Wow!! I don’t think I have ever been so busy in my entire life! This past week has just been absolutely crazy. I haven’t even gotten the chance to reply to all the e-mails that are coming my way.

Ship life has been an eye-opening experience for me. Whether I’m resetting my watch to maritime (2400 hour system) or reminding people not to run or stand in open doorways. You have to be so much more aware of your surroundings while on a moving vessel.

Besides the constant moving of the deck beneath my feet, other aspects of life at sea have been keeping me on my toes. In addition to class, meetings, Sea activities, and community building, we have been losing an hour every night. That’s right...I get back to my cabin and check my e-mail, read for class, and go over my next day’s schedule, and then right before going to bed I have to set my clock forward an hour. I haven’t made it to bed before 1 AM yet.

Yesterday it all caught up with everyone, I think. We had hit some rough waters and the wind was really strong. The ship was in constant motion and everyone was exhausted. You could tell by just walking down the hallways that people were dead on their feet or seasick. I snuck off around 1530 (3:30 PM) and got a good nap. Jenni and I are lucky that we are down on Deck 2, because the lower you are on the ship, the less motion you have. While everyone else constantly shakes back and forth, we have a nice gentle rock most of the time. It makes it really easy to fall asleep and nearly impossible to wake up ?

Another thing I love about our cabin is that we have a porthole window that looks right out on the water. Most of the cabins on higher floors have windows that look out onto covered decks and lifeboats. That can make a cabin very dark and doesn’t give you a lot of privacy. In my cabin I see nothing but beautiful, endless, blue, ocean. It is breathtaking! I’ll try to post some pictures I took of sunset.

Today we are approaching Gibraltar to refuel the ship. I’m excited to get to see the country (even if it will only be from the deck of the ship). We aren’t allowed to debark but I’ll still try to get some pictures.

I will be in Barcelona, Spain on Monday. I can’t wait to eat some amazing tapas and drink the Spanish wine. I must also give a big shout out to my cousin, Robert. He has put me in touch with an amazing family in Spain and I will be meeting them on Monday. Terri and her husband have arranged some great trips for my friends and I and I cannot wait to meet my first in-port friends ?
I miss my friends and family back home, but am excited for all that I have yet to see, learn, and try out here in the Mediterranean. I’ll try my best to write after each port to keep you updated, but life on the sea is jam-packed! Hope all is going well back home!!

Ciao ciao,

Amy Diestelkamp
Semester at Sea
Living Learning Coordinator: Leadership
Deck 2, Cabin 2044
asdiestelkamp@semesteratsea.net
Aegean Sea: Small but Mighty!

The Journey Begins...

On Tuesday I will fly down to Nassau to begin my summer adventure at sea! These past few weeks have been filled with last minute preparations and I still am not entirely ready to go. 

Surprisingly, I find myself getting nervous. This has kind of caught me off guard, since I have traveled before, and feel like I have a pretty realistic view of what to expect. However, this past week I have been dragging my feet. My bags aren't packed, my room is a mess, and I just feel reluctant to get it all together. I know that this is just jitters coming from the unexpected, but I just didn't think it would hit me so hard. I mean I've been gone from home a lot longer than 60 days before and I have visited the first three countries on my itinerary. What gives?!

I think it could be the fact that I won't be coming home to my entire family, like I have in the past. Over the past couple weeks my siblings have spread themselves out across the country, once again. I now have a sister living in Baltimore, my brother is out on the West Coast, and my other sister is about to move to Philadelphia. I'll come home to a relatively empty nest, weird. This will truly be a summer of new beginnings. 

As I mentioned before, there are probably numerous other things I should be working on right now. But I find myself reflecting on this past year and all that has happened to bring me to this point. I first heard of Semester at Sea last September and have been working hard ever since then in order to make this voyage a reality. I couldn't have done it without the support of my family, close friends, and mentors. Whether they were reassuring me I was making the right choice, writing me excellent reference letters, or simply listening to me talk non-stop about the program, these people have been an amazing support system for me, and I will be eternally grateful to them. 

I guess I'll wrap up this post with my three wishes for this voyage. These are three main things I hope to learn/accomplish through my travels. I'll let you know how it works out.

1. I hope to become a better Servant Leader through my position as a Living Learning Coordinator. 

2. I hope to better develop my independent traveling skills

3. I hope to build strong relationships with people in all the countries I visit and from all over the US through my travels and time spent on the boat. I hope that these relationships will help to open my mind to how I view the world and the role I play in this global community. 

Well, I guess it's time to tackle the piles of clothes in my room and wrestle them into my suitcase. Wish me luck, and be sure to keep up with where I am in the world...

Summer 2011 Itinerary/Calendar

Destination	Arrive Depart	Day	Date	Time
Nassau, Bahamas	Depart	Friday	June 17	1700
Barcelona, Spain	Arrive Depart	Monday Thursday	June 27 June 30	0800 2000
Naples / Civitavecchia, Italy	Arrive Depart	Saturday Friday	July 02 July 08	0800 2000
Dubrovnik, Croatia	Arrive Depart	Monday Thursday	July 11 July 14	0800 2000
Piraeus (Athens), Greece	Arrive Depart	Sunday Thursday	July 17 July 21	0800 2000
Varna, Bulgaria	Arrive Depart	Sunday Wednesday	July 24 July 27	0800 2000
Istanbul, Turkey	Arrive Depart	Friday Tuesday	July 29 August 2	0800 2000
Casablanca, Morocco	Arrive Depart	Monday Friday	August 08 August 12	0800 2000
Boston, MA USA	Arrive	Saturday	August 20	0800

Ciao, ciao!

