T.I.A...this is africa

        Yesterday was Africa day… and like the other country days there were a bunch of seminars going on and no classes.  I went to a bunch of them yesterday and it got me so excited for Africa!!  I went to one about the South African playwright Athol Fugard and there we learned about his types of plays and there were a few monologues and scenes portrayed.  After that, I went one about major public holidays in South Africa.  This one was so cute because it was put on by all the kids and it was run by the inter port lecturers 2 kids.  They acted out the reasons how the holidays came about.  For example, one public holiday is Youth Day and it came about because students were killed when they protested school when their teachers were told to teach in another language than English.  And another holiday had to do with the abolishing of the pass book which was used during apartheid and all black or colored people had to have one in order to move freely about the country.  It was a cute presentation.  After that one, I went to one about apartheid and learned more about it and then went to one that I thought was supposed to be about the FIFA world cup but really was more about the social and political standing of south Africa… at the end though we did talk about the world cup. 
        Last night I got a tad bit seasick.  It was not fun.  Because of where we are which is near the cape of Africa, the currents are crashing into each other and the Atlantic is meeting the Pacific so the oceans were rough last night.  I ended up getting a Ginger Ale with Amy and we sat in the piano bar and talked for about 2 hours.
        This morning I woke up and was walking to breakfast when I looked out on the deck and saw the coast of Africa!!  Ahhh we are so close yet so far!  I just want to get there already!  I just want to swim there and meet the ship in Cape Town. 
        And so now, well for the past 2 days, I’ve been on a Dave Matthews kick because for those of you that didn’t know this…South Africa is Dave Matthews’s homeland.  And I can’t wait to be there!!
        “Celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain.”—Dave Matthews

Mauritius

We left Mauritius wednesday night.  Very upsetting.  For everyone who doesn’t know, Mauritius is off the coast of Madagascar.  We got there on tuesday and left wednesday… a very short time, but it was a great time.  It was also our “spring break”.  So when we got there me, Katie, Tess and Emily went to Grand Baie which is the north-west part of the island and it was pouring!  It was so depressing because everyone kept saying it was going to rain all day but thankfully it did end up clearing up. We got to our hotel and got ready for the beach and waited for the skipper to come and get our deposit for the catamaran.  We grabbed some lunch before going to the beach. 
We were walking down the beach when we saw some very comfy lounge chairs and decided to park it right there.  We then went swimming and the water was WONDERFUL!  It was crystal clear and warm and felt amazing!  We laid on the chairs, and then realized that we were at a resort and everyone around us had the same towels, besides us.  But as we were sitting on the chairs, a security officer walked past us and goes, “how are you girls today?  Is everything alright?”  and we were like… “uhh yea everythings great!”  so you know that if a security guard asks you if its ok, then you are totally fine.  So we just laid on the lounge chairs but then I woke up to security officers talking around me and Katie was whispering to me telling me that she thought that the security officers caught on to us and were going to kick us out.  But they didn’t and we just kept sleeping.  It started raining when we were sleeping, and we woke up and ran up to the resort, where we decided we wanted to go swimming in their infinity pool.  So basically we crashed a resort and no one cared.  We even went up to the front desk and asked for stamps, where they sent us to the store, where we shopped around for a little.  After that it was about 5 o’clock and we decided to head back to our hotel, La Ventura.  Oh!  In the beginning of the day when we were waiting for the skipper to come and get our deposit we went to the bar at the hotel and were having some drinks and they actually had to run out and buy more rum because they are not used to getting tourists there.  And then at lunch, we asked if they had bread, and the lady said they did, and then she ran out and bought us a loaf of bread!  The people in Mauritius were very nice.
And me and Katie were out talking to the hotel manager about what to do and where to go and he (his name was Chris by the way and he was actually on Semester at Sea a couple years ago as an interport student) told us where to go and actually arranged transportation for us and walked us to dinner because there were like no sidewalks and it was dark out.  After dinner we just went out for a little bit.
The next morning we woke up really early because we were going on a Catamaran and we had to go meet it at the Public Beach which was about a 15-20 minute walk from our hotel.  We FINALLY got on the catamaran and I was just as happy as a clam.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  The scenery there is beautiful and the water is just such a deep blue that its just awesome.  We docked in the middle of the ocean to go snorkeling and it was awesome!  .  After snorkeling… we had a bbq lunch and it was amazing!  We had I forget what type of fish but it was sooooo good ( and I’m not much of a fish eater), pasta salad, grilled chicken, and some type of vegetables.  And then there was a fruit salad which was amazing also.  After lunch, we all pretty much crashed.  But before we passed out we had a huge dance party... in the middle of the ocean... in Mauritius.  it can't get any better than that.  .  We got back to Port Louis at about 4 pm and on ship time was 6 so we just walked around a little before heading back to the ship.  I wish we had more time in Mauririus.  There was so much more I wanted to see.  I wish we had just one more day so that I could explore around Port Louis more.  And it sucks because it is such a hard place to get to but I would so go back if I could.  It was considered our spring break too so it was a nice place to just go and relax and not feel obligated to go see something there… like seeing shrines in Japan, great wall in China and etc. 
and now we are on our way to South Africa!!! I CANNOT wait!  it is the port that i've been looking forward to the most. we get there on wednesday and we leave on Easter... lots to do in a short amount of time.

