Random fun on the ship

We are halfway done with the long voyage from Hawaii to Costa Rica. I am not minding it - just playing lots of Scrabble and writing essays. It is exam time. Unfortunately, the weather is beautiful and so we are tempted to hang out and do nothing, while we should be studying. That's alright though, it is a rough life that I live.

 

The Ambassador's Ball was on Friday. At first I didn't want to go because I had nothing to wear - a lot of girls got dresses made in Vietnam. Yet, on my little J.Crew shopping spree, I found an outfit. I can always count on my favorite store. The ball ended up being really fun. We had a multiple-course dinner with champagne. I got my picture taken with Cap Roms (shown above). Anabel, Brittany, and I relived our karaoke fun from Japan. Dani, Allyson, and I danced the night away with the faculty and staff at the oldies dance. Nothing like dancing on a rocking ship.

 

Not much else happening here...Costa Rica is in five days. After that, we need to get in the mindset of returning to America...

 

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

Marcel Proust

Longest stretch of the voyage

We just had a short respite from ship life yesterday – a day in Hawaii. It was so wonderful to be back to America. When we walked off the ship, it smelled like America. The conversion rate was 1 to 1. The people spoke English. Taxis cost an arm and a leg. The tap water was potable. There was a J. Crew! There was intense customs security. Cell phones worked without roaming. Oh so good to be back.

 

Since we had one day, I had to do something spectacular. That "something" was skydiving! It was incredible! We went 14,000 feet high and had a 60-second 120-mph free fall. I am so glad that I did it, although I was questioning the decision as we were flying up in a tiny plane that fit the 12 of us. As we were getting around the clouds, I was surprised to hear that we were only halfway up. But as Dani said, the higher we got, the more comfortable we were. Then, it seemed less like we were skydiving into water and more like skydiving into clouds. The free fall lasted until the clouds and then he pulled the parachute. When we were below the clouds, I was able to take in the beautiful views of the north shore of Oahu. So incredible…

 

Now on our ten-day voyage to Costa Rica… A lot of people are dreading this time, especially because of work and exams, but I am planning on enjoying it. I brainstormed some of the things that I appreciate about the ship:

·       The crew. The dining hall staff brings us drinks and clears our tables and cleans up spills from the rocking ship. Our steward makes our bed, cleans our bathroom, and says "good morning" everyday. He is incredible. There is never a day off. He has a wife and a seven-year-old daughter at home in Jamaica. By working on this ship, he supports his family. The only goal of every port is to call home.

·       Sunsets. It doesn't get better than sitting on the sixth deck, eating dinner, and watching the sun go down over one of the many oceans.

·       Being unaware of the negative news in world. It is quite nice to be in our little bubble. I guess there is a pre-port meeting for Miami (there is one for every port) where they enlighten us about what has occurred in the U.S. while we were gone.

·       No TV. I have really weaned myself off of TV while in college and even more now. Although, some people stocked up in Vietnam with full seasons of tons of TV shows.

·       No concept of time. We have completely lost track of the days. There is only on-ship time and off-ship time.

·       Being rocked to sleep. Just like a baby.

·       Sleeping whenever I want and feeling no guilt. Well, I do feel some guilt, but I have definitely let loose on this trip. To stock up for the next two years.

·       Magnetic walls. Quite a useful quality.

·       Always having a home, no matter where we are. It's called the M.V. Explorer!

·       No cell phones. We are back to the dark ages.

·       A porthole. Looking out of my cabin in the morning and seeing water, water, and more water.

·       Playing Scrabble. I never liked the game, but it has become a favorite pastime late at night.

 

Things I appreciate after living on the ship:

·       Peanut butter. It has been rationed for the past couple weeks because they were running out. As a result, in our Students of Service auction, a container of peanut butter went for $20. The raising of the U.S. flag in Miami went for $1000. As you can probably tell, a lot of money was raised in this auction.

·       Free and unlimited and fast Internet.

·       24 hour days. We have lost so many hours of sleep from traveling around the world. Yet, we did gain an entire day on April 15^th.

·       Cooking in my own kitchen.

·       Running on a treadmill that doesn't rock back and forth. Or maybe even running outside!

·       Having more than one pillow, although I am getting used to the simple one-pillow lifestyle.

·       Unlimited supply of water.

·       Cool weather. I have had a lot of warm weather, and I have realized that I like four seasons. I cannot deal with having hot weather year round. Luckily, we were able to experience cool weather in China and Japan – so refreshing!

·       Having a place to hide. On the ship, there are 700 students in a confined space. I have a roommate. It is rare to have time alone.

