Semester at Sea 2009

Johnny and I (Photo taken by Farmer)

2009-04-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

April 20th, 2009

2009-04-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up ready to go sky diving and hoping the weather would be nice. When I went outside to meet our shuttle it was still dark out and a sprinkling a little but I was sure it would clear up. We all got in the shuttle and headed back to the airfield. When we got there we all signed up and waited in turns to go up and jump. Three planes went up and everyone jumped then it was our turn.

We had all started writing things on our hands for our pictures in sharpee and it was finally our turn to jump. I gave one of the girls my video camera and asked her to take a video of me landing. I first met my tandem Masters’ his name was Johnny and then my photographer Farmer who I had met yesterday and had asked us to go to the beach with him and a few of the guys but we didn’t have any of our things. He was a real smart ass but a pretty funny guy. Johnny was really laid back and nice he has done around 10,000 jumps and had already jumped once this morning. Johnny taught me what I was supposed to do when we jumped and we did one practice. We were then ready to get in the plane!!! We all climbed in and sat down in one big group there was the five of us girls and then each of our tandem guys and then a few photographers. One of the girls guys was barefoot, I asked Johnny if that was a good idea, He said I wouldn’t do it but he does that all the time. The whole way up I just kept looking at how pretty the island was and how blue the water was. We kept rising until we reached 15,000 ft the place we were going to jump from out over the water. Farmer kept asking if I was nervous and I said no but he said he was. He then kept opening the door which we were sitting right at and hanging out to take a few pictures then asking again if I was nervous, I still wasn’t. I wasn’t nervous at all. I looked down and noticed Johnny and few of the guys had what looked like an air pressure device or something and noticed Farmer didn’t have one. I asked why not and he said it was a fun meter and he didn’t have fun. I then said you’re going to need to be a little more excited if you’re going to be jumping with us and taking my pictures. Johnny then strapped me to his harness and we were getting ready to go. Farmer opened the door and I looked at him and said “I guess I’m a little nervous now!” The next thing I know my feet were dangling from the plane Johnny pushed us out and we did a few rolls. I was so excited I screamed a little and then just started laughing. I was looking all around at the water the island and enjoying the free fall. I then looked up and Farmer took a few photos. Johnny then spun us around quickly a few times which was such a rush. Farmer came by one more time to take few more pictures. After about what felt like a minute Johnny pulled the shoot and we slowed down. He showed me North Shore, part of the island and where all the rest of the girls were floating about over the water. We slowly moved our way inland until we were above the ground and ready to land. We reviewed how to land and then we got closer and closer to the ground. We landed perfectly with both of us standing. I was happy to be safe on the ground but wanted to go up and do it ten more times!!! I now understand why these guys do this job.. It looked great a group of friends who all hung out and did what they loved and on days like yesterday when the jumps got cancelled they got the day off and just went to the beach. The guys reminded me of my dad and his guy friends with all kinds of nick names and cracking jokes the entire time with one another.

After that we all paid and headed back to the ship. I made it back in time to meet up with Dylan and the girls before they left for the beach. I ran up and got ready for the beach. We took the bus to Waikiki again got starbucks to wake ourselves up and went to enjoy the sun, sand and water. Courntey, Amanda and Jess had all gone on a hike that morning so Abby, Dylan, Anna and I went to the beach while Erika and Kelly went to lunch. When Erika and Kelly got back from lunch we had been in the sun too long and needed a break, so we got up to walk around a little. We walked around for a little and then went to Cheeseburger in Paradise, where I

April 19th, 2009

2009-04-21T22:39:00.001-07:00

This morning we arrived on Oahu. As we were pulling up on the dock it was funny to see so many people and awake and on their phones because everyone phones finally had service. I am actually really glad that most people don’t ever have service because then we wouldn’t all be so connected as one big community if we all had access to phones at all times. At breakfast Courtney, Anna, and Kelly who were going to go sky diving with me today had decided they didn’t want to go. I was going to meet my shuttle at noon but knew there was shuttle at 10 that I was still going to try and catch and go by myself. Although I had remember hearing Lauren and Shaena talking about sky diving at 10 the day before in global studies, so I found them at breakfast and made plans to meet with them in Laurens room at 9:15/ When I met up with them I found out Nel and this girl Becca were also coming. We went outside to find where we would meet the shuttle. There was a large group of us and we were all afraid we wouldn’t make the shuttle. So when the first one arrived everyone piled in sitting on each others laps, the driver than said there would be one more shuttle in ten minutes so we waited for the next one. When it got there we all got in with another group of kids and I feel we had more room than the other van had so I was happy about that. Some of the other group went to boulder too and I had met a few of them before so that was nice.

When we got the company it wasn’t that reassuring that on the field where the sky divres landed there was a woman on the ground and an ambulance soon showed up to take her away. I heard rumors that she broke her back but also that she jumped alone. Even after seeing all of this I was still not nervous at all. We signed the wavors which on ever page said “YOU MAY DIE!!” This made Lauren extremely nervous but I still felt fine. We had watched one group of jumpers land already and were told it would be another hour or so before we jumped because there were so many people ahead of us. So we went and got a hot dog and chips from a little stand, and enjoyed hanging out in the sun. 45 minutes later a weather watch was in place because winds from the South had become too strong to jump. I can’t remember how much longer we waited maybe 2 hours for the wind to die down which never happened. So we made plans to come back tomorrow morning and the company would have a shuttle pick us up from the ship at 6 am. They told us that our best chance to jump was to go as early as possible because the mornings were almost always calm.

We then took a shuttle back to the ship and got ready to go to Waikiki. After getting a starbucks lemonade we headed to the beach. We took a taxi so we could meet up with our friends as fast as possible because the bus would take about 45 minutes. On our drive to the beach everything began to look really familiar from when I was here in highschool my with water polo team. When we got the beach I called the girls to meet up with them and hang out. I got a hold of some of them and met up to walk around Waikiki strip and grab some lunch. After hanging out for a bit we went back to the ship to get ready to go out for a nice dinner.

We met around 7:30 to head out for dinner. Kelly had called a Mexican restaurant and made reservations, we were all so excited to finally eat Mexican food it had been months. When we sat down we told our waitress exactly that and enjoyed a really long dinner where we all so stuffed afterwards we had to go walk around after to make ourselves feel better. We again walked around Waikiki and enjoyed the beautiful night, since I wasn’t 21 I decided to head back to the ship because I also had to be up and ready to go sky diving at 6.

April 18th, 2009

2009-04-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will arrive in Hawaii!! I am so excited to go sky diving and to be on the beach and off of the ship for a few days. Tonight after preport Beau, Jessie, Alexa and I all watched Blue Crush to get ready for Hawaii. I had a hard time falling asleep and don’t think I feel asleep until around 1. We had to be up at 6 for a face to face inspection, but once I feel asleep I woke up at 4:45 and couldn’t fall back asleep. Neither could Beau so she got up and went to the gym 15 minutes after she left I was still awake and did the same. I ended up being really happy I was awake because it was so pretty outside to see the lights of the city as we came into port. I also got to watch the sunrise as we came in which was really gorgeous.

April 15th, 2009

2009-04-21T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today was just another day on the ship although we did have to sign up for our ambassadors ball dinner table. At first we were going to make a table with Erika, Kelly, Anna, Courtney, Dylan, Abby, Jeff and myself but by the time we got in line and to the table the big tables were all full. The line was extremely long and wrapped all the way down the hall. We stood in line for an hour or so and finally got a table of 6 with Anna, Courtney, Abby, Dylan, Jake and myself. I am really excited for the night and to wear my dress I had made in Vietnam. We even go to choose our menu which I thought was nice of SAS. Other than this I have just been doing school work, eating, working out, and hanging out but tomorrow our sea has a social which I am really excited about. Brad has set up a social for us in the faculty staff lounge with fruit and chocolate, cookies, small quiches, spring rolls and mini burgers. The food all doesn’t seem to go together but it should be nice to have some good food because food on the ship has really been going down hill.

April 10th, 2009

2009-04-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and got ready to try and get on the SAS Mt. Fuji trip. It was my last day in Japan and pretty much the end of the trip; I wanted to make sure I had no regrets and saw as much as possible. It was hot outside yesterday and so I decided to wear shorts and sweatshirt thinking I would be perfect, not thinking that I would be heading up into the mountains. Either way I was ready to go and had my fingers crossed I would get on the trip. When I got to the terminal Abby was already with two other girls to get on the trip. The line slowly grew and I was happy I had gone down when I did. We all formed a line outside near the buses I think total there was maybe 12 or so of us trying to get on a trip that was supposed to be full. As the trip was getting to leave they started do a count of all the people and then writing tickets to us waiting in line. She got to me wrote me a ticket and then looked at Abby and said I need to do a recount. I waited for Abby on the bus hoping she would get on and she did. While we waited for the trip to leave we noticed that all the people who had waited in line got on the trip. I was really surprised and happy they made room for everyone because there was clearer empty seats on the buses. There was one thing though I was slightly worried about because we weren’t listed as being on the trip from the beginning we couldn’t grab one of the lunches that was in the union for the people on the trip. I also didn’t eat breakfast because I wanted to get down early to wait in line, oh and one more thing I had only about 2 dollars left on me in cash. I was excited to be on the trip but slightly worried about how I was going to eat for the day but knew that would be figured out somehow.

Most of the day was spent driving to different points so we could see Mt. Fuji from different angles and perspectives. We did go as close and as far up as possible to the top where there was snow and I was in my shorts and sandals. Although it really wasn’t that cold because the sun was out, and it was really really pretty outside. When we made one stop at a visitor center to watch a video and buy some souvenirs Abby and I found some Japanese snacks we weren’t sure what they were but we thought this might be our only food for the day so we bought them. When we got on the bus for our next long drive we opened them and they were actually really good but I still have no clue what it was. Later on in the day we also were given everyone’s left overs from their lunches so we were able to eat.

Okay enough about whether or not I got to eat and more about Mt. Fuji. It was extremely large and very beautiful. I was really glad Abby and I had made it on the trip because I felt I was spending my last day in Japan seeing something important. Japan was an extremely clean country and extremely easy to travel. I loved it and its people.

When we got back to the ship we had to get in a very long line to do our face to face disembarkation. This was the first time I think I had seen the entire group of 700 students in one room; we were in the terminal of the port. I had never realized how big 700 people looked and why when we come to a country we will run into SAS kids everywhere or meet people who say oh you are on that ship aren’t you.

Yokahama Baseball Game

2009-04-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

Fish Market

2009-04-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

April 9th, 2009

2009-04-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I woke up at 5:45 this morning only a little less than three hours sleep but I was excited and ready to see this fish market. Abby was also awake and she said that we would be meeting Jessica and Amanda downstairs at 6:15. Dylan, Courtney and Anna decided they needed a little extra sleep and maybe we would meet up with them later. Jessica and Amanda also decided they needed a little more sleep and so it was Abby and I for the day. We made plans to meet with the girls back on the ship in Yokohama later in the afternoon before the baseball game. While I was waiting for Abby to talk to Jess and Amanda in the lobby I met an Australian man who too was going to the fish market. He said he didn’t have anyone to go with and asked if I minded if he came along. Of course I said yes, this is what I love about hostels. The people you meet along the way are some of the best parts.

It took a few different subways to get us to the fish market and when we arrived we were slightly loss and it was 7:30. I had heard that the best time to be in the market was before 8 so we wanted to find it soon. We asked a few people and headed down a street where trucks and little scooters were flying by. It was really fast passed and you had to be careful to not get hit because they weren’t stopping for anything. We walked back to where we thought it might be and didn’t find much, the Australian man gave up and said he was going to go find some park he had been told was spectacular. So we separated our ways and Abby and I still walked around. We were in a very interesting area that looked like a market but we knew this wasn’t exactly what we were supposed to be seeing. We finally asked some Americans we came across and they headed us in the right direction. When we got there we felt so bad the Australian man had left because when we were lost earlier were only about another minute away from the fish market.

When we found it I was shocked. There were dead fish and people everywhere. The market went forever and I am not sure I can even describe what it was like. The smell wasn’t terrible but there were buyers and sellers everywhere. I also was excited because the sushi we had last night was hand picked fresh every morning from the very fish market I was standing in. This is where most of the restaurants come to get there sushi. I now understood why you should be there before 8 because that is when all the people come to get their sushi for their restaurants that day. We walked up and down so many aisles seeing huge fish, octopus, squid, live crab, eel, and so many more I wasn’t even sure what some of it was. While we were walking down one of the aisles a man who was eating octopus stopped me, cut me a piece off the octopus in front of him and handed it to me. I was nervous but watched him eat it and thought why not. I bit into it and it was really good! Perhaps not the best breakfast food but it was really good. It all happened so fast I wasn’t really sure what I had just done. Don’t worry though I have all of it on video and walking through the market so you can feel like you were there too.

We finally decided we had experienced the fish market in full and wanted to go grab some real breakfast. We stopped at a stand to buy a shirt from the fish market but the woman only had one in our size to Abby bought that one and we were going to go look for one for me after breakfast. We weren’t sure where to go but headed down the street hoping something would come up. We walked a few blocks and came across a café where we both had a cinnamon role and something to drink. It was only 9 o’clock and we weren’t planning on leaving Tokyo until around 12. We still had a few more hours to site see. Abby and I decided to walk back through the market and try and find a shirt before getting back on the subway to our next destination. We never did find a shirt and decided to just get on the subway and keep going.

Next we went to the Tokyo Tower, so we could overlook the city. We again took a few subway lines and on our way up from the subway to the street the people in front of us made a comment “I hear English”. So we started talking to them and they were also headed to the Tokyo Tower. We both only knew what stop to get off at but weren’t really sure where to head once we were on the street. Abby and I didn’t have a map of streets only a map of the subway with the stops we should get off at for our destinations. As I got to the street I walked a little ways up the street looked around the next corner and saw the tower! The couple we were walking with to the tower were from Hawaii and were here on vacation. They were really nice and gave us advice on what beach to go to in Hawaii. We took each other pictures at the bottom of the tower and then wish each other luck in their travels. Today was becoming really fun for me because I felt as though I was really backpacking taking my stuff everywhere we went and doing as many things as possible during the day. We walked around the tower and went to buy our ticket to take us to the top. There were two stops you could take just like in the Eiffel tower a half way point and then one all the way to the top. We decided if were going to do it we had to go all the way. We bought our ticket and first went the midway point. I hadn’t realized how big the city was until I was looking at all of it. We then made our way to the top which was amazing. At the top we actually ran into Wyn, Brittany and Whitney (all on my synchronize swimming team for sea Olympics). It was really pretty to see the cherry blossoms all over the city. We had been so lucky to be there when they were in bloom as they only stay like that for a week or two at most. After enjoying the view of the city Abby and I had one more stop before heading to Yokohama.

Next we headed to Harajuku street, which is famous to its shopping and also now due to Gwen Stefani’s songs. Again when we got off the subway we went sure we were in the right place, and asked a woman. We asked where Harajuku Street was and she replied we were standing on it. We felt dumb but were glad we found it easily like everything else that day. We did a little shopping and even saw a couple Harajuku girls who were dressed in some very interesting outfits.

It was around noon and we had done so much already so we headed back to Yokohama hoping to make it back to the ship for lunch. We made it back with ten minutes left and ate lunch quickly on the ship. After taking a quick nap and getting ready for the baseball game I met up with the girls at 3:30 for the baseball game. The game didn’t start until 6 but we were told to meet at 4 to get our tickets. We then walked to the stadium which was only a 5 minute walk from the ship. We slowly started to get annoyed because it seemed semester at sea had ripped us off. I am usually able to justify the cost of the trips but this one seemed wrong. Our tickets were 22 dollars but we had paid them 52$. We did have an English speaking tour guide which I never saw and we did get free pens, but this did not seem to add up to the 52$ we had each paid. Okay enough complaining about money.

We had arrived at the stadium so early we didn’t want to head in just yet. So we wandered around the outside where we saw some of the most beautiful tulips I have ever seen. We then went to find some snacks and drinks at a 7 eleven to take in with us to the game. We also tried to find t-shirts supporting the local time but couldn’t find them in time and went inside to enjoy the game. It started out like any other game with the players warming up and not much happening. The fans slowly started to file in and this is what I was excited for. The game started and it was Yokohama Bay Stars the team I was rooting for (but didn’t know better) against another team called the Giants I am not sure where they were from. The game started with a small performance by some cheerleaders that reminded me somewhat of the Dallas cowboy cheerleaders but Japanese if that’s makes sense. Then the fans started in! They had chants and cheers for everything. Its hard to describe but again I have videos to help you understand. The game was really fun and we all joined in the chants but the Baystars weren’t the best team and I can’t remember the score but I do remember it wasn’t pretty. At the game I did get to buy a shirt and eat a hot dog and French fries just like at a normal game. Although they did also sell some type of deep fried fish, or noodles.

I was pretty exhausted from the lack of sleep and left the game with everyone a few innings early and headed back to the ship for my first full nights rest in a long time. Although it wouldn’t be that long because Abby and I are waking up at 6:30 to try and get on the SAS Mt. Fuji trip.

April 8th, 2009

2009-04-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

At about 8 o’clock this morning we arrived after a very long night on the bus at the Tokyo train station. I was extremely tired and exhausted as the lack of sleep is catching up with me but I can sleep when I am dead. So I was ready to start the day after a little star bucks pick me up.

First we went to find our hostel to see if we could place our bags down for the day. The direction my mom gave me were perfect and we found the hostel by 9 am, it was a piece of cake. I could already tell the hostel was nicer than hostels I have stayed in before. There was a full snack/ coffee bar downstairs with computers and tables. The woman at the front desk showed us where we could place our bags for the day until we could check in. Once we were all settled and made sure that Jessica and Amanda were able to get a room we headed out for the day. All the girls yesterday had decided they wanted to go to Tokyo Disneyland. I was pretty apprehensive but didn’t say anything. I was honestly hoping it might be too much money and that we would have to find something else to do. Although the tickets weren’t too expensive and we decided to go, at the beginning of the day I wasn’t too excited because I thought there were other things I was supposed to be seeing doing or people to be meeting. After the first ride I realized I needed to at least have fun with what we were doing and enjoy my day. The Disneyland was almost identical to ours with the exception of many things being in English with Japanese underneath it. Many of the rides songs were partially in English and partially in Japanese which was interesting. We went on all the main rides like Space Mountain, Honey I Shrunk the Audience (that was still really amusing in Japanese), the log ride, it’s a small world (I hate the ride but agreed to go on since we have been going around the world) and finally pirates of the Caribbean. For some reason I found all the Japanese women dressed up in their costumes were so much more funny than at home, although they were the same silly uniforms. A few other things that made me laugh was the popcorn with soy sauce and the seafood that was offered at a few of the food courts. On our way out we were trying to find a shirt that said Disneyland Tokyo, one would think this task would be easy. But I found it easier to find thousands of pairs of boxers instead of t-shirts. We never did find the t-shirts and gave up finally heading back to the hostel to check in and get ready for the night.

