Semester at Sea continues...?

I just can't seem to get enough of Semester at Sea, so there is talk of taking another voyage in the near future! Coming up in May there is short 3 week term called "Engineering a New Tomorrow." It's technically for engineers, but from what I her it welcomes all majors- a good thing, because I lack any classes or qualifications to be an engineer.

The voyage will start in the Bahamas and continue to sail around Central/South America! Who needs beach week when you can visit some of the most beautiful beaches in the world? Still have to send in my application, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Anyone else want to come with me? If you read my blog you know how much fun I had on the voyage last spring. So you all should join my on my next adventure! SAS Part II

Here's the link to more information about it if you all are interested!
http://www.semesteratsea.org/short-term

The Final Stretch

The stretch between Hawaii and Japan was an excruciating 10 days; once i saw land i couldn't wait to get off. But as we sailed back home to the U.S, I couldn't help but wish I had the ability to slow time down and make the 9 days last just a little bit longer.

Most of my time was spent frantically trying to scramble all the work I had done this semester to turn in for final projects, or I was kooked up in my room studying. One thing I definitely learned on the ship was time management. Somehow- although I'm not sure exactly how- i was able to both study hard, and keep my normal routine of laying out in the afternoon, hang out with friends, and watching movies at night. I know... a rough life. Holing up in my room, classroom 8 or the Union paid off though because I found out that i knocked my classes out of the park! This semester is probably the best I have, or ever will do, in college. Hopefully it's not all down hill from here. But don't get me wrong, it's not because the classes were too easy, or there wasn't much work. Towards the end the professors certainly piled it on, but I think I succeeded the most because I made the projects and papers fun to write, and actually enjoyed writing about what I had learned and experienced.

Once the exams had been taken and the projects turned in, the entire feel of the ship changed. At first it was a buzz of excitement. The first night free for everyone was filled by the Alumni Ball, a nice dinner and dance where everyone dresses up in their nicest attire. I wore my dress I had made in Vietnam and most of the guys dawned their handmade suits. Wine was served- the glasses were rarely allowed below half full if you tipped them well, so the general air was one of drunken happiness. And champagne was popped to celebrate; a good way to end the voyage.

Of course after the excitement of the Alumni Ball faded, it started to set in that Semester at Sea was coming to a close. The next morning there was convocation- cheesy, but worth going to, and a funny closing pre-port lecture "preparing us to get to Ft. Lauderdale" It was definitely sad, but I think a lot of people were ready to get back home. Personally, all I wanted to do was hang out with friends for the last time before we'd have to say goodbye on May 5th.

I wrote this blog after I already got back, so the accounts of events were more nostalgic than anything else. I got my luggage today and as I opened it up I found a few thing hidden in my bag that I didn't even know I had packed. I will certainly miss Semester at Sea and probably consider it the best semester of my life, but I am glad to be back home in Charlottesville (although it's a bit cold, everything is beautiful and so green!) If anyone has any questions about my trip, feel free to ask, I love talking about it! Also, most of my pictures are posted on my facebook page for those interested. Otherwise, I'll miss you all from Semester at Sea, but I'm sure we'll see each other sometime soon!

Circus Freaks

What was perhaps one of the most memorable parts of Salvador was the morning trip to the circus. I had already been to see the Chinese Acrobats, so I didn't think anything could top that, so when Skye and I sat down on a concrete riser we weren't really sure what to expect. I had thought it was supposed to just be our group of 20 or so Semester at Sea students to watch the show, but just before the performance began, a heard of little Brazilian children came charging into the arena and filled up the entire tent. Great. I get stuck on the end next to 3 girls about 7 or 8 who are squirming in their seats, anxiously awaiting the clowns to enter onto the stage. this would have been fine, except on girl decided it was a fun game to kick me, eat her cheetos while crumbling crumbs onto my head. To top it off, the girls found a stray cat that they continuously tried to have me hold and eat off my head... it was hot, the show was entirely in portuguese so I understood next to nothing, and sadly, the Chinese Acrobats were better.

But what I thought was going to be a miserable experience turned out to be a wonderful one- once all the children left that it. I was not sad to see the little Brazilian girl go with her sticky orange cheeto fingers. Semester at Sea had arranged for us to learn how to do circus things after the show was over. The first talent we were going to *try and learn was trampoline jumping. We were instructed to jump on a spring board, then a trampoline, and try various things: jumping, tucking, summersulting... honestly, this was not my forte, however skye was able to do a complete flip in the air (although I'm not sure the clowns enjoyed that, their eyes bugged out and each sucked in their breath as he landed with a smack on the mat.) The other events we tried were tight rope walking, trapeze, juggling, unicycling, and some cheerleading stunts. I was fairly good at trapeze and tight rope walking, but not nearly good enough to join the circus. But it sure was fun!

Salvador, Brazil

So I am technically home already, but I wanted to finish up my blog posts. I know a few of you have asked if I would- apologies for taking so long. At the end of the voyage things got very hectic with exams and saying goodbyes.

Salvador was a wonderful port. I had no unpleasant experiences, unlike others; there were muggings and stolen bank accounts. In fact, I felt that Salvador was one of the safer ports. I certainly felt that way after Ghana. The first day was dedicated to exploring the city. In order to get up to the historical part of town we had to take an elevator, which of course was miserable for me, seeing as in general, I hate elevators. But the ride up was well worth it. Old town was beautiful and so cute! All of the buildings were painted different colors, restaurants had outdoor seating, and since it was a girl's day out (the only day I ever travelled with all girls) we were given many free trinkets- a flower nimbly made out of palm leaves and some sort of swan like creature. Shopping around was fun and just generally soaking up the sun in our last port was exactly how I wanted to spend my first day in our last port. Especially before the evening...

The evening was reserved for a special last dinner at the Brazilian Steakhouse, Boi Pretto. I've never been to a restaurant like this, but all I can say is that it is probably my favorite restaurant now. It catered to my new found hobby of eating- make fun of me all you want, but porky here loves to eat and doesn't mind that she's gained weight. In fact she's thrilled! In order to get food, all you had to do was turn over a card that signaled to the waiter you would like slivers or rather slabs, of meat carved onto your plate. Needless to say my card was never flipped over to tell them to stop. The meat was amazing, my favorite being the filet mignon, and I probably could have eaten more, but eventually I needed to stop for fear I would have to be rolled out of there. We also had plenty of bottles of both wine and champagne, so it was good that I ate enough to soak it all up. All in all, a wonderful last dinner with everyone in the last port.

Ghana, Togo and Benin

This blog is fairly late because frankly, I don't have much to say about Ghana, Togo or Benin.

I didn't really like Ghana all that much. I only spent one day there, so perhaps I didn't really give it a chance, but I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon. The one day I spent in Ghana was on a sunday, so he city was mostly quiet. I went around with my parents for the day, so of course we went to the museums and monuments, etc. We ended the day by going to the only market we could find open. It was absolutely crazy. Everyone wanted to sell us things, they swarmed! (Almost worse than China because they would follow you around as they shopped) I didn't have any interest to buy things at this particular market so I waited on the outskirts for the parents to take a "quick" look around. They took over an hour... and left me there. What a bad decision. most people think Ghanaians are friendly people, and for the most part, I would agree with that statement. But for me, the men got a little too friendly. As I waited outside the market I was approached by numerous men who would kiss my hand, and touch me in a way that made me extremely uncomfortable. In an hour I received 3 proposals, too many "I love you"s to count, and one man asked me to take him back to America with me. I have maybe 4 emails of all these people, but one in particular sticks out in my mind. This guy (a man really) named "Prince" gave me his email, and called me his Queen. He asked me to email him (which I haven't done yet, and am skeptical about doing at all). He never asked me to marry him... but rather just claimed me as his wife. He told other people this, and gave me a Ghanaian flag and a free keychain as a pre-wedding present. Apparently I'm supposed to put the keychain on my keys, so that every time I turn on the car I will think of him. I'm pretty sure that will be true, but probably not in the way he wants me to think of him. Sorry Prince!

