Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Reverse Culture Shock

I have now been home from Semester At Sea for a little over a month and am settled into the next phase of my life- living in New York City for the summer before my senior year of college. I’m sitting on a train on my way home for the weekend and although the rocking of the train isn’t quite like the rocking of the ship on the open seas, it does bring back memories of getting rocked to sleep if I close my eyes. I don’t know if it has hit me yet that I literally circumnavigated the world last semester, or that I faced my fear of change and overcame it. I do know that Semester At Sea was the hardest but most rewarding experience of my life and I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience. From laughing so hard tears were rolling down my face while horseback riding through the rainforest of Costa Rica to the real uncontrollable tears rolling down my face in Malaysia when I was so homesick I didn’t think I could make it one more week, I cherish the good times and the bad. I believe that without the lowest of lows there wouldn’t have been the highest of highs.

The rollercoaster of emotions I experienced during those 4 months came from my eyes slowly being opened to the world around me. From realizing how horrible the conditions in India are or how technologically advanced Japan is to noticing the approachability and genuine happiness of the kids in the township in South Africa to learning about the awful genocide in Cambodia I have come to the conclusion that although there are so many atrocities in the world, it’s the human resiliency through these atrocities that makes the world so unique and interesting.

Looking back on the trip I have come to realize that it was not the countries I visited but the people that I met along the way that changed and affected me the most. At the beginning of the trip I was really unsure about my decision to travel around the world because I was scared of the unknown and nervous about the cultures I would be immersed in. Four months later, traveling is now a part of me that will never go away. Recently I have noticed so many people talking about going to Mars or discovering life outside our world; however, I now believe that there are so many worlds within our own world still left to be discovered.

Four years ago I was designing my senior yearbook page. I had a hard time deciding on a quote to put on the page that represented the way I felt about life and where I was in my life at the time. In the end I chose a quote by Louisa May Alcott and to this day believe that I couldn’t have picked a more perfect quote to symbolize my life. On the page, below a picture of myself with the farm in the background, the quote read “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship”. I believe that I am still learning how to sail my ship but I am pretty confidant I now have the basics mastered.

I couldn’t have asked for a better abroad experience. Semester at Sea gave me the world, and for that I will always be grateful. Thank you for traveling around the world with me. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to read, think about and comment on the things I experienced. Thank you all for your love and support throughout not only this semester but throughout my life. Although my blog ends here, my journey does not and neither does yours. Travel if you have the means to. Explore, Dream and Discover the world around you and know that it is never too late to begin learning how to sail your own ship. 

Costa Rica

After 10 straight days at sea full of studying for finals, cramming to get last minute homework turned in and conferences with teachers, it was a nice change to be on land. However, this change was bittersweet because I knew that Costa Rica would be our last port of this entire journey. We arrived in Puntarenas on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica early Saturday morning and like usual got of the ship quickly to start our short two day stay. A couple of my friends and I decided to go to Jaco which is about an hour away from Puntarenas because we heard there was a lot more to do there than in Puntarenas. We took an hour long cab ride to Jaco, had lunch then decided to visit some travel companies set up along the road to see what kinds of adventures we could get ourselves into that day. ATVing, paragliding, surfing, horseback riding, and just about any watersport were options. We decided to think about it for a while while we went to the beach to swim and sunbathe for a couple hours. After exhausting ourselves trying to bodysurf in the strong currents of the pacific ocean we ventured back to the adventure companies. We had our options down to two- we would either go ATVing or horseback riding. As college students on a budget, we chose the cheaper of the two- horseback riding.

We got in a car that took us to the bottom of a mountain where we were met by two 12 year old boys and a man that looked like their grandfather. Horses were set up a long the road and we each not so gracefully got onto our chosen horse. We nervously headed up the mountain with our 12 year old guides. The horses were in control and as amateur horseback riders we were frightened by the thought of our horses galloping out into the sunset with us through the Costa Rican rainforest leaving the rest of the group behind. Ok so that is a bit of an exaggeration but lets just say we weren’t too confident in our riding skills. Rudy took the lead up the mountain and in no time we all got our bearings. Mikes horse stopped to eat every 3 minutes, Leila’s only wanted to walk slow or gallop at full speed and Ben and I laughed the whole time watching each other unsuccessfully attempt to horseback ride. We luckily got back down the mountain with no injuries and no lost friends. We said goodbye to our horses and got into a cab laughing hysterically at what we had just done the past few hours. Exhausted from a long day of adventures in Costa Rica we headed back to the ship for a goodnights sleep.

The next day I woke up early to hopefully get on a trip to go to a Costa Rican zip lining park. I got a ticket and got on the bus, unfortunately this was not the bus my other friends were on so I made a couple new friends as we headed to the park. This was an interesting last day on land for me because the first day in our first country of Puerto Rico I also went zip lining through the rainforest. I almost felt like I had come full circle as I got harnessed on to the lines. The best part of this morning was that I went to the park with one of the tallest and longest zip lines in the world. The last zip line in the park was over a kilometer long and over 2,000 feet high. It took about 60 seconds to fly across it. It was so much fun and I would definitely make that a priority if I ever venture back to Costa Rica again.

After returning to the ship in the afternoon, we went to the beach, had lunch, walked around the shops and took in our very last sunset from land before boarding the ship for the VERY last time. It was emotional as we swiped our card to get back on the ship as we realized that the next time we would be getting off the ship in Miami we would not be returning to the place we now considered our second home.

That night I sat by myself on the 8th deck listening to music, and waiting to watch the ship leave port. As I looked up into the sky as dusk turned to night, I caught a glimpse of a star and like always when I see the first star appear in the night sky I recited to myself “star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight”. Staring up into the sky with the engine rumbling underneath my feet as the ship pulled away from the dock, I paused and realized that for the first time in my life I had nothing to wish for. I have an amazingly supportive family, more friends than I honestly know what to do with, and now a pure sense of accomplishment and purpose in life. I was genuinely happy, healthy, and savored that moment. As I head back into the real world I know I will see a star and have hundreds of things to wish for, but I will always cherish and remember that moment sitting on the deck feeling the happiest and proudest I have ever felt. 

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Hawaii

It takes 20 days to cross the Pacific Ocean. We had one 12 hour break during these 20 days. We arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii on Tuesday morning at 5am and woke up at 6am to start clearing customs early. It didn’t really hit me until I was sitting on the 6th deck eating breakfast that I was actually back in AMERICA for the first time in three months. I was so excited to hear English, not have to awkwardly try to speak a language I had no idea how to pronounce and eat the comfort foods I have missed so much.

We got off the ship as fast as we could so we could take in the few hours we had on land. A couple of my friends and I decided we needed to go to Pearl Harbor in the morning because after going to Hiroshima in Japan and learning about how WWII ended we wanted to learn about how it began. Unfortunately when we got to Pearl Harbor there was a 2.5 hour wait to take the ferry out to the USS Arizona. We thought about it for awhile then realized we didn’t want to waste 2.5 of our 10 hours on land that day sitting inside, so we walked through the small museum then left to go meet back up with our other friends.

We met up with the rest of my friends in Waikiki, had lunch then went straight to the beach to set up our little area on the sand for the next few hours. A couple of us wanted to do something fun and exciting rather than just sunbathe, so we took a walk down the beach to see what we could find. We ran into a little tent along the way that said “surfing lessons”. Perfect. We paid $35 each to have an hour long surfing lessons with two instructors. It was so much fun! We paddled out in the blue water through some small waves then waited as our instructors slowly pushed each of us towards the shore one at a time. The waves were small enough that we had time to get up on the board but big enough that we felt a rush of accomplishment and exhilaration every time we stood up feeling like we were the girls from the movie Blue Crush or the guys from Endless Summer. By the end of the hour my arms were soar from paddling and my leg was cramping up but it was well worth it. We returned our boards, slathered more sunscreen on then got back into the water. We all hung out together for the last couple of hours of sunlight then gathered our stuff and headed to a beachfront restaurant where we ordered dinner and drinks while watching the orange sun set over the glistening water of the pacific ocean. We headed back to the ship at 8:30 after an amazing day. I was reinvigorated and ready to spend the next ten days at sea studying for finals and taking in the last two weeks left on my semester at sea.

As I sit here in the piano lounge, now with only 10 days left I am feeling a huge mix of emotions. In some sense I feel like I am just starting to get used to this experience, but at the same time I feel like I have been on the ship for years. I am so excited to see my family and friends who I have obviously missed so much during this semester, but I am also so sad to know that I wont be able to see my new friends together everyday ever again. In ten days I will walk off of this ship for the last time a different person than I was 3.5 months ago when I first walked on. I don’t exactly know what those differences or changes are or will be, but I can feel it. I only hope that I can hold onto these feelings, stories, experiences, friends, and memories forever. 