I was hoping to make it back to the hostel so I could walk to the imperial palace before it close at 5 although we arrived back at the hostel at 4:45. So we got settled into our room and took a quick nap while others showered. Once we were all ready we had asked the front desk of a converbelt sushi restaurant near by we could go to. The restaurant was two blocks away and a very local place. This was the highlight of my day!! We all sat down and were slightly confused how to order or how it worked. They didn’t speak much English in the restaurant but we eventually figured it out. You could pick things up off the belt, and according to which color plate you took that was how much that sushi cost. For example a blue plate was the cheapest I believe a little more than a dollar, then a green plate about 2 dollars going up to a black plate that would cost 8. We started off simple ordering some type of salad from the dollar plates. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever had. I loved it so much I asked for another. I then saw Dylan get something made for her in a seaweed hand roll, she said it was even better than salad I just had. I ordered one of those and completely agreed with Dylan. We weren’t too sure what we were eating or ordering but new it was amazing. I then asked our waitress to pick her favorite, again not sure what it was but I trusted her and loved what she ordered me. I was still slightly hungry and hadn’t even spent ten dollars yet. So I ordered one more roll of a similar type to what was in our hand roll to finish off my meal. Courtney and Anna once again went somewhere else for dinner but joined us later and had a little saki. We convinced Courtney to try the “amazing roll” that’s what I am going to call it since I am not sure what it was. Courtney looked hesitant but tried it, she loved it!! We knew that if they were able to eat the right kind of sushi they would enjoy it. Courtney ordered her own roll and I was pleased we were finally able to show them how good sushi was. That night was the best sushi I have ever had and the cheapest ever. It was cheaper than any meal I had previous to this one in Japan and tasted better than any of them. After such a great dinner we were ready to go out and experience Tokyos night life.

We were told that all the young kids go out in a place called Shibaya. We took the subway there but I knew we would be heading back to late to catch the subway and would need a taxi. So I had money set aside for the end of the night for the taxi, which is extremely expensive compared to the subway. When we got off the subway we weren’t sure which way to head but there were so many lights and people everywhere it didn’t look like you make a bad decision. I was amazed by the lights, and everything going on I thought this might be what it felt like in New York City Time Square. I will have to make it there one day to make the comparison. We were determined to find a club to go dancing because that is what we thought we should do. That turned out to be a much harder task than we thought. We wandered around for a very long time asking locals and finding out that not many clubs were open because it was a Wednesday. Also some bars we tried to go into wouldn’t let us in because we were white; other had a cover charge of 10 dollars we weren’t willing to spend. After some more wandering we met some more locals and asked them where we should go. There was a very nice man who made me laugh because he had a British accent but was clearly Japenese. He explained he had studied abroad in England for 5 years and may have picked up the accent, I wasn’t sure I believed it but I went with it. He looked about 28 and was nice enough to walk us in the right direction of where we thought we might find the club. He even got on his phone and started looking up clubs and the phone numbers calling them to make sure they were open. We walked with him for about ten minutes and didn’t make much progress, the other girls were getting annoyed he didn’t seem to know where he was going. For some reason I trusted him and thought he knew what he was talking about. I knew he wasn’t dangerous as there were 7 of us and people everywhere. He said if we were patient and walked another ten minutes we would find a club. Although the girls at this point were fed up and decided we just wanted to go to a karaoke bar. Our tour guide for the night understood and found us a karaoke bar and we parted ways. We went in and it was I believe a 12 story karaoke place. We each paid 8 dollars for 30 minutes of a karaoke in a private room and all the drinks we wanted. We went up in the room and had a blast singing!! I was glad it looked like everyone was finally having a great night. We stayed in the room until the kicked us out when we ran up our time. When we were done some of the girls were ready to go back to the hostel because we were going to wake up bright and early to go to the famous fish market!! Anna, Courtney and I decided to stay out a little longer. Anna had been trying so hard all night asking people where we could find dancing and wasn’t that successful. Although the last young girl she asked, said “I speak English! You want to have fun come with me!!” and we did just that. She was heading downstairs into a small bar. There weren’t too many people but it was the first place we had been in with young kids and were people were actually dancing. To my surprise there were even a couple of other SAS kids. We each had one last drink and enjoyed dancing for another hour or so. Here I also met a kid who is studying abroad in Tokyo but goes to UCSB. It is instances like that that make me realize how small the world actually is. We finally made it back to the hostel around 2:30 I think and I was getting up at 5:45 to go to the fish market.

April 7th, 2009

2009-04-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up at 7:30 to eat breakfast on the ship and then catch a train to Kyoto. We were all tired from lack of sleep the night before so the 45 minute train to Kyoto was a nice nap. When we arrived in Kyoto we found Kelsey Kiley waiting for some friends. She had been waiting for a quite some time and decided to hang out with us for the day, instead of continuing to wait at the train station.

We first found lockers to put our backpacks in for the day so we wouldn’t have to carry them around. We then went to lunch which took us a while to find a restaurant we all were happy with, although it eventually did happen. After that we went to a ticket office to get Jessica and Amanda tickets to the baseball game that we were going to in Yokahama. After that we ran into some other SAS kids who had been told to catch a bus to a certain park where we would find amazing cherry blossoms. As a group we got on the bus and off at the park together. We were at a busy part of town where people were everywhere. When we arrived at the park we first entered and found a market where people were selling trinkets, food and candy. I was annoyed it seemed we had ended up at another market I feel as though a lot of my time in these countries have been spent in markets. As we made our way through we came across geisha’s and other Chinese buildings that seemed to have a ritualistic or were of religious importance. I loved looking at the architecture, symbols and colors of things. We finally made our way up the path and found the cherry blossoms. They were amazing and everywhere!!! So were people the park was packed with people taking pictures of al the many trees and sitting under the trees enjoying lunch on such a beautiful day. We did the same for quite some time until we had to head back to the train station to get our backpacks out of the lockers.

Earlier in the day we had made reservations at a restaurant for dinner near the train station. So we wandered around a near by mall until it was time for our reservation. When we entered the restaurant I was surprised by how nice it was Amanad and Jessica had been inside earlier at lunch and it was so crowded they said we should go there for dinner so we knew what we were doing. I agreed and hadn’t thought much of it. We were led upstairs where we were then asked to take our shoes off and place them in lockers. We were then led by a woman in a kimono to a small room I thought once again we were being hidden off in some room, although this time we had our own private room with setting on the floor with a very small table. It seemed very traditional and we all got extremely excited. We sat down and looked at the menus that were given to us, our waitress came in sat on her knees and took our order when she left the room she shuffled her way out backwards and then bowed. We then sat looking at the menu for the longest time and our waitress never came back, we were confused and hungry so Amanda went to go find her. Courtney and Anna had gone somewhere else for dinner and met up with us because they didn’t like sushi. When they sat down at the table we made a comment about it taking a long time order, and Anna says why didn’t you press this button that says “press for service”. We all just laughed at ourselves for not seeing the button. We once again had amazing sushi that didn’t seem all the expensive for the amount of food we were getting and the private room we were sitting in. We enjoyed the food and the room until the restaurant was about to close. We then sat and waited in the train station until our bus was to come. We were taking an overnight bus to Tokyo to save money. While waiting for the bus we ran into Beau, Alexa, Jessie, Kendall, and Carly who all had the same idea. They weren’t on our same bus but left about ten minutes before us. When the bus arrived at midnight we all got on and found our seats. We immediately started playing with all the gadgets and levers. The bus was nicer than I expected with blanket and slippers. The chairs reclined pretty far back and had a foot rest. There was a man I didn’t know behind me so I didn’t recline the seat to far back. I put my ipod in and attempted to fall asleep as best and for as long as possible.

Astro Boy (Japanese Animation Character)

2009-04-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

We found him at the ticket office.

First Sushi Meal in Japan

2009-04-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

April 6th, 2009

2009-04-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

This morning we arrived in Kobe, JAPAN! The girls and I got off the ship ready to explore for the day. The first thing we had in mind was to make sure we had a ticket for an overnight bus to Tokyo. Courtney, Anna, Abby, Dyland, Jessica,Amanda (they are both from Boulder and Chi Omega’s) and I would all be traveling together. When we stepped off the ship the first thing you walked into was the subway. We took the train a few stops down to where we were told we could find a bus stop. It took us a while to figure out which bus system to take and what had the best deal but we figure it out and had tickets for a bus leaving Kyoto the following day at midnight. After dealing with our tickets we were all ready to find some sushi. All the restaurants we came across didn’t have menus outside but they did have displays of the food they served inside. We found some items we thought looked okay and went into a restaurant. When we got inside Les McCabe and his family were sitting down and eating. This made my stomach settle and I figured the food would be good. Jake was also in the restaurant and we asked him how they ordered because the waitress didn’t speak any English, and the menu wasn’t in English either. He told us to just pick a picture and point to it. So we did just that. Most of the restaurant we walked by didn’t have sushi rolls like you would imagine at home but they were mostly sashimi and a side of noodles. The food was great and I was pleased with whatever type of fish I was eating. Anna and Courtney had never had sushi before and I felt bad because if you had never had it I wasn’t sure this is where you should start but I also thought we may not find sushi like we think of it at all here. We kept trying to tell them they would like rolls but I don’t think they really believed us.

After lunch we decided to do a little exploring of the city. While we were walking someone spotted a giant bowling pin on top of a building and suggested we go bowling. We all thought it was silly but headed in anyways. I was so glad we went in because what we found was an 8 story arcade game center. We had already seen small gaming centers throughout the street with people playing videos games inside but here I think we found the jack pot. The games were unlike games I have ever seen, they even had the “claw” games where you try and reach for something with a claw and grab it. But here guess what you grabbing for things like Pringles, Ritz, and all kinds of food. We ended up not going bowling and instead exploring the city a little more. We walked through an indoor/outdoor mall and continued to see gaming centers throughout. Before taking the subway back to the ship to get ready for the night we came across a place that sold waffles in the shapes of fish that were filled with warm chocolate/pudding. They also had them filled with different types of meat almost like a type of sandwich.

Once we got back to the ship we ate a quick dinner on the ship to save money, and got ready for the night. We went back out to the subway where these guys were passing out flyers for a club called “second chance” where it was 15$ at the door and all you could drink. That sounded like a great deal since I think drinks were 5 dollars a piece anywhere else we were going to go. When we got off the subway in downtown to head towards the bars or clubs we asked a man if he knew where the club second chance was. He was a pilot and was in town on business but asked locals for instructions and walked us the entire way to the club. I had heard this was happened but was still very shocked and impressed that he walked block and blocks out of his way to get complete strangers to where they wanted to be. We spent the night at second chance dancing the night away and finally headed back to the ship.

The Great Wall

2009-04-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

April 3rd, 2009

2009-04-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

At about 7 am our train arrived in Shangai. A large number of us had paid our tour company to take us by bus to the ship so we wouldn’t have to deal with taxis and finding the ship. We hadn’t realized that there would be 120 of us trying to get on the ship that morning and it may take a very long time. So it was a race to the finish pushing our way to the front of the group to get on the first bus and be closest to the front of the bus. Some people who had even paid for the bus thought it might be faster to take a taxi and took off running for the cabs. We all pushed our way to the first bus and luckily Kelly got on the bus first and saved the first four seats. On our way to the port we even had a tour guide who taught us a little about Shangai, and how to count with our fingers in Chinese so we could impress people if were going to bargain for things. Our bus was the first one gone and the first to the ship. I think I was in line tenth and was so glad to not have to wait in a long line. We even made it in time to eat breakfast on the ship. We all met upstairs and had breakfast, then met up with the Abby, Dylan and Anna to see what they were doing for the day. Courtney and I had still wanted to do a little shopping and find some postcards, and the other girls had done plenty of shopping the days before way more than me or Courtney had.

So Courtney and I took off in a taxi and just pointed to a street on a map where he had heard there was some markets. When the taxi stopped we got out to find a major shopping mall area with shops such as prada. We walked down the long street hoping to come across cheaper stores or some type of market. When we were stopped by a man who asked us if we wanted to buy some dvds. We at first were a little creeped out and told him we had to exchange money at the bank, he said he would wait outside for some reason we went with it and trusted him. We told him we wanted to go to some markets and he said it was about a ten or 15 minute walk from here but he had a shop in this area and would walk us there. His name was Victor and he was very nice. We talked and got to see different parts of the city as we walked with him. When we entered the market he stayed with us and walked us from shop to shop. It was slightly awkward and we didn’t know how to shop with him watching us so we told him we would be okay and thanks for your help. He tried to tell us that if he was with us everyone would leave us alone but that if we walked alone we would be followed by ten people, we didn’t really believe him or get it and still decided to walk on our own. After a few minutes Victor was right and we were being followed by ten or so men trying to help us. One man was very persistent and we would go in stores he would wait outside, we would dodge and run through stores and he would come out the other hand. It started to get a little strange and shopping was no longer fun but luckily we ran into Victor where he looked at us and laughed as we ran to him saying sorry for not trusting him. He then said he would walk us around again but the man who had been following us was really angry and Victor and they yelled at each other for a good five minutes while we were in a store until the old man finally gave up and walked away. We did a little more shopping but didn’t find too many things we were hoping the market would be more like the one in Beijing but this market was full of more junk then things I wanted to buy. Victor then had to leave but took us down to an area in the market where all the shoes were and nobody would follow us around. Again I found many shoes I loved and was probably looking at the most shoes I have ever seen in my life but once again my feet were too big. I couldn’t find a single pair of shoes to buy. But I did find a woman who was making personalized jewelry. I got to pick out my stones and design and she made me a very beautiful anklet with a red string and green stones.

We then made our way back to the ship after a tiring frustrating day at the market and were ready to rest from our very long but exciting and spectacular days in China. At this point the constant traveling for the past month has started to take a tole on me but every time we arrive in a new port the excitement and newness of everything gives me the energy to keep going and do as many things as possible.

April 2nd, 2009

2009-04-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up and baked our bags ready to leave Beijing, although not before a full day of activities. We first woke up and were taken to a certain area of town where we were driven around on rickshaws and shown some of the sites. We learned about the entrance ways to home and buildings and how you can tell who lives there by how high the threshold is and how many pillars the door has.

We were then taken to a traditional Chinese home, which is separated into different buildings where different members of the family live, with a courtyard in the middle. Not many of these homes still stand as it has become more modern and all generations of the family no longer live together, many have moved into apartments in the cities. We met the man who grew up in the house we were standing in and whose father still lived there. We even learned that this house was very famous because of this mans grandfather being a famous general. The man also said that when the Beijing Olympics took place that Michael Phelps and his team members had also visited this very house. I had now been standing in two places where Michael Phelps and other amazing American athletes had been standing I thought this was pretty neat.

After visiting the home we were taken to a bell tower that over looked the city. When leaving the bell tower I again saw a group of people playing the hacky sack game. There was a group of one business woman, a cop, two men and a young girl all playing together. After this we were taken to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was neat to finally see what I thought of as classical Chinese architecture. After visiting these sites we were next taken to a Kindergarten. When we walked in I first felt as though the children were on display because another tour group of older British people were leaving as we were entering. We went into the playground where none of the children seemed fazed that we were there, they didn’t look at us want to play with us or anything. So we all slowly made our way over and attempted to play with the kids. It took a while to get them involved but we finally did it. Courtney and I had the best luck with some of the even younger kids. I sat and played ball with a little girl who wore glasses for about 10 or 15 minutes. It was then time for the kids to go back inside and time for us to leave. Next we went to lunch which we were all ready for. It had been a long busy morning and many of us were starving. Although luckily the meals were like all the others and full of food, we even had duck!!

Once we were done with lunch we drove a few hours to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace involved many stairs once again but was very pretty with water ways, rock paths, and small shrines or temples. As we made our way down the backside of the palace we went down to an area that overlooked a pretty bay. We all kept laughing that we were visiting the Summer Palace in winter and wondered how much hotter it would be during the summer. Before getting back on the bus to head to the train station the entire group of us had all bought some hacky sack things along the way and we stopped to play a few games.

Finally we arrived at the train station where we would take an overnight train to Shangai. Jeff, Erika, Kelly, Courtney and I ran to get some McDonalds to take on the train for dinner. I think I have had McDonalds on this trip more times than I have ever had it in the U.S. We then said by to our tour guide Jane and entered the train station. The train station was the biggest I have ever seen and even reminded me of an airport with the way security was run with x-ray machines and so forth. Courtney, Erika, Kelly and I found our car and our room. The room was what I thought it would be very small with bunk beds and a small table. The entire group of 120 of us were on this train and it was like a fun sleep over hopping from room to room hanging out with one another on the 13 hour train ride. The beds on the train were just as hard as the beds in the hotel and almost as hard as the great wall. By the end of the trip my body was pretty sure I had spent four nights on the great wall not just the one because of how hard the beds were.

April 1st, 2009

2009-04-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

We woke up to the sunrise and then cleaned up our area and rolled up our sleeping backs before starting on our six mile hike. This hike was harder than I had imagined. Some of the stairs are so high they reach about my knee and go up for a long ways. Courtney and I timed ourselves coming down from one of the towers and it took us a total of four minutes to come so I don’t know want to remember or think about how long it took us to get up the other side. The hike took us a total of four hours and was very exhausting but rewarding and beautiful. As we started hiking the lack of sleep and the amount of clothes I was wearing started to get to me. I shed my layers and pushed through because it was an amazing experience. Courtney, Hadley and I stuck together and made stops when necessary to breath, take picture, or just enjoy the scenery. We finally were in sights of the river and area where we would be zip lining off the wall. We first crossed a kind of Rope Bridge and then were ready to zipline. Courtney and I decided to go together. We stepped up the woman hooked us to the line and before we knew it we were off heading down over the river. It was a great way to end the tiring four hour hike we just did. When we got to the bottom we waited for Hadley and Austin to come behind us before going to grab some lunch.

We then headed back towards Beijing to see the “Birds Nest” “Water Cube” and the areas of the Olympics. We only had thirty minutes here but it was really cool to look around at the buildings I had just so recently seen on TV. We took pictures and walked around the facility. We also tried to get inside the water cube and look around but couldn’t figure it out in time and had to be back to the bus. Next we went to the silk market, it is a 7 story indoor building with tons and tons of little booths selling things from northfaces, designer bags, converse, vans, suitcases, clothes, and even perfumes. I first knew I wanted to get a silk robe so I headed to level 5 where I looked through a hundred or so robes before deciding and after about 10 minutes of bargaining with her. I think she originally wanted me to be 80$ for each robe and if I remember correctly I talked her down to ten dollars each. Later on as I was shopping around for a few purses a woman stopped me. She too had a silk robe shop and asked me how much I spent I told her and she looked surprised. Apparently I had gotten a really good price and she said she wouldn’t have sold it to me for that cheap. Next I went to go look at shoes naturally, I found something I liked. They were a basic pair of white sandals and the price I insisted upon I think 7$ the woman told me I was crazy and to leave. I went a few booths down where I saw the same sandals again I stuck to my original price and the woman without hesitating said okay.

