Two more days?

Friday, December 11 – Pacific
13:28
I can’t believe it’s almost over. It’s rather depressing. Everyone keeps mentioning how the end is near, but their friends quickly stop them with some response like, “don’t talk about it.”  I have one more exam, and then I’m free to record a video tour of the ship, trade pictures/music, and pack. My friends and I have yet to sleep on the deck, so I wonder if we’ll do that tonight. We also have a logistical preport tonight!

Tomorrow is Reflection/Reentry day. The ship has a few ceremonies and seminars planned. One seminar is offering to mail a letter to yourself from yourself a year from now. I think I’m going to do that. The Alumni Ball is also tomorrow.

Wow. I can’t believe this is almost over. I’m going to miss these people so much. The majority of them I will never see again. Some of my close friends I will definitely be seeing - even within the next few years. It’s really difficult to accept that this is almost over. This time next week I will be recovering from going out to The Castle, cuddling with Alphonse, playing Wii with TD, and eating some of my favorite foods.

If home is where the heart is, going there will be difficult, considering my heart is now spread throughout the world.

STILL in Hawaii

Tuesday, December 8 – Honolulu, Hawaii
9:08
Today we were supposed to be heading to San Diego, California. At this current time, we are about to be cleared to get off the ship. There is a storm we wanted to avoid in the Pacific, and Hilo was not a good place to stay. So, they took us back to Honolulu, and they’re letting us off the ship. Sweet.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!
I am so very thankful for this opportunity.
I am so very thankful for everyone who pushed me to take this opportunity.
I am so very thankful for everyone you.

Off the coast of Japan

Sunday, November 22 – Off the coast of Japan
17:49

I’m currently in-transit between Yokohama and Kobe. There’s around 150 other passengers that are on the ship with me, including Ryan, Viki, Eric and a few of my other friends. I am really trying to be productive today. I just began my 10 page paper for my West and the World class, and I have every intention to finish it today.
I went to a child’s yoga class today, that was instructed by Ian. He had plans in school to do a study on yoga for children with behavioral issues, within his short amount of study he noticed a difference in the children, but had Stella and couldn’t continue his study. The class he instructed today was the class he gave to those students. It was a really nice class. He told me I should come to his regular classes on A days, which I plan to do. I really enjoy him and his family. They’re really great people.

I also received my package from home today. I have “thug a test” family. About a month or two ago (ship time is very strange, and you are mentally unable to keep track of real time) I asked my mother to send me peacock feathers. The peacock feathers are to do a ceremony of sorts (from The Darjeeling Limited) in Hawaii with some of my pals. I received a relatively heavy package, and as I was heading back to my room carrying it, I went through all the possible things it could be. I knew if it was a package and not just an envelope, there was going to be Double Stuf Oreos. What I didn’t expect was a bunch of other goodies, including DR. PEPPER! This package is going to be a life saver during our ten day haul.

And as I was writing this, cute little Stella came on the intercom to have us all sing happy birthday to Rita (the voice). I love days that are different from the rest.

I plan to look into the JET program. If I get accepted this would involve me living in Japan and teaching English. I’ve only spent around 30 hours in Japan so far, but I’ve really enjoyed it. There’s A LOT to do. I have always loved the Asian culture. Although it’s minimally difficult to find, there is Dr. Pepper in vending machines.

My funds are running really low. I’ve had a few unexpected expenses on the ship, including a visa for Viet Nam that I didn’t know about (which the majority of the ship didn’t know about, including teachers). I also didn’t know what to expect in a few of the countries, and didn’t budget correctly.  The expenses I have left are for my Osaka stay, Hawaii, the Ambassador's Ball, etc. I’m having a minor freak out, but I think I will make it.

It is difficult to think that the voyage will be over in 22 days. The ten day trip between Japan and Hawaii may be a tough one - full of school work, a global studies exam, and collection of pictures.

Brooke's adventures in China!

Wednesday, November 18 – Between China and Japan
15:43
First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOTHER, Uncle Michael and Ryan Biehle (my best friend on the ship)! Secondly, I had the best possible time in China. My adventure felt exactly how an adventure should feel. It was difficult to make bullet points for China, because there was just so much going on!

Hong Kong, like I mentioned before, was great and I loved it. I would go back in a heartbeat. The skyline is absolutely stunning. Our tour of Hong Kong was fantastic - I got over 500 pictures and had a delicious lunch. Victoria’s Peak has the most breathtaking views of HK. The nightlife is incredible. Joey, Anjuli, Matt and I went out to dinner and had such a great time. We spent the majority of dinner laughing. There were streets of bars and clubs, and 7elevens with cheap beer. Matt and I ended up smoking hookah with Viki, Chelsea and some others before going on a mission to find Alyssa with Brian. At one point we cheers-ed with Dean Nick. We took the ferry to dinner, and had to take a taxi back - which involves going through an underwater tunnel (mom would love this). It’s really long and really cool!

Our flight experience was so neat. The airport was huge. I have never been on a flight knowing more than two people. It was really interesting being on a flight knowing 70+ (other groups were on our flight, too). The food was excellent. Toward the end of the flight, they put on a video where the flight attendants showed you how to stretch - it was quite humorous. I sat next to Andrea, whom I never really talked to before and now really like. I sat behind James and Brian, and near Chelsea, Carley and Allie. We took off in warm weather and landed in the snow! Jackie was so stoked because it was her first time seeing snow.

The group we had on our huge independent trip was amazing. Once we got to Beijing we had to split up into 3 groups since there was 70 of us. I couldn’t of asked or received a better group. I had Jackie, Anjuli, Carley, Lane, Mary-Chanler, Katie, Vanessa, the two Allys, several other great girls and one boy - Mike (25 total). Our tour guide, Robert, was so adorable. He would address us as “girls and the boy” or “my beautiful flowers and the bee”. At the end he told us about his wife, and how he wanted a girl (to which the whole bus full of girls went, “AW”).

The first night in Beijing was a little rough. A decent sized group of us tried to go out to dinner together - which epically failed. We ended up at this random bar in a hotel that served “American” food. That bar is very confused as to what American food is. Not one of us enjoyed our meals. After we attempted to go to Ho Hi (that’s how it’s pronounced, I’m not sure how it’s spelled). That was another epic fail. We ended up back at our hotel, in which I wanted to go back out because I did not want to waste our night in Beijing. James and I ended up finding Ho Hi, which is this amazing bar, club and restaurant area - that looks like Epcot since it’s all around this lake. All the places have bright neon lights. It was also deserted. James and I walked around the entire lake, stopping in a bar where we watched a bit of American sports and had a Chinese version of hot chocolate which was hot water that was brown. (That one hotel in South Africa has the best hot chocolate in the entire world. Literally.) We were still hungry, but all the restaurants closed on us, so we tried to find our way to McDonald’s. Taxi drivers wanted nothing to do with either James or I - these nice locals ended up helping us out, with the very little english they knew and the VERY little Chinese we knew. Apparently they say McDonald’s differently. At the end of the night, James and I ended up with some McDonald’s in our tummies and back to our hotel safe and sound.

The third day of our tour (second day in Beijing) included going to the Silk Street Pearl Market for an hour, where we all purchased warmer clothing. There was absolutely way too much to buy in there and for way too cheap. It was a shoppers paradise, M-ma would of loved it. I tried my hardest to spend next to nothing. The second portion of our day included touring a bell tower, having lunch at a sweet woman’s house, and riding around on rickshaw of sorts through a traditional style neighborhood. We then spent around two hours traveling to The Great Wall of China, climbed a bit of it at sunset and then had a wonderful dinner before making the second most difficult hike of my life.

The hike was about 40 minutes straight up, in the snow, while wearing layers upon layers of clothing. You strip as you hike up because you get so incredibly hot from your layers and hiking. Oh, and your only source of light was the little flash light they gave you. It was a beautiful hike up - you could see every possible star in the sky (which you really can’t imagine how many there are until you see it yourself). Once at the top, the three groups separated into three different watch towers. Our group got the short straw and we had to hike an extra 15 to 20 minutes on the most dangerous parts of the wall in the pitch black, ice and snow. I had a bit of video from this adventure, but it still doesn’t capture what we went through. There was this one staircase that was all ice, and if you tried to hold on to the wall - the wall would fall apart. There was another part that was more or less a 80 degree incline, with no edges.

We were all pretty thrilled when we got to our watch tower. We spread out our two mats and two sleeping bags - grabbed a beer and headed out under the stars. The majority of us couldn’t hack the cold for two long, myself included, and cocooned ourselves in our sleeping bags. This was the one and only time that I was offered unlimited beer - and I didn’t even finish my one. This went for most everyone else. We were visited by a few others from other watch towers - and they were quite silly, mentioning the death traps they had to go through to get to our watch towers. A few people actually SLEPT outside, which had to have been 10 degrees colder. I failed to mention it was negative 15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) when we got off the bus, at the bottom of the mountain. I can’t even tell you how cold it was in our watch tower.

Sleeping was interesting. I was warm, outside of my feet. I went through a few panic attacks from being so bundled up. I woke up a few times wishing it was morning already because I didn’t want to sleep anymore. I finally woke up around 5:30, got up and peed - in nature on The Great Wall (it wasn’t even close to as bad as I thought it was going to be). As I headed back, I ran into Anjuli - who went through the same night as me, besides she didn’t have panic attacks, she just kept waking up having to pee. The both of us went back to our cocoons, and had the best one hour sleep that was interrupted by Robert begging all of us to get up to see the sunrise. Me, and my photographer (shutter-bug) self, got up out of my toasty cove to take a few rather crappy pictures - in awe at the sight of the miles of wall going off in the distance - and went back into my sleeping bag. I enjoyed some peach juice and Oreo cookies for breakfast (the night before I got to experience a peanut butter cream Oreo - delicious), before heading out on our hike - which involved going BACK through our death trap, in the opposite direction. Our group officially hiked more of the Great Wall than any other group.

The hike itself was fantastic. It wasn’t as difficult as Table Mountain. The snow and ice caused a few challenges. A few parts of the wall were rather sketchy, but really neat to climb on. I stopped A LOT to take pictures. Anjuli was my official model of the day (which no one ever minds, due to my camera). We hiked for about 3 miles, and I couldn’t tell you how many hours. The last leg of the wall was the most difficult. After crossing a bridge that is hanging above water, you hike up. It was more or less a staircase from the very bottom of it to the top of it (which isn’t the highest part of the wall, but still difficult). Once you got to “the end”, you could either hike even more to get down or zip line down. I chose to zip line. Jackie and I did it together, and it was incredible. The view was incredible. The act was incredible. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and it took 30 seconds. Neither Jackie or I have ever done anything like zip lining, and we did it OFF The Great Wall of China.

