SORRY THIS ALL IS SO LATE! still working on the more recent events of my trip!


India:
4day/ 3night trip to Agra and Varanasi

wake up at 3:30, kill me. Went to airport at 4:15am for our flight to Varanasi. The big event for the afternoon was a tour of the ancient city of Sarnath where Buddha preached his first sermon. There is a huge brick Dhamekh Stupa where practicing Buddhists circle clockwise and pray. I didn’t really understand what was going on and started walking around it counter clockwise but soon figured out that I was doing something REALLY wrong by the looks I started to get. Throughout the ruins, Chinese pilgrims in all white sat in groups and prayed some of them placing there hands and faces against the outside of the round Stupa walls. Next we went to a museum of ancient art. This museum was nothing like a museum at home and was having construction done on the inside. Our guide told us that many of the artifacts are no longer here and in western museums today. We went back to the hotel and had dinner then went to the hotel bar and had a couple drinks before going up to bed. The going out scene in India is sketchy at best. No one really drinks so they close down bars, clubs, and any liquor stores at the latest 11pm. Probably a good thing because of our 4:30am wake up call the next morning

We got on our bus at 5am and heading to the Ganges River, one of the holies sites for Hindus. Once at the river we got on a boat and were rowed down the river as the sun rose. The Ganges River in Hinduism is supposed to release the souls of people from the perpetual cycle of birth and rebirth and have their souls reach “moksha”. Anyways, as the sun rose we watched as men striped down and submerged themselves in the dirty water, some even swimming for a bit and then getting out of the water. We were rowed down the river as the sun rose. It was really gorgeous and I have some great pictures from it. Once we got further down the river we got to the spot where they brought bodies to be burned and put in the water. I couldn’t see any dead bodies in the water and no bodies were being burned but once we got out the boat you could see the spot where bodies had been partially cremated. We began to walk through the tight winding alleys back to the buses. I tried to soak in all that was going on around me including the food preparation, small stands selling cheap plastic objects and people praying but I was preoccupied with the task of not walking through shit. Yes literally shit, cow, human, dog you name it and it was there in those alleys just waiting for us to step in. More than once I quickly looked up to find myself face to face with a long horned cow, one of Hindu’s sacred animals. Finally we emerged out of the smells of shit and pee, bo and spicy food and are bombarded with speeding motorcycles and scooters. We somehow weave through all the traffic and get to our buses with dirty children begging us for money. Back to the hotel for breakfast then off to airport for New Delhi. We get in and take a tour of the city on the bus and visit a Sikh temple. The “holy water” that the people drink and put their feet looks oily and definitely unsanitary. We then get to our hotel welcomed by a fully outfitted “ethnic” Indian man at the door. India is full of both authentic differences and fabricated ones like at the touristy hotels.

4:15 wake up call. Go to railway station to take the train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. More disfigured men, women, and children approach us at the train station begging. Our group of 40 white people sticks out like a sore thumb and people stare and point at us. We get to the Taj after a walk through children sellers of small plastic snow globes with small white flakes falling on the Taj Mahal in the center. Why people decided a snow globe was a good idea for a souvenir at a place that never snows I have no idea. The haggling was sport in and of itself. One of my guy friends got 10 snow globes for a dollar he then commenced to just give out the cheap plastic trinkets. The Taj Mahal is more breath taking in person than I could have guessed. First off it is so much bigger than I imagined and unlike every other inch of India it is relatively clean. The white stones sparkle in the sun. The photo shoot begins, the best is watching all the Asians either posing straight faced or with a peace sign. Sadly the funniest picture I saw though was one of the guys on my trip posing so that the tower to the right of the Taj was strategically coming out of his crotch and his hand was held around the tower…. Totally appropriate. The inside of the Taj is noting compared to the outside. Will have to wait to show everyone pictures. After lunch we went to Fatehpur Sikri, an abandoned city built by Emperor Akbar to get a male heir.  There was a massive pool on one side of the massive complex with a thin film of green bacteria thriving on the surface. Next think I know an Indian man strips down and jumps the 15 feet down into the pool. So disgusting. Then everyone wanted to film it so they somehow communicated to him that he should jump in again… That night we went back to the hotel and found out that there was a club attached to the hotel. We ended up getting into the VIP section and partying with Bollywood stars… Everyone told them that it was my birthday so they bought me two bottles of Dom. Faking your birthday always pays off. Wake up call the next morning at 6:30 was an amazing sleep in. Most memorable part of the next day of traveling was when one of my guy friends (still quite inebriated) left his entire suitcase at the hotel and had to go back and get it. He barely made the plane. Also in the airport at 9am stuffing our faces with McDonalds and subway was fantastic.


Vietnam:

