Semester at Sea

The End of One Voyage...

2008-05-16T13:37:00.007-04:00

Dearest friends and family,

I returned home to the United States a week ago after my voyage around the world! It feels great to be back, but I obviously miss the friends that I made and the countries that I visited in the past four months.

As I was traveling to all these countries, my home was the M.V. Explorer. I never thought that I would be a fan of living on a cruise ship – I would have rather flied from country to country. Nevertheless, in every port it was nice to come home to the ship and have some time to mentally prepare myself for the next country on the itinerary.

I couldn’t have had a better time. There were obviously high points and low points, seeing the beauties and the horrors of the world. It is hard to put my experiences into words, so that is why I have so many pictures. I hope to compile them together to create a slideshow in the near future.

To conclude the voyage, I made a few lists below that summarize some of the experiences and lessons. In addition, here are links to some more pictures that I posted:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053135&l=4360f&id=704151

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053137&l=ceb55&id=704151

Next stop on my itinerary is returning to Boston on May 22^nd and graduating from MIT on June 6^th. I am excited because Muhammad Yunus is our graduation speaker. He founded the Grameen Bank, which offers microloans to women in impoverished countries. These loans, which may be as small as $50, allow people to launch small businesses that lift their families out of poverty. The payback ratio on these loans is very high. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 2006 for his “efforts to create economic and social development from below.” As a result, I look forward to his speech at my graduation, as a culmination to my 3 ½ years at MIT as well as my semester of traveling and seeing some of the worst conditions in the world.

Thank you all for the comments of encouragement and support throughout the past 22 years of life, or 4 years of MIT, or the past 4 months of SAS. I am so blessed to have an incredible group of friends and family. And thanks to email, and facebook, and cell phones, I know that it is easier than ever to stay in touch with you all.

Love,

Becca

If my ship sails from sight, it doesn’t mean my journey ends; it simply means the river bends.

~John Enoch Powell.

"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time"
~T.S. Eliot

SAS by the Numbers:

734 students
Tourism accounts for 60% of the Bahamas GDP
Visited 13 countries
90% of the world’s diamonds are cut in India
14 ports
324 languages in India and no single language is spoken or understood by more than 40% of the population
$30,000 per day is spent on fuel for the ship
18 flights (with more take-offs than landings, well at least in a plane)
Amazon Basin holds 20% of the world’s fresh water
Enrolled in 4 classes
109 days
927 girls to every 1000 boys are born in India, resulting in 500,000 missing girls every year
Longest stretch on the ship was 10 days
Visited 4 continents
51 cities in China with more than 1 million people, only 9 cities in United States
14,000 Vietnamese dong for every dollar
2 million out of 6 million people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia
367 days in 2008 (leap year and 2 April 15ths)
Cambodia garment workers work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, for a total of $60 to $120 per month
73% of the birds in Mauritius are endemic to the island
Jumped out of a plane at 14,000 feet
28 knots: the maximum cruising speed of our M.V. Explorer, one of the fastest cruise ships in the world
$10,000 to build a Habitat for Humanity house for a family in South Africa
26,605 nautical miles (30,616 statute miles) on voyage around the world
66 days until I enter the real world

Some SAS Highlights:

Kayaked through bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico
Celebrated Carnaval in Brazil
Fished for piranhas on the Amazon
Spotted elephants and giraffes and zebras on a safari
Built a house for family in South African township
Cliff jumped from a waterfall in Mauritius
Witnessed begging children in India
Saw the magnificent Taj Majal
Played with disabled children in Chennai
Commemorated Easter in Malaysia with church and brunch
Was shocked at the mass genocide that occurred in Cambodia just 30 years ago
Admired the beauty of Angkor Wat
Listened to an impromptu jam session by orphans in Cambodia
Rode a motorbike through the crazy streets of Ho Chi Minh City
Was stunned by endless number of skyscrapers on our arrival to Hong Kong
Climbed the stairs of the Great Wall of China
Explored the streets of Kyoto on an electric bike
Ate conveyor belt sushi and Manneken waffles and rubber chews in Japan
Jumped out of a plane in Hawaii
Danced the night away at the Ambassador’s Ball
Fell asleep on the seventh deck looking at the stars and woke up to the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean
Shared laughs and tears with friends in Costa Rica
Enjoyed peaceful breakfasts outside on the sixth deck before everyone woke up
Passed through the Panama Canal
Played speed scrabble and Rummikub with friends
Debuted at the No-Talent Show
Graduated wearing a rice hat and life jacket
Was too spoiled by the crew of the M.V. Explorer
Circumnavigated the world in the world’s fastest cruise ship in 109 days

Panama Canal

2008-05-06T12:41:00.000-04:00

We are going through the Panama Canal right now. It is an all day process and I guess there is a live webcam and pictures at the following site: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camerajava.html.

Random fun on the ship

2008-04-28T18:59:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-24T02:44:00.000-04:00

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!

2008-04-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-17T21:05:00.000-04:00

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 Bahamasfinally

· 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

2008-04-16T00:20:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-10T06:51:00.000-04:00

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

2008-04-02T12:55:00.000-04:00

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

Malaysia

2008-03-24T00:15:00.000-04:00

To start off, happy Easter! I have definitely been counting my blessings lately, with this incredible opportunity to travel around the world. I have been so joyful and trying to take in all the little things. I am also glad to share these experiences with all of you. There are probably so many more people reading than I think, which is great!

