Taj mahal

Sleeping in train station

Typical Indian woman

FW: india draft

 

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                                                                         India

 

Once again I am at a loss for words when it comes to explaining what we did in India.  What we experienced and felt was like nothing we had ever experienced before and probably ever will again.  It has taken me this long to just process my thoughts and put them into words for you to have some understanding of the magnitude of what we saw, heard, smelled, tasted and felt. 

 

I soon realized it's a country of many extremes.  From the very rich (one of the richest men in the world is a billionaire from India) to the poorest of the poor, the untouchables who sleep in the train station on the floor with no coverings or even worse the gutter. India has one of the most beautiful buildings in the world which is truly exquisite, (the Taj Mahal),  to the poorest shanty that is barely a shelter. Those that have hope with a new emerging economy and those who are hopeless.  From a stench of human waste to essential oils that appeal  to your body to relax, help with insomnia, help arthritus and other ailments.  It is a land of contrasts like no other.  

 

When we first arrived I smelled the stench but did not see or feel the poverty.  The city of Chennai was bustling and there were so many people everywhere I didn't notice the poverty or fifth and several of us talked among ourselves that it wasn't as bad as we had anticipated.  However, the traffic was crazy with chaotic activity between cars, trucks, buses, taxis, bikes, and rickshaws.  Several of us hired a taxis for the day to take us two hours south to Mamallapurum where we visited three very old Hindu temples one of which were carvings in granite of Hindu gods and elephants.

 

The next day we left early, (3:30 am) to travel by plane to Deli.  We saw many people sleeping on the sidewalks, the gutters, under street lamps. I am talking about families with small children.  Eighty percent of the  population  have no electicity or running water. They have no to poor sanitation, which is especially bad in the rural areas where the majority of the population live.  Trash everywhere, layers deep and the extremes of this country are again evident.  In Deli we drove by  the palatial palaces the British built a century or more ago who are now lived in by the military and govt. officials.  They are corrupt and support their lavish lifestyle with bribes.  Rode in our first rickshaw--totally crazy!!!!  There are no rules or laws of the road, everyone just goes and all forms of transportation sound their horns to let you  know their coming.  It is sensory overload.  Somehow it all works out. It's especially scary in a rickshaw since they are the most vulnerable and they come within inches of all the other motoized vehicles.  Never saw an accident but I am sure they happen.  Our hotel was nice with very tight security and luxurious accommodations. Interestingly being a Hindu nation no beef is ever served for a meal.  (They love their cows!)  Speaking of cows, they are also on the roads and all vehicles yield to them.  It's just nuts!!  Life seems so hard and cruel for many.  Encountered many quite deformed beggers that we realized were affected by polio.  Polio continues to be a big problem in India.  It was very sad.

 

The train was also a unique experience. Travelling thru the rural areas gave us a true sense of the poverty and depravity.  We were in first class with air conditioning and nice seats. Most of us were American or European. whereas the second class was filled with those from India,  I'm not sure of the conditions of second class except they had no air conditioning, and the doors were open with people hanging out watching the villages go by.  During the day we passed many small towns and you could see the community wells, fires where women were cooking, men brushing their teeth out in the open spitting in a drainage ditch, community outhouses with no doors.so no privacy even to go to the bathroom.  That has to affect your basic sense of human respect and dignity.  And this is how the majority of the people live. There are one billion people living in India. It will take years to eradicate this kind of poverty. Our return train trip was after dark and the same villages we passed earlier in the day were now completely dark without electricity  It made me realize how much we take for granted in the U.S.

 

The Taj Mahal was beautiful and did not disappoint.  Made of marble with patterns of flowers and mosaics of inlayed semi-precious stones. An incredible tribute to a women who was intensly loved by a man.  Said to be the most beautiful building in the world.  It was all very hard to take in as most of the way to the Taj people were living in squalor.  Again, the land of extremes.

