More Pictures

I went ahead and posted more pictures to sum up the rest of the voyage. Due to size limitations I can't upload very many at a time. Over the course of the entire semester I took about 2,500 pictures, so this only represents a tiny fraction of them. If you want to see more, just ask. I'd be happy to show you! (I have videos too!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31745921@N06/sets/

Welcome to Miami

I can't believe this day has finally come. I know how cliche this sounds but it truly feels like just yesterday I was beginning this voyage. I remember exactly how I felt that day in the Bahamas, nervous and extremely excited. I remember my first impressions of the boat and the people I met. I remember what I was wearing. Today around 1:00 pm I disembarked from the MV Explorer. My friends and I all woke up at 6:00 to have breakfast and watch the sunrise one last time. Most of the students on board had the same idea. The morning was filled with people taking pictures, crying, and saying goodbyes. We all stayed together until each of us were called off the boat. It was hard to leave. I can't even begin to describe the kind of bond I made with so many people this semester. It will be really hard not knowing when I will see them again; however, I know I formed relationships that will last forever.

So now I am in Miami at my Tia and Tio's house, currently unable to sleep. Tomorrow I will catch a flight to Atlanta and arrive around 7:00 pm. I can't wait to see what it feels like to be home again, to see familiar faces and eat familiar foods. And I can't believe that Christmas is right around the corner!

Thanks to those who have read my blog. It was a comforting feeling knowing that my friends and family were keeping up with me along the way. Writing the entries has been a helpful way for me to document the trip and process some of my thoughts. Who knows if I'm done with it. I have gotten so used to recording my daily activities. I might have a few entries left in me, but now things will seem so mundane in comparison.

ATL, I'll see you soon.

Reflections

In 108 Days I Haven’t…

 

1.   Driven a car

2.   Seen a single college or pro sporting event

3.   Had any Coke or Pepsi products

4.   Eaten at an American chain or fast-food restaurant

5.   Listened to the radio

6.   Spent more than 7 consecutive days on land

7.   Made my own bed

8.   Played a game of ultimate

9.   Used a washing machine

10. Taken a dance class

 

In about 24 hours the MV Explorer will be pulling into Miami.  I have said this over and over, but I still can’t believe how fast this semester has gone by.  I am going through such a wide range of emotions.  I am super excited to be coming home, but the thought of this trip being over is really depressing.  It has definitely been the trip of a lifetime.  The shared experiences and unique environments of Semester at Sea have led to some really meaningful relationships.  I am extremely fortunate to have made such a wonderful group of friends.  It will be hard leaving them.  But don’t worry family and friends back home, you have been in my thoughts for the past 108 days and I can’t wait to see you!

 

Tonight I plan on sleeping outside on the deck – that way I can wake up to the sunrise in Miami!  See you soon!

 

Pura Vida

December 9^th marked the last time I would ever board the MV Explorer.  Walking up the gangway, all I could think about was how the next time I was on the gangway I would be walking down it, done with the voyage forever.  The MV Explorer has really come to feel like my temporary home.  It will be weird leaving it for a home in Atlanta that doesn’t rock around.

 

My three days in Costa Rica were spent relaxing with 9 wonderful friends.  I couldn’t have asked for a better last port.  We rented a house right on the beach.  It had a swimming pool, five bedrooms, a kitchen, TV, and a grill.  We had so much fun making our own meals.  The homeowners were super cool and even hung out with us a little bit.  Most of the SAS crowd went to a more touristy beach about an hour away, and I am so glad we didn’t do that.  I just wanted to spend the last port without an agenda and with people I knew I would enjoy being around, not hundreds of college students all crammed into three bars.  It was so nice to spend some quality time with my friends before the trip ended.

 

On the last day in Costa Rica I went zip-lining through the rainforest.  There were a series of 8 zip-lines, and they had amazing views.  Sometimes we would be going over a river, other times right through the trees.  The zip-lines were really long too, nothing like at Girl Scout camp.  On most of the lines you are responsible for slowing yourself down with your hand.  Having spent the first 4 lines getting accustomed to the whole thing, I decided to see how fast I could go.  In order to do this hey told us to open our hand around the cable. So, on the 5^th zip-line I let go of the cable, picked up speed, and started spinning uncontrollably.  As I approached the bottom I had no way of stopping myself.  Without slowing down a bit I came hurdling towards the platform, body slammed the guide, and hit the fence of the platform in the tree.  I rebounded so hard I almost went back out on the line.  My leg has a little cut on it now, and will soon be turning all kinds of purple and green.  Right now it’s kind of swollen and hurts to walk on, but it could have been much worse.  Talent show tomorrow…

 

Last night we advanced our clocks for the last time.  We are finally on Eastern Standard Time!!  Now it really feels like we’re coming home.  There was a lecture on the Panama Canal last night which was pretty interesting.  I had no idea what a big deal it is to go through it.  Ships have to plan it waaaay in advance.  Here are a few facts I thought were interesting:

 

-          Approximately 40 ships go through the Panama Canal every day

-          Depending on the ship, it can cost hundreds of thousands just to go through (for our trip it works out to $200 per person)

-          The Panama Canal is 48 miles long

-          The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are at different sea levels, making the canal an impressive engineering feat

-          The widest vessel that can go through can only be 130 ft. wide.  Our ship is 85 ft. wide

 

Tonight we had the Ambassador’s Ball.  It was just like prom.  Everyone dressed up and took lots of pictures.  The dining staff made us a fancy dinner and dessert buffet.  Then we all crammed in the Union and danced awkwardly to music that is probably really old, but we don’t know any better.  Anyway, I can’t wait to see you all in just 4 more days!!

Done

I am officially done with school work for the Fall 2008 semester!  I literally just completed my last paper and now have nothing to do but relax for the next 8 days of the voyage!!  Christmas break, here I come.  On the 7^th we will be arriving in Costa Rica, where 10 of my friends and I will be renting a house on the beach for two nights. I can’t even tell you how excited I am to grill out and play on the beach all day, without stressing over a thing.  I haven’t used a kitchen or even made my own food for 100 days.  I have never been more excited to grill a hamburger and hot dog in my life.  Since this is the last port, everyone is going all out and trying to make sure they have an awesome time with their friends on the boat.  Now that finals are over, this will be the first time we’ve been in port and not had to think about the work we would face once we got back on the ship.  Those three days in Costa Rica are going to be magnificent.