Day 1:
Like most other ports we decided to walk around Ho Chi Ming City for the first day. We walked to a large market and tried to keep the group together while winding through the tight walkways between the little stalls and shops. Common goods being sold were chopsticks, bowls, and clothing. We all decided that we wanted to have clothes made so we went in search of fabric to take to a seamstress, (the skirt and the dress I had made were dirt cheap and not really that great… you live and you learn) Lunch was great especially when we saw other white people in the restaurant.  Experimenting with all the different food in all the different countries we have visited is always a bit of a danger so seeing that other tourists could eat there too was reassuring. One of the women in the group came over and we soon discovered that they were looking at us to go off our lead and we were doing the same to them. We decided to skip on the ice in our drinks and the dog on the menu. In the afternoon we set up a tour for ourselves on the Mekong Delta for the next day. For dinner one of my friends Meredith invited a group of us to go out to dinner with her and her mom. We went to a French restaurant and I had the first good salad ive had since January. There was goat cheese on it. Enough said, Went back to her mom’s hotel and had a cocktail at the bar. There was wifi so I tried calling everyone in my family. No one picked up my call except Will (annie’s boyfriend) who had just left my family in St, barths. Needless to say I was pissed off at the fam. We decided to just go back to the boat for the night because everyone was so tired and we had to get up early the next day for our tour.
Day 2:
Our tour on the Mekong delta was very touristy but still fun. We took a boat down the river for a bit then stopped to walk through small villages on different islands. Lunch was the most exciting event of the day where they brought us an entire fried fish including the head with eyes, all the fins, and the scales. To eat it you had to just use your fingers and pick at the fish to get a good piece of meat out of the side of the fish without getting bones. Cassie and I were really the other ones brave enough the fish. It was great but not bad either. We got back to HCMC at like 4pm and made dinner reservations at a sushi restaurant near the dock for my bday. Sushi was great and made me sad that we weren’t going to Japan. Was weird turning 21 in a country where being 21 doesn’t matter. Will have to celebrate again when I get home! After dinner we went to a bar and then was home by like 2. Next morning I was extremely hung over but had to get my stuff together to go on my trip to Cambodia.

Arriving in Vietnam tomorrow (and getting angry emails from the fam) has made me finally start my blog about my travels in India. The days following India I was mostly trying to catch up on sleep because the warning on my trip, “this is a rigorous itinerary with many early mornings “, did not lie at all. I found that I slept more on buses and planes than I did in an actual bed. But before I went on my trip I had two days in Chennai to explore.
Day 1:
First off India is serious about immigration. Each student, teacher, and life long learner had to do a face-to-face meeting with an officer who checked our paperwork and stamped our passport. Once we got off the boat we had to take a shuttle out of the port because the government didn’t want us walking around in the port. To leave the port area we again had to check with officers who looked at our passports and visa’s again. As soon as we (5 friends Cassie, Kelly, Farrah, Hailey, Meredith, and me)  left the gate we were bombarded with men trying to get us to ride in their taxi/ rickshaw.  One man got our attention and told us he could fit us all, 6, in his “very big AC taxi”. The taxi was absolutely the same as a normal taxi and the AC did not work… first lesson in India: see what you are going to be traveling in. We told our driver that we wanted to go to the market. Second lesson in India soon followed: your driver will take you were he wants to take you, mainly his families or friends stores. We finally told him that if he did not bring us where we wanted to go we would get out of the cab. We heard “just one more shop” about 5 times before he took us to a market. Each shop we went to there were other SAS students there. The taxi drivers must have made a deal with storeowners to bring us to certain shops. Also Indians pretend to know what you are saying in English but they have no idea and do what they want anyways. They also say “yes, yes” even when they have not understood one word that has come out of your mouth. Anyways the first day in Chennai was very much an adventure. We just kinda went with the flow. Visited many stores, one market, one place for lunch (where I had my tofu that I thought was chicken), and one mall (trust me VERY unlike a mall in the US). I didn’t really buy much. Ive found that Im not really into the crazy clothes and tapestries… A lot of people on the boat are kinda hippy (can you say Colorado?) and into that but im not really so much. Anyways, by the time I got back to the boat I was sticky, hot, and exhausted. I ate up in the dining hall then took a shower and got in bed. Some people went out but India doesn’t keep bars open past 11pm so the nightlife isn’t really the party people expected. I was very happy that I stayed in and actually got some sleep.
Day2:
On the second day in Chennai, I went with a group of my friends to Mamallapuram, which is about an hour and a half away from Chennai. This city has pretty much turned into a tourist town. We had a great time walking around the old stone carvings of elephants and Hindu gods. Some of the carvings were just out of a wall of stone while others were carved buildings with stone gods inside. There is no longer any worship done at this site but it was interesting for me to recognize the three main Hindu gods from my World Religion course, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva. After walking around for a while and taking some great touristy pictures, we went down one of the market street and shopped a bit. I bought 5 of something… wonder who those are for…. Some of my friends that were with us had to be back at the ship by 2 for an SAS trip so we got back in the taxi and headed back to Chennai. There was AC in this taxi so the trip wasn’t awful. When we got back to the port everyone but Cassie and I went back to the ship. We stayed in the taxi and tried to get him to take us to a restaurant that one of her friends who had been on semester at sea before recommended. Of course the driver said he knew the place but we soon found he had no idea where we wanted to go. He ended up taking us to a more western type place where I had basically strips of chicken in peanut sauce. Once we got back to the boat I showered and got in bed because I had to get up at 3am to leave for my trip.

I WILL BLOG MORE LATER!

had lunch today and thought the tofu was chicken! India is turning me vegetarian! (temporarily) the curry type dish though was amazing and since no one i was with really liked spicy food i basically ate the whole thing. the bathroom scene is still good as well! such a pleasant surprise! tomorrow i am exploring chennai some more, maybe even going to a temple (heids you would be so proud) then i leave for my 4 day 3 night trip to Agra and Varanasi that night at 3:45am... should be super fun. miss you all!

Tomorrow is our first day in India! i am super excited but also really nervous. everyone keeps saying it is the hardest port and definitely the biggest culture shock. i just hope i don't get sick. if i survive without dealing with major bowel issues then i will have been victorious. tomorrow and the next day i have free to explore Chennai then the next 4 days and 3 nights I will be on my trip to Agra and Varanasi. All I have to say is wish me luck!!!

