Kellys Semester at Sea

Japan!

2006-04-17T03:59:00.001-05:00

Japan April 11th-15th
My plans for Japan were left open, I had nothing set and was actually happy about it. I had bought a rail pass which would enable me to travel around the country by their "bullet trains" that make travel in Japan so easy. The first plan that the girls and I made was to go to Tokyo the first day we arrived in Kobe. Getting off the ship took a long time, and then we had to actually go get our rail passes, and find our way to the rail station.
We took the bullet train to Tokyo, which took almost 4 hours. We had nothing set in Tokyo, no hotel room or plans for anything. This was a little nerve racking for me. The girls found an internet café that would let you sleep there, you just pay to be on the internet all night. This was not the way I wanted to spend my time in Tokyo. We found our way to a part of Tokyo called Roppongi. This was supposed to be the "Mardi Gras" of Tokyo, so the girls thought it would be fun. We had our back packs on, walking around Tokyo. We found a bar and went in and got some drinks. Then we made our way to another bar, where we sat down, got some drinks and started playing cards. This is where the night turns crazy. While we were playing cards, two local girls started talking to us. We talked with these girls about what we were doing in Japan, about Semester at Sea and that we were from the US. The one girl, her name is Maria, she is 27 years old. She was extremely nice to us, and offered us some champagne that she was drinking. We felt weird just taking champagne from this girl, but she said it was fine and ordered more. We then found out the champagne we were drinking was 200 US dollars a bottle! And we had 2 bottles by then! She dissapeared for awhile and left us with her cousin. Her cousin is 31, married, and completely crazy!
When Maria got back we learned that she had just run to the ATM because she had to take out another 1,000 US dollars, because drinks were on her for the rest of the night! We loved the champagne we were drinking, so she wanted us to take a really good kind, so she bought a 400 dollar bottle! After a little more time at this bar dancing and drinking champagne, we went with Maria to another bar. It is a popular bar in Tokyo called GasPanic. It is funny because it is a bar that Jeff had told me about in an email I received later that night- and I had went there! At this bar the cousin started dancing on the counters, and made a bar tender mad, and Maria went off on the bar tender. We learned prior to this that Maria’s Dad is Japanese, and her Mom is Puerto Rican. Her Dad had a big company in Tokyo, and after attending NYU, Maria became the CFO of her fathers company. Earlier that day she had made him 10 million dollars, so she was out with her cousin to celebrate.
When Maria learned that we didn’t have a set place to sleep, she offered us to spend the night in her pent house, overlooking Tokyo Tower. We were all set to do it, but then one girl didn’t want to. So it was probably a good thing, because another girl (im not naming names!) got sick all over the internet café that we went back to. We were only at the internet café from 3am-6am, so staying there wasn’t bad. I talked to friends and wrote emails and then at 6am we left to go to the fish market. We got to the fish market and found out that it was a "normal holiday" and it was closed. We went and got breakfast, walked around Tokyo some more- saw the busiest street in the world and the Sony building- where all the latest Sony products are displayed, and then got on the bullet train to head to Hiroshima.
When we got to Hiroshima, after 6 hours on the bullet train, we were all tired and just wanted to sleep. We got hotel rooms, and had some dinner and then went to sleep early. The next morning we met and headed to see the A-Bomb dome, the peace memorial park and museum. The A bomb dome was so stunning. This is the only building left standing after the atomic bomb. They are keeping it preserved for a constant reminder of nuclear weapons. The peace park is beautiful. Lots of flowers, monuments- it was so quiet.
We then went into the museum- this had things left over from the people who went through it or objects found like watches that are stopped on the time that the bomb dropped, clothing all torn and burned, it even had pieces of human skin and nails from these people because the bomb made it just melt off(gross, I know- I had to look at it). When we were done with the museum, we walked to the Hiroshima Castle. This castle is where the city of Hiroshima got its name from. The cherry blossoms are in season, so viewing them here was beautiful. I love these types of trees now!
There is an island off of Hiroshima called Miyajima. We took the ferry over because we wanted to see this floating "arch" like object. It is actually implanted into the ground, and its weight is what keeps it standing. When the water is high it looks like it was floating. On this island there are wild deer. They are so nice and come right up to you and you can pet them. We explored the island, and then decided to take the ferry back to the local train, and then take the local train back to the bullet train station and head back to the ship in Kobe.
The next day we had free to do what we wanted, so we decided to go to Osaka, and go to Universal Studios. I didn’t really want to go, because I didn’t want to spend the 50 dollars and my day in Japan at a place that we have in the United States, but it was cool to go and compare them. Everything of course is in Japanese, so trying to understand what they are saying was interesting. They have some of the same rides as we do, like the back to the future ride, and Jaws. But the storylines are in Japanese, so it was fun to make up our own stories for what was going on!
After Universal, we went to a part of Kobe where they have a stadium for baseball games. Baseball is huge in Japan, so we had to see a game. It was so cold, so after an hour and a half Erin and I left, and the other girls stayed for the rest of the game. The next day we planned to go to Kyoto. I found out later on that only Erin and I were going, everyone else was spitting up into smaller groups and staying in Kobe.
Erin and I arrived in Kyoto in search of these famous arches that I saw in Memiors of a Geisha. We also wanted to see some geishas, and this was the place that has the last 2 traditional geisha schools. We found the arches, and they were beautiful. I felt like I was in the movie! Then we went in search of some geishas. Well we had a good time looking, but never found any. After a while we were ready to go back to Kobe, to spend some time seeing Kobe before getting on the ship and departing. We went into some stores in Kobe, and didn’t really find much that we liked. Unfortunately Japan was not the port for gifts! We got on the ship early evening, and had a few hours before we were set to sail. Japan was our last port, so everyone was out on the decks despite how cold it was. Maybe I forgot to mention the weather was cold in Japan. It was a nice change from all of the ports that were hot, but many times we were freezing, even with our big jackets because it rained the whole time we were here. But I had an amazing time in Japan, and was a little sad it was the last port.
As we sailed away everyone was out on the decks to say goodbye to Kobe, and to say goodbye to our foreign countries. It is so hard to believe now that our next stop is in the US. We are not getting off in Hawaii, but we are able to have cell phone service. Then we will be in San Diego. Now that we are at sea I feel like we are still heading to another foreign port. It seems so un real that we are heading home...But I am ready to face home, and see everyone that I love and miss so much! 12 Days left at sea!

Japan!

