Sorry I haven't written in a while. Having ports back to back is really crazy...

APRIL 9, 2005

We got fined $25,000 by China!!! We arrived in Hong Kong and then 2 days later the ship sailed to Qingdao. All but 86 passengers traveled from Hong Kong to Qingdao on their own (I flew to Beijing and then to Qingdao to meet the ship there) so the ship didn’t meet the quota of people it was supposed to have to dock in the port in Qingdao and therefore received a fine of $25,000! Luckily they are not going to make us pay it so ISE is now out of pocket a lot of mullah.

2 days til JAPAN!!!

APRIL 8, 2006

Today is my first day in Qingdao, China. A group of us went to a park at 5:30 this morning to do Tai Chi with a group of locals. Because of the whole communism thing, China doesn’t have private classes that you have to pay for so big groups meet in public parks for things like Tai Chi and anyone can join. It was fun and I liked doing a typical Chinese thing like Tai Chi but boy did we freeze our buns off. We were out there for 3 hours (probably 2 hours too long) and it was 30 degrees outside with strong winds! Yikes!

I went into town this afternoon with my roommate Lauren to get rail passes for Japan. We are going to Kyoto for one night because they have this awesome cherry garden and the cherries are only in bloom one week a year and it is next week! Train tickets were only $35 too so my credit card appreciated that (it needs a break after Hong Kong).

I’m not quite sure Qingdao is a good port for semester at sea. No one speaks English and getting into town from the port is quite a hassle. And once in town, most of the restaurants and stores turn us away saying “Chinese only”. So I’m glad we are only here a day because there really isn’t much to do.

APRIL 7, 2006

We visited the Temple of Heaven today before going to the airport to head for Qingdao. It was really cool. There were so many groups of old people playing cards, singing in a choir, practicing Tai Chi, and even taking dance lessons just outside in the gardens surrounding the temple. All of these things are done in public groups in outdoor areas so that everyone can be involved. I got to play this hoop game with a few older people. Basically we stood in a circle and threw these circular ropes to the person across from you who tries to catch it around their necks. I wasn’t very good at it but at least I gave some Chinese people a laugh. It was really pretty. By the time we got back to the ship I was beat so Jacqui and I decided to watch a movie and go to bed early. Its her birthday today so we just hung out and talked about our past week on our separate trips.

APRIL 6, 2006

This Beijing trip is really awesome. We went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City today and it snowed again! Once again we all froze our buns off but it was really cool to see these places that I’ve learned about and seen pictures of in school. After lunch at a Ti restaurant (kind of a mix between Indian, Chinese, and Thailand) we visited the Lama Temple which was pretty. I like seeing the Chinese architecture of all these places. Then we went to a Chinese acrobatic show. It was amazing. I couldn’t stop videotaping it, so I have a lot for yall to watch. I can’t even explain the crazy things these people did. It was awesome. And I got to take a bath tonight! It was wonderful. Semester at Sea always puts us in 5 star hotels (considering 5 star in most of these countries is still pretty sketchy) but this one is super nice. I’m a bit sore from the little trek up the wall yesterday!

APRIL 5, 2006

So I climbed the Great Wall of China today! Whoa! We went to the highest point of the entire wall. It wall 1,000 steps high from the entrance we took, but once my friend Heather and I got to the top it started to snow! Amazing. I got a bunch of good photos too. And we ran into a bunch of Americans on the wall too. Strange the places you run into people. One couple was even from the neighborhood Heather lives in. It was a huge breath of fresh air to see Americans again. Not that I don’t love all the other cultures of people we are meeting but I think I’m going to hug every American I see in the San Diego airport. I swear I’m going to cry when I finally see a pick-up truck again. Anyway, did I mention that I climbed the Great Wall of freaking China today!!? And Heather and I climbed up the actually wall and stood on the top of it for some nice pictures. Probably wasn’t the safest thing to do but ya know. Well, we were pretty exhausted from the trek up the wall so we were relieved when we spotted the huge metal slide that you could take down to the bottom. Ya that’s right, I took a toboggan/ sled down the mountain. And I video taped it…so great. At the bottom of the Wall I bought a pair of Puma shoes for $5 out of the back of a guy’s van! I’m pretty excited about that too.