Once at the bottom, we had lunch which involved an orange chicken of sorts that was my MOST FAVORITE DISH EVER. I was so stoked when she set it down. Whoever told me that Chinese food in China isn’t as good as American Chinese food is DAMN WRONG. It’s better, WAY better, here. We also only had lunch at the bottom of The Great Wall because our buses broke down - the rumor that went around was that the Diesel froze over night.

Our buses eventually started back up, and we headed back to Beijing. This is the part of the trip where our inside joke “FAOUR-CLOCK” comes in, but I won’t explain. We were given the option to go to an acrobat show (which cost $50 USD) or go back to the market. My friends and I all chose the market - it’s just such a rad place. I didn’t buy a lot there, but I sure wanted to. The rest of the night was spent at the hotel watching Chinese television (which is fantastic - I actually saw a really old American Oreo commercial dubbed over in Chinese), showing our purchases to each other, and wifi (which was spent on Skype and email only - since China blocks social networking sites).

The final day was more or less miserable in the sense of weather. We were absolutely freezing. We toured the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Bird's Nest and Swim Cube. We had another excellent meal - which again included “orange chicken”. We were also served Peking Duck, which was delicious. After our regular tour, we were then taken on this crazy escapade - where we were taken to this tea ceremony, which was basically an infomercial for their tea, tea cups, and “pee-pee boy”. After that we had the option to go to a kung fu (more money out of your pocket) or to do whatever you wanted in the area of the kung fu show. Jackie, Anjuli and I got Pizza Hut - which took all of the time we were allotted, and we had to rush out of the restaurant. Our night ended with goodbyes to our lovely tour guide Robert, and an awesome sleeper train to Shanghai.

The first bit of being on the train was interesting. Jackie and I were roomed with Vanessa (which was great), but we thought we would also be with Anjuli (who was ticketed for the room next to us). The other person in our room was this girl Katie, who is one of my least favorite people on this trip. She is also the least favorite of many others. Here is a few reasons why: she has a very annoying voice, she doesn’t seem to think before she speaks, her opinions are off the charts, she thinks she got several items of hers stolen by strangers in Mauritius when it was most definitely her “friends” (this story blows my mind at how dim she is), she lost her debit card during our trip and doesn’t really know how, she dared to ask other people to buy her dinner with several shopping bags in her hands since she lost her debit card, later she asked Jackie to use her iTouch to email home (which was a fiasco in itself since she’s so dim), etc. Jackie entered the room before me, and turned around with this face of “oh-my-god-no-fucking-way” (which she describes as feelings of future disastrous situations and being severely upset). I immediately knew what that face meant. At the same time there were people from other rooms trying to switch people so they could be with their friends. I took this opportunity to ask Katie to switch with one of them, so we could have Anjuli and they could have their friends and so we didn’t have to have Katie. She was hesitant at first, claiming she already put everything under her bed - but I wouldn’t take no for an answer. It took her about 5 minutes to clear out, and about 2 minutes for us to get settled in cabin 10!

While we were chatting in our room, amazed at how great the sleeper train and our adventure was, the two Allys come by. The blonde Ally says in a very “ugh” way, “you will never guess who’s in my room.” I laugh and say, “I bet I can, because I was the one who kicked her out of my room and put her into yours.” It was quite hysterical. The night on the sleeper train was spent exploring other SAS cabins, who were ALL drinking. Actually, if they didn’t bring on their own alcohol, they quickly made the train sell out of beer. The four of us in cabin 10 locked our door around midnight, to avoid anymore drunken interruptions, and chatted until we all fall asleep. It was really nice.

This adventure was so epic. I felt like I made some really good friends, and I felt like I rekindled a friendship that was almost lost. I have some of the best pictures of the trip. I can now say I have seen the great wall - as well as slept, hiked and zip lined off of it (all in the snow). I was really stoked to see Tiananmen Square, although our tour guide would not discuss what we know it for.

Jackie and my plan for the last day in Shanghai was to get tattoos. I asked the woman who spoke a bit of english that was on our bus from the train station to the ship where I could get a tattoo. She wrote down of a place we could go, and also wrote down “tattoo” in Chinese. Jackie and I put our stuff on the ship, had to wait to be cleared (because we missed that bit by being in Beijing and not going with the ship from Hong Kong to Shanghai). During our hour or so wait time, we heard an announcement on the ship that explained that the ship would not be leaving Shanghai until the next day - which meant we had another night in Shanghai. It was due to some bed weather in the seas that we did not want to go through. I thought it was so awesome being able to stay one more night in Shanghai!

Since we had to wait a rather long time to be cleared, we decided to get lunch where we met up with Matt and Viki. The two of them, as well as Chelsea and Rachel decided they wanted to come with us. The six of us obviously couldn’t fit into one taxi, so we decided to take two. Matt showed the two taxi drivers the SAME piece of paper on where to go. The two taxis didn’t make it to the same place. Rachel, Matt and I spent a good 10 minutes waiting for the other taxi or the people who were in it. We then ventured off after some warm beverages (since it was rainy and chilly out). We asked around in this mall of sorts for a tattoo shop. We were told to go this way and that way. We ventured in this section of Shanghai for about an hour until we found a piercing shop who pointed us in the direction to find a tattoo shop. We took a taxi there, found the tattoo shop after about 20 minutes. When we arrived, the man in the shop wasn’t the least bit interested in us being there and wanted to charge me triple what I would be charged in the states. I decided against getting it there. It didn’t feel right, and I didn’t want to pay more than I would at home.

So the day changed a bit. After Matt and Rachel ate some Subway (and Matt had a tasty smoothie of sorts), Matt suggested taking the Metro to People’s Market. We arrive, look around in the shops for about 20 minutes. Matt splits from Rachel and I and comes back not even two minutes later with an excited look on his face, telling us that we need to come with him to, “see this”. He brings us around the corner. I hear a tattoo gun, and then I slip into this 8x4 shop that’s half full of wigs and the other half has a man with his tattoo kit tattooing my friend Viki. Jackie just finished getting her tattoo, and Chelsea was sitting on the sofa (that was some how shoved in that shop).

The other taxi (Chelsea, Jackie and Viki) explained their experience with us: a very tall man who spoke English and helped point them in the right direction, shopping while looking for a tattoo shop, randomly finding a tattoo shop, finding out that the tattoo artist only spoke Chinese, and a random woman who spoke English and Chinese helped translate to the man what the girls wanted and stuck around for about an hour.
While Viki and Chelsea were getting tattoos, Matt, Rachel and I tried on some wigs. They were too much to handle. Matt and I decided that after I got my tattoo we were going to get wigs and wear them out that night. I then spent a bunch of money on my tattoo, a sweet pair of boots, a wig and sunglasses.

After getting ready for the night, making half the ship crack up, and sharing a cab with a few LLCs (Eddie Diaz and Grant?), Matt and I ended up at a restaurant where we were the only two people in the place. The dinner was delicious and beer was mad cheap. After dinner we ended up at this bar where a bunch of our friends were - which only lasted about an hour before we all migrated to a really awesome, over-packed bar/club with a 60 RMB all you can drink cover charge.

We had really rough seas yesterday. It literally felt like the ship was crashing down on the water. Jackie and I ended up going to bed around 2100, while watching Alice in Wonderland, due to the rockiness of the ship. I woke up around 10:30 today, clearly needing the rest. It’s hard to believe we’ll be in Japan in two days. It’s even harder to believe that the voyage will be over in 26 days. I can’t explain to anyone how much work I have to do.

ASIA

Monday, November 9 – Water
16:30
The night before (November 1) my West and the World test, Brian (Boston) and I studied for a few hours. It was the best study session I've ever had. I went back to my room, and even though it was late, I decided to do some homework. The homework I did was my reflection for my Service Learning class- a guided reflection where we had to compare and contrast Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. I slept, woke up feeling pretty good. Professor Hunt told us to do the last question first. The last question is a question everyone has to answer and is the longest. So, without looking at the rest of the test, I flipped to the last question. I literally laughed at the essay question: Compare and contrast Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. The other questions on the test were things Brian and I drilled into our heads the night previous. I left the class with a huge smile on my face. It's the best I've ever felt about a test in my life.

Wednesday, November 11 – Hong Kong
9:56
I forgot to mention this in my Vietnam update. The first day when we were out, Shannon stopped at a store that was selling makeup and perfume/cologne. I asked for and bought some Pure Poison (which is so old it lost it’s smell - oh well!). I then began looking for my dad’s cologne which I was sure was Eternity, but didn’t want to risk it. The sales woman had me try Eternity, which I immediately knew was right, but let her keep having me try other cologne to be sure. She sprayed another and handed it to me. I took a whiff and I was instantly overcome with memories. It hit me like a brick. I couldn’t believe that I could remember at smell for 14 years, but I began to cry. It was my Uncle Michael’s. Needless to say, the sales woman was so confused at why I was crying and I felt bad because I couldn’t explain it to her. It was a very strange experience.

Thursday, November 12 – Hong Kong
9:16
I love Hong Kong, and I’m really sad that I only had a day here. I’m about to leave to get on a plane to go to Beijing! I am so stoked! A lot of my good friends are going! There’s going to be around 50 of us on one flight! That will be the most I’ve ever known anyone on a flight ever! hahaha And we’re going from 80 degrees to around 20! I’m going to freeze!

Nam

Tuesday, November 3 – Vietnam
12:17
I’m in Nam.

Sunday, November 8 – Half way around the world
20:13

I’ve really started to hate the way I write in this and the way it sounds - how boring it is. I do plan on going back through my journal (since I’m keeping it on Pages) and editing it before I print it out, but I feel like I should just rewrite it all together. This is probably a big reason why I don’t write in it often.

