Around the World in 108 Days

Panama Canal

2009-05-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

The info below is copied from an SAS memo. If you're interested in seeing us go through check it out!

Panama Canal:

Our tentative schedule is as follows:

0910-1000 Transit Miraflores Locks

1050-1130 Transit Pedro Miguel Locks

1245 Pass by Gamboa

1445-1705 Transit Gatun Locks

When we go through the Panama Canal there will be a webcam at the Gatun Locks and the Miraflores Locks from the Panama Canal website: www.pancanal.com This way your friends and families at home can watch the ship sail through! The Canal Website has a new High Resolution Webcam at the Miraflores locks for a very clear image of the ship! More information and links to the webcams are located on the Panama Canal folder on the public drive.

Hawaii Day 1

2009-05-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

        After nine straight days on the ship I was delighted to get to Hawaii. TheVoice (aka Luke on the intercom) played “Coming to America” at 6:30am to wake us all up for customs. We had to go upstairs to the faculty lounge to hold up our passports for customs. Luke specified that ‘proper clothing’ must be worn. After that, I returned to the room to pack up a day bag for the beach and call everyone! That was one of the best parts! Rather than sit around and wait for them to call our sea we got to sit around and call family and friends since it counts as the USA! I swear I went through half of my phonebook.
        Somehow we (Britt, Perri, Becca, Jenna and I) managed to get off the boat by 9. Our destination was The Outrigger on Waikiki Beach (Perri, Becca and Jenna rented a hotel room). Since there were five us (split the ride 5 ways) and the beach was close we decided to hop in a cab to get there. It had been a while since I had taken a real cab so it was actually quite nice to go directly to our destination with no stops and in comfort.
        The hotel was in the perfect location, with the beach on one side and the main drag on the other. The room wasn’t ready for check-in so we (they were nice enough to let us drop our bags too) dropped our bags with the concierge and took a quick spin around the main drag. They had a lot of tourist shops as well as beach shops as well as the usual ‘name brands’. We stopped in at LeSportSac which had the cutest fanny packs in Hawaii exclusive prints. There was also a little enclave along the block called ‘International Market Place:Hawaii’. It had a ton of little vendors selling tropical jewelry, shells and knickknacks. You could bargain, but it wasn’t more than them knocking off a few dollars-no skill needed. After purchasing a small turtle necklace (the other girls bought a bunch of other stuff) we were on our way.
        Happy with our purchases we headed to the beach! We spent the morning laying out and taking in the sights and sounds of Waikiki. The beach itself is not very wide, unlike Miami Beach, but is absolutely beautiful with Diamond Head (an inactive volcano) picturesquely featured at the end. The surfers were everywhere and we were itching to give it a try. I walked up and down the beach trying to find the perfect afternoon lesson and the perfect price. I finally found a hut offering 1 hour lessons for 30$ each. Becca and Jenna and I booked a 1:30 appointment while Brittany decided to just rent a surf board. Feeling like we had all our ducks in a row, we headed to (believe it or not) The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. It’s always nice to have some sort of reminder of home and we all enjoyed the Americana for a little while (I actually had a Kaluha Pork pizza since that is what Hawaii is known for-it was very yummy and full of a BBQy flavor). Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to drop our belongings in the hotel room (it was very nice) and then went to our lessons. Our instructor was a Hawaiian man in his late 20s with a long ponytail. He was very helpful and I managed to even stand up on the board! It took me quite a few tries but it was a lot of fun! Granted he did push us into the waves (so we didn’t have to paddle as hard). After a little while, Brittany paddled over from ‘The Big Surf’ to play with us. We had bought an underwater camera and got busy taking pictures of each other. Somehow our one hour lesson turned into two (although he didn’t charge us more), but we weren’t complaining (who could really when the weather was sunny and the view of Diamond Head was beautiful).
        After our lesson was over we headed into the hotel to shower and change. Brittany and I headed out to the main drag because after much deliberation I ended up buying the LeSportSac fanny pack (Britt bought a couple different ones, Becca bought one, etc), which came in really good use as opposed to my usual money belt. The rest of them caught up with us and we all hailed a taxi to Diamond Head, our main go of which was to hike it at sunset. The bad news was once we got there they told us it was closed (it was 5pm and I guess they don’t like people hiking at dark). We ended up hopping out of the taxi anyway, there was a lovely overlook of the other side of the island which we took even more pictures with. The city was sprawling with the ocean’s waves meeting the shoreline at just the right distance, while the volcanoes peaked in the background.
        We decided to just walk back rather than pay for yet another taxi cab. It was quite a scenic (and long walk) through the streets of inland Honolulu. The houses were very modern and another reminder that we were in the states. We got back to the main drag around sunset and sat on the beach taking it all in. It was pretty beautiful but it had nothing on the ones we have on the ship. Afterwards we walked around the main drag some more and had sushi for dinner (there’s a large Japanese presence in Hawaii). It was really yummy and I even got wakame salad (I had searched all over japan for it!). We continued walking around the shops before heading back to the ship for a good night sleep.

Some Updates

2009-05-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Swine Flu:
I’ve been getting a lot of emails about this. When we went to Guatemala there were no reported cases and to the best of my knowledge there still aren’t. The big joke around here (its not funny) is that if someone ends up with Swine Flu on the ship that we are going to be quarantined outside of Ft. Lauderdale for weeks with a gigantic battleship to make sure no one jumps ship. I am REALLY glad that this just became a big deal because it could have really impeded on our travels (such as SARS did).

Leaving the Ship:

I’m really sad to be leaving this voyage and community but I am definitely ready to see my friends and family. I just took my last final so school is over (I think I’m getting 3 As and B+), which is fine by me. Right now we can see Central America in the distance, the little outlines of their coasts. It’s nice to have birds flying outside of the window too. It’s odd to have flies on the ship though (since we’re close to land now we have them). I’m going to miss the little things on this ship such as the noon update or even the structure of the nights activities (pre-port, etc). I can’t believe we’ll all be saying goodbye in just three days but I really feel like this is the start of a brand new chapter in my life and I can’t wait.

Happy Sailing,
Elyssa

Days 4-5 Japan

2009-04-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Day 4-Tokyo, Japan
I awoke early in my small capsule, quickly showered and woke up Brittany. After getting organized we decided to head to Roppongi Hills, a sprawling metropolitan complex of Japanese economic hegemony. Brittany’s feet were bothering her (we weren’t having good feet luck in Japan) and she chalked it up to her shoes. She was desperate to get some relief so we headed to Birkenstock, which was closed (we were there too early), so we decided to head to the top of the building for the Tokyo City View. It turned out that it was a two-for-one ticket which included the Mori Art Museum AND a car show (I took pictures for you dad).

The Art Museum was really cool, very modern. The main attraction was this triangular form of rings with light bulbs on it, it was supposed to be confusing, yet reflexive. Also included in the ticket was a headset which guided us through the museum and told us little factoids. Some of the exhibits were really odd, such as one which consisted of a wood table in the middle of a dark room which you were supposed to touch which made it make noises and quote movies-very weird.

My favorite piece was done by a man who was trying to express what happened to his world when his family’s farm was taken back by the government to be turned into something industrial. It was spread across an entire room with names of the farm, his family, trees and other organic matters.

From the museum we headed upstairs to the car show. It was really cool because not only could you view the Japanese Bentley or a MiTo, but you could also look out the large window on the 52nd floor out towards Tokyo, a great outlook.

After taking quite a few pictures we took the elevator (and deposited our belongings in a locker so they wouldn’t get blown away) up to the official Tokyo View. The window was blowing and the view was fantastic as we looked over all of Tokyo and took more pictures (of course!).

Brittany’s feet were really killing her so we decided to go back to Birkenstock and try to find her a good comfy pair of shoes. We were successful, so we went down to the food court to get a nosh. I found take-out tempura (sticking with authentic food, all the business people were ordering it), while Brittany grabbed a bagel(with too little cream cheese).

After lunch we took another timely metro to Asakusa. Asakusa is well known for it’s Nakamise Shopping Arcade and it’s Buddhist Temple Sensoji, which is Tokyo’s largest Buddhist temple.

Upon walking up to arcade itself you pass by the Kaminarimon or the Thunder gate which is a huge gate with a large lantern with the guardian gods, Raijin and Rujin. We walked around the shopping arcade for a little while, Brittany bought some pottery for her family while I watched the locals buy discount makeup and other goods. The arcade was pretty busy and the Japanese can be a little pushy in lines (if there is a space in the queue then its up for the taking), but all in all it was pretty orderly. The color scheme is bright reds and yellows, working together to lead one to the main attraction amongst the cherry blossoms (although not as prevalent as in Kyoto, Tokyo did have quite a few), the Sensoji.

The next thing we pass by is the Kannondo. There were quite a few individuals surrounding the small circular well, each holding incense while wafting the smoke towards themselves. Before entering the temple we wash our hands in another dragon (in metal) fountain with little cups to cleanse ourselves.

We look ahead and see hundreds of white lanturns, neatly hung in orderly rows leading us to the main gate. The gate is a two-tiered pagoda which we slip through in order to get a glimpse of the main alter which is totally plated in gold. It is actually behind glass which skews the view a little bit but it is still a beautiful array of alter and flower, mixing and mingling in order to showcase Buddhist beauty.

As we look up to the ceiling we see a beautiful painting of a G-d with a red skirt, twirling different pieces of cloth. As we walk out of the main gate we see a 5-tiered red and black pagoda, Gojunoto, which is sad to house some of the ashes of Buddha. Surrounded by blossoms it is a truly a magical place.

Continuing through the garden we see more beautiful carved stones (my favorite!) as well as black stone statues of Buddhas and small prayer and donation pagodas (they look like mini-pagodas with green roofs and wood structures on top of stones). It was just so beautiful.

After reflecting in the garden we decide to head back out to the shopping arcade (its getting late) and make our final purchases. I really wanted a little container for powdered green tea (and green tea), because let’s face it, I love green tea. But, I wanted it for a really good price so we had to walk all around to find one that was more geared towards wholesale. After walking through at least 10 pottery shops, we find the perfect shop in a small ally. I purchase a small, white, condiment container with small cherry blossoms painted on it. It is beautiful. Afterwards, we managed to track down a grocery store to buy some powdered green tea.

Exhausted, we hop on the metro to head back to the capsule hotel to drop our belongings and recharge before heading back out.

The capsule hotel is alive with travelers (including some SASers), we utilize the computers and research what to do for dinner and the late afternoon. Next, we hop on the metro and head to Ginza, famous for it’s shopping malls. Sitting on the subway at rush-hour was quite a site as the young student next to me kept falling asleep and the businessman to my right was furiously texting.

Ginza looked like any other section of any other city and we quickly bored of the shopping centers (it was all VERY upscale). We decided to head into one of the centers to grab a quick snack (I got a hand sushi roll) as we were getting hungry but didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg. Brittany’s foot was also starting to hurt again at this point.

We hopped back on the metro (we had unlimited passes and wanted to see as much as we could) towards Shinkjuku, famous for it’s electronics, music and department stores. We walked along the very busy streets before deciding (Brittany was having trouble walking at this point) to stop for some dinner. We ate at a Japanese version of an IHOP (part fast food but with service). We each got some very yummy shrimp tempura with rice and miso soup. After dinner Brittany decided that she wanted to return to Roppongi to try to return the Birkenstocks. So, once more, we got on the metro and headed to Roppongi. Although she wasn’t able to return them, she did get the arches hammered down which helped. Afterwards she got some Ice Cream and we started discussing if it was possible to wake up to go the Tsukiji Fish Market at four in the morning. After deciding to do it, we headed back to the Capsule Inn to go to sleep. Sleep came easy as I was exhausted and before I knew it, it was morning…

Day 5- Tokyo to Yokohama

I was in disbelief when my alarm buzzed at 4:30 am. The idea of waking up that earl and the actual occurrence of such an event are two totally different things. But, alas I was waking up early to see the famous Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, so really I had nothing to complain about. I woke Brittany up (she was not particularly happy about it) and we got ready, then headed down to the metro to grab the first train of the morning to Tsukiji (the 5:12am). The station is roughly a kilometer from the market and we were a little disoriented, but we were able to follow a German family all the way there.

The market is alive and very real. People are conducting high stakes auctions (tuna is expensive!). As we walked into the open air building, I was reminded of Rona. The industrial fork lift thingies (I don’t know what they’re actually called) were whizzing past us(you had to be really careful) carrying everything from squid to enormous tunas. The smell was quite overwhelming, but I managed to get used to it. It was amazing to see all the different kinds of fish in little stands, the shopkeepers proudly slicing and dicing. I tried to not get grossed out as we traversed the aisles. We slowly (it was sensory overload) made out way to the back of the market where the tuna auctions were.

The auctions were held in what looked like huge storage units (with garage doors). We peaked under one and saw rows upon rows of frozen tuna, larger than a person! The back tail (or fin?) was cut off and a little hanging piece of meat was exposed to allow bidders to feel the meat (grosssss). I ducked under to snap a few shots before getting in trouble and being shooed to the ‘official tourist line’. After waiting for 10 or so minutes (while watching the whizzing carts full of fish almost collide with each other and tourists) we walked into one of the units, down a small aisle, and got a better view of the auctions. It is truly amazing that so much goes into buying sushi (lol). The chaos began to subside around six and we made our way back out of the market, viewing for the final time curled octopus legs, thousands of tiny shrimp and fish that I have never seen in my life. Let’s just say the fish market in Seattle has nothing on Tsukiji.

After we washed the smell off our clothes we took a short nap at the Capsule Inn before heading back out to explore Ahkihabara (where our hotel was located). We had decided to leave this adventure for last because we weren’t going to buy a all-you-can-ride pass for the metro and we could easily leave our stuff at the capsule.

Ahkihabara is also known as the Electric Town, Chou St. being the main drag. We arrived a little early (around 9:45) as the huge mega-shops were opening. The whole street looked like one big Brandsmart USA and each shop seemed to resemble the discount electronic store. The stores housed everything technical or manga (the Asian comic book style) you could ever imagine. Although their technology is ahead of ours, the prices were pretty similar. As Brittany browsed the multi-story electronic stores looking for ‘junk drives’ and a camera for her dad, I looked at the DSLRs. They still had D40s on the shelf! They are definitely more into DSLRs than we are in the United States (for instance a D700 or something that would be marketed at professionals in the United States is marketed for consumers!). They had lens upon lens and more camera bag choices than I have ever seen in my life. However, I was a good girl and managed to restrain myself!

As many of you know, I am kind of obsessed with Copic Markers (used for anime, or in my case, rubber stamping!), so when I heard we were staying in the anime district I had hoped that we would run into them. Since we had a little extra time before lunch (the McDonalds 390 Yen lunch special that served us well in Japan wherein you get a cheeseburger, fries and a large soda for the equivalent of 4 USD (any other Japanese lunch sets you back roughly 10 USD or much more), Brittany used her limited Japanese to ask some clerks about them. After asking 10 or so people, we managed to locate a store that sold them!

Nothing is cheap in Japan, but the Copic markers were only 399 Yen (4 USD) as opposed to 6 or 7 USD in the states. I was good again and ended up just buying two (E04 and B000) plus the starter airbrush set (I had extra yen). I was happier than a kid in a candy store and even took a video of the shop for my stamping blog!

After stopping for our fast food lunch (yucky, but cheap!) we headed back to the capsule to grab our bags then to the metro to say goodbye to Tokyo and head to Yokohama to meet the ship.

After making it to the ship (the trains were easy!) we dropped our belongings, changed our shoes and headed out to explore Yokohama for two hours.

Yokohama, like most of Japan, is very modern and sort of reminded me of the Boston Harbor area. We walked down to the stadium, passing quite a few purple and yellow tulips on our way. From there we headed to China Town where we sipped some green tea and saw most of the items we had bought in China for triple the price. I enjoyed seeing the city, but it was basically like any other smaller city so I was glad that we had stayed in Tokyo.

Reflections
I really enjoyed Japan. After seeing poverty around the world it was nice to see a country and a people who were thriving. Many comforts that we enjoy they have even improved (case in point: Toliets, there’s sing to you (the flushing noise), heat your bottom, have built in bidets and I’m just talking about the ones in McDonalds, some even blow dry you). Its amazing to me that a country that was once a great military power managed to harness that energy and turn their economy into a real prize. Successfully, they managed to avoid a lot of military spending and in turn put that federal money towards good use. I think the world could learn a lot from Japan.

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

Day 3- Kyoto to Tokyo, Japan

2009-04-18T01:31:00.000-07:00

Day 3- Kyoto to Tokyo, Japan

As usual we woke up early, this time to go to Tokyo. I was quite excited to use the Shinkansen to get there. The Shinkansen is the Japanese bullet train which reaches speeds of up to 190 miles per hour. We took the Nozomi train on the Tokaido track from Kyoto to Tokyo, direct. The train itself had a futuristic outside (very slanted and white) but the inside was just a more luxurious train. We sat next to a Japanese businessman who told us what towns we were passing and when to look for certain highlights. It was pretty amazing to literally see buildings flash before my eyes. The true highlight was towards the end of the ride (at 12:12, exactly, they were able to tell us ahead of time and were perfectly correct) when we got to see Mt. Fuji. It was a spectacular sight with its white snowy volcano top overshadowing the towns below!

The ride only took a little over two hours and we were hungry by the time we arrived. But, we decided to head to our CAPSULE hotel!!! After a little navigating we made it to the Capsule Inn Akihabara which is in the ‘Electric District’ (its where all the electronic stores are). The lobby was on the first of ten floors. We gave the man our registration and in return he gave us the key to our main lockers as well as the key to the shoe lockers. He told us we could drop our belongings but that we had to be out of there quickly as they were only ‘open’ from 5pm to 10am. We quickly ran upstairs (the 8th floor, which is all women) and dropped off our bags. We also snuck in to check out our capsules. Each one was roughly the length of a twin bed with the width of a full (the entire bottom was mattress). There was enough room to sit up. A TV was mounted to the ceiling of the capsule (although the channels were all in Japanese). Next to the head of the bed was a small ledge to put contacts, etc on, below which was a built in alarm/clock/radio. We also each got a small pillow which was full of pellet like beads (comfortable, but odd).

After putting our shoes back on and exchanging our locker keys for slips of paper with our room number (and paying, it was 4,000 yen or 40 USD) we headed for the Metro Station. We purchased our tickets (the machines worked in English too!) and headed to the platform. Japanese trains are SO timely, it was amazing! We almost never had to wait more than 3 minutes for a train, it was awesome.

We decided to go the Harajuku district which is known for its funky and hip fashion. We were sooo hungry that we decided to get lunch right away. I spotted a lunch special at a pizza place and for 10 USD we each got iced coffee, Caesar salad and pepperoni pizza. It was really yummy!

After our late lunch we headed across the street to Top Shop and some other small (expensive!) boutiques. Neither of us were having much success shopping, but we did see A LOT of Harajuku teens with their crazy spiky hair and extravagant style (boys in heels, but not in a transsexual way, just in an extreme way, its hard to explain). A few were nice enough to let me snap some pictures. After wandering through the busy streets we found an off-street which had a ton of cute, funky and cheap boutiques. Somehow I managed to find the perfect dress for Passover at over 50% off (it was like 3,000 Yen/ 30USD) and it fit perfectly. Brittany found some dresses and shoes and we were on our way!

We decided to walk up the streets (its on a hill) towards Meiji Jingu. It is a Shinto shrine, which is Japan’s ancient religion, void of a founder, holy book or conversion. However, they value nature and virtue. The closest things they have to G-ds are Kami which are divine spirits. One such Kami was the Emperor Meiji who passed in 1912. In commemoration of his life individuals from all over Japan sent trees (100,000 total) which worked to create the forest which we visited. It is considered Tokyo’s grandest shrine.

After walking (for quite a while!) through the forest we passed through a large torii gate (this one was brown and gold) that denoted that we had made it to the actual shrine. The roofs were green and sloping, overshadowing the brown temples that they covered. Once more we cleaned our hands and faces in the fountain, found a little bit of Zen and then walked back to the main street again.

We passed a plethora of fashionable youths before deciding (as the sun finally set) to get some food. We found a conveyor belt sushi restaurant and sat down for dinner. This one was bar style (like ruben’s in Miami) and we sat next to a kid and his father (we think it was his father, we’re not sure). I enjoyed some more roe and tempura while drinking hot green tea (it comes in powder form there, which you mix with the hot water). The kid was pretty funny as he grabbed almost everything that passed by him. I was much more frugal and ended up with only three small plates worth. It’s amazing how many plates some people had accumulated (10 or more!).

We were pretty tired by the time we left the restaurant and were eager to try out our capsules. The inn was very much alive when we got back. They had the internet on (it was free) and we got to check our email and facebook. We also researched what to do the next day. The shower was divided into individual stalls by curtains, but was very clean. They also had free tap water (it’s the little things in life). I watched YouTube on my Ipod (free wireless) before falling fast asleep (it was noisy at times as there are about 30 capsules on each floor and the door to the balcony was open to let cool air in), but I am a sound sleeper so it was fine.

Kyoto, Japan

2009-04-17T00:07:00.000-07:00

Day 2- Kyoto, Japan

We awoke super early as we wanted to rent bicycles from a nearby hostel and we had heard that they sold out most mornings. Becca and Perri explored during the day by bus. I was a little rusty on the bicycle, mostly do to the fact that it was not a multi-speed bike like I am used to, rather it was a simple one with a basket on the front. Brittany was a bit of a speed demon, while I was more careful of my movements close to cars and individuals. After some practice I became steadier and the bell came in handy for warning pedestrians that we were coming.

Our day’s goal was to get to the Philosopher’s Walk, which is a 2km long path with hundreds of cherry blossoms, by two o’clock to meet Perri and Becca. It was clear across town and we weren’t sure if we would make it, but we wanted to give it a go.

I was the navigator, making sure we were always going the right direction and with Brittany’s help I am proud to say we never got lost! Our first detour was to a small temple and it’s surrounding gardens along Gojo-dori street. We got there before it opened so we were only able to explore the outside. The cherry blossoms were exquisites and paired with the morning sun and beautiful stone carvings we were in Zen once more.

Our next pit stop (after some hard core biking) was to the Kiyomizu-dera temple. It was gorgeous! Since it was overlooking (we biked a hill/mountain to get to it, it was windy and narrow, it’s a small miracle that we made it) much of Kyoto the views were amazing, it was probably my favorite temple in Japan. The entrance to many of these temples have sacred water which you take from a dragon spout or the like and wipe on your hands and face. Of course, we delved right in asking the locals how to properly proceed. The temple itself is Buddhist and belonged to the Kita Hoso sect which was founded by Enchin in 778 CE and it is made to enshrine the G-d of Mercy (Kannon). The current structures were rebuilt during the 1600s and are a Romon or two storied gate, a Sanjunoto or three storied pagoda and a Shoro or belfy.

The cherry blossoms were everywhere and we got to delight in their presense snapping pictures and looking at the city below. The structures all had black tile roofs which pulled upwards in the corners. The structures themselves were painted red and white. The temple sold trinkets promising love and other charms for luck, etc(which I found interesting, it was like a glorified cheap gift shop right in the middle of everything). There were different pagodas with places you could pray (ring the bell, etc), but Brittany and I had had enough prayer for the day so we decided to just walk down the hill and play with the cherry blossoms. The road back to our bicycles was paved with shops selling everything from expensive sake sets to tshirts. We stopped for crepes before departing.

It was another trek, this time up Higashioji-dori street to the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, but we were quite in the swing of things, having totally mastered biking amongst crowds. The entrance to the building was a huge red traditional Japanese gate or ‘Torii’. It was pretty spectacular. The museum had a special exhibition going on which was a photo gallery with Ads made by Japanese individuals. It was pretty cool to see all the different campaigns produced by Japan. Another hall had all pieces of modern art, I really liked one that was an interpretation of Matryoshkas from Russia. The upstairs portain of museum wanted like 1,000 yen for entrance (10$) so we decided to skip it and play once more in the gardens outside before departing. Our next stop was to the Kyoto Handicraft Center (I put Brittany in charge of this navigation). It was really touristy (it was basically a shopping mall) and since Japan was much more expensive than our past ports, I had already had my fill of less expensive Asian products. Brittany bought some thing for her dad and we were on our way.

Tired, but determined, we biked all the way up Higashioki-dori and over Marutamachi-dori to The Philosopher’s Walk. It is named after Kitaro Nishida who used to take the walk and preach philosophy to his students. It was quite spectacular. There were more cherry blossoms than I had seen in our entire trip! They all lined a canal and made for some beautiful sights. There were quite a few vendors around as well. We couldn’t find Perri and Becca so we decided to just meet them at the hostel.

The bike ride back was also quite an event. Rather than wind through the busy streets oncemore, I thought it might be nice to bike along the Kamogawa Canal which splits Kyoto. Brittany agreed and after biking the cross street we made it to the canal. It was alive with locals picnicking and frolicking. Parts of the canal had larges stones which you could hop across, some where even carved into turtles! We jumped from rock to rock and then continued our long bike home, proud of ourselves for our journey!

We stopped for coffee in a vending machine before returning to our hostel. I don’t think I have mentioned these yet, but they are THE greatest! They have a ton of varieties of hot and cold coffee in cans in vending machines lining the streets for 120 yen ($1.20 USD). It is the simplest thing ever, but ever so yummy.

We napped for a little bit before Perri and Becca got home. We changed and quickly left for Kawaramachi Street. A shopping street, dotted with Karaoke joints and sushi restaurants was quite a haven for us after our exhausting day. Becca had heard about a conveyor belt sushi restaurant named Kappa Sushi which we all made a J-line for. The line was long but we waited it out and were rewarded with a really fun and interesting experience. All the rolls were 105 yen (1.05 USD) which was really awesome because it made us want to try every roll which rolled on by (they were on little plates on an electric conveyor belt). My favorite rolls were the Roe and Shrimp Tempura (two separate rolls), each plate had like 2-3 rolls which was great for sampling. The girls all competed for who could eat the most and I failed miserably, consuming only 5 plates worth (they were at 8-9). The other really cool thing was that there were little computers on each table from which you could special order rolls which would come on a fake shinkansen (bullet train). It was a really fun restaurant.

Becca had read about the Nijo Castle which is lit up at night. It was quite a long walk but eventually we made it. Brittany and I decided not to go in as it was a little pricey and we were tired. When Perri and Becca came back we were really tired but decided to walk back to Kawaramachi street to sing some karaoke. We rented a room for a half hour and the four of us belted out Madonna, Beauty and the Beast and Jessie’s Girl while drinking free Ginger Ale. We had a lot of a fun! Our voices and bodies were tired by the time we made it home (we had a little trouble figuring out the night bus) and to sleep.

Day 1 Kobe to Kyoto, Japan

2009-04-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

Day 1 Kobe to Kyoto, Japan

We woke up early only to find that customs was going very slowly. Customs is an interesting thing, especially internationally. In some countries the ship gets cleared in an hour once passports are stamped, but in Japan we were required to give them our fingerprints and go through a lengthy procedure with our baggage. Once the ship finally called our sea (we’re always last) we dashed into the Kobe terminal and bought train tickets to Kyoto. Finding the correct train is always stressful, but somehow I managed to pick the right one and Perri, Becca and Brittany hopped on. It took about an hour to get to Kyoto. The train was clean, but there weren’t enough seats so we (with some other SASers) took to the floor and a few stood. Eventually everyone was able to obtain a seat. As I looked out the window, I saw a very urban landscape. Japan is debatably the most industrialized country in the world and it showed. From the deep black roof tops with their corners pulled upwards it was clear that Japan successfully pulls from the old while turning to the new.

We finally arrived at Kyoto station and ran upstairs to grab tourist maps (in English) before heading to our Hostel. We stayed at Tour Club Kyoto, which was my first true hostel. It was clean but very different from anywhere we had stayed before. There were four beds in our room all on the floor with just a little room between it and the bathroom. I took the bed closest to the wall (away from the bathroom) and delighted in the free internet that I could receive from my ipod.

