What to bring to give away

As promised, my post about what to bring to have even more fun interacting with new people in port.

The things that worked best or worst were not really what I expected.  For example, of all the things I brought for kiddies to play with, my camera was by far the best thing.  I always thought of cameras as somewhat isolating; that the photographer would always be separated from the world by the lens.  It is true that cameras can hurt relations when you use it to take pictures of people without asking or in dodgy situations (don't ever do this) or take pictures of the military in Tibet (unless you like the idea of having your camera taken away, definitely don't ever do this).  However, if used correctly, having a camera is an awesome way to have fun with people, especially kids.

Taken by my homestay sister, Sara

Taken by my homestay sister, Kofi

I was nervous the first time I handed over my precious camera to a group of kids, but they were great and very careful.  In many different countries I had a great time showing them how to take pictures or taking pictures and then showing it to them.  (I really wish I had brought one of those Polaroid or instant print cameras so I could have given the pictures out.)  Plus, once I got back and uploaded pictures, I had a great collection of the kids and I making funny faces or the kids taking pictures of what was important to them.  I seriously can't recommend using your camera in this way enough.

A lot of people, including myself brought some fun trinkets for the kiddies.  I went a bit overboard but don't regret it one bit!

Try to bring a variety of trinkets so kids of all different ages and abilities can enjoy them.  The best things I brought were less something I just handed out, and more something that promoted interaction.  Face paint, stickers and nail polish were really fun to have.  

When shopping, just try to think what would have blown your mind when you were seven.  (Like that fake snow stuff!  Or those saucer popper thingies)  The oriental trading company is a great resource.  

My little buddy showing off his new bling.

On the practical side, school supplies are perfect.  I had so many kids 10X more excited about a pen than anything else I brought.

Without bringing anything material, bringing fun dance moves or clapping games is really awesome.  Think macarena or something like this video of Kyle, an RD, teaching kids the stanky leg.

  

Learning a new clapping game in Ghana

Another skill that is good to have going into the trip is to know how to fold a few origami pieces.  I had a really great time swapping origami patterns with tour guides or kids I met.  By the end of the trip, I was carrying around paper with me in case the opportunity came up.

On to homestay gifts...It really depends on where you are going to have the homestay.  I brought completely different things for each place I was supposed to have a homestay (the one in Japan got canceled).  Card games that don't need a common language, picture books, school supplies, USA themed shirts, cups etc. are all awesome.  Read up on the countries where you will have your homestay to get a better idea of what would be appropriate.

Finally, I REALLY wish I had known about this before I went.  A lot of the vendors at markets asked me if I had anything American that I could trade for goods they were selling.  I unfortunately never had anything, but it would have been a great way to take the social experience of bargaining to the next level.  People always asked for things like watches, sunglasses, phones (one kid really did trade in his iphone for a drum!), pins, really anything that came from America.  Just like you want the drum because it's from India, people will want a shirt or pair of earrings because it is from the US. 

  

The SAS Packing List

Packing for a SAS trip is a crazy, exciting thing.  I've been off the ship for almost two months now (boo-hoo) and I still find myself shopping for things to take on the trip.  It's like that dream you have about missing a test in high school...

I did a few posts about packing pre-trip and I wanted to combine that with my now expert (haha) alumni knowledge in a new post for future SASers.

First little bit of advice is to start early, especially for things you have to shop for.  Part of the reason is to have plenty of time to prepare and part of the reason is because who wants to wait to start obsessing about the trip!?!  I started collecting things in my SAS Bag several months in advance.  About one to two months ahead of time I started seriously making and editing my packing list and aquiring items I would need to buy.  About two weeks or so before the trip I started the mamoth process of packing because I knew it would take me several tries to fit everything.  (I was still shoving random things in as we were leaving for the airport.)

My huge duffle bag waiting to be filled.

Here is my (annotated) master packing list.  (I may or may not have copped a lot of it from other alumni's lists.)  I'll come back and edit it as I think of them.

Clothing

4 pairs athletic shorts

bathing suits (two, one to ruin)

belt (2)

bras (3)

capris (1 jeans 1 khaki)

business dress/outfit (1)

dress for ambassador’s Ball  (or buy one on the trip)

flip-flops (3)

goofy outfit(s)

hiking shoes

jacket  (temperatures may get below freezing some places)

jeans (2)  (Only needed one)

khaki long pants

shorts (4)

skirt (1)

sleep shirt (1)  (You will buy more)

socks (4)

sports bras (2)

sweat pants (2) 

sweatshirt (1)  (You will buy more)

t-shirts (3)  (You will buy more)

tank tops (4+)

underwear (18) 

walking shoes

workout clothes

yellow bandana

leggings

sundress

scarf (to cover up in religious places)