This afternoon we went to a market and I won’t say what I got (because it’s for you, dad) but I definitely bargained it down from $3,280 to $180 Chinese dollars (so from about $410 to $22 USD). When I left the lady said I was “nasty”! HAHAHA. I guess having to haggle for everything these past few months have made me a pretty good bargainer.

For dinner Lexi, Heather, Charlie, and I decided to get some traditional Chinese food so…we went to pizza hut. But dude, I haven’t had pizza in so long, we needed it!! And then we got ice cream sundaes! Delicious! Did you know Chinese people put ketchup on their pizza? I think they must have gotten American pizza and cheeseburgers mixed up or something…

APRIL 4, 2006

About 100 of us flew to Beijing today for a 4 day trip. Upon arrival we toured the summer palace which was just beautiful. For dinner tonight we ate Peking Duck at a really nice restaurant. I’m not quite sure how I feel about the way they treat the ducks in order to get them to taste so good (locked up their entire lives and force fed 4 times a day) but they sure are delicious. The restaurant we went to is the same that all the famous diplomats and celebrities go to in Beijing for this duck. Pretty fancy shmancy, huh?

Our hotel is pretty nice too. I met this girl, Heather, this morning and I’m really glad I did because she’s been pretty lonely and upset with the people on the boat too and being able to talk to someone about church and everything was definitely what I needed right now. Then she ended up being my roommate! Out of over 100 of us she ended up being my roommate. God totally took care of me because I’ve been having a really hard time spiritually and he provided me with a friend like her which is just amazing.

Well, tomorrow will be a big day so I need to get some sleep.

APRIL 3, 2006

Today we arrived in Hong Kong. Lauren, Steve, Jacqui, and I went all around the islands on the ferries and subways. And I bought a ton of stuff. Like a ton. But it was all pretty cheap I just don’t know how I’m going to get it home! It was great to be in a big city again with people who can speak English pretty well. Then tonight we took the tram up to the top of one of the islands to see a laser light show. The fog and smog was too thick to really see it but we got a great view of the city at night. Then we took the ferry back to the ship. It reminded me of the ferry we took in New York to see the Statue of Liberty. Except not so American. Anyway, Hong Kong was great. And tomorrow morning I head to Beijing. Yeah for China!

MARCH 28-30, 2006

We stayed in the village for a few days. It was beautiful and very relaxing. More details to come later.

MARCH 27, 2006

Twelve of us left at 4AM this morning to fly to Hannoi (the capital city way up north). Once in Hannoi we took a five hour bus drive to the village of Mau Chai. This place is so beautiful….more to come later.

MARCH 26, 2006

Yeah! We are in Vietnam! I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels today (about 2 hours outside of Saigon) with Jacqui and my roommate Lauren. It was so crazy. The Vietnamese built this huge underground tunnel system during the Vietnam War. It is something like a hundred kilometers total and held nearly 160,000 people. And America had no idea but I can completely see why. The entrances they used were about 1ft x 1 ft. I could hardly squeeze through it and I almost wish I hadn’t fit. Once inside we crawled on our hands a knees for about a half hour through this intricate system that occasionally led to open rooms. The only light we had was the light on my video camera so of course I had to lead the way most of the time. If you didn’t know, I am afraid of the dark…like for real. Oh and there were bats, lots of them, and gigantic spiders. As we traveled through we could hear faint screams from other people passing through other tunnels. Dude it was scary. There was one room we went into (dimly lit) that had a table for sitting. This was one of the meeting rooms for soldiers. Well, these 3 really annoying people would not move and we wanted to take a picture sitting together on the table (they were taking up most of the space). Finally I tap one of the shoulder to get him to take the picture (hoping he would therefore move for a moment) and I suddenly realize they are not people, but mannequins (another one of my fears). I didn’t think the three of us had screamed so loud and crawled so fast until about 3 minutes later when we were attacked by bats in the tunnel we scurried through. Ok, I am not over exaggerating. We wanted out. Basically, this was intense and it was really weird going through the exhibit hearing about how they “exterminated the evil Americans.” I guess its good to hear the other side of the story but I didn’t like to see pictures and torture traps to get the Americans. Regardless, I learned a lot today and it was an interesting experience. And I have a lot of funny video footage for my film.