 

As we come to the end of the voyage, I am realizing how much I will miss Semester at Sea. It has been one of the best decisions of my life (a special thanks to Petra and Kate). I already have a different perspective on the world. The countries that we visited are much more relevant to me. When I read the news, I am instantly interested in many more countries. We are also now aware of all the horrible things that occur in the world. Right now, a lot of us are confronting the issue of what we can do to help. It is hard to figure out something sustainable to do rather than throwing money at an issue. Anyways, I have a while to contemplate these issues.

 

As the trip is nearing the end, I'd love some ideas for my last blog postings. If there are any questions that you want to ask, leave a comment. I love hearing from everyone back at home!

Pictures!

Here are more China pictures:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051232&l=fd664&id=704151

 

Here are more Japan pictures:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051233&l=2d8f7&id=704151

 

 

Answers to Mr. Schulteis' Sixth Grade Class

I loved reading all of your comments. I attempted to answer all the questions - they are below, with a few additional pictures. They are ordered by blog entry and then who asked the question. Please post any more questions that you may have.

 

 

Japan

·       JJ: I was eating a green waffle. It was called uji matcha. I never found out what actually made it green, but it was really good.

 

China

·       Ireland: My favorite place is either South Africa or Japan. I loved both of them, in different ways. I definitely want to go back to both. South Africa was definitely warmer than Japan, so you might like that better.

·       I slept in a hotel in China.

·       Dani: Thanks for your comment. The toboggan was a lot of fun.

·       Jake: Bargaining is fun if you are good at it.

·       Jill: I think most people in China realize that there are restrictions on their life and what they know. Most of them just don't have the resources to do anything about it. If they speak up, they could get in trouble. And it isn't easy to leave the country either. The United States maintains good relations with China because it is such a strong economic partner.

·       Allison: Haha, thanks for the hair perming story about your cousin. That doesn't sound so good.

·       I rode bikes in Japan, but not in China.

·       Cassie: I do miss my family and friends, but I can email and talk to them over the phone, so it isn't as bad.

·       Jack: I think the turtle was about 80 years old. As for the size, it was probably 4 feet long and 3 feet high when it was out of its shell.

·       No Ireland on my trip.

·       Brianna: I actually have a job in business when I come back. I start in July. I am just traveling around the world for fun.

·       Dylan: Yeah, it is sad that people are scamming innocent people. It is no fun, but there are also nice people in these countries too.

·       Brooke: The turtle is probably about 80 years old. And yes! I did go shopping in a lot of the countries. A lot of the places have really cheap stuff. Japan was fun too, although it was a little bit more expensive.

·       Ryan: Yes, South Africa and Japan were my favorite countries.

·       Kim: It is very fun to ride on elephants. There was no need to be really scared. I didn't ride on the elephants on this trip, but when I went to Thailand with my dad I did. Elephants are really smart.

·       Julie: I wasn't particularly afraid of the turtle – it moves pretty slow. My favorite places were probably South Africa and Japan. And yes, I went shopping in all of the countries. There is always something different in each of these countries. Luckily for me, I haven't gotten seasick. It is getting pretty rocky as we cross the Pacific though. I just hope I stay healthy. I wasn't really scared to go to all these places because I was in a big group and we had people to help us out. However, we had to be very careful to guard our belongings in a lot of the places. I don't know why Neptune Day leads to shaving heads either, but I guess it is tradition. Thanks for your comments!

·       Mitchel: In China, they don't get many organ donations from their ordinary citizens, so instead, the government uses the organs from the executed prisoners. It is sad.

·       Hailee: The best places so far have been South Africa and Japan. China had dirty air, but the roads and everything else was quite clean. Quite a contrast to India. I didn't ride a bike in China, but I did in Japan and it was a lot of fun! And yes, I did see the Great Wall of China.

·       Jamie: I think my favorite places were South Africa and Japan. It is a really hard question to answer just because every place was cool. As for a place that I didn't care for, that would probably be India. I was glad I saw it, but I don't really have a desire to go back to the places that I went to. If I were to go back, I would like to check out the cities of Mumbai and Bangalore because they are little bit more developed, or so I heard.

·       It is hard to know when someone is scamming you. But just as long you are aware and don't buy things from random people, you are going to be OK. As for the place that I would want to live, it would probably be Cape Town, South Africa. I really liked Japan as well, but the language is such a barrier.

·       Connor: I am glad you are enjoying the pictures and blog. The cultures are very different as I travel from country to country. However, there are many similarities, especially in the Asian countries. I may detail the similarities and differences in a future blog entry. I did visit some temples in China as well, but no monasteries. The picture above is the Temple of Heaven.

·       Sanya: I saw a lot interesting animals on my trip, especially in South Africa. But I also saw monkeys and elephants in India. And the caymans in Brazil. Unfortunately, I won't be seeing the Olympics in China, but I was able to see the Olympic buildings. The Chinese father and daughter didn't get mad at me, they were very kind. I felt horrible though. The Great Wall was awesome and much larger and windy than I ever expected.

