Guatemala

I did a Spanish Immersion home stay in Guatemala and really had a great time. We only had 3 days there but we tried to make the most of our time. The first day we arrived in Puerto Quetzal and drove straight to Antigua, which is 1.5 hours away. There were only 8 people total in my home stay group, which was nice because we got to know each other quickly in just a few days. Antigua is a very small town and you can walk through the entire thing in about 15 minutes. It reminded me of Mexico but the people were more traditional and the streets a little less dirty. Many people wore traditional clothing and the women carried baskets on their heads and babies in slings across their chest. We arrived at our host's house and Amparo and Lily welcomed us. Amparo is a 60 year old woman who has been hosting visitors to Antigua for 30 years and has many pictures and written thank you's to show for it. Lily is one of her daughters who is about 25 and helps her Mom cook and clean when they have guests. Many people come to Guatemala to learn Spanish and so Amparo hosts many people for multiple months at a time. There was an American guy there who was studying Spanish and volunteering with children who had been there for about 3 months already. Amparo doesn't really speak any English at all so we were all forced to practice our Spanish at the house. She prepared lunch for us, which was very good and then we explored the Parque Central for some shopping and delicious dessert/coffee. I got the dessert called Tres Leches, which my Mom introduced me to at home and it was really cool to see it on most of the menus in Guatemala. We also booked a volcano tour for the next day, which is a very popular thing to do in Antigua. That night we enjoyed another homemade dinner and went out to a salsa bar. I really enjoyed watching the people dance salsa, mostly because they were very good and it looked like so much fun. It made me want to learn it back home.

The next morning we had to be at our Spanish school at 8 am for 4 hours of class. Each person had their own teacher and got to speak one on one with them. It was difficult because I really didn't remember as much as I thought I did but I definitely got refreshed after 2 days of class. After lunch, we headed up to el Volcan de Pacaya or the Pacaya volcano. The drive was long and cramped in a van and going up the hill, I realized that there were many people living all the way up the volcano. It was a very poor community and there were many children selling things and animals that were very malnourished. The children sold walking sticks for less than $1 and then collected them when the tourists came back down, which I thought was a pretty good business of recycling. They also sold marshmallows, which were to roast on the lava at the top of the volcano. We began our hike, which was about 2 hours and was more strenuous than I had expected. Of course they had horses following behind us in case anyone gave up and were charging a hefty price for the "taxi natural." Another good business idea. The only thing was the horses all looked like they were about to collapse because they were skin and bones and one actually did collapse while someone was riding it. It was really sad to see this and the owners did not treat them well at all to top it off. There were also many dogs around who were also skin and bones, begging for food and freezing. As we got closer to the top, the ground we were walking on got darker and darker. This was all of course lava that was getting fresher as we got closer. Near the top, the ground turned into sand and then large rocks made of lava, which were very unstable and sharp. Many people fell and were bleeding quite a lot but I escaped with only a scratch on my wrist. We could see flowing lava from pretty far away but I didn't realize how close we were going to get. I ended up standing right next to a flowing river of lava and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was unbelievably hot and difficult to take pictures because you felt like your face was about to melt off. I did get some great pictures though and even got to roast and enjoy a delicious marshmallow over flowing lava. We spent a lot of time just in awe of what we were seeing and by this time it was starting to get dark. Then a lightning/thunder storm began and I saw more lightning than I have ever seen in my entire life. It was striking about every 5 seconds for over an hour all the way down the mountain. The hike down was a little scary because it was pitch black and the trail was not exactly clear or flat. We had to be very careful not to trip and everyone fell at least a few times. It was cool when the lighting struck and lit up the entire forest though. We made it down and were all completely starving. After freshening up we went to a Guatemalan restaurant that our host's recommended. It was a great meal and we were all very content afterwards. The next day we had class again from 8-12 pm and then only had a few hours left before catching the bus back to the port. We walked around some more just enjoying what were really our last few hours in any port.

It started to hit everyone that this was the last port on our list of 13 countries. We stood in line to get on the ship for the last time and now we are officially headed home. It's pretty hard to believe what I have just done and don't really have time to think about it because the next 5 days are filled with things to do. I have to study, take finals, transit the Panama Canal on Sunday, enjoy the Ambassador's Ball, attend the entire ship reflection day, work on my slideshow, pack, attend convocation, and say goodbye to my life and friends from the past 4 months. I just can't believe I am going to be home in 5 days! I am really excited to come home but sad to leave this wonderful life of traveling the world. I know coming on Semester at Sea is the best decision I have and will ever make in my lifetime. I already want to come back as a lifelong learner when I'm older!

I just know this is going to be a part of me for the rest of my life and have only my parents to thank for giving me this opportunity.

So,THANK YOU MOM AND DAD FOR GIVING ME THE WORLD.

I appreciate it more than I can possibly explain and can't imagine my life without this experience. It has made me a better person and given me a perspective on life and the rest of the world that we live in. Thank you, thank you, thank you, an infinite number of times.

I am going to miss this life but I also miss the people I love at home and can't wait to see all of you so very soon!

Hawaii

It was weird in a good way to be back in the United States. Everything felt a little strange like seeing store names that I recognized, using American dollars, everyone speaking English, and everything seemed so expensive! I think it was good that we stopped there for 2 days to sort of ease us back into American life.

The main event while I was there was skydiving! I had planned this in December and was so excited to finally do it. The first day, the winds weren’t blowing the right direction so I had to reschedule it for the next morning. When I finally got to go, I had pretty much prepared myself and was actually quite calm riding in the plane up to 14,000 feet. The plane was quite tiny and barely fit 12 people squished together. I had a harness that attached to another person who was basically responsible for everything, so I didn’t have to worry too much about anything. As I got to the edge of the plane, it finally hit me but I only had about 5 seconds to think about it before I was free falling at 120 miles an hour for an entire minute! It was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done and the scenery couldn’t have been better. I could see the entire north shore of Oahu and it was really beautiful. After free falling, the parachute was pulled and we got to float down for about 5 minutes just enjoying the view. I purchased a video and pictures, which are pretty hilarious/embarrassing. It was only 2 days ago, but it really feels like a dream. The rest of the time I spent on the beach in Waikiki and purchasing normal foods at the grocery store, which was very exciting.

Guatemala is next and I can’t believe it is the last port. I will be doing a Spanish immersion home stay for the entire 3 days we are there and I am excited to brush up on my Spanish. I’ll be home 2 weeks from today, see you soon!

Japan

I enjoyed Japan very, very much. The ship docked in Kobe and 3 of my friends and I went straight to the train station to get to Kyoto. It was difficult at first to figure out the trains but once we got the hang of it, it was a piece of cake. We got to Kyoto and checked into our ryokan, a Japanese style inn. This is the traditional type of Japanese room where you eat and sleep on the floor. In the day time, the room is set up with a table and used as a living room. Then before bed, they rearrange it into beds on the floor for sleeping. We were lucky enough to be in Japan during the very short period every year when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Kyoto was absolutely beautiful because the streets were lined with white and pink cherry blossom trees. We spent most of our two days there walking around and enjoying the scenery. We went to a temple that was surrounded by mountains and we got to walk all around with a wonderful view of the city at sunset. The next day we went to a place called “Philosopher’s walk,” which is basically this very long street covered in cherry blossoms that you can walk down for hours. There were lots of little shops and many Japanese people picnicking along the way. I also got to try cherry blossom ice cream, which was quite delicious. Then we went to a food market, where they had lots of different things from sushi to candy to fruit and everything was unbelievably fresh. I had some of the best strawberries I’ve had in a long time there. We spent lots of time there trying the foods and seeing some crazy things that I would never consider eating. Next we went to a life size Zen rock garden and walked around the park with some more beautiful scenery. That night we decided to do karaoke, which is a very popular thing to do in Japan. We rented a room to ourselves, which is the norm, and spent two hours singing lots of our favorite songs and we had a great time.