2006-04-17T03:59:00.000-05:00

China- Hong Kong and Beijing

2006-04-09T23:36:00.000-05:00

On April 4th we arrived in Hong Kong. We pulled into a beautiful port. The terminal was connected to a huge shopping mall, and when we walked off of the gangway, we walked through this glass see through tubular straight walkway! The first day I went with Erin, Katelyn, Elise and Enya to go explore around Hong Kong. We took the ferry over to Hong Kong island, and spent the entire day there. After the ferry, we took a bus-( a double decker bus!) to the other side of the island, where we found Stanley Market. This is where we were told to go for good Chinese things. I ended up buying not that much, but it was good to see all of the things they had, and walking around. We ate lunch there at the market, but at a french café! When we were done at the market we took the bus back to where we got on, and walked over to the base of Victoria Peak. This is a high mountain, that a tram(it looks like a street car) just takes you right up the side of the mountain! At some points you are on such a steep angle! Once to the top, the views of Hong Kong were amazing! You could see the city line of all of the skyscrapers, and the harbor.
We stayed on Victoria Peak for awhile, had dinner there so we could see the sun set, and then see the view at night. Which was even more amazing than during the day. All of the buildings are lit up. It looked just like any normal city, but it had its on Chinese influence on it.
I loved Hong Kong Island. If there was one place from all of the countries that I have been to, that I could live- I would pick Hong Kong. It was modern, and had touches of things we are used to, but it still had its traditional Chinese aspects of it. Which makes it so interesting for me.
The next day I was leaving for my trip to Beijing. I went on a trip with Semester at Sea, and I was staying at Peking University in Beijing. Going on a University trip gives you the opportunity to meet Chinese students, and form friendships. Except you have to stay in "Guest Houses" which are basically dorm rooms. The first day in Beijing we didn’t get to see much because we had a later flight in. We went to our hotel and checked in, and had a little bit of time before we had to go to our dinner. After dinner we went and met the Chinese students. I was with my 2 friends Becca and Rebecca, and we made friends with 3 Chinese girls. They walked us all around the campus that night, and then we went to a restaurant and had some drinks. We learned so much from them. China has a single child policy, so each of these girls were only children. It was amazing to learn about that, and witness it from these girls who were so envious of us because we had brothers. They all wish for older brothers, or for any siblings, but because of policy, they can not have any siblings, without their parents getting in trouble, and having to pay a lot of money.
The next day we went and saw the Ming Tombs. This is where all of the Emporers of the Ming Dynasty are buried (have big tombs and tons of monuments).Then we were off to the Great Wall. We were taken to the spot of the Great Wall that is the highest spot of the Wall. We climbed to the top, of these very steep stairs, and it was so amazing. I couldn’t believe where I was standing, what I was climbing on. Despite my knees, I knew I had to keep climbing. And when I was to the top I was so glad that I kept going. My knee is paying for it now, but I’m glad I did it. After the Great Wall we went back to our hotel and got ready for our dinner and party with the students. Again we were with the same 3 girls, and then after the party we were so tired that we had to say goodbye to them. They were so sad to say goodbye to us, and they had only just met us the night before. My girl, Jung Yi has already started emailing me. She wants to visit the US so maybe I will have a Chinese friend visiting soon!
The next day we spent visiting Tian’amen square. This is where many students were killed for protesting in the 70s. They were going against the Government, so they were all shot down and killed.
After visiting that, a few of us took the subway to go to the silk market. This place was amazing. They have all designer clothes and purses and products. As well as traditional Chinese things. After lunch we went to the Forbidden City. It was really interesting to see, but it all looked the same! And a lot of it was under construction, which I don’t like. They are restoring parts of it, which I think is awful. Why restore things? Why not keep them how they have been for years? The most beautiful parts of the Forbidden City were those that had not been restored. It was so cold on this day, and rainy, that by the time we were done at the Forbidden City, everyone was tired and ready to leave. We went out to dinner, and then to an acrobatic performance. The acrobatic performance was amazing. It was like Cirque de Sole shows.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel since we were leaving that day. We went to the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven. Both places were intersting, but so much was under renovation- it seemed like we were there at a bad time. But it was great to see them all. Then we went to the airport for our flight to Qindao.
While I was in Beijing, the ship sailed from Hong Kong to Qindao. So we only had to fly to Qindao. The next day I wanted to go shopping and find good things in Qindao. Suzanne and I set out to find such things, and realized this was our least favorite port. The actual place we were docked was all industrial, and long walks in the cold just to get a taxi. The language barrier was such a problem, we couldn’t just tell them to take us to a market. We ended up going to Walmart(yes in china!) and then walking around near there. No good markets or anything. We really didn’t like this city! After only being out for a few hours we decided we were done in this port, and went back to the ship and started arranging the room like we do after ever port. To make all of our things fit! We just hung around the ship, and got ready to say goodbye for China! Parts of China were my favorite port, while others were my least favorite! It was really a contrast.
The most crazy thing now is that I am sitting on the ship, and I get to Japan tomorrow! This is my last port! Then I have 2 weeks at sea, before arriving in San Diego. Its amazing to think that this trip has gone by so fast, but I am ready to go home to everyone and start sharing my stories with all of those who will listen!
I hope everyone is good, leave me some comments!!

Vietnam!

2006-04-09T23:34:00.000-05:00

The first day we arrived in Vietnam, I had nothing planned, and nothing to do. I was leaving the second day for Cambodia, so I really wanted to get the most out of the first day that I had there. I ended up going out with Erin, Katelyn and Elise. We took the SAS shuttle bus down to the drop off stop near the center of the city of Ho Chi Minh. Here is where we had our first encounter with crossing the street. This is unlike crossing the street in any other country! You basically just have to close your eyes, and start walking at a steady, semi-slow pace. The cars and the scooters just go around you. It is really weird how it works out. Once you start walking you cant stop. You see all of the cars going by you, and get really scared, but you have to keep walking. Some of these are really huge intersection crossings too. We managed to make out fine the whole day with it, despite a few close calls!
We immediately found some shops- and of course I had to start buying. They have fake polo shirts for 3 dollars, dvds for a dollar- new releases that haven’t even come out in the US, so many things to buy- this was going to be a bad port for me! We did break away from shopping after we found the big market, and went to the war remnants museum. It was really interesting to see their side on the Vietnam war, but it was really awful. The pictures they have were disgusting, and to have to learn about it from that side, was not the best thing. It really made you feel sick for being an American. But I have to keep telling myself that this was their perspective of the war, and of course they are going to portray us badly. We stayed long enough to see everything, and by that time we were ready to leave. We went back and shopped some more, had lunch at a Pho noodle restaurant (Pho is the popular noodles in Vietnam, and they are very good).
We ended up shopping the entire day. By the time we got back to the ship we had been out for a good 10 hours. We all got ready, and after dinner decided to go out to a bar. We ended up at this bar called 888. It was really weird. They brought us in and sat us at a table, and there was Vietnamese singers taking turns singing older popular American songs. It was fun, we had some drinks and then after a few hours were ready to go back to the ship. I had to leave in the morning for Cambodia.
My trip left in the morning for Cambodia, and we flew to Phenom Penh. We went to the Palace that the King of Cambodia lives at when he is in Cambodia. It was really interesting, and he was just there the day before, so all of the flags were raised to show that he was there. The also explained to us the different colors for each day of the week. Whenever the King is in the country, they wear certain colors for each day of the week. It was really beautiful there. Also while in Phenom Penh we went to the Genocide Museum, which is at an old high school, that while during the Khmer Rouge time, they turned into a prison. This place over 8,000 people were killed. They have the cells still set up and the same, have pictures of the people who were killed, some while they were alive, and some after they were killed. They also had some skulls of the people who were killed, as well as their clothes in a big case. This was not to long ago when this happened, so it was interesting to see the place because it was so recent in history. I really learned a lot because this was not something that they ever taught you about in high school. I really felt horrible, talking to my tour guide and her telling us about her experiences with the Khmer Rouge and her asking us what we knew about it, and almost all of us did not know anything about it.
Im not going to go into the story of my tour guide, I will save that for a conversation at home when those who want to know about it. Some people I feel don’t want to know about the horrible things that have happened, that we didn’t really hear anything about. But I’m sure there are some that would really like to learn about it. I also bought a really good book on it as well.
The following day we visited the Killing Fields. This is the place out in the country side that they took the people to, and just killed them. There are thousands of mass graves. These graves are marked with signs saying how many people are buried there, and sometimes what happened to them. The worst one that I saw said "mass graves of 100 victims, mostly women and children, mostly naked." Another one talked about the people buried there were without their heads. It was so disgusting. You never knew where you were walking because the entire field had bodies everywhere. There was a big temple that was filled with the victims skulls. I had mixed feelings about this. It was such a huge monument, just filled with their skulls on shelves for display. I felt like they should be buried, not on display for everyone to look at. Give these innocent people some peace finally. I will never get those images out of my mind.
Later that day we went to the Russian Market. This was another really good shopping place, and I bought probably one of my favorite things there. The most beautiful pillow cases that I have found. I got two, for only 3 dollars total. They are just decorative pillows, and are made from Cambodian silk. Even later that day we had our flight to Siem Riep. This is where Angkor Wat is, our main purpose for this trip. Once we got there, we went right to Angkor Wat and had a few hours to view it. I walked around, and ended up climbing up this very tall center part of the Angkor Wat. The stairs were really steep and it was really high, but I wanted to do it despite how scared I was. Although on the way down I did something horrible to my knee, and have been paying for it ever since. Angkor Wat was beautiful, and really interesting. Im glad I was able to see it. The next morning I woke up at 445am, so that I could go with a few others and our tour guides to see Angkor Wat at sunrise. Well, it would have been cool but it was so cloudy that there really wasn’t much of an effective sunrise! But I went, I tried!
Later that day we were able to see other parts around Angkor Wat, including the Elephant Terrace, and some other temples, one that was in a jungle- really amazing. We viewed these places all day before going to the airport to wait for our flight back to Vietnam.
On all of our flights they sit us in alphabetical order. So for all of our flights on this trip, I sat next to a guy named Mike. He is one of Grants friends. I met Grant in the Bahamas, and he was with me the whole time in Puerto Rico, and we became good friends. During the trip we drifted, but we still talk and all. Well Mike is one of Grants friends, and so having to sit together all the time, we would always talk. He is such a great guy, I made a really good friend in him. We decided to go out on the last day in Vietnam to do all of our last minute shopping.
The last day in Vietnam, I went out with Mike, and his friends Ryan and Quinn. They are all really fun people, so of course instead of taking the SAS shuttle bus, we hire the "taxis" that are motor bikes(like scooters) that are all over Vietnam, and really scary. I was so scared, especially because I was wearing a skirt!! So I got on the back of this scooter, and held onto my driver for my life! I had to sit sideways because of my skirt, so I was even more nervous. All of the drivers stayed together so I could always see Ryan and Mike in front of me. These drivers are crazy, and weave in and out of all the cars and people. When I got off I was so thankful to be done with that ride! But so happy that I experienced it! I later found out that one of the crew was in an accident on one of the scooters, where the other man in the accident passed away, and a girl on the ship was in an accident, and is walking around all bandaged up. My Mom is probably mad at me for doing it, but it was a great experience!
We walked around and shopping and had a great time in the morning. We ate lunch at a really good restaurant, and then Ryan and Quinn had to leave to go on a side trip with SAS for the afternoon. Quinn was a really nice girl who I got to talk a lot with during the morning and lunch. After they left it was just Mike and I shopping. We ended up buying a lot more dvds, and some other things, before meeting Grant. After getting Grant I helped him pick out some purses for his girlfriend, and bought a fake Fendi for myself! Even later we met back up with Ryan, and then all of us went and got our rail passes for Japan. (You have to buy them in any country, except Japan). I separated from them, and went to get myself a hard suitcase for all of the breakables I have bought. I ran into Erin, Katelyn and Elise and we took the shuttle back to the ship, went and had dinner, and then I did show and tell with the girls because they wanted to see all that I bought. After showing them all that I got, we came to the realization that Vietnam was amazing- it managed to take all of my money!!
It was a great time in Vietnam and Cambodia. Very interesting and I learned so much on this trip that I can’t wait to share with everyone.

