Vietnam!

I strongly believe that all Americans should make a visit to Vietnam. With such a strong, drastic history between our country and theirs, it was eye-opening and very interesting to spend time in the country. It may seem surprising, but the Vietnamese people were incredibly interested in us and accommodating. We docked in Ho Chi Minh City, in the south of Vietnam, which may attribute to the kindness of the people (I heard that people in the north weren’t quite so excited about their American visitors). This port really made me realize the importance of understanding the history of the countries we visit. I wish I had known more about the Vietnam War before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City. Since our departure, I have spent ample time researching the war and beginning to understand the reasons and implications pertaining to it. History and culture display an entire new level of relevance now that I’ve actually been to these places and seen these people.

One nice thing about our stay in Vietnam was that I didn’t really GO anywhere. I spent my nights on the ship, so I never had to plan much or pack a bag or sleep somewhere new, and that’s always relaxing and relieving. After clearing immigrations on the first day, I walked a few blocks to the War Remnants Museum. This museum displays the “American War” from the Vietnamese perspective. It includes a number of artifacts and photos, including an extremely heart-wrenching wall of pictures of people disfigured by Agent Orange. This museum brought tears to my eyes and really ignited my desire to learn more about the war that we fought in Vietnam. After this, I walked around Ho Chi Minh City, exploring and shopping and people-watching. We got Pho for dinner- a traditional Vietnamese dish of broth and noodles and various other ingredients, which was very good, although difficult to eat with chopsticks. Luckily, the waiter brought me a fork about 7 seconds into my unsuccessful chopstick attempt. After dinner, we walked through the late-night outdoor market before heading back to the ship for what I thought would be an early morning.

I missed the bus to my service visit the next day; a big mess of meeting in the wrong places and the wrong times and ultimately missing the entire trip. So I went back to bed! I slept in for a couple hours and then met up with a friend to hang out in Ho Chi Minh City for another day. It was a very laid-back today, lots of walking, meeting locals, and learning how to effectively cross Vietnamese streets (general advice: no crosswalks, no stoplights, no signs, and lanes that have no purpose. The strategy is to step off the sidewalk and maintain a steady pace while walking as the cars and motorbikes make their way AROUND you. No stopping and no running). We went to the huge market and bargained the morning away, purchasing all sorts of souvenirs and gifts. We walked to a touristy area and through a park where people were practicing martial arts, engaging in intense badminton games, and running around with their friends and family. This led into another area where a large festival was taking place to commemorate the Asian Olympic Games that were currently taking place in Ho Chi Minh City. This festival had lots of Christmas lights- it was like walking through a fairy land, entertainers, play areas for kids, food stalls, shopping tents, music, and giant inflatable chickens- the mascot for the Asian Olympic Games. Drew wanted to eat at Milwaukee grill and café, named after his hometown and a must-see for him. It was surprisingly good and a nice taste of American food. We went back to the festival to investigate the after-dark sights of millions of little lights and live bands and then made our way back to our floating home.

I woke up early the next day to make a day trip outside of Ho Chi Minh City. I hopped on the bus and took it to The Rex Hotel, to meet with their tourist desk and book a trip for the day. A van picked up my friend and I to take us to the Mekong Delta for the day, and we had a fantastic English-speaking guide named Kha. It took about 2 hours to get to the Delta, and when we arrived there we were immediately swept onto a boat that took us up and down the Mekong. We were given coconut milk and enjoyed looking at the other boats, fishing rafts, and homes on stilts. I loved seeing all the boats and people lounging around on them, wearing rice hats and swinging in hammocks. All the boats have giant eyes painted on the front, to look out for and scare the dangerous animals that used to occupy the Mekong, like tigers or cobras. The boat eventually took us to an island, where we sat down for food and musical entertainment. We were served all different types and fruit and Kha explained what they were and how to eat them. We then walked through the fruit orchards to the other side of this island, where we met a much smaller rowboat that would take us down this portion of the river. Two women sat at either end of the boat, sitting on top of the deck and paddling us down the river (a job that pays a whopping $1/day for all that physical work). I felt like I was the Disneyland Ride “A Jungle cruise”, with all the scenery and flora around us. This boat took us to another remote island which surprisingly was the home to its very own little business. Once we exited the boat, we were able to watch a group of women making coconut candy. The candy was AMAZING and I bought 6 packages to bring home. We saw the entire process, from gathering the coconuts to packaging the small morsels, and we were even able to make some of our own! The women served us tea and introduced us to their python, who was quickly draped over my soldiers for a photo op. The first boat came back and got us and took us back to the main area where it had picked us up. We were treated to lunch at a great restaurant with 8 courses and beautiful décor. Once the van got us back to Ho Chi Minh City, we stopped by the Saigon Square shopping center and discovered the greatness that is cheap DVD’s from Vietnam.

The next morning was an early wake-up for a service visit. We took the bus to the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf, where the children were absolutely elated to see us. After a dance performance from the kids, game-playing, and coloring, we loaded the bus to take the kids to the zoo for the afternoon….from here, the visit took a downhill turn. The zoo was less than adequate for entertaining children for more than 4 minutes, and the double-language barrier made it impossibly difficult to have any control over the kids. Not only were they hard-of-hearing, they also only spoke and understood Vietnamese, and were no longer elated by our presence at all. So I spent the entirety of my afternoon chasing my two assigned children throughout the zoo, and celebrating when we finally loaded the bus and both of my kids were still in tow. I went straight back to the ship for a nap before going out that night.

Our last day in Ho Chi Minh City was also laid-back. Chloe and I visited the post office for postcards and stamps, and were excited to find phone booths with cheap service to America. We both called home, family, and friends for about an hour, paid for our time and purchases, and then decided we wanted to see a new marketplace for shopping. We hopped on the back of two guys’ motorbikes and made our way to a huge market that we hadn’t seen before. We spent awhile at the market but didn’t find anything worthwhile so another duo of men motorbiked us back to Ho Chi Minh City. We had some delicious pizza for lunch and again visited Saigon Square for last-minute shopping. Between me and Chloe, we have well over 100 dvd discs of television shows and movies…all of which cost us about .50/disk. Great deal and a good investment for upcoming long stretches at sea!