MARCH 23, 2006

We got a day off school today. It is really weird having this schedule because I never have any idea what day of the week it is. It’s just either an A class day or a B class day – and no weekends, except for days like today! Today was also crew appreciation day so our cabin stewards got a day off. Last night they put on the crew talent show for us and it was hilarious! I don’t think I have laughed so hard in my whole life. Most of them danced, there was a comedian, and some sang. It was so great. The crew on the boat make this trip just so much better because they are so friendly and funny! They are from 23 different countries and most of them stay working for 10 months at a time (I can’t imagine being gone that long!)

Well, tonight we went through our first rainstorm! It was crazy cool – and there were even tornadoes in the water this afternoon (I nearly died with excitement). Between 4 and 5AM we will be passing through the Straits of Malacca. They are known for the ginormous amount of pirates that sail through there because no one country owns it and therefore there is no regulation there. Supposedly we don’t have to worry because they don’t like passenger cruises or cargo ships (so what is left?) And we are on the fastest ship in the world. But I wore my pirate shirt today in honor and we are having a “Pirates of the Caribbean” party tonight. We saw the crew checking the fire hoses on each deck today (to fight off the pirates??) This should be pretty exciting!

PS – I need some Mexican food…BAD!! I love living on a boat but I’m realizing more and more how much of a Mexican-food-loving city gal I am.

MARCH 20, 2006

It is our last day in Myanmar. I’m really glad we came here because it is nothing like what I expected. The people are some of the kindest people I have ever met – I guess it is just the government that stinks.

Well, I went to the glass factory today with Jacqui, Taryn, and Jose. It was all outdoors and the factory consisted of mounds and mounds of glass wear all over the ground and a kiln with three glass blowers back in a shed. I loved watching the glass being blown and then we just looked through all the piles to find anything we wanted. Most of it was broken though because it was all thrown together. I found two wine glasses that I liked and they were only $3.50 each. Of course they had to be washed though because they were full of leaves and cobwebs. It was fun though and I think Semester at Sea has given them more business than they’ve had in a long time. I’m not sure if it is government owned or not.

Jose met some guy at a bar who is a language professor for adults who want to be tour guides. He went to one of their classes yesterday and they got to practice their English. He asked Jacqui and I to come with him to a class today so we decided to would be a cool experience and since there really wasn’t anything left to do in Myanmar we went. Funny thing though, it was a Spanish class. Jose didn’t really tell us this so when we got there and they are all speaking in Spanish we were quite surprised. Turns out Jacqui has had nine years of Spanish and is pretty good at is (if you can get past her Ohio accent) and Jose is from Puerto Rico. He had heard my mom was from Puerto Rico so he thought I was half Puerto Rican and therefore could speak Spanish!! Ya right. It was pretty depressing that these Burmese women who had been learning Spanish for a year could speak better than I could and I’ve been around it my whole life. It was really fun though and I liked talking to the local people about life in Myanmar, etc. And I think I’m going to finally learn Spanish when I get home.

MARCH 19, 2006

A few of us got to go to a school this morning and hang out with Burmese kids. They were so cute. We played soccer and jump rope and then ate some lunch with them. After we left we went to a Buddhist house where the older Monks raise the younger monk boys. It was interesting to talk to them.

Tonight we saw a dance performance on a golden barge in the middle of a huge lake in the center of the city. In April, Myanmar celebrates the water festival where for the hottest week of the year they pretty much dump water all over each other and dance around in the streets. So we celebrated it together at the end of the performance. We were all soaked and dancing around, it was hilarious.

Alright, well only one day left before we leave Myanmar. This port has been pretty uneventful due to the restrictions placed on everyone in the country. But it is a really pretty country and I’m glad I got to come.

MARCH 18, 2006

Went to The Shwedagon Pagoda. I’m pretty sure it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. This thing was huge and it was all gold plated. Monks in Myanmar can decided at any point that they don’t want to be a monk anymore so there are a lot of them. Well, I got a lot of photos of this place – it was really beautiful.

I didn’t videotape anything in Myanmar because there are so many law about what you can and can’t take pictures of and the crazy police will take you camera and smash it if you take a picture of the wrong thing. It is pretty dumb. Anyway, the sunset tonight was great and I got to talk to a few monks which is crazy. 