·       Brianna: The smog was no good. I didn't smell it, but some of my friends felt a little bit more out of breath. As for the knock-off stuff, I am quite sure that it was knock-off because the quality was not nearly as good as what we may get in the states. Also, sometimes there are errors in the production of it. For example, on a North Face backpack, to say how large it was it said "35 Litter" rather than "35 Liter." Haha.

·       As for the scams, a lot of people wanted money if I took a picture of them, especially in India. They try to get the money any way that they can, just because they are so desperate.

·       Kim: I couldn't particularly smell the pollution like I could smell the dirt in India. However, a few of my friends felt that they feel the pollution in their throat and body. I would still recommend that you travel to China if you want to. It is just quite a contrast from the U.S. and other countries that I have visited.

·       JJ: It is crazy that 68 crimes are punishable by the death penalty. I doubt that they actually execute everyone who does these things, but they do have the option to do that if they so desire. That is the scary thing. It is also hard to imagine to be restricted so much with the Internet and TV, daily parts of our life. It just helps me appreciate the freedoms that we have in the United States.

 

Cambodia and Vietnam

·       Erika: Pol Pot was definitely horrible and he reminded me of Hitler as well.

·       We were so close to all those people on bikes that we could have easily got hit in an instant. It was very dangerous, but the bikers and drivers are used to driving in that crazy traffic.

·       Cameron: Why is Cambodia your favorite country? It was great!

·       Brianna: It is a lot easier for the people in Vietnam and Cambodia to travel by bike because they can weave in a out of the cars. In addition, it is a lot cheaper to buy a bike rather than a car. And you would be amazed at how many people they can fit on these little motorbikes!

·       Meagan: The shopping tips in China were quite fun. They do chase after us if we stop, ask a price, and then laugh and walk away. They will run after you and then cut the price to maybe 25% of that.

·       Bikes are an easier way to travel in Vietnam and Cambodia and they are also cheaper to buy.

 

Malaysia

·       Sydney: Thanks for your comments. I wish I could do this trip forever too, but I don't think it will be feasible. I have to actually start work so I can pay for my future travels.

·       Cassy: Well I am glad you now know that there is a country called Malaysia. I didn't know about a lot of countries before this. Now, I really want to learn so much more!

·       Ryan: Thanks for your comments. Traveling around the world is great way to learn. I encourage you to look into doing it in the future.

·       Dylan: Africa was awesome! We were looking forward to seeing the lions so much.

·       Julie: In Malaysia, I don't really know why they eat with their hands. It must just be easier. And, actually, they only use their right hand. My touching things with your left hand, it is disrespectful. Unfortunately, we aren't going anywhere in Europe on this trip. Some of the past and future voyages do go to Europe though. Malaysian women sleep in these dress-like contraptions probably because it is comfortable, yet still covers their body. Their clothing is very conservative so you can't wear clothes that shoes your knees or shoulders.

·       We didn't have any games for Easter on the ship, but we did have a church service.

·       You pronounce Malaysia as Mah-lay-sha. I saw a lot of animals in Africa. They are all listed under that posting. As for your stew, there were some interesting foods that we saw in some of the countries, like chicken feet, or dog, shark fin soup, or snake's blood. Lots of interesting foods…

 

India

·       Sanya: Yes, we had the opportunity to ride elephants up to a fort in India. I didn't ride them but some other students did.

·       Brianna: Yes, some women did wear the headscarves. It is a part of their religion. I didn't, but in order to go into some temples, some girls needed to cover their heads with scarves.

·       Brooke: I did visit the Great Wall while I was in China. I will post another picture above. If someone speaks 4 languages, they are multi-lingual.

 

Mauritius pictures posted!

·       India was very beautiful, but also very dirty. It has a lot of potential, but they don't take care of it very well. We could definitely smell India when we arrived to port, but we got used to it after a while.

·       Meagan: The turtle was really big and I did pet it. Someone else massaged its neck to get it to stand up and come out of its shell, as you see in the picture.

 

Mauritius

·       Emma: Glad you like the pictures of the turtle and the shark and the zebra. I did take all the pictures (well except for the ones with me in them). The shark was at the Atlantis resort – there were tons of them all over the resort. As for the safari pictures, I was really surprised that we got so close to all the animals. An elephant was within touching distance to our vehicle.

·       I think the turtle was around 80 years old, but they can definitely live longer than us.

·       Ireland: Mauritius was awesome! I had never heard of the country before, but it was absolutely beautiful. The turtle was really cool too, and there were lots of them throughout the island that we visited.