India!

India…what a beautiful paradox. From the sensational colors of the women’s clothing, to the beautiful brightness and perfection of the handicrafts sold on the street and in the shop, to the grandiose architecture and structures, India was one of the most eye-catching places I have ever seen...
And from the crippled children begging as they drag their bodies across the floor, to the hundreds of people lining the streets and public areas to sleep at night, to the layer of filth and stench that settled on our clothes and our skin and even throughout the ship, it was undoubtedly the darkest and saddest reality that I have ever seen.

I really, really, really enjoyed India. Although there was a lot of poverty and sadness and disgust, it was such a fantastic cultural experience on every inch of the spectrum. The first day, I just went out in Chennai (where the ship was docked) with some friends to explore the area. We took auto-rickshaws to a bunch of stores to do some shopping, and they were a ton of fun. This is a very efficient way to maneuver such busy and crazy streets, and it was a lot of fun to be able to look out and people-watch as the rickshaw drivers wound in and out of traffic and other road blocks (like cows crossing the street wherever they please- as a sacred symbol in India, they have the right of way!). We got some shopping done but spent more time riding around in the rickshaws trying to get a feel for Chennai before heading out to other cities for the duration of our time in India. That evening, I attended a welcome reception with local students. This was one of the best SAS programs that I have participated in, I loved spending time with the students and talking with them and watching the presentation that they had prepared for us. We all walked in to the reception and were greeted by students dabbing sandalwood paste on our foreheads and adorning us with a type of flower necklace. Inside the reception, there was tons of traditional Indian food, henna tattoo artists, merchants with small stands, and an area to learn how to tie a sari. I ate, had my hand covered in an extensive and beautiful henna tattoo, shopped, and then walked the stage in a lovely sari with a handful of other SAS students. After this, a group of Indian girls took the stage for an incredible dance performance. We were able to witness traditional music, dance, and costumes, and everyone seemed completely blown away by the talent and amazing outfits that these girls were showing us. When the reception was over, we took a bus back to the ship and I went straight to bed in preparation for my 4 AM departure the next morning.

4 AM came way too soon and before I knew it I was on my way to the Chennai airport with a group of other sleepy SAS students. We boarded the plane and flew about 2 hours to New Delhi. Once we were in New Delhi, there was no time to waste and we immediately began a tour of the city. First we went to the Red Fort, which was the capital of the Mughal Empire until the 1850’s, and was then a military camp run by the British until India gained its independence in 1947. The Red Fort is essentially just that- a huge, giant, red fort. The entrance doesn’t even begin to convey how large the fort is and how many buildings can be seen on the inside. After walking through the gates, then the other buildings and total area of the fort can be seen. We spent a good amount of time walking around the grounds and exploring the various buildings before getting back on the bus for a driving tour of the city. After a great lunch, we were dropped off to explore the city streets and do some shopping in the markets and with street vendors. In the evening, we went to the train station to take a train to Agra. There were so many people sleeping on the ground of the train station- men, women, children, and adults, just tons of people curling up with their belongings and sleeping amid the hustle and bustle of a train station. There were also a ton of beggars, accusing us of being rich and therefore obliged to give them money. Many people were taking photos of the people in our group; some were brave enough to come close and ask for a picture of us or to take one with us. One couple even threw their child into the arms of another SAS student and snapped a photo! Our train was delayed a couple hours and then took FOREVER to get to Agra, but around 1 AM we finally got checked into our hotel and went to bed.

It was another early wake-up to visit the Taj Mahal at sunrise. When we finally made our way through the intense security line, and walked through the multiple gates of other structures of buildings, the Taj stood in all its grandeur before us. I was in awe. It was one of those moments when life seems unreal and my eyes seemed to be deceiving me. The Taj Mahal itself, something I have seen countless times in movies, books, posters, standing before me, while the sun began to rise. I stood in complete disbelief before finally beginning to snap some pictures and make my way toward the fantastic palace. Once inside, my feet content in provided booties (a better alternative to removing my shoes altogether, after watching Slumdog Millionaire), we were able to see the recreated tombs of the emperor Shah Jahan and his wife (whom the Taj was built for), Mumtaz Mahal. These are not the actual tombs, which are built below ground and inaccessible to tourists, but still show the public a visual of where these two people are buried. The actual building that most people think of as THE Taj Mahal is only the mausoleum, there are also two other grand buildings, one on either side of the Taj, that serve as a mosque and the other creates symmetry but was thought to possibly also be a guesthouse. There are also giant gates and other areas where Jahan’s other wives are buried. Jahan planned to build an identical black Taj Mahal on the other side of the nearby river, but never was able to create this after being imprisoned by his son and passing away. There are more hallways and areas to walk through in the main Taj mausoleum building, but nothing too entrancing besides marble walls, marble floors, and some colored stone inlaid to make pretty designs. After lots more pictures and staring at the Taj, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day visiting more sites- Fatehpur Sikri (an old Mughal city) and the Arga Fort. At sunset, we went back to the Taj to see the sun setting and for a final glimpse and photo op. It was much more crowded than earlier in the day, so most of us stayed outside and spent our time there taking pictures and just taking it all in. There were a LOT more requests for pictures from Indian people and other visitors to the Taj, which we found amusing and happily obliged to partake in. We left after the sun set to catch our train back to New Delhi…which was delayed…again, so a handful of us went across the street for some familiar American food while we waited, and were happy to eat Pizza Hut rather than the provided box lunches. The train station this time was even worse, with multiple young people and children begging from us, many of them disfigured. A lot of people were crawling on the floor, due to their lack of feet or legs, grabbing at our ankles, asking for food or money. We gave away our uneaten box dinners but had little else to offer these people. It was sad and eerie, and I had a very hard time witnessing this side of India. Eventually, the train came, and it got us to Delhi in about half the time that the other train had taken. Once in Delhi, we checked into a FABULOUS hotel that I plan on visiting again for much longer than a night. I had an incredible night’s sleep in the comfy bed and was not ready to leave in the morning!