MARCH 16, 2006

Well, we arrived in Myanmar at around 4 this afternoon but because of all the logistics we aren’t allowed to get off the ship until tomorrow morning. Myanmar is totally crazy. The people aren’t allowed to talk about politics or democracy at all and we can’t mention it to any of them. Anyway, it’s pretty bad. The US only gives out one visa a year to a Myanmar citizen. There is a lot of discussion on board about whether or not we should visit this country because the government owns pretty much everything (including the tour agencies) and therefore anyone traveling as a tourist supports the government which oppresses the people. But if we don’t go then we are just uninformed about the state that Myanmar is in and therefore are unable to help any change. Basically the people have no freedom…of speech, press, ownership, anything you can think of. They have no right to property or any decisions really. They cannot even have internet access like email accounts to talk to people outside their country or to learn about other forms of government. All of our emails and phone calls were intercepted and we had to use the services on the ship because they obviously don’t have internet cafes here. I guess I am glad we are here but I really hope that everyone on this ship will learn from this and I hope that somehow with our knowledge now we will be able to make some sort of difference.

MARCH 13, 2006

It felt nice to shower after getting really sweaty and dirty at the village. I walked around Chennai a little bit today and went to one of the food markets to see what they had. We leave tonight to head for Myanmar.

MARCH 12, 2006

We traveled all around today. First, to a carpet weaving center where I got to weave using their machines, then we went to two different schools (one for physically handicapped kids and another for orphaned boys). We also went to a temple where I got blessed by an elephant. If you walk up to him with a coin he takes it in his mouth and taps you on the head with his trunk. Then we went to a medicine factory that grows all the herbs there and we did an hour of yoga and meditation. We ate dinner back at one of the schools where we also played basketball and soccer with the guys there. We took another night train back to Chennai. Again, it was impossible to sleep but I don’t have much planned for tomorrow except a nice long shower.

MARCH 11, 2006

The family we are staying with is awesome. It is a grandma, her three daughters, and her two granddaughters. She said her husband is sick and her daughter’s husbands are gone at work. We are staying at the grandma’s house. She is the richest person in the village (the area we are in was actually named after her) and her house is huge and all open air. She placed 15 bed mats in one room for us to stay in. Today we toured the village – all the farmlands, where the workers work and live, and all the different areas. It is interesting to see the caste system here – this family is a part of the Brahman (highest class) and they house and feed all their workers who are Dalits (lowest). They are the ones who cook our food and serve us but we can’t really talk to them because they don’t know any English. I was glad to see that the family treats their workers very well and not like the Dalits are treated in the other parts of India (the caste system really makes me sick).

Indian food is so good. I love their tea too. I think they kept giving us tea all day to keep us awake but we didn’t mind. We stayed up late tonight playing cards with Purni (one of the daughters) and her daughers (Vedhika and Aaniya). I really like this family and we’ve exchanged addresses so I think we’ll stay in touch.

***So I forgot to mention this with March 9 but I went to the welcome reception last night for all the students. It was held at an outdoor theater where there was an Indian dancer and a band, with a buffet and vendors selling Indian stuff. As we walked in, we each had the red dot put on our foreheads and later on in the evening we all got our hands henna tattooed like they do at traditional Indian weddings. I also got onstage and had a sari put on me! It was yellow too.  So it was a lot of fun – a good welcoming to India and there were a group of Indian college students there we could talk to. I have a ton of pictures and as soon as I can I’ll try to post them or something.