 

The next day we travelled to Varanasi the holiest city for Hindus and Buddhists.  I learned that Buddism originated in India and was an off shoot of Hinduism. Centuries ago the poor of India were not allowed to worship the gods of Hinduism so they started their own philosophy which became Buddaism around 500 B.C.  Buddah was a Hindu who became enlightened and was known as Siddhartha before his attainment of enlightenment.  Varanasi is the city where the holy River Ganges is located. In the early morning hours before the sun rose we boarded a boat to witness the religious practice that has continued unchanged for thousands of years.  At dawn the pilgrams converge at these holy waters for the ritual immersion and prayer to release their souls from the cycle of rebirth.  This is also where people bring their deceased to be cremated and their ashes tossed into the river..We actually saw three or four bodies being carried down to the river by their male family members. As we approached the river you could see smoke and there was a certain smell that I can't describe but we all knew it was the smell of death.  It was kinda creepy. The bodies are then placed on a stack of fire wood with fire wood placed on top just steps from the river.  It takes about 2 1/2 hours for the corpses to be fully cremated.  They then take just some of the ashes and toss them into the river.  The men that do the actual cremations are the wealthiest men in the city but are also of the untouchable class.  Families come from all over India to place the ashes of their loved ones into the river.  Many of the poor can't afford cremation so they put the dead bodies in the river. We witnessed all of the above and it was like watching a dream--none of what we saw seemed real. We all were in a state of shock.  After we left the river one of the faculty members from the ship, who was on our bus, was finally able to get ahold of her daughter who was in labor back in the states.  Sure enough she had the baby 45 minutes ago.  So here was the cycle of life-- birth and death. 

 

Extremes of life, absurdities of contrasts, and the hope of the future; India has it all and more.

Body being taken to the river

Washing at the Ganges

At the Amy Biel Center

Children at the Amy Biel Center

One of the townships

The Archbishop and wife Leahy at their brunch

Cape town from the top of Table Mountain

Another view of Table Mountain

Table Mountain in Cape town

  Cape Town

 

One thing that I have found thru my travels is alot of self discovery.  Traveling forces you to confront new ways of looking at the world and examine your reaction and change your way of thinking.  This has been an amazing experience for which I am grateful and never take for granted.  I am living a dream and I know it.  I pinch myself every day.  I have my bed made and my room cleaned every day, I have someone doing my wash, I have someone cooking my meals, none of this do we take for granted.  We are all appreciative.  And to have someone like Desmond Tutu who we rub shoulders with is beyond even my dreams.

 

So we arrived early Sunday morning and woke to see us enter the harbor and the beautiful sunrise with the silhouette of Table Mountain.  We enter the waterfront and soon realize the beauty of this city.  As soon as we were cleared with immigrations we went with the students who we did the orphanage visit with and attempted  to climb the gorge of Table Mountain which is 3,000 feet from the base. It was a beautiful day but Ken struggled as his diabetes created havoc with low blood sugars and needed assistance up the mountain.  Fortunately they're were allot of strong guys to help him summit.  It definitely felt like an accomplishment for all of us.  The city was absolutely beautiful from the top. 

That evening we went to a play performed by local people creating  music and dance in true old Cape Town  fashion which was wonderful. 

 

Monday we spendt the morning walking around Cape Towns waterfront and doing one of my favorite things;  Shopping.  That afternoon we left to do a homestay in one of the townships.  These are the areas that the blacks were forced to go during apartheid and continue to live today.  Many are shacks and shanty towns and others are marginal with running water but not hot, minimal electricity and basic conveniences.  It was very interesting and sad to see that although apartheid ended 16 years things were not alot diffent from before.  It really hit me in my heart when Arch said he was a Nobel Prize Laureate and 67 years old before he was allowed to vote.  The amount of forgiveness these people have to one another is beyond human comprehension. . The homstay was great we learned alot and enjoyed the experience tremendously.

