Aloha!!!

Hawaii was awesome! I went to the volcano national park, museums, and some shopping! I only had one day, but I made the most of it and enjoyed every minute of it. I am leaving in 30 minutes for San Diego!!! I am soooo excited to be home! I have 6 days of finals, re-entry stuff, convocation, and then home! I am going to miss it, but right now I want to be home. See ya back on the mainland!

konnichiwa!!!

WOW! Japan was amazing! I definitely did not have enough time to do everything that I wanted to do. In one short week, I visited Kobe, Tokyo, and Yokohama. Japan had one of the biggest language barriers out of all the countries. Brazil and Japan are tied for 1^st place for the hardest to communicate. From early on in the voyage, my group of friends had big plans for Japan. The first and most important thing on my itinerary was to go to Tokyo Disneyland! So of course I made it happen! The first day in Kobe was spent as most other first day's had been. We went exploring through the city, and found shopping malls and markets. It was here that I really got a feel for what I was going to experience my rest of the stay here. I did not really know what to expect in Japan, but it is a very modern and technologically advanced nation. The public transportation here is very efficient. We got all over Japan without every hiring a taxi driver! The next day was spent on the ship because I was injured again. Unfortunately, this country got short changed for me and many others. I feel like I was less motivated to be off the ship at all times. I ate most meals on the ship because it is free, and also didn't take much energy to find. So, I am glad that I had Tokyo planned to get me off and in to Japan!

To get to Tokyo, we had to take a 10-hour over-night bus ride. After a McDonalds dinner, we found our way to the bus station and waited. When we got on to the bus, I was hoping for the best, but was prepared for an “India” bus. When I got on, my eyes dropped! This was the fanciest bus that I had ever seen! I felt like I was flying first class. Although it was a bit difficult to sleep because we kept stopping, and the lights kept going on, I slept almost the whole night. When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in the Tokyo Disney Parking lot!!! I felt like a kid again. All of the people I was with were still trying to wake up and gather themselves, I was already jumping around and on the phone with my mom. I was so excited! Everything was the same. The character parking markers, the trash cans, and even the Pirates of the Caribbean music playing! After gathering myself I looked to the left and there it was. “Hilton at Tokyo Bay”. MY HOTEL!!! One of my friend's mom works with a travel agency and got us good deals on hotels and transportation, I really don't have THAT much left over $$.We walked to the hotel and we checked in. We were escorted to our room and what a surprise we had! We had a traditional Japanese style room. The table was on the floor, the chairs were pillows, there were no beds, and we had to take our shoes off before entering. It was so neat! The lady showed us the mats and blankets that they would set up for us later that evening. We all got settled in and found free wi-fi.

A while later, we headed for Shibuya! Shibuya is like the Times Square of Tokyo. It was amazing. It took a little over an hour of reading maps, transferring trains, and exploring the public transportation again before we stepped out in to a mad house. When we finally arrived, there were so many high rises, SO MANY PEOPLE, stores, loud cars, bright lights. First things first, Starbucks. It was after lunch time so we decided to find some food. Mc Donalds would work, but we came across a food court first. Outside of the restaurants there were pictures of the food that they serve. We found one that had a bunch of different noodles that we thought might be a safe bet. This port SAS gave us a list of helpful words and phrases in Japanese, and the pronunciation. I pointed to the characters that spelled out “do you have an English menu?” The lady said no, then I pointed to “I'm vegetarian”. I'm not really, but I had a long day ahead and didn't want to be slowed down by mystery meat. She brought me spaghetti with clams. Close enough. It wasn't the best, but it sure beat “ship pasta”!! We spent the rest of the day shopping and walking around. I didn't really buy anything because I was so excited for Disney, and I knew I wanted to spend my money there instead. Not much happened after this, we finally got back to the hotel and had plans to go out, but decided to sleep instead. True Life: We're cool kids.

The next day I was still unsure of if I wanted to go to Disneyland or DisneySea. Everyone had said that Disneyland was just like in California, but DisneySea was completely different, and only in Tokyo. We finally decided on DisneySea and I am so glad that we did! I put on my Disney shirt that I had already bought at the hotel, and practically ran to the gate. As soon as I got in the gate I was all smiles. 2 of our other friends were already in so we met up with them and had an amazing day in Tokyo DisneySea. It was fun seeing all of the characters, riding all of the rides, and just spending a day in Disney. My highlight was ending the day by forcing my friends to go to “Turtle Talk w/ Crush”. My mom made me in to a crazy turtle lady during this whole voyage. I have taken pictures of purtles everywhere! Haha. The worker told us that Crush speaks Japanese, but I still wanted to go. It was SO MUCH FUN! The whole time my friends were looking at me like I was crazy and like they weren't having a good time. I even wanted to participate, but I didn't understand what was happening. It is the same as in Cali, it is Crush the interactive talking turtle. SO FUN. We weren't able to stay for the water show/ fireworks because it started thunder storming and we had to be in Yokohama by midnight when the trains stopped running. Before leaving, we did some shopping, and were on another adventure called public transportation!