Ok now on to today…

MARCH 10, 2006

I’ve been taking ballet the past few weeks on the ship. We have the whole fourth deck to ourselves at night from 9-11 so it is nice to look at the stars while I learn how awful I am at ballet. My friend Jesse teaches the class (he is a dance major) and sometimes Taryn helps out (because she is a ballerina). Anyway, I went into town today with Jesse to go shopping and just wander. We told our rickshaw driver to take us to the markets so naturally he took us to a Hindu temple for Shiva. We had to take our shoes off and leave them at the entrance. We were a little uneasy because the doctor on the boat was telling us to wear closed toed shoes the whole time so we won’t get awful diseases and die but we figured every other Indian goes barefoot and if we loose our feet then we would do it together! Haha - so we walked all around this temple until we got to a Shiva statue. At this point our rickshaw driver and three other Indians who had joined in to follow us around started making an offering for the statue. We stood off to the side thinking we were going to watch them give up this offering and how great it was we were going to see this in person. The guy burns two bananas and places them on the ground, the he cracks open a coconut and pours the juice around us and then places it in between the bananas. Next he puts together a bouquet of flowers, a lady puts yellow dots on our foreheads, and he places our hands together on top of the flowers. We were trying so hard not to laugh. After they say a few words he opens the bananas and hands them to us to eat. Then, of course, he wanted money to add to the offering. It was probably one of the most awkward and entertaining moments of my life and we later found out that it was a marriage blessing. It was so funny! Well, we finally made it to the markets and around town a little bit. Apparently in India, lanes don’t matter. Cars drive wherever they want to and everyone is constantly honking. It is absolutely crazy and a little frightening. But I never once saw a car wreck – I guess they are just better drivers though it really doesn’t appear that way.

Tonight I left with a group of about 15 to go to a small village in SW India called Erode. We took the sleeper train which was quite the experience. The train station and the train were probably two of the dirtiest things I have ever seen. Each car of the train had a fan (no air conditioning) and the sheets and blanket were never washed. We had to use our luggage as pillows to prevent them from being stolen. And the bathroom was quite interesting. But the view from the window was excellent and watching the sun rise was beautiful. It was really too hot for me to sleep so we all kind of stayed up and talked. We are going to be exhausted tomorrow!

MARCH 9, 2006

We are in India today!!! I cannot believe that I am actually here. The crew covered up all the carpets around the ship last night because our shoes will be getting so dirty and as we got closer to port the stinky smells were creeping in! But, despite its dirtiness, Chennai is an amazing city. I really love a lot about the Indian culture – the music, the clothing, the food – it’s all great.

 I went on a trip this afternoon with my Sociology of Minority Groups professor to speak with some women on the problems facing women in India. Males are perceived to be better than women in Indian society so much so that women are oppressed, neglected, beaten, and even killed. Because the male will carry on a family name they are preferred by Indian parents. When a couple gets married, the bride’s family must give the groom’s a dowry (an extensive amount of money that her family begins to save for when she is born). If the groom’s family is not pleased with the amount the bride is often burned as punishment. The dowry issue places a heavy burden on her family, especially because 251.9 million Indians are below the poverty line. Statistics show that out of 8,000 abortions a year only one of them in a male. The girls are also the ones who must do all the work while the boys go to school. Anyway, in most situations, it really stinks to be a female in India. We went to a school for oppressed and blind people where we talked to three women about their lives and how they view the way they are treated. Afterward we were taken to a Dalit village. This is what I wanted to do most when I heard we were going to India. The Dalits are the “untouchables”, they are seen as lower than the lowest class in the caste system, and they are regarded as less than animals (such as cows). In the Hindu religion it is believed that they are in this class because of something bad they did in their past life (though no one can even remember their past life…curious…).  The area was extremely impoverished and dirty. The people lived in literally one room houses with dirt floors and they were all suffering from easily cured health problems. They were also the sweetest people in the world – I have never seen anyone so excited to see us. I was mobbed by kids who loved to have their picture taken and then look at it on the camera screen. I flipped around the screen on my video camera for them to watch themselves and they just went crazy! WE also say a guy get the crap beat out of him in the streets – not really sure what was going on but it was really scary.

Alright, India is awesome so far…and don’t worry, I’m not going to Varinassi. Tomorrow I’m going on a trip to a small village for a 4 day home stay. More to come later…miss you all a TON!!

MARCH 6, 2006

The MV Explorer is the fastest passenger ship in the world!! (That’s why we don’t have to worry about pirates.) But the captain today “missed his motorcycle” and the seas have been unbelievable smooth the past few days so he wanted to put the pedal to the metal and go the fastest we can go. It was hilarious! For seven minutes we were going 31 knots. There was a 30ft wave behind the boat, the wind was howling. It was crazy. But it made it nearly impossible to eat outside hahaha – which, speaking of, I love our cafeteria! (the view is excellent! Hahaha)

MARCH 4, 2006

Today is the Sea Olympics!!! Each hall of rooms is divided into sections and then each section is named after a different sea. I am in the Caribbean Sea because it is the best. Actually I really had no say in what sea I was going to be in (because we didn’t choose our rooms) but it just happens to be the best sea.

