July 21 to 23- Onwards To Russia

July 21

Tonight we had a very exciting event on the ship! The SAS Talent Show!! Several students (plus some faculty members and even some of the younger girls on the ship traveling with their family) performed songs. All of the acts were singing, but it was still very fun and entertaining.

Following the talent show, we had a very special treat. The Crew Talent Show! That’s right!! Our very own crew members danced and acted for us. It was very enjoyable to watch the people we see every day doing everyday things now doing silly dances and having fun. It was especially amusing to see the security guards let loose because they are usually so serious all of the time.

July 22

Today was an especially good day. Why? Because we didn’t have class! It was the one sea day we have this summer where we don’t have any classes. Instead, we have the “Sea Olympics.” All students are divided into “seas” depending on what section of the ship their cabin is in. So I’m in the Arabian Sea, and we’re called the Arabian Knights. Any student could sign up for events and compete against the other seas. I decided to take the day to catch up on homework, so I didn’t participate. I did watch the Frozen T-shirt contest, the synchronized swimming and the lip synching contest though. It was very fun!

Frozen T-Shit Contest

Synchronized Swimming

This girl, Hailey, was incredible at the Lip Synching Contest! She did "Love is an Open Door" from Frozen. She dressed up half as a man and half as a women. So during Anna's part, she would sing facing her left so only the woman side was showing. During Hans's parts, she would sing facing her right so only the man's side was showing. When both characters sang, she would face the crowd head on. It was so cute, creative and original. And yes, it was her own idea!

The girls dressed up as the Backstreet Boys

After the games and dinner, we headed to the TEDx Salon. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we are having a TEDx event the night before we reach Finland. Tonight, though, two speakers are doing their Ted Talks in preparation for the main program. Both talks were absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend you listen to the talks in the link that I posted below. Brittani Brown’s “The Recipe” and Julie Engerran’s “The Bug” were both inspirational and moving.

To find out more about the Sea Olympics, click on this link: http://www.semesteratsea.org/2014/07/25/summer-2014-sea-olympics/

If you want to learn more about the TedX Salon or listen to the speeches, click on this link:

http://www.semesteratsea.org/2014/07/30/gearing-up-for-tedx-semesteratsea/

July 23

Today was just another day of classes. After dinner, I had a game night with my extended family. We played Catchphrase, and it was a lot of fun! We had our Russian pre-port tonight as well.

The administration had a lot to say about safety in Russia. People have been freaking out about Russia anyways, but now they are actually going nuts. I personally think they went way overboard (no ship pun intended), but I suppose some people needed to be cautioned more than others. Unfortunately, some people got so scared they don’t even want to get off of the ship at this point. I don’t think St. Petersburg is going to be as dangerous as they make it out to be. As long as you have common sense, you should be fine. Just like every other port! We’ll see.