Long sleve shirts made of light airy fabric (2)  (didn't bring this but wish I had)

Rain poncho

Cosmetics

big conditioner

big shampoo

bobby pins

chapstick (3)

cover up/concealer

deodorant 

eye liner

facepaint (for sea olympics and having fun with kiddies in port)

hair bands

hair brush

hair clips

hair products (well, not really. you don't need them and they take up too much space)

hairspray

lady things

lip gloss

mascara

nail file

nail polish

nail polish remover

q-tips

razor 

tide spot stain remover

tissues

travel size bath bottles for travel in port  (didn’t use them)

tweezers

makeup remover wipes

lotion

Electronics

AA bateries  (didn't need them)

AAA Bateries  (didn't need them)

auto-shut off curling iron and straightener

bag of beans (to dry out electronics in humidity)

battery powered alarm clock (or cell phone with alarm)

book light

camera battery charger

camera case

camera cord

camera

video camera

waterproof case (you WILL want this!)

DVD movies

cell phone 

cell phone charger

flash drives

flashlight

handheld fan

hard drive  (you will definitely want one!)

headphones (2)

ipod(s)

ipod speakers

ipod USB cord

iPod wall charger

laptop

laptop charger

kindle

kindle charger

solar charger and cables 

extra camera memory card 

universal outlet adapter (or at least European adapter)

Yeah, that's right.  A coloring book.  It was awesome.

My homemade journal.

School

calculator  (pocket sized so you can bring it with you in port and calculate prices!)

blank paper

colored pencils

coloring book

hilighters

lined notebooks

pencils (11)

pens (9)

rubber bands (10)

safety pins

scissors

sharpies

sketch supplies

water colors

glue stick

glue

Art  supplies

School Supplies (The smiley faces are vital)

Meds

1 bottle advil

airbourne
Emergen-C  (good for rehydration and preventing sickness)

aloe vera

anti malaria meds

antibiotics for travelers diarrhea

band-aids (40)

blister pads

cold eeze

cough drops

first aide kit

hand sanitizer (4)

benedryl

zyrtec

melatonin

medical documentation

Medical hisotry 

neosporin (2)

non drowsy dramamine!!!!!  (may save your life/sanity)  

rolaids/tums

tylenol

ginger gum  (for nausea)

Wheelchair

vapor rub

prescription meds IN their original containers

For On The Ship

anti wrinkle spray!!!!!

my roommate had this awesome cosmetic holder that hung on the door...get that

beach towel

big world map for wall in cabin (can buy on ship for like $4)

blanket if can fit  (Didn't need it)

candy  (can buy on ship, but bring your own too)

clotheline

clothes pins (10)

collapsible hanging boxes (didn't bring/need)

dry erase board for door

dry erase markers

duct tape (1 roll) for taping drawers shut in rough water.  Some staff members said it was banned, but other staff members said it was ok and let me take it on.  Don't sneak it on.

febreeze!!!!!!!!!  

gum

laundary stuff

laundry bag

lock/safe  (don't need.  One in room)

magnets (20)  (bring even more of these than you think you will need so you can decorate your room)

pictures of friends and family

playing cards

post-its

sink stopper

small jorunal (2) 

snacks (you will get sick of ship food fast!  think ahead!)

      -Cup a noodle soup

      -Goldfish

      -powerbars or granola bars or something like that

      -mints

      -fill all the extra space in your bags with food!!!!

sunglasses and case

sunscreen

tea, hot chocolate packets, crystal light!!!!!

tide spot stain remover

tissues

trash bags (2)

travel mug

Word magnets

ziplock bags (9)

sewing kit

ear plugs

peanut butter (FYI don't try and sneak this into Tibet)

Misc. and Docs

$100 in $1  (at least)

$1 per day for cabin steward tips

2 copies of passport photo

4 copies of passport front page

addresses of friends/family 

copies of credit card (2)

copy of birth certificate

credit/ATM card

driver’s license and copy 

emergency contact list

foreign currency ($25 per port)  (getting it there can be a hassle and more expensive) 

immunization records

passport/visas

sas paperwork

student ID

travel student ID

travelers checks (didn't bring/need)

yellow fever proof

For In Port

binoculars  (did use these a bit surprisingly)

camleback (2)

compass (but not really)

gifts for the kiddies  (more info in future post)

homestay gifts  (more info in future post)

Things made in USA to trade (more info in future post)

money belt (or just keep things in your sock...)

mosquito repellent with deet 

picture book

purse  (one that is not easily stollen/unzipped)

sleeping bag liner (did not bring/need)

travel toilete paper

travel wet wipes 

umbrella

waterbottole (2)
a small doll or stuffed animal to take pictures of (especially if you are doing Vicarious Voyage)

Getting there

2 roller duffel suitcases

fold up duffle bag for end of trip

1 smaller cary-on duffle (for flying in port)

large backpack

I'm not quite dead yet!