After two nights in Kyoto, it was time to move on to Tokyo. We just barely made the bullet train and made it to Tokyo in about 2 hours. The train ride was pretty cool considering we were going about 300 mph and it barely felt like we were moving at all. It was dizzying to look out the window though and see everything flying by so fast. We also passed Mt. Fuji on the way, which had lots of snow on the top and was quite a sight. Tokyo was pretty much the opposite of what we left in Kyoto. It is a huge city as I’m sure you know, with lots of skyscrapers, lights and people everywhere. We spent our two days there visiting many of the different districts that are famous for an array of things. The first night we went to see a baseball game at the Tokyo Dome. Baseball is a huge deal in Japan so it was fun to experience the crazy fans. They really make it feel like you’re at an American baseball game and we got hot dogs and beer to get the full experience.  The next day we woke up bright and early around 4:30 am to go see the world famous Tsajiki fish market. They claim that the freshest and best sushi comes from this market. Every morning all of the fishermen bring all their freshly caught fish to the market where the sushi chefs come to bargain for the fish they will use that day in their restaurants. It was quite an experience to see hundreds of live fish getting killed right in front of our eyes and prepared for purchase. There were also some really large fish that had to be cut with really large knives (probably 5 feet long) as well as electric saws. The thing to do after the market is to go eat some fresh sushi right outside and so that’s what we did at 6 in the morning. After a little nap, we made our way to the Harajuku district, which is famous for the crazy Japanese fashion trends. We spent some time walking around and seeing some very interesting outfits and hairstyles. Next, we went to the Akihabara district, which is famous for its electronics and is actually called “Electric Town.” “The area houses thousands of shops selling every technological gadget you can imagine, from computers to gaming consoles and vacuums to DVDs, at reasonable prices. This area is also known as the "Gamer's Mecca" and has in recent times become strongly identified with anime/manga (cartoon) subculture, with the legions of otaku geeks traipsing down on weekends known as Akiba-kei” (Wikipedia). The next stop was the Shinjuku district where we got to go up to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and got a spectacular view of Tokyo at nighttime with all of the buildings lit up and fireworks to top it off. The last day, we went to the Shibuya district, famous for its fashionable shopping district. We didn’t have much time but we did some last minute shopping and saw some more crazy styles of clothing as well as. I also saw the biggest intersection I have ever seen called the “5 way scramble crossing.” We literally had to race back to Yokohama to be on time for the ship, so we unfortunately didn’t get to see that city at all.

Japan felt like being in an Asian version of the United States but more technologically advanced and the nicest people in the world. I was always amused by how almost everything we did, we used some sort of technology to do it. I was also constantly amazed by how unbelievably nice the Japanese people were. They were always willing to help us even when they couldn’t understand us. In one instance, two people turned around in the opposite direction they were going and walked us about three blocks to show us the place we were looking for. Another time, we were just standing on the corner looking confused and some women came up and asked if we needed some help finding something. These acts of kindness were things that don’t normally happen in the United States and it was really refreshing to see genuinely nice people everywhere, especially after dealing with the Chinese people. Looking back on my trip, if I was going to live in any of the countries I’ve been to for a period of time, it would probably be Japan or South Africa.

We have been on the ship for nine days now since Japan and I will be back in the USA tomorrow! Of course I’m talking about Hawaii and we will only be there for two days but it’s kind of a tease for when I actually come home in 18 days.

Hong Kong/Beijing/Shanghai, China

Hong Kong

As soon as we pulled into the port in Hong Kong, I felt like I was in New York City. The amount of skyscrapers there is pretty amazing. The view from our ship was probably one of the best views in the city because we could see Hong Kong Island from across this water. I only spent one day there but I felt like that was enough to get the gist of what the city was like. It was basically tall building after tall building with lots of high fashion stores (which were also highly expensive) and many upscale hotels and restaurants. I spent the day just walking around the city, which was pretty much all there was to do with the little amount of time we had. Every night at 8 pm in Hong Kong they have a light show in which all of the buildings along the waterfront participate. We got to watch it right from the ship and it wasn’t as cool as I thought it would be but just all the city lights being light up was a pretty cool sight and made for some great pictures. After that we went out for some Cantonese food, which was pretty good once we found things that looked appetizing on the menu. They offered many different types of animals/animal parts like frogs, turtles, chicken or duck feet, goose livers, brains and much more. We just happened to be there on the night of the Rugby finals, which is equivalent to the Super Bowl or World Series. We went out to a famous street called Lan Kwai Fong and it was packed with all of the rugby fans from all over the world celebrating and having a good time. People were dressed up like it was Halloween and doing funny stuff, which made it that much more entertaining.

Beijing

The next morning, I departed for my 4 day trip in Beijing with a group of 50 people from SAS. Most of the students did a trip to Beijing but ours was different because we did an exchange with the University of International Business and Economics. The flight to Beijing was 3 hours and by the time we got to the hotel it was dinner time. The weather was a nice change because for the past month it has been about 100 degrees everywhere we went, so the cold (about 50 degrees) was very refreshing. We went out to a nice Chinese restaurant and had lots of different foods including Peking duck, which is a famous dish there. The food was all pretty good but also very fried and greasy. Then we went to the university to meet with the students in their Union. Even though I was in China, being on a college campus really made me feel at home because it just felt normal, which was a nice feeling.  Many students showed up to meet with us and made us feel very welcome. All of them spoke pretty good English and they were asking many questions about America and what we like to do. They were pretty much just like any other college student, except maybe more focused on school and not at all on partying.