 

Once we get back on the boat on the 9^th, we have 5 days until our arrival to the United States!  During those 5 days we will have the Ambassador’s Ball, a talent show, Emma’s 21^st birthday, and multiple meetings on the disembarkation process in Miami.  My friend Annie and I have actually prepared a dance we are going to perform at the talent show.  I normally wouldn’t participate in something like that but our dance originated as a response to our experience in India and I have enjoyed choreographing and rehearsing so much that we thought we might as well perform it.  Plus, the entire shipboard community is extremely supportive. 

 

On the 11^th we will spend the day going through the Panama Canal, which I think is pretty neat. After that I have some hard-core packing to do.  It is going to be a really tedious process, especially since we have to record the items we have purchased in other countries.  With only a week left, people are getting very sentimental and discussing plans for how we will meet again.  We’re all going around and writing down everyone’s last names and contact information.  It’s weird that I have known these people for 3.5 months, but never communicated with them by cell phone.  It’s really starting to hit me that this trip is coming to an end.

 

Here is a little fun fact: From Nassau to Miami we have traveled at least 28,692 miles. (For this analysis we’ve used land or statute miles (5,280’), not nautical miles (6,076’). The ship hasn’t traveled along the line of shortest distance between each port. Generally it does follow a great circle route, but has deviated for storms, etc. So the distance we have traveled is probably a few hundred miles farther. For reference, the equator is 24,900 miles.

 

Thanksgiving in Hawaii!

Never in a million years did I think I would be spending Thanksgiving Day on the beach in Honolulu with a group of 20 people that I had known for about 3 months.

We arrived in Honolulu around 8 in the morning but didn’t get cleared for disembarkation until around 10. Since we only had a day in Hawaii, everyone was trying to get off the boat as soon as possible. The gangway was on Deck 2 and the line to get out went all the way up to Deck 5. We had to be back on the boat by 9 pm that night so we literally had a matter of hours in Hawaii.

The first thing my friends and I did was head to Wal-mart to pick up some food for the day. I really wanted an entire Thanksgiving feast, complete with stuffing and pumpkin pie, but Wal-mart didn’t really have the best options. The closest I came to eating anything Thanksgiving-related was a turkey sandwich. After our blitz through Wal-mart we rushed to the beach. All 20 of us crammed onto a bus that was already quite full, carrying bags and bags of food, drinks, ice, and coolers. Nothing could have made us look more like a bunch of college kids trying to have a good time.

The rest of the day (from noon to 7:00) was spent on the beach. We laid out, played frisbee, ate turkey sandwiches and Doritos, and took lots of pictures. We stayed on the beach long enough to watch the sun set and then decided to go back to the boat. We gave ourselves about 2 hours to get back and go through the line. Sometimes it can take close to an hour just standing in line to get on the boat, and we definitely didn’t want to risk having dock time in Costa Rica.

Luckily the line getting back on the boat was not long and we made it just in time to grab dinner. Speaking of which, I am getting so sick of meals on the boat. All they serve us is white lettuce, potatoes, pasta, and wanna-be meat. I have never had so many carbs in my life. I am usually not one to complain about food, but the meal situation has been beyond monotonous. I don’t care how many ways they can serve me potatoes, they still taste the same. I can’t wait to have Manuel’s hot wings, El Torero’s jalapeño cheese dip, a Vortex burger, and Melton’s buffalo tenders.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I’m sure dinner at the Chaviano’s was fun and eventful. It was so nice being able to use my cell phone for a few hours. It actually took me a while to send my first text message. Talking to you all made me all the more excited to return home. We only have two more class days left and then 5 days of studying and finals. After finals we’ll be in Costa Rica for 3 days, and then it’s back to the USA!

Someone is 21 today...

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEREDITH!!!  Love you!

Groundhog Day

Today is November 22^nd.  After I go to bed tonight and wake up tomorrow, it will still be November 22^nd.  This is a crazy side effect of circumnavigating the globe.  Since our voyage took off going east, we have gradually been losing hours throughout the trip.  We are currently 16 hours ahead of the East coast.  As we get closer to our final destination in Miami we will continue to lose hours (for a total of 24).  If we did not repeat a day, we would arrive in the United States an entire day ahead.  So, today we crossed the International Dateline and tomorrow we will repeat November 22^nd.  I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the idea.  Unfortunately no one on the boat has a birthday on the 22^nd.

 

Just thought I’d share that with you since I thought it was super cool.

Japan

I LOVED Japan.  Prior to this trip I was extremely ignorant of the differences between China and Japan, often grouping together many different Asian countries.  This past month has been eye-opening to all the different cultures and lifestyles that can be found throughout Asia.  Many of the experiences I have had in the last month have been unique to the country I was in.

 

We arrived in Kobe on November 14^th.  We had two options for traveling in Japan.  Option A: Get back on the boat on the 15^th, spend a day at sea (without classes), arrive in Yokohama on the 17^th, and then depart Japan on the 18^th.  In total you would only get two nights and 3 days in Japan.  I went for Option B: Get off the boat in Kobe and find your own way back to the boat in Yokohama by 6:00pm on the 18^th.  That way I had 4 nights and 5 days in Japan.

 

On the day of arrival the disembarkation process took so long we didn’t even get off the boat until around noon (and many people didn’t get off until much later).  Everyone on the ship had to get their temperature taken to be approved for entry into Japan.  We also had to have a face-to-face inspection with the immigration officials.  In all of the other countries they have collected everyone’s passports and gotten them all stamped and then we were good to go.  So for the first day I walked around with a group of friends.  We got some good Japanese lunch and then stumbled upon a temple in the middle of the city.  That night Emma and I had plans for a little black dress night.  We met one of our friends back on the boat and got dressed up for dinner.  He wore a really nice black suit he had gotten made for him in Vietnam.  We had a really nice dinner and then did a little bar-hopping.  We ended up at this little hole-in-the-wall place with some local Japanese men who sang karaoke for us.  The only things they knew in English were “Obama,” “George Bush,” and “George Clooney.”  It was pretty hysterical throwing in one of those names every now and then and either booing or cheering.