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Japan

Japanese people are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. My friends and I quickly got off the ship in Kobe, Japan to take the Shinkansin bullet train to Tokyo. When we arrived in Tokyo at 8pm we had no idea where we were staying, what we were going to do or how we were going to get around one of the biggest cities in the world. As we all stood in a circle in the middle of the Tokyo train station looking confused at a map in Japanese, a man named Yoshi came up to us and asked if we needed help. We told him our situation and he spent the next three hours with us helping us find a hotel and plan our stay in Tokyo. He let us use his laptop, went with us on the subway to the district he recommended we stay in, translated signs and books for us and eventually got us a great deal at a hotel that in other circumstances probably would have turned us away. At first I was weary of this man and why he was so willing to spend so much time with us, but as the night went on I realized that he was literally doing this out of the kindness of his heart. He saw six confused Americans standing in the middle of the train station and wanted to help.


After putting our bags in the hotel we offered to take him out to dinner because that was the least we could do. He led us to a little sushi restaurant in the Shinjuku district and we had great conversation about Japan and America and the vast differences between the two. He left us that night with a great first impression of Japan that would ultimately continue throughout our four days in one of my favorite countries I have visited on Semester at Sea.


Our second day in Japan was spent exploring the city of Tokyo. We went to the Ginza district where we visited the Sony Building that houses some of the newest and coolest electronics and gadgets. We then headed to a beautiful park in the middle of the city. We walked along the river then visited the Imperial Palace where we hung out all afternoon taking pictures and taking in the culture. This was the first time my “family” (my group of 6 best friends on the ship) was together in a country on our own. After spending a few hours in the park we split up. Rudy, Leila, Todd and I went to the Hirajuku district where we went shopping and walked around taking in the surroundings. Some of you may know the Hirajuku district as the place where Gwen Stefani started and got a lot of inspiration for her LAMB clothing line. We left Hirajuku around 5pm because we were meeting up with Vamsi and Ashley at our hotel at 5:30. This is when our night got a little interesting.


Rudy of course had to buy a leather jacket so we were running on the late side; however, we were pretty sure we could get back to the hotel just in time to meet up with our friends. We got to the subway and realized we had to take two different lines to get back to our hotel. This took over 45 minutes and by the time we got to the station we wanted to be in we were 30 minutes late. So without thinking we run outside and start walking towards the hotel. In reality we were walking in the opposite direction of the hotel. We walked for 15 minutes until we realized that we didn’t recognize where we were. We then had to ask someone how to get back to where we began. Using hand gestures and a map we showed a Japanese man where we wanted to go and he pointed us in the right direction. We walked for another 20 minutes and got to the hotel over an hour late. Ashley and Vamsi were worried and we were exhausted from running around the city. We went down to the street and found a restaurant to eat and relax at.


The wait to be seated was 40 minutes long, but we didn’t mind because all we wanted to do was sit down. We sat down on the floor and played cards for a while then were finally called to the table. We ordered nachos, fajitas, burritos and guacamole with chips. YES we went to a Mexican restaurant in Japan. After eating a huge dinner that reminded me of going to Chili’s back in Syracuse we headed back to our rooms for a good nights sleep.


The next morning, Leila, Rudy, Todd and I woke up early to catch a train back to Kobe. We arrived in Kobe around 11am, ate lunch then headed back to the train station to go to Osaka. In Osaka we went to one of the worlds biggest aquariums where we saw penguins being fed, dolphins, a whale shark, huge manta rays and jellyfish. Although the aquarium was very busy it was still really fun to visit and see the marine life we have been sailing over for the past couple of months. After spending a few hours in the aquarium we walked outside and bought tickets to go on one of the biggest ferris wheels in the world. During our 15 minute ride on the wheel we saw the entire skyline of Osaka and caught a glimpse of Universal Studios in Japan. After riding the ferris wheel we ate dinner at a local mall then headed back to Kobe late that night.


On our last day in Japan Lelia, Rudy and I decided to go to Hiroshima to learn more about the end of WWII and Japan’s feelings towards America and the dropping of the Atomic bomb. It was a beautiful day out. As we slowly walked through Peace Park where different memorials stand, I noticed a sense of somberness in every person I saw, bother Americans and Japanese.


The memorial museum was definitely worth seeing. As I was walking through the museum I realized that I didn’t know as much as I thought I knew about WWII and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I read memoirs of survivors and watched a short video about that fateful morning.  I found it really interesting that the Japanese were so nice to us as Americans coming into their country after what we did to them only 65 years ago. The hard feelings are gone, and what’s left is the grave reality of nuclear war and the deaths of so many innocent people. After visiting the museum we saw a couple more memorials in the Peace Park then went back to the train station for our ride back to Kobe.


The train rides in Japan were absolutely beautiful. We sped through the country on what used to be the fastest train in the world. I watched us go through the deep valleys and wooded mountains of the countryside. I took in all of the sights as I sat comfortably by the window. If (I mean when) I come back to Japan I not only want to visit Kyoto which I didn’t get a chance to go to, but would also love to see the countryside and the beautiful more rural areas of the country.


When we got back to Kobe we quickly got into a cab because there was one more thing to do before we left Kobe…eat Kobe beef of course! Three of my friends and I asked a couple people on the streets what the best place to go for steak was. We had an hour before “on-ship” time but knew we had to do this before leaving Japan. We got to a restaurant recommended by a couple people on the street and sat down to look at the menu. The cheapest steak was $105. So being the four college students we are we decided to split one steak between the four of us which still made for a pretty expensive dinner. The steak was cooked right in front of us hibachi style on our table and was served with a few vegetables and a thin slice of toasted bread. The steak tasted better than any bite of meat I have ever tried. It was so tender and juicy and the three bites I had were definitely worth the $25. After finishing dinner and feeling very accomplished after a packed four days in Japan we headed back to the ship to get ready to leave Japan and start heading through the Pacific Ocean towards home.


Back in January I split up the trip into four sections in my head. The first was through South Africa, the second was the middle countries before Asia, the third section of the trip was the Asian countries and the fourth is the trip back home. Right now I am sitting on the ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean gaining hours back day by day as I head home. I have gone to all of those “devastatingly different” countries I was so scared to go to before I left and am now only 20 days away from again being in the safe harbor of my home in America. I don’t think I have had enough time to process where I was and what I have done in the past three months; however, I have come to realize how absolutely grateful I am for having this experience. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I am grateful not only for the great and fun times, but also the hard times because what truly made this trip amazing were the ups and downs. In some aspects I feel the trip is over, but I have to realize that I still have three weeks left and I need to make the most out of every single minute left on my second home- the MV Explorer. 

Monday, April 14, 2008

Hong Kong and China

Hong Kong
We arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday, April 3rd. I quickly got off of the ship to meet up with my friends from Syracuse who are spending the semester there studying abroad. I first met up with Alyxa who showed me around the city and the university where she is studying. After seeing where she has been spending most of her time in Hong Kong we met up with my other two friends, Chelsea and Claire for lunch. It was so nice to see people from home and to really be able to talk about things that I haven’t talked about in awhile (like Syracuse, our mutual friends, Theta, and missing American food).

After lunch we walked through one of a million malls in Hong Kong. I couldn’t believe how many stores and shopping malls there are in HK. It seemed like we had to walk past at least 10 stores before reaching our destination. After shopping for a little we decided to go back to their dorm rooms to hang out. I was able to use their internet without having to rush and worry about wasting precious minutes that I would normally have to pay for on the ship. I was also able to get a Syracuse course catalog to start figuring out my schedule for next fall which was very helpful. After relaxing and talking for a couple of hours we all decided to go out to dinner. We went into central Hong Kong where we ate at a local sushi restaurant then I headed back to the ship because I needed to pack for Beijing and talk to the boys about our upcoming trip.

The next day Chelsea, Claire, and Alyxa came and picked me up at the ship then we went straight to the bus where we took a nice bus ride up to Victoria’s Peak which is a mountain overlooking the city of Hong Kong. Although it was really hazy out it was still really cool to see the skyline of the city from a different angle. We walked around the top of the mountain for a while, got something to eat, shopped (again), and then headed to the cable car for our trip back down the mountain. After visiting Victoria’s Peak we decided to have a classy afternoon and went to have tea at the Peninsula hotel (one of the nicest hotels in HK).

We waited in line for over an hour, but once we got seated we realized that the wait was worth it. We were served hot jasmine tea, finger sandwiches, crumpets, and little pastries to eat as we laughed and talked together for over three hours. Acting classy in a really nice hotel while eating pastries and sipping tea was a nice change of pace after being in third world countries for the past couple of months. But more importantly it was so nice to be with people from home whom I love and hadn’t seen in a couple of months.

After tea we went to have a few drinks at one of their favorite spots in town hidden in a gorgeous back alley full of restaurants and bars lined with lit up trees and brick sidewalks. At 7:45 we headed back towards the ship to watch the famous Hong Kong city skyline light show. Although it was foggy, it was still cool to see the skyline light up with neon colors and spectacular spotlights. After the lightshow we went back to that same alley way where I took my friends out to dinner to thank them for giving me a tour of Hong Kong and hanging out with me for two days. After a long “see you later” not “goodbye” we parted ways and I headed back to the hostel my friends had gotten a room in for the night (because the ship had left to head to Shanghai). We were now on our own for the next 4 days and were expected to meet the ship in Shanghai on Monday, April 7th.