Myanmar!

2006-03-21T23:53:00.000-05:00

Myanmar was one of the most controversial countries we were going to on this voyage. There were many discussions about why we were going there days leading up to our arrival. This was one country I knew nothing about, but I wanted to learn. This country is completely run by a military regime. The people have no rights, and this regime controls them completely. At any time they can tell them to leave their houses, and they will take their property away from them. It is really awful. In the early 90's a women(Ang Sung Su Chee- I can’t spell her name!!) was elected President of Myanmar(otherwise known as Burma), but the military didn’t like that she won by 80% vote, and that it would turn into a democracy. So they put her on house arrest and didn’t allow her to take over. She is still on house arrest now, and the people can’t even speak her name without getting in trouble by the military. We were told not to talk to them about politics at all, because when we were done talking to them a military person could come ask them what they were talking to us about, and if they were found talking about the military, they would be put in prison!
So coming into this country- I was scared of the military- not only for myself, but for the people as well. I guess I expected to see the military in control more, or expect to see the people not happy because who would be happy if they were being ruled against their will, and could have their whole life turned upside down just for living in Myanmar. BUT when I got there, I didn’t experience any of this. I saw military men, but I never really experienced them. I saw people, the most friendly and happy people of this entire voyage.
The first day I went to the city, Yangon. This was an hour from our ship, and the closest place near us. We had to take a shuttle bus down there, that ran at different times. I didn’t have much of plan, but since Heather and I were going to Inle Lake the next morning, we wanted to get some shopping and sightseeing out of the way. We exchanged our money- which is weird, because the official exchange rate is 6 chat to the US Dollar. But the unofficial exchange rate is 1200 chat to the US Dollar! They say don’t exchange on the unofficial rate, but EVERYONE does it, even those telling us not to exchange that way. So I exchanged on the unofficial rate, and ended up getting 105,000 chat! All for 100 US Dollars! We proceeded to Scotts Market- where the Burmese sell many different products, at really good prices. Their form of dress here is a skirt like thing, that men and women have to wear, the military enforces it. It is called a longi (pronounced long geeee) and they are beautiful. I ended up buying a few, because they are less than 5 US each- for a silk like material. Their sandals are so cheap- I bought each pair for under 2 dollars. They are nice material, and beaded, and really comfortable. I even got a beautiful silk dress made here. It is strapless and a light cream/yellow color. The other thing I got made was a strapless top that had a matching long skirt. They are really nice and I love them. Before we left the ship I found this place I really wanted to go to, its called the Na Gar glass factory. I told the girls I really wanted to stop there, so after Scotts market while we were waiting for our dressed to be made( and my 20 lb hand carved elephant to get finished) we went there. The place was amazing. It didn’t look like a factory at all, just sheds. Their storage for all the glass they make is outside, lining the walkways! The owner gave us a tour, and showed us how they made a few things..all by hand and by blowing out the glass. Then we were able to dig through the piles of glass, and if we found something we liked then we could give it to them where they would wash it off and it would instantly turn beautiful! I ended up getting a lot of stuff..all for 30US. I can’t want to figure out how to bring it all home without breaking! We got back to the ship that night and I went to sleep early since Heather and I had to leave at 6am for our trip to the lake.
We left for the lake early in the morning, with a bus full of students and adult passengers. Our first stop was in Yangon at the Swedagon Pagoda. This is a huge pagoda where they say all Buddhists are supposed to visit once during their lives. It was beautiful though. I found the day of the week I was born on, and went and watched the women and what they were doing. You are supposed to pour the water over the Buddha statue for the number of days for you were born, like if you were born on the 26 you pour the water 26 times. I looked up my brothers day as well, to take a picture for him, and found that he was born on a Thursday- the same as me! While I was there I also saw a novication ceremony- where the parents take the children who are about to go into monk or nun school- and the bring all the things they will need with them, and they dress the boys and girls up like the late prince and the walk around the pagoda. It was really interesting to watch.
Then we left for the airport! After an hour flight we got to Heho, the closest town to Inle Lake. From there we had to drive for an hour to the base of the lake, where all the boats leave from to take people to their hotel, or wherever they want to go to on the lake. We ate lunch at a hotel, before boarding out 5 person boats. These are small wooden boats, that have a tiny engine on the back. We went to a big pagoda that was floating(all of the things on the lake are on stilts and float), and then to a jumping cat monastery. The monks teach the cats(like little house cats) how to jump pretty high, through a tiny hoop! It was pretty neat. At the end of the day we were taken to our beautiful hotel. All of the rooms of the hotel were on stilts over the lake. There were 2 people to each little bungalow. Heather and I roomed together, and our bungalow was amazing. It was huge, had a porch we could sit on and overlooked the water, our beds had the mosquito netting around them, it was so nice. That night we had dinner at the hotel, and then went to sleep to prepare for our next day. The next day we left on the boats that took us to even more places on the lake. We saw ancient ruins that were from the 17th and 18th century, and were taken to the 5 day market, where most of the people buy all of their things they need to live on the lake, clothes, food, soap. All of the peoples boats just try to cram to the shore line and we ending up having to jump in and out of so many other boats just to be able to get out on the shore. It was fun though. To get to one place to another on the lake was about an hour ride each time in our boats. They were really cool. We had lunch at a floating restaurant, that was on stilts, and we were on the 2nd floor of the restaurant. The whole time you could feel the restaurant moving- it was really funny, but such an amazing view being up so high looking down onto the lake. We were then taken to a place that makes cigars and canoes. The women are in the front making as many cigars as they can in one day. They get paid for the number they made. They sold the cigars there- 50 cigars for 50 cents. I was going to buy some, but I would never smoke them- and they were a little weird.. The afternoon we had free time at the lake, where we just relaxed. Early evening we had a canoe ride. The canoes are what most people use on the lake because they can only afford them. They are small, only about 3 people can fit on one. The people at the lake paddle weirdly with their feet around a pole..So we got into a canoe, and a guy took us all around and it was amazing to see the lake area, in and out of small waterways surrounded by plants and grasses, passing by peoples raised huts, with the little kids yelling to us, but to see it from that level was completely different. They took us all the way back to our hotel, and we had an hour until dinner. After dinner Heather and I were exhausted, and went to sleep for our 530am wake up call the next morning. This morning we were going by boat back to a place to meet our bus. Where our bus was meeting us was by a place that the women who wear the hoops around their neck- to stretch them out- were placed by the government. They were taken from their homes, and forced to live here and be a tourist attraction. If you wanted to see them you had to pay 3 dollars- money that goes right to the government- not them. I had no interest in seeing this, I felt like the women were on display, like at a zoo, and felt sick that some of my fellow shipmates went and took their pictures. They lined the women up, and all the students started snapping away. How sick.
We went to the airport for our flight back to Yangon. We were taken back to Scotts market, and had an hour to shop there. Of course I ended up buying some more things- but oh well. I had to spend the last of my chat. We had lunch at the Traders Hotel- which was SAS ground the whole time in Myanmar. Then we were taken to a monastery and got to interact with the small children who were in training to be monks or nuns. They were learning English and wanted to practice with us. I spoke with many of the boys, and it was great. Then we headed back to the ship- and that was the last of my time in Myanmar, because on ship time was the next morning at 1130am. And with it taking an hour each way to get to the city, it wasn’t worth it to leave that day, and when I got back to the ship it was already 5pm, and I was exhausted.
Overall Myanmar was a great port. I loved it. The people were so nice, even though their situation is not that great. You didn’t see the amount of poverty, and beggars like there were in India. Yet, I feel their situation is worse than that of India. Who knows what is going to happen with the future of this country. As of right now it doesn’t look that great. I wish everyone could come to this country, but it is very hard to come from the US as they don’t want people going there. And I feel if people wait, the political situation will be so bad that people woulnd’t want to go there. I hope my brother gets to come here one day, because this seems like a place he would love. I am glad I got to experience this fascinating place when I did.
So now we are at sea, getting ready for Vietnam in 3 days! I am excited- Cambodia awaits me!

India..