 

The next morning I met up with two of my friends to catch the bullet train to Tokyo.  When the train arrived we had no idea where we were supposed to sit.  The car that we stepped in happened to be first class, and that looked pretty nice to us so we decided to grab a seat there.  Just as we had reclined our giant seats all the way back and were beginning to fall asleep an attendant informed us that we were in the wrong car.  We had to relocate to another car, which was still pretty nice. At 275 km/h (170 mph) we arrived in Tokyo in about 2.5 hours.  Once we got there we had to figure out how to find our hotel.  Try to imagine 3 super tall Americans with backpacks staring up at the gigantic railway map while a million tiny Japanese people rush by us.  I felt like such a tourist.  The guys I was with are both over six feet tall and have to duck to get on the subway.  Through a combination of walking and talking to strangers we made it to the right district and finally our hotel.  Even the people who spoke no English whatsoever tried their hardest to help us find our way.  Several hours later we were joined by Emma and the rest of our group of friends.

 

Our first night in Tokyo we went to the district of Shibuya which is where we heard the younger crowd hangs out.  Upon exiting the railway station we were greeted by an intersection that made Times Square look like nothing.  As soon as the lights turn red there are no such things as cross-walks.  Hundreds of people cross the streets in any way possible.  The greatest likeness of Shibuya to New York is the abundance of Starbucks.  The nightlife in Shibuya was incredible.  There were so many people out and more neon lights than you could imagine.  All of the buildings are tall and have multiple clubs and restaurants in them.  All of the Japanese people looked really nice; the girls often wearing high-heeled boots and expensive coats, and the men were dressed up as well.  At one place we went, the woman working the door must have really liked us because she approached us later in the night to give us VIP passes.  We went to a private room upstairs where we were treated to a bottle of champagne.

 

The next day in Tokyo was my absolute favorite.  We went to Yoyogi Park to throw the frisbee and go to a music festival we had heard about.  The park was gorgeous and it was really nice to be in a wide open space for a while.  Playing frisbee we could hear the thumping of bass in the distance so after we were tired of throwing we followed the sound.  The event was called the Tokyo Dance Music Festival.  It was insane.  It was packed with people, vendors, and loud music.  The Japanese sure do love their techno music.  There was this one DJ playing his music under a bridge and it was like a giant outdoor rave.  On our way walking back to the railway station it started to rain and I can’t even tell you how many times I got hit in the head with an umbrella.  I guess I’m at just the right height for that.  At night we went on a hunt for a sushi restaurant, which is much harder to find than you would imagine.  We finally found one and the sushi was incredible.  After dinner we went back to Shibuya for the nightlife.

 

The next day we all kind of split up to do our own thing.  I went with my friend Michael to the Tokyo Tower which looks like a cross between the Eiffel Tower and a cell phone tower.  It’s red and white and I found it to be pretty unattractive, but the view from the top was nice.  Tokyo is gigantic.  There are so many districts and they all have unique characteristics.  After the tower, we went to Roppongi which is the ritzy district.  There were Christmas decorations everywhere.  I couldn’t believe it’s already that time of year.  After hours of walking around and grabbing lunch we decided to make our way to Yokohama to spend the night there.  The boat had arrived there in the afternoon so we could sleep there for free.

 

It was surprisingly easy to find our way to Yokohama.  You can catch a 30 minute train ride there for $2.60.  Luckily when we got to the Yokohama station we ran into a couple of SAS professors who told us how to find the boat.  Unfortunately, that means there will be no crazy stories about trying to find the ship.  We were pretty exhausted from our time in Tokyo and tired of spending money so we rested on the boat for a little while and ate free dinner.

 

The Yokohama skyline is beautiful at night.  The main feature is a giant Ferris Wheel that has a really impressive light show.  It is one of the largest Ferris Wheels in the world so I had to ride it.  At the highest point - 112 meters (122 yards) - the view is incredible.  The ride is located in the middle of a small amusement park so there are lots of crazy lights around.  We went to bed early that night and spent our last day in Japan walking around Yokohama.

 

My overall impression of Japan is extremely positive.  The streets and sidewalks were cleaner than any other city I have ever been in, yet there are no trash cans anywhere.  I don’t know how they do it.  I couldn’t believe how willing people were to help us, whether they spoke English or not.  It’s hard to imagine the reverse happening – an American who spoke no Japanese approaching a Japanese tourist to offer help.  One thing I loved about Japan was traveling outside of an SAS facilitated trip and figuring out things on my own.  I really enjoyed looking at maps and figuring out how to get places.  There were times when we would get off at the station before the one closest to our hotel just so we could walk around and find our own way there.  It was a great feeling relying only on myself, my friends, and the help of strangers to get around.

 

Well, that concludes my experience in Japan.  Now we’re on the boat for 8 days before reaching Hawaii.  We’re only going to be in Hawaii for about 10 hours so I think I’m going to make a Thanksgiving picnic and head for the beach.  It’s going to be really weird being away from my family for the holiday.  In 26 days we’ll be arriving in Miami.  Twenty-two of those days will be at sea!  This stretch is by far the most time we will have spent on the ship.

 

Happy holiday season everyone!  Eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie for me!

China

Six days, two plane rides, three cities, and twelve sites.  I can’t even think of anywhere else I would have liked to go.  We pulled into Hong Kong on Thursday the 6^th and I basically had 24 hours there before I left for Beijing.  Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai are all massive cities so Emma and I decided to get away from that for a little while.  We got off the boat and immediately bought a train ticket to a little island where the largest outdoor Buddha can be found.  The train system in Hong Kong is much like the subway in New York except it is far cleaner, easier to use, faster, and seems more efficient.  When we got to the island we had to take a cable car to the top of a mountain to view the giant Buddha statue.  The cable car ride was about 20 minutes and had incredible views.  Once we got to the top we had to walk through a cute little village and then up 250 steps to reach the Buddha.  I can’t say that it was extremely exciting but it was a cool thing to see and I’m glad we did that instead of walking around Hong Kong all day.