 

Tuesday we were a privileged few who were invited to Desmond and Leah Tutus home in Cape Town for lunch.  They had invited 4 faculty, 4 lifelong learners (that's us), 4 crew and 4 students.  We all considered ourselves very fortunate!! We were picked up at noon by a bus that took us to their home.  It was outside of the city proper and very close to a beautiful beach.  It was a lovely home in a nice area but very modest for his standing.  Lots of pictures on the walls of him and also of Leah with dignitaries from around the world.  One was with Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter the the bishop, one was with the Clintons, etc. There was a pool within a beautiful courtyard, there were chickens and a rooster confined to a pin in the back yard and large walls with at one time heavy security.  When he was appointed to be the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission they increased his security detail and also provided body guards. Leah had prepared the meal herself but had help serving.  The food was South African, very delicious and the lamb she served was extremely tender.  She had cooked it overnight at very low temperatures.  I was impressed that she had done all the cooking herself.  We all enjoyed the meal and had a great conversation after as the bishop's birthday was only 2 days away.  We said our good byes to Leah and then were taken to his office just a mile away.  Again, what a privileged!!  I won't bore you with the details but can describe to you when we return if you would like.  On his birthday the bishop had invited 150 guests for dinner on the ship.  Great exposure for SAS.

 

Wednesday we attended the Amy Biel Foundation.  She was a Stanford graduate in the 90's who was a Fulbright scholar and working in Cape town against Apartheid.  She was stoned and stabbed to death in one of the townships by four young black men.  They were imprisoned for five years before coming before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  Amy's parents were at their hearing and fully supported their release.  They strongly felt these young men were as much a victim of apartheid as their daughter was.  The men were released and two of them now work for their Foundation.  It's an amazing story of forgiveness.  The foundation works in the townships helping with education, housing and the other problems of blacks that still suffer from poverty.  It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget.

 

Thursday we had a great white cage shark dive scheduled but it was unfortunately canceled due to weather,

so we took a city tour instead and did some real damage shopping. Ha-ha  Believe it or not I would have rather gone shark diving.

 

Friday we did a private tour of the area south of Cape town and the actual tip of Africa called Cape Point and also Cape of Good Hope.  We drove around and over beautiful mountains and along the coast and saw where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet.  We saw baboons, ostriches and penguins along the way and were told that the baboons kill the ostriches and are a huge menece to the farmers.

 

To much to see in to little time so I know we'll be back.

 

 

Side note:  Ken and I have enjoyed this trip so much beyond our expectations that we have decided to stay on for the entire voyage.  We arrive in San Diego on Dec. 13

and will drive home with the girls.

O latitude and 0 longitude

Neptune Day

Neptune Day

      This a tradition that goes back hundreds of years and celebrated by all mariners today when crossing the equator for the first time.  Ken and I have crossed the equator several times on land but never by sea.  We were woken up in the early morning hours by the crew who were dressed as sea creatures and clanging cymbals thru out the whole ship.  After breakfast we were instructed to go to the top deck where the swimming pool is.  At that time we learned we were pollywogs, but thru an initiation we would become shellbacks and worthy to be on a sailing vessel on the sea.  We had to stand on the edge of the pool in small groups not larger than six at a time and have fish guts poored on us from head to toe.  I'm not sure if they were really fish guts but what ever they were they smelled like something that had been dead a long time and an ugly color of green.  We then could jump in the pool to be rid of the nasty stuff.  But as we left the pool we had to kiss a large (1 1/2 foot) fish on the mouth.  Then we were official shellbacks.  But we very special ones because we crossed the equator at the prime meridian which is very rare--so we are actually emerald or I also heard royal diamond shellbacks.  This tradition continues today on tankers, navy ships and cargo vessels.  If you were so inclined you could also have you head shaved.  (Stephanie had hers done on her voyage in the spring).  Twenty three young women gave their hair to locks of love and at least 100 guys shaved their heads--one you know well.  Pictures to follow!  It was a fun day for everyone.

In case I don't e-mail you when I write a blog just at times go on the blog itself which is

martykurica.blogspot.com

child in village

village

Ken, Marty, child in orphanage

village children

Ghana

Hello all. 