After a wonderful breakfast at our hotel, we were all sad to check out, but ready for another day of sightseeing. We stopped by Emperor Humayun’s tomb, which looked like a miniature Taj Mahal. We all agreed that this tomb would have been much more impressive had we not been at the Taj the day before. We took a few group pictures and explored the area, then stopped by another site of ruins (I don’t remember what it was called!) before going to the airport. We had a lot of time at the airport so there was some last minute shopping, and then we all boarded the plane back to Chennai and our floating home.

On our last day in India, I spent the day exploring and wandering with my friend Drew. We did some shopping and lots of driving around in rickshaws, people-watching and just seeing the area. We asked our rickshaw driver to take us to his favorite place to eat and he drove us to a hidden hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant that we never would have found otherwise! We asked him to eat with us and told him that we would pay if he would order for the three of us. We ate rice, shrimp, chicken, vegetables, and some skewers of various meats. It was really good, even though we weren’t sure what we were having! After our lunch and some more exploring and hanging out with Michael, our driver, we went back to the ship and prepared for another week at sea…

Mauritius!

After a week of midterms, Mauritius was exactly what the SAS community needed. We came into port in the midst of the most crystal clear blue water I have ever seen. Customs cleared the ship quickly and most of the students got off the ship immediately. We were in a port that didn’t allow us to walk into the main part of town, so we had to take a water taxi into the visitor-friendly portion of the waterfront. We hopped on the water taxi, completely crowded with students, and slowly made our way across the water to the waterfront, with palm trees and little sail boats and a bunch more water taxis awaiting on the other side. After we hopped off the water taxi, we asked a taxi driver to take us on a tour of Mauritius for a couple hours before we had to be on the ship for an afternoon trip. The guy took us around the city and surrounding areas, explaining everything we saw and showing us some incredible lookouts of Port Louis and the waterfront. After we grabbed lunch, Chloe and I went back to the ship for an orphanage visit that we had planned with SAS. We got on the shuttles, and went to the S.O.S. Children’s Village of Beau Basin. This is a place that provides housing for children whose parents are dead, imprisoned, or otherwise unfit for parenting. The kids live in small houses with a “mom” and a handful of other children. Chloe and I hit it off with a little four-year-old boy and played catch and soccer with him. Three of the other boys that lived in the same house came over and played with us too, and were amazed by the stickers we had brought and absolutely fascinated with our digital cameras. After a couple hours, Chloe and I looked around and realized that none of the other SAS people were there, so we ran out and caught the shuttle just before it left! Once we got back to the ship, we cleaned up for a night out and had a great time hanging out at the nearby bars and pubs and meeting new people.

On the second day, I went on an SAS trip to Ile De Deux Cocos. This was, by far, the best SAS trip I have been on so far. We took a bus to the other side of the island of Mauritius, and then took a glass-bottom boat out to the little island that we would be on for the day. The boat ride was great- the weather was perfect and the views were sensational. The water was so clear and we could see everything through the bottom of the boat. The coral reefs were so beautiful and there were so many types of colorful, interesting fish to look at! When we got to the island, we all put our stuff down and lounged on the beach for awhile until we went back out on the glass-bottom boat for some snorkeling. The snorkeling was so AMAZING! The water was clear, the fish were gorgeous, the coral was unreal. We went back to the island for an incredible barbecue lunch and fruit bar for dessert, and then had more time to relax on the beach and hang out in the water. There was a beautiful villa on the beach that they allowed us to explore and I want to get married on this island and stay there…too bad it would cost $5,000 per night! After a few hours of relaxation time, we got on the boats and went back to the mainland so the bus could return to the ship. I came back and got ready for a girl’s night out with some of my friends in Port Louis.

Saturday was our third and final day in Mauritius. We slept in and then took the water taxi back into the main part of the waterfront. There were tons of shops and restaurants to explore. We had a great time shopping; everything in Mauritius has Dodo birds on it! Mauritius is the only place where the Dodo bird lived before it became extinct, and the Mauritians are clearly very proud of this! There are Dodo towels, stuffed animals, ceramics, pencils, watches, key chains…even staplers! So we bought a bunch of random dodo stuff to spend the extra rupees we had, grabbed lunch, stopped by an internet café, and then got back on the ship shortly before on-ship time. We sailed away amidst the decorations and excitement of the Festival of Lights that was occurring in Port Louis that night. It was a very laid-back, relaxing, fun port, and I think a good place to stop before we get to some more culturally shocking areas like India, which we will arrive in tomorrow morning. Two days ago were the Sea Olympics; everyone competed in various competitions to earn points for their “sea”- the halls we live in. I live in the Balearic Sea and we got third place! This was a big surprise considering how much smaller our sea is than the other ones on the ship. I am really looking forward to India, although I am trying to prepare myself for the shock that I’m sure I will experience. I’m so sad that we are finished traveling in Africa, but I look forward to Asia and the new things it will expose me to!

South Africa!

South Africa was absolutely AMAZING…undoubtedly my favorite port thus far. Rather than coming into an industrial port and having to take shuttles or taxis to the city, we docked at a gorgeous waterfront port right in the middle of shopping, dining, music, nightlife, etc. It only took about 5 seconds to walk off the ship and be in the midst of all sorts of things to do. Table Mountain looms over the entire city and just completes the perfect silhouette of the Cape Town waterfront. On our way in, we saw whales at breakfast, and penguins swimming in the water around our ship! The weather was perfect and the views coming into port were sensational. We spent the day just exploring the waterfront area and trying to make plans for our other days in town. The street running by the water had restaurants, shops, and all sorts of street performers like magicians and musicians. We did a lot of walking and shopping, both at the modern mall (looks just like somewhere I’d shop at home!), and in outdoor marketplaces. They have a cool moving bridge that retracts whenever a ship comes through, and we saw a seal swimming underneath that! Lots of cool waterline in Cape Town! We booked a few trips and met a few locals and had some great steak burgers for dinner before heading out for the night. Cape Town nightlife is crazy and we got home about 2 hours before we had wake up for our trip the next day!