·       Jake and Cassie: I wasn't scared by the turtle, but our guide did say that this particular turtle was known to have a temper. It was cool to feel the shell and its head though.

·       Michael: We did go swimming next to the waterfall. It was a lot of fun!

·       I don't know how tall the waterfall was. But definitely more than 30 feet.

·       We did see piranhas on the Amazon. There was actually a dead one floating around in our boat.

·       We didn't see snakes in the Amazon, but we did see the caymans.

·       I was quite scared to jump off the cliff, so I tried to not think about it. Not something I would recommend at home.

·       Hailey: The turtle was around 80 years old, if I remember correctly. It was probably going to live for another 50 years or so. I couldn't tell by looking at it, but our guide may have been able to. I would encourage you to consider doing this trip when you are older. It is one of the best decisions of my life!

·       For the shark picture from the Bahamas, the shark was in a body of water with glass and I was outside of the water.

·       Trey: Unfortunately, I don't know where else you can find a turtle that large. I am sure there are other places though. The turtle was probably 4 feet long and 3 feet high when it was standing up out of its shell. And to answer your question about the Olympic torch, I did not see it because I think it was in different cities and eventually it will be in Beijing.

·       Brianna: Glad you liked the pictures. The turtle was indeed quite large and I don't think he had a name, sadly.

 

South Africa and Super Bowl

·       I would be scared to do shark diving, bungee jumping, and sky diving. But, I am least scared to go sky diving, which I might do in Hawaii.

·       Caleb: The people have bald heads because we celebrated Neptune Day. It is tradition that people shave their heads when they cross the equator for the first time. Everyone who shaved their head wanted to. By now, their hair has grown to about an inch.

·       Kyle: Although black people may have more rights, there is till a lot of racism in the world, both in the United States and in other countries. This example occurred in South Africa.

·       Drew: I was surprised that the Patriots lost, but nobody is invincible. I am glad you liked my South Africa posting, and, yes, I did see giraffes in the wild.

·       Sanya: I had so much fun in South Africa! It was one of my favorite places to go.

·       Brianna: I did see giraffes in South Africa. I will post a picture above.

 

In love with South Africa

·       Erika and Cassie and Michael and Alex and Cameron and Sanya: I do have more pictures. I posted pictures of a giraffe, waterbuck, hippo, impala, wildebeest, and kudu.

·       Jake: I didn't see the lions attack any animals. But, we did see him after he ate a waterbuck and his mouth was all bloody. Very gross…

·       Dominick: Unfortunately, we didn't see any wild chicken or wild turkey.

·       Brody: My favorite animal in South Africa was probably the giraffe. I am tall and it is also very very tall – we could see them above the trees.

 

Build a house in one week

·       It wasn't incredibly difficult to build the house. However, we were in very hot weather and we were carrying around a lot of heavy bricks. So, it was definitely not easy either.

·       Hailey: Those houses are the average houses in townships of Africa. These townships house millions and millions of the poor people throughout the continent.

 

So close to South Africa

·       Brody: Most people in South Africa aren't bald. Those are Semester at Sea students who shaved their heads for Neptune Day.

·       Nobody asked me to shave my head. I don't think I would have the guts to do that.

·       Austin: Above is a picture of a waterbuck

·       Neptune Day is a ship holiday. It is to celebrate the crossing of the equator for the first time. I had never heard of it before I had been on here.

·       Emma: The heads are shaved for Neptune Day

·       Hailey: We didn't have any other ceremonies, but we did have a Sea Olympics and we will be having the Ambassador's Ball.

·       Erika: My favorite parts of the trip were probably South Africa and Japan. There was so much to do in South Africa and I loved seeing the animals in the wild. Japan was very nice to because I traveled around to lots of cities on my own.

 

Finding a cause

·       Daniela goes to school in Boston, although her home is in Brazil.

 

Amazon adventure

·       In the water picture, there are two rivers connecting. One river is the tan and the other is dark brown. It just depends on the sources and the minerals and lots of other factors. The two rivers don't mix though.

·       I did see piranhas. There was a dead one floating around in the bottom of our boat. Sadly, I didn't catch any though.

·       We did swim in the water a little bit just to get clean. However, we had to be very careful not to get any random bacteria in our body.

·       Ireland: I didn't hold a snake, but I did hold that cayman. Luckily, it didn't move around very much or it would have been a little scarier.

·       Erika: The kids were really sweet. Can you imagine having a sloth as a pet? Haha. Sleeping in the hammock was pretty good. Much better than expected, although I wouldn't be able to do it forever.

·       Hailey: The water actually isn't so dirty. There are just a lot of minerals and other things in the water.

