Etcetera

There are some things I feel like blogging about

Being Asian onboard:

Coming onboard the ship, I didn’t know what to expect being in the minority. Throughout my life, I’ve always been in a majority meaning I have always lived in Asian dominated areas. Semester at Sea was the first time I’ve lived in an area for a considerable period of time where most of the people were not Asian.

One of the most common things many non-Asian students would do is confuse me with other Asian students that look nothing like me. It was frustrating for me, but I had to understand that many of these students come from areas where there are no Asian people. Another thing that many people onboard the ship would do is ask if I was the exchange student. I was a little surprised by this because I thought most people would know that Asians can Americans too.


Studying onboard:

Studying onboard is the hardest thing to do. On land, I would not have any problems completing my work on time, but when I’m switching from land to sea all the time, it’s very hard to concentrate on academics all the time. Moreover, all my classes are boring. I thought I would enjoy my classes since the topics seem interesting. However, most of my professors are uninteresting and give ridiculous amounts of reading.


Alcoholism:

I choose not to drink much alcohol, maybe one or two beer once in a while; however, I am fine with others getting drunk. It is people not drinking responsibility and acting stupid I have a problem with. So many times have I felt embarrassed to be associated with being American because students have acted ridiculous when drunk at inappropriate times. For example, I was in a club in Malaysia; all the Malaysians were not drunk, and many of the Semester at Sea students were uncoordinated and extremely loud. Another example, some students decided in an overnight train in India to get drunk while there were other Indians next to them; I heard one of the SAS students got do drunk that he urinated on the wall in the cabin next to one of the beds.

I feel extremely irritated that some students just cannot live without alcohol for 4 or 5 days. I wish these students would actually realize the impact on themselves and Americans in general they have when they act like fools when intoxicated. It seems like these students do not know how to have fun without alcohol. Some people still have not learned to be responsible when drinking.


On a positive note:

The ship is arriving in Vietnam today, and I will be flying to Hanoi soon to check out Ha Long Bay. I am very excited for this trip because I have heard Ha Long Bay is one of the most beautiful places in the world.


Until Next Time,
Alan Shih at Sea