Mauritius!
So this port was not the most cultural/educational. We were only there for one day so everyone decided to rent catamarans and sail around for the 5 hours we had free. We got the most amazing weather so we swam and snorkeled all day. I'm not going to lie I had a couple rum and cokes in me so the water was a nonissue. I felt like i was in st. barts. the water was so warm and everyone swam in between all the boats to see other sas people. I have a couple war wounds from coral on the bottoms of my feet but the neosporin and bandaids that Heids insisted on me taking came in handy. back on the boat now and on our way to India. 10 page paper is handed in so I have a couple days to relax and hopefully lay out up on the 7th deck. In one day it will be March and we all know what event happens in March... miss everyone!

Cape Town!

To start this has been my favorite port yet. I definitely want to come back at one point in my life. The trip did not start out well though. The winds were so high the first day that we couldn’t get into the port. I guess where we docked was pretty narrow and with the high wind we might have crashed or damaged the boat. So that Thursday stuck on the boat was miserable. Everyone was so ready to get off the boat but we all just had to sit on the boat with nothing to do (of course I could have done work but I didn’t…) I felt really badly for some kids though because they were missing their safaris or one of my friends was supposed to meet his parents in cape town. Good thing I had nothing planned and was just going to explore Cape Town that day. Anyways, I spent a good portion on the day in bed with about 5 girls packed into jenna and my beds and watched movies. We got an update at like 5pm saying that we were hopefully going to get in between 11pm and 1am so we got more excited because then at least we would be able to get off the boat and get a drink somewhere. By 3am we gave up though and went to bed when we still hadn’t made any progress toward docking. When I woke up at 8 we were still on the open ocean. Let me tell you I was not happy at all. Luckily the wind had died down and bit and we were able to get off the boat around 12pm which meant I could still go on my Robben Island trip. We got on buses and went to one of the first townships built for blacks removed from the inner part of the city during the beginnings of apartheid. Lunch was very rushed because we had to get back to the docks to get on the boat that would take us to Robben Island and the traffic was crazy because there was a U2 concert in the soccer stadium which is right near the port area. We made the boat though and got to watch the seals swimming along beside us. The most interest part of the tour was that our guide had been a prisoner there for 7 years so he was able to tell us what it was like to actually have been there. He talked about the hunger strikes that the prisoners would do and how different blocks would communicate with each other. I also learned that the island had not always been a prison. One of its original uses was a leprosy community so that the disease would be isolated.
That night we went out to an amazing Italian restaurant port area. It was so odd because walking around looked like the US. Everything was extremely western and new because of the World Cup from last summer. After dinner we went to Long Street which looked exactly like Bourbon Street in New Orleans (with police on horseback and all). We pretty much just bar hopped and met up with other semester at sea kids throughout the night. When I got back to the ship though I had an unwelcome surprise. The safari that I was going on the next morning that was scheduled to leave at 8:30 was moved to a 6am departure…. Waking up at 5 to pack was not a fun experience. After a bus to the airport, an hour long flight, then another van ride we finally made it to the game reserve. The whole safari was absolutely incredible. There were only 6 of us (all kind of odd people but I made the best of it) which made it easy to do a lot of different activities. The next two and a half days were mostly going out in the massive Land Rover and seeing animals. One of the highlights of the trip was when we went on a short hike to go see hippos and on our way back we had to practically run because elephants were coming along out path and we had to get back to the Land Rover before they got there. We were then able to take pictures with the seven elephants 30 feet away. Another highlight was seeing an entire pride of lion with two full grown males, one female, and four cubs (they were 3 years old though so not little anymore). One of the cubs was so close that I could have put my hand out of the Land Rover and touched it. I have some amazing pictures of everything. Had to go back to delete some back picture on the last day because I had filled up my memory card. I was so happy to have Dad’s really big lens which let me take some awesome pictures. Wish I could upload pics to the blog! Here is a list of all the animals I saw though:
Lion, cheetah, buffalo, elephant, whit rhino, black wildebeest (which the south africans pronounce “vildabeest”), blue wildebeest, white lion (there are less that 500 in the world, it’s a rare genetic mutation that makes the lions white instead of yellowy orange), giraffe (including a couple days old one!), zebra, hippopotamus, warthog, black-backed jackal, blesbuck, kudu, nyala, waterbuck, gemsbuck, springbuck, red hartebeest, bushbuck, impala, eland, grey duiker, mountain reedbuck, chamca baboon, and vervet monkey.
So basically saw the big 5 (minus the leopard) and A LOT more.

We got back to the ship that night just in time to get ready and go out to dinner with a bunch of people. The restaurant was about 40 min drive away to this hotel (I think) that also has a winery. Food was much more African with lost of regular and bush meat. They also painted small designs on our faces. Everyone had something different. Unfortunately I got a design across my forehead that looked like a unibrow… so cute.  That night we went back to Cape Town and bar hopped again with other semester at sea kids.

The next day we woke up early to go skydiving! Still can’t believe I actually did it. I went up in the plane with one other girl and the two guys we were strapped onto. We were in the plane for about 20 min where we got the most amazing views of the coast, Table Mountain, and Cape Town. Before I knew it the guy started strapping me onto him and telling me to put on the goggles. My friend I was with went first and watching her fall out of the plane was so crazy. Surprisingly though I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I think I just convinced myself that I was doing and there was no turning back. After she jumped I had to put both my legs out of the plane and then we just fell. The first couple second were scary and then I was so happy and blown away at how amazing it all was. It was the biggest rush of my entire life. We free fell for 1 min then he opened the parachute at 5,000 feet. Going down in the parachute was just as cool as the free fall. It was so crazy looking down and only seeing your legs and nothing below you. The view was so beautiful. The guy through pulling down on either side of the parachute made us spin in circles. When we landed I was completely speechless and could barely walk my legs were like jelly. I was breathing like I had just sprinted a mile. The whole thing was so awesome.