Anyways, Malaysia is checked off the list. I can't believe that it is the seventh place that I have been to. We are traveling around the world and becoming aware of many different cultures. Yet, we are also so oblivious to what is going on. We are in our own SAS bubble. It can be a good thing and a bad thing. We don't have to worry about the crumbling stock market, the school shootings, the election mania Don't get me wrong, it is good to know about these things, but it is also nice to be unaware for a while, especially since I will be watching CNN at all hours of the day when I start work.

Nevertheless, when I do get to a country, I look forward to getting away from our SAS bubble and most of the people on the ship. It is no fun to be shuttled around on a bus and watching from afar. It is also no fun to go to a restaurant or a site and see only SAS kids. Yet, I have made some wonderful friends, including Dani, Allyson, and Anabel, and I have had a lot of fun traveling with them. So, this voyage is a balance of being learning about the world and being oblivious at the same time. And a balance of experiencing unfamiliar cultures with familiar people.

In that respect, I decided that a homestay would be a great way to truly experience how the people of a country live. For the first two days of Malaysia, I lived with a Malay family, ate Malay food, and explored their village. I took part in the culture as much as possible. I ate with my hands. I could shower with a bucket of water and a ladle. I slept in traditional Malay dress. I learned how to make Malay cookies. Through these experiences, I have appreciated the modern conveniences of the ship so much more (as well as the absence of cockroaches and other fun little creatures).

For the remaining three days in Malaysia, I explored the island. I went to the botanical gardens (much better than Mauritius), Buddhist temples (incredible), a spice garden (you know me and cooking), the beach (I have a red nose to prove it), Easter brunch (oh so good), and lots of other things. Overall, none of us really knew what to expect out of Malaysia. A lot of people went to Kuala Lumpur (KL as it is affectionately called). Others went to Singapore, and I definitely want to go there sometime in the near future. Very crisp and clean. Quite a contrast to our past port. Some people also went to Borneo and it has been their favorite trip so far. The problem that I have at all these ports is that I come back to the ship and hear tons of stories. Then, I have so many more places to add to my list to visit.

I have posted some more pictures. Here is the link to the India ones: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049368&l=6e7dd&id=704151

Here are the Malaysia pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049369&l=0b016&id=704151

Also, I wanted to share this great quote with you, which is true for every port that I have experienced and hopefully for everyday of my life, so I can truly get the most out of it:

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and it knows it must run faster than the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle, or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better start running!"

-Thomas Friedman

India

2008-03-16T11:23:00.000-04:00

Hmm. India.

· Smelly: When we arrived in port, the smell permeated into our rooms on ship immediately.

· Dirty: Like our dean said, you couldn't pay him to wear flip flops in India. They essentially saran wrapped the ship. The outside decks were closed and the carpets were covered with cardboard and plastic wrap. We heard that Chennai, the city we docked at, is probably the dirtiest city in India.

· Entrepreneurial: They are always thinking of ways to make money, which can be a good and a bad thing. Everywhere we went, we were hassled to buy this knick-knack or that. At tourist sites, if we took pictures of some of the workers, they expected money out of it. Immediately, when we got off the ship, there was a little booth set up where we could use the cell phones to call home.

· Colorful: Sarees and silk and pashminas and jewels abound.

· Loud: Horns seem to be the only way of communication around the city. Traffic is very dangerous. They most definitely won't stop for pedestrians in the way. One of our lecturers said that cows in the road (which there were plenty of) are more important than pedestrians.

· Delicious: I love Indian food and it definitely proved to be just as good as what I have had in the U.S, if not better. Luckily, I didn't get sick. I certainly have heard stories. Our doctor recommended to take pepto four times a day in order to avoid the possibility of getting sick.

What did I do? I traveled too much. Looking back on it, I wouldn't have chosen the same trip that I did. We arrived in Chennai on Tuesday. I flew to Delhi that afternoon on a two-and-a-half hour flight. That night, we stayed at a great hotel in Delhi. We got an early morning wake-up call and took a two-hour train to Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, which we saw that morning. In the afternoon, we went to a marble place. Funny story: they told us how people from the U.S. and Europe buy their products and then ship them to their homes. They then passed around some books for us to look at. The books were invoices which included the names, addresses, credit card numbers and expirations dates of those customers from the U.S. And sometimes we wonder how identity theft occurs On a side note, I have noticed in a lot of these countries, the entire credit card number is on the vendor's copy of the receipt. Although they get mad, I make sure to cross off the number so they don't have an easy way to making some other charges on my card. That is one of my biggest worries on the trip: getting my credit card or ATM card numbers stolen. It is a huge hassle, especially when you are traveling around the world and you need a way to spend money in the next ports.

Anyways, back to my India adventures. The afternoon in Agra, we went to Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, another fort, and then we began our six-hour bus ride to Jaipur. And this is no normal bus ride. It is a bus ride on a bus with no shocks, crazy drivers, and lots of honking. If I actually thought about it and looked out the window, my life would be flashing before me. We arrived to Jaipur late that night. The following morning was another early wake-up call. We headed to the Amber City. People had the opportunity to go up on a elephant. A few years ago, some tourists were killed by the elephants after using a flash camera. After an investigation, they determined that the elephants were overworked. As a result, the officials mandated that the elephants only go up 3 or 4 times per day, when they were previously going up over 10 times per day. However, after seeing the number of people that want a ride, we highly doubted that they only go up 3 or 4 times per day. I did not go up on the elephant, seeing that I already had my fill of elephant riding in Thailand. Instead, Anabel and I took a jeep up to the city, which we bet was more dangerous than the elephant. Nevertheless, we survived.

