ice cream & thank-you’s

Ron, our Assistant Dean, hosted an ice-cream party this evening for all the workstudy students on the voyage. It was also barbecue night, it was one of those nights where I’ve eaten so much I feel like I will never need to eat again … I’ve been polling my workstudy students the last couple of days on a few different questions:

Ericka

• Notable fact: She throws all spelling-assumptions to the wind. No, I didn't misspell her name, it has both a "c" and a "k" -- Ericka.
  
• What will you miss most? Friends.
• What are you looking most forward to about going home? My other friends. [Actually, the other day, she told me it was Taco Bell, but when I asked her formally, she said this instead ...]
• When we were sitting in the piano bar at the beginning of the voyage -- workstudy students getting assignments and meeting their supervisors -- and you learned that you would be working in the library, what was the first thing that crossed your mind? That’s the job I wanted.
• What was the best part of working about the library? Getting to meet people.
• Would you recommend Semester at Sea? Definitely!
  

Lindsay

• Notable fact: Lindsay shaved her head for Neptune Day but didn’t tell any of her friends or family until her parents came to Vietnam for the Parent Trip. They found out when they watched her come off the gangway. Lindsay had a long post on her blog after Neptune Day talking about all the people who shaved their heads, but neglected to mention that she had done so also. Before Neptune Day, she had long-long blond hair all the way down her back.
• What will you miss most? The change and sense of adventure and chaos.
• What are you looking most forward to about going home? Good food. What I want and when I want.
• When we were sitting in the piano bar ... and you learned that you would be working in the library, what was the first thing that crossed your mind? hmmm, I wanted to work in the Administrative office.
• What was the best part about working in the library? Meeting people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
  
• Would you recommend Semester at Sea? Yes, but I’d encourage people to consider other similar programs also.

An

• Notable fact: An calls both Sherri and me “boss”. Hey boss. At first, it felt really uncomfortable, but I’ve grown to like it. I'm really going to miss hearing An's voice around the corner: Hey boss.
• What will you miss most? The ports.
• What are you looking most forward to about going home? My car, my sofa, my television, my food, friends. Mostly my car.
• When we were sitting in the piano bar ... and you learned that you would be working in the library, what was the first thing that crossed your mind? what the … ?
• What was the best part about working in the library? The whole educational experience (... BS … says Sherri, before he even finishes his sentence…)
• Would you recommend Semester at Sea? Hell, yes … I mean, yes, of course …

Erika

• Notable fact: Erika’s boyfriend is Ryan who is one of my nephews in my extended family. So, Erika is my niece-in-law in addition to being my workstudy student. Erika & Ryan were together before they came on this trip. They both go to San Diego State and they are one of a handful of couples who came on this voyage together. I told them the other day that I wanted to be invited to their wedding. They both looked at me fairly horrified!
• What will you miss most? Going around the world.
• What are you looking most forward to about going home? Seeing my baby cousins.
• When we were sitting in the piano bar ... and you learned that you would be working in the library, what was the first thing that crossed your mind? I’m working with the person who is from my home town [that would be Sherri].
• What was the best part about working in the library? Ice-cream cake birthdays.
• Would you recommend Semester at Sea? Of course, my sister is doing it.

Roxy

• Notable fact: Roxy is from King of Prussia, so like Sherri/Erika, Roxy and I are also from the same general area. There was mall-talk the other day, in fact …
• What will you miss most? Fun activities, like the Sea Olympics and talent show. And waking up in a new country every few days.
• What are you looking most forward to about going home? Seeing my family and friends.
• When we were sitting in the piano bar ... and you learned that you would be working in the library, what was the first thing that crossed your mind? I thought it’d be good because I’d get to meet a lot of people.
• What was the best part about working in the library? All the people, it's the most social place to work.
• Would you recommend Semester at Sea? Of course!

Clearly, I've got a very social crew! They've been great and they've given super customer service (never mind the part that they don't always give out the right information! ...). But they've been really reliable and they jump at anything we ask and, all in all, they've been really good to work with. And they all tolerated the fact that when they showed up on day 3, Sherri and I had absolutely no idea what we were doing yet, so it was difficult to train them and figure out what we needed for them to do. I've enjoyed working with all of them. At the end of the ice-cream party, Erika got up and thanked Ron for the workstudy program and said that many of them would not have been able to do this voyage without that support. We were glad to provide it and the library couldn't have run successfully without them!