While other people spent their last 3 days in Ghana, I went on a Semester at Sea sponsored trip to 2 extra African countries, Togo and Benin. Both are french speaking countries, so I was excited to use my language skills, but I didn't really get to as much as I expected. Out of the 56 hours or so of the trip, over 24 hours was spent in a small mini bus. It was hot, cramped, and in general not very fun. The places we visited while there mostly small museums... and they weren't that great.

But I don't want this blog to be a complete downer. I did have a few interesting experiences on the Togo and Benin trip. We went to a Python temple and I had a python wrapped around my neck and shoulders, and the second day we were there we visited a village completely on stilts in the middle of a very large lake (river?)

So all in all, my West African experience unfortunately did not meet my expectations, so I'm not necessarily itching to go back anytime soon- yet I feel like I owe it another chance, so I'm sure I'll be back sometime.

Shark Diving

My alarm went off at 4:45am and I immediately jumped out of bed. I showered, grabbed my backpack and raced out to the front of the ship where I met 8 other students waiting for a van- ready to take us 2 hours away to what may be our last afternoon. Shark diving. That's what I was going to today. I honestly don't know what possessed me to sign up for such an "adventure." Although I've learned in Marine Bio that sharks are more afraid of me than I of them, I am still deathly afraid of them. Don't get me wrong, my favorite week of the summer is "shark week" on the Discovery Channel, but that's watching them from afar, in the comfort of my own home from behind a big glass box.

The drive was relaxing; I slept the entire way there, trying hard to dream of anything but my impending doom. When we arrived they served us breakfast and sent us out. It was a fairly grey day. But when we stepped onto the boat and sailed out a little ways we were engulfed in a blanket of fog. Crap! As if I wasn't nervous enough, now the element of blindness made it that much worse. A few people were cracking jokes about open water and the black pearl was coming to hijack our boat... but they weren't really funny. And to top it off, the swells of the boat were making me seasick. 80 some days on the ship and I barely got sick once, and then I get on a little dinky boat that holds maybe 3% of the people our big ship holds and I feel like I'm going to hurl.

An hour later we reached our destination, open water near a "island" where seals liked to hang out- the perfect meal for great white sharks. We were about get in the world with great whites, right at their peak time to migrate through South Africa. Awesome... They lowered the cage into the water and a group of six people bravely dawned wet suits. They crew of the ship through out a tuna head on a line to lure a shark and within 10 minutes one came slowly and gracefully before it thrashed to bite the bait. ...... I was seriously reconsidering whether I'd be getting in that water.

I watched each group slide in the cage and come out smiling, but I was still unconvinced this would be a pleasant experience. My friends joked (I hoped) that if I didn't get in the cage, they were just going to throw me overboard. I think I would prefer to be in the cage than free diving, so when the crew called for the last group to put on their wetsuits I went down to pick mine up. I was hoping they wouldn't have one in my size, then I would have a perfect excuse not to get in, but they did. It took me ages to get on, I had to have someone help me stuff me in the suit. I was given a mask and shuffled over to where one enters the cage. I stepped on the ledge of the boat, swung on the rope they gave me to get into the cage and HOLY SHIT! THE WATER IS SO COLD! I was not expecting the water to be that cold! It was 55 degrees and I was shivering in a cage, trying to keep my hands and feet inside the cage so I didn't become some shark's midmorning snack. Of course because I weigh about as much as a feather, my wet suit kept me buoyant and my feet would float out through the holes of the "safe" cage. (I would like to say however, I have gained weight on this trip! Success!) So far, this excursion was taking a significant down turn.

I smelt the chum before it came splashing over my head to attract the shark. How that could even be remotely appetizing is beyond me, but the shark seemed to like it because minutes later one came swimming by. I ducked my head underneath just soon enough to catch the tail end of it and oh my gosh, the fish was huge! Most likely three times my size. We waited shivering for a bit more until it came around again. I dipped under the water, careful to keep my body as closed in as possible. I felt the nose of my mask fill up with water and slowly my vision fogged up, but not before I got a good look as the shark's head went by. I swear it looked right at me and grinned. That was it, I got out of the water after that. I had seen a shark, I was cold, and ready to get out. I was glad I did, right afterward a new shark (the biggest one yet) came barreling into the cage as it took the tuna bait.

As we sailed back to shore, I felt a little more at ease with sharks. I'm still a bit scared of them, but they were surprisinly docile creatures. They didn't seem that interested in eating me. They are endangered, so I really hope we can work on saving them. I think I would like to go back and dive with them again, now that I know a litle bit more about them. I just hope there are enough of them left the next time I go out.

Bacchanalian Adventures

I’m certainly not a wine expert, but after touring vineyards in South Africa, I have found my favorite wine. The third day was spent hopping around in Stellenbach. After our cab driver got lost, our first stop was Warwick Vineyard. It was so cute! We arrived around lunchtime so we got four picnic baskets and 3 bottles of wine for six of us and sat out under an umbrella on the green. As we reclined on pillows, we snacked on baguettes with humus, assorted meats, cheese, brownies, meatballs- perfect for a sunny day. We even got to play botchy ball. The wine was my favorite part though. Warwick wine was delicious, my favorite being the pinotage and the three ladies. Mmm, delicious!

The next vineyard was a little stranger. First off, the guy who was serving us looked like he was 12. I think he heard us talking about it too, because when he came back for the 3rd tasting he seemed highly disgruntled. Oops! Secondly, the wine itself was very strange. We tried 6 wines, 2 ports, and 1 brandy. My favorite was the first chardonnay, but the others were weird, most notably the honey walnut wine. Its after taste was a little too nutty for my taste. Obviously I know next to nothing about describing wines, but after the vineyard tours I think I want to learn more about it. I enjoyed learning how wine is made, stored, shipped etc. I was hoping we would get to mash up grapes with our feet, but sadly most vineyards don’t do that anymore. It’s probably for the best though… I wouldn’t want to reenact the grape lady from youtube. (I miss watching that all the time with you Ashley! Haha)

On our way home we had quite an adventure with our van driver. Originally we had arranged with the company to have the driver for the day, until 6:00. But it seems we had a misunderstanding when the driver jerked and pulled off to the side of the road. He started yelling at us because he thought we were only going to one winery, not two, and then he would take us back. He demanded more money, but we said we weren’t going to pay more since it had already been arranged that we have him for the day. Oh boy, he didn’t like this! He threw the van back into gear and barreled off on the highway. I was gripping my seat, already a little tipsy from the wine extravaganza, and hoped we would get back to the wharf safely. One of the guys in our group held out some money and said we’ll give you half. He pulled over and started yelling at us again because he thought we were only going to pay him half total (but really we just were going to give him half now and the other part later because we didn’t want to get stranded on our way back.) Again- this driver must have had road rage- he tore off down the road. He didn’t speak or stop until we got back to the wharf, thank goodness. And he was visibly heated when we gave him the rest of the money… Glad we got back… It might be time for another glass of wine to calm the nerves.

The wine drinking didn’t just stop at the vineyards. We dined at a great restaurant, City Grill, where we ordered a few more bottles of wine and continued our adventure by exploring the African meats. Our table ordered a skewer that included all sorts of game meat- ostrich, kudu, warthog, crocodile, sausage (who knows what kind)- it was all absolutely delicious! I don’t even think I could pick my favorites, but the kudu was pretty good. Of course when I went back and looked up exactly what a kudu looked like I felt a little bad, because they’re actually sort of cute, in a billy goat gruff kind of way… but mmmm, they were tasty! After we topped off the last of the wine, I was ready to go back to the ship and relax. I had to get up early for the next day anyways. Ahh, another successful day in Africa.

