Japan! Day 4

As Winnie The Pooh would say, it was a blustery day out.  That kind of impeded the goal of the day which was to see the beauty of Mt. Fuji and Hakone.  Instead we used our imagination of how pretty it would look if we could see it.  haha  I still had a fun day though.

It was an early one, with my alarm going off at 5:45 am.  Then a quick breakfast and a dash to the bus by 6:45.  (I realize there was an hour of time in there, but for some reason I am always in a rush in the mornings.)  

The drive to Mt. Fuji was dismal, but relaxing.  I divided my time between listening to the guide talk about the area and listening to podcasts about neuroscience (don't judge.  Everyone has to have a hobby.)  :0P  

Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan and seems like it is quite beautiful based on the pictures I have seen of it.  We were lucky that the roads up to half way up the mountain were open despite the fact that it was snowing and around 20 degrees F out.  Many of us, including myself were very much not prepared for this cold weather. 

 Luckily, I don't have temperature sensation in my feet so the fact that I was wearing flip flops actually didn't matter.  I even tested if I could feel cold by sticking my foot in a snow bank.  Nada.  After a while of walking around my feet went completely numb and kind of hurt, but other than that the cold was no problem.  For my feet that is.  The rest of my was quite cold.  

One of the highlights of the stop was to go to a Shinto temple for the goddess for good marriage.  Since one of my most bestest friends has recently gotten married I made a special wish just for them.  :0)  My guide showed me the proper way of doing it which goes: toss the coin in the well, bow twice, clap twice, close your eyes, fold your hands and say a prayer, bow twice, and clap twice more. 

The rest of the brief half hour stop (worst part about tours is you always feel hurried) I spent trying to stay warm in the gift stores.  I didn't want to buy anything (way too expensive!) so I kept myself busy by taking pictures of some of the cute/strange items for sale.

This wasn't for sale, but I didn't know where else to put this picture.  haha  I want my toilets with seat warmers back!  

Now that is an epic cheese stick!

From what I can tell, these were plastic baby heads, like off of a doll.  You could lift up their skull and inside was something that looked like Vaseline and lotion mixed together.  It it hadn't been $30, I would have definitely bought one.  haha

Is this golden poo?  Awesome!

This mysterious object was in the port but also didn't know where else to stick this picture.  

I got back to the bus early and my ship dad and I built snowmen.  :0)  It was too bad my hands don't share the immunity to temperature that my feet do!  Still, it was very fun making my first snowman in 5+ years!

Then back on the bus to the Mt. Fuji museum.  Again we only had a half an hour which I spent watching a dance and music performance.

We got our lunches on the bus and I took a picture.  EVen though I think those lunches were usually pretty disgusting, I know I will miss the sight of them when this voyage is over.

I could tell Hakone would be beautiful when the sun was out and visibility was better, but as it was, things all kind of looked pretty dreary.  I did have fun riding on some gondolas and boat across the lake.  The fog even cleared enough for a few minutes for me to get some pictures of the shore.  :0)  

Then a bus drive back and I had to say goodbye to land for a long time.  I think we have 10 or 11 days at sea now which will be full of the mountain of homework I haven't had time for over the last month.  I'm actually looking forward to the rest and being able to just hang out with people.  There still may be one or two people I know on this ship who I have not converted to Whovians.  :0P

We got a send off from port by an excellent band playing a mashup of every American song I can think of (disney, christmas, patriotic, etc.)

The Opportunity of Adversity

I stumbled across this fantastic speech when searching for travel-related TED talks.  It's called "The Opportunity of Adversity" and it's a must see!  Even though it isn't specifically travel related, I feel that it shares the spirit of this blog.

Click here to see video

My First Post!

Even though I don't set sail for a little under three months, my Semester at Sea (SAS) journey really started over four years ago. I'll start my blog there to help put things in perspective. :0)



I first heard about SAS from another vendor at a study abroad fair during my sophomore year in college. As I was touring the various booths, the SAS brochure jumped out at me. I talked to the representative at the booth and knew within a few minutes that I would do everything possible to get me on one of those ships someday. The representative was really nice and gave me one of his last DVD's since I was so interested. I remember calling my mom later that evening and saying how much I wanted to go on the trip. I knew it would be a difficult thing to accomplish, but I didn't know yet just how difficult.



Four days after I first heard about SAS, I found myself in the emergency room with what I thought was a strange flu. After many tests and doctors appointments over the next few days it was discovered that I actually had suffered a stroke. As you can imagine, I was quite shocked since up until that point I was a healthy and energetic student and competitive soccer player. I found out that the stroke was due to a hole in my heart which I had closed through a fairly simple procedure on Halloween, 2007.
Though the procedure was a success and I have not had any more strokes, my health continued to deteriorate. At one point I was so weak and uncoordinated that I needed help to sit up. I remember watching the SAS promotional DVD and crying because I thought I would never be able to do something like that now that I was so sick.