After we dropped our bags off we split up, Perri and Becca wanting to explore the local area (Brittany and I knew we were going to rent bikes the next day). Britt and I headed to the Gion District, which is where the Geishas are. We took the bus (we always use public transport) to the foot of the district.

The cherry blossoms were out and despite the fact that my foot was bothering me (I had twisted it earlier) we managed to make it to Kenninji Temple. The sweeping temple is one of Japan’s largest Zen temples. Brittany and I posed with the immense black and white temples and beautiful gardens. Most of the gardens had some sort of large stone with Japanese writing on it. They were striking, especially paired with pink cherry blossoms and green flora.

After arriving at some sort of zen we decided to tread on. The district was basically a street lined with restaurants and brown doors which led to Geisha’s quarters. There were a few Geishas outside with their ornate kimonos and flip-flops (with white socks, of course!). I snapped some pictures of them and we were on our way, content with our sightings.

Our next stop was to the Yasaka Shrine on the eastern end of Shijo-dori. The Gion Matsuri takes place in July at this shrine. It was quite large and had some sort of an event going on so there were stalls full of food from fried chicken (which Brittany purchased) to sodas and beers. Shinto Shrines seem to resemble carnivals to me in some way. There are different booths within which you donate money and then do some sort of a ritual and pray. We participating in one where you toss money into a basket and then pull a very long rope which makes a bell ring and then you say a little prayer. It was very cool to participate in yet another religion.

From there we headed to it’s gardens which were lined in blue tarp. I sat under a cherry blossom and listened to the Japanese students surrouding me. My foot was really hurting so Brittany walked around a little and tried to cheer me up. Soon Perri and Becca arrived from their travels and we all headed to a local Japanese restaurant. We sampled some hot green tea (loved it!) and dined on tempura and rice. The Japanese individuals around me utilized their chopsticks in such a graceful spooning/shoveling manner, whereas I seemed to be picking and pulling at my rice bowl. By the end of my meal (and three of Perri’s advils) my foot was feeling better!

Becca had read about a temple which is lit up at night so we decided to try to find it. After a while (it was getting cold quickly), we realized it must have just been the park behind Yasak Shrine (Maruyama Park). It was full of young Japanese college students partying it up under cherry blossom trees. There were vendors all over. The main attraction at the park is the weeping cherry tree (Shidarezakura), which is lit up beautifully at night. I managed to garter up the courage to ask (well sign and motion, lol) a Japanese man if I could use his tripod to take a picture at night! He kindly obliged. After my photoshoot, we walked around the trees and talked to some other tourists (from Holland!) and some Japanese students who spoke pretty good English. Brittany and I were quite tired by the time we said goodbye to catch the last bus back to the Hostel, while Becca and Perri stayed with our new friends.

A Quick Update

2009-04-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

A Quick Update

All is well here. We had a major test today in “Global Studies”, so between studying for that and catching up on sleep I haven’t had time to write my Japan Journal. But don’t worry, it’s in the works.

We have quite a long stretch at sea right now. We are almost half way through the 9 days until Hawaii. We even had one day twice! LOL. Since we crossed the International Date Line we had two April 12ths. We went from ahead of you guys (east coast) by 15 hours to behind by 9. Pretty crazy.

My days at sea have been busy. I am being good about exercise and have been using the bikes and ellipticals upstairs. I have also been catching up on reading and notes for my classes. Its hard to be academic when there are so many things and countries going on!

I’m excited for Hawaii. We’re staying on the ship at night (its only 2 days, 1 night), but we are going to go to the Pearl Harbor Museum and the beach, plus explore the other parts of the island. I can’t wait!

Tomorrow we don’t have classes so I am going to try to get to business on my journaling.

I have to go to class, but I’ll post Day One soon.

Happy Sailing,
Elyssa

PS. It’s rocky. We haven’t had these kinds of waves since Spain. Luckily, I don’t get sea sick but I don’t know how some students made it through the Global test with the movement.

Days 5-6, China (PRC)

2009-04-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Day 5- Beijing, PRC
We awoke for our 9:30 check-out just in the knick of time to call home and run out the door. Our first destination of the day was to the Summer Palace also known as the Yihe Tuan or “Gardens of Nutured Harmony”. Besides the beauty of the palace itself, there is the Kunming Lake which is just under three square kilometers. It was actually man made and the soil that was taken out was used to create Longevity Hill.

It was originially called the Garden of Clear Ripples in 1750, but after it was attacked and rebuilt after the Anglo-French invasion of 1860 and after the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. It is also a World Heritage Site.

The entrance to the park and palace reminded us a lot of epcot as it was pretty hokey. But once we got to the main palace, with its green and yellow roof tops, it was apparent that this place was architecturally beautiful and unique. Situated on Longevity Hill one could sit amongst the pagodas (circular and rectangular) and view the massive lake with it’s dragon decorated longboats. It was absolutely gorgeous as the red pillars once again accented the green, yellow and blue trimmings. We played around, taking pictures in “meditation stances” before descending the hill and heading onto dragon (they served as the base of the long boat) boats with yellow roof trimmings. It was really cool to see the palace from the water and I once again borrowed Jordan’s long lens.

Our next stop was to this amazing hibatchi buffet. They had more food and options then I have ever seen before it was quite decadent for SAS. I sampled a bunch of dishs from seasoned oysters to banana sushi to shrimp tempora and even some dishes that I didn’t know what the contents were! The place itself was very “hip” with a bright color scheme. After we ate I realized that the lobby had wifi and with my ipod touch in hand I was able to send a few emails.

After everyone had had their fill (it took quite a while, actually) we headed to the “Bird’s Nest” the site of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. It was a pretty gorgeous and massive structure. It is called the “Birds Nest” because it is basically a hodge podge of steel, which is woven through itself. It was very pretty in person and we once again we took a bunch of pictures. We then went into the stadium, which was packed, quite a contrast to the one in Barcelona that was kind of abandoned.

The 2008 games had these adorable characters which looked like little stuffed animals. They had large scale ones which we happily took pictures with, fighting off the others who wanted to get in (it was actually quite hilarious). From there we moved on to the gift shop, where I could almost hear Dad’s voice going “we throw this type of stuff away”, so you will be happy to know that I did not buy a cute stuffed animal, lol. Brittany bought a few souvenirs for her and her family and then we went back outside to take more pictures.

We walked over to “The Icecube” which is made of steel and plastic. It was pretty cool from the outside. We ran out of time (and didn’t want to pay the entrance fee) to see the inside, but we were quite content to take pictures with the structure which was the highlight.

From there we headed to the bus and went to the Cloths market. Our last market of the trip. I bought Ilana a Buddha chop with her name carved in it and I got Bubbie a magnet, while Brittany bought some LeSportSacs and pearls.

We then headed to the airport (which was very modern, another contrast to Russia which had a very soviet style, old school airport). We took a 747-400 to Shanghai. It was huge. I’m pretty sure we took one to Israel, but it seemed sort of a waste to take a double decker two hours. On the flight the stewardess helped me with my calligraphy practice, bringing me water for the book and helping me get the hang (and meaning) of the characters. It was quite nice and she was very excited to be a “teacher”. By the time we got home it was almost midnight and I was excited to be able to see the Shanghai TV Tower from our room. Sometimes we get the best views!

Day 6-Shanghai

Brittany had to wake up early for a Taiji FDP, while I slept. We met around 8am for breakfast before heading out. We found Perri and Becca and the four of us shared a taxi to the downtown area for about a dollar each. Our plan (Brittany and I) was to go to the Art Muesuem, the park and just walk around exploring the city since we were tired from Beijing.

Unfortunately the Museum was closed due to a special event and we had to scrap that idea. We moved on (a little bitterly, lol) to People’s Park, a beautiful public park full of pink roses, neatly trimmed topiaries and a local people (who make it a habit of blowing their noses onto the street and spitting, gross, but I guess it is their culture).

After walking around and taking pictures for a while I saw two older Chinese women practicing Taiji. Although Brittany had gotten her fill of it, I hadn’t tried it yet so I decided to go up to the women and “ask” (no English) for a lesson. They were quite helpful and funny and we played for quite a while, they weren’t happy with our stances but tried to help us anyway. My chi was centered at times, but when they tried to test us by pushing us (if you have the proper stance and alignment you shouldn’t be able to be pushed over) we both failed pretty miserably. It was quite remarkable to be learning Taiji from to ladies in a park in china and I am confident that I won’t forget it anytime soon.

As we exited the park two young Chinese women (about our age) started chatting us up and told us they were from a nearby province and that they were visiting and asked us if we wanted to go with them to a tea ceremony. Being a good traveler I had already looked up scams on wikitravel and this one seemed to fit the bill. We politely declined their offer and I was a little sad since I was unsure if it was truly a scam. When we returned to the ship later it was apparent that it was and that a lot of people had fell into it, some getting charged over 50 USD for some tea.

After our near run in, we continued out to the busy streets, Shanghai being a bustling city. We walked in and out of shops without much luck our remaining money burning a hole in our pocket. We walked through Nanjing Road, a closed shopping street and I found some hot wheels for my dad at a toy store. Feeling tired we ended up stoping for lunch before exploring side streets. Similar to NYC, many fake bag sellers ran up to us, I kept saying no, but they were quite aggressive. We followed one into their back room (similar to NYC, again) where Brittany bought a LeSportSac. Frustrated that I couldn’t find anything to spend my last 100 Yuan (about 15 dollars) we continued searching the streets.

We ended up stumbling upon a calligraphy shop and I happily bought some colored ink sticks and papers. Purchases complete we hailed a cab and returned, sleepily to the ship.

We took some pictures on the decks with the skyline before passing out for a couple of hours (dock time was early!). We headed to Shabbat and then to Mindy and MickeyG’s room to watch the nighttime skyline (I bought a flexible tripod in China for like 8 dollars so I could take the pictures very well!), the TV Tower a colorful glow with ships passing by.

Reflections
I really enjoyed China, especially Beijing. Besides the fact that the communist party controls and censors the press, I felt that the country as a whole felt very capitalistic and free. The people seemed happy and taken care of. I’m sure if I had seen more rural areas my opinion would have been VERY different, but the big cities did seem quite progressive. The fact that their economy has been loosened for 30ish years made it a big contrast to Russia where its only been so for 15-20.

Ok, I’m off to explore Japan.

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

No more updates for a while...

2009-04-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

The internet is about to go out (due to Japan) so I can't update the last two China days. I had a great time and will post them when I get back!

Elyssa

No more updates...

2009-04-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

...my internet is about to go out until we leave Japan, so the last two days of china won't get put up until we leave. Sorry :( I'm having/had a great time!!

Elyssa

Day 4-Beijing, PRC

2009-04-05T06:41:00.000-07:00

Day 4-Beijing, PRC
I was very excited, albeit a little nervous for the climb itself, to finally go to The Great Wall. Its one of the wonders of the world! It is basically a compilation of stone walls created between the 5th century and the 16th century. It covers over 4,000 miles from Shanhaiguan to Lop Nur. Over 2 million people died during its creation and at one time it was guarded by over one million men.

We went to the Mutianyu section, which houses a toboggan that we took down. The climb was pretty intense and we were all out of breath by the time we made it to the top, Brittany and I stopped half way through to take pictures by a lovely red pagoda. Jordan had his long lens, so I popped it on my camera and shot some spectacular shots of the wall from afar (I decided against bringing mine due to the weight and the long climb).

We spent the next hour or so exploring the wall itself. Constantly stopping to take pictures, the day crisp and sunny (what luck!). The wall itself was pretty amazing. Made of stone and seemingly going on forever I tried to picture the Mongols on one side with the Chinese forces holding them back on top of this massive peak. I felt so lucky to have been able to see such a magnificent sight (Thanks Mom and Dad!). After taking pictures from every angle we possibly could we headed down to the toboggan station. I took my time, while Brittany whizzed right off. The view was spectacular, despite my nerves as I looked out to see what would happen if I flipped it, lol.

The bottom of the mountain was full of vendors. One woman held out a “I Climbed the Great Wall” and pronounced that it was only 1 USD. When we followed her to her stall she quickly rebuked on the offer and even pinched Brittany as we walked away, it was quite shocking. Once we realized just how aggressive the vendors were we decided to divide and conquer. Brittany got a chop made (I got a case and ink for mine for only 10 Yuan), while I bargained one of those shirts down to 10 Yuan (I was/am out of cloths due to the slow laundry, but they say we’ll get it back before Japan, so we’ll see). We got back on the bus a little late (along with some other people) and promptly took our seats.

The tour guide pulled quite a trick on us, telling us that since we had been so late that we would have to go to McDonalds rather than a pizza buffet. Many people on the bus were extremely angry, while I was disappointed, I didn’t see any sense in getting worked up so I put on my ipod and looked out the window. We eventually pulled up to a “Big Pizza” and figured out that Jeff had pulled a prank on us. Many didn’t think it was funny, but I sure did. The buffet was very yummy and it was nice to have a change from Chinese food (though who could really complain about authentic Chinese food?).

From our Pizza filled feast we headed to the Silk Market. My goal was to get my chop carved for under 20 Yuan (bringing the sum total to around 8 dollars), while Brittany wanted to get pearls. After quite some searching, I found a shop that would do it (the stone I bought was very strong and they needed a special electronic carver), so I left it with them after having them literally promise their lives away if it wasn’t completed. While Brittany was hard at work buying like 10 sets of pearls, I found a small family owned calligraphy shop.

Having not made real art in TOO long, I was so excited when they offered me a lesson (albeit to get me to buy the supplies, but still). I really enjoyed doing it (their English wasn’t so good, so it was a little hard) and since I had overestimated the amount of cash I should have taken out the first day, I haggled for a quality brush, a box for the brush, black ink and a practice book (the coolest thing ever, it dries after you paint on it with water) all for under 10 dollars. The women took pity on me after a while as she was pretty adamant about selling it for more than twice that. It will really come in handy over the long stretches of sea time coming up. I was also able to get a bendy tripod for under 8 dollars (I already used it to take pictures of the Shanghai skyline at night). At the last minute Brittany ended up getting another LeSportSac.

We all piled back on the bus comparing our finds. It was very interesting to see what other people had bought. Many bought a ton of fake clothes, bags and even shoes! I was happy with my art related purchase.

We headed back to the hotel for dinner with the Chinese students. We ended up sitting with two Chinese students who had been dating for two years. They were really friendly and the boy kept refusing to eat until we had all eaten, which meant that I kept putting food on his plate. It was quite funny in person. After another lazy susan filled dinner, Brittany and I excused ourselves to go get her a phone card (I still had time left on mine).

On our way back we bumped into Faye and her boyfriend (our Chinese friends) and we asked them if there was a grocery store around. They walked us through some very dark streets and we ended up at a multistory department store complete with a bathroom. Brittany looked for a belt for her mom and cloths for her, although she didn’t end up buying any cloths because they weren’t very high quality despite the large price tags (weird since everything was, you guessed it, made in china). I got some cup-of-noodles (but a Chinese version) and Brittany got moisturizer.

On our way back to the hotel we got some street vendor popcorn (it was yummy and cheap, I’m still surprised about the lack of street food in china though, I guess the government is strict about it). I talked to the male student about politics and he seemed very pro-American, stating that he wants to continue his studies in the USA.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were very tired, but excited for the coming day!

Day 3-Beijing, China

2009-04-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Day 3-Beijing, China

Our first true day in Beijing was truly a highlight. Our first stop was to Tiananmen Square. Maybe it is due to my political science background or the many east asian classes I have taken, but, when I think of China, I think of this infamous Square.

Tiananmen means “Gate of Heavenly Peace” which is kind of ironic due to the events that have taken place there. On October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong declared the People’s Republic of China in that very square. His government would ultimately, directly or indirectly, kill millions. Many parades have also taken place in the square be it during the Cultural Revolution or a military parade. Finally, the infamous protests of 1989 unraveled in the square and just when students thought their communist government was loosening up they were massacred for their protest. The accuracy of how many were killed or how the event went down varies tremendously. Some people who witnessed the event say that no one was killed in the square itself, while NATO believes 6,000 were killed. It is rarely discussed in Chinese textbooks. Some of our guides seemed to deny that even,t but the Chinese students I talked with did say that it happened. It’s a particularly interesting event, both in analysis of the actual event and the denial, by some, of the event.

When we walked onto the plaza we immediately began taking pictures with the red gate which has a brown “typically Chinese” roof (the corners turn up), which is decorated with Mao’s picture, the crisp, cool breeze chilling our skin.

Then we took a few pictures with the National Centre for the Performing Arts which is also known as The Egg, since it is dome shaped and made of titanium and glass and encompassed by a lake. It was pretty gorgeous.

From there we walked toward the center of the square which has the “Monument to the People’s Heroes” which is a 10-story obelisk, sort of similar to our Washington monument in shape. It has a quote by Mao on it and even an inscription by Zedong himself.

Next, we dropped our bags with the guide who promised me like 10 times that he would watch my camera closely, in order to go to Mao’s Mausoleum. China having been my third communist (if you count Russia) country I am constantly trying to look for bias or “sucking up” or similar tilts. I found a major sign in this mausoleum. Not only were people bringing rented flowers to this man (who killed so many) but they were bowing and seemed genuinely sincere in their actions. Besides that (which I guess I can understand because some people view many of Mao’s worst creations, i.e. the cultural revolution, as things that just backfired but were not meant to hurt people) the fact that we were ushered so quickly by his “actual” (embalmed) body that it looked so fake. Who knows? It was odd. Maybe its just cultural.

Then we headed back to meet the group and walk to the gate to go to the Forbidden City. While Jeff (the university guide) explained how to use our headsets (which were super cool and would just start talking when we walked to a certain place in the FC) a cute Chinese family came up to us and asked us to take our pictures with them. Apparently that is very common and we were asked to take our picture with Chinese individuals many times throughout our trip.

The Forbidden City itself was the imperial palace for China, starting in the Ming Dynasty all the way until the Qing Dynasty. During this time, almost 500 years, the Emperor used it as his home and as the center for politics in China. It was created from 1406 until 1420 and there are still 980 buildings which have made it until today. It is also a World Heritage Site and holds the most old wooden structures on the globe. Its north-south axis is still used as the axis of Beijing.

The FC is constricted by a 26 ft high wall and a 170 ft wide moat. They were used for defense of the city as well as for keeping the servants in. One of the main colors of the city (amongst the blues and reds) is yellow which is the color of the Emperor. Most of the roofs have yellow tiles, which sparkle in the sun. Most of the roofs are adorned with a line of statuettes, most of them depict a man riding a phoenix who is chased by a dragon. The more statuettes, the more important the building.

I could go on for pages about the beauty of the buildings. The bright reds mixing with gold carvings, The paintings of dragons, in gold, on top of bright greens and blues, the sloped roofs contrasting to the thick beams, the beauty was endless.

At one point Brittany remarked that she had gotten dusk in her eyes, I laughed as I told her that it was actually a snow flurry! Very cool. Time seemed to fly by as we posed with gold lions, intricate beams and everything in between. It seemed like we could spend days getting lost in this Forbidden City. Just before we made it to the exit we were surrounded by the beautiful Imperial Garden. Branch like vines twirled and we felt the zen.

Since our guide was not a regular tour guide, rather a professor from UIBE, he took the fact that we had extra time to take us to another site rather than a shop where he got kickbacks (oh, India). Anyway, he directed us up the Jingshan hill which is about 45 meters high (it was a bit of a hike). It had amazing views of the FC and we were really able to see to the massive size and quality of it. The pagoda on top was magnificent in itself. Bright red beams with two layers of roof, all in golds, blues and greens. It was magnificent.

We headed back onto the bus, flushed with images of imperial greatness. The next stop on our itinerary was lunch and we were slightly surprised to hear that we would be eating at the Temple of Heaven.

Large golf-like carts took groups of us through the chilly park to a Chinese restaurant on the side of one of the buildings. Once again we had lovely Chinese food (and toilets, lol, non-western, hole in the ground style) on a lazy susan, enjoying more duck, orange chicken and rice.

After our food fueling, we headed out with Nicole and Ben (the trip leaders) to explore the tripartite temple. The Temple of Heaven is a compilation of Taoist buildings. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, emperors would come to pray to heaven for good harvests for their people.

It was very interesting as the three separate temples were laid out on a hill and we decided to go to the bottom first and make our way up to the “best” one last. The first was an altar and is known as the “Circular Mound Alter” it is basically a large circular platform made of marble stones. It is where the emperor would go to pray for good weather. The next building we visited was the Imperial Vault of Heaven which is a one tired building on small round alter. It was beautiful. Its circular shape was accented by red around the base and then gold, blue and green trimming with a blue roof-a distinction from the yellow roofs in the Forbidden City.

Before heading with to the final temple, we went with Ben and Nicole to do geocaching. Which is a global treasure hunting game in which individuals utilize GPS to navigate to find little containers with logbooks or small trinkets. Ben let me be in charge of the GPS which had a virtual compass. It took us a while, walking through the garden and surrounding forests, but we found a 35mm film canister which had been signed by individuals from across the globe. It was pretty awesome.

Feeling proud of our find, we headed to the last temple which was called “The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests”. This was a combination of the first two temples we had seen. It was amazing. Almost 40 meters tall and 32 meters in diameter this three tiered circular building, on three layers of marble stone is where the emperor would go to prayer for good harvests. It is made in entirety of wood, without any nails or the like. The prominent color in it is blue with accents in red(the base of the building) and golds. The top of the building (it comes to a conical point) is a fiery gold. Once again we took a plethora of pictures including some of the surrounding rectangular buildings which were mainly red with gold accents.

Our feet were aching by the time we returned to the bus. Jeff told us that the acrobatic show that we were supposed to see before dinner was sold out so we would “have to” see the longer one after dinner, but that we would have time to go to The Pearl Market. Brittany and I were pretty psyched about the news since we wanted to see what the shopping was like in the city and who doesn’t like a longer show?

The pearl market is a multiple story air conditioned (or heated) building which has individual vendors selling everything from knock off lesportsacs to knick-knacks. We only had a little over an hour and we didn’t know what we wanted to buy so we just explored. The vendors were VERY aggressive. They literally pulled us or blocked us from leaving their shops. It was intense but with the right attitude it wasn’t too bad. I ended up getting Mom some glass pendants before we went upstairs to see the touristy goods. I really wanted a chomp which is their version of a name stamp. They are carved into decorative stone and then you use them with special inks to stamp your name on art work, etc. The Chinese still use them today.

After circling the place for while, Brittany worked on bargaining some pearls down while I found the perfect chop. It was sparkly and had a dragon (my year sign) carved into it and I managed to bargain it down to only 40 Yuan (6.7 Yuan=1 USD). They promised me it would take only 20 minutes (I had only 30 until we had to be back), so I gave them a deposit and walked around pricing out various items (I got black pearl earrings for 10 Yuan). Brittany wanted a LeSportSac so we literally ran downstairs to haggle for one before running back upstairs to check on my chomp. It turned out that they couldn’t get it done in time and they kept telling me 5 minutes. Well we didn’t have 5 minutes and I really wanted that Chop, so after some pleas, slight raising of my voice and a tinch of back and forth I got my uncarved Chop for 20 Yuan, with the plan to get it carved elsewhere.

Exhausted, we headed back to the bus. The deal with going to the acrobatic show later was that we wouldn’t get dinner until after and we were hungry. We ended up stopping at…McDonalds, for a crutch dinner which we ate in our seats at the acrobatic show. The show was VERY impressive. The acrobats were particularly talented from the Juggler who could balance TEN balls to the TWELVE women who managed to all fit on a bicycle, we were very impressed.

By the time the show was over our beds were particularly welcoming, especially knowing we had The Great Wall to explore and climb in the morning.

Day 2- Traveling to Beijing

2009-04-04T04:39:00.000-07:00

Day 2- Traveling to Beijing

This day was mostly spent traveling. We woke up earlish to meet our group of 50 around nine oclock. After going through formalities we headed to the bus and then arrived at the impressive airport. It even had free wireless. After heading through customs (since its considered an international flight) and getting our temperatures electronically taken (you walk through a machine) we boarded the plane for our three hour flight, which was pretty uneventful. From the airport we headed to our hotel-Ying Hua. The hotel its self was pretty nice and very convenient to the university (we did a university hosted trip through University of International Business and Economics).

After throwing down our bags, Brittany and I headed to the lobby to meet for dinner. After the group had assembled we walked a couple of blocks to a Chinese restaurant. We headed upstairs and were greeted by very Chinese décor (red, calligraphy, etc). We sat around a lazy susan adorned circular table and were joined by other SASers. SAS really went all out on this meal; we had everything from Peking Duck (which Beijing is known for and I actually really liked) to Orange Chicken to Chicken with Cashews to Broccoli to Caramelized Sugar Apples. It was quite the feast.

After stuffing ourselves (remember ship food=inedible, so any really good food is like heaven), we walked across the street to the university. We had mixers and icebreakers with about 30 UIBE students. It was really cool and interactive. The students all seemed really interested in us and in the United States, many of them had plans to continue their studies there. They seemed politically aware without traces of communism. (I’ll talk about the communism stuff in my reflections). They played music but very few people got up to dance, it seemed that boys and girls dance separately.

After the mixer we walked back to the hotel and fell fast asleep in anticipation of our full next day.

Day One-Hong Kong, PRC

2009-04-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Day One-Hong Kong

Waking up is always easy the first morning of a port and this day was no different. I knew I had the SAS “City Orientation” trip with Becca and was quite excited to have everything planned for me ahead of time. Brittany had a FDP (Field Directed Practica-which are basically school related field trips) so she went off exploring with Nathan before her trip.

We were ported right across the river from Hong Kong Island on Kowloon. We had an AMAZING view! Brittany and I headed out to the 6th floor deck and took some great pictures with the skyline.

It took quite a while for the ship to get cleared so we didn’t have time to head out to the mall that we were ported at (literally, you had to walk into the mall to get a bus or what not) before boarding the bus for our trip.

I took my seat next to Becca and stared out at the plethora of skyscrapers. Hong Kong is the financial capital of Southeast Asia and it certainly looked the part. Unlike mainland china Hong Kong had been a British colony for around 100 years (it was also occupied by Japan during WWII). However, in 1997 Britain’s “99-year lease” on HK ended and they returned it to mainland china under a one country-two systems idea. That basically means that the very commercialized and capitalistic city maintains its British Common law but does not get to have control in foreign affairs or defense. They also maintain their own currency: the Hong Kong Dollar.

Our first stop was the Sampan Tour Point where we took a riverboat cruise. It was kind of hoaky but we got to see “boat people” who spend their whole lives on the water. At various points the government tried to kick them our of their boats but they couldn’t sleep on land because they were so used to the movement of the ocean. Very Interesting. We also passed giant dinner restaurant boats.

From there the bus drove up a tall mountain known as Victoria’s Peak太平山, which is over 1,800 feet high. It was a pretty hazy day, so the view was not quite as magnificent as it could have been, but one could still see the sweeping skyscrapers and even our ship!

After viewing the scene Becca and I headed into a small mall on the mountain and had Hong Kong cuisine which has been internationally flavored (it is different than Chinese food). It was THE best curry chicken I have ever had. After scarfing down our fast food style meal (again it was delicious) we headed back outside and low and behold the haze had lightened! We had a MUCH better view!

We then headed back to the meeting place where we walked to the funicular train station. When we got inside I was perplexed by the fact that every row of backed benches faced the peak of the mountain so that we were going backwards on the seat UNTIL we started to descend. Let me tell you, the angle was pretty intense! If not for the seatbacks we would have flown!

We walked out of the station and began our walking tour. We viewed the oldest church in Hong Kong which was established by the British. What struck me was the scaffolding which was made of bamboo!! Cheaper and more limber than steel, I guess.

We walked around for a little while before stopping near a railway station which was flooded with people picnicking. It was kind of odd since they were literally picnicking under a skyscraper, but whatever lol. Money make the world go round, but it seemed to particular make Hong Kong go round. It seemed like every story our guide told us centered around money. He even pointed out two huge lion statues, one with its mouth open and the other with it closed, and went on to explain that one was to catch the money, while the other was to keep it.

