So to end this trip i decided to write a poem for the voyage that turned out to be around 5 pages anyways so yeah its a REALLY LONG POEM! (Gee what a concept)
Anyways Enjoy!
SAS Poem
I am sure any SAS student could tell you
To get to this point was a journey in itself
Fighting Financial Aid at their school
Getting scholarships from SAS
Fighting with Pinnacle to the bitter end over Visas
And still not all get them and continue to fight on the ship for them
No one said it would be easy getting to…
This EPIC 108th Voyage of SAS
Spring 2012
However, the challenges would not end there
The Bahamas is where we embark
San Diego is where we disembark
All the countries in between
Are nothing more than a dream
The ship set sail officially on January 20th in hopes of making it to Dominica
The Captain there to make sure that we get there safely and on time
Though there was enough rocking on the ship
To get some people sick
Dominica
Beautiful, incredible
Our first country and port
FDP's, Trips, traveling
All done in a span of two days
The most popular being snorkeling
Go figure.
Brazil
We sail up the Amazon to the port of Manaus
There we find both an amazing and still developing city
Still holding on to various European developed buildings from the past
Some fly out to Rio de Janiero to spend time there
The rest mostly stay in Manaus
Trailing the Amazon
Trying food
Experiencing something that is not like what they are used to
Days on the Atlantic
King Neptune arrives
Grants SAS passage across the equator
Classes everyday
Preparation for the next port
Ghana
Tema the industrial port
Accra the capital city in the region
Some students still trying to get their visas for India
Successful a short time in the port
It was constant bargaining
Long time spent on trips
A cultural shock for many unused to the new surroundings
Some however found it as their new home
A safe haven among the people
Others found their dream job
Many though had learning experiences
In more ways than one could count
South Africa
Disembarked in Cape Town
So expensive, so European
Until you leave that
Townships, often viewed as shantytowns
Surround the outer edges of Cape Town
Divided into colored and black
From the years of Apartheid
Never went back, I suppose but
Yet these areas so rich
Because the culture is so alive
Yet so little education
Many service projects help these places
If only for a day it makes life just a little bit better
The winelands
An incredible sight
A place to drink and snooze
However, we can't bring it on board with us.
Table Mountain
Lion Head mountain
Boulder Beach
Cape Point
So many places to see in Cape Town
So much to learn until you leave during the night
Turn off all the lights and look up
You see Andromeda tonight
Storms on the seas
The MV Explorer and its passengers holding on
As the Captain continues to do his best
Constant rocking while we take midterms
Write papers and do anything school related
Many more seasick and others living on medicine
Mauritius for us appeared to be cancelled
There was some disgruntling
In the end, we got a little time
Mauritius
Beautiful Island
So much to do, so little time
Many people there from India and Africa
Only 4 hours to grab a taste
or shop
or drink
or time at the beach
It was time off the ship
It made many feel just a bit happier
Even with the disappointments
We board quickly and head back out to sea
A new port awaits
India
A very crowded nation and hot a lot of the time
The experience is one of a kind
The food and spices to be amazing
The clothing so uniquely beautiful
The culture and society to shock us
At the same time, the most amazing people that you ever meet
The architecture and art to be eye boggling
The Taj Mahal
Six days of being amazed with a country in the most interesting ways
Soon we must move on to a new nation to learn about
Singapore
One of the cleanest nations in the world
Amazing diversity and acceptance of religions
Little India
Chinatown
What more can I say?
This place had a place in my heart
Vietnam
A sobering experience
The Vietnam War has wrecked the lives of many
Yet this country is beautiful especially the Mekong Delta
So many markets
So little time
Many sights to see and to become enthralled with
Yet you can still feel some of the echos of the war within
China
Feels like the epicenter of the world
Especially looking at Shanghai and Hong Kong
Hong Kong & Macau: A Special Administrative Regions
A little more freedom than the rest of china
Spectacular in view especially at nights
Macau looks like Las Vegas
Shanghai
Amazing place to be
Spectacular lights
Jinao Tower (Oriental Pearl Tower)
Amazing by day, spectacular by night
Museums Galore
Amazing Architecture that puts all western nations to shame
This is creativity
Makes me wonder
What happened to the US?
The answer sometimes is that some of it went to China
Japan
Sakura at its peak, something we can never see again
Kyoto the peak of its beauty
Baseball games to die for
Tokyo the big epicenter
Hiroshima, the memorial of the ever famous atomic bomb
Kobe Beef
Mount Fuiji especially when it snows
The ever so polite Japanese.
They can only direct you so far
Onigiri is by far the best you can ever have.
Nothing beats a good time in Japan
Long 11 Days to Hawaii
Papers, Papers, Papers
A pub night
Auction time
Help future SASers get on board
33,000
Games, late nights, rocking of the ship
Long time friendships begin to truly take off
And the drama begins
Long time at sea
Monotonous and/or Disgusting food
Sarcasm takes root
SASers poke some fun
Last days of classes
Pictures get taken of the class by Brian
Response: "What the #$%* is this?"
Priceless
What love do we have left?
Last Stretch to the finish line
Hawaii has ended as fast as it came
Honolulu spent on board and Hilo spent on land
Finals become brutal
Love was harsh indeed
Finishing now and packing
Its time to soon go home
Say your last goodbyes
Though remember the good times when you say them
Good food coming out in the end
Ending
San Diego
Home sweet Home American mainland!
Getting off and through customs
Is long and arduous
SAS Spring 2012 has come to an end
We all say our good byes and go our separate ways
The friendships were everlasting
It's bittersweet
As our loved ones welcome us home
Tears will be shed
Happiness will be felt by all
Some will face reality
When they say what is Semester at Sea?
There is no simple answer to define it other than
It's worth the money
It's worth the time
It's an epic voyage
What did Semester at Sea mean to us?
There is no simple answer to that either.
For some it was all about drinks and parties
For others it was life changing
And for some of us at times was devastating
It's not an easy trip to take
You have to set all of your ways aside
Leave your family behind
While knowing the chances that something might happen
The risks you take everyday
Some work and some do not
SAS Spring 2012
One of those voyages you can't forget
Who can say they went on an epic voyage around the world?
Not very many
How many accountants can claim that they did it during their college years?
Few and I became one of them.
I leave this on a note and for you to think about
What does Semester at Sea mean?
Your poem was heart touching. We like how you were really descriptive, put in lots of details and reviewed the whole voyage. Good job on the stanza on Brazil. How long did it take you to write this?
ReplyDeleteWhat does FDP mean? Are you coming to visit us.
From Room 18
I am so sorry about a foul language comment that i left on here. I just realized i left it on there so i "bleeped" it out. Sorry Mrs. Hagan! This poem took me 3 days to write so it was a long process of reflecting. I actually have several reflection pieces in the works plus Vietnam which is still running through my head. I will put a new announcement on that soon. :) Thanks for an amazing semester!
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