After exploring this fortress, we went to a jewelry store. India polishes 80% of the diamonds in the world. In the afternoon, we went to a carpet-making place. At both of these places, it was quite a depressing contrast to see the conditions in which the workers labored and the store, with its free Pepsi and classy accommodations. That afternoon, we also went to the City Palace, where the King of Jaipur lives. In fact, he was doing a little shopping in the market, so we got our picture with him. That night, we returned to the hotel and had another early morning (2am) awakening to return on a six-hour bus ride to Delhi. Oh joy. We then had a two-hour flight back to Chennai. We returned to the ship, twelve hours after we woke up that morning, at 2 pm.

Although I was exhausted (in addition to being sick), I felt obligated to venture out and do some shopping. We first had to venture down the port area, where the dirt coated our bodies, to the gate. Then, we had to bargain for a rickshaw ride to a local plaza. One of the things that is really getting annoying in all of the countries is being ripped off by the transportation, such as taxis and rickshaws. The worst thing about it is, generally, we have no other way to travel and we essentially need to pay what they quote. Over time, we are mastering the art of bargaining, but I am not a fan. One key phrase is "when I was here last time" However, when we are bargaining with the rickshaw drivers, it is necessary to put it into perspective. We were told not to pay more than 50 rupees. We got him down to 100 or 150 rupees. Horrendous, one would think. But, to convert that, 50 rupees is $1.25. Although it is the principle of paying twice or three times what we should, that extra couple dollars means a lot more to the rickshaw drivers than it does to us. The other thing in India with the rickshaw drivers is that they want to take you to their "friend's shop." In other words, they get commission for bringing gullible tourists to a shop.

The last day in India, Saturday, I went to a disabled children's home. This place has been in existence for 40 years. They are 25% government funded and the rest comes from private donations. There are 103 kids that live there, from 5 to 21 years old. It costs 1000 rupees, or $25 to care for each child each month. For the older children (over 12 years old), the cause of their disabilities is polio. A lot of them get around using crutches or by sitting on a piece of wood on wheels. More recently though, polio has been eradicated and the causes of the disabilities are cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The goal of the home is to teach them skills for daily life such as buttoning their shirt, walking normally, and eating. They also teach them a trade. The home has a lot of industries, such as sewing, printing, and making paper cups. They sell their services to businesses and can, as a result, earn some extra money.

One story is about Narashimhalu. He has cerebal palsy. As a child, he was found in a dumpster by one of the workers at the home. She brought him back and he has thrived. He does all his daily activities using just one of his feet. Not only that, but he is an incredible painter. A painter with his foot.

It was a lot of fun playing with the kids at the home. They loved the stickers and the bubbles and other things that we brought them. They also really liked playing with the digital cameras and seeing themselves on the screen. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera there but I will get some of the pictures for a future post.

Another interesting story at the home: we were doing some weeding and some of the children were watching. They told the director that they were surprised that we could do such hard work, yet we were so fair-skinned. This sort of alludes to the idea of a correlation between skin color and class.

I also thought that I would share some of the human rights issues. Female infanticide is a huge problem. Some causes behind it are the dowry and caste systems, although both are illegal. The family of the bride is expected to grant the wishes of the husband whenever he requests money or material items. Oftentimes, this puts the bride's family into debt and sometimes, the parents will even sell their kidneys to get cash to give to the groom. As a result, it is a huge financial undertaking to have a girl rather than a boy. It is also expected that the boy take care of the parents. When a family has many girls and no boys, they are destined for trouble. Sex selection abortion is illegal in India, but it is very easy to find out the sex of the child and abort it. Consequently, there is quite discrepancy in the male to female ratio. For every 1,000 males, there are only about 900 females, depending on the city and region.

Although, I have mentioned some negative things of India, it is an incredible and up-and-coming country. Its descendants have certainly had a lot of success in the United States. They are the richest immigrant class in the United States. Forty percent of the Silicon Valley startups are by Indian entrepreneurs. The book, The World is Flat, also talks about the growing influence that India has.

There is so much more that I could talk about, but I don't want to overwhelm you with India. In two days, I will be in Malaysia. This is our intense period of traveling. We only have 9 class days in the next month.

Mauritus pictures posted!

2008-03-09T21:00:00.000-04:00

Check out the website for more pictures of my travels in Mauritius: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048700&l=c6fb9&id=704151

Mauritius

2008-03-06T00:16:00.000-05:00

In the past week, I have arrived and departed from Mauritius.

Honestly, I wasn't too excited about it, and from I can tell from my blog poll, nobody else was either. Most or all of us on the ship hadn't even heard of Mauritius previously. That is because we are mostly Americans and most Americans don't choose Mauritius for their beach vacation. One person who had heard of Mauritius was Mark Twain - he said, "You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius."

Mauritius was indeed heavenly. The beaches were incredibly beautiful. While there, I took advantage of the wonderful outdoor environment that Mauritius offered. The first day, I went to the Botanical Gardens. Unfortunately, there weren't nearly as many flowers as I would have expected, it was more a variety of palm trees. I wouldn't go back, but it was nice to check it out. We also went to Grand Baie beach for some fufu drinks (as Doctor Brown calls them) and some sun. That night, I went to a wonderful resort for a Mauritian food lecture, demo, and buffet. If you know me, you know that I loved this event.

