Saturday, May 5, 2012
Home
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Aloha!!!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
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 1st 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.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
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
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!