Neptune Day

Today was Neptune Day!  That means that we crossed the equator.  We actually crossed the equator yesterday at 2:45 am but we celebrated Neptune Day today.  I am proud to say that I am no longer a pollywog and am now a shellback.  The day started by being woken bright and early by whistles and drumming and banging on our door at around 7:30 am.  The festivities started at 8:45 at the pool.  Crabtree (our dean) was dressed as Neptune (god of water and sea) and the other faculty were dressed up as the court of Neptune.  We were then “interrogated” and we answered questions and then we took part of the initiation.  It started with getting slimed (it smelled sooooo bad), then we jumped in the pool, climbed out of it, kissed a REAL fish… a REAL, DEAD fish and then we kissed “Neptune’s” ring, his wife’s ring, then we were anointed by Gogniat (our Global Studies professor) that we were shellbacks.  When I got to the fish… I thought it was a fake one, until I realized the blood of it was dripping down Cindy’s hands and I just looked at her and was like, “wait… I have to kiss that? Like my lips have to actually touch it?”  and she laughed at me and I did.  But yea, so now I’m a shellback.  Hahah.  Afterwards, people were shaving their heads because that is another thing you can do.  I did not shave my head.  Because I do not want to look like a q-tip for the next 7 years of my life.  But lots of people did shave their heads, girls included.  If they didn’t shave their heads, they donated it to locks of love or chopped it really short or buzzed it instead of going COMPLETELY bald.  After that, I just laid out all day and then we had a bbq for dinner, which was amazing.  Tonight we had our talent show and it’s crazy how talented people on this ship are. 
Well I must go.  I guess I should start attempting to study for Global Studies since the test is tomorrow and all.  Peace out Pollywogs! 