Table Mountain with a little bit of Jazz

Day 2 of South Africa... with only about 4 hours of sleep, I awoke to start my day with one goal in mind. Hike Table Mountain. It is about 3500 ft and flat on the top like a table (hence the name.) Whatever possessed me and the group of friends I went with to hike it is beyond me. it would have been much easier to have ridden the cable car up the mountain, but at the time it seemed necessary we get a taste of Africa's landscape the old fashion way. We wanted to feel it with our hands. Oh, and did we at that... TIA- This Is Africa.

The "hike" took us about 3 hours. Our group had a bit of a rough night before, so we took it at a slow, steady pace. It was hot, and the hike was more of a strugglingly climb/boulder. There had been rocks strategically placed as steps for us to maneuver around, but some of them seemed to grow. They looked normal in size, but when the time came to actually scale them, they were significantly larger than my legs, so I had to use my hands every once in a while to hoist myself up. The heat was pretty strong though. We were informed on our way up that this was the hottest day in multiple weeks... awesome. What a day to pick to hike a mountain exhausted from the day before. It was worth it though. As we neared the top and I was practically crawling on my hands and needs (I got to know Africa quite intimately after that hike) the view from the top was unreal. I could see everything, Cape Town, the valley and the water was gorgeous! I contemplated hiking it again, but next time bringing a tent up to spend the night, but they said it can get windy. I didn't need to be blown off the mountain. We ate a light snack and chose to take the cable car back down the mountain to save our energy for the rest of the day, but I think our whole group would agree that despite the rigor of the climb, it was totally worth it!

Because Table Mountain ended up being a whole day event, we got back into town in the late afternoon where we lazily walked around the wharf. We restaurant hopped, buying appetizers and drinks from each one. Tasting local beers, wines or cheeses while listening to smooth jazz in the background. We were lucky, the jazz festival was going on while we were there and many local and international jazz musicians were in town, playing at restaurants and bars. I had an absolute blast! More and more I want to move to Cape Town for a bit. It seems like a perfect place to live.

Cape Town, South Africa

I will admit, Cape Town was the port I was least looking forward to. I have already been to South Africa once, and although I really enjoyed it 6 years ago, I was looking forward much more to the asian countries. However, my expectations of the port were extremely surpassed and Cape Town quickly became my favorite port we have visited yet.

The first day I chose to do participate on a Habitat for Humanity trip. At 9am we drove out to the townships in a van of about 15-20 of us, dressed in jeans and t-shirts ready to get our hands dirty. The crew met us with warm smiles and prayed with us before we got to work on adding a roof on to a house they had already been building for 4 days. We were split into two groups- those who want to go on the roof, and those who preferred the solid ground. As much fun as the roof sounded, I chose to keep my feet on the floor, so I was assigned to clean up the surrounding area of large rocks... what a job! I felt more useless than ever. My skills were hardly up to par, since I don't have the largest arms to carry things in, I tried to use my other talents of interacting with kids. There were maybe 20-30 young neighborhood children watching eagerly as the roof was being erected just before their eyes. They seemed fascinated by everything we did.

The minute I stepped off the work site i was bombarded by children. They played with my hair, took my camera, and a good handful attached themselves to my legs and back. I felt like I was a celebrity, though I certainly had nothing to be famous for. they crawled on me like monkeys while I tried to teach them new dances and songs. They were genuinely happy just to have someone to play with. On our lunch break many of us shared our extra dessert that we had in our boxed lunch. It was clear they were hungary as they grasped at the left over cake. It was hard to look them in the eyes, and I could only hope that my one day of playing and sharing with them would give them comfort that they needed. I knew it wasn't much though.

Habitat for Humanity was a great time- they actually got the entire roof up! Skye was a big part of that, he was one of only about 4 people other than crew that were allowed up. I was so proud of him! The night was just as eventful as the day, however it was a stark contrast to the townships. In the evening I stripped off the grimy jeans and dawned a fancy dress to go to the opera with my dad. They were showing Grease, so naturally I was ridiculously excited. We were given a backstage tour and got to meet some of the actors because one of the interport lecturers was the owner of the opera house. He had even set up a nice spread of orderves and wine before the show started. The show was amazing! It was put on by all South African actors, but they used an American accent flawlessly. What a way to be introduced to Cape Town! Working in the day and then going to the theater at night. And it was only the first day... who knew what the others had in store for me.

Port Louis, Mauritius

We got a villa in Mauritius... 19 of us. It was a fun time of going to the beach, making meals, and having a generally good time. That's all that I will share. Unfortunately I have very few pictures because I didn't want to bring my camera to the beach for fear it would get ruined with the sand.

All in all, a good time in Mauritius. It was Semester at Sea spring break.

Neptune Day

When a ship crosses the equator, there is a large celebration for everyone on the ship. Anyone who hasn’t crossed the equator before is known as a “Pollywog” and once you have crossed you become a “Shellback.” Rumors on the Semester at Sea ship were flying the day before Neptune Day (called that because Neptune is the sea god.) There were rumors about when or how we were going to be woken up, what would we would have to do in order to earn our “Shellback” title.

Rumors were dispelled however when everyone was woken up by a loud banging of pots and pans, whistles, and cymbals. The crew marched through the hallways in toga-esque attire at 7:30-8:00 am. Half an hour or so was allotted for people to change into swimsuits, but by 9am the majority of the ship was on the top 7th deck getting ready to shed their “Pollywog” status. Every student stood in the shallow end of the pool as some of the administration poured buckets of unidentified bright green goop each person’s head. It was representing fish guts, however it was actually fish paste and kool-aid mixed together. Next step was jumping into the pool- I though this would help since I had gotten some of the mystery liquid in my mouth… but unfortunately the pool had the same fishy taste and color as the liquid poured on my head. Waiting around in the pool was fun, but upon getting out, everyone had to kiss a fish. Some people even bit or made-out with the fish. After being crowned by the Executive Dean, I had successively crossed the equator and become a “Shellback.” I immediately bought a kitkat to get the fishy taste out of my mouth. Luckily I escaped the second half of the ritual of head shaving. About 50 people (a dozen or so girls) took a razor to their head and went bald. I love my hair too much to give it up, and I wasn’t so sure I could rock the Natalie Portman look.

The rest of Neptune day was filled with relaxation. I laid out, read, and enjoyed a delicious barbeque in the evening with chicken, corn and strawberry ice cream. I love it when we have planned event days because the food is so much better and everyone is in a great mood.

Indian Transitions

When you drink, transitions are usually the first to go from the memory... but I don't think I'll ever be able to forget moving from place to place in India. We took the most common forms of transportation- auto, taxi, and train.

Auto: Autos are much like rickshaws except powered by a mini car instead. Driving in India is ten 10x worse than in Vietnam. It is almost complete and total chaos. Dodging oncoming trucks, cars, motorcycles, and autos by just a few inches is apparently a breeze for the experienced Indian, but I found my self gripping my seat. Usually we could squeeze three people into the small auto, and I always chose the middle seat, just in case we hit a bump too hard I wouldn't go flying out of the vehicle without doors.

Taxi: The taxi services in India were known as fairly sketchy unless you hired a personal driver which is what we did. On our way to Pondicherry, we chose to hire a driver and a translator that tagged along with him. Unfortunately, they took the fact that we were "Americans with money" and ran with it. The rate would change every time we discussed payment and they found a way to get extra money out of us in every little way possible. The translator (named Mjiva) "borrowed" Oliver's sunglasses and drove off with them. When we called to get them back he returned 25 minutes later, but demanded about 20$ compensation for driving back to us... The drive was pretty exciting however with constant indian music being blasted at all times.