Over the next several years (and MANY doctors/hospitals) I found out that I had a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which causes the collagen in the body to not work right. This set me up for frequent injuries (usually joint dislocations) and vascular complications including the hole in my heart that led to the strokes. I also found out that I had a condition called dysautonomia which is where the autonomic nervous system does not work correctly. With the help of hard work and up to 17 medications a day, I saw an excellent recovery from the stroke. Within just four months of the stroke, I was walking short distances and had good enough coordination that hardly anyone would notice anything was wrong with me. The dysautonomia symptoms became my main hinderance because I felt like I had the flu or was about to pass out most of the time. I also began to have episodic weakness and seizure like episodes (I would shake but still be fully conscious.) Daily life was an enormous struggle, but I was able to back to school and continue my rehabilitation exercises. I was still in my wheelchair about 80% of the time when I left the house/dorm, but I did see slow improvements in my endurance and ability to stay upright without blacking out.



Through all this, I still kept studying abroad in my mind. I signed up for a summer program in London but was not able to attend due to complications from a digestive surgery. This was a huge blow, but a few months after I would have been studying in London, I began to casually look into other study abroad programs. I emailed and called countless offices inquiring about the accessibility of the program. Only one program got back to me with a response other than, "You can't participate in this program," and that was Semester at Sea. I learned that many students with mobility impairments and health conditions have successfully traveled on the ship in the past and that the shipboard lifestyle would work well with my limitations. For months I was going back and forth with the decision to apply. On one hand, I knew that it would be the trip of a lifetime and probably the only chance I would get to see some of these places, on the other, my doctors did not think I should go and my parents needed much convincing. I looked up to the later group as the people who got me through the last few years so it was very difficult for me to not just go along with what they suggested. I finally made up my mind that I would go and submitted my application last summer. It was a huge relief that the decision was made and I set about giving myself every opportunity to be successful on the trip.



One of the avenues I pursued to make my health more stable was looking into cutting edge medicine for my conditions. Not long after I applied, new research was released that suggested that most of my more frustrating symptoms could be caused by defects in the veins in my neck. I already knew I had the defect mentioned (formerly called chronic cerebrospinal insufficiency or CCSVI) so I scoured the internet looking for doctors who were treating this. I was lucky enough to find such a doctor almost in my own backyard. I sent him my medical records and he agreed to take me on as a patient. Two days before my 23rd birthday I had the appointment where he told me that the CCSVI could be causing all of my problems (except for the underlying genetic disorder) and that I could see a great improvement in my health if I had the surgery to fix the veins. I of course opted for this experimental treatment and had the surgery within a month on October 14, 2011.


This brings me to today where i can say that the surgery was an enormous success. Within two days after the surgery I was better off than before, even though I was still technically recovering. I have enjoyed spending the last couple of weeks with greatly increased energy levels and ability to remain upright. My wheelchair has been collecting dust unused in the back of my Mom's car. Though I was already committed to making SAS work, this new improvement will allow me even more opportunities. I still am not completely healthy but I have the next three months to continue to improve and am determined to use the adaptability that I have learned from the past four years to successfully travel with SAS.



Just the process to apply and get ready for SAS has been a thrill and a bit stressful. As the trip gets closer and I get more excited, I wish time would speed up and get me on that boat!



Too Long Didn't Read Summary: I got REALLY sick four years ago. I'm healthy enough now that I will have the amazing opportunity to travel the world via Semester At Sea. My health and mobility impairments will provide challenges, but I know that I am ready to take them on.



I also want to thank many people who have made this trip possible. I'll do my best to not make it sound like an acceptance speech...actually I don't think there's any way around that. haha I want to thank my family, especially my parents and brother who have encouraged me to pursue my dreams (once I convinced them that I would be safe). Without them I would not have gotten through this illness, let alone have the confidence and means to travel with SAS. I also want to thank the generous donors who have provided several scholarships that makes this trip possible. I want to thank the wonderful doctors and health care professionals who have treated me and helped me through some pretty rough times (especially Dr. Madej, Dr. Banks, Dr. Brown, Dr. Dake, Dr. Driscoll, Med Stop Urgent Care in San Luis Obispo, and the team at Mayo.) I want to thank the wonderful people who I have met through International Club (and Honors Program) at Cal Poly who inspired me to be a citizen of the world. I want to thank the Cal Poly Disability Resource Center (especially Jennifer) who not only helped me get through school, but also helped me research study abroad options and taught me how to be a strong advocate for myself. I want to thank my professors who went above and beyond with accommodations to help me get through school. Finally, I want to thank my amazing friends, spoonies, and DYNA family for always being a positive influence in my life and cheering me on. Without them I wouldn't be where I am today. (Which is a pretty awesome place, by the way.)