After about an hour at the market it was time to finally head back to the hotel. We got to the hotel and were all exhausted and in need of food and a shower. Courtney and I quickly showered and were going to meet Tally and some others in the lobby to go out for dinner. We met in the lobby around 8:30 and went to dinner with Tally, Hadley, Austin, Jeff and Jake. After searching for a taxi for about 30 minutes that understood where we wanted to go. We finally hoped in two cabs and got one driver to follow the other so we didn’t get separated. We were dropped off outside a club called Banana we had asked to be taken to , there we found a restaurant close by where we ate sushi, noodles, and teriyaki chicken. It was a really nice dinner and once again we were hidden in a room behind a curtain. After dinner Austin, Courtney and I were so tired we went back to the hotel to go to sleep, while the rest of the group went to club banana.

March 31st, 2009

2009-04-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up packed up our bags and were ready to see the great wall. After breakfast the 120 or so kids that were on this trip met in the parking lot of the hotel. We were told to split into group of 30 and those would be our groups for the rest of the trip. So Jeff, Kelly, Erika, Courtney, Tally, Katie, Hadley, Jake and some other kids formed a group. I was really excited to finally travel with Tally and Katie and especially to be seeing something as magnificent as the great wall with them.

We all hoped on the bus and were off heading towards the great wall. We drove for a short while and went to see some ancient tombs. I didn’t really get to much information about the place but it was gorgeous and the long walk way we walked down with tombs on each side of us was a really cool site to see. We then continued our way on to another ancient site where we walked around enjoying the sties. After visiting these tombs, monuments and sacred sites we made a stop for lunch. I wish we had learned more about the sacred sites although our tour guide spoke English she talked fast and it was hard to follow her. I read signs here and there that were in English to learn things but got frustrated and decided to just take in the architecture and nature around me.

We had lunch in a small restaurant where we were taken upstairs. The only reason I mention this is because I have noticed in most restaurants I have been to while in Asia we tend to get taken up to rooms in the back or upstairs and are hidden away. I cant tell if they are giving us special treatment in a good way or bad way but from what I can take I feel like we are hidden away from locals. Either way we have been getting to eat local food and it was amazing. Just like in Vietnam we received many many courses and I am not sure what some of it was but for the most part I enjoyed it all. Although the food was similar to Chinese food we eat in the states like the names the taste was quite different but I still very much enjoyed it.

After lunch we drove for a few more hours until we had finally arrived at the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!!!!!!! At this point it was pretty cold outside and I was wearing a tank top, thermal, sweatshirt, beanie and gloves. When we got out of the bus we were once again greeted by people selling us things. Although this time everyone needed more clothes to be able to stay warm tonight on the great wall. Courtney bought two sweatshirts as did a lot of people, gloves, and hats. I had seen a quick glance of the wall from the bus but was ready to be on the wall. We walked aways up a road then up a set of stairs and we were finally on the wall. We walked up to one of the towers to watch the sunset and lookout over the hills and hills the wall went up and down. I took picture after picture and couldn’t believe where I was standing and how long and tall the wall was it it just seemed to go forever. We walked up to the next few towers and then made our way back to the original tower to watch the sunset. The only people on the section of the wall was the group of about 100 of us, I sat trying to take in every moment I could and I still couldn’t truly grasp where I was and what I was seeing. Once the sun was almost down we walked back down the way we came up to head down a ways where the entire group of us would eat dinner. Dinner was like every other meal a lot of food and really good. Once dinner was over were given instructions to go back to the bus put on our clothes for the night and stuff we would need for the next day. The group of us all found our bus and put on everything we brought with us. It looked like a competition to who could put on the most clothes. I had two pairs of pants, a tank top, thermal, sweatshirt, northface, gloves, scarves, and a beanie. I wasn’t too cold but I know people who put on many more layers than I did. I think we tore apart the bus getting dressed and then we all hoped off after we were driven to the tower we would be sleeping in. Each group of thirty had their own tower with sleeping bags, mats, and food. We headed up the stairs to our tower where we each grabbed a mat, sleeping bag and walked a little ways from the tower to claim our spot to sleep. A small group of about 15 of us all decided to sleep together and enjoy the night. Earlier in the day we had bought some wiskey to drink while on the wall to keep ourselves warm. Also in our tower were a few cases of beer, and snacks for us. The sleeping bags were brand new and really nice I was really pleased with all of our accommodations. After settling down our mats and sleeping bags I looked up at the sky and couldn’t believe how many stars I could see it was truly incredible. For I don’t know how many hours we sat in a huddle with our sleeping bags talking and playing a game called Zoomie Zoomie. Just so you can get a feel of what a night on the great wall was like; you might ask where doe one pee while they are sleeping on the great wall, well to answer that we had a “pee bucket” yes a pee bucket! Sorry for the random side note.

I am not sure exactly when we fell asleep or if we ever did, but the night was really fun and cold. It was probably just as cold as when I slept in the villages in Morocco so it was terrible. We woke up to the sunrise and then cleaned up our area and rolled up our sleeping backs before starting on our six mile hike. This hike was harder than I had imagined. Some of the stairs are so high they reach about my knee and go up for a long ways. Courtney and I timed ourselves coming down from one of the towers and it took us a total of four minutes to come so I don’t know want to remember or think about how long it took us to get up the other side. The hike took us a total of four hours and was very exhausting but rewarding and beautiful. As we started hiking the lack of sleep and the amount of clothes I was wearing started to get to me. I shed my layers and pushed through because it was an amazing experience. Courtney, Hadley and I stuck together and made stops when necessary to breath, take picture, or just enjoy the scenery. We finally were in sights of the river and area where we would be zip lining off the wall. We first crossed a kind of Rope Bridge and then were ready to zipline. Courtney and I decided to go together. We stepped up the woman hooked us to the line and before we knew it we were off heading down over the river. It was a great way to end the tiring four hour hike we just did. When we got to the bottom we waited for Hadley and Austin to come behind us before going to grab some lunch. We then headed back towards Beijing to see the “Birds Nest” “Water Cube” and the areas of the Olympics. We only had thirty minutes here but it was really cool to look around at the buildings I had just so recently seen on TV. We took pictures and walked around the facility. We also tried to get inside the water cube and look around but couldn’t figure it out in time and had to be back to the bus. Next we went to the silk market, it is a 7 story indoor building with tons and tons of little booths selling things from northfaces, designer bags, converse, vans, suitcases, clothes, and even perfumes. I first knew I wanted to get a silk robe so I headed to level 5 where I looked through a hundred or so robes before deciding and after about 10 minutes of bargaining with her. I think she originally wanted me to be 80$ for each robe and if I remember correctly I talked her down to ten dollars each. Later on as I was shopping around for a few purses a woman stopped me. She too had a silk robe shop and asked me how much I spent I told her and she looked surprised. Apparently I had gotten a really good price and she said she wouldn’t have sold it to me for that cheap. Next I went to go look at shoes naturally, I found something I liked. They were a basic pair of white sandals and the price I insisted upon I think 7$ the woman told me I was crazy and to leave. I went a few booths down where I saw the same sandals again I stuck to my original price and the woman without hesitating said okay. After about an hour at the market it was time to finally head back to the hotel. We got to the hotel and were all exhausted and in need of food and a shower. Courtney and I quickly showered and were going to meet Tally and some others in the lobby to go out for dinner. We met in the lobby around 8:30 and went to dinner with Tally, Hadley, Austin, Jeff and Jake. After searching for a taxi for about 30 minutes that understood where we wanted to go. We finally hoped in two cabs and got one driver to follow the other so we didn’t get separated. We were dropped off outside a club called Banana we had asked to be taken to , there we found a restaurant close by where we ate sushi, noodles, and teriyaki chicken. It was a really nice dinner and once again we were hidden in a room behind a curtain. After dinner Austin, Courtney and I were so tired we went back to the hotel to go to sleep, while the rest of the group went to club banana.

March 30th, 2009

2009-04-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Today was basically a traveling day to get to Beijing. We woke up and had some difficulty finding and waiting for our bus to arrive at the port to take us to the airport. It all worked out and we were at the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight. When we got into the airport in Beijing is cold but not as cold as I had expected, although I also anticipated it to get much colder as we got closer to the mountains and the great wall. We arrived at our hotel and Courtney, Erika, Kelly, and Tally were all on the second flight and would be arriving at the hotel in a few hours. So Liana (from my Vietnam trip) ,Kendall (from reno) and I wandered around the few blocks around our hotel.

We went a couple of blocks from our hotel and went to an ATM, then went to a small café where we sat and had coffee and talked for a little while. We then went back to the hotel where I waited for Court and the other girls to show up. On our walk I saw a few groups of people playing a game some where teenagers and another was a group of little kids. They were playing what looked like hackisack but with a different object than I have ever seen.

The girls finally arrived and we all got ready to go into the city for dinner. We had the hotel right down the name of the street we wanted to go to so we could show a taxi driver because not very many Chinese people speak English. After some effort we found a taxi and weren’t really sure we were going to be taken to the right place but when we stopped we got out and wandered around the area. We had been dropped off in what looked like would normally be very busy part of the city near high end shopping malls and out door food market. The market looked really good and that’s what I would have enjoyed eating but I went with the girls and we all went to a restaurant where we had our first Chinese food meal. We each ordered one plate of something and when it came out we realized we may have ordered too much food but it was cheap and we did a pretty good job of completing all of it. The restaurant was really nice and quite with only one other group of people eating there. I was kind of confused but then realized it was a Sunday night and the town was really quiet, even though the streets were all lit up and there were some people walking around. When we were done with our dinner for 13 that the four of us ate we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

South African Rugby Players wearing our bunny ears...

2009-04-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Long Street in Hong Kong

2009-04-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

March 29th, 2009

2009-04-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

Today we arrived in Hong Kong!! Watching us come into port was really exciting cause as we slowly came in for that hour before docking giant sky scrapper buildings were all you could see on the shoreline. We were finally docked and I was so excited to go see the city. At this port to get out of the port we first had to walk out of a mall that was about three times the size of South Coast Plaza and just as nice.

Dylan, Abby, Courtney, Anna and I headed off into the city and were on search for the woman’s market we heard would be interesting to see. We started walking and made our way through the city, a park and more streets, finally we decided it might be more beneficial for us to take a taxi to get to our destination quicker. We finally made it to the market around mid day and the vendors were still setting up. We made our way to the end of the market and decided to work our back hoping the rest of the vendors had finished setting up. We all worked our way through at our own pace. I stopped to look at a set of chopsticks, as well as a painting or two. I also stopped at anything that caught my eye. I finally thought I had everything I wanted and decided to shop around with Abby looking at purses. At some of the places instead of actually having the purses out on display they had magazine pictures and then you would tell them you were interested. Abby and I just wanted to see what would happen so we said we were interested and then were taken down an ally way, up a few flights of stairs, and behind a locked door to find a room full of fake purses. We humored the woman and took a look around not really wanting to buy anything but just to see what that whole process was about. We said thank you and headed back down the stairs and ally to the market. About an hour later we all met at the end of the market but not before at one booth I looked up at something extremely silly and we all laughed. These items even said please don’t take photos. I would tell you what it was but if Rane reads this it may ruin it because when I looked up and laughed. I looked right at Dylan and said this is so RANE! Abby and Dylan agreed and helped me pick out which ones to buy him.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city, which we eventually found out wasn’t really hong kong it was an island or land mass across the way I am still not exactly sure. We were told we would need to take a ferry across the way to actually reach Hong Kong. So I guess we spent the rest of the day exploring what we eventually nicknamed “Not Hong Kong”. We stopped at a pizza hut for lunch because food was harder to find than we had thought and we knew that we would be spending the next six days eating Chinese food so a few Americanized meals would be just fine. Actually Pizza Hut was quite a different experience. Pizza Hut in many of these countries we have visited is set up like a nice sit down restaurant. We enjoyed our nice meal and made our way back to the ship to get ready for the night.

We all went back to the ship ate dinner on the ship to save a little bit of money and then went out looking for a bar before watching the light show that was to take place at 8 on Hong Kong but we were told to watch from “not Hong Kong”. It took us a while but we eventually found a place to have a drink but they were really expensive so we each had one drink and made slowly walked our way back enjoying the night time of the city before watching the light show.

At 8 we sat over looking the water ready to see the light show. As we looked across the way we noticed many of the tall sky scrappers lighting up with neon lights and performing a light show. Hong Kong and “not hong kong” were such big cities it was a different environment than I had been used to in all the other ports but it was an exciting change. After watching a little bit of the light show we decided to take the ferry across the way for the first time and get to HONG KONG. The last ferry back to the ship was at midnight so we headed out early as to not take a taxi back because we heard it would be 30 or so dollars compared to the 2 for the ferry. When we got to Hong Kong we followed the street signs to a street we were told was where all the bars in town were. As we made our way up the street we started seeing people in costume in the middle of the street. I thought perhaps it was someone birthday or something and wasn’t quite sure. We then got farther up the street that was called “long street” where everyone was in costume in the middle of the street singing and bar hoping. We got really excited and this reminded me of Marti grams in a way even though I have never been. There were people on balcony’s and tons of people in costume. We all immediately joined in the fun making tons of friends in the street. After talking to a few people we realized that this street is not always like this and that it was a big day because there was a huge rugby game that had just ended.

We enjoyed our time on Long Street and even bought fuzzy bunny ears so we could be in costume too. Around 11:30 we left and headed back to the ferry to catch the last one. When we got back before getting on the ship we made a pit stop at a 24 hour McDonalds close by. While we were all eating our McDonalds a group of maybe 10 or so very good looking guys in green rugby shirts came in. We all immediately noticed them and then when they sat down Dylan and Courtney went over to talk them. An hour later we were all still at McDonals talking with the South African Mens Seven team. They weren’t the team that had played that night that everyone was celebrating as I think they are on a smaller level. But either way they were all good looking and fun to talk to because they have traveled all over the world and we had just been to south Africa. Before leaving them we took a few pictures and parted ways.

When I got back to the ship I still had to pack my bag for my sleeping on the great wall trip and then wake up at 5:30 to be ready to go.

The Junk Boat!

2009-04-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

March 26th, 2009

2009-04-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the day, the day to pick up the dresses I had made the first day we arrived. I was really nervous and anxious to see if I liked them and how well they fit. When we got to the tailor a woman took me up to the sewing room and showed me one of my dresses and said the other dress wasn’t quite ready. I tried on my long dress and it was a little too tight and the shoulder straps were a little too short. She said no problem and to give her ten minute before it would be ready. I then asked about my formal cocktail dress she said come with me I will show you. When I went into another room I saw the fabric I had picked out for my dress on the ground and a very small piece of it on a sewing machine a woman was sitting at. She looked at the fabric and then me and said please give me two hours and it will be ready. I didn’t really have a choice so I trusted her said okay. Jeff, Erika, Kelly, and the Ashley’s had all come with me that morning as they had stuff to pick up as well. I was the only one who had things to still be altered or made but it was no big deal we still had the entire day ahead of us.

We were all starving and headed to a place for lunch where we had noodles and spring rolls. Then since Jeff and I didn’t get to buy much in the market the first day Erika, Kelly, Jeff and I went to the market while the Ashley’s went to find an internet café. I quickly realized that both Erika and I were looking for similar things such as souvenir type gifts, shoes and sun dresses while Kelly and Jeff were looking for dvd’s. We all decided to split up because the market is so small and crazy it is hard to walk through even in a group of four. In some spots in the market you could reach your arms out in both directions and be touching both boots and have your arms half way in each booth. Walking through this market was such a fun experience bargaining with people and just looking at all the things for sale. I was on a mission to find a pair of really nice sandals or high heels for the ambassador’s ball that will take place on the ship, because I didn’t bring a pair of heels with me. Although as I was walking through the market and stopped at a few shoes vendors the women would look at my feet look up at me and say “TOO BIG!!” then shoo me away. The first time a woman did it I laughed then as it happened more and more I started to get a little embarrassed not really but was upset that I wasn’t able to buy any of the really cute shoes that were surrounding me.

After walking through the market and getting a few things we headed back to the tailor to pick up my dresses. When we got there I tried on my long dress and it fit perfect. I was so excited for the first time to have a dress with straps that I would have to adjust and they fit my shoulders perfectly!! The dress was gorgeous and I was so pleased with it I knew it was worth the money. Then she brought out my cocktail dress which still had no zipper on it. She put me in it and then pinned up the sides. It looked nice but I still wasn’t sure because it was pinned up the side. She told me to give her five minutes and it would be finished. True to her word in five minutes the dress was downstairs and ready. Erika and I then went back to the ship to enjoy a bbq for dinner on the ship.

When I got back to the ship we all met in Kelly’s room to show each other our dresses. Everyone’s looked so pretty and I finally got to try on my completed yellow cocktail dress. It fit perfectly and was really pretty; again I was extremely pleased and really happy with my choices. Now I will a new dress to wear to formal with Rane so our pictures will look different from freshman year and last year.

I don’t think I could have asked for a better trip while I was in Vietnam. I did what I had been planning for so long and it was one of the most amazing trips of this voyage so far that I have done independently. Now I am looking forward to sleeping on the Great Wall of China in a few days.

March 25th, 2009

2009-04-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up and were ready to spend a full day traveling back to Ho Chi Mihn City. We first took a short drive, an hour boat ride, and then another couple hour drive before arriving at the airport to catch our flight back. When we arrived at the airport we only had an hour until our flight. I grabbed everyone passports and was trying to check everyone in. The woman at the desk printed everyone tickets then looked up and said oh wait please head over to this desk where another woman said she was changing our flight and started to hand write every single ticket. I was extremely confused and it took Jeff and I about ten minutes to figure out what they were doing. From what we could understand they were changing us to an earlier flight because our flight had been delayed and they wanted to get us out on time.

We finally got our tickets that had been written out and to our understanding that flight was leaving in 30 minutes and the gate was closing in five. We all ran to the gate with our tickets frantically and when we got to the gate our flight wasn’t on the board. I feeling terrible and semi in charge of everything ran to ask someone for help and what to do. By the time I find someone to help me I made it back to the gate and number had to change to our flight and we started boarding with in 3 minutes of us being at the gate. I was extremely relieved and was so glad the trip had been amazing and exceeded any of my expectations I had. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone going to Vietnam the accommodations were nice, the food was amazing, and scenery was breathtaking.

When we arrived at the Ho Chi Min airport a SAS trip had also just got in so Jeff and I ran to a taxi to beat the group onto the ship so we wouldn’t have to wait in line. It was about 9 o’clock and I was exhausted from traveling so Jeff and I met upstairs at the grill on the ship for dinner and went to sleep.

March 24th, 2009

2009-04-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning had breakfast, and sat up on the top deck to enjoy our last hour or so on the junk in the cove. We later moved the junk up the bat and met up with another boat that we transferred onto. This boat took us to another area to enjoy some more kayaking for about an hour. This time Liz and I shared a kayak and took our time to look around and explore.

After kayaking we got back onto the boat and were taken to an island where the crew set up lunch for us on the beach. We once again had a great fresh meal with so much food. I was always full but continued to eat because of how good the food was. While on the island I looked around and didn’t see another boat or a single person. I took in that moment because it was so amazing to know we were secluded and how special this truly was. I looked around and wondered how many people have seen or been on these islands prior to me, I imagine a lot but was still impressed with the simplicity of it. Had this bay been in the states it would have been taken over by people putting up houses and docking their speed boats?