I'm still here, spending embarrassing amounts of time pining after SAS.  Instead of writing about it, I've been working on fixing the format of past posts and developing a few informational posts geared towards future SASers.  Stay tunned...






In the meantime, I would love to add your questions to an upcoming FAQ post!  Post them in the comments!  :0)

Re-Entry: First Thoughts

A lovely little reminder from iCal greeted me as I opened my computer for some bedtime browsing.  It said, "Remember why you went."  I have this scheduled to pop up at odd intervals for the next three years to remind me of my voyage around the world, what I learned, and what I want to do in the future.  As I gazed at that little reminder my throat tightened in a wave of memories caught me in their flow.  In some ways the trip seems like seconds ago.  I still wake up some mornings expecting to be in Ghana or India.  In other ways, the trip seems like a whole lifetime ago or even perhaps just a marvelous dream I had.  To think I did these things I recall seems the purest of fiction as I recline in my childhood bed in my childhood house in my childhood city.  The past several weeks have been busy with a whole host of ordinary things; doctor appointments, lunch with mom, finding an online class to take this summer ...

In some ways this "usual life" consumes me.  It is difficult to focus on all of the tough questions that came from my travels, difficult to ponder all of the things I learned in my ship classes, when I am back in the waiting rooms of doctor's offices and spending evenings watching X-Files with my mom.  The ordinariness of each day binds me in it's monotony.  It is not unpleasant, but it perhaps is not the best thing for me.  At the same time I am so often plunged into these moments of almost immersive memory.  I look down a street and something about the colors of the buildings or the lighting peeking through rooftops takes me back to the fishing village in Ghana.  The drive to my university I have done so many times takes my breath away in it's likeness to the rolling hills outside of Cape Town.  I look at little town on the hill facing the pacific ocean, close my eyes and I am looking at the ocean facing hillside in Dominica.  It is not only places I so often am transported to.  I also find myself vividly recalling conversations I had with a guide in Brazil or how a man in South Africa taught me how to make a pot out of clay.  I find myself turning to share a joke with one of my friends and realizing they are half a country away.  I'm caught between the monotony of everyday life and the memories of a few extraordinary months.

Sometimes I wonder if I have really changed at all.  That is my biggest fear.  That I went all these places, did all of those things, met all of those people, and will put it on a shelf in my brain under "a very good vacation."  I fear that I will loose the passion I felt as I sat discussing tough issues in service learning or the friendliness and openness I acted with as I met so many new people.  I fear that my eyes will stop searching for wonder and that my mind will stop questioning.  Perhaps that I fear this means I am not there yet.

Perhaps there is other evidence that SAS was so much more than just a vacation.  I have been shopping only twice since I got home.  I used to delight in the browsing and purchasing of new things but now I find myself too preoccupied with questions of how and where the goods were produced.  What sacrifices were made to bring that product to me at the advertised low price?  Do I really need another shirt?  I look at menus not only based on what sounds good but also what sounds sustainable.  I now know that I have a part in so many of the problems that plague the world.  Each time I order a hamburger, I'm using that $8 to vote for a ridiculously unsustainable food source.  Each time I buy something I don't need for a ridiculously cheap price, I am voting for a system that doesn't always adhere to human rights.  The more I take, the more I take from others, whether it be humans, animals or the environment.  I can't ignore that.  That is a major difference in me since the trip.  Before I knew all of these things, but they seemed to be just as distant as the fictional novels I am so fond of.  Now I have seen it, lived it, and cannot look the other way.  At the same time I want to fit in with my culture and that culture is one where I hang out with my mom by shopping at Kohl's.  It's one where I really should put up with those infuriating commercials to watch a TV show so I can chat with my friends about it later.  No one would want to hear about how flipping scary the censorship and regulations are in Tibet.  I am having a hard time with this.  My dad jokingly said that I must have majored in insufferable on the ship.   I guess in some ways that is true, but the fault is in my delivery, not my education or the people in my life.  RIght now I am trying to find a balance between living a life I feel good about and staying tolerable to my friends and family.  I  hope this struggle means I did change.  That things did stay with me.

The hardest part about this reverse culture shock is that I lost my support community.  For every step of the SAS journey I had a whole ship of people to help me process what I saw.  Each class session was an opportunity to put things into context, to discuss what we saw and what it meant.  Meal times and late night conversation found us reflecting on our most recent adventures and trying to wrap our minds around big questions.  We all went through different shades of the same thing and were a part of each other's journey.  Then, when it came to the biggest challenge of all, how we would take these many experiences and apply them to everyday life, that community no longer existed.  We left our home on the MV Explorer to fade back into our own lives, but I think we still need each other to figure out the complexities of this transition.  There's facebook and text messages and all the benefits of modern communication technology, but that will never be the same as a passionate class discussion or a three hour conversation with one's roommate.  We are left on our own with the most important and difficult part of the journey.  The sum of all of our challenges converges on our shoulders in one moment, and that moment happens again and again as we venture each second into our old yet different lives.  It is unbearable at times and beautiful at others.  Usually it is both these things as once.  

