PSU Magazine Spring 1998

While not a deluxe ve el, the SS Universe Explorer had most of the fac ilities of a small college campus, including a main lounge that served as a student union, a computer lab, an auditorium, theater, swimming pool, exercise areas, and more. "Dorms" were created by grouping students in living quarter . Evenings were as busy a the days. Films, lectures, live music at a student– run coffeehouse-Vieira made it his job to be a part of that life too. At about 10 each night, he would wrap up business and deliver messages by midnight to the ship's communication room for transmission stateside. Much of the daily routine would be familiar to any college admini trator, while parts of the voyage could have happened nowhere el e. For instance, there was the night when an elderly passenger had to be taken to hore. The program included 60 seniors, mostly retiree interested in trave l. With the ship miles from land, a launch scurried out to the Universe Explorer. A crewman lifted the passen– ger in his arms, stood at one of the emergency doors near the waterline, and leaped to the launch. Vi eira also jumped to the other ship to en ure that the passenger was comfortable. ost of the time it was smooth sailing, metaphori– cally speaking anyway. ( ea sickness reigned the first week.) C lasses were held daily from 8 to 5, without holidays or week– ends. When in port, the students were free to explore either in organized group or on their own. When his administrative duties allowed, Vieira, with his family, al o took in-port oppor– tunities to travel. In the second stop of the voyage, the ship docked in the middle of Shanghai, China's largest urban area. From it berth, the cruiser offered a unique vantage of thi city of contrasts. To one ide lay old brick buildings of the historic downtown. Oppos ite mush roomed the skyscraper district where Shanghai is industri – ously building what it hopes will be the nex t Hong Kong. The clang of con truction echoed night and day, yet caffolding wa made of bamboo. Framed by the m dern glass and stee l skyscrapers, Shanghai res idents appeared along the river every morn– ing at 5 to practice ballr om dancing. Food in Shanghai was among the most "challenging" Vieira encoun– tered. Everything, he noted, had eyeballs. Restaurants served ee l, nake, frog, and fish-cooked and intact. In contrast, during a ceremonial tea– house meal, grac iou waiter brought course after course of dishes delicately spiced with only green or black tea - each dish carefully arranged to depict a landscape from a neighboring province. he univer ity community sometimes made gaffes, despite shipboard cla es that emphasized cultural differences. Pre-ports, as they were called, discussed such things as whether women could walk in public without covering their arms, how to hail a taxi, and what to do in the event of a problem. That came in handy when two tudents were jailed briefl y in hanghai fo r unthinkingly conducting a street survey. "Even with all the emphasis on cultural awareness," says Vieira, "it takes ju t a little slip of the mind to make a mistake. As Americans, we fo rget that you can't just go out and urvey people in a communist country. What we take fo r granted, the govern– ment fo und illegal." With no cell phone service in Shanghai, Vieira was out of communi– cation with the hip when the students ran afoul of the government. Fortunately he had deve loped a plan for just such emergencies. Vi eira had earlier devised a simulati n exercise for different potenti al crises and had admini trative teams deve lop solu– tions. "When the real thing came along," he says, "they were prepared." In Shanghai, Vieira' second-in– command and a Chinese ship's offi cer uccessfully interceded fo r the students, who were released shaken but unharmed. The ship docked in Madras, India, population 4 million, and the Vieira headed fo r a "beach fix." For three lazy days they swam in the Bay of Bengal, visited temples, watched men fish from boats hollowed from tree trunks, and relaxed under the bemused eye of their guide, Hari Krishnan . On their last day in India, Krishnan invited the Vieiras to his home. Considered to be a middle-class family, the Kri lrnans nonetheless crowded 10 people into a three-room home sans bathroom. The Krishnans took turns sleeping on mats on the floor because there was not room for all to sleep at once. "The poverty of India is an obvious characteristic, one that overwhelms ome people," ays Vieira. "When you're actually there, you find yourself looking deeper, to the less obvious, but equally important pirit of the Indian people and their rich cultural history. They have a great love fo r family and a strong family tradition. It' those th ings that finally describe India-not to ay you're not touched by the other- but in the end , you're overwhelmed by the genero ity of the people's pirit." SPRING 1998 PSU MAGAZINE 17