2006-03-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

My adventure in India started 2 days before we even arrived. Sitting in global studies one morning, Dean Sapp came up to talk to us. We know that something is wrong if he comes to talk to us in Global Studies. He told us that there were terrorist attacks in Varanasi, and ISE at Pittsburgh were deciding if we were still going to be able to go to Varanasi. To those who never wanted to go there, it wasn’t a bid deal. But my trip in India was specifically going to Varanasi, as well as the Taj Mahal. The next day we were told that ALL travel to Varanasi by Semester at Sea participants was prohibited. The trips scheduled to go there(2 trips- 140 students/Faculty total) were being rescheduled to go somewhere else. I should have known right here this was a sign for how the rest of my trip in India was going to be!
We docked in India pretty early in the morning on March 9th. By the time the ship was cleared at around 1, I had to go on my trip with one of my Professors to learn about poverty and gender issues in India. It was interesting to learn about, and they took us to a very poor village in the middle of a huge city at the end of the trip. It was sad to see the way these people lived. It was a lot worse than in South Africa. They lived in mud hut like structures. The younger children were mostly naked or half naked running around. The village had mostly women in it when we were there- the husbands were probably out trying to work. They were very proud and such nice women. They wanted us to see their homes- like they don’t know there is something better than what they are living in out in the rest of the world. It was amazing. And none of them asked us for money- or anything. I saw the most beautiful children, in the most gruesome setting.
The next morning very early I left on my trip that was originally supposed to go to Varanasi. They changed it, so that we had the first 2 days in Delhi. Sightseeing and stuff. The 3rd day we were going to take a train to Agra, and see the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and the Forbidden City. Then the 4th day we were waking up early to get our flight back to Chennai, and have the afternoon free to go around the city before we leave that night.
When we arrived at the airport, I saw gender discrimination first hand. As we waited in line to get through security, we were wondering why it was taking the girls in front of us so long to get through the line. And then when I got to the front I realized what was going on. The male security guards were making all of the women wait, and if their was any men in line, they were allowed to cut in front of us and go through the line. Even the Indian women were allowed to cut in front of us, but they still had to wait until all of them men were through. Some men were in the way back of the line, and allowed to cut us. We sent our bags to be scanned, and then the women had to go through these curtains, to be searched by an Indian women. I had an ok experience in there, where others did not have such a great experience. They made us late for our flight by letting everyone cut in front of us, and put all the women in a really bad mood. We ran onto our flight about a minute before we were supposed to leave, and were off to Delhi.
When we arrived in Delhi we went to our busses there the took us to a more modern temple, that is in the shape of a lotus flower. We took off our shoes and were rushed inside. Then rushed back to the bus, and went directly to our hotel for lunch. We had lunch and checked into the hotel and then boarded the busses again for a bus tour of New Delhi. We visited many different places, like a War Memorial Monument, Humayuns Tomb(he was a big person in India years ago and when he died his wife built him a tomb replica of the Taj- except this was a women making this for a man, while the Taj was the other way around), and a very expensive store and then we went to a dance performance. Well our group was late for the dance performance, walked in halfway through and by the time we got situated, the dance was over and we were leaving to go back to the hotel. By the time we were allowed to eat dinner it was after 9pm. We hadn’t ate since 12pm so we were all starving. The day of driving was so boring, and after dinner everyone was ready for bed.
The 2nd day was another driving tour in the morning. This time we were seeing Old Delhi. We went to a huge temple which was beautiful, we also went to the big park that is now a Memorial for Mahatma Gandhi, it is actually where he was cremated- and then the put us in these bicycle peddled rickshaws, and drove us around in the most scary part of town! But this was to give us a feel of what the town was like and not seeing it from a bus, it was great! Especially when an Elephant walked right up to me!!! I love elephants, and this was amazing! I could have touched it if I wanted to! Again, after all of that they took us to another expensive store, and then back to the hotel for lunch, and an afternoon free to do what we wanted to. A few girls and I decided to get a taxi through the hotel, figuring that was a good idea, safe, the driver would k now where we wanted to go, would speak English and we would have a good time. Well when we first saw a hotel person talking to our driver explaining where to go, we knew we were going to have a problem. Our driver did not know where we wanted to go, and we drove for an hour before he finally called the hotel and we spoke to someone at the hotel on the phone, telling them to tell our driver where we wanted to go again- since he didn’t speak ANY English! We finally got to this underground market, that wasn’t where we wanted to go, but by this point it was getting late so we just went there. We had a good time buying lots of stuff, and getting the prices down. I found the material I was picturing of having for my Sari(a traditional Indian women outfit- they wear them all over). We went back to the hotel and still had a few hours to relax before dinner. After dinner it was right to bed, because we had to wake up at 4am to go to the Taj Mahal.
Many people didn’t wake up on time, and we were a little late leaving the hotel due to people having to be called to wake them up. But we finally got off and went to the train station. Our train left at around 6am, and when we finally got to Agra we went on our busses and were told news that just added on to our trip. We had already had 2 very boring days in Delhi, that we had due to the cancellation of going to Varanasi. Then the tour guides came on our busses and told us that the Taj Mahal was going to be closing at 2pm, for a private viewing by someone very important. So that meant we could no longer view the Taj Mahal at sunset, and instead had to go in the morning. We visited the Red Fort first. This is the place where the man who built the Taj was imprisoned by his son. His son didn’t want him to keep spending money building all these huge structures, and for other reasons, his son locked him in the Red Fort, but he was allowed a room that overlooked the Taj Mahal, so he could watch the construction. So from the Red Fort you are SUPPOSED to have a great view of the Taj Mahal , which is just over a river. BUT of course, since our groups had such great luck- it was so cloudy that we could barely see in front of us. So we could not see that Taj Mahal, at all. When we left there we went to the Taj Mahal. When we first got there it was still very cloudy. We were all upset, and we only were allowed to have an hour and a half there. When originally we were supposed to have over 2 hours. Finally after being there for awhile, the sun started to come out, and the pictures of the Taj we were taking turned nicer. The Taj Mahal was beautiful. Perfectly symmetrical all around, but when you walk up to it, it is so huge that you can’t tell. It is made from white marble, and simply breathtaking. Again, I had a moment that I had to stop and look around and realize where I as. At the Taj Mahal. Wow.
When we left there, we went to a hotel for lunch, and then drove over and hour to the Forbidden City. This is an ancient city, made from Red Sandstone. It was cool, but after seeing the Taj, we were not that excited about it. We then headed back to Agra, and had extra time so they made us go to more of these expensive stores, while the other group with us got to go to an inexpensive market. We all met up at Pizza hut for dinner(all 140 of us). The pizza was not good, and many people felt sick after it. We then headed to the train station where we boarded our evening train back to Delhi. I sat with my new friends that I made on this trip, Katelyn and Erin, and we played cards for the whole ride back. Back at the hotel around 11pm, we had to pay any bills we charged to the room. My roommate Laura and I went to sleep by 12 that night, and then we all had to wake up at 7am, for breakfast and checking out of the room. We were supposed to leave the hotel at 830 to get to the airport. After breakfast and while we were checking out, we learned that our flight had been delayed. Great...So we didn’t leave the hotel until 930am, and when we got to the airport had to wait around for an hour, and then we finally got on the plane. Once on the plane they told us we were going to leave very soon. Well very soon in India must mean a real damn long time! Because we boarded the plane at 1130, and didn’t leave until well after 1. We were supposed to be back in Chennai at 1! We realized this was going to cut our time very short back in Chennai. When we finally got back to Chennai it was around 4pm. My group told our driver if he got us their first he would get a big tip So he floored it! We didn’t want to be one of the last busses when there was 140 students that had to get bags searched and all to get back on the ship, it would take us forever. Well we got back first, and our bus driver probably got over 4000 rupees!(about 100 us!) My friends and I ran onto the ship and put our stuff down, and ran off. Suzanne decided to not to come with us, and she was very far back in the line. But Dawn, one of the professors wives, who I sat with one the plane, saw us leaving and decided to come along with us. We got into a rickshaw(very scary- just like the traffic) I can’t even describe a rickshaw..its very small little automobile thing that 4 people can cram in them but uncomfortable.
We went to Spencer’s Market, where I had to spend around 4000 rupees, in an hour that we had to shop before we had to go back to the ship. We were already pushing it by being out really late. I did manage to spend my money, (not that hard for me, especially with all the beautiful things in India). Then we took our rickshaw back to the ship.. in the dark..which we were not really supposed to do. It is very dangerous. We made it back, and got on the ship by around 730. An hour and a half before on ship time. When I got back Suzanne and I started showing each other everything we bought. Then she went to put her pictures on her computer from her camera, and I wanted to do that as well. So I started looking and couldn’t find my camera. I started freaking out, and thought I was going to pass out. It was not in our room. I knew that I had it when I left the airport, and couldn’t figure out where it was. I never let my eyes off of my camera, im very good about holding onto it. So I ran up to the Pursars desk and she saw how I looked and asked me what was wrong. I asked if anyone turned in a camera and she said no. I started tearing, and she looked in a drawer and said well hold on, describe it. So I told her about the bag it was in, tears down my face, and I thought I was really going to pass out. She told me to relax, that she had my camera. Apparently, when Tina(the main security guard) was searching my bag before I got on the ship, she knocked out my camera and I didn’t know, and she didn’t put it back in my bag! I didn’t realize it was gone since I was in such a rush to go out shopping. Luckily it was knocked out there, and Tina had a security guard turn it in. I was so relieved! But that just topped my trip!
We did find out we are getting back 225 dollars from my trip for missing Varanasi. For all that went wrong we should get even more back, but oh well! I saw the Taj Mahal and it was beautiful, and that was my main thing in India next to Varanasi. I guess I will just have to come back with my mom in the future!
It really is a great place, and I hope this writing seems like I had a terrible time, because I didn’t. I really liked India, and its people. They are very nice, very welcoming and wonderful people!
Many have asked me about the level of poverty in India, and if all I saw was beggars. There are times when you are sitting in your bus, or your taxi, and small children will come up to you and beg for money. One day while in a taxi a girl came up to my friends window, stuck her hand inside and said "please money, no food, no eat, no papa, no papa." We were told not to give to the children who begged, it only promotes more begging, and once you give, you will be swamped with people who want money. Most of the kids are forced to beg by their fathers, who will then snatch the money from them and go buy alcohol, or prostitutes. It was really sad to see all of these people. In the Agra train station we had many instances of people coming up to us, they ranged from small children, to older adults. Its really sickening to see the mothers holding their small babies, and even the babies know how to beg. They stick out their little hand, and as much as you want to help you can’t. It just made me want to go and take so many of the kids home with me. Or get them off the streets somehow. It was a big part of my trip that I didn’t mention above, but there is no way to not mention this poverty issue in India, because it is everywhere. No matter where you go there are poor people asking for money. It has been said a million times since before we got to India by many faculty, and people on the ship- As much as India has its ugly parts, it has its beautiful parts, for everything you can say about India, you can say the opposite and that is true.
What a life changing experience here. And I’ll leave it at that.