 

The next day we caught a flight to Beijing.  About 95% of the plane was SAS students but I coincidentally ended up sitting next to a guy from Georgia Tech who was studying abroad in China.  I always think it’s really crazy when stuff like that happens.  After the three hour flight we drove to Tsinghua University where we would be staying for the next three nights.   Driving through Beijing at night was really nice, especially getting to see the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube all lit up.  The next morning we woke up really early to see the Great Wall at sunrise.  The weather was really yucky so my pictures don’t look that impressive.  It was really amazing being there though.  Despite the frigid temperature (mid 50s) and overcast sky, the Wall was extremely impressive and it was really cool to be able to climb it (which was actually a fairly strenuous hike).  From there we had lunch and then headed to our next site. 

 

***I would like to insert a special note here – I ate lots of traditional Chinese food while I was there and never ever came across Sesame Chicken or Orange Chicken.  In the United States those are probably the two most popular Chinese dishes to order, yet they don’t even exist in China.  I was disappointed to find out that they are just American inventions of Chinese food.***

 

After lunch we headed to the Beijing Zoo to see the Giant Pandas!  They were adorable and I wish we had had more time at the zoo to explore.  We didn’t get to see any other animals.

 

After the zoo, we returned to Tsinghua University to interact with some of the students.  It was actually a kind of awkward experience.  They dropped all 60 of us off at the basketball courts and then told us we had 2 hours to mingle.  All of the University students were well into their basketball games so it was hard to jump in.  To make things more awkward, there were no female students out there and the male students didn’t want to play basketball with the SAS girls.  Later that night we ate dinner with the students and that was a much better interaction.

 

The next day our first stop was Tian’anmen Square.  Probably the most interesting thing about being at the square was listening to our tour guide avoid answering questions about the riots that occurred there in 1989.  In fact, she completely denied the existence of them.  I was surprised that a young University student would not share that information with us, but I guess the government really does have a profound affect on the information they want released.  The story that many U.S. students learn about in school is the sit-in that was staged in Tian’anmen Square in 1989.  Over 10,000 pro-democracy students gathered in front of the Great Hall.  Their demonstration was greeted by Chinese tanks and troops who opened fire on the people in the square.  Hundreds were killed and many more injured.  Several tour guides told us that did not really happen.

 

Our next stop was the Forbidden City which is also known as the Imperial Palace.  Its construction was finished in 1420 and was the permanent residence of the emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasty.  It is currently the largest and most complete group of ancient buildings in China.  It was a beautiful site and hard for me to believe that people actually lived there.  From there we went to the Temple of Heaven which is where the Emperors went to worship and feel closer to the heavens.

 

After a long day of historical sites we hit up the Silk Street Market.  That was the most ridiculous and overwhelming shopping experience I have ever had.  It was a four-story indoor market, packed with booth after booth of cheap name brand items as well as a ton of good knock-off stuff.  People went crazy buying purses, shoes, jeans, polos, and electronics.  I have never seen such hysteria over shopping.  Immediately after the Silk Market we went to a Chinese Acrobatics show.  It was much like a Cirque du Soleil show, so I enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

The next morning we woke up early again to and went to the Summer Palace.  Another side note about food – I can’t wait to have a Western breakfast again.  Breakfast in China consisted of a soupy rice thing, stuff I would probably eat for dinner, and dough balls.  I just want some good scrambled eggs and sausage.  The ship doesn’t even have good breakfast other than croissants.  Summer Palace was another incredibly beautiful site on a lake with lots of ornate buildings.

 

For the Grande Finale of our Beijing tip we visited the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube!!!  Besides the Great Wall, I was most excited to see these Olympic Venues.  It was such a cool feeling being there so close to the Olympics.  We got to go inside the Water Cube and see where Michael Phelps swam!  Unfortunately the pool wasn’t that exciting because it wasn’t filled with water.  The building was still very impressive.  As we approached the Bird’s Nest I started getting really excited.  It is a stunning, massive structure.  I felt so cool walking inside it and standing on the center of the floor knowing so many amazing athletes had been there too.  That concluded our trip to Beijing and we flew into Shanghai that night to meet the ship at our new port.

 

The next day we had to be back on the ship by 6 pm to leave China, so we really only had a few hours to do something in Shanghai.  Emma and I went to the Oriental Pearl – one of the tallest towers in the world.  Apparently there is some kind of difference between a tower and a building.  I haven’t really figured it out.  I just like going up and getting the view.  The Oriental Pearl had a great 360 view of Shanghai and the elevator was super fast. 

 

On our taxi ride back to the boat we realized just how much of a language barrier we faced.  So far on this voyage it has been easy to communicate with people, especially taxi drivers.  At every port they are able to pick out the American students and charge them ridiculous amounts of money to get back to the boat.  Not in China.  Not only did no one speak English, but they couldn’t even read the name of our port because it wasn’t written in Chinese characters.  After our tour of the Oriental Pearl, Emma and I could not find a single taxi driver who understood us.  We finally stumbled across a tourist company who wrote down something for us and said we would be good to go.  When the taxi driver dropped us off we realized that the tourist company had confused our desire to go back to our boat with finding the ferry.  Now Emma and I had no clue where we were.  We started walking around the city popping our heads into hotels and asking if anyone spoke English.  We even resorted to showing them pictures of our boat that we had taken in the Shanghai harbor.  It was quite hysterical and still nobody knew what we were talking about.  After a ton of walking around we finally saw a skyscraper in the distance that we recognized.  We hopped in a taxi and just kept pointing to the building.  This whole process of getting lost took about 2 hours but we finally made it back to the boat.

 

If you are still reading, I salute you.  Your eyes are probably hurting by now.  Tomorrow we arrive in Kobe, Japan.  My plans are kind of up in the air right now so it should be an exciting 5 days!

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

My time in Vietnam was well spent. I did a few educational things, got to see much of the city, ate great food, and even went to the beach for a day. On the first day at port many people went to get dresses and suits made for them. Apparently that’s a really common thing to do here because it’s so cheap. I didn’t have anything in particular that I wanted, so I skipped out on that one. Instead, I went to a giant market on the first day. They had everything from knock-off wallets and purses to fresh ground coffee, fruits, tea sets, jewelry, scarves, and anything else you could ever want.