I went to Post-port Reflections tonight. Post-port Reflections is led by the ship’s psychiatrists and it gives anyone who comes a chance to tell a story from the country we just visited. I’ve been to a few, but I have never told a story. I have a stack of my own personal really fantastic stories from Vietnam, and with the previous notion that I couldn’t filter one out to share I got up in front of 50 or so people and told this story:

The second to last night, a few friends and I went to 185 (a bar and restaurant). Half the tables are outside on the sidewalk, and are at a very low level. We had people coming up to us trying to sell us things from cigarettes to flowers and even pot. This little girl in a pink shirt comes up to our table with a big grin on her face, a piece of ice in one hand and her merchandise (flowers and additional assorted goods) in the other hand. She doesn’t try to sell us anything, she just starts flicking the sweat of the ice at us. She’s laughing, we’re laughing. She moves on to the next table, which is a table full of SAS girls and puts the ice on the back of one of the girls. Not even a minute later, we hear a thud on the table. My whole table looks around in confusion and then we realize there’s a rat in the middle of our table. It scurries around, jumps on the empty chair next to me. I don’t even move, I’m just watching. The rest of my table (all guys at this point) jump up out of their seats (good move on Travis’ part). The rat jumps onto Travis’ seat, and then jumps toward the table full of the SAS girls. They react in the typical girl way, screaming and panicking. The rat leaves as quickly and strangely as it came. Oh, and I forgot to mention that there was a man at our table trying to sell Travis a massage when the rat came from the heavens. The man tried to hit it with his massaging tools, which is probably why it scurried all over the place. My friends and I are in complete amazement and wander at what just happened. The little girl in the pink heads back over to our table and approaches Travis. She at first gets him with the whole pointing trick; where she points at his knee, makes him look down and then touches his nose. She then proceeds with, “Let’s play rock-paper-scissors. If I win, you have to buy one of these flowers. If you win, I’ll give it to you for free.” He agrees. He loses the first game. She tells him it’s okay, they will play best 2 out of 5. She goes on to beat him all 5 games. We are all laughing at this point. He buys the rose because of how impressed he is with this little girl, her marketing tactics and well - because he lost. This all happened within the first 10 or so minutes that we were there and all during our first drink. Travis turns to the table and says, “I always judge the night by my first drink, and tonight’s going to be a good night.”

After I told my story, I realized how I wanted to write in my journal. I want to do bullet points so I don’t forget all that I did, and I want to tell a few of the best stories. Sorry for all of you that have been suffering through my journal so far.

To continue on with my story, Shannon was gone for the rat bit of the story, because she had been down the street buying a can of coke (she didn’t want to drink alcohol). She comes back, with a smile on her face, and tells me, “I have news that may be really good for you.” She goes on to tell me that she found Diet Dr. Pepper, and that the guy is out of regular Dr. Pepper. I explained to her that yes, that is good news because that means there IS Dr. Pepper in this country and I will be tasting 23 masterly blended flavors in the next few days. This bit will be important later on.

Here goes with the bullet points:

Day 1:

• Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) with Shannon, Eric and Chelsea.

• Having a blast crossing the road.
• Shopping, laughing and wifi by day.

• The four of us went out with Jackie, Ryan, Cody, Beth and Erin and ended up running into 50+ SAS students at Apocalypse Now. Lots of fun!


Day 2:

• $100 solution: a lot of things didn’t go according to plan.

• YMCA with the Vietnamese sewing girls who sang to us and showed us some kind of dance.

• The Vietnamese “one finger moving we are happy” song, which is closely related to our “if you’re happy and you know it”.

• Some of our students dancing to Thriller, hip hop dancing, and Joey Coe who sang Wagon Wheel (which made me tear up due to my parent’s wedding CD). 

• Learning about Disney Internship during lunch from Lauren Gray.

• Half of us didn’t go to the Agent Orange Orphanage due to time restraints, I was one of them who didn’t go. 

• No $100 solution, but I still had a fantastic day.

• Trip to Mui Ne with Ryan and Shannon: Four hours and met Joseph (“Canadian” Korean man).

• Stayed at Wind Champ first night because of Joseph and because it was 1:30 when we arrived.

• Wind Champ: crappy expensive hotel under renovation.

• Went out to Sankara, a “club” beach bar for about a half hour.

• Ryan was out until 5, came back and then Joseph showed up at 5:30 to take him back out until 9am.


Day 3:

• Shannon and I walked down the beach to check it out. We ate at a place called Joe’s (go figure) where we met three travelers (who just met the night before). One had been traveling for over a year, most of it spent in Australia (11 months) on a work visa. The other was a flight attendant who works every other month (on one month, off the other) and travels during the non working months (since he’s being paid half wage during the off months). The other girl, I think, was just on a holiday.

• The travelers told us about a hotel that was having a sale for just opening that looks amazing. We checked it out and decided to check out of our “hotel” and into Ocean Front. 

• Rode on motor bikes for hours: hit up sand dunes, a random village, and other awesome things. Great experience
.
• When we found out that we had to pay an extra $15 to have Ryan stay with us in the hotel, we decided to check out and grab the next bus to Ho Chi Minh. We liked Mui Ne, but Ho Chi Minh had a lot to offer and we didn’t really know what else to do in Mui Ne. 

• Checked out around 5:30, with all of our stuff. Went to get tickets for the next bus home... which ended up being at 1:30 am - several hours from the time of purchase.

• Had a 5+ hour, 600 Dong ($28) dinner: 2 appetizers, 2 sodas, 2 bottles of water, 2 big Tiger beers, 7 mojitos, 3 entrees, and a pizza.
 (Shannon forgetting Ryan's name, "These Germans are bothering me")
• After our 5 hour dinner, we ended up sitting with a table of Swedish guys and one girl that are our age. Played “drink while you think” and their version of Ring of Fire. 

• Left the restaurant and went to Sankara until 1:30.

• The bus didn’t come until after 2


Day 4:

• Woke up in Ho Chi Minh City after a lovely 4 hour nap at 6am, headed back to the ship to sleep until noon.
• Out shopping with Shannon: purchased all our essential souvenirs (postcards and the like).

• Night with Travis, Shannon and Ryan: night of the rat and Dr. Pepper story. Left 185, moved onto Lush and then Apocalypse Now. Rode on Motorbikes 

Day 5:

•Cu Chi Tunnels: First one in. Awesome. Learned a lot.

• Out with Travis: found a lot of great items, our day long quest for Dr. Pepper ending in Diet Dr. Pepper. We had dinner at 185, with our Diet Dr. Pepper, where we had banging burgers (the best I have ever had). We were meeting up with some friends there (who were basically finished when we arrived), and one told me that he and Shannon found and purchased two Dr. Peppers for me. Freaking awesome.

• Back on the ship where I rushed to send out postcards in time, showered and caught Harry Potter (the one I missed over the summer) in the Union.

Vietnam is in my top 5. It’s up there with South Africa. I think I’d choose to come back to Vietnam over any other country we’ve visited so far. Next time I will be going to Hanoi and Halong Bay. I will bring lots of money to get clothing made for me. I did a lot in this country and had a lot of great adventures. It makes me wish I spent my time more wisely in India, but there’s always next time.

Not only did I have excellent adventures in Vietnam, I got a lot of great ideas of what I can do in my future. Work in Australia for a year? That sounds incredible. Intern at Disney over the summer? Count me in.

Thursday, October 15 – Right outside of Mauritius 
2:35
I saw whales again yesterday! This time a hell of a lot closer. They were jumping out of the water! It was incredible. Life is beautiful!

Tuesday, October 20 – Indian Ocean
2:53
Sea Olympics is today! I am so excited that I can’t sleep. I’ve been lying in bed for about an hour thinking about today. I keep going over my routine for synchronized swimming. Yesterday I made the torch for my sea (The Sargasso Sea), with help from Lindsay. I think it looks rather awesome. Lindsay and I get to carry it in during Opening Ceremonies! I’m so stoked. Other events I’m participating in dodge ball and a leg in the relay. I wish I could participate in more, but the timing doesn’t work out. Our sea is really small and there’s some events we aren’t even participating in.
Sargasso Cheer: “Show me your O face!”

Friday, October 23 – Latitude: 8 degrees, Longitude: 81 degrees
1:54
I figured I’d mention Mauritius before I get to India in six hours. Mauritius is a spring break destination. It is paradise. Beth, Erin, Cody, Ryan, Jackie, and I all stayed at The Klondike, a bungalow in Flic en Flack. Paradise. Our location was prime. Right on the water. Also, a group of our friends stayed at The Klondike, too. Things I want to remember: Cody = Coose, the delicious honey chicken pita, alcohol, the Germans, the playground, Ryan’s shirt at the club, and the giant bats.
The second day of Mauritius (our only full day) was the day of Ryan and I’s adventure. Ryan and I (the two of us tend to sleep in) got up around noon after everyone else. I made some great grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup for lunch. We made our way down to the beach where we got a kayak. The others got the other kayak available and the paddle boat. They only hung with us for like ten minutes, and then Ryan and I went off on our own adventure.

I loved kayaking. We were out for 4 hours. We had to have gone about 2 miles each way. The view was absolutely stunning. The weather was so comfortable. Ryan and I’s talks were awesome. One of the things we wanted to do in Mauritius was to find a nude beach since we both missed out on it in Spain and in South Africa. Well, they don’t have them in Mauritius. I decided that we should just go further out in the water and we could make our own nude beach on the kayak. In our attempts to do this, the water became really rough. The kayak was taking the waves like a boogie board and I got really stoked and thought, “Let’s ride one in!” Before we knew it, our kayak was sideways and we capsized. My sunglasses are now off the coast of Mauritius. Now, how funny would that have been had we taken off our bathing suits and then capsized? Hilarious. We decided to go closer to the shore (smart decision), and head back. On our way back to the villa, I noticed a splash to my left. Upon second glance, I noticed there were whales surfacing about 200 feet away. It was the icing on the cake. This adventure and this day is ranked in my top 5 days of this trip. I wish I could explain it better, but it will always be in my heart and in my memories.
I don’t think I’ll ever be back to Mauritius, but I’m glad I went. It was a lot of fun! There was a quote on one of our bottles of rum that said something along the lines of Mauritius is what heaven was based off of.

Sunday, November 1 – Singapore (just refueling)
17:14
I was thinking to myself, “whoa, I haven’t written in a long time”, then I checked the date and I haven’t written in 8 days. Only 8 days and so much has happened. I’ve come and gone from India. There was a crew talent show. Yesterday was Halloween. Just an incredible amount of stuff! Time is flying by on now.
Where to start? My first day in India was a lot of fun. When we pulled into port I was so emotional and actually cried. I was so excited to be in my number one port! I left the ship with Shannon, Matt, Kristen and Chelsea. After waiting in a very long security line (that happened every time you left and came back from Chennai), we got in a rickshaw (after being confronted by ten different drivers) and went off to a camera store for Chelsea and then lunch. Our rickshaw drivers took us to a local Indian restaurant, where we were the ONLY white people in the whole place. After we ordered, Ian and Stella showed up (Ian is the husband to a teacher on the ship, and Stella is their 4 year old daughter. They are British, whereas Stella was born in America, but has a cute little British accent). We invited them to join us, which happened to be one of the best decisions of the voyage thus far. He kindly accepted and sat down with us. He had been in India before, so he explained the food to us and how to eat it.
We ended up spending the rest of the day with him and Stella. We went to a few shops. My favorite part of the day was when Ian, Matt, Shannon, Stella and I found a restaurant that offered beer. Ian, Matt, and I each had a King Fisher Super Strong beer. It was rather tasty. I don’t know if it was because it was a 40 or if it was “super strong” but I felt rather buzzed after the fact. Stella and Shannon had juice and Sprite, btw. Ian is super rad. He knew that my shoulder tattoos came from Hedwig and the Angry Inch! The greatest parts of this day was just experiencing it. There isn’t any crazy stories to tell. I went to a Welcome Reception later on in the night, and that was really fascinating. The Indian culture is so colorful. I forgot to mention how much I love rickshaws. I want one. The way they drive in India is so ridiculous and so much fun.
I had some good times in India, but nothing to really write about. The pictures will be enough for me. There’s one night, the night I actually went out, that I didn’t have a camera. I had a blast, and I really wish I had my camera!
I will just paste my India stickey note here and call it a day:
Kapaleeswarar Temple
“Jizz in my Pants” sound in the port
Auto Rickshaws/rickshaws
Second day: Nikola, Kristin, FJ.
Third day: Chelsea, Sean Frank, Rachel and Danielle/ night: Chelsea and Sean.
Fourth day: Service project, hanging out with Ryan, Beth and Erin, Awesome night with Matt and pals. Park Hotel (celebrity, sweet lime, taxi ride, Maria, favorite SASers).
Fifth day: Matt, Joey and our new friend in the AM, FDP in the afternoon.