Beijing

7 boys, 1 girl, 3 days of traveling through China together. With the girl to guy ratio on the ship at 70/30% I really don’t see how this ended up happening, but I joined a group of guys to travel through China with. I obviously ended up planning our itinerary, booking the hotel and calling for wake-up calls every morning because as they jokingly liked to call me throughout the week, I was the “mom”. I didn’t mind this though because the guys I traveled with were great and I had such a good time hanging out with different people and not dealing with the usual girl drama I hear about everyday.

Anyways, we left Hong Kong on the morning of April 5th and took a ferry ride to an airport about an hour outside the city (because the flights were cheaper). We got on the plane and headed to Beijing. When we got to Beijing we checked into our hotel, unpacked our stuff then headed out into the city to find something to eat. We ended up finding a little Chinese restaurant. I ordered vegetable fried rice, but when the waiter brought my food out I realized it was pork-fried rice…this was the beginning of our hardest language barrier challenge yet which we would be struggling with throughout China.

The next morning we woke up early and met up with a professor from Semester at Sea who had been to China many times before and offered to show us around the Forbidden City and the major parts of Beijing. This was a blessing in discise because we would have been lost without him. He brought us to the Forbidden City, explained the different parts of it to us as well as the history. It was so much easier to have an American explain what everything was than trying to dissect heavy Chinese accented English from a tour guide. After the Forbidden City we headed out to Tiananmen Square then walked to the Temples of Heaven where we walked through a “Central Park” looking park in the middle of the city and visited the big brightly colored temple in the middle. After the Temples of Heaven we left our professor to explore the city on our own for a couple of hours.

We decided to go to the Olympic Stadiums being built for the summer 2008 Olympics. The main stadium is so impressive. The architecture of it is unlike any other stadium I have ever seen and the magnitude of it is immense. We took pictures outside of the stadium because we couldn’t go inside and we walked around where the Olympic village is going to be. It was really cool to see this and know that in 4 months I will be watching the Olympics from home but will be seeing the same place I was just standing. After viewing the Stadium for a while 2 of my friends and I decided to get TGIFridays for lunch…it was amazing. I have missed American food for so long and to be able to have some mozzarella sticks and a burger was delicious (especially after the pork fried rice episode the night before). After stuffing our faces at our late afternoon lunch we headed back to the hotel to rest for an hour and get ready for dinner.

We met up with our Professor later that night and he brought us to a famous Peking-Duck restaurant. We sat around a big table and the waiters brought 2 roasted ducks out to us and carved them right in front of us. Me, being the picky eater that I am was hesitant to try it, but I sucked it up because I was in China and tried it…it was actually really good! We ate the duck and some rice and had great conversation talking about Semester at Sea and the faculties’ views versus students’ views of ship life. After dinner we headed to the lakes around Beijing where the nightlife is and walked beside the rivers talking and having a good time. We headed back to the hotel early because we had an early wake up call the next morning.

We woke up at 6:30am the next morning to meet up with a van to go to the Great Wall of China. We packed our stuff, checked out of the hotel, got in a van then drove 2 hours to the Great Wall. When we got there we took a cable car up to the top of the mountain then walked up and down the Great Wall for over an hour. Although it was a little foggy out, it was an incredible feeling standing on another one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I wished we had more time at the wall, but unfortunately we had to catch a flight back to Shanghai that afternoon. When it was time to go we walked back to where we started on the wall and tobogganed down the hill! We got on little toboggan like seats and zoomed down the mountain on a metal tube slide. It was a really fun and amusing way to end our morning at the Great Wall of China. When we got to the bottom we spent our last 5 minutes buying “I climbed the Great Wall of China” T-shirts, bottles of water and some snacks for our flight to Shanghai.

Although our flight was delayed 2 hours, we arrived in Shanghai with high spirits because of the amazing couple of days we had just experienced in Beijing.

Shanghai
During my one day in Shanghai, my friends and I decided to go to the markets. We got directions written in Chinese and in English then tried to hail a cab. This was more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Most Chinese taxi drivers don’t speak English so they feel intimidated if they pick up Americans; therefore, about 15 empty cabs drove by us before we got one to stop and take us to where we wanted to go. We got dropped off in a rural area outside the city which ended up not being where we wanted to be. We walked around trying to ask for directions and nobody seemed to know where to go. Finally we walked into McDonalds and the lady behind the counter nicely wrote down directions to the mall she goes to when she shops. We thought this was going to be a great local place.

We got to the mall and immediately were hounded by vendors and shop owners. I almost felt like a celebrity with everyone pulling at my shirt and telling me “For you- good price, come with me! Come with me!”. At first it was funny, but it quickly turned uncomfortable when we noticed we were being stalked by a couple of men trying to make us go to their store. We told them to go away and let us be, but being in such a local area where they are not used to tourists, this did not work. We ended up leaving this area because we couldn’t stop to look at something without being harassed by salesmen and took a cab back to the ship to regroup and try to find the right place to go.
When I got back to the ship I ended up meeting up with my roommate. We decided to go out to dinner instead of going to the markets however; it was just my luck that day when we walked outside and it began to downpour. We ran across the street to the closest restaurant and sat down to dry off and look at the menu. The menu consisted of dog meat, octopus, and many other unappetizing meals that we were not about to try. So we ordered two beers and relaxed until we had to head back to the ship. We got back to the ship half an hour before on-ship time (the time we are told we have to be back by on the last day of a port), and went up to the 7th deck to order a grilled cheese.

I wish I had more time in Shanghai because the city looked fun; however, my day there wasn’t my favorite of my days in China. Although my one day in Shanghai wasn’t as interesting as it could have been, I left China feeling great and proud of myself for being able to travel independently throughout one of the biggest and most populated countries in the world.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Cambodia and Vietnam

It’s 5:30 in the morning, I am wide awake and standing at the bow of the ship on the 7th deck as the MV Explorer navigates the tricky twists and turns of the Mekong Delta as we head towards the port in Ho Chi Min City (also known as Saigon), Vietnam. I am excited to be in Vietnam but nervous because I know I am about to leave on a trip to Cambodia. I have absolutely no idea what to expect.

We left the ship on Thursday morning to go to the airport to take a quick 45 minute flight to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. When we arrived we all piled onto tour buses and drove directly through the city to the National Museum. We saw old ruins and old Buddha statues. After visiting the museum we drove to the Mekong River where we took a sunset cruise down the river through the deltas. After the hour-long boat ride we headed to dinner at a local restaurant where we had traditional Southeast Asian food. After dinner we visited an orphanage where over 80 Cambodian orphans live.

We began walking down a dark ally way towards the orphanage. As we got close to the gates I could hear the kids laughing and playing. When we walked onto the grounds of the orphanage the children immediately ran up to us like we were celebrities. They were hugging us and pulling at our pants with their small hands to get us to play with them. I handed out chocolates to the kids and the smiles on their faces quickly turned my fatigue from the long day into excitement. The standard of living in Cambodia is not even close to that of America as I noticed when I saw the rooms where the kids sleep. No beds, just a few blankets and pillows on the floor. Their clothes were dirty, probably because they only have one or two shirts in their possession. I played soccer with a few kids then headed upstairs where one 10-year-old girl taught me how to play a hand game. We all played and hung out together till 10pm when it was time for us to leave and for the children to go to bed. We said goodbye and headed back to the bus to check-in to our hotel for a much anticipated good nights sleep.

I was warned before we came to Cambodia that we would be visiting the genocide museum and The Killing Fields, but was not prepared for what was to come. We woke up early on our second day in Cambodia and went straight to the Tuosleng Genocide Museum. Before 1975 Tuosleng was a highschool for Cambodian children, but in 1975 the highschool was turned into a prison and torture center as the Khmer Rouge slowly took over and started one of the worst and least known about killing sprees of our generation. We learned about how they wanted Cambodia to revert back to being a natural and not educated country so that the people in power had all of the authority; therefore, anyone remotely educated, enlightened or admired was kidnapped and killed during this 4 year reign.

The museum reminded me of the Holocuast museum in Washington DC except more personal and powerful. The museum is the ACTUAL place where these tortures and killings took place. While walking through the halls of the building my mind raced back and forth as I imagined and pictured what happened thirty years ago in the exact spots where I was standing. As I looked at the pictures of the people who were killed I could see the depression, desperation and loss of hope in their eyes. It was overwhelming to say the least, but definitely worthy of seeing and something more people should know about. After visiting the museum we headed to The Killing Fields where the people imprisoned where taken to be killed and then buried in mass graves.

