When in Rome

When in Rome: With my luck I would catch the worst snow storm in thirty years. You might think that snow in Rome couldn’t compare with the snow in Massachusetts. However, the snow was so big that the train had to stop four times and was an hour and a half delayed.

On February 3^rd we went to Rome and expected to be in the hostel around 21:00, but we got lost again as usual in the snow storm. We finally arrived at the hostel around 22:00, covered with snow. Because of the snow we didn’t go anywhere that night. Our plan was to wake up early in the morning and head to see Rome.

Saturday morning we woke up and were ready to see this historical city. We went to Vatican City first. The weather was so nice out. However, because of the snow, most places were closed down for the weekend. When we arrived at Vatican City, the view made me speechless. It looked just like a post card; I couldn’t believe I was there. Even though most of the places were closed we did go inside St. Peter's Basilica; everything was magnificent.

  

Sunday, we decided to go to the Coliseum. We knew it was closed, but I felt that without seeing the Coliseum this trip would be meaningless. We went to the outside of the Coliseum I had chills. This trip was great even without going inside the Coliseum.

Back to the grind stone!

2nd Day of classes and it is looking good so far! This semester I am taking 6 classes. Public Health Issues in EM, Crisis Communication, Natural Hazards, Intel and National Security, Business Continuity and Toxicology. All are very interesting and I should be able to use them upon graduation to find a career. I also signed up for ship board maintenance, I will be doing routine deck side maintenance for 4 hours a week. Some of the jobs include painting, grinding and other small jobs.

This semester we decided to rearrange the room to accommodate for a more appealing "multimedia area". Hey we work hard so we have to play hard here at Maritime.

China, HERE WE COME!

The hour is finally upon us!  I have been waiting for this day for a little over a year now.  All the suitcases are packed, under 50 pounds too, and loaded into the trunk.  There is so much excitement a few of us can't even sleep, plus we figure to sleep on the 16+ hour flight from Toronto to Shanghai.

Today I went shopping for last minute items and to find a gift for my roommate at Shanghai Maritime.  I was unsuccessful in finding a Jeremy Lin jersey, so I settled for Paul Pierce, which in my mind is better.

This evening, my extended family and a few of my friends came over for a goodbye dinner.  It was great to see everyone one last time before I leave for China.  There was so much food and all of it was delicious.  Everyone had questions for me about what I was going to be doing, what my schedule would be like, where I will visiting, how is my communication skills, what will I eat if I don't like the food, etc.  I was able to answer most of the questions thanks to an informational meeting that happened this past Wednesday.

Time to finish last minute laundry and get ready to head out to Logan.
P.S.  I hope this rain stops, don't want a delayed flight.

The day has arrived!

Hello, my name is 2/C Eduardo (Eddy) Ramos and I am from Miami, Florida. I am an International Maritime Business major who will be representing Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Shanghai, China in the upcoming Spring 2012 semester. Myself along with other fellow cadets have been privilege enough to be able to take part in this great opportunity to not only embark in a new journey but to grow as individuals. There has been a lot of talk for the past three years between all the cadets who decided to interview for this opportunity our sophomore year. However, I had my mind made up when I came on a school visit while I was still a senior in high school that I would love to take part in the Chinese Exchange Program.

Being from Miami I am used to being away from home for long periods of time, and when I take part in internships that period is extended. However, leaving for another country is a different story, it is a new chapter in my short book you may call life. Not many people can say they have visited China, studied in China then again not many people can say they are part of Massachusetts Maritime Academy. As I sit here looking at the clock tick down I cannot believe that I will be jumping on a plane and on my way to China in twelve hours.

When the opportunity to be considered for this program was provided I jumped at it right away. It is funny how time flies since it feels like just yesterday that I was sitting down with Lt. Deegan and Dr. Ghosh interviewing to be selected. I remember how nervous I was for that interview and that feeling has returned as I finish packing for my trip. I cannot wait to learn about a whole new heritage as well as expanding my education. As well as visiting some of their prized landmarks such as The Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City, Beijing and many more. Hopefully I can see my roommate He Zhenyu (William) that I hosted during his time at the Academy.

This is all for now, I will be keeping everyone posted during our stay at Shanghai Maritime University as well as posting pictures. Hope everyone has a wonderful day or how they like to say in Chinese Wǒ xīwàng měi gèrén dōu yǒu yīgè měihǎo de yītiān (I hope everyone has a wonderful day)


2/C
Eddy Ramos

Unpleasant Surprise

February 2^nd. After the day off yesterday I had enough sleep and I was ready to go to work. However, when my roommates and I woke up we received a little surprise.