 

On the second day I went to the War Remnants Museum. The photography and displays there were incredible. I was upset with how little I had known about the Vietnam War prior to visiting the country. I think the most moving display I saw was about the effects of Agent Orange on innocent civilians. The images were shocking and hard to view. The museum also had a replica of a jail used to imprison Vietnamese soldiers. You could walk around it and see how small the cells were and some of the various torture devices used. Overall, the museum was a really powerful experience.

On the third day I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used by the Viet Cong as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches, and living quarters. They were crucial to the survival of the Vietnamese soldiers during the war. We actually got to go down in them and crawl around. The entry points were tiny. I could barely fit my shoulders through the opening. Once we got down to the tunnels the space was a little bigger, but you we still had to crawl along. It was extremely dark down there. I would have been terrified if we hadn’t been with a guide. After a tour of the tunnels there was a shooting range they had set up. You could pick from any number of guns that were used in the war. I shot an AK 47! I didn’t actually have a huge desire to shoot such a big gun but I felt like it was an opportunity I would likely never have again. Once I got my bullets and walked down to the range, I began to get really nervous. I probably would have wimped out if it hadn’t been for the very large German man behind me cheering me on. I was quite uncomfortable shooting my ten bullets (as you can probably tell from the picture on flickr) but I guess I’m glad I can say I shot an AK 47.

 

The next day Emma and I were ready to get away from the city for a while and head to the beach. We found a shuttle service that ran to a beach town about 2.5 hours away and hopped on it first thing in the morning. Once the driver dropped us off he promptly warned us that all of the shuttles returning to Ho Chi Minh were full. There we were, just the two of us on the beach, no longer in a city were everyone spoke English, and having no idea how we would get back. “No worries,”we thought, “we’ll just relax on the beach and figure it out later.” Within 15 minutes of laying out on the sand we were approached by a Vietnamese woman who just wanted to talk to us. She had such a great smile and friendly demeanor. She wanted to know why we were laying in the middle of the sand. In the United States everyone wants to be tan, but in Vietnam lighter skin is more desirable. Emma and I ended up joining her and her family for a swim in the water. The woman and her sister were in their mid forties, but you never would have guessed they were that old from their bubbly personalities and youthful looks. The sisters were very eager to ask us all kinds of questions. They constantly apologized for their poor English, which was actually really good, and there I was not speaking a lick of Vietnamese. It’s embarrassing how much the local people go out of their way to accommodate and help us, when we know so little about their language and culture.

 

Later in the afternoon Emma and I found a travel agency that helped us arrange a ride back to Ho Chi Minh. On the van ride back I had another very friendly encounter with a local person. He was a man around 28 years old, had been married for about a year, and had a baby on the way. He was extraordinarily nice. Half-way through the trip we made a pit stop at a rest station and my new Vietnamese friend bought me a box of coffee. At the end of the ride we exchanged emails and he said he hoped I would return to Vietnam. He has already sent me an email, and I could not be more grateful for the couple of hours I spent getting to know him on the van.

 

Back at the harbor there was another ship docked next to ours –a Navy ship full of South Africans. At night they would stand outside their boat and beg us to just come over and talk. I’m sure they thought it was perfect timing that they had pulled right up to a boat full of girls. I talked to a few of them for a little while and was invited to a formal they were having, but decided against it.

 

Overall, Vietnam was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot and met some really great people. We dock in Hong Kong tomorrow and then I’ll be off to Beijing on Friday. That’s going to be a crazy trip. Hope all is well back home.

Yes We Can!

Today starting at 7 am (which would have been 6 pm for you guys) we had live coverage of the election results playing in the Union. The only visual we had was the MSNBC website, but we had radio. Lots of people had classes cancelled. I had an 8 am class and then I joined many others who were camped out in the Union with their sleeping bags listening to the results. Every time a state reported their votes people would stand up and cheer. The few Republicans on the ship stuck together for moral support. I was in the Union from about 9:00 –12:00, when the big news came. Everyone ran to the Union when they heard Obama had just won California, giving him enough electoral votes to win the nomination. It was mass chaos in there. People were crying, screaming, hugging, dancing, and calling home. We were finally able to get a live visual just in time for Obama’s speech. I appreciated his shout out to everyone who was out of the country. It was a really incredible feeling to be surrounded by so many people who truly cared about the election –and over 75% of the students on board support Obama. I can only imagine what the atmosphere at Manuel’s must have been like. I wore my Obama shirt for the rest of the day and got high-fives left and right. Everyone was in such a good mood. What a memorable and historical day.

 

Trial Run

Someone told me that I could update my blog via email if I created a certain type of account. This is important information because then I don't have to use internet minutes!!! So, this is my trial run to see if it works...

MORE PICTURES

Emma and I are in Vietnam now. We found a little Internet Cafe so here are a few more pictures!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31745921@N06/sets/72157608560085219/

Malaysia

Holy cow, it’s already the end of October. This trip is flying by.

Malaysia was so much fun. It was the first port where I didn’t have any planned activities or obligations. I was able to spend some real quality time with a great group of people. It’s amazing how close you get with people when you travel.

We arrived in Penang, Malaysia on October 22nd. The weather was really yucky. I don’t know the exact reason but we couldn’t dock the ship right up at the pier, instead we had to anchor in the bay and take a smaller boat to and from land. This process is called tendering. It was kind of fun, especially since the water was really choppy, but it was also a pain. After the first day, they only had one tender running per hour, so to come back to the boat would take a huge chunk out of your day. In addition, the last tender stopped running at 1 am, so if you wanted to stay out later than that you had to provide your own accommodations. I had only planned to stay off the boat for two nights, but ended up being gone the entire time. I left the boat at 11:30 am the day we arrived and didn’t see the boat again until 3:30 pm the day we left.

