I just got confirmation on a number of the field programs I applied to do! Most of what I'll be up to, community service projects, day trips and the like, I won't decide upon until a few days before they happen. However, here are a few of the things I am headed toward:

WONDERS OF WAITI-KUBULI: EMERALD POOL & RIVER TUBING
Dominica’s rugged mountainous landscape has produced an abundance of natural wonders, such as rivers, waterfalls, lakes and valleys; the island is criss-crossed with 365 rivers. On this trip, enjoy tubing on the Layou River, which is the largest river in Waiti-kubuli (the original Carib name for Dominica). Travel about 40-minutes by bus to the launch site for the safety briefing after which you will be provided with your life vest, modified inner tube, and paddle before getting into the river. After a lesson on the river bank, guides will position you into a large tube. With everyone in the water, your guides will set you loose to begin your journey, gently spinning and swirling in the current, taking in the changing scenery at the same time. Stop briefly to enjoy a popular Dominican pastime: river bathing. Enjoy a swim in the crystal clean waters for a few minutes before continuing down the scenic river to your exit point. At the end of the journey, refreshments will be served including punch and fresh fruit before returning to the ship.

THE CARIB INDIANS: TOUNA AUTE
This FDP will take you to the residential cultural Carib Indian Community, called Touna Aute, which is situated in the northeast of Dominica. The name Touna means water in the Carib language; enjoy a scenic drive through the island rainforest, stopping en route to visit the Emerald Pool, which is located in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. A 15minute walk through rainforest brings you to the 50-foot cascading waterfall and impressive view. Upon arrival at Touna Aute, the community leader, a former Carib Chief, will welcome you at the traditional community Karbet and provide a short historical overview of the community and the Carib people. Afterwards, he will invite you to visit homes of local residents. This experience is the only one of its kind in Dominica, in which you may be given opportunities to participate in various domestic activities including basket weaving, bamboo weaving of traditional fish traps, and sugar cane juice squeezing using traditional techniques. Witness and learn the making of cassava bread, a centuries-old staple of the Carib diet. Natural medicine is still practiced here, and locals will share secrets of herbs used for healing. While walking through the village you can also enjoy fruit picking in season. Participants may opt to come prepared to enjoy the water. Local snacks and drinks will be served at the end of this excursion before returning to the ship.

NIGHT TIME JUNGLE EXPLORATION & ALLIGATOR SPOTTING
Take a riverboat cruise under a starry Amazon sky into the dense jungle backwaters. At the jetty in the Lake January Ecological Park, transfer to motorized canoes. Glide silently into the flooded forest and its countless overgrown tributaries. Armed with only a flashlight, your guide will attempt to locate jacares(alligators). Attracted by the light, their eyes shine like rubies. Watch as the guide attempts to catch one of the smaller reptiles with his bare hands and lift it out of the water for you to see. Unharmed, the caiman will then be returned to the water. The thrill of catching an alligator, plus the mystical surroundings of the forest at night makes this quite a unique and exciting experience.

SWIMMING WITH DOLPHINS
This full-day expedition travels up the Rio Negro,visitinglocal villages before reaching the Dolphin Sanctuary. Depart by speed boat to the island of Chameleon on the right bank of Rio Negro. Once ashore, visit the village of Paricatuca and explore the ruins of the fort, which housed the rubber extraction workers more than100 years ago. Reboard the boat and continueup the Rio Negroand arrive at Ponta do Lago Araras Tatu. Explore the surrounding jungle before enjoying a local barbecue with fish fresh from the river and various Amazonian fruits. Proceed to the local Dolphin Sanctuary. Learn about the dolphin’s revered place in indigenous Amazonian lore and legend. Enjoy some close contact swimming in the river with these large and friendly mammals before returning to Manaus.

BRAZILIAN DANCE FUSION
Brazilians are known the world over for their love of music and dance. Hear the sounds, feel the beat and absorb the energy while learning the steps of some of Brazil’s famous dances!
Transfer to the Ritmo Quente Dance Academy and begin your Brazilian dance experience. For two hours, Brazilian teachers will go over the steps and take you through a series of Brazilian dance styles like Samba, Forro, Zuke and Lambada.This workshop allows you to understand the different Brazilian rhythms, meet other Brazilian dancers and immerse yourself in this most energetic and creative culture through dance.

AMAZON TRIBAL DANCE
While Rio’s Carnival and the Sambasteal the international spotlight, Brazil hosts many festivals throughout the year. The Amazon is home to the second largest popular festival in Brazil, the Parintins Festival. Every June,the jungle explodes with a musical contest between the two schools of Garantidoand Caprichoso. The driving rhythmthat propels this festival is Boi Bumba,a pulsating sound with drumming, tribal roots and lots of swing! Travel to the RitmoQuente Dance Academy and learn the influence of the Boi Bumbadance in Amazon Culture. During the two-hour workshop,dance and vibrate with the energy of the natives—join the party!

WELCOME TO GHANA: OVERNIGHT VISIT TO WINNEBA
With a population of just over 40,000, the coastal town of Winneba is known for its fishing, its welcoming atmosphere and, most recently, its University of Education. Since partnering with Charlottesville, Virginia as a sister cityin 2009, delegates from both locations have joined forces to explore each city’s culture and hospitality. Join your Winneba hosts, who may include city officials, residents and students, as they welcome the ship’s arrival in Takoradi. Introduce them to the ship and enjoy lunch together onboard before departing for an overnight stay in Winneba. (The drive to Winneba is approximately 2.5 hours.) Prepare for the city of Winneba to welcome you. Upon your arrival, you will be greeted by traditional drumming and dance from members of the two warrior groups from this region, known as asafo: Asafo #1 -Tuafo, and Asafo #2 –Dentsefo. Following this ceremonial welcome, proceed to your hotel and check in. Spend the evening exploring the town and beach areas, meeting local citizens and enjoying a local dinner (included). After breakfast the following morning, visit a local market to witness its cultural and political dynamics. While there, meet the market queen, who presides over the market and settles local disputes. Proceed next to meet the “Chief Fisherman” and discern how disputes within this important local industry are resolved in a different fashion in a culture different from your own. Visit the University of Education and meet with faculty, staff members and students for a Q&A session. Compare similarities and differences between your university experience and that in Ghana. Other potential activities may include various cultural and musical performances. The order of these visits will vary depending on local schedules, and lunch will be arranged for you in the afternoon. You will spend enough time at each location to explore the surrounding area and get a good feel for the town of Winneba and its citizens.

