Nancy-poo in San Diego

My flight to San Diego was not as awful as I thought it would be. I sat next to this old couple that was actually catching a connecting flight to China, so we compared plans and I picked up a few pointers. We flew over the whole friggin countru, but the best views were over Colorado and Northern CA. I waved to my few friends in CO as we passed over them. Mountains of the midwest look exactly like the little raised mountains on a globe. I took as many pictures as I could without looking like a complete tourist.


Rachel picked me up in San Diego and took me to their beach house on Mission Beach. I’ve decided that the east coast totally blows and I want to live in SD forever. The Pacific Ocean is so clear that I could see my feet even when the water came up to my chin. We sat on the porch and watched people go by on their bikes, roller blades, and skate boards – they were all so friendly… they all waved hello as they passed. This was weird for me, being the bitchy New Yorker that I am.

CA sand is softer than the Freedom Lake sand – that’s for sure. I caught a few waves, but after I got taken out by a big one I retired to boogie boarding which is equally as fun. Rachel and I walked along the boardwalk at dusk, looking for a party, and met some dudes who invited us to a little fiesta and showed us all around downtown San Diego. One of them was a pro skater and the other one worked in the “meat industry” – take that was you will (Obviously, my mind went straight to the gutter when he said that).


One thing I did notice in San Diego was the amount of homeless people lying beside the beach, even in the middle of the day when the sun was the hottest. The cost of living is so expensive there. For example, we had parked in a garage for 2 minutes on our way to dinner, and the fee was $10! Some of the rinky dink beach houses also cost over $4million.


We went to the hotel the next day (the Sheraton in the Marina) where I met a ton of kids from SAS. We laid by the pool for the most part of the day, but during the night we were wandering around the hotel and stumbled upon a rambunctious room party where a bunch of kids were having a welcoming party. It was INSANE! Parents were chugging tequila that was being poured by their own kids. The drunkest ones were singing at the top of their lungs to song like “Can’t Touch This”, “Fresh Prince of Bellaire”, or “Take Me Home Tonight” (a personal fav). I was kind of worried that this would turn into a booze cruise, but we met some cool kids – one is actually from the North Shore in Hawaii, and he said he would take us with him to go watch the pro surfers at the pipeline waves! I don’t know if I’m going to go, though, because I really want to go hiking at Diamond Head. Joyce will probably kill me if I don’t go to the North Shore (which is where Blue Crush was filmed, BTW).


My shuttle to Ensenada was at the buttcrack of dawn, so I had to drag my two 40lb bags down 3 flights of stairs by myself (elevators weren’t working) and then proceed to drag them to the other side of the hotel where the shuttle was loading. The ride over was about 2 hrs, but it flew by because we drove next to the coastline the whole time. They have an even nicer and more turquoise coastline than San Diego, but it’s populated and the dusty run down Mexican pueblos. I can’t even explain the poverty there. There were some interesting sites, though. As we approached the port, we passed this gigantic statue of Jesus. I swear it must have been 200ft tall. I was creeped out. It put a whole new meaning to Jesus is watching you.



Check in on the boat took HOURS, but I got to explore it for the rest of the day. The ship is really nice, but the pool is TINY. It looks more like a hot tub than a pool. The only good thing about it is that when the ship moves, the pool water goes flying. It makes for a nice water ride.






I got seasick yesterday, but ginger root and saltines have settled most of the remains from meals. The bar opened last night, but I can’t even imagine drinking on a ship, as I can barely stomach anything from the rocking as it is. I’m waiting for my sea legs. My roommate, Mandy a junior at U of Rochester, only got a few headaches. Classes started yesterday, and I like most of my professors... especially my Anthro prof. But I do think I’m starting to lose faith in psychology as a study. I can’t help but feel that some of the older profs are outdated and too basic. I’ll keep up with it for now, but my opinion may change when I get back to Bucknell.




The staff and crew on the ship are from all over the world, and are incredibly friendly. The only thing that bothers me is what they are required to do. At meals, they serve us our drinks and take away our trays. I’m a college kid… I can do that myself. But maybe it’s a way of the ship justifying the need for so many crew members. Most of these people are supporting families in their home country, so perhaps this job is a huge help. Either way, though, it still makes me feel uncomfortable.


I’ll have cell phone service in Hawaii, Sept 2nd. So if you want to chat, call me on that day.