The first day in Penang, me and three other friends explored the city by foot. It was so nice to be able to walk around and not feel like you were going to get run over by a rickshaw. Malaysia is extremely culturally diverse. I had no idea what to expect before I got there. What I found was a pretty clean city with lots of different architecture and influences from many different Asian cultures. In a matter of a couple hours we walked through China Town and Little India. You can get all kinds of food: Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian, and it’s all incredible. Malaysians make the best tea and coffee I have ever had. We’ll see how that stands after I visit Costa Rica. I finally had the opportunity to experience really spicy food. One day I ordered spicy seafood soup. After I had consumed about half of it, I was disappointed that it wasn’t actually spicy. Then I saw what I thought was a green bean and popped the whole thing in my mouth. Big mistake. That was the spiciest thing I have ever tasted. I swallowed about half of it and spit out the rest. My mouth and throat were on fire for a while. My eyes teared up and I got really hot and sweaty. Lesson learned – sometimes things that say they’re spicy, aren’t really spicy, they just have insanely hot peppers in them.

After hanging out in Penang the first day and night (we stayed in a hotel so we could stay out late) we caught a bus to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. I was traveling with a group of 10 girls. That was pretty intense, so we usually broke off into two groups of five. Kuala Lumpur is a really cool city. It’s super nice, with lots of shopping, places to eat, and great nightlife. On the second day in KL we went to the Petronas Towers. I think they are in the top five tallest buildings in the world. I got to go up to the skybridge, which is the highest one in the world. Our second night in KL was girls’ night out. We got really dressed up and one of the girls treated us to an entry fee at a really nice R&B club. For the first time in my life I wore 4 inch heels. I have gotten used to being significantly taller than all of the people in the countries we have visited, but that night I really stood out – standing at about 6’3”, dressed up, wearing make-up, and being American. I couldn’t walk from one side of the club to the other without people wanting to shake my hand and asking me if I was a model or actress. It was really fun pretending to be someone important for the night.

I am slightly embarrassed to say that while we were in KL we stayed at the Ritz Carlton. It was considerably less expensive than it would have been in the United States, and split between 5 girls it wasn’t too pricey. Plus, the accommodations were incredible. We had a personal butler 24 hours a day, the most awesome pool I have ever seen, free wi-fi, and access to the spa. We could walk just about everywhere we needed to go, but if we needed rides the hotel arranged it for us. It felt slightly awkward getting such royal treatment having just come from India, but it was nice to relax for a while. On the last night we took a bus back to Penang. This bus was pimped out. It was a double-decker that had TVs with video games in every seat, the chairs reclined really far back and had massage things in them, and they served us a meal. It was the nicest 4.5 hour ride of my life.

The last day Emma and I made a quick trip to Batu Ferringi, a nearby beach. We just wanted to check it out and do a little shopping. We were so bummed that we didn’t have our swimsuits because the weather was incredible and the beach was beautiful.

So that was Malaysia. I definitely want to go back sometime. Tonight there is a crew talent show. I’m really pumped for that. In a couple weeks we’re having a student talent show and I am actually participating. I normally wouldn’t be a part of something like that but I’m dying to choreograph and dance, so my dancer friend from Atlanta and I are doing a piece together.

Lastly, I hope everyone has a fun Halloween! We’re having a costume party on the ship and I think four other girls and I are dressing up as the “Big 5” – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo. I get to be a leopard. If we decide to go as other animals in the safari I got unanimously elected to be a giraffe.

We arrive in Vietnam in 2 days!

PICTURES!

So right now I am in a Ritz Carlton in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I finally got the free wi-fi going and managed to upload some pictures from my trip so far. This is only a tiny fraction of the amount of pictures I've actually taken, but I thought I needed to show something. They are completely out of order so I tried to write the location in the title.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31745921@N06/

Let me know if you can't view them.

Delhi and Agra

On Day 2 in India I began my trek to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located. We woke up at 6:00 am and didn’t reach our final destination until 11:30 pm. The trip consisted of multiple van rides, a plane ride, and a train ride. The traveling alone was an experience all on its own. At airport security there are two separate lines for women and men. After going through the metal detector, the women are sent behind a curtain to get patted down, whereas the men are checked out in the open. The plane took us to Delhi where we ate lunch and saw the Ghandi Memorial, then we hopped on the train to Agra. The train ride was intense. We were in a first class car with AC but you wouldn’t have known that unless you looked at our ticket. The car had an awful stench and with fifty SAS students in it, it felt hotter than outside. The distance we travelled was only 200 kilometers (roughly 125 miles) but it took us five hours. It is quite frustrating knowing that in the U.S. the same distance would have taken us under two hours. It was a unique experience.

We arrived at our hotel in Agra at 11:30 pm and the staff had dinner waiting for us. It was a feast. There were tables of food and I’m pretty sure I tried everything. I love Indian food, although I think they dumbed down some of the flavor for us. We were warned that Indian food can be very spicy so we should be careful, but I didn’t have anything that required drinking water immediately after. I was told that the staff prepared the food less spicy for us wimpy Americans. The hotel was incredibly nice. We had a TV in our room, so I watched a show for the first time in 2 months – Seinfeld. After Seinfeld was over, you’ll never guess what movie came on next…ATL! I jumped out of bed I was so excited. How random is that? We’re in a hotel in the middle of India, with only a couple of stations in English, and a movie about my hometown comes on. There are several scenes with the Atlanta skyline so I got to show Emma were I had my senior prom. It made me a tad homesick.

The next day we woke up at 5:30 and went straight to the Taj Mahal for sunrise. It was one of the most breath-taking images I have ever seen. There is no way to describe my initial impression when I made that turn through the gate and saw the Taj Mahal for the first time. It is so massive and beautiful that I didn’t even know how to take pictures of it. By the way – I had no idea why the Taj Mahal was built until this trip and it is a really great story so I’ll share it with you. In the early 1600s there was a Mughal Emperor Shahjahan and his wife, with a family of 14 children. The wife had a premonition of her own death and made her husband promise to never remarry and to build her the most beautiful tomb anyone had ever seen. The wife did in fact die and the Emperor held true to his word. He never remarried and he built her the Taj Mahal, which is now a symbol for eternal love. Their bodies lie next to each other just inside the main hall.

Later in the day we saw the Agra Fort and the Abandoned City, both were beautiful. That night we took another train ride back to Delhi. The train stations in India are quite an experience. We were warned not to wear any open-toed shoes, yet there are people barely clothed sleeping on the ground with rats, barefooted children asking you for money, and people with deformities that I had never seen before. I’m not sure what it is about the train stations, but people just congregate and seemingly live there. This time the ride only took 2 hours. We stayed at another incredible hotel in Delhi. In the morning I flipped on the TV and caught game 5 of the ALCS. Unfortunately I had to leave as the score was 7-7 in the bottom of the 9th. For the next few hours we got a city orientation of Delhi, ate lunch and then caught our flight back to Chennai.