Train: Oh the trains! The trains in India were possibly the least forgettable part of the trip. Arriving at the train station after 3-4 hours of taxi driving from Pondicherry, I was gross and needed to go to the rest room. I payed all of 2 cents to go into the washroom where I bypassed the makeshift showers and found the toilet. Unfortunately a woman and her son were squatting over the hole in the ground that was the toilet bowl. Needless to say it looked like they would be a while. I chose to pretend to be disabled and use the handicapped bathroom. I shut the door behind me and I was thrilled that it was a western style toilet! But... I was shocked and almost gagged when I saw that surrounding me, on all three walls and the seat of the toilet was poop. Poop was smeared everywhere. Crap. (no pun intended) Well I really had to go, so I squatted and finished up quickly when I heard a click. I thought I had dropped something, but as I plugged my nose I didn't see anything on the ground other than a few scattering cockroaches. I went to open the door, and to my horror I was locked in! Someone had locked me in the bathroom! This was possibly my worst nightmare-locked in a poop chamber. I frantically searched around for a way to get out. I contemplated breaking the glass door part, but instead I found a hole next to the sink. I clumsily hopped on the sink and hoisted myself through the hole that probably only I could fit in. Why in the world would a handicap toilet have a lock on the outside is beyond me, but I ran out of the bathroom to meet the other guys I was traveling with feeling scarred and violated. I vowed I would never use another Indian toilet. (I did, but the experience was much better than the last thank goodness)
When traveling from Chennai to Cochain, we had to take a sleeper train for 11 hours. We were lucky to get AC 2- a bunk bed with curtains and a fan. We met some amazing people on the train. One man owned a paper mill and was fascinated by our story from around the world. We showed him pictures, told him stories, and in return he generously called a friend he knew to bring us fantastic Indian food (that we knew we wouldn't get sick on) Yes, the train was a fun, but dirty experience. I won't forget any of it.

Pondicherry, India

For the majority of my time in India, I ditched the Semester at Sea sponsored trips, traveling with the parentals, and opted to travel independently to the southern part to a city called Pondicherry. Pondicherry is essentially two towns smushed together, one side heavily Tamil Nadu (an Indian State) and the other influenced by the French. It was a stark contrast, especially when dirty streets morph within seconds to avenue-esque tree lined walkways, but somehow it all came together perfectly. Pondicherry is difficult to describe unless you go and experience it yourself, but I think the 3 days I spent there were some of the best so far on the trip.
I traveled with three other boys-Oliver, Matt, and Adam (I’m sure my father was thrilled with that) but I had the time of my life with them. There is no girl drama, or having to wait around for someone to get ready, and we just did what we wanted. Pondicherry is a beach community that moves at a much slower pace than Chennai. It was nice to be able to wander around without a purpose, taking in the salt air and foreign sights. It was much cleaner in the south. The four of us got a villa that was only a block and half from the water. When we were looking for places to stay we had heard from previous visitors that they signed up for 3 days, but ended up staying for 4 months. I can see why. The villa was in the open-air allowing breezes to flow in and out, but the rooms were cooled to perfection with air-conditioning. The landlord was very hospitable, making us breakfast every morning (toast, croissants, and omelets) and if we needed anything he would go out and get Indian prices for us.
We did the tourist things around Pondicherry. Went to the ashram where “The Mother” was buried and a place of meditation, visited Auroville (essentially a failed communist community centered around a gold ball that looked like Epicot Center at Disneyworld) and we all were blessed by an elephant. That was probably my favorite part. Giving the elephant a small coin that she sucked up her nose and then wrapped her trunk around my head. What a rewarding experience! We also visited a local market. It smelled (nothing new though) and the ceilings were created by tarps for practically midgets. No problem for me, but I enjoyed watching Oliver, Matt and Adam maneuver and duck through the intertwining corridors of the stalls.
The rest of the time spent in Pondicherry was mostly relaxing. Again, I can’t stress enough that to understand the lifestyle there, you have to go there. The four of us spent a lot of time tasting the local cuisine, trying the local beer, hunting for hookah, and playing cards. The food was pretty good, although a little too spicy for my taste. I don’t really like curry so much, and at points I felt like I was sweating curry… The national beer of India seems to be Kingfisher, which I preferred the lighter version. The other guys seemed to prefer the heavier stuff though. We played a ridiculous amount of Hearts and Euchre (a game I haven’t found many people to play with back home, but was so glad others like it just as much as me!) I also learned plenty of other games (drinking and non) such as Hockey, F the Dealer, etc. It was a great time. I think we all agreed we could have stayed multiple more nights, but alas, we had to head back to Chennai to catch a train to Cochain on the 15th.

Chennai, India

Everyone warned me before arriving in India about the horrors I would see. Unhealthy people with unimaginable diseases and deformities, a vast gap between extreme wealth and extreme poverty, dirt streets; I was told I may not be able to look up for first day. When I got off the ship in Chennai, India, it was definitely a completely different world. There was hardly any paved streets and buildings were certainly no higher than 2-3 stories. Dirt was everywhere! Not just a light dusting, but a thick coat of black grime that if you sat down would most likely permanently stain your clothes and most definitely left a nice tan dirt line on my foot, clarifying where I had shoes on and where I didn't. India was an assault on my senses at first. The smells at points were so strong that my nose didn't know how to process it, so my mouth took over and I could essentially taste the scent instead. (Not exactly pleasant... kind of like accidentally eating poop. Not sure how one would normally do that, but in India, it was very possible we ate some poop...) It also was blazing hot, but we had to wear covered shoulders and knees. I discovered a new places I could sweat, it was a level of sweaty. Who knew eyebrows could sweat that much? Yes, for the good first few hours spent in India, I thought I would be miserable. But the dirt, grime, and extreme smells are only a surface layer. I soon found that India is an incredibly beautiful country made up of beautiful, kind people who want to learn as much about others as we wanted to learn about them.

I only spent one day exploring Chennai. I went to Spencer's Mall, a run down (yet "high class") shopping area where I purchased some Indian clothing- I got aladdin pants and gold beaded shoes! I expected that the fashion would be similar to a western style since we were technically in a large "urban" city, but the fashion for women in India is almost solely the sari, the multi-colored textiles and dresses with scarves around the neck. The colors were gorgeous. Against the brown backdrop of dirt, the seas of people that walked the street were brightened by a rainbow of colors. Amongst the vibrant colors were warm faces of incredibly happy people, yet they seemed (at least on the outside) to live in despair. I was fairly confused. I mean, I've seen people who live in villages without electricity, or have to walk a ways for water- but in that case I sorta felt ignorance was bliss. The people were happy with what they had because they had been innovative, even with a simple way of living. But in India, most people knew what other standards of living were out there. Bollywood is huge, depicting romanticized versions of life.

My Global Studies project for the end of the semester is based on "happiness." Myself and six other students are exploring what makes people of other cultures "happy," how do they define happiness, and is it sustainable. In the US many might say "The American Dream" is happiness, yet a consumer way of living is hardly sustainable today. In India it was difficult to decipher what others defined happiness as, however after much digging I believe happiness in India revolves around the family. Families (whether they are immediate or extended) stick together. Those that seemed the most content were usually surrounded by friends or family, just enjoying each others company. Family is what each member pays their respects to and they are unified by the god that they worship in the Hindu religion. Honoring the family gives them the satisfaction they need. The next day I was heading off to the southern part of India, wondering if their beliefs were the same.

Sea Olympics

Life has returned to "normal"- well, as normal as life can be when you're sailing around the world on a luxury cruise liner. I'm so glad to have more than two days down time between countries. By the time i got to Vietnam I felt like I was still tired from Japan, and recovering from China, all while trying to soak up as much of Vietnam and Cambodia as possible. In between Vietnam and India we have 8 days (sadly 2 of which I spent incredibly sick). The eight days were supposed to give us time to get back in the groove of school work, which as you can imagine was basically impossible. Every time I stepped outside I heard the lawn chair in the sun calling me, "Katie! Katie! Come sit and procrastinate on me!" How could I neglect a chair that even knew my name? Sometimes I indulged in some school work with a book, but since I have developed narcolepsy while being on the voyage, I frequently have been just falling asleep in the sun (and i have had to lather up on sun lotion because the equator sun is a brutal monster that has already made its mark. Yes, lobster girl has returned! All I need is a little butter and I would be ready to eat at any moment.)