Thursday, the weather was getting better. I opened the shade and saw that the sun came out, but ice started melting which made it extra cold outside. We were about to get ready when I found out there wasn’t any running water. I found out the hard way and Not because of being unable to brush teeth or shower… at least I didn’t have a big dinner the night before. It wasn’t pleasant for me and two other my roommates.

I tested the other sinks and shower to see if there was any running water in the apartment. Nothing was working. We couldn’t wait for the water to start running or figure out what happened because we had to go catch the bus. I guess I just had to buy some Ferbreeze before I went home.

When we got home we heard water running in the house. We saw that the shower was running and there was water on the floor of the bathroom. The carpet was completely wet. I forgot to turn off the shower that morning. 

PS there isn't any picture

Last week

This is my final week at Beth Israel. We have gotten a ton of work completed. Ranging from the full scale drill at South Shore Hospital, to weekly medsled training, power failure phone updates, Hazard Vulnerability Analysis, upgrading the Emergency Operations Center and the list goes on.

But in other news, today I met with the Senior Special Agent in Charge of the New England Region US Secret Service! The meeting went excellent. Hopefully it will result in an internship for Sept-Dec. The Federal Building in Boston is where all the Federal Law Enforcement Agencies are housed and I must say it is a very impressive building. I wanted to take pictures but I felt with all the armed guards and surveillance it wasn't a good idea.

I also visited MCPH. Some of the students their will be helping Beth Israel with an upcoming drill that will simulate a contagious outbreak of a deadly disease!

Snow in La Spezia

After a great weekend in Venice we came back on Sunday night ready for the week. The beginning of the week was great; the weather was nice until middle of the week. 

On February first we had our first snow in Italy. La Spezia is a small city near the coast, and snow here is rare. However, with our luck we got caught in a small earthquake on another occasion.  They have had not had one for long time, and since we were here it happened twice. 

So as usual, we walked to bus station to catch bus on this snowy day. On the way to the bus station, there was so much snow on the sidewalk that we barely made it to the bus station on time. We waited almost an hour but our buses never come. We didn’t know what was going on, so we called our supervisor and told him that we might be late for work. Then we found out that our buses were stopped because of the snow.

Since we weren’t able to go to work because of the snow we had a day off, and for the first time I was able to go out and shop during the day.

PS. This picture took when I was waiting for bus (the first bus stop). It was not as bad as back to Massachusetts. However, it was a disaster here.

Queen of the Adriatic

 We went to Venice right after work, so I had my laptop with me. I also had the USB wireless hot-spot with me just in case we needed to use the internet.  However, during the time I completely forgot about the wireless internet because of the view when we got off the train.  An hour later after walking around, I realized that the wireless USB was in my pocket so we used my laptop and internet as a GPS to find our hostel.

When we got into our room, it was almost 23:00.  We were all tired when we got there. There were four beds in the room included bathroom and the size of the room was about the size of a dorm room in MMA. After we settled down, we realized that someone already got here before we did. Then we figured out we had a girl in the room. There were a skirt laying on the bed, and some nail products. We were a little confused, but apparently it is normal in Europe.

We went out for dinner and then we headed to bed. Our “roommate” was already in bed so we didn’t talk to her or see what she looks like.  When we got up in the morning she had already went out.  Later on we saw her and got to talk to her; she was from Turkey and was travelling with her friends. She had arrived earlier than her friends and her friends arrived later than us, so she ended up stuck with us.

We walked around Venice next morning (Saturday, 28^th).  This time we had a map from the owner of the hostel.  We walked around and went to some museums. The weather was nice, until the afternoon.  I took over four hundreds of pictures. I love everything about Venice, except the street address system.

Queen of the Adriatic, First Night

Friday January 27^th. It seemed like a long day to me, not because the work was hard, but because our destination for the weekend was going to Venice. I was very excited; I couldn’t wait for the weekend to get started.  Go to Venice was on my bucket list, now I can take that off my list. 

It is one of the most romantic and amazing cities and is built on water, but I am sure you don’t need me to tell you about the history of Venice. When my friends and I showed up in Venice after a six hour train ride, we “decided” to get lost.

We booked a room in a hostel near the center of Venice. However, we didn’t get to the Hostel until an hour and half later. 

Because of our stupidity that we didn’t print out a direction nor get a map, we got lost in Venice. I mean how hard can it be to find the hostel? We know the hostel’s address,  but you think one would easily find this hostel, you are wrong. The address numbers in Venice are completely out of order. At first the building number was twenty-one hundred, and then addresses number on the next block changed to single digits.  It was really confusing. Our destination is 3300. We were so confused, I was wondering how the mailman work in Venice.

 And it was just the beginning of the weekend, the night still young.