I loved India. I looked forward to India. I wish I spent my time better in India or planned a bit more. I know I will be back so it’s not that big of deal, but there’s so much I want to do there.
I’m in a stupid weird mood, so I suck at writing right now. Just know that Halloween was great. I saw a water spout! I love this voyage!

No longer in Africa

Saturday, October 10 – Off the coast of Africa
14:02
I SAW WHALES TODAY! Mission accomplished.

18:46
While I was in South Africa, I received an email from 43things.com - a website I use to list my goals. This is the email:
“Dear future self, 
I'm reminding you about your stated goal on 43 things, to "Take a Semester at Sea." How's it going? Have you looked into it more? Have you told Dad about it? Have you talked to the other parents about it? Have you been saving at all? I'm really going to get on your ass if you haven't. 
Sincerely,
Your past self”

Amazing, considering I was sitting at a hotel in Cape Town, with the ship in sight. I’m so proud of myself.

The safari was pretty cool! It’s silly to think about, but I’ve seen more animals in captivity then I have in their “natural” habitats. The safari breakfast was so damn good. I had... CHICKEN NUGGETS. Yummy! I also had this other thing that I completely forget what it is, but I loved it! I spent my safari with Viki and I made a few new friends - Kat being one of them. I don’t have a wild story about my safari, and the pictures tell the story.


Sunday, October 11 – Indian Ocean?
1:01
After my safari I got dinner, hit up the town and met up with some pals and went to a gay bar called the Bronx! It was pretty crazy! Some of our LLCs were there! Nothing too monumental happened that night. I saw some seals up close.

The next day was Habitat for Humanity, which at first I wasn’t all about. I thought it was going to be like the Ghana trip where it wasn’t very structured. It also started to rain, and I was getting down on the whole day.

The day quickly turned around. The rain stopped, and  the Habitat for Humanity group leader was this really positive guy. “Pass the brick. Passing the brick. Waiting for the brick.” He was singing songs and keeping the day light. I played with a few little girls. One of which starting to sing and dance “single ladies” out of no where. It was the most adorable thing ever. “I’m a single lady.”

There were also quite a few dogs around, and even some PUPPIES! I was hesitant to pet it, but after awhile I didn’t care because it was so cute. The children didn’t seem to know how to treat the dog, or maybe they were told not to mess with “strays”. But I witnessed a few of them throwing rocks at the dogs, or mistreating the dogs in some way. Naturally, I tried to teach them how to pet the puppy and told them to treat it nice.

The group of students we went with was awesome. I was really impressed with one of the students in particular, Luke. The couple we were building the house for was deaf. Luke took two years of ASL and started to sign to them. It made their day. They wanted to be able to talk to us, ask as where we’re from, what we’re about and thank us for building their house - but they couldn’t. Luke was also really awesome with the children. Luke shared this part of the day at Post Port that I was sad I missed. The Habitat for Humanity group leader, the one that had his spirits up the whole day and made the experience a hundred times better, told Luke why he was a part of Habitat. Luke commented that his house must be really nice, but was shocked to find out that no - it wasn’t. The man lived in a shack, with a hole in the ceiling and explained that he won’t have a house, like the ones he builds, until he’s done helping. And he won’t be done helping until there’s no more need for help.

Another good story from the day: during a little “tour” of other finished Habitat homes, a little boy was given a toy car by another girl from our group. I don’t know if I mentioned earlier - but you’re not supposed to give the children anything, because then they will always expect it and it will create problems. Well, this little boy was trying to hide the car in my pocket to try to get another one, acting like he never got one to begin with. I tried to teach him a lesson, by telling him he should be grateful that he got one. The little boy slapped me. Everyone was in disbelief and all I could do was tell him that it wasn’t nice to do that and to not do it again. Lost in translation, I assume.

After a pretty eventful day at Habitat for Humanity and a nap, a group of my friends and I hit up the town for the last night in Cape Town. We started off at Mitchells, where we took a few shots. As we were leaving, we ran into Ryan - which I was so stoked about. He was already drunk, and being hilarious.

The big group of us went to the Dubliner - where I went on the first night. I had a much better experience the second time around. I got to do some bonding with my roommate and best friend. And I made MORE new friends, like Brian from my West and the World class and Sally and quite a few others.

After being super stoked about Sweet Caroline coming on, we all walked to The Bronx where the real fun went down. Within 15 minutes of being there, Jackie, Ryan and I met Willem. He’s this really rad local, that I’m so glad we met. He was really nice. So hospitable - bought all of us shots and a drink! I wish you all could of met him. I think this night can be best summed up with pictures, a good laugh and explaining that last night was a good night.

My final day in South Africa was wonderful. I went the Operation Hunger field program. Matt ended up going on the same trip, along with Brian and a few of my other friends. The kids were wonderful. They were so energetic and wanted to play and I loved it. There’s one boy in particular that I shared a special bond with. I just thought he was wonderful.

At lunch we collected all the food that wasn’t eaten, and all the oreos so we could donate them to the soup kitchen we were about to visit. During our little lunch break, Matt and I toured the area a bit. We found my car! Besides it was called a Gulf which I thought was really weird. We also saw this playground that was fenced in, and overtaken by nature. This is where I got my new necklace as well.

I had been taking the whole day rather lightly, just like I do in every other experience like this - so I don’t get overwhelmed. Well, then we got to the soup kitchen and then the lady who runs it said a prayer and I lost it. Although, I’m not religious, it was so touching. It was so moving how much they go through and how much they really are thankful to have food in their bowls. It was so moving how the children waited so patiently in line and how all the children went before the adults. I hope I never forget this experience.
South Africa is still very segregated. The area we were docked was predominately white. The majority of the workers at the mall were white. I didn’t see one white person in the townships other than the people we came with. It has a huge housing, job and education problem - and all of these things can be seen in the townships. I really enjoyed South Africa and I know I’ll be back some day. I hope I can bring some aid. I hope I can make a positive impact.

AFRICA

Saturday, October 3 – Cape Town, South Africa
13:38
I’ve been pretty emotional lately. I think the reality of this trip is finally starting to sink in. I was writing an email to my mom yesterday saying that I was going to be in South Africa tomorrow (today), and then I started crying. I’ve worked so hard for this. This is my dream. Everyone was always told to follow your dreams, but how many of us actually think we can achieve those dreams? I did achieve my dream, whether I really thought it was possible or not. I just kept working for it.

I was just walking down the “boulevard of dreams”, as my professor likes to refer to the walkway next to the piano lounge, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m on the ship I’ve longed to be on. I live on the 4th floor Venus deck. I live on the M.V. Explorer. I’m 1/3 through the voyage. This is really happening.


Tuesday, October 6 – V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa
0:05
I think South Africa is great! It’s completely not what I expected when I first heard we were going to South Africa! Our port (V & A Waterfront) is beautiful! It’s an absolutely stunning view. The M.V. Explorer is the biggest ship in port, it’s pretty cool. There’s also a pirate ship, which reminds me of home. Our ship is RIGHT next to a hotel (that has wifi). And it’s about a two minute walk from this huge mall, that has a grocery store in it. I actually haven’t made it past that mall on foot this whole time and I might not get a chance to. Oh darn - that means I just have to come back! In my taxi and bus rides I’ve seen these very impressive flats that I would just LOVE to live in.

The first day I went on an FDP with Professor Hunt to the District 6 Museum and Townships. If I didn’t see the Townships, I would of thought South Africa doesn’t have it so bad. But I did see them, and if I was to have actually allowed myself to process and take in everything I was seeing, I would of bawled my eyes out. I felt a bit uncomfortable coming in to view their lives, like they’re on display. One woman actually shook most of our hands, thanking us - because our money goes to make the better homes for them. The children were so adorable. Their faces lit up to see us. They grabbed at us. They did thumbs up to us. They wanted to play with us. When I was taking a picture of my friend Marge (Mar-gay) a little girl ran into the picture and threw up her hands. When Marge took a picture of me, that same little girl ran into my picture and did a model pose with me. It was so great! Then, one little girl grabbed my hand and another girls hand and we acted like a swing. The children did not want to see us go. I only noticed one person that was not happy to see us. It was a young man and he flicked off our bus as we drove by. I mean, I wouldn’t be okay with people coming into my home to tour it on a daily basis.

Our last stop was at Vicky’s B&B (S.A. Smallest Hotel). It was in the middle of a Township and the interior was actually quite nice! Vicky talked to us. She explained that our trips to the Townships help a lot. She thanked us. She also explained that her hotel helps the community a lot. She also gave advice to not give handouts - to children or adults - because it starts to make them expect it and if they don’t get it they will begin to steal and be nasty and rude.

That night after a failed attempt at getting our noses pierced and wasting money, Jackie and I went down to Long Street. We ended up finding separate groups of friends and splitting up. The night was pretty uneventful, even though I stayed out late. I’m not that impressed with Long Streets clubs or bars. I did make new friends and that’s always good. I had yet another beer, although I can’t remember the name of it. At the end of the night I ended up with more money than I had after we wasted money. In one hand, that’s AWESOME since I was pissed about wasting money due to my lose budget. On another hand, that makes me feel terrible since that means I must of ripped someone off. i.e. They gave me the wrong change.