 

Back safe and sound from Brazil

·       Erika: Glad you like the sunset pic. As for the things floating in the water, they are tiny boats, compared to our huge ship.

 

Back to the ship

·       Jake: Thanks for the encouragement to get As. I think that is a good idea.

·       Cassy: It is tiring eating the same food on the ship. They try to switch it up as much as possible, but there definitely is a lot of repetition. That is why it is so nice to try different foods in port. And, yes, I do miss my family and friends back at home. Although, I have met tons of wonderful people here on the ship.

·       Kyle: My friend Kate did the Summer at Sea. I knew that I could leave college for a semester and so I decided to do something that would change my life. My parents supported me and so that was it! Beijing is definitely very polluted. I was surprised how clean the city was in general. However, the air was very dirty and the Olympics will only bring more attention to that and their human rights violations.

·       Brody and Hailey and Sanya: Yes, this is my first time on a ship. I didn't really get seasick at all. Sometimes I may get a headache from the rocking, but other than that, I have been very lucky. It isn't very scary and sometimes a lot of fun when the food flies all over in the dining hall.

·       Amanda: Luckily for me, I didn't get seasick. And China was a great place to visit and see the sites, but I don't really have a desire to go back. Maybe Hong Kong again though. As for the turtle, I think it was around 80 years old. The Bahamas was OK. I was expecting it to be a lot more fun than it was. And the weather wasn't so great while we were there.

 

Pictures!

·       Loralynn: I am traveling around the world with 700 other college students. We all go to different schools. My mom and aunt flew with me to the Bahamas, which is where we started. My mom and dad are going to meet me in Miami, our last stop.

·       Dominick: We definitely do have a large ship, but compared to the other ships at most of our ports, it is a lot smaller. But, I like our little ship.

·       Alex: Once we got to land, I felt like the ship was still rocking. But eventually, we get used to the rocking and it hasn't been bad for the past month or two. Now, however, while we are crossing the Pacific, it is getting a lot rockier.

 

Last night in Bahamas

·       Brody: I wasn't scared of the shark because it was in the water and I was out of the water. But, it was really cool.

·       I don't know what type of shark that it was. You guys probably know more than me. I didn't get to feed the shark either.

·       Hailey: The Bahamas was a lot of fun. We just relaxed and did some shopping. The ship left from there.

 

Liquid sunshine

·       The storm wasn't very dangerous, as I recall, but definitely not very fun to be outside.

·       Cassy: There were so many good foods: sushi in Japan, waffles in Japan, Kobe beef in Japan, mangoes in Cambodia, calamari in South Africa, or just some good old Honey Nut Cheerios in China. J As for the ship, we stay on the same ship as we go around the world. It is nice to have a place to call home.

 

So we made it to the Bahamas…finally

·       I did watch the Packers in the Bahamas. There were a lot of tourists, so we all wanted to see the game. I did hear that Favre retired. That is really disappointing.

Japan

We just finished our whirlwind tour of Asia, and Japan was a wonderful finale. I haven't met anybody who doesn't want to go back. There is so much to do: skiing in Nagano, exploring the world-class city of Tokyo, taking in the cultural sights in Kyoto, eating Kobe beef in Kobe, remembering the effects of World War II in Hiroshima, and so much more. I didn't have enough time to accomplish all of these things, but that is what future visits are for.

 

Some key words about my visit to Japan:

·       Peaceful: I was so surprised by how peaceful the cities were. There was no loud honking and people were quiet on the trains. Such a contrast from a lot of large cities that I visited previously.

·       Sushi: Oh so good! The best was the conveyor belt sushi because you could see the sushi and then choose what type you wanted to try. It was so cheap too: $1.30 for two pieces of nigiri sushi. (picture above)

·       Karaoke: Let me just say, I was skeptical. I am not a huge fan of singing in front of people. Yet, we stayed for over four hours. I can see how it gets addicting.

·       Kobe beef: Once again, oh so good! They cooked it in front of us and it melted in our mouths. The Japanese steaks are known for a marble pattern with the fat and muscle spread throughout.

·       Orderly: Everything ran on time. People waited in lines to get to places. When is the last time you saw people in lines to get on the subway?

·       Geishas: An eminent symbol of Japan. These exquisite women entertain wealthy men with visual and performing arts. People may pay thousands of dollars to see them perform for one night. We were lucky enough to see some of these women walking in the streets of Kyoto. (picture above)

·       Gadgets: Heated toilet seats. Vending machines on every corner. Motion-activated escalators.

·       Fashion: Very stylish people. In an eclectic sort of way.

