The Places plus 8...We've got KID

href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cowner%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml">So today was a great day at sea!!The water was calm and our day was busy as usual (class, programs, hanging with students, Matt in the bookstore, etc). Today, we actually met our adopted family. Each faculty, staff, and lifelong learners (participants over 40) was asked to adopt students. We had 300 students sign up wanting to be adopted by a family. We started off requesting 4 students, but because the need was so great, we decided to adopt 2 more. We officially got our 6 kids (students). When I went to tell Matt about our kids he gave me the look. He said there were 2 other students that he really wanted to adopt, but they had not signed up for the adoption program. After a few puppy dog eyes, I agreed, and we took on 2 more students, which brought us to our grand total of 8 kids. We love each of them, but yes, we have a small tribe. We hung “Welcome to the Place family” on each of their doors and reserved a table for our first dinner (there are no tables large enough for us to sit at, so special arrangements were made). We made “good luck on midterm” name cards with candy for our dinner, copied off basic Italian phrase for each of them, and a welcome to the Place family table sign. We are happy to say all 8 showed up, and we have learned a great deal about each other. It was very fun and our family is meshing well. Matt did his first teambuilder (yeah!). He had each person say their name, their birthday, and something interesting about themselves. After that, based on everyone’s birthday we put them in order…Matt was 1^st Place, I was 2^nd Place, Lindsay was 3^rd Place and so on done to Pauline at 10^th Place. It is a family tradition for Matt’s family to rank everyone from 1^st Place to the last, so it was nice to share that with them. We will be having our next family dinner next Tuesday after Italy as well as organizing a day trip in Egypt with them. Several people don’t have plans, and Egypt really isn’t a place to roam by yourself, so we’ll have a family day. Well, midterms are tomorrow for students, so Matt and I get to sleep in some while students take their exams, which is nice. We’ll be in Italy in 1 days..yeah.. we will be going on the Rome and Florence tour.. look out for great pics soon.

P.S. We see the sunset most night... never too busy for that!

Smooches!!

Spain was great...Here is a glimpse

Welcome to Spain and the bull fighting ring!!!!
Spain was filled with lots of cultural experiences. We had an opportunity to do a Cadiz city tour, watch and learn lot more about Flamenco dance as well as learn more about the long standing tradition of bull fighting. We spend two days in Cadiz and one day in Seville. We had a few tourist moments, but a lot of really special moments such as our personal Flamenco show in the back of a bar inside of a Sherry wine cellar. There was mole on the walls and a dirt floor beneath us. The room was humid which made for perfect Sherry wine making. There was a piece of wood on the ground and two small spotlights on the ground. We had authentic singers, guitar player and dancer. It felt like we had been invited into someone's basement. It was an amazing experience.

We're In Spain...YEAH

Yes, today is our first day in Spain, and it is a beautiful day. We started our day out watching the sun rise from our bedroom window. It was amazing to see how calm the seas were and that we were finally getting close to land. We then went up to the 7th deck and watched the ship pull into Spain. It was an amazing sight to see. After breakfast, we passed out passport to the community for those who were traveling for longer than day trips. Matt and I were then off to our own adventures. We started the morning off with a lecture on same sex marriage and Gay rights in Spain. It was very interesting, but difficult to understand the interpreter at times. We rushed through lunch and then headed off to a City Orientation of Cadiz. We walked the entire city in about 3 1/2 hours. It was long, but well worth it. We really got a good feel for the area. Spain has some of the oldest buildings and riches history in Europe. It is sad to say that Cadiz also has the highest unemployment rate at 20% and Spain has the highest unemployment rate of all of Europe. Some many people in the world are struggling right now. Well, I will keep it brief as I want to get a nap before we are off to our next adventure….Flamenco Performance!!!

Sorry Internet is slow...Boo, but what can you do

Hello All

Sorry, we haven't chatted in a few days. Our internet has been very slow to the point that we were unable to get onto our blog, but no worries we will catch you up on our past three days!!!! so let's start with Saturday...

Saturday
Saturday was a rough day at sea again, but a busy day on the ship, but I thought it would be good to share some funny things about our experience so far. The Living Learning Coordinators have designed a “You know you’re on a Ship Campus when…”

1) There are barf bags in every classroom
2) The students are all falling down and stumbling over each other when they walk…and it’s not because they are drunk
3) It is like the Worlds Strongest Man Competition trying to move chairs & tables b/c they are so heavy to prevent them from moving around with the waves
4) It’s cool to wear Sea Band motion sickness wristbands…everybody’s doing it!
5) People start to look hungover just from going to class
6) Taking a shower (without injuring yourself) becomes a daily achievement
7) Everyone yells “We’re on a SHIP” if you say the word “Boat” (you can put a boat on a ship, but you can’t put a ship on a boat…)
8) Don’t even mention the word “Cruise”…. It gets ugly. It’s a voyage…don’t forget that.
9) Your light switch looks exactly like the button that flushes the toilet – so for the first few days you’ll flush the toilet every time you try to turn on the light in the bathroom.
10) The faculty have a death grip on the podium that they are lecturing from trying desperately not to fall down during their class.