The rest of the day we all just went back to the port area and had our last non ship meal. On ship time was 6pm so at 5 we went back to the boat. It was depressing getting back on because I wanted to stay in Cape Town longer and do more things.

We are now on our way to Mauritius but lucky for me I have a presentation, midterm, 10 page paper, and four page paper to get through before!

We all realized today that we only have 2 more months left. Time has absolutely flown by!

So i am still on the boat because it is too windy so we can't dock in Cape Town! such a bummer. i am so excited to get off this boat so i really hope the wind dies down enough for us to dock by tonight. last night the boat was rocking so badly that the waves were coming up and hitting my window and my drawers and closet kept opening and banging closed. so crazy!  fingers crossed i get to cape town soon!

On the boat on our way to Cape Town! its getting colder as we move farther away from the equator... so sad because it is going to majorly screw up my tan. i have a 10 page paper to do before i get to cape town which will be hard. I am supposed to compare my experiences in either Manaus or Ghana with the books we read set in those two places. My teacher read an example that i though was amazing and so well done and he said it was either a B or B+. Not sure how i am going to do if that really good paper was only a B... Rumor has it that there are fries for lunch today. BIG day. its kinda sad i feel like my days revolve around when i am going to eat. always hungry on the boat haha. Classes are going well though. I got a 100 on my first religion test and think i did pretty well on my Global Studies quiz. Today in class we talked about HIV/AIDS in Africa and how in some countries in the last 30 years the life expectance has decreased by 10 or more years. really sad reality. anyways we are going forward another hour tonight so i will be 7 hours ahead of everyone! hope all is well at home and in cville!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! hope everyone is having a great day! about to watch an ice cream cake eating contest....

GHANA!

Random things from Ghana:
        Not that many dog but goats are EVERYWHERE!
        All the children are so adorable and love waving at you when you walk by.
        Ghanaians are obsessed with Obama and love Americans
        When you are trying to buy something you have to cut their offer price by at least half. (even though they say because you are my friend I will give you a good price)
        Every woman carries their baby on their back with a colorful piece of cloth. The babies cheeks are pushed against their mothers backs and is the most adorable thing ever. (wish I could upload a picture)
        The women carry everything on their heads. Some of the baskets are half the size of the women and they don’t even need to support it with their arms
        Toilet paper barley exists. Had to drip dry more than I would like to say
        The safe (and cheaper) water comes in 5 x 5 plastic bags that you would see everyone suck on. The sad part was that everyone would just throw them on the ground when they were done.
        Being gay is illegal (which was a bit of an issue because there are so many gay people on the boat)
        Every child has to go to school by law so on a week day you see all the children in different school uniforms
        There is rice with every meal which was AMAZING!
       