The next day was filled with sightseeing. First we stopped at the Grand Theatre, which Wikipedia does a better job of describing than me. “Colloquially described as The Egg, the Grand Theatre is an opera house in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Centre is an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake.” It was pretty impressive but we just walked by it and moved on to the next stop. We went to Tiananmen Square and it felt weird to be in a place I had learned about in school over the years where a massacre occurred. It was very obvious that our tour guide didn’t really want to talk about it in that regard and from what I gather from other people, most of the Chinese people didn’t even seem to know much about it. The communist government censors a lot of what the people learn in school and the Tiananmen Square massacre is definitely on the taboo list. Throughout the trip, I noticed more and more how our tour guide wouldn’t really answer our questions about certain things that might have been embarrassing or bad about Chinese culture. Someone asked him why many of the males seemed to keep their pinky fingernails longer than all of the other ones and he was flustered by the question and told us he just forgot to cut them and then said he used it to scratch his head. People noticed the men doing this in Vietnam and Thailand as well and learned that it was a sign of being in the upper class and having long nails proved you didn’t have to do manual labor because they would break otherwise. We assumed this was also the reason in China but he obviously didn’t want to admit that. Another thing everyone noticed was that all of the children from about ages 1-5 had the back of their pants cut open and their butts were showing. This was obviously very weird to see and made me curious about why that was. When we asked him about this, he basically just tried to say he didn’t know and change the subject. We realized later that having the kids pants open made it easy to let them squat in a trash can or the side of the road to go to the bathroom (I’ll keep my opinions on that to myself). This was one of the signs of Communism that I blatantly experienced. It was apparent that the people were afraid to talk about taboo subjects because they are told by the government they aren’t allowed to. Some of the tour guides actually admitted that they knew about the Tiananmen Square massacre but that he wasn’t allowed to talk about it or he could be arrested. We also visited Mao Zedong’s tomb, which is in Tiananmen Square, who “is officially held in high regard in China where he is known as a great revolutionary, political strategist, and military mastermind who defeated Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, and then through his policies transformed the country into a major world power” (Wikipedia). It was a very formal procedure to get let in to see the tomb. We had to go through an x-ray machine, couldn’t bring any cameras inside, and then stood in a line that was being watched over by government officials. Everyone was completely silent as we walked through the building and were rushed out quickly by the security. It was very commonplace to see government officials walking around everywhere we went. We were told by SAS to watch what you say, especially about politics, because the government is watching and you can get in trouble for that. They censor the internet and every media source for things that the government thinks is inappropriate or would make the Chinese people think badly of their country. It was obvious in the newspaper when every article was something good about China or something bad about another country. The people are pretty ignorant of what is going on in their own country because everything is so regulated. Across the street from Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden City, which was built over 15 years for the Emperor during the Ming Dynasty starting in 1406. It then served as the emperor’s home for over 5 centuries. I would say it was quite a gigantic and impressive palace/home. The name refers to the fact that no one could enter or leave the city without the emperor’s permission. There were many, many buildings that all looked very similar but were beautifully painted with lots of vibrant colors. Then we went to a park that I forgot the name of but we walked up a lot of stairs to the top, where there was an unbelievable view of Beijing. Next, we went to the Temple of Heaven, which was built by the same emperor as the Forbidden City. It was very pretty and also had a nice view of Beijing but by this point I was a little “templed out.”  We then went to one of the famous markets in Beijing called the Pearl Market. This is basically an indoor market with hundreds of vendors that are all pretty much selling the same thing. They pretty much have everything you could ever want from fake Nike shoes to pearls. Of course it is all up for bargaining and these markets are basically tourist traps where they multiply their prices by 50. It was fun but annoying after a while to hassle with them because they are literally mean to you by the end. Once they realize that you aren’t going to pay a ridiculous amount, they start pinching, pushing and hitting you with calculators. I definitely got the hang of it and ended up getting some great bargains over the next few days at the different markets. Later that night we went to see a Chinese acrobatic show, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I saw some of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen humans do. It was a mixture of gymnastics, balancing, strength, contortion, and concentration. It is hard to explain but I’ll just give one example. Two groups of three men stood on top of each other to make 3 story towers and then a fourth one got on top and did a back flip from one human tower to the other. It was unbelievable! There were many more things like this that literally made my jaw drop. After that we got a little break from Chinese food and went to a Korean BBQ restaurant, which I really enjoyed and want to eat when I get back home.

The third day was one I had been looking forward to since before Semester at Sea began. We finally went to the Great Wall and it was definitely one of the highlights of my entire 2.5 month trip so far. I felt like it was the pinnacle of the trip that is now coming to an end very quickly. We climbed up a LOT of stairs to the top and I was quite winded by the time we got there. It was a crazy feeling to be standing on one of the seven wonders of the world. We spent a lot of time taking tons of pictures and just walking along the wall. The view was incredible and it was so cool to see the wall continue very far away on other mountains. Then we got to take a toboggan down the entire way on a slide, which was so much fun! The rest of the day we just had lunch and went to another market for some more bargaining action. That night the University students had dinner with us at our hotel and so we got to spend some more time interacting with them, which was interesting. I connected with one girl pretty well and she got my e-mail and I hope to keep in touch with her.

The last day in Beijing we visited the Summer Palace, which is right on the water with a wonderful view. “The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.” (Wiki) After spending some time there, we got on a boat that took us across the water and gave us the best view of the palace up on top of the hill. Next was another exciting part of the trip, which was going to see the 2008 Olympic venues. We got to see the “Bird’s Nest,” which was very impressive both inside and out. It was a cool feeling to be there so soon after the Olympic Games when a lot of history was made. We also saw the “Water Cube,” which really lived up to its name and some of the other venues that were used. It was apparent that Beijing did a lot of work to clean up the city and build these massive stadiums as well as hotels just for the Games. The sad part is that it doesn’t seem like they have any use for the buildings now and the area was pretty deserted except for tourists. We then went to yet another market before we headed for the airport to fly to Shanghai. The next day I went to the Shanghai Zoo for my Anthropology class and got to see some pandas and lots of other animals. It was cool because the zoo was pretty dead and so you didn’t have to fight for time to see the animals. I just remember when we went to see the baby panda at the San Diego Zoo and had about 30 seconds to look at it before we were pushed out. After the zoo, I got to see Shanghai a little bit and it was a much louder and bigger city than Beijing was.

I enjoyed seeing China as a country but I was kind of disappointed in the people there because they just weren’t very nice. They were very aggressive and always pushing you and trying to get ahead of you in line, which just seemed rude because I’m not used to that in the U.S. Many people would just stand and stare at you for no apparent reason and didn’t seem to care at all. At the zoo, many Chinese people were throwing things at the animals and taunting them, which made me kind of angry. On another note, their hygiene was quite different than ours it seemed. A lot of people smoked cigarettes and would hawk and spit all over the place even when they weren’t smoking. At dinner, everyone just picks food off of the main plate with their chopsticks as it goes around the lazy Susan and they really don’t use their plates at all. The bathrooms are a whole other story because they don’t use toilets, but holes in the ground and no toilet paper. That took some getting used to but it just felt dirty and not very pleasant every time.  Most people besides the students didn’t want to have anything to do with us and had no interest in helping us try to get around. The taxis would just pass us by because they didn’t want to deal with us. I’m guessing that them not liking us has to do with our history with them and the major differences in governments, values and lifestyles. It was an interesting experience but the people kind of turned me off from their country. I thought it was pretty amazing how different Hong Kong and mainland China were even though they are both part of the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong runs under a completely different system of course but it was like two different worlds. I am now excited to go to Japan where the people are supposed to be exceedingly nice and helpful and of course for the sushi!

Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, Vietnam

I was surprised at how modernized and touristy Ho Chi Minh City was. The city center was full of tall buildings, hotels, malls and nice restaurants. Semester at Sea offered a shuttle bus for us from the port to the Rex Hotel every 30 minutes, which was extremely convenient and nice because we did not have to deal with taxi drivers. The Rex Hotel is very famous because it was the site of the daily news briefings during the Vietnam War and the rooftop bar was a popular hangout for military officials. The first day I did an all day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which is a very large network of underground tunnels over 200 km long used by the Viet Cong in the war. We actually got to go in the tunnels and even though they have been enlarged to accommodate tourists, they were very small and claustrophobic. It was amazing to think that many Vietnamese soldiers lived down in these tunnels making weapons, traps and fighting the Americans for long periods of time. There were 3 stories of tunnels underground and they had small holes at the top so that the soldiers could get some fresh air. We got to see a bunch of the different traps and weapons that they used, which were quite scary. The traps were camouflaged with the ground and a person would fall in and land on about 50 metal spikes. There was also an opportunity for us to shoot AK-47’s and other guns that were actually used in the war given to the Vietnamese by America. I did not participate in this but the noise was unbelievably loud and unpleasant, I could not imagine hearing that constantly for many years during a war. We also visited a Viet Cong War memorial, which had thousands of tombs and many were very young teenagers who were war heroes. We also went to a local market where there were lots of different fruits and meats for sale, including fish that were still flopping around in little pans.

The next day I spent at the Me Kong Delta, which “is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields. It produces about half of the total of Vietnam's agricultural output, and is the place for timeless sceneries of farmers planting or harvesting rice” (Wikitravel.org). We drove about 2 hours to get there and then got into a boat to cross a large river. We then got to try a bunch of tropical fruits, many that I had never even heard of before but were pretty good. Next, we got into tiny little canoes that were rowed by local Vietnamese people and went through small canals that were very beautiful with a green tree covering above us. We stopped at a place where they made coconut candies by hand and got to try it and buy some. Even though I don’t usually like coconut flavoring, these were delicious because you could taste the fresh coconut flavor. We also tried some lime and honey tea, which was also very good. Then we went on to have a very traditional Vietnamese lunch where they brought out a big fish that looked like it had just been taken out of the water and immediately fried. It was quite shocking when the waitress came over and just started cutting the fish open, pulling chunks of meat off and serving it to us in rice paper with some noodles and basil. I tried it and it wasn’t that bad but I don’t usually eat fish and I couldn’t stop thinking about the practically live fish on the table. Most of the other food we had I did enjoy although it was mostly weird looking seafood. The waitress came out with some shrimps that still had all of its body parts on it and I didn’t even know that that’s what shrimp looked like until then. She just ripped off all the parts and then served them to us and they were pretty good.

The third day I finally got to eat some Vietnamese pho (pronounced fuhh), which I enjoy at home a lot and really wanted to try the authentic version. Pho is basically just a Vietnamese style chicken noodle soup with lime juice, basil, onions and other sauces you can choose to put into it. It tasted basically the same as I have had in America and was very delicious.  I then proceeded to the War Remnants Museum, which everyone said was something you had to do. It was half outdoor and half indoor, so the first thing you see when you walk through the gates are a bunch of U.S. army tanks, bombs and airplanes. An Asian man asked my friend and I to take a picture with him in front of one of the tanks, so I’m not sure what he was trying to represent by that picture but hopefully it’s not a bad thing! There were 3 large rooms full of pictures from the war and each room had somewhat of a different theme.  The first one was more or a timeline of war with the French and then with the Americans and it had many photos and quotes to help tell the story. The next room was dedicated to the 134 war reporters/photographers who were killed during the war and it showcased hundreds of their photos, and many were very famous that most of you have probably seen. The third room was by far the hardest to look at because it contained hundreds of pictures of war crimes, the effects of Agent Orange and napalm, and many innocent people who were injured or killed. Most of them were extremely gruesome and showed the awful deformities caused by Agent Orange. There were also many not so nice quotes from U.S. generals or the president that were put there to make a point. At the very end of the hall of pictures was the quote from the Declaration of Independence stating, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Putting this quote there was obviously to make a point and it definitely did. It made it even harder to understand why all of these horrible things were done to the Vietnamese people. It is already hard to understand the war because I was not alive when it happened. The statistics are very astounding, that 3 million Vietnamese people were killed (2 million of which were civilians) and because of that 2/3 of the population today is under the age of 30. One other thing that I noticed was that many of the fighting pictures were taken in the Me Kong Delta, which I had just been to so it was weird to think that I was canoeing through a place where many Americans and Vietnamese died just 35 years ago. Going to the museum was definitely a very memorable experience for me and I’m very glad I went.
The last two days I spent just enjoying Ho Chi Minh City. I walked around the city a lot, shopped at the markets, and enjoyed good Vietnamese food. I also went to visit this place that taught uneducated teenage girls how to embroider so that they would have a skill to make money. There were about 75 girls there when we went and we were told that they work 8 hours a day and they sold their embroideries right there. They were very beautiful products and I would assume that they also sold them to vendors and the proceeds would go directly to the girls. There is so much more to see in Vietnam so the next time I go, I would want to go up North to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, which are supposed to be really cool and beautiful places. We will be arriving in Hong Kong tomorrow morning and I will only spend one day there and then fly to Beijing for 4 days, which I am very excited about. The next time I send a blog, I will have seen the Great Wall!

Thailand

Thailand

The first day in Thailand, I went to the Sri Racha Tiger Zoo where I got to see some unique animals up close. First, they have an elephant that was trained to pick people up with its trunk for a picture. It was kind of scary because you really have to hold on to their trunk to avoid falling but it definitely made for a good picture. I think that was the first time I have ever touched an elephant and I realized how rough and thick their skin is. I also got to feed an elephant bananas, which they just eat whole with the skin and all. He ate about 10 bananas in 2 minutes so I can only imagine how many they could really eat without being full. We saw a tiger show, which was basically like a circus where the tigers jumped through fire and did some other tricks. Then we saw a crocodile show and if you didn’t know crocodiles are quite lazy so the trainers basically had to drag them around to make them move. The main attraction there was the trainers putting their heads in the crocs mouths, which I got some good pictures of. After that we got to hold a baby tiger and feed it milk in a bottle, which was by far my favorite part of the day. They had lots of baby tigers that were very cute and I spent a lot of time just watching them play and taking lots of pictures. That night we went to a city called Pattaya, which was quite an interesting experience. Thailand has been having a lot of problems with sex workers and so we witnessed many prostitutes that were everywhere promoting themselves and lots of older men who were not there for the food.

The next day, I went to a Red Cross Rehab center for one of my classes. The owner of the center was a doctor who started it about 30 years ago and has really built it up into one of the best and only rehab centers in Thailand. The patients were mainly victims of brain and spinal cord injuries as well as amputees and autistic patients. It was very impressive how this one doctor had done so much in this particular field of medicine and even at 75 years old, he was still running the place and going strong. We got to tour the facility and actually see the rehab patients being helped and it was very obvious how much rehabilitation can increase a person’s quality of life from almost nothing. After that, my friend and I made the 90 minute trip to Bangkok where we spent the next 3 nights. I was surprised at how modernized Bangkok was; it really almost looks like New York City. There are lots of tall buildings, taxis and vendors everywhere and 7-11’s on every corner! The first thing we did that was on our to-do list was get a traditional Thai massage for next to nothing in terms of money. It was very different from a typical massage in America because they basically stretch your entire body and even stand on you some of the time. I enjoyed it very much and felt incredibly stretched out and relaxed afterwards. That night, we went out to dinner and then to one of the main strips called Khoa San Road in Bangkok. It was really cool because as you walk down the street, they have a night market where you can shop at the vendors and get delicious pad thai made in front of your eyes from a cart. Bangkok is known for having a big nightlife scene and so there were lots of people out and we ran into many Semester at Sea friends just walking down the street.