The next day, I went on a conservation on the islands trip. Mauritius is well known for its endemic species. In other words, 45% of the plants, 73% of the birds, and 89% of the reptiles are unique to the island. As a result, on Sunday, we went to one of the islands off of Mauritius and saw some of the unique birds as well as giant tortoises. The afternoon was spent at relaxing at the beach.

The next day was quite an adventure. We went hiking to Tamarind Falls. Without a guide, we would have had no idea where to go. We were climbing across rocks, shimmying down trees, and using trees along the path to get back up the hill. We saw 4 waterfalls and cliff jumped from one of them from a height of at least 30 feet high. It was fabulous and such a wonderful experience.

The last day in Mauritius was spent doing some more exploring. I went to the Central Market which had handicrafts, produce (which I always love), and then all types of meat and fish butchered right in front of your eyes. I will spare you the pictures, but let me just tell you, any part of the body was sold. That afternoon, we took a two-hour public bus ride with all the locals to a wonderful beach, called Troux au Biches. We then took the bus back to Port Louis and had dinner close to the ship. After seeing another cruise ship in port, I definitely appreciate the maintenance they do to keep our ship in good shape.

All the time we were in Mauritius, there was a religious pilgrimage traveling to the southern part of the island. It was awesome to see these people walking down the road, dressed up and carrying a sort of altar. This pilgrimage a lso did make travel a little more difficult around the relatively small island (20 by 40 miles).

Overall, it was another great port, and I am glad that I spent it productively as compared to many other SAS students who partied their "SAS Spring Break" away.

South Africa and Super Bowl

2008-02-28T01:00:00.000-05:00

To talk a little bit more about South Africa...

It was wonderful. We docked in Cape Town and unfortunately I didn't get much chance to venture into the downtown area. I did like the waterfront area where we docked, it was the best port area that we have encountered. The picture above shows the clouds coming in to Table Mountain, the backdrop of Cape Town. A lot of people hiked it. Some other things that people did: shark diving, skydiving, bungee jumping, winelands touring, walking with baboons, venturing to Cape Point and hanging out with penguins, and so much more. There is definitely a lot to do for when I come back.

Since Africa is such a poor country, we had a lot of opportunities to see what is being done to help. As you know, I did Habitat for Humanity. Some other people visited Operation Hunger and the Amy Biehl Foundation. Amy Biehl was a white woman who went to South Africa 15 years ago. She was an anti-apartheid activist and did a lot of humanitarian work in the townships. One day she was driving through a township with a black friend and people chased after her and stoned her to death. Hundreds of people participated, but a handful were charged and convicted. It is quite a sad story, but her legacy is living through this foundation that is still helping the townships. After apartheid ended, reconciliation was emphasized and her killers were pardoned. Her family supported their release and one of the killers is working for the foundation today. He gave a tour to some of the students. Amazingly, South Africa is much more dangerous than Brazil, but I felt much more comfortable going there. There is also a larger income inequality than that in Brazil. It is quite noticeable with the miles and miles of townships which never improved from being squatter settlements.

On another note, we watched the Super Bowl tonight. It was quite hilarious watching the game after we already knew the result. But, life on the ship always seems a little behind the rest of the world.

In love with South Africa

2008-02-25T00:39:00.000-05:00

Amazing. That is all that can be said. Cape Town and the rest of South Africa is incredible. I wish I had so much more time in Cape Town - there is so much to do. I was only able to do Habitat for Humanity and cycling in the winelands. Then, I was off to my wonderful safari. We stayed at a luxuriously rustic lodge and the bathroom was larger than the size of my cabin on the ship. We had an outdoor shower and a bathtub to relax in. There was a mosquito net around our beds. These five-star accommodations were quite in contrast to my riverboat down the Amazon. As for the animals that we saw, my expectations were completely exceeded. We saw everything, well except for a leopard. That is one of the hardest animals to spot and I haven't met anyone who did see one. But we did see:

lions
elephants
giraffes
zebras
crocodile
monkeys
snake
hippos
rhinos
baboons
kudu
wildebeest
waterbuck
wild dogs
owls
impala

More stories for later, but I just wanted to put up a preliminary post with some pictures. More pictures of South Africa are at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047722&l=99e97&id=704151

Brazil Pictures Posted!

2008-02-23T07:29:00.001-05:00

Here is the link to more pictures from Brazil: http://mit.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047721&l=2d09c&id=704151

More pictures and stories to come soon about South Africa!

Build one house in a week!

2008-02-19T10:00:00.001-05:00

Habitat for Humanity was amazing and so much fun! I am so glad to be here and can't wait for the rest of the week. I can already tell that this is a place that I want to come back to.

We built a house for a older woman and her three children. She has been living in a shack that is hardly comparable for a long long time. It costs 70,000 rands, or about $10,000 to build each house, but the families get it for free. There are over 100,000 people on the waiting lists for houses and the main limitation is getting them through the system. They have a lot of financial support from individuals and companies, they just need to authorize which families will be getting the house. Some of the requirements to get a house are own the land and making less than 3,500 rands per year or about $50.

As we were driving around on the back of the truck, all the kids around were so happy to see us, waving and saying hello. It was so much fun!

So close to South Africa

2008-02-17T17:06:00.000-05:00

We have been trying to keep busy on the ship, with what else but classes! How fun...