This was especially fun because it was a Friday night during rush hour. During our pre-port for Japan, we were told that during rush hour, hundreds of people will fit in to one car. There will be no more room to even stand, and people will still push their way in. This was quite an experience! We were on the rapid train that didn't stop as often. This just meant that we were sardines for longer stretches. Every stop we picked up more people. By the second stop, I was touching 5 different people, all the windows on the train were fogged up, and it was hard to breath. It was crazy packed!!

2 hours later and only 30 min early we made it back to the ship safe and sound. What a day! The last day in Yokohama was pouring rain, so I only went out for a little bit to get some snacks to last this 11 day stretch I'm on now. I took in that this was my last day on foreign land. Next time we would be on land would be in Hawaii and then San Diego! Japan was so much fun! I really wish I had more time and energy to do more, but 3 months of traveling constantly wipes you out.

I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HOME! This experience does not even have the right words. I would say it has been fun, but it hasn't always been. I would say amazing, but there have been times when I couldn't take it. There are just no words. I will try my hardest to share what I have learned with everybody when I get home. You get a head start by following my blog! 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS 2 WEEKS.

Today’s Quote

“Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled.”

– Muhammad

Happy Easter! I started Easter with a sunrise service on deck 7 of the
MV Explorer. We will have an Easter dinner together followed by another
service during our regular time tonight. I wish I was home celebrating
with my family, but I know that I will be home soon enough!
Love and Blessings from somewhere between China and Japan.

Shanghai CHINA!

Shanghai!! WOW! Definitely not what I expected.

The first day in Shanghai, me and some friends tackled public transportation and found our way around Shanghai. Language barrier hit us hard again here. SAS problem #21 Walking in to a convenience store and everything being in Chinese. After guessing and hoping that I got something edible and not prawn flavored, we continued on. We came across a small shoe store. I was so excited to find a pair of shoes that fit me, so I bought them, and then they killed my feet the rest of the day. We found Mc Donald’s, H&M, and many other familiar places. Lesson learned real quick: Chinese sizes are “a bit” smaller. We spent the day exploring the city and talking to many people along the way. The rest of our friends were to return from Tibet and Beijing that night, so we headed back to meet up with them for the night. This is when it started to hit all of us. This journey is almost over. Me and 2 other girls were away from “the family” for 3 days, and we really missed them. When we all saw each other, it was like it had been years. We were all so excited to see each other and hear each others stories. It is going to be so hard going back to reality and not seeing my best friends every single day while traveling the world. We stayed up late talking, laughing, sharing stories, and just enjoying good company. We made plans for the next day to go shopping.

The second day in Shanghai, a group of us went to the “knock off” market. Along our 30 minute walk to town we met a man from Cape Town who told us about how he travels the world on his private jet and how he has companies and multiple properties. We all talked for hours about our travel adventures at a coffee shop before moving forward. We finally made it to the market which was a 5 story mall of the same stuff. It was like a swap meet with all of the same stuff. The fun in it came to bargain the lowest price. I got too much stuff, and went a little crazy. But I did get a lot of good stuff including a beautiful tea set! We literally spent the rest of the day in the market talking to locals, and buying things. That night, we headed back to the ship to get ready to go out for a nice dinner. Let me tell you right now, a group of 12 girls is a bit hard to work with. We had planned to go to “the needle” which is a fancy building with a revolving restaurant. It was $50US for dinner and museum. Unfortunately, we got there at 8:30pm and they closed at 9pm. We went to a mall to try and find some place to eat. It was here as people started running in to stores that the group split up. We split up in to 3 groups and I'm glad that we did. In my group there were 5 and we found a Hooters! We went and had the best night. The food was the same as was the atmosphere.