After 9 days of being on the boat I was so excited to get off and see Ghana. First day I went to the two main slave castles, Cape Coast and Elmina. We went to Elmina first and on the way I found out that my teacher from UVA who taught Art and Culture of the Slave South (where I first learned about the castles) was on the tour as well. He talked about drumming in African culture and I remembered his lecture on that topic back when I took his class the spring of first year at UVA. At the castle we walked through where they kept the female and male slaves and heard about the system of the slave trade. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was how Africans took such responsibility of the whole system of the slave trade. I really had only ever thought about the demand side and how the west created and perpetuated the buying and selling of people out of West Africa but in our tour the tour guide kept emphasizing how there could never have been a slave trade without the in depth involvement of Africans of capturing and selling other Africans. Cape Coast Castle had much of the same history but was a bit bigger. The male slave dungeons held 1,000 men and had no bathroom, lights, and barely any ventilation. The whole day was very heavy and intense. The weird part as well was that when you were not where they kept the slaves it was a really pretty fort with gorgeous views. Wish I could upload pictures to show you all! It was interesting going to Cape Coast as well because Obama (who everyone in Ghana LOVES and wherever you go they always talk about) was there in 2009. At both castles they had “the door of no return” where the slaves would walk through before getting on the boats for the middle passage which they have renamed because people now can return through the doors. All in all was a very interesting and worth while day. Very sad and moving but an interesting place to visit.
Right across from the boat was a duty free shop so that night everyone convened at the duty free to drink and hangout before the superbowl. The fact that they really only sold handles of alcohol prob wasn’t the best… Ghanaian men came up and started drumming while everyone was hanging out and I saw one of my teachers, who was really drunk, dance for like 30 min. pretty entertaining. Next we went to a bar called Ocean Bar which kinda sketchy but because there were so many SAS kids there it was fine. Went back to the boat in time for the superbowl but only stayed awake for a little of it.
Day two I had to wake up at 6am for a 7am trip to Kumasi. Hangover hit about 2 hours into the 6 hour drive… pretty rough. Got to Kumasi around 12 and had lunch of spiced rice, chicken and French fries (which I found they had pretty much everywhere). The highlight of the day was going to a ceremony where the king of the Kumasi region appointed a new council member. Everyone was wearing black cloth wrapped around them in the traditional material worn for funerals and other serious events. We got to the ceremony right when the new man was announced so men began to drum and the royal women danced. We stuck out like a sore thumb but everyone was fine with us being there. I guess the king is extremely powerful because of all the money he gets from gold mining in the region. The president of Ghana has to have a good relationship with the king or else he will have no control over the Kumasi region. That night we stayed at a hotel and I got to call mom and dad!!! Was so so nice to hear their voices! Im getting so excited for lizzy and mom to come visit!!!
Next day we went to villages outside the main city to see where the made crafts like wood carvings and their traditional woven cloth. Weaving is taboo for women to do because the loom is close to your stomach and they think that if women weave and they get pregnant it will mess up the pregnancy. They have 1, 2, and 3 weaves. The 3 weaves are only supposed to be worn by royalty and if you wear it in front of the king you have to take it off and change into something less nice. Everywhere we went they followed us around trying to sell stuff to us. I am used to dealing with that and bartering just because of the other traveling I have done but some of the other people on the trip were extremely uncomfortable and I had to talk to locals for them. The trip was a ton of fun though especially because it was only 4 students and the rest were life long learners and teachers so I got to know more people on the boat much better.
We got back to the boat and I couldn’t have been happier to get back to my room and take a shower and eat normal food. Im starting to appreciate more and more the kind of traveling I am doing. Normally when you travel home base is a hotel but for me I get to go back to a room that’s mine, food that’s safe to eat, and a shower that has hot water. Anyways that night we went to Axim beach which was about an hour drive away. After a stressful drive there where the bus driver really screwed us with how much he charged us we got to spend the night on the beach just drinking beer and watching drunk people go skinny dipping in the ocean. There was no way in hell I was going to go in the water. It was dark and we were in Ghana, I had no idea what was in that water. (ps why has the blog been a lot about me and water??? I’m a freak) Next morning I didn’t have a bathing suit at the beach so I wore my friends athletic shorts and a sports bra. I looked reallllyyy cute. We left around mid day and went back to Takeradi and the boat. The cab ride back was no AC and my lungs were filled with dust by the time I got back. The had turned back on the water, which they had turned off to conserve while in port, so I got a nice cold shower.
That night was back to the duty free, this time in smaller numbers because many people were doing overnights outside the city or still at the beach. After duty free we went to another sketchy bar called Spike…. The bar was like caged in (maybe so people couldn’t steal alcohol??) anyways went back at a decent hour and had to make the 20 min walk back to the boat. AHH I haven’t said anything about the port and where the boat was! So we were docked in a shipping yard where we had to walk 20 min through a construction and shipping area to get to any taxis. Was a little creepy at night so always made sure to be with a lot of people.
Next morning was another early one. I went on a SAS trip to what they called a Water Village. We took a two hour drive outside the city to the welcome center where we were all given life vests. And oh yeah it was pouring raining… I was just wearing shorts and a tshirt. Four of us got in a canoe and a man in the back paddled us through this stream and lake for an hour. We were absolutely soaked when we got to the town. On the way people were putting their hands in the water and stuff. So weird. That water was brown and I had no clue what things were living and swimming in it. The canoe we were in was barley wide enough for a person and when we moved it would tip. I was not a happier camper to say the least. Anyways the town was really interesting. They had built their houses on stilts out in the water and had had a village there for over 400 years. It was sad though to see all the children barley clothed and all the garbage in the water everywhere. It was also a bit hard for me because I felt like I was intruding on their lives. People would go up and look into windows and take pictures of the local people. It makes me so happy how fortunate I am to have all that I do. After walking through the village (which was really slippery because of all the rain and I was petrified of falling off into the garbagey water) we took the hour long canoe back to the bus. We all looked like wet dogs when we got back. I was freezing cold and think I am going to get a cold soon because of it. Im just thankful I didn’t fall in and I wasn’t struck by lightning. I had three of my friends with me as well which made it much better. We would all just start laughing randomly because of the absurdity of the situation. After the two hour bus ride back I immediately got in a hot shower and stayed there for a solid 20 min. was amazing.
Back on the boat now. Today we passed through the prime meridian and equator. I guess that’s a big deal?? I don’t really get it. Today was absolutely gorgeous though. Sat outside and red for two hours in the afternoon and could not have been happier. I am sitting out on the 7th deck right now. I watched the sun set while blogging this absurdly long post. Its dark out now and I can see the stars. I’m sticky with salt from the wind. So happy. Love you miss you all

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while! right now we are on the atlantic on our way to Ghana! haven't seen land in like 5 days. I think i am starting to get used to the waves because i don't notice the boat rocking as much anymore. will have pretty funny sea legs when i get off the boat in Ghana. We just had 6 class days in a row and now have a day off for the Sea Olympics which basically is just sections of the boat competing in weird sports activities like basketball and synchronized swimming. (decided not to sign up for anything athletic so my team wouldn't hate me. instead im cheering everyone on) Only issue is that it is raining today so a lot of the activities had to be switched and moved inside. Probably good it is not nice out because i have a test tomorrow that i need to study for. Today my group presented for Global Studies. WE did our presentation on the effects globalization has on inequality in Brazil. The presentation went well and because we were one of the first to present, we got some extra credit. we keep having to set our clocks forward so we are now 4 hrs ahead of home.
Annie- I am so jealous you are going to FL! you will have so much fun! tell everyone hi for me

Manaus!