The Killing Fields were eerie, almost ghostly. I could feel the presence of the thousands of people killed there. As I walked through the fields where the mass graves were I saw human bones sticking out of the ground on the walking paths and clothing from the victims coming through the dirt. It was almost too much to handle when our guide began describing how these innocent people were executed. In the center of the fields is a monument with over 9,000 human skulls on shelves stacked over 50 feet high. The numerous skulls seemed like they went on forever as I looked up onto the shelves stretching higher than I could see.

I find it interesting that I had absolutely no idea this happened in Cambodia and I hope that more people learn not only about it but from it. Seeing this has made me want to learn more about the genocides going on today such as in the Darfur region of Africa. I don’t get how countries like America can sit and watch something so horrible happen and not do anything about it. We do have the power to stop these genocides from happening yet for some reason we sit and watch, waiting to learn about it 30 years after it has ended. I know it is much more complicated than that, but I cant wrap my mind around any good reason to not do everything possible to end these killings of perfectly innocent human beings.

After learning about the genocide in Cambodia we left the killing fields and headed to a more modern part of town where we visited the Royale Pagoda and Silver Palace. The pagodas are beautiful; full of tiny intricate gold details and high pointed steeples. Visiting these beautiful buildings uplifted a somewhat depressing mood within the group. After visiting the Pagodas we headed to the airport for a short flight to Angkor Wat.

We arrived in Angkor in the late afternoon and went straight to the main temples of Angkor Wat. I have seen pictures of this- the biggest religious site in the world, but seeing it in real life was so much cooler than I expected. The ruins are huge and every piece of stone is carved with perfect detailing. After watching the sunset over the temples we headed to dinner at a big local restaurant where we ate and watched a cultural dance show. After a long day we headed to the hotel for again some much needed sleep.

The next morning I woke up at 5am to go see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was absolutely beautiful as I stood by the lake as the orange sun rose over the temples then cast a reflection on the water in front of me. After touring the temples, three of my friends and I decided to leave the group for a couple of hours to explore the city of Ankgor Wat by ourselves. We went to the markets, ate lunch at a pizza place then headed back to the hotel where we met up with the group to tour one more section of the temples.

In the afternoon we visited Angkor Thom which was where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider. We explored the ruins and saw the hidden faces carved into the rock towers. While exploring these old temples everyone was dripping sweat because of the heat and humidity. I literally have never sweat more in my life than during these three days in Cambodia. Although the heat was brutal it was well worth it and the experiences I had in Cambodia by far surpass the annoyance of the heat. In the late afternoon we headed back to the hotel for our flight back into Vietnam and back to the ship.

If I had to describe Cambodia in a few words I would say that it is a country deep in culture but still visibly suffering from the hard times. I feel that if the genocide and wars hadn’t taken place, the country would have a big economic impact on Southeast Asia; however, with everything it has gone through in the past half century it hasn’t regained any real power or developed into the industrial society it should be. The people of Cambodia are noticeably depressed and affected by its history and the underdeveloped cities show that impact.

The last two days in Vietnam I spent walking around the city, bargaining in the market, buying more dollar DVDs and knock off everything. On the second day I visited the War Remnants Museum which was another pretty depressing sight. I saw pictures of the Vietnam War (or the “American War” as the Vietnamese call it) and learned more about the war. We left the museum after visiting for only an hour because lets face it- I had already seen enough disheartening things for the week. We headed back to the ship with a ton of cheap souvenirs and gifts and waited till the morning to renavigate the Mekong delta out of
Saigon and begin our two day journey towards Hong Kong.

Vietnam and Cambodia were unexpectedly two of my favorite places I have visited on this trip. Two very different countries, three days in Cambodia, two days in Vietnam, five days of learning and again appreciating what I have in life. The two days I spent in Vietnam were fun and definitely worth it because I was able to buy over a hundred DVDs for less than $40, a North Face backup for $9 and a ton of little gifts for all of you supporting me back at home. And although parts of my trip to Cambodia were depressing, the knowledge I gained from being there was well worth the grim sites.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Malaysia

I have now been away from home for over 8 weeks. I am a little bit more than half way through this so-called “journey of a lifetime” and I am absolutely exhausted. I woke up last Wednesday, our first day in Malaysia with a dull stomach ache that had been irritating me since before India (probably from the malaria medicine I have been taking) and with only four hours of sleep, lets just say I wasn’t at my best. I was planning on going on a trip to Kuala Lumpur (the biggest city in Malaysia) with all of my friends but as the group began to walk towards the buses I broke down and decided not to go. 

If you know me well, you know that I am a very stable person usually with my feet planted steadily on the ground however, with my physical exhaustion came mental and emotional exhaustion and the next three days became the low point of this journey as I struggled with homesickness, anxiety and fatigue. I needed time to myself and I needed time to reevaluate the reasons why I am doing this trip and what I need to get out of it.

So for the first three days in Malaysia I didn’t do much. I hung out on the ship, painted my nails, read some magazines and watched about 20 episodes of Friends. I was able to get online and talk to friends from home which helped a lot and for the first time in a long time I was also able to run on the treadmill because the ship wasn’t rocking.

I told myself before I started my run that if I could run 2.5 miles straight without slowing down or stopping to walk than I could get through these next 6.5 weeks. So I started running. My hip began to hurt, I was out of breath, sweat was dripping down my face, and I thought I couldn’t do it…but I kept running. I finished the 2.5 mile run, slowed down and realized that every journey whether big (like this trip) or small (like a 2.5 mile run on the treadmill) has easy times and hard times and you have to go through the low points to realize how great the highs are. I did this two days in a row and although still feeling homesick, I proved that the hard times don’t last for long and although I probably wont want to leave when the time comes, I know the time is coming.

My friends returned from Kuala Lumpur on Friday night and my mind finally took a break from thinking about home. Saturday was spent visiting some Buddhist temples in the city and shopping for gifts and souveniers from Malaysia. I got a lot of gifts for people from home (josh- I am still looking for a cricket bat for you…ill try my best to get you one!), and I learned more about the city that I had been sitting outside of for the past three days. Saturday night was my favorite part of the five days we had in Malaysia.

During my couple of days on the ship I heard rumors about a market held at night where you could find DVDs for a dollar and tons of cheap things to buy. My friends and I all went to the street night market around 8pm and we spent an hour flipping through stacks and stacks of DVDs…each only a dollar apiece. I ended up getting the entire SERIES of Sex and the City for a mere $25 and a bunch of movies that aren’t even out in stores yet. I was unsure if they were going to work in my DVD player so right when I got back to the ship around midnight I put a couple of them into my computer and luckily they worked!

Sunday was spent running a few errands, getting food from the supermarket and resting. I went out to dinner with a couple people not in my immediate group of friends, which was a nice change, and we headed back to the ship right on time. As we pulled away from Malaysia I decided to leave that anxiety and homesickness there and start a new mindset for the next couple of weeks.

I have 6 weeks to go until I am back in America and I am going to make the most out of these weeks. Although I know my homesickness won’t go away right now, I also know that it can’t stop me from experiencing Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Japan. I have realized that being homesick isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It means that I have such a great life to return to at home and so many people whom I love to share my experiences with. I am past the halfway point of this run and although it hurts at times, I know it is and will be worth it. The change in me that comes with this run will no doubt be a good one in the end.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

India

A couple of years ago at a normal family dinner sitting around our round dinner table in the kitchen oh my home, my Bubbie gave me the best advice I've ever received. She told me that whenever I am walking alone or in an unfamiliar place “always walk with a purpose. Walk with a destination in mind”. That advice has stuck with me ever since that night and was most helpful when I was in India this past week.

We arrived in India on March 11th. I of course was nervous and resistant to this country because I knew going into it, it would be the most difficult to deal with and of course the big C-word (change) from what I am used to. On the other hand I was happy to be going on a four-day trip through India with SAS because I knew they would take care of all of the itinerary and in some ways “hold my hand” throughout the country. We left Chennai (in south India) during the first afternoon and flew to Delhi where we checked into a hotel, had our first Indian dinner and went to bed to prepare for an early wake up call.

The phone rang at 4am and I half asleep prepared myself for a 2.5 hour train ride to Agra. When we arrived in Agra we went straight to one of the most prominent landmarks in the world; one of the seven wonders of the world- the Taj Mahal. It was incredible and almost unrealistic to be standing in front of this building that I have heard so much about and seen so many pictures of. I felt like I was standing in front of a giant canvas painting of the building not the actual building itself. After taking close to one million pictures I walked closer to the palace and finally went in. The details of the marble carvings and inset jewels were beautiful. After spending about an hour at the Taj we headed back to our bus through the beggars and children asking for money. One of the hardest parts about being in India was ignoring the children asking for money. Our guide warned us that if we talk to anyone asking for anything they will take our “No thank you” as a “maybe” and continue to harass us. I had mixed emotions about this because I knew I had enough money to give to these children but I also knew that if I did give them anything more children would surround me and ask for more.

