DESMOND TUTU:
After South Africa’s “on ship time” – the steadfast time of the day that we have to be on board with our passport’s returned after port- we had a guest speaker. Admittedly, I lack knowledge on international affairs, as well as a general sense of what is going on in the world. This includes noteworthy people. Before leaving on SAS, a few people had informed me of the significance of Desmond Tutu speaking on the ship, but I did not know a lot about him. I got to the room where he was going to speak with the friends that I had spent the last day in South Africa with an hour early. We had prime seats in the second row and chitchatted about what our past few days had consisted of. A few minutes in to his talk, I had become semi-ashamed that I had not previously known who he was. He was a great speaker, and it was my favorite talk that I had been to. He was clearly important and wise, without being pretentious or mentioning his achievements. He discussed the importance of human connection and relationships- which seamlessly associated the idea of umbuntu that had been drilled into us the entire voyage. He spoke with stories and jokes- all of which ended with his high-pitched, unforgettable laugh. Needless to say, I enjoyed him very much and think that everyone should YouTube a talk of his- even just a short one. You won’t regret it!
MAURITIUS:
Global Citizens is a company that plans and sells SAS trips for students while in port. They are a less-expensive, sometimes more popular, alternative to the excursions directly from the SAS field office. One of their most popular trips is the one-day catamaran in Mauritius. I decided to purchase this one, along with 140 of my closest friends. We made our way out of port and climbed onto a few buses. They were rinky-dink, crowded buses with no air conditioning and seats that looked like they could break at any moment. This was definitely a different experience, compared to the 5-star buses that SAS seemed to find in every country. The 45-minute drive to the catamaran proved to beneficial because it was just what I needed to fully convince myself that this country really did exist. Before SAS and a Wikipedia search, I had had no idea that Mauritius was real, let alone where it was and what it consisted of. From what I’ve gathered, it’s a type of Bahamas for Europeans. Many Europeans come here to vacation, for clear water and beautiful beaches. We got to the beach and docks where our catamaran was. After some serious confusion (it wouldn’t be a new country if there wasn’t any), we finally figured out which catamaran was ours and jumped aboard. There were four boats for the entire group so we split up and got our bearings. The boat was similar, but smaller than, the one that I have been on many times in Maui- the Paragon. To most SASers, the most attractive feature of Global Citizens’ Mauritius itinerary was the open bar onboard. To their dismay, it was very limited and did not live up to their expectations. (Good news for me, the 1/140th voluntary sober population). After they got over that disappointment, the reality of where we were and what we were doing began to set in. We were on a tiny island off the east coast of Africa. We were with a ton of kids the very same age as us. We were on our way to our own private island. We could see the bottom of the ocean below us. This was yet another unreal experience that most of us would never live again. On the way out to the island, we laid out in the hot sun and danced our little hearts away. Dancing on tables and benches while on a small catamaran going over monstrous waves is a dangerous idea and many have bruises and scratches to show for it. We arrived at the island in disbelief. Some had been to the Bahamas or Cook Islands, but many of us had not and this was all new. There were many small white-sand islands, with incredibly shallow water in between them. We all jumped off the anchored boats and swam in to one island- SAS took over. We took tons of pictures, found friends from other boats, and floated along the shores. Most were too intoxicated to snorkel but it was probably just as well because there wasn’t many fish when I tried. The coral was very sharp along the shallow parts so a lot of people cut their feet or stomachs. I had bought an underwater disposable camera in South Africa so we tried to make use of it but I have no idea how they will turn out. I was in amazement, taking it all in. There’s literally nothing on the planet that I would have rather done that day. We had a ton of friends, all together, partying on our own private island in Mauritius. “Fun” doesn’t even begin to describe. We swam back to the boat for a late BBQ lunch and to head back. I have a flip video camera where I’ve been trying to document as much as possible for my mom and dad & grandparents- so there’s a lot of videos that I’ve had friends give a little intro as to where we are and what we’re doing that start out with “Hi Anna’s parents! Today we’re…”. The funniest one thus far is on this catamaran. My friend Austin drunkenly starts out “Hi Anna’s parents!” and proceeds to explain his creative contraption: a beer bong filled with Jungle Juice, made out of a snorkel. The captain of the catamaran was a self-proclaimed “doctor” that was helping the SASers stay hydrated with his “medicine”- an extremely strong alcohol concoction. Anyways- Mom & Dad- as you can see, I’m learning a lot. Unfortunately, I got pretty seasick towards the end of the trip and had to stay at the back of the catamaran, staring at the horizon. Somehow, while every other girl was still in their cute bikinis, I ended the day wrapped in a big towel, with a sweatshirt on top, and a backwards hat. I truly looked like a mess but it was just a sign of a really good time. We got back to land where Lauren and I found a stand that made crepes. On the ledge, it had a big jar of Nutella (my new favorite food). We bartered for a while, explaining that we just wanted to buy the jar and not a crepe, but it wasn’t an option. The whole exchange was hilarious and the language barrier made for a really difficult time. We came away empty handed and thoroughly discouraged. Two casualties on the Mauritius trip that are worthy to write home about: My really good friend Sarah from SMU fell over on the catamaran and chipped her front teeth off. Luckily she doesn’t remember the pain, or it happening at all, but she is a gorgeous girl that now has a distorted smile for a while… Also, Joe (Erin- your friend from Denver!) was blacked out during the transition from catamaran to bus, and he got on a public bus instead of a SAS Global Citizens one. He ended up in a tiny Mauritian village with no money and no shirt and had to haggle his way back to the ship- missing “on ship” time and barely making it before we set sail- or whatever cruise ships do. Neither of these situations are ideal, but both made great stories.