My time in Manaus has flown by! I have to say I am excited to be back on the boat and going to another port. Although I have had fun there is really not that much to do in the city. I think the next voyage should go to Rio instead. I loved Rio when I was there two years ago. Anyways I should probably just do the day by day of what I did so here we go:
Sunday:
Got to port at 8am Sunday morning. I had two FDP’s (the trips that are assigned by teachers that you have to go on for class) that day so was pretty busy. The first trip was “Getting to know Manaus”. The first stop of the tour was to the fish market that was one of the coolest things, if not the coolest thing, I saw in Manaus. The original market is in this building that was designed by the guy who did the Eiffel Tower so but they are doing construction on it so the market is in a big long temporary building. We could see the other one though and the iron work was really cool. So we walk to the market and you can start smelling the fish before you even get there. All the men were in white outfits that were covered in fish guts and blood. There were tons of different types of fish that looked different from anything I had ever seen. There were crazy stripped fish, sucker fish and spotted fish. Some of the fillets off the fish were massive. I wish I could upload pictures so you all could see! Each vendor had his table where he was cutting up his fish or stacking the whole for display. This one type of fish they were cutting long slits in the fillets all in a row down the body of the fish. Couldn’t figure out what it was for… Next we went to the opera house which was the main attraction of the city. Manaus used to be a big hub and was crazy rich from exporting rubber. Our guide told us that the rich Europeans used to send their laundry to Paris just to get washed. Anyways, the opera house was a rusty pink color and had big stairs and white pillars. It had what looked like a mosaic tilled dome on top as well. Went to the top floor first were there was a ballroom with oil paintings on the walls and ceiling. It was odd because when I was inside I felt like I could have been in Europe. Downstairs was the opera with a big stage and red velvet chairs. All the architecture was really nice around the square where the opera house was but a couple blocks away and it was run down city buildings. It was weird to see some really cool old building and the pretty iron work of the fish market surrounded by falling down buildings with graffiti (which was not nearly as cool as it was in Rio) and broken sidewalks. The afternoon FDP was “From Rubber Boom to the 21St Century”. Unfortunately, this tour was not what I expected mostly because the tour company that did it didn’t really know what my teacher was looking for. We basically had a 3 hour bus tour of the city where our guide told us a little about rubber and then the free trade zone of Manaus but mostly just random stuff about the city and different neighborhoods that we were going through. It really wasn’t that informative and being on a bus driving around for 3 hours was miserable. That night a group of us went out to dinner and I quickly realized how hard the language barrier is! We ordered drinks and the waiters started bring out food which we had not ordered. I guess its pretty common but most places just have a set menu and that’s just what you eat but it was hard trying to communicate with the waiter that only some of us were eating and to stop bringing out so much food. I think it’s traveling with the heids but I totally took control of the situation and did most of the talking. Pretty much hand signaled my way through telling them what food and drinks we wanted and how to spilt up the check (which was REALLY hard). Everyone thinks im really on top of stuff and for the rest of our time here kinda went to me to talk to people and try to communicate even though I didn’t even know Spanish. I did remember Obrigado though which is thank you in Portuguese. After dinner we just went back to the boat and hung out for a little bit out on deck. The area around the dock at night was pretty sketchy and got ushered through pretty quickly to the boat.