 Day 2 - October 4th:
I made an itinerary for Jackie, Viki, Ryan and I for this day. If I can remember it, it went as follows:?0815: Breakfast on the ship?0900 Market?1200: Lunch on the ship?1245: Wine store and post office?1330: Hike up Table Mountain?TBD: Cable car down Table Mountain?TBD: Nude Beach?1900: Dinner on the ship
We stayed pretty close to the itinerary. We didn’t go to the wine store, because Viki didn’t need to after all We also never went to the nude beach.

At the beginning of the day we were unsure if we were going to be able to hike Table Mountain due to the cloud coverage. So, we went about our day - shopping at the markets, where they have a bunch of cool things. We went back to the ship for lunch, and it cleared up enough for us to go.

After a decently expensive taxi ride to the shortest hike up the mountain, we started the hike. Oh, with a few more members - Cody and Erin. The hike was difficult. I took it easy, resting a lot because I didn’t want my heart to fail. It was nice that Cody was taking it easy, too. I didn’t feel so left out. Viki and Jackie were way in the lead, and actually got to the top probably 45 minutes before us. The views were breathtaking. I took plenty of pictures.

Some hikers brought their dogs! It was so cool! I was stoked to see them, and they seemed to be really good at hiking the mountain! It made me think of how much Sakura would LOVE to hike Table Mountain! It would take her a bit to get use to, but she’d just love it!

On the way up I met this group of students that were from all over the world, that just came from New Zealand. I’m not sure exactly what they were doing in Cape Town or why they were in New Zealand - but I think it had to do with service. I got one of their emails, and I’m pretty excited to hear more!

We also met this man who answered “allova” to my, “where are you from” question. I asked where that was, and he laughed and said, “all over”. He’s spent his whole life moving from place to place every few years. I was envious - he’s been everywhere! He was very interested in our program. And he was very good at hiking - passed us going up and down.

I feel that trips like this build stronger friendships. I laughed a lot with Cody, Erin and Ryan. They’re really good people. I’m very glad that we all got to go together.

I felt pretty accomplished when we got to the top of the mountain. The view was such a great reward. I hope the pictures can show half of the beauty. We were literally in the clouds. I absolutely love clouds. They instantly make me happy. I’m so fascinated by their beauty. My mind was racing - with the hike we had just done, with the people I just had met, with my new friends, with this voyage, with my dreams coming true, with my future.

Cody, Erin, Ryan and I took a few jumping pictures when we got to the top. They are a lot of fun to do and turn out so cool! I wish I would of done one in every country now! I’ve decided to make a flip book and animation of them!

We all weren’t sure if Viki and Jackie would be at the top anymore since we took an extra hour to get to the restaurant on the top. So I made Ryan bet with me. He bet (on a pack of m&ms like always) that they would still be there. Not even 5 seconds later, Viki steps out from around the corner. It was hilarious. I ended up getting him a piece of fudge, which we split (like we always do when it comes to bets) and it was delicious. I was going to get more, but only brought a set amount of money (for that reason).

We all took a jumping picture, which Jackie didn’t understand the concept. The pictures are pretty funny with her in it. Ryan and I couldn’t get enough of the jumping pictures - so we did about ... 10 more by ourselves! I love them! I really do!

After hanging out at the top for a little, we took the cable car down. It was such a brilliant view. The cable car spun 360 so everyone could see. There was a man climbing up the mountain! It looked pretty intense
Ryan and I went to the mall after that. I was in this strange zone, thinking about everything and not being able to focus on what I was doing. Ryan and I have turned out to be such good friends and we’re both so happy to have met each other! Around 9 we went back to the ship to shower and go out to a “fancy dinner”. Jackie joined us. It ended up being the best night I’ve ever had out in a port. We went to Karibu - a really great restaurant, that I will come back to, on the waterfront. Our server was excellent. He really new his stuff - suggested us really great wine and food. Although, I did not listen to his suggestion on food. I liked my meal okay, but it had a weird sweet taste. I really enjoyed Ryan’s suggested meal. Jackie and Ryan both got real drunk off the two bottles of wine we all split (I had two glasses). My second wine glass had an K on it and I wanted it. I asked our server, Ralph (who refers to himself as a waiter), if I could take it. He made gestures like I should just take it, but then asked his coworker if I could - his answer was no. Later, when we were about the leave, Ralph came back and made a comment that he didn’t know how many glasses were on the table - so I took it! He was great! The combination of location, food, wine, friends and conversation was great!

Day 3 - October 5th:
I took the day to myself. I went to the hotel that’s 200 feet from the ship to use wifi and Skyped home! I was actually able to video chat with Bryent! It was great! I was only able to video chat with him for about 45 minutes (My battery life sucks on my mac, and I need a new one when I get home!). I went back to the ship to look at my balance and how I could budget in a bit more money for this port. I made it work, took out more money and went shopping. I got a few gifts, and a lot of snacks for the ship. I got Iron Brew soda that Chloe from the bookstore (from the previous day and from Bridget’s postcard) suggested. I can’t wait to try it. It was very interesting shopping in another country. It would of been even more interesting if everything wasn’t in English. I ate dinner with Jackie and pals - and then Jackie and I hit up wifi again. We decided to take it easy since we have a safari today (yeah, and I’m up way too late anyways). Technology is so amazing! I can see and talk to someone that’s miles and an ocean (or two?) away! I had the most scrumptious hot chocolate that I have EVER had in my entire life while we were calling our loved ones.

Then, we went back to the ship and I got in a cleaning mood. Our room is not dirty by any means, but I decided to organize my things and make room for our snacks to be hidden in the closet (away from us to drool over). I also did laundry and then I decided to write about my last couple of days! Now I’m going to go to sleep for a few hours to wake up for my SAFARI!

Soon I will not be off the coast of Africa

Monday, September 28 – off the West coast of Africa
14:27
Since I was sidetracked from writing about Ghana before, I’ll try again. 
Day 1:
The first... 5 hours of the first day in Ghana was spent waiting for the shuttle and traveling to Accra. When Terrance, Ryan and I finally got there - we asked the inter-port student where we should go eat. I don’t remember the name of the place, but it was delicious! I had fried shrimp and a Star beer! A BEER and I didn’t hate it. Ryan is definitely one of my best friends on the ship, if not my best friend. Terrance, like I’ve mentioned before, is held in high regard as well. After lunch the three of us took a taxi to one of the only ATMs that accepts MasterCard for me. Hit up the post office, then bought some over-priced art before going to a Chinese Restaurant and having three small bottles of ¢12 wine and fried chips. We ran into other SASers. One was a girl who knew me from facebook, but was always too afraid to come say hi to me. Cute.

Tuesdays, September 29 – Southern Atlantic
15:43
I had a really good birthday overall! I ate dinner with some pals (Terrance, Matt, Ryan, Jackie, Annie, Chelsea, Kristin, Anna) and a few of us played Balderdash. Which, I lost at - cause I always do. OH AND I had a Dr. Pepper (the word on the street is someone [I don’t know who] has another DP for me)!Then we went out to this place called Two Above 5 (the 7th deck), where I had my three Tinto de Veranos. There was this one girl, who’s birthday it also was, wearing a blinky tiara. I couldn’t believe the nerve of her acting like it was her day. I made Ryan go ask her how old she was turning... 20 was the answer. SO, It was my day. I then had Terrance go to his room and get his District of Columbia sash for me to wear. My friends also surprised me with a little gift and they sang Happy Birthday to me - using Peanut m&ms as my “cake” (they were out of chocolate chip cookies. wtf). Matt made me a CD, along with a “life is good” picture. Terrance, Kristin and my lifelong learner made me happy birthday cards! Pictures can pretty much tell my birthday story.


Let me just tell you how ridiculous the waves are today. Everyone is seasick. Of course the seas would be terrible the day after I drink. Everyone is falling over in the hallways. The swells are massive! I’m wearing my bracelets and I took some meds! 
Let me try AGAIN with Ghana:

Day 2:
Jackie and I had a filed program (Castles and Slave Dungeons) which involved us getting up at 5:30 in the morning. The four hour drive wasn’t that awesome. Let’s just say the roads aren’t legit in Ghana - as in they aren’t paved usually. Especially on the ride to the Cape Coast. Cape Coast is amazing. I got some of the best shots of the trip thus far from this field program.

Friday, October 2 – 29° lat 015° long
14:40
I fail at writing about Ghana. I really did love it! But apparently, I also love to do lots of other things than writing in my journal. The seas have been wicked the past couple of days. I actually got super seasick yesterday and... threw up! Yay! It’s really tough on my heart and breathing sometimes. It’s kind of like in an elevator when gravity lightens up on you a bit - well, the ship does that but it also does the exact opposite of that which sucks. It’s really fun to stand up or jump during the “less gravity” part of the wave/rocking.
I’d also like to mention how much I love life, especially on this ship. Let’s start with my room. I love the layout of the bathroom, it’s so convenient. Second, my room gets PITCH black, which mom would love. And there’s light switches RIGHT next to your bed - so you don’t have to walk from the door (which is only about 12 feet away) to shut it off. No, you shut it off in the comfort of your cozy bed. Which brings me to my third point, the beds are actually quite comfortable and they move when you rock - like it’s rocking you to sleep. Fourthly (hehe), the closets are awesome - shoe rack and all. The mini-fridge looks like drawers, which is awesome. Moving on from my room, I have to walk up one or two floors (depending on what cafeteria/lounge I want to eat in) to get food. Food is made for me every day three times a day plus snack time. Although I 9/10 (sometimes they’re too fast for me) get my own drinks, there’s waiters there that bring you drinks and clear off your table. And classes, let me tell you about classes, they’re great and they’re RIGHT THERE. Oh, and if you ever forget anything at “home”, your “home” is RIGHT THERE, too. Oh, and if you want to see a friend, you just walk a flight of stairs or two to get to their room or the majority of the time you just run into them in the hallways. Yo ho yo ho a sailors life for me!
I had my first test today. I don’t feel too hot about it. But, we’ll see. Matt and I exchanged music, so now I have more than 10 gigs of music that I’ve listened to over and over again! My music collection is going to be so awesome by the time I get home. Did I mention Music Matters? I’m in a Students of Service group and our group is called Music Matters. We’re going to collect everyone’s (on the ship) favorite song (that’s appropriate) and make CDs from them and give them to orphanages. We will also supply CD players and such if they don’t have those types of things.
Ghana:
Day 2: Castles and Slave Dungeons, Day 3: Habitat for Humanity with Jackie and Ryan. Day 4/last day: Spending the rest of our Ghana Cities. More after class. Hopefully.