Once we were done with lunch we all helped clean up and then were on our way to Cat Bai Island where we go on a short bike ride. When we pulled up to the dock I was the first off the boat and ready to pick out my bike. There was a group of mountain bikes with shocks and gears and then a group of rusty old beach cruisers with comfy seats. I knew from reading blogs that on this bike ride the best option was the bike with a comfy seat. Mike tried to persuade me otherwise but I told Liz we should stick with the beach cruisers and we did. It ended up being a really good choice.

The bike ride was about five miles and started out in a flat section along a river that connected to the bay. It was silent out besides us and the area was surrounded by green hills. We rode up and down and a few small hills and that’s where my bike seemed to be the right choice. While the boys were messing with gears that were stuck and not working it just rode on by and my butt didn’t hurt a bit. As we rode we rode through some ride paties and a small village. We reached the end of the village at what looked like a café and left our bikes there while we went on a short hike. Our hike took us up into the jungle and through a cave. I kept imagining this to be what those in the war had to fight through and how it all looked the same. I could get lost here extremely easily and it would also be extremely easy to hide yourself from an enemy.

After the hike we got back on the bikes and back through the village to the dock. We once again got back on the boat and left for Monkey Island. Mike had been telling us about it all day and I was getting pretty excited to see it. Once we arrived we stopped a couple hundred yards or so from the shore because it was too shallow for the boat to go any other further. We were told to get to the island we would have to swim. It was still really cloudy out like the first day and not all that warm plus that water was cold but I was going to swim my way to shore. Some people decided to sit out so they didn’t have to swim, but when else was I going to be on Monkey Island in Vietnam. I jumped right in with a few of the boys and started swimming. As I was reaching the shore I looked back to see a small row boat rowing people to shore. Apparently while I was swimming a woman came alongside our boat offering to take people to the island for a small price. A few people opted for that choice and I was glad they were going to be able to see the island. When we got there we started walking up to a small building up on the sand. There we saw our first couple of monkeys hanging from a string and on the roof of the building. One of the boys had brought bananas with him to feed to the monkeys. He threw one to the ground and then all of a sudden it seemed the monkeys doubled in number. They started to get extremely close to us and the boys just kept throwing food. As the food was thrown the monkeys became more daring and mean. Chasing after the boys and screeching at them. Did I mention there were signs saying “beware the monkeys will bite!”. Before coming to the island I hadn’t anticipated the monkeys would be mean or scary but after ten minutes on the island I was definitely ready to get off. I spent most of my time on the shoreline near the water so if the monkeys came running at as I could jump in the water. It was really funny to watch and kind of scary all at the same time but a really fun way to end our adventurous day.

After Monkey Island we got back on the boat to head to Cat Bai island where we would stay in a hotel for the night. We got into the port where small children had just gotten out of school the children ran around us and we played with them until our bus arrived to take us to our hotel. The hotel was about a ten minute drive away and it seemed Cat Bai was a very small town and a great secrete get away. Our hotel was really nice and apparently the nicest hotel on the entire island. We were given dinner at the hotel which was again a great 8 or so course meal served in a really nice restaurant. After dinner Liz and I went to hang out in Jeff’s room with him and Ryan before going out for the night. We sat talking in the hotel for a while before heading out and walking a few blocks up the street to a local bar one of the only few. The bar was packed with many tourists and we sang the night away to different songs playing in the bar before heading back to our hotel for a good nights sleep.

March 23rd, 2009

2009-04-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

Vietnam was no different than the previous countries and we woke up bright and early at 6:30 to eat breakfast and get check out of the hotel before taking a 3 hour drive to Hanoi Bay. Mike our tour guide had told me the night before that there would be alcohol on the junk boat but that it would be expensive so if we wanted we should buy our own before getting on. So Mike took a few of us early in the morning to go stalk up for the day before getting on the bus. We were told to drink rice wine because that is what the locals drink and it was the cheapest. In the bottle it looked like vodka but was called wine so we bought a few bottles only later to find out we would only need maybe two of the bottles.

After a long three hour drive where we all got to catch up on lack of sleep we finally were at the port I guess you could call it where we would get on our junk boat. There was some paper work Mike had to deal with before we could get into the port so we all stopped at a souvenir stand and bought rice hats to wear. They were a dollar and really fun! Finally we were able to get into the port and onto the junk. I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had only seen pictures. The port was full of these junks and they all looked so fun and almost like what an old pirate ship might look like, made of all wooden with a dragon on the bow and everything. So far I was very impressed and really excited and I hadn’t even been on the boat yet.

I finally got on the junk and my expectations were blown away. Each room had two beds, and its own bathroom and shower with a door that locked. Their was a main dining area with wickers chairs and nice tables with clothes and a bar area with a TV. Outside on the top deck were chairs and a big space to sun bath on the top deck. I felt as though I was on a house boat but nicer than any house boat I have ever slept on. Once we were all settled into our rooms we were told lunch would be served shortly. When I finally went up to the dining area 15 minute later we were served one of the best meals I have ever had. We were served maybe around 8 courses like; fresh fish, crab, prawns, squid, vegetable, French fries, pineapples, and much much more. The food kept coming out and everything looked better than the previous plate. We all ate so much and I was happy to see how impressed everyone was and that the trip was getting off to a great start.

Oh ya I forgot to name a few of the people on the boat Liz, Jake, Craig, Emily, Emily, Mary, Pepper, Celeste, Jeff, Thomas, Ryan, and Liana. Everyone got a long great and I was so happy to finally meet all the people I had been in contact with earlier.

After lunch we all sat on the top deck talking and playing cards. The ship was going to sail around the port and then in a few hours we would go and see the “great cave”. It was a little chilly out and cloudy but the scenery was still gorgeous. After sailing around we finally ended up at the great cave. We pulled right up to the dock and stepped off and headed our way up a lot of stairs towards the cave. Jake, Jeff and I took off first heading up the stairs. We finally reached the top and headed down into the cave we saw the first sections and were amazed and took so many pictures. Mike our tour guide finally caught up and said don’t waste all your time here keep going there is so much more. We all had no idea and so we kept going only to find an even larger and more amazing cave. The ceiling at some points looked like sand and I wasn’t sure why the ceiling didn’t cave in. We spent a good 45 minutes wandering through the cave taking pictures and still getting to know one another. We then went back to our junk where it dropped us off in at a place in the cove to get on some kayaks for an hour of kayak in the area. Jeff and I shared one and headed off to explore. The areas were so pretty and I was just enjoying the water and cliffs around. On our way back to turn in the kayak we were coming up on Liz and Craig so we decided to race. I cant remember who won but it was a good time and the boys thought it was hilarious to get us wet because they were in the back and it was easier to splash us then us them.

After kayaking it was slowly starting to get dark and our junk made it way out a little ways into the cove and put down an anchor for the night. We all had time to jump off the boat and take showers before we would have dinner. When I finally came back up to the deck after my shower I looked around the cove to find maybe 30 other junks had set down anchor in the cove. It was really pretty and peaceful. Again it reminded me off home and family trips on houseboats although I think this cove is prettier than any cove I have ever been in.

We again enjoyed an amazing dinner with so many courses I wasn’t sure I could eat like this for every meal. After dinner we shared a few drinks with the captain, crew and mike up on the top deck talking and laughing until about midnight when we all went to sleep.

March 22nd, 2009

2009-04-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

This morning we arrived in VIETNAM!! I again watched the sun rise and this was the port we were told that watching us come into port would be interesting. This is because the water is super shallow and we go through a canal so land is very close to the ship on both sides. Watching us come into port was cool and then I enjoyed breakfast before getting off the ship with the girls to go get dresses designed and fit.

In this port SAS has been nice and given us a free shuttle to use from the port and to the center of the city that leaves every 30 minutes. As soon as the ship was cleared the girls, Jeff and I all got on the first shuttle into the town. When we got into town we didn’t really know where to go so we just started walking into what we thought looked like a more busy part of the city. Oh and by the way Jeff and I are carrying our backpacks that we have packed for the next three days and it is already starting to get pretty hot outside.

The first tailor shop we go into the prices seem a little steep and we decide to keep walking, The next shop we came across was full of semester at sea kids so we kept walking. Finally we came across another shop that looked really nice inside almost like a boutique, We went in and started looking around the shop and at their design books. The prices seemed a little bit more than I thought they would be but I decided that the quality of the dresses looked really nice and you would have to pay more for a better quality? I really had no idea what I was doing or what my dresses would look like but I went for it and hoped for the best. I had one light weight long dress made and a short cocktail dress made. I picked the first fabrics I saw that caught my eye and then chose a dress pattern from dresses I saw on manikins so I knew the tailors were capable of that look. Once us girls had been fitted for our dresses and Jeff his suit we decided to keep walking and explore the city.

As we came across the market some of us decided to go into the market while others decided to grab lunch, or head back to the ship for an FDP they had planned. Jeff, Kelly, Dylan, and I all headed into the market to see it. It was indoor as opposed to outdoor like in Thailand which made it seem all the more crowded, sticky and hot. Jeff and I quickly lost Kelly and Dylan not on purpose but because of how busy and crowded the market was. Jeff and I then decided that we would shop at the market on our last day after we picked up our things from the tailor and when we wouldn’t have our backpacks. We still had a couple of hours before we needed to head to the airport to meet the group so we decided to grab some lunch.

We got lunch, walked around a bit more, got a drink, and then weren’t sure what else to do so we headed to the airport early. I felt okay with this because since I planned the trip I wanted to be the first one their to greet everyone and make sure everyone knew what was going on. Soon after Jeff and I got to the airport Pepper showed up and slowly the rest of the group came after. Everyone was on time which made me happy and we were all set to get into line and check in. When I started to talk to everyone about their dresses it sounded like I had paid a little too much but there was something that made me feel better. We then started talking about how much everyone paid for the taxi from the ship to the airport Jeff and I got charged 5 dollars which is what we were told it should be but a little more than half the group seemed to be charged and paid 50 dollars. We all decided that we may have all been screwed over in some way that day but that at least I was getting something physical out of the money I spent.

Once we were all settled in the terminal talking we heard an announcement that our plane was delayed. I cant really remember how many hours we spent in the airport maybe an extra two hours. This was disappointing because we would be missing the water puppet show I was looking forward to seeing. We finally arrived in Hanoi where we met our tour guide Mike at the airport and got on a bus to take us to our hotel. The bus ride was another 45 minutes to the hotel and we were all starving but didn’t have any other choice. We finally arrived at our hotel and everything in the area seemed to be closed. The streets were dark and not too many people were out wandering about. A group of us wandered down a few blocks and were able to buy a few pieces of bread to hold us over until we would have breakfast in the morning at the hotel before getting on our junk boat.

March 21st, 2009

2009-04-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today I have been running around delivering notes to everyone who is going on my Vietnam trip. There is a group of 15 of us and then my friend Dylan, has planned a second group of about 22 people to join us. I am very excited and nervous to see how everything works out. I had a meeting tonight with everyone giving them itineraries and telling them when and where we would meet tomorrow. I hope everything goes to plan and we all make it on time.

March 20th, 2009

2009-04-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today on the ship was just like any other school day and in another day we will be in Vietnam!! I cant wait I have been planning for this trip for so long and I am so excited and anxious to do and see everything. The only reason I have chosen to write a blog for today is because tonight was the crew talent show. Things like this that take place on the ship are so great and always make me feel like I am a part of a community or away at summer camp. The crew put together a fantastic talent show and it was a great way to spend a night on the ship, as they can all become redundant and boring.

At the Grand Palace

2009-04-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Feeding an elephant in Thailand!

2009-04-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

March 19th, 2009

2009-04-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up, had a breakfast and then were once again on a bus and were headed to visit the Grand Palace. I wasn’t really sure waht to expect but was excited none the less to do something historical as the rest of the trip seemed to be more of a vacation or as a majority of the ship called it “our spring break”. I had enjoyed seeing the natural beauty of Thailand but was ready to see a different side. When we arrived at the palace we were immediately greeted with street sellers selling postcards, water and much more, like anywhere we seem to travel.

While we sat outside the gate to let us in, Tony our tour guide inspected all of our clothes to see if they were appropriate. I was glad I had decided to wear pants instead of capris when I saw the ordeal some of the girls went through to get inside. We were told only to cover our knees and to wear closed toed shoes. Although when we got there it seemed as though if you were wearing a skirt that barely covered your knees you were fine, but if you were wearing jean capris, or leggings that didn’t cover your ankles you weren’t. Shaena, Lindsey K, Callie, and Emily all had to rent clothes to wear to get inside. The clothes they rented were ridiculously colored skirts that seemed to come straight out of the 80’s. Everyone was annoyed at first and then laughed it off put on the clothes and we were finally ready to see the palace.

When we entered I was amazed at what I saw. I was almost more amazed at the site of the grand palace than I had been at the site of the Taj Mahal. I think I was shocked because I had no previous notion of what to expect or even what it looked like. It was a huge palace surrounded by a wall that had murals and paintings, and buildings with gold and jewels, and huge sculptures of gold. I was taken a back at everything I was seeing. The girls and I walked all through the palace taking pictures every 5 feet just like the taj mahal. To me this is Thailand’s Taj. After about an hour of exploring we made our way back to the bus where we had one more stop before heading back to the hotel.

We were told we were going to a jewelry market and were going to get to see how jewelry was made. Most people weren’t too excited because we knew it would be expensive although it seemed easier to not argue and just go along. In the end I think most people were happy we went. We saw how the jewels were shaped and placed into their settings, and most people even bought something from the less expensive section.

When we got back to the hotel Erika, Carolyn and I packed up our bags put them at the front desk and headed off to lunch, we only had about an hour before the bus would pick us up and take us back to the ship. As we walked down the street we ran into Jeff who recommended a place for lunch that had a wide variety. We took his recommendation and I had a plate of rice, eggs, and fresh shrimp it was very delicious. We then strolled back towards the hotel where Erika went in and Carolyn and I were on a mission to find some type of dessert. We didn’t find anything sweet so we settled for a fried banana from a street vendor. It wasn’t what I expected but was really really good. It made me wonder why we don’t eat simple things like a grilled banana in the states.

After our banana it was finally time to go back to the ship. Thailand by far is the most beautiful country I have seen so far with its green trees and clear blue water. I cant wait to get to Vietnam where I think it will only be more beautiful sites to see

March 18th, 2009

2009-04-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

This morning was our one morning of the trip to sleep in. Although I woke up around 8 to go eat breakfast and enjoy the pool at our hotel until it was time to catch our flight back to Bangkok. I wanted to take in ever last second of the amazing resort on this tropical island that I could.

Around 11 it was finally time to leave the hotel and head to the airport. When we arrived in Bangkok we had to take what should have been a short drive to our hotel. Erika and I had been planning on meeting up with Kelly and her mother for dinner but the traffic was so terrible there was no way we would have made it in time for the dinner reservation. With that plan being a bust and us realizing how busy the city was we decided to head to dinner with Lauren, Shaena, Julia and some of the girls we really hadn’t had time to spend with while in Phuket. We all got ready and met down in the lobby not sure where the night would take us. Erika and I had already explore the streets near our hotel a little and headed everyone in the direction we thought would be best for dinner. We ended up eating at what looked like a chain Thai restaurant called “Tasty Thai”. The food was actually some of the best and cheapest thai food I had the whole trip besides the fresh seafood on the boat yesterday. It reminded me of a McDonalds almost in a sense but for Tai Food I actually think something like this could do really well in some college towns perhaps like Boulder. After dinner we made our way down the night market to again bargain and shop around, as well as again get invited to sex shows.

As we walked through the market there wasn’t too much more I though I would needed or wanted to buy but of course I fell in love with a painting and drove a hard bargain and got the painting for a great price. The rest of the girls bought shirts, sunglasses, and other fun things. Half the fun of the markets is bargaining and them telling you, you are crazy or “give me best price”. If in the end you don’t end up buying the item they will sometimes get mad and yell rude things or grab your arms and pull you back towards their booth. After doing a full loop of the market and refusing to go into sex shows. Some of the girls wanted to go out and find a club, but Erica and I still hadn’t had a massage or pedicure and we were determined. So we headed back towards the hotel to find a place, we ended up going to a place directly across the street. We weren’t really sure what we were getting ourselves into but knew it would be an experience. We were headed up stairs once inside. The people didn’t speak much English and we were slightly confused by the process but in the end we figured it out and had a good but interesting massage. The massage was unlike any massage I have ever had, not in a bad way just different. The woman even got my back to crack without hurting me I didn’t think that was possible. After our massages we both got a manicure and pedicure. When we went downstairs to do that we were sat down by two transvestites. I am not sure why I was surprised but I was and I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. Only because Erika and I had been so confused upstairs about what was going on and the entire experience was just beginning to make me laugh. They did a great job and the night was a great way to spend my last night in Thailand. Another aspect that was funny is when I looked at the clock when we left it was midnight. It was weird to think that all these places stayed open that late and that’s how I was spending a night in Thailand but it was an appropriate and perfect way to end it. We then went to bed because once again we would up bright and early to visit The Grand Palace.

March 17th, 2009

2009-04-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up bright and early once again to go on a more relaxing but still exciting day then yesterday. After breakfast we drove for about 45 minutes to get to the place where we got on a small boat that would take us around for the day. The day was perfect the sun was shining, the water and islands were beautiful and it wasn’t too hot.

Once we were on the boat we took a small drive to our first stop for some kayaking. It took us 30 or so minutes to get there so on our way there everyone did a little sun bathing on the deck of the boat because it was so nice outside.

When we made it to our first stop to go kayaking we found out we each had our own personal paddler like the day before. So Carolyn, Erika, and I all got in the same canoe with our guide. He then paddled us towards the cave as we enjoyed the sun, beautiful scenery and took pictures. The first cave we went into was a bat cave. I wasn’t too excited because I am not a huge fan of bats bought knew it would be okay. As we entered the cave it was soon pitch black just like my room on the ship. Our guide handed me a flashlight I was to use to help guide us through the cave. You couldn’t see a thing besides the other lights from other kayaks. While we moved through the cave I showed the light on the ceiling of the cave so we could see all the bats hanging. It was really creepy and all the guides kept making noises to try and scare us, it may have worked a couple of times on me.

We finally made our way through to the other side of the cave but not without some difficulty. When we got to the other side of the cave that was going to let us out into a tidal lagoon that is only accessible through the cave, the ceiling became extremely close to the water. There was only enough room for the kayak to go underneath so Erica, Carolyn, myself and our guide all sat back in each others laps in the kayak as our guide pushed us through the cave with his hands. .This part was really neat and I couldn’t wait to be on the other side of the cave to see this beautiful lagoon. Like I said the lagoon is on accessible by kayak and also only at certain times of the day depending on the tide. I heard that a group of kids who went the previous day missed the tide and had to swim under the cave to see the lagoon. I was glad I didn’t have to do that because the experience was still really exciting. When we made into the lagoon it was so breathtaking. The walls of the lagoon went up what looked to me to be a couple hundred feet. Our guide then took us around the lagoon where we even found a couple monkeys sitting upon some rocks eating bananas the guides had brought to feed them. We then spent the next 30 minutes or so paddling around the canoe enjoying the sun, scenery and peacefulness of the nature around us.