Amy

Less Than Three Weeks Away!

Check out where I'm going to be calling home this summer!!! This link was sent to me by our Dean of Students. A student from a previous voyage filmed a tour of the MV Explorer and it's accommodations.

With less than three weeks to go until I leave for Nassau, I am beginning to make up my "super packing list" and check things off of my "to do" lists (yes, I have multiple to do lists!!). However, it seems like everytime I check something off something else pops up that needs to be added. Hopefully I'll get it all done before June 14!!!

One of the items on my list is to compile a list of addresses for sending people post cards while I'm away! If anyone here wants some fun snail mail just send me your address and I'll be sure to add you to the list! I love sending post cards :)

19 days and counting...

Ciao!!

Making Waves

Making Waves on the high seas! Even if we hit rough weather, this summer will still be worth it!!

Less than One Month!!!

It's rainy in Jersey today...makes it hard to believe that in less than a month I will be flying down to sunny Nassau, Bahamas to begin my SAS adventure. Life has been so crazy lately that it's been hard for me to post. Recently, I have been working on projects with my fellow LLC, Jeni Kraft, for this summer. Also, I've gotten the chance to have phone discussions with the other graduates in my Sea-hort. I think we are all going to get along really well, the other ladies seem amazing and just as enthusiastic as I am!!!


One of the last things I had to do for Semester at Sea was sign up for any sponsored overnight trips that I wanted to take with them. I recently found out which trips I've been approved for, besides the campus tours I'll be taking for my graduate course. While in Croatia, I'm going to get to spend a day in Montenegro. While in Bulgaria, I'll get to spend a day visiting a local orphanage in Varna and getting to interact with the children. While in Morocco, I'll get to spend a few days out visiting the Berber villages. Don't worry...I will definitely post details of these trips along with pictures (eventually)!!


In addition to these trips with SAS, I have been in contact with a family friend who lives in Barcelona. She has agreed to take me and another grad student out of the city one day to tour the smaller towns and a winery that are off the beaten path. Now, I'm trying to coordinate with my friends in Italy times to see them and hopefully some other independent excursions. I'm sooo excited to get going! 

Two Months and Counting!

Not much has happened since my last post. However, today is exactly two months until I board my plane for Nassau. I can hardly sit still, I am that excited! I still so much to do, but I find myself visiting the Semester at Sea website and looking through the different port trips and envisioning myself in all these different places. I really need to get a grip!


Although, while on one of my many visits to the site I did happen upon something totally cool that I thought I'd share with you all. It is official: I'm a staff member! Here is my bio on the Summer 2011 Voyage page... Amy Diestelkamp LLC of Student Leadership.


Now all I have to do is try to stay grounded until June! It's harder said than done. Wish me luck!


Ciao!!

It just keeps getting better and better!!

So a lot has happened since I last posted! In March I interviewed for a staff position with Semester at Sea that would allow me to receive class credit and gain practical experience in my field of interest: International Student Affairs. After waiting three anxious weeks I finally received a call from Dr. Hellwig, Dean of Students for our voyage, offering me the position of Living-Learning Coordinator of Student Leadership!! I have, of course, accepted and am so excited to have this opportunity!


I still find myself thinking, "Is this really happening?!" Many of you may not know this, but over the past two years I have applied (and been denied) for a couple positions. I would receive the second phone call and get the second interview. But in the end they went with someone else. I was feeling pretty crushed this past fall semester after another rejection letter. I really began to question my reasons for pursuing a masters degree in higher education. However, I had to have faith. Have faith in myself and my abilities and faith that these other jobs (for whatever reason) were not the ones for me. And that faith paid off!!!


If I had been offered one of those other positions I probably wouldn't have had the drive to pursue Semester at Sea like I did. I have been working towards this since September; getting department approval, recommendation letters, financing, and study abroad paper work all sorted out. It has been crazy but so worth it! The night I got the call from Dr. Hellwig offering me the job I thought to myself, "This is my fate. This is the answer to my calling in life."


Now I have been spending the past couple weeks getting acquainted with my fellow classmates and coworkers via Facebook. It is so exciting to read their posts and get to know them through their words...this must be what it used to be like to have a pen pal back in the "olden days." However, I have more like 20 of them.


One person I have gotten to speak with is my future roommate, Jenni. She will also be tag-teaming the LLC of Leadership position with me. Funny coincidence, we had actually already been in contact with each other over Facebook and planned on rooming together in Nassau a few days before our ship takes off! Crazy how things work out, huh?!


Through e-mails, Facebook messages, wall posts and one 90 minute phone conversation Jenni and I are getting to know each other and starting to plan our future program. In addition to the LLC position, we will also be in charge of a residential area of the ship (called a Sea). I think we will get along great and cannot wait to meet her face-to-face in June (finally!!).  


It is now officially less than 70 days until I leave for Nassau, Bahamas! I will be staying there for one night with Jenni and two other ladies in the Student Affairs at Sea program: Caitlin and Adrienne. We will be touring College of the Bahamas and hopefully getting to enjoy the island a little bit before boarding the ship to begin preparing for the undergraduates. I cannot wait to meet everyone and get to start this new adventure!


I feel I need to leave you with some shots of the awesome places I've been and hope to see again this summer!

These are all photos of the little town in Italy that I studied in back in 2008, Ariccia. It is only 45 minutes south of Rome and I hope to get back there this summer to see my friends! You won't find a place with better pizza, wine, or people.




Until next time, ciao amici!