Uobicajne anegdote sa palube 7

Desava se to i nama malim ljudima iz daleke zemlje na brdovitom Balkanu.

Ne vredi govoriti o tome koliko je tesko I zahtevno bilo ostvariti ovaj cilj – umesto toga, bitno je koliko toga sam naucila uz put.  Koliko sam samo eseja napisala na temu licnog razvoja I multikulturalnosti; o tome cemu se nadam I sta ocekujem od ovog putovanja – a kad u stvari ja nemam pojma sta ocekujem. Znam da sam spremna, da je ovo TO nesto o cemu sam sanjala ceo svoj zivot – ovo je putovanje iz snova, kombinacija lepog I korisnog. Ne znam sta je vece iskustvo – to sto sam pokusala SVE moguce I nemoguce da bih ostvarila ovo putovanje,ovaj semester ILI ono sto me ceka na kraju, kad budem prosla I videla sve ove zemlje, kulture I sve ove razlicite ljude. Zaista ne znam, moracemo svi zajedno da cekamo I saznamo.

Vec sam bila na Havaje, sada sam u sred Pacifika I idem ka Japanu. Posle slede Kina, Vietnam, Sinapur, Rangoon, Indija, Mauricius, Juzna Afrika, Gana, Moroko I poslednja luka je u Spaniji.
Reakcija kad cuju da sam iz Srbije – otvorenih usta I ociju vidim kako pokusavaju uopste da lociraju Srbiju na mapi (uglavnom ne uspevaju) I onda pocinju pitanja “Pa kako si ti cula za ovaj program”, “kako to da mozes da priustis ovaj program”, “kako tako znas da pricas engelski”, “sigurno je mnogo hladno tamo u Sibiru”… Kako mi je vec dosadio standardni spil od stipendijama I tome kako sam (zamisli) ucila engleski u skoli…dosli smo do toga da je moja porodica u stvari clan Ruske mafije I da sam ja kao klinka obucavana da budem Ruski spijun u USA, I da zime u Sibiru su uzasno hladne…pa me zato moje ruske mafioze salju na americki fax u Grckoj - da ‘studiram’, kako bih se sto lakse infliltrirala medju neprijateljske snage   ;) Neki zapravo veruju da Hladni rat jos uvek traje…mozda su u pravu…?

Ja tako, kao zivi primer spijuna, plovim na brodu sa Archbishopom Desmond Tutu – nazalost jos nisam uspela da ukradem fotku…dekica je lukav! Tu su I ljudi iz Microsoft – X-box i Nike. Ali nista manje zanimljivi su ljudi iz bliskog istoka, tipa Lebanon, Jordan, Bangladesh…  Likuša iz Jordana je UPOZNALA Bred Pita I Angelinu Joli I svu njihovu decu dok su bili u Jordanu … UZIVO – jeli sladoled zajedno I pricali o vremenu..ono sto obicno radis sa Bredom I Endzi. Kaze Bred je imao onu ogromnu bradu, ali je Endzi bila ko slika – I na kraju krajeva, sve jedno ---- to su Bred I Endzi ….. najhot par holivuda… Upoznala sam I ljude iz Mexiko City, Kankuna , I slicnih mesta iz spanskih sapunica…..elegantno sam pozvana u Kankun kad sledeci put odem u Mexiko. Vazi mačko, vidimo se za novu godinu! Zakljucili smo mi iz internacionale (Nemacka, Ekvador, Kolumbija, Srbija, Lebanon i Peru) da je svet vrlo mali I da je fiesta, party I zurka ubedljivo najbolji nacin izrazavanja nasih slicnosti u mentalitetu.

Ovo je samo jedan isecak, jedna od situacija na brodu … S obzirom da nema telefona ni interneta, ljud tako sede, druže se, pričaju, igramo karte, pantomime – I sve te socijalne aktivnosti BEZ uredjaja koji primaju bežicne signale… Zamislite samo taj svet…. FENOMENALNO! :D Ali to je tesko razumeti, I cak zamisliti bez iskustva – nikad to ne bih mogla u ‘normalnom’ okruzenju; nema sanse da bih sebe naterala da ustanem u 6 am – vezbam YOGA (JA?! Radim jogu…o,O) – posle dorucak I 8am predavanja do 2. Posle 2 se mlatis, ucis, suncas se da bih u 5 opet vezbala (ko sekta svi zajedno na palubi skacemo uz Insanity videos) I onda uvece imamo kulturno obazovane programe, predavanja na temu Start-ups, Entrepreneurship, Kulturama koje nas cekaju, I slicno …. Apsolutno fenomenalan zivot….tako se osecam na mestu.

Za kraj, citat dana:

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. – Martin Buber
Iliti
Sva putovanja imaju tajna odredista o kojima putnik do tada nije ni sanjao. – Martin Buber

Evo I nekih fotki lepota vidjenih u poslednje 2 nedelje:

San Diego luka, bejbe!