We had a wonderful time in Ghana and experienced many different emotions. We arrived at 8 am and had an early customs clearance as we had a scheduled tour to what's referred as Castles and Slave Dungeons. These castles were built by the Portuguese in 1482 and were later taken over by the Swedes and then the British.  It was during the time that Ghana was a British Colony that these castles were used as torture centers and slave dungeons for many of the Africans who were sold into slavery.  Horrific conditions before they were put into boats to sail to the New World and be put up for slavery.  Many died before they were able to transport them due to the conditions of overcrowding where in one small room 300 men would be placed for 45 days with no room to lie down to sleep, minimal food and having to do bodily functions where they ate and slept. I can't imagine the odor and stench that these men had to live in for 3 mos.  If a women was on a boat crossing the ocean and was found to be pregnant see was simply thrown overboard. It was very sobering to think how families were separated and men and women treated as commodities.

 

The following day we went to a city built entirely on stilts on an open lake fed by two rivers.  Its name is Nzulezo which litterly means "built on water".  We drove thru numerous rubber plantations before enjoying a one hour ride on the lake in a dugout canoe. Most of the inhabitants have ancestors who lived in this same village for over 500 years.  Their lives continue  to be very basic with no electricity and no running water.  The people were very unfriendly and we felt very unwelcome.  I could hardly wait to leave!  Their reaction was so different from the other encounters we had.  Even on our way to the village people were smiling and waving at us. 

 

The third day was by far the best and was truly life changing.  When Steph was in Ghana on her SAS trip she had met a couple, John and Stacy, who recently started an orphanage for children who were involved in child trafficking. She and some her friends went back the next day and helped them paint not only the inside but the outside of the orphanage.  We had told Steph we would try to visit.  Not only did we visit but we took 30 students with us.  Sounds crazy?  It was!  It turned into this big service project where we committed to this orphanage to raise the money and feed 1,200 children in a neiboring village.   Plus, we had to figure out how to get to their city as it was 4-5 hours away. We had raised the money, but only 12 hours before we planned to leave did we secure a bus to take all of us.  We left at 3 am so we would get there by 9 am. When we arrived we met the 14 children who had been rescued and it seemed that immediately we formed a bond with the them. Some  of the SAS students started playing soccer with the kids, others toured the facility and yet others helped in the cooking of the meals which was being done in the back yard.  What happened after that is hard to put into words.  It was magical, it was life changing, it was a bonding to strangers that I had never felt before, it was powerful.  We all stayed at the orphanage for another hour and a half, had a little breakfast, then broke up into 3 groups.  One group was to stay and finish the cooking and assemble the 1,200 boxes, another group was to be dropped off with the kids to play soccer and the third group was going to the village to say we would be back in a couple of hours to distribute the meals. We all reassembled to load up the 1,200 meals and boarded our large bus to go to the village for what we were calling "The Feed".  As we arrived we saw a large collection of children assembled in a sheltered area but as soon as they saw the bus they came running towards us.  They were yelling, raising their arms and hands and so excited to see us.  Seeing hundreds of children excited upon our arrival was so moving and brought tears to our eyes.  When we arrived it started raining and hard at times, but none of us noticed till we passed out all the meals and boarded the bus again, It was only then we realized we were drenched.  When we got off the bus bus the children were so happy and gathered around each of us in 2's and 3's to lead us to the mini bus where the meals would be distributed. We experienced their desperation as it became a feeding frenzy and in their eyes you could see the fear that we would run out of food.,  These children were not starving but certainly malnourished. It was chaos, it was mayhem, and we had little control of this mob mentality.  Little children, as young as 3 had lost family members, mostly older siblings, and were crying in the rain, shivering from being cold, feeling lost and abandoned and very few mothers were in  the crowd. As I held a very young shivering child who was very thin I wondered if she would make survival of the fittest?  My heart was breaking! She was so frail!!   This village was a high risk village. Definition:  Many in this village are single mothers, desperate to feed and care for their children, living on the edge, and the fishermen prey on them.  Often these mothers sell their children to the fishermen being told they will feed and educate them.  But this is far from the truth.  These children work fourteen hour days, slave labor, putting themselves in danger as they dive into the lake to undo fishing nets. Some end up dead, all mamed for life both physically and mentally.