Miraculously, we DID wake up in time for our trip that day, and we got on a shuttle for…SHARK DIVING! We took the shuttle about 2 hours away with a great group of other travelers from all over the world. Once we got to the final location, we were swept into a room for breakfast and a brief overview of our day, and then we hopped on a little boat and went out into a beautiful bay of crystal clear blue waters. There were about 20 people on the boat, but only 5 could fit in the shark cage, so the first group got suited up while the rest of looked out for sharks! Once they threw out the “chum”, it was only about 10 seconds before the first great white came barreling toward it, mouth open, and emerged from the water when they pulled the bait away. We were all a little shocked and very excited, and we watched the first group make their way into the cage and continued to marvel at the multiple sharks coming right next to the boat. Chloe and I got ready to enter the cage next, so we got into wetsuits and booties, pulled on our masks, threw some weights over our shoulders, and climbed into the cage. The water was FREEZING but the excitement of being in the cage outweighed that thought. So we would just hang out in the cage looking around until one of the men on the boat would shout “DOWN!” and we would all grab a specific bar on the INSIDE of the cage to pull ourselves farther under the water and view the shark that they had spotted. They would come SO close to the cage and it was completely surreal. At one point, they pulled the bait into the cage and the shark after it slammed his head into us, right next to Chloe! There was one area of the cage of about 8 inches where there were no bars (apparently for cameras), and the shark just happened to get his nose right in that spot and into our cage, Chloe could have pet him if she wasn’t so afraid of him biting her! We weren’t afraid before that, but we were so scared of all the sharks that came near us after that! Eventually, they pulled us out of the cage so that the next group could get in, and we spent the rest of the time eating snacks and watching everyone else have their turn. We definitely had the best time though, because no one else was run into by the sharks! About 11 great whites came by over the course of the day, but all of them returned multiple times, so there was never more than a 2-minute interval without sightings of a great white. It was absolutely crazy! After we got back to the shore, we had some more snacks and everyone took warm showers and got back on the shuttle to Cape Town. When we got back in, Chloe and I were exhausted and spent our evening watching a movie and eating popcorn- something that both of us love to do and hadn’t been able to in over a month! It was a nice night.

The next day, we woke up early again to meet up with the taxi driver (George) that had driven us out on the first night. He had agreed to meet me, Chloe, and our friend Drew, and take us to a few sights for the whole day for a great price. We started out by driving about an hour to the wine lands, and stopped at a great place called Spier. We walked around the grounds, and saw many different eagles and other birds, and cheetahs that they have at the reserve. After we looked at the animals, we had a wine and cheese tasting. We were poured three glasses of wine and given small portions of three types of cheeses to go with them. The man helping us explained how to properly taste the wine and all the dynamics of the wines and cheeses and why they went together. It was really good and we finished off the tasting with some chocolate truffles that Drew purchased. After that, we found George and he took us into the town of Stellenbosch for lunch. We stopped at this really great, modern café and had lunch, and then walked around the town and did some shopping for about an hour. The town was really cute and I would have spent more time there if Drew wasn’t so tired of shopping with girls and ready to get back to Cape Town. So George took us back, telling us all about apartheid and the “blacks, whites, and coloreds”. We had already made plans for the evening and were short on time, so Drew decided to go back to the ship but Chloe and I wanted to go to Table Mountain so we dropped Drew off and George drove us up to the base of the mountain where we could take a cable car to the top and save the time it would take to hike. We hopped on the cable car with a bunch of pushy tourists and soon we were on our way to the top, while the car rotated and gave us a 360 degree view of the waterfront and everything below us. It was a little cloudy at the top, but we still had a fantastic view of Cape Town…on one side we could see the buildings and the waterfront and the ship, and on the other side we could see the beach and gorgeous natural aspects of Cape Town. When we were done at Table Mountain, George took us back to the ship and we got dinner before heading out for another night on the town!

I had to wake up super early the next morning to catch a flight to Johannesburg for a three-day safari in Kruger National Park. I have always wanted to go there and I was so excited to finally see the park that shares my family name! We arrived via South African Air in the early afternoon, dropped off our stuff at a fantastic hotel, and immediately went out for an afternoon drive in the park. We all got into safari jeeps with 9 people and a guide, our guide was named Stefan and he was great. He knew everything about all the animals we saw and catered to everything we asked for! We saw the sunset in the park and also saw all sorts of deer-like animals including impala and waterbucks, as well as zebras, a white rhino, baboons, water buffalo, and hippos. We went back to the hotel for the most AMAZING dinner I have had since starting Semester At Sea. Everyone went to bed early in preparation for our drive the next day that left at 5 AM. We woke up early for coffee, grabbed our box breakfasts, and hopped into our safari jeeps for a full day in the park. Throughout the day, we saw so many animals- giraffes, elephants, warthogs, crocodiles, more hippos, all sorts of birds (including a hornbill- AKA Zazu from the Lion King), and LIONS! Stefan said it is rare to see leopards, but we wanted to see one…and by the end of the day, we had seen one of those too! We went back to the hotel for dinner again and back to bed for another early drive the next day. At 5 AM, we went back into the park for a couple hours before we would have to leave for our flight back to Cape Town. We saw many of the same animals, but we told Stefan that we wanted to see a male lion and a black rhino. There are only about 300 black rhinos in the whole park, which is HUGE- we didn’t even see a mere fraction of it over the three days, but guess what- we found one! And we saw a male lion! We also saw a family of elephants, a family of hyenas, and giraffes drinking out of a water hole (which is hilarious). Stefan was a fantastic guide and said that it was one of the best drives ever. We seriously saw everything we wanted to see, including the prestigious “big 5”- water buffalo, lion, leopard, rhino, and elephant. After our morning drive, we got on our return flight to Cape Town and arrived shortly before “on-ship time”. I ran by the mall one last time for a few final souvenirs and then got back on the ship. We stood on the deck to see the ship off and waved goodbye to all the people on the dock and a city that I will certainly be back to visit. The view of the waterfront at night was gorgeous and we sailed away to the sounds of cars and ships honking their goodbyes, in response to our horn being sounded as we left the port.