Anyway, the opening ceremonies began at 9AM and involved your sea leader running through the hall with a torch and up the stairs into the union were all would meet, combine there torches, and let the games begin. Events were held around the ship all day long. These included a scavenger hunt, twister, tug-o-war, belly flop competition, wet clothes race, dodge ball, synchronized swimming, karaoke, chubby bunny, and many more. I was involved in the chubby bunny contest (because of my big cheeks). Basically this is where you shove large marshmallows in your mouth, without swallowing, and after each one you have to be able to say “chubby bunny”. Whoever can get the most marshmallows in their mouth and still be able to say “chubby bunny” wins. I dominate at this game. Well, unfortunately we could not find any marshmallows on the boat so the Sea Olympics committee decided to use grapes. After realizing this was too much of a choking hazard, they settled on sponge cake with lots of icing. But we were only able to get two sheet cakes so we were only able to do one round. Each team had to have one girl participant and one boy participant so of course the boy was to do the first round (which, sadly, ended up being the only round). So I was just there for some serious moral support. The last place team got 4 pieces in and my team got 12!!! Dang!

The last event, karaoke, was held at 9PM tonight. Though we didn’t win this one, we did get third place. Ultimately the Orange Caribbean Sea Pirates got second place!!! WHOOOHOOOOO!!! Oh yeah, I never mentioned what we were competing for. The results of this competition determine the order of who gets off the boat first in San Diego. Considering there are 1,000 people with tons of luggage trying to get off that day, winning the Olympics is definitely something of interest. So we got second place and I am so stoked because I do not want to be waiting around all day on the boat! And I’ll have a flight to catch. YAY!! Alright its 11PM and I am sleepy. Today was a great day and we are almost half way through the voyage!

MARCH 1, 2006

I spent the day on a “Mauritian Fine Art” trip where we toured many of the art schools on the island. First we visited the Craft Academy for teens who “didn’t make into the system” as the director described. The kids here come from either poor families or just an all around bad family situation and were therefore unable to afford schooling. The director of the school is a British woman who decided that she wanted to help the kids and provide them with a way out of their current situation because the government doesn’t provide much help for people with their problems. She teaches them arts and crafts so that they can sell their stuff and hopefully get a job in the textile industry, which is very big on the island. The best part of the trip was when the students at this academy came up to us and each of them had painted something for us! I definitely started crying because it was just so cool. Because of the language barrier I could hardly talk to this girl but it was just amazing.

Later we went to the Eureka House (an old plantation type house) for lunch and a tour of the building and then to 2 other art institutes. It was great to talk to the art students and see their work. I fell in love with one of the student’s paintings so I asked her if she was selling it and she let me buy it for $20!!

Mauritius was a great port. Though it rained the entire time, I think we made the most of it and I had some of the most incredible experiences that definitely made the weather worthwhile.

One week until INDIA!!!

FEBRUARY 28, 2006

All I’m going to say today is that I love playing in the rain.

It is still storming here but being wet doesn’t really bother me. Also, I think mosquitoes really don’t like me! I went to the botanical gardens today with Taryn to see the giant water lilies (AMAZING) and she got literally over 50 bug bites and guess what, I didn’t get a single one! And I forgot to put my deet on today, too!

FEBRUARY 27, 2006

We arrived in Port Louis, Mauritius this morning. The island is about 65 kilometers north to south and 45 kilometers east to west and welcomes only 10 passenger ships a year. This island is particularly extraordinary because it is a part of Africa though 85% of the people are Indian and the dominant language is French. I had never heard of the island before this trip but it is supposedly a big celebrity hot spot. Too bad it’s supposed to be storming all three days we are here. But today I just wandered around the waterfront with a couple friends and shopped in some craft markets. We have to take a water taxi to the port because the water gets too shallow to dock closer. The taxi is only $1 and it’s pretty fun, actually. Dad, you will be glad because I had a chance to go scuba diving today but the place seemed sketchy (don’t have to be certified to dive) and the language barrier was quite difficult so I turned it down. We’ll see if all my friends make it back tonight! Anyway, the island is beautiful so it should be a nice few days. I wish we could have gone to Kenya but so far Mauritius seems like a great replacement.