In addition to that, we had the official ceremonies for Neptune Day. Early in the morning (aka 7am), the crew came around knocking on our doors and banging on drums. A little while latey started the ceremony. It consisted of people getting fish guts poured on them, then jumping in the pool, coming out to kiss fish, and bowing down to "King Neptune" (aka our dean). Then, the people with even more courage got their heads shaved. As much as I would like to say that I had the courage to do those things, I did not partake, but took tons of pictures. There were over 50 people who got their heads shaved, including a significant number of girls.

As of tomorrow, we will be 7 hours ahead of the East Coast. Time is flying by here, especially since we have been losing an hour every other night while crossing the Atlantic. We encountered some rough waters in the middle of the ocean and we had to hold on to our plates in the dining hall so they didn't slide off the table due to the rocking. Rumor has it that the waters will be particularly rough immediately after Cape Town, some of the worst in the world. Luckily, I have been getting used to the rocking and have enjoyed the adventure of living on a ship.

So, what will I be doing in South Africa?

Day 1: Habitat for Humanity. I am soooo excited to do this. I have always wanted to do habitat for humanity and never had a chance while in Boston. Now I can do it in South Africa!
Day 2: Cycling in the winelands and jazz at night. Can you imagine biking and drinking wine at the same time? Should be interesting...
Days 3 - 6: Safari!! I hope to see tons of animals. I did a four-day safari rather than a three-day one so that I could have the greatest chance of seeing them.

I wish I had more time to hang out in Cape Town, but I am hoping that some of the nights I will be able to explore. I guess tourism has just surpassed gold as the main industry. Diamonds are also quite popular; however, I did just read a Blood Diamonds, which was disturbing. I also read Kaffir Boy, which is a great story about a boy growing up during the apartheid era.

Finding a cause

2008-02-14T05:49:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to know what the best way to help people in need is. My goal for this entire voyage is to find a cause that I am passionate about and support for the rest of my life. So far, I realized that I am passionate about hunger, and that is not only because I love food. I see people in these villages and they are so happy. They may not know how to do addition or how to spell their names or how to use a computer, but they are happy. The author of the memoir that I talked about earlier emphasizes that one obstacle in the way of happiness in hunger. She said, "I fought against the real slavery hunger." Now, I just need to figure out a sustainable way to feed people throughout the world. Don't take this the wrong way education and technology are powerful tools for the world as well.

I have been talking a lot to my Brazilian friend Daniella about her country. She is in the upper echelons of society in Brazil. She went to the American school in Sao Paolo, which is the best that there is. Right across the street from her school (which is guarded with barbed wire and all), is the school for a favela. The structure is made of tin. There is no school when it is raining because it is too loud. Teachers come and go. Classes have students from all ages. Daniella's school set up a program so that the students of both schools could interact. In general, the upper classes, especially the children, are completely sheltered from knowing about the lives of the lower class. Daniella was carted from home to school to horseback riding lessons and back home again, all without having to see the destitute conditions. And I don't blame her. Anyways, back to my story, so the students of the American school went over to the favela school to teach them grammar. When they got there, they realized it would be completely impossible. The children were either withdrawn and wouldn't talk or they were all over Daniella saying "You are so beautiful," "I want your watch," etc. Instead, they decided to teach the kids about self-esteem. I am so impressed with Daniella she has dreams to change her country. She is going to school at Boston University and wants to return to Brazil eventually. She realizes that there are huge problems but is not disillusioned and wants to effect change. She has already started to help. When she started driving and was not being carted around the city, she really saw the street children. They would come to her window and beg for money. Yes, that happens in the U.S. but not to the extreme that it does in Brazil. Daniella, instead of helping these kids through money, decided to carry food in her car to give to any of the streetkids. It is great to meet amazing people on this ship who really want to have an impact on the world.

Bye bye Brazil

2008-02-13T02:16:00.000-05:00

We returned to Salvador on Saturday and I had a chance to go to the handicrafts market a bit. There was lots of woodwork, art, cashews, and soccer jerseys. Some people who stayed in Salvador had the opportunity to go to a “football” game, which I am really jealous about. The other big trips that people took were Rio de Janeiro, Lencois, or Iguassu Falls. If I ever return to Brazil, I would love to see Rio because I hear that it is absolutely beautiful.

One of the hardest things to deal with in Brazil was the language. They speak Portuguese, which some people say is like a drunk French person trying to speak Spanish. I will definitely encounter the language barrier in every country so Brazil just eased me into it. I just felt so unaware. On the airplane, they didn’t always translate and we used a lot of hand gestures. They did teach us on the basics on the ship, and some of the words that I use a lot were “hello,” “thank you,” “please,” “sorry,” and “excuse me.” The good thing about Brazil though was that we could survive at least with Spanish. Some of the words were the same or similar.

One of my biggest regrets from Brazil was not going to a steakhouse. Oh my gosh, everyone raves about it. I guess you get a card at your table – you flip it when you want meat and they just mob your table to start shaving meat onto your plate. You flip it back when you don’t want any. It keeps going back and forth until you are utterly stuffed. I had the opportunity to go to one when I got back in Salvador on Saturday, but I wasn’t feeling so hot. I’ll spare you the details. We did have some great food on the riverboat, but for one reason or another, a lot of us got sick. Our cuisine on the riverboat was rice, beans, noodles, some type of meat and fish, salad, fruit (oh, delicious fruit), and their national soda, Guarana. By the way, if you are about to say that I got sick from the salad, I avoided the salad for the most part. Anyways, it was good food, and I am glad I didn’t get sick until the end although the flight wasn’t very fun. The one consolation to not going to the steakhouse in Brazil is that I am going to make myself go to one in New York next year. I will have to get some recommendations from my Brazilian friend, Daniella.