SEA Olympics!

2006-03-05T22:50:00.001-05:00

Sea Olympics- March 4th
Today we had the Sea Olympics. Here’s just an idea of what they are, and how today went.
So the day started out with a fake torch being run through out the ship...Each sea then had to have a spirit competition where we are all dressed in our sea colors(each sea is a different color- we, the Bering sea, were black). So we had this whole elaborate routine in the beginning.. Suzanne taught girls to step, so we walked in to girls stepping (stomping) and we were all behind them. We did some chants we have been working on, and a funny dance. Each sea had to have some sort of chant and opening thing.(We won that and it was worth a lot of points so we got 9 points for getting first) So after that it moved into different events. They had synchronized swimming in our tiny pool, a funny relay race- with crab walking, wheelbarrow, egg on a spoon thing...other events included passing an orange around 6 people using only your neck and body- no hands(we won first in that) and then putting an orange in the bottom of one leg of a women’s stocking and then tying the other leg around your waist and having to sort of thrust your hips to hit another orange that’s on the ground.. funny stuff.. We had a board game re-mix, so you had to play 3 different board games and whoever had the highest score won.. You only got points for places 1-3, 5 points for first place, 3 for 2nd place and 1 for 3rd place. If y you didn’t get in the top 3 you just didn’t get any points. Other events were tug of war, limbo, wet clothes relay,h2o drop, big hair(who could make a member on their teams hair the highest-highest hair won)and random fun events. Nothing mind teasing or anything just all team events. Each team had to have an equal number of boys and girls competing in each event, and each event ran from 2-8 people per team. We won first in many events, and by lunch time we were the winners by 3 points. The afternoon we didn’t do to well..and at dinner we were tied for 2nd place with 3 other teams. We struggled with some events in the afternoon/evening. They did have a BBQ outside for us which was really nice because the food is better. So it all came down to limbo, and the final event which was a lip sync/Karaoke contest. We had been practicing for a week, and we had a really fun music selection for our lip sync. The "voice"(the asst.dean Tom) comes on to make announcements everyday at 12 and 5pm, and he often says really funny things..SO we got him to help us and we made a recording, so it was him and he would say something funny (that he has said in the past) and then it would lead into a song that went with what he said. And we had dancers for each song and it was just great. But before that was limbo..we have this one guy who is very flexible and him and another girl in our team were in the top 3 people. Then we did out lip sync, and at the end of that I think we came in 3rd. Then it was time for the overall score.. But before I tell you, I just have to say that this day was extremely fun, and we are all so tired from yelling our chants ALL DAY LONG. Even in the packed union, everyone came in and was screaming over each other to be heard. We are all probably going to wake up tomorrow and not have any voices..but it was worth it. Just to remind you, first place is the first group of students(sea/floor whatever you want to call it) to get off the ship in San Diego! Which many people cant wait for, not that I don’t want this over, but I don’t want to be sitting on the ship docked in San Diego! And 2nd place is 2nd off the ship, and so on down the line all the way to the last sea that placed, and they are last off the ship. Its just a fun/fair way to figure out how they are getting all of the students off the ship in San Diego! So the scores were so close after limbo and the evening events.. it could go anyway.. We were all really nervous because a lot of the lip sync acts were soo good. We were in competition with the Baltic Sea and the Caribbean Sea all afternoon and we were really nervous when they started call out the orders of the winners from bottom to top. They called our Grant and Karins sea first- they were in dead last! Then they kept going up..They didn’t call our name at all and then they said that they were at the last 2.. it was between us and the Caribbean sea..They kept debating how they were going to tell us, tell us 2rd place or tell us first place...and finally they said who got first place...
AND IT WAS US!!!!! BERING SEA WON THE SEA OLYMPICS!!! WE ARE FIRST OFF THE SHIP IN SAN DIEGO!!!!
We were all so excited, we couldn’t stand it. We all jumped up and were shouting even louder than we had been all day.. Our RD- Nikki, was so into the sea olympics from the beginning and if it wasn’t for her we would not have won! She was so upset all day when we were getting jiped out of winning things, and she was so nervous before we found out we won, and then when we won she was soo happy- she almost fainted! That’s how big of a competition this is! Its all for bragging rights and to get off the ship early in San Diego!
It was a great day and the Bering Bandits(our team name) are so happy!!!

Mauritius!

2006-03-05T22:50:00.000-05:00

Mauritius Feb 27th- March 1st
Mauritius we had different views on before going. We knew it was going to be just like a little vacation island. Supposedly it’s the Europeans Hawaii. Well this little island is so diverse. It is a mix of French, Africa, and Indian. What a combo. The people speak french, but there are mostly Indians there. The history of this island is amazing, and if anyone ever wants to learn about it I’ll be glad to tell them, but I don’t want to bore all the others reading the blog.! We had no plans for Mauritius, but we had a great time!
Day 1: Monday, we decided to set off and find a hotel for the night. We heard that Grand Baie was a nice place, so we got in a taxi and went there. Our taxi driver took us around to many hotels, but they were all booked. Finally the last one he knew of, which was a little past Grand Baie, had 2 rooms for the 5 of us. It was so nice. Right across the street from the beach. The hotel was amazing in itself. It just was the epitome of tropical paradise hotel. 4 of us were scheduled to go on a tour to an SOS children’s village, but after going to the hotel didn’t want to go back and go to the village! We had to go back and get our stuff anyway though, and to get Steph, who was still back near the ship in Port Louis. We left Karin in her room at the hotel and Suzanne, Heather and I went back to the ship where Heather and I sold our children’s village tickets(I had been to one in South Africa) and Suzanne and Step went on the trip. Heather and I got our stuff, and then got a taxi to our hotel. We shared a taxi with Padda, the videographer for the trip who was going somewhere on our way. After dropping off Padda, and on the way to our hotel we decided to stop a liquor store. Our taxi driver waited as we went inside. I had just finished paying for my things while Heather was paying for hers and this guy was yelling and the store people started yelling and chasing after him..we weren’t sure what was going on until we saw him with a handcuff on one hand, and him throwing one of the ladies that worked there into the glass doors. They started shutting us in the store, were not sure why, I guess to keep him out because Heather swore she saw him with a gun. A lady there called the police, and many people chased after him, including our taxi driver! We were really scared and just wanted to get out so we quickly paid after they all calmed down a little and ran to the car. We sat there for a little and then our driver came back and took us to the hotel! Whew! At our hotel we layed out by the pool and had some drinks. Then that night when Suzanne and Step came back we all went to dinner at the hotel which was included with our price. We all stayed up that night having a good time in Suzanne Step and Karins room.
Day 2: Tuesday. We all woke up early because we wanted to get breakfast at the hotel(again included) and then go spend time at the beach across the street. This beach looked like a scene out of a movie. It was gorgeous! We layed there for a few hours, and then went back to the hotel to the pool. We checked out by 12, and got a taxi to the botanical gardens. Here we walked around to find what I wanted to see, the giant lily pads! I got great picture of beautiful flowers and lily pads. Then we went back to the ship, dropped off our stuff and went to Port Louis waterfront(we have to take water taxi to get to the waterfront/town area-because it’s a far walk/drive from the ship, but only 3 min on watertaxi- which is a beat up boat!) We got some food, and then went to the big market they had. We bought a few things and that night Heather Suzanne and I went out to dinner. The dinner was not good- and we didn’t each much!
Day 3: Our last day. All the girls went on a catamaran snorkeling trip except Suzanne and I. We spent the day trying to find internet- shopping, getting last minute things and groceries. By 6 we had gone through all of our Mauritian rupees, and were back on the ship. Everyone got back on the ship on time, and we were able to leave Port Louis, Mauritius early at 1030pm. We waved goodbye to Mauritius and got ready for the sailing to India!