·       Manneken waffles: Not very Japanese, but we ate them everyday in the train station. The best waffles of my life. They didn't even need syrup. Nevertheless, I was surprised to see such a European influence on Japan, especially with regards to food. Kobe was renowned for its pastry shops. (picture above)

 

Like China, there was very little English spoken in Japan. However, when necessary, we were able to find people who could help us. Most of the Japanese people that we met were very friendly. It was funny because, even when it is obvious that we don't speak Japanese, they just keep talking to us in Japanese, as though we know what they are saying.

 

This was the first country that I had no SAS trips and explored completely independently. Japan is probably the safest country that we have gone to and the rail pass for foreign visitors makes it really easy to travel around.

 

Our ship was docked in Kobe. When we arrived, we had to go through the longest customs process of all the countries. We got our temperature taken, fingerprinted, photographed, and interviewed. The other countries only needed to look at passports. We heard that this intense screening process is probably revenge for what the United States does to their citizens.

 

After going through customs (by the way, my passport is filling up quickly with lots of stamps!), Anabel, Brittany, and I took a 30-minute train ride to Osaka. We went on a giant ferris wheel and saw the city. Then we just explored the city and had some delicious sushi.

 

The next day, we took the train to Kyoto, which was one hour away. Kyoto is where you will find the traditional Japanese sights that you imagine. We rented electric bikes, and I tell ya, I just can't go back to a normal bike. It is a bicycle, but pedaling is easier. It was the best of both worlds, because we could be a pedestrian when we wanted to and a car when we wanted to. It was also a great way to see the beautiful city. Of course we had sushi. We also saw the geishas on their way to their evening performances. We made a stop in Osaka on the way back for dinner and waffles!

 

The last two days were spent in Kobe. We took a cableway up to a peak to see the city from above. Then we walked down and our legs have felt it ever since. For lunch, we had Kobe beef. Spectacular! That evening, we went out on the town and did some karaoke. The following day we explored the city and did some shopping, although Japan is much more expensive than any of the countries that we visited previously. We were joking how we should do a carry trade – convert all our money to yen and then at the end of the trip convert it back to dollars, hopefully making some profit from the strong Japanese yen. We finished our last day in Japan with what else, but sushi and sake!

 

For future visits, I am most definitely going to Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagano. I heard that all those trips were spectacular as well. My goal for this trip was to stay around the area, seeing that I have been flying a lot in the previous countries. Oftentimes, the port cities are just as interesting. It was also wonderful to stay on the ship this time since a lot of the students were gone. It is so nice to have a place to call home in each of these countries. I have met so many amazing people, from the students to the staff to the crew. They take care of us so well.

 

Now is time for our long cross of the Pacific. It has already been getting quite rocky and rumor has it that it will get worse. A lot of people have been dreading this time, but I won't mind it. It will give me a chance to be productive and hang out with all the great people that I have met.

 

Also, thanks to Mr. Schulteis' sixth grade class for reading my blog. I love your questions and comments! I will make sure to answer them in the next couple days. It will give me something to do for this Pacific crossing. Keep them coming!

China

What do you call a person who speaks three or more languages? Multi-lingual

What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual

What do you call a person who speaks one language? American

 

I certainly felt like an American in China. Hardly anybody spoke English and we were the spectacle at a lot of the places that we visited.

 

We arrived in Hong on Thursday, April 3^rd. For the past two months, everyone has been saying that Hong Kong is the best port to arrive to. Sadly, the weather was rainy and cloudy. When I first began to see land and buildings, I was saying to myself, this is cool but nothing special. Then we kept sailing in further and further, and there were more and more buildings all around. I have never seen so many skyscrapers in my life. Hong Kong is a huge city, spread out on various islands. It was so hard to know what to do in one day. I ended up taking a Chinese cooking class, which was good, but I didn't really learn to cook dishes that I could replicate. In the afternoon and evening, I just explored the area and went to a great dinner with Dani, Allyson, George, and Connor.

 

The next day, we left early morning for Beijing. That day, we saw the Summer Palace and then explored some of Beijing at night. Saturday was the day that we were all waiting for – the Great Wall of China. As Allyson said, it was more like the Great Staircase of China. The wall was in a mountainous area, so the elevation keeps rising and falling. It is a total of 6000 kilometers long and is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space. We took a ski lift up to the wall and then a toboggan down. The toboggan was a lot of fun, except for the fact that I ran into the Chinese father and daughter in front of me when my breaks wouldn't work. I felt horrible, but they were really nice about it. I think George got it on video. For future showing…

 

The next two days in Beijing were spent exploring more of the sights such as Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. We also did some shopping. In fact, I got two shirts tailored for when I start work in July. And if I need more, I can easily send an email to get more made. Bargaining has been essential is all of the countries that we visited. I hate bargaining, with a passion. Why can't they just give us a fair price to start with? And then when we finally do get the price that we want, we are still skeptical of whether or not we got ripped off. When we hear that someone bought the same item as us, we always ask the price that the other person paid and then one of the people is disappointed that they didn't get it for cheaper. At this market, it was the first time I had fun bargaining because the vendors were so desperate. Tips for bargaining that I learned:

·       Laugh at the original price

·       Say that a friend got it for cheaper (then they say "same same but different")

·       Keep chanting the same price over and over again

·       Buy in mass quantities

·       Find a defect in the quality

·       Walk away – most useful trick of all

 

The last day of our six-day China trip was spent in Shanghai. We just walked around the city, which had a mix of new and old architecture. There were lots of interesting buildings in both Beijing and Shanghai. These Chinese cities are growing incredibly fast and the economies are booming.