The next few days were filled with sightseeing, shopping and a couple of foot massages (an hour long foot massage costs about $7). Bangkok has many canals where you can ride boats around to different destinations like Venice. We took one of these to go see the Grand Palace, which is the most famous Buddhist temple in Thailand. It was pretty spectacular. Most of it is made from tiny colored pieces of glass that are put together to form a beautiful sight. There is also lots of gold used on the rooftops and the detail is just incredible all around. There was also a magnificent shrine with a Buddha on top, which the people come to pray to. Every now and then I saw monks around Thailand and they are not allowed to sit next to or touch women. There is a sky train that goes through Bangkok and they specifically reserve seats for the monks, which was kind of interesting. The sky train was very convenient, cheap and fast because there is a LOT of traffic in Bangkok and it can be very slow moving. The difference between the traffic in Thailand and India was that everyone drives faster and they don’t honk, which was a nice bonus. The food in Thailand was delicious every time we ate. Although it was a little different than what I’m used to in Thai restaurants in the U.S., it was still very, very good! Next time I go to Thailand, I would like to see the North, which is supposed to be very different from the South. There are jungle and beach cities such as Chang Mai and Phuket which sound like very interesting/beautiful places from what my friends have said. Now I’m already going to be in Vietnam tomorrow, which is going to be much different and I hope to learn more about the Vietnam War and see it from their perspective because they actually call it the American War. That’s all for now, miss you all!

Mauritius/India

Mauritius

Although we were only in Mauritius for 1 day, it was a very good day! About 30 people pitched in to rent a Catamaran for the day so we had a driver who took us all around the island to different beach spots. I really enjoyed swimming and snorkeling because the water was so warm and blue. We had a BBQ for lunch and just spent the day relaxing in paradise. The scenery was really breathtaking, mountains all around and the clearest blue water. It was a nice little break from being on the boat and then we got back on and made our way to India.

India

India is a crazy place! There is so much to see and so much going on all the time, it was actually exhausting. As soon as we got off the boat, we were bombarded with taxi drivers, auto-rickshaw drivers and bicycle drivers asking where we wanted to go. An auto-rickshaw is basically a 3 wheeled car that is open and can fit 3 people. We ended up in one of these and that was an experience in itself. I’ll try to set the scene for the streets in India. There are cars, buses, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, bicycles, cows, pedestrians and who knows what else ALL over the roads. There are not really any driving laws so people just do whatever they want and everyone is constantly honking and practically running over things all the time. The irony here is that no one wears seatbelts either! It is quite scary but you just kind of close your eyes and hope that you reach your destination safely. These rickshaw drivers don’t make much money so they have deals with different shops where if they bring people to the store they will get a commission. Basically what this means is that you have to stop at a few different stores before you get to your destination and there is really NO way around this. So the rickshaw driver took us to a saree (traditional Indian dress) store where my friends and I each purchased one and proceeded to wear around all day. This brought a lot of attention to us for some reason, I think because no one was used to seeing a white person wearing the traditional dress. We were getting compliments left and right. I had a city tour the first day, which entailed seeing some different churches, a Hindu temple and then going to an Indian home. At the house, they served us snacks, played an Indian guitar like thing, and showed us some traditional dancing. It was a very cool experience and this is where I first realized how welcoming and nice the Indian people are. They will always invite you to their homes and offer you food even if they don’t have much for themselves. After that I went to a welcome reception where we got to meet some Indian students, enjoy food, and watch more dancing. I hadn’t eaten all day so by this point I was starving and exhausted but once I got some food I felt much better. One thing about India that you can’t really avoid is getting dirty. Just from traveling around all day, I literally had a coat of dirt all over my skin so it was a great feeling to get to shower back at the ship and feel clean again.

The next day was the beginning of my 3 day home stay, which I had been looking forward to for the entire trip. I’ll preface this story by saying that this was definitely one of the best experiences I have had so far on my trip. There were about 30 people doing home stays so we all got on the bus to go meet our host families. We were paired up with another person and mine was a girl named Ali from Austin, Texas and we got along really well. I would say we kind of got lucky because our hosts were a young couple named Shilpa who is 22 and Tejus who is 26 and they just got married 6 months ago. I say we were lucky because we could really relate to them because they were close to our age and we got to see what it is like to be young in India. The norm in India is when you get married, you both move into the husband’s parent’s house so we also got to spend time with Tejus’ parents. Their family runs a travel agency together and also owns a little ice cream parlor, which we had the pleasure of eating at later on. The first thing we did was go to their house for lunch, which was a traditional South Indian meal. The house was really nice and I think was representative of the way a middle to upper class Indian family lives. They had about 5 servants who helped cook and clean, which was interesting, but I realized that that is a pretty normal thing for the upper classes in India. Something I wasn’t prepared for was that they eat with their hands and although they said we didn’t have, Ali and I both tried it out. The meal was 4 courses consisting of rice and 4 different toppings that were mixed with it. It was kind of hard to get the hang of eating goopy rice with your hand but I got better at it after a while. Also they only eat with their right hand because the left is considered unclean in their culture and religion. The meal was very good and they explained to us that there is a very big difference between North and South Indian food. What I am used to eating in the U.S. is North Indian food so this was quite different. Most Southern Indians are also vegetarians so I didn’t eat very much meat while in India. Next, we did some sightseeing and it was quite humorous because I felt like the tour guide since I had seen the sights the day before. Shilpa just moved to Chennai when she married Tejus so she hasn’t really seen much there and Tejus’ just hadn’t seen most of these places in a while so I knew more about them than anyone else. That night, we went to a reception at their rotary club, which was the organization that puts on these home stays with SAS every year. It was nice to feel so welcomed by them and one Rotarian made a speech that really made me realize the great reputation that SAS has in these countries. He just talked about how he helped start the home stay program 15 years ago and what a great program SAS is. He also helped start a program where Indian students come on the ship for a week or so, so that they get to experience the program as well. That program is now very popular in many of the countries we visit and we have had inter-port students and lecturers in many of the countries so far. His speech made me really proud to be a part of SAS because it is so well regarded by so many different places around the world. One other thing that was interesting was how many people knew where Cupertino and Silicon Valley was! I swear more Indian people know where that is than all of the students on SAS who are from the U.S. Many of them had even been there because they worked for a software company or something so I could relate to them on my hometown.