My last day in Shanghai, I had my last FDP with my favorite professor. This trip was called “Tasting the Daily Life of a Shanghai Citizen”. This was by far my favorite FDP that I did this whole semester!! To start, we went to a community center where we learned about all the services that the government provides for the residents. We took a tour of the facility and it was a great time. There was a ball room dance going on for the aged. They were dancing for hours at 9am on a Sat morning. Then, we went to where the teenagers were having dance class. Tied for the cutest dance was between the toddlers and the aged. The aged won of course. After leaving the center, we proceeded to another local market. This one was the craziest that I have yet to see. There were dead and live fish everywhere, the floor was soaking with fish water. (yes, I was wore flip flops). I will just post pictures, I cannot describe it. There was also a dentist office right next to the cage of live chickens that you can choose and they kill for you. Although the meat section almost made me go vegetarian, I had never seen such fresh and crisp vegetables in a market, and such a wide variety of fruits. After leaving the market, we split up in to smaller groups to go on a house visit with a local family where we would help prepare and eat lunch. When we arrived to the small condo, neither the wife or husband spoke English, but we still had a great time. The women showed us how to make dumplings! We then all sat around a round table with a spinning middle. The women was in the kitchen working hard and the man kept bringing out dish after dish of food for us! We ate so much food and it was the best Chinese food ever! We said good-bye and thanked them for inviting us in to their home. They were the nicest people with the biggest smiles in all of China. The trip concluded with a visit to a flower market.

My stay in Shanghai came to an end as we returned to the ship before on-ship time. I did not have enough time here, so I must come back! I really want to visit Beijing some day too. China is a beautiful country and politics and government aside, is a world giant. I love it here!! My last and final stop before returning to the US is Japan! I will be at sea for 2 days before we get there. For Japan, I am doing independent travel to Tokyo! I can't wait for Tokyo Disneyland! This independent travel shouldn't be as crazy as India because we actually have hotels and everything planned out already. :) Every once in a while it hits me that I am traveling the world on a ship. SO AWESOME! After Japan we have 17 days at sea to cross the Pacific Ocean to San Diego. We have a 1 day stop in Hawaii to refuel, but I know it is going to be rough! During this long stretch, we have a lot planned, including finals. I am on my way home!

Transit

While the ship traveled to Shanghai, I was 1 of 97 people who traveled with the ship. I was regretting it because everyone else was on the Great Wall, but I ended up having THE BEST TIME! I had several friends who were in transit too, so we had 2 free days. The first day, I caught up on sleep and woke up to eat. For dinner they had "special occasion dining" for free. On a regular day, we can buy this dining that is like eating at a restaurant and not a buffet of Pasta, Pork, and Potatoes. We had a movie night/ sleep over because my roommate was gone..shh! The second day, the All Star game was playing, so I watched that while writing my Viet Nam blog, and homework. Then, we bought day passes to the Sauna/Steam room for a little pampering. I had a great time and it was really nice how quiet the ship was. On a regular day at sea, it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a quiet place to study, so this was especially nice. The time flew by and the ship pulled to Shanghai, China!!! Who goes to China?! This girl.

Here is a picture of my cabin before 3 months of collecting stuff from around the world. I am the blue bed. The floor is not currently visible. It got to a point that my cabin steward came in to clean and threw all of my clothes from the floor in to a big trash bag. haha Just like at home!

my cousin calls it Honk Honk

Hong Kong is not in China. The people of Hong Kong make that very clear. When asking if their relatives are from the Mainland China, they got really offended, and made said "oh no!! We are all from Hong Kong!"

I have come to the conclusion that the richest people in the world live in South Africa, Singapore, and Hong Kong. While most of the people on the ship traveled to Beijing for our week in China, I stayed in Hong Kong for 2 days, was in transit with the ship for 2 days, and then spent the last 3 days in Shanghai. I did not go to see the Great Wall of China because I had 3 required class trips planned during this stop. It would have been another “India” independent travel, and I couldn't risk missing my trips that are for class credit. Both days in Hong Kong were spent on FDPs. The first was a Family Insight Tour where we visited a community center at government housing facilities. Here, we learned about how families typically work, and where they live. The center provides educational services for kids, the aged, and everyone else. After a Q&A with volunteer students, we visited a families home for some tea. Here we saw how a family of 4 can live in a space the size of 1 standard bedroom. After spending some time there, we went to a local market to see where people get their things from. It was similar to the market in Cambodia, but a lot smaller.

After my FDP I spent the rest of the day in the largest mall that was attached to the cruise terminal. I have fallen almost everyday while in Asia. 2 days in a row I fell in Viet Nam. The first time I scraped my knee, the 2^nd time, I fell and got 4 HUGE bruises all up and down both legs. The first day in Hong Kong I fell again and sliced my toe. My professor told me that this is pretty common. Because I have been living on a ship for 3 months, I am not used to a floor that does not move. It will take some time to get used to walking again, just like it took time to get my sea legs. That, and I'm just clumsy.

