The United Kingdom

Oh my gosh, the UK was a world-wind! So much craziness happened; where do I even begin? I’m warning you that this blogpost is really long... so if you don’t want to read the whole thing, I would say the end is the best part! :) 

Okay I will begin; we arrived in Southampton on Wednesday. I went with two of my really good friends (Kellen and Ko) to Stonehedge with a group of 20 Semester at Sea kids. We first walked from the ship for 20 minutes to the bus station, then took a 40 minute bus to a tourist location, then a Stonehedge tourist bus for 20 minutes. Stonehedge is a famous, mysterious rock formation that no one knows why or how it was made. It was beautiful and so peaceful to be there. Afterwards we got on a bus that took 3.5 hours to get to London! It stopped a lot too, but we were all sleepy and took naps. 

The hotel that we originally had booked was in a really bad area. Brianna went there first and sad it was very scary! So her and the other Brianna booked a hostel that many Semester at Sea kids were staying at. Once Kellen, Ko, and I got to London, we went straight to our new hostel- The Generator Hostel. Let’s just say it’s not the nicest place I’ve stayed before. The room had 2 bunk beds for the 5 of us and we didn’t even have enough room for us to stand at the same time. If you were sitting on one bed and then stood up, you’d be on-top of the other bed. We tried to make the best of it, so we ate dinner and went out with some of our friends. This is when I lost my phone! Aw I was so sad. 

The next morning I woke up phone-less, just wanting to get out of this hostel. The Briannas, Kellen, and I went to Buckingham Palace. There was such a huge crowd! They changing of the guards was happening full of singing, marching, and horses. Afterwards I said goodbye to my friends and started off on my independent journey! Ah! I jumped into the cab and went back to the hostel to pick up my computer because my friends said I could probably transfer my information from my computer to my new phone. Then I found the Apple Store. It was literally the largest Apple Store in the world with two levels; I asked!! After talking to the workers for some time, we finally worked it out that I could get a UK iPhone and put a Sim card in it. After getting my phone up and running, I tried to look up flights to Scotland, but I figured I should just get myself ready and head over to the airport. I again got into a cab and went back to the hostel. There were no towels in the hostel, and I couldn’t find any to buy, so I had to buy paper towels to use!!! That was an experience! Once I got all showered and ready, I packed up all my stuff and went over to the Tube station. The receptionist was very nice and told me exactly how to get to Heathrow airport. I went on the Piccadilly line all the way there and got off at the Heathrow airport, Terminals 1,2,3 and 5. Once I got there, I made my way over to Aer Lengus. The tube receptionist had told me they have flights to Scotland, but they didn’t. They told me to try British Air so I did. Unfortunately, they told me there was no more spots available, but I could do stand-by. The only thing about that was there was no guarntee I would get on a flight and it was a ridiculous amount of money to fly to Edinburgh and back. He suggested taking the 6 hour train ride instead. I called Mr. Ross and told him about my situation. He said they’d be happy for me to come on the train, but he made a good point that he didn’t want my whole experience in the UK to be on a train. I was able to easily call Mr. Ross because he too has a UK phone, but getting ahold of my friends with US phone numbers was very difficult. My phone just wouldn’t let me call any of them. I really wanted to go to Rachel’s uncle’s house at that point. She had told me earlier that she wanted to come, but before my plan was to go to Scotland. In the end, I emailed Matt who called Kellen who called Rachel. Then Rachel called me on her uncle’s landline number and gave me directions. I scribbled them on a piece of paper and set off for my journey to Uncle Jim’s! 

I wasn’t completely sure I knew where I was going, but I knew that I was going to make it there. I had to get on the Heathrow fast-track station which was about 40 minutes to the Paddington Station. From there I was to walk to Marlebone Station. This was the tricky part. I thought it was only 5 minutes away, but people kept making it seem like it wasn’t that far, but trust me it was! Also it was getting dark and it wasn’t the safest part of London. But rest assured, I made it to Marlebone Station! At this point I was confused what I had written down for the last leg of the trip. I called Rachel and told them where I was. I had to get on the Alyssbury train, but get off at Wendover. Once I was on the train, I kept checking the screen to make sure I didn’t miss it. All of the sudden I was at my stop, the doors opened, and Rachel was standing there waiting for me! It was one of the happiest moments of my whole life, no exaggeration! My 10 hours of running around England by myself were over. 

