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/