FEBRUARY 21, 2006

Today is the 34^th day which means that we are 1/3 of the way through the trip!! I can’t believe how fast it has gone by. I think we are all starting to feel really homesick though.

Midterms are coming up, yuck.

And three students got sent home in Cape Town for drugs. I’m not kidding; I am on a boat with a bunch of idiots. I won’t get into it too much but let me just say that my generation is going to have a whole new level of alcoholics. I have story after story after story. But I won’t go into it… just know, my friends, that you are dearly missed. Like missed to the thousandth degree. I MISS YOU GUYS!!!!!!

And I must thank my parents for being parents and teaching me how to be a civil human being. And a special thanks to my father for loving me and teaching me how to respect myself. I wish there were more parents like yall so I wouldn’t be stuck on a boat with kids like these.

Ok that is enough of that. Though my loneliness is growing at an exponential rate (yeah, Chris, I used the word “exponential”!!) I must remember how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing.

I LOVE AND MISS EVERYONE FROM HOUSTON AND NASHVILLE!!!!!!!

FEBRUARY 20, 2006

So because this is our last day in Cape Town, and we are sick of wearing the same clothes, Taryn and I went shopping today!! Oh man, it was like Heaven. And I got some sweet presents too.

We are leaving tonight. Eight days until Mauritius!

FEBRUARY 19, 2006

We flew back into Cape Town today. I didn’t get back until the evening so Jacqui, Steve, and I just went into the port area for some dinner. The port we are docked at has a huge waterfront area with a shopping mall and a bunch of restaurants. It is nice because we don’t have to worry about taxis and because the majority of the people are tourists we really don’t have to worry about pick-pocketing either. Africa is awesome, but very tiring.

FEBRUARY 18, 2006

So we woke up at 4:30 this morning for a 5AM drive. Wowsers, I am tired. We packed a picnic breakfast and lunch because we are going to be gone fifteen hours today. But it was a pretty impressive day. We saw so many things, including tons of giraffes (which, by the way, freak me out! They look so weird in real life…like aliens or something) and zebras. We also saw wart hogs (like Pumba!). I got a ton of good video footage today. We also saw lions and a bunch of other animals.

The “big five” are the five animals that if shot at the will charge towards the shooter instead of running away from the shot. These are elephants, lions, buffalo, leopards, and rhinos. Our guide said that out of ten game drives, you are lucky if you see all of these animals but guess what, in one drive we saw four of them! Though we never saw any buffalo I think it was still a great trip.

FEBRUARY 17, 2006

Fifteen of us flew to the Northeastern region of South Africa to the Kruger National Park. Yah, that’s right…ITS SAFARI TIME!!! We had an evening game drive today and we already saw a leopard, lots of impala, some weird birds, and elephants!!! Animals look so different in real life and this is a lot cooler than seeing them at the zoo because they are in their natural habitat. The roadways in Kruger (which is the size of New Jersey) cover only about 4% of the park so for us to have already seen this many animals is amazing. The hotel prepared an outdoor barbeque for us with Swahili dancers. It was pretty cool. I can’t wait until tomorrow.

FEBRUARY 16, 2006

I left at 8:00 this morning for a cycling trip through the wine lands. Well, let me re-phrase that…more like a mountain-biking trip uphill for 20 miles to get to the wine lands. It was pretty brutal. My asthma didn’t like me today (yes, I know, I’m a dork). It was definitely a nice workout that’s for sure. When we finally got there we had a nice picnic and wine tasting on top of a hill. It was absolutely beautiful.