For my FDP on the 2^nd day, I had no idea what I was in for. My trip was called “Sustainable Cities: Is high-density the new green?” I did not read any of my trip descriptions before signing up because they are required regardless. SO, I showed up for this FDP thinking we would be in a museum or presentation or something. NO. I wore my toms (with a hurt toe) and skinny jeans, and got all dressed up. When I showed up, I was told that we were going to be hiking 7 miles through rough terrain. GREAT. I had no choice but to suck it up and go. I had no water, snacks, anything. Luckily they provided lunch and water, but I was still not dressed properly. The first half of the day was on an urban walking tour where we saw development projects and walked through the city. The second half, we ventured up to Victoria's Peak which is the highest point in Hong Kong, and much like a jungle. It was nice to see this side of the city because I would have never thought there was any greenery in Hong Kong had I not gone on this trip. I ended this day again in the mall...Luckily, this was a really upscale mall so I could not afford the Prada and Coach stores.

I would like to go back to Hong Kong someday, but I feel like I will return to a place like Cambodia first. The next 2 days I would be at sea until we arrive in Shanghai!

I went to Cambodia!

While with Semester at Sea the only way we are allowed to leave the original country is if on a SAS trip. I took advantage of adding another country to my itinerary and signed up for the trip to the capital of Cambodia and Angkor Wat. SAS has a way of making us in to tourists. We eat at fancy restaurants, we stay on the air-conditioned coach bus, and we have tour guides to all of the museums and sites. Regardless, it was still an amazing opportunity to visit Cambodia. I was fortunate to be in a good group of people. We had a small group of 19, with over half of them being life-long learners. President LBJ's daughter and her Senator husband were some of our fellow travelers.

I do enjoy learning about history and things like that, but I personally feel the most accomplished when I can actually be interacting with the local people, and making myself useful. This trip was a lot of museums and temples. The architecture was incredible, but again, there is only so much of fancy carving that will keep my attention. It was a foreign experience for me to tour the king's palace. It never crossed my mind to think that there are nations today that still have kings who live in a fancy palace and who sit on thrones. Another learning experience that I had was visiting the killing fields. This was grounds for the Cambodian genocide that took place by the Khmer. The thing that struck me the most about this site was how recent it was. From the looks and ideas of what happened, it seems that something so gruesome as this would have happened hundreds and hundreds of years ago. No, the last truck of victims arrived on January 7^th 1979. Because of how recent this was, with annual rains, clothes particles are washed up and visible peeking out of the dirt. There are whole teeth and bones pieces laying on the ground where people lost their lives. This experience was similar to the burning ghats in Varanasi for me. It was something that I have never seen/felt/experienced. It was a harsh reality of history.

Following the Killing Fields, we went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This was a former schoolhouse that was used as a torture prison during the time of Genocide. The cells are still standing, and reminiscences of the torture devices were there along with still pictures. There were only 9 known survivors of this prison, 2 of which are still alive and were at the museum signing their books.

Later that evening we went to the biggest buffet that I have ever been to! The food wasn't the greatest, but was still amazing. During dinner the large venue put on a traditional Cambodian dance show. After dinner, we were free to visit the Night Market. While in Viet Nam, I learned about a fish massage. I was trying to find it, but couldn't. Lucky for me they were everywhere in Cambodia! At the night market there was a massage place where you could get a full leg massage for $1US. The fish massage was $2US for 40 minutes and it included a free soda. The massage is simple. There is a huge pool of fish that you put your feet in to the water and they eat all of the dead skin off! It was terrifying! I already have a hard time getting pedicures because how much it tickles. Imagine hundreds of little fish sucking and nibbling on your feet!! I survived, and my feet felt really soft after! We spent a few hours in the market before catching a rickshaw back to our hotel

The last day in Siem Reap started at 0430. Early in the morning, we woke up and saw the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was absolutely beautiful to see the temple just light up with God's gracious sun. After getting some good pictures, we returned to our hotel for breakfast. After, we returned to spend time going through Angkor Wat. Next, we went to a fancy restaurant. Then, we had some free time to roam through the local market. This market had everything from clothes, house supplies, and food. Literally anything a local person needs, they can come to this huge market. The group that I was with wanted to find insects to eat. After walking around and asking people, we were lead to 2 small women sitting in the middle of the market with big containers of crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, frog legs, and other delicious delicacies. I was not brave enough to dig in, but some did. After the market, and 5 temples later, we were headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Viet Nam where the ship was. I am so grateful that I was able to go on this trip. It was 1 of 2 big SAS trips that I did, the other being Rio. By the way, my passport is looking so awesome right about now! Next.....HONG KONG!
I had the choice of a western and eastern toilet in the palace and I chose this!!