The next day all of the SAS home stay students were taken sightseeing for the entire day. We got back on the bus and visited many different places, which was cool but very tiring. It was about 100 degrees and humid and we were out in the sun walking around the entire day so we were all exhausted at the end. We went to a bunch of different temples that were carved right out of the rock, which was pretty amazing. Throughout the day we were constantly bombarded with vendors trying to sell us things, which gets pretty annoying after a while. One of the Indian students who came on the ship was with us and she was helping us bargain with the vendors because they were charging us like 10 times the normal price. It was funny because they were getting really angry with her since she was telling us the truth about what the items were worth and so they couldn’t take advantage of us. For lunch we went to this beautiful farm house, which was right on the beach and they prepared a meal for us. After lunch we went to a crocodile farm, where I saw the biggest and largest number of crocodiles I have ever seen in my life. We got to see them feed and they basically just ate big chunks of meat right off the bone and just crunched the bones right up. That night, it was actually Tejus’ birthday so we went straight out to dinner when we got back from sightseeing. We met some of their friends at a Spanish tapas bar that is popular among young people in Chennai. The food and the company were very good and we had a great time there. One of their friends works for a software company that is based in L.A. and he is probably going to go to California for training this summer. I gave him my e-mail and I told him that I would love to show him around if he makes it out there. He actually just e-mailed me a very nice note and said “If I travel to California I am kind of optimistic that I have a friend there, ”which I thought was very sweet.

On our last day with them, we went to a really cool place with lots of Indian crafts. I purchased some things that were made right in front of my eyes, which was really amazing. We then had lunch at Pizza Hut since pizza is Tejus’ favorite food! He spent 3 years in Australia studying and he says he ate pizza for every meal. Pizza Hut in India is not exactly the same as in the U.S. but it was still really good. I got to try some Chicken Tikka pizza, which was quite delicious actually. After lunch, we took Shilpa and Tejus on a tour of the ship, which was really fun to show them where we have been living for the past 2 months. We said goodbye and we both agreed that we want to stay in touch. I also really hope that they can come to California one day so that I can show them around and give them the wonderful hospitality that they provided for me. It was really a great experience and I am SO glad I chose to do the home stay rather than go to the Taj Mahal like most of the other students did. I can see the Taj Mahal later if I really want to but I will never have the opportunity to do a home stay again. The last day in India, I just did some shopping with my friends. There are so many beautiful things in India so I got a lot of gifts to bring home. I learned so much about their culture from Shilpa and Tejus and they were curious about U.S. culture as well. Tejus has visited the U.S. a few times but they both had many questions for us and we had lots for them. Overall, I had a great experience in India and definitely think I will come back someday. Although it is a crazy place, there are so many interesting people, great food, and beautiful sights that you could really never see and do it all but I want to come back and experience more of India.

Namibia and South Africa

Namibia

Namibia was the first port that I got a chance to relax a little bit and not ALWAYS be doing something constantly. The first day we arrived in Walvis Bay and I went straight on a tour of a city called Swakopmund, which was about 20 minutes away. Namibia was a German colony and only gained their independence about 20 years ago so Swakopmund is very heavily influenced by German everything. All of the cars are Volkswagens, there are lots of German restaurants and most of the people speak German and English. The town is a very cute little beach town and you can get around everywhere on foot, which was nice. Three of my friends and I rented a little house on the beach, which was really nice and cheap! It was 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with a kitchen and living room and views of the beach for $50 a night total! Basically we each paid $12 a night, which is outrageous compared to what is would be in the U.S. During our time there we took it easy and ate really good German food and drank really good German beer. I tried ostrich for the first time as well as some other game meat that I’m not even sure what it was, but they were both very good. Namibia is basically all desert with huge dunes so there is a big industry for sand sports such as 4 wheeling, sand boarding, etc. but since I have already ridden ATV’s before I didn’t feel the need to do it again. We were only there for 3 days total so it went by pretty quickly. The last day I went on a little speedboat out in the bay and we got to see huge pelicans and lots of seals. The seals know that there is food on the boats so they have been trained to jump right up on the boat and get some fish. They also will hug you and let you pet them while they get their fill of fish so that was really cool. After that I only had a few hours left so we just walked around the port city a little bit but it wasn’t very exciting. Overall, Namibia was a cool place and the people were very nice and the food was really good.

Cape Town, South Africa

I had an AMAZING time in Cape Town over the past 5 days and experienced so many cool things so this is probably going to be a long post just to warn you. I kept very busy every single day and enjoyed every minute of it. The first day I had a trip that was actually for one of my classes so my professor was with us. It was called Wine Production and Management, so we went to 2 different wineries and got to learn about the production process and how a winery is run. There is a very big market for wine in South Africa and the wine lands take over a huge part of the country. Since the United States doesn’t like a lot of competition, it is very expensive to buy South African wine there because of the high exportation costs. It would cost about $200 to ship just 6 bottles of wine from here to the U.S., which is 3 times more than you even buy the bottles for! So we got to learn a lot about the wine business as well as taste a lot of different wines. This was my first experience with wine tasting so I didn’t know anything about anything before this. I have to say that I really enjoyed it though, especially since the people that spoke to us were so informative about everything. The wine lands were so beautiful also, which made it that much better.

That night, my friends and I went to this popular African restaurant in Cape Town called Mama Africa. The food was delicious and I got to try springbok steak and some other traditional African food. They had a live band there, which we were all really mesmerized by. The male singer had such a beautiful voice and the musicians were all amazing. There was drums, saxophones, a trumpet, xylophones and the singing all put together to produce a really great sound. I ended up buying their CD and found out the music is called Marimba and is traditional to one of the tribes in South Africa called the Xhosa. We stayed at the restaurant for probably 4 hours just watching the band play on and on and it was really magical.

The second day I went on an SAS trip with a non-governmental organization called Operation Hunger. This was by far the most eye-opening experience I have ever had. To preface this, I want to explain a little bit about the history of South Africa and what it is like now. As you may know, South Africa struggled with apartheid until it was finally banned in 1994. It has only been 15 years since then and there are still many lasting effects of apartheid and continuing racial discrimination today. This is very obvious because of the miles and miles of townships that are still being lived in all over Cape Town and South Africa. A township is basically a community of shacks made out of tin or whatever scraps the people can find, are about 10 by 10 feet and house very impoverished black families. Since the HIV/AIDS epidemic is so huge, most of the children living in the townships are orphans. The people living here have a very hard time finding work and most of them barely get anything to eat and are starving. The president who was just kicked out of office really wasn’t doing much to help these people, basically ignored the AIDS problem and was very corrupt. South Africa has an interim president at the moment and is having their first free elections this April, which has the potential to be very good but the only candidate at the moment is not a good choice. So anyways, Operation Hunger is an organization that goes into the townships to try to improve the nutritional well being of the people there, improve the facilities and provide some financial assistance. They monitor the children on a regular basis by weighing them and taking their measurements to make sure they are not malnourished. We started by going to one of the townships about 10 minutes away from the main part of Cape Town. The people were very welcoming and grateful that we had come to help them and play with the children. There were many small children and a few women who acted as mothers to all of them, trying to give them an education and keep them fed. The kids were a little shy and scared at first and our guide told us this was because the only white people they had ever seen were doctors who gave them shots because they were ill. They warmed up quickly and after 3 hours of interacting with us, probably had one of the most exciting days in their entire lives. We played with them as well as weighed them and took their measurements as part of the program. To give you a picture of the kids, they were all wearing dirty clothes; most of them didn’t have shoes and were obviously not very clean. It was so sad to see them in the condition they were but it was also rewarding to see how much fun they were having while we were there.