 

 

Olympics and Riots

 

As you probably know, the Olympics will be held in Beijing this summer. There were souvenir shops set up everywhere. We saw a few of the facilities being built for the games. They were awesome, but there is still a long way to go, with respect to facilities as well as general tourist services. Millions of people will be converging on China in four months. We arrived to the new terminal at the Beijing airport, which is first-class and now the world's largest building. However, very few of the taxi drivers or restaurant workers speak English. In fact, the guys on the street who are trying to sell us fake purses speak better English. I didn't find Beijing to be a tourist-friendly city. Without my guide, I don't know how we would have survived.

 

As for the controversy surrounding the Olympics, there are two reasons that people are rioting: their polluted cities and their human rights record. As for the pollution, it was definitely noticeable. For all four days that we were in Beijing, we never saw a blue sky or the skyline of the city. The air was always full of smog.

 

With respect to the human rights record, there is certainly quite a list of threats to human rights in China. China has executed more people in three months than the rest of the world has in 3 years. There is little legal representation and many of the executions happen soon after sentencing. As a result, the process that leads to execution is far from fair. There are 68 crimes for which the death penalty could be used including violent crime, tax fraud, stealing petrol, killing a panda, and disrupt ting the stock market. These executions accomplish another goal as well: organ transplants. Over 90% of all organs transplanted in China are from executed prisoners. Over two million Chinese need transplants every year, but only about 20,000 receive them. There is no system of voluntary donors, because cultural norms dictate that human body remains should enter the earth intact.

 

Some of the groups that are targeted by the executions in China are the Falun Gong and Tibetans. Both of these groups threaten the power that the Communist Party has over its people. The Falun Gong is a religious sect that has 30 to 100 million members worldwide and it is a mixture of qigong, Buddhism, and Daoism. I had heard of them before, because I have seen them demonstrating throughout the United States. They do their tai-chi like ceremonies as well as showing pictures of the torture of their followers back in China. When the group began, the Chinese government commended them, but for some reason, they went full circle and began persecution.

 

Tibet has also received international spotlight recently. It is especially tense because March 10^th is the anniversary of their revolt against Chinese rule in 1959. Ever since, their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has been exiled in Dharamsala, India. Although the Dalai Lama has emphasized non-violence, this year the demonstrations seem to be especially tense. Since Chinese officials restrict visits to Tibet, it is hard to get credible information about the situation. To learn more about the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan situation, I would recommend checking out the documentary entitled 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama by Rick Ray. The Dalai Lama will meet with anybody and each person has ten questions. However, if a person is not sincere, no matter how much power and prestige that he or she has, the Dalai Lama will walk out of the appointment. Also, here is an article from The Economist about the Tibetan situation: http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10875823

 

 

Censorship

 

Censorship is an incredibly important tool used by the Chinese government to keep their citizens misinformed. For example, Allyson went on a university visit and talked with various college students. The students had no idea what was going on in Tibet. When I went to an Internet café and searched YouTube, a comment came up saying that I couldn't view that information in China. Just recently CNN and BBC were allowed into China just because the foreign journalists that are there for the Olympics demanded it. However, once the Olympics are over, those liberties will disappear.

 

There was an incredible sense of being watched wherever we went. Especially in Beijing, there were guards everywhere. When we were in Tiananmen Square, our guide mentioned nothing about the massacre that occurred in 1989. When someone asked about that event, he stated that he was not allowed to talk about it and said that there are a lot of taboo subjects in China.

 

 

Knock-offs and Scams

 

I felt like I always had to be on guard in China. There were knock-off purses. There were knock-off cars. There were knock-off shoes. There were tons of scams as well. So many college students would come up to us and practice their English. However, we were warned that some may want to take us to a tea ceremony and then charge us with a huge bill. I hated being skeptical of the intentions of college students that came up to us and wanted to speak English.

 

Cambodia and Vietnam

Word to describe the these countries: intense. In so many ways.

 

To start off, ever since India, we have been going going going. The max break between the countries is 3 days all the way until Japan. So, it has been hard to get our bearings in one country and then jump into a new country.