Ghana!

I want to move to Ghana.
I can’t believe what a wonderful time I had there. I didn’t expect that Ghana, of all places, would capture me so much, but it was amazing. The people were great, the culture was beautiful, and the history was interesting. I wish we were able to stay longer, but I definitely plan on going back and spending more time there someday.

When we arrived on Tuesday morning, Chloe and I woke up early to watch the ship come into port. The ship was rocking a lot and everyone was falling over on the decks, which was quite amusing. We were a little late on arriving to port so we went to breakfast while we were waiting, and we saw whales! There were a few of them and we could see them coming up for air and swimming in the water, which was really cool. When we came into port in Tema, Ghana, men in fishing boats were waving at us and everyone already seemed very welcoming. This was the first time that Semester At Sea has visited Ghana so we didn’t quite know what to expect, but we certainly had a warm welcome!

After we came into port and waited for customs to clear the ship, Chloe and I were ready to explore with some of our neighbors here on the ship. We hopped on the shuttle provided by SAS into the capital city of Accra, about an hour away with traffic. We got into Accra and spent some time walking around the streets, people-watching, and looking at the little shops and carts of items. We were shocked to see that everybody was carrying things on their heads! People were carrying food, clothes, crafts, even luggage…with no hands! So we continued to walk around the streets, and were blown away by how friendly and nice all of the people were. As we walked to various banks trying to find a good place to exchange currency, the bank employees would ask what we wanted and make sure we were served quickly and thoroughly, all the while asking us about our trip and what we thought of Ghana so far. Everything just seemed so simple and easy, and no one was in a rush or upset that we weren’t sure what we were doing. So after we got all of that taken care of, we took a taxi to the craft market in Accra. The taxi ride in itself was a hysterical experience. It is like a drive-through shopping center, people on the streets are selling all sorts of things, and if you roll down your window then you are guaranteed some face time with them. I wanted to buy a Ghanaian flag from a particular man who threw the flag in the window of the taxi, and then bartered with me until we agreed on a price- all the while refusing to take the flag back from me, which meant that every time the taxi moved, he would have to chase after us. We eventually settled on a price, but that didn’t mean that he was ready to give up on all of the other people in the taxi! In the end, he thanked us and gave us God’s blessing for helping him out. We laughed and chatted with more people while listening to the great song “Facebook Lover” on the radio until we arrived at the market. The craft market was similar to the souks in Marrakech, but less intense and obviously with different items for sale. Initially, we were swarmed by the vendors there, but when we made it clear that we were just looking, they became much less aggressive and just talked to us and walked us through the market. However, when we did want to buy something, their system was very surprising. At one point, I wanted to buy a bag, but the shop I was in did not have a pattern that I liked. The lady whose shop I was in went to another shop and took all of their bags, and continued to do so until I found one that I liked. When I finally found one, I paid the lady who had been helping me, even though it didn’t come from her shop. She assured me that this was common and that their system of trade and sharing meant that everyone came out even in the end. After we made a few purchases, everyone wanted to take pictures, exchange phone numbers and emails, and assure us that we were all friends and sisters. Even the people we did not buy from were a part of this kind exchange. As we walked towards the outside of the market, a group of college-age Ghanaian guys asked us to come to their shop. Reluctantly (we were all out of money!), we agreed, and we walked to a shop full of drums. We made it clear that none of us wanted to buy a drum, but the men simply gave us each a drum and showed us each some different rhythms, which we picked up quickly. Before we knew it, the four of us were in a drumming circle with about 10 guys drumming, dancing, singing, and shouting. People would stop by and join in, and lots of onlookers came to watch and dance. We kept this up for about half an hour and it was so much fun to feel so connected to the locals and their culture. Before we left, one of the guys, Anthony, gave me an authentic Ghanaian name (Ayine Poka- “God’s daughter”), and told me to close my eyes for a surprise. He clasped a really cool necklace around me neck and said “If you love Africa, you will love this”. It was getting dark and we knew that we had to catch the shuttle back to Tema, so the four of us said goodbye, exchanged contact information, and hopped into another taxi back to the shuttle and back to the ship.

The next day I went on an SAS trip to Kakum National Park. We left early for what is supposed to be a 3-hour drive. However, traffic in Ghana is TERRIBLE, and the tour guide knew it would take much longer than that to get to the park. Since we were on a schedule, the tour guides of our bus and the other SAS buses with us somehow convinced the Ghanaian police to give our buses a police escort for the next half hour or so, until we were out of all of the traffic. This meant that a police officer on a motorcycle drove through the middle of the road with all his lights and sirens on, forcing the traffic on both sides to pull over, and our bright green buses drove through the middle, honking and laughing the entire way. Eventually, we made it to the park, where we walked through the rainforest to a canopy walkway. This walkway consisted of 7 bridges, all connected with platforms and trees in the middle, about 40 meters high. We walked across the bridges, which were very shaky and sometimes difficult to walk on, but it gave us all a great view of the rainforest! After the canopy walk and a great lunch at the restaurant at the park, we watched a bamboo orchestra play. This orchestra was a group of students who played instruments out of bamboo and sang and danced for us. At the end of the presentation, all of the people in the audience were invited to the stage to learn some dance moves and participate in a song. We had fun but none of us had the rhythm or moves that the Ghanaian people displayed! After the bamboo performance, we loaded back on the bus for our drive home. Unfortunately, we were low on gas and the bus broke down. We stopped at a gas station and waited for help, but instead of being an inconvenience, this ended up being a cool extra stop. There were multiple schools around the gas station that were being let out at the same time we were there, and all the children came over to see why were there. We spent awhile talking to the children, taking pictures (they were fascinated by our cameras, trying to take pictures with them, and seeing the photos on the screens afterwards), and giving away candy and stickers. The kids were adorable and were so excited to interact with us, and we got to wait at a cool restaurant with crocodiles (which one man encouraged me to sit on for a photo because he had apparently trained all of the crocodiles), so I guess the broken bus was a blessing in disguise. We were able to steal a bus from another SAS trip that was staying the night in town, and finally got on the road. Unfortunately, this time we did not have a police escort and the drive took hours. Thank goodness the crew on the ship held dinner for all the late trips so we ate dinner and I went straight to bed!