Cochin

Today… we leave India…and Asia...and we are officially more than halfway done.  It’s so depressing.  But lets not get ahead of ourselves here.  So let me back track to the past 2 days in Cochin.
I enjoyed Cochin much more than Chennai.  Cochin was less crowded and less city like and was more tropical… it actually kind of reminded me of Vietnam with all the palm tree like trees.  The first day in Cochin I had the Khatakali Dance Drama trip for my human voice in performance class.  Our bus was supposed to leave at 8 but we had to go through immigration so we didn’t leave until closer to 9.  It was about a 3 hour bus drive to the village we went to.  On this bus ride, at our pit stop, I encountered an Indian toilet…aka a hole in the ground.  Oh the toilets I have experienced on this trip so far are ones to remember…the heated seats in Japan with bidets, squatters in China and India, and the Great Wall…Such great toilets.  But anyway!  When we got to the village we met our guide Kunju and he showed us to his father’s house.  When we got off the bus, there was a photographer there and cameraman there and they were with us the whole day… I felt like I was on the real world / famous.  Quick background on Kunju…he owns a temple in the village we were at, and he teaches Khatakali dance and he has a mutual friend with my professor and that is how we got to go on this trip.  So we went to Kunju’s dad’s house (who was a Khatakali professor also before handing it down to Kunju) and we had coconut milk and some really good baked fruit with him.  After we left his dad’s house, we walked a little bit through the village (which was so cute!  It was literally like a little road with little dirt roads off it that led to individual houses).  We walked through the village to a little place where they made grass mats.  This village is apparently known for their grass mats and we watched them make them and they are beautiful! 
After the grass mats, we went to Kunju’s uncles house where they cooked lunch for us!  We ate it the traditional way aka on banana leaves with all 5 of our fingers on our right hand.  It was spicy!  I’m also a baby when it comes to spices so my mouth was basically on fire and this one older man was standing next to me laughing at me.  And he also laughed at me because I was only using 3 of my fingers instead of all 5 so he taught me the right way to eat it and mix everything they put on your leaf into 1 big thing and eat that.  I think I got more food on me than in my mouth because I kept missing my mouth when I was attempting to shove the food into it. 
After lunch, we walked across the street to the temple and saw the actor’s getting ready for the performance.  They were putting their make up on and putting their costumes on and it was INSANE!  Ok, so Khatakali tells a story and is usually performed from dusk til dawn, but we had our own private 2 hour show.  And it is dancing, but it is more movement in the face and eyes and handgestures than dancing around the stage.  Also, depending on the color make up the actor is wearing tells you if they are a good guy or bad guy.  Green = good guy /diety and red = bad guy.  What’s so cool though is that their make up is so bright and vibrant but they also but a little seed in their eyes that make their eyes bright red and it sticks out so well against the green makeup.  It’s so cool.  So we watched the show for 2 hours and then afterwards we met the actors and got to ask them a bunch of questions.  After that we toured the temple and then headed back to the ship.  We got back to the ship around 9:30ish and I grabbed some food and then just showered and crashed.
Today I had a really good day.  Me, Andrew and Stephanie rented a rickshaw driver and he took us all around Cochin but we had to be back by 12ish because we had a trip at 1.  Our rickshaw driver’s name was Anu and he was awesome.  Our rickshaw was pimped out too.  The whole inside of it was red and blue leopard print.  It looked like it was on Pimp My Rickshaw.  But anyway… we stopped at a palace which is now a museum, a shop where I bought so many scarves and our guy that was showing us stuff in the shop actually brought us upstairs to the 4th floor which was a lookout and we got a free soda and just chatted with him and learned about Cochin and everthing.  After that shop, we stopped at a ginger factory where we helped sift through the ginger, then we stopped at another store, then a post office and then we stopped at a random street and just walked down it and looked at the shops and then headed back to the ship.  After lunch, we had our SOS Children’s Village trip.  The Children’s village is kind of like an orphanage and there are 50 houses and they all have a “mother” who takes care of about 15 kids.  When we got to the village we watched a video about the village and what it was and then we saw performances by the kids.  After that we got to visit the homes and this little girl came up to me and grabbed my hand and took me to a house where we met up with Christina and 2 other little girls and then my girl took me and the 2 other little girls to her house.  I didn’t know my little girl’s name because she didn’t really talk / understand English.  But her mother was so nice and was showing me all her pictures of all the children and past children she had that got married and are now psychologists or in hotel management, and a lot of the pictures she had on the walls were all of my little girl.  It was so nice.  After that, we went to the field where everyone was playing cricket and soccer and just met more kids and played with them.  It was one of my favorite trips.  It was just fun to give back and make these children’s day by just hanging out with them and spending 2 hours with them.  After that we just came back to the ship because we leave tonight.  Actually, we left already.  And we are now headed for Mauritius!  Woohoo!
India was definitely eye opening.  And I know I was dreading it in the beginning but it really wasn’t that bad.  It’s one of those places that you get so overwhelmed in for the first couple minutes but once you stop and breathe and slow down, it’s not that bad and it is a beautiful country.  It’s just so different.  Even going from Chennai to Cochin, I saw 2 very very very different types of places.  Chennai was more industrial and city like where as Cochin was more tropical and not as crowded.  But yea… we’re done India and done Asia.  Now for AFRICA!  I CANNOT wait for South Africa.  It’s going to be so cool.

