Day 80
Whose ready for some Dr. Dave gems?
Actually the only good quote I got was when he put up a picture of us from the Sea Olympics and said, "What are you doing and is it legal?"
He also gave us the 13 essentials for hiking before taking a plastic bag and showing us how to turn it into a hooded jacket. Oh Dr. Dave.
Logistical pre-port was so long tonight, it ran 45 minutes over mostly due to the fact that the audio wouldn’t work. The good news is that we are going to Cuba. They smashed all rumors about that, and there were quite a few of them. We still don't have field programs for Cuba so we were beginning to suspect we weren't going. Also, some international students have had to apply for Bahamas visas so then the crazy rumor mill started churning out things about how we were getting off in the Bahamas. Or that if you had 5 points or less you could get of as a reward. Or that the Alumni ball was going to be held in the Bahamas at some hotel. No. Absolutely wrong. We are going to Cuba, we will be stopping in the Bahamas for fuel, no we will not be getting off, no one will, and no the alumni ball will be on the ship like always.
Dean Lorraine told us to "Be suspicious of people approaching you on the street."
To which Molly responded, "I'm always suspicious of that."
That's true.
Also, apparently Buenos Aires is knows for their "express kidnappings."
Ok then.
That's everything I wrote down during pre-port. An hour and 45 minutes of talking and that is all I took away. Unless you guys really want to know what the 13 essentials for hiking are.
Ok, here it goes:
- Extra food
- Extra water
- Extra clothes
- Shelter
- Matches/lighters
- Fire starter
- First aid kit
- Knife
- Sun protection
- Signal device
- Flashlight
- Map
- Compass
Note that he said extra food and extra water. Not just food and water.
He also gave the smart advice to tell someone exactly where you are going and give them a panic time. A time for them to call search and rescue if you aren't back by. We don't want and 127 hours kind of situations on our hands.
Now, I bet you are wondering where people will be going that they need so much hiking advice for.
Argentina is a place full of extremes, as told by Professor Boyer.
The bottom half of Argentina is Patagonia. There are mountains and glaciers and all kinds of fun things to hike. All very cold places to hike. Or, as Boyer said, "…that looks like a great place to die."
There are also the Andes mountains.
So… lots of good hiking.
I will be going to look at a waterfall.
Let's hear more about what I learned from Boyer during his World According to Boyer: Argentina:
Argentina is 1/3 the size of the U.S
It is the 8th largest country.
It has a population of 42.3 million.
It is 97% white and is the most immigrated to place after the U.S.
It is 92% urban.
It has a GDP of 755.3 billion
It has 4 distinct seasons and weather very similar to the east coast. Basically take the U.S and flip it upside-down so that it is mirrored and that is what Argentina is like.
Actually, the entire world is a giant mirror, both in climate and in terrain. The line it is mirrored out from is, of course, the equator.
The last great moment from Boyer: "Although some of you are asleep sitting up, and I love that about you."
I can never sit through his entire talk. He had a list of 7 things about Argentina that he was going through. I was there for about an hour and he was only at #2.
- Argentina ain't got no rainforest
- Argentina got some white-ass, white people, a result of its history.
That was word for word from his slides.
I'm not kidding when I tell you that he is the best professor ever.
Hold the phone. Can we talk about, for a minute, the fact that it is day 80.
What in the world.
There are only 35 days left.
35.
Excuse me while I go and hide my head under my pillow.
Very mixed feelings are occurring here.
*deep breaths*
Ok. Let's just get through Argentina first and then I can freak out.
I'm going to see a waterfall. Wooooo.
Three days of looking at a waterfall.
Ok, that was really factitious. I'm sorry. It will be beautiful. And ginormous.
I'm just a little bitter about the fact that I am not going to Patagonia.
I guess I will just have to come back to Argentina.
Wow this blog has been very choppy.
Maybe it's the 80 day thing.
Shhh, no, I am not allowed to think about that.
I have to go be in Argentina now.
Wooo?
Bye.