SOUTH AFRICA!

2006-03-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

South Africa- February 14th- February 20th
The night before South Africa we had our logistical preport. They showed us many pictures from the locals of South Africa that we have on our ship(My psychology Professor Chiowza Bandawe, and Dr. Alan Morris(an Anthropology prof) and his wife Liz). They each also had time to talk and got everyone really excited for South Africa. We were pulling into Cape Town, which has a nice Waterfront area, where we would be docked. They told us that everything would be right on the pier within walking distance to the ship. Restaurants, shopping, grocery stores. They also said that where we were pulling in you would get an amazing view of table mountain. Table mountain we saw a picture of, looks just like a table on the top, flat across!
Past voyagers have past on the great advice that if you were going to sleep through the sun rises coming into every port, ok, but DO NOT MISS the sunrise pulling into Cape Town. Our locals on the ship also told us not to miss the sunrise. So the next morning at 6am I went up to the 7th deck in the front and watched the sun rise with about 50-100 other students/staff/faculty. We had gotten into South Africa early, so we were going really slow waiting until 7am when the pilot boat could come out and bring us in. The sun finally rose at 625am and it was amazing! The clouds were in front of table mountain with the sun shining through- it was just great! It was another one of those times that I wish I could just put the moment in a bottle and relive it with all my family and friends whenever I wanted to.
We had problems getting of the ship in the morning.. Due to fog in the harbor we weren’t allowed to come in, so we had to anchor out in the harbor. Well his process went from 7am until 130pm when we finally got out! So our great morning in Cape Town was shut out! I had a township tour at 2pm, so I got off the ship to go right to that. This was to a township called Langa. We saw some local shop places where women and men work and sell their items, but it seemed so much like a tourist trap to me. We finally got to the township and walked around with out tour guide. We saw many children. They lined the streets and would come up to us and hug us, and want their picture taken. We would take the picture and show it to them- they love it. We were told not to give anything out to them because it would promote begging for future tours. We were also told not to take pictures of adults unless you ask permission. I thought this was a good idea and people should respect it. I felt so out of place in this township, and the rest that I went too along the whole time in South Africa. These people are living in poverty and im walking around with my 400 dollar camera taking pictures of it. I felt like the people there would have shame about their houses, but they don’t. They want you to see the way they live. So after that township, which was considerably nicer than others I saw, we went back to the ship and Karin, Steph, Heather and I went out to dinner at a pizza place. We were so excited to have normal food again! The pizza was so good too! And it was cheap, each of us got out own smaller pizza, and a beer, and total with tax and tip and everything it was only around 9 US dollars a person.
Day 2: I had originally planned on going to Operation Hunger with Semester at Sea. This is an organization that feeds children and weighs them to find the under nourished children and give them additional help. It was going into another township though, and I had another tour like that the following day. So I sold my ticket because there were many people that wanted to go, because my friend Nathan was going to a children’s village he found on his own, and his friends all backed out. So when he came to me that night, he went and sold me Operation Hunger ticket so that I could go with him. We went to this children’s village where Nathan brought school supplies and stuff for them. We spent time handing out the school supplies to each house that is on this villages property. Its an SOS Children’s Village, which is an world wide organization. They have 15 houses and 8-10 children live in each house with a house mother. It was fun when we finally got to play with the kids. There were some that stayed by my side all day. Some children had fetal alcohol syndrome, others had Aids. They are there because there families abandoned them, or were bad to them, and they were removed. Once they go into this place they will never leave until they are adults. They make them form a family together and raise them like brothers and sisters. That night when I got back to the ship(after a hard time getting back because my great "friend" Nathan decided to stay at the village with another girl we went with, and made the taxi fare only be split between me and 1 other girl. When it was Nathan who made the arrangements with the taxi driver to come all the way out and pick us up. Stupid for it to upset me, but it did when I had to pay for a huge taxi bill and Nathan got a ride back to the ship free later on!
So I came back to the ship and the girls and I went out to dinner on Long St. After dinner we went to a popular bar on Long St. Called Cool Runnings. We had a few drinks and I spent a lot of time talking to a guy named Darren who is originally from Germany, but lives in Johannesburg, and travels to Cape Town while working. Heather and I talked with him a lot trying to find out stuff about South Africa. Finally all of the girls left the bar around 1230, and squeezed into a tiny taxi back to the ship. Suzanne had to leave early for her Safari trip.
Day 3: Today, Karin and I went on another township tour! This time we went to Kylishita Township. It’s a lot worse than the first one I went to. This one the houses were actually made out of scrap barely held together. We stopped at Vickys Bed and Breakfast on our tour, where she told us about how she became successful in a township running a B&B. Than we went to a day center for children, where the mothers are weavers in the building next door. I wanted to support them because the money was going right to them, so I bought a nice bag that they wove. Then we went to another B&B, which was bigger and a little nicer. Here we had some snacks and juices. Then it was back to the ship, to the Waterfront. I forgot to mention this waterfront, when they said it was close and had all we needed they weren’t kidding! It had everything! And was only a minute away from us. It was completely safe and had a huge mall area, it was great. That day Karin and I just went shopping in the afternoon and evening.
Day 4: Friday Karin and I did a wine tour with SAS. It took us to a small winery where we tasted some wines and that was basically it! We weren’t to happy with this tour! Then we went back and joined some of our friends and we all went to table mountain and took the cable car up to the top, walked around, saw some amazing views! And then took the cable car back down. That night all of us girls that were at table mountain went out to dinner. Then back to the ship to get ready and then Jen, Rachel, Karin and I went to long st to go out to a bar. We had fun, and came home kind of early because after a few drinks some people had enough!(I wont mention who- it wasn’t me though!)
Day 5: Saturday, Karin and I went to Robben Island with Heather and Steph. This is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for going against apartheid and the government in South Africa. It was in the early 90s when all the men were finally let out of this prison. Our interport lecturer, Dennis Brutus, was in this prison with Mandela years ago. So we wanted to see it. It was really interesting and sad. It was good to see something historical that wasn’t from that long ago. Karin and I went to Long St. to find some shopping afterwards, but everything in South Africa closes Saturday afternoons and we didn’t know that. We did find some places open, we had a good time.
Day 6: Sunday, Karin and I went to this big market that they only have on Sundays. We bought a lot of good things. By this time in our trip we felt like we had seen so much that we wanted too. Through Josh Goff, my friend back in Jersey I started emailing a lady from South Africa that he was friends with. He wanted me to meet her and her husband. So after emailing we decided to meet Sunday, at a coffee shop on the waterfront right near my ship. So Karin came with me, and we went and met up with Brian and Jane. What nice people! We sat and talked with them for a few hours and it was really nice. They wanted to take us around and to their house, but they lived about an hour away with traffic, and Suzanne was coming back from her Safari, and all the girls were going out for our last night in South Africa. So unfortunately we couldn’t do with them because they wouldn’t have us back in time. But it was just so nice to meet them and talk with them. I’m glad that Josh kept pushing me to meet up with them! So that night the girls and I all went out to a good steak place. We really wanted steak! Then we went to a Mexican restaurant afterwards that is right near it on the waterfront where we had some drinks and some really good shots. They were called bob marley, because they were the red white and green colors all layered. They were really good though, they had mint liquor in them which made them good.
Day 7: Our last day in South Africa! Suzanne and Karin and I were doing all of our last minute things. Shopping, internet café, groceries for the rest of the voyage. It was just relaxed. We got back on the ship in time, and we were waving goodbye to South Africa!(Even though we didn’t leave til 1am for some unknown reason! And we were already sleeping!) Great times in South Africa-- on to Mauritius!

Mauritius

2006-03-01T04:58:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!
I am in Mauritius now.. it is wonderful, except we leave tonight! I posted more pictures on webshots..same address http://community.webshots.com/user/KellySAS06

They are some random ones from south africa and on the ship, as well as a few of mauritius so you can be jealous of the tropical paradise I have been in for the past 3 days! Take a look. Mauritius is beautiful. I promise to get the south africa and mauritius entry up on my 6 days at sea while we are traveling to India. When we get to India the voyage is halfway over! Its hard to believe the time is flying by!