Monday:
I had an early morning with an FDP at 7am to the University of Manaus. For 3 and a half hours we heard lectures on environmental topics of the Amazon and work that professors at the school had done. It was really hard to pay attention though because the professors would speak in Portugese and then the interpreter would translate into English for us so the sentences were fragmented and by the end you didn’t really know what they were talking about. Some things just didn’t really translate… My afternoon/night adventure was really the interesting thing of the day. We left the boat at two on a river boat and headed up the Amazon. We were in the boat for about an hour and a half. The city of Manaus was really the only built up area around. The river banks were derserted for the majority of the ride. Once we got to the beach our guide told us that we were going to have to get out of the boat and wade through the water to the shore. Let me preface this by saying in our pre departure meeting on the boat the doctor said that you should not go in the water because you can catch something and if you do you need to towel off immediately. No else really seemed to be bothered by any of this and I had to mentally deal with not only having to wade through thigh deep WEEDY water but also the fact I may catch a worm or something that will burry itself in my legs or feet. I remembered I had flip flops in my bag so quickly put them on (everyone looked at me weird but I didn’t care, no way was I going to touch the bottom with bare feet). I was hyperventilating the whole way to the shore. I made it though. On the beach were our guides who were in the army and trained in jungle warfare. One girl on the trip disregarded the instructions to wear long pants and a long shirt and shows up in black spandex booty shorts and is basically told she we have cuts and bug bites from the hike. Thank god I had the right clothes on. They told us to tuck our pants into our socks so that bugs wouldn’t get in our shoes or anything, needless to say I looked really cute. Lets also keep in mind that it is 85 degrees out and super humid. On the beach I was already sweating. The hike to the camp was broken up by stops on the trail where we would learn some type of survival technique for the jungle. At one stop I learned how to make a fire with a stick or with steal wool and two batteries (hopefully I will never actually have to know these things but can just use them as party tricks). At another stop I learned how to build traps and set them up so I could trap and kill animals. All pretty cool stuff. My outlook on the whole situation changed though when we got to the camp. I thought it would be a camp site with an eating area maybe and a wooden deck where the hammocks were. Oh no, there were just a bunch of hammocks with mosquito nets tied between random trees. There was no site. It was completely in the middle of the jungle. Everyone else in the group AGAIN was totally fine with everything. I consider myself someone who likes the outdoors and enjoys camping but this was on a whole other level. At this point too it was starting to get dark so I chose my hammock and put my backpack in it and applied more bug repellant. Dinner was just a bunch of grilled chicken which we ate off of leaves. I literally ate 5 pieces. I was absolutely starving and didn’t want to be hungry later that night. Funniest part of the night was when I was talking with this kid and found out that hes from around Hanover and we think his dad (Andy Smith? Or something like that. I know last name is smith, not that that is very helpful) was in the same high school class as my dad! (DAD DO YOU REMEMBER A GUY BY THAT NAME?? he now owns motorcycle dealerships or something. I told him that my dad had a triumph and he said those are really fun bikes. Anyways back to the jungle, after we ate I pretty much just wanted to go to bed and have it be the next morning so I could take a shower ( I was so sticky and gross from sweating all day and then having it dry). First big issue was that I had to go to the bathroom though. There was no bathroom there of course…. When I asked the guide where to go he told me a story of how someone when to squat and got bit in the leg by a massive snake and had to get carried out of the jungle… cool. We had also been shown earlier that day bullet ants which I guess if they bite you feel like you have been shot and can kill you. They build their nests at the bottom of trees and come out at night so you have to bang on the tree to see if any come out cause if they are on the tree you put your hammock you are screwed because they react to movement and vibration (aka swing of your hammock). So I am TOTALLY freaking out about going to the bathroom and so a group of girls all come and we go barley 5 feet away from one of the hammocks. Everyone was fine except the poor girl who was on her period and had to carry her used tampon to the trashcan because I didn’t want blood attracting animals. I then went back to my hammock and tried to deal with sleeping with my big backpack in the hammock with me because bugs would crawl in it if it was on the ground. I slept in the same cloths and still with my sneakers on my feet. Next big step though was securing my net so that NOTHING could get in in the middle of the night (literally my biggest fear). I also was so freaked out that something, a massive tarantula, would fall on my net in the middle of the night and I would wake up to it crawling above my face. So there I am fully clothed and still sweating in the hammock trying to fall asleep with the noise of the jungle freaking me out every second. I resorted to putting in my headphones and listening to Harry Potter (7th book obvi) to make me fall asleep. I also opted out of the midnight hike and swim in the Amazon. I would sleep for like an hour then wake up then fall asleep again for another hour. Was not a very good sleep at all. At least I had Harry to keep my company. Next morning we were woken up at 5am. It was still dark but I got up quickly because I was so excited to get back to the ship. The hike back to the boat took about 45 min and then it was back through the water to get to the boat, it was a little less terrifying the second time around but still close to painful. I slept on the floor of the boat the entire way back. I don’t think I have ever been so happy to shower and get in my bed with my comforter and my pillow.
OK I have been writing for like an hour and need to go to bed so will try blogging about the rest of the trip tomorrow. ALSO i got another offer to go back to Bloomberg!!! so nice i know i have something to do this summer!!!!

overnight adventure!

leaving for my overnight in the amazon in 45 min! the trip involves a rigorous hike. we'll see how well that goes.... can't believe its so cold up north!! try to stay warm! i will try to blog about Manaus soon!

the first nice day on the amazon!! its a reading day on the boat so everyone was outside on the deck enjoying the amazing sun. as of now i have not gotten burned! was really good about reapplying the sunscreen. had to get in the pool multiple times because it was so hot though. there were random rain showers that cooled everything down as well. going to read and nap before the big meeting tonight to get us ready for Manaus.
ps i tried attaching a picture of my room to this email to my blog so let me know if you can see it!

last night there was an open mike night on the boat (i guess we are back at camp in 3rd grade). the best act was a girl who dressed up with back up dancers and sang Lady Gaga's Bad Romance. the best part though was that her back up dancers, which she had roll around on the ground and growl, were the biggest hippies on the boat and literally the last people i would think to do something like that. pretty stellar night.
today we have a day off from classes and tomorrow we get into Manaus, Brazil. I guess where we are docking to the left there is an amazing fish market and to the right are the city's brothels... will probably have to get a hotel for this port. so happy im not in hanover where it is freezing! or in cville doing rush!

We are chugging along down the amazon! the water is brown and looks nasty... we are close to one of the banks of the amazon and can sometimes see people on the shore. its not that sunny just really muggy... (still have my spf 30 on though! and mom i have been wearing 30 on my face and 15 everywhere else every day!) the big project for today and planning what i am going to do in Manaus. couple of my friends are going to be gone on a 4 day river boat thing but im signed up for a bunch of day activities (including Brazilian Dance which im not sure how mom convinced me to do that) so i should stay busy! class today isn't until 2:55 so i get to read and do some homework outside till then. ps mom i didn't get your letter... i'll go down later today to ask about it

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRG!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIRG!! Hope today is a ton of fun and they don't work you too hard. make sure to let loose tonight! xoxo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZ!

HAAAPPPPYYYYY BBIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYYY LLIIIZZZZZYYYYY! Love you and hope you have a great day

so the expected rolling of the ship as we entered the Amazon never really happened last night. in Global Studies right now and i can't even tell we are on the water (so nice compared to the rocky Atlantic two days ago!) made it to breakfast this morning at 8am then went back to bed for my 9:20 class. Rumor has it that the peanut butter that everyone eats at lunch is going to run out! why can't the rest of the world like and make peanut better at well?? World religions at 10:45 were we will hopefully talk more about our reading on Rastafarianism.