Our guide gave us a little free time and after exploring the mall (the city is basically NYC on steroids, its all malls and skyscrapers) we headed into Starbucks where I was able to use my starbucks card from home. Globalization, gotta love it!

Our last stop was to the Man Mo Temple 文武廟, which is Taoist. It was created in worship of the God of Literature(Man) and the God of War (Wo). It was build during the Qing Dynasty in 1847. The interior of the temple was painted red with gold molding. It was filled to the brim with incense and adornments. There were conically shaped incense burning on the ceiling in the center of the temple, which held a red tag with Chinese writing on it. The whole place smelled strongly of it. A man was praying on an alter of sorts, holding incense. When he was done I politely asked him if it was appropriate if I said a little prayer while doing the same thing. He happily said yes and handed me some incense which after some thoughts I placed in a large gold bowl with many other burning incenses. I took quite a few pictures.

It was almost five by the time we returned to the ship and Becca really wanted to explore the mall sense a lot of her cloths got tie-dyed in the laundry (it really bites). So we walked around for a while. She picked up a few tops at Zara but I didn’t get anything because the exchange rate wasn’t favorable for international brands and frankly they didn’t have many authentic or boutiquey shops.

We had heard that there was going to be a skyscraper light show at 8 and that there would be a great view from the ship. When we glanced at our watches we realized that it was 7 so we ended up eating some yummy pizza at, believe it or not, California Pizza Kitchen. It was actually quite a nice change to eat familiar food!

Becca stayed at the mall to use wifi while I walked the 20 feet (lol) to the boat to see the light show. It was actually kind of cool. The buildings each lit up in a choreographed skit of sorts. I would recommend it if you stay in Kowloon, but its not worth crossing the river for.

After that I headed back to the room to pack and sleep and to hear about Brittany’s day.

Vietnam Day 5

2009-03-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

Vietnam Day 5

We woke up extremely early (around 6:45, which is ghastly for us) in order to make it to the bus for our service visit to Hy Vong Quan 8. HVQ8 is a government sponsored school for deaf children.

The bus drove a half hour before dropping us off outside HVQ8. We walked in and climbed endless stairs to the roof top terrace to greet the kids. They ranged from 4 years old to 18. We sat down and began interacting which was slightly difficult since they couldn’t hear and we couldn’t speak or write the same language. One of the girls had a notebook full of Vietnamese/English phrases and questions and she would point to the phrase in Vietnamese and we could read the translation and do the same for the answer. It was really neat.

I colored and played tic tac toe with a few youngsters before a group of them did a short dance show for us. It was really cute even though we couldn’t understand it.

From there we headed downstairs with the group of students. They told us we could pick a partner. A young girl, about 5, came right up to me and held on to my hand. The teacher said her name was Tong and she had beautiful pigtail braids. She was totally adorable and sat with me on the way to the zoo. She was totally fascinated with the airconditioning was pretty much in love with it as she continuously pointed up to the cold air.

When we arrived at the zoo the teachers told us we would have three hours with the kids. The sweltering heat made that hard to fathom but I was totally excited to spend some time with Tong. We had boxed lunches which we ate immediately in an effort to save ourselves from trekking them with us. Tong was a good eater, although at times she tried to eat the chicken bone, but Brittany was adept at pulling it away from her.

At first I tried to walk around with Brittany and her older groupie (she was about 12), but Tong really wanted to run with her friends so I ended up with a new group of people. We called ourselves the kindergarten counselors and laughed at what a good idea we had to pick the cute little ones. It seemed that they would never tire as they ran through the various exhibits. The animals were in kind of sad shape and very small cages, which was pretty sad to watch, but the kids did enjoy themselves. Tong got very nervous when we went to see the crocodiles (one of the little ones had an imitation lacoste shirt and kept pointing to the emblem to display his want of seeing the animal) and kept grasping my hand, it was very cute!

Eventually I knew we needed a break so I bought Tong some ice cream and she happily sat down while I talked to a fellow SASer (Joe). From there we headed back through the zoo seeing lions, elephants, hippos and more.

The three hours had passed and it was time to head to the bus. I was very sad to leave Tong as we snapped pictures (they really like to hold up peace signs during pictures). I really enjoyed my day at the zoo with her. She was so happy to be there and very sweet. It was a wonderful visit!

Vietnam Reflections
I really enjoyed my time in Vietnam. It’s funny being the product of the “Vietnam Generation”, we seem to care so much more about the war then they do. The people in HCMC seemed rather over it and greeted us as Americans much more than individuals in other countries have. For them it is just a blip in their very long history, but to us it has come to symbolize grave failure and government mishaps.

I also enjoyed watching all of the motorbikes go by, as silly as it may sound. For a city with no real public transport (skytrain or subway), it’s the perfect solution (despite the sadety risks), they’re easy to park, they’re cheap etc.

If you ever get the chance to go to Vietnam I highly suggest it, from the delta to the people, it’s a wonderful place. Just try to go when it’s a tinch cooler!

Vietnam Day 4

2009-03-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

Vietnam Day 4
We awoke really early to meet the bus at 8 o’clock for our Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi Tunnels trip. I was quite skeptical of the Cao Dai segment of the trip because we had already seen one of their temples, but I was very excited for the Cu Chi segment.

After three hours on the bus we arrive at a restaurant (yep at 11 am) to dine before heading to mass at the temple. We had fantastic (what could go wrong?) fried shrimp and pho before heading back to the bus to go to the temple.

The temple was huge, much larger than the one we had seen days before. We went up to the second story which overlooked the ground floor where the service was taking place. It was obviously set up for tourists (although the praying seemed very legit) and I found myself surrounded by individuals of all ages and nationalities. Below, there were men and women in red, blue, yellow and white were lined up perfectly and spread out evenly, a very choreographed affair. There were probably 150 of them all together grouped in colors and designs. We stood taking pictures and taking in the tranquil music, the colored atmosphere surrounding us. Once again it was very hot and we were all quite sweaty by the time we left and headed back to the sanctuary of our air-conditioned bus. I really did enjoy seeing this relatively new religion during one of their services.

The trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels took us through very rural areas and some veryyyyy rural roads (which was a little intense on the bus lol). I enjoyed taking in the scenery which included many individuals on hammocks trying to take in whatever breeze nature would impart on them.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are located in the Cu Chi district of HCMC. They were a major location of guerilla fighters for the Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive in 1968. They were part of a large series of tunnels which served as hiding locations during war. The United States tried several times to destroy the tunnels during Operation Crimp and other campaigns. We even had B-52 bombers try to explode them. During our tour the guides showed us booby traps which they would use to kill Americans.

Visiting the site was kind of odd in terms of their story versus ours. The film that they showed us talked about “American Killer Heros” and harped on all the bad we did without ever showing anything that the North Vietnamese did wrong. I understand that there are three sides to every story (yours, mine and the truth) but the propaganda was very prevalent.

The guide discussed how the Cu Chi people used their smaller size to their advantage as sometimes the tunnels would be just too small for larger American soldiers to get through. Pretty tricky!

We got a chance to go through one of the tunnels ourselves, which had been slightly enlarged for us to be able to go through. It was very dark and lets just say I was not very happy to be crawling in the dark hot space, I cannot imagine making that my home as many individuals did. They say that most of Cu Chi literally lived in the tunnels, men, women and children. Brittany seemed pretty content however and wanted to go on for more than our guide did! After our tunneling adventure we snapped some pictures of us coming out of it. We also got a chance to see how tiny the true entrance would have been and snap some pictures of us in it.

From there we continued to walk through various booths in the forest which housed animatronical robot people performing various tasks. It was a little hokey, but quite interesting as we saw how they made their own shoes and what they used to eat.

I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have fought in that war: the extreme heat, the dead bodies and the ever prevalent places for the Viet Cong to hide. Those men were sure brave to be dealing with it. I forgot to mention this in my Mekong Delta entry, but John Kerry was a swift boat captain even though they depict him as not a hero or a leader. But leading those boats through that tangled river where you are constantly turning corners and looking out at thick forestry, makes you a pretty brave leader, and a damn good one if you manage to stay alive!

I thought the Cu Chi Tunnels were quite thought provoking a number of levels. First of all it showed the ingenious of the Vietnamese people. They used their native land, their body size and the weapons that we left (they would turn unexploded bomb powder into gun powder) to defeat us. It was really quite humbling. But moreover, the intense propaganda of the place also showed me how distorted views can be, that maybe our view of it is just as distorted as theirs.

Well enough theorizing, back to the story!

After our sweltering afternoon in the jungly forest, we picked up some coconuts (well I got a coconut and Brittany got ice cream) and headed back to the bus for the ride home. I slept most of the journey and was even a little surprised because it felt like we got home rather quickly.

We went upstairs and showered, pretty exhausted. We had promised Matthew and Anish Burtner, two faculty members, that we would watch their three year old son, Barret that night as we knew we would be tired and would want to stay in for a change. He was pretty well behaved and we ended up also watching Luc and Melanie’s daughter Abby. We went for ice cream at the pool bar and let them run around by the piano lounge while Jonathan played on the piano. Once we figured they were thoroughly tired we took them back to Matthew and Anish’s room to watch bootleg Aladdin. Shortly after the movie was over all of the parents arrived to pick up their kids. Matthew and Anish gave us each a little money and a rose, which was very nice of them. We headed back to our rooms to get as much sleep as possible before our service visit the next morning.

Vietnam Day 3

2009-03-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

Vietnam Day 3

Brittany wakes me up around 9 am, announcing that Erin would be joining us for the day. At 9:45 we headed down to catch the shuttle to the Rex. From the Rex hotel we crossed the street (which is actually quite a feat, you basically walk directly through traffic as motorists swerve to miss you, you can’t slow down or stop because the motorists time your pace) to the air-conditioned mall next door. Brittany needed a duffel and I, well, I needed coffee. I ended up finding some perfect gifts while Erin bought a table cloth. After a little bit of shopping we headed to Highlands Coffee for a little break. I had Vietnamese Traditional Coffee, which seemed to be espresso and creamer, but I could be wrong.

Refreshed we headed back to the market (a 15 minute walk) to get more pendants for my mom and other various goods. We stopped back at our favorite Pho counter, this time each ordering our own (such big spenders at 1 USD a pop!). I got a little more adventurous with the spices so mine was very hot and yummy! I took a bunch of pictures of the market before we headed out.

We decided to take a taxi, as we didn’t exactly know where the Museum of Vietnamese History was and we didn’t want to get separated (cyclos can sometimes be dodgy). After 10 or so minutes in the car we arrived at the History Museum. Created in 1979, it displays artifacts from East Asia back into “The Primitive Period”. We saw kettles from the 3rd century, urns from the 14th and ceramic plates from the 15th Century amongst other items. I’m not sure I would call it a history museum as it seemed more like an ancient art museum with poorly translated signage, however, it was interesting and worth the trip. I really wanted to catch the Water Puppet show, but there weren’t enough patrons for them to put it on. However, I did get to see the set, which was cool enough. We took pictures in the atrium which was full of lotus flowers and colorful blossoms.

After exploring the various exhibitions we headed back towards the Rex. I picked up my Sari top which came out better than I expected. Erin loved her suit and ordered a matching skirt to be made while Brittany ended up very disappointed. Brittany ordered them to redo the entire top (which was totally necessary) as it was sized inaccurately. (The dress had braided straps, a grey top, flowered belt and black skirt) After the hoopla we returned to the ship (it was almost 4 o’clock by then) to shower before dinner.

I still hadn’t fulfilled my Vietnamese food fix despite my meal the night before, so we decided to get all dressed up for another night on the town. We walked the opposite way of the market and decided to just pick a restaurant that looked good. After a healthy walk we found a gorgeous corner restaurant. We all ordered spring rolls which came out themed in a very Vietnamese way. You see on all the streets in HCMC there are vendors who balance what look like judge’s scales (two bowls connected on top and crossed over one’s shoulders) and that is exactly how these spring rolls came. It was very cool and reminded me of Barton G’s in the states (only this meal was less than 12 USD rather than 50 USD). We chatted with a Canadian couple who sat adjacent from us.

After our relaxing dinner (we needed it, the sun in Vietnam is very draining), we headed back up the street to the tailor. The street was dotted with street vendors trying to sell us counterfeit lonely planets and bottled waters. On the way we ran into Erin’s roommate Gaby who joined us for the rest of the evening. We stopped in at Art Gallery (Tara and Kys) and I immediately fell in love with a painting. It was done in a calligraphical style with a women dancing. She was surrounded by beautifully stamped imprints and I knew I needed it! After the woman told me it was one of a kind (and reasonably priced!) I decided to make it mine. From there we headed to the tailor once more to see if my Asian top had been fixed. It still wasn’t fitting properly and despite the fact that it was inexpensive, I wasn’t going to purchase something that was ill fitting. Once more they promised me they would fix and we walked on to see a painting Gabby liked.

She had quite nice taste (the painting was almost 800$) and we all gave it a thumbs up (given the fact that she was ok with spending that amount of money). After glancing at our watches, we realized that it was almost 9 o’clock (times flies when you’re exploring Vietnam) and that Brittany’s tailor (the one with her dress) would be closing shortly.

I went with Gaby back to my tailor while Brittany and Erin ran to get their items. The top ended up fitting perfectly and I happily paid before Gaby and I walked back to Tutti Frutti to meet B and E. Brittany was still slightly unhappy with her dress but decided to suck it up while Erin still needed to wait a day for her skirt.

We decided to head to a Jazz Bar before heading back to the ship. Upon entering the bar our lungs filled with smoke and after seeing the rather pricy menu we decided to leave and catch the bus home, happy with our wonderful day in Vietnam!

Vietnam Day 2

2009-03-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Vietnam Day 2

I was very excited to go to the Mekong Delta, since HCMC itself is very urban and not exactly what you might think of when someone says “Vietnam”. Brittany and I had signed up for the trip through SAS since we thought it would be much easier than organizing it on our own.

We boarded the bus very early and looked out the window sleepily when we heard the giddy tour guide announce that we would also be stopping at a Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai is a pretty new religion having been established in 1926 in Southern Vietnam. We were slightly confused because the stop had not been published in the Field Program and annoyed that we would be going to another Cao Dai Temple when we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels (it ended up working out perfectly, since the later trip included a mass). Caodaism is sort of a combination of religions, if you will, combining G-d as the Saint, Sage and Buddha.

The temple itself is extremely colorful, decorated in bright blues, yellows and reds. The faded paint in its corners reminds me of India. There are sculpted dragons wrapping themselves around columns and a bright alter in the front of the rectangular building. We snap pictures with the lotus flowers as we take in this new religious movement.

We then follow our tour guide to a bustling market. Much more local and authentic than the Ben Thanh (although the Ben Thanh did have sections meant for locals), the smells of raw meat tangle with the heat and make my head swell, but I remind myself that this was true cultural immersion and trek on. Our tour guide points out various funky fruits including dragon fruit and odd melons. Women in conical hats smile at us and invite us to purchase their goods.

We head back to the bus and my eyes close once more for another hour when we reach a rest stop.

This rest stop was absolutely gorgeous! It had a lake chalk full of lotus flowers, some open, some closed. I had a field day shooting the flowers from every angle before boarding the bus for the Delta.

Our bus stops next to a picturesque scene. The sun is shining, the clouds are sprinkled just right and the water is a crisp, yet slightly murky, blue. We take a long, covered, though open-air long boat up the river. I take my long lens and snap pictures of the rural homes along the water and take in the spring sun.

We stop at restaurant along the river. A woman serves us tea with fresh honey and other various spices while we snack on dried coconut and ginger. She asks us if we want banana or rice wine and I ask for some of the rice variety. Unknowingly, I sip the wine as if it were, well wine, only to be vary surprised when it turns out to taste like hard alcohol. The woman then tells me that it consists of 40% alcohol.

After relaxing for a little bit under the hut like canopy, the owner brings out a very large snake to take pictures with. Brittany hops in for a picture while I timidly pet its smaller counterpart. After pictures, the owner shows us wine that is made with dead snakes (an odd irony), their bodies (as well as scorpions) in the mixture (odd, very, very odd).

From the tea shop, we walk a little more in the swamplands (under a blistering sun) to another shop where we take seats under a fan. We are served pineapple and other fresh foods that we do not recognize. We pick at the food while we watch a traditional band play (one man singing, another on a guitar, a women on a traditional looking string instrument).

After the show we walk to a small bridge and board tiny boats. Four of us hop on, each on our own plank with a man and a women paddling. It was a perfect slice of Vietnam, the palm trees and grass sprouting up all around us, the shallow water beneath our boat as we pass traditional homes and snap, yep, more pictures! We don conical hats and feel as if we could have been in a world that existed 500 years ago.

After a little while we are paddled right up to our original long boat. We board and are greeted with fresh coconuts, from which to drink milk. Coconut milk is one of my favorite things (I had it all over south East Asia) so I delved right in. We enjoyed our snack before heading to another stop (this trip was jam packed!), in which we were taught how coconut candies are made. We tasted the sugary treat and viewed the different stations, from the mixer to the cutter and packager.

From there we went to our last stop by boat once more to have lunch (yep, after all that eating we managed to still have lunch). Britt and I went to the vegetarian table (sometimes the meat can get a little sketchy on these trips), so we viewed the full fried fish from afar (yep, an entire fish, fried and displayed on the table!). Our meal was actually very good, it consisted of pho, veggies, tofu and other very yummy items. Satiated, we headed back to the boat and returned to the bus. This was such a cool trip. I really enjoyed seeing the countryside!

After a couple hours on the bus we head back to the ship to shower before meeting up with Becca, Perri and Mark for dinner.

We take the shuttle back to the Rex Hotel. We decide to walk around the city a little more, stopping to take pictures with a statue of Ho Chi Minh. Perri, Becca and Brittany buy more paintings (of the skinny Buddha) while I give my advice once more. From there we head to another tailor for Becca to get a bowtie made for dad. I end up falling in love with a traditional looking top on the 50% off rack. It doesn’t fit perfectly, but they agree to fix it for me, so they take my measurements and we head off to get dinner.

We end up splitting up since Becca really wanted sushi, but Perri wanted traditional Vietnamese. I head off with Perri and Mark, while Brittany stays with Becca.

The restaurant was really yummy and the three of us split five dishes and soda and water for 7 USD each! We had escargot in coconut milk, spicy beef, chicken satay, some sort of a noodle dish and a yummy soup. We meet Becca and Brittany near Tutti Frutti (a tart yogurt place) before heading back on the bus to go home. We had a wonderful day, but were ready to go to sleep (the sun take sit out of you!).

Vietnam Day 1

2009-03-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Vietnam Day 1
We had big plans for our first day in Vietnam, which included going to the tailor, the market and a museum or two. As pre-port drags on, our neighbor Erin asks if she can tag along for the day, which we happily agree to. When they announce that the ship has been cleared we dash upstairs to get our shore passes (official documents issued by the Vietnamese government) before swiping out for the day.

SAS supplied a free shuttle from the port to the Rex Hotel, in the middle of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. We acquaint ourselves with the shuttle and hop on, ready for our first stop: the tailor.

I needed to get a top made for my sari (I already had the fabric), Brittany wanted to get a dress made and Erin wanted a suit. Vietnam is famous for cheap tailoring. We don’t have a particular shop in mind as we wander through the HCMC streets, walking a few blocks in the sweltering heat (a theme of our trip to Vietnam) before stumbling upon ‘Orchid Silk’, an air-conditioned storefront tailor. Greeting the cool air, I find a lady to help me with the top (I had a picture of exactly what I wanted) while Britt and Erin explore the colorful patterns. After a little haggling, I agree to pay 20$ for the handmade top (including the finishing touches on the sari fabric which needed to be stitched) and hangout, approving and denying B and E’s various outfit choices. They settle on their designs and we decide to start walking towards the “War Remnants Museum”.

On our way to the famed museum, we stumble upon the Ben Than Market and like any good tourists we decide to head in. The sights are overwhelming as we explore the tight, boiling hot aisles which are congested by shopkeepers calling out to us. They are more aggressive than many of our previous countries (less so than Morocco, though) and some even pat our shoulders or grab our arms to get our attention. Bargaining was also a little different as the general half price (half of the original quoted price is usually the right price) rule seemed null. Some vendors would drop the price radically, while others held strong to their original offers and would drop 2$ as if it were 20$.

I am determined to find a chopstick set for my new apartment and after a good deal of research (looking and bargaining with shopkeepers); I find the perfect set which contained sea shell holders! It will be great for our international homecoming party!!! Brittany and Erin also purchase chopstick sets and Buddhas. While exploring the huge market we run into two SAS boys who are eating Pho at one of the many counters in the center of the market. We ask them how it is and one of them offers for me to taste it- it was delicious! The three of us sit down and split one huge bowl of the hot noodle soup, sprinkling the various spices on top of it. For two dollars we enjoy the spicy soup and three waters! Yum!

The heat finally gets to us and we head out to catch a cyclo (it’s hard to describe, but picture a man peddling a baby carriage that you sit in). After some bargaining, they agree to take us for a dollar each. We all get into three different cyclos and clutch our cameras while taking many pictures as we glide through the crowded streets (HCMC is the motorbike capital of the world, there are about 4 million in the city limits alone!). We arrive at the museum only to find that it is closed for the following hour. We decide to explore the immediate area and stumble upon a beauty parlor. Upon our entrance we are served with a menu and figure out that a pedicure is only 4 USD (Vietnam takes dollars almost everywhere)! I can’t say that it was the best pedicure I’ve ever gotten, but for 4 dollars it was well worth it.

After our pedicures we decide to head back to the museum which we find open and alive with patrons. It was quite depressing as it chronicles (sometimes distorting) United States involvement in the Vietnam War (they call it the American War). I found some of the signs humorous as they referred to the South Vietnamese government in signage as the Puppet Government. However, much of the open air (and very hot) museum depicts the atrocities of Agent Orange and the destruction caused in part by the United States. It was very sobering indeed, but totally necessary when visiting Vietnam. I understand the reasoning behind United States involvement (our belief in The Domino Theory, our fight against communism, etc) but the whole thing seems totally misguided and unnecessary, after all after Saigon fell they went to war with China, the other communist country on their side of the continent. But, enough history, back to our adventures…

We decide to take cyclos back to the Rex and revisit the tailor so that Erin can explain some missing details of her suit. I really wanted to see some sort of cultural event while in Vietnam and when we walked past what looked like a theater I knew I had to investigate. After having some language difficulties with the women who was managing the desk, a man walked up and explained to us that it would be 6 USD for tickets that night, but that it was totally in Vietnamese. The three of us discuss the idea of going to a play totally in Vietnamese and after some pleas I manage to convince them to join me.

We stop for Vietnamese fast food on our way back to the Rex (Lotteria?) and then take the shuttle back home. We shower, take a little breather and eat dinner on the ship before heading back out (all dressed up!).

Before heading to the theater we stop in at an art shop which displays painted imitations of famous works from Matisse to Picasso. Brittany purchases a Klimt from the vendor while I check my email (they let me use their internet). From there we walk to the theater.

I make conversation with a Vietnamese family while we wait for the doors to open for the play. He repeatedly asks me why we are there (in a VERY nice, but quizzical manner) as we do not speak the language. I reply that we want to feel the culture and there is no better way than to immerse ourselves with the people (ok, so I said it in planner English than that, but you get the picture). The doors finally open and we are welcomed with Michael Jackson’s “Bad”, but more importantly by cold air-conditioning. The three of us take our seats in the fourth row next to a cheery young couple. The play starts a half hour late (the couple tells us that that is totally normal). The actors are very energized and the couple sporadically translates for us. The gist of the story (from what we could tell) is that there is a man searching for a wife. One women is too short, the other too young, yet another too old. It was quite entertaining, but a little confusing given we couldn’t understand what they were saying. The audience cackled often so the comedy was obviously very effective. We left at intermission, knowing that a good night of sleep was imperative before heading to the Mekong Delta. I was very happy that we had gone to theater as I feel that I grasped another aspect to their culture.

Thailand Days 4-5

2009-03-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Day 4
I was really looking forward to this day because of the floating market that we were going to go to in the morning. The alarm sounds early, around 6:30, and we all hurry to shower and get ready for our day. We meet Nat downstairs and follow her out to the car and driver awaiting us. The “Floating Market Dummoen Saduak” is about 2 hours away from Bangkok and we all take opportunity to catch up on sleep and look lazily out the window as the scenery changes once more from city to countryside.

We arrive at what looks like a large outdoor market and follow Nat in through the crowded stalls towards a long canal where she hires a long brown old fashioned row boat to take us through the market. We all hop in, one to a row, and I look around at amazement at what I am immersed in. Hundreds of shopkeepers on moving or stationary boats of their own, their wares included everything from fresh fruit to spices to souvenirs. As we sailed (or more accurately the man rowed us) through the crowded waterways shop keepers would hold onto our vessel and show us their fresh strawberries or the like, looking for a head nod of offering. Nat purchased some fried bananas which were so fresh and delectable, the women frying them in front of our eyes on her own moveable vessel! As we continued our journey I spotted some Thai Iced Coffee and for 30 baht enjoyed the best coffee of my life. We laughed as we explored, not buying much (I also bought for next to nothing a canvas bag with a women with many limbs to bring to the beach in Hawaii and an elephant tapestry (less than 5$)) but thoroughly enjoying the experience. Nat informed us that in the old days many markets were floating due to the plethora of canals and the fisherman that frequented them. I took a ton of pictures and each one looked like it could have been shot 300 years ago, with women in their conical hats selling cucumber looking veggies and the like.

On our way back to Bangkok I saw some sort of street food wrapped in banana leaves on the side of the road. I asked Nat what it was and she promptly pulled over and bought a whole bag full of them. It turns out that they were sugary coconut jellies and for 20 baht we had enough to last all of us (including the driver) the rest of our lives, another example of how inexpensive Thailand is for foreigners.

We got to Bangkok earlier than we expected so we asked Nat to drop us off near the Bai Pai Cooking School, where we were to have our cooking lessons. We said good bye to Nat who handed us each brightly colored scarves to remember her by. We were sad to see her go and promptly wrapped ourselves in the scarves before saying goodbye. She had dropped us off outside of Tesco, a supermarket building that also housed some smaller shops on the first floor. Brittany and I immediately located a Dunkin Donuts out of the corner of our eyes.

Since I had already had coffee I decided to just get a donut. Their donuts were unlike any I have ever seen before. They were every color and very decorative. The ones we bought were crème filled with chocolate icing and multi-colored sugar balls on top. It was quite a sight. After exploring the supermarket we headed down to the McDonalds to meet the car for our cooking lesson. Outside the restaurant was a Ronald McDonald with his arms in the Thai greeting position (arms inward with palms pressing each other), which we happily took pictures with.

The drive to the cooking school was short. We enter the open air building with wide eyes, eager to learn. It is w ell decorated with a brown wood motif and almost looked like it could be on South Beach. There are about twelve people in total including the four of us. We each take our seats on a long Samurai (the restaurant) style table. We create five courses: Satay Chicken (Gai Satay), Pad Thai, Savory Prawn (Plah Goong), Coconut Sticky Rice (Kao Neaw Moon) and Chicken with Cashew Nuts (Gai Pad Med Ma-Muang). We learned how to stir-fry, marinate, use woks and present our work it appealing way. Each lesson consisted of the two instructors making the dish (we could view it on the tilted mirror) and explaining all of the ingredients. Then we would have “tasting time” wherein we could sample the delectable dishes before parlaying into our own cooking adventure. I think all of my dishes came out rather well and I only sustained minor burns from the frying, lol.

We were exhausted (and stuffed!) by the time we left the baipai cooking class, but we still managed to stop at a 7-11 for some local beer, Tiger and Singha (dad, you would have liked it!). We laughed and played with makeup as we got ready to go out on the town. We had heard that a lot of SASers were going to go to Khoisan road, so we met up with Nathan and then headed in that direction. After walking around the funky street for a while we decided to head into “The Club”. It played American music (as is true in most countries so far) and we had a lot of fun dancing and singing along. The people watching was also fun as there were many locals but also a lot of backpackers and travelers from all over. It had a very international feel. We did tire eventually and took a taxi home to shower and have a good night of sleep before our last day.