16:21
Well, I guess I will resume my reflection of Ghana after that lovely class discussing suicide notes...
Ghana continued:
Let’s begin with part IV... just kidding. The general feel of Ghana was extremely different than Morocco. I instantly felt welcomed and happy when I stepped foot into Ghana. The people there are also in your face, trying to sell you things, but it’s different than how they were in your face in Morocco. I didn’t feel harassed. I felt like they were happy to have us there, happy for our possible business. Yes, we were still “ripped” off in a sense, but again it was different. The people are very friendly.

17:49
Matt just mapped the itinerary on my  back, so again I was sidetracked! Then, I decided to upload Neptune Day, birthday and tattoo pictures. And then I watched a bit of Emperor’s New Groove that’s on our TVs. I’m sure I’ll get sidetracked here again any moment, so here goes:
Ghana Part VI:
Cape Coast is absolutely beautiful. Life is booming there. I have some really wonderful pictures of the Cape Coast, but very few of the resort we ate at. It’s a place you’d go for a honeymoon. It’s a resort I want to go back to. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to ignore the real parts of Ghana, but the resort was really something! I’d love to come back, stay in Ghana for about a month (in this particular resort for about a week and in a village for the rest of the time).

19:01
I just ate dinner with one of my professors and his wife. It’s so neat that we get to do that! I love this close community. Jackie and I are currently watching Emperor’s New Groove - which is fun because we both know every line and Jackie cracks up at Disney movies and any funny movie in general.

The 7th installment of Ghana:
I liked the Habitat for Humanity project, but I wish it was a little bit more organized so we could of gotten more work done. It was awesome driving out to their village, which was basically in the middle of the jungle! It was really nice to be able to do this project with Ryan and Jackie. There were chickens just walking around the village, and a few dogs, too! They made us a really delicious lunch and we’re really happy to see us there. I don’t think we did enough. It sure was hot, though. I finally got to lay brick, which I’ve always wanted to do for some reason. It was just as cool as I thought it was going to be.

The three of us got back “home”, grabbed some dinner and quickly got ready to go out. We met up with Terrance, and two bus loads of us SASers headed out to Accra. Side note: there was a very naked man washing himself in the car wash  We ended up at one bar, to switch to another, to switch to a club. I had a blast! Matt ordered some tasty drink at the second club that I wish I knew the ingredients to. I stuck to my trusty tequila and shared a beer or two. I very much like the music they were playing that night. I’m really upset that I didn’t get any Ghanian music! Maybe I can find someone on the ship with some...

Moving on, Jackie left earlier in the night with some other SASers - so I went back with Ryan, Terrance and Matt. When leaving the club we were instantly bombarded with taxis. We decided to walk down the street a bit, so we didn’t get the jacked up price - which ended up being a bad idea. The second we walked away from the club we were all torn in different directions by Ghanians who were basically trying to mug us. It was pretty scary. They were grabbing at me and pushing the guys. We quickly got into a cab, and took a very long ride back to Tema.

But, that doesn’t end our crazy night - no. We were then pulled over by the cops (which apparently is normal - for our safety, whatever). That didn’t put me at ease. The cops have wrist bands that flash blue and red that mom would love (he wouldn’t give it to me - sorry mom). I heard some other SASers had to deal with some corrupt cops, held at gun point,  asked to give up their money etc etc. At the gates of the port, we were then escorted by security in a truck back to the ship. I was very happy to get back to my room that night. I did have a blast, though.

The last day included Jackie and I shopping. Since the last day always involves a very strict time limit, and we had the crazy 45 minute shuttle from and 45 minute shuttle to Tema, we were a bit rushed. We took a taxi to one of the very few MasterCard ATMs since I spent all of my cities (¢) the previous days. Our taxi driver waited for us, took us to get stamps and took us back to where he picked us up. Along the way, I talked to him about how he liked Ghana, President Obama (one of their favorite subjects), deviance in Ghana, and he talked to me about the buildings we were passing, futbol and other random things. It was great! Deviance according to my taxi driver: stealing anything is terrible. He told me if you are caught stealing, you would get stoned if the police don’t get to you first. He explained that a few years ago you could leave your bag on the side of the road, come back a few hours later and it would still be there. He also said the Ghanians are really nice people, that it’s not the Ghanians that steal. He blames the Nigerians for that.

Jackie and I made it to an internet cafe for 30 minutes. Then we hit up Global Mamas. We were supposed to meet up with Ryan earlier in the day, but it didn’t happen - but we randomly ran into him - just in time! He was at the shop he was supposed to show us, so it all worked out. He became friends with this shop owner, John, and we ended up becoming friends with him, too. He gave us all necklaces! Then, back to the ship on a very full and very hot shuttle - that ended up getting pulled over due to the amount of people. Alas, back to the ship and on our way to Cape Town!
I forgot to mention that English is widely spoken in Ghana, which made things so very easy. I also would like to add... THEY ARE CRAZY ABOUT OBAMA! There are billboards EVERYWHERE with his face on it. There are some with him and the president of Ghana. There are some with Michelle. They hold him in such high regard! They truly like the USA. It was great being so welcomed. I ate so much in this port - yum!

Logistical Preport:
I continued writing this Ghana update during my preport - and I have to stop and say... Dean Nick just walked out with a CONDOM hat on his head. Yeah, that just happened.

100th Voyage

21st birthday

September 28, 2009
13:57
So far a lot of people have wished me a happy birthday! Along with other random wishes: My LLC stopped me in the hallway to wish me a happy birthday, Ryan came to our room this morning before Global to say happy birthday, James drew me an R2D2 that looks SO FREAKING COOL, Kristin stopped by with a little birthday card, my parents left me a Star Wars card (which I’ve been carrying around the ship, because it’s one of those music cards... and it does the imperial march), my other parents and sisters made me a card (which is hanging on my wall), Amy emailed me (along with parents and grandparents) and the day is still young! I also bought myself lunch (chicken sandwich with cheese - not even close to Chick-fil-a, but oh well!) and a root beer! Yum!

Side note:
Terrance’s tour bus broke down in Ghana and he suggested putting it in 2nd and pushing it... like in Little Miss Sunshine. He has a video of it. IT WORKED.

13 days

Thursday, September 18 – Water
1:16
Jackie, my new friend Ryan and I had this strange "shock" the other day. We were watching Milk, and in Milk they got pizza delivered or someone brought it by that was in their group. Jackie said, "Pizza sounds so good." I almost suggested ordering it, and as it almost came out of my mouth, Ryan started laughing because he almost did the same thing. We all talked about how strange it was that we temporarily forgot that we were on a ship, no longer in the USA and unable to do such things like order Pizza. It's strange how something like watching a movie can make you feel at home, and make you slip into a feeling of comfort and make you completely forget where you really are... like on a ship docked in Morocco.
It’s ten days until my 21st birthday. I have made friends with a boy named Marco who has Dr.Peppers and is going to give me one on my birthday. My friend Terrance says he’s going to do my makeup on my birthday. I’m going to wear one of my new Spain dresses. I will have four classes that day, and I will have the rest of the night to do whatever I want. I will have a three drink (beer or wine, both my favorite) limit. I will then have the following day to do whatever I please because I will have no classes - not like I’ll be hung over and have to sleep it off or anything.
Tonight while Ryan was studying with Jackie and I (which is never a productive thing, because we always end up talking and laughing), Viki stopped by and we all had a really nice convo for about a hour and a half! Seriously, I love the friends I’ve made on this trip. I know I will have them for the rest of my life. I know I will see all them all again, even if it’s years from now. 
Well, I really shouldn’t of stayed up this late and of course I was starting to fall asleep around 9 but somehow managed to stay up past when I planned on sleeping... Here’s to my first day of my new class and all my classes being on the same day! Even if it goes miserably, the ship has a full day off tomorrow and I personally have another day off following that one. I am so loving this new schedule.

13:41
I forgot to mention our little caffeine high from our Moroccan Pepsi from last night. The trio (Ryan, Jackie and I) got so silly. I like to pretend argue loudly. I took a very giggly Jackie by the arm and “threw” her out of the room, into the hallway. Go figure that our friend Nikola would be out in the hallway, looking at us like we’re crazy. It’s a lot of fun laughing and being silly. It seems like I do it a lot on this ship.
I forgot to mention how I got to lay out in the sun and pretend like I was at the beach yesterday. AND there were no annoying girls with their stereo to ruin it! I got a lot of socializing done with Terrance, Matt, Ryan and Beno. I thoroughly enjoy my time on this ship!
Today was my first day in my International Service Learning class. This was what I was looking for in Semester at Sea. I already love it and I’m only one class in. The class is divided into groups, and I had to be accepted into one - which happened within 30 sections. I amazed one of my classmates/group members, James (who I met in the Casablanca train station when I was buying my tickets to Marrakech), by loving Star Wars. Sometimes I forget it’s not normal to be as obsessed with Star Wars as I am. The class is basically learning how to be of service. There’s 4 criteria for it to be considered service learning: big question (What can we do to enhance the quality of life?), reflection, sustainability, and reciprocity. Service learning is about US whereas volunteering is all about THEM.

I wanted to be able to come away from this semester as a better person, and I feel like this class is going to change me as a person - maybe not immensely, and maybe no one will be able to tell, but I feel like it will change me for the better. Professor Dr. Bernard J. Strenecky is so passionate about this class and this idea I feel like I can really learn from him in many ways. He’s been around the world multiple times helping in various different ways. I’m just so rejuvenated and happy from this class change.
I have one more class (Deviance and Social Control) today, in which we’re watching the movie Edmund. After class I’m hitting up the gym and the “beach” (as I like to call it). To be honest, all we’re missing is the sand. The pool water is the ocean water. I’m not that far off calling it the beach. Talent show tonight and two days off! Chicka Chicka What!

Sunday, September 20
0:16
Let’s see. Last nights Talent Show lasted about two hours, but it was really funny. There were some acts that were really difficult to watch - like this one guy’s stand up that was racist and rude. Other acts were hilarious - like this kid who made a PB&J, the Latin Lovers who lip synced to a spanish tennis song (so cute) and George who did impressions (he does our captain really well - he got first place, btw). There was some real talents, like the band “After Byron Time”, Alex’s tahitian dance and Beno with his lyrical interpretive dance and the sax player. My favorite was the guy who did an edited acoustic version of “I’m on a boat” and changed mother fers to rubber ducker and boat to ship. He did leave out my favorite verse, but I still loved every second of it. Some students did a skit of the voyage thus far, and it was pretty hysterical. We have announcements every day that are done by the same woman. She is known as “the voice”. They made fun of her by saying, “This is the 1800 report WON WON WON”. They also mocked the captain with, “Attention ship’s company, attention ship’s company”. Also, the children on the ship did their own version of “Yellow Submarine” and their chorus is, “We all live on a university - Semester at Sea, the best place to be.” While deciding the winner they needed another act to fill up time and they called for anyone else that had a talent that had not gone up yet. There were shouts for Terrance throughout the union. So, he got up and taught everyone how to walk down a runway - using the supermodel, himself and another friend. He followed up his runway walk with, “And no... I’m NOT gay” and cracked up laughing. It was icing on the cake.