I

Chinese Authorities

were on the ship for a mandatory temperature taking. We walked in to the
union, and walked right out. Then as we were leaving they said that we
walked by a what looked like a camcorder that took our temperature. I
was joking that temperature was not the only thing that it took! It
probably took our picture, stem cell count, DNA sample. Technology
around the world is 10 million times ahead of us. TRUE STORY

Viet Nam

Viet Nam! The night prior to our arrival in VietNam, I was very anxious and more excited than anything! I knew that while in Viet Nam I wanted to learn more about the War. I also had a big Cambodia trip planned while in this port. The day started out by getting on the shuttle in to town. The shuttle dropped us off right in front of the Burberry store. I did not have very many expectations about Viet Nam, but this certainly was not it! We walked around for about an hour before stumbling upon a travel agency. We went in and looked at possible day trips. We found a city tour that would cost us each $7 USD. The trip included a private driver and a 6 hour tour through the city to see all of the major highlights. We booked the trip! Before leaving, we stopped at a little restaurant for lunch. I ordered the spicy curry of course, and it was delicious! We headed back to the agency and met our driver. We got in to the air conditioned, new, good smelling SUV, and were ready to go!

The first stop on our tour was to the War Remembrance Museum. This museum was very interesting in that it was the “American War” from the Vietnamese perspective. In school, I thought that I was taught all about the War, but being in this museum was a wake up call. While people were talking about how one-sided the museum was, it just made me realize how one-sided and censored OUR material is. As I kept moving through the exhibit I was growing more and more frustrated, confused, sad, and annoyed. In Viet Nam, when talking about the war, we are the “enemy”. The first part of the museum was portraying the entire world's support in Viet Nam against the US aggression. As I moved through the museum, there was a small corner of musicians. The musicians were singing, playing instruments, and making bead crafts. I took a closer look. The people were severely disabled, all of them. I then read the big sign hanging above them that said that they were victims of agent orange. The entire visit to the museum was an eye-opener for me. I was disgusted, I felt like I have been lied to my entire life. Yes, occasionally in school we talked about the war, but we NEVER talked about what I was seeing. I felt guilty. Why? I shouldn't because I wasn't there right? I feel like I am guilty by association. Even if it wasn't my generation, it is my generation that is still living with effects of the War today. I left the museum numb. I had questions that were left unanswered, and a heavy heart.

In the evening me and some friends had bought tickets to see a traditional Vietnamese Water Puppet show. The puppet show was in Vietnamese so I could not understand what they were saying, but it was still fun to make believe a story. The show was held in a small theater. There was a pool of water at the floor of the stage and the musicians and voices were on the sides. The show was only 45 minutes, but it was a lot of fun! We caught an over-priced taxi back to the ship, and did some more shopping right outside the ship where some vendors were set up.

The next day, me and my friend Danielle bought tickets from the same agency to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels are where the Viet Cong set up an underground world in the fields to hide from the enemy. On the way the bus full of tourists stopped at a rest stop. Here there was a huge store with goods to buy, a juice bar, and a workshop where people were making the goods. I had an orange-mango-pineapple smoothie made with milk, ice, water, and everything else they told us to avoid. It was delicious! Once at the tunnels, the one-sided story continued. In the first part of the tour, we watched a movie with a basic background about the tunnels and their purpose. During the movie, the narrator was talking about how the Viet Cong were given awards for who could kill the most Americans. In a single sentence, the movie said “kill Americans” a minimum of 6 times. It was interesting to watch, but again, I was glad to finally be hearing the other side of the story. Once in the fields, we saw where the past had been preserved. The holes in the ground are still open, and I even had the chance to crawl through a tunnel. It was small and hot! I only made it 20 meters, but the entirety was 100 meters. At the tunnels, there was a chance to shoot guns. I do not understand what the purpose of this was, but I can only imagine what it must be like for veterans to return to this site and hear real guns being shot.

We ended the day by stopping at a small restaurant for dinner. Here, Danielle and I ordered appetizers, a main course, and a soda for $6USD. It was a lot of good food for $3 a piece! OH, throughout my 2 day stay in Viet Nam, I fell 2 times. The first time I scraped my knee, the second time I tripped on a wire. Later I found out that this is common because after being on a ship for so long, many people have trouble adjusting to walking on land. My legs are all bruised up, but it is funny to think that I do not know how to walk on still ground anymore! That night, I packed my new $12US North Face backpack, and prepared for my early departure to Cambodia!
OH MY! I forgot to talk about crossing the street. YouTube "crossing the street in Vietnam". You will understand.