Ryan's Semester at Sea Journal

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Feel free to stop by the journal here periodically, to see what I've been up to. I will try and update this page every week or two or three. If you see entries followed by "[Dad]", those are my father's words and not mine because there will be a lot of times I just can't get to the internet. [Dad]

Twas The Night Before SAS...

3 September, 1998 - Hard to believe that within 10 hours I will be on a plane heading toward British Columbia to begin my adventure. I've spent most of the day packing and unpacking and repacking my bags, so I should be ready for what the world throws my way--within reason of course.

I'm realizing that these things just keep getting bigger and grander. In 1988, I went to Germany and Austria for 10 days. Then in 1994, I spent 8 weeks wandering all over Europe. Now I'm taking 100 days to circle the entire globe. You'll probably be able to check back in 4 years to hear about my adventures to Jupiter and back.

As for right now I'm a little restless about finally getting this thing underway. I hope I can sleep tonight, because we'll be heading out to the airport around 5 in the morning. I'll have a few hours to kick around in Houston, and then it's on to Vancouver, where our staff will train for a few days before we actually get on the ship. But come the afternoon of Sept. 10, we motor toward Japan.

The journey really begins......

Ryan spent a few days checking out Vancouver and Seattle before starting the training session. He said the rest of the "dorm" staff was pretty cool and it looked like they would all get along good. Thursday afternoon, September 10, (Vancouver time) the ship actually set sail. It will be about 13 days (September 23) before he is actually able to set foot on land again - this time in Japan. Check out the SAS websight for daily updates as to the ship's location, etc. [Dad]

September 15, 1998

Word from the SAS Update site is that was nearing the half way point to Kobe, Japan. Their Update site also lists lattitude, longitude, temperature, etc. Check it out......[Dad]

September 27, 1998

Ry arrived in Japan on 9/23. He called on Friday, the 25th, and left us a message and he was able to call again on the 26th (our time) to say he was having a good time and to fill us in on what he had been doing. Part of the trip to Japan was pretty rough but he never got sick. Ryan is in charge of the SAS yearbook and also does a lot with on-ship communications, including running the movies and publishing the Sea Watch News. They have daily meetings and everyone has to attend the first class every day which is all about their next stop on the journey. He also said the beer on the ship was pretty good.

A few notes on his experiences in Japan:
- He spent a day at the OSAKA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN, going to classes, etc.
- He spent a night with a Japanese couple in their home, eating sushi, drinking beer, and talking about politics and sports.
- He visited Earthquake Memorial Park, which represents a very heavily damaged site of the January 17, 1995 earthquake.
- He went to an all female theater group presentation
- He visited Nara which had hundreds of tame deer roaming the grounds and a huge bronze statue of Buddha.

They left Japan today for the trip to Hong Kong. Most of his time in Hong Kong will be spent on a 4 day trip to Beijing and the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City, so he may not have time to call until he gets to Vietnam.

Keep checking back for updates on Ry's travels..... [Dad]

October 5, 1998

I think Dad got a little excited about that women's university thing--I really didn't go to classes or spend too much time there. But maybe that's a story for another day. For today, I am leaving Hong Kong for Vietnam. I spent the last 3 or 4 days in Beijing visiting those sights listed right above, as well as meeting several Chinese students at the University of International Business and Economics. They had lots of fun and interesting questions for me. I think my favorite was "Do you have many cowboys in your hometown?"

I don't have much time to write now, as I have to be back at the ship in an hour, but the quick of it is that my time in Beijing was a whirlwind tour of new sights, sounds, smells, and experiences. I'm afraid I can't do justice to a description in the few paragraphs I have here. So I won't try...

October 19, 1998

Ryan called over the weekend and following is a summary of what we got out of the call.

He lead a group on the side trip to the Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. He said the sites were fantastic but there was a lot of walking around the Great Wall. They also spent some time in Hong Kong and saw a fireworks show.

He also lead a group in Vietnam through the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong used during the Vietnam War. In Ho Chi Minh City, he said people followed them everywhere trying to sell anything they could and there was only one telephone to use for calls back to the states. They also spent time in Saigon and went on a trip to the Mekong Delta, which he said was not the greatest because of a lot of starting and stopping. At the Rex Hotel, which is like a western oasis in Vietnam, he got a haircut and a massage.

In Malaysia, he and a couple of other Resident Directors decided to take a vacation. They got a room at the Bay View Beach Resort and had drinks at the bar in the middle of the swimming pool. He went jet skiing and para sailing. The temperature was in the ninties.

He doesn't plan to do many more side trips with the group, but he is scheduled to be a trip leader of 35 students on a 4 day trip to the Taj Mahal when they reach India. [Dad]

October 20, 1998

Ryan and I are sitting in the Rainforest Cafe in Penang, Malaysia...eating veggie burgers and drinking Tiger beer (supposedly brewed in Malaysia or Vietnam, who can tell anymore). This has been the first country for me that I have gotten to spend a lot of quality time with Ryan and we are learning to unwind and trust one anothers moods and ideas. I find him to be a unique indivual with a lot of inner stories that he would like to share with this diverse world. I see him attempting to do this on the voyage and it has been good to see him open himself up to his environment. He just said why aren't you writing about Penang, so I'll switch gears.