After the talent show everyone was wound up and didn’t want to go to bed, even though it was eleven. Some friends and I ended up on the 7th deck with about 50 other people. Groups started to play elementary games - which I joined in on and it was really silly and fun. Following that Kristin, ZZ, Alex, Terrance, Matt and Ryan all headed back to my and Jackie’s room to watch Darjeeling Limited. Watching movies in our room with a bunch of people is now one of our favorite things to do - considering we did it again tonight with Little Miss Sunshine.


The majority of the day off was spent out by the pool, which is what I’m going to be doing again tomorrow after I get some homework done. The whole ship was woken up (ON OUR DAY OFF) to the captain doing drills (“Attention ships company” - we all think it was a prank) around 9 am! I did go to a few meetings today - one was very productive. Jackie and I’s Students of Service group put together some really great ideas and I’m pretty pumped about it. Also, at dinner “the voice” came on as usual for the 1800 report and said, “This is your 1800 report. WON. WON. WON.” The whole ship was dying! And that’s all she said!


I absolutely love this trip. I have no regrets about doing this whatsoever. My favorite part of this voyage is this community, these friendships - I’m just so happy. And hell - I’ve already been to three countries in the last month and I’ll be stepping into another country in two days!

Wednesday, September 23 – Tema, Ghana
22:51
I love Ghana. It’s my favorite port thus far! I will definitely be coming back. A decent amount has happened the past few days, but the past few days have been exhausting - so I’ll have to write later! Tomorrow is another long day!

Friday, September 25 – 7th deck, pool side leaving Ghana
21:27
We’re sailing out of Tema, Ghana at the moment. I’m sitting on the 7th deck, listening to some guys play the guitar and their newly purchased African drum. I love listening to “live” music. It’s really quite nice. The weather is beautiful - tshirt, shorts and a nice breeze. I have so much to write, but no drive to do so. Hopefully I will feel up to it soon. James has just started to play Crush by Dave Matthews and I swear I use to hate that “band” until this year - and I increasingly like them more and more. This music circle is clearing my head. 
Instead of doing what I planned to do: fix everything that is crazy in my life; I’m going to sit out here, enjoying the weather and the acoustic music. It puts me at ease.

Sunday, September 27 – Gulf of Guinea
1:52
Yesterday was the Neptune Ceremony! I have officially crossed the equator! It was pretty silly and a bit fun. Viki, my girl, got a lot of pictures of the day from my camera because 1. she didn’t want “fish guts” dumped on her head and 2. her camera was lost/stolen in Ghana on our last night. About a dozen girls shaved their heads - one shaved half, others did mohawks. I still have my hair (sorry mom)! 
Where can I even begin with Ghana? I guess I can explain that a lot of our time in Ghana was spent traveling since you can really dock in Accra, so we were about 45 minutes away in Tema.

Monday, September 28 – off the West coast of Africa
10:13
"Zum Geburtstag viel Glück”! Twenty-first birthday on a twenty-three hour day with a three drink limit (with the option of 4 beers and wine), four classes, no cookie cake, no family and no boyfriend! BUT I’ll make the most of my special on-a-ship, off-the-coast-of-Africa birthday! I’m wearing one of my new dresses that I bought in Spain. Terrance is going to do my makeup after my classes are over. I’m going to buy whatever I want to eat for dinner. Jackie has already told me she’s going to buy me cookies - yum! Ryan and I just made a bet in Global Studies about how long time zones have been around and he lost - which results in him getting me m&ms (which he said he was going to get me anyway today). 
Side note: the bets I make on the ship have the wager of a pack of m&ms. I lost the first one, which was if we were going to have a time change that night. I also lost the second one, which was where Matt would find his roommate (Terrance) when he went back to his room after a night of drinking - I said in either bed, Matt said still in the room. Terrance was hiding in the closet to scare Matt, and he fell asleep there.

Continuing with my birthday celebration. Two of friends (now three) live in a quad down the hall from Ryan. The third friend, Marco, has DR. PEPPER and is going to give me one! Oh my... I can’t wait to taste those 23 flavors of deliciousness! My friends and I are going to eat dinner together and after dinner we are going to rent Balderdash and play! Hopefully I can stay cool and not show my Brennan side. After that we are going to go to “pub night” where I’m going to make summer time sangria (which mom makes a version of). How do you make summer time sangria, you ask? One part wine, the other part orange Fanta. When I had it in Spain it was delicious! I wish orange Fanta was everywhere in the states for this reason! And since “pub night” ends at 2300, we’re going to do whatever we want or whatever there is to do after that. No classes for me tomorrow!

Sailors life for me

Tuesday, September 15 – Off the coast of Africa
23:47 pm
Today has been a good day. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders! I feel much more happy and like I can enjoy this semester fully now!

Tonight was the dinner with the extended family. It wasn’t the woman I thought it was, but she’s still very nice. She’s from St. Petersburg! So, we’ll probably be seeing each other after the voyage. She takes the elderly to a seeing eye dog center when the dogs are puppies so they can be loved and nurtured - SHE INVITED ME TO GO SOMETIME. Of course I’d go. PLEASE.

After the dinner I went to Church (aka Gay and Straight Alliance meeting). I loved it! I think I’ll stay involved in this group. 

Currently I am with Ryan, Terrance, Cody and Jackie studying. I really enjoy making friends on this ship. Terrance and Ryan are friends I’m going to have for a lifetime from this voyage (other than Jackie). I know I’m going to miss seeing them every day. Until then...

The rest of my stay in Morocco

Monday, September 14 – Morocco
1:45 am
I have not been writing about Morocco, and there is a decent amount to write! Four days worth of happenings haven’t even been recorded!  


As a side note, it seems that all of my friends are on the same page with me with the question of: Where are all the genuine people at?


1st Casablanca day (9.10)
Let me go into more detail about my first Morocco day. I was disappointed from the moment I stepped outside. The port we docked in is on no level attractive. Pictures will explain this better. It had been raining, and it was gloomy. Jackie and I took a tour of Casablanca through Semester at Sea. I actually enjoyed it a bit. We got to go inside the Mosque, which is absolutely beautiful and huge. So huge I couldn’t believe it. (That’s what she said.) The tour guide was funny and kept telling us jokes - which I hope I remember to tell everyone (mother of 6, 4 children = car, polite; for reference).


After the tour, Jackie and I attempted to go to the train station with some other SASers. We had no idea what the makeup of this group consisted of beforehand. It ended up being 5 girls. Jackie and I assumed this group was committed to going to Marrakech, which is why we were going to the train station with them to begin with. We also assumed that there was going to be at least one male in the group - wrong again. Half the girls weren’t 100 percent sure if they wanted to go or not. After walking around Casablanca for about 20 minutes, the group decided to give up on finding the train station and then the group wanted to split from Jackie and I to do their own thing. Thanks, really. Can we mention how overwhelming Morocco is at first? Also, can we talk about the way they drive? There is no solid crossing section for pedestrians - it’s go whenever you see you have the chance. So, I wasn’t very happy with that little excursion to say the least. I was very irritated - insert crying entry here.


A few moments after writing my crying entry, my friends came by to see where I disappeared to. We all chatted about my “deal”, and I calmed down a bit. We ended up going out to smoke hookah with a very large group. Of course the large group thing wasn’t going to work out. Side note: like 70+ SASers all climbed onto the shuttle bus that takes us from the ship to port that night/ I have a video of us getting off the shuttle. Anyways, the big group split up and I was left with Ryan, Jackie, Viki, Vicki and Robin. We eventually found a hookah spot after about 15 minutes of searching. It was pretty cool - we were basically the only women in the bar. I hadn’t smoked hookah in a long time, and it was really interesting to do it in Casablanca. By the end of the night, I felt a little better about Morocco.


2nd day Casablanca (9.11)
Ryan and I spent the afternoon hitting up the internet cafe and skyping our loved ones back home. I was so excited to be able to talk to my mother and Bryent. I had the biggest smile on my face when I left the internet cafe. Talking to them made me feel so much more relaxed and better about the previous day. Ryan and I also got train tickets to and from Marrakech for Jackie and I (Ryan bought his ticket earlier that day, but was escorting me to the train station).


I took Jackie’s SAS field program “evening with a Moroccan family” that night. Groups of about 4 SASers were matched up with families. The father and his children were at the ship to pick us up. We gave them a tour of our home. The daughter, who is 7, was amazed by the ship. She didn’t believe there was something bigger than a limousine! It was cute seeing how excited she was. After the tour, they took us back to their house where we were greeted by the mother with a kiss on each cheek. They’re observing Ramadan currently and as we entered the house it was time for them to break the fast for the day. Their meal starts off with a traditional soup to break the fast. It was pretty tasty. Their meals consist of a lot, and it seems like the courses don’t stop coming. I especially enjoyed the last dish that included meat. I hope I’m able to recreate that last dish. I learned a lot by talking to the family. The children are taught to speak English and French in school, and they learn Arabic at home. I think that’s incredible in itself. We talked a bit about September 11, 2001 - since it was it’s anniversary. We talked about some differences between the US and Morocco. The father also didn’t understand why in America we are unable to talk about religion and politics - he said, “you can believe in what you believe and I can believe in what I believe and we can talk peacefully”. It’s interesting to think that Americans have such a problem with disagreeing that even the people we tend to disagree with the most agree more than we do. Understand? They taught us a bit about their religion, and he told us jokes - mostly having to do with George Bush. I hope I can remember those, too. It was a really special experience that I never imagined I would ever do - but I will always remember.


3rd day Rabat/4th day Marrakech
The following day, Jackie and I took a SAS tour of Rabat. It was so boring, and you can basically get the same tour by looking through my pictures. So, I’ll leave it at that.


Jackie and I packed for our independent overnight stay in Marrakech and had dinner. At the last moment, Nikola decided to join us which made me feel a bit more safe. We took a taxi to the train station, in which the taxi driver ripped us off by going the wrong way first and racking up money on the meter. After our uneventful three hour train ride to Marrakech we got McDonald’s, because it was so tempting. And a meal at Mickey D’s is basically the same as the first class ticket on the train. Silly? Yes. After getting ripped off by another taxi driver, we arrived at our hotel (which I planned and booked) and it was so cute! The pictures don’t do it justice. It was a bit difficult to sleep at night, especially when the call to prayer was blasting in the window at 4 am, but besides that a pretty sweet hotel. We got free wifi and breakfast - which we ate on the roof, which was adorable. After breakfast, we attempted to join up with Ryan which failed and we ended up hitting up the Souks until we successfully joined up with him. I can say that I don’t really enjoy Souks much. I don’t like the whole bargaining thing, even though I didn’t buy anything today and I hate everyone being in my face, a lot. I had felt sick from the previous night and I couldn’t do Marrakech or the souks anymore and we all ended up leaving Marrakech earlier than planned. But we were all ready to leave. Another 3 hour train ride and a too expensive taxi ride and we were back on the ship watching The Little Mermaid and Milk. My friends are great!


