First Days in Woods Hole

It turns out, the East Coast is pretty different than the West Coast... Or maybe it's just that California is unlike anywhere else. Both of which I figured to be true,  but am somehow still surprised by. Being surrounded by 18 classmates mainly from the eastern U.S. is a learning experience itself! Yep, I'm the only one that lives and goes to school on the West Coast. I pretty much knew this going into the program, and didn't think it would be weird at all-- but weirdly enough it is. Also, if on the off chance one of my classmates is reading this, you are perfectly welcome to think I'm weird for thinking and saying these things are weird too :)

I arrived to SEA's campus on Monday and was dropped off by a lovely set of friends who I stayed with in Boston. It was a little weird setting off into this unknown world on my own, but it's been good! We had orientation and moved into our cottages. I stay with 9 others in this place:

 It's quaint for sure. We are in a more forested area on the Cape, but very close distance to shore. A big group of us walked to the beach today and that was beautiful. It was my first time swimming in the Atlantic, and for whatever reason, it was so much different than the Pacific. Maybe because we are in a bay here, but it is so calm, and pretty warm!

Anyway, so these are some difficulties that left me to feel a little bit like an outsider here. Right off the bat, I had a lot of stereotypical Californian ideologies to find out about. Such as "do you know In n Out" (aka do you worship it as a lifestyle) and do you eat a lot of Mexican food (aka it's nothing special but obviously amazing). I know, it's stupid, of course because both things are very much just in CA and surrounding states... But I had hope for humanity! Sadly I was wrong, hella wrong... Beyond that, I think I'm the only one that goes to a public university and doesn't know really any of these small schools that most of my classmates go to-- or at least where they are. Also, it doesn't seem like Ivy Leagues are as such a grand idea here-- more like actual reality. Which I guess makes sense since I casually walked through Harvard this weekend. (It was awesome and crazy, who am I kidding!). It's interesting hearing about the ways private schools run, and that they have chapels. That's a weird one for me. Also, two people found out they both are related to the same person on the Mayflower. That's right. That actually happens here. Holy shit I feel foreign. In addition, it's pretty white. Which I knew would be the case and know it's not the case everywhere on the East Coast-- but also that there is nothing wrong with it. However, it just makes me reflect on California with gratitude. Speaking of gratitude, uhh HELLO NO DROUGHT. I don't know why I had this vision that all of the U.S. was reducing their water consumption this year, but why would they?! There is so much water in some places out here... But really I hope this mind frame changes soon! I wish lowering water consumption was a growing trend nationally and it won't take what happened to the Mid West and us happen to the Eastern states. Nevertheless. I'm loving not feeling so guilty about how many showers I take. Yet I am trying to stay close to my twice a week achievement in Santa Cruz! 

Athough I'm still in the U.S. I am thoroughly intrigued by even the smallest differences with the East Coast, and this will most definitely play a part in my "study abroad" experiences. 

I was so happy today to go to the beach with a group of people that enjoy it as much as I do, and definitely see we have mutual interests-- but we are different and that's good!

Speaking of classes, so far it's been a lot of information and we are all trying to wrap our minds around it. We are taking Maritime Studies, Maritime Culture and History. Maritime Environmental History, Oceanography and Nautical Science... I think.

It will be very heavy in reading and writing and full days of class all week (am I back in HISP?). Life at sea is just around the corner really, with only 4 weeks here, a short break at home and then we set off in September! So it will be jammed packed these coming weeks but I hope to keep up with this blog, since I won't be able to regularly update at sea. 

❤️LTK

Let the Sea Semester Begin

Well here I go. 

Pardon this first part, a little lengthy and bland, but it will give you all the details. Although I will be back in California shortly next month, this is the start of my 3 month "study abroad" journey with SEA Semester. I haven't even arrived yet, but I wanted to start this blog now just to get the story going.

Today I left from SFO airport and will be arriving in Boston, Massachusetts (wifi in the air? technology is amazing). I am lucky enough to have a friend and her mom meeting me in Boston (they're visiting too) for the weekend. I start school next week in Woods Hole, Massachusetts with the Sea Education Association. In addition, I will be meeting a little more than a dozen new classmates for my next Semester. I don't know any of these other students (except via social media) but I am thoroughly excited to meet them and embark on this journey together! 

We will all be a part of the SPICE program (Sustainability in Polynesian Island Cultures & Ecosystems) in which after our 4 weeks in Woods Hole we will meet again in American Samoa to get aboard... A pirate ship! Well, almost. We will be sailing aboard the Robert C. Seamans, which is "a 134-foot steel brigantine and is the most sophisticated oceanographic research/sailing school vessel ever built in the United States". For more info check out: http://www.sea.edu/voyages/spice_fall2014 

There was no sailing experience needed for the trip but if you know me, you probably know it's sort of always been an interest of mine. 

I think it was around my junior year of high school that I came across SEA Semester. I knew I wanted to study abroad in college, and I also had this desire to someday spend an extended period of time at sea. Thus, I had the thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something that combined the two. Low and behold with a little help from google, there she was! I waited a little while to tell my parents about it-- I knew it wasn't going to be the most economically friendly study abroad option and I wasn't sure how good of a program it was. However, I read nothing but good things about it, and only became more passionate about the idea. So, I broke it to my parents. And not surprisingly my Dad loved the idea and my mom thought we were crazy. My Dad even asked if adults could go! You see, he's a boating dude. He built a Freya 39 sailboat before I was born. "Yezdan" is its name and it has been a boat I've loved my entire life. 

(Yezdan's first sail in background)

When I was younger it was berthed in the Delta and we spent a lot of time on it out on the rivers, especially in Potato Slough. I even remember a few weddings on it... Anyway, it moved to the Bay Area where it's been up until recently. I may not quite yet know how to sail, nor drive a motor boat that well, but it's in my blood and I love learning more and more about it. Additionally, I grew up in a "Pirates' Lair" so I suppose that could help. Arrr. 

A few years later while a sophomore Environmental Studies major and Dance minor in college (also recreationally taking sailing), I decide I'm going to go for it. It took a lot of paperwork, phone calls, and organizing but I finally finished applying for SEA Semester at the beginning of 2014. About a month later, however, my life sort of took a spin. 

On February 8th, 2014 my Dad passed away. There's not much more to say except he's gone, it hurts a lot, it's scary to think about the future sometimes, and I miss him so much. Now, over 6 months later, my Mom and I are doing well and just keep moving forward. A few weeks after my Dad passed, I got the call that I'd been accepted into SEA Semester's SPICE program. I was overjoyed but wished I could call both my parents to tell them. 

Flash forward-- I finished my sophomore year and headed into this summer knowing it would be short, yet jam-packed with greatness. For everyone that had a part in making my summer what it was, I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. My family, family friends (ehh you're family too), and friends are what have gotten me through this and kept me busy. 

Now I embark on this journey both nervous and excited-- well, and in denial that I will have to use my brain again next week...

If you actually read all this, thank you for taking the time, and I hope to keep you all updated! 

A Hui Hou,

❤️ LTK