After visiting the Taj Mahal we went to a marble making place where we learned about how they make marble tables and how they inset the jewels into the marble permanently with a secret glue solution. I wanted to buy something from this place but it was all really expensive so I decided to try to find something similar somewhere else in India.

Next stop was Agra Fort, which are the ruins of an old palace used centuries ago for the king of Agra. We learned about his royal way of life and how he had may wives and servants at his disposal. Each room had different purposes but all belonged to him. After walking around this fort we got back on the bus for a 6.5 hour bus ride to Jaipur (also known as the “pink city”). On our way to Jaipur we stopped at another fort called Ghost City where we learned similar things in comparison to Agra Fort. After a long and bumpy car ride through the dangerous streets of rural India we arrived in Jaipur late at night and exhausted from a full day of traveling and experiencing India.

The next day we woke up early again to head into the center of Jaipur. We got to another fort and waited in line for about 45 minutes to ride an elephant! When we got to the front of the line 2 people at a time got onto a galley-backed elephant where we rode up to the top of an old palace. This was one of my favorite parts about my time in India. The elephants were decorated with blankets and paint on their tusks. They looked beautiful but I did feel bad for them because the harnesses looked like they were hurting and I could tell that this is the only thing they do all day and are not treated as well as they should be. I guess I have become more sensitive to different kinds of animal cruelty after going on the safari in South Africa and seeing the animals content in their natural environment.

After the elephant ride we were taken to a textile factory where we learned and saw how they make genuine wool and cashmere rugs. All of these rugs were beautiful and I impulsively bought a small very good quality rug made by hand by these Indian workers. It may look a little out of place in Syracuse, NY next year but it will always remind me of my time in India and on Semester at Sea. After the textile factory we went to a jewelry shop to see silver and precious stones and then headed to a local market. This was by far one of the most interesting experiences I had in India.

The street markets in India are full of stands selling saris, bangles, t shirts, fruits and vegetables and shoes made out of camel leather. My friend and I began walking around by ourselves but quickly learned that it would be better to walk with a couple of guys. We found some boys on our trip and began walking around with them so we wouldn't get harassed as much by the venders. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people staring at us and asking us for our money. I ended up buying some beautiful gold bangle bracelets but left the market early to make myself feel more comfortable. My friend and I walked with a couple of guys back to the bus but on our way saw a lot of teenage boys playing cricket in a field by the bus. We decided it would be fun to go play cricket with the boys or at least watch. As we approached the fence the Indian boys surrounded us because a) we are American and b) my friend and I are girls. The boys all wanted to shake our hands and take pictures with us. After doing this for a couple of minutes we decided to go over the fence to get closer to the cricket game. This was not the best idea for my friend and I. After getting over the fence we were literally surrounded by the boys who began to tease us, grab at us and tell us to take more pictures. We both became extremely uncomfortable (especially after one boy attempted to kiss my friend) so we quickly left and went to sit on the bus. I felt frustrated by this experience because as boys my other friends could easily hang out and watch the Indian boys play cricket, but as girls my friend and I were harassed and made to feel unwelcome. At this point I realized how much I as an American girl take for granted back at home.

After everyone returned from the Market we went to have dinner at an old palace then headed back to the hotel to rest up and prepare ourselves for our 1:30am wake-up call (yes…really 1:30am). We obviously didn't go to bed between 10pm and 1:30am but instead hung out at the roof top bar. At 1:30 we went back to the bus and began another 6.5 hour bus ride back to Delhi. The bus ride was freezing cold from the air-conditioning and uncomfortable. After getting to Delhi we headed to the airport for our 2.5 hour flight back to Chennai.

We got back to Chennai in the afternoon and I immediately jumped into the shower. I have never felt cleaner than after taking that shower because I felt so dirty the three days prior. After showering I then proceeded to the snack bar where I had a good ol' American hamburger which was delicious after spending the past 3 days eating rice, bread and being overly cautious and nervous about food poisoning from the bacteria in India. For the first time in port I was actually content and happy to be back in my new safe-haven, the ship. I spent the rest of the night hanging out of the ship, napping and regrouping from the culture shock that was and is India.

During our last day in India, my friends and I decided to go to a shopping center to buy last minute things. We took a 10 minute rickshaw ride to the mall which was definitely an experience. If anyone has been to India before they know that there are no traffic rules therefore, trucks and motorcycles all go as fast as they want while cutting each other off at every corner. Nevertheless, being in a three-wheeled tiny tin-can that is a rickshaw was an adventure. After surviving the rickshaw rides both to and from the shopping center we headed back to the ship for a final time in India.

So I survived India; the place I was most scared to visit, but the place I had to visit the most if I wanted to get over that fear of change that I talked about in my first post. I am proud of myself for keeping an open mind throughout the experience even though it was difficult at times. For the first time in my life I felt like a complete minority. Being stared at for being a white American was an interesting experience and being harassed because I am a girl was eye-opening. I don't feel the need to return to India anytime soon because I feel that I will never truly feel comfortable in such a different society; however, I am glad that I walked through India with the purpose to overcome this fear of change and with the destination of cultural acceptance in mind.

Top 10 Things I as an American take for granted:
1. Clean/safe tap water
2. Green grass
3. Equality and feminism
4. Strict traffic laws
5. Cleanliness
6. Domesticated pets
7. Toilets and toilet paper
8. Health insurance, doctors and hospitals
9. Air conditioning
10. Freedom (in every sense)

Mauritius

When I first looked at the itinerary of this trip, there was one place that I had never heard of before- Mauritius. I didn't know what continent it belonged to, what language they spoke, or even how to pronounce its name. I quickly learned that Mauritius is a small island (only 205 mile circumference) off of the eastern coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It is a very diverse country consisting of Indians, French, Africans, and Chinese. I also heard from past SASers that there isn't much to do on the island therefore the 4 days on land consist of renting villas or hotel rooms on the beach, sipping pina coladas, getting a tan, and going out at night. This was a pretty accurate description.

We arrived in Mauritius on March 1st. Right when I got off the ship I went on an SAS sponsored trip to Grand Bay where we went on a submarine trip! We went out into the crystal clear waters off the shore and got into a cramped and closterfobic submarine where we went 112ft deep in the ocean. We were under the water for about 45 minutes looking at the fish and singing “yellow submarine” repeatedly as a group. I can understand why many people loved this trip; however, the whole time I was under the water I felt like I should be scuba diving in the open water rather than cramped in an uncomfortable submarine. Nevertheless it was a cool experience being in a submarine.

That afternoon my friends and I headed to the hotel we had booked a few weeks prior and settled in for a relaxing next 2 days. I ended up getting my first migraine ever that afternoon so I layed in bed while everyone else sat in the sun which was frustrating but luckily it went away so I could go out to dinner with friends that night. The next 2 days were spent lying out on the beach and swimming in the clear blue waters. The hotel we stayed at was better than expected…a little small but right on the beach and all inclusive.

On the last day in Mauritius my group of friends and I went to a place called Adventure Park where we walked over hanging rope bridges through the forest and did a ropes course which they said was for people with intermediate physical fitness levels but was actually for experts…the ropes course reminded me of overnight camp except an extreme version of it. It was a lot of fun attempting to complete the course even though I was sore for the next two days, bruised and mosquito bitten.

Overall Mauritius was really fun and relaxing. It was great to learn about a country I had no idea existed before SAS. The island was fun but made me appreciate the other countries we are visiting more because I feel they will have so much more to offer…like my next stop- INDIA.

Monday, March 3, 2008

South Africa

(sorry about the delay with this post!)

I have fallen in love with the country of South Africa. We arrived in Cape Town on February 19th at dawn. I woke up at 5am to watch us pull into the port as the sun rose over the famous Table Mountain and skyline of Cape Town. We got off the ship as quickly as possible so that we could have a full day of exploring and discovering this land that once was so foreign to us. We walked around the port area then headed down to the middle of the city where we visited the local market called Green Market and Long Street. That night 6 of my closest friends and I decided to go on a sunset cruise around the bay. Although many of them were reluctant to spend a mere 180 Rand or $25, we ended up having a great time drinking free champagne and sailing on a catamaran for 2 hours as the sun set over the bay while the clouds slowly rolled off of Table Mountain. It was so much fun to do something I love to do so much (sail) with my new friends. After the sunset cruise we went out to dinner on the docks then headed back to the ship for a goodnights sleep and to prepare for what would become one of the best days of my life the next day.