<3
Kelly

Greetings from South Africa

2006-02-20T06:33:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!
I am sitting in an internet cafe in Cape Town, South Africa right now. We are leaving here tonight. I have enjoyed my time here so much, it is such a great, safe city. I am not going to write a lot now, but I wanted to post the address to my new webshots account. I put up select pictures from each country for you all to view. I will write my whole South Africa post at some point during this next 6 day crossing to Port Louis, Mauritius. I also expect emails to KellySAS06@aol.com because a few of you (dz's!) have been slacking! Haha. So if you want to see that I still looking the same, and see the fabulous sights I have been seeing, go here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/kellySAS06
I hope that works! Leave me some comments on here so I know that you saw them!
South Africa post coming really soon!
Kelly

ps. a big HELLO!!!!!!! to Suzannes parents, since I heard they have been checking out my blog! So hey! I love living and exploring countrys with your daughter!

Brazil! CAUTION This is long!

2006-02-09T17:15:00.000-05:00

Brazil!
The first night in Brazil we had a welcome reception with university students, like we had in Puerto Rico. But it was completely different than Puerto Rico. I had so much fun at this one, where in Puerto Rico I was pretty bored. It was held at this extremely old and beautiful church. The church had a huge courtyard thing in the center of if outside, and they put these huge tents up so you were covered in case it rained. There were all hung up lights and it was just so cool. They had these native dancers, and these brazilians that did a dance called the capuerda(im spelling it wrong) its like fighting, but in slow motion and they dont hit or kick each other, just do the actions like they are. There was tons of dancing with the brazilian students. We really didn’t talk much with them, as there weren’t really tables to sit down and talk with them at like there was in Puerto Rico. We just stood on the sides and ate and drank, or in the center where all the dancing was. It was so interesting to see the 2 different students communicating, not through words, but through dance. A group of girls and I started following the dancing of these Brazilian girls, and so they turned around and saw us, and without words we all formed a large circle, and the girls taught us to dance how they do. And then some of the girls from SAS would go in the circle and dance how we would back home, and a brazilian girl would go in there too and follow there dancing. It was so weird how we communicated like that, but really awesome. There were guys also dancing with us, no talking, just dancing. It was a lot of fun. We came home that night and got ready for our big trips that we all left on in the morning. Suzanne, Steph and Heather(my main girls) were all going to the Amazon, while I was going to Iguassu Falls. Suzanne had to leave at 330am with the girls, and I had to leave at 530. Well Suzanne almost didn’t make it because we didn’t go to sleep til 130, and she overslept! The field office had to call her and make sure she was coming, they called like 2 mins after she got up. Then it was my turn at 530 to leave.
We had a really long day getting to the falls. There was 3 different landings in different places, and by the time all of us got there we were pretty exhausted, and were all hoping the falls were worth it because of all the travel we did to get there! So we get to our hotel, which is an old colonial style hotel. The falls are in a park in Brazil, and the hotel is the only hotel in the park on the brazil side. The Argentina side has one hotel as well. So we check in, and decide to go look at the falls. They were literally 10 steps from our hotel. We were all amazed by the beauty of the falls. We stopped there and just looked for 10 mins at this one section of the falls, thinking that was it. I was in shock. It was so hard to realize where you were. So all around the falls there are paved paths, and steps leading around the stretch of falls. There are some look outs at places for better views as well. We spent about 3 and a half hours walking. We thought that what we first saw was all the falls, but we were wrong. As we kept walking they kept getting bigger, and even more beautiful. I didn't think they would get any better than the first ones I saw, but some how they did. To give you some ideas, the falls stretch for about 3 miles. I did not know that! They are so immense, it is so hard to even describe it to you. I'll give you some stats I learned to maybe help you understand the monstrosity. To me, Iguassu Falls are the largest waterfalls in the world. Not by height(240 ft)-I think Victoria Falls has that beat, and not by the amount of water that falls over per second(500,000 gallons per second!)-Niagra has that beat. But by the height and water and how long they stretch for put together. We thought the Brazilian side was so beautiful, but we had no idea what was in store for us on the Argentina side the next day!
That night we went out to a brazilian bbq with traditional show. It was ok. Im not a fan of the brazilian food, and it was all really weird. The show was just ok as well, it had traditional song and dance from the three countries that we were near, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. There were half naked women dancing around, and I started feeling really sick when we got there. I started having horrible stomach cramping. It was very sharp and painful and would last about 30 seconds, and then go away for 5-10 mins and then come back for another 30 or so seconds. It did that the entire night at the show, all night while I was sleeping and into the next day. It was one of the worst stomach pains I ever had experienced in my life. I was ready to tell my trip leader and go to the hopsital I was in so much pain, but I was to scared to do so.
The next morning we left early to go to the Argentina side to view the falls. There they spell the falls Iguaczu Falls. Where as in Brazil it is Iguassu. Its just the different languages. We had a long hike around the falls. This was the best day on the trip, because the view of the falls is the best from the Argentina side. We were so close to the falls that I could reach out and touch them. Then we walked down all these stairs and got into small boats. These boats took us directly under the falls! We got soaking wet, but it was amazing! My friend Alyssa and I were sitting together saying we never thought we would be sitting in a small boat, soaked because the Iguassu Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world, had soaked us. It was great. I really had another moment where I had to stop, and look around and realize where I was, and what I was doing. After that we got off and boarded this army truck that took us through the sub tropical rain forest, back to the main enterance where we had lunch. Again, brazilian BBQ! Lets just say I didn't eat much. I was still having stomach pains all day as well, and I was still soaking wet! We then left the park, and went back to the hotel where we had the rest of the afternoon, from 4-8pm free. Alyssa and I layed out at the pool for awhile, and then went and took naps. At 8 we went back to the pool where there is an outdoor restaurant/bar. We had a buffet dinner of brazilian BBQ! Are you getting the pattern? Again I didn’t eat much. We ended up staying out at the pool with all of the semester at sea kids til 2am. Most stayed out til 4. Everyone was drinking and talking and having a great time. These really funny Germans were there on a job assignment, and came and talked with us and bought drinks for everyone and then the drunk people decided to go swimming. I was the lucky mom that night, watching over all the drunk people. The next morning we had to check out of the hotel, and then we went to this huge dam. It provides 90 of the electricity to Paraguay and 25 percent to Brazil. We even went into Paraguay for about 10 mins. Kinda cool. This dam is one of the 7 industrial wonders of the world. It was enormous. But after seeing the falls, seeing the dam was kinda boring, and everyone was really tired. We then went to a bird avairy. Which I thought was sooo much fun. I really wanted to see a Tucan, and I forgot to mention that while on the Argentina side of the falls we saw one in the wild! I even was close enough to take pictures that look semi decent! But at the bird avairy, the tucans were right next to you! I have the best pictures of them. Of couse they are like that because they are somewhat enclosed, and used to people, but it was still so cool to be so close to my favorite bird! After that we left for the airport, where I luckily finally found Jeff’s damn Argentina soccer jersey he wanted! Since we were so close to Argentina they had them, because everywhere else in brazil only had the fake brazil ones. This was a real Argentina jeresy.
So we had our very long flight back to Salvador. 3 landings again, and we were finally back in Salvador at 1030, after leaving the falls at 3. I came back to the ship and had the cabin to myself since Suzanne was still in the amazon. The next morning I went around Salvador to a market with my new friend Alyssa, and all over her girl friends. We came back to the ship and Steph and Grant were back from the amazon. The last night semester at sea got 400 tickets for students that signed up on the first day there go to a brazilian soccer game. So, the day of sign up I got up early and waited in line, and was #11 in line. So that night I had a ticket to go. Semester at Sea had busses and security guards that took us to the game, and the security guards stayed with us. It was kinda scary that we needed to have security guards, but it made you feel more safe at such a big popular event. At halftime though, Grant and I and a few others wondered outside the stadium with a police escort because we wanted to buy the jerseys of the team we were watching, which was the State of Bahia in brazil, they were playing the state of Victoria, in a state championship game. It was nuts at the game. Soooo many brazilians and their families. Soccer is as big as football is in the US. It was so much fun, really crazy. We got back to the ship, and sat out on the back deck as we all shouted chao Brazil! as we pulled away. The soccer game was the perfect ending to our trip in brazil.
Now we are back to classes. We had a total of 8 days between Brazil and South africa. Now we are down to 4, and one of them is a day with no classes. We get to Cape Town on Feb 14th. On this leg of the trip there is a man from NOAA deploying these different types of bouys and drifters into the ocean. Its really cool we are participating in something from NOAA. He did a big presentation in global studies teach us about these. We also have a very important man among our ship. His name is Dennis Brutus. He is very famous for work he did in Africa many years ago. He was put in the jail cell on Robben Island, and was a worker there, breaking bricks with Nelson Mandela! He even escaped once, but came back because he wanted the people to know he was still there. He was found, and shot 6 times! He survived to become very well known in political movements, and is a very well known poet. He is I believe 81 years old. He spoke today in Global Studies, and will speak tomorrow as well, along as in some of my other classes. A very amazing man.
We are all very ready to get to Cape Town. I have 2 township tours with Semester at Sea, as well as a trip to work at Operation Hunger, where I will get to help hand out food to the people that its feeding. With the girls I am going to Robben Island, to see where Nelson Mandela and Dennis Brutus were held, were going to hike Table Mountain, Steph and I are going to go to the winelands, possibly on horseback, and we also want to stay in a local hotel for a night, just for fun. We are going to be stocking up on snacks and such, because this is our last semi normal port until San Diego.
Hope you are all well!
Kelly
PS. I had the wrong number of girls that shaved their heards on Neptune Day.. The real number is 35..not 10 like I previously stated. Lets just say, everywhere you look theres a girl with a shaved head!

