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!