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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?).