Day 5
Feeling like we had seen most of Bangkok and well aware that our shuttle was going to leave at 1pm with or without us, we decide to just sleep in and then head back to the mall (where our shuttle was) in order to be safe. The doorbell rings at 10 am and we hurry to pack and have breakfast. It doesn’t take me long (I was the only who didn’t have to purchase another bag to fit my newly acquired belongings!) so I run downstairs to take advantage of the free internet before the hotel’s shuttle drops us off at Central World.

We walk around once more, trying to spend our remaining Baht (its always a little difficult to figure out how much to take out, etc…). I only had 400 baht left (a little over 10 dollars), but luckily I fell in love with a cute Jim Thompson silk neck scarf (so me!) with which to utilize the baht, lol. Unfortunately I didn’t remember that I still had to purchase lunch with the baht (many places don’t accept credit cards as readily as they do in the states) so Brittany and I had sandwiches at Starbucks (they were only 2$, United States Starbucks need to take notice!) while Becca and Perri had burgers next door. We were quite a sight moving through the mall, Brittany pulling Perri’s suitcase with her duffle and mine on top (good idea mom, with the small black one!), while I balanced other’s shopping bags and my camera bag. The drive back was uneventful and I managed to sleep most of the time.

Thailand was a lot of fun. It was not as in your face nor as life changing as some other ports (South Africa, India, etc…), but it was a wonderful experience. From the absolute beauty of the Grand Palace (which I now believe everyone must see once in their lives!) to the funky shopping of the markets I enjoyed every minute of the city life. Even Pad Thai will take on meaning as I will be able to reminisce about learning how to make it by Thai people.

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

PS. We’re currently in the South China Sea which is absolutely gorgeous! The sunsets are unreal and its also very odd (but beautiful!) to see other ships and land masses out my window, rather than endless ocean (not that I’m complaining about that ).

Thailand Day 3

2009-03-21T03:32:00.000-07:00

Day 3
Tired from our previous days in the hot sweltering sun, we decide to have a leisurely morning and head to the airconditioned Central World Mall for some Starbucks and window shopping. I enjoy my Caramel Macchiato (my first in 2 months- I’m pretty sure it’s a record!) and walk through the mall admiring the Thai Boutiques on the first floor as well as the American and British shops on the upper levels. Window shopping turns to actual shopping when I find a long purple shrug, hand-made and less than 20$ dollars (don’t worry Mom and Dad-I put it on my Visa Buxx). Brittany and Perri find quite a few fashionably thai items to purchase before we decide to head back to the hotel to meet Perri’s family friend Phillip as well as our friend Becca who was on an SAS trip.

While Perri frantically BBMs (Blackberry Messages) with Becca, Brittany and I head upstairs to change bags (I got my camera, etc) before returning downstairs to find Perri nervous that Becca is in gridlock traffic. Phillip arrives quickly thereafter in a luxurious town car and proceeds to speak perfect Thai to Becca’s cab driver, which was pretty hilarious emanating from his Jewish being. While Phillip jumps out of the car to grab us some fresh fruit (watermelon and pineapple!) from the street vendors, Becca arrives and hops in, a little deshelved from her adventure.

As we drive off, Phillips asks us what we want to do. Brittany had been wanting to see tigers, a rather pricey trip offered by SAS, which we had decided against. When we mentioned it to Phillip he politely offered to take us-despite it being almost two hours away. I was also very excited as I really wanted to get out of the city and see more of the countryside and the way many Thai live.

Becca’s tummy was bothering her and after an hour of fast driving (that car could really go!) Phillip pulled over to a rest stop. He treated us all to Dairy Queen (interestingly, the size and the price of the treats were much smaller than in the United States) and pointed out to us the dried fish and other Thai dishes available at small stands along the rest stop.

Another hour of driving on the expressway takes us to the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo. Phillip treats us to our tickets and the sweltering sky turns to clouds and rain drops as we head into the park. The park is nice and reminds me a little bit of fair child tropical gardens. It is not totally up to so called “American standards” of animal treatment, although it only made me cringe a couple of times. We find a bunch of large pigs in an open cage with numbers on their backs (painted, not tattooed) ready for racing. We pose with the hogs who seem to smile for our cameras before heading in for the big show: pictures with tigers!

We head into a slightly air-conditioned room with a plain wooden bench in front of a decorative “Sri Racha Tiger Zoo” background. Brittany goes first, the women puts a towel on her lap and gives her a bottle before opening the cage for the tiger (it was rather large for it to be playing with us, when it went on our laps it was almost twice the width of our lap. All goes smoothly as I shoot pictures and she smiles happily. I go next, a little more nervous, as she takes pictures and I pet and feed the teenage tiger. However, on its way back into the cage it gets out and runs to my leg, too quickly for it to really register in my head. The women who worked there quickly run to remove the tiger who only scratched me, but what a story! I was mauled by a tiger in Thailand!!! Becca and Perri decide to feed it together and their faces showed their fright after watching my incident. It made me sad to watch the tigers (there were two) in the cage and I had to remind myself many times that the rest of the world does not think of animals in the same way as we do in America.

Next, we headed to the Elephant show, which was quite entertaining, but again my heart ached for the animals (who did seem well fed and taken care of). The elephants were highly trained and could walk a trapeze, use hoola-hoops and even manage to jump over audience members!

We decided to head back to the car after our tiger and elephant filled adventure. On our way back to the hotel we stopped twice along the highway. First at an authentic Thai Food Market, where there was no English or foreigners. We bought grilled corn (amazing!) and immersed ourselves in the culture as we saw such an array of food such as Chicken knees! The food was all very fresh and cheap, it looked like it had been picked or plucked earlier that morning.

Our second stop was at another rest stop, however this one was more traditional (no dairy queen). Phillip bought us sticky rice in bamboo shoots and pointed out the array of very local (he said every rest stop has completely different items for sale) cuisine. Although the hygiene of everything being left out did make me cringe, it was amazing to see the plethora of fresh items for sale that would never make it in America.

Another hour brings us to our hotel, where Phillip drops us off and tells us where to meet him for dinner. We shower and discuss our exciting afternoon (mauled by a tiger, who does that happen to?) and get dressed for dinner. On our way to dinner we stop at a tailor because Brittany and Perri were thinking of getting something handmade as it is quite inexpensive in Thailand. Although that didn’t work out (they didn’t have perfect sketches and the women was a little timid about trying), Becca managed to find some cool silk night robes to purchase. From the tailor we follow Phillip to an upscale restaurant on a side street, still very close to the hotel.

After sitting down, he instructs us all to order smoothies, which he said were their specialty. I chose the coconut one and was delighted at its succulent and fresh taste. Then, Phillip asks us if we have any preference for dinner, stating that he would just order a variety of dishes that we could sample many different dishes. We all agree that whatever he wants is fine and proceeds to order about 10 dishes! From delectable chicken satay to coconut milk soup to spicy duck, it felt like a feast! Other dishes include rice cakes with salty miced pork, sweet and sour prawns, and an entire fish! Our taste buds were in heaven as we sampled the delectable array of dishes.

By the end of dinner we were all very full and I headed back to the hotel to rest (and stay away from more shopping, lol), while Becca, Brittany and Perri went to the night market once more.

Thailand Day 2

2009-03-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Day 2
The door bell rang at 8:30 with our croissant and toast breakfast. We hurried to get ready in preparation for our day of Wat (temple) sight-seeing. I was very excited as I was totally looking forward to seeing the Grand Palace, Bangkok’s gem of a temple.

We ran downstairs to meet Nat once more for our day! We originally planned on taking a taxi to the grand palace, but our driver quickly informed us that the streets were just too jammed. Nat asked us if we were comfortable using the canal taxi system (Bangkok is sometimes called the Venice of the East). We happily agreed as it seemed like it would be an adventure. We were sure right! For 8 baht we took our seats on the old style canal boat. The boat had these blue covers from the seats to the roof which they would raise and drop as we sped up and slowed down to shield us from the water. It was just SOOO cool! We were the only tourists on the whole boat and I tried to imagine what it would be like to take it to work everyday. At every stop the individuals would jump onto the rim of the boat and then get off on the port. I could only imagine the law suits if it was in the United States!

The Chao Phraya River takes us all the way to the Grand palace as we pass everything from shopping malls to shacks with their laundry hanging by the murky water. A short walk takes us to a plaza filled with Wats and monuments to the royal family. I marvel at the gold slopes and green gems as I snap a few pictures. From there we take a taxi to the main attraction: The Grand Palace!

The Grand Palace or Phra Bporom Maha Ratcha Wang is the “official” housing complex for the King of Thailand since the 18th century, although the current King Rama IX does not live there. It was built in 1782 under the King Rama I because he moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok. Interestingly, Nat consistently referred to the king as “my king” and seemed to take him quite seriously. In Thailand it is against the law to slander the king in any way (unlike Britain, etc). One of its main attractions is the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) which is made of solid jade. It is totally breathtaking and is considered the most sacred Wat in Thailand.

We had a lot of fun exploring the Grand Palace. If you have a chance to Google it, you must because my descriptions just can’t do it justice.

When we first go there we were greeted by a marching band (I have no idea why), their white suits all in a row. Upon our entrance Brittany and I bought a flower and candle offering to the Gods and proceeded to dip it in holy water and bring it to our temple. Many pictures later we explored the gold, green and red structures. Marveling in their sizes and shapes.

There were huge monkey-like structures with green masked faces and ornate bodies. We mimicked their shapes and treasured their colors. The palace was very impressive but also sweltering with heat and eventually we tired and had to move on (after seeing the gorgeous emerald Buddha). We were astonished that we had spent 2 hours there as it had totally flown by. The amazing colors and breathtaking monuments surrounding our senses.

As we exited we passed the Sanam Luang where the king entertains and looked inside the military supplies room, which housed spears from all over and all ages. We stopped in at a small café where for 20 baht, I ordered a coconut! Seriously! They hacked off the top and we all got to drink the milky water and scrapped off the coconut from the sides. It was a delightful treat!

From there we truly headed out and went to get a bite to eat on the river. It was very yummy and we even met some Australians who work for the Australian Embassy in Bangkok. They were quite chatty and they told us about the night market and the exercise park that we visited that night. After lunch (and the gorgeous view of the Chao Phraya River) we walked to the Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha. As that district (Phra Nakhon) is famous for massage lessons (the real kind) there were a ton of stalls lining the road with lotions and ceramic wares. I fell in love with a pair of elephant salt and pepper shakers and a lotus incense holder which I bargained down to less than 10 dollars for both!!! (I loved this country!)

We finally made it to the entrance of Wat Pho, our purchases in hand, where we were instructed by our tour guide to ring the gong three times for good luck. We had a lot of fun trying to bang it as hard as we could before heading into a small part of the temple where we prayed to the day-of-the-week-we-were-born-Gods. After our short prayers we Nat placed little pieces of gold leafing on our foreheads and we headed towards the main part of the temple.

Wat pho has over one thousand Buddha images, but its main attraction, which was made during Rama III’s restoration, is the Reclining Buddha which is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. It is gold plated and has mother of pearl on its eyes and on the bottom of its feet. It was ginormous and truly breathtaking. After taking in the magnitude of the sight we took another water taxi across the river to “The Temple of the Dawn”.

“The Temple of the Dawn” is actually called Wat Arun, It is over 70 meters tall and the main prang (it is Khmer-style) is surrounded by four smaller prangs. Brittany and I admire the decorative prangs with their seashells and porcelain from afar while Perri and Nat ascend the steep steps. The market next-door has handmade paintings and I fall in love with a small sunset one for my apartment next year and manage to score it for 200 baht after some hard bargaining.

From the Wat we head to the Union Mall so that Brittany and Perri can get more of the T-Shirts they liked from the Weekend Market. The fashion in Thailand is very Urban Outfitters, but at a fraction of the cost. As they shop, I take in the culture of the mall. From the unique stalls to the KFC, this mall offered a real taste of Thailand.

Afterwards we head back to the hotel to drop off our belongings and get a lesson on how to use the subway from Nat. We decide to go Lumpini Park and the Suan Luim Night Bazaar in order to observe more of the culture!

Lumpini Park is a huge public square outfitted with metal exercise equipment. It was out of this world. I am not sure if any of it actually accomplishes much but we had fun playing with the fake elliptical and stretching ourselves on some of the other machines. It was interesting to see the men and women with their ipods working out with such different equipment. The locals laughed at us as we swung on one of the balance machines before retiring towards the Night Bazaar.

The Night Bazaar reminded me of a less intense version of the Weekend Market. As we walked through the over 3,000 booths we ran into a few SASers and discussed our various trips so far. The Bazaar was a little touristy for my taste but we still managed to find some cool items including a trench coat dress for under 15$ and a silver flower pendant for even less. The sweltering heat got to us once more and we retreated to an air-conditioned restaurant, with yummy Pad Thai but lousy service. By the time we exited the establishment we were very worn out from our day and decided to head back. On our walk toward the subway we stumble upon an outdoor arena with a Thai singer entertaining a quaint audience. We stop for a moment to take in the music before taking the subway back.

Our hotel room is welcoming as we slip into sleep once more.

Thailand Day 1

2009-03-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

Thailand

When contrasted with our past adventures and countries, Thailand was pretty tame. The bustling city was reminiscent of New York City or London, but with unique Asian quirks. I hope you enjoy this jaunt!

Day 1
Our first day begins slowly, with an unnecessarily lengthy wait for our passports. From the ship we take a shuttle (through SAS) to Bangkok. It takes about 2 hours and is dotted by interruptions from the tour agency’s representative trying to sell his captive audience tickets, hotel rooms and tours. I stare out the window watching the landscape go from industrial (our port) to rural and then finally to suburbs and city. We are dropped off at Central World, a sprawling “foreign” mall complete with an Apples Store and department stores. We (Perri, Brittany and I) shy away from the mall in an effort to find our hotel shuttle. Unfortunately we must have missed it (we arrived a little late due to the 3 hour bus ride) so we had to hale a taxi.

Thailand was never colonized (the word Thai is translatable to our word free), which means that English is not particularly prevalent (although there are a lot of Australian tourists) which meant that explaining to our driver where our hotel was located was a little challenging. We have, unfortunately, benefited from British colonization as South Africa and India have large English speaking groups. In order to adjust to our lack of communication skills, we decided (I more reluctantly then they) to hire a tour guide for the rest of the day (fairly cheap, I think 10-15 USD each).

Since we are in such a hurry to meet her (her name is Natalie) we decide to just go for the first taxi we can see. A bright pink Toyota Camry (which was the norm in Thailand except for some Tuk-Tuks) pulls to the side and we quickly ask him if he knows where the hotel is (we had a paper in English). He looks at us reluctantly but nods yes. We decided to just get in (he quoted us 150 Baht or 4$, its about 35 Baht to the dollar and even though that was a little steep at a little more than a dollar each we needed to just get there). The taxi ride is pretty uneventful as we balance our luggage on our laps and stare out at the gridlocked traffic (Bangkok is infamous for) and the colorful street vendors. America is truly lacking on the yummy street food (I can only guess due to sanitation reasons) but Thailand certainly was not!

As the driver turns from Sumkavit and onto Soi 19 we look anxiously for “The Key Bangkok”, afraid our driver is lost. Finally, Brittany spots the sign on a rather large and built out alleyway and we pull in. Perri checks in and tries to locate our guide, while Brittany and I drop our bags off in the luxurious (although only 30$ each a night!) hotel room, decorated in plush oranges and browns and complete with a flat screen TV!

We meet Nat downstairs and introduce ourselves. She was born and raised in Thailand and has only been a tour guide for a short period of time. Our afternoon plans are to orient us with the city’s public transport and to visit the Chatuchak Weekend Market, one of the largest in Thailand! It is home to over 20,000 stalls and sells everything from counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags to home cookware. We take the SkyTrain, which is a nicer, cleaner version of the Miami Metro, to the market, eyeing the locals as we go. I always like to use public transport because it feels like I am experiencing the city the way the locals do and the people watching is always awesome!

We arrive in the sweltering heat at the market as our guide explains to us that most of her clients can only last a half hour. Somehow we managed to last three hours. I chalk it up to lots of cheap bottles of water (10 Baht) and cool items for sale. The market was set up with covered paths between stalls with open breezeways every 50 or so lanes. It was quite chaotic, but in a very good way. There was certainly a mix of individuals, from locals buying fresh fish (they don’t have great refrigeration so they must buy their food fresh everyday) to tourists like us looking for cool paintings and souvenirs.

Our hands down favorite section was the Designer’s District which housed up and coming fashionistas who sold their handmade clothes for next to nothing. I ended up with a few T-Shirts (good news Ilana!) which the others ended up with a new wardrobe. Making our way through the crowded paths was not easy and required a hand across our valuables (my Nikon) at all times. But it certainly was an experience! We sampled some of the local cuisine (chicken and fresh strawberries) which also cost next to nothing. I found some cute flower silhouette earrings that would have been super expensive at Urban, but were less than 10 dollars and I got to see how they made them! Finally, I picked up a turquoise flower ring and after some hard bargaining, I got it for half of the asking price.

Bargaining in Thailand was interesting. They weren’t aggressive in the same way as those in Israel or Morocco, they don’t try to insult you or grab at you, but they sort of whine at you saying “give me more” or “more for me” which was off-putting in its own way.

After three hours, our sweat was sticking to us and the sun was setting, so we asked Nat to direct us to a good place to eat. She asked us if we wanted a fancy restaurant or a local dive. When we replied with “How much is the fancy restaurant” we were fascinated to find the answer being “80 baht for a main dish” (or about 2.50 USD). For less than 3 dollars we decided to head to the classier joint and with a quick Skytrain ride and short taxi trip we were on Khoisan Road, the young hip backpacker’s district of the city.

The streets were flooded with people and the clubs, bars and shops were bright and flashy as we walked towards the restaurant. The restaurant, however, was a quite sanctuary for us to discuss our day. Open-air, yet truly upscale, defined this touristy joint. I ordered Pad Thai and Chicken Skewers, while Brittany and Perri dined on sweet and sour chicken and Masaman Curry.

After dinner we continued to explore the traveler’s quarters, hearing German, French and Australian English as we went. After finding the same sea-shell earrings I had bought in South Africa (after being reassured by the shopkeeper that they were local), we decided to get our first Thai Massage! For only 7 USD we were bent, twisted and elbowed for an entire, which was actually quite reinvigorating after a tiring day. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel (this time with a taxi with a meter due to Nat’s Thai!) and grabbed some bottled water at the 7-11 (they’re on every street corner) before falling quickly asleep.

India, Days 4-5

2009-03-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

India, Days 4-5

Day 4
The morning seems to come quickly and Brittany and I are startled by the wake up call. We pack up our things and head downstairs where we are directed towards “The Coffee Shop”, which turns out to be a gorgeously decorated breakfast buffet. I get an omelet with mushrooms which were AMAZING, I’m not sure exactly what made it so yummy but it was. Over breakfast we discuss once more the contrasts between the impoverishment we see and the ornate breakfast we are participating in. If I were to pick one theme amongst all the countries we have visited it would be “wealth dichotomy”.

After our luxurious breakfast Britt, Annie and I head to the lobby where we see a sparse number of group members. It seems that the morning is optional and many of our fellow students had been out way too late the night before and would not be joining us. We couldn’t believe someone(literally half of our group) would forsake the ability to see everything we were about to experience for one night of partying, but alas to each their own.

Our first stop is to the Bahai House of Worship in Delhi. It is created to look like a lotus flower and is architecturally amazing. It is made of 27 marble petals and can hold up to 2,500 people. It was finished in 1986. It is actually the second Bahai temple I have seen as I visited one in Israel a couple of years ago. It is also outlined with beautiful flowers, including some that looked just like truffela trees from Dr. Suess. Their religion gives prominence to the spiritual unity of individuals. The lotus temple serves as a place of worship for all religions including their own. They believe in a unity of all the worlds religion and utilize prophets from Krishna to Jesus. It was very interesting and we got to go inside for a prayer ceremony. The prayer echoed through the domed interior and it was truly a spiritual time of reflection for all we had seen in the past days.

From the Bahai House we were driven to a Sikh temple. This was particularly cool. The world is home to 25 million Sikhs, 20 million of who reside in India, with the majority in the Punjab region. Sikhism is a relatively new religion, formed in the 17th century. Baptized Sikhs wear turbans and are often times mistaken for Muslims, which is a problem for them in many western countries. The temple we visited was ornately and colorfully decorated. We were instructed to take off our shoes and people literally grimaced as we would be walking outside on our way to the temple and as I have reiterated over and over its dirty! But alas, it is always important to respect other cultures so I untie my tennis shoes, place an orange bandana over my head (they give them to all tourists as it is required to cover ones head) and head out with Brittany trying not to focus on the various diseases I could contract (lol).

On our was up the stairs we encounter a stream of water on two of the steps, we are explained that it is holy water and told that stepping in it is wholly optional. I lightly press my toes into it and keep walking, figuring “when at the Sikh temple…”. As usual the sheer number of individuals around me is enormous, from western looking Sikhs to the baptized turban wearing variety. It was very interesting and cool to be surrounded by such a unique and colorful religion and culture.

As we enter the temple we hear a band playing drums and other instruements and individuals line up to give some sort of an offering (we couldn’t figure out what it was). Many Sikhs line the floor, sitting, taking in the music and praying. We walk around the offering table and head back outside. We are offered “Holy Food” which we were told ahead of time we could refuse but if we accepted we would have to finish it. Brittany, braver than I, tastes the mush looking item and manages to down it, while I set my sights on a large pool to the right of the complex. Hundreds of individuals, with their families, are bathing in the large pool, bring the water right up to their faces and praying. We decide to join in and walk in up to our ankles and touch the water giving ourselves a moment of meditation. We walk around the pool (which is actually quite large) taking in the culture as much as we can! We return back towards the main temple, get our shoes and head out to the bus.

It’s an odd sensation being in India. When I was inside anywhere or doing something, I felt oftentimes like I could be anywhere in the world. Yet, the minute I stepped outside it was like India rushed over me. The smells (not so great), the sights (unbelievable, quite literally!) and everything in between instantly reminds one of the uniqueness of the sub-continent.

Our next stop is the Birla Bhavan in New Delhi. It was the site of the untimely assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was killed by a radical Hindu on January 30, 1948. He led Indian in its fight against British colonization and was big proponent of civil disobedience, albeit always non-violent. He is also known as the Father of India. He was actually shot during one of his peace prayer meetings, a very unfortunate irony. The site is now home to museum as well as gardens. Brittany and I stroll through the site, reading all of his amazing quotes and taking in the deeply sad undertones of what had happened as well as the good that his life brought. The museum section of the site chronicled the resistance movement against the British, a topic I find of particular interest. Funneling everything we saw in India through the filter of colonization makes blaming the people for the garbage or the Indian Government for the despair of so many people very questionable. It reminds me once more how the west plays a large legacy-like role in Africa and India, and how our actions can radically change countries destinies for the worse.

We head back to the hotel for the final time where we meet up with the other half of our group. Our last buffet means our last pieces of nan! We savor the spices of India (some yummy masala chicken!) while listening to a man playing drums. Leaving North India was not easy as I truly feel like I am a different person for seeing this nook of the world. Our afternoon is all travel, back to the airport than finally home to the ship. But, India was not over yet! We still had one last day…

Day 5
Nathan had mentioned to us before we left for the Taj that he wanted to go to Mahabalipuram, the sight of 2,000 year old temples about an hour and half away from Chennai. Since he had it all planned and it would only be four dollars for a hop-on hop-off style bus, we figured we might as well! We ate breakfast quickly and headed out for the Tourist Center to get the bus.

Once more we had to hire an auto and to add insult to injury we were in a little bit of a rush to get the first bus. As we get to the gate hundreds of drivers descend upon us. We knew we wanted to only pay 1 USD each and after some looking we were able to find a driver. After reminding him numerous times that we only wanted to go to the Tourist Center he drove for a couple of minutes before pulling over and announcing that road we needed to take was blocked but that for only 20 more rupees he would take us to the proper entrance. Annoyed, we decided to get out and walk by foot, mostly on principle. The 20ish minute walk took us through a political rally! We are constantly warned by SAS to stay away from these as they can get rowdy but it was certainly cool! I don’t know what party it was but their candidate was a women! Very cool!!!

After an adventurous walk next to unpredictable traffic we made it to the correct center and get onto the back of the bus. The vehicle takes us through the country side past tiger zoos, Dizzie World (!) and cultural centers. We pass the time discussing our travels (Nathan had gone to Hydrabad) and soon we arrive at Mahabalipuram.

Mahabalipuram was named as a World Heritage Site in 1984. Its monuments date all the way back to the sixth and tenth century AD. They were mostly build under the Pallava ruler, Narasimhavarman I. All of the monuments are right next to sea and even survived the Tsunami!

We walk through a small town on our way to the Shore Temple. It is a prime example of masonry temples that were prevalent during Rajasimha’s life. We take a ton of pictures with the bas reliefs. Although not as detailed as they once were, the amazing reliefs of elephants, gods and the like were fascinating! After taking our usual jumping pictures we head down to the “hill area” and a huge relief known as “Arjuna’s Penance” it depicted the hero (Arjuna) in his expedition to impress the deities and it shows his rewards for his journey. It had these really cool elephants on it and was truly amazing! Afterwards we head to the Sisyphus rock which is basically an enormous (10x as tall as we are!) rock which is precariously situated on a steep rock hill. We take atlas like pictures as we deflect hawkers once more. One man even calls us liars when we refuse to purchase a pipe!

On our way back to the bus we stop for some water (I was super dehydrated) and marvel at the numerous street vendors and their various wares from metal bowls that look like they should be sold at Target to cheap necklaces for tourists. I buy a small painting (only 2 dollars!) from a shop and we run back to the bus as it starts to rain.

Another hour and a half later we find ourselves back in Chennai. We ask how far Spencer’s Mall is as it had been recommended to us by fellow shipmates. The tourguide says it should be a little more than a five minute walk. Thirty minutes later we arrive at Spencer’s after walking through traffic (the trick is to walk right next to a local, they know what they are doing!), dirt and beggars. We go directly to the grocery store we I buy two six-packs of Diet Coke, while Brittany buys Gatorade. Nathan carries it all in his backpack without complaint as we run through the mall for some last minute shopping (I didn’t buy anything ), before heading back to the ship!
India truly was a whirlwind as I think back to all our adventures. If you ever have the opportunity to go there you really must! It will change your world view and make you want to take a stand!

We are more than half way through the journey (today is March 14, yesterday was the half way mark) and I truly can’t believe it! I have learned so much and experienced so much; I truly believe I am changed for the better. Tomorrow we leave for Bangkok, I’m very excited! I’ll tell you all about it soon 

India, Day 3, Afternoon

2009-03-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

India, Day 3, Afternoon

After grabbing another hotel buffet, Brittany, Annie, Shelby and I decided to explore the area a little more. We had heard that some girls had gone to some sort of a festival and Shelby was told that there would be an elephant show. Not knowing what we would be in for we head out towards the shopping street.

After just a couple of minutes of walking we stumble upon an entrance of sorts with a sign in Hindi. We smile politely at the guards and they let us in. Within minutes we are surrounded by what we initially believe is a carnival. A large orange tent dominates the field and throngs of individuals sprinkle the rest of the landscape. Painted elephants can be seen in the distance as well as carriages and ornately decorated band members. A group of Indian children run up to us and pull us towards a booth. A group of Indian women surround a man who is applying henna stamps to them. That’s right stamps. Wood stamps. I quickly ask if he sells them and if so for how much. 200 rupees later (4$) I am the proud owner of two hand carved Indian stamps and am adorned with some funky henna designs. I was thrilled.

We decided to explore the festival, which we soon find out is actually in honor of a wedding! And I thought American weddings were extravagant! A marching band plays and vendors selling goods abound (yep, at a wedding!). The children follow us as we walk around snapping pictures and taking in the fact that we are attending an Indian wedding!!! This was definitely one of the highlights of my entire trip, crashing an Indian Wedding!!

