Aloha, Aloha...Hello, Goodbye

Hawaii was the perfect end to my amazing adventure.

They told us there would be scattered showers the entire time we were in Honolulu, but we got perfectly clear sky both days. I spent most of my time on the beach of Waikiki, soaking up the sun and my final moments with 500 of my closest friends. And I crossed surfing off my list of future career options. I couldn’t even stand up on the board, and after getting whacked in the head for the 3^rd time, I was done. 

Overall, it was nearly paradise, especially since cell phones came back into my life in this port.

Being back in somewhat-America was weird and took some getting used to. I went to an ATM and looked at the numbers at the screen and had to think for a second what the exchange rate was in this country. I then got into a cab and slowly said to the driver “Can  youuuu  take  usss  to  the  beeach?” (there were also some hand motions). He looked at me weird and answered in clear English, “Sureeee”.

 

In another part of the island, a friend of mine was buying a bag of ice…

“How much for this ice?”

“Four bucks.”

“I’ll give you three.”

“Umm no.”

(hands the man a $5)

“Can I get a dollar back?”

“Outta change.”

 

Yep, we are back in the good old U.S.A.

 

 After our two days of paradise, we headed to Hilo. We got up in the morning, walk out on to the deck and took a good look around and asked “is this a joke?”

Hilo was a giant industrial park. It was cloudy and there were no beaches or mountains in sight. There was only an IHOP, a Walmart, and some volcanoes and waterfalls. Usually I would go straight for the Rootie Tootie Fresh and Fruity, but I guess since this still was Hawaii and all, it would be cool to see some volcanoes.

We ended up with this ‘tour guide’ (or a local with a large van and a ‘tour business’) to drive us all around the area. We went to some water falls, a macadamia nut and candy factory, and the volcano. However, I did not see any lava, and that was a bummer. Most of Hilo was a bummer. So we headed toward the other end of the island to Kona for the night. The sun was bright and shining over there, but we only got to enjoy about 30seconds of it. We had to be back in Hilo for a 5k race for Semester at Sea’s $100 Solution. It was a ‘Fun Run’ and we got to dress in all over funky clothing that we had purchased along the voyage. I’m willing to look like an idiot for my own pleasure, so why not do it for charity!?

 

Earlier that day, what we call a ‘boat rumor’ was in full spin about some swells in the Pacific Ocean and there was chance that we might not be leaving for San Diego that night. Oh great, another night in Hilo. What fun…

When we got back on the ship that evening, we discovered that the ‘boat rumor’ was true, BUT we were not staying in Hilo…We were heading BACK to Honolulu and getting an extra day there!!! The entire Union (our auditorium) went up in a giant roar of excitement. It was as if we all just got called down to contestants row on the Price is Right. Back to the beach of Waikiki we went.

 

The day after our last day in paradise was a sad day for all of us. It was not only the beginning of our final exams, but it was also the day we set sail for home. I guess sad isn’t the right word. It’s more like bittersweet. (Not bittersweet for the exams, that just flat out sucked)

 

As of today, we are finished with our exams and I officially have one final semester left in my college career.

 

In my final days at sea, I plan to do the following:

- Work on my tan (most important)

- Collect thousands of pictures from everyone on the ship (Facebook will not cut it)

- Find a way to fit my entire cabin into 3 suitcases (mission impossible)

- Get all pretty and fancy for our Ambassadors Ball tomorrow night (Prom!)

- & prepare to cry my eyes out in 48 hours…

 

I still feel like this was all one big dream and I am going to wake up soon. I hope not, because that would be one big puddle of drool that has built up over 3.5 months…

 

Why must I ruin every sentimental moment?!

Domo arigato Japan

Thank God Japan was not our first port, or else we would have been seriously concerned for what else this trip might do to our sanity, hygiene, and bank account. It was definitely a finale and all of our travel skills that we had learned along the way were put to the test. We hit wall after wall of problems and spent most of the time figuring out what to do instead of actually doing it.

 

The language barrier was near impossible to break and figuring out the rail system was worse than calculus. Well, I never took calculus, but I’ve heard horrible things. But still, we had a really good time, even if it was a giant cluster fuck. We have truly learned to just throw our arms up with a big ‘who gives at this point’.

 

So day one we left the ship in Yokohama and headed straight for Tokyo! Hooray! Kinda. Tokyo was crazy with flashing lights and tons of people. It was like the entire city was one giant Time Square. Pause for a second and let me mention the fact that it was a holiday weekend in Japan and nearly every hotel/hostel/karaoke bar (yes, you can sleep in them) was booked. Good thing we planned ahead…Not. When have I ever planned ahead? Exactly. Therefore, it took us until around 11pm to finally find a hotel that had rooms available. We then got to enjoy some of the night life that Tokyo had to offer.

The next day, we just wandered around the different districts of the city, while trying to find another place to stay for that night. It is now a Saturday night, and EVERYTHING was booked. I know what you are thinking…”why not just get back on the ship?” WELL the ship had now left Yokohama and was in route to Kobe. I’m not that dumb.

 

Our group of five has now turned into eight people, all so homeless with the small resource of a travel guide book in hand.

“Oh this sounds cool” said Alyssa “An Onsen village, they have hot springs!”

 

So around 6pm that night, we decided it was a fantastic idea to hop a train to this Onsen (it’s like a spa…google it) village on the western side of Japan in the mountains. We figured they will probably have somewhere for us to sleep. Wrong again.

 

We arrive around mid night, and Japan does not believe in 24 hour reception desks at hotels. Not that it would have helped because apparently everywhere was filled here as well. Oh but wait, there was one thing open- the Seven Eleven. Insert ‘Arms Up’ moment here. We came up with this genius idea that if we just kept buying things, they couldn’t kick us out.