We are now 12 hours ahead of Atlanta time. I haven’t adjusted the time or date on my computer so I am often wrong about what day it actually is. We’ll be arriving in Penang, Malaysia on Wednesday. My tentative plans are to spend a couple days in Kuala Lumpur (the capital city) and a couple days on the beach. Time is going to start flying by as we go through Asia since we only have 2-3 days at sea in between ports.

Love and miss you all.

Chennai, India

I should preface this entry by saying that my experience in India cannot be put into words. I can tell you what I did, but I don’t even know how to begin telling you what I saw and felt. It was a jam-packed 5 days and for that reason this entry will probably be very unorganized.

We arrived in Chennai, India on Tuesday the 14th. When I got out of bed, the first thing I noticed was the smell. You could smell India from inside the ship. Walking from my room to the outside deck I noticed that the inside of our ship had been covered in plastic and cardboard. Once I ventured off the boat, I realized why. The streets in Chennai are extremely dirty. You can’t walk more than a few feet without your shoes turning black and having to leap over cow manure. Speaking of cows, they are considered sacred here so they roam all over the place and are given the right of way in the streets. Tough luck if you get stuck behind one during traffic. I heard many people liken the traffic in Chennai to New York City. I would have to disagree. It’s more like New York City on crack, with no rules and a lot more animals. It is common to see a three lane road with five cars across it. Our main mode of transportation was by three-wheeled rickshaws. Every ride in them is an adventure as you weave through the other cars, buses, motorcycles, and cows – close enough to reach out and grab the person in the next rickshaw. The pollution is so bad I feel like I lost about 5 years of my life.

Emma and I spent most of the first day exploring the city and shopping. In India the women are expected to keep their shoulders covered and not show their legs. In 90 degree heat, intense humidity, and little to no air conditioning Emma and I learned very quickly that jeans and t-shirts were not going to cut it. So we went on a hunt for long skirts and thin shawls. Great success. After spending just a few hours in Chennai I felt dirtier than I did on my three-day safari in Africa without showering. After coming back to the boat and cleaning up we went out to a hookah bar with a group of friends. It was my first time smoking hookah, so I was the center of many jokes. We had a really good time and I’m glad I can say my first time was in India.

Now I’m going to skip to my last day in Chennai. I will write about my trip to the Taj Mahal in the next entry. Emma and I went to an Internet café to do a little skype-ing. We were exhausted from our trip to Agra, so we just wanted to take it easy on the last day. We left the Internet café at 3:30 pm, thinking we had plenty of time to arrive back on the boat by 6:00. We were wrong. A ride that should have taken a half hour ended up being a 2 hour adventure. There was some sort of festival/event going on so the traffic on the streets was at a stand still. After an hour in the rickshaw our driver told us he couldn’t take us any further and that we would have to walk. Emma and I knew the general direction of the port, but we had no idea how far away we were, how long it would take to walk, or where to turn. Nevertheless, the driver left us and we started walking. The streets were so packed with people it was hard to even walk quickly. Side note: If you don’t make it back to the boat by 6:00 then you receive dock time. That means when you arrive in the next port they hold you on board for extra hours after everyone has already left. Not knowing how long it would take for us to get to the boat, Emma and I were hauling butt. People were trying to shake our hands and take pictures with us the entire time. People also tried to get us to hold flags and join their buses. I’m pretty sure we were part of a parade at several points. Then it started raining. It totally felt like a scene out of “The Amazing Race” – trying desperately to get to our destination as fast as possible but encountering so many obstacles along the way and not knowing how close we were. After about an hour of walking (with 2 computers in my backpack) and consulting with guards along the way, we finally made it to the boat. We swiped in at 5:40, just in the nick of time. Thank goodness there wasn’t a line waiting to get on the boat.

India has definitely been the biggest culture shock yet. For the first time on this trip I felt like I was in a place that was truly foreign to me. There is so much to take in: the food, dress, smells, poverty, wealth, traditions, rituals, temples, people, the list goes on. I’m still trying to comprehend and make sense of everything I saw.

Random facts about India: They currently have a female president. They are the largest democracy in the world. They are home to 1/6 of the world’s population. Chennai is the 3rd largest metropolis in India.

So that was Day 1 and 5 in Chennai. I’ll write about 2-4 in my next entry. There is so much more to talk about...

More Boat Life

Finally a nice, warm, sunny day!! It hasn’t been warm enough to wear summer clothes since before we reached Namibia. Both Namibia and South Africa were surprisingly cold. Now, as we are heading back towards the equator, I was finally able to put on my swim suit and read on the deck. It was a much needed activity.

We are now 8 hours ahead of Atlanta time. It’s weird going to bed and thinking that Julia is just getting out of school for the day.

Not too much has happened on the boat in the past few days. The most exciting things to note include a dolphin and whale sighting, and watching the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates (which we got recorded and sent to us). A number of people on the ship are getting sick so I’m doing my best to stay well.

Since we have eleven straight days at sea (which would typically mean 11 days of class), we get Friday off from class. Semester at Sea doesn’t like to give us free days so they always schedule events on our No Class days, but this time I’m really excited for it…we’re having the Sea Olympics! The teams are based loosely on our halls. My team color is white, which is kind of lame. There will be quite a range of events: everything from pizza making to board games, work out contests, dodgeball, synchronized swimming, crazy relays, and hot dog eating, to name a few. I will be competing in the human knot competition, flip-cup (using a non-alcoholic substance), and the Olympic Relay. I’m super excited. After a full day of events, we will be having our first ever ship dance: the Gods and Goddesses ball. Emma and I bought sheets in Cape Town to make our costumes.

Time to go write a paper…

Suggestions?

I would love to post pictures on a website for everyone to see. This blog site requires me to resize my pictures and that is too time consuming. So, if anyone knows of a site that is free and easy to use, let me know. I just want to be able to upload a ton of pictures for everyone to see. Leave a comment or email me at alfuster@semesteratsea.net if you have any suggestions.