Semester at Sea must know how much students adamantly do not want to go to class and work (besides, we learn more in the countries than I ever could in a classroom) because it seems every few days we now have a fun day to break up the "monotony of classes." A few days ago we held the Sea Olympics. As most of us were unable to watch the real olympics this past month, it was exciting to compete in our own. My team was the Red Sea, composed of maybe 30 kids that live close by on the same hallway. We were perhaps the least enthusiastic at the opening ceremonies and most certainly the least organized. We had never had a sea olympic meeting, half of us weren't wearing red to support our team (and the ones that were all sported different shades.) We joked about how funny it would be if we won since most of us didn't even sing our cheer.

The games begun the next day. They were a lot like field day games- sponge pass, crab soccer, dodgeball, asain cube scramble, tug-o-war, pull up challenge, flip cup, synchronized swimming, hula hoop, lip sync, etc... I competed in the first event of the morning, extreme musical chairs. They tied our hands behind our backs, and threw wads of paper at us and we danced around the chairs to heavy metal music. My team got second place in the event. As the day progressed our team was seemingly silent, but deadly. One by one we were dominating events, either winning or racking up points with second or third place. Before we knew it...we had one the entire olympics! Out of nowhere! We beat the Adriatic Sea (they had a great banner and a mascot of a shark) and the Mediterranean Sea (they had a really awesome chant.) We won bragging rights and our sea gets to get off the ship first when we dock in Florida at the end of the voyage... but I don't want to think of the voyage ending right now. I'm having too much fun!

The days after the olympics were a little less exciting, but a nice way to recoop before India...tomorrow! It's hard to imagine that the next country has crept up so quickly! All i've heard about India is that its a completely different world, I can't wait to experience it for myself!

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Phnom Penh was a fun "urban" town to see, but it was Siem Reap that really took my breath away. Home to Angkor Wat (which the entire time I was there I thought the city was called) it a must-see destination for many tourists. The ancient ruins of Angkor Wat are still working buddhist temples, so when we visited there were many little monks in crimson and orange robes running around. They were so cute! in the sunset the grandiose architecture was absolutely stunning with the orange sun sinking slowly behind it and its silhouette sharp against the sky. What was upsetting however was that although there were monks praying in peace, the physical surroundings told another story. Much of the temple was riddled with bullets, silently reminding the world of the struggle Cambodia has gone through. You could even find left over bullet shells in the divots in the walls

Everything we saw in Siem Reap revolved around temples. Angkor Wat was the most well known, but we also visited three other temples (that unfortunately I can't remember their names, oops!) My favorite however was the temples that Tomb Raider was filmed at. Of course I took a few pictures pretending to be Lara Croft (smaller and less endowed however.) It was so much fun to crawl all over the caved in roofs, crumbled walls, and trees that had grown over and in the ruins! My dad and I even were daring and crawled up on the stones of a "danger" zone.

We stayed in a Resort and Spa which I figured was arranged specifically to cater ti the parents, although Semester at Sea does a great job of finding comfortable hotels usually. Although the accommodations were wonderful- air conditioned rooms and great food!- I felt bad when I stepped just outside the hotels boundaries and was greeted by tuk tuk drivers that wanted work or children who hoped I had spare change. I did manage to take a tuk tuk though, and what a ride it was! I was riding at night to go out to pub street and it was fairly safe, although I admit I held on to the others riding with me, just for good measure. Didn't want to be thrown out into the streets, which are just as busy as the ones in Vietnam. Pub street was fun, unfortunately I got there a little late so I didn't get to have my feet cleaned by fish like some kids did, but we drank drinks out of buckets that looked like upside down hats at a bar called "Angkor-What?" If you ordered two of these buckets you got a free tshirt sporting their bar name and on the back a slogan "Promoting irresponsible drinking since 1989." Perhaps they weren't wrong because a group of us went back to the hotel and hopped in the pool at 1am, blasting country music until we were kindly asked to get out of the pool because they needed to "add chemicals to the pool." Oops!

Cambodia was certainly an exciting experience as I had no idea what to expect. I wish I had taken more pictures, but I guess it just gives me an excuse to go back!

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Cambodia was a short, but a well worth, trip while docked in Vietnam. It was technically the parent trip so about 10 students and their parents accompanied me on an hour plane ride. I have heard a rumor that the less developed countries receive old retired planes that have served their time in the U.S. or U.K. After the very bumpy and seat gripping ride over the Vietnam border, I wouldn't be surprised. The landing was less than pleasant and I could have sworn we lost pieces of the carrier or a wing with all the rattling that occurred throughout the flight. Nevertheless I made it all in one piece, got off the air conditioned plane, and was met with a blast of thick, hot, moist air. Throughout most of my time in Cambodia I felt like I was swimming through the air or being wrapped in a hot hot blanket.

We stayed the first night in Phnom Penh, the capital of the country. Our day consisted of learning about Cambodian culture at the National Cambodian museum and seeing the city on a beautiful boat ride in the sunset. Before dinner we went to an orphanage. This orphanage was completely different than the one we went to in Beijing. When we arrived the children came rushing out to meet us, immediately introducing themselves and giving us big hugs and grins that stretched miles. They seemed so genuinely happy to have us there, unlike the other orphanage where the children shied away. One girl seemed to get very attached to me and gave me my own personal tour of the school rooms, dormitories, and play grounds. We must have looked like we were having fun together because many other kids came to hang out with us. One boy made a particular impression when he came up and gave me a purple bracelet, "a beautiful bracelet for a beautiful girl." I should stay in Asia, they seem to love me! :P He was nineteen and was going to be leaving the orphanage next year to get a job, but wasn't sure if he'd be able to get one. Poverty in Cambodia is very prominent. It was common place to see women and children asking us for money or to buy bracelets for a dollar as we got off the bus. And there are 10,000 tuk tuk drivers in the city (like rickshaws but attached to motorbikes) and each needs 5 dollars to live. Although a lot of people come to Cambodia for tourism, I don't think there are 10,000 tourists that always want to take a tuk tuk... and even then, they only usually cost about 2 or 3 dollars a ride.

The next day in Phnom Penh was not as friendly as our visit to the orphanage. We visited the Genocide Museum and the Killing fields. It was incredibly emotional and difficult to learn about. The museum was almost an untouched memorial to the citizens that were interrogated, tortured and killed at an old run down school. We saw the cells they stayed in, where they were hung, and what was worse, there were walls and walls of pictures of each person who was admitted. It's one thing to learn about genocide in history classes, but its quite another to see first hand where men. women and children were beaten and murdered. Especially when you're looking right into their eyes of a picture that was forcibly taken. The killing fields weren't much more uplifting. in the center there was a 17 story memorial dedicated to those found there in the over 100 mass graves. The 17 stories held skulls, back bones, arms, legs, jaws, anything they dug up. All of this happened only 30 years ago. Our tour guide was brave, for his mother was killed there, yet he was able to speak steadily and authority as he led us around. I don't think I'd have the strength to go back. Heck, it was hard enough to imagine being in their place- digging my own grave and then eventually being bashed over the head and falling into the pit I just finished digging. It was a horrifying sight. I'm glad I went however. It has shed so much light on the terrors of genocide and helps me to understand Darfur a little and inspires me to want to help.

Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

I arrived in Vietnam having no real preconceived ideas of the country. All I really knew about it was from watch "Apocalypse Now" and history class on the Vietnam War (which the vietnamese call "the american war.") So actually stepping foot in the country was completely new and exciting.