Let's just say, palm trees, coconuts, clamming with local Malaysians, tropical butterfly farms, batik factory, night markets, getting riped off by a local teksi driver, hiking 3 hours uphill through a rain forest, and much more. I have enjoyed the new spicey flare to all the meals, quiet time to draw and write at the beach, Ryan's quiet smile as he intently draws a picture for Maureen, and Linda, our interesting and pensive supervisor. The people are friendly, diverse and I wonder about the life for women. The Indian women and Islamic Malaysian's all wear full head gear and long robes where their husbands and kids have shorts and t-shirts on. Maybe I'm missing something and this is an honor, and maybe this is just the way things are - I don't know if they know inequality in this sense between the sexes and I feel ever so fortunate to be an american woman from the midwest who is strong, yet sensitive, and unique, yet similar. I am oh so enjoying my journey around the world and feel fortunate to have Ryan to share my experiences with. Good day to you all, and pray for no monsoons and typhoons!!!! Julie

Wow--she has a lot to say! This is Ryan again and I thought I'd share a little of seeing an American film in Malaysia. Last night we ventured to "Parent Trap" in English with Chinese and Malaysian subtitles. It took us some time to figure out how to actually get into the theater from the lobby, and we were interested in the fact that we were assigned a row (we were Q) despite the fact that there were only about a dozen other people there and there were at least four or five hundred seats. We were a little skeptical of the popcorn, since it was a type of caramel corn, but it was warm caramel corn and pretty tasty. Cost of popcorn was 4 ringits and the movie was 7 ($1 US=3.8 ringits). The clever thing the Malaysians do is having a door to the bathroom >from< the theater so you're right there if you need to go. But hey--I went to head out to the beach and do some parasailing, so I'll catch you later! -Ryan

November 14, 1998

Well, word from SAS as of twenty minutes ago (3:00 PM EST) is that everyone was on board and the ship would leave Israel as scheduled at 4:00 PM EST. We talked to Ryan Wednesday night and they were under an 11 PM curfew due to the situation in Iraq and traveling within Israel had been limited.

Mom and Dad can now rest a little easier........... [Dad]

December 6, 1998

I am now sitting in an internet cafe in Tanger, Morocco with my grad school pal DeEttra and her hubby Mike. We've spent the past few days wandering about Fez and Tanger. Today I watched them purchase an oven down at the Souq, so now they can bake their own breads and pizzas and things. Here's DeEttra to tell you more about the Morocco experience:

Well, greeting from the land of Tanger!! Life in Morocco, is well life in Morocco. What does that mean exactly, well I'm not always sure myself but in general it means that life is never dull. Winter is upon us in Tanger. So, as we sat around our dining room table with Ryan last night drinking wine and eating Spaghetti, a very authetic Moroccan experience, we could see the vapor from our breath rising in the air. Morocco is certainly a country of contrasts the people are generally very nice, however life as a women presents more than one challenge such as simply trying to make your way through the market without meeting 3 or 4 potetial life mates!!!! So as we learn to cook Harira and make Tajines we are constantly amazed by the strength and determination of the people in this country. They are certainly an amazing bunch. Our time with Ryan has been wonderful he has brought a spice of American life back into our world!! The simple fact that we knew him before June is quite an accomplishment!! We have walked through the streets of Fez and watch the donkeys do most of the work!! I also drug him into a Berber Shop and well we all left with much more than the free mint tea that we were originally seeking!! So now, we are wandering Tanger and showing him a touch of our day to day lives. The next stop is the market to introduce him to our vegetable man!! Bsalama from Morocco!!

Well, this looks to be the last time I check in here before heading back to the good ol' U.S. of A. so I hope you've enjoyed the few notes here. I haven't even touched upon floating on the Dead Sea in Israel or teaching some locals how to play hearts in the Cappodochia region of Turkey, or my few days in and around the Cinque Terre of northern Italy. I'll definitely be adding more photos and thoughts and such after I get home, so be sure to check back in a few weeks. All for now...

December 21, 1998

So that's it. I'm now in Marco Island, Florida recovering from The Big Trip. We got in around 8am on the 19th and I was finally allowed off the ship around 2:30pm. And I was greeted by the folks waving a huge smiley face flag. Tomorrow I head for Cleveland and a few days of furiously wrapping all my presents (for those of you who sent me mail, of course). It's been nice sitting here on the beach and watching the dolphins out the back door, but I am looking forward to seeing some snow. And then I get to go have these 35 rolls of film developed. If any one would like to personally sponsor a roll of film, please forward me approximately $5. In exchange you will receive a certificate as well as a personal copy of one of the pictures off that roll. Your contributions to the Ryan Photo Fund are greatly appreciated.

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