20:55 pm
Today Jackie, Ryan and I hit up the free wifi - because we’re all addicted to the internet and we’re not ashamed. There was already around 7 other SASers there! After wifi we went to try to find art and a few other gift type items. Basically, shopping here is really stressful. I really do not enjoy people being in my personal space or begging me for money. We did not have enough money to get the art Jackie wanted, it was really quite beautiful - but she was able to get another piece of art by the end of the day. We also missed going to Rick’s Cafe, but oh well. I’m glad to be back on the ship and on our way to Ghana!



Afterthoughts:
I forgot to mention the screaming we heard during our first night in Casablanca. It was right after my crying entry, when I went out with my friends and had cooled off a bit/wasn’t AS scared because I was with a group of people that I’m comfortable with and know wouldn’t leave me, etc. As we were trying to find a hookah spot, we passed this stairwell going into the ground, that looks like a subway but isn’t. And we all heard a woman screaming. None of us knew what to do. It was really uncomfortable and put me back in the red zone.


I’d also like to mention, although I was ripped off in every taxi ride I took in Morocco, that I loved being in cars in Morocco. They drive crazy! They don’t use the “lanes”. I don’t think they have a speed limit. I don’t think there are any traffic laws at all. It’s quite fun being in the cars, especially when they’re weaving in an out of traffic. I also didn’t see one car accident while I was here, fyi.


In the last store we went into, where we used the rest of our non-convertible dirhams (Dh), a little boy and his sister came in. The boy had to be around a year, and the sister around 5. The boy was adorable and had the biggest smile on his face. He grabbed on to my leg and giggled and wouldn’t let go. It’s was quite cute. After leaving the store, the children went to a woman who was sitting on the side of the store. I wondered afterward if the children were sent into the store to try to get money from us.


Not many people seemed willing to help us out at all in this country or if they did help it seemed like they wanted something out of it. It seemed like a lot of people were begging, and using their children to help them get money. I understand that isn’t how everyone lives in Casablanca/Morocco, and the family I ate with definitely doesn’t live that way, but it’s shocking to see all those people on the streets, all the trash, all the dirtiness.


I liked Marrakech a lot more than Casablanca.


According to our Academic Calendar we have four days of classes, a big event (TBD), two days of classes (with a preport each night) and then GHANA! Three countries in less than a month - I would never have imagined.

The rest of my stay in Morocco

Monday, September 14 – Morocco
1:45 am
I have not been writing about Morocco, and there is a decent amount to write! Four days worth of happenings haven’t even been recorded!


As a side note, it seems that all of my friends are on the same page with me with the question of: Where are all the genuine people at?

1st Casablanca day (9.10):
Let me go into more detail about my first Morocco day. I was disappointed from the moment I stepped outside. The port we docked in is on no level attractive. Pictures will explain this better. It had been raining, and it was gloomy. Jackie and I took a tour of Casablanca through Semester at Sea. I actually enjoyed it a bit. We got to go inside the Mosque, which is absolutely beautiful and huge. So huge I couldn’t believe it. (That’s what she said.) The tour guide was funny and kept telling us jokes - which I hope I remember to tell everyone (mother of 6, 4 children = car, polite; for reference).


After the tour, Jackie and I attempted to go to the train station with some other SASers. We had no idea what the makeup of this group consisted of beforehand. It ended up being 5 girls. Jackie and I assumed this group was committed to going to Marrakech, which is why we were going to the train station with them to begin with. We also assumed that there was going to be at least one male in the group - wrong again. Half the girls weren’t 100 percent sure if they wanted to go or not. After walking around Casablanca for about 20 minutes, the group decided to give up on finding the train station and then the group wanted to split from Jackie and I to do their own thing. Thanks, really. Can we mention how overwhelming Morocco is at first? Also, can we talk about the way they drive? There is no solid crossing section for pedestrians - it’s go whenever you see you have the chance. So, I wasn’t very happy with that little excursion to say the least. I was very irritated - insert crying entry here.

A few moments after writing my crying entry, my friends came by to see where I disappeared to. We all chatted about my “deal”, and I calmed down a bit. We ended up going out to smoke hookah with a very large group. Of course the large group thing wasn’t going to work out. Side note: like 70+ SASers all climbed onto the shuttle bus that takes us from the ship to port that night/ I have a video of us getting off the shuttle. Anyways, the big group split up and I was left with Ryan, Jackie, Viki, Vicki and Robin. We eventually found a hookah spot after about 15 minutes of searching. It was pretty cool - we were basically the only women in the bar. I hadn’t smoked hookah in a long time, and it was really interesting to do it in Casablanca. By the end of the night, I felt a little better about Morocco.

2nd day Casablanca (9.11):
Ryan and I spent the afternoon hitting up the internet cafe and skyping our loved ones back home. I was so excited to be able to talk to my mother and Bryent. I had the biggest smile on my face when I left the internet cafe. Talking to them made me feel so much more relaxed and better about the previous day. Ryan and I also got train tickets to and from Marrakech for Jackie and I (Ryan bought his ticket earlier that day, but was escorting me to the train station).


I took Jackie’s SAS field program “evening with a Moroccan family” that night. Groups of about 4 SASers were matched up with families. The father and his children were at the ship to pick us up. We gave them a tour of our home. The daughter, who is 7, was amazed by the ship. She didn’t believe there was something bigger than a limousine! It was cute seeing how excited she was. After the tour, they took us back to their house where we were greeted by the mother with a kiss on each cheek. They’re observing Ramadan currently and as we entered the house it was time for them to break the fast for the day. Their meal starts off with a traditional soup to break the fast. It was pretty tasty. Their meals consist of a lot, and it seems like the courses don’t stop coming. I especially enjoyed the last dish that included meat. I hope I’m able to recreate that last dish. I learned a lot by talking to the family. The children are taught to speak English and French in school, and they learn Arabic at home. I think that’s incredible in itself. We talked a bit about September 11, 2001 - since it was it’s anniversary. We talked about some differences between the US and Morocco. The father also didn’t understand why in America we are unable to talk about religion and politics - he said, “you can believe in what you believe and I can believe in what I believe and we can talk peacefully”. It’s interesting to think that Americans have such a problem with disagreeing that even the people we tend to disagree with the most agree more than we do. Understand? They taught us a bit about their religion, and he told us jokes - mostly having to do with George Bush. I hope I can remember those, too. It was a really special experience that I never imagined I would ever do - but I will always remember.

3rd day Rabat/4th day Marrakech
The following day, Jackie and I took a SAS tour of Rabat. It was so boring, and you can basically get the same tour by looking through my pictures. So, I’ll leave it at that.


Jackie and I packed for our independent overnight stay in Marrakech and had dinner. At the last moment, Nikola decided to join us which made me feel a bit more safe. We took a taxi to the train station, in which the taxi driver ripped us off by going the wrong way first and racking up money on the meter. After our uneventful three hour train ride to Marrakech we got McDonald’s, because it was so tempting. And a meal at Mickey D’s is basically the same as the first class ticket on the train. Silly? Yes. After getting ripped off by another taxi driver, we arrived at our hotel (which I planned and booked) and it was so cute! The pictures don’t do it justice. It was a bit difficult to sleep at night, especially when the call to prayer was blasting in the window at 4 am, but besides that a pretty sweet hotel. We got free wifi and breakfast - which we ate on the roof, which was adorable. After breakfast, we attempted to join up with Ryan which failed and we ended up hitting up the Souks until we successfully joined up with him. I can say that I don’t really enjoy Souks much. I don’t like the whole bargaining thing, even though I didn’t buy anything today and I hate everyone being in my face, a lot. I had felt sick from the previous night and I couldn’t do Marrakech or the souks anymore and we all ended up leaving Marrakech earlier than planned. But we were all ready to leave. Another 3 hour train ride and a too expensive taxi ride and we were back on the ship watching The Little Mermaid and Milk. My friends are great!

20:55 pm
Today Jackie, Ryan and I hit up the free wifi - because we’re all addicted to the internet and we’re not ashamed. There was already around 7 other SASers there! After wifi we went to try to find art and a few other gift type items. Basically, shopping here is really stressful. I really do not enjoy people being in my personal space or begging me for money. We did not have enough money to get the art Jackie wanted, it was really quite beautiful - but she was able to get another piece of art by the end of the day. We also missed going to Rick’s Cafe, but oh well. I’m glad to be back on the ship and on our way to Ghana!

Afterthoughts:
I forgot to mention the screaming we heard during our first night in Casablanca. It was right after my crying entry, when I went out with my friends and had cooled off a bit/wasn’t AS scared because I was with a group of people that I’m comfortable with and know wouldn’t leave me, etc. As we were trying to find a hookah spot, we passed this stairwell going into the ground, that looks like a subway but isn’t. And we all heard a woman screaming. None of us knew what to do. It was really uncomfortable and put me back in the red zone.


I’d also like to mention, although I was ripped off in every taxi ride I took in Morocco, that I loved being in cars in Morocco. They drive crazy! They don’t use the “lanes”. I don’t think they have a speed limit. I don’t think there are any traffic laws at all. It’s quite fun being in the cars, especially when they’re weaving in an out of traffic. I also didn’t see one car accident while I was here, fyi.


In the last store we went into, where we used the rest of our non-convertible dirhams (Dh), a little boy and his sister came in. The boy had to be around a year, and the sister around 5. The boy was adorable and had the biggest smile on his face. He grabbed on to my leg and giggled and wouldn’t let go. It’s was quite cute. After leaving the store, the children went to a woman who was sitting on the side of the store. I wondered afterward if the children were sent into the store to try to get money from us.

Not many people seemed willing to help us out at all in this country or if they did help it seemed like they wanted something out of it. It seemed like a lot of people were begging, and using their children to help them get money. I understand that isn’t how everyone lives in Casablanca/Morocco, and the family I ate with definitely doesn’t live that way, but it’s shocking to see all those people on the streets, all the trash, all the dirtiness.

I liked Marrakech a lot more than Casablanca.


According to our Academic Calendar we have four days of classes, a big event (TBD), two days of classes (with a preport each night) and then GHANA! Three countries in less than a month - I would never have imagined.