We then made our way back through the cave and the boat that had dropped us had moved a little so we took another short paddle around the outside of the lagoon back to the boat. As we paddled I looked at the area surrounding me and it kept reminding of “The Princess Bride” and the cliffs of insanity. We finally made it back to the boat and headed off to see another cave.

This second cave was not as spectacular as the first as we didn’t end up an amazing lagoon, but this cave was much more exciting. It was more exciting because the entire cave was shallow we were sitting back in the kayak the entire time helping our guide push our way through. We even had to move our knees and heads about as we headed underneath parts that jutted out. Once we were through the second cave we made our way once again back to the boat for lunch. Lunch like every meal I have had was amazing with fresh seafood, pineapple, noodles, and much more. We enjoyed our nice lunch on the boat in the sun as we headed for “Lawa Island”. When we got to Lawa Island we were given free time to jump off the second deck of the boat, swim our way to the island, take canoes to the island, lay on the beach, or canoe. Erika and I decided to do a few jumps off the top of the boat before swimming our way to shore to enjoy the beach and sun.

After about an hour of swimming in the water and having fun on the beach we got back on the boat to head to the dock, then our buses and finally back to our hotel earlier than yesterday which was nice. Today was very relaxing and peaceful a really nice way to enjoy Thailand and see all its beautiful islands and sites it has to offer. Once back at the hotel Carolyn, Erika and I decided to head back to the markets to buy a few summer dresses and shirts we saw the previous nights. It took us a while to bargain with the right vendors and find the dresses we liked for the price we liked. But we did finally end up buying a few items we were really pleased with at what we thought were a great deal. While we were shopping for dresses we had a man in a dress shop ask us if we wanted dvd’s. We looked at each other kind of confused but said ya sure. So we entered the dress shop when the guy pulled back a rack of dresses that opened up into this room full of dvd’s. They were each about 2 dollars if I remember correctly and we each bought a few. After doing a little more bargaining and shopping we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. That was one nice thing about where we stayed in Phuket is that everything was in walking distance so it was not necessary to spend money on taxis.

We all got ready for dinner pretty quickly and I wore a new dress I had bought that day. So Carolyn, Erika, and I met in the lobby and decided to head down the street to find a place to eat. We were at this point getting slightly tired of the thai food, sea food, rice combination and decided we could splurge on pizza or Mexican for the night. As we headed toward Patong Street we came across a Mexican restaurant called the Coyote. We looked at the menu and decided this is what would hit the spot. I was slightly nervous that they might not know how to make Mexican food like I would like it but we decided it was worth the risk. We sat down and each ordered a drink and some chips and salsa to start. It was St. Patrick’s day and we were right next to an Irish pub that seemed pretty crazy, so it was fun to people watch all the people going into the pub. We spent a long time enjoying our AMAZING dinner and the beautiful night out on a balcony over looking the water. I was very impressed with the dinner and when we were done we weren’t sure what to do for the night so we again made our way towards Patong Street looking for something to do. On our way I found an art vendor and found the perfect piece of art for my little collection I am doing. We then all decided we weren’t in the mood to go dancing or drinking and perhaps we would get a massage or pedicure. We never did find a place that had the price range we wanted or that didn’t look too sketchy so we called it a night and headed to bed.

March 16th, 2009

2009-03-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

When I woke up this morning at 6 with my roommate Meriel, we both showered and got our bags ready for the day. We headed outside to go to breakfast and were both shocked at what we saw. Because we had arrived when it was dark last night we didn’t really get to see the beauty of where our hotel was. The hotel was surrounded by gorgeous green mountains. I don’t think I have ever seen so much green in my life perhaps besides Mauritius; Thailand was more of a tropical jungle feel every where you looked.

After breakfast we got on a bus and were told we would have a 2 and half our drive to our destination where we ride elephants, do a little hiking, and some canoeing. Although the 2 and half hours turned into slightly over three and it was boiling hot inside the bus. I think on my bus alone we had two girls get motion sickness. The large group of us got split into two groups: group A and B. Jeff, Linds K., Lauren (my new friend who goes to UCSB), and Bobby (another new friend I made on the bus ride) were all in group b so I didn’t really get to see them much. But Erica and Shaena (she was on my India trip) were in group A with me so I had a few friends to hang out with.

Once we arrived after the very long drive through what seemed like miles and miles of jungle we stepped off the bus into the middle of the jungle with a few huts surrounding us. With in group A we were split up again into three groups, luckily Shaena and I were in the same group so we could ride the canoe’s and elephant together.

My group first went on a 30 minute canoe ride, we had someone to paddle us so it was very relaxing to sit and take in all the surroundings. The scenery was beautiful and we stopped every now and then to listen to sounds, while our tour guide showed us fig trees, bamboo, and frogs in the trees.

After our canoe ride we then had a beautiful lunch in a hut, where we then put our scraps in a bucket for the cats in the area to eat. Once everyone was done with lunch we were next going on our ELEPHANT RIDE!! Shaena and I were the first to go. It wasn’t what I expected and I thought we would be sitting right on top of the elephant although there were seats almost like a saddle that had been strapped down to the elephant. For about another 30 or so minutes we traveled through the jungle atop our elephant enjoying the lovely scenery. I never realized what silly and slow creatures elephants were. When we got back from our elephant ride we were able to buy a basket of fruit to feed the elephants. Besides the fact that I was standing in the jungle in Thailand this was my FAVORITE part of my day. I bought a basket of fruit for Shaena and I to share. We started feeding the elephants and its trunk came right out to me like a vacuum I could here it trying to reach for the fruit in my hand until I reached out handing it to its trunk. The elephant then grabbed it ate in a quick second and stuck his trunk right out again. For the next ten minutes we took pictures and fed the elephants. It was funny to see that each elephant had a personality. One elephant didn’t like the pineapple and would spit it out immediately while another elephant hated bananas and refused them as well. I was bummed when our basket was empty but was ready for the next part of our adventure in the jungle.

After the elephants we got in the bus for a quick 5 minutes that dropped us off at a trail head where we were going to go on a 30 minute hike through the jungle and to look at the rubber trees and see how the locals use them. Before our hike could begin though we had to cross a river on a bamboo boat that we used a rope to pull ourselves across the river one. Only about 8 of us could go on the bamboo boat at a time to keep it afloat. While I waited my turn on the bamboo boat there was 10 butterflies surrounding some nearby flowers so I took a few quick photos, before getting on the bamboo boat. Once across the river we started out treck. At th is point it was getting very hot and were all drenched in sweat. After a short walk we ended up at one of the rubber trees where our guide showed us how they collect the rubber to be used later for all kinds of goods. On our walk back to the bus we had to cross the river one more time although this time there was no bamboo boat so we had to take our shoes off and cross the river on foot. This was such a great and unique experience like everything else I had done today.

It was perfect timing as we were getting on the bus to head back to Phuket and our hotel we were hit with a rainstorm. I think only 30 seconds after I sat down on the bus it started to rain the hardest I have seen it rain this entire voyage. It was actually a really nice ending to such a beautiful day to drive back through the jungle and see the rain hitting all the green trees, it truly made me feel like I was in the tropical jungle experiencing a surprise monsoon. The bus ride back was also soothing with the rain and was much cooler than our ride there so thankfully nobody got motion sickness on the way back.

When we got back to the hotel Erica, Carolyn, and I met up with Cally (my roommate from India) Linds K., Hollis, and Emily for dinner. There was a large group of people going to get Mexican food which sounded amazing but we decided that a smaller group would be best for getting our dinner out fast. So we made our way up the street from our hotel and again found a restaurant outside to sit and enjoy dinner. I ate a meal out of a pineapple which was amazing I believe it was fried rice with chicken but my plate was a pineapple it may have been better than the pad thai I had last night.

After a nice dinner with the girls we kept walking up to Patong street to meet up with all the kids who had gone to get Mexican food, Kelsey, Eric and Andy (a group of kids who go to Boulder and other SAS kids). We finally made it onto Patong and again walked the street amazed at the many prostitutes, dancers, and people louring us to go to what they called a “ping pong show” or a sex show. We first went to a few bars alongside the street, then a club to do some dancing, where Kelsey and I met two guys from Austria. One of them even bought me a rose, they were really nice. I also met a woman from Australia me and her instantly clicked and hung out laughing and talking for a while, we even exchanged email addresses to keep in touch and exchange the couple pictures we took on her camera together. When we finally left the dance club it was pretty late and were heading back to the hotel. Although the boys convinced a few of us girls to go into a Go Go dance club with them, what I assume looks like a strip club in the U.S. The only reason us girls said okay was because it was Erics 21^st birthday. After the Go Go show we went into one last place where we were told there would be a ping pong show. I was really nervous but curious at the same time. We went in and again it looked similar to what I would think a strip club in the U.S. would look like although they were setting up things for the show! A waiter came up and showed us the drink menu it was 500 baht for a beer which is about 15 dollars and Kelsey. Courtney (goes to Boulder and I met her in India) and I decided we would leave because we didn’t want to pay 15 dollars to watch a show we weren’t too excited to see to begin with. I heard a few things from the boys when they came out of the show and was actually glad I didn’t stay.

We finally made our way back to the hotel and to bed to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow morning for a day of canoeing through caves.

March 15th, 2009

2009-03-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

This morning after getting to watch the sunrise for the first time ever on the ship, I did a small work out with Dylan before eating breakfast and then taking a shower to get ready for the day. Today we arrived in Thailand!! The SAS trip I was going on got off the ship first at about 9:30. We then took a two hour drive to the Bangkok airport to take our flight to Phuket. We were at the airport and at the gate four hours early. We were all confused why it was necessary for us to all get off the ship firs then. But either way I bought a book at the airport and did some reading while I was waiting for our plane. Erica, Jeff and I also maybe did a little exploring of the airport on the walking sidewalks while attempting to moonwalk to pass the time.

By the time we arrived at our hotel it was dark and time for dinner. Everything we needed was in walking distance from our hotel which was nice. I felt as though I was maybe in Hawaii everything was very tropical and resort like, and we definitely weren’t the only tourists walking around. So Erica, her roommate for the trip Carolyn and I decided to walk down the street and find a Thai restaurant to eat at. We walked maybe two block and noticed that there would be a night life in phuket. It was nine o’clock and there were street vendors, spas, massage parlors and many restaurants open.

After about ten minutes of walking and stopping to look at clothes and other things street sellers had, we came across a restaurant called the Oasis. The price was good and it had outside seating so we could enjoy the warmth in the air as well as all that was going on around us. The three of us each ordered pad thai a must in Thailand!!! It was sooo good and we enjoyed a long dinner talking and enjoying our food.

After dinner we decided to do a loop around the town, we had a map and knew that the main street we were told had clubs and bars met up with the street were on and that we could essentially walk in a circle to get back to our hotel. We weren’t that tired and wanted to explore a little more. So we continue up the street to only find what I guess I could describe as a swap meet although they are open every day and until 2 am. We walked up and down each isle, looking at dresses, shirts, cds, dvds, knock off sunglasses, purses, and much more. Although in the center of the market there was a circle of bars out in the open. I was surprised to see the bars although after a while it seemed normal and I realized we were in such a big tourist area it kind of made sense.

In Thailand it was the first time people weren’t really sure where we were from, which was a nice surprise! Most people thought we were from Australia, or maybe even French. If we said we were from America they said north or south and if you said north they said Canada?? I think everyone really enjoyed this because it was the first time we weren’t labeled as being American right away, which seems to not have the best stigma associated with it. At the end of the night I started going along with it and pretended I was Australian getting to practice my Summer Heights High accent.

We finally made it around to the main street or “Patong Street”. This street was blocked off the cars and was basically 4 or so blocks of bars, clubs, go gos and I am not sure what you would call them perhaps strip clubs with sex shows?? The street was also lined with prostitutes up and down the street. We walked down the street in awe of everything going on around us. It was like a mini Vegas/ Amsterdam redlight district all wrapped together. It was really sad to see the number of girls who were prostitutes and looked so young, going off with really old white men. While walking down the street I even overheard a negotiation going on between a man and two women. The one older woman is the woman who looks over the girls and negotiates things for them. The girl who was the prostitue looked so young and it was a sad and disturbing sight to witness all this. We continued walking down the street taking in everything and decided tonight we would just head back to the hotel, although not after buying a CREPE!!! ( yes a crepe they were all over the place being sold by street venrdors). We then had go to sleep as we have to be awake at 6:00 tomorrow morning and we were slightly overwhelmed with the many things we saw on Patong Street.

March 14th, 2009

2009-03-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will be in Thailand!!! I am extremely excited and cant wait to see what I imagine is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I will be gong to Bangkok and Phuket, Jeff, Erica, Erica ( from my Morocco trip), Linds. K, and some other people I know are all going. It should be a great trip and we seem to have a lot of free time which will be nice to see Bangkok on our own and enjoy the beaches of Phuket.

I must tell you all that, between the next four countries I am visiting I only have two days between each of them. You may have noticed how long it has taken me to write my India blog and that it may not be as detailed as my previous ones. Although India was a difficult place to reflect upon and write about. I hope to be able to write my blogs in as much detail as possible but due to only having two days they may not seem as insightful or full of detail. Sorry. But I will do my best.

March 8th, 2009

2009-03-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up at 4:15 to take a train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal!!! Although we did leave about 30 minutes late because a good number of people on the trip went out to the club and bars last night and may have over slept. Everything was fine though and we made out train on time and for the two and half ours I think all 70 of us slept.

When we arrived in Agra we got on a bus and took about an hour or so drive to “the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri, built by Emperor Akbar as his capital to honor a Muslim saint who prophesied the birth of an heir. Its red sandstone palaces are still in a remarkable state of preservation.” When we arrived at the palace we were again greeted with many men with anklets, postcards, and necklaces for sale. We took about an hour tour of the beautiful palace. We then were all pretty drained from traveling and being in the sun and heat from the palace so we went to a hotel where we had a buffet set up for lunch. After lunch we were all revived and had energy to see a few markets before moving on to see that Taj Mahal. We first arrived at fort that was about a ten minute drive away from the Taj Mahal our tour guide took us to a spot that over looked the Taj Mahal. I didn’t believe it was real and that I was actually looking at and would very soon be at the Taj Mahal. We took some pictures and were ready to go!! At this point we have become pros at walking through the streets and only talking to those people selling things you actually want to buy we have become really good at bargaining as well.

We finally arrived at the gates of the Taj Mahal, “the 17^th century mosoleum in white marble built by mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal. It is an architectural marvel remarkable for its perfect symmetry of design and construction.” When I arrived at the Taj I wasn’t sure what to expect but was excited and couldn’t wait to get in. We went through security and I saw a few girls get their “thank you mom and dad” signs taken away so I quickly hid mine in my purse. We walked through and finally I had my first glimpse of the Taj there were people everywhere but it didn’t matter this building infront of me was so amazingly beautiful it was unlike anything I have ever seen and such a contradiction to everything I had already seen in this country. We all took pictures of us holding the Taj with our fingers and many others. We slowly made our way closer and closer about every ten feet stopping to take a different picture. When we got closer to the Taj but farther from the guards at the beginning of the entrance I quickly took out my sign and had Jen take a picture. Jen goes to boulder and knows Tricia my roommate from last semester from high school. We took more pictures as we got closer and were finally waiting in line to enter the building. We put our booties over our shoes (like we were going on a house tour) and were finally inside. I have never seen pictures of the inside of the taj and you are not aloud to take pictures so I had to no idea what to expect. It was dark inside and it looked the same as the outside of the building with some colored stones places in designs. It was extremely crowded inside and very hot. Everything in the taj mahal is symmetrical expect for the tombs in the inside, one tomb is larger than the other. We spent the rest of our time at the taj looking at it from different angles and sitting enjoying the scenery. I found the girls and was able to hang out with them as the sun set and take a few pictures with them. Jen and I even took a picture for Tricia making a T with our hands! I finally took my last look at the Taj Mahal which was a weird feeling I didn’t want to leave I could look at it all day and probably again the next. As the sun was setting it was time for us to get back to our meeting spot get on our bus, head back to the hotel for dinner and then back to the train and back to our other hotel to end the night. I was able to buy a few souvenir gifts for some people before returning to the bus. When I got to the bus we sat waiting for everyone and people continued buying things. Although while on the bus we did see a disturbing scene, there were boys about maybe 10 years old selling souvenirs outside the gate. We then noticed a man take the money from him hit him with a stick and shoo him on his way. It was like a scene straight out of slumdog, we even saw some street fenders get in a very physical fight that a guard had to stop and beat people away with his stick.

Our train was slightly late and while we waited some people started buying the little beggar children food. As much as I wanted to I kept thinking that something was off. The little kids who would take the food weren’t eating it right away like they were starving and needed it, they were gathering in their clothes and packing it away. After they seemed to be full of things given to them by some of the students it seemed as though they heard someone yell or some thing that startled them and they all ran off. I didn’t understand it but it didn’t feel right someone was using this kids and I wasn’t happy about it. Me and one of the guys gave two girls each a scarf we had got for free from our hotel and I knew I shouldn’t have because I may be supporting something instead of helping them. But to see the smile on the little girls face when I put the scarf in her hand made me feel as though I wasn’t heartless, to say no to every single person who asked for something.

On our train ride back to Agra, two semester at sea boys who were traveling independently were on our train. Once of them sat with me and we talked for the entire two hours and he told me all of his stories. He was able to talk for the complete two hours and tell me so many different things he experienced and the people he encountered. I became jealous I didn’t seem to have the same experience he had and I didn’t feel I got a sense of the culture as much as he did. Although he did agree it would have been very hard to travel independently as a girl in India and feel safe. I think I have come to realize I cant have an amazing experience in every country and that India may have just been such a culture shock to me I wasn’t sure how to process it and it may not hti me for a while. I am still going through all the emotions I felt while I was there as well as all the things I saw and trying to understand them.

We finally made it back to the hotel where I went straight to bed because I was starting to get a cold but most people I believe went out to the club downstairs. I was bummed I was missing the fun but didn’t want to be sick for our next month of travel that is very busy. I was also very tired from all of the traveling.

March 9th, 2009

2009-03-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up at 5:30 had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the airport to go back to Chennai and back on the ship. Many people on the trip never went to sleep or went to sleep for about an hour because they were at the club all night. It seemed like fun and I heard that it was the nicest club in Delhi, but I was starting to feel worse with my cold and knew I had done the right thing staying in. Again we had to wait for about 45 minutes for people running late, but we made it to the airport on time and on the plane.

We finally made it back to Chennai and the ship around 1. I would normally head back off the ship to explore the city and do some shopping. Although this time I wasn’t feeling well, was extremely tired from traveling, and didn’t want to spend too much more money shopping and that was what I thought I might do with my time if I got off the ship.