Exhilarating, Inspiring, and Beautiful: 3 words to describe my second day in Cape Town. I woke up a nervous wreck at 6:45am to unsuccessfully mentally prepare myself to jump out of an airplane. YES I was about to go skydiving. My friend Leila and I met up with a group of 8 other people where we took a shuttle to the site 20 minutes outside the city. We were quickly split into groups of two and three, harnessed and sent to the tiny airplane where we squeezed into the cabin. Sitting between my instructors legs as the plane slowly ascended to 9,000 ft my heart was pounding as I realized that there was no turning back. The 15 minute ride up felt like hours. As I tried to take in the beauty of the city from the air I couldn’t help but keep asking my instructor if he was absolutely 100% positive I was hooked onto him extra strong. He assured me I would be ok and before I knew it the door was open and my friend Jeff fell out of the plane. I was next. I slid my legs outside, tilted my head back and held on for dear life as I free fell for over 30 seconds through the South African sky. After these exhilarating 30 seconds the parachute safely opened (thank god) and we floated down to the ground for the next 4 minutes. At one point my instructor let me take the reigns as I steered us towards our landing spot. With only about 500 feet left I was instructed to lift my feet as we headed towards the safe haven of land. We landed, I stood up, the parachute fell to the ground, I was unhooked from my instructor and I felt the biggest adrenaline rush I have ever felt. The 5 minutes it took for me to jump out of the plane, freefall and then float down to land was by far one of the craziest, most fun and breathtaking experiences of my life. Surprisingly, skydiving was not my favorite part of this amazing day.
I got back to the ship by noon and spontaneously decided to join a group of people going to visit a township outside Cape Town. Townships are villages filled with shacks made out of tin cans and people living off of literally nothing. During apartheid the South African government moved the black people to these overcrowded villages where segregation and racism grew. Although apartheid was abolished in the early 90s many aspects of it are still very much alive in South Africa and especially in these townships where black people still live. Words can’t describe the experience I had in this township.

We arrived at the Khayelitsha township during the afternoon when all of the kids were being let out of school. We then proceeded to walk through the township to an after school program called “Lifelines” held in a shack made out of cardboard, metal and scraps. When we entered this shack 30 kids ages 5-20 greeted us by singing a song and welcoming us into their “family”. They introduced themselves by giving us all hugs and we were told to stand next to two people we didn’t know. Both the poorest of poor black children and the richest of rich white kids were standing in a single circle together…all with smiles on their faces. We then played some games, talked to the kids and hung out for about an hour. After this hour the kids then continued to welcome us into their family by singing a few songs. They sang about faith and about how thankful they are for what they have. This was one of the most powerful moments of my life when I realized that these children are so happy, and so grateful for what they have…and what they have we consider to be absolutely nothing. They then put on a play about getting tested for TB (something becoming very prominent in their community). These children are some of the best singers and actors I have ever seen and the passion they put into what they do is incredible. At the end of the play we had a few minutes to talk to the kids and say goodbye. I brought with me a Polaroid camera because I heard from past SASers that children in these poor countries love seeing pictures of themselves. As I started taking pictures with children they all gathered around me and each wanted a picture. I felt bad because I didn’t have time to give each one of them individual polaroid’s but was also overcome by so many other indescribable emotions. That afternoon was one of the most eye-opening, happy but heartbreaking and inspiring afternoons of my life. I will always remember the faces of those children and remind myself about how truly lucky I am to have what I have and be able to have these experiences. (I could go on forever about the people in this township and the experience I had that afternoon, but I will stop here and tell you all more in person when I get home in May).

After the township visit we went straight to the bottom of Table Mountain where I met up with a couple of my friends and took a cable car up to the top. It was a perfect night to go up to the top of the mountain- not too hot, not too windy, perfectly clear without a cloud in the sky. We walked around for a while then ended up sitting on the edge of the mountain to watch the sunset. At one point I could turn my head to the right and see the sunset over the ocean then turn my head to the left to see the moon rising in the pink sky over Cape Town. It was absolutely beautiful and a perfect ending to an unbelievable day.

I got back to the ship late that night. As I sat in bed I was speechless and shocked by what I had experienced that day. From the EXHILIRATING experience of skydiving to the INSPIRING performances and interactions with the children in the township to watching the BEAUTIFUL sunset on the top of Table Mountain I can truly call my second day in South Africa one of the best days of my life.

On the third day in South Africa I woke up early to head out on a safari. We took a 2 hour plane ride from Cape Town to Johannesburg then quickly got on a bus for a two hour bus ride to the Ivory Tree Game Lodge in Pilanesburg, SA. When we arrived we immediately ate lunch then headed out for our first game drive. 10 of us piled into a custom made landrover with Hayley- our ranger for the next 3 days. On our first game drive we got right into the wilderness where we saw zebras, wildebeests, white rhinos, and elephants. At one point during our first drive we got stuck on the road between two elephants blocking our way. We were in a stand-off with these two elephants for about 15 minutes then they finally left the middle of the road so we could drive around them and move on. It was so cool to see these wild animals so up close. We got back to the lodge at around 8pm where we ate dinner outside by a bonfire. The food at the lodge was absolutely delicious- so much better than the shipboard food! After dinner we were all exhausted from the day of traveling and the excitement of our first drive so we went to bed early knowing that we would have to wake up at 5am to go on our first early morning game drive.

The next morning we woke up at 5am to head out on another drive. This was one of the most exciting drives of the trip. As we headed through the national park we came across a male elephant known as “steroid”. You can imagine why- he is huge and is known for having a bad temper. We stopped our car pretty close to him and as word spread that Steroid was in the road more landrover’s arrived. This must have angered him because he turned his head towards our car walked towards us then began running after us…we were being charged by a 2.5 ton elephant! Luckily I had my video camera out when this happened so I have proof on tape! After our morning game drive we went back to the lodge to arrange a trip to the Predator Park about 20 minutes away from the lodge.

That afternoon we went to the Predator Park where we saw many animals. I had mixed feelings about this place because the animals are all kept in captivity. After seeing how free many of these same animals are in the wild it was hard to enjoy seeing the lions, tigers and cheetahs in captivity. The one reason we came to the park; however, was to pet and play with baby lion cubs! We went into the cage and were able to pet them and play with them for about 15 minutes. There were three 4.5 month old males and they were so adorable! After leaving the predator park we went back to the lodge where we rested and prepared for our afternoon game drive. On our afternoon drive we saw lions! One of them even walked right next to our landrover.

The next day I slept in and relaxed then headed out for another game drive in the afternoon where we saw giraffes up close, more elephants and went searching for leopards and cheetahs. We didn’t see a leopard or cheetah but ended up seeing a lion who had just made a kill. After watching the lion eat his dinner we headed back to the lodge for our dinner. We ate outside next to the bonfire again while an African band played music throughout dinnertime. After dinner I showered in our outdoor shower overlooking the valley of Pilanesburg and got to bed to prepare to wake up again at 5am for our last early morning drive.

During our last drive we went back to where the lion had made his kill the day before and saw him and a couple other lions eating. We also saw more zebras (and baby zebras), giraffes, warthogs, birds, wildebeests, and many other animals. We wrapped up the drive by singing songs from the Lion King and headed back to the lodge where we got our bags and made our two hour bus ride, two hour plane ride back to Cape Town.

We arrived back in Cape Town around 4pm and had a few hours to go shopping and take in every last bit of culture before finally boarding the ship at 8pm. We ended up leaving the port the next morning because it was too foggy to leave the night before and we are now on our way to Mauritius (a small island off of the coast of Madagascar).

Everything about South Africa was absolutely amazing. From the markets in Cape Town to skydiving, the township, Table Mountain and the safari I couldn’t have wished for a better experience here. I only wish I had more time! If anyone feels the need or want to travel back to South Africa I would be more than happy to join you (maybe in 2010 for the FIFA World Cup?).

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Ship Life

591 feet is not a lot of space for over 900 people to be living in for over 9 days straight without seeing land. We are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean right now on our way to Cape Town, South Africa. 2 days to go.

Ok, so it’s not really THAT bad. I am actually getting very used to living on the ship and almost feel like it’s my new home (almost). We are now over 3 weeks into the journey (the point I kept telling myself I wanted to be at before I even left Philadelphia). To tell you the truth these 3 weeks have been a whirlwind…slow at times, but now looking back on it; definitely worth it. My group of friends is still expanding, as I’m sure it will until we arrive in Miami in May. I feel like I’ve known them for so much longer than three weeks…it’s weird how close you can become to people when thrown into unfamiliar situations together.

My classes are also going really well for the most part. I had my first Global Studies exam a couple days ago which went pretty well (I hope). And I have another “midterm” coming up after we leave Cape Town. The other classes I am taking are:
Media Writing: consists of a lot of writing assignments (duh), but they are pretty interesting. Last week I had to interview “someone of significance” on the ship so I decided to interview a Lifelong Learner named Alvin from Boston. (Lifelong learners are older people that are coming along for the journey who live with us, take classes with us, do trips with us and experience SAS at a later age). My next writing piece has to be a Travel feature story due after South Africa. I really like this class and am sure it will help me in the communications world after I graduate.
Social Scientific Foundations of Communication: Although it has a fancy name it is basically an introduction communications class. Right now we are learning the fundamentals of communications. It is lecture based so I can get boring at times, but overall I am enjoying it. The professor is also really cool and has some great insight.
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: It is what the title of the class is…an intro to anthro. This class has been a little bit disappointing. Although I love the teacher, I am not very drawn to the information being taught. We haven’t had any tests or quizzes yet so I’m not sure how hard it is going to be.
Expository Writing: This class is basically just a writing class that I find very easy. We write about a page a day that goes into a “working portfolio” and by the end of the semester we will have a “presentation portfolio” of our best writing. This I think will be good for my portfolio at home to show my writing skills.