So this is the mission of John and Stacy.  You see John is Nigereon and grew up abandoned and a street child. A family from Liverpool reached out to him, educated him, rescued him, gave him hope.  That is their mission.  We all need to be aware, not naive, and spread the word that this is happening all over the world.  We need to act and we need to act now!!!  We will never be the same--------

Marty with the snake charmer (cobra)

Selling false teeth in the market

market in Marrakech

Cassablanca

We arrived early Friday, Sept 10 into Casablanca where the port was extremely large, busy, and polluted due to their export of prosperous.  The port area actually had a cloud over it due to all the dust.  Many voyagers got sick with upper respiratory problems as well as eye problems.  But we were all excited about being in this exotic Muslim country and anxious to get clearance so we could all go and explore.  Several of us left together as they keep saying "stay in groups".  We started heading to their main mosque which is the worlds third largest when a fight between 2 locals  developed across the street.  Soon after we heard an Arab passenger get out of a taxis yelling at the driver and they got into an altercation. As we approached the mosque we saw that 2 sides were on the sea with large waves coming into the breaker walls. A lot of kids were swimming and playing in the waves when we heard a bottle break.  It was a boy in his late teens who broke the bottle and put the jagged edge up to the neck of another youth.  It was all really crazy. It was pointed out to us it was  the last day of Ramadan and they had been fasting for 28 days and they were all little irritable.  That's putting it mildly!!  They fast not only for food but smoking, alcohol, dancing to name a few. The mosque was beautiful with detailed tile work all around the outside.  We were not allowed to go inside however.

 

We then ventured to the old town and walked thru one of their food markets.  We felt very uncomfortable as people were staring at us, not returning a smile and very unfriendly even somewhat hostile. Needless to say we didn't stay long and again attributed it to the long month of fasting and it was  getting close to sundown when the fasting would be over till next year. They were also very upset as they all have TV's with satellite dishes no matter how poor they are and they had heard the news of that crazy minister who was going to burn the Koran on Sept. 11. So there were several factors playing out.

 

The next day we went to Marrakech which is a large city that is made of beautiful pink buildings and  instantly felt warm and welcomed. Went to more mosques and the big bazaar which was great.  They sell spices, clothes, shoes,all sorts of wares, false teeth, yes that's what I said, and is also where the snake charmers,  fire-eaters,story tellers and monkeys entertain. A great place for people watching.  Unfortunately one of the adults in our group got bit by one of the monkeys and now is having to take the series of rabies shots. It's not only painful but VERY expensive. 

 

We sent 2 days in Marrakeche then went to a beach front town called Essaouia which was lovely.  This probably our favorite city.  It use to be a Portuuese stronghold the the 1600's and the wall and fort are still standing.  They have very talented craftsmen who creat exquisite decorative items.  We could have easily spent more than one night there.  We traveled some of the countryside and the rural areas are very poor with small 1-2 room homes made of mud bricks. They used donkeys exculsively to plow their fields, carry their loads after harvesting and rode them into the nearest town for supplies.

 

We returned to the ship which was a welcome reprieve after travelling in this third world country.  It does become your home.  You have  the security of reconnecting with your friends,the food, and a good bed to sleep in, and clean water.  We take so much for granted!

 

We are enjoying taking classes and being in this learning enviroment.  The students and faculty are great.  It's amazing how close you get with these people.  It will be sad to leave after Vietnam. There's a part of me that wants to do the whole trip.

 

I don't have much more to say without boring you all so I will left it at that.  After we left Morocco we stopped at Los Palmas which in the Canary Islands.  The City was very modern and very built up.  We arrive in Ghana in 4 days so doing alot of reading to prepare. I am still experimenting with the pictures so be patient as I can't yet edit them so I am not able to upload some of my favorites. Never the less  you should enjoy.  Hope you are all well and keeping those fires away.