Finally! A post! Jan 30th,2006

2006-01-30T13:21:00.000-05:00

So I decided I could finally update my blog.. I know a lot of you have been waiting, and im sorry I didn’t do it sooner, but things were pretty crazy my first few days at sea, and our first port. We boarded the ship on the 19th, in Nassau, Bahamas. This ship is amazing, it is so nice, and clean. Everything is beautiful especially for a ship that takes around 700 college students 3 times a year!
I came on the ship and met my roomate, her name is Suzanne, and she is from Massachusets.
The days to Puerto Rico were pretty uneventful, we had many oreintations, and we had one A day of classes, and one B day of classes. Instead of saying classes are either MWF or TH, we have A and B. This is because most of the time we go to classes on Saturdays and Sundays, and may have a day off on a Wednesday.
Puerto Rico is a very interesting place. I wasn’t that excited about going there, since it is part of the United States, but after going, im glad we did. The first day a few friends and I went into Old San Juan to look around. We ended up walking up the streets and finding a restaurant that seemed like you could get pretty authentic Puerto Rican food. When we got inside the place had so many Semester at Sea students. For that matter, everywhere we walked in Old San Juan there was tons of SAS students. The first night we had a welcome reception at different University’s in Puerto Rico. I went to the actual University of Puerto Rico, and went to the deans house where there was a big party for us. We met with many University students, ate some food and danced. The next day my Dads friend Noberto, who lives in Puerto Rico, came and took my friend Grant and I around. He took us to El Yunque which is the rain forest in Brazil, as well as out to eat at a really nice Puerto Rican restaurant. We also went to his house, and out to his boat. He took us to the store, because Grant needed something, and then we ended the day by him dropping us off at San Cristobal Fort, where Grant and I were meeting up with friends for a Puerto Rican show that night. My time with Noberto was great. I learned so much about family in Puerto Rico, or at least about his family. I am happy that I finally got to see him again, as I haven’t seen him since I was 12 years old.
Our last day in Puerto Rico we went to the Bacardi Rum Factory. I didn’t think it was going to be that good, but I went anyway. It actually was pretty interesting. They showed us the history behind Bacardi rum, did you know why Bacardi has a bat as its logo? Its because the first factory that Mr. Bacardi bought, had bats living in the rafters. Haha, just some info for ya! We learned how to make a few popular rum drinks, and then were given free drinks. I tried something with apple rum and lemonade and sprite or something. It was pretty good.
*Oh by the way Susan, those rum shots Kevin tried to make, definately are with LIME juice, and not lemon! We learned about them.*
We finished up the day with El Morro Fort, which is equally as beautiful as San Cristobal. We came back to the ship, and then waved goodbye to Puerto Rico with all of the SAS students, faculty and staff on the back deck as we left at 1030 that night. I was lucky enough to have cell phone service in Puerto Rico, and got to talk to select few people. Unfortunately that is the last place my cell phone worked. It will be turned off until 6am on April 28th. Because that is when we pull into San Diego!
So once we left Puerto Rico, the next day we started back up with classes. The days fly by even though I only have 4 classes. There are so many activities on the ship to do at night. I have joined many clubs. I am in the Ambassadors club, which helps with inter-port students, and plans the big Ambassador Ball at the end of the voyage, Students of Service which does things on the ship to raise money to give to a charity of our choice in one of the countries we visit, and the Extended Family Program, where hopefully I will be assigned to one of the adult passengers on the ship, they become like a second family to you. We also have community college programs at night, were you can attend a different program about certain things. My resident director is a psychologist in NYC, and she specializes in gangs, so one night she had a community college about gangs and it was really cool. She talked all about them, how to recognize them and told us about her work with people who are in gangs. There have also been some about photography, video cameras, environmental issues. There really fun and interesting. Also every night they have pub night. Where you can purchase tickets for drinks, and go hang out in the dining halls and play games and socialize with your friends. You are only allowed a maximum of 4 each night, so its good because no one is getting drunk or anything, it just everyone sitting around socializing. But I can see how it racks up a tab for those that go every night! I only went one night and had one wine cooler.(Im sorry burrowes gals, I know im not representing! Haha) But it’s a different atmosphere on the ship. There is so much to do, that most people I feel don’t want to go to pub night all the time, and definately not to get drunk!
Today was King Neptune day. Its when you cross the equator. Apparently we crossed the equator at 3am this morning, and then we had Neptune day very early today on our day off of classes! They came around the halls banging on things at 8am this morning, and then we all preceded to deck 7 where the dumped yucky fishy gooey stuff on peoples heads, and then they would jump in the pool, get out and kiss a fish, kiss Neptune’s ring, and then get hit on the head with the triton. It was funny to watch all the people get this smelly gross stuff on their head, but I wasn’t about to do it! I know I want to get the full experience out of this trip, but dumping smelly, slimly,chunky stuff on my head and jumping in a pool thats basically full of the smelly gross stuff that came off of everyone else that would jump in before me, just didn’t make my top list! Plus I heard that its hard to get the smell out of your bathing suit or clothes, and they just took my laundry today and wont do it again until after brazil, AND my bathing suit is a brand new one my Mommy bought me in florida.. I couldn’t see ruining it for fishy,slimey,smelly,chunky mixture they would dump on me! Also a tradition is to shave your head. So I figured that to get in on the festivities, I would shave my head. It feels weird having no hair now! Yah right im just kidding!! I did not shave my head, but over 10 girls did! I couldn’t believe it! I wanted to cry for them. Girls should have have shaved heads, plain and simple. But now we have over 10 girls on this ship with them! I cut my friend Stephs hair. She braided it, and me and other Steph cut off the braids! It was really short, and she went and got it fixed up at the salon(they were re-doing everyones hair!) And they made it even shorter! But it looks good and isn’t shaved thankfully.
Everyone is laying out on the decks today(like every other day, but more today because no one has classes). So I was out for about 2 hours at the peak sun time, right near the equator and I decided that was enough. Its so hot out and the sun is really strong. We have a Global Studies exam tomorrow, so I figured im going to use the rest of today to study. Tonight we have a cultural pre-port for Brazil, and tomorrow is our safety pre-port, as we pull into Salvador, Brazil on February 1st. I will be in Salvador the first day there, and then on Feb 2nd I leave to go on a trip to Iguassu Falls. If you haven’t heard about it, look it up. They are amazing from pictures I have seen. I am so excited. I will be there til Saturday Feb 4th, and then we leave Brazil Feb 5th, at 11pm. I hear there are soccer games on Weds, and Sunday, so hopefully I will get to one of them. Jeff really wants a soccer jersey, and im on a mission to find one! I hope they are everywhere!
If I haven’t mentioned, it is SO weird to live among your professors! We eat every meal with them, we share a pool with them, we lay out in the sun with them, work out in the gym with them. Its really funny to me. No other place will you live 1 floor below your professors. But again, no other place will you only have to walk up one flight of stairs and be at all of your classes! I hope everyone is doing well. Im sorry I haven’t written on this, it’s the easiest way to tell everyone what I am doing, but email is so much more convienent for me to check! So if you want to get ahold of me easier drop me an email at KellySAS06@aol.com. I’ll try to check comments left on this as well. Ill update after Brazil! Hope you are all well.
Kelly

Position:
Somewhere below the equator, by Brazil.

Florida

2006-01-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

Im in Florida..waiting until its time to go to the Bahamas! 1 week and 1 day left!
My moms new house is great, but a lot of work putting it together.. I changed my blog so you dont have to be a member to comment, so I expect many comments while Im gone!

<3
Kelly

Up and Running..

2005-12-28T14:50:00.000-05:00

I finally have a blog up! My trip on Semester at Sea will now be documented for all to enjoy while i am gone. I will miss you all. Please feel free to email me at KellySAS06@aol.com but please, no forwards, just emails that you write to me, as I will only have limited internet time! I expect comments to be written under my journals entrys as well, and I will try to post pics for you all to enjoy.

My trip leaves from the Bahamas on January 19th!

Kelly

Kellys Semester at Sea

Japan!

Japan!

China- Hong Kong and Beijing

Vietnam!

Myanmar!

India..

SEA Olympics!

Mauritius!

SOUTH AFRICA!

Mauritius

Greetings from South Africa

Brazil! *CAUTION* This is long!

Finally! A post! Jan 30th,2006

Florida

Up and Running..

Brazil! CAUTION This is long!