It was nice out today! Which means I got up at 10 to go up on deck to get a chair. Everyone on the boat has global studies from 9:20-10:35 either on A or B days and when people are done then go straight up to the deck so I wanted to beat them and get a good place to set up my chair.  I had to take a shower before my class because of the salt dried on my skin from the ocean spray. Tonight I am seeing that even though there was no burn showing when I got out of the sun, I now have a burn on my chest and legs… damn.  We just heard an announcement that we need to secure our belongings in our cabins because we are entering the Amazon and the captain has to turn off the boat stabilizers… tonight will be really interesting. Had my first pop quiz in my commerce class and stayed awake in my English class while my teacher hit two kids on the head for sleeping and not paying attention. I now know NEVER to fall asleep in his class (or come late because he yelled at other kids for that today too.) will blog tomorrow in the Amazon!

the Atlantic

we have entered the Atlantic and everyone is feeling it. the water is SO much more rough which is making everything a bit more interesting. i bumped into the wall about 4 times on my way to class this morning... in the front of the boat right now and aggressively going up and down on the waves. we'll see how i last...

Dominica

Dominica has been a lot of fun. Everyone is back on the boat and wishing we were staying another night (mostly because we have school tomorrow). The first day we went to the Titou Gorge (one of the places they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean on the island!) which was about a 20 min drive then a 5 min hike. There was a big fresh water pool that was being fed by naturally warm water. Then you swam through a narrow opening in the rock for a couple min to another pool being fed by a waterfall. Trying to be cool and not letting anyone know my huge fear of fish I went the whole way to the other pool and was happy I did because it was really pretty. At one point in the swim I could put both hands out and touch the sides of the gorge. At the waterfall people were climbing up and jumping off into the deep pool but I decided against that just in case the fish we hiding down deeper.
We got back to Roseau (the capital and where the boat was docked) to get some lunch. Unfortunately, because it was a Sunday, everything was closed except for two hotel restaurants.  I ordered lunch along with a rum punch (Dominica is known for its rum so I thought I should definitely try it out). The drink was much more rum then punch… I guess it is normally on the rocks but I didn’t want to risk having the ice. After out late lunch we went down to the hotel dock and swam in the ocean. Completely clear water.
Sunday night was pretty dead in Dominica but they opened up a club, Krazy Koconut, for the boat so we went out for a little bit, nothing too exciting but was fun to meet some new people.
Today we went to Mero beach, an all black sand beach. Unfortunately the weather was off and on rain and we didn’t get to enjoy the beach as much as we would have wanted. A couple people went in the water but I mostly stayed wrapped up in my towel. Lunch was the first real Dominican food (I think). I had chicken (a lovely drumstick) rice, and beans. I was so hungry it didn’t really matter what it tasted like and Im not sick yet so that’s good! We left the beach around 2 and when we got back to Roseau (about a 30 min drive down the coast) it was sunny out so we walked around the capital for a while. We found a fruit market and bought a pineapple and two mangos that the lady cut up for us. They were amazing! I miss fresh produce on the boat so the fruit was awesome.
Back on the boat now and getting emails about the craziness from Hanover! So sad I missed it! Happy to hear the eldreds and company made an impression on the theta delt basement

Dominica

just found out in our meeting that some scenes from The Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed in Dominica!

HP

i told my roommate what i listen to when i go to bed (harry potter obviously) and she hasn't made complete fun of me. thank god.

2nd day of classes down. Had Managing Sustainable Development and Foreign Approaches (my English class). First class doesn’t start till 2:55 though so I layout on deck doing some reading. Was amazing and I can’t believe I get to do this in between going to amazing places around the world. We land in Dominica tomorrow morning at 8am so I am planning on getting up at 7 and grabbing breakfast then watching us come into port. We haven’t really seen land during the day for the past two days so will be fun to see something other than the open ocean. I am also trying to get used to the no snacks schedule… when 5:30 rolls around I am starving haha. We have a meeting tonight at 7:30 to prepare for Dominica. Im excited to go to our first port!!
Jealous of everyone at home for MLK weekend!!

On the boat!

we left port at 8 pm last night and I started to feel the rocking... i put on a sea sick patch before i left and thank god i haven't felt sick yet! its a miracle. my room is small but roommate is cool. still haven't unpacked completely... we had orientation today in the morning and have already had to set our clocks forward an hour. the time changing has begun! i am currently out in the stairwell where I can get some strong internet. I don't think i will be able to rely on the one bar in my room. I have figured out my email though! its mweldred@semesteratsea.net and it is free to use on the boat so email me whenever! I will keep you guys posted with what im up to! classes start tomorrow so i have to check my class schedule. hopefully the sea will be calmer tomorrow and i will be able to walk straight... have already bumped into multiple people. Oops!

In Nassau!

Just got to hotel in Nassau. at the lovely Wynham (also the destination spot of senior year spring break... classy establishment). In the lobby right now getting free internet and wishing the heids was here as well! going to go up to room soon. i am so tired and need to get up at 7:30 tomorrow. first big issue with the trip so far: LOST BAGS! a lot of other people are in the same situation though so the airline said they would fly them from miami tomorrow morning and send them straight to the dock. hope that works. if not i am wearing the same jeans for a while and skinny dipping. 

test of email posts

Camo told me it would be a good idea to blog so here goes:
In Boston airport waiting in admirals club because flight to Miami is delayed.... Somehow got away with not paying for my checked baggage though so I can't complain to much. I now only have a 30 min layover in Miami to get to my flight to Nassau. I hope both myself and my bags make it on my flight! (lady behind me just pointed out that its 1/11/11... must be a lucky day)