We stayed for as long as we could before heading back to the hotel and the bus, our next stop being Mother Teresa’s Orphanage. Mother Teresa was a huge advocate of children in Third World Countries. Today there are over 200 of these Orphanages in India alone. I was thrilled that this was on the itinerary as I think it is always imperative as travelers to see as many sides of a country or place as possible. I was taken aback when the sign read “Home for Sick and Dying Destitutes”, I guess political correctness hasn’t reached India quite yet.

We were first brought into the center for orphans. They ranged from just a month old to about 11 (the older ones had severe mental handicaps). Most were orphans, but some were born to single mothers and since it is shunned there the Mother (it’s catholic) takes them in. Almost all of them have some sort of handicap ranging from mild ones to it being so severe that they have to be literally caged (I’ll come back to that). I begin to play with the children, coloring and tickling and snapping pictures. Their spirits seem to be pretty high considering the dirt and dust that fills the walls (although they were painted with Disney characters!). After a while, a couple of us head with the Mother to see the other part of the facility and in order to pass out some t-shirts and donations.

We head to the center where the older individuals are held and I am aghast when we walk past a group of possibly 50 teenagers behind bars. She asks one of them who has the key. “The key to what?” we ask. She goes on to explain that they can be too psychotic or hyperactive and are locked in for a good part of the day but can come out at night. This totally horrified me. I am not sure how mental hospitals in the United States handle it, but I hope better than that. She goes on to say that most of the older kids and adults are taken off the streets, mostly found with maggots on them or the like and that they are brought to the center to live and die like humans. I think to myself that India sure does have a way to go and I wonder how Catholic Church policy could (or does?) allow this.

Although the visit did alarm me in a pretty profound way, it gave me perspective into the “lucky ones” in India, since these women, men and children were taken off the street. We in the United States really do lead charmed lives and do to a large part take care of each other, even those with disabilities. Without ADA laws to speak of, India seems to be lacking in the human rights department.

I head back to the original center where a little girl seems adamant about literally climbing up members of our groups. The women in charge said she had pretty severe mental handicaps, but she seemed to be having a ball. We loved her interaction and were sad when we were told it was time to go.

On our way back to the hotel we are dropped off at two stores to do more shopping. The problem is that the shops are way expensive and it is pretty clear that we are there for them to get commission-my only real complaint with the tour company, but I guess that is the way it goes! Brittany and I walk to a shop close by the first one and I find a batik elephant wall hanging, but the shop keeper is not a bargainer and I walk away from the print. The second shop shows us how marble inlays work, which was very cool since that is how parts of the Taj were created. As we go to walk away, the man doing the demonstration holds up a small pendant with the inlays and a sign that says 300 Rupees, I offer him 100R (2$) and he takes it. I marvel in my purchase as the owner goes on to show us 1,000$ tables and the like. The group gets antsy and annoyed quickly and soon we are ushered back to the hotel.

They tell us that we have about 45 minutes until Pizza Hut (!) will come to deliver us dinner. Brad (our LLC which is basically an RA) asks Brittany and I what we are going to do and we all decide to try to head back to the festival. Others join us as we walk the short blocks back to the site. As we get closer we are passed by two naked men (!?!?), which we later learn are their holy people who need no possessions. Startled we quickly realize that there is a full on parade beginning, the men taking up the front. All of the elephants, floats and horse carriages soon pour out of the gate which we had not so long ago passed through, the individual attendants to the wedding also flooding through. We are soon totally engulfed in Indian culture, our feet surrounded by garbage (as usual), our eyes transfixed on the parade and our ears listening to the band’s festive beat.

As the flood of people becomes a trickle, we decide to scurry back into the original fair ground to show Brad the original event and to see if our stamp friend was still there. While Brad stood in fascination of the wedding that was, we ran over to the henna booth. He was still there stamping another throng of women (who were virtually the only ones there). I find another stamp and as I go to count my rupees I realize I am 10(20 cents) short. I had been talking to a woman next to me who spoke a little English and was virtually my age. She insisted on paying the difference, as I tried to protest that I could just get a smaller one, but she was adamant. This may seem trite as 20 cents is nothing in the United States, but in India it is so much more. Interactions with people and women like her are what make my trip. How nice for her to help a total stranger, let alone a young American, to purchase something so frivolous. Happy with our purchases (Brittany bought a smaller one with her last 50 rupees) we find Brad and head out, knowing that our experience at this festival/wedding will remain with us for quite a while.

As we pick up our personal pan pizza (with chicken and some very spicy spices) and Pepsi (spicy too) we discuss our day with delight. We had seen the Taj! We had attended an Indian Wedding! We had had a wonderful time in a country so impoverished yet so beautiful! How lucky we are!

From the hotel we head to train station once more to say goodbye to Agra. Our departure train turns out to be late and as I look around at the families huddled together on blankets and impoverished children begging once more, I am once again overwhelmed by sorrow. It seems every time I see these horrid sights it truly gets to my heart and makes me want to do everything I can to help it. Yet, once more we are reminded not to give to beggars because the money doesn’t usually get to be kept by them. It makes me wonder how exactly it is best to help these people. NGOs? Orphanages like Mother Teresa’s (although the beggar children usually have parents)? I really need to do some research when I get home!

Our train arrives late and is pretty crowded. I sit next to Brad and we pass the time picking out songs on his ipod and reading. The group gets a little rowdy and antsy towards the end, but the four hours go rather quickly. We get to the hotel around 11 and Brittany and I head straight to sleep.

India Morning Of Day 3

2009-03-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

India Morning of Day 3
The phone rings at 6:30 with our wake up call. I take a quick shower (India likes to cling!) and pack my things before heading down to dinner with Brittany. They have some very scrumptious omelets and I partake happily. We head to the bus for a 10 minute drive to the Taj Mahal!

My head is aflutter as I look out the window. The rest of the group seems just as excited as the bus pulls off to the side of the street at the gate (a long way away from the Taj itself). As we exit the bus we are engulfed in vendors once more. Plastic snow globes, elephant bracelets abound as I wonder about the supplier that seems to send all these hawkers (ranging in age from 5-80!) out on the street. It strikes me that these hawkers are probably highly organized and even seem to have turf as realized when I motion for a man to show me some hand stamps (to make little colorful designs on kids hands-for 100 rupees, I was sold!) and he proceeds to get into a fight with another. Hurrying away from the mess Brittany and I tread on, passing cows (!), monkeys and camels (I’m serious, it’s weird but oh so true!), snapping pictures as we go.

We reach the entrance and are herded into two lines for men and women to go through security. Despite being patted down and putting my goods through a medal detector (but not an X-ray), I feel that the security is relatively light considering the Mumbai Attack.

Some of the girls had brought their Saris and some local women were nice enough to help them tie them up. I decided against bringing mine due in large part to the fact that I was afraid it would get dirty (judging by theirs I was right).

The first building we see is not the Taj, but a huge gateway made of what I think is red sandstone. We snap more pictures and as we walk closer we get our first view of the Taj, mirrored in the archways of the gateway which frames its main dome. My eyes start to tear as the gravity of what I am seeing hits me. I am so lucky to be seeing such a wonderful and famous sight at such a young age.

The Taj Mahal is a large mausoleum which was constructed by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It combines Persian, Ottoman, Islamic and Indian artistic styles and is widely thought to be the best example of Mughal architecture. The emperor wrote a poem which describes the Taj:

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.

The outside of the Taj was decorated by utilizing stucco, stone inlays and carvings. It is also adorned with thuluth calligraphy which is made by jasper inlay. The interior is less ornate and is actually kept fairly dark to ward off the damaging rays of light. Due to muslim rules against gaudy graves, Mumtaz and the Shah Jahan’s graves are pretty basic. The outlying gardens are also gorgeous with the long shallow reflective pool dominating the landscape.

Brittany, Annie, Julia and I roam around for about an hour snapping hundreds of pictures. I absolutely loved seeing the taj. It is really unreal looking (as some of our pictures denote!). The feeling one gets is almost like butterflies in your stomach, amazement that you are really seeing such a famous sight (2 to 4 million visitors each year). It is one of the seven wonders of the modern world! From the reflective pool we head into the actual structure and I ask some local women if I can take my picture with them. They get quite excited by the question and pose with me for quite a few snapshots. We continue to walk around the inside (which is not nearly as impressive as the outside) and as we head out our local picture friends ask us for some more pictures, it seems that they liked taking the pictures more than us! Their husbands join us and we take quite a few pictures against a much polluted river which graces the backend of the Taj.

Saying goodbye to the Taj after only an hour was pretty hard. It is such an amazing structure and the nature of it seems to transcend design and culture. I am so thankful (thanks mom and dad!) that I got to see it. The graceful (although polluted) reflective pool in front of the Taj dazzled me. The slopes of the domes glistened in the sun. The gardens which surround the mausoleum are wonderful accessories to balance out the white structure. In sum, I loved it!!

Our walk back to the bus saw even more hawkers and as we took our seats the window shopping commenced. I sort of like a small Lord Ganesh (the elephant headed god in Hindu), but decide against it (dad, you’d be proud) as I figured it would just gather dust on my shelf.

We drive what seems like only a few feet to the Agra Fort, another World Heritage Site (the Taj is too). It was the heart of the Mughal Empire for hundreds of years and the whole country was literally governed from it. It is laid out in a semi-circle and some walls are as high as seventy feet. We enter through the Lahore Gate and are quickly brought into a very red world (red sandstone for the most part). The structures within Agra Fort are all gorgeous in very different ways. They cover a spectrum of styles as many were constructed for the wives of different emperors who were different religions. Interestingly the Shah Jahan (the commissioner of the Taj Mahal) was imprisoned there (it was actually quite luxurious but still not so great for an emperor) by his son Aurangzeb. However, from the Muasamman Burj (where he was rumored to have died) you can see the Taj beautiful (we took a ton more pictures, lol). Finally, the fort was also the site for one of the battles of the Indian Rebellion in 1857 which led to direct rule of India by Britain rather than by the British East India Company.

Enough of the history lesson and back to the reflective blog part. Brittany and I spent most of our time exploring the different structures and of course taking pictures. We spent more time taking “jumping pictures” with a quick shutter (we did the same at the Taj) and basically just tried to immerse ourselves in the different buildings. The fort is also home to a garden and we spent some reflective time taking in all that we had seen that morning still amazed that we had just seen the Taj

Heading back to the hotel was a little anti-climatic as I had been so psyched to see the Taj, little did I know what the afternoon would bring…

India Day 2

2009-03-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

India Day 2
The wake-up call blends into my dream as I pick up the phone sleepily. Getting up at 5:15 was not easy, but when you have India to explore it certainly helps. We gather our belongings and head downstairs for a boxed breakfast on the bus. It drives us to the train station where we are to get on a 7 am departure to Agra. Once more the true poverty of India engulfs us as more hawkers and children run up to us for money. As I look around at the families huddled together on blankets on the platform I remark at just how lucky I am for my charmed life. The vendors are also ever present, I have never seen so many different kinds of fruit being sold in my life, the colors are truly a spectrum. We board our “first class” seats, which, like most of India (which is truly unfortunate since the culture is so vibrant), are dirty, my mind wanders to think of what the other cabins must look like. As the train begins its slow trek, I marvel to Brittany at the sites out the window. It seems that the train tracks act as a bathroom for many locals and I see quite a few tushies and well, other sites out my window. Let’s just say India was a total culture shock.

Eventually the water I drank with breakfast catches up to me and I head to the restroom, which consists of literally a hole in the ground. The adventure never seems to end . The three hours whiz by as I fall asleep on my “Freakenomics” book.

We arrive in Agra around 10. Agra has a reputation as not that nice of a town, get in, see the taj and go. This was inherently obvious as our Hotel, Yamuna View, was a step down (although still very nice!) but considered a five star joint. We drop off our belongings and head back to the bus, which drives us to Cottage Industries. CI makes carpets and gives us a brief demonstration of the detail which goes into them. They provide our group with tea, beer and water and while some (including Brittany) haggle over the handmade carpets. I head to the other parts of the upscale shop and settle on a silk painting for about 10$, which depicts a herd of elephants! From there we head back to the hotel for lunch.

After some more nan and masala chicken, Brittany and I inquire about the possibility of some local shopping since SAS usually (as evidenced by CI) takes us to very upscale (and sometimes jacked up price wise) places. The woman, in her gorgeous purple sari, gives us directions and says we will be able to walk there. We venture out and after a couple of blocks I get nervous that we are lost. The honking autos, looking for our fare do not help the situation and we decide to turn back. After only a couple of paces we see two guys from SAS that are also looking for the shopping street. Confident in the larger group, we set out once more walking on a dirt laden piece of grass next to the road. After a little more walking, we find the right street! With only about twenty minutes to look we find some small Shiva statues and pendants for gifts. A quick brisk stride finds us safely (it was a little sketch crossing the road) on the bus on our way to Fatehpur Sikri.

Fatehpur Sikri is a deserted city, 25 miles out of Agra which was built by Emperor Akbar as their capital. It was meant to honor the Muslim saint who told him that he would have an heir. It was absolutely humongous. Interestingly, we had to switch from our bus to a smaller natural gas one in an effort to protect the old city. We were all pretty confounded by this, since the omnipresent smog seemed to outweigh any damage done by our bus.

The heat blazed down on our shoulders as we merrily explored the sandstone palaces. The Emperor had built different buildings in honor of his wives, each an ode to her religion. It was abandoned in 1585 due to a lack of water. It is currently a World Heritage Site. The architecture blends Hindu, Jain and Islamic forms. We explore the nooks and crannies of the buildings; taking pictures as we jump off various platforms (love my camera mom and dad (sports mode, quick shutter, continuous shooting)!!!). I marvel at the awesome architecture, from the thick pillars to the grand beams and wonder about how life would have been back in the 1500s before colonization by the British.

Before I know it, it is time to head back and we get on the bus once more. In India, I learned the true definition of window shopping as at every major monument or tourist attraction, hawkers run up to the windows of the bus touting their wares. It is always fun bargaining with the hawkers from our seats and every member of our group participates, passing around the goods and then strategizing about prices as the vendor waves his hands and items into the bus.

We arrive back at the hotel, ready for dinner and bedtime. Another hotel buffet comes and goes (due to the omnipresent threat of Travelers Diarrhea and the like, we basically only ate at hotels). Brittany and I head back to the room in eager anticipation of the Taj in the morning! While she stays awake, the sounds of honking auto drivers somehow soothes me to sleep as our first floor room remains alive with noise.

India Day 1

2009-03-11T01:34:00.000-07:00

India

Wow, it’s very hard to start this journal entry. India was a whirlwind. Every minute was a total adventure. It was good, bad, scary, beautiful and just about every adjective in between. I have never in my life seen such awesome colors and splendor, but I have also never seen such dirt, poverty or trash. So, as always, let’s start at the beginning.

Day 1

Our first day started off with a bang. Keeping in mind that we had to be back on the ship at 1:30 for our semester at sea sponsored Taj Mahal trip, we (Brittany, Becca, Nathan and I) set out to explore Chennai. We had been warned numerous times that it would be dirty and very overwhelming. I don’t think I exactly understood what they meant by dirty (since I was picturing the factory districts in New Jersey), until we arrived. Although I had ideas, since the crew literally covered the ship in cardboard so we wouldn’t drag the dirt back onto it.

From the ship we walk a mile to get out of the port. The road was a mix of cement and sludge and the few cars and motorcycles that were on it seem ready to hit us if we stumble off the 12 inch wide side walk. Always an adventure, we walk single file while getting honked at. We brace ourselves as we step out of the port entrance. In pre-port we were told that the most common means of transport in Chennai are Auto-Rickshaws. Google it. Seriously. They look like that. Hundreds (literally, there are just SO many people everywhere in this city) swarm us trying to get us into their ‘Autos’. We make the decision that we will wait until we get to the street because Indian Auto Drivers have a bad rep of trying to rip people off and we figure that the ones who target the port are the worst (we were right). As we walk through another swarm of individuals with their various forms of transport (barefoot, with moped, with taxi, with cane) it hits me that we are India! Finally, we flag down an auto driver and agree on a price, 100 rupees (2 dollars, which by United States standards is cheap, but a local would probably pay less than half of that) to drive us to “Parrys Corner”.

We had been told in pre-port that Parry’s Corner had a good array of shopping and since we would be on organized tour for the next three days we wanted to make sure we could all secure some trinkets ;). The four of us pile into the green and white three wheel vehicle and literally melt into each other (its probably 100 degrees and humid out) as we wheel in and out of traffic (India has more of a…lets say give and take way of driving…rather than the lanes we have). We marvel at the sights around us, from the families lying on dirty blankets sleeping on the beach to beautiful women in sparkling saris riding side saddle on mopeds, while trying not to think about the bus which just flew an inch next to us.

The driver pulls into a lone, albeit nice looking, shop, right off a busy interception. Although it is apparent that it was not Parry’s corner, we decide to go along with it (he obviously gets commission for people shopping there) and walk in. They have god statues of all sizes and saris in every color, but we quickly figure out just how overpriced the store is and try to get our auto driver to take us to Parry’s, he acts aloof and we decide to just walk. We figure that there must be more stores or that we must indeed be close to our intended destination.

We are wrong, and after a long walk (complete with a stop for water which we vehemently assessed to ensure that it contained its original seal) we decide to try our luck once more, this time to go to a different shopping street (Mount Street). After haggling, we decide on a price and are off once more, weaving in and out of traffic, clutching each other, while simultaneously taking pictures to document the experience.

After 10 or so minutes we are dropped off on the correct street. We proceed to the first shop we see and are instantly satisfied. It is air-conditioned (a plus for me ) and carries a wide range of product. I ask Nathan to help me pick out a Sari for Purim, while Becca and Brittany explore bed covers and wall hangings. I finally settle on a gorgeous blue and pink one (it’s 7 feet of fabric!) and two pashminas for Ilana and me. After some hardy bargaining, I pay and we join Brittany and Becca to assist in their decisions.

The store attendants are more than happy to aid and drape out literally hundreds of choices for our viewing pleasure. They offer us some yummy Chai (which we accept, figuring since it was boiled it couldn’t make us sick). Brittany finally decides on her wares, but explains to the shop owner that she still needs to find a ruby ring for her boyfriend’s mom. He quickly quips that he can drive us to his other store by the port.

We conduct a short meeting between the four of us wherein we decide he is legit (his store was VERY nice) and that the incentive for him is clear (a big purchase). We follow him out of the store, past the rickshaw touts and into his white compact van. I quickly realize that he is just as aggressive as any of the auto drivers. At one point he even drove into a man (his elbow) and kept driving, citing the man as in the wrong.

All of our worries disappear as we slip through the gate of the port, realizing he has clearance that the auto drivers don’t and that he truly is legit. He drives us to his shop which is literally adjacent from the ship. Looking at my watch, I realize that we are cutting the time a little close so Nathan and I head back to the ship, while Becca and Brittany choose a ring. We remark at how amazed we are by the city, its contrasts are truly unreal. It was a wonderful morning, full of adventure, which managed to all work out!

Upon returning to the ship, I grab a quick bite to eat with my friend Carolyn (spaghetti!) in the cafeteria. While washing my hands I realize the true magnitude of the dirt of the city. The brown water runs off my fingers as the water works to try to cleanse me. I put the finishing touches on my packing before Brittany returns and we head to the Union to get on our trip.

At 2 o’clock we get onto the bus, me on the window and Brittany on the aisle. It is not air-conditioned, so I open up the window only to get sputtered every so often by dirt, some of which land directly in my eyes. As I gaze out the window I see families huddled in shack-tents on the beach, large buildings, and small tenant houses.

We arrive at the airport after an hour or so. As we march into the building, little children tug at our clothes asking for money. In pre-port we were told not to give to the beggers because it can be almost like “organized crime” and that we should instead donate to legit charities. I felt like they were tugging at my heart as they motioned towards their mouth indicating that they would use the money for food. I try to look ahead as others, including my friend Wyn (he’s from Rhode Island!), get nearly accosted with people asking to shine their shoes.

The front door provides sanctity as we check in and go through the medal detectors. In India, there are separate lines for men and women and women get patted down behind a partition while men are patted down in public. Brittany buys a spicy diet coke, while I purchase a plain water trying not to tempt my stomach. The bus transports us to an upscale plane. I get a window seat complete with TV! The TV had everything from Disney songs to Bollywood movies which kept me entertained the whole ride while Brittany and Justin played ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ (a British version, which made it oddly difficult).

After three hours we arrive in Delhi and board a much nicer bus to our hotel, the Astok. We are greeted by an older man playing music and a young boy dancing (with the oddest facial expressions I have ever seen) as well as Sari adorned women with flower necklaces and red ochre to put on our foreheads. We take pictures galore and then go to drop off our bags. The hotel is very nice and we even get to watch a little bit of the news before heading back down for dinner. I enjoy the Nan and Masala Chicken, a big relief since I was nervous about the food selection. We head back upstairs to make it an early night in preparation for a long day of touring.

FW: Questions before India

2009-03-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

As usual they totally scared us before India, so I'll put just a handful of questions out before we leave tomorrow (I am SOOOO excited).

Will it be as chaotic as they say? Will I go on an auto-rickshaw? Will the Taj blow me away? Will I pet a monkey? How many cows will I see on the road? Will I buy a tunic or a sari? Will it be cheap (the country/exchange rate)? How will my SAS trip go? Will I encounter a lot of beggars? How will I react? Will security be super tight since the Mumbai incident? How will the airport be? Will I like Agra? Will my stomach get upset from the food? Will I like the food?

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

Mauritius

2009-03-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Mauritius

Our one day “Spring Break”starts off with a diplomatic briefing, which was short and to the point, wherein we are once again reminded to guard are belongings, which if we hadn’t been doing up until that morning would have left us without anything to guard. We were only in Mauritus for one day as it is sort of like a stretch-your-legs port before India, thereby breaking up an 11 day voyage from Cape Town to Chennai.

Brittany, Perri and I had signed up for the “Ile Des Duex Cocos”through SAS. We planned to have a fun in the sun day. The only snafu for me was that I had accidently rubbed my eyes the day before when I took off my sea-sickness patch, therein dilating my eyes. I packed a hat and sunglasses just incase it didn’t get better during our day in the sun (it did and by the end of the day I was able to go without either).

Mauritius is a very interesting country. It had had many settlers and colonizers in its day, but is currently 80% Indian (due to slaves being brought over from the subcontinent to work the sugar plantations). Many on the island speak French or English, however. Since we only had the one day we didn’t get a chance to really explore the island (or even buy souvenirs) so I can’t say that much about its politics or really even its people.

As we headed to the mini-buses we were very excited for our one day vacation. We spend roughly an hour on the bus before arriving at our destination. Off a dirt road, we arrive at a small dock where we are greeted by small glass bottom boats. The three of us hop on the first one and off we go towards Ile Des Duex Cocos. Through the glass we sea a plethora of fish, coral and colors. I remark at the amazing reefs we are above and we all discuss our excitement for the snorkeling ahead. We dock on the small private island, which reminds me of a miniature Carnival Cruise Island. A man hands us each a glass of orange juice, a welcome gesture and we place our bags by some lounge chairs to relax.

As usual, I quickly bore of tanning and walk down to the sand to explore. I find some cowry shells amongst the waves and start collecting them in my hand. As the day’s heat wears on we hang out marveling at the awesome blue of the sea (think seafoam green). The three of us pick up some snorkels and attempt to go to some of the closer reefs. Unbeknownst to us we enter into quite a strong current and as we swim out of it (quite a workout!) some of the staff boat over to check on us. They inform us that we can’t go to those reefs and that later they will drive groups out to the other reefs in a safer section of the water. Laughing at our misadventure we head to the lunch buffet.

I should remind all of you of just how bad the food on the ship is. I say this to preface the feast we partake in, so you don’t feel any jealously. We gobble down lobster tails, shrimp, lamb, an array of salads and side dishes before pronouncing ourselves full. Our bellies bursting (a feeling we hadn’t experienced in quite some time), we head to the dock to go snorkeling.

I have only snorkeled a hand full of times and rarely over a coral reef. This Indian Ocean gem held over 50 kinds of coral! The fish abounded as we laid our eyes on St. Majors, Razz, Rainbow Parrot Fish, Angel Fish, Tang, Puffer and many more. They seemed to have no fear of us as the darted into and around us. The colors of the coral glowed beneath them, pink, purple and blue. It was an amazingly beautiful sight!

We were out there for quite some time (as the sunburn on my back, despite SPF30 can account for) and by the time we headed back we only had a little time before we had to go. I drank another Diet Coke (the perks of an all-inclusive island) and packed my bag.

Heading back to the ship, I couldn’t help but think that one day was way to short. I’m not sure if I will ever return to Mauritius, not because I didn’t love it, just because there are so many other places to explore, but my fond memories of that beach day will remain with me.