Classes are definitely keeping me busy which is good because I certainly need something to distract myself from missing home, or wondering about the upcoming ports. Another distraction that was really fun was Neptune Day which took place on Thursday.

At 7am I was woken up by people running up and down the halls banging pots and blowing whistles. My roommate and I quickly got dressed, ate some breakfast then went up to the 7th deck aft (where the pool is) and were greeted by King Neptune and his crew. They then proceeded to “initiate” us “pollywogs” into their kingdom of the seas. One by one we each had fish guts poured on us (I don’t actually think it was because a) it was blue and b) it didn’t smell THAT bad). Then we jumped in the pool to rinse off, kissed a fish then got on our knees and kissed king Neptune’s ring. You didn’t have to participate in any of this if you didn’t want to, but my friend Leila and I decided to do it and I am so glad that we did because I am trying to make the most out of every possible situation during this trip. After the whole fish guts thing they proceeded to traditionally start shaving peoples heads. The head shaving went on for hours. My friend Todd shaved his head and a ton of girls did it which was surprising. And NO I did not do it, so don’t worry. Overall this was a really fun day EXCEPT for the incredible rocking of the ship. As we were passing over the mid-atlantic ridge it was REALLY wavy for about 36 hours. Eventually it got a little better, but it is still however pretty rocky and will be until we arrive in South Africa.

Talking about the rocking of the ship…I am getting a lot more used to it. At first I couldn’t sleep well and had a hard time concentrating, but now it is just background movement and I don’t really think about it. At times I feel it is very comforting and at times it gets really annoying but I am sure that by the end of the voyage I will love it and miss the ship rocking me to sleep when I get home.

Other things that I have been up to during these days on the ship include A LOT of card games, watching about 50 episodes of Friends (buying the entire series was a great idea- thanks aunt Julie and uncle Michael for the birthday amazon gift certificate!), hanging out in the piano lounge, and getting to know more people! We also had a dance the night before Neptune day that was really fun. We had to dress as our favorite animal…I dressed as a parrot because I borrowed my friends feather earrings. I also helped my friend make a lion costume out of construction paper that turned out great.

I am also involved in the Vicarious Voyage program which has been really fun. Me and two other girls have been paired up with a 5th grade classroom in San Francisco, CA. The basic idea of the program is that as we travel around the world they travel vicariously through us and study the countries as we tell them about our experiences. They write us letters and we send them back packages from the countries we are visiting. I collected a lot of things in Brazil to send back to them such as newspapers in Portuguese, bracelets, some brochures and little things like that. The first package we got from them was so cute. Each kid wrote a little index card about him or herself and drew pictures. Hopefully this summer I will be able to travel out there to visit them and talk to them in person.

Other than that everything is going really well. I am SO excited to go to South Africa…and you will hear about that when I get back to the ship on the 25th!

Thanks for reading and “traveling” with me! Keep commenting and emailing me…I love the feedback.

On a side note: I have tried to upload pictures but it takes a lot of time so I will try again if I find time and an Internet café in Cape Town. If not I guess you’ll have to wait a little longer for pictures…sorry!!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Brazil

Before landing in Brazil I didn’t have any real expectations. We arrived in Salvador on Tuesday morning and had our pre-port de-briefing where the deans gave us tips on safety, places to go, places not to go, and of course tons of information about the infamous Carnival. That afternoon we wondered the streets of Pelourinho, ate some native fruits and headed back to the ship early to get ready to go back out for the festivities.

You haven’t been to a party until you’ve experienced Carnival in Brazil. When we went back out around 7pm, 2 million people crowded the same streets that we had easily navigated 3 hours earlier. As my friends and I pushed through the crowds hand-in-hand we made our way down to an intersection where floats would be passing by. Every 10-15 minutes a different float would pass by with thousands of people singing and dancing to the performers on the float. People were all dressed up in different costumes (each representing a different group of people or float), and of course in Brazilian fashion some people were NOT dressed in costume if you know what I mean. One thing was for sure though and that was that everyone was having a GREAT time. Carnival was by far the best party I’ve ever been to (although dirty frat house basements in Syracuse come in a close second haha), and I felt that I really got a sense of the Brazilian patriotism and spirit.


The next day many of my friends left to either go to the Amazon or to Rio de Janeiro, but I stayed in Salvador. Tired from the night before, Todd, Liela and I decided to do something low key for the day so we went to the local mall (I know what you are thinking “you are in brazil and you decide to go to a shopping mall?!”). Truthfully that is what I was thinking as well when we first arrived; however, my presumptions changed quickly when I realized that there were no Gaps, Bloomingdales or Sephora make-up stores. Instead there were local boutiques, swimwear stores (all selling speedos for guys and thong bathing suits for girls), and TONS of Footlocker type stores selling soccer jerseys and expensive sneakers (the average Nike sneaker in Brazil is close to 400reals which is almost $250). After walking around for a while we decided to get a snack, which was an awkward experience. Not being able to speak Portuguese and Brazilians not being able to understand English makes for an interesting combination trying to order food. Luckily my three years of high school Spanish kicked in and I was able to order a small chocolate ice cream cone. From this point forward the language barrier became very evident.

On Thursday we woke up early to go on a schooner ride through the bay to look at the Salvador skyline and the surrounding forts from the 16th century. Although interesting, this trip was pretty boring overall. The boat we were on was pretty old and dirty and I (like always) had to pee half way through the trip so that didn’t help much. We learned some interesting facts about the city and saw it from a different angle, but I feel I would have rather toured the heart of the city on my own instead of the outskirts by boat. Luckily I had my mind on the night ahead of me the whole day. After the tour we headed to the local market where I bought a Pelé soccer jersey.

We got back to the ship, had dinner, I put on my soccer jersey and we headed to the Bahia (Brazil) vs. Ponces (Argentina) Futbol game. The one thing I have said since I knew the itinerary of this trip was that I wanted to go to a “real” soccer game and experience “real” fans. I was more than excited when I found out that Semester at Sea got 200 tickets to the game. The game was so much fun. I loved watching the Bahia fans yell and cheer on their team. Something I found very interesting was that at half time and at the end of the game 10 military men with shields, guard dogs and guns went onto the field to escort the refs off the field. I guess the fans have gotten pretty out of hand in the past. Bahia (the home team) won 2-0 and I was so happy that I got to have that experience.

The next day we went to the local markets where I bought a really cool hammock (so I can rock to sleep when I get home), a couple necklaces, a CD with local Carnival music, and a little painting. I was looking for a snow globe the whole time, but I guess since they don’t get much snow they don’t make them…so I suppose I am scratching the whole getting a snow globe in every country idea. That night we headed to the Upper City called Pelourinho where we went to a show where dancers preformed many native dances and traditional martial arts. The show was really inspiring because the dancers seemed like they were connected to their heritage and culture. After the show we went to a local Bahian restaurant where we tried many different native foods (aren’t you proud of me mom and dad for trying new foods?). My favorite was the coconut pudding for dessert.

On Saturday Leila and I woke up early to go on a SAS sponsored trip to Praia de Forte and the Tamar project for conservation of sea turtles. We walked through the tide pools then headed to the turtle conservation where we saw a few different species of turtles that migrate through and inhabit the waters off the Brazilian coast. We also get to see baby turtles that were only 16 days old…so cute! After we left the turtles we headed into a really nice shopping town that had a lot of boutique stores and restaurants. The town was beautifully decorated and clean unlike some of Salvador that is mostly dirty and smells really bad. After a lunch of grilled chicken (which I have been craving since the beginning of the trip) we began our hour and a half bus ride back to the ship. Back on the ship we took naps, hung out and waited until 9:30pm when we sailed away from Salvador and started our 9 day trip across the Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa.

Overall I found Salvador Brazil to be great in some aspects and not so great in others. I loved the spirit of the Brazilians during the soccer game and Carnival; however, I felt uncomfortable at times because of the high rate of crime. At one point I saw a man get mugged (had his cell phone ripped out of his hand), and I myself almost had my purse taken. Luckily I only heard minor stories like these and we all got back to the ship safely. I also found the structure of the city to be very different. Salvador is comprised of really rich people who live in skyscraper apartment buildings and very very poor people who live in slums called Favelas. The slums are directly next to the nice skyscrapers and visa versa. Although I know there is a middle class I did not find that they were prominent at all like in America. I was also really impressed with myself when I was able to bargain with the locals who only spoke Portuguese with my high school Spanish that I thought I had completely forgot.