The first thing that hit me was the heat. Coming from Japan and China where I was bundled up in my green winter jacket, it was certainly a shock to immediately start sweat bullets. The heat was not helped by all of the vehicles whizzing by on the streets emitting exhaust. It was stressful to watch a wall of motorcycles as I contemplated crossing... its not like crossing a normal street- except maybe at UVA where we tend to think we own the roads and cross wherever we want- but Vietnam streets are worse. No stoplights, no street signs, and rules of the road are more like "guidelines". Every time I crossed the street I pretty much feared for my life and danced around the motorcyclists as they artfully dodged me.

Shopping in Vietnam was unfortunately just as stressful. Although it makes many of the goods sold in the United States, it is a fairly poor country. DVDs and silk scarves are cheap for us to buy there, but each dollar they earn from our purchases is a meal. Walking through the markets it was hot, crowded, and too much stuff. Everyone touched me trying to get me to buy something and at one point I was literally dragged into a stall that I really didn't want to buy boys boxer briefs. It was so different from China where they cajoled me into buying something by complimenting me, as opposed to shoving products in my face. It seems that personal space is not an issue.

Less stressful, was the food! Oh, the food was delicious! One of the most common dishes to find was pho. It's basically thin noodles in a soup with whatever you want in it- chicken, beef, pork, etc.. a lot of people even bought shirts that said "I LOVE PHO!" because it was so good. Drinks were a fun thing to try as well. Exotic juices such as watermelon, dragonfruit, lichii were all squeezed fresh and their banana milk shakes were to die for! It was like drinking a crushed up banana, no sugar, nothing else added. Of course, trying local beer was interesting. Tiger Beer was a favorite- very light- but I stayed away from 333 that had formaldehyde in it.

My favorite part of Vietnam (other than the cuisine) was the people. Although they were a little pushy with selling things, they were incredibly relaxed and nice! Vietnam was a good switch from the constant movement and business of China to a slower, but no less exciting experience. Perhaps it was the heat that slowed everyone down though. I felt like I developed a case of narcolepsy because every few hours I would want to fall asleep just from the lulling sound of the street and perfect weather in shade.

Sadly I only got to spend 2 1/2 days in Vietnam because I was fortunate enough to go to Cambodia. But I loved my time tehre and I hope to go back in the future!

Beijing, China

Beijing is completely different from Shanghai! Despite the extreme dry air and pollution, it was amazing! I travelled on a Semester at Sea sponsored trip with a group of other SASers and I met so many fun new people through it!

It started out a little rocky, I was held back from leaving Shanghai at first because immigration missed stamping my passport so I had to race to the airport after my group had already left without me. I made it just in time though, and it was a fun adventure trying to navigate through the airport and check-in by myself.

One we got to Beijing, however, the days were jam-packed! The first day we went to a tea house and tried lots of different flavors (my favorite was lichii tea) but it was more of a tourist trap because it was wicked expensive. We saw the Temple of Heaven, went to a great restaurant, and walked around the silk market for a little while. It was basically sensory overload with all of the items they were selling. You could get practically anything you wanted- pearls, ipods, buddhas, you name it! I have to admit, it was kinda fun when the vendors called out to you "pretty girl, lovely lady, you'd look great in the jeans!" I couldn't help but think, 'Aw, you noticed it too!' (Hehe, just kidding!) It was a lot of fun though, and the group came back to the bus sharing bargain victory stories (although some were anything but victories)

The second day was mostly touring Tiananmen Square and the forbidden city which, although was certainly magnificent, got a little monotonous. All of the architecture is identical, even to the Temple of Heaven, but it was so cool just to be in places I've only read about in textbooks. The second half of the day was spent cleaning an orphanage and playing with the kids. They were so cute and seemed genuinely happy that we were there. Of course, one kid in our group (who shall remain nameless) is a stalker photographer and was taking pictures of students sweeping the dormitories and got a pice of dust stuck in his eye... I felt so bad for him! He even had to go to the hospital the next day, but I'm pretty sure all of us really appreciate his photos of the trip (he takes really wonderful pictures- i might have to steal a few)

Our last day was probably my favorite. The Great Wall. Words cannot quite do it justice. It is approximately 5,000 miles long, although we only walked a small portion of it (my legs were secretly thanking me). After riding a gondola up to the top and then walking along it we took a toboggan back down. It was so cool! it was a metal track and you could control the speed so of course a group of 5 of us took that as a challenge to see how fast we could sled down it. Needless to say the security people were screaming at us as we whizzed past us. Our group was so fast that we caught up with a women towards the end and accidentally rammed into her... sending the baby she was holding flying...Oops! feeling bad we apologized, but also secretly felt like she really slowed us down. So we went up and did it again!

The next morning we had to leave for the airport at 4:45am. So why go to bed when we could just stay out all night? Good idea? In retrospect, probably not... it made for a rough next day, but it was a blast and I definitely was able to rally to go out the next day or two!

Shanghai, China

They say first impressions are the most important. In general, I would agree with that statement, however for China, my first impression meant very little to me in the grand scheme of things. My first glimpse of China was the city of Shanghai (pop. 18 million). Luckily we arrived during the Chinese New Year, so the streets were much quieter as many people spent time with their families and celebrated the new year by eating dumplings and setting off fireworks. When I got there I was expecting pollution, crowds of people and chinese characters everywhere. My expectations were met- It was difficult to see more than some hundred feet because of the "mist" (aka smog)- and there were certainly lots of people, however what I was not expecting was the amount of trash that collected on the streets and people peeing on the street... I saw one too many male genitalia. It was weird to see so many people on the poorer side living in such a futuristic style city.

In contrast to the busy life of Shanghai, I was also fortunate to travel to a slightly smaller city, Suzhou. It is famous for gardens (basically rock mazes) and a silk factory which we got to tour. Making silk is much more difficult than one might expect, having to boil the silk cocoons, find the string to collect the thread.. All by hand! The real silk material was heavenly to the touch, and I was able to get a silk duvet for fairly cheap! Can't wait to use it in my new apartment when I get back!

So my first impression of China was that it was a dirty country, but my views quickly changed as I was able to travel more around the country.

Kobe, Japan

I just boarded the ship to leave Japan! i'm so sad...

Kobe was fun, did a little bit of shopping, but since it was the last city I went to I was able to reflect on what I loved about Japan.

1. Cleanliness- Japan is so clean! I don't think little gnomes come out at night to clean the streets or anything, it seems that its just there culture. I think the only annoying part was there are very few trash cans everywhere because the Japanese don't tend to eat on the road. (There are also no drivethrews and everyone sits at mcdonalds)

2. Japanese Fashion- It's pastel, frilly, short, and princess-esque! Everything I wish I could wear everyday :P

3. Conveyor Belt Sushi- Possibly the coolest restaurant we went to in Japan. The sushi just flies by on a little conveyor belt so you can pick an choose the ones you want. Or you can order it and it will come by the above conveyor belt right to you! How cool!

4. I fit in with my size!

5. Rice with every meal- I could eat it everyday, anytime, anywhere! Mmmm!

There are plenty more reasons, but I need to sleep! I only have two days to re-energize (and go to class) before China in two days!

Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto is one of the more traditional cities in Japan. It is usually known for it's cherry blossom trees (one of my favorite flowers) but in the middle of the winter you can imagine they are not in bloom. So what do we do in Kyoto during the winter? My family is anything but normal, so te first night we head straight to a zen Buddhist temple to spend the night. It was actually a great experience. We slept on futons and pillows with big beads in them; and the rooms are separated by thin walls of rice paper doors. It was fun, all of us packed like little sardines into the room. Before one enters a home or a room, shoes must be removed, so I bought a pair of 10 dollar slippers which are easy to take on and off.