Chennai

We got to India on Thursday, and the first half of the day I went around with Neha and her grandmom and a group of us.  We went to lunch where we had simosas (a fried pastry filled with potatoes, peas and it’s a little spicy), garlic naan (which is like a bread) and pashmeer  (?) I forget what its called but we had a bunch of different kinds.  We had spinach, potatoes and peas, and I don’t know what the red one was.  I just ate everything and tried everything and my mouth was on fire a little but it was really good.  It was so funny because the place we went to go eat didn’t have any simosas so Neha’s grandmom had someone run to another restaurant and get them for us!  Neha said that’s just what you have to do in India.  After that, we drove around Chennai and stopped at 2 shops and went shopping, where her gradmom got us discounts everywhere.  Her grandmom is awesome.  And she is like pretty legit.  She is a top social worker and has an orphanage and women’s college in Hyderabad and was actually given a reward from Mother Theresa.  So she is pretty legit.  At around 3 they dropped us off at the boat because they had to catch a flight to Hyderabad and that is where Neha is now actually. 
After we got dropped off, we rented a car and driver until 10 pm (it was only like 10 dollars… the field office set it up for us) to take us to a bunch of places.  We went to a Hindu temple and it had 10,000 figures on it!  And they are so bright and colorful.  Funny story, after the temple, I was standing at our car and we were waiting for a bus that was blocking us in to move, and these little school kids walked past me and said hi and this one little boy goes, “whats your name?”  so I told him and he told me his and then he goes… “10 ruppees?”  and I laughed at him and the girls he was with laughed and just shook their heads and drug him away because they knew he wasn’t a beggar and I wasn’t going to give him anything anyway.  After the temple, we went to Spencer’s plaza, which is a mall there with a bunch of different shops and vendors.  After Spencer’s we went to Mocha which is a Hookah bar but we went to just get dinner and dessert… which was amazing.  After that, we just went back to the ship because a lot of people I was with had trips the next morning at like 3 am.
On Friday, I lucked out and got a free field trip ticket from Patty for a vegetarian cooking demonstration.  That wasn’t until 4 though, so I went around with Allison C and Steph (not the Steph I am usually with, a different one) and we went to an outdoor bazaar.  We encountered beggars there too, but the beggars here are women and they hold their kids with them, which we learned during diplomatic debriefing that the women sedate their kids so it looks like their worse than they are.  It got to the point that we would just go into random stores to get away from them.  We got lunch at this place and I had dosa, which is like a crepe, I had it plain and I just dipped it in the different types of chutney…my favorite one was the green chutney.  By the time we were done at lunch and shopping it was about 1:30ish, and we decided to go back to the ship to shower and get ready for the trip.  Our trip was awesome.  We basically met India’s version of Rachel Ray  and she cooked for us and taught us how to make everything and then we ate with her.  The food was amazing.  Indian food has so much flavor in it it’s ridiculous.  If I were to become a vegetarian, I would move to India.  After that, we just came back to the ship because on time ship time was 8. 
I didn’t do any independent traveling in India to the Taj or anything because I have an FDP the first day in Cochin (tomorrow) to the Khatakali Dance Drama and that is at 7:45 am.  The past 2 days at sea though were AWESOME!  A lot of people aren’t here because they are on trips.  It felt like a real cruise the past 2 days.  I laid out all day both days and did some reading.  And for dinners we have sit down dinners where they serve us.  Last night they played Benjamin Buttons in the union and I went to go watch that.  Today I just worked out and laid out all day and it was magnificent.  I wasn’t too upset about missing the Taj though.  Neha’s grandmom when we left her told us to come to Hyderabad and I told her that I’ll come back to India soon and call her up and visit her.  India isn’t that bad of a country.  It’s definitely different.  It’s also the first port I’ve been too and not know how to get around within a couple hours.  The other ports you could distinguish landmarks and walk places and somewhat know where your going, but in Chennai, I had no idea.  Each time I went out it just looked different.  It’s hot, dirty, smelly but it is a pretty country (from what I’ve seen so far).  The temples here are beautiful and not something you see any where else.  I’m excited to get to Cochin, I’m doing the dance drama and the 2nd day I’m doing a service visit to the Children’s village. 
Well I have to go get ready for dinner! 