 

When I chose to my trip to go to Cambodia, I really had no background of its history. When I arrived and experienced the country for three days, I quickly became aware of the horrors that occurred there. When I left, I felt a great desire to learn so much more.

 

Let's start off during the Vietnam War. The Cambodian government during this time adopted an official policy of neutrality. Nevertheless, the U.S. launched a bombing campaign on Cambodia during 1969 and invaded in 1970. One of our professors on the ship fought in the Vietnam War but when his brigade received orders to invade Cambodia, he objected. Although he considered the severe consequences that could have resulted from his disobedience of the order, he stood his ground. Through a long story, Professor Wager left the army without his record being tarnished. As he said, sometimes a large organization does not want to risk its reputation at the cost of just one person. He said that the order to invade Cambodia was illegal and there was no approval from Congress.

 

Up until 1975, the communist Khmer Rouge had been gradually gaining power in Cambodia. In 1975, their control over Cambodia was official with Pol Pot as leader. Under his reign, he massacred one third of the population of Cambodia, somewhere around 2 million people. The targets were intellectuals, religious people, disabled people, ethnic minorities, and so many more. There was little cause behind this genocide. Some people think that Pol Pot was worse than any other leader in history. One of his proverbs was, "To keep you is no benefit, to destroy you is no loss." Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge stayed in power until 1979, when Vietnam invaded and defeated Cambodia.

 

So, while I was in Cambodia, I first flew to Phnom Penh, the capital city. There, we went to Tuol Sleng, a high school which was converted to a prison during the Khmer Rouge era. Near 16,000 people went through this particular prison, and there were only 7 survivors. The punishments and killings were brutal, and it was quite horrendous to know that I was walking through a place that people were dying in just 30 years ago.

 

In addition to that prison, we visited one of the killing fields. It was where the Khmer Rouge killed and disposed of even more people. There was still bone and clothes in the ground. I thought, "wouldn't the clothes have disintegrated?" Then I remembered that it only occurred 30 years ago. It is hard to put into words what I felt, but there was certainly a lot of anger. Most of us were also surprised that we had never even heard of Pol Pot previously.

 

We also visited an orphanage while we were in Phnom Penh. I met some great kids and then some of them had an impromptu jam session for us, with their guitars, drums, and keyboard. As every day passes on this voyage, I am internalizing more and more how fortunate I am to have so many opportunities. At first it was surreal, but now as it is coming near the end (only a little more than a month left!), it is all starting to hit me.

 

Back to Cambodia. After Phnom Penh, we flew to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples and ruins. It was incredible. I liked it almost more than the Taj Mahal, for some reason. Both were beautiful, but Angkor Wat was beautiful in a different way, due to its massive size and the sandstone structure. From what I have heard, Tomb Raider was filmed in some of the temples that we visited. To go along with the theme of intensity of the trip, Cambodia was probably the hottest place that I have ever been to. The sun and heat was beating down on us as we were exploring the ruins. Definitely over one hundred degrees and sweat was just gushing out of our pores. In addition, in many of these recent countries that we have been to, there is very conservative dress. So, it was not like we could wear tank tops and shorts and gallivant across the country.

 

After the three days in Cambodia, I had two days remaining in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. It was nice to just explore the city and feel safe walking around by myself or with a couple other people. In some of the previous countries, we didn't have that opportunity. This was also the place to spend my US Dollar bills. They love them. In fact, US Dollar bills come out of the ATM machines there. Inflation is at a 13-year high, with consumer prices increasing almost 20% year on year. As a result, they would rather hold the relatively stable US Dollar compared to their Vietnamese Dong. Right now, the exchange rate is about 15,000 Dong to every US Dollar.

 

SAS students went crazy in Vietnam with their US Dollars. They loved bargaining for tons of cheap purses, luggage, backpacks, t-shirts, sunglasses, DVDs, chopsticks, and other handicrafts. I failed though. I hate bargaining, and I am not really a fan of all the fake items. But anyways, a lot of people had success and kudos to them!

 

While Allyson and I were exploring, we met so many interesting people. That was probably the best part of the day. Just hearing the stories and learning so much from these worldly people. I hope to be more outgoing in my future travel so I can have these unique encounters with people from around the world.

 

The finale to my trip (Mom would be proud) was taking a motorbike from downtown Saigon back to the ship – probably at least a 30-minute ride. Allyson, Connor, and I each got our own motor bike. As you can see by the pictures, it is definitely an experience driving around the city.

 

Overall, Vietnam and Cambodia were great – definitely near the top of my list.

 

Here is a link to more pictures from the trip: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050264&l=64a2d&id=704151

 

Next stop: Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai…