A Letter Home
Aboard the SS Universe
January 19, 1994
Postmarked February 1, 194
One of a few letters I sent to my family during my 100 day trip around the world:
Greetings from somewhere between Venezuela and Brazil. We have been at sea for three days now and the scenery hasn't changed one bit. Only four more days until we see land again.
So far, I'm having no trouble with sea sickness. We left the Bahamas and the sun was shining. But within 15 minutes of departure, we hit a terrible storm which lasted about two days. Most of the passengers were extremely sea sick. Even the ship's doctor was too sick to help anyone. But, believe it or not, I was one of the few people who didn't get sick. However, I wasn't feeling in tip-top shape and spent the first two days in bed. I spent my first night thinking of ways to get a helicopter to get me out of this mess. There were times that the waves were so rough, I think my whole body bounced off the bed. Once the storm passed, everything was fine.
I'm really enjoying the passengers. I'm the odd ball of the group. The students are all 20 years younger than me and the other adult passengers are all 20-40 years older than me. The adult passengers have a meeting every day and we talk about our grandchildren, retirement and dietary restrictions. During the day at sea we have classes. I'm taking Chinese art, Indian art, Women's Literature and Music in Society. Everyone on the boat takes a CORE course which meets twice a day. During this time, we are introduced to local customer, points of interest , some key phrases, etc. in preparation for our next port. At night we have foreign movies, exercise classes (which I've never attended), faculty lectures, and PBS videos. The captain had a big reception for us last week. This week, the faculty are having a reception for the adult passengers and sometime soon, we will have a reception for them.
I've been to Venezuela already. We went to a little village which is filled with German citizens. The people and architecture were both German but the greenery was tropical. It was funny to see the combination. We had to take a bus up 7000 feet of mountain roads to get there. We drove through clouds which is something I've never done before.
Well, I'm off to the movies. I have to meet my boyfriend, Henry. He's 80 but doesn't have any dietary restrictions. 6:30.
Bridget
Sunday
Around 7:00 AM, we passed the equator. So we had our King Neptune ceremony In order to receive our certificate, we had to crawl through a tunnel of garbage, crawl on our knees to the king and kiss a dead fish. I decided I had enough certificates so I stood back and watched. Surprisingly, almost 300 students participated in the ceremony.
Monday
It's day seven at sea and I have a new found respect for Christopher Columbus.
Tuesday
Today we had some excitement. A ship passed us. The majority of us watched that ship for what seemed like hours.
The dean just made an announcement. Two students did not get their yellow fever shots and the Brazilian govt may not let us disembark the ship. There is a bounty out for those two students.
Wednesday
Arrived in Brazil and we are off the ship. Another woman and I decided to go us to a great restaurant. He came in and order for us. While we ate, he sat at the end of the table. Then he took us back to the hotel. Tomorrow a group of us are going to visit the open market.
Will write again.
Bridget
Aboard the SS Universe
January 19, 1994
Postmarked February 1, 194
One of a few letters I sent to my family during my 100 day trip around the world:
Greetings from somewhere between Venezuela and Brazil. We have been at sea for three days now and the scenery hasn't changed one bit. Only four more days until we see land again.
So far, I'm having no trouble with sea sickness. We left the Bahamas and the sun was shining. But within 15 minutes of departure, we hit a terrible storm which lasted about two days. Most of the passengers were extremely sea sick. Even the ship's doctor was too sick to help anyone. But, believe it or not, I was one of the few people who didn't get sick. However, I wasn't feeling in tip-top shape and spent the first two days in bed. I spent my first night thinking of ways to get a helicopter to get me out of this mess. There were times that the waves were so rough, I think my whole body bounced off the bed. Once the storm passed, everything was fine.
I'm really enjoying the passengers. I'm the odd ball of the group. The students are all 20 years younger than me and the other adult passengers are all 20-40 years older than me. The adult passengers have a meeting every day and we talk about our grandchildren, retirement and dietary restrictions. During the day at sea we have classes. I'm taking Chinese art, Indian art, Women's Literature and Music in Society. Everyone on the boat takes a CORE course which meets twice a day. During this time, we are introduced to local customer, points of interest , some key phrases, etc. in preparation for our next port. At night we have foreign movies, exercise classes (which I've never attended), faculty lectures, and PBS videos. The captain had a big reception for us last week. This week, the faculty are having a reception for the adult passengers and sometime soon, we will have a reception for them.
I've been to Venezuela already. We went to a little village which is filled with German citizens. The people and architecture were both German but the greenery was tropical. It was funny to see the combination. We had to take a bus up 7000 feet of mountain roads to get there. We drove through clouds which is something I've never done before.
Well, I'm off to the movies. I have to meet my boyfriend, Henry. He's 80 but doesn't have any dietary restrictions. 6:30.
Bridget
Sunday
Around 7:00 AM, we passed the equator. So we had our King Neptune ceremony In order to receive our certificate, we had to crawl through a tunnel of garbage, crawl on our knees to the king and kiss a dead fish. I decided I had enough certificates so I stood back and watched. Surprisingly, almost 300 students participated in the ceremony.
Monday
It's day seven at sea and I have a new found respect for Christopher Columbus.
Tuesday
Today we had some excitement. A ship passed us. The majority of us watched that ship for what seemed like hours.
The dean just made an announcement. Two students did not get their yellow fever shots and the Brazilian govt may not let us disembark the ship. There is a bounty out for those two students.
Wednesday
Arrived in Brazil and we are off the ship. Another woman and I decided to go us to a great restaurant. He came in and order for us. While we ate, he sat at the end of the table. Then he took us back to the hotel. Tomorrow a group of us are going to visit the open market.
Will write again.
Bridget
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