final day in Vietnam

I’m finally to my last day in Vietnam!  We get to India tomorrow!  Ok… so back to the final day in Vietnam…
I went to the Mekong Delta on a SAS trip...Amy and Megan were in my group.  Our trip left at 8 and we drove about 2 hours to a temple where there was a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE Buddha!  There were 2 of them actually.  The one was the typical fat, sitting Buddha and the other one was tall and skinny.  After walking around that, we got back on the bus and then went to the delta where we took a boat to cross the river.  After we crossed the river, we went and saw people making coconut candy and how its made and we got to try it and buy it if you wanted.  I bought 6 things of it because it was only for a dollar!  When we were done buying candy, we walked to a horse-wagon, which is a wagon that holds 4 people attached to a horse and the horse took us on a little 10 minute drive through the town to the next place we were going.  The next place we went to was a like a sidewalk with vendors on either side but then there was a outdoor picnic type area where we got to taste honey and tea and all different types of fruits.  There was pineapple, papaya, mini bananas, and a bunch of other fruits that I don’t know what they are called.  One was red and spikey on the outside, but when you cut the skin away it was sweet with a pit in the middle of it.  There was also a HUUUUUUUGE snake there in a cage.  And then the lady took the lid off the cage and it started sliding out of the cage.  After that, we took a tiny boat that holds 4 people and our rower and went down the delta.  It was beautiful.  The water was a little gross and muddy though.  And there were a few times that I thought we were going to take water on because we were so low in the water and were rocking a little.  Other than that thought it was beautiful.  After going down the river we got onto a bigger boat where it took us to where we were having lunch.  Oh lunch that day.  It was definitely interesting.  I wish I knew how to post pictures on this so I could show you what was placed in the middle of the table… but I will try to explain it as best as I can.  It was an elephant ear fish.  And it was whole, and fried, and being supported by 2 prongs, and it was staring at me.  When I say it was whole, I mean it still had its fins and scales on its face.  And the lady came over and sliced it and made us some fresh grilled elephant ear fish spring rolls.  And guess what… I ATE IT!  I know… I know… for those of you who know my picky eating habits will be shocked.  I was the first person at my table to try it.  It was interesting.  It didn’t taste fishy though but it definitely had a weird texture and taste to it.  One was enough for me!  But then the lady made me another one, and I took one bite of it and then she walked away and I stopped eating it.  The next course was pretty good.  It was what I thought was deep fried mashed potatoes almost.  But in a French fry form I guess.  I don’t know its hard to explain…and then there were fried spring rolls.  We also had jumbo shrimp, crunchy noodles with vegetables and then it ended with a pork hot pot (which is like soup).  After lunch, we got on the bus and headed back to Saigon.  We got dropped off at the Rex Hotel, and me, Amy and Megan went to go pick up Amy’s dress.  We then went to the market to attempt to get sunglasses but were unsuccessful and then ate at Pho 2000 which is where Bill Clinton ate when he visited Vietnam.  After that, we just headed back to the ship because we had to be back on the ship by 8. 
So there you have it!  My time in Vietnam… I think it tops the other countries so far.  And I definitely want to go back and explorer northern Vietnam.  Other than that… we get to India tomorrow and I’m not as nervous anymore.  I think it will be interesting and definitely eye-opening and shocking but hey… that’s what this whole trip is about.  Its about learning new things and being pushed outside your comfort zone… and I have done that a lot so far.  I have done things that I would never do… such as eat elephant ear fish.  India will definitely be an experience.

Cao Dai and Cu Chi Tunnels

My fourth day in Vietnam, which was March 1st, started at 8 am.  Me and Steph were on a SAS trip to the Cao Dai temple and Cu-Chi tunnels.  The Cao Dai temple was about a 3 hour drive from Saigon where I got some sleep in and also stared out the window.  We were finally outside the city and it was so pretty!  Rice paddies were everywhere, and the people working in them all had their rice hats on (the pointy hats that are round) and it looked like the essence of Viet Nam.  We got lunch before visiting the temple at a restaurant near the temple.  We had fried spring rolls (amazing), chicken legs, noodles with vegetables, bread and soup.  I think there was more but I forget.  After that, we went to the temple around 12 because we were going to watch a service there.  Services in a Cao Dai temple take place at 6 am, noon, 6 pm, and midnight…EVERYDAY!  Caodaiism is a combination of religions almost.  They are based on Buddha, saint and sage (I totally wiki-ed that).  Their symbol is the left eye in a triangle and that symbolizes the divine eye.  The temple itself is interesting.  It is bright!  It is in colors of yellow, blue, red and white.  And it is very detailed and decorative.  There is so much going on in the temple that its hard to explain all the interior designs.  We watched the service, where they are dressed in white (some in blue, some in red and some in yellow also)