 

Love to you all.

marty

 

 

 

t

 

 

 

 

 

experiment with pics of Spain

Cadiz

FW:

 

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From: Martha Kurica at Semester at sea
Sent: Wed 9/8/2010 8:11 PM
To: kurica2.marty@blogger.com
Cc: net; samcsc@comlkurica08@apu.edu; skurica08@apu.edu; tkurica@intranerve.com; mkthom86@hotmail.com; bjwang@socolo.cast.com; batestomrad@aol.com; ffransioli@gmail.com; retsa47@yahoo.com; gcangelini@aol.com; physiqueinc@comcast.net
Subject:

Ken and I just returned to the ship after our time  in Spain. We had a great time with one of Ken's partners and his wife, Milt and Betty Waldron. We arrived last Sat. into Cadiz which is one of the oldest cities in the West dating back to 1100 BC.  Columbus left from this port in two of his three voyages to the new world. The first day there we walked all around the city visiting many of the sites; from the old cathedral, fortress, beautiful gardens, and the beach to name a few. The weather was hot so the beach was packed with people and was so pretty with all the different colored umbrellas.  The entire beach was filled with people.  What we marvelled at was that  the entire family was present from the little babies to the grandparents. A true multigenerational event.  You can see by just walking around the town that family is very important.

 

On Monday the four of us rented a car and went on a road trip to some of the "white towns" which were a few hours from Cadiz. They were beautiful and did not disappoint us.  We stayed at a paradore which is an old castle, fortress or some old historical place that the govt. have turn into a hotel.  One of them was on the edge of a cliff with breath-taking views of the "white" city below. We heard numerous cathedral bells ringing every half hour as well as the dogs barking and roosters crowing in the morning. One of the days we went to Sevilla which is a city that has had a long history of many peoples inhabiting it from the Moors, the Muslims, the Christians and others I can't remember right now. The big Catholic cathedral was built on the ruins of an earlier mosque and the main tower is actually a part of the original turrets of the mosque. All was very intriguing.  A sidenote is that Columbus is buried there. The church dates back to around 1200 AD.

 

One of their customs that we had a hard time with was their eating patterns.  The stores and cities don't become awake until 10ish in the morning.  Then they are open until 1-130 in the afternoon after which they all have seista time until 530pm.  Resturants in the evening don't even accept reservations for dinner until 9pm and only when their arm is twisted. Most of them don't show up for dinner untill 1030-11pm.

 

We had a great time and now as I write this are sailing to Morocco and will arrive at approx. 12noon.  Then onto another adventure. I won't have my computer when we are  exploring but that wont be still Saturday.  Hope you are all doing well!  Think of you and miss you!!  Hopefully soon we we have some extended time on the ship I hope to learn how to download pictures on my blog for all to see. So maybe with my next blog I'll have a surprise for you all.  Till them take good care of yourselves.

 

Love you,

Marty

Ken and I just returned to the ship after our time  in Spain. We had a great time with one of Ken's partners and his wife, Milt and Betty Waldron. We arrived last Sat. into Cadiz which is one of the oldest cities in the West dating back to 1100 BC.  Columbus left from this port in two of his three voyages to the new world. The first day there we walked all around the city visiting many of the sites; from the old cathedral, fortress, beautiful gardens, and the beach to name a few. The weather was hot so the beach was packed with people and was so pretty with all the different colored umbrellas.  The entire beach was filled with people.  What we marvelled at was that  the entire family was present from the little babies to the grandparents. A true multigenerational event.  You can see by just walking around the town that family is very important.