Day three, I went on another SAS trip to see the “castles and slave dungeons” of Ghana. I took this trip for my U.S. South class, to learn about the slave trade and draw connections between the history and culture here in Ghana and that in the U.S. South. The drive was long again, but the castles that we visited were on the coast so it was really beautiful. First, we visited Elmina Castle, and then we drove just about 20 minutes to the Cape Coast Castle. It was really heartbreaking to see the slave dungeons. The stories that they told about these people and the experiences that they went through were just terrible, and to stand where so many people suffered and so many people died was really hard and emotional for a lot of people. The town around Elmina Castle was really cool though, it was on the water and hundreds of people were there on boats and bringing in fish for the day, with hundreds more waiting on land to purchase them. It was very loud and crowded but also really fascinating and interesting to watch. We left the castles early in anticipation of the traffic and, again, took multiple hours to get back to the ship. The trips were really informative and interesting, but it would have been nice to have been informed of the long drives in advance. Had I been aware of that, I wouldn’t have participated in 2 SAS trips in Ghana.

Friday was our final day in Ghana. Chloe and I went back to the craft market with some other friends who wanted to do some shopping. Our experience there was very similar, but the people seemed more aggressive- maybe they were ready for us after having American students come through for four days, but we still enjoyed ourselves and made lots of new friends, sisters, and brothers. The guys that we had been drumming with on the first day found us again and invited our friends to come have another drum circle, so that was fun. I tried to learn how to carry things on my head, but was pretty unsuccessful and I think served only as entertainment for the people we were hanging out with. The Ghanaian locals could not stop laughing at me and trying to give me more things to carry! After hanging out with our new friends for awhile, we said a sad goodbye, grabbed lunch at a fun local placed called “Frankie’s” and got back to the ship shortly before the mandatory on-ship time.

I bought a ton of souvenirs and gifts in Ghana, there were just so much cool, locally made stuff and everything reminded me of someone back home and it was easy to bargain! We arrive in Cape Town, South Africa tomorrow. The ship has been in a rough storm for the last 3 days or so, which has made everyone even more anxious to get off the ship than they normally are. I have never felt so disoriented and frustrated and tired, when the ship is rocking so much all anyone wants to do is sleep, because it’s the best way to avoid getting sick or running into people walking around the ship and we all have gotten used to the boat rocking us to bed each night. I am more than ready to be out of these waters for a few days, it’s very frustrating to not be able to get out of such an uncomfortable situation. I’ve heard that the sunrise in Cape Town is incredible, so I plan on getting up early to see the sunrise and watch us come into port. I have been looking forward to this stop more than any other stop on our trip so I can’t wait to get there and see what South Africa has to offer!

Morocco!

Stop 2: Casablanca, Morocco…but before going into details about our trip, I would like to say a few things about my grandmother. We had one day on the ship between Spain and Morocco, and on this day Chloe and I found out that our grandmother passed away. Part of me knows that this is what she wanted, after years of battling cancer and months of succumbing to the disease, I know that she was ready to move on. Nonetheless, I can’t even begin to describe how much I miss her and how affected my time at home in Colorado will be without her. I had a very difficult time not being with my family during this time and not being able to attend her service. I know that this is where I need to be and she would want nothing else for me though. It is so good to have Chloe here with me, and we had our own memorial time on the top deck of the ship for her. I can’t believe I won’t be able to tell her all about this adventure, have her there to watch me graduate in May, or invite her to my wedding one day. I can’t believe she will never sit with me in bed and read to me, or pull me into her embrace when I have nowhere else to go. These past few months, there have been countless times when I believe she is one of the only people who understands me, or has any desire to try to. I know that my upcoming battles will be immensely more difficult without her on my side. So grandma, wherever you are…I hope you’re exactly where you want to be, and I hope you’ve heard all the things that we’ve whispered to you in the darkness of the night. I miss you, and I love you.

So onto the latest adventure…The port we arrived at in Casablanca was much different than the one in Cadiz. In Cadiz we were around other passenger ships and only had to walk about 20 feet into town. In Casablanca were docked in a much more industrial port, with only carrier ships around us and a necessary shuttle to get out of the port area and into town. This made the first impression much less appealing than Cadiz. Chloe and I were both going on trips that left that afternoon, so we saw the ship into port and then went back to our rooms to get packed and ready. I boarded a bus with other Semester at Sea students that would take us on a 4-hour drive to the town of Marrakech. The drive was eye-opening, to say the least. We drive by shanty towns composed of a few small, desolate homes, and saw people and children walking around miles away from any sort of civilization. There were also tons of cows, mules, sheep, and goats, sometimes we would drive for 10 minutes without seeing anything, then suddenly see someone riding a mule in a field with absolutely nothing around them, and then see nothing again for miles after that. It was all very strange and I wondered what these people were doing or how they got so far away from their towns or villages. Once we arrived to our hotel in Marrakech, we explored the town a little, ate a good buffet-style dinner at the hotel, and went to bed early to prepare for the next day’s activities.