Days 4-5, Cape Town, South Africa

2009-02-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world”– Scott Cameron
Day 4-Cape Town, South Africa
Finally able to sleep in just a little bit, we wake up around 9:15 to head downstairs to the buses for our “Cape Malay Cooking Safari”, as planned by SAS. I was apprehensive about signing up from the beginning because truthfully I’m not really a cooker and my family isn’t into exotic dishes. But, the idea of being able to be taught how to cook by an authentic South African tipped the balance in favor and I had applied. Later, we found out that the Malay people are actually descendents of Indonesian slaves who were brought to Cape Town hundreds of years ago to reclaim the land that Cape Town is housed upon. They are also Muslim.
With very little in terms of expectations, Brittany and I head onto a small bus with another friend of ours, Emily. While Emily chats it up with the guide (a white South African), Brittany reads and I stare out the window for another startlingly short ride. We find ourselves getting out of the car on a very colorful street. The houses remind me somewhat of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico and I go straight to shooting pictures of the funky street. Listening to the tour guide I am informed that the hierarchy in South Africa today and during apartheid is basically: white and rich, brown and poor, black and desolate. The frankness with which she and others talked about race was especially striking. Although many say that there are always truths behind stereotypes, I can’t help but to think that these types of generalizations stick people in rigid groups. However, to her credit, when I asked if there are residual feelings towards her as a white South African she responds that yes she does feel it and it takes her a while to gain trust from Black South Africans. She also recounts her own personal parlay into the anti-apartheid movement, even discussing being thrown into jail for her radical views.
But, back to our cooking safari, lol. She walks us through the colorful houses where we smell the divine scents of fresh baked bread and food. We then walk to a halal (muslim version of kosher) butcher where we are told to look at the purity and bloodlessness of the meat. Coming from a Jewish home, it looked exactly like a kosher butchery or even deli. From there we go to a spice shop where she explains all the different types of, you guessed it, spices.
The shop is small and the smells overwhelming. Our guide walks us through the baskets of colorful spices from Turmic to curry powder. She gently picks some up with a scooper and asks us all to smell or even taste the different offerings. I try the coriander which tastes just like licorice. While the group shops for spices, I find a small seat upon a rice bag next to the owner of the shop. Since I didn’t know what I wanted to remake yet, since we hadn’t even begun cooking, I figuring I could buy most of the spices at home and proceed to chat it up with the owner. He explains that he lets groups come and play with the spices free of charge. He describes his love of South Africa and when I ask him if he’s ever been to the states he explains that “there is nothing there for him there”. Although that isn’t exactly what I want to hear, he goes on to explain that he likes Obama, and has no ill will towards the United States. He tells me stories about India before Brittany shows up with spices and a cook book. We walk across the street to our chef for the day’s home, Hamida. Hamida turns out to be a wonderful Muslim women, who proper to her marriage did not know how to cook. She tells stories about first learning to cook with her mother-in-law and also recounts that now she teachers her mother-in-law more conventional recipes, such as lasagna. Interestingly, the interior of her kitchen is very modern, she has a dicer, a gorgeous fridge, granite tables and a microwave, which is a stark contrast to the antiquity of the outside of her house. She greets us with a strawberry milk drink, infused with Rose oil and small seeds, which was very yummy.
Our hunger takes over as we learn how to cook samoosas. It turns out that all my years of papercrafts are great training for samoosa making as some had trouble making the paper football like containers. We learn how to make the filling and then stuff our paper-footballs. (No worries, I have the recipes, hillary-we will be making these ). From the Samoosas we move onto making Roti which is sort of like a thin sweet wrap, which we later use to eat the food with our hands. Next, we begin making the chicken curry. I help put in all the spices, while Hamida instructs me in terms of the measurement of heaps (1 heap, ½ a heap…). We add salt to the recipe for more taste and then put it on the stove. Then, we make Tomato and onion Samfal, which is sort of like an Israeli salad, but with more tomato. We finish up by watching her make chili bites and then retire to the long table before us. The food goes quickly as our bellies swell in satisfaction of our creations. The time also seems to slip away and we are back onto the bus, heading for the ship.
I found the Cooking Safari to be very interesting. We got to interact with a whole other set of Cape Town inhabitants and even got to learn from them. I also got to see how much better they live then those in the townships. Under apartheid rule they were favored over the Black population, which has led to unevenness even today. Even on Robben Island, the muslims were given more food then the blacks in an effort to tear them apart and create jealously. I really enjoyed meeting Hamida, a seemingly modern women wearing her headcovering, but still working to earn a living.
From the bus we meet up with Becca and the four of us found our lady-driver from the day before. Interestingly, it seems that every time she picks up clients she tries to convince them to go somewhere else, farther. Brittany and I roll our eyes at each other as Becca and Emily seem to contemplate it.
We arrive on Long Street and head straight to the Women’s Trading Post where Brittany had bought her painting the day before. Becca and Emily each fall in love with paintings as I explore the other offerings, finding nothing. Unfortunately the man who we had met the day before wasn’t there and the woman couldn’t seem to locate him via cell phone. (They seem to bargain through cell phones by calling their bosses). Disappointed the four of us go to leave the huge indoor market when we happen to bump into the owner and his brother, the painter himself. Ecstatic, we run back to the stall and the bargaining hits over drive. The three of them end up with large paintings as my mind wanders back to a necklace that I had held off of the day before, a three strand freshwater pearl necklace that I had put off incase I found something better (it was only 10 USD). We quickly head down the street towards Green Market Square, me with the idea of the necklace, Becca hoping for some more earrings and Brittany and Emily with paintings on their minds. When we arrive, we notice many stalls gone and many more packing up. We split up (its safe there-there are a TON of police), Becca coming with me (since she was wearing a different version of the necklace and could point to it to help me locate the stall) and Emily and Brittany heading off to find their loot.
To my disappointment the stall that had held them the day before was completely down. However, there was a man standing next to it, asking what we were looking for. When Becca showed him her necklace he quickly exclaimed “I have those!”. Skeptical, since a lot of time stall owners with just show you a random necklace, we followed him to his stall. To my surprise, the other shopkeeper (she hand makes them while you watch) had a whole box of her necklaces. I picked out a pretty blue one and Becca and I went to find the others (we couldn’t find the earrings she wanted). The market was really closing at this point because it was Saturday, and we had a little trouble finding our friends amidst the chaos.
From the GSM, we hailed a taxi to the wharf. Brittany and I bought some snacks for the voyage and then went back to the ship for some R&R before heading out to dinner (our fave sushi place again) with Becca, Perri and Shayna.
Dinner is another delight as I eat an amazing Crunchy Tuna Roll which totally rivals Bento’s Crunch Roll. Britt and I split a Milk Tart for dessert (a South African specialty!). Their (everyone but me) plan was to go out after dinner, back to Long Street. I knew I was too tired because we had to wake up at 7:30 for our second Township visit and by the time we completed our long dinner, Brittany knew she was too. We hurry back to the ship to go to sleep, as the rain gently pours outside (a sign we made the right decision!)
Day 5-Cape Town, South Africa
As a political science major, especially one with an African Studies minor, the idea of visiting and volunteering at Townships was especially appealing. After Operation Hunger, I didn’t feel like I had seen enough as it focused mainly on children. Waking up so early was not particularly appealing, but again, I want to see it all!
We head down to the buses and embark on the drive to Khaylistia Township. The section we visit looked a little better then Green Park, but not by much. The shacks are made of shipping tin, the shops are made up of literal shipping crates but the people are full of smiles.
We head first to Vicky’s Bed and Breakfast. She tells us the story of her upstart which started as a small section of her house and is currently a multi-room, two story place to greet visitors from all over the world. Vicky discusses some of the hard ships of being a women running a business, but has obviously made a success of it. She also recounts the holiday parties that she plans for the community where each child gets a pencil or pen as a gift. We donate some rand and head downstairs to play with some neighborhood kids. We are stormed once more by children aching for stickers and once again we distribute them with smiles. Some kids were content with just one, while others seemed to keep running through the line. We try to be as fair as we can as older members of the community try to keep the kids in a line. Everyone gathers back on the bus where we discuss the idea of this form of tourism. Our guide “Jimmy”explains that although Townships were “No-Go”areas during apartheid, the community really wants foreigners to see their hardships so that there can be more public outcries. Seeing such poverty really did do a number on me, so it seems to be working.
From Vicky’s we head to a small craft market, which is home to a playground and directly adjacent from a church. We start at the craft market and I buy a couple hand made magnets, which consist of soda cans cut and crimped into flowers. VERY cool! We had back to the playground and Brittany hangs upside down from the jungle gym while I takes some pictures and hand out stickers. Heading to the church, we can hear the chorus singing beautiful hymns. Sitting in the black row we enjoy the music and the sermon switches from English to Courso. The church seems very western and an African Jesus is prominently displayed above the podium. It also seems to be populated by many more women than men. When I ask the tour guide why this is, he says women are more spiritual and men sometimes don’t feel it is their duty to pray. Exiting the church we take the bus to another B&B where we get to have a quick snack (some spicy donuts and custard, yum!).
Our guide then takes us on a walking tour. This was my absolute highlight. It turned out that Interm President Zuma of the ANC was coming to speak that afternoon. The streets teemed with people dancing and screaming. They proudly held out ANC flags and wore shorts adorned with Zuma’s face. As we walked through the chaos we remarked at the amazing experience we were having. Encircled by poverty we were welcomed by these people who posed for pictures (and even asked for them to be taken!), shook our hands and just seemed so genuine. There is no possible way for me to accurately describe the experience but it was just SO real and SO neat. These people are very political and even amongst poverty, AIDs and illiteracy, they manage to get so excited and involved. Unfortunately we had heard (and there is no way for me to verify this, so its not fact necessarily), that Zuma is actually quite corrupt and that a lot of Black Africans vote for the ANC because it was Mandela’s party, but is not currently very good for the Black community.
Heading back to the ship we were aglow at our very unique experience. South Africa is my favorite stop so far and I know I want to return to Africa as soon as I can. I think the continent really gets a bad rap, but it is so vibrant and beautiful. My experiences from Namibia and now South Africa will stay with me always as I continue to travel the world.

Cape Town, South Africa Days 2-3

2009-02-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

Cape Town Day 2

       We awake around 10, get dressed and are quickly on our way. Our plan is to see Long Street during the day and if possible head to Table Mountain to enjoy the view. It is cloudy, so we brace ourselves for the likelihood that TM won’t happen. As we pass through the gate, exiting our gated jetty, we are encircled by taxi cab drivers’pleadings and offers. After our bad taxi cab experiences in Morocco we are uneasy about getting a taxi right outside the jetty, because they can be less reliable then those found outside of the wharf, but we find a nice women who quotes us 50 Rand for the trip (5$). As metered taxis can actually be more expensive than flat rate ones we decide to commission the trip. She drops us off in front of a large bead store and I search for some unique African beads for my mom (to no avail, they were mostly the usual beads). Brittany and I venture on through the small boutique stores, holding on to the zippers of our bags (pick-pocketing is common on this touristy street). We remark about the differences of the street from night to day (a lot less beggers, etc…) as well as marvel at the commercial nature of it and the fact that it felt like any other major city in the world, we had lost that “Africa feeling”from Namibia.

       Brittany haggles with a young man for a hand painted picture (he uses his thumbs with acrylic on jean, way cool) while I explore a very small giraffe print (I got it for 40 Rand). Pleased with our purchases we head back to the street to look for a quick bite to eat. The sky looks like it will clear up, so we decide on a restaurant hurriedly, “Mr. Pickwicks”. A couple outside gives us the universal thumbs up (once again ) and we proceed to order. The meal was not exactly great, but we shoveled it in and hailed a taxi to Table Mountain. Our driver was moody, which reminded me of a certain Las Vegas taxi driver (lol, dad), but he turned out to be trustworthy.

       Arriving at the summit of such a huge mountain was totally breathtaking; we conversed with a young Italian couple as we exchanged cameras to take pictures of each other. From there we headed to the ticket office to buy space on the next gondola. Some SASers hiked the mountain, but we were discouraged by the long speeches in pre-port about the many crimes and thefts that take place on the remote trails. Traveling up the side of the mountain was awesome, but not for those afraid of heights. As the city got smaller and smaller our proximity to the rocks along the sides of the mountain seemed to tighten. As the altitude hit my head we explored the peak, taking tons of pictures and stopping to call our parents. The views from the mountain were stunning as you could see most of the Cape Flats, the city center and even some of the townships. We were happy we pushed ourselves to do it as it was a little far from Long Street (although not particularly expensive). It turned out to be great weather and we could see everything!

       After a little over an hour we descended the mountain once more, looking for a taxi. Again, we are encircled by drivers so we just decide to follow one, who proceeds to lead us to a mid size van with lots of rows of seats. I was apprehensive at first as these mini-buses are allowed to stop and pick up more passengers along the way, but it was only us and David from Denmark in the van and they said they were going straight to the wharf, so we hopped in. We spent the drive talking to David who had kids about our age and worked on rig. It passed the time nicely.

       By the time we arrived back to the boat it was 6ish and we were exhausted. We decided on a short nap before dinner. Bad idea. I woke up with a terrible headache and more tired then before. But, hey, you’re only 20 and in South Africa once, right? So I downed some Ibuprofen and join Brittany for sushi at the wharf, again (it was our favorite place). I bring my ipod touch out with me, just in case of wi-fi, and am delighted to get some good law school news! After dinner, we return home to get a good night of sleep before our “Operation Hunger”service visit in the morning.

Cape Town Day 3
       We wake up early to make it to our “Operation Hunger”service visit. Traveling out towards the buses we don’t know exactly what to expect. We know we will be working with an NGO (Operation Hunger, lol) which excites me because I spent much of my sophomore year working on research about the work that NGOs do/did in Sierra Leone. The idea of getting to actually volunteer with one of the poorest townships in the cape made waking up so early not so bad.

       We take an alarmingly short bus (scary, because it shows how dichotomy in terms of economy Cape Town really is) ride to Green Park, a section of one of the worst townships, with an 80% unemployment rate. As I take out my camera to shoot some cute pictures of the little kids (we visited a nursery) I realize that I left my memory card in my other camera. Brittany hadn’t brought hers either because we were told that it could be seen as making the kids into animals at zoo by taking so many pictures. To add insult to injury the little kids loved posing for the camera and would often ask us to take pictures of them. Luckily some other friends of ours snapped quite a few pictures of it and we were able to borrow theirs. Plus my camera is able to innately take 7 pictures, so I have enough to scrapbook!

       Ok, enough about the camera, more about the kids! The children were so joyful as we played games. They didn’t speak English, but it is truly amazing how communicative two people can be even if they don’t speak the same language. I gave out hundreds of stickers that ilana had given me prior to the trip (great tip Lauren!). I also helped weigh kids. That was the “Operation Hunger”side of the trip. They use us as volunteers to measure the kid’s arm circumference, weight, height and age. They then put the data on a graph to determine if the children are malnourished, and if so how much so. I was in charge of the weighing, which was a little overwhelming as keeping the littlier kids still enough to weigh them was hard. But I was thrilled to be helping. During this time Brittany was helping plant a veggie garden with which older members of the township could plant sustainable food, in order to aid some of the malnourishment.

       I continued to weigh the kids and play with them. Whoever says Semester at Sea is a worthless Booze Cruise (and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that idea in people’s eyes when I mention what study abroad I picked) has never gotten into a tickle fight with a five year old African child. From Green Park we venture on to a rest stop for a quick lunch where we are asked to purchase some loaves of bread for our next stop. I gather up a loaf before our trip depletes their supply and we are on our way.

       I believe the next stop was in a segment of Khaylistia, but I never got its name. Any who, this second stop took us to a food kitchen. It was literally someone’s home on the outskirts of the squatter town who provides food three times a week for the impoverished. She gets little funding so she uses her own money to feed them. She had asked the mothers to bring all of their children so we could weigh and feed them. When we first got there they sang us an adorable song and we responded with the Hokey Pokey. It was a little awkward but everyone enjoyed it.

       From there chaos ensued. While Brittany made PB&J for everyone, I went back to the scales to weigh the kids. There were hundreds of people and it was quite complicated to keep track of the numbers, at times we even had to write on the kids arms so that the data collectors could keep everything straight. I gave out more stickers and after an hour or so, everyone retreated to the front yard to play. And I mean play, these kids spoke some English and were VERY playful. They wanted to do our hair (which consisted of them running their fingers through it and then twisting random spots), play hand games and of course get stickers. I was surrounded a few times (especially when I gave out ladybug stickers) with children (and some adults) shouting “For Me”which throwing themselves at me(not in a violent way). It was a very positive expierence, but also very sad. At the end of the play time the man in charge came out with the completed chart which showed the boys off the chart (or severly malnourished), while the girls were moderately malnourished. The mothers explained the discrepancy by saying that the girls stay closer to home and to the kitchen while the boys tend to venture off for the day and skip meals. It was very sad to imagine these happy playful kids don’t get enough nutrition and are at risk for so many diseases. It puts all our spending as Americans into perspective. How can we rationalize a pair of 200$ jeans, when these kids are ready to knock someone over for sticker? Its kind of pathetic. But no more of my philosophizing, I’ll go on to explain the rest of my day 

       Tired, mentally and physically, the bus drops us off at the ship and we head to our room. We decided against a nap, as it hadn’t worked out the night before and proceed to track down Becca to go to dinner. We were quite hungry but I really wanted some authentic South African food by the wharf (the idea of a taxi was too tiring). We walk around and around and finally settle on a restaurant. I order Ostrich, which had a good flavor believe it or not, but was quite chewy. We relax for a little and discuss our days before heading back to the ship for some sleep.

2009-02-24T08:51:00.000-08:00

I’m super busy with classes so I thought I would break up the South Africa entry. Here’s day one!

Cape Town, South Africa
Day 1
Going into South Africa I didn’t really know what to expect. We arrived in Cape Town a little later than we were supposed to, around 11 o’clock. The original plan was for me, Brittany, Laura, Perri and Becca to go to Table Mountain (arguably the world’s oldest mountain which has an omnipresent presence on the cape as its smooth top dominants the landscape), then Robben Island (the political prison of the apartheid government where Mandela was held). However, due to the late arrival we had to skip Table Mountain (we ended up going later in the week), but we decided to make the most of it and headed down to Long Street (the thriving café/club/shopping street) and on to The Green Market(the bargaining square).
Keeping good track of each other we navigate the stalls all set up in rows in a large open air square. The bargaining is quite different than in Israel or Morocco or frankly even Namibia. The shop keepers are not very aggressive and although bargaining is a must, the prices seem to hit a floor pretty quickly. I settle on some elephant hair bracelets and a pair of candle stick holders while my companions stimulate South Africa’s economy. Pleased with our purchases we look for some local fair to tide us over. I walk by a British family on holiday who are eating some fish and chips, they give us a thumbs up for the food and we head inside. Calamari Express is a local fast-foodish restaurant that serves us some VERY yummy calamari for about 3 dollars each. Oh yea, South Africa was CHEAP!!! The exchange rate was also favorable so even stores we have in the United States were cheaper there.
After our bargaining fun we head to Robben Island for a somber afternoon. Becca had pre-ordered our tickets since we had heard that SAS tends to buy up all the ferry tickets. By three we are on the ferry to the infamous island. I may draw some slack for saying this, but it is my journal, so what can you do lol? Although I found the island to be atrocious (not physically, as it is gorgeous and has penguins!) but due to the nature of these men’s imprisonment (basically plotting to overthrow the government, organizing African politics, etc), I found the prison not to be totally overpowering. Mandela has been quoted to say that it was his University, his place of learning. An ex-inmate showed us around the prison, even stopping at his old cell. He told us stories of political meetings and basketball games. The men were able to see their families only once a month, but they still got to see them. I couldn’t help but draw connections between this situation and the holocaust and although these men were thoroughly wronged, they were not starved (although they were not fed all that much and Blacks (that’s the word they use) were fed more than “Colored”(again, the word they use meaning those of Indonesian decent or Indian decent). I should mention that Mandela has permanent eye damage from his time working in the Quarry. I found the island to be very sad, but most of all I found our tour guides life to be very sad. When asked why he took this job, which entails him to relieve his worst prison memories, he replied, quite simply “I needed a job”. Unfortunately this attitude seemed to prevail throughout much of the impoverished outskirts of Cape Town, but now I’m getting ahead of myself.
The tour took quite a few hours and gave us a great reference which with to view the city as a whole. We return to the ship and quickly head back out to go to dinner and then out to Long Street. We eat in a gorgeous restaurant on the wharf (fancy, but still inexpensive) before we are off to go out. I should also take this time to mention the V&A Waterfront. As seems to be the case with all our port so far (save spain), there is an extreme disparity between the wealthy and the poor. Stepping off the ship felt like going to Disney World. The wharf was gorgeous, the mall huge, the shops pretty and overpriced, the waitstaff white infact expect for a few jazz playing Africans the whole waterfront felt very white. There were a ton of police everywhere and for the most part we felt totally safe there. As I will later recount, our trips to townships painted a very different view of the city. Typing this, I can’t help but wonder how many individuals step off their cruise ship for a day, play in the waterfront and then return home thinking that is all there is to Cape Town.
We take a taxi to Long Street (another inexpensive thing as it cost less then a dollar each). We get dropped off at the wrong club (the four of us were meeting other friends), but see quite a few SASers and try to get our bearings straight. A young South African points us in the right direction and we head to our destination. Dancing with other SASers and peering out at the locals we have a lot of fun. Perri and I don’t stay long, as she has a safari the next day and I am quite tired from our long day. Sleep comes quickly.

2009-02-17T21:56:00.000-08:00

We are about to disembark for South Africa!!!! I am SO excited! Today we are planning on going to Table Mountain, Robben Island and hopefully some craft shopping! So here are my SA questions (even though I haven’t had a chance to answer the Namibia ones).

Will it really be that modern? How expensive/hard to get will taxis be? Will it feel/be safe? Will we make it up Table Mountain? Will the townships (I’m going with SAS) feel like a kickback to apartheid? How prevalent with the remaints of apartheid be? Will I expierence any racism? How will my cape malay cooking safari go? How big of contrast will there be between this port and Namibia? Will the people be as nice? How expensive will Cape Town be?

Namibia

2009-02-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

Namibia

Namibia was such an amazing experience. It was a rollercoaster of adventures which ended happily. So here is the story:

We awoke around 730 on Saturday, fresh from our week at sea, ready for our safari. We signed up for an independently planned trip to Etosha National Park in the north part of Namibia. For a 1/5 of the price of the SAS South African Safari, Britt and I decided to sign up! We were told that it would take 4 hours to get to the park and from there we would have an afternoon ride, dinner and then pitch our tents and get up early for a full day safari with a morning safari the last day.

After the debriefing, Brittany and I disembark and on our way to the buses we enjoy a short dance show by native children organized by the Christian Aids Foundation and invited to the ship by SAS. Adorable and interactive, their ages ranged from 8-14. After the show we decide to take a chance and interact with the kids, many of whom speak English, German (Germany colonized Namibia before WWI, when they were known as South West Africa, after that South Africa colonized them), Afrikaans and their native language. While Brittany tries her luck with learning some simple step, I try to learn how to say hello in a native click language. Despite the fact that I royally mess it up, the little girl seems totally amused and tells me that I am quite good at it.

Next, we head to the buses where we are greeted by the rest of our group: Mindy, Eli and Mickey G (Mickey is a one of the professors on the ship, Mindy, his wife and Eli, their 13 year old son), Alisha (a 27 year old student), Becca (one of our good friends from the ship), Kate and Sarah (twins), Kara, Britton (the sole male), Laura (another of our shipboard friends) and Erin. We also meet our tour guides, Polly and Gabriel. As the sun swelters I wonder if the long pants and shirts I brought to protect me from malaria carrying mosquitoes were a good idea (I am also taking Doxycycline).

We are off around 11 and are informed that our ride will be 500 km, which will take about 5 hours. A half hour later we stop in Swakopmund, a German vacation spot right outside of Walvis Bay. Our guides gives us 30 minutes in which to get money from the ATMs (10 Namibian dollars=1 USD, which makes it very easy) and get water at the Zupermarket. We quickly spot some ‘Curio Shops’or tourist shops. We get our errands done as soon as humanly possible in order to shop. Since we signed up to safari the whole time it is unclear whether or not we will be able to shop at all while in Namibia. We find a non-profit shop which sells items made by local African women. It is very inexpensive and I purchase a string of ostrich egg beads for my mom and copper bracelets for Ilana and me.

Returning to the safari vehicle (it is a short bus with big windows that slide down) I settle in and watch the scenery change from desert to shrub and finally savannah in a matter of 2 hours. We stop every so often to use the restroom and purchase snacks. Alternating between my headphones and chatting with friends, I am still amazed that we are in AFRICA when I notice the clouds enlarge and darken, a foreshadowing of our night ahead. Our 4 hour bus ride quickly (or more preciously slowly) turns into an 8 hour one. The guides blame it on the weather washing away the gravel ride they usually take, but we believe the company was just deceptive about the amount of time it takes to get there, since on map a short cut could not have taken off that much time.
We arrive at dusk, seeing a few Springboks but mostly greeted by a large storm. The guide informs us that it is the rainy season (much like Miami, they have a wet and a dry season, rather than four season), bracing ourselves for what he feels in inevitable rain the next day too. Most of the group stays on the bus, while Brittany, Becca, Mickey G and I follow the guides out to put up tents because we are the only ones who have rain gear (good idea with the poncho, mom!). Eventually, I head back to the bus while the guides finish up, supplying us each with a small mattress and very clean sleeping bags in each tent. Some are very wet inside, but ours was luckily not. Trying not to get discouraged by the idea of a rained out safari, Brittany, Becca and I volunteer to help make dinner, an effort of distraction. We decide learning how to cook by two African men would be an adventure in its self and we were right. We hollowed out squash and stuffed them with corn, cooked pasta on a propane cooker and warded off other people from other groups whose guides hadn’t started cooking yet and were eyeing our food. Polly and Gabriel laugh as we attempt to season our concoction. As the rain pours, we stay dry under the enclosure while the rest of the group stays in the misery of the bus. An hour or so later we beckon our group to come partake in our African feast. After scarfing down our food (it was SO good!) we run(quite literally) to our tents, our sneakers sliding in and out of the mud on our way. By some miracle, Sarah and I, manage to fall a sleep pretty quickly after exchanging a few life stories.
The tent shakes around six am, it is Polly, one of our guides inviting us for some breakfast before we take off. Our group gathers around the cereal, bread and jam exchanging stories about the lack of sleep and the drizzling rain and clouds above. I take one of my malaria pills with some hot cocoa (nestle!) while Brittany puts jam on her bread. I discover for the second time that my medicine does not agree with me and succumb to the inevitable. Mickey G reassures me that since it had been in my system for at least 30 minutes, it should still be protective. ‘Should’is not exactly what I want to hear, but I resolve to make the most of it. Heading onto the bus, I look out at the drizzling rain and wonder how the day will turn out. Within an hour we see more springboks than I ever thought possible and the sky begins to clear. We soon see a lone giraffe in the distance and I think to myself that things are looking up! With my dslr and telephoto lens, I had the best chance on the bus of getting good pictures which enabled me to procure a permanent window seat and even jump across the aisle(and people!) a few times with no complaints. Admiring the giraffe, I think back to AEPhi and the adventures I must be missing, but still, I saw a real lily!!!! Take that Aunt Sunnie!
Throughout the morning, the bus seems unable to idle, constantly turning off when we slow to see an animal, yet it always manages to start again when we try to proceed. Around 10 am, after only seeing one giraffe and some springbok we take a break and stop at a fortress-like restroom. Wondering what the protective difference between getting out here and in the middle of the road is, as we see no fences in sight, Brittany, Becca and I pack into the bathroom. Upon our exit, we notice Polly and Gabriel finagling with the engine, which is refusing to start. Convinced yet again that our safari will be quickly ended, we all distract ourselves by taking pictures while we hear the hum of the engine go in and out. Luckily, after 20 minutes our heroic guides manage to fix the problem and we are off. Within 10 minutes, Mindy screams to stop the car and back up, she announces that she saw spots! I quickly stand up and notice not one but THREE CHEETAHS!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are able to get wonderful pictures as they get close to the bus and even cross the road ahead of us. The mood of the safari was forever changed as we later found out that Polly and Gabe had only seen three in their WHOLE LIVES and that they are VERY rare. We were also the only bus to get to see them! Excitedly, we continue on through the park and before lunch we had seen not only those cheetahs but some up close and personal giraffes (again, I told them aephi says whats up). We stop at another camp sight where we chat with some other SAS groups, who had seen zebras but no cheetahs. Envious of their sightings we eat our meal and shop a little in a small shop (I bought a handmade bowl for 4$ and some earrings for even less-Namibia is cheap!). Determined to see zebras, we journey on. All of a sudden we see a halted safari vehicle in front of us, stopping short, our guide asks what they are looking at. Polly points at a tree in the distance and we make out the shape of a male lion beneath it. Zooming in with my camera, I am able to confirm the sighting. To think that we were actually seeing a male lion in the WILD!!!! With a clear sky ahead, I am totally thrilled. As the afternoon progresses we see ostriches, oryx, more giraffes and even ZEBRA!!! We ended up seeing two herds of zebras (including a baby!), very close to the car before the sun begins to set and we head back to camp, where we are greeted by a whole new set of animal the not so elusive drunk SASer.
Prepared for a noisy night, we head down to the watering hole for sunset while Polly and Gab cook our dinner. Brittany, Becca and I take a million pictures before what may be the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen. The pinks, oranges and purples are absolutely striking and although no animals show up for a night time drink we are fully satisfied with our day and the sunset. Returning to the campsite, we shower and eat before heading over to the pool area to escape the other VERY drunk groups. The three of us split one Hansa Draught, which was on tap and made in Namibia, figuring it would be the only time in our lives we would be able to sample Namibian beer. From there our bus-group headed up a tower to view the stars, which was also AMAZING! The sky was totally clear and we could see the milky way, orein’s belt and the southern cross plus countless other constellations. Staring up at the stars (while ignoring the mammoth sized beetles around us) I am once again reminded at the amazingness of this journey and how thankful I am for the opportunity to be seeing all of these things at such a young age!
From the tower we walk back to our tents to go to sleep. The other buses were loud, but I am a heavy sleeper and armed with my ipod on high I was able to go to sleep pretty quickly. The next morning we are awoken by Polly’s shaking and quickly bounce out of bed and pack up in an effort to ensure that we do not receive dock time (we needed to be back on the ship at 6 and the line can get long). I decide to leave my malaria medicine for that night in an effort to repeal the nausea (it ended up working, apparently when you take it at night it reduces some of the side effects). Sarah and I disassemble the tent, eat our breakfast and head on to the bus.
I fall in and out of sleep for literally the whole bus ride. We stop at a post office to get stamps, a gas station to use the facilities, but we refrain from stopping at a picnic stop to eat and instead eat our bagged lunches on the bus in an effort to save time. Our efforts pay off and we end up with enough time to stop in Swakopmund once more. However, this time, our guide shows us a craft area at the bottom of the hill. Brittany, Becca and I literally charge walking 10 minutes to the area in the sweltering heat. With only 20 minutes to bargain and shop we go straight to work! We quickly find out that unlike the Arab Market in Israel or Souks in Morocco, the sellers are willing to go REALLY low with their prices. It was hard to figure out what things were worth since they would rapidly knock off large percentages of the price. Armed with my remaining Namibian money (about 150 Namibian Dollars or 15 USD) I look at all the goods before figuring out what I want. The vendors call out ‘sister’as we pass. Unlike the souks this was an open air market, with the goods displayed on blankets on the ground. This gave it a comfortable feel and I never feel unsafe (unlike morocco or even Israel) despite the rather aggressive vendors. Brittany helps me pick out an elephant hair bracelet for Ilana (5 USD), while she settles on a price for a carved bowl and giraffe mask. I move onto a carved giraffe and with no idea as to what it is worth, the man asks for 350 Namibian dollars. Normally, 35 USD for a giraffe carving of this size (roughly one and half feet) would not be obscene, but I obviously didn’t have it. After some back and forth I hand him 50 Namibian and he agrees! Overjoyed I head on to some wired animals, purchasing a few for my mom’s jewelry. Becca purchases a funky mask and we move on, running back towards the bus. We make one more stop to see African flamingos on the beach, another reward for our speediness, before returning to the ship.