T.I.A.

So, for my last three days in Africa in was in Kwazulu Natal, a national game reserve. At 4:15 am on Tuesday, thirty very sleep deprived students met on the ship to begin traveling to the reserve. I was so afraid of not waking up in time that I stayed awake all night. The traveling consisted of a 45 minute van ride to the airport, a 2 hour flight to Durbin, and then a 3 hour drive to the reserve. Even though I slept through most of the traveling, I was exhausted when we finally reached our destination.

Our accommodations were pretty nice – platform tents with bunked beds. I made sure to get a top bunk so the hyenas would eat the people on the bottom first. After we got settled in we did got a safety talk and heard about the agenda. Our camp was literally in the middle of the reserve so wildlife comes through there all the time. The most important rule was to always walk with someone at night. Our guide told us, “You don’t have to outrun the animal, just the person you are walking with.” There is no electricity anywhere so the only light we had at night was our campfire and a few lanterns. At night we could actually hear the hyenas around camp.

The next day we got to drive around the reserve in these really cool open-air vehicles. I want one. We saw giraffes, rhinos, baboons, wildebeest, impala, hyenas, antelope, zebra, nyala, vultures, warthogs, elephants, and buffalo. We saw 3 of the “Big 5,” missing out on lions and leopards. We may not have seen lions, but we did hear them. On the second night, we were around the campfire singing when one of the guides called the others over to her. Then they came over to the fire and instructed everyone to quickly move to the deck. The deck was our go-to place if anything was wrong. All of the students pretty much ran to the deck, we were all so scared. Once we were up there we all went silent and we could hear lions roaring what sounded like 15 yards away. I can’t put into words how cool it was. There was no light except for the campfire, the sky was full of stars, and thirty scared college students were huddled together listening to lions roaring. One of the guides pulled a truck up to the deck and used some powerful lights to look for the lions. We never got to see their bodies, but you could see their eyes glowing through the grass.

Oh yeah, we also got chased by an elephant. Our guide had just finished telling us how elephants can kick around a truck like a soccer ball, when we came to one in the middle of the road. It was the biggest elephant we had seen so far and it was just standing there eating a tree. We parked the vehicle for a while so we could all take pictures. After a little while the elephant turned around and started coming right at us. Our vehicle had to reverse for a ways down the road before the elephant stopped. It was pretty exciting and I got some nice pictures.

After three straight days of waking up early (we woke up at 5 am on the safari), I basically sleep walked my way back on the ship yesterday. It’s so hard to catch up on sleep on this trip because everyday at sea is a class day, and when you’re in port you don’t want to waste time sleeping in. We usually only have about 4-5 days on land and we cram in as much stuff as possible, so once you get back to the boat you’re exhausted but you have to get back into class mode. The next 11 days will be pretty rough. I have about 3 papers to write and all of my classes have midterms before we get to India. But hey, I’m not complaining, I’m traveling around the world.

This is Africa. (Blood Diamond, anyone?)

Cape Town, South Africa

Wow. The past 14 days have been so crazy. We spent five days in Namibia, two days at sea, and then a full week in South Africa. I have been so busy at port and on the ship that I haven’t had a good opportunity to sit down and write what’s been going on. I was planning on writing this blog entry last night, but we hit the roughest water we have encountered so far and for the first time I thought I was going to vomit. I just went to bed at 9:45 and didn’t wake up until 11 hours later. The Cape of Good Hope is where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean, whose current goes in a different direction, so the waves can get pretty big. Last night they made an announcement to secure our belongings in the room due to rough waters ahead. I couldn’t even walk down the hall last night without running into the walls. I went outside on the deck to check out the waves and when I jumped, I ended up several feet down the deck. Emma and I duct-taped our drawers closed because they frequently open and slam shut. When we woke up this morning all of the stuff on our shelves was on the floor, but the waves are not nearly as bad today. Now we are at sea for the longest stretch of our trip – eleven days without a port, and only one day off from class.

But, most importantly, South Africa. It is an incredible place. There is so much to do there and it is probably the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. The area by the port is extremely pedestrian friendly, with lots of cute shops and great restaurants. The downtown area is much like a city in the United States, so I didn’t spend much time there. Table Mountain is a key feature of the city. It stands tall in the background, looking over the city and the sea.

On the first day in Cape Town, I went to the District 6 Museum and a Township. District 6 is an area that was home to many black South Africans, and was totally eradicated during the apartheid. The people in power didn’t want so many blacks living so close to the city so they wiped out all of their homes and displaced them to an area farther away. After the museum visit, we got to see a nearby township. It was an eye-opening experience. It’s so hard to believe the conditions they are able to live in. We got to see a building where several families lived. There were about four bedrooms, each housing a separate family. These rooms were about the size of my room on the ship except they were home to a family of four or more. Oftentimes, the adults sleep on the bed and the children sleep on a mat under the bed. All of the families living in the building share one common area and one kitchen. Despite the harsh conditions, everyone we met was extremely friendly and so excited to see us. From the moment we got off the bus children were running up to us, singing and dancing, and wanting to give us high-fives. It is so bizarre to go from being in a busy, bustling, tourist-friendly port to a poverty stricken township in just a 30 minute van ride. I think the effects of apartheid are still very evident here. Most stores and restaurants have signs outside that read “Right of Admission Reserved.” I thought that was similar to our signs “No shirt, no shoes, no entry,” but I wondered if it was rooted in segregation.

The next day in Cape Town I climbed Table Mountain. It was a grueling 2 hour hike, but it was well worth it. I went with a group of four and we stopped at a grocery store beforehand to get some picnic food to eat on top. That lunch was probably the best lunch I’ve ever had. Chips, sandwiches, cheese, and a bottle of wine with three other friends, after a 2 hour hike, sitting on top of a mountain, looking over the coast of South Africa. It doesn’t get much better than that. We spent three hours just hanging out on top, looking at the different views. On the way down we opted for the cable car. So basically, you need to come to Cape Town and you have to climb Table Mountain.

The last three days I spent on a Safari, but I’ll write about that in my next entry, seeing as this one is already very long.

Amy – I remembered “Rabbit” but had no way of getting in touch with you. It made me smile.