Sunday
I had my first Multifaith Service today. We had a great turn out and really good conversation with people from several different backgrounds. We also had our big event which was a dance party.. "Rock the Boat." It was great to see faculty, staff and students on the dance floor and enjoying some down time. We have been having "pizza nights" (code for pub night with alcohol) the past few nights. The students have been really great considering how crazy it could be. We have been trying hard to down play alcohol. Matt and I have also been trying to get into a schedule each day, but there is so much to do and we are losing an hour each day which makes it hard. I will say, that the Global Studies class has been amazing. For those who don't know what Global Studies is...it is basically a history and cultural class about all the places we are going to. The faculty member teaching this course is beyond amazing. He is visual, entertaining, informative, and interactive with over 800 people at one time. It is crazy to see students showing up to his class 45 minutes early so they can actually sit in the Student Union (the large lecture hall) verses in a classroom where the lecture is televised. Matt is good.. he only has two more days of working in the bookstore. It has been so crazy and he was not prepared for all the responsibility, but he is making it.. and happy things are calming down soon. Oh..yeah.. we saw land yesterday two islands Azores about 1,200 miles west of Portugal. YES!!!

Today
It was a beautiful day!!!! The sun was out and we eat all our meals outside. Another exciting moment was the French Fries and ice cream for lunch and the 25 minute thank you massages that all the faculty and staff received. I also recently started an American Sign Language Club on the ship. There are several students here that sign or want to learn, so it has been perfect for me to keep up my skills. We had our first meeting tonight to go over some basic skills during our Explorer Seminars (we have Explorer Seminars every day from 8-9pm. The seminars focus on what people need to know about the upcoming port, a workshop on one of the Living Learning Coordinator focus areas- Leadership, Spirituality, Recreation, Health and Wellness, etc., and/or other random sessions such as knitting, Sign Language classes, etc.). I had a great turn out and we will be having a few silent lunches throughout the voyage so people can practice which will be cool. Matt, on the other hand, went to an Explorer Seminar on what to eat and not to eat in Spain. From the lecture, he is really looking forward to checking out some of the bars. They are very family oriented and seem to be a great people to meet people and socialize with the locals. As the faculty member continued to stress there are no words in the Spanish language for "smashed, trashed or shitfaced." The purpose of these bars are to socialize with family and friends and to have long conversations. We are both really looking forward to Spain on two day to go before we can see the shore.

Well that is it for now…hopefully, we can get on tomorrow, but if not.. we’ll check out an internet cafe in Spain on Wednesday. Love and Smooches to all (special smooch for Peanut and Ms. Annie!!)

Row, Row, Row your boat...It's a SHIP dang it

Well, as we sail throughout the middle of the Atlantic we are often reminded that the MV Explorer is not a boat, but a ship. One great captain said, "You can put a boat on a ship, but you can't put a ship on a boat." Well our beautiful ship is sailing much calmer seas today. Yesterday, was rough a day for all aboard. Few people could stand sitting in the Union (which is at the front of the ship) as the up and down, side to side, crashing motion caused most to hold paper bags, run for the bathroom, or simply sleep. I guess that comes with ship life; however, it made for a challenging and very long orientation day for students. Today, the ship stores have opened and everyone is crowding around to purchase their Semester at Sea gear. It looked like Kohl's Black Friday sale this morning. People where grabbing shirts, looking for their size, trying stuff on in the ailse,etc. Quite funny..really, but it is good there is so much pride in the program. Students and all aboard truly love the program and haven't even been on the ship for a week. I do have to say outside of the sea sickness, what is there not to like. I just walked up to the Pool Deck on the 7th floor and looked out onto the ocean. As far as my eyes could see was water and periodically a family of dolphins would appear. Amazing really!!! Matt is selling books like crazy and is starting to get a better feel for his role. I had really good turn out at the Involvement Symposium. I had over 20 + students interested in spirituality. I looking forward to doing some really cool things with them such as Pencil/Pen blessings before finals, formal bible studies, Passion Dinners (each having a different theme around spirituality), and more. Well, I am headed off to my next staff meeting and Matt is headed for a nap!!!