Other things that I learned about Brazil:

They have direct elections and everyone is required to vote. If someone does not vote (or show up and abstain), they can’t get a passport and other government services.
The grades that students get in their classes do not matter. The only thing that matters for college is a national examination. If they want to go to school in Brazil, they need to choose a specialty, such as business or engineering, and then they need to go to the specialized school. While in college, most students have seven to eight classes per semester, a lot more than we do in the states. However, we have more reading in the states than Brazil. The students usually stay at home while they are attending college.

To conclude, Brazil was an adventure. South Africa is next, which I am looking forward to the most. If you want to know more about Brazil, add a comment to this blog and I would be happy to add a post. I just have run out of things to write about, and why would I want to study for my exams anyways?

Amazon adventure

2008-02-11T19:12:00.002-05:00

My next adventure in Brazil was the Amazon. But before the Amazon riverboat exploration began, I needed to fly to Manaus, via 4 separate flights. In the end, I did make there alright, although our last connection was delayed and they had to hold the plan for us. Overall, we were quite impressed with the reliability of TAM airlines and the quality of the airports.

Our first stop on our riverboat in the Amazon was to the Meeting of the Waters: the place at which the Rio Negro and the Amazon River meet. The Rio Negro looked like Coca Cola and the Amazon looked like chocolate milk. Do you like my drink analogies? Anyways, the two rivers do not mix because of their differences in density, temperature, velocity, and pH. The picture above shows this phenomenon.

Later that afternoon, we explored and saw massive water lilies, caymans, and monkeys. We then went on a boat ride and as we were going along, kids in canoes paddled quickly and caught up to us. What we quickly realized was that they had snakes, sloths, and caymans for us to hold. It was freaky. They wanted money for this little spectacle. One of the conflicts in these countries that I am sure we will all encounter is when to give money and when not to.

After being confronted by those children, we went on to fish piranhas. Sadly, I didn’t catch any but others did. Then our guides went into the water catch some caymans. As you can see in the picture, we got to hold them. That night, we slept in hammocks. It was close quarters and more comfortable than one might expect. The following morning we went on four-hour trek through the jungle. One of our guides, Jozef was leading the way with his machete. Rumor has it that he was a former jaguar hunter. They showed us so many plants and trees that can be used for survival. There was a tree that yielded water when you cut it. There were a couple trees with milk that can satisfy your hunger. There was the plant that yields the Vick’s medication – it smelled quite good. There was a straw whose oil can be used as insect and jaguar repellent (sadly, no jaguars sighted by us). It is amazing all the resources in the rainforest – the Indians who have survived all these years in these woods are so full of knowledge.

That afternoon, we pulled up to a beach. This beach was on the Rio Negro (so it had the Coca-Cola-colored water, if you have forgotten). Seeing that I hadn’t had a shower in the past couple days and my skin was plastered with bug spray, sunscreen, sweat, and dirt, I was desperate for a shower. This was the next best thing. I ran into the water with my shampoo and soap and cleansed the best that I could. It was so refreshing, even if it was the same water that we threw our leftovers into. Gross, I know. But, this is one of the few “roughing it” trips that I am going on. I am just glad it was at the beginning so I can truly appreciate the future hotels.

For our last day in the Amazon, we visited some villages. The best part about it was seeing the kids. But, it also was sort of weird, how would you feel if strange Americans came into your village and walked around holding the hands of your kids while taking pictures of your houses? It’s not to say that they weren’t happy to see us though, especially because we bought their handicrafts. I just wish that I would have remembered to bring my gifts for the children, like stickers and balloons, but I left them on the ship. Seeing the villages were amazing. We saw a traditional Indian performance at the second performance and it was quite impressive. I had the opportunity to dance with them. It was nice finale to the Amazon.

Back safe and sound from Brazil

2008-02-10T16:35:00.000-05:00

I returned from my second port of call, Salvador, Brazil. After hearing so many things about Brazil, I was quite intimidated to go, especially during Carnaval. Overall, I had a wonderful experience, and I returned to the ship exhausted and never happier to be on the ship. Mostly because I didn't have a real shower for 3 days in a row. Ugh.

There is so much to say about Brazil and what I did there! I don't even know where to start. Seeing that I have so much to say, I will split up my post throughout the next few days.

We arrived to Salvador early morning on Tuesday. The first picture is the sunrise as we are pulling in. In one of the classes, we talked a lot about the contrast between the rich and the poor in Brazil. It is a country that has one of the largest income inequalities in the world. As we pulled in to Salvador, our cruise ship was massive as compared to the tiny fishing boats. When we docked at the port, the favelas with their poor housing were immediately visible.

That afternoon, we went to Carnaval in our "afternoon camarote." I had no idea what the camarote was going to be, just that it was a safer way to celebrate Carnaval than taking to the streets. I had the perception that it was just going to be us SAS kids in an enclosed area sipping Kool Aid. Haha, well everything minus the Kool Aid. Instead, there were hundreds of us (us meaning Brazilians and SAS kids in the minority) on a platformed area partying the afternoon and night away. It was packed and hard to walk around because there were so many people. The singers went around on floats, essentially the tops of buses. There were people packed in the streets as well. We saw some famous guy that everyone was going crazy over, but I have no idea who he was, being the ignorant American that I am.

