Today was an important day on the ship. The students had orientation all day, and then the involvement symposium in the evening. After the first night at sea, it was good to see everyone in good spirits, and handling the transition to sea life remarkably well. Seasickness can be an issue whenever you're living on a ship, but the on board physician and his team is doing a great job of keeping everyone feeling their best.
Orientation started promptly at 0900 hrs., and covered every aspect of life on the ship including academics, student life, health, safety and conduct while in port. Students were also introduced to the faculty and staff for the first time, and invited to get to know this dynamic group of people outside of the classroom. At lunch, there were many students doing just that.
After lunch, Captain Jeremy spoke in detail about the rules and regulations in place for keeping every member of the ship safe throughout the semester. Students know how to react in the unlikely event of an emergency, and can rest safe knowing that the nearly 200-person crew is highly trained, many with over 15 years of experience working with Semester at Sea.
In the evening, students were given the opportunity to sign up for a wide array of extra-curricular activities and student organizations at the Involvement Symposium. They were also invited to come up with their own groups. There was an outpouring of interest for a number of different activities including the intramural sports program and the Voyage Book committee (the SAS equivalent of a yearbook).
The days schedule ended with meetings to introduce students to the people living around them, which have been divided into groups called "Sea's." Each group is headed by a Living Learning Coordinator, who will serve as a source of guidance and support as students make their way through this amazing journey.
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Tomorrow may be Sunday, but it is also the first day of class! Be sure to check in for blog updates and lots of pictures from the big day.
Japan! Kyoto: Getting Lost and Ginkgo Trees
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The next morning Meena and I headed to Kyoto. We spent the entire
day wandering the city. We wandered into temples, removed our shoes, and
meditate...
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It is great to get these updates and combined with the emails from Kelly on how wonderful the trip is going and the new friends she is making, as a parent I feel comforted. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if the daily BLOG had the ship's longitude and latitude.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy and look forward to these updates, as well as the emails from Alyse on how amazing the voyage is and how wondedrful the faculity, staff and students are. I feel comfortable in knowing we made the right decision regarding Semester at Sea. Thanks
ReplyDelete