Oh CANADA....

Hello All

So each day Matt and I are learning more about our roles on the ship. He has been in the bookstore a lot organizing books and working with faculty to make sure their book needs are met. Unfortunately, he just got his manual, so he has been playing catch up the last couple of days. Things are good as he has help from a few other husbands on board that are looking for stuff to do. I on the other hand, have been trying to cut back my ideas, and fine tone what I want to to do as the Religion/Spirituality Living Learning Coordinator. Last night, I was up facilitating a Pray Walk for the ship. It was really nice. My Program Assistant (PA), another faculty member, and myself did a general prayer and walked the entire ship. It was a good way to get things started. Interestingly enough, both of our jobs are stretching us in different ways. A major part of Matt's job is organizing paperwork and books. Anyone who knows Matt knows that paperwork is not his thing. I am being focused to slow done and do less. All these things are good, but can be exhausting. We are just trying to stay open to what we need to learn on this voyage and embrace it all.

We are in Canada and it is move in day for the students. We have 750 students moving in today, so there is a lot of excitement throughout. Many people were up late last night in order to get things ready such as bulletin boards, door name tags, etc. There is luggage everywhere now, and students are trying to get settled in. Canada itself is pretty nice. We had a chance to get off and explore yesterday. We sail for Spain tonight around 11pm. I was feeling a little sea sick a day ago, so I gotta get the medicine situation together. Matt is better. He was feeling pretty bad yesterday, but we think it was mostly from a lack of sleep. Well, I think that is it for now.

The answer to the poll: Alabama was the last state to take the law of interracial marriage being illegal off the books in 2000

Just left Boston

Well it officially feels real...Matt and I watched as the MV Explorer pulled away from the Boston dock at 11pm. It so crazy to finally begin this journey that we have planned for since December. We met a lot of people and have started our faculty and staff training. There are so many logistical things to think about before students get on the ship on Monday. In training, we discussed student classes, technology logistics, the field excursions, the summer reading book Violence and Identity, and took a tour of the ship. After a few breaks here and there, we took a taxi to the super Target down the street (who know Target could be any more super that it already is!). We had to pick up a few snacks for the ride (and no Matt didn't get any Twinkies for those of you that have heard our Twinkie story) and walkie talkies (we thought it would be fun for when we are around the ship since our phones were original turned off today).

Our room is really nice and it feels pretty spacious to us. Yes, I'm sure we over packed, but everything fits in well. We are on the 4th Floor on the Red Sea (name of our floor). We are just so blessed to share this experience together. It is now almost 2am and we are tired so off to bed for us good night.

It's the Big Day

Well...tomorrow is the big day and we are headed to the ship, but it is an even bigger day for Matt and I and many other interracial marriages and relationships. Tomorrow is Loving Day which is the anniversary of the Loving vs. Virginia case that legalized interracial marriages in 1967.

Who are the Lovings?

Loving v. Virginia was an important Supreme Court case, but it was also the story of a real couple. Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving grew up in Caroline County, Virginia. They fell in love and decided to get married. Unfortunately, getting married was not as simple in 1958 as it was today. Mildred was black and Richard was white. There were laws that forbade people of different races to marry each other. This was true in many states, including Mildred and Richard's home state of Virginia. However, interracial marriage was legal in Washington, DC at that time. Therefore, they decided to drive to DC, get married, and return to Virginia to begin their life together.

This proved to be a short term solution. The law in Virginia not only forbade interracial marriage ceremonies, but it also forbade interracial couples from getting married elsewhere and returning to Virginia. One night, while they were asleep, the newly-married Lovings were awakened by the police in their bedroom. The Lovings were taken to jail for the crime of being married.

Their case went through many levels of the justice system and their appeal was denied every time. Eventually their case appeared before the United States Supreme Court. The Court decided unanimously in their favor. Finally, after nine years of struggle, the Loving won the right to live together as husband and wife in their home state. In the words of Chief Justice Earl Warren, "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides within the individual and cannot be infringed on by the State."

To get the full story and to learn more about Loving Day check out:

http://www.lovingday.org/

Check out the interracial legal map. It will show when each state legalized interracial marriages: http://www.lovingday.org/legal-map

To all interracial marriages and relationships, interfaith families, multiracial people and those who hope for, pray for and desire a more justice world we ask that you join us in wishing Social Justice a Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles of bigotry, hatred, inequality!

For those wondering...yes, those are our feet as we relaxed during our honeymoon in Belize! Married almost 2 years and loving it...eat that interracial relationship haters!!