One Week Left 2/18

Well, I have officially one week left until we depart for China.  I have been busy making sure I have all my uniforms squared away, getting enough medication for my trip, shopping for some new clothes, and most importantly working for spending money.  I am about halfway packed; I have one big suitcase and am probably going to pack another big one half full.  I plan to bring home a lot of souvenirs. 

Most of the other guys that I have been talking to have been asking me questions about what to pack, what I plan on packing my stuff in, fight itinerary stuff.  I made some contacts in Beijing through mutual friends and she has been suggesting websites that she works for to help plan out some things to do while I am over there.  Some of these activities are the Water Cube from the Beijing Olympics; they turned that into a water park.  Also plan on going to some hot springs and going to see Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is a very popular national park.  It is a big gorge that cuts through the mountains with waterfalls and other such features. 

I also have talked to the Shanghai Exchange students that came over from last year; they are also excited to see us.  Although most of them are now working at jobs or in internships, they have said that they will make some time for us.  It will be great to see them and make new friends while we are there.  Cannot wait to get there!

- 1/C Jeff Wong

1/14 Introduction

Hello, my name is 1/C Jeff Wong and I am from Medway, MA.  I will be attending Shanghai Maritime University for the upcoming Spring 2012 semester.  I am studying Marine Safety & Environmental Protection, but in China, it is called Environmental Engineering.  There is a lot of excitement within us and we can’t wait until February 25, 2012. 

I chose to come to Massachusetts Maritime Academy to get a better education and the opportunity to find a career that will allow me to travel and experience different cultures.  After I graduate from MMA, I intend to become an Environmental Safety Officer for a cruise line.

When I heard that MSEP was opening up the Shanghai Exchange program up to us, I jumped at the chance.  It would be a great opportunity to go back and learn about my heritage.  During my visit to China I hope to go see a lot of things, the Great Wall of China, Beijing, Xiao, the Forbidden City, and the ancient botanical gardens.  I also can’t wait to experience the different traditions and festivals that are happening while we are there. 

1/C

Jeff Wong

Port City Genoa

January 22^nd, 2012. I went to Cinque Terre yesterday with my friends so today we decided to go to Genoa which took about an hour train ride. Genoa was one out of two major maritime cities in Italian history; the other one was Venice. We took the METRO to travel around the city.

Our supervisor, Cosimo, was in the Italian Navy and he told us that he was working in a submarine which was docked in the harbor right next to the biggest aquarium in Europe. We had decided to see the submarine but when we arrived at the harbor we got distracted by the location. It is still a major port in Italy. We walked around and saw that there is multiple companies’ office (such as Mearsk) right next to the ports and terminals.

We took an outdoor elevator get a better view of the area. Ports and terminals are everywhere, and then we saw the aquarium and went towards it once we were off the elevator (by this time we had completely forgotten about the submarine). It took us more than two hours to walk around the aquarium. There were so many different species that we never heard of and some of them were very creepy looking, especially the snake.

When we were sitting in the train back from Genoa, we realized that we didn’t see submarine. Maybe we will go back there some other time.

Cinque Terre

January 21^st, 2012: Saturday was another beautiful day, it was around 57 Fahrenheit. We decided to go to the Cinque Terre (Five Lands), which is right next to La Spezia. It only took about fifteen minutes to get there by train. My supervisor from the office strongly suggested us to go.

The Five Lands are five small fishing villages built right next to the cliffs and beach. They are named Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. They are also a UNESCO World Heritage site.  However, a few weeks ago there was an incident that heavy rain caused a landslide and damaged Vernazza and Manarola.  It caused a few deaths so those two villages were shut down for the season.

We got on the train around 11:0 because we decided to sleep in since it is right next to La Spezia. We got there fairly quickly and right after we stepped off the train there was a beautiful view right front of us, Riomaggiore. The train station is right next to the cliff so I started taking pictures right at the moment when I got off the train.

We started walking towards to the village, and went to the beach. Oh man, if it was the summer I would just jump into the water. Then we walked to the top of the village where the castle located. There was again a beautiful view. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. I had over three hundred pictures just in Riomaggiore. We then headed to Moneterosso and Corniglia. Cinque Terre is also the most romantic area we’ve seen; well it is not as romantic as Venice but if you see the view, you will understand why.

 

It was almost a perfect day, if I didn’t get the fine. I almost was charged 50 Euros because I didn’t stamp my train ticket. All of us got charged only 8 Euros though because the conductor was nice, and we played “foreigners card”. Sadly it doesn’t work every time.

PISA - The Leaning Tower

The internship is great so far, every day we learn different things. From the ISM Code to oil rigs, everything I do at this internship I learned from my classes. However, now I know how important they are, and regret I didn’t give enough attention to them during classes. 