I had overhead our trip leader talking about a restaurant in one of the townships that she and her husband were going to go to tonight. South Africa, as you probably would guess, has had a lot of political problems and racism over the last hundred years. Everyone here is put into classes based on their color/race and can only live in areas and go to schools for their designated color. It is like the US in the 50’s and 60’s but much worse. It is pretty awful. So, most of the black and colored people in South Africa are placed in these townships that look like the worst of the worst slums. Many don’t have running water and their houses are made of any kind of scraps you can find. It is unbelievable. Racism in South Africa, though it is slowly going away, is so prevalent. One of the problems, however, is that a lot of the people in these townships are relying on the government too much because the government is so unstable and unreliable that it cannot keep its promises. Anyway, this lady opened her house as a restaurant because she cannot have a restaurant in the city because of her color. It is obviously bigger than the other houses around her but it is still shamefully small. So Jacqui and I went with this couple to dinner tonight. Some of the guys in the township put a band together and they played for us. One of them was an opera singer! It was so great. This is probably the best meal I have had in a long time. Today has been an exhausting day…physically and mentally.

FEBRUARY 15, 2006

We left early this morning to see the rest of the telescopes in South Africa. It looked like something out of a movie because they are all on top of this plateau in the African desert, surrounded by antelope. Just imagine watching the sun rise around you on top of a mountain in the middle of Africa. Pretty cool, huh?

After seeing these enormous telescopes we headed to the wine country for lunch and wine tasting. Lunch was so good. We ate at a country club-type place with a buffet and wine tasting. It was really nice but I remembered how much I don’t like hoity-toity things. Then we went to Stellanbosch (wine country) and had another wine tasting and tour of the cellars. We got to see how wine is made and stored and then we got to drink it! It was a great ending to our trip. Five hours later we were back in Cape Town.

Jacqui, Taryn, and I went to a show tonight at the BMW Theater down the road from our port. It was called 62278 (1962 to 1978) and the band cover all the great songs from that time period for three hours. They even did a song from Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was so hilarious! We were definitely the youngest people there but we still knew all the words to the songs. 

FEBRUARY 14, 2006

So we were supposed to dock at 7:00 this morning but the fog is so thick outside we can’t get near the port. It was pretty scary outside, looked like ghost ship. Seriously, you couldn’t see anything around you. But it finally cleared enough around noon and I left on an overnight trip to the South African Large Telescope. The other 12 kids on the trip are awesome so we made the five hour drive fun. And it hit me after about three hours of driving that I am in the middle of Africa and I couldn’t help but cry. It is so amazing here. And I’ve wanted to come here for so long.

Well, we ended up in Sutherland which is a tiny tiny town with only one hotel. After the owner of the hotel cooked us dinner (which consisted of three types of red meat, haha) we headed to the telescope. Tonight was so unbelievable. I saw the rings around Saturn – no joke! And all the details on the moon! I stuck my video camera in the telescope and got it on tape. It looks totally fake though. The stars are so bright once you get out of the city. I am so glad I am here.

FEBRUARY 13, 2006

Well, we haven’t had internet these past few days. But we crossed the Prime Meridian!! And tomorrow we arrive in South Africa! I have successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Wowsers. It has been a fun ten days but I think I am ready to get off this boat. A stomach bug has been going around. I think it has something to do with the cafeteria food (which is great but I don’t think our stomachs can handle eating the same exact thing every day). So getting a variety of food next week will be great. I am leaving tomorrow morning to go to the South African Large Telescope. Its going to be baller. We are spending the night outside and looking at the stars. Yeah!

Have you ever heard of Dennis Brutus? He is probably one of the most interesting people ever. He joined us in Brazil and sailed with us back to Cape Town where he lives. Dennis Brutus is an activist in South Africa who was imprisoned with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island for twelve years. He is very much anti-corporation and globalization. I don’t really know how much I agree with him but regardless he is an extremely passionate person who has been through a heck of a lot for what he believes in. Anyway, it was really great to have him on the ship talking to us. If you don’t know who he is, look him up. He is so fascinating.

I’m starting to really get lonely. I have lots of friends, don’t worry, and I am having a blast but I am beginning to realize how important RUF and my church in Nashville are. It seems most people on the boat have very different views about life and faith, which is very interesting but I am missing my friends back home. Oh well, I am learning a lot. I just listened to Indelible Grace today and I guess it made me sad. )  :

On a brighter note… We are sleeping outside tonight on the top deck! Arriving in Cape Town is supposed to be extremely beautiful and we’ll see lots of seals….more to come after Africa! AHHHH!!!!