Next, we went to a different township and helped out with a soup kitchen, which was really just a few ladies who use money from their own pockets to cook soup and buy bread for the people twice a week. It was appalling how many people showed up to get food; there was probably a line of 200 people ranging from small children to old men and women. They were all obviously starving and who knows how long it had been since they had eaten a substantial amount. Before the food was served, one of the women said a prayer that literally brought me and many others to tears. To see how little these people had in their lives and still she was thanking God for everything they did have and even praying for us to be OK and just obviously so grateful to just be alive. I can’t describe what it was like to see these people with little plastic Tupperware dishes coming up one by one to get one scoop of soup and a few pieces of bread. It was devastating to hear them, especially the children begging for just a little more and not being able to give them more. Even though they only got so much, you could see in their faces how grateful they were just to have something. One of the things that really impacted me was that before we went, our guide told us that we could buy some bread at the gas station to bring to them. A whole loaf of bread was only $1, which is practically nothing to us so everyone bought a few loaves to bring. When we got there, I realized that we had just supplied half of the meal. If we hadn’t of brought it, most of the people would not have gotten bread at all. Although it felt good to know that we had fed these people, all I wanted to do was help some more. Knowing that I could afford to buy so much more food was hard to think about. It was hard to know that the soup kitchen only supplied food twice a week and wonder what, if anything these people were eating the other days of the week. The memory of this entire day will stay with me for the rest of my life. I know that we can’t solve all of the problems in the world but it is nice to know that every little bit makes a difference. It inspired me to think more about when I throw things away that I think are trash but could be so useful to these people. I would like to send old clothes and whatever else could be useful to Operation Hunger in the future when I get home because I know it will be put to good use. I am so glad that I got to experience all of this and I hope that when I complain about things in the future, I will stop to think about these people and how lucky I am to have the life that I do.

The third day I did another service visit with the Amy Biehl Foundation, which is another organization in Cape Town that provides after school programs to the township children. Without this program, they would never have the chance to learn about music, arts, drama, participate in sports as well as get educated about HIV/AIDS. Under the conditions in the townships, these children would probably turn to drugs, drop out of school, keep churning in the cycle of poverty and probably die from AIDS. The statistics are horrifying, 50% of people in South Africa have AIDS and many of them have had it from birth and so had no control over their own destiny. The story behind the Amy Biehl Foundation is a powerful one and you could learn more about it by Googling it but I will try to explain it the best I can. The story begins with a girl named Amy Biehl who graduated from Stanford in the late 80’s and came to South Africa and decided to stay to help the people and the government transition from apartheid. She was fighting for the black people to overcome the discrimination and poverty that was so common among their people. One day she was driving to a township with some black friends and there was a political rally going on. The rally was basically about fighting for the rights of the black people and all white people were seen as oppressors to them. As Amy drove through, the mob attacked her car and forced her out. Her friends tried to explain that she was a good person who was actually helping them but they didn’t listen and 4 men beat and stabbed her to death. These men went to jail for 4 years and then appealed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was run by Nelson Mandela, to be released because their acts were only because of political reasons. The reason the story is so powerful is because Amy’s parents were actually there supporting their release from prison. After speaking with the men, her parents realized that they really had no intent to murder their daughter and their beliefs at that time were so strong against white people that what they did was almost necessary under the circumstances. The men were obviously extremely sorry and regretful for what they had done and so they supported their release from prison. Now two of them are working for the Amy Biehl Foundation and have really come full circle and are now working with the children to hopefully lead them to a better life. They are actually very close with Amy’s parents and even call her Linda, the mother, Mom sometimes. One of them named Easy was actually there with us when we visited the Foundation. It was obvious how much he enjoyed working with the children and how thankful he was for the second chance he was given. It is almost impossible to understand how Amy’s parents could be so forgiving to the people who killed their daughter but they realized that it is what Amy would have wanted. Her parents set up the foundation because they realized how passionate Amy was about the cause she was fighting for and they needed to do something to keep helping the South African people. We got to see some performances by the children, which were exceptionally good. They performed some traditional tribal dances, sang for us, played instruments and even did some modern dancing, which was all really good. It was cool to see what the Foundation was doing for them and how much different their lives were because of these extra-curricular activities that they have the chance to participate in. It made me even think about coming back sometime to work with the Foundation and help out with the children because it would be such a rewarding experience.

The fourth day was back to the wine lands but this time on mountain bikes. We biked 30 kilometers (about 20 miles) through the mountains and the wine lands, which was really beautiful and a lot of fun. The scenery was really breathtaking and after the ride, we did some more wine tasting at 2 different wineries and had a nice picnic lunch. I feel like I can enjoy wine more now that I know something about it. Today was the last day and I went on a half day tour of some of the sights near Cape Town. We drove along the coast and stopped at a few different places. It actually reminded me a lot of San Diego because of the beaches and the way the towns looked along the coast. We got to see some wild African penguins, which was very cool. Then we went all the way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, which is the southernmost tip of the African continent. The tour guide was very knowledgeable but it was a little more driving than I expected. The rest of the day I just enjoyed Cape Town for a few more hours before we had to be back on the ship. The harbor where we were docked also looked a lot like San Diego or San Francisco. It was really pretty and very modernized and touristy so I felt at home like we were back in the U.S., which was comforting. As you can probably tell, I really loved South Africa and it was definitely my favorite port so far. There are so many different things you can do there and I didn’t even get to the safaris or extreme sports, which are a huge part of the tourist attractions! I would highly recommend going there at some point in your lifetime since I’m pretty sure most of you haven’t been there. I know I will definitely be back again because I have never experienced so many different and new things all in a range of 100 miles. Now it’s back to business in the school department until we get to India in 10 days. Although I will have a nice break in Mauritius for 1 day, which I have been hearing is a beautiful place. If you got this far, thanks for reading!

Morocco!

So Morocco was an interesting place to visit and I wasn’t really sure what to expect before we got there. We had some bad luck with weather and sat for a whole day in Gibraltar waiting for fuel so we missed one day in Morocco. Basically the whole time there I was on an SAS trip in Marrakech. The first day of the trip we took the bus to these palm groves in Marrakech where we got to do a camel ride. That was pretty cool, although it was like 30 minutes long, which was a little too much. We rode in camel trains through these palm groves, which are basically these huge fields filled with palm trees. It was actually really pretty and I got some good pictures of it all. One thing I don’t think anyone was prepared for was that there were people living in the fields basically in shack houses and we rode right through all of the people living their daily lives. They were obviously very poor and there were lots of children around that were running along beside us and watching and waving. That was my first experience with some of the poverty that is in Morocco. Next we went to our hotel in Marrakech, which was very nice by Moroccan standards but probably a 3 star hotel in the U.S. A group of us went to the grocery store to get stuff and it was obvious that girls should be with at least one guy at all times, especially at night. The men in Morocco are not used to seeing women with lighter features and not wearing scarves on their heads, so they would stare very obviously whenever girls walked by and even try to talk to us. I really didn’t like not being able to be independent like women are in America, even just to walk down the street. Women are treated very differently there, which in my eyes was sad to see. Some examples of this are that women are not allowed to go in cafes at all, they cannot pray in mosques with men or they must be behind men, and in general you just don’t see that many women out.

