The Ship

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't updated this in a while, its just that time flies on board. It seems to me though like I have been on the MV Explorer for months, but it has only been a little over one week. It is amazing how quickly people become your close friends when the farthest you can get from them is 590 ft. Right now we are sailing up the Amazon river for two days until we get to the port of Manaus. It is a pretty large city that grew out of Brazils drive to industrialize the Rainforest. I figured I would take this time to tell you a little bit about ship life, without boring you to death. First of all time seems to just melt away. It is funny because everything is so scheduled, meals are only two hours long, classes start, meetings all the time, but as soon as all that is done or not yet started, time seems to disappear, I could be laying out watching the ocean go by for minutes and it feels like hours, or watch it for hours and it feels like minutes, it makes no sense, but I think it all has to do with how dedicated you are to the moment, looking out over the rolling sea, or now the beautiful rainforest at our sides, your mind goes blank, and all you can focus on is the beauty that lays before you and you constantly try to figure out how you fit into this massive, landscape. That contemplation is just the first week! So as you can imagine there is not to much to do on board. Internet is out of the question (Email is free though), so you spend lot of time getting to know people, we play a ton of cards and board games, and when you are not thinking about your place in the world or eating or going to classes or playing board games, you sleep. We sleep a lot. I was told that being sleepy is a form of seasickness that everyone falls prey to. The gently rocking of the ship and the constant rumble of the engine just relaxes you until you wake up and realize two hours have passed and you haven't read the first page of your homework yet. There are 50 clubs on board, we have a filmmakers club (That major makes up 3% of the shipboard community), and I also do lawn games, tricky on a ship, star gazing, extended family and Ambassadors club. The last one is a program where I introduce visitors to the ship and generally help them while on board. There are a lot of influential people who come to check out what this floating campus is all about so it is really awesome to meet them. I can't remember if I have told yo or not but the food is good. Pasta and potatoes... a lot of pasta and potatoes, but they are always good and they fill you up. You can also buy more interesting food at the bar for like 2 dollars, but I'm trying hard to save what dollars I can. The rooms are comfortable and plenty of space. You take ship showers, where you get in, get wet, turn off the water, soap up, and then turn the water on and rinse, then off with the water again, they are short but the water pressure is amazing. Our toilet was clogged the other day. If one person messes with theirs then it stops up the whole deck. So far two people have flushed hand towels down the toilet, the reason to this is still unknown since it clearly states "No foreign objects" just behind the lid. Thats all I have for you right now, if you have read this whole thing then congratulations, I don't even think I will read it to spell check. If you have any questions just comment below, I get an email update and then I can respond to them, I think. On the 31st I will be going on a river boat farther up the Amazon, past the meeting of the waters (Which you should look up) , and I will be sleeping in a hammock for the about three days, so the next update won't be till after that, hopefully I won't get eaten by the multitude of things that we were warned about in our "What can kill you in the Amazon" conference. Take care.

Dominica

Today was the last day in Dominica. I wish we could be here for longer, it is an amazing country that everyone should visit. 65% of the island is uninhabited and inaccessible. There are 9 active volcanoes that create an absolutely amazing landscape of towering mountains and endless valleys. It looks exactly like Jurassic park once you get up into the rainforest. Right off the bat I had my first and hopefully my last "tourist" moment. We got a taxi and I had to ride in the passenger side. So when I went to get in I opened the door and found a steering wheel, If you every visit, they drive on the left. On day 1 I went snorkeling on Champaign Reef. They call it that because of the sulfuric gas that seeps up through the ground along the edge of the continental plate, gotta love plate tectonics, thank you Earth science! The Reef was amazing, I saw octopus and puffer fish as well as all the Finding Nemo characters, say for the clown fish, since they do not live in this part of the globe. There was even a drop off that fell to over 75 ft. Later in the day I walked around the town and was able to meet the local people. They are very nice and willing to help out, I think it helps that they love their country so much and just want everyone to love it as they do. They are very much into dominoes, A man named big Jeff explained that they play it everyday and have leagues that have gone all the way to winning the world championships. So all in all, it was a pretty good monday. On day 2 I filmed for my documentary. It went very well and I think I got enough to work with which is an amazing accomplishment, luckily I had several people there to help me out. Later I went to the Emerald pool, which is by far the most exotic and beautiful places I have ever been, it is a water fall in the middle of the rain forest that plunges into a crystal clear pool perfect for swimming. It was very cold, or as the locals say "refreshing." The forest seemed like something straight out of a disney ride or a movie, in fact Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed here. I'll post pictures when I can, but I can't do that from the ship. All in all a great country with great people. Just make sure you know Bob Marley because for some reason all the cab drivers insist that you sing along to their renditions of his least popular tunes. Take care.

First day of class

Today was the first day of class, It went really well and my teachers are awesome. They are super smart and are all actual experts in their fields. This is going to be a tough semester, no joy ride on this ship. The hardest part of the day though was trying to find the classrooms, it is even harder when you are moving around a ship that is rocking pretty good. We have smoothish seas but they turned off the stabilizer system so that we would get used to what it will be like in rough seas, even with stabilizers. Apparently it is a hydraulic system that does all the stabilization of the ship to minimize the movement, but as of day 3, no sea sickness, but I don't want to jinx it. Take care everyone.

The Voyage Begins!

Today we finally pulled out of Nassau Bahamas! We were waiting for 23 students who could not get there Brazilian visas until today, but they finally got them and SAS flew them to Nassau and we all gave them a warm and loud reception. The ship is awesome, pretty easy to get turned around since it all has the same look to it. The food is good and the people are unbelievable. Everyone is so nice and eager to talk and get to know you. right now we are hauling it to to our fist official stop since we are a day late in leaving, and tonight will be the first night I am rocked to sleep by the gentle role of the ship. Take care.

The Bahamas!

     Right now I am with my Mom and two of my sisters is a beautiful resort in the Bahamas, Atlantis!  This is definitely a comfortable way to see paradise,  and it is awesome!  The tough part is that it is hard to get a picture of what the real Bahamas is like for those who live here.  That said, the aquariums, water slides and sandy beaches are definitely the perfect vacation before I set sail for the 105 day voyage of my life, I wish you were here Nicole! 

A Message to my Family

     I am sitting waiting to go to the airport and get a flight to the Bahamas so I can catch a ship that will take me to places I can only dream about, all I can think about is what I want to say to each of you so I thought this would be an appropriate place to say it. Thank you.  My immediate as well as extended family, and especially Mom, thank you.  Your love and support means everything to me.  I want you all to know that I am the person I am today because of all of you.  You each have taught me and helped me grow to be who I am today.  They say it takes a village to raise a child and you have all done well in raising the youngest in the compound.  Uncle Curt once talked about writing a book call Raising Joshua, because it was truly a group effort.  I want you all to know that I am taking this blessing to heart and I will not wast a minute of it.  I will learn everything I can and put to good use all the things I have learned from you.  Thank you again, you are the reason the world is now my classroom, and I just wanted to tell you that I will be making the best of it.