The next day, we awoke to have breakfast in our hotel; Moroccan pastries are far superior to the ones in Spain, if you ask me. We loaded onto the bus for a day of sightseeing. The morning began with a visit to The Saadian Tombs. These tombs are a popular attraction because of their beauty and decoration, and are the final resting places for many members of the Saadi Dynasty, including royalty and family and soldiers and servants. Although it was pretty, the entire area was crowded and too small for so many people. We took some pictures and quickly walked to our next stop, the Bahia Palace. This palace was sensational. This palace was built by a slave who rose to become grand vizier, it was looted after his death but there are still incredible remaining areas and gardens. The architecture was beautiful and the tangle of rooms and courtyards and corridors went on and on and on. I have no idea how we got into all of the areas or how we got out. We stopped for lunch at a terrific traditional Moroccan restaurant. I have no idea what we ate but it was delicious and consisted of a lot of chicken, spice, and large portions. We finished the meal with mint tea (delicious!), and headed out to the crazy souks of Marrakech. The souks are a winding maze of reed-covered bazaars, look like they came straight out of Aladdin, and are undoubtedly the easiest place to get lost in…ever. We tried to maintain a sense of direction and we went through countless little streets with vendors absolutely everywhere. We were shouted at from all directions and asked to “just look” at all sorts of traditional Moroccan goods- clothing, tea sets, carpets, scarves, wood carvings, jewelry, shoes, etc. I highly enjoyed the souks and loved interacting with the locals, even though every single Moroccan assumed we were British and would greet us by saying “fish and chips?” I had a great time bargaining with the vendors, who were clearly trying to rip us off, and would agree to almost any price if you just walked away after giving your final offer (sometimes they would even chase us through the souks to make a deal!), and I was able to buy souvenirs for all of my loved ones back home for under $100 American dollars. The souks eventually led us into the Djemaa El Fna Square, where there were more vendors, henna artists, snake charmers, musicians, and other entertainers. I was busy watching a snake charmer when before I knew it, his snake was around my shoulders and I was posing for photos with a snake around me and a cobra just a few feet away. The men then tried asking for way too much money and were angry when I argued “I have no money, and I didn’t ask you to put that thing on me!” Just a few minutes later, a man with a monkey on a leash put his monkey on my arm and I looked at him and firmly stated “I do not have any money. And you cannot just put a monkey on someone. Please get this off of me.” I bought a few postcards and stamps and hopped on the bus to go back to the hotel for dinner and a relaxing night at the hotel.

The next day, we drove into the palm groves. This was a day of activity and fun, and I really enjoyed it. We split our large group into four teams and had various competitions and games to play. We began by having a race to see who could navigate some obstacles while riding a camel, and I am proud to say that I represented my team well during this competition. We then played games of soccer, had ATV relay races, and then played donkey polo- which was a crazy mess of mules, Moroccans, and Americans with sticks, and was a highlight of the day. We drove ATV’s to lunch about 20 minutes away, and had an incredible meal in a little house where we all sat on pillows on the ground and ate with individual spoons out of huge group platters. I believe that everyone should eat this way! The locals played some great Moroccan music for us and we all lay on the pillows, extremely full, and enjoyed this time together. We went back after lunch and all rode camels, which was great fun, and eventually took the bus back to the hotel. That night about ten of us decided to attend “Chez Ali”- a big Moroccan production consisting of all sorts of entertainment. We walked through the gates of the Chez Ali location and were suddenly in a giant Moroccan square, completely constructed for the entertainment of tourists looking for a fun night out. This was like Moroccan Disneyland, or like a giant Moroccan-style Casa Bonita, for all my Coloradoans out there. We walked through a long “street” with singers, dancers, and musicians surrounding us, and sat down for food and drinks in a giant tent. The night ended by watching a big show in a central arena with fire eaters, belly dancers, horse-riding acrobats, a “flying carpet” and fireworks. It was a little ridiculous but SO much fun, and I’m really glad I decided to attend.

After breakfast the next day, we got on the bus for the long ride back to Casablanca. After searching all of our bags, we finally got back on the ship, and I waited for Chloe to return from her trip and relaxed for the rest of the evening. On Monday, our last day in Morocco, Chloe and I walked to the huge mosque in town. The walk was interesting, we were surprised by how dirty and impoverished and unkempt Casablanca was. We didn’t want to pay to take a tour of the inside of the mosque, but we loved exploring the outside and spent at least an hour walking around the entire building and taking pictures. We got back to the ship early so as to avoid any kinds of lines or potential of being late, and settled back into our cabins for our evening departure.

Now we are somewhere outside the west coast of Africa, and will arrive in Ghana on Tuesday morning. I am really looking forward to this port for many reasons- first, I am only doing day trips, no big overnights, so I will be able to spend a lot of time in the town and not be running around and trying to do extensive travel; second, the interport student and interport lecturer from Ghana that are currently on board are both very nice and interesting, and I am looking forward to spending more time with locals; and third, because this is the first time that SAS has gone to Ghana, and it will be the most Americans to be in Ghana at one time EVER, isn’t that incredible?

Spain!

Hello everyone! So I’ve been on the ship for two and a half weeks now, and it’s definitely begun to feel like home. I boarded on Wednesday, August 27, to begin my work study position, and then helped all the other students board the next morning, so we could depart Halifax at 1700 hours on the 28th of August (Among other things, Semester at Sea has made me very efficient with the 24-hour time clock). The ship is nice- there are 9 classrooms, 2 dining areas, a pool, a gym, a library, and a computer lab- but everything is very small! There are also snack bars and various seating areas, like on the outside decks or a “piano lounge” in the middle of the ship.

Classes are good; they’re very interesting and small so there’s always a lot of discussion and involvement. I love traveling between class days because it makes our lessons very relevant and applicable. Everyone on the ship has to take global studies, and I am also taking anthropology of reproduction, intercultural communication, and the U.S. South. We go to class almost every day that we are at sea, and our schedule depends on alternating “A” and “B” days (i.e.- I have global studies and US south on A days, and intercultural communication and anthropology on B days). So far, we have had 6 days of classes, 3 of each day. In fact, because we don’t have class while in port and we have various days off like Neptune Day and Sea Olympics (more to come on those), we only have 46 days of class total during this 109 day voyage.