India was such a great experience but like I have said I am still unsure of my feelings and thoughts. There is so much to reflect on and I don’t know what to take away from my visit. By the time we got back to the ship it was like a sign of relief and like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I know see how many people in this world need help and that taking a day out of your weekend to help others can go a long way.

In my service learning class we have been discussing service projects from the beginning and most recently discussing India. We came to a conclusion that the change we will see in ourselves from visiting this country may not come right away but slowly we will see the change and the things we saw and did we will never forget.

March 7th, 2009

2009-03-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up at 4:45 to head back to the Ganges River and watch the sunrise as well as witness the cremation ceremonies that take place all day everyday alongside the river. We took our bus once again as close as possible and walked the rest of the way to the river. We were let out of our bus on some random street it was still pitch black and hard to see anything but as soon as we were out of our bus at least 5 people were surrounding us trying to sell us things. I was surprised to see so many people awake and walking through the street with us it was as if they never went to sleep. Also while walking down the street making our way down to the river we passed numerous people sleeping on the ground. It was an weary and exciting feeling walking through the street in pitch black darkness, the city seemed so peaceful and since it was dark you couldn’t see the poverty in full light or things around you so you could enjoy the feeling of being in India!

We ended up at the top of those same stairs we had walked down the night before although this time there wasn’t the hundreds of beggars lining them. There in fact were only about 50 or so people trying to sell us things. As we headed down the stairs towards our boat the city was very calm, and beautiful. It was just starting to get light out and the colors of the buildings were beautiful. While we were waiting to board the boat I noticed a man signing to some of the girls in front of me I think they thought he was trying to sell them something but he only had two things in his hand and wasn’t talking. I kept watching and noticed that he seemed to be deaf. I looked at him and watched his hand signals I realized now what he was trying to tell the girls. He was trying to tell them that the sun would rise at 7 am, he wasn’t even trying to sell them anything he just seemed to be friendly and to want to talk. His eyes were very kind and friendly, he helped me on the boat and I didn’t think I would ever see him again.

We split the group of about 70 of us into two different boats. Once on the boat we each bought a flower and candle from a young boy who came on our boat. We were told to place them in the water to send away bad spirits and that we could also make a wish. After we bought them I noticed everyone still sitting and not placing them in the water. A few minutes later I looked down and realized my candle was almost out and the only two other things between my hand and the flame were made of paper. Soon the paper the wax was on caught on fire quickly I got nervous and kind of tossed it in the water. Jeff laughed at me and yelled “You didn’t even make a wish!” haha I was just thankful my hand wasn’t on fire. We slowly paddled around the river enjoying the scenery. As we were paddling we noticed that there were people entering the water or bathing? This is something that happens every morning people come to bath in the holy water of the Ganges to begin their day. I cant count the many number of people we saw bathing in the river that I was told to not even touch because I may get a parasite with all the pollution and even ashes being dumped in the water only a few hundred feet down the shore. It was amazing to watch and see these people, bath, worship and wash their clothes in this river that is so sacred to them and yet seemed so polluted to me.

We sat and watched the sunrise before getting closer to the cremation ceremonies that were taking place not to far from where we were. The sunrise had to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen to look out around me and where I was, knowing what this river meant to so many people and witnessing this sunrise that seemed fake it was that beautiful. Like I have said India has some of the most beautiful sites and colors in the world amongst some of the poorest and dirtiest areas I couldn’t imagine ever existed. India really is a “land of contradictions”. As we sat watching the sunrise we looked up to some of the buildings to see monkeys jumping from building to building. Also while sitting enjoying this moment I was experiencing I noticed two boats float up next to ours and two men were trying to sell us souvenirs. I honestly don’t think these men ever give up, their determination to sell us these items is remarkable. They held on next to us for what felt like 5 minutes with everyone ignoring them finally someone caved in and bought something causing a train reaction of everyone wanting something. Although after that they wouldn’t leave us alone and stayed attached to our boat until we were back ashore. I felt bad for the two men rowing our boat and having to pull along these other to boats as well.

After everyone bought a few things from these men we were pulling up to the place where the cremations took place. It was not as intense as I thought. It looked like a small fire although the body parts resembled logs, our guide informed us it can take up to for 45 hours for the body to completely burn. Family members were gathered around the fire with the men close and the women standing back watching from a distance. There were a few other bodies placed on the stairs near the fire covered with an orange sheet waiting to be placed in the fire. We were told that the bodies must be burned soon after the person has died so many people travel to Varanasi and wait to die. This way they are here and ready to be placed into the holy river. The ritual to me was very sacred and was full of tradition. I loved the idea of it and at the same time felt rude for being a witness to someone’s body being burned, I was watching a funeral of someone I didn’t know.

When we got to the shore, again we were greeted by the many many young boys and men trying to sell us trinkets and things. I was surprised to see the deaf man who had been so kind helping me onto our boat earlier in the morning. As we started winding through the small ally ways to get back to our bus, the deaf man walked with me. He didn’t try to sell me the bindi’s or post cards in his hand. He was just my own personal tour guide (although I was still following our tour guide as well) through the small streets telling me which way to turn to watch out for things on the floor or things I may hit my head on. I noticed that our group wasn’t really following our tour guide and got left behind but I was so interested in talking with this man I kept following and knew the group would catch up or were following our other tour guide. As we walked for about 20 minutes up and down these allies. The man gestures and asked me all kinds of questions, as well as helping me through the streets moving cows out of my way, telling me to watch my head, and even pointing out cow poop so I didn’t step in it. He asked me how old was, if I was married, if I drank, when I got there, when I was leaving, if I smoked, and if I was religious to name a few questions. I would answer and ask him the same questions. After about 15 minutes I was able to slowly catch up to Jeff who I knew spoke a little sign language. Jeff than came back to join me and the man in the rest of our walk. Jeff was able to find out his name was Moyun and that he had lost his hearing when he was three. Moyun also asked Jeff if I was his girlfriend, and when he wanted to get married. We finally ended up on the main street where we thought we were waiting for our bus but there was only about 20 of us we weren’t sure where the rest of the group was and neither did our tour guide. He sent a random man on a motorcycle to go around another direction to look for them. About ten minutes later we found out where the group and bus was. Moyun still this entire time stood talking with Jeff and I, making fun of my about 30 bug bites on my calves and ankles. Throughout our walk I had bought his postcards from him that looked like he had been carrying them for weeks but I was happy to buy something from him. Moyun stayed with us until we were on the bus and waved us off.

Now looking back on my entire trip in India, I have realized that the best conversation and experience with an Indian person was with Moyun. He took the time to talk to me and not sell me something. He was a truly kind hearted person and you could see it in his eyes. He was the one person I met who seemed to be of a lower cast who opened up and wanted to get to know me not because I was a dollar sign to him but to just get to know me.

We then left Moyun and headed back to our hotel to pack our bags and get ready to fly back to Delhi. Before our flight though we had a few more stops to make. First we stopped at Sarnath, the ruins of the ancient city where the Buddha preached his first sermon. “It is as holy to Buddhists as varanasi is to hindus. When we arrived we were told to take our off our shoes to enter the building. Donations of around a dollar were required to take pictures inside. I this time decided to not take pictures and to just enjoy it. It was very small inside but at the far end of the building was a very large gold Buddha. We then walked a few hundred feet across a courtyard to see the “tree” that Buddha sat under when he became enlightened. About 60 years ago the tree died and they had to replant a replica tree. But to still stand in that spot was really cool and surrounding the area in which the tree was incased were Buddhist prayer flags. They represent the earth, sky, wind, and I can’t remember what else. They are blue, red, white, green, and yellow. We then left that site and moved onto to see the stupa and ruins of an ancient monastery only a short walk down the road. Again I wish we had a better tour guide to walk with me and tell me the stories of the places I was looking at. While I understood basically what they were I was walking around enjoying myself but not really understanding what I was looking at.

Next we made our way to the airport, where we had some lunch before boarding our plane back to Delhi. When we arrived in Delhi we didn’t have much time to do anything so we took a driving tour of the city. We got to see the ceremonial avenue, parliament house, and the official residence of the president of India (whom is the first woman president of India although she doesn’t have as much of a political role as the prime minister). We were able to make one stop at the Birla Temple. It was very large and beautiful but modern. We once again took our shoes off and were given a tour of the temple. We saw the many different places to pray to the various gods and learned what gods you pray to for certain things. Our guide told us that you always first pray to Ganesha (my favorite god who is in the form of an elephant) you pray to him first as he is said to be good luck. Finally by around 8 we finally made it to our hotel.

Our hotel was amazing and seemed like a resort with its own clubs, bars, hooka bars, restaurants, spas and so on. It was so nice we were all shocked but very excited. We were greeted with a string of flowers placed around our neck at the door. After we figured out our room Jeff, the Ryans and I met downstairs for dinner. Dinner was great and we still weren’t too tired so we decided to explore the hotel. The boys wanted to find some cigars so we went into a café in the hotel so they could find them. I started talking with one of the chefs who said he was new on staff and one of the youngest, but that he had heard great things about the SAS students who had stayed at the hotel in the past. He seemed just as excited for us to be there as we were. As I was waiting for the boys to pick out the cigars, I started to do what I do in a lot of places I started dancing with my feet (kind of like different ballet positions and what not) If you know me you know this happens often and I don’t realize I am doing it. Well the chef and a waitress both noticed and asked if I danced, I was embarrassed but said yes. He told me he was a dancer and gave me a little demonstration of the Indian dance he does. It was nice because in my dance class on the ship for my final presentation I am doing the Baranthyum (an Indian dance) with my group. I told him and he seemed impressed that on the ship I am learning things like that. We finished up our conversation as the boys got their cigars and we continued to explore the hotel. The boys decided to go to the hooka bar but I was tired and ready for bed because tomorrow we would be waking up at 4:15!

March 6th, 2009

2009-03-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up at 2:45 to get gather all my things and be in the union by 3:15. Surprisingly everyone showed up and we were ready to go we all grabbed our box breakfasts and headed off the ship at about 3:45 to the get on the bus to the airport. I got on the bus with Jeff and the Ryan’s. But one of the Ryans couldn’t find his Ship ID which you have to swipe whenever getting on or off the ship. So we all got on the bus and waited for him. After about 15 minutes we all couldn’t imagine he was still looking for it so we started asking people and found out that some kid took off running about a minute ago and they thought it might be Ryan (keep in mind Ryan has a swollen sprained ankle from playing volleyball in the sea Olympics). I didn’t really believe it was him running because there were four huge busses right at the end of the gangway you couldn’t miss. So we pulled away and decided to leave without him so we could make our flight. On our way out of the port we were almost to the gate and Ryan came up running next to the bus. Come to find out it was him that took off running apparently he didn’t see the buses and thought we already left him and took off running but he ran in the wrong direction luckily he made to the bus and didn’t miss out on the trip. So now we were all ready to go to the airport and fly to Delhi.

As we were driving through the city at 4 in the morning most people were talking or sleeping. I sat looking out the window to see what the city looked like at night. It was amazing to me to see how many people were sleeping on the ground and how many people were awake walking around, driving, or doing other various things. We came to this round about where we were stopped and I looked out the window to see a small dirt area where about 200 hundred people or so seemed to be sleeping on the ground covered in blankets. The bus was still full of chatters as my heart was breaking at the many many people on the ground as I was in a bus and about to get on a plane. As I sat taking in the moment a woman woke up and sat up to breastfeed her baby. This hit me hard that there was a baby born into nothing and at a few months old was already sleeping out in the filth and litter of the city. I thought about that baby’s life to come and where it would be in a few years and realized probably not any better off than he was now. (Since I am now writing this after returning from India I had a discussion in a class and some girl justified this by saying that all people in India believed in karma and that they are fine with the way they are living because it is their karma and what they deserve because of something they have done in a past life) This too didn’t sit with me well because while I understand it and it seems like a good idea if you can’t remember your past life and just remember the present how fair is it to you to live in this manner because of a past life you never knew.

We continued on our way to the airport and got on a 2 and half our flight to Delhi switched planes and took about an hour flight to Varanasi. Both of our flights were very nice and probably better than any flight I have taken in the U.S. I sat next to this guy named Penn who is from boulder and goes to UVA. We then took an hour or so bus ride I believe to our hotel. As we drove Varanasi wasn’t as developed as Chennai and seemed more rural. The streets weren’t as well paved but the streets were still packed with people I couldn’t believe our big tour bus was making it around the streets without hitting someone. Then all of a suddent we pulled up a street after seeing shack after shack, store front after store front, beggar after beggar, and cow after cow to see our beautiful hotel. It was a very nice hotel amongst such a poor city. Our room was huge with two full beds a TV with cable, and a really nice bathroom. The hotel had a bar and a swimming pool. When I looked out the window of my hotel I could see the hotel pool and on the other side of the fence a person’s home that looked like it was barely standing. You truly can see one extreme to the next right next to each other in India.

After getting settled in our hotel we went to the oldest silk factory in the state I believe. Or at least we went to one of the few places left where people are using the old machines and hand crafting silk. We got to see how the machines work and meet the men who use them. It is amazing how much time it can take to only do ten centimeters in some cases that much fabric can take up to a day which is why it is so expensive. After they showed us a demonstration we went into the show room and the salesman started laying out fabrics all over the room just as the man had yesterday in his shop. Everyone started shopping around and since I had already bought scarves I sat back and watched, then I noticed him start showing duvet covers. I didn’t really see one I loved kept my eye open, I finally noticed one that I could live without and had to purchase it. When I went to buy it thought my credit card wasn’t being accepted, I was bummed but knew I would live without the duvet cover. I only mention this part of the story to tell you how nice and trusting the people I met were. One of our tour guides offered to buy the duvet cover for me and then he would later take me to an ATM where I would pay him back. I only hoped my ATM card worked, because he was being so generous and kind. So I was able to get my fabulous duvet cover from one of the oldest silk factories in the state it was definitely a great purchase with an amazing story behind it. After the silk factory everyone was extremely hungry so we went back to the hotel for some lunch before doing a little more shopping at what our tour guides said would be a market.

Lunch at the hotel was good a little more chicken curry, rice, noodles and Indian bread. After lunch we then took a walk to what we thought would be a market. First we walked into this building and were told to check out the downstairs. When we entered the room there was potato sacks all over the room at first I wasn’t sure what were looking at but then I noticed a small group of men and women sitting on the floor making jewelry. I then looked inside the bags and noticed they were filled with beads. We said hi to the people and watched them do their work the jewelry they were making was very beautiful. Then someone noticed something they looked inside a box where they saw packages for Macy’s with earnings in them that looked like the earrings the men in front of us were making. We all stared at each other not really wanting to believe that the jewelry being sold in Macy’s was coming from these people sitting on the ground in the basement of a building in very poor conditions. We then went upstairs to look at what they kept calling a market to find one of the most colorful and big jewelry stores I have ever seen in my life. I was so overwhelmed with beads, bracelets, necklaces and earrings I couldn’t even buy one because I couldn’t choose so instead I took pictures of all the amazing colors I was looking at. I then finally made it to the ATM where I could pay back my very generous tour guide.

We then all came back to the hotel to get ready for our rickshaw ride to Varanasi and the ceremonies that take place every night on the shores of the Ganges River. We took our bus through the city and turned into what looked like a park where over a 100 rickshaw drivers with their bikes were waiting for us.

We stepped out of the bus and Jeff and I picked our rickshaw driver and took our seats. The seat was very small me and Jeff barely fit both of us in it. My butt was slightly off the seat and I don’t think either of us were comfortable but we were excited for the ride through the city in a rickshaw rather than a huge bus. Our rickshaw driver didn’t speak much English but was very nice and very thin I wasn’t sure he would be able to pull both Jeff and I behind him. As we were all getting situated another two buses showed up and another 70 SAS kids walked out and also got into rickshaws. Kelly, Anna, Abby, Courtney and Erica were on those buses and it was nice to see them! We took a few pictures and before we knew it we were out in one of the busiest streets I have ever seen in my life. It was filled with cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, cows, and people walking. It was chaotic and I wasn’t sure we would be able to move through everyone but somehow we moved right along next to everyone. You are so close to people you could reach out and touch anyone next to you in another rickshaw, car, or motorcycle. I still don’t understand how I haven’t seen one accident there are no rules to the road but also no one seems to get angry or upset with each other they all just move around each other trying to get where they are going as fast as possible.

We finally arrived and were told to get out of the rickshaw and we would walk the rest of the way to the shore of the river. As we got out we were immediately surrounded by beggars and people trying to sell us things. I don’t know how we moved through the crowd but we pushed and slowly made our way out and to the steps down to the river. As I looked down the stairs there were beautiful lights everywhere but on every step I took down to the river there was a beggar, cripple, or young kid crying asking for mine and the others help. Every step I took I had to ignore the starving, weak, and homeless around me. At this point it was easier for me to pretend to be deaf and blind as though I couldn’t hear or see them, because if you even acknowledge them your are trapped within a conversation of bargaining for anything you have to give them. As hard as it was it was the easiest way for me to make it down the steps and through the streets without looking into peoples eyes who truly need help and refusing them that help. As you are saddened by what you see I was also slightly frightened in a sense. Not frightened for my life but for the peoples lives around me who don’t seem to even be able to help one another but only fight for their lives and their lives only. In all other countries I have been to and seeing poverty, there are people within the community who group together to help one another but here it was different. Everyone was fighting for their lives and no one seemed to help one another even other Indians of upper class walk past and don’t help. The poverty is on such a large scale it is as if there is nowhere to begin.

As we finally made our way down what seemed like the longest set of stairs ever we arrived at a nice mans coffee shop who let us sit atop his balcony to watch the ceremonies that would take place in a short time. I found the girls and we all sat together on a stair case looking out over the river. I was sitting along the railing and when I looked down I saw a man peeing I wasn’t that surprised because I had seen people peeing on the side of the road all day. Although as the night went on I realized that where the man I first saw pee was actually a somewhat of a designated “bathroom” if you will. It alongside a wall and it was as if everyone knew that was the bathroom. Throughout the hour or so we sat there I can’t tell you the number of people who went pee on the wall. This wall is out in public and alongside a staircase where I saw young kids running down barefoot right through the urine like they didn’t see it.

Also at this point in my night I have finally gotten used the “smell of India” but am starting to notice a slight cough that I assume is coming from the pollution. The air in the sky is not blue like we learn here it is a light brown/ grey color. No matter what time of day or where you look you will not find blue sky. I thought I knew what pollution was but not until I saw people urinating and kids walking through it, trash build up everywhere you look, and air you feel you could touch and grab a speck of dirt out of did I realize the smog I complain about in California is nothing and the air I breathe in Colorado is probably some of the cleanest air in the world.

We sat waiting for the ceremonies to begin there was speaker on the building next to us and a voice came out of it singing some type of chant. I wish we had a personal tour guide to sit and tell us all about what the different parts of the ceremony mean. From what I was able to understand the ceremony we were watching take place along the river is to release all the bad spirits into the river for the day. There was a group of men and women dressed in orange who performed the ceremonies. They were I assume some type of religious figure. Bells were rung and rituals were performed. It was beautiful to watch and amazing to know that this took place every night in this very spot. I thought about the many people who have seen this and how it hasn’t changed throughout the years, days, or weeks. It is always the same ceremony. The ceremony wasn’t over but it was time to leave and head back to our rickshaws for our ride back through the city and to our bus.