 

On Monday the four of us rented a car and went on a road trip to some of the "white towns" which were a few hours from Cadiz. They were beautiful and did not disappoint us.  We stayed at a paradore which is an old castle, fortress or some old historical place that the govt. have turn into a hotel.  One of them was on the edge of a cliff with breath-taking views of the "white" city below. We heard numerous cathedral bells ringing every half hour as well as the dogs barking and roosters crowing in the morning. One of the days we went to Sevilla which is a city that has had a long history of many peoples inhabiting it from the Moors, the Muslims, the Christians and others I can't remember right now. The big Catholic cathedral was built on the ruins of an earlier mosque and the main tower is actually a part of the original turrets of the mosque. All was very intriguing.  A sidenote is that Columbus is buried there. The church dates back to around 1200 AD.

 

One of their customs that we had a hard time with was their eating patterns.  The stores and cities don't become awake until 10ish in the morning.  Then they are open until 1-130 in the afternoon after which they all have seista time until 530pm.  Resturants in the evening don't even accept reservations for dinner until 9pm and only when their arm is twisted. Most of them don't show up for dinner untill 1030-11pm.

 

We had a great time and now as I write this are sailing to Morocco and will arrive at approx. 12noon.  Then onto another adventure. I won't have my computer when we are  exploring but that wont be still Saturday.  Hope you are all doing well!  Think of you and miss you!!  Hopefully soon we we have some extended time on the ship I hope to learn how to download pictures on my blog for all to see. So maybe with my next blog I'll have a surprise for you all.  Till them take good care of yourselves.

 

Love you,

Marty

Hi all,

 

This week has been crazy busy but I think things are settling down a bit.  I think there is something to do every hour of the day and evening. They have a photo club, seminars on Spain, exercise class, worship service, meditation, and many more.  We haven't even been on  the ship for a week and we have gotten to know so many people and already feel close to them. The ship really isn't that big so you see people all the time eating, exercising, class,etc.  It's been great to interact with students, to see and fell their energy and talk with them. 

 

It took some time to get my computer hooked up to the ships internet.  It's very confusing because they have 2 different web sites and you have different passwords for each.  Then there all these academic folders for each class which there syllabus and required reading and what ever else they want to to communicate to students. They are trying to be as green as possible so no handouts, every thing is on the computer. On top of all that the internet is slower than at home and peak hours it's hard to get on.  We are all learning to be patient and flexible including the dean and rhe professors.,

 

The weather has greatly improved so no more sea sickness and the ship isn't rocking and rolling like the first three days. It started off pretty bad and I'm sure there were some students that were questioning there choice of having a semester on the open seas.  It's been really weird to not see land for days and every time you look out the window you're still moving but everything looks the same.  When I look at the map and find where we are it's a bit

daunting. We are getting close to Spain but a few days ago we were in the middle of the Atlantic ocean far from help.  It makes me have a new appreciation for those early explorers.They said when you are more than two days from land no one can rescue you as it's further than a helicopter could rescue or do a medical evacuation. I glad we are getting close to land. We are looking forward to getting to Spain.  The ship docks close to the rock of Gibralter and is the same port that Columbus and other explorers left and returned from. oh my gosh I am so excited!  On the ships tv rhey put announcements and general info. They just showed the map of where we are and for the first time in days I can see land on the map.. Yahoo!!! The other thing that's been difficult is we have lost an hour every night for the the past for nights and we do it again tonight.

 

Well I have to go to class so I will close for now.  If you are commenting on the blog I can"t receive the comments till I get home so maybe writing me on my is better if you want to communicate.

Hope you are all well and enjoying your fall.

 

Stayed tooned. 

Marty

1st day of classes

Today was our first day of classes which I very much enjoyed. My first class was at 8am this morning and since we have been having rough seas since yesterday the students during class were dropping like flies many of them pretty green. Thru out the day you would see people quickly leaving rooms. To make it even worse it's been difficult to walk with all of us bouncing around loosing our balance. This afternoon I attended a class on disease and healing and although it was interesting I could barely keep my eyes open. It has been so long since I have sat in class all day. Plus I think the rocking of the boat was just lulling me to sleep.
I am surprised how busy we are during the entire day and evening with little free time. I still haven't worked out yet but tomorrow I HAVE to make time to go to the fitness center.
Ken is taking alot of business classes so he is a happy camper. Then this evening he got to make a special visit and meet some VIP's on the ship.  You guessed it--he was invited to the Arch bishops cabin to met him and his wife. Turns out the wife has back pain and Ken being the world renown spine surgeon was consulted. Can you believe that?
Tomorrow we have our second set of classes and the weather isn't expected to get better maybe worse again due to the large hurricanes in the Atlantic. It's been difficult to get on the internet due to the ships capability allows only 50 people on at a time. So I will try to keep in touch every day but if I miss you will know why.
 

1st days of Semester at Sea-oh my!!

I don't even know where to begin! I am not the best writer but these next few months I will try my best to describe the events of this trip.  These first days have already exceeded my expectation! I have been encouraged, stimulated, challenged, and thought about things in a way I haven't since probably my college years. I can feel already that it will be an amazing few months and will be life changing.  I have learned so much already.  Like this is a ship not a boat (ships carry boats like the life boats), boats don't carry ships.  That this is not a cruise but a voyage.  We had our first drill before the boat ever left the dock which makes sense and I am not sure why but the academic dean and his wife are on our life boat and came up right next to Ken and I and we had a nice little chat for the 45 minutes we were required to stand still and be quiet-NOT.  Then a few people over we discover that the arch bishop Desmund Tutu and his wife are also on our life boat.  How crazy is that, out of 1,000 passengers.  Early in the day I was in the computer lab trying to figure out how to get on-line, my ship emai,etc. and Desmund comes and sits by me to also receive help from the gurus.  We have a short communication and both get excited when we begin to understand some of the new basic concepts. I hope I am still doing this at 78.

The so far has been very good but Steph says after a while it gets pretty old.  We have been very busy going to orientation, meetings, talks and learning to know the various area of the ship.  Every one from the older "life long learners", the faculty, and the students have been so out going and friendly that its been alot of fun already.  Such an interesting group of diverse people.

We left Halifax a few hours ago and the ship is already rocking and rolling and they warn us that its only going to get worse due the hurricanes in the lower Atlantic.  They have already placed puke bags all over the ship in anticipation but assure us we will be out of danger but can still have large swells. Steph I hope this isn't starting out like your voyage.  Her's had over 30 foot swells their 1st week and alot were sick, couln't attend classes including the profs. and furniture was sliding from one side of the decks to the other.  Her videos are wild so I hope this isn't a repeat.

Well all this chatter and I didn't even mention our first day in Halifax. I stepped on my glasses and had to find a shop to repair them, Ken called the hotel reception to see if they sell their pillows since they were so comfy and we were expecting the worst on the ship and low and behold if they did't sell us the pillows and the cases we slept on for Walmart prices, and after we arrived on the boat we were notified that Ken had left his insulin at the hotel.  Oh the joys of traveling! It's bound to only get better.

In closing, you can see we are bound for a great adventure that maybe we can return on with some of you. Thinking of each and every one of you and will contnue to stay in touch.

Love,Marty


blog address is martykurica.blogspot.com and e-mail is makurica@semesteratsea.net or you can reach ken at our normal kurica@aol.com and they will be forwarded.gcangelini

Getting ready for SemesteratSea.

Hello,

This is the  first entry onto my blog and I am testing it before we leave to make sure it is working as it should before we leave the states.  I really can't believe this is becoming a reality as I thought Ken would back out at some before now.  We are both extremely excited and busy doing last minute preparations.  It's not so easy to organize and prepare for being away from the United States for almost three months, (especially when we are also planning  a wedding for next August).  Oh my!!  I look forward to being in touch with you all and hope that you will respond either on the blog or by e-mail as I think I might get alittle homesick after the first few weeks.  However if I take the auditing of my classes and my continued exercise regime,
(thank you Goef), seriously I will be keeping busy!  I am hoping for quiet seas and I would appreciate your prayers in this regard as this is the only thing that makes me nervous.  So I will write again when we are on the ship and begining this trek around the world.  Till take care and stay tooned.
Marty