One of the best parts of this internship is that I am able to travel during the weekend. Even the CEO told us that we should focus on learning about the Italian culture, and he is going to quiz us later.

On January 14^th I went to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. It only took about an hour to get there by train. When we got there, we didn’t know where we were supposed to go.  After being in Italy for only few days most of us still didn’t know too many Italian words so we could not ask for directions, so we had to find the map to get there. However, the Leaning Tower it’s only about twenty minutes walk from the train station.

After the short walk, I saw there was the structure; the Leaning Tower looked like it was going to fall. It is one of the most amazing structures so far.  All the design details on the outside of the tower are magnificent. It was amazing.

There were so many people there even during the off season.  There were so many poses they did for pictures. So we decided to do one too, but for me it was extremely embarrassing.

Surprise on Friday

January 13^th, the weather here was beautiful; it felt like October on the cape, the temperature was nice and warm; there was no snow and no rain… what a perfect day. However, this day got better. It was the day before the weekend and we did not know that there was a little excitement about to happen in the office. When we arrived at the office we set our laptops up to work on our assignment. We were doing research and analysis on oil rigs. All the sudden, I felt I was shaking and I didn’t think too much because it was small shaking. So I thought it was just me and I didn’t say anything.

Then five minutes later, the shaking got bigger. I looked around, and my friends also felt it. Then the projector screen moved side to side. Then we all realized that it was earthquake; everything in the room was shaking. It was quite scary, but stopped after a moment. Everyone came into to the hallway chatting excitedly. People told me an earthquake is very rare in La Spezia. The office was talking about the earthquake for quite awhile. We didn’t start working again until 10 AM Later on the news, it was talking about a level five earthquake which was many miles away and the center was worse.

Only a few more weeks left

Still chugging along at BIDMC! We had a meeting with the facilities manager a few days ago regarding the Command Center renovations I have been working on. It went really well actually, he was all for it and even provided some insight with the layout. Now that he has approved the build its on to the toughest part, finding the money and getting all the paper work approved. This process will take months but the guys promised to send pictures as the project moved forward!

My self and my roommate are currently working as Subject Matter Experts with Black Swan Risk Consulting LLC. We have been building the framework for a comprehensive survey that can be given to educational institute facilities. The survey will cover many topics including safety, code compliance, risk assessment and many others. It has been an unbelievable learning experience for both of us. We have been roommates for the last 2 years but we have never worked together like this. Having to combine Emergency Management and Facilities Engineering has been complicated but so far we have made great progress on the project. We meet via conference call ever week with the CEO and one of the project managers to update them on our progress. The use of dropbox has been incredible for us to stay connected even when working at different times.

Learning my way

Still just as busy as ever! So far this week myself and a co worker have gone to Beth Israel - Chelsea to sit down with the offsite facilities manger to talk about our Hazard Venerability Analysis of BI Chelsea, Lexington and Bowdin. It was nice to see something and recognize it and how it works from what we did in our Risk Assessment class. We spent a few hours going over some changes to the plan based on the mild winter we have been having.

More Med Sled training this week! But I drew the crash test card again. Its interesting to see how some of the staff respond to the hands on training part. Some want to try it multiple times while others are hiding in the back or maybe its just to see who can slide me down the fastest without flipping me....

We did some monthly maintenance rounds today as well. The decontamination and Haz Mat room contains about 40 PAPR's or Powered Air Purifying Respirator. These are used during decontamination of a person or during an operation were a patient is contagious. I powered up all 40 with no problems. I also checked all of the hand radios as well.

MMA in Management

What a beautiful day today it has been. If you have not had the chance to get outside, I recommend you get out ASAP! Today at work as been quite interesting. We have another TP3 ship today with over 5,000 containers on it. We have to load about 1200 empty containers on the ship to be shipped to Hong Kong, Norfolk, Savannah, China, and Malaysia. I've learned alot about our shipping industry that I had not known about prior to working in Marine. We have been so busy lately with so many ships a week, which in the winter time I would assume would be the slow season. It is a myth amongst management that they believe that is because of gift cards distributed for the holidays. Think about it- you get gift cards for the holidays and go into the store, or order goods online.

Yesterday we had a few crane break-downs which causes detention time in our system. Detention time is shortly wasted time due to out of our control circumstances such as Crane Break-downs, or a ship running late. Today I was in our lunch room making myself tea and I met another MMA grad that works at APM. You'd be so surprised how many people you meet wherever you are that are graduates from MMA- even in New Jersey! He was a facilities engineer and is now a Process Excellence Manager at APM Terminals. Above is a picture of Eric Moreschi a 2010 graduate that I work with in the Marine Department who is from Massachusetts. For being such a small school, we have ourselves all around the industry. It makes me proud to be a buccaneer.