The craziest part about it was that we had a police escort as we were walking from where our bus was parked to the camarote. I was happy to have the security, but I also felt sort of guilty, as though I am too good to walk through the streets. There were kids sleeping on the streets with nothing and begging for cans. I am reading a memoir in one of my classes about a woman who lived in a favela and survived day-to-day by picking up paper and cans and exchanging it for money in order to feed her children. Those kids reminded me of the book (Child of the Dark).

Next blog about the Amazon adventure.

Crossed the equator

2008-02-02T06:47:00.001-05:00

Good morning to all!

We crossed the equator this morning. I guess the tradition among ships is, if it your first time to cross the Equator on a ship, you are supposed to shave your head. It is called Neptune Day. We will be celebrating Neptune Day between Brazil and South Africa, although it technically occurred today. A lot of people are going to shave their heads, but, needless to say, I will not be participating. I like my hair too much.

Still a few days until Brazil, but we have a day off from classes today. Yesterday, I did a presentation about human rights in Brazil. In particular, we talked about the death squads that kill the street children, landless people, and indigenous there. It is quite a depressing practice and about 4 to 5 children are killed on the streets of Brazil everyday. There is a lot of corruption within the police forces and government. Last night I watched the movie City of God. Good movie, especially if you are looking for a drama. They show lots of these types of movies, relating to the countries we are visiting every night. In addition to movies, they have had Latin dance classes and Portuguese for travelers. There are also port-to-port speakers who come on the ship just between two ports to talk about their country of expertise.

As I said last time, in Brazil, I will first be going to Carnaval in Salvador. It is similar to Mardi Gras, but much larger and crazier, so I have been told. It is 6 days of partying the nights away. I will be going on Tuesday night, the last night, in a camarote. In other words, I will be in the stands (with a security guard) observing the craziness below.

On Wednesday morning at 2:30 AM, I will be leaving for Manaus. There, we will take a riverboat down part of the Amazon. We are sleeping in hammocks and doing lots of fun activities that I can describe later. Here are some facts that we learned about the Amazon Basin in class yesterday:

It holds 20% of the worlds' fresh water.
It is 6 million square miles (42% of which is in Brazil - also in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia).
It has 1/3 of the worlds' forests.
It has 20% of the world's bird and plant species.

Some other facts about Brazil:

It is just slightly smaller than the U.S. (I knew it was large, but didn't realize it was that large).
There are 200 million people.
The unemployment rate is 1.8%.
The inflation rate is 4.1% (not bad as compared to other Latin American countries).

Have a great weekend!

Back to the ship

2008-01-30T17:30:00.000-05:00

To finish off what I did in Puerto Rico, I went to the restaurant where the pina colada was created. Delicious! I also did some more kayaking to a beautiful beach. After a three-day stay in Puerto Rico, I am back on the ship until next Tuesday when we arrive to Brazil. I am slightly scared to go there, especially because we are arriving the last night of Carnaval. I am taking an early morning flight to the Amazon and I think I have 3 layovers. It should be quite an adventure just getting there.

So, now that I am back on the ship, I am taking classes. They are: History as a Memoir, Human Rights and Ethics, World Cities, and Global Studies. Each of these classes specifically relate to the countries that we will be visiting. Since I am not taking these classes for credit, I am trying to tell myself that I don't need to get an "A" and to take in all the other activities and relaxation. At night there are a variety of movies showing and events going on. Last night, our photographer had a presentation about travel photography and his pictures were awesome. I strive to have pictures like that!

The food on the ship is pretty good. I think it will be rough when we get to the end of our time on water and they haven't restocked with fresh food. There is definitely repitition, but there are a variety of options. Lots of fish, pasta, salad, and pb&j.

Pictures!

2008-01-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here are the pictures of the ship and Puerto Rico!

More pictures at the following website: http://mit.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046376&l=0c14a&id=704151

In Puerto Rico!

2008-01-27T10:10:00.001-05:00

Hola amigos!

I am in Puerto Rico right now. We had been on the ship for two days and arrived to Puerto Rico on Saturday morning. The sunrise was beautiful as we came into port. (I will add a picture once I download my pictures - I forgot to bring my cord to this Starbucks...grr).

The "ship" is great. We have been instructed to use the correct vocabulary for our "voyage" around the world. Since I have never been on a ship before, I didn't know whether or not I would get seasickness. It rocks much more than I expected, and I had a headache for the first couple days but I think I got used to it. Now, when I am on land, I feel like I am rocking back and forth like there is an earthquake in Puerto Rico or something.

We lost an hour on the first night of the trip and we will continuing losing time as we travel around the world. The funny thing is that we re-live April 15th. We gain a whole extra day. I think I would rather gain hours every night, rather than having another day of class.

So, what have I been doing in Puerto Rico? I went on a walking tour around Old San Juan yesterday and then had lunch - plantain cups with chicken and a mango fruit drink. Delicious! Much better than the food in the Bahamas. Last night I went kayaking to a bioluminescent bay, where the waters light up when you put your hands through it. Tomorrow I am going on a rainforest hike to the only rainforest in the U.S. park system.

I also figured I should enlighten you about how the commonwealth of Puerto Rico is different from a state?

They can't vote for president because the electoral college votes are only distributed to states.
They don't pay federal taxes although they do have higher local taxes.
They are separate in international competitions (such as the Olympics, beauty pageants, etc.)