If and when I come back to Brazil I definitely want to go to Rio de Janeiro instead of Salvador. From my friend’s pictures and stories I think they had a deeper connection with Brazil as a country than I did from staying in Salvador. However I am so grateful that I was able to experience the last day of Carnival, which was by far my favorite part of the week. Who else can say they have literally been to the biggest party in the entire world proven by Guinness world records?

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Puerto Rico

I have always thought of Puerto Rico as a great vacation spot- a fun and relaxing getaway. When looking at the itinerary of this trip before I left I overlooked the possibilities of Puerto Rico. I have been to Puerto Rico a couple times before and each time I have gone I've had a good time, but did not feel immersed in a different culture or a new society. I didn't think this time would be much different.

We arrived in San Juan on Saturday morning at 8am. As I waited for my ID number to be called to be cleared from customs, I felt anxious to get off the ship and step on ground for the first time in three days. After my friends and I were all finally cleared we left the port and took a 20 minute walk down to Old San Juan where we visited all of the old forts that were built to keep trespassers out of the island hundreds of years ago. We hiked up the fort's cobblestone steps and took tons of pictures of the historical site. One of my new friends, Rudy, is originally from Puerto Rico (although he was raised in and now lives in Boston), so he knew how to get around and where to go which was nice because without him we probably would have gotten lost a couple times. He took us into the town of San Juan where we ate lunch at a Puerto Rican restaurant and shopped for a while. Some girls went into the famous Coach outlet store but I chose to stay away from the “American-ness” of that and instead went into a small souvenir shop where I made the decision to collect a snow-globe, a piece of art, and a CD from each country I visit though out this voyage. After a long day of walking and touring the city, my friends and I came back to the ship where we had dinner and relaxed for the night.

The next day we got up at 10am to go on a Canopy Tour in the rainforest. We took a 20 minute bus ride to the rainforest where we met up with our tour guides and were strapped into harnesses, ropes, and carabineers. We hiked up a hill then got to our first zipline. Everyone was really nervous at first, but I of course got right up there and was one of the first people to go. I have to admit I was a little scared at first, but after the first zipline held up while I flew through the forest I knew I would be fine for the rest of the tour. We swung from tree to tree and made a full circle when we ended up back at the beginning about an hour and a half later. The zip lines ranged from about 20 feet off the ground to 70 feet which was pretty awesome. After the Canopy tour we headed back to to ship where we got our computers to go find an internet café.

I was proud of myself for not going online for an entire week (I think the facebook addiction is slowly going away). It was nice to get a couple emails from people back at home. Although it made me a little homesick it was great to hear that everyone is doing well (keep sending them hint hint). After we got back from the internet café we showered and got ready to go out that night. My friends and I walked around San Juan and found some cool places to hang out for a couple hours, but after such a long day of ziplining through the forest and walking around the town we headed back to the ship fairly early.

On Monday we all slept in and after eating breakfast on the ship decided to take a taxi to the beach. We sunbathed on the beach, played in the ocean and ate ice cream all afternoon until we had to leave to get back on the ship. We got back to the ship around 6pm and watched the sunset over the city of San Juan while waiting to take off. The ship left the port at 11pm last night and we started our 7 day trip down to Salvador, Brazil.

Overall, Puerto Rico was so much more than I expected. I felt immersed in the culture and think that I experienced three of the island's most important things- Old San Juan, the rainforest, and of course, the fun and relaxing beach.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Getting My Sea-Legs

I am sitting in my small cabin, three days into what everyone is calling “the journey of my lifetime”. As you know from my past entry, change is hard for me…and this situation has been no exception.

My parents and I flew down to Nassau, Bahamas on Monday January 21st after 3 full days of packing, running errands, saying goodbye and taking in the everyday comforts of home. Right away I saw what seemed like hundreds of kids my age roaming the halls of the hotel looking like they weren’t nervous, anxious or overwhelmed with the experience they were about to embark on. I walked through the halls of the hotel smiling at people nervously and waiting to see a familiar face (which leads me to seeing Todd, my friend from Syracuse and the person I would most depend on in these first couple of days). The first night in the Bahamas we had dinner with Todd’s family on a yacht they were staying on in the Atlantis harbor. I was so happy to finally meet his family and was equally happy that my mom and his mom got along so well…I am sure they will be filling each other in on the scattered stories and news they hear from us during the next 3.5 months. After dinner that night, Todd and I went to the lobby of the hotel where we awkwardly sat and introduced ourselves to 25 other SASers all talking over eachother. Although this hour of hearing peoples names, hometowns and colleges went in one ear and out the other it was comforting to see how nice and welcoming many of these people are.

The next day in the Bahamas was spent taking in the last few hours with my parents. Whether it was gambling away $100 in the casino on 25 cent slot machines, or laying between them in their king size bed watching E’s True Hollywood Story on Will Smith, I enjoyed every second because of the endless butterflies building up in my stomach. That night I didn’t sleep.

We woke up at 7am, finished packing up my bags, got in a taxi and headed to the harbor where my home for the next 3.5 months was stationed. We waited in an endless line of hundreds of students in what seemed like 100 degree weather. Slowly we got closer to the gate that would inevitably separate us, and slowly tears welled up in my eyes. After a very emotional goodbye with lots of hugs and “I love you’s” I parted from mom and dad and walked through the gate towards this unfamiliar “home”.

Right away I met a few nice girls. We wondered the halls and took a tour of the ship trying to figure out where to go or what to do. After a few laps around the 6th deck I headed back to my room to hopefully meet my new roommate who would hopefully not be crazy, geeky, weird, annoying, drama-queeny, spoiled…(you get the point). As I slid my new ID card into the keyhole of room 4056 and opened the door she was there. Her name is Ashley Cain from Arizona and is everything BUT those words I just described. Although only three day into this trip, I can already tell we will not only get along as roommates but will become great friends.

After I met Ashley, I went back to the two girls who I had befriended an hour before as I first boarded the ship. We went down to one of their rooms and as I looked across the hallway from her room I saw Todd’s name tag! I knocked on the door and was so happy to see him open the door. Later that day I met his roommate Vamsi (pronounced Wam-see) who is from Arkansas and is also another person I can tell will become a great friend.

At 5:00 (or 1700 hours as we are supposed to start calling it here), I went up to the 7th deck aft (back of the ship) and watched as people slowly started to take the lines off the dock and the tug boat slowly began to push the ship away. Holding back my emotions, I waved to the parents standing on the dock and took a deep breath as I thought to myself “there’s no turning back now”. Our sail around the world had just begun, or as I like to think (day by day) our 3 day sail to Puerto Rico had just begun.

The first night on the ship I hardly slept. The rocking of the boat kept me up, the rumbling in my stomach (either from the sea or from the nerves and emotions…I couldn’t tell) had my mind racing. I tossed and turned until my alarm clock finally went off at 8am. Orientation day was about to start and I was excited to get my mind off my own feelings and emotions and to start listening to the people that organize, run and facilitate the trip. We had meetings all day about safety, classwork, introductions of faculty and staff, what we can do on the ship and mostly what we can not do. The day was long and I was more homesick than ever. As I emotionally talked to my mom on the phone I realized that I needed to suck it up because hey…there is nothing I can do about it, I am stuck on a 591 foot ship in the middle of the ocean. After realizing this I slowly but surely got back to my happy self and was learning more about my new group of friends. We played card games, ate meals together and went to bed early excited for our first day of class the next day.

Although again I did not sleep well (probably again from the unfamiliar rocking), I got up early anxious to go to my first class- Global Studies. Global Studies is a class that the entire shipboard community (including faculty and some staff) take to prepare us for the countries we will be visiting. We all filed into the Union (the big lecture classroom where meetings are held), took out our blank notebooks and waited for the lecture to start. The temporary academic dean talked about Puerto Rico’s culture, influences, history, politics and music all in a short hour and fifteen minute class. When Global Studies ended, I hurried down to the 5th deck to go to my next class- Into to Cultural Anthropology). I got lost twice trying to find classroom number 9 and laughed to myself as I pictured and compared myself to a lost little freshman roaming the halls frantically in high school on the first day of school. Cultural Anthro was spent introducing ourselves and talking about the criteria that goes along with the class. It seems like it will be a good class, but I may be switching my schedule around next week on add/drop day so I am not getting attached to any of my classes just yet (except Global Studies of course since it is mandatory). After Puerto Rico I have my first B day class which will include Media writing, Expository writing and of course global studies. (Everyday we are at sea we have class…either A day or B day which alternate).

After class today I ended up sitting on the deck in the beautiful sun reading and playing cards with friends. I slowly but surely am becoming more comfortable with this whole idea of traveling around the world. Although this past week has been one of the biggest emotional rollercoaster’s of my life so far, it has also been a great learning experience and I am sure in the end I will be so grateful for all of the emotions I have felt (even the homesickness…maybe). Day by day, port by port and month by month I will become a better person from this experience and I can’t wait for that change to happen.

Next stop…Puerto Rico.

(sorry this entry is so long…I will get better at not rambling and will also post pictures soon to make it more interesting)