from London. Not very efficient on my part.

My second travel day fared much better as I met up with a few passengers I befriended for lunch (Amy- school teacher in Vienna) and dinner (Henrike- woman from Hamburg, Germany...who because of the cancelled flight, missed two job interviews (but later was offered both jobs anyways) and will possibly be a personal tour guide for us when we are in Hamburg), boarded my flight, and left right on schedule! The Virgin Atlantic flight was very nice and I even managed to get a few hours of sleep as well!

After navigating my way through the London Heathrow Airport, the Tube, and National Rail Services, I ended up arriving in Birmingham, UK just about 24 hours late, but I made it across the pond (with all my luggage)! Next up...10 days in the UK and Europe!

Good things come to those who wait...like readers of this blog!


"There is a difference between finding trouble in your path and going out of your way searching for it."

Cruising Around the Globe...not entirely.

Here's a little more information on what Semester at Sea is all about and what exactly I'll be doing on the voyage. The Mission of the program is:

"To educate students with the global understanding necessary to address the challenges of our interdependent world. With the world as our classroom, our unique shipboard program integrates multiple-country study, interdisciplinary coursework, and hands-on field experience for meaningful engagement in the global community."

The MV Explorer is a modern passenger ship that has been serving SAS since 2006. Think of the MV Explorer (see above) as both a traveling university and residential home to more than 2000 people per year. The ship has all (or most) of the amenities you'd find on a regular college campus (student union, bookstore, 9,000-volume library, etc.). Students will be taking 3-4 classes with faculty members while the ship is "at sea", and completing field labs (experiential learning opportunities to supplement their classroom learning) while "in port" (various locations). 

I, as a Resident Director, am a part of the Student Life Team. I will be supervising the "Baltic Sea" (around 80-100 students) and assisting in the holistic development of the students through intentional conversations, community building, co-curricular engagement, as well as protecting the safety and welfare of everyone aboard. In addition, my collateral assignment is Recreational Sports, which I feel is pretty fitting (for anyone who has ever talked to me...ever). In this position, I will be providing an environment for students/student organizations to design and implement programs to enhance recreational involvement for the entire shipboard community. Examples of this include coordinating exercise classes, intramurals, advising the Sea Olympic Committee (an event that takes place during our 11 day trek across the Atlantic Ocean - from Cape Town, South Africa to Buenos Aires, Argentina), and more. 

For more information regarding Semester at Sea, take a look at the following links:

Voyage Calendar: Click here.

Tour the ship, the MV Explorer (during a lip-dub performance): Click here.

Spring 2013 Voyage Video (with Archbishop Desmond Tutu's introduction...who was on the voyage): Click here.

All you could ever want to know about the Semester at Sea program (you'll have to do some exploring of the site on your own): Click here.

Deck plans and layouts: Click here.

(These should tide you over while I travel through the UK!)

Every day is a chance to start over. Any day can be bad, surely, but any day can be good, can be great, and that promise, that potential, is a beautiful thing indeed."

Prelude

In just about 12 hours I will be boarding a plane to London and getting ready to start my new position as a Resident Director on the Fall 2013: 50th Anniversary Voyage for Semester at Sea (SAS). I'm very excited for this opportunity and am looking forward to all the adventures to come! However, once I land in London, I'll actually have the next 11 days or so to explore the United Kingdom (and possibly elsewhere) before reporting for duty with SAS in Southampton on August 21st. That will be my last hurrah before...well...I guess my big hurrah!

The MV Explorer, the SAS ship, will travel to ports in Europe, Africa, and South America starting August 24th and lasting through December 16th. With four months traveling the world, one would think it would be hard to pack for such a trip. Luckily, the MV Explorer will basically serve as our "base" for the students, faculty, and staff, as we go out and explore the world. Below are the clothes (as I started packing and after taking this picture, I removed about 15 articles of clothing from this pile...they just didn't make the cut) I will be wearing for the next 4 months (get used to seeing numerous pictures with me wearing the same thing). 

The second picture is of my packed bags! Here's the breakdown of the 3 bags:

1- Gray backpacking pack: All the clothes I will be wearing till December 16th

2- Rolling suitcase w/soft top: Mainly toiletries (4 months worth!), shoes (only bringing 4 pairs total), and medications

3- Backpack: Electronics (Laptop, Nook, DVDs, ipod, and my new camera (a Nikon d3100) 

I'm not looking forward to hauling these bags around London, but what's nice is once I report to the ship (August 21st), I will practically "move-in" to a room and these bags won't get packed again (except for small side trips) until I disembark in Fort Lauderdale on December 16th and fly back to Cleveland that evening.

I find it fitting I studied abroad/traveled in 2003 to Australia and New Zealand to complete my teenage years and now find myself on Semester at Sea, traveling the globe, in 2013 to complete my 20s. I think I may just have found a new trend that will have to continue in 2023!


"It is better, I think, to grab at the stars than to sit flustered because you know you cannot reach them."