VILLAGE EXPERIENCE
Depart for a drive to one of several local villages that will host Semester at Sea participants. Pay a courtesy call to the paramount chief and elders of the village amidst traditional drumming and dancing by the villagers, and also participate in a naming ceremony in which you will be given traditional African names. Later, interact with the villagers and school children.


DRUMMING AND DANCE WORKSHOP
Participants will partake in an African drumming and dance workshop under the direction of the renowned Afrique Dance Ensemble.Established in 1993, this group has been actively involved in the promotion of African and Ghanaian cultural heritage through traditional music and dance.Led by young and vibrant directors, this ensemble has performed widely in Ghana as well as in other African countries. Its rich repertoire includes Ghanaian folk/traditional music and dance as well as Senegalese, Malian and Guinean traditional dance pieces fused with more contemporary movements. The workshop will culminate in a performance by the Ensemble.
Through participation in this workshop, students will be able to observe firsthand how music is “culture,” “object” and “tool,” and to document and report on their experiences. Above all, students will have the opportunity to acquire a deeper sensitivity to, and genuine appreciation for, the amazing variety of musical sounds and music-related values and behavior that they experience during their stay in Ghana, and will be better equipped to distinguish, appreciate, compare and discuss musical sounds from many different parts of the world.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW—A NIGHT OF THEATRE IN CAPE TOWN
Enjoy a new production of Shakespeare's wonderful comedy of love and intrigue under the skies of the Southern Cross. Mynardville's outdoor theatre in the old gardens of Cape Town has a long and proud history dating back to the 1930's with annual performances of Shakespeare's plays. Director Roy Seargent, of Artscape Drama, directs a cast of South Africa's finest actors in a uniquely African setting. Meet the director and members of the cast while you enjoy a picnic on the lawns of the garden before the performance.

WOZA CAPE TOWN!—A NIGHT OF THEATRE IN DISTRICT SIX
Woza Cape Town! looks at Cape Town through the thoughts, views and experiences of three young South Africans from different cultural backgrounds. Their anxieties, pleasures, hopes and pains are conveyed through verse penned by some of this country‘s most respected poets. Full of South African songs, dances and poems, Woza! provides insights into the joys and challenges facing young Capetonians. Located in the heart of the historic District Six, the production is creatively staged in Chapel Street‘s refurbished church hall, one of Cape Town‘s oldest and most historic buildings. Now called the Theatre in the District, this building has had a long-standing tradition of serving its community and promoting the arts. Once at the theatre, enjoy an evening meal of Cape cuisine drawing on the multiplicity of its cultural tastes and influences. After dinner, meet the cast of Woza! and learn the Gumboot Dance. Next, Brian Notcutt, who created the show, will give a brief introduction, explaining the history of District Six and putting the show in context. Then, sit back and enjoy Woza Cape Town!, an exhilarating celebration of life in Cape Town today.

WELCOME RECEPTION
This reception is a SAS favorite and provides an excellent opportunity to meet Indian students, experience a traditional dance performance and enjoy Indian snacks. You will travel by motorcoach to the reception area where you will be given a traditional welcome with sari-clad ladies offering flower-buds, applying kum-kum (red dot or sandalwood paste on the forehead) and sprinkling rose water. Enjoy mingling with the invited guests from local colleges in the outdoor atmosphere of a local fair. Along with sampling the tempting snacks, you may learn how to tie a sari, have a design painted on your hand with henna paste and observe a Bharata Natyam dance demonstration. Bharata Natyam is the subtle and sophisticated dance-art of Tamil Nadu. It is a dynamic and very precise style of dance. The dancer presents a story at several levels of meaning using a variety of complex body postures and movements, hand and arm gestures and facial expressions. A dancer needs substantial knowledge and appreciation of the thematic and philosophical content of Indian myth and legend as well as a thorough grounding in technical skill. The meaning of a portion of the dance will be interpreted for you and some of the movements, gestures, and facial expressions will be explained. You will also have the opportunity to buy Indian clothing and costume jewelry.

CHILD LABOR IN RURAL INDIA: OVERNIGHT VILLAGE STAY
Despite Indian laws prohibiting child labor, thousands of children, ages 4-14 years, have been sold into bondage in the sari-making industry. Some of these children have had to work in these factories for 12-14 hours per day with no breaks and only a cupful of rice for lunch. They have earned an average of only $2 per month. This overnight field program provides the opportunity to visit a successful micro-credit lending program for women and a bridge school for children who have been child laborers in the silk weaving industry. The Rural Institute for Development Education (RIDE) began as a bridge school to help children leave the silk-weaving industry. They quickly learned that the best way to help children was to help their mothers increase their income. This visit will include an overnight stay in the village where you will see the women at work weaving silk and bamboo mats, a meeting with the self-help group leaders to ask questions, a tour of one of the bridge schools to meet the children, and a visit to Kancheepuram to view its beautiful temples and tour the silk-weaving factory and shop that supports child-free labor. Please note: Bring a sleeping bag and enough bottled water for two days. Visit www.rideindia.org for further information.