Strangers Like Me

My first video from the trip!  :0)  This one focuses on the people I met and the things that they taught me.

Goodbye Loves!

Leaving the ship was one of the most bittersweet moments of my life.  I was so excited to see my parents, but hated to leave the amazing SAS community.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Before that, there was more packing and celebrating.


SAS does this neat thing where the graduating seniors get to participate in a commencement ceremony.  Since I am a graduating senior, that included me.  Andrea was also a graduating senior so we had some hang out/goofy time before the ceremony.

We are special.  :0)

The Captain gives a speech.  

The Dean gives a speech.  This guy was absolutely hilarious!  

The much beloved Global Studies professor gives a speech....

....and demonstrates how not to take pictures at tourist destinations.

And my bum food.

The family and I had our last bunch of meals together complete with the usual shenanigans and heated Doctor Who discussions.

I must have said something hilarious here.  I am quite funny you know.  

Ok, maybe someone else said the hilarious thing.  

As usual, Josh uses his facial expressions to convey how we all feel.  In this case it is how we feel about signing abazillion maps.

Josh's pen 

collection

Josh knit this with sewing thread and tooth picks.  I want one!

We had our last pre-port the day before we arrived in San Diego and it was a hilarious spoof of the usual pre-ports.  The deans' and the staffs' kids or students dressed up like them and gave a silly version of their usual pre-port shpeal.

I stayed up quite late that night swapping photos and getting in last minute fun time.  And more last minute packing.  And picture taking.

 

And then it was our last day on the MV Explorer.  We started out the day with a breakfast with our sleep-deprived comrades.  There were many a laughs and a general air of denial that this was all going to be over soon.

Then we headed out to the deck to watch San Diego come into view.  I think for a while we got caught up in the excitement waving American flags that someone passed out and signing along to Neil Diamond's America.  As we came into the port, these bouncy little specks materialized into parents who were jumping up and down to greet us.  After some searching (and shoving through crowds) I spotted my mom and dad.  They too spotted me once I started waving my crutch and there was much frantic waving.  

After that adrenaline rush was over, we had about two hours to say goodbye before we started disembarking.  I don't think so many people have cried so hard ever.  In history.  We almost had to call Noah in with the flood of tears.  Ok, I may be exaggerating, but it was a really heart wrenching two hours.  

I spent most of it sobbing into my friend's shoulders as we bear hugged each other goodbye.  We thanked each other for making this journey as amazing as it was.  I know my voyage would not have been the same without these wonderful people at my side.  I kept wondering how I was supposed to go back to "normal" life without seeing them every day.  I still am not sure.  I could write pages and pages and it would not come close to expressing what each of my friends meant to me.  It is hard now with us spread all over the country (and world), but I find happiness in knowing that we are friends for life.  

In between tearful goodbyes, I took some last photos with people.

Last roomie picture  :0(

Professor Bass and I.  This lady is one of the coolest people I have ever met.  I certainly learned a lot from her!

I knew I would miss Crispen's sign!

Cripsen, my cabin steward and I.

Too soon they were calling my sea to disembark and I frantically shoved the last things into my suitcases and headed out.  I wish I could say I had gained some composure by this point, but no, I cried all the way out the door and into the terminal.  Stepping off the boat that last time felt more frightening than the first time I set foot on the MV Explorer.  I wasn't sure how this real life thing was going to end up.  I'm still not sure.

It reminded me of a quote I have in my digital quote collection: "The truth is, I was afraid the day I walked into Stanford.  And I was afraid the day I walked out."  ~Carly Fiorina  

Insert "MV Explorer" in place of "Stanford" and it's golden. 

All of my sadness turned abruptly into joy the second I turned the last corner of customs and saw my dad.  I hobbled up to him and cried some more as more bear hugs ensured.  Then my mom, and my brother leaped out from the car to surprise me.  It was great seeing them again!  My tears rapidly dried as I took off talking at the speed of light about my trip.  I was really happy that my family got to meet my ship parents and ship grandparents before we pulled away from the dock.  

For the next twenty four hours I was all excitement.  I had fun exploring the familiar San Diego surroundings, meeting Andrea and her sister for lunch, and catching up with my family.  

After 110 days of pining after it, I finally got some of my chocolate "jumping cow milk"

And Mexican food that isn't Taco Day

Since then it has been a roller coaster of emotions as I am adjusting back to civilian life.  More on that later.  :0)