SEA OLYMPICS:
Sea Olympics are a big deal on SAS. We have heard about it since getting on- it’s even bigger than Neptune Day (the day when people shave their heads). You are split up into Seas based on the hallway you live in. I’m in the Baltic Sea and we have been strong the whole time- I have a ton of friends that live in this hallway, thus are in the Baltic Sea. It is filled with athletic, smart, and funny people- all of which make for a diverse and strong Sea Olympics team. Note: They have come to accept and love my uncoordinated, seemingly noncontributing self as one of their own. As big as Sea Olympics is, there is little to no preparation or practice involved. I signed up for Taboo and the Reverse Spelling Bee. In addition to these two events, I agreed to mixing the music and choreographing our synchronized swimming performance. Sarah (the one who chipped her teeth) and I made the music two nights before Mauritius- it was a 3-minute 90’s throwback mix of epic scale. Making this was so fun and just pumped us up more and more. After the music was made, I came up with a hilarious routine for the boys- the four funniest guys in the Baltic. They were really determined and dedicated and by the end- SO good. I was very proud of the little synchronized swimmers that they became throughout our practices. The morning of Sea Olympics brought a lot of excitement. The Baltic Sea made a line and piled into Lauren and my room in groups of 5 to get their faces/bodies painted and hair strewn with ribbons. Two other girls made our chant and it was practiced until the last minute. We gathered together for the Opening Ceremony in the Union- the biggest room on the boat. We scoped out the competition and felt confident. Our spirit and capable members were clearly unparalleled. (If you have experienced me during Derby Days- you know my general vibe during events such as this. Second place is nothing better than the first loser. ) All the chants were performed and judged (we got first, obviously). The rest of the day was a cluster of confusion- there was at least twenty events, many going on at the same time, so keeping track of all of it was difficult. I was quite frantic running around but loving it so much. We were clearly ahead and had delegated the perfect people for each event. The 4 of us in Taboo lost horribly, but that was to be expected and not a big event. I had my last practice with Synchronized Swimming on the side of the boat before their big performance. I was like a proud mama bear when they all nailed it the very last time. They gathered in my room to have their costumes perfected and makeup done and they decided that I was a crazy future-soccer mom. If this is what soccer moms do, sign me up. Their performance was SO good. I think that it was hard for them to hear the music so the beginning and some of the timing was off but their faces were perfect and they really gave it their all. We tied for first! This upset me at first but the other team did a decent job as well. Last was the big reverse spelling bee in the Union, where three people from every sea competed. Spelling backwards, out loud, when you can’t correct yourself, is a lot harder than it sounds. I was the last one in from the Baltic Sea so there was a lot of pressure. I didn’t win (hugely disappointing) but I lost on spelling the name of a professor: Frolander-Ulf, which is foreign and pronounced strange. Anyways, we had fajita night (huge deal on SAS) and made our way into the Union. At the closing ceremonies, it was announced that the BALTIC SEA WON!! (Like there was any way we wouldn’t…) Anyways- moral of the story: our sea/hallway is the best. We get a free party in one of the lounges before India and get off the ship first in Fort Lauderdale, which apparently is really nice because it takes forever. Sea Olympics was SO fun and I am dead tired.
Next stop: INDIA! So many plans for these 6 days- the blog post will be epic, promise.
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