Marrakech seemed like a confused city to me because half of it is modernized and the other half is dirty and rundown. The confusing part is that both the modern parts and rundown parts are on the same street. I would see a really nice hotel with electronic billboards and right next to it was abandoned buildings and trash everywhere and holes in the ground. The same analogy could be used for the people in Marrakech. Some people still follow all of the traditional Islamic practices in regards to the way they act and dress and other people look and act in a more modern way. So there are a lot of women that cover themselves head to toe, some that just wear a head scarf with normal clothes, and some that dressed as any American woman would. My Islam professor explained that some people interpret the religion in a modern way and don’t believe in some of the traditional practices anymore.

Anyways, the second day we toured Marrakech and saw the famous mosque there, a prior King’s palace and the souks (the marketplace similar to a Bazaar in Turkey where there are many vendors that you can bargain with). The souks were kind of insane because all of the vendors were very aggressive when trying to get you to buy their stuff. Basically everywhere I went, the people are trying to scam you in some way to take your money. For example, there were snake charmers and people with monkeys in the main square, which was pretty cool. They lure you in with their cool tricks and then as soon as you take a picture, they demand that you pay them some ridiculous price. At this point you have no choice but to pay them because they will literally scream at you and chase you if you don’t pay. The same thing goes for cab drivers because they don’t really use meters so if you don’t agree on a price in the beginning, they will try to charge you 10 times more than you should pay. These sorts of things made me glad that I was on the trip with SAS because we got fair warning about all of these scams, while people traveling independently had to learn from their mistakes. This practice of scamming was surprising to me because this is so against the Islamic religion and most of the Moroccan people are very religious. I understood that the people are trying to make a living, but it was frustrating that they try to take advantage of you in every way possible.

Overall, Morocco seemed like a country where most of the people are struggling financially. Most people were dressed in old, dirty clothes and there were a lot of people begging for money. Everywhere we went, it didn’t smell very good and there was trash all over the streets. . It was much harder to communicate there than in Spain because the main languages are Arabic and French. I wouldn’t say this is a vacation destination but it was a good learning experience. I also know that this is just the beginning of the poverty I am going to witness along this trip so I am more prepared for that now. The next port is Namibia, which will again be much different than Spain or Morocco, but at least they speak English more commonly! That’s all for now and we have 8 days at sea so I need to catch up on some schoolwork but I’ll post again probably after Namibia.

Espana

Well we left Spain yesterday and I had an awesome time there. The first day I had a walking tour of the city where we learned all about the history of Cadiz and also saw the Arts and Archaeological Museum there. That night we went to Flamenco night, which consisted of an amateur bullfight followed by flamenco music and dancing. It was very cool to see some of the Spanish tradition up close and personal. The next morning we had to meet at 7:30 and head out for a 2 day trip to Sevilla and Cordoba. In Sevilla, we got to see the Plaza de Espana, the largest gothic cathedral in the world and one of the King of Spain’s palaces as well as many other sights. Everything was just so mind-blowing since I had never seen anything like these places before. All of the architecture was so massive and at the same time so detailed, which was what really amazed me. The cathedral had 100 foot tall ceilings and practically every inch of it was decorated in some way. The pictures really don’t do it any justice. Whether it was hugs paintings or engravings in the wall or stained glass windows or statues, the entire place was covered from ceiling to floor. Also in the Cathedral was Christopher Columbus’ grave, which has apparently been disputed as to whether he is actually in there. Just recently, they did some DNA testing from the remains and all along his family line including his living relatives and it was confirmed that at least some part of his remains is in that tomb. There also may be some in the Dominican Republic, but they refused to let them test what they have.

After Sevilla, we made our way to Cordoba and spent the night in a hotel there. The cool thing about being on a trip hosted by Semester at Sea is that they try to make every meal traditional so that we get to taste all of the food that people normally eat from that country. I thought I would like Spanish food more than I did though, which was disappointing but I’m glad that I tried it anyway. The next day we had a tour of Cordoba, which included a trip to the Old Jewish Quarter as well as La Mezquita, which was a mosque but is now the Cathedral of Cordoba that can fit 30,000 people inside. This place was just incredible. I’m sure you can look it up on Google, but basically there were hundreds of rows of arches inside the Cathedral. The mosque began construction in 785 and took about a century to finish. Then in 1236 it was taken over by the Christians led by King Ferdinand III. They basically redecorated the mosque with Christian adornments and added a very big altar. This was a common theme all over Spain, in which one building was used in history by Christians, Jews and Muslims at some point in time. This made the architecture and decoration very interesting because it had influences from many different countries and religions.

The last day I spent in Cadiz and enjoyed the local feel of the city. We went out to eat and also saw a local flamenco show. I did a little shopping and got some things I needed as well as some souvenirs. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Spain and definitely think I want to go back someday. My roommate and I slept 13 hours when we got back on the ship, which felt very, very nice since we had been sleep deprived. Right now, we are sitting in the water near Gibraltar waiting for the port to open so we can get fuel and we should be in Morocco tomorrow morning.

I’ll post again after Morocco, where I will be doing some camel riding!

2 days until Spain!

Well I have now officially been living aboard the MV Explorer for a week. I am surprised at how quickly it because something normal to see only water 24 hours a day and live in such a small community. It is like living in the dorms on campus but everything is even more compacted. I can go to the gym, go to class, eat, tan, sleep, shower and everything else all within a short walk from each other. Another aspect of this particular ship is that you see your professors in class, then 5 minutes later on the treadmill next to you and then sitting at the dinner table with you. It is kind of strange since I am used to 500 person classes where I can barely even see the professor's face. I like it though because it makes them seem much more personable and easy to talk to, (especially since they come to class in jeans, t-shirts and sandals). Another aspect that is different from normal school is that we go to class 7 days a week while at sea and then we get like a week off in port. It is kind of cool but makes it hard to take school seriously :)

It is really interesting meeting people from all over the United States and makes me realize how different one state really is from the next. There are a lot of different opinions and values that are prominent in each state or area and are mostly different from California's way of life. Even small differences surprise me such as the fact that recycling isn't free in other states or you can drink in restaurants if your parents are there or even if you are married to someone over 21. My friend from schools' roommate is from Georgia and we have had the chance to pick his brain on what life is like there. Basically three people from California were in awe of some of the norms there that he was telling us about. A few that come to mind are: most kids go to etiquette school for 2 years, they call anyone older including their parents by sir or maam and he is pretty convinced that fried chicken is a healthy food. I found all of this and more really interesting because it is just so different from life in California.

Most of the students have now figured out that the reason it takes us 9 days to cross the Atlantic is because they are purposely going slow so we can get our classes in. That makes for an antsy bunch of people. Anyways, I am very excited to arrive in Spain and also to walk on the land again. We have a pre-port meeting tonight and tomorrow, which should be helpful for traveling tips etc. My plans for Spain are all trips through Semester at Sea. First, a city orientation in Cadiz, then a flamenco and bullfight that night. The next day I leave for a 2 day trip to Seville and Cordoba, which are both supposed to be really cool cities. The last day is open so I will figure that out when I get there.

Well we are now 8 hours ahead of California so it's dinner time here, while you all might still be sleeping or working or in class. Feel free to e-mail me at naheller@semesteratsea.net, it's really fun to get e-mails and feel somewhat connected to life in the U.S.