In review, I had SUCH an unforgettable experience in Namibia. From attempting to learn a click language from a young child to spotting a wild cheetah to bargaining in Swakopmound, Namibia has been my favorite port so far. The people are friendly and the country is beautiful and diverse! Our adventure, despite its negative beginning turned out to be a successful safari!

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

Pre-Namibia

2009-02-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

So I don’t have time for a formal entry, but I wanted to post my questions for Namibia, so here it is:

Will I see all of the Big 5 animals? Will I be able to do a night ride? How will sleeping in a tent go? How big is the German Colonial Legacy? Will there be a lot of English (its their national language)? Will I love the country? Will the people be nice? Will I be able to eat the food? Will it be good? What crazy food will I eat? Will my international phone work? Will it be hot? Will I get crazy dreams from my Malaria medicine?

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

B6A7

2009-02-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

B6A7
Hey!!! I’ve really enjoyed all the emails, from family and friends to readers, you’ve been making my days! Yesterday’s Quiz seemed to go well, I knew all the answer so hopefully that came through in my essays. We played lots of cards yesterday as none of us had anything major to study for. We are traveling along ‘the middle passage’or the old slave route. As such the Students Of Color held a day of silence with a reflection time at 8 oclock when they broke their silence. I went and let me just say it was very powerful. We forget, while on this beautiful cruise, that millions of slaves were forcefully transported along these shores and stared out at the same ocean, yet instead of seeing endless beauty, they saw the hard unknown.

Last night, I noticed that the direction we are headed (towards Namibia) put our window directly facing the moon’s ascent. It was SO amazing to watch the reflection in the water. The views on this ship constantly amaze me!

Today I had my usual A classes, Global Studies and Digital Art. In DA, my professor showed one of my projects as the example, I was very excited as photoshop can be very overwhelming, especially when the project is basically to do whatever we want with 3-4 pictures.

Tomorrow I have an Art History Quiz, but its only on 6 slides, Falagon would have laughed! Tomorrow night I helped Brad, our Living Learning Coordinator (sort of a cooler version of an RA) plan our Red Sea Meeting. We will be playing bingo, but with actual prizes from the school store (a mug, bandana, etc). I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Then the day after that we’ll be in Namibia on SAFARI!!!

Happy Sailing,
Elyssa

PS.
Today we have been getting CNN world. I’m a VERY happy camper 

Neptune Day to B6

2009-02-11T01:08:00.000-08:00

Neptune Day to B6
It’s been a while since I last updated. Sea days tend to be pretty busy in a very different way then school days at home are busy. We on the ship utilize that time to catch up on work, refresh our memories on everything that had been covered so long ago and was interrupted by our wonderful Spanish and Moroccan journeys, discuss adventures and catch up and of course sleep. We lost an hour last night after not doing so since Spain and let me tell you, I forgot how much it throws me off in the morning. I somehow managed to make it to Global Studies which is great!

Neptune Day was two days ago, I can’t believe how quickly time passes! Neptune Day is an old sailing tradition whereby a ship crosses the equator and has a party of sort. On the ship it means getting “fish guts”(I’m pretty sure it was blue pancake batter) poured on you, kissing a fish, jumping into the freezing cold pool and shaving your head. I did everything except the last stage, although quite a few people (including women!) did shave their head. My friends and I claimed lounge chairs early and were able to watch the festivities even after we were done. People laid out all day, but coming from Florida, it’s not really my thing so I laid out for an hour or two (I got some color though!) and then returned to my cabin for some studying. At night we had a real BBQ. In case you haven’t heard, the food on this ship is pretty horrible. I seem to not have a very advanced palette (lol) so I can sort of force myself to eat something, but when they said there would be actual hot dogs I’m pretty sure the whole boat jumped for joy! It was very yummy indeed.

I have a quiz today in Military Force which I feel prepared for, but we shall see. Yesterday, I turned in my first project for Digital Arts. I’m getting pretty good at Photoshop and I can’t wait to utilize it with my scrapbooks!

B4, A5, B5

2009-02-08T01:58:00.000-08:00

B4, A5, B5
Due to the lengthy nature of my last post, I have been a little behind on my daily ‘Sea Day’blogging. I also wanted to preface this post by saying that these posts are all written as if they were entries in my diary or journal. I am not checking for grammar, I am not even re-reading as I write, this is not a homework assignment. I want these posts to be au naturale :)

Ok, so back to the last couple of days. Everything has been very structured. We wake up, fill our water bottles, head to global studies, go to our classes, take naps, do our work, work out, have dinner, go to a seminar or two, go to the 7th deck for a little bit and then go to sleep. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sea Days. I get to catch up on my reading (I just finished Carl Hiassen’s Skinny Dip), chat with my friends and get actual hours of sleep.

Classes have been going well. I got that quiz back from Military Force that I had mentioned and I managed to get an A. So I was quite happy. Its really hard to gauge your workload and test load on this ship because unlike our home campuses everyone is on a different academic level. This is of course compounded by the fact that the ship is run through UVA. Anyway, I was quite happy with the successful quiz.

I have a digital arts portfolio due tomorrow: two funky Photoshop colleagues and 10 straight pictures from Spain and Morocco (5 each) with an accompanying journal entry. It was really hard to narrow all my pictures down, but I think I managed to capture my trip!

In two days we have Neptune Day! That is the day when we cross the equator. It is sort of like a huge color war. I’m very excited!!!

Ok, I’m off to class…

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

PS. Email me! I love getting emails from everyone from family to my old teenage scrapper subscribers to my new subscribers!!

Morocco

2009-02-07T09:23:00.000-08:00

Morocco
I think it is imperative to this recounting that I relay my expectations of Morocco before the trip in order to truly funnel this reflection. Before this trip I envisioned Morocco as a cross between Israel and Aladdin, a gorgeous Mediterranean feast for the eyes and ears. I envisioned bright colors from fashion magazines and ornate gold shoes and outfits. What I got was sort of a cross between the Arab Market in Israel, Beverly Hills in California and what I can only envision the slums of India to be like. At times, mostly snuggled up in my Riad, I could envision Aladdin and Abu swinging from the roof tops, but those glimpses were few and far between. But, let me explain…

February 2nd, 2009-Morocco/Casablanca/Marakkech/Riad Mur Akesh
We arrived a day late to our second port of call, Casablanca. As we turned the bend to dock they warned us over the PA system that we needed to ‘secure our personal belongings’, they weren’t joking. I pretty much laughed through the whole 10 minute ordeal as things went flying from side to side, off counters, into our sink, onto our floor and the like. Nothing broke, which made us one of the luckier cabins, as we were the exception to the rule.
From the moment Brenden, Julia, Brittany and I walked off the ship, we knew things would be different than Cadiz. For one, we were stationed in a VERY industrial port. We are talking cranes and big tanker ships. Not a luxury cruise in sight. There are two gates to get out to Casablanca about 1 ½ miles altogether. Normally, this would not be that big of deal, however there were a lot of very aggressive taxi cab drivers aching for our commission. We were warned ahead of time not to yield a taxi until you are out of the main gate, however, at the time it was very unclear how far ahead the main gate was. Reluctantly (and clenching our purses) we marched onwards and outwards. When we finally got through the main gate we headed to a local bank to exchange our money (1 dollar=8.4 dirhams). We were also told ahead of time that the train station (to get to Marrakech, our destination) was walkable, so we proceeded to ask everyone in sight for directions. Somehow we ended up going a VERY wrong way, and we ended up in a more peculiar neighborhood, to say the least. We then decided to relent and hire a taxi. We agreed on the price of 50 dirham (a little over 6 dollars) and were on our way. The driver was hilarious but also a little unnerving as he proceeded to offer Brendan cigarettes, Turkish coffee and also a turn at driving. It was one of the many Moroccan moments where the true gravity of the situation was too great to even process, but at the moment it was hilarious.
When we arrived at the train station our driver decided to clarify that it was in fact 50 dirhams each (for about a 10 minute ride), we were new to country, so although we knew we were getting ripped off, we didn’t realize by how much so we paid him begrudgingly. When we got into the station we heard accounts of people being asked to pay over 30 euros! Let’s just say from there forward we were careful to clarify the total amount.
1st class (125 dirham) was sold out, so we went for 2nd (84 dirhams) which did not guarantee you a seat for the 3 ½ hour ride. As we walked out to the terminal, I was ready to elbow my way into a seat (jk, sort of ). All four of us ended up getting a seat in an 8 person cart. I sat next to a woman named Fadoua. She was very friendly, a flight attendant, so she spoke some English. We made small talk for a while and she told us about her small town, even inviting us to come if we could (of course we couldn’t). She said that she felt that women were equal in Morocco (something, I didn’t really see). We watched the country side go by and made small talk for the duration of the travel.
Upon arrival in Marrakech we were greeted by a friendly man, Mohammed, the manager of our Riad. A Riad is an old converted house in Morocco which opens into a courtyard. If you ever find yourself in Morocco or somewhere else that offers these, make sure you book them! They are sort of a Moroccan Bed and Breakfast (more about the breakfast later). Since I had recommended the Riad to others on SAS, Mohammed had offered free transport from the train station for our party. When I saw the very modern looking mini-bus, I was elated. A short ride took us from the modern section of the city to the older medina. The transformation and dichotomy of modernity and antiquity was a constant theme of my Moroccan experience. As we followed Mohammed down an old alleyway with gorgeous oval arches, I once again pictured Aladdin jumping from windowsill to windowsill. The transition from the crowded Medina (think Arab corner in Jerusalem) to the peaceful oasis of our Riad was also breathtaking. Inside the ornate door was ‘a whole new world’. A large courtyard with a table and chairs. A beautiful fountain lining one wall all the way up to the sky (three stories). The other three walls contained open air hallways with more ornate doors leading to guest rooms. Our room, the suite (there were four of us), was at the very top of the Riad. On the same level was also a second patio. On the ground floor courtyard we were greeted by another man who served us home made mint tea and cookies. We took a ton of pictures and marveled at the fact that we were actually in Morocco, as it seemed so surreal. After taking in the sights of the riad we dropped our stuff off and asked for directions to the Souk (the bargainer’s market).
The four of us must of looked like quite a sight clenching our purses as we steadfastly walked through the throngs of people on the very busy street outside our Riad (who would have known so much noise could be occurring so close to our oasis). We passed (and got cut off by) motorcyclists, drivers, donkeys, horses and people. As we turned the corner we were confronted by a huge town square with hundreds of street performers. From snake charmers (seriously, with cobras!) demanding money in exchanges for pictures to henna artists the plaza was full. There were also men with monkeys bellowing for tourists to take their pictures (these both saddened me and freaked me out as the treatment of the monkeys left something to be desired). We immediately decided to stay together and walk into the alleys of the souk (again, think Arab market in Jerusalem). We each had different small souvenirs in mind. For me, I wanted a leather bag, a scarf and a small lantern. (Mom, you will LOVE the lantern, the glass is gorgeous). We walked stall to stall haggling, again getting cut off by donkeys and the like. The shop keepers spoke good English and were not nearly as aggressive as those in Israel. Some were slimy ( Brittany and I got offered a few hundred camels for our hands in marriage), but for the most part the bargaining was fun and fruitful. I got my bag (Ilana we can share!) for 200 dirhams (about 25 dollars), not bad for leather (and boy does it smell like leather!). It is an across the shoulders light brown bag with a beautiful embedded design with stud. I bought a scarf for 70 dirhams (about 8 dollars). It is blue and perfect for the cold weather that we were experiencing. Lastly, the lantern which I had the hardest time bargaining down. They seemed to want way too much money for them and although I really loved them, I couldn’t see spending 400 dirhams on them. After getting lost (we wanted to exit the Souk, which was quite hard, but eventually with the help of a Moroccan man and some dirham we made it out) I bargained a very pretty one down to 100 dirhams. Brittany bought 2 scarves, 2 bags, a lantern and some other misc. things. Julia bought a bag and Brenden bought a Berber flask (boys, go figure). It was altogether a great experience
Pleased with ourselves we headed to the main plaza to find some dinner. We ended up settling on a Moroccan restaurant 3 stories up from the plaza which offered gorgeous views of the chaos below. Brittany and I shared Chicken Tangrine. Upon cutting into it, I immediately realized that this chicken was probably alive earlier that day. It was stringy in texture and had a slightly different taste than what I am used to. A lively conversation ensued about how processed our meat in the United States is and the fact that we never really have fresh meat. The chicken was served with sweet potato and apricots and was quite good. However, I am pretty sure I can peg this meal as the reason that I couldn’t hold food down for the next two days (I am fine now and it didn’t really affect my trip, mom, so don’t worry!).
The meal was super yummy and he brought us orange slices with cinnamon for dessert. We ordered some mint tea as it was all of our favorite from earlier that day. As I sipped my tea and looked out at the chaos below it hit me that I was truly expiring a whole new culture. This ship and semester is just so amazing in its ability to put you in situations that you could never have imagined, such as what happened next.
As we strolled back through the plaza, Brenden remarked that he had always heard that they ate sheep’s head in Morocco. Playfully, we all dared him to eat it, if we could find some. A whole section of the plaza was dedicated to little food stations and stands. There were hundreds of stands with VERY aggressive people looking for your patronage. We finally found one which would let all of us sit. I could not believe it as Brenden at the nose of the poor sheep (dad, don’t read!), but when he moved on the brain, I’m pretty sure Julia and I wanted to run away. Brittany even tried a little brain, but I was way too scared.
It was getting dark as we walked around a little more. Some guy tried to pickpocket me (I didn’t have pockets-thank you money belt!) which freaked me out but thankfully nothing was lost. Brenden wanted to check out a DVD store along the plaza so we made that our final destination. Counterfeit DVDs are the norm, not the exception in Morocco. With our purchases in hand we decided to head back to the Riad. We walked quickly and cautiously through the chaos, smiling when we managed to locate the correct ally to our riad (they all looked the same). We unloaded our bags and headed back down stairs to discuss our day over more mint tea. The other SASers came back from their adventures and we all exchanged stories before heading to bed.
February 3rd 2009-Marrakech/
We woke up bright and early, but unfortunately the sky was not as bright as we headed down to breakfast. I knew breakfast was included based on my many conversations with Maria, the booking agent, however I did not know what exactly would be in store. A gorgeously made table on the ground floor was the perfect initiation to our meal. Mohammed outdid himself with homemade Orange Juice, Coffee and Tea. There was cheese and breakfast crepes. Homemade delectable treats abounded. I loved the crepes (of course carbs) and since this was really the first meal I wasn’t feeling up to eating I stuck to those and orange juice. Yum!
We said goodbye to Brenden, who was staying an extra night with the other SASers (we had dinner with a Moroccan family that night so we had to return to Casablanca) and departed for the botanical gardens. Finding a taxi was quite easy and this driver kept his word of a 20 dirham fare. He offered to stay at the gardens while we walked around for an extra 40 dirhams, but there seemed to be other taxis around, so we departed towards the grounds. The gardens were gorgeous despite the rain (I had my AEPHI anorak). The trail was paved in deep sepia, the plants green with pots in blues and yellows. Unfortunately, due to the ship, I can’t upload pictures, but take my word for it, they were gorgeous. Yves Saint Laurent donated a lot of money to the garden and thus her name was prominently displayed. The botanical gardens are just another example of the dichotomy of beauty and poverty in morocco. In the gift shop, Brittany bought a vintage photo and Julia bought a book on Moroccan decorating. I sat next to another fountain and daydreamed about the beauty that was surrounding me.
From the garden we headed to the train station where we were able to purchase 1st class train tickets. I was skeptical at first, but for only 5 dollars the idea of a marked seat convinced me. We sat with two other SASers, Amanda and Paige in a MUCH nicer cabin. Each of us had our own seat (rather than bench) and I was actually able to nap for much of the ride.
The big adventure came after the train ride, however. We hailed a cab close to the station and showed him a little pamphlet which was supposed to direct him to our part of the port. Either he hated us or was just confused, because he dropped us off in a VERY sketchy part of the port. There were throngs of port workers, all men, howling and cat calling us. This was another moment when the true gravity of the danger was too much to even process. We were probably 1-2 miles away from the right part of the port on a very industrial road with only men. Clutching our bags and envisioning the crushing sound of my lantern against an intruder as we walked straight faced through it all. Thank goodness we made it back to the right part of the port and back to the ship, because I can truly say that was one of the scariest experiences of my life. I am not sure if we were actually in danger but at the time it seemed overarching.
As Brittany and I made it to our room and said goodbye to Julia, all we could do was laugh at the bizarreness of what had just occurred. But there was a very bright side, we had made it! We were independent, we traveled in a VERY foreign country and remained unscathed, with all our belongings intact. Plus, we were about to embark on another great adventure for we had signed up for Dinner with a Moroccan Family.
I had no real idea as to what ‘Dinner with a Moroccan Family’would entail, except, obviously a meal. Before we arrived in Morocco, I purchased 4 postcards and a plastic cup from the school store for my Moroccan family. I thought we would be maybe traveling by bus to a village or something. Maybe we would be asked to help with the cooking. Instead, we were asked to make groups ranging from 2 people to 6. Brittany and I made a group with the Assistant Dean Luc and his family(wife Melinda, daughters Lily (9 months) and Abby (3 years old)). The group leader pointed out our family to us, a man and his wife, in their forties. Brittany and I walked with the man towards the paved part of the port. He clicked his keys and an E-class Mercedes was quickly illuminated, blue on blue. Pleasantly surprised, Brittany and I climbed in, myself in the front seat with Brittany in the back. Luc and his family went with his wife. The ride was certainly another adventure as he proceeded to show us each and every feature of the car, which he announced cost over 100,000 US dollars. He stopped a few times to show us a car dealership, a mosque and some other sites while showing off the horsepower of the car, at times down the middle of the road, quite literally. Laughing off our nerves Brittany and I once again made it unscathed at their apartment. Up the elevator we went, only to arrive at a gorgeous flat. It was decorated in a Moroccan fashion, red and gold, with a gorgeous dining room lined with cushions. Abby announced that she wanted to watch TV while Mel put Lily to sleep. Leila, our hostess, promptly brought out a counterfeit copy of Ice-Age, in English, announcing that counterfeit was the only way she could purchase it. We got to know our host and hostess while three housekeepers stayed in the kitchen to cook. Leila told us how after her first husband was killed in a car accident she had to move back in with her father, since he did not want a single women with two kids (who now go to engineering school in the states) to live alone. She talked a lot about the position of women, which I found fascinating since I have to write about it for my Military Force class. She discussed how when she first met Muhammad (our host) he was very direct in asking her out, even though that is not how things were done. They have now been married over 8 years!
Our family could not have been friendlier and it was very nice to spend quality time with Luc and his family. In the SAS promotional video, they recount how the relationship between professors and students is so different on the voyage because of the unique situations that it brings one into.
I asked Leila if she had any Coca-Cola Light (Jimmy-you would be proud!), she said she didn’t but would ‘send out for it’. I told her that was totally unnecessary, however, 30 minutes later, I was offered some. After such a rough experience by the port, this dinner rekindled my love of Morocco. From the gorgeous multi-course meal (more tangine, lamb with apricots and nuts, couscous, a gorgeous caramelized desert, Moroccan wine(very tart), and fried triangles with rice) to the commonalities between us, it was an amazing experience. They were Muslim, but recounted how religion should be private and seemed very progressive. Another family joined us with more SASers and as the group grew so did the fun and the laughter. Brittany befriend these two young boys and they discussed school and whatnot. I was sad when we had to leave and all of us (luc and his family, britt and I) went with Mohammed in his car. How Melanie did not have a melt down during the drive was pretty impressive as I held onto Abby in lieu of a seatbelt. Brittany and I returned home, tired and quickly went to sleep.
February 4th 2009 Casablanca
Our original plan had been to walk around Casablanca and maybe visit a mosque on our last day. However, after the port incident we were unsure of ourselves and without Brenden or a male we were even more nervous. We had heard that if SAS day trips don’t sell out, it is possible to hop on them last minute. Despite the fact that we each had about 200 dirhams left we decided to hop on the ‘Service Visit’to an orphanage and an American school. As we boarded the bus, we weren’t sure if we had made the right decision, but decided to go for it anyway. We sat behind The Thompson’s, the leaders of the trip and their three children. We quickly got to chatting with them as we drove along the Oceanside. It was very apparent as to why the ship had been so rocky when we saw huge waves upon huge waves. I have never seen anything like that! It was very windy, but from the view of our bus, it was unreal.
Our first stop was the George Washington Academy, the largest American school outside of the United States, they have campuses all over the world. We ate lunch in their cafeteria, I could only hold down a small pudding at that point, but I still enjoyed conversing with Moroccan students in their perfect English. Most of the individuals who attend GWA are middle class or wealthy and plan to attend university in the states. While this was interesting, the highlight was the next stop, the orphanage.

Just a few miles away sat the SOS Orphanage. It was created along with a slew of others across the globe after WWII. It is set up so that one ‘Mother’has 9 children. She also has a helper ‘Aunt’every so often. She gets a stipend with which to take care of the children and gets one day off a week. We didn’t get to meet any of the mothers but we saw quite a few children. They seemed immensely happy as we watched in on their dance class and singing class. Their smiles were invigorating. It was more of a tour then service visit and another highlight was an impromptu concert by a young boy with a drum. He seemed to love to pose for the camera and was also a smiler. The children did not speak English, rather they learned French and Arabic. I found this visit very enlightening as it was yet again another side of morocco.

I could feel the 250 dirhams aching in my money belt, unsure if they would be able to be used. Before we left, I donated 100 of them to the women in charge of the orphanage and hurried back to the bus. We still had an hour and half before we needed to be back at the ship and the bus was still in commission. Somehow Brittany and I managed to convince the Thompson’s to inquire with the driver and the rest of the bus about stopping at a Supermarket. Of course everyone on the bus was pretty excited about the opportunity to get some snacks for the ship and we were on our way. We ended up at a nice ‘Supermercado’, where we all stocked up on food for the next week. It was a great finish as I was able to get Diet Coke and other goodies and finish off my money.

We returned to boat in time to drop off our passport, unload our goodies and secure our items for some more rocking.

Morocco was an amazing adventure. It was truly a dichotomous trip from the beauty of the riad to the poverty of the Medina. I don’t know if I would go back so soon, but the experience is one I will always cherish and I know I am stronger and more cultured for it.

No Classes/No Morocco Day

2009-02-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

No Classes/No Morocco Day
Due to inclement weather we weren’t able to refuel until this morning so we are now enroute to Morocco. The weather is still pretty bad and the ship is rocking pretty hard. I made the mistake of waking up early for a seminar about bartering which was held in the union which is in the front of the ship and is the rockiest part of the boat. I ended up pretty sick from it so I went back to the cabin and slept for a while. Today is sort of a weird day because they are putting together last minute activities, such as open mike night tonight and lectures on Islam. The mood around the ship is one of confusion as they have not yet announced if the SAS trips will go through as planned. I only have ‘Dinner with a Moroccean Family’ which isn’t until Wednesday night so I’m fine. We are still going to go to Marakkesh, just for one night instead of two. The lady at the Riad was very accommodating and is not going to charge us for the first night. So I’m pretty set, but at the same time it is hard not to be disappointed at all.

I’ve had a pretty lazy day, its sort of hard to read with the movement so Brittany and I have done some woolite laundry in a futile attempt to get the smell of cigarettes off of our clothes (thank goodness for American no s5moking in public places laws).

This morning the sea was a grayish blue, very dark and stormy. Now the sun is out, but we are still rocking. The sea is a royal blue.

So now its about 7:20 my time and we are heading into the Casablanca harbor. They had to turn off the stabilizers so everything is flying, in a funny way. You look out and its all sea or all sky. Our beds are flying, with us on them. When they said this would be an experience they weren’t lying.

I am very excited to finally get to Morocco and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

No Classes

2009-02-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

No Classes

Wow, I seriously can't believe tomorrow we will be in Morocco. I am so excited! Today we bunkered (got fuel) in Gibraltar, which is actually a separate entity, a territory of Great Britain. Although we aren't allowed to deboard and explore we can still see the "rock" which is what it is famous for. Today we slept until 12. I finally feel semi caught up after not sleeping forever. I spent the day catching up on homework and basically regaining my traveling strength for Morocco. My hair still smells like cigarettes, even after so many showers, which is basically what Spain smelled like. Miguel wanted me to add in that it smelled like oranges (Spain, not my hair).

So I guess here are my questions for Morocco:

Will people speak ANY English? Will we get lost? Will the Riad be nice? Will we have enough time to see everything? Will I barter well? Will it be super cheap? Cheap at all? Will there be anti-Semitism (there was some in Spain, swastikas in train stations, etc, usually crossed out by the next passerbyer)? How crazy will the taxis be?

1 day till Morocco!

Elyssa

Espana

2009-01-31T12:31:00.000-08:00

Espana

Hola!!!

Espana es muy buen! I have never walked so much, traveled so much or seen so much in my entire life in such a short period of time. We managed to see Barcelona, Madrid and Cadiz in 4 days! So here’s my VERY long story:

Day 1 de Espana
We had a 2:55 flight out of Jerez de la Frontera, a small city 45 minutes by taxi from the ship. We were originally nervous about the timing because while we were supposed to dock at 8 am, they can never promise how long it will be until we deboard. We really wanted to take public transportation because of how expensive the taxis are and the Euro is. However, we weren’t exactly sure how far the train station would be from where we docked. We heard everything from a two minute walk to a 30 minute walk. The day before we left we had even gone to the IT guy to help us print a schedule of the train times, which was every half hour. We ended up being called last (they do it by seas-which are basically halls), but still deboarded at 9. It turned out that the train station was about a 20 minute walk. Which wasn’t bad at all, although we had all of our stuff (we each managed to pack only a regular jansport plus a camera whereas most people had these huge backpacking bags). The ticket to Jerez was only 3.85€ plus another Euro for a connecting bus. The train took 45 minutes and the bus only 30 minutes (with a half hour break in between to wait for the bus). After the train we had to stop at a bus station while we waited for our transfer. Brittany stared at the orange trees while I put the telephoto lens on my Nikon and snapped away at unsuspecting Spaniards. The bus was comfortable and we were basically the only ones on it. When we finally arrived at the airport it was around 12:45 which gave us plenty of time before our 2:55 flight.

