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.
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