We were on our third round of Cup Noodles when the cops finally showed up. When they threatened to arrested us if we did not leave the SevenEleven, a spark lit up in our eyes.

“Could you arrest us?” said Kevin “At least it will give us somewhere to sleep”. The cops were not amused and did not arrest us. So we were stranded once again about to sleep outside in the freezing cold, until an Asian Angel came walking by and came to our rescue. We spent the night in his apartment, which was literally an 8x10 room. Remember, there were 8 of us. Arms Up!

 

We finally found the hot springs early the next morning, and it was exactly what we needed at this point. A hot spring (or onsen, or public bath) is a giant outdoor hot tub. It was perfect, except that you had to go in naked with a bunch of naked Asians. We were REALLY glad that this wasn’t our first port.

 

After our bath, we spent the rest of the day on the train (the super fun high speed 150 mph bullet train that is), traveling to Kyoto, which is a city close to where the ship was now docked. They had Geishas and a place to sleep that wasn’t an internet café or a McDonalds! Yes, you can sleep in those too.

 

My final Japanese adventure was a home-stay with a family that lived in Kyoto. The daughter was 17 and we bonded over singing High School Musical at karaoke. Karaoke is much different in Japan than it is in the States. You are put in a private room that maybe can hold 6-8 people. No crowds, and it is taken very seriously. It is not the drunken entertainment that the U.S. tends to make it.

Anyways, my home-stay was interesting. The parents didn’t speak much English. Only the daughter did, and it still wasn’t very good. At one point I asked the father where he had been in the United States, and he responded with “Um San Francisco, Seattle, Home Depot”…

 

            Overall, Japan was fascinating. And EXSPENSIVE. It was also SO clean and SO quiet. Even the cities had this creepy silence about them. The sushi was decent, and the fashion was intense. Japan has some of the most well dressed people in the world. I could sit there and people watch all day. The people are very shy but also very friendly. And germ-phobic. We walked into a coffee shop one day and instantly the Sars masks were put in place. Oh not to worry silly Asians, I do not have Sars. But I also haven't showered in three days so I'd keep those masks on...

 

So now we are headed toward Hawaii. No more foreign countries left. We have been sailing the Pacific for about a week now, and we still have about 3 days before we reach Honolulu. We had our Thanksgiving dinner earlier in the week, and it was actually pretty good for ship food. Except they didn’t have gravy! And no football either. Not that I care, but it just all felt wrong.

This 10 day stretch was dedicated to school school school. What do you mean we have to go to class for 8 straight days?! Yea it sucks, but I get to go to Hawaii for the weekend and celebrate the end of classes. I can deal with that. ALOHA!

Made in China

There is no where in the world where the stars are as bright as they were sleeping under then on the Great Wall of China.

 

There is also no where in the world that I have ever felt so close to freezing to death...

I had 4 pairs of pants, 3 sweaters, 2 scarves, a jacket, a hat (...vodka.) and I still froze. But I made it through the night and I can now say “I have slept on the Great Wall of China”

 

SAAAWWWEEEEET!

 

On top of that, China was amazing for so many reasons-

 

1. Hong Kong. It was like New York City on steroids. Our ship was docked in the perfect location that over looked the massive skyline of futuristic architecture. And at night, the city literally lit up the sky with a light show of lasers and flashing neon lights from every building. Fireworks are so amateur these days.

Unfortunately, we were only in Hong Kong for about a half a day and then one night. The next day, I was on a flight for Beijing...which brings me to number 2.

 

2. Cold Weather. We haven’t had a day that the temperature went below 80 degrees. Hong Kong was hot, but Beijing and Shanghai we not at all! As our plane was landing in Beijing, there was a layer of snow covering the ground. Talk about mass panic. You could look around and tell who was from California and who was from Colorado. A lot of the students were loading on jackets, hats, and scarves (just to walk off the plane!). I threw my sandals in my bag and threw on my Ugg boots, but I refused to put on a jacket until my skin turned blue. It was so good to see my breath again.

 

3. The sights. My breath was not the only amazing thing I got to see in China. We went to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Bird's Nest (the stadium where the 2008 Olympics were held). The buildings in the Forbidden City were incredible, and the snow made it even more beautiful. And then came the best sight of all...

 

4. The Great Wall of China. There are two things that pictures don’t do for the Great Wall- and that’s how beautiful and incredible it actually is, and how intense it is to climb. We arrived at the wall at night time and hiked it for about 30-45 minutes (to tower 9 to be exact). All you could see were the silhouettes of mountains, the stars, and about 20 feet in front of you. Therefore, when the sun came up over the mountains in the morning, I was face to face with the most incredible views. And then we hiked it for 5 hours (to tower 37). It was hard work to climb that thing, even harder to take it all in. It was like nothing I have ever seen before.

 

5. The food! Authentic Chinese food? Yes please! Speaking of food...

 

6. McDelivery. Yes, that is correct. McDonald's has a delivery service. Except that they don't deliver to the Great Wall. Believe me, we tried.

 

I also discovered that the ‘peace sign’ is a universal viscous cycle. You know when Asians come to America and do the peace sign in every picture? Well, when the Americans go to China, we also do the peace sign. They see us, we see them…get it?

 

I can sit here forever and talk about how crazy the Asian culture is and how differently yet similarly things are done over here. It wasn’t exactly culture shock, but more like a culture “Ah ha…”. It was defiantly the biggest change from all the other countries we have been to. We were back in the land of shopping malls, subway systems, and Starbucks. There was very little poverty, and people did not hound us to buy things from their shops. Wait a minute, you mean if I decided not by this dress, you are not going to chase me down the street yelling out a lower price?? Weird. Easing us back to life in the States I guess.

 

The only real problem we faced in this country was the language barrier. It got very frustrating at times and Japan is going to be even worse. Guess I have about 12 hours to learn a few quick phrases.

 

We have five days in Japan and then it’s back to the home land (with pit stop in Hawaii of course). I’m looking forward to it. China was all decked out in Christmas gear, and the city and the snow defiantly made me feel at home. And then a woman spit in my walking path and brought me back to the reality that is Asia…

Good Morning Vietnam!

I know I keep saying this after every port, but Vietnam was by far my favorite place. China and Japan are going to have to step their game up to compete with Vietnam.

 

 

There is so much history within the country that has to do with the United States. In the days leading up to our arrival in Vietnam, many of the professors gave lectures about life in the States during the time of the war. A good amount of them had even fought in it and this was their first time returning to the country.

I got the chance to learn a lot about the war up close when I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are a 250km stretch of underground tunnels (created by hand!) and were used a ‘hiding spot’ during the time of the war. That was such a surreal experience. I walked through the old battle grounds and stood in craters of land where bombs were dropped. I crawled my way through a few of the tunnels, and have never felt more like an ant in my life. Well I guess it was the only time I ever really felt like an ant, but still…

 

 

The city that we ported in was Ho Chi Min City, but to get there, the ship had to float two hours up the Saigon River. All along the banks of the river were these massive jungles, villages, and tiny little house boats. The river itself was like a very thin stream of mud. The water was so brown. And the air was insanely hot and thick.

 

 

Vietnam is the cheapest shopping I have ever done in my life. T-shirts were a dollar, and so were DVDs. North Face backpacks were about $10 and the giant jackets were about $30-$40. Who cares if they might be fake! They look real enough. I even got two custom made dresses for $100. I can never look at a mall in the same way again.

 

 

The food was not only amazing, but cheap too! An average meal, drinks included, was about $4-$6. Motor bike rides across the city were a dollar. Massages were about $10 for an hour. It was amazing!

 

 

The best deal that we came across was our trip to the Mekong Delta. This is an area on the western side of the country, near Cambodia. It's basically miles of rivers that all lead to the Indian Ocean. It's all tiny little villages on the banks of the river with floating markets and house boats. Actually, they were more like floating tree houses and not 'house boats'. 

 

 

It was me and five of my friends. We drove 3 hours, and it only cost us 5 bucks a person! Our adventure began at the beginning of the Delta, and we spent the night sailing 6 hours further up the river. The sleeper train in India was a five star hotel compared to what I slept in going up that river. It was literally a large canoe with a tiny tin roof over our heads. Funny thing is, we had the option of sleeping in a hotel and then having our driver take us up the river in a car early in the morning. But no, we wanted the adventure, and we slept on wood.

 

 

In the morning we were dropped off in the middle of this village, and we had no idea what part of the country we were even in anymore. But we didn’t care. We spent a few days hanging out with the locals on their boats and in their homes along the river. They were just as fascinated by us as we were by them. This was not a touristy village at all (our homestay was the only one in the area). Most of the time, we were looked at like aliens, especially the two girls I was with who have blonde hair. But they still were so friendly and invited us into thier homes with open arms. The only problem was the communication difficulties. No one really spoke English and my map of pictures didn’t work as well as I would have thought. At one point, we were hanging out with a family and we asked them for cold beer. They took off in excitement, thinking they finally understood what we were saying. They soon returned with warm beer, and squid.

 

 

The conditions of these villages were really hard to take in. Back home, I camp in better conditions and more comfortably than these people live. At night, the water level of the river would rise and flood the roads and leave most of the homes with a slight flood of about 3 inches of water. But everyone seemed so happy content with life, like it was so simple and fantastic. And there we stood, concerned that our shoes were getting wet as these peoples homes flooded on a nightly basis.

 

 

Vietnam was just an overall amazing experience. 

 

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Hong Kong. We have been sailing the waters of the the South China Sea for 3 days now, and the sky is literally a giant rainbow with every sunrise and sunset. Have you ever seen a green sky before? Didn't think so. But they exist, and they are incredible. 

 

 

The ship docks right in the harbor, over looking the amazing skyline and light show that Hong Kong has to offer. This is one of the top 5 things I have been most excited to see since the beginning of this voyage. We have 5 days in China, and I am heading up to Bejing to have a slumber party on the Great Wall! ….in below zero weather. Fantastic.

 

 

They say you can see the Great Wall from space, so Google Earth that shit and look for me!

India

India was dirty and hot and smelly. At the same time, India was beautiful and amazing in so many more ways.

 

I got up to watch the sunrise at 6am as we pulled into port, and you couldn’t even see the sun until it was almost all the way up in the sky because of the amount of smog and dust in the air. At the same time, the thickness in the air made it possible to stare directly at the sun with ease. It was hard to breathe let alone see anything in the distance. In fact, my nose began bleeding during a portion of the trip because of the massive amount of dust and dirt in the air.

 

The streets were filled with Rickshaws and people. The population of India is massive and so is the amount of poverty. However, it was not as shocking as I thought it was going to be. Usually, the Semester at Sea Voyage travels from Puerto Rico to Brazil, then Cape Town and Mauritius, and then BOOM- India. We were eased into it, having traveled to Morocco and Ghana beforehand. At this point, and it’s sad to say, but I am used to seeing kids begging for food and being looked at like a walking-talking gold mine. However, India was still far worse than both Ghana and Morocco. People were not missing arms and legs and fingers and eyes like they were in those two countries. In India, I saw grown men with legs the width of a 3 year old. And I saw all of this on the streets of the cities. I could only imagine what the conditions were like in the slums.

 

Enough depressing talk. Let me tell you what I did.

In the 5 days time frame I traveled non stop. We ported into the city of Chennai, and from there we flew to Delhi (by the way, for some reason I got bumped to first class for that flight. Thank you India). By the time we got to Delhi, it was already nighttime, so we did some quick sight seeing (and by quick I mean we literally drove by and didn’t even get out of the bus). We saw the India Gate, which is a big arch way with all the names of the people who fought in the Indian Empire of WWI engraved on it. Next we saw the President House. End of day one.

The next morning we took a 5am train to Agra, where we saw the red stoned ghost town of Fatehpur Sikri. Then we went over to the Agra Fort, which is where Emperor Shah Jahan (the dude who built the Taj Mahal) was kept under house arrest by his third son. Speaking of the Taj, I WAS THERE! And it was big and beautiful and we got there right at sunset. Did you know that the original plan for the Taj was that it was to be done in black marble?

There where thousands of people there and there was huge line to get in and we had a train to catch. Therefore I did not get to go into the Taj.

Here comes one of my favorite parts of the trip- The over night sleeper train. We spent 14 hours on it. Imagine the sketchiest place in the world and multiply it by ten. There were 8 beds to a compartment and 6 of them were taken up by me and my friends. I took top bunk and held onto my backpack the entire ride. There were bugs, my pillow was brown, and the 4 Indian men who slept in the bed underneath me gave me dirty looks when I suggested a slumber party. The toilets were holes in the ground, and when you looked down you can see the tracks. But I was running on about 2 hours of sleep in a 48 hour time frame, so it was heaven to me. I’m not being sarcastic either; it really was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was such a cool experience.

The train pulled into Varanasi around 11am. Varanasi is the oldest city in India. We did some more sight seeing at museums and then we went to factory where they made silk. As the sun was setting, we headed over to the Ganges River. We watched both the sun set and the sunrise on this river, and it was by far the most amazing experience of this whole trip. The night consisted of a festival and the sunrise was watched by boat. Hundreds of people were up with the sun, bathing and praying in the waters of the river. Varanasi is one of the most sacred and holy cities in the world and people come from all over to die in the Ganges River. It is like the international Hospice. They cremate over 120 bodies a day! There were dead bodies floating in the river, and as creepy as it sounds, it was incredibly amazing. This is another experience that is so hard to describe in words.

The trip came to an end after that.

We flew back to Chennai and finished out the rest of the time in India shopping and cleaning ourselves. I think I still have a few layers of dirt on me.

 

Overall, India holds a top spot for being my favorite port. The fun was so good, the history is so interesting, and the sights were unreal. Especially the sunsets and sunrises. Again, since there is so much dust in the air, you could stare directly at the sun.  

 

My new favorite thing in each country is to look at the massive amounts of random animals that wonder the streets and blocked all forms of traffic-

In Spain it was cats.

Morocco had donkeys, and cats

Ghana had chickens, and cats

South Africa had baboons, and cats

Mauritius had intoxicated SAS’ers (or SASSERS as we like to call ourselves- or SASHOLES, but only if you respectfully deserve it)

And then there was India, which had cows and dogs. Cows are sacred in India. Hide your leather belts and bags, or else you get dirty looks.

 

Also, when visiting India, be sure to carry around your own role of toilet paper, and be prepared to squat every time you need to use that toilet paper. And DON’T drink the tap water, not even to brush your teeth. If you do, be ready to use an entire role of toilet paper in a day.

 

So we had yet again another 6 days at sea as we made our way to Viet Nam. In the middle of the week, we celebrated one of my favorite holidays- Halloween. And for being stuck in the middle of the ocean, you should have seen some of the costumes people came up with. I was an Indian (Native American) and I discovered how far a pair of scissors and some construction paper can go.

 

We are now in Viet Nam, and I’m going to get me a rice hat!

 

I can't believe that this is my 3rd to last country.

Mauritius and Olympics

“It’s like the Bahamas for the people of Europe”

 

It was like the Spring Break for the students on Semester at Sea.

Hey, we are in the southern hemisphere and seasons are opposite, so it makes sense!

 

We only had two nights in this port and we rented out a 30 person villa in the beach area of Flic and Flaq.

 

Only problem was the weather. It was kind of cloudy for the few days we were there so it didn’t give me the tropical vibe I was hoping for, but it was still fun. We spent the first day on the beach, swimming in the India Ocean, and trying to avoid the mass amount of coral reef in the water.

On our second day, I traded the party on the beach for some sight seeing and cliff jumping. Our cab driver turned into our tour guide and he drove us everywhere all day for about $10 a person! I couldn’t even get from one end of Newbury Street to the other for that cheep! Oh and he blasted Alanis Morissette the entire day. Why? “Because American’s love it!”. Fantastic stereotype.

Anyways, we went to see the giant statue of Sheva (a Hindu God), which is located at the top of the Grand Bassin. The Grand Bassin is a large lake in Mauritius and it rests within the crater of an extinct volcano and is home to some giant eels.

Next we headed for the Tamarind waterfalls, which are a stack of about 7 waterfalls tucked away in a mountain range. The hike wasn’t bad at all and the view was incredible. At the bases of some of the waterfalls were pools for swimming. This is where we were able to cliff jump. A few weeks ago, I plunged the highest bungee jump bridge in the world and I had to be pushed off the edge of this semi tiny cliff. Isn’t it ironic, don’t cha think?

They day ended with a taste of some sugar cane (which is what the island is mostly known for) and a hot pink sunset. Then our entire villa packed into a bus that took us to the touristy night life of Grand Bay. Party bus, in a dress, tons of intoxicated idiots…Prom? Even better.

 

Our final day was spent shopping and walking around the area. The ketchup on the ship has turned itself into this bright red sweet nasty junk and you know that I can’t deal with that. Therefore I bought my own supply of that Heinz goodness. I could not go the next few months without it!

 

We have been back on the ship for about 5 days now and I was busy planning for the SEA OLYMPICS, which took place in the middle of week. I was one of the two captains for my sea and we have been spending lots of time each night over the last few weeks planning for this event. It is a big tradition for Semester at Sea.

Basically, the entire ship community was divided up into 9 different seas, depending on what floor you lived on and what not. We were the Mediterranean Sea, and each sea was given a color to represent their team. We were yellow. It got pretty intense. Everyone got really into it with props and war paint and gear. It’s amazing what we can come up with in the middle of the ocean. I attempted to paint my face yellow, but everyone kept saying that I looked like I had jaundice. Anyways, it was like a giant field day on the ship, with all kinds of events- volleyball, easting contest, ‘beer pong’, synchronized swimming, a spelling bee, board games, and much more. There was a big finish with a relay race, and I am so surprised no one got killed. I did the butt scoot in the relay race and I also competed in the ‘sweatshirt medley’ where I had to jump in and out of the pool with a sweatshirt on and ring it out in an attempt to fill a bucket the fastest. I lost. But over all, our sea took 4^th place for the entire day. Not bad.

The day was perfect. The ocean was the calmest it has ever been, and the sun was shining all day.

We ended the night with a BBQ (which is like Christmas on this thing) and the sunset was the best I’ve seen so far.

 

Oh and school is going well too. I forget that this is college sometimes…

 

Tomorrow we arrive in INDIA!!! This is going to be the most intense experience of my life. I am non stop traveling all over the country…planes, trains, and automobiles. We are going to see the Taj Mahal of course, and we are going to the cities of Varanasi and Delhi. IT’S ALL BEING DONE THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENCY. No way would I ever attempt to travel in India independently. But maybe we should just tell Dolores that I am not leaving the ship at all…

I'm going into this adventure with this quote in mind-

"If you love India, it will love you right back. If you hate it, it will hate you back twice as hard"

 

Time to pack. And watch Slum Dog Millionaire for the billionth time. JAI HO!

 

 

South Africa Part 2

Over all, South Africa is a country that I will most definitely be returning to at some point in my life. There was no where near enough time to do everything I wanted to do. Like a safari and visiting a township. A lot of students went to Kruger National Park and got to see the Big 5 - Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino, Water Buffalo. Not the zoo, real wild animals. So many students had some intense experiences with these animals, like a tour guide being chased by a lion.

 

I, however, did not get the chance to see any wild animals. Not even a baboon and they walk the streets like squirrels. That's why I will be back one day. And I will see a baboon and an elephant.

 

But I'm not upset about this at all because I loved everything that I did get to do in South Africa. The family that I was staying with took us to Boulders Beach. This is where the penguins are! They were much smaller than I thought they would be, and they are gated off like they were in the zoo. It didn't seem natural, but I guess it’s for their own protection from crazy tourist like us. I would have probably taken a few, have I had the chance to get within reach of them. After the beach, they drove us through the wine lands, but it was raining so we did not get the chance to get out and walk around and go to a tasting.

 

I had a lot of 'not getting a chance' in this country, so I guess a return is a must. But the time I did have there was still so incredible. Sorry for the repeat of words, but I'm running out of adjectives to describe these experiences. I got to try some interesting foods, such as Ostrich and Crawl Fish. Both were SO good. Especially the Ostrich. And the Crawl Fish was a lot like lobster.

 

South Africa was a lot like the States, except that they drive on the opposite side of the car and road. It was the last bit of home that we will be experiencing until December. Everyone stocked up on groceries and toiletries, because no one wants to deal with that mess in India or anywhere else we are heading. We are almost done with Africa, and then we are off to ASIA!!

 

I did take some time on the last day to upload pictures onto Facebook, so check those out if you have not already. Those are just a very small handful, and they are missing Spain and most of Morocco.

 

We are now off to the island of Mauritius. I am so excited!! It's like a vacation WITHIN a vacation. School for another 6 days, and then off to paradise!

 

And finally....HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY MAYSSA!!! Enjoy & Stay alive.

 

South Africa Part 1

If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you???

Yes.

This was my 'Dun dun dunnnn' adventure that I could not tell anyone about until I actually went through with it... and Dolores is never allowed to see this picture.....

The Bloukrans Bridge is the worlds highest commercial bungy jump at 216 meters. It was so amazing. They have you stand at the edge and they count down - 5,4,3,2,1, BUNGY and I just jumped. I'd like to say that my buddy Jack Daniels helped me jump, but my one prejump shot had worn off before my free falling. Heights are a buzz kill. It was all a huge adrenalin rush and Jay Z blasting behind me that got me over the edge. I couldn't even scream for the first 2 or 3 seconds. And the 20 seconds of hanging there waiting to be lifted back up was not very fun. The guys came down to get me and asked me how it was. I responded with "So amazing, I would do it again in a heartbeat! Just not today, and get me back on land RIGHT NOW!"

Oh and then the next day, I cage dived (dove?) with some great white sharks. Yup. Just another manic Monday. Except I did get sea sick and threw up 3 times over the side of the boat that took us out to these man eaters. So all of the day was not so grand. I'm so classy, I can't take it.

Anyways, I have 2 more days in South Africa and I am trying my best to find time to go to an internet cafe to upload pictures!!

Cape Town is so incredibly beautiful. Our ship is docked right in the main waterfront, and is steps away from all the shops and restaurants. It's very modern and very much like the States, which is a place that I'm having a love/hate relationship right now. I walked into a mall the other day and I actually missed my mud-floored markets from Morocco and Ghana!

The whole city is surrounded by these giant mountain ranges, including the famous Table Mountain, which I climbed within the first 2 hours of arriving in Cape Town. Pete's Rock aint got nothing on that shit...

One of the first pieces of advice that we were given on the ship was to take the time on bus rides to turn off your Ipod and just take in the sounds and scenes of each country. Well, I don't turn my Ipod off, but I do keep my eyes wide open forever while most of the bus sleeps. I have John Mayer's 3X5 on repeat. It's my anthem.

The mountains are my favorite part about this country. Our drive to the bungy jump was about 7 hours and it was not bad at all considering we got to drive through all these mountain ranges. They are just winding road after winding road and each turn gives you a new view of the country. Pictures do not do it just what so ever, so I gave up for the most part on taking any. Ok I did get a few. However, I do keep saying that if I were to ever do this trip again, I would do it without a camera all together. Hands down.

So right now I am staying at my friend Lauren's family's house for a few days (which is where I was able to gather my whole ONE picture via Google for this entry). Her brother is married to a girl who grew up in South Africa and still has some family living in the town next to Cape Town. It is called Fish Hoek (pronounced Hook). When we were driving into the town, I was able to look to my left and see the India Ocean and look to my right and see the Atlantic. I put my feet in both oceans today, and tomorrow we are going to the point at which they litterally meet. Other than that, I was able to watch cable television, go on Facebook for the first time in a month, youtube the Kanye's ditch to Taylor Swift, and drink real milk!! Oh the finer things in life. But then I was taken off my cloud when I ate chicken liver for dinner. Actually, it wasn't too bad. But the ketchup is going downhill in each country. I'm getting very worried.

Nevermind food, lets get back to experiences. So the family we are staying with has two sons- one who is 20 and the other is 18. They have been driving us around all day and showing us the hidden jems throughout the country. This is one of my favorite experiences so far. I haven't had the chance to really sit down and have long conversations with any locals in any of the countries so far. It is so interesting and the best way to really get to experience the culture. They have been teaching us the local lingo (such as 'I need a kip' means 'I taking a nap') and trying to explain how the sport Cricket works (still don't get it). And one of the sons rocks a Red Sox cap, woot woot.

Ok it is now past 5am here and I think it would be best that I sleep now. I got me some penguins to play with in the morning. Expect part 2 and hopefully some pictures soooon!! I also got a video of my near plunge with death. And a T-shirt, but I am only willing to share the video with everyone...

Ghana

I have spent the past few days trying to process my experience in Ghana and struggling how to put it into words and describe it to people. It is near impossible.

 

I can barley talk about it with the people who were there with me, therefore I am only going to give a brief over view...

 

It was AFRICA. That's for sure. I spent most bus rides listening to “In the Jungle” just to set the perfect mood. Don’t ask why I even have that on my ipod.

 

Reggae music, women carrying everything on their heads, and lots of drumming and dancing.

I hiked through the jungle, played with some monkeys, and swam in a waterfall- Top 5 favorite moments of my life.

There were wealthy neighborhoods, and then there were villages with no sign of modernization. Huts made of bamboo and a kitchen consisted of a room with a fire pit.

It felt fake. It felt like I was at Mystic Seaport or Sturbridge Village, and these people were just putting on a show for the tourists.

Oh but wait, this is Ghana. There are no other tourists. We were it, and this was really how people lived their lives.

They had nothing, yet people were the friendliest people I have ever met.

Some of these people have never seen what they look like.

Kids and adults would always want their picture taken, just so they could see what they looked like through a tiny 2x2 screen.

 

I was so fascinated by the whole experience and that's why I enjoyed it so much and I wish I had more time there.

 

Anyways, that's all I got. I really can't explain it. Pictures might help, but it is really something that can not be put into words.

 

The day after we left Ghana was the day we crossed the Equator. It is called Neptune Day and Semester at Sea throws quiet the unique traditional celebration...

 

It began with an 8am wakeup call for all Pollywogs (those who have never crossed the equator before) to report to the 7th deck of the ship.

We then all stood in line to get fish guts dumped on our heads. After jumping in the pool to rinse off, you had to get back in line to kiss a fish.

We were then promoted to “Shellback” status.

 

Oh and then half the ship shaved their heads. Girls included.

 

I did the fish guts, I did the kissing of the fish. But there was no way a razor was coming near my head.

 

So now there are a ton of bald heads walking around this ship. It's a little strange.

And the best part is, we will be in South Africa in 2 days...Ever see American History X?? Yeahhhhh.

 

Despite that, South Africa is going to be amazing. I have quiet the adventure planned, but I can't say what it is until I actually go through with it.

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn......

 

Ok this sea is the roughest it has been this entire voyage so it is time for me to crawl into my bed and sleep off my sea sickness!

 

Pictures oh so soon!

 

 

 

 

 

Laysea Days

We have been sailing away for the past week.

We have not sailed this long of a period of time since before Spain.

It gets a little stir crazy on this thing. There is only so much to do!

I have never napped so much in my life.

Thats a lie, but its a close call for sure....

 

(to the tune of Yellow Submarine)

We're all floating on a University

Semester At Sea

The best place to be

(and repeat.)

 

I can't take credit for that one. All goes to the children of the staff and faculty (better known as the Dependent Children) who did a remix for the Semester At Sea Talent Show. When you are stuck in the middle of the ocean for seven days, we need a fix of entertainment. Other acts consisted of stand-up comedy, a reenacment of Susan Boyle's preformance, and the artistic approach of making a PP&J. This is how I spend my Friday nights.

 

I spend every other night of the week playing repeated games of catch phrase, pictionary, and doing my homework of course =)    This is life without Facebook, cable, and alcohol. It's really nice not knowing what is going on in the world. We get CNN and the New York Times as free websites, but I never really check them. Ignorance is Bliss, right? I think so.

 

My classes are going really well. All the class marterial is based on which country we are entering next. The first class back from our last port is used to reflect on what we learn while in port, as in intereaction with locals and our observations. It's all very hands-on and very interesting to hear everyones different experiences. I have never paid attention so much in class.

 

As we get closer and closer to the equator, the weather gets hotter and hotter. It is so incredibly humid out but still perfect pool weather. About 85 degrees everyday. Life is making up for the crappy weather it gave me all summer! I am black and I dont care how politically incorrect I am in saying it.

 

So over the past few weeks, and especially over the past few days since we are close to arriving in Ghana, the entire ship has been taking their Malaria medication. One of the major side effects of these pills are weird vivid dreams. Everyday, someone has a new intense dream to share, such as Micheal Jackson forcing suicide on an entire household or being chase by a giant ginger kid. I had one where I got a black lung diease and was forced to leave the ship. I woke up screaming. It's quite entertaining and worth not getting Malaria I guess.

 

Tomorrow we get into Ghana, which is located on the western side of Africa, right underneath the hump.

Fun facts!

-Semester at Sea is the largest group of Americans to ever enter the country of Ghana at one time...ever.

-The location where our boat docks is the closest land mass to the center of the Earth (0 degrees longitude and 0degrees latitude)

 

Ok thats about all I've got for you. I can't tell you much else because I don't really know much else. But who does? Ghana? What the hell? I'm excited!  

 

Morocco

Where do I even begin?

EXTREME CULTURE SHOCK is a good start.

 

We had a list of rules.

No taking pictures of anything government related, girls had to have legs and shoulders covered, everything had to be done with our right hand, no eating or drinking in public, etc.

 

The day we arrived in Casablanca, it was raining and dark. Walking throught the markets was a mess of mud and the smell of fish. I was not a happy traveler and all I wanted to do was go back to Spain. The city its self is very run down and people beging for your money. Motorbikes, petite taxis, and donkeys nearly ran me over everywhere I stepped. However, we made the best of it. We spent the afternoon sight seeing at the Mosque (Muslim church), Rick's Cafe (where the movie Casablanca takes place), and shopping in the souks (markets) practicing our bartering. At one point, a Moroccan man offered to trade 1000 camels and everything in his store for me. It was tempting.

 

The country of Morocco is Muslim, and we happened to be traveling during the month of Ramadan. Everyday at around 1pm, everyone in the city took off their shoes and nelt down to pray. You can hear the prayer throught the entire city. Also, they were fasting from sun up to sun down. No food, no drinks, no ciggys, no alcohol (hence why we could not eat in public). Going from Spains night life to Moroccos was a total 180. Most clubs and bars were shut down because of Ramadan, so we ended up doing kereoke at a TGIFridays. I kid you not, and it was one of the best moments of my life...long story, on to Marrakech!

 

This time, we made our morning train, which was a four hour ride through desserts and fields of intense farm life.

Marrakech is a city on the western end of Morocco. It's located at the begining of the Sahara Dessert and is a tourist hotspot. It was MUCH better than Casablanca and really had a Moroccan feel to the city. I like to make the justificatioin of comparing the 2 cities to Springfield and Boston. Get it? Ok. Still, non the least, I was not prepared for the culture shock. When I say city, I dont mean tall buildings and subways. I mean mud houses, streets of dirt, and horse-drawn buggys (which I rode!).  

The heart of the city is called the Medina and it is a big open square surrounded by mazed streets of shops and markets (souks). The second we stepped into the square of the Medina, we were bumbarded by beggers, snake charmers, and monkeys. Very over whelming. The language barrier was horrible. They all speak French and Arabic, and maybe you can find 1 in 10 people who can speak broken english. Where is Mayssa when you need her!

I was not feeling very comfortable at all. I felt that everyone was just out to get your money (which they were) and no one was telling you the truth when they were asked a question, even for directions. They would always lead you in the direction of their shops, and then ask for money for them helping you.

We needed to find a hostel or hotel, and in our quest of lodging we were approached by a man who offered to lead us to his Riad. A Riad is a step up from a hostel and a step below a hotel (price wise). In the long run, it blows any 5 star hotel out of the water. Riads are like mini palaces, with all mosaic tile throughout the interior. Most Riads only have about 2-4 rooms.

Anyways, to me it was too good to be true. A creepy man leads us to this palace, offers us this amazing room (big beds, high ceilings, a view of the grand dining room) for about 20 bucks a night. He throws in free breakfast and free mint tea (one of the most popular drinks in Morocco). I've seen Hostel and Taken too many times to be naive about this whole situation. I did not drink the tea because I thought it was poisoned. And when we were walking around the markets, I had a panic attack.

I begged the other two people I was with if we could go try to get our money back and just go stay in a hotel on the main strip. I was in near tears and was by far one of the scariest moments of my life. It sounds crazy, I know, but this is how harsh the culture hit me. Minutes after my panic attack, we ran into more of our friends from SAS and they were staying in a Riad right around the corner from us. They explained that they too were approached in the same manner and tried to tell me that I had nothing to worry about. 

I got to adjusting and accepting the way of life in Morocco is to go out and find business and do anything to get people in the door, which in the long run is exactly what they were doing with nice rooms and free food. No one was trying to kill me, and I let go of my fear and had fun with culture. We ended up staying at our Riad for 2 nights, and more of our friends joined us. Eleven of us took up the entire Riad, and that made me feel even better.

 

I wound up having the most amazing time. I bardered and fought my way for good prices in the markets, which were filled with leather goods, carpets, tons of pottery, clothing straight out of Aladin, and knock off Raybands and Coach bags. I became a pro.

At night, we would watch the sunset on the roof top of our Riad, which over looked all the other roof tops in the city. Then we would head out into the center of the Medina, where the streets transformed into tons of tents of food and entertainment. It was like a giant carnival (no rides). It's so hard to explain it in words, just so amazing. We had dinner at these long tables under the tents, and I tried a lot of the local foods. Including pigeon. It tasted like peanutbutter.

We walked around and listened to the locals play play music and once again be mobbed by street vendors. The city was just so alive, especially since the locals could now eat since the sun was down.

Not all was so beautiful. Seeing little kids running around late at night trying to sell roses and tissues for a few dollars just put knots in my stomach.

To top off my Moroccan adventure, I rode a camel for about an hour through the outskirts of the Sahara. One hour is too long to be on a camel, but it was still such a cool experience.

 

I took a ton of pictures and videos, but again, I can not post them while Im on the ship!! (too big of files)

I'm going to search desperatly (sp?) for an internet cafe in Cape Town, but that is still over two weeks away! Hold tight! Its killing me that I have to write such long entries, but it's so hard to pick and choose what to share and how to describe it without pictures! Also, I sent out a ton of post cards, but the ship messed up when it came to sending them out, so they will be arriving REALLLLY late. Suprise suprise.

 

Our next stop is Ghana. This is where i'll be doing a lot of community service, such as Habitat for Humanity and visiting a childrens orphanage. But until then, we are back on the ship for about a week. I havent had class in about 10 days! Monday through Fridays are going to kick my ass in January.

 

Got my sea legs back on and i'm ready to sail the coast of Africa....

Espana!

Spain, Round 2...this time I had a money belt.

 

I woke up at 630am on Saturday to watch the boat pull into port. The sunrise was so worth the lack of sleep.

See look!!

 

 

..you should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes - john mayer.

 

We began the day in Cadiz with some sight seeing and shopping. Typical tourist stuff and what not.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach, drinking some spanish sangria and swimming in the Mediteranean Sea. Typical college students and what not.

 

 

Shortie got that super thang, hotter than the sun in the south of Spain- sean kingston.

 

After a long night out in Cadiz, over sleeping for our 9am train to Granada was not a shock to any of us. So we decided to just take the train to the city of Seville and spend a few days there. All we had were our backpacks and a travelguide book. No plans for hostels or return bus times. It was amazing.  

 

Of course we arrived and got a hostel right away. There were 10 of us so we took up the entire building, which was cool, but I would have liked to have met some nomads and whatnot. Anywho, we spent our days sight seeing at Alcazar and La Giealda, which is this huge castle and is the oldest church that is still used to this day in all of Europe. We climed the 43 stories to the top of the bell tower in nearly 100 degree weather. The view was worth the amount of sweat that poured out of my forehead. Im so classy.

Next up- What is Spain famous for? BULL FIGHTS! Seville is the most well known city for their bullfight. I was the only girl who enjoyed watching the bulls get stabbed and taunted. I wanted more blood shed. Once again, Im classy.

Next up on our list for getting our culture fix was some Flamenco music. Flamenco shows usually consist of a dancer in a frilly dress, who does a specific speed movement of her feet as someone plays a guitar and another sings. At least thats what happened in the show that we attended. We hit gold with our Flamenco show. We ended up at this hole in the wall authentic Flamenco show. It was filled with all locals and was not flashy at all. I've never seen anyone move their feet so fast or have such passion in their singing. Another perfect Spanish experience.

 

As for the food in Spain, I was not impressed. Barcelona set the bar high for this area. Not even the churros (long doughnut type object that you dip in chocolate) was not all that they were cracked up to be. Maybe I should try the ones at Cosco, as my new friend Lauren suggests. Although I must say that the bread was by far the best I have ever had in my life. And once again, the European coffee was so good! Sometimes, Mayssa is right about things in life. Sometimes.

 

We made it back to Cadiz really early in the day so we can spend more time in the port city before leaving that evening. And yes, I made it on time to the ship that night! We are on what were call "Byron Time". He is the Academic Dean for SAS and he is very strict about getting back on the ship (well duh). The ship leaves port at 8pm, but you need to be back and checked in by 6pm. Thats checked in, not waiting in line to get on. If your card is swiped after 6, you will recieve an hour of 'dock time' for every minute you are not checked in. 

Dock time = While everyone is out enjoying the country we are in, you are stuck on the boat in time out. Im telling you all this because I know that I have a reputation for being late for life, and my father is convinced that I am going to miss the boat sooner or later. Rest assure, that will not happen.

 

Anyways, today was our one day of travel between Spain and Morocco. Not enough time to recouperate. The ship refueled right as we were sailing past the island of Gibraltar, which is a tiny country that is basically this giant rock with a tiny village at the base. It was quite the view for the few hour we were gettin some gas! (Lisa and Lauren, we would have some pretty great Forbes jokes at this moment).

 

So tomorrow we sail into Morocco. Here is where the culture shock adventure really begins. I found that winging it and traveling in small groups is best for independent travel. I have no idea what to expect, I just hope that Morocco is just a good of a success that Spain was, and I have over 1000 pictures to show for it. I could write an entire book on the experience I am having and this is only the first port...

 

Camels and carpets, here I come!