Ovo je prva slika u sobi, onaj ko zna može da zamisli količinu uzbudjenja u meni kad sam slikala ovakvu sliku !

 

Ovo mnogo vise fascinira uzivo… Hawaii zaliv

Poruka budućem: ruže su out, orhideje su in!

 

Slatki vodič I ronjenje u DECEMBRU, ovaj Januaru…razumite grešku..!

Zalazak Sunca u prvoj luci na putu oko sveta !

Pisite mi na maja.dimitrijevic.sp13@semesteratsea.org  - imam 2 sata interneta za 3 meseca – budzet level hiljadu! Ali e-mail je dostupan 24/7 ! Pisacu pisma sve ovo vreme – modifikovana, ova 21^st century style !

It is only the beginning..

I guess the time has come – to begin to tell this wonderful story of mine.

 

See ya Hawaii – hang loose !

Now I am once again in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – 29C both in air and the sea! And I know it would be cooler if it was December; but I guess I’ll deal with tanning in January!

Sailing away from Hawaii.

 

I don’t even know where to begin – everyone knows my manic pursuit of this voyage and the passionate desire that didn’t let me give up. In addition to my dear friends who motivated and I cheered me on, even when I thought it is not going to happen and that Semester at Sea will be a dream I’d have to pack away. But no – I am in reality here, and I have to admit it’s hard to believe that I actually need to go to classes, do readings and assignments… With my personality it’s really hard to actually stay away from that sunny deck and not socialize IN THE SUN with the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean right in front of my nose. I practice though – self control! I am trying to stay focused..most of the time. But I am so happy, and I feel so in place – exactly where I am supposed to be. I imagined that it is going to be magnificent standing on that highest deck – but it is even better than that. The wind, the waves, the changing colors of the ocean, whales and dolphins peaking out to say Hi occasionally and the energy people! Everyone are from around and about eager to experience the world. It is a dream indeed. Now I just need a Prince (haha). I would be okay with a scene adaptation from the little mermaid … J

 

Yes, Hawaii did inspire me, incredibly – it is just a different rhythm of life over here. People make and invent new ways of making jewelry, hair pins, paintings, and food – oh soooo much amazing food! Macadamia nut – butter, something like peanut butter but BETTER! Fruits, blew my mind. Imagine tasting all those fruits people talk about eating while “under a palm tree” somewhere in Bali.  This was Hawaii, and it wasn’t a palm tree but good enough place to eat Mango, Papaya, Avocado, Apple-bananas, White pineapple and drink fresh Coconut just chopped by a Filipino dude. That is also one of the most amazing things which fascinated me in Hawaii – everyone come from somewhere, there is not so many ‘native’ Hawaiians people but everyone together are such a strong community! They express their own culture and traditions in any way they seem fit and they learn from each other, exchange talents and grow both spiritually and mentally. It is just fascinating to me how in such a small place people learned to embrace their similarities and simply enjoy instead of stressing out about deadlines, meetings, racial differences, prejudices and stereotypes. Those do not exist.

 

The Farmers Market fruits – definitely, the local market is the best way to connect with the culture and get a feel of what are their daily lives about.

 

 

To do in Hawaii:

·         Find a firsthand Hula dance performance – its like watching a story, even though I didn’t understand a word they were singing.

·         Hitchhike (Flag) a hot local (amazing smile, professor of agriculture) with a huge black pick-up-truck to drive you and 6 your other friends back to the port.

·         Long live the samples on the market: free home-made, once-in-a-life time fruits, shakes, peppers, honeys, jams, butters… All organic and home grown and with a story behind it.

·         Coffee and ICE CREAM

·         Snorkeling –whales – mama, baby and a pretender, parrot fish, Dori from Nemo, some yellow fishes, prettiest waters and the coral reef, tanning and cute and funny tour guides. I am a sucker for water and sun, it makes my life – and I could not live in a place without it.

·         Go to a Hostel instead a Hotel. Pick: a tent or a room. And socialize with bunch of INTERNATIONALS. 

This is Meike, my roommate for this semester. She’s a German studying in Vancouver.

 

This voyage is not even a quarter in, and I am already full of stories about the stuff world has to offer. It was worth it, all those papers and emails and meetings. The investment like no other. The world is my Campus. It is everything, all these people on board want to do something, change and improve. And everyone are so incredibly creative and passionate about their ideas – I see their faces light up when they try to explain the purpose of their pursuit.

 

 

Next stop Japan.

 

p.s. since very limited internet access – my mean of communication is EMAIL : maja.dimitrijevic.sp13@semesteratsea.org
Send me updates from that hemisphere and I am going to share blogs as often as I can ! Next one will be before Japan: Jan.27^th we dock in Yokohama.

 

Question: What would YOU want to see most in TOKYO or KOBE? …and… What would you say was a stereotype for Tokyo ?