Jerez has a very small airport, bigger than the Gainesville one, but still very tiny. Half of our flight was SASers so we had plenty of people to talk to for our two hour wait. We also headed into the Duty-Free store to buy Irena(my friend who we stayed with) a bottle of Vino (the wine here is cheaper then the water). The plane ride was only about an hour and a half. We sat next to these two boys who ended up staying with their friends in the same apartment complex as Irena-it is such a small world! We chatted the flight away before landing in Barcelona. That airport was huge! Brittany bought a cute Tous bracelet while I looked aimlessly at the shops. Again, we decided against a taxi in order to save some money and took the train then the metro for a true adventure. We bought what is called a T10 pass which means that you get 10 rides for 7.70€ (we ended up getting 2 for the whole trip), much better than a 40€ taxi into the city. We sat across from this man who had really frizzy curly hair and holes in his shirt. While I was convinced he was homeless, Brittany decided to talk to him. It turns out he was totally not homeless, instead he was returning from backpacking through Mexico and Arizona and actually lived in New York for some time. Crazy! He convinced us that we were not going to get mugged. (The night before we got to Spain SAS gave us this whole spheal which basically could be summed up to: You will get robbed, you may get molested, be careful; thankfully none of that happened) From the train he helped us get to the metro where we took two transfers to get to Irena’s. Tired, yet excited we finally managed to find Irena’s apartment while the sun started to set. We were all so excited to see each other and quickly dropped our bags and began catching up. Her apartment is nice and she along with 4 other roommates shares a main area, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a small balcony. The walls are paper thin so you can hear absolutely everything in the building, including our friends from the airplane upstairs. After a little bit we decided to explore her neighborhood, which is also very nice. We headed to a grocery store to pick up snacks and upon Irena’s recommendation we bought a bottle of 3€ wine. While I am not a drinker at all, I have to admit that it was delicious, mom you would have loved it! I have no idea what it was called and I’m sure it had like no alcohol in it, but still very yummy. We headed back to Irena’s for a little to put down our groceries and relax. We met he roommate, Mikal, and some of her neighbors, Jason, Willie and Eric. Irena told us that the Spanish food in Barcelona was not very good so we ended up at this really cool thai restaurant. I had pad thai which was delicious, we’ll see how it compares to Thailand. After that we headed back to Irena’s to chat more and get ready to go out. The bars and clubs don’t open till 1 am and people don’t really go out until 2-3. Somehow I managed to stay up before we headed out Otto Zues (Irena, us and her neighbors), which is the number 3 club according to ‘What to do in Barcelona.” There was no cover charge which was nice and the club itself was gorgeous. It felt a little like a Bat-Mitzvah since all of the music was in English and from 8th grade. LOL. There were a ton of SASers there which was fun, but it didn’t feel very “Spain”. We left after only a little over an hour which was fine by me since I was exhausted. Despite the fact that we had flown and traveled all day we did not go to sleep right away, rather stayed up and laughed some more. Brittany and I slept on two couches in the main room and while I slept like a baby until 10 am (6 hours of sleep), Brittany had trouble and ended up not really sleeping because our friends from the plane were quite loud.

Day 2 de Espana
We quickly showered and got ready for our first real day in Spain! Irena, Willie, Brittany and I headed out for breakfast, then touring. We had an authentic Spanish breakfast, café con leche y tostadas (Ari-if you’re reading this and my spelling is off-don’t judge me ☺) for 1.90€. It’s their verision of a breakfast special. It was SO good, the coffee here is amazing. From the café we walked a little while to the Sagrada Familia. It was absolutely amazing. It is actually still not finished, even after all these years. It is so huge, detailed and pretty much just fabulous. Near the Sagrada Familia was this gorgeous hospital, also designed by Gaudi. We took a million pictures before heading to one of our only taxi rides. Since there were four of us it wasn’t very expensive. We headed to the Parc Guell. This was my favorite site of the whole trip. It is otherwise known as the Gaudi Park and had all of these intricate mosaics and beautifully designed architecture. It is truly indescribable. It also houses the world’s longest bench (fun fact, lol). From the top of the hill you can see almost all of Barcelona, which seated from the bench is quite amazing. The architecture is very cave like is some places which gives it a very natural feel. The park also had very cool street vendors. I managed to bargain down a pretty Picasso scarf to 5€. Brittany had this cool three layer hand painted (by the man as you watch) glass picture of the Sagrada Familia made for only 3€. I took some amazing pictures of the man’s intricate work as he painted. On our way out we actually bumped into Courtney Levine from home which goes to show it is such a small world! We snapped some commemorative pictures and were on our way. From there we headed to the metro where we said a temporary good-bye to Irena who had to take a different train to her classes. Willie thus became our temporary tour guide and he was amazing! He knew so much about everything and most importantly, how to get there.

Spanish metros are clean, but are pretty intense. It is where most of the pick pocketing occurs. Before we docked in Spain Brittany and I bought locks for our backpacks and camera cases. Luckily none of our stuff got stolen as were viligent, but some other SASers have been telling us some yucky stories. Luckily we were with Willie (and at other times Irena) who led us to each transfer because Barcelona stations are all huge and have multiple transfers in each.

We got off at that Gaudi building with the REALLY cool balconies (dad-I think you have a shirt with it on it). I cannot remember the name for the life of me, but I promise to look it up later, which is funny because it is the one icon that I always think of when I think of Barcelona. Just another few steps brought us to another gorgeous Gaudi creation, another apartment building with a mosaic feel and a crazy roof. It was another favorite stop of mine as it looked like a house out of a fairy tale. In between the apartments was this tiny hole in the wall shop that we decided to stop in. It had really cool hand made jewelry and I bought my only real (substantial-not a postcard) souviner, a Gaudi inspired ring. It has a bunch of circles with colorful swirls inside. At 30% off (due to Rebajas-sort of like their after-thanksgiving sale, only it’s a month! And my wonderful bargaining skills (it was only supposed to be 20% off) it came to only 30€. Since its handmade and real silver I decided to go for it.

Exhausted, we trailed on, knowing that we only really had this day to sight see. Willie was also great because he loved my camera and thus was happy to take a ton of pictures with the two of us (Brittany and Me) in them. He also egged us on when we complained of the walking and was happy to looked aimlessly as we shopped(more window shopped for me). As we got more tired we became a comedy show of sorts.

From that street we took the metro to Muntanya de Montjuic, which is a mountain that overlooks the city. It was a cloudy day but we could still see well as we took at 6€ cable car up its side. The views were breath taking. We could see far and wide and enjoyed every second of it. At the top of the mountain there is a fort, which even has an old style mot that is now a garden. We took pictures with the cannons and looked around the museum. I am taking Military Force so seeing the Castell de Mont Juic and Museu Military were musts. Since we are constantly trying to conserve as much money as is possible we decided to walk down the mountain instead of shelling out another 6€. On our way down we saw this adorable little boy(maybe 4 years old) pushing this enormous stroller down the street. It looked like he was alone so we started chatting in Spanish (my rudimentary Spanish is coming back) and while I shot a few pictures of him his parents returned and we kept walking, pretending it had never happened. Let’s just say the walk, albeit gorgeous, added quite a level of exhaustion to the day.

From the Muntanya de Montjuic we walked all the way to the Museu Olimpic I de l’Esport, which is the Olymic Stadium from the ’92 games. Inside we saw(and of course took pictures) of the field and then sat down for a snack. I had café con leche, mi favorita! From there we headed to Museu Nacional D’art de Catalunya Palau Nacional. It is this absolutely fanatastic and huge old building (looks like a cathedral) where we saw the Jardins (gardens) and took more pictures. From there we walked (tired!) down the Av de la Reina Maria Cristina and to the metro. The metro took us to Las Rambles a massive paved mostly pedestrian street in the heart of Barcelona. This is another likely spot for pick pocketing so we kept our hands on our zippers and I kept my camera in its bag, while we used Brittany’s compact point and shot to document this adventure. The street was lined with shops (it also sort of reminded me of Ben Guirien in Israel) and vendors. There were also fantastical individuals in costumes who were looking for tourist to pay them for a picture. The oddest thing were these vendors who sold small animals from roosters to mice to bunnies and turtles. Brittany kept eyeing them, but alas no pets for us on the ship. We headed in and out of shops and eventually Brittany fell in love with and purchased a pretty leather jacket. Willie then took us to La Boquiera, a food market in the heart of Las Ramblas. He cautioned us against buying anything since it had been out so long (the sun was setting), but the smells and sights brought my attention to the fruit juice, which at 1€ seemed like a good deal. However, I took his advice and stayed clear of it. From there we headed back up (and I mean uphill) Las Ramblas toward El Corte de Ingles to meet Irena. We could barely move as we headed up to the top of the nine story department store (which reminded me of Harrods in London). The plan was to eat at the top but when Irena got there we all figured out that we didn’t like the menu so we left. I was totally exhausted at this point, but was constantly reminding myself that I was traveling the world with every step I took. We ended up going to this restaurant named “Istanbul” which had gyros. Even though I never like that kind of meat I managed to scarf mine down. It was SO yummy! From there we headed back to Irena’s for a siesta. I didn’t manage to fall asleep but I did recharge for a little bit.

I skyped with my parents and caught up on my bank account and email as well as updating my facebook. VERY exciting since we are internet deprived. I was very into the idea of going out earlier than 2 because we had a 9:30 flight to Madrid the next day. 2 hours later we were out to Chipitos. This very fun shot bar. Again, I am so not a drinker, but these were sugarery shots with fun names and activities that went along with them. I only did 2, one of which was called a Boy Scout where you roast a marshmallow literally on the bar after they light it on fire. Then you stick the marshmallow in the shot and drink it. Very cool. We met up with another friend there from UF, Katie Packer, which was also really fun. From there we headed out to Pippermint a fun, low key bar near Chipitos. The low was getting beer spilled on my new boots from home, but it all buffed out so it wasn’t that big of a deal. We got home at 3 and talked to 4 when I decided I need to nap. Brittany headed up with Irena and the neighbors to their apartment and I tried to take a quick nap before our flight, but to no avail. I ended up heading upstairs at like 5. We talked and laughed at how exhausted we were. At 6 we went back downstairs and packed. Her friend, Jason, also had to get to the airport so we went with him around 6:30. By the time we got off all our transfers to the airport we basically couldn’t walk with exhaustion. Somehow we managed to make it to our gate. Interestingly, Spaniards line up for their gate WAY early and will stand there, in a very very long line until they start letting people on. Very weird, there are assigned seats. Again, somehow we managed to make it to our plane.

Day 3-Madrid
We fell asleep before the plane took off and were very surprised when we landed, an hour later then we thought were supposed to. We asked the guy next to us what happened and he said we had been delayed an hour on the tarmac. Who knew?

Thankfully the two hour nap managed to wake us up because we had only 6 hours for Madrid. Again, we took public transport (the Madrid system is much easier with less transfers per station). We each got one day tourist tickets for 5.50€. We had all our stuff with us, which was our only downfall. We took it to Museo Del Prado where we met my friend, Adrianna Lopez. We had perfect timing and managed to walk up at exactly the same time. We checked our backpacks with the coat check but she wouldn’t take my camera case so I had to carry it through the museum. Brittany took pity on me and carried it for part of the time. The museum was amazing (although not as good as the Hermitage in Russia). We saw Las Meninas, The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Third of May, Saturno, and many other gems from Bosch, Goya and more. We had lunch at the museum where I ate my second authentic meal Tortilla de Patatas, so yummy! After a few hours at the museum we headed over to Parque de Madrid. Another long, but beautiful walk down the gorgeous old streets of Madrid. I will never forget that architecture.

The park was gorgeous, we sat on a bench by a lake and just talked. It was so gorgeous as we watched the street vendors and even the saw canoes and rowers on the lake. It was perfect. The weather was totally stunning. From there we headed to a tapas bar for croquettas. It was completely authentic as we were the only Americans there. While I loved Barcelona and all the Gaudi, Madrid seemed much more Spanish and authentic. We spent a lot of time just recharging at the tapas place before heading to the metro to say good bye to Adrianna and Madrid. We had only a afternoon there due to the schedule change with SAS, however despite the short amount of time we spent there and the exhaustion it was SO worth it. We took the metro to what we thought was the airport, but it turns out that T1-T3 was at that stop and T4 (where Iberia is) was a different stop. Our one day passes would not work because it thought we were trying to cheat the system so we had to explain to the women what had happened. Eventually, she understood us and we managed to get to T4. The airport was funky and very contemporary. It had an open space with clear floors and ramps. I have NEVER seen anything like it. The top ceiling was this wavy vaulted design with yellow trimming. It is impossible to explain. By this time we were back to exhaustion mode and were nodding in and out. We ended up chatting with this Egyptian man who was there for a tourism fair. It kept us entertained until they finally assigned us a gate (apparently in Madrid they only assign gates an hour before the flight). As Spainards lined up way too early, Brittany and I caught up on our adventures by looking through our pictures on my camera and reminiscing at what an AMAZING time we had. I am so thankful for this trip and to think that this is only the first of many. Brittany slept right through while I silently freaked out about the turbulence.

We arrived at Jerez too late to take public transportation, so we took our first real taxi home. 30€ later, we were back at the ship missing our adventure but yearning for our beds. It was almost 12 so we decided to set our alarms for 12 in the afternoon the next day, which gave us 5 hours in Cadiz and a chance to catch up after not sleeping for so long.

Day 4-Cadiz
With low expectations for Cadiz, we woke up and got ready to walk around. With no goal in mind we headed out. Little did we know what a treat we were in for. The city is old but has such a young spirit. Besides the fact that we were constantly bumping into SASers, the city felt very Spanish, despite the fact that the area right next to the port resembles Miami (due mostly to water and palm trees). We spent the afternoon wandering at a very slow pace, something we had not done much of on our travels. Finally we sat down for tapas and enjoyed some paella in this amazing plaza next to a huge cathedral. I was seriously paradise. The sun was out (we had heard from others that it had been cloudy and raining for the past few days. We chatted with other SASers at the table next to us and just enjoyed being in Spain. We tried to stop at a supermarket to get snacks for the ship, but it was siesta time so it was closed. We headed back through the winding stone paved roads to the ship.

Review
Spain was amazing. From seeing my home friends to seeing Gaudi. I am so impressed with the country and with my body for putting up with me (lol). I want to conclude this incredibly long post with answers to my questions:
Will we make it to our flight on time? Yes, with much time to spare!
How much of a language issue will there be, although I do have a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish (go Miami!)? Not really, Madrid was the only real language issue, especially the coat check women, but we made it.
Will we make it to Irenas without trouble? Yes, very easy!
How AMAZING will seeing Gaudi’s works be? It will blow your mind!
How easy will it be to stay on budget? Not too bad. I spent a little more money then I thought I would just due to Euro and how far we went, but nothing bad at all.
How awesome will the sight seeing and picture taking be? AMAZING.

Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.
Happy Sailing,
Elyssa!

PS. Tonight I have spent the night catching up with friends on their travels and writing this. It is supposed to get rocky, so I took motion sickness pills. They even told us to move anything that could get damaged if it fell off our counters. Tomorrow is Morocco Day, so I’m excited!

A4

2009-01-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

A4

Hasta manana en Espana! Me Gusta!!

Last night was the stormiest and rockiest it has been all voyage. The motion woke me up a few times, but I was able to go back to sleep pretty well. I woke up exhausted for Global Studies, but a little diet coke and the steadfast reminder that I was almost in spain woke me up in time for a refresher course about El Greco and Velasquez. In Digital Arts we worked on our first project which is a digital compulation of some photos altered and made to look very funky. I am getting a great sense of photoshop, even if the end project looks a little twisted. After that I headed to the computer lab and then off for a short nap before Brittany returned and woke me up. We walked around and hung out before dinner and before we knew it, it was the pre-port orientation.

Tomorrow we finally arrive in Spain. Tonight we had paella and Spanish food to prepare for our embarkation. We have been having pre-port orientations all night and tonight we had our ‘logistical’ orientation. We should be able to disembark by 9. At that time Brittany and I are running to the train station to leave for Jerez. Our flight is at 2:55 to Barcelona so we should have plenty of time. In Barcelona we will be staying with my friend Irena. I can’t wait to see her and experience Spain! On Friday we leave BarTHElona for Madrid, but only for a day. We are meeting my other friend Adrianna for some quick sight-seeing and hopefully seeing Museo Del Prado.

As we sail into our first port I am both excited and nervous. Will we make it to our flight on time? How much of a language issue will there be, although I do have a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish (go Miami!)? Will we make it to Irenas without trouble? How AMAZING will seeing Gaudi’s works be? How easy will it be to stay on budget? How awesome will the sight seeing and picture taking be?

Don't let that make you think I'm not totally psyched for what will come. I’m having a great time, we’re (me, Brittany, Lauren, Perri and Becca) all painting our nails in my room getting excited for the adventure ahead.

Until Next Time,
Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

A2, B3

2009-01-26T06:06:00.000-08:00

A2, B3
They told us on the first day that pretty soon we would not know what day or month it is, only whether it is an A day or a B day. As I sit here typing this, I am realizing that I do not know what day it is, but I still managed to the right class at the right time.

Its getting colder as we are moving closer and closer to Spain. The wind is also picking up a little bit and it is getting rockier. I haven’t really been sea sick since the first night, but when they told us it was supposed to get windy, I heeded their warning and took Dramamine so today’s movement isn’t getting to me. As I look out my window I can really see the waves, even out into the distance. Earlier the water was much greyer but now it seems to be a rich blue with almost a grey layer over it (hard to explain). The last couple of days we were going around 15 knots, but have recently sped up. It makes a major difference in how much the boat sways (faster=better).

The first day we bought this big map to put on our wall (it was only $5) to chart our progress. Day by day we mark our latitude and longitude, it is very cool to see our progress across the Atlantic!

Yesterday was an A day, so I had Global Studies and Digital Art. Both were great. Afterwards, we worked a little more on our Morocco trip. It looks like we picked a Riad (old converted house-like a B&B in the states). There are 5-6 of us for sure going plus others who are also looking into it (multiple groups!). I am kind of proud of myself for picking the hotel (plus thanks to my dad for looking up its legitimacy  since we don’t have full internet). Which reminds me: EMAIL ME  EBTanenbaum@semesteratsea.net I can only check it while at sea though. I would love to hear from you!

Last night Brittany and I planned to make it an early night as we are officially 5 hours ahead of Miami time, which means that we have had five 23 hour days. While it takes a toll on our bodies and minds, I’m pretty sure mine has just given up with trying to keep on a schedule. But, alas that never ended up happening because there are just so many distractions on this boat. We ended up heading up to Pub Night and didn’t go to sleep until 1ish, because we had some very funny visitors who knocked on our door as we were heading to sleep (hi Lindsey!). Each room comes with a hung picture which every semester its inhabitants write notes and tips to the new voyagers. From who were the best wait staff to secret parts of the ship and even our room, our painting held quite a bit of knowledge! However, going to sleep late at all is hard because we are constantly losing hours and to get up for breakfast before our 9:20 Global Studies class can prove daunting.

Today I had my first quiz in Foreign Policy, it was VERY specific, but I read so I think I did fine. I can’t believe we are going to be in Spain in 2 days!! Time just flies! I am very excited, yet also nervous about the adventure ahead. I can’t wait.

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

Days 5-6

2009-01-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

Days 5-6
Weather/Ocean Update: Gorgeous! The ocean is still calm, a little more gray(hi Hill!) then yesterday. We have slowed down to 14 knots which is also making the sea look calmer. The sky is full of these gorgeous long low clouds. Beautiful :)

Yesterday was a really great day, between getting used to the movement almost completely (its both getting smoother and I’m getting more used to it) and my Digital Art class. They have these really cool non-credit classes called Seminars where they have a professor or staff member talk about a subject. The night before last I convinced my friend Laura to come with me to a Digital Camera Seminar. We learned SO much, dad-you would have loved it! Between that seminar and my Digital Arts class I feel like I am getting so much better at photography. I have been practicing with all the settings.

So, back to yesterday. Last night after turning in our forms for our next ports (for our SAS trips), Brittany convinced us (Perry and I), to go to swing dancing. It was actually really fun. We did a basic ‘sentence’. They had a line of girls and boys and after every song we switched.

After that, we decided we had so much reading to do that we should probably call it an early night. However, the internet tends to be MUCH stronger outside the room then inside so we sat in the hallway. For those of you who don’t know, we only get 120 minutes of non-sas approved websites (those for research) the whole voyage. If we exceed that, it is 40 cents minute, not horrible but not so great. My whole life adults have told me that cell phones and the internet (particularly facebook as of late) are the demise of society because they take us out of the present. I never believed them, until this voyage. The absence of escape makes people really come out of their shells and conversations are our best form of entertainment on the ship. Soon after we went to the hallway we found ourselves immersed in conversation with others who had similar plans. We laughed as we decided that the lack of internet makes us all come out of our rooms, rather then look each other up on facebook all the time. Obviously, we ended up quite distracted but still got a lot of work done.

Today I had Global Studies, Military Force and Intro to Art. I am loving the military force class, the guy teaches at UCLA and is amazing. We talked about the Spanish-American War (since we’re going to Spain) and it all seemed to come alive. We actually will have our first quiz the day after tomorrow since there are so few school days. I am mastering working out on the elliptical while reading. LOL. I am also thoroughly enjoying my Intro to Art Class. The professor seems to really value art in the everyday world and is really focused on the beauty of the sea and what not.

Ok, enough for now!

Happy Sailing,
Elyssa

At Sea.

2009-01-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

This post was written over the course of 3 days. If it sounds choppy, I'm sorry, but I'm trying to keep it unedited and pretty stream of consciousness-esque!

Days 3-5 At Sea.

Wow, it seems like ages since I last posted. Days seem like weeks on this ship, in a good way! Since there is no TV or really much internet, all we have is each other. The long winded conversations over dinner are amazing times for us students as the topics just seem to flow, from what we are planning for Morocco (Marrakesh!) to our friends and family at home.

Yesterday I had my first Digital Arts class. It seems like it will be a really interesting. So far we have to make a self-portrait portfolio. I have added pictures of my family, sushi, my cards and even some funky designs. I have never taken a formal art class, despite my years of scrapbooking, rubberstamping, pottery etc… So I am both nervous and excited for what will come next!

After that I returned to my room for a 30 minute nap. Cat naps are a must on the ship as we are constantly loosing hours. I woke up when Brittany got back from her class and we headed down to the Field Office. The Field Office is a wonderful place because they are the people who help you plan independent trips. They are informed and can tell you how feasible or safe your plans are. We are planning a morocco trip and we were looking for some help and they certainly came through!

Then we headed to the lower dining room to have some dinner. The food on the ship is sort of touch and go. Some things are super yummy (they’ve had some great veggie medleys as well as some rice mixes), while others are just stale (the bread for PB&J).

Next, we headed upstairs to the wellness center to sign up for the gym. They put a new list out every night at 7pm and everyone is limited to a half hour shift. I signed up for the elliptical.

That night was also the activities fair, I signed up for an extended family (where one of the Lifelong Learners ‘adopts’ you) as well as some miscellaneous clubs.

We spent the night (or what you could call a night since 23 hour days mandate early bedtimes) playing catchphrase and laughing. The bonds on this ship are definitely tight.

The next day was my first B day. The ship runs on A and B days so we quickly loose sight of Mondays or Fridays, it’s kind of bizarre but also part of the charm.

On B days I have Global Studies, Intro to Art and Military Force. The Intro to Art guy is really fun, very Mr. Beverley in his tangential stories. The textbook seems interesting and I already have 40 pages due the next day we meet. Military Force seems pretty intense, but the teacher is great so I think I’ll like it.

Ok, I’ll write more later. This ship is seriously SO busy. As I write this I am staring at the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. One of my professors was telling us how the water really changes as we progress and it is SO true. The water right now is a rich blue and calm (for the first time the whole trip-actually). I am off to Shabbat Dinner (yep, they do those  ).

Ok, well before I managed to post this I went to the Shabbat Dinner. Kudos to SAS for making us Challah! There were at least 60 people in the room-pretty amazing. We lit Shabbat Lights and sang songs, it was pretty impressive! To think, we're half way across the Atlantic and celebrating shabbat!

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

Some Questions

2009-01-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

I'm going to write a more formal entry soon, but my dad forwarded me these questions, so I thought I would fill it out for all of you too!

How was your first Global Studies class?
Global Studies is very interesting. It is basically taught by this older man who looks Native American. It is inter-disciplinary and seems like it might even be kind of hard. The first lecture was very science based, but today's included pirates (study of the Caribbean).

What was the Shipboard Activities Fair about? The fair had all types of clubs you could sign up for. It was in the Union which is quite bumpy so it was an adventure. I signed up for Extended Family (where you get adopted by a Life Long Learner), to welcome foreign diplomats and interport students and also possibly some sort of Jewish faith group.

How's the weather? It was cold here today with the high around 60 and going down to 40 tonight!! (can you see this AOL emoticon?) The weather is also interesting. It tends to rain at night. Yesterday was kind of misty and yucky. But, today is gorgeous. My friend Laura(lauratravelstheworld.blogspot.com) and I are going to head upstairs after this email to read our Foreign Diplomacy books in the sun!

Ok, that's all for now. I promise to post more soon!

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa T

Day Two

2009-01-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Day Two(Tuesday, Jan 20, 2009)
Today has been quite a tiring one as we spent the greater half of it in mass lectures which basically could be summarized with two words “Be Smart”. Don’t Cheat. Don’t Over Drink. Don’t Do Stupid Things. Easy, right? Every time I got restless I just reminded myself that I was going around the world and then I seemed to be able to get past the repetition.

Yet today was also a monumental day as the United States of America inaugurated our 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama. We were warned ahead of time to stay off of our computers and the internet so that the ship could harness as much bandwich as possible to be able to capture the satellite. Britney and I (and a few new friends!) ran to the front of the union to make sure we were front row for the broadcast. It was such a memorable experience to sit in a room, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and view such an extraordinary event. It was quite emotional.

The rest of the day was spent in the aforementioned meetings learning the Do’s and Don’ts of the ship.

Tonight we are having one more meeting and then a celebration in the Union in honor of Obama.

I am having an amazing time so far. Everyone is really really nice and friendly!

Also, to answer a question:

The ship(not boat, boats can be on ships but ships can’t be on boats) rocks. I was a little unsteady before, but now I seem to be getting my sea legs.

Also starting tonight we lose an hour. During the whole trip we will have 23 23 hour days and two of the same day. Try keeping that straight!!

Happy Sailing,
Elyssa

Day One!

2009-01-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

Everything is wonderful!SO I guess today is Entry Number One. I am on this voyage with my friend Brittany. We flew in yesterday to Nassau and stayed in Atlantis. It was truly amazing. All the slides were so fun and well maintained. I have never seen anything like it. We went exploring, but decided it was probably best to have an early night because we knew we would have such a draining next day. The next day, we left the hotel around 9 and took a taxi with 2 other girls and one of their mom's. It turned out to be perfect because the line was so long that they headed to the back of it and we stayed with the bags. This way we didn't have to lug everything around. The mom was SO nice she brought us bottled water etc... Once we made it to the boat we went up to eat lunch. It was yummy (tacos). We headed out to the deck and ate with two other girls, Gaeyln and Lindsey. We explored the ship more and then headed out to Nassau because their were a lot of shops right outside. Don't worry, I didn't buy anything except two 6-packs of Diet Coke for the fridge. It was pretty exhausting walking around. We headed back to the ship around 2 and have been unpacking since. We are basically unpacked WITH ROOM!!!
This email thing is very easy. It's done through Microsoft Outlook. But, I cant send or receive pictures.
I am having a ball so far, everyone is so friendly.
Tonight we have muster stations and meetings. Tomorrow more meetings and one class. All my books arrived safety :)

Happy Sailing!
Elyssa

2 Sleeps!

2009-01-16T18:59:00.001-08:00

Its funny, I've been blogging for almost a year now via Confessions of a Teenage Scrapper. I've shared highs and lows on that blog from taking the LSAT to vacations to my projects and cards. Though I feel that I have shared a good part of my life, this blog somehow seems innately more mine. I want this blog to be truly reflective, while still maintaining its public nature. So hop on, subscribe(click on follow this blog on the right hand corner OR subscribe through google reader), and get ready to partake in this adventure with me.

Just 2 more sleeps until Nassau and 3 more til my Semester at Sea!

Sailing Away,
Elyssa T.

Less then a week!

2009-01-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

In less then a week I will be boarding the MV Explorer to circumnavigate the globe! I hope to blog here quite often in order to keep a running diary as well as chronicle my reflections and adventures.
Want to see pictures of the boat? Click here!