Pictures to come soon.

Last night in Bahamas!

2008-01-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

Things I learned today in the Bahamas:

the sun actually does come out
gas is $4.70 per gallon
the number one income for the economy is tourism, second is offshore banking (no sales tax and low property tax, etc.)

Things Mom and Auntie Jane learned at the SAS reception for parents:

the cruise is going to be absolutely awesome!
733 students and about 300 staff, crew, and lifelong learners
70% women, 30% men
students from 8 countries

I was at Atlantis while they were being wined at dined, as shown by the pics above.

For more Bahamas pics, go to this website: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046103&l=7e61a&id=704151

Liquid sunshine

2008-01-21T21:36:00.001-05:00

Rumor has it we are getting liquid sunshine here in the Bahamas - rain and wind. The picture of the palm tree says it all! On the bright side, we did some shopping today.

Something interesting we learned in our taxi today - it is illegal for Bahamians to gamble. However, there is a casino right next door to our hotel (which we went to yesterday and lost some money on the Packer game). Mom said to the taxi driver, "how can they tell if you are Bahamian?" and the guy was like, "they look at you." Haha.

Also saw my ship today - it is massive. I suppose it makes sense because there are 700 students plus "lifelong learners" (old people who want to travel, such as Dad, but wasn't allowed to go), professors, and the crew.

So we made it to the Bahamas...finally

2008-01-20T22:49:00.001-05:00

Like I said in my previous blog entry, O'Hare is known for their delays. In fact, we were sitting in the airplane for 2 hours waiting. No bad weather. We even went out to the runway and they soon after decided that something needed to be fixed. We returned to the gate for a "short" hour and bonded with our fellow passengers. Eventually we took off and made it to the Bahamas after dark.

Last night we had dinner at a typical Bahamian restaurant. The meal consisted of cracked conch (type of shellfish similar to calamari), special Bahamian mac and cheese (seemed similar to lasagna), peas 'n rice, and more. Overall it was pretty disappointing. Note to self and future travelers to the Bahamas: always get the fresh catch of the day - don't bother getting any of the other fish on the menu.

We got about 30 minutes, maybe an hour, of sun this morning, but then a storm and winds came in quickly. The Bahamas essentially shuts down on Sundays and not many stores or restaurants are open. So, we pretty much bummed around the hotel and area and cheered on the losing Packers.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring better weather - hoping to go to the Atlantis hotel and downtown one of these days.

Welcome to my blog!

2008-01-19T01:49:00.000-05:00

It is late Friday night (or early Saturday morning) and I am pretty much packed for my cruise around the world. My two suitcases and my backpacking backpack are stuffed as much as possible and probably over the weight limit, but oh well. I am most definitely forgetting things, but that will make the trip all the more exciting! I have packed such a variety of things for the many places and climates: warm and cold clothes, stickers for kids in the countries, lots of medications for malaria, sea sickness, etc., a hard drive for all my pictures, and so much more!

In 7 hours, I will be driving down to Chicago with Auntie Jane and Mom. Our flight departs at 12:35 PM from O'Hare (in theory, but we all know that O'Hare is known for their delays) and we arrive in Nassau at 4:45 PM. We will be relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the Bahamas (as compared to the frigid negative temperatures in WI) until Wednesday, when I depart on my ship. The itinerary is as follows:

Puerto Rico: 1/26 - 1/28
Brazil: 2/5 - 2/9
South Africa: 2/19 - 2/24
Mauritius: 3/1 - 3/4
India: 3/11 - 3/15
Malaysia: 3/19 - 3/23
Vietnam: 3/27 - 4/1
Hong Kong: 4/3 - 4/4
China: 4/7 - 4/8
Japan: 4/11 - 4/14
Hawaii: 4/22
Costa Rica: 5/3 - 5/4
Miami, Florida: 5/9!

Between each port, I will be taking classes and then when I arrive to the countries, I can travel independently or with the Semester at Sea (SAS) program. I plan on taking lots of pictures and update my blog at least once a week, if not more. I look forward to hearing from all of you. Thanks for all your support and I can't wait to share my stories (probably good and bad, happy and sad) with all of you. Until next time...

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this."
~Henry David Thoreau

Semester at Sea

The End of One Voyage...

Panama Canal

Random fun on the ship

Longest stretch of the voyage

Pictures!

Answers to Mr. Schulteis' Sixth Grade Class

Japan

Cambodia and Vietnam

Malaysia

India

Mauritius pictures posted!

Mauritius

South Africa and Super Bowl

In love with South Africa

Build a house in one week

So close to South Africa

Finding a cause

Amazon adventure

Back safe and sound from Brazil

Back to the ship

Pictures!

Last night in Bahamas

Liquid sunshine

So we made it to the Bahamas finally

Japan

China

Olympics and Riots

Censorship

Knock-offs and Scams

Cambodia and Vietnam

Malaysia

India

Mauritus pictures posted!

Mauritius

South Africa and Super Bowl

In love with South Africa

Brazil Pictures Posted!

Build one house in a week!

So close to South Africa

Finding a cause

Bye bye Brazil

Amazon adventure

Back safe and sound from Brazil

Crossed the equator

Back to the ship

Pictures!

In Puerto Rico!

Last night in Bahamas!

Liquid sunshine

So we made it to the Bahamas...finally

Welcome to my blog!

So we made it to the Bahamasfinally