We walked to meet Uncle Jim who was so warm and friendly! Then we hopped into his Land Rover “Defender.” I was just so happy to be with Rachel and her Uncle! As I was telling them all about my day, I noticed the streets became smaller and smaller and there were very tall bushes on both sides of the street. The street got so narrow that there was literally only enough room for one car with maybe 4 inches on either side. All of the sudden we see headlights coming towards us! I really do not know how the two cars drove past each other. 

Once I walked into Uncle Jim’s “barn,” I could not have been happier! It was the cutest house with candles lit and music playing. It was already about 9:30pm by this point, but they had waited for me to have dinner. We had steak mixed in with pasta, and for those who know me know I hate vegetables, but these vegetables were so good I ate every single one of them! I only had a sandwich the entire today, so it was exactly what I needed. They showed me around the house, and then we watched an English reality show called “An Idiot Abroad.” These two famous British guys send a random guy from England to travel around the world. It’s so funny though because he hates traveling and the two men make him do outrageous cultural things. While Rachel and I were snuggled up on the couch watching the show, Uncle Jim brought out a delicious chocolate dessert. Then he went to bed and I called my dad on the landline. It was so nice to talk to him and it’s really cheap on the landline. After, Rachel and I went to our room which was up the black spiral-whirl in the furnished attic; it had the most comfortable bed in the world!!! 

The next day we woke up and had English tea, bananas and cereal. Rachel and I sat outside, and Uncle Jim went to work. We then went on a walk through the English countryside. It was breathtaking! We first went through this forestry area and came upon  a bunch of cows just hanging out. Rachel and I walked up really close (closer than I’ve ever been to a cow before) and one of the cows pawed at us! Jim later told us it was actually a bull! Good thing we got away! Then we walked into a cute little pub. There was no on one in it. Uncle Jim said that after the UK banned smoking in pubs, a lot of pubs have been closing. Afterwards we made our way back to the house. The countryside was full of open fields, green grass, and blue skies. 

We came home to the barn and took on the task of taking a bath with one of those shower-heads that look like a phone. There is only one bathroom in Uncle Jim’s house and no shower! At first it was difficult, but it was fun! Before we left for town, he made us a bacon sandwich with chips. This was real bacon! Then we went into town in Alyssbury, but on the way we stopped at a cemetery that had people dating back to the 1700s! The town was a lot bigger than I thought; it was the about the size of Los Gatos. We went to Melrose market and shopped for our Paella dinner! On the way back home, we went into the Full Moon. It was a pretty large pub with outside seating (because of the smoking ban). Uncle Jim made us have pork scratchings, shrimp fries, and bacon fries. He said the real pork scratchings sometimes still have hair in it! EW!!! Before dinner we played English football; the rules were you get 10 chances to make the p-q. It was fun to play soccer again! 

Then it was time for our masterpiece! Uncle Jim loves to cook, but he insisted on Rachel and I doing the honors. I let Rachel be the chef, and me the sue-chef, but it surprisingly ended up switching. I’ve honestly never cooked anything in my life, so this was all new to me! We made a famous Spanish dish called Paella that you cook in a huge pot. I can’t even remember all of the ingredients; there was too much! Some of them are onions, tomatoes, red/green peppers, scampi, shrimp, sausage, beef, sauces, rice, and so much more. It took about an hour to cook and it’s definitely a tricky meal to make. I actually enjoyed cooking! It was so much fun and Uncle Jim more than enjoyed it. Rachel and I were very proud of ourselves. Also before dinner he taught me the proper way to open a bottle of wine; it’s pretty tricky! Hopefully, I remember how to do it. 

After dinner we watched the preliminary World Cup with Great Britain versus a small European country. We then flipped through some channels, and thankfully we found “An Idiot Abroad.” This show is so funny! Once again Uncle Jimmy brought out a delicious dessert for us. We were so spoiled! That night I called my mom and it was so nice to hear about everyone! I even got to say hi to Grandma Keel. Then we went to sleep for a last night at the barn. 

The next day Rachel and I woke up knowing that we sadly had to get back to the ship. We didn’t want to leave Uncle Jim’s! I wish we were still there. Hopefully, I’ve been able to somewhat capture what was so nice about staying at the barn, but it’s difficult to do so. We had the best time ever! It was so peaceful and I learned so much from Uncle Jim. He’s such a smart man. He worked in London for years until he had his son and moved out to the countryside. He said that most English families do the same. He had a law practice there and he still works with the same clients. He told me all about the school system in England. All children go to grammar school until they are 10, then they take a test. If you score 92% or better, you get to attend a very prestigious prep school that the government pays for. If you’re the other 91% you too can attend government-funded schools, but they are very subpar. For this reason, most parents send their children to prep schools which are usually $50,000 a year! This is how it is until you’re 18. At that time, you take another test to get into university. Uncle Jim was saying if you don’t get into one of the top universities, it’s pretty pointless to go to college. For this reason the amount of people who go to college is significantly lower than in the United States. These people will get internships or start working. Thankfully his son passed the test! He also told me about the current situation in Europe, Greece, the British monarchy, and so much more. I also asked him multiple times what he considers himself. It’s confusing with the British, English, United Kingdom... it’s not very clear-cut. He said that his nationality is British, he is a British citizen, but he considers himself English. When I asked him another time he said it always changes; it depends on the context. 

I had so much fun with Rachel at Uncle Jim’s “barn” in Wendover. I have such a soft spot for it now. Staying at Uncle Jim’s made me realize how the little things in life are most important. His washer was in the kitchen, there was only one bathroom, and we had so much cooking, playing soccer, and chopping wood. I wrote down his email because I told him many times, whenever I come to England I am visiting him! He is very happy to hear that. It was such a unique experience being there. Everyone can see London, but how many times in your life can you stay with someone in the English countryside? Semester at Sea told us in the beginning of this voyage that this trip is about the people of the different countries we are visiting. I now know what they mean. Besides all the great memories that I’m taking away from the United Kingdom, I’m taking away the promise to myself to get to know the locals of each country and try to learn how they live, think, and act. This is what will make me a more globalized citizen. 

I miss you all in the states! I hope you’re missing me :) 

Love, 
Jamie

Ireland

Ireland! We’re back on the ship from Ireland. We had so much fun there. We docked in Galway on Friday. We were all so happy to finally get off the ship after 8 days/nights! Once we got off the ship, we searched for our hostel. After a lot of walking around we found it- the Kinlay Hostel. My first hostel ever! It was actually pretty nice. It was all 6 of us girls in the room. Then we went to an internet cafe. My friend and I used two computers and when we went to pay, we realized we only had debt cards, and you could only pay with cash. The manager was completely okay with us leaving to go get euros from the ATM. In the States they would never let you leave without paying! Afterwards, we went to lunch at the Boar’s head. We even tried the famous Guinness beer! It’s everywhere in Ireland, but it was disgusting! It was so dark, I think I had about two sips. 

The downtown area in Galway was really cute. It was full of shops, pubs, and people singing and dancing. It was such a great atmosphere. At our hostel, Rachel and I first met some Northern Irish boys. It was so interesting to talk to them, because Northern Ireland is not part of the Republic of Ireland; it’s part of the United Kingdom. They told us about the riots and how they like the Republic of Ireland much more. The boys were really nice and welcoming. Also at the hostel I met an Irish boy who gave me a full Irish history lesson. A lot happened in Ireland. All the kids seem to know a lot about their history and are very proud of it. They even know a lot of the American history. They kept comparing their history with ours. 

The next day we woke up for our 9:15 bus ride from Galway to Dublin. Of course we missed our bus! We couldn’t find it anywhere. We ended up taking a 10:45 bus to Dublin. It was a really beautiful ride from Galway to Dublin. It was so green and there were farms everywhere. Unfortunately, I didn’t stay awake for the two hour bus ride, but I still saw the beautiful scenery. Once we got to Dublin, we again walked aimlessly. That was kind of the theme for the trip. We stayed at the Maldran hotel! It was so nice, especially compared to the hostel. We had two nights in Dublin and we really enjoyed them! Dublin is a big city; it’s really different than Galway. Galway is a much smaller town. In Galway we ran into Semester at Sea kids all the time, but in Dublin we rarely did during the day. 

In Dublin we visited the famous prison that many Irish people were put in during the riots. Rachel, Kellen, and I really enjoyed it. They first showed us a video on the history of Ireland. It was really interesting to see how the prisoners were treated. I couldn’t imagine living like this. The tour guide told us that during the Potato Famine, people would commit crimes just so they could get food and shelter. Also we saw the St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was breathtaking, and right next to it was a really nice park. That day we went on a tour bus throughout Ireland and it was cool to see so much of Dublin! 

The first day we were in Dublin, it was the day of the Notre Dame versus Navy game. It was so much fun to be there during it! Although the Irish could care less about football. It was such a cool atmosphere with the Navy there. Notre Dame killed Navy 50-10. I wish I could have gone, but we got there so late. At night we met a lot of guys in the Navy and even the Navy boxing team. Also we met some of the Notre Dame football players; they weren’t supposed to go out, but they snuck out anyways! The next day was a semi-final men’s soccer game which was a huge deal. The game was Mayo (a county in Ireland) versus Dublin. It was a huge upset that Mayo one. There were so many Irish in jerseys supporting their teams. 

The second to last day, when we were trying to leave the prison, Kellen realized that one of our other friends who wasn’t with us had her tour bus ticket. So we had to take the cab. It is true that all the cool stuff happens when things go wrong! We took a cab, and the driver told us all about Scanlan’s pub. Kellen’s last name is Scanlan, and her grandma said to go there and tell them that her last name is the pub’s name. He even stopped the meter and didn’t charge us to take us to the pub. He told us what to say and how to act around the Irish. He was so funny! Once we got to Scanlan’s pub, it was definitely different than all the other parts of Dublin we were in. These were real Irish and it was kind of ghetto. Everyone in the pub knew each other and as soon as we walked in they knew we were foreigners. They were actually really friendly! They all wanted to talk to us and asked us so many questions. This old man named Jimmy kept talking to us and it was hard to understand him because he kept speaking Gaelic. He even sang us an Irish song! 

When we were on our way to the Temple Bar area, we ran into another boy who gave us a history lesson. He even showed us these huge pillars that still had bullet holes in them from when the Irish and English fought! 

Overall Ireland was amazing! It’s one thing to see pictures and talk to Irish Americans, but it’s another to be there walking around Irish people. They are all so friendly and talkative! They just want to hear your story and know why you’re there. They are so trustworthy too. I really enjoyed Ireland and I hope to go back some day! Now we’re off to the United Kingdom. We’ll be there tomorrow morning! Miss you all at home!!

From the Atlantic

Hey friends and family!!!! 

How’s the United States? Sorry I haven’t blogged yet since getting on the Ship; I’ve been so busy! A typical day on the ship consists of eating, class, studying, watching movies, and just hanging out. All the activities and clubs are starting up, so that will fun! We had good weather when we were leaving Halifax, but now it’s been cold and rockier! I went outside tonight for the first time in 4 days! It’s crazy how you could never go outside while on the ship if you wanted, but I’m going to go outside more often! I’ve been eating pears because they said it gives you Vitamin D.  

It’s been so fun meeting new people and seeing where they’re from. I’ve been hanging out with these 5 girls nonstop! We get along really well and we’re all traveling together. One of the girls is my roommate, Rachel. She is so much and we’re always together! Rachel grew up in Orange County, but her senior year she had to move to Los Gatos for her dad’s job. She’s currently a junior at Chico State, but she really wants to transfer, so we’re all trying to help her right now! My other good friend is Kellen. She going to USC with me in the Spring! There’s two Briannas: Bri (we call her) is a junior at the University of San Francisco and is from Scotsdale, Arizona. The other Brianna is a junior at the University of San Diego and is from Half Moon Bay. Then there’s Ko. She is hilarious! She’s lived all over the place: New Jersey, Virginia, and Mississippi. Right now she’s a sophomore at Claire Mont McKenna, but she also wants to transfer. The six of us are un-seperataeble! It’s a great feeling to already have such great friends! 

The classes I’m taking are Global Studies (which everyone on the ship has to take), the West and the World, The Economic History of Globalization, and Intercultural Communication. These classes are no joke! I’ve been getting so much homework. I’m trying to stay on-top of it though because once we get to Ireland, all the ports go back to back to back with only one sea day in between. All of my professors are such amazing people, with impressive resumes and they’ve all traveled so much! My Economic History of Globalization is from England, but he’s been living in Australia with his wife for the past few years. His wife is from Ireland, so they’re so excited to go to Ireland and England together. I really like my Intercultural Communication class. We always do interesting personality type tests. My teacher was in the Air Force for 30 years and he’s really on it. Today we had to rank what is most important to us, some examples are national security, freedom, health, family security, true friendships, equality, and much more. First he took a tally of the students from the United States. The themes that got the most votes were Family Security, Freedom, Mature Love, and Health. Then he tallied what the international students ranked what was most important to them. Equality and self-respect received the most votes. Also there are “Life Long Learners” on the ship with us who are older adults who visit the countries too and they can sit in on any class. We have one Life Long Learner in my class named Betsy. She told the class what was most important to her and that was an Exciting life, Health, True friendships and some others. It was so interesting to see the differences between the three groups. We have three different textbooks for this class, “The Ugly American,” “The Software of the Mind,” and “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands.” I’ve just started to read “Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands,” and it’s so interesting! It tells you how to act and behavior when you are in a certain country and how to make business deals with people of other cultures. One of the students in the class is Korean! I was so excited! She’s been living in the United States for 6 years, and she said her family says she is very “Americanized,” and selfish and self-centered. Our teacher explained how the United States is a very individualistic society whereas the Asian cultures are collective societies. 

One more thing I’ve learned in that class, is to stop calling ourselves “American.” Being American includes Canadians, Mexicans, El Salvadorans. We need  to get into a habit of saying we’re from the United States. 

We’re all so excited to get to Galway, Ireland! We’ll be there Friday morning. Tonight is the last night we’ll have to move our clocks forward. We have a hostel booked in Galway for one night, then we’re going to take the bus to Dublin. One of my friend’s mom got us a hotel for 2 nights! It was so nice of her and we’re going to send her something from Ireland. While we’re in Dublin it’s the Notre Dame vs. Navy game. I really want to go! We’re going to try to get tickets there, so hopefully we can. There’s going to be so many people in Dublin while we’re there. 

In my Global Studies class, my professor gives us one of his ten travel tips each day. I’ll write down what he’s given us so far. 

1. Never let your age be greater than the number of countries you’ve visited 
2. Figure out the essence of the country 
3. The more you know, the more interesting it is 
4. The taxi driver/waitresses/bartenders are your best friends
5. This adventure is all about the people of each country

Today my friends and I counted how many countries we’ll have been to after this semester. My number is 21! So I’m doing really well on my country count so far... three more than my age! 

Okay I think that’s it for now! I know it’s lengthy, but I wanted to let you guys know what I’ve been up. I miss you all and thank you to everyone who has been emailing me! Just as a reminder it’s jamilyn.carter.f12@semesteratsea.org

I LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL! 