The next morning we set out to experience Kyoto fully. The day started with 30 minutes of zen mediation and a tour of the temple, followed by more green tea (not my favorite...) We then rode bikes to the golden temple, tried green tea dumplings (gelatinous and fish like... as I guessed) but unfortunately it terrential downpoured in the middle of the day, so bike riding in the freezing cold rain cut our very pleasant day short. Luckily we were able to grab a cab to take us to our hotel for the night- also very traditional with rice paper walls and futons. Seeing as we were cold and wet, we wanted to warm up. So baths were hopefully in our immediate future.

Oh my, my, my... Where to begin with the baths. First off, toilets are completely separate. I imagined toilets to be the same in every country. But no... Toilets in japan are not like they are in America. They are an adventure all in themselves. You sit, no squat, very very low to the ground because the toilet is essentially on the floor. Once you have finshed your business finding the toilet paper can be difficult. In this bathroom it was all the way behind me, therefore practically impossible to reach. All I could do was hope and pray I didn't fall out of my squat into the bowl. Not all bathrooms are like this however, another one I have experienced washes your private parts for you (Skye tried it and said he was very surprised at how well the water aims) and other toilets have fuzzy heated seating on raised toilets much like the ones in the US, and others play music.

The washrooms are also completely foreign. When I stayed the night with Alisa, I was able to take a shower in the morning, but I wasn't really sure how to use it... Then today I learned (step-by-step from a picture on the wall in our hotel.) You first remove your clothes. The wash area is separated by a glass door so when you enter the wash room it is steamy. The "showers" consist of removeable shower heads. that you use to wash your hair and body while squatting on a stool (it seems they must have terrific thigh muscles for all the squatting.) After you have cleansed yourself you then go and sit in a giant bathtub/hot tub area where it is so hot it feels like you are boiling alive- but don't worry, you get used to it and eventually is very relaxing. However once you feel you have had enough, you get out and feel a bit light headed as you wrap the towel around yourself. Oh yeah, did I mention this entire wash area is public? 4 stations to shower on stools and a large bathtub tha could probably hold 6-8 people. Tonight I was alone, but who knows what it will be like the morning!

For this evening I am looking forward to eating some tempura and sushi before I leave Kyoto. Then off to Kobe tomorrow!

Japanese Cuisine

I have made a pact with myself- and my anthropology of food professor- that I will "try everything and decide whether it is delicious before finding out what it is." Sometimes I regret that, but so far I am pretty excited about being adventurous and trying new things!

Alisa and her mother were very kind and took my family out to a traditional Japanese restaurant. Let me just preface this by saying Japanese food in America is NOT Japanese food in Japan. I figured when I sat down for the meal I would be presented with white rice, maybe some seaweed and sushi. But instead the meal was about 7 courses long (all small portions however) and each thing on the plate was an entirely different food. We started with some sort of squishy brown tofu, brussel sprouts with mustard, and a white hot drink thy smelled like miso soup, but tasted like ginger milk with little white floating bits. Surprising the drink was quite delicious, though Alisa and her mother were not fond of it. Next was miso soup with an unidetifiable floating multicolored piece of tofu and then they brought out the raw fish. No rice, nothing to wash it down. Just raw fish on a pretty green leaf. The presentation was beautiful, as us all Japanese food preparation, but I wasn't sure if I could get down the raw fish... But I had to. I popped a slice in and it was surprising delicious. I tried piece after piece, not knowing what kind of fish I was devouring, until I got to the squid. I didn't know it was squid until I realized it tasted like a rubberband with little tiny pimples all over it. Good thing the next part of the meal was beef (cooked) in teriyaki sauce. It was my favorite. Followed by Japanese radishes and crab in soup and ending the meal with a bowl of rice with nuts, I thought the meal was over. The Japanese frequently end a meal with rice. But no, we still had to have dessert- fresh fruit and long slimy noodles dipped in a very sweet syrup. So far, my basic understanding of japanese food- gelantinous, salty, fishy. I live jello, but this kind is a little too much or my palet. I'm glad I tried everything though!

Green tea is served at the end of each meal. It is frothy, very green and made from powder. It was too bitter for me, but it is apparently loved by the Japanese and very special in the Japanese tea ceremony. All in all the Japanese cuisine is interesting, and fun to try but I think I like the American friendly version a little better.

Yokohama, Japan

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am secretly asian. Ever since I was little I have been fascinated with Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc culture. So when we sailed up to Yokohama port, it felt more like I was coming home to my long lost country rather than a place I would be visiting for 5 days. I think it felt better waking up and seeing land than it did waking up on christmas morning!

Japan has been everything I expected and more! I met Alisa, my roommate from HSD (Japanese camp) and she took me to the main teen shopping area in Tokyo called Shibuya. The fashion here ranges from gothic to bright colors to frilly clothing that resembles Marie Antionette (but with mini skirts.) In addition to taking me shopping Alisa showed me around Tokyo a bit, taught me how to use the train system, and took super cute pictures with me. However the machines that take you pictures make your eyes very big, so I look a little cartoonish. Tokyo is much like NYC but eveytging is written in Japanese, which I have no I have no idea how to read. It was sort of a blind adventure.

Although I am here for 5 days, the days are packed o the brim and there is so much I would like to share with you all, so I am going to write multiple blog entries on different topics. I hope you enjoy! (This blog is also acting as a mini journal for myself.) also, pictures will be added to the blog when I get better Internet!

Rules Rant

Maybe it's because I have been stuck on this ship for the past 8 days, or maybe I got used to the newfound freedom of college life at UVA, but the rules here are absolutely ridiculous! Honestly, its almost worse than high school here... I need to have a mini rant.

Rule 1: No running.
So I may understand the safety precautions of this rule, but when the crew gets on my case for "jogging" while I try to stable myself on a sea swell, I find that a little crazy. Also, what they don't know, is that it's so much fun to run on the ship-going up and down, trying to avoid walls, while sprinting down the hall in what you assume to be a straight line. Clearly the crew has never tried this if they reprimand kids so harshly.

Rule 2: No feet on the furniture.
Yep, got in trouble for that too. oops!

Rule 3: No food from the cafeteria, or the 7th deck.
This rule might be one of the more annoying ones. Last night I got a pizza and all of the chairs were full in the sitting area, so I wanted to go down a deck and eat it there. Nope. not allowed... and who told me I wasn't allowed? Some really annoying RA who was reclining in a lawn chair. Man I miss the days when I could grab a take out box and eat it in my room. (Ashley, I hope you grab a few from Runk while I'm not there. I miss our sunday breakfast!)

Rule 4: Must always wear shoes.
Not slippers, not socks, always shoes...but the floors are carpeted! And we live here, so its sooo tempting! (I did last night, and was yelled at. As you can see last night was not a day of fun)

Rule 5: 3 Drink Limit
I would go into this one- but i think its fairly obvious. And no other alcohol from port allowed on the ship either. Penalty when caught? One warning (maybe) and then expulsion from program. Uh oh!

Rule 6: Quiet Hours
It doesn't seem to be quite as strict as quiet hours during exam time, but from about 9pm onward we are supposed to be fairly quiet around cabins (which is most of the ship) Sigh... these rules just keep accumulating!


Also, there is talk of a dress code... wah wah wah. Hopefully they don't put one into place, but if kids continue to wear swim clothes to class, they just might. Then it really will be like high school. There are plenty of other rules, but for now, that is enough of a rant. I think part of my annoyance is the fact that I am anxious to get onto land. 2 more days!

Just Dance

Sunburn is all cleared up and has tanned over to a golden goddess look (hehe) and the days at sea are starting to fly by. At first I was afraid the 10 day stretch would be brutal, but its half over and I've had so much work. The days just don't seem to have enough hours in them, even though every once in a while we gain an extra hour.

We crossed the international dateline! I don't quite understand it, so I won't try to explain it here, but basically because of it we lose a day. Today is February 2; tomorrow is February 4! I don't know how I feel about losing a day of my life, but I do like the idea of missing yet another day of February. Now there's only 27 days- and who likes that month anyways?