We once again had to walk up the stairs passing the hundreds of beggars and homeless in need of our help. I again walked by as if they didn’t exist it broke my heart but it was easier for me to not acknowledge them then to walk by look them in the eyes and saw no. As we were looking for our rickshaw driver we were once again surrounded by young kids and men trying to sell us souvenirs like necklaces, postcards, batteries anything you can think of. I too ignored them to not even give them a chance to bargain with me. Saying “ But its nice I give you good price and made for you! “. My method seemed to be helpful as I look back at Jeff and he has a strange look on his face and says “Did you see that!?!?” I said No, what are you talking about? Apparently a crippled man with two fingers had attempted to reach out and grab me. We had also been warned about this possibly happening. I was happy I didn’t see it and glad to have Jeff walking with me. We finally found our rickshaw driver and made our way back to the buses. By this time it was dark and the city was still thriving with people selling things and the streets as busy as ever. I am confused how people make money in the city those who have shops or shacks they sell things from. Because it seems as though everyone is either a store owner or souvenir seller on the street, or a rickshaw driver. There are so many people everywhere and it seems as though every store sells the same thing either food or sari’s. There are many different types of stores and it is amazing how many shops there are. Although with over a billion people, as much as I sit and think about anything I saw in India I only come out with more questions and feeling more confused than I started.

After our fun and scary rickshaw ride back to the bus, we were finally done after an extremely long, busy, exciting day and we headed back to the hotel and to bed because we would be waking up at 4:45 tomorrow morning.

India Posts

2009-03-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I am slowly working on my India blogs and apologize they are not up yet. India was a place wehre I came out with more questions then ever and it has been slightly draining to think and write about what I saw. I hope to have them done and up soon. But first I might take a break and go watch some karaoke in the Union...

The Girls and I

2009-03-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

This picture is so you can all put faces to the "The Girls" when I talk about them...

From left to right it is: Anna, Erica, Abby, Dylan, Me, Kelly, Courtney

Safari Picture

2009-03-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

March 5th, 2009

2009-03-11T03:20:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to watch the sunrise and was once again unsuccessful. When you stepped outside the ship though there was a distinct smell I knew I would have to get used to this was the “smell of India”. It is hard to describe but wasn’t the most pleasant smell ever. It was extremely foggy out and you couldn’t see a thing. So Dylan and I went back to bed and later met up for breakfast. After breakfast we had a diplomatic briefing and then had to wait in line for our paper work in the faculty/staff lounge. This is the first country where security and other things are run differently. Instead of our passports we are required to carry around a shore pass and customs paper at all times.

I had originally planned to stay on the ship until 1 because I had an FDP/ Service Visit but I found Emily who said she also had to be back early so we went out with a few girls to explore the city of Chennai for a few hours and do some shopping.

We stepped off the ship and headed towards the gate looking for some transportation to a market called Spencers. It was very overwhelming and we had taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers surrounding us on all sides. We finally gathered our thoughts and started to walk to the gate to compose ourselves and find a taxi perhaps on our walk. We came across a taxi that agreed to drive us to the market for 50 rupees a person. That is about 1 American dollar. He even closed the windows and turned on the air. The drive took about 15 minutes. As soon as we drove out of the port gate the poverty was noticeable. People lining the streets where you could tell they had slept the night before, people setting up shop on the side of the road, children wearing no shoes and raged clothes. Every way I looked I saw poverty but I also saw some of the most beautiful colors I have seen, in the clothing of what looked like more wealthy women with their saris. There are 1 billion people in India and it seemed as though all 1 billion were in the city of Chennai. I have never seen so much life in a city packed with people all going about their day.

When we arrived at the market we gave the taxi driver the money but he asked for more. The girls sat in the car arguing with him and I just told them to get out because that was the number we agreed on from the beginning he tried to factor in the air conditioning but we were told at our diplomatic briefing to be firm and stay with the original price agreed upon. I would have gotten out of the car myself but I was on the side towards all the traffic and knew that would be a dangerous task to open the door and get out safely. India’s traffic and streets are unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life. It is busy with no real rules everyone driving to their liking and honking a lot. We finally all got out of the car and started walking to the market. As we walked into the market three men came up to us claiming the market was closed until 1 and that we should go with them and they would be our tour guides for the day. We didn’t trust them and just went to the market anyways which wasn’t closed. The market was similar to a mall, when we walked in we were greeted with shop owners luring us into their shops to look at their items.

We walked into one shop where immediately this man started pulling out scarves from bags and putting them on us and all over the shop. I think we were in their for about an hour and all bought some really pretty things. The scarves, pillows, blankets everything were all so pretty we had a hard time choosing how many we wanted and what colors. I think I got about 5 scarves and 5 pillow cases for a very cheap price. The man in the shop was extremely nice and was pulling things out all over the place we felt bad making a mess of his shop but he insisted it was fine. He even told us to come back tomorrow and wanted us to come to his house for dinner. We had a nice conversation with him and even talked about how his kids were studying engineering and chemistry. We told him he should be very proud because they are very smart! He also gave us many business cards and told us to give them to kids on the ship and tell them what a good deal he gave us.

When we were finally able to leave the store and stop spending money it was time for Emily and I to head back to the ship. We decided this time we should take a rickshaw and really experience India but also that taking a taxi on our where there was a good way to ease us into traffic and such in India. We were walking around not sure how to exit the mall and came across one of the workers from the shop we had just been shopping in and he helped us out of the mall and to find a rickshaw. We started negotiation with him that we wanted to pay 100 rupee for the both of us. He said it wasn’t possible and walked away. We tried with two other rickshaw drivers and they said the same thing. So we worked out 200 rupee’s total and got in ready for a crazy drive back to the port but confused as why we paid less to be in a taxi with air conditioning but went with it anyways. We were zipping in and out of cars, going on the wrong side of the road and getting extremely closer to other motorcycles and rickshaws. We even went by another group of SAS kids in a rickshaw there was 4 of them and one of them was my friend Alex. She looked a little frightened but excited at the same time. After thinking we almost weren’t going to make it we arrived at the gate of the port and started walking.

When we got the ship we had some lunch, Emily went on her FDP and I got ready for mine. I had my camera all charged and was ready for my service visit. We were going to the YMCA to play with children all day is what I thought but I knew that with SAS trips there always things that happen you weren’t aware of from the itinerary.

There was a group of about 15 or so of us on the bus for the service visit. Tricia’s (my roommate from Boulder) friend Jen was on my trip so it was nice to at least have one familiar face. We started with a 45 minute drive to the YMCA at For Boys and Boys Town Kottiakkam. As we were arriving at the YMCA our tour guide told us that the boys we would be visiting were mostly orphans or from very poor homes and if they saw there families it was only maybe twice a year. There were two hundred boys living at the facility. The facility teaches the boys English and other skills to eventually set them out in the real world and set them up with jobs in factories to get them started.

When we arrived at the facility we came into a room where all two hundred boys were sitting quietly in rows the smallest in the front and tallest in the back. There were chairs set up in from of them as if a stage for us to sit on. We all sat down and took a microphone to introduce ourselves. We were then told that the boys would perform a few songs for us and then it would be our turn to perform. We all looked at each other a little worried but had heard this happened from time to time and didn’t seem too surprised. This is what Luke (the man on the ship who gives our announcements) likes to call an “air guitar moment”. The boys sang songs as a group and a few of them came up individually and sang songs. Then it was out turn. Nathan (works in the computer lab on the ship and was the leader of our trip) got up and we followed. He was on top of his game and suggested that we sing “Row Row Row Your Boat”, since we came on a ship. I thought it was clever!! So we sang that song. Then moved on to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” followed by a song to get all the kids involved “The Hokie Pokie”. We had all the kids stand up and follow us it was really fun to include them in our song and we all laughed and giggled at each other.

The boys were sent to their rooms and the group of us split up to visit the boys in their rooms in smaller group to get to know them better. Jen and I and some other girls went into the first housing unit. Each boy had their own bed and that was about it, I didn’t even see a cubby for things because I assume they don’t have anything. They all where a uniform so that is given to them and everything else such as school supplies they share. When we came in we met their “House Mother” there is one in every housing unit so the boys do have some type of mother figure in their lives. The house mother seemed very shy and reserved; her husband also lived with her in the unit in their own apartment with their two little daughters. At first it was awkward and we weren’t sure what to do. But we asked all the boys to come into one room and we started playing thumb wars. Next thing I knew someone’s camera came out and the boys went crazy. They all wanted to take pictures. So we took out our cameras and let them take pictures of one another. Half the time I wasn’t even sure where my camera was but the boys were fascinated by the technology. Most of them wanted to be the ones taking the pictures and then if they weren’t holding the camera they wanted to be doing something silly in the picture. Even the house mother wanted her picture taken with her little girls to show them. For the next hour we continued playing thumb wars, patty cake and taking pictures. It was a really fun time and I think my cameras battery was almost dead by the time we left. The kids didn’t speak too much English but were able to tell me their names and age. This was the first time I didn’t really have a connection with just one kid because there were so many of them and so few of us.

Although I do remember some of the kids when we were playing thumb war saying “India” and holding their thumb up then pointing at my thumb and saying “America” then yelling “WAR!” It surprised a few of us and we all kept trying to say “Peace” because we didn’t really know how else to respond or if the kids even knew what we thought they meant when they were saying that. I now think it was them using what little English they knew to practice but to us it seemed as though they thought India and America were at war.

We finally left the boys and were on to our next destination which we were sure what it was. We ended up driving a few hundred feet and then walking a block to a YMCA women’s hostel where we were served tea. We all looked at each other and thought that we would rather be playing with the kids still instead of being a block away enjoying tea and cookies for an hour.

Once tea was done we got back on the bus to head to the beach for 30 minutes to walk around and then on to another YMCA facility. The beach was crowded with people and is I believe is the second longest beach in the world. There were people everywhere and we were being looked at left and right. When we got to the water two men tried to get some of us to buy a ride on their horse but that didn’t seem like the best idea. The beach just like everything else I have seen is littered beyond belief and extremely crowded but beautiful at the same time. As the sun went down we headed back to the bus and when we got there, there were a few women with their children begging us for money and food. This was my first experience with the beggars in India. We had been told not to give anything to the beggars because it doesn’t really help the society and then we will just be bombarded with more and more people wanting things. We also said no and tried to get on the bus as fast as possible. Although one woman grabbed me by the arms from behind and wouldn’t seem to let go; I was scared and saddened all at the same time. As soon as I reached the door of the bus she let go but then came around to my window and started banging out in. I looked down and saw the little girl she was holding and her both whom looked like they hadn’t showered in weeks and had been sleeping outside for who knows how long. I wanted to do something for them but I also wanted to do something do everyone I saw on the streets. The poverty is so extreme and overwhelming you don’t know where to begin and everyone was right it was probably best to not give to anyone and find a reputable charity to donate to instead.

Finally we were back on the bus and headed to our final destination which I was still unclear what it was. After a short drive we ended up at another YMCA facility that looked like a large hotel and it was just that or rather “hostel”. We went inside and up to a conference room where a table was set up for us to have dinner. We all sat down and waited as we were told there would be a guest coming shortly. After a few minutes an Indian man walked in and we all stood waiting for him to sit. He introduced himself and explained that he is the head of the YMCA in the state of India we were in (a very important man who took his time to eat dinner and meet with us). We all introduced ourselves and what we were studying. He then presented each of us with a traditional Indian shall that he was honoring us with for coming and learning about the program.

We then had a traditional Indian meal; I couldn’t really tell what much of it was but meat with curry and some Indian bread. It was really good food and a great way to end our long first day in India.

We finally got back to the ship around 10 and I still had to pack and shower for my trip that would leave tomorrow at 3:15 in the morning. I think I didn’t actually go to bed until midnight cause after packing and showering Beau and I just had to watch the first two episodes of Summer Heights!!!

March 4th, 2009

2009-03-11T03:19:00.000-07:00

The last few days on the ship have all been average with nothing exciting happening. Besides Abby’s 21^st birthday, getting the first season of SUMMER HEIGHT HIGH!! On my computer from Ashley (girl on my Safari goes to Pepperdine from San Diego) Her and her roommate whose name is also Ashley are great!!! I really enjoy hanging out with them and hope I get to travel with them at some point. Oh I also signed up to play the game the assasins throughout the ship (it will start when we get back from India).

Tomorrow we arrive in INDIA!!! I am not sure what to expect at all but I am excited and ready to see the Taj Mahal. Tonight I am going to sleep early so I will be ready to get off the ship asap to enjoy the city of Chennai and then visit the YMCA.

Me at the Taj Mahal being silly

2009-03-11T03:17:00.000-07:00

Sunrise on the Ganges River, Varanasi INDIA

2009-03-11T03:16:00.000-07:00

YMCA visit India

2009-03-11T03:15:00.000-07:00

Dylan, Courtney, Anna and I

2009-03-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

Go RED SEA!!!

2009-03-11T03:13:00.001-07:00

Sea Olympics Snchronize Swimming

2009-03-11T03:13:00.000-07:00

The water polo boys I met in Cape Town

2009-03-11T03:09:00.000-07:00

Me at the Bases of Table Mountain, South Africa!

2009-03-11T03:08:00.000-07:00

The Girls and I in the Dunes

2009-03-11T03:06:00.001-07:00

Sanboarding in Namibia

2009-03-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

February 28th, 2009

2009-03-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

So this morning I woke up ready for my first event of the Sea Olympics. I am in the Red Sea so I put on my red shirt and headed up to deck 7 where Dylan and I were participating in the relay race. We were doing the “orange pass”section of the relay where we had 10 people from our sea that had to pass an orange between our necks not using our hands. I was fourth in line to go and when the relay started everyone seemed to have no trouble but me. I think it took me a good four tries before I finally made it without dropping the orange.

I then spent the day walking around the ship watching everyone else participate in their events. The events include things such as mashed potato sculpture, work out relay, paper boat making, hoola hoop, limbo, flip cup (OUR TEAM GOT FIRST!!), sudoku, pictionary, volleyball, dodge ball, and even a spelling bee. The day was full of fun and everyone walking around chanting and supporting each other in their events.

The days last event was synchronize swimming which I was also participating in. We had a team of 10 people Win, Dylan and Kelly (across the hall) were some of the members on my team. I was really nervous and didn’t think we had a good routine but we went out and had fun with it and I was really glad I put myself out there to do it. Almost the entire ship was watching with camera and video cameras in hand. Once it was over I watched all the other teams routines, it was probably the funniest event of the day.

That night we had closing ceremonies where they would announce the winners and a few medals they were holding off on. Our team got third in synchronize swimming and first in mashed potato sculpting (thanks to Heidi she did a great job making the Taj Mahal). We ended up getting second in the Seal Olympics over all!!! It was all in all a very exciting and fun filled day. I kept feeling like I was at camp and couldn’t believe this was school.

February 27th, 2009

2009-02-28T19:19:00.000-08:00

This morning Dylan and I woke up and met in the hallway at 7 am. We are determined to wake up for every sunrise while we come into port even if we won’t always see something. Although this morning we did for the first time we got up to watch us pull into port on a clear day with the sun rising over the mountains. Mauritius is one ofthe most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is exactly what I though a small, secluded, very tropical and green island! After breakfast I went to get ready for my day. I was going to be able to get off the ship before most because I was going on a SAS service visit trip. Since both Erica and I had FDP’s we were going to meet up with the rest of the girls later.

At 9 o’clock we were able to disembark and start on our way. There was a group of about 17 of us and our group leader was the nurse on the ship Joan. There were a few familiar faces in my group which was nice. We had two tour guides Dominique and Corine, both born and raised in Mauritius. First we were headed to a senior citizen home. I wasn’t sure what to expect but was excited and ready for the day. When we arrived the facility was very nice and green plants surrounded the area just like the rest of the island!

I had heard from other people that on the service visits you won’t feel like you did much service but that you will just get a tour of the facility so I was slightly prepared for that aspect.

We started walking through and after about a minute I noticed on my right a large building that was surrounded by a gate with barbed wire. Inside the gate was about 20 men, a few in wheel chairs and some mumbling/yelling things through the fence at us. It was difficult to not feel nervous but I knew I wasn’t in any danger. Our guide told us that these were the mentally and extremely physically disabled men. He then opened the gate and told us we could go in. I went in and a few of the men who seemed coherent enough to realize anything shook our hands and gave us a warm smile. Others gestured asking for cigarettes and some just stared. It was a hard site to see as I have not really been around this many mentally disabled people anywhere. We only stayed in for about a minute and then we left shut the gate and locked it behind us. It was really hard for me to swallow the fact that these men were locked up and surrounded by a gate with barbed wire. I am hoping and assuming three is a reason for it that I can’t comprehend but I was still having a difficult time being okay with it. We continued touring the facility and went into one of the women’s areas. The women were also very welcoming but didn’t speak much English so it was hard to communicate besides a hand shake and smile. Most people speak French in Mauritius or a type of French Creole.

As we kept on walking I had conversations with the tour guides and even later a doctor who works there; to learn more about the facility. The one we were visiting is the largest in Mauritius and there are about 150 patients or “inmates”as the doctor referred to them as. This too I had a hard time swallowing but continued talking with her to learn as much as I could about the work they were doing. There are about I believe 30 homes like this in all of Mauritius. The patients have to apply to be placed in a home and most are abandoned by their families. The elderly are a large issue in Mauritius because the younger generations are not staying in Mauritius and are going abroad so there is nobody left to take care of the elderly. I even asked our guide Corine who is only just turned 22 if she planned to stay in Mauritius or move out of the country. She seemed hesitant to answer and said she wasn’t sure yet but I got the impression she did want to leave the country. I got the impression people leave because it is so small and there are larger opportunities for them elsewhere but not because they are extremely unhappy with the country.

Next we left this facility and moved on to visit a Catholic Church and the tomb of Father Laval. This stop to me was odd because yes I went inside the tomb but our tour guides didn’t have must to tell us about it. They only told us we could go inside but didn’t tell us who he was or what his story was. The only information I now have is from the Field Program book. It was nice to see these things though because now I also have something to write about for my sacred sites journal

After that quick stop we went on to Cite la Cure neighborhood where we visited with kids from the DLD Teen Hope Project. From my understanding this project is to help students who don’t pass a major exam to move them on in their schooling. The kids range in age from 9-16 at the school we visited. School is not a priority for most of the children in Mauritius and they ended up flunking the exam and continuing their education in programs like this. One little girl Sophie even refused to go to normal school and insisted on going to the Teen Hope Project. A majority of the kids at this program are all from poor and underprivileged homes with likely many family issues.

When we arrived at the school the kids were all doing school and a few of them got up to set up chairs along the room for us to sit around them. After not being able to interact with the seniors at the home earlier I was ready to play, draw do whatever I could with these kids. We sat around the kids and they all seemed quite shy but a few would look up from their work and smile every so often. When we were all finally seated one of our tour guides Dominique gave us a brief introduction about the school, kids, and what the project was attempting to do. Dominique has a great story herself in that she lives in the very community this school project is in. Even though she could likely move out into a nicer town she enjoys helping, and motivating those within her own community and to help them realize they can all achieve things but with the help of one another.