Jamie 

Nova Scotia, Canada

I've officially said goodbye to the United States for almost 4 months! Yesterday I flew from San Francisco to Philadelphia, then had a three hour layover and then I flew to Canada! Right now I'm in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax is the city, Nova Scotia is the province, and Canada is the country. Provinces are equivalent to our states and there are 10 provinces in Canada. While we were driving from the airport to our hotel, it first felt like we were in Tahoe. The freeway was surrounded by tons of green trees, and then all of the sudden the freeway takes you through neighborhoods. I then felt like I was in San Jose right by San Jose State but while crossing the bridge, it felt like San Francisco. But today I've had a much different feel! Nova Scotia is absolutely beautiful. It is so clean and there's only 1 million people in the province. As our cab driver put it, there's 1 million people in Nova Scotia while 100 million people in Vietnam, and they're the exact same amount of land! How crazy is that! Canada is a mix of America and Europe. It seems like I'm in America, but then there is definitely a European feel. Halifax is one of the most important ports in the world. All of the ships for WWII came out of Halifax. It's the most Eastern port of the Americas that doesn't freeze due to the deepness of the water. And the reason it's so famous is because the Titanic sunk just near Halifax, and the people of Halifax retrieved the dead bodies and then buried them here (49 were claimed by their families, while 150 were buried in Halifax.) We woke up pretty late because we got in so late at night but it was a really nice day. The weather is fantastic; sunny, but not too hot. It's relaxing to just walk the pier. The food we've had today is amazing and we've been to two museums (an Immigration museum and a Naval museum.) I've met some people from Semester at Sea; they're everywhere! Everyone is really nice and friendly. I can't wait to get on the ship and get situated, but I don't want to say bye to my parents!

So for each port I'm going to answer a few questions. I can't answer them all for Canada right now, so I'll write the rest later. Let me know if there any others I should answer!

1. What's the currency?
    Canadian Dollar; one dollar coins are called "Luneys" and two dollar coins are "Tuneys"

2. What's the religion of the country?

3. What's the official language?
English and French. In Nova Scotia it's English, but everything is in English and French

4. How safe do you feel on a 1-5 scale, 5 being the safest?
5; I feel really safe in Nova Scotia!

5. What is the food like?
So far it's all very similar to anything you could get in America, but some things are slightly different.

6. What is the country's politics?
It's a socialist country

7. Is there a class system? Is there a large gap between the rich and poor?
There doesn't seem to be. Everyone receives healthcare and 10% of the population of Nova Scotia is     college students. 

8. What's the time difference from California?
4 hours 

That's it for now! I'm miss home a lot but I'm so excited to see where this adventure takes me! I'll be taking off for Ireland on the ship tomorrow evening and we'll be sailing for 7 days! Remember my email is jamilyn.carter.f12@semesteratsea.org. I'd love to hear from you! :)

Love you all,
Jamie

Leaving home tomorrow!

Oh my goodness!! I cannot believe I'm leaving my beloved home tomorrow morning for almost 4 months. My flight leaves out of San Francisco at 8:24am, then I have a 3 hour lay over in Philadelphia... then I get into Halifax, Nova Scotia at 11:33pm. All together it's 11 hours of traveling! My parents aren't on the same flight as me sadly and they only have 9 hours of traveling! So unfair! But I'm so happy they're coming with me to get me settled in :)

I'll be departing from Canada on Thursday in the evening. I'm so excited to see where this adventure takes me but I'm still nervous about leaving my family and friends. 

I'll miss you guys! Please email me at jamilyn.carter.f12@semesteratsea.org 

love, 

Jamie 

Connecting with Family and Friends!

Hey everyone!!! 

I just created this blog for when I leave for Semester at Sea. I'm going to try and keep everyone updated on what I'm doing while I'm on my 3 and a half month adventure! I'll write about each of the countries I go to. I will miss you all dearly, but don't worry I'll be home in no time!!! 

When I'm gone, the best way for us to stay in touch is through email. My email for Semester at Sea is jamilyn.carter.f12@semesteratsea.org

Here is my itinerary: 

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Galway, Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

London, England

Antwerp, Belgium

Lisbon, Portugal

Cadiz Spain

Casablanca, Morocco 

Tema, Ghana

Cape Town, South Africa

Buenos Aires, Argentina 

Montevideo, Uruguay 

Rio de Janiero, Brazil 

Manaus, Brazil

Roseau, Dominca

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 

I would love to hear from you all so please email or here are the port addresses for letters; it's at the end of the page- http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/fall-2012/calendar/

Also I would love to send you postcards:) just email me your address!! 

Love you all, 

Jamie