January 2, 2008 – off the coast of Hong Kong, sailing northeast

---

Well it’s 11:00pm on January 2. I’m finally in bed after an unusual, yet exciting day. I woke up this morning in Hong Kong, and after eating breakfast and finishing my packing, my roommate David and I took a taxi to the Ocean Terminal, where we saw The Scholar Ship for the first time. We spent most of the day waiting in lines to file paperwork with the school and the crew. We did training for cases of emergency, met lots of other students, played name games, etc. All in all, there are 40 countries represented here, but not as many students as everyone had anticipated. I’m not sure how many people on staff and with the crew there are, but I would guess there are somewhere close to 150 people working, if not more. I was told the exact number of students is 152, but can’t say for sure. The 7 charter schools of the program have the most students onboard. And the Americans far outnumber any other country. I met a girl from Virginia, but there aren’t any other Southerners onboard that I know of. The Virginian has no accent, so I’m alone in that department. It’s funny what things people remember people by. Right now I’m only known to some people as the guy with the funny accent, the guy whose luggage was lost in New York, and proving my navigating abilities in Hong Kong to a few people earned me the nickname GPS. (I know some of you will find that funny.) The majority of Americans are from the west coast, primary California, and most of those from UC-Berkeley.

We didn’t do anything school-related today, so I don’t know anything about my classes yet, or how many will be in each class, etc. I do know I only have 2 professors, and each of them for 2 classes. I hope I like those 2 people! ☺ Especially considering that I eat with them in the cafeteria, and pretty much live with them for all practical purposes, etc.

The boat is nice, you can tell it is about 30-40 years old, and the wood craftsmanship is consistent throughout. I like it. And having never been on a cruise ship before, it’s pretty much what I was expecting. With so few students, everyone got upgrades to larger rooms for free. I now have a room on the top residential floor, with a window! My roommate’s name is Arvid John, and he is from Berlin, Germany. For those of you who know my old roommate in Nashville, TN, Josh Shope, this guy is exactly him, but German. He is very tall, about 6’4”, and probably weighs 160 pounds - maybe. He is very witty, and has a unique way with words. He is doing school backwards from me however. He started college in Germany, then transferred to Macquarie in Sydney, and is due to graduate in May upon the completion of this voyage. It is his 5th year in college, after having completed some type of traditional 1-year military program that is customary for German males coming out of high school, (and worth noting, is somehow optional now for high school boys). So that makes him 6 years removed from high school, only a year younger than me.

His degree is determined by German standards, and he explained to me that it was somewhere between more than a Bachelors and less than a Masters. It’s exciting getting to know him, and he’s very easy to get along with, (especially considering my prior experience living/working with Josh Shope, Arvid’s long lost American twin), so I’m not worried about living with him. On a side note, it’s weird how I keep meeting new people, and realizing they remind me of someone from back home, except they’re the Asian or Australian or whatever other country’s version of them. Well really, I guess it’s just weird not knowing anybody! It’s like starting college all over again really. Anyway, Arvid’s past experience at Macquarie will help me tons for preparing to go there in the fall. And oh yeah, he brought about half as much stuff as I did!

The food for lunch and dinner today was great. But I think everyone expected the first day to be that way, so we’ll see where it goes from here. There seemed to be a lot of variety, and even though I didn’t like everything, there were plenty of other things for this somewhat picky eater to choose from. After walking for miles and miles while eating light foods in Hong Kong for 3 days, today’s meals on the ship were quite hearty. We set out to sea tonight about 6:00pm precisely, and are out to sea now. The boat is rocking, and it is a lot more noticeable than I thought it would be. I haven’t fallen yet or run into anyone, but that will probably happen tomorrow. I am hoping and trusting that I will adjust to it in the next few days. I can’t imagine ever reaching a point where I don’t notice it though. I don’t think I’m getting sick, (atleast not yet), and I’ve never been one to get any kind of motion-sickness, but this is an entirely different type of motion than what I’ve experienced before. Being at sea for days could change things, and rough waters will certainly add another element, so getting sick would not surprise me at all at this point.

All in all, this experience has been wonderful so far. But I was so tired today that I had a hard time staying awake during the Welcome Ceremony tonight. It felt like a special, momentous occasion, and I felt bad being so sleepy. Tomorrow and the next day will be full of more orientations and listening to people talk, so I won’t have to do much, but I’ll want to be well-rested in order to care properly. This experience will be what I make it, and I want to make the most of it. I am taking vitamins, walking lots, eating healthy, and going to bed soon for hopefully a full night’s sleep tonight, so I think I’m doing all I can to stay healthy. My roommate went to bed early, so he’s either responsible and agrees with my sentiment that sleep is important for tomorrow, or maybe he was just tired too. ☺ But so far, I think he’s going to be a great influence on me.

Anyway, it’s almost midnight, so I need to try to go to bed. I was falling asleep at 8:00, but now I’m starting to wake up. I don’t think I’ve fully adjusted to the 13 hour time change either, and I’m sure that has something to do with it as well. I don’t want to take a sleeping pill for the 3rd time in 4 nights though, so I’m just hoping the rocking effect will work it’s magic in a positive way for once. Goodnight!

---