Enough about the ship, on to my adventures! I am rooming with my cousin, Chloe, who is a sophomore at Pepperdine and we are having a great time. We get along wonderfully, which I believe stems from the fact that we both strive for the best academically, but also want to absorb and experience the cultures when we are in port and out of class. Seasickness consumed me for awhile but I survived due to free motion sickness pills and no classes to worry about for the first couple days. On September 5, after eight days at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean, we arrived in our first port of call- Cadiz, Spain. I took a tour sponsored by SAS called “Churches of Cadiz”, which was essentially a city tour with a focus on the churches and cathedrals in the city. It was a great way to be introduced to the city and see some of its greatest sights. After that, Chloe and I explored the city on our own, which only took a couple hours; Cadiz is very small. It was a wonderful representation of a small European town though- flower markets, lots of vespas zooming about, decorated balconies, tiny back streets of cobblestones, and gorgeous architecture everywhere. That night we went to a free flamenco show in the square by our ship, which was truly entrancing. We could not look away as the women took the stage in their beautiful dresses and men played live music behind them. After the dancers, multiple men came on stage and played guitar or sang. It was a fantastic way to spend our first night in Espana.

The next morning, Chloe and I began our independent Spanish adventure by catching a bus to Sevilla. After we found our way away from the bus station to the main part of Sevilla, we visited the enormous Sevilla Cathedral. This is the largest Cathedral in the world and proves so by displaying a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records. Chloe and I could have spent hours in there, it was more like a museum than a church, with all of its various sections dedicated to different people, art, and architecture. If you are ever in Spain, this is not something to miss. Especially with a discounted rate for students with a school ID! We then proceeded to our hostel, a tucked away place called “Oasis”. We found this hostel through the advice of the prior occupants of our room. It is tradition for the students to write on the back of the large picture hanging on the wall in each cabin, so the two girls who stayed in this room before us left the advice “In Spain, take the train to Sevilla, and stay at the Oasis hostel”, which is exactly what we did. The hostel was terrific, we met young people from all over the world- traveling and seeing the world, just like us. Our roommates were Australian, French, and Indian, and we all had a great time getting to know one another and exploring the city together. Chloe and I heard through the grapevine that there was a bullfight that night, and we hopped in a taxi to see it. For the sake of anyone reading this, I will spare the details, but it is fair to say that we were both horrified and fascinated by this event. The matadors are quite incredible, beautiful, talented, and graceful, but this display unfortunately ends up in a relatively gruesome death for multiple bulls. We then went to dinner and discovered the lengthy event that is a Spanish dinner- something we were not able to get used to even after eating multiple meals in the country.

The next morning we woke up early to get breakfast, and passed by a large church in the middle of a service. We joined in for some readings and communion, accepting “El cuerpo de Christo” (the body of Christ), before ducking out to see what else Sevilla had to offer. We checked out Casa de Pilatos, a large house that was legendary for its relation to Pontius Pilate. The entire ground floor consists of a grand courtyard, gardens, and multiple rooms COMPLETELY covered in tile. It was absolutely gorgeous and consumed us for hours. One of the best things about Spanish culture is the traditional Siesta, which Chloe and I had no problem participating in that afternoon. We had new hostel roommates who joined us for paella dinner on the rooftop of our hotel, a local flamenco show, and a fun night out in the squares around Sevilla.

We packed up the next morning in preparation for our bus back to Cadiz, but began the day by going to the Real Alcazar, a palace that is absolutely gigantic and far too easy to get lost in (and free for students with ID!). Parts of the architecture date back to AD 913 and the splendor of this palace is indescribable. We quickly made friends with a gardener, Raphael, who became our personal tour guide and catered to our very tight schedule. We pointed to a picture in the guidebook, he said a bunch of stuff in very fast Spanish, and then took off through the maze of rooms and gardens to take us to the spot we were looking for. We read the description of the area, took pictures, tried to decipher what Raphael was telling us, and moved on. We made it to the bus stop for an early afternoon bus and arrived back in Cadiz around 1530 hours, plenty early for the mandatory on-ship time of 1800 hours.

So then the ship set sail again. The seasickness came back and I was in bed early! Sevilla was incredible and Chloe and I agree that we had a successful first trip which we were proud to have planned and executed on our own. Besides the long meals, very fast Spanish, and intolerance of many of the locals (waiters, taxi drivers, store owners) towards our broken Spanish and unfamiliarity with the city, we had a wonderful time finding our way around southern Spain. There are a few things we are planning to bring from Spain to the US- painted wooden fans, flamenco dresses, and siesta time, to name a few.

Rather than going back to class after Spain, the shipboard community participated in “Morocco Day” during the one day it took to get from Spain to Morocco. This day consisted of a guest speaker, a movie, and multiple meetings relating to the culture of Morocco and the logistics of being a Semester at Sea student in Morocco. Only 36 hours after leaving Cadiz, we arrived in Casablanca, Morocco. And that is where this long entry ends. I will write again when we set sail from Casablanca!

...And so it begins

It is 5:26 in the morning.
I am waiting at the Columbia Airport, trying to figure out what exactly I have gotten myself into. Also suffering from severe exhaustion due to lack of sleep due to extreme nervousness and anxiety and excitement.
And so it begins, this blog which will chronicle my trip around the world. The countries to see are as follows:
-Halifax, Canada
-Cadiz, Spain
-Casablanca, Morocco
-Accra, Ghana
-Cape Town, South Africa
-Port Louis, Mauritius
-Chennai, India
-Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
-Hong Kong/Shanghai, China
-Yokohama/Osaka, Japan
-Honolulu/Hilo, Hawaii, USA
-San Diego, CA, USA

I know this experience will change my life, fulfill my dreams, and enhance my perspective on the world, but right now I only feel nerves and butterflies. This can most likely be attributed to my fear of flying and current location- sitting at an airport, as well as the fact that I can't even lift my bags and have no idea how I am therefore going to take them from the Halifax airport, to a hotel, onto the ship, to my room. I think I will have to enlist some assistance.
Well there is not much else to share for now, I assume this blog will become more exciting starting Friday.
Also, happy birthday to Paige!