Last night we had a dance for all the students. It was a mix-match theme so everyone dressed up in their craziest attire and danced the night away! It was an alcohol-free night, so I have to say it was fairly awkward. I believe most people realized just how bad they are at dancing without the help of some liquid courage, but what was most amusing was the constant rocking that would jostle the entire room. It made for quite an interesting night as people were thrown about, all the while unable to see with black lights, strobe lights, and a disco ball displaying red and green designs over everything. All in all (despite being incredibly hot) I enjoyed the evening and it was nice to have music blasting in the background since it is banned from bar night.

Only about 5 more days till Japan! I'm certainly looking forward to it!

Wear Sunscreen Kids!

Wear sunscreen kids! I know the cool kids aren't doing it, but I promise, it will save you a lot of pain later; I have found out the hard way.

This morning I woke up to a nice little surprise- my entire body ached and burned. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I woke up on the ship, or in hell. Unfortunately, once I was able to drag my sorry body out of bed, I looked in the mirror to find one girl, pink and burnt to a crisp. Ouch! It seemed my idea of dabbling on spf 15 sunscreen in the morning had worn off towards the end of the day and I got scorched. Even the white of my forearms that I thought would just stay eternally pasty were bright pink. Most of my body had not been spared except the outline of a swimsuit, which you can imagine looks incredibly odd now. And of course to make it worse, one side of my face was burned. Apparently when your eyelids burn (well one in this case) they swell up... So now I look really odd with one puffy eye, and one normal one. So WEAR SUNSCREEN! I suppose the only silver lining is that it will all tan over in a few days, but for now- Lobster Girl sails the seas!

Goodbye to Blue Hawaii

Sadly it is time to say goodbye to Hawaii. Today was my last day on the island and I think I'll miss it quite a bit. I went off on my own today so of course it always leads to adventure. Looking for bus routes, places to eat etc. It was fun just to soak up the last bit of land before we embark on the next part of the voyage, an 11 day sail to Japan. (Actually its 10 days because we cross the international dateline, but honestly, who cares? It will be a crazy long time at sea regardless.) What's even worse is that there is class practically everyday! No weekends! Don't get me wrong, I love my classes, but I don't know if I love them that much.

On our way back to the ship, we weren't sure how to catch a bus back from the beach, so we ended up walking the 5 miles. It took about an hour but it was worth it. It was a beautiful scenic walk along the beach and through the city, and we even met up with some fellow SAS students who decided to do the same. Haagen Dazs ice cream was our treat to ourselves where I got raspberry and lemon (Lemon on the bottom of course! My favorite) We had to be back by 6 for on ship time. If you are late, you get dock time in the next port. 1-15 mintues late to on ship time means you have to wait 3 hours in the next port before you can get off, and each 15 minute increment you are late adds another 3 hours! So needless to say I was worried about having to wait in the security line. But we got there with 45 minutes to spare. I was seriously felt up and violated by security (apparently I might be trying to smuggle alcohol on in my "cleavage" so they had to check all over...)- and of course i burt out laughing when they did this. But once they figured out I didn't have contraband, they let me go and write my postcards and take a shower. Phew! What a long day it was, but it's nice to be back on ship.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Went to sleep last night in Hilo, and woke up the next morning in Honolulu- and I didn't even know we had moved! I guess I am really getting used to the whole living on a ship idea if I don't even notice when the ship moves now. It was certainly a nice surprise though, Honolulu is on the island Ohau (as opposed to The Big Island) and seems to have a bit better weather. It was sunnier, and less chance of rain. So what did I do with a day that was practically all sunshine? Hit the beach of course! Unlike Hilo that has mostly rocky shores, Honolulu is famous for some of its sandy beaches- most noteworthy Waikiki.

Most of my morning consisted of laying on the beach soaking up the rays as only the best of the professional sun worshippers do (yes, I learn from the best Anne Russell!) while Skye hit the waves with surfing lessons. He was so good! Immediately when he got out there he was able to stand up! I have to say not only was I impressed with his skills, I was really proud to call him my brother; Even when he fell. We broke for lunch at the famous Cheeseburger in Paradise where I slurped down a pina colada and (attempted) to finish a gigantic bacon cheeseburger. Mmmm mmm! Delicious!

The afternoon was another beach fun-filled hour or two where this time I tried my hand at surfing. Ok... actually I tried boogie boarding, but honestly it was essentially the same thing. However I did not have the same set of surf legs as Skye. Maybe it has something to do with the fact I ski and he snowboards so he has a leg up on the whole balancing act. Either way, I spent the majority of my time in the water just trying to keep afloat and paddling as hard as I could (it wares out your arms!) I managed to pop up once, but frankly I stayed closer to shore so I didn't catch many good waves. In my class, Sociology of the Sea, we are reading Jaws, and all I could think about was the first scene where a girl goes and swims just 50ft from the shore and... Gulp! there she goes! I wasn't quite ready to be shark bait today, but I did have a lot of fun and I am sad tomorrow is my last day in Hawaii!

Hilo, Hawaii

At 5:00 in the morning we were awakened by the PA system asking us to go to the top deck to basically clear customs; aka just get our passport and for 5 seconds let a guy match our face to our photo. Why we had been yaned out of bed at that hour I didn't know and even though was excruciatingly early, luckily it didn't matter. We had docked in Hilo, Hawaii! Hilo means "twisted" in Hawaiian, and is a small town of 30,000.

In the morning I was lucky and saw about 5 humpback whales off the back of the ship. They were so beautiful jumping through the air and flipping their tails in the green water. Afterward I went to a hula dancing workshop where I learned the history of hula and if I do say so myself, I now have quite a set of hips I can shake about... well sorta. hehe

Hilo wasn't exactly what I was expecting. There are no real beaches, just rocks. And there are few palm trees, but more trees that have roots growing from its branches to the ground. It was pretty fun to walk around downtown though. There was a candy store called sugar coastal candy (made on the big island!) and men were giving flowers to girls for their hair on the side of the street. It was lively despite its small size.

A luau was the event for the evening where I tried traditional hawaiian cuisine and got to show off my hula skills again! The food looked sort of normal, but frankly had a very weird taste. On my plate were the following:
Macaroni-potato salad
White Rice
Pulled Pig- very salty with an unidentified marinade that gave an odd after taste
Squid Spinach- very sweet... but um, ew!
Long rice noodles with little bits of chicken- slimy in the sense it felt like I was slurping down little earth worms
Poi- A traditional hawaiian paste made from tera (a root vegetable) It was purple in color and had the consistency of glue. Sort of tasted like that too.
So... needless to say I wasn't that hungry after a few bites of my meal, however I was lucky and earlier in the day was able to snag some snacks from a nearby Wal-mart.

Tomorrow I'm not sure what I am doing. I hope to get up to Rainbow Falls or maybe the volcanos. But I will try to leave you with a picture (my first one!) until my next post which should be coming soon!

Sea Swells

I've had some emails asking me where I am currently and what the weather is like on the ship. Currently I am in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on my way to Hawaii. The seas are ridiculously choppy, and we frequently have massive swells. So much so that my parent's bed slides around the room. i think of it kind of like a continuous roller coaster. Or at least like that viking ship that goes up and down. The reason this is happening so often is because the low pressure in the oceans here is the worst its been since recorded in 1800. Also, we narrowly avoided the massive hurricane-like storm that is currently pummeling the California coast. And two other storms seem to be just behind it. Hawaii however apparently has beautiful weather, so hopefully that's something I have to look forward to. It seems I spoke to soon earlier about fairing well during class in regards to being stable. I have fallen out of my seat multiple times and frequently into other people's laps. I'm working on packing on the pounds to keep myself grounded a little bit more. We'll see how it goes though.