After her short talk we were told we could interact with the children. I went straight to the arts and crafts room. A little girl Sophie sitting making a bracelet caught my eye. I assumed this was Sophie the youngest girl in the school. With the little French I could speak I introduced myself and then asked her, her name and age. Her smile was contagious and as I sat watching her make a bracelet we would just look at each other and giggle every now and then. One of her teachers told her to let me help make the bracelet I was hesitant but Sophie said it was okay but didn’t look pleased. I put on a few beads and then let Sophie finish up the rest of the bracelets.

Next to that table was a table of girls weaving baskets that I went and sat with. I then looked back over to Sophie who had removed the few beads I put on her bracelet I laughed and she looked embarrassed but I said it was okay. I started talking to the girls sitting at the table making baskets. They were mostly older so they spoke some English, that is one of the goals of the school is to teach the children English. They were all about 16 and they too let me help make the baskets but I didn’t mess this up like I did Sophie’s bracelet. Through translation with the teacher and conversations with the girls who I was making the basket with, I learned her name was Stefani. She was 16 and worked at one of the resorts on the island called The Victoria. I don’t know what it was about her or me but we seemed to hit it off even though we didn’t talk too much. We had brief sentences exchanged but that was it. For some reason we seemed to have a connection and were like instant friends.

Soon we were called into the other room as some of the students were going to perform a song for us and the rest of the school. While everyone was heading into the other room, I made a small donation and bought a basket that some of the students had made. It was really pretty and I thought it was cool I also learned how to make one. Before heading in the other room I also got Stefani’s address so we can write letters and send pictures to one another. I also got the address of the school to keep in touch. Stefani was very sweet and we took a picture together that I could send her. I told her I would try to write her in French and she said she would try and write me in English that way we could both practice. After that exchange, one of the teachers who had been helping translate for me asked me to write a quick note in their visitor’s handbook. I was very flattered because I didn’t see them ask too many others to write in the book. After that it was time for the entertainment in the other room. Stefani took a seat and I stood in the door way. The children were all so nice and kept offering me seats but I insisted they sit. I knew I might be up to dance along with them soon anyways.

One of the girls who I had been sitting making baskets with made her way to the front of the room with a group of girls behind her. They started singing a song I believe it was by Rhianna. She was a really good singer and it was cute to hear them sing an American song. Stefani kept looking at me and laughing at me as I danced and sang along in the corner. After that song was over they pulled out a few drums and started to perform a Seggae song (known in Mauritius). Stefani and another girl soon pulled me up and I was dancing along with all the students and other SAS kids on the trip. We danced took pictures, videos, and hung out for I would say about another 30 minutes or so. When it was time to leave nobody wanted to and we all insisted on one more song. Dominique even performed that one. She was a very nice lady and kept calling me “dimples”. After leaving the school and saying my goodbye to Stefani and the rest of the kids we were on our way back to the ship. As I looked outside the bus window it was crazy to see one of the greenest and beautiful landscapes I have ever seen and amongst is were slums and shacks that people lived in. (They were similar to the townships I saw in South Africa). As we drove out of the town and back to the ship Dominique told us her brief life story and how/why she stays involved in the schooling in her community. Dominique grew up in the town we were driving through with an a alcoholic father who beat her mother and neither of them were interested in her going to school. Although she said school was a safe haven that took her out of the house and she knew she wouldn’t be hurt there and that schooling could change her life. She is a true story that it did just that. She was a real inspiration to show how much she gives back and cares for her community.

We finally made it back to the ship where I ran inside to change into my bathing suit and meet up with Erica to find the rest of the girls at the beach. As I was getting ready to head back out and enjoy my last few hours on the gorgeous island of Mauritius there was a knock on my door. Alexis from safari wanted to see what I was doing, so we both went to Erica’s room to see what the plan was. The three of us decided to eat lunch on the ship to save a little money and then hop in a taxi to meet the rest of the girls. I was really excited Alexis was coming along. So the three of us negotiated for a taxi and took about a 30 minute drive to where we thought the girls were. After about an another 30 minutes of walking in the wrong direction, a little texting, and a walk along the beach resorts we finally found the girls. This part of Mauritius was completely different from what I had seen this morning. The part we were walking through now reminded me more of Hawaii or something it was much more touristy.

I was excited to jump into the blue water!!! The water was so blue and clear the contrast along all the other greenery was beautiful. We spent the rest of the day in the ocean playing and enjoying the sun. At around 5 we headed back to the ship to not get dock time and truth be told we were all really excited for the BBQ. When we got back to the ship we all headed straight up to deck 7 to enjoy dinner outside with the green Mauritius Mountains behind us. We enjoyed a long dinner chatting and talking with everyone as people got on the ship to hear everyone’s brief stories about their day.

Tonight was also the opening ceremonies for the “Sea Olympics”. We were all a little tired after spending the day in the sun but I knew this would be something I wouldn’t want to miss. So Dylan and I watched a movie in her room to stay awake and then go to the opening ceremonies together. The Sea Olympics is a day of events and competitions, each floor of the ship is divided into different sections and they are referred to as different seas. Dylan and I both live in the Red Sea so our color naturally was red. So we put on our red shirts and headed to the union. Many of the other halls seemed to have a ton of people dressed up with face paint, and they were all already chanting and screaming. We had maybe about 10 people and we all look a little awkward. But slowly more red sea people started to stream in and we got a larger crowd going. Our mascot was the Red Bull and one of our sea captains Doug taped two of them to his head like horns and he was our mascot. Our LLC Brad also bought 10 red bull for our sea which was super nice of him because that is about 30 bucks or so on the ship. (Oh did I mention Brad is in charge of ‘Sea”and sends us daily emails with reminders of things we should be aware of or pay antention to. Well to make a long story short we made a deal if Brad didn’t send an email everyday we were at sea he would buy us a grilled cheese from the grill- Needless to say the other day he forgot and Dylan and I get a free grilled cheese!!! !!!!!!!!Trust me it is that exciting…)

Anyways the Union was packed with kids decked out in the colors to represent their seas with their mascots and chants. It reminded of Greek Week!!! The noise level was so loud and it was really fun to sit and get to know kids from my hall or “sea”. The Opening Ceremonies were great and started out with a group of students playing the drums and then each sea presenting their flag and mascot followed by a cheer. These were all being judged and would add into the point for the competitions tomorrow. After all the mayhem of opening ceremonies was over with there was an announcement that “Slum dog Millionaire” was going to be showing in the Union. I had heard so much about it I just had to watch but after about 20 minutes of not being able to read the subtitles I went to my room and feel asleep. I am not worried because I know it will be on loop in my room for the next few days until we get to India.

Anyways, tomorrow is the SEA OLYMPICS!!! And just so you know I will be participating in the Orange Pass, where you pass an orange under your chin using no hands as part of a relay. Oh and synchronize swimming!!!! ( I will write more tomorrow about all of the lovely events and what place my sea comes in..)

February 24th, 2009

2009-02-25T07:52:00.002-08:00

Today was the first Global Studies Exam and I would rather not write or talk about it. It was pretty difficult and I have no idea how I did. So after that I spent the rest of the day watching movies ( my water polo videos from last year), messing around with my pictures, and talking with the girls. All and all a relaxing day once the test was over.

February 22nd, 2009

2009-02-25T07:52:00.001-08:00

This morning I woke up took a shower and met the girls for breakfast on the ship we were trying to save a little bit of money. Our original plan for Erica, Dylan and I was to hike Table Mountain. Although we realized that after days of not sleeping we were not in the right shape to hike, because everyone who did it on the first night with plenty of rest said it was really intense and some people they know had to turn around. So we all decided to take the cable car up and then go to Green Market Square for some shopping.

We got ready and got in a cab to Table Mountain. When we got there we realized the line was super long and we may not get to do other things today if we waited because there was only one cable car going up and down at a time. So we took pictures of Cape Town from the base of Table Mountain which was still gorgeous!!!!! At the base we also bought a few souvenirs like hats, post cards, and WORLD CUP shirts. (P.S. another goal of mine is to make it to the world cup sometime in my life). After buying things and taking pictures we took a taxi down to Green Market Square. It reminds me of the swapmeet and is just a place where vendors set up booths in the street and sell their goods. I bought a few things and felt like I was pretty good bargainer. I also bought probably my favorite painting form this trip so far at the square. I was pleased with my shopping but needed to stop spending money and wanted to get one last good meal before getting back on the ship. So we all headed back to the ship put our things down and grabbed our computers because rumor had it there was free wifi in the port. So Dylan, Courtney, Anna, and I went and got lunch and did a little internet searching. After that we did a little more shopping for practical things we needed before heading on the ship. We were getting on a little earlier than normal because it seemed like this would be an easy port to get caught in line and get dock time which I am determined to not get at all.

Dylan and I had one last task though before getting on the ship. And what was the task??? Getting Dylan a hotdog!! She is a vegetarian but keeps having this recurring dream about hotdogs and decided she would eat one. So we went on a mission and found her hotdog before getting back on the ship.

Once on the ship I think I fell right asleep then uploaded my pictures ate some dinner and was back in bed by 8:30.

February 23rd, 2009

2009-02-25T07:52:00.000-08:00

We are finally back on the ship and back to school and classes. Today was actually a long day of studying and that’s it I didn’t even ever go outside because we are having our first Global Studies test tomorrow!! Although good news from today is I got my test back from my Sacred Sites class and I got an A. So that’s exciting and I also got a little surprise from Michelle in a package she went to Jeff which was really sweet and made my day!

February 20th, 2009

2009-02-25T07:50:00.001-08:00

This morning we woke up at 5:30 to be ready for a 6 am game drive. Alexis and I got to the meeting spot early to get a good seat. I sat right behind Shawn (by the way is from George, South Africa) and was ready for another exciting day.

The first thing we did was take a quick drive to the river for our boat ride. On our way to the boat we saw buffalo, springbok, and baboons. Actually when we got to the river the tree we parked under had baboons in it which was neat. We walked down a small path to get to the boat it reminded me of the Jungle Cruise. It was fun and relaxing for the early morning but there wasn’t much to see animal wise besides birds. After the boat tour we were back in our cars on the search for Rhino.

Shawn knew exactly where they were so we drove straight over. The rhino looked like a dinosaur to me they were very slow moving and just moved along grazing along the grass. Near the rhino were some zebra we got to get closer too and take some pictures. I even got a picture that looks like I could touch the zebra. We continued to drive around finding ostrich, kudu, wildebeest and all kinds of animals.

On our drive I had been talking to Shawn about how the other night I had eaten crocodile, ostrich and all of that. So he asked me if I liked to eat different and interesting things I said sure and the next thing I know it Shawn is stopped at a termite mound. He breaks a piece off and is holding termites in his hand and tells me to eat one. I make him and Alexis do it first then I dove in. Almost everyone in our car did it except for two people I think. I found that the termites just tasted like grass. Oh ya and I forgot to mention this really cool girl Ashley was in my car the entire time and was like our own personal radio singing a new song about every few minutes, it was nice. She also watches Summer Heights High so we had a good few laughs from that.

After eating the termite we went back for some breakfast and then had free time until our afternoon game drive at 4. Some people were going on a hike, other on a bike ride, to the pool, or canoeing down the river we had been on earlier. Alexis and I wanted to go canoeing so we went to change into our bathing suits and got ready. Shawn and another driver Juan (and he isn’t Hispanic) were the ones who took us down to the river and went canoeing with us. Alex, Leah, Nick, Ashley, Laura, and Kristy all came too. Although on our way to the river Shawn and Juan kinda freaked out and sped off down a hill and seemed panicked I didn’t really know what was going on until we got closer. What had happened was Thomas and Robby two boys on the trip who went mountain bike riding for their activitiy didn’t follow the signs and ended up riding down a hill that was extremely close the rhino and all the other animals. It was very dangerous but luckily nothing happened and they just went back up to their trail. So after the phiasco we continued down to the river Alex, Kristy and I in the front seat cracking jokes with Shawn and Juan. Shawn was 25 and Juan was 22 I think it was nice for them to have some people close to their age on the safari because I feel they mostly get families or older people.

We finally got down to the river and did a little canoeing relaxing and enjoying the scenery. After going up river a while most of us came back to the meeting spot but Alex and Kristy were nowhere to be found, so to waste time we went for a swim in the river. Which was super cool I was swimming in a river in AFRICA!!!! We waited a long time and Juan eventually went out the find them as the rest of us kept swimming. He didn’t seem too pleased about it but he also didn’t smile very often so I made it my goal to make him laugh by the end of the trip. The girls finally made it back and we all went back to the lodge for lunch. My clothes were now completely wet and salty so I went to the pool to rinse off then took a shower and quick nap before our night time game drive. The lack of sleep was finally starting to get to me.

I woke up for the night drive and hoped in the front seat of the car ready to find some hippos and the lions again that was our big plan for the night. We first went out looking for the lions since everyone else was looking for the hippo and we found two of the males lions and one of the females. Total the park has two males, two females, and four cubs. We got even closer today then we had yesterday. We even got to see the male lion sprint at something in attempt to kill it but Shawn quote said “He was a pussy”hahahah okay lame I know but I thought it was funny. We sat watching them for a while and they didn’t do much but did get up and walk around the cars as if we weren’t even there it was pretty crazy. We went up and found more Kudu and other such animals and finally drove out to a point to have drinks again before heading back for dinner. The spot we stopped at was amazing and when we looked out over the green valley full of animals there was a double rainbow over the next hill. It was so pretty I didn’t want the day to end. But we did still need to find the hippo before the night was over. So we drove in that direction and as I looked back I witness one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in my life. Shawn was nice enough to pull over and stop so we could watch and get some pictures.

At this point our car seemed to be getting a long with Shawn really well and he started to play tricks on us. For example, on our way to find the hippos we saw a couple giraffes and Shawn asked us if we knew how they slept? We said no and so he told us this story. He said that giraffes find a tree about the same height as their chin and they go rest their head in the tree and then pull their legs up and hang. I swear the entire car was like what and freaked out?? I just looked at him and everyone and said don’t you think you would have seen a picture of that before if it was true?? Then Shawn started cracking up laughing with the rest of the car, everyone was pretty gullible.

We were almost back to the lodge for our Burma (an outside bbq where there would be singing and dancing) when someone spotted the hippo. It was pitch black but we went over and the guides put spot lights on the hippo and we were able to seem him. There was only one and he was really slow moving but I was really glad we got to see it. So before we made it back for dinner Shawn was able to get one more prank off on the car. He pulled up under a tree and mind you its pitch black. He put his spot light on the tree and said do you guys see anything up there?? We said no and he told us to watch out for snakes falling cause they love hanging out in this tree. We all shuffled in our seats and told him he could keep driving. But oh wait his car stalled three times and then he said we had to give it time cool. We all shifted in our seats a little more and had worried looks on our faces and then Shawn turned the car on and sped off. I will say he got me on that one and it was pretty funny. Also on the way back he asked me if I wore lipstick and liked spiders and I said no to both, but he would tell me why he asked and only said I would find out tomorrow.

We finally made it back for dinner which was beautiful and amazing like always. Alexis and I sat at a table with the professors and it was interesting to hear all of their life stories. That is why this program is so great because of the interaction you get to have you’re your professors. It makes them real people and you see them on a real level. After dinner we sat around a bonfire while some workers from the park sang and did some dances for us. A few of us include Dean Garret, and myself joined in on the dancing. It was really fun! After all the fun we decided to head back to shower and sleep cause we had another early wake up call for our last drive before leaving Kariega and heading back to Cape Town. This night we didn’t have any problems with the lights which was nice and I also didn’t have any spiders under my pillow.

February 21st, 2009

2009-02-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

This morning was our last game drive. We headed straight out to find the lions. After about an hour or so of driving Juan found one of the male lions and called Shawn for us to meet them over there. We sat watching him and following him to hopefully find the females and cubs. Shawn noticed the lion was extremely out of breath and told us that he was probably either just done hunting or still in the process of. So we watched waiting for the lion to make its next move. After a while we gave up and went to find the other lions. But we had one minor set back. Shawn got our car stuck in the mud. It took us 7 tries and an hour later with Juans help we were unstuck but had to head back now for breakfast. (I have all 7 attempts on video; even Juans pissed off face!) It couldn’t be that easy though, after we got unstuck Alexis asked me if I wanted to sit in the front so she could enjoy bouncing around in the back seat. I said sure because I actually liked it in the front, although I should have declined it this time. Yesterday I broke my sunglasses so I didn’t have anything to cover my eyes from bugs and dust and what happened? Shawn drove me straight into a bug that hit my eye. My eye got extremely irritated, red, swollen, and it looked like I was crying. My eye watered the entire way back but Shawn lent me his sunglasses which was nice and helped. He kept joking that “It would be okay! I know you are sad to leave me but you can come visit whenever you like.” I just laughed and told him not to flatter himself. We both had a good sense of humor about the situation.

Oh ya and speaking about going to visit Kariega. Shawn told us about a student volunteer program they offer which seemed really cool. So someone remind me to look into that at some point!

We finally made it back for breakfast my swollen watery eye and all. Apparently it was big news cause all the drivers/guides were coming up telling me not to cry and to not be sad I was leaving. I thanked Shawn later for that. After breakfast we quickly packed up our bags and were back on the bus, a stop for lunch and shopping then a plane, and then bus before returning to the ship.

All the SAS safaris got back at the same time and there was about a 45 minute line to get back on the ship. I was pressed for time because we had dinner reservations for 8:30 and the restaurant was 40 minutes away. When I got on the ship I ran into one of the Ryan and he was like we are meeting in 15 minutes hurry. So I took a quick shower, got ready and was upstairs in record time. There was a group of 20 of us going to a restaurant called Moyo (Anna and Courntey set up for us- which was super nice of them). It is a pretty famous restaurant I guess because it is up in like a tree house and they paint your faces. I was excited to see Tally, Katie, Taylor and their friend Jessie were joining us too. As well as Brittney, Audrie and Jess who we hung out with in Namibia. We were all dressed up and ready to go. There was an amazing tent with lights and candles all over the place. It was outside and gorgeous everyone had their own blanket too which was really nice. We spent a good few hours there enjoying dinner, music and each other company. There was a slight confusion about the bill but once it was figured out we split up in two groups; those who wanted to go clubbing and those going back to the ship. Jeff, Ryan, Ryan, Erica and Kelly all went back to the ship and the rest of us went out.

We decided to go to a club called Hemisphere everyone had been telling us to go. So Dylan, Abby, Anna and I all jumped in the same cab and the other girls got in another one. Our cab driver was really cool and played good music we danced the 40 minute drive back to longstreet.

We finally made it Hemisphere and danced the night away and even made friends with a group of guys of Germany it was a really fun night. I think we made it back to the ship around 3 or so and made plans to meet for breakfast at 8. So we all went to bed to get up and enjoy our last day in the amazing and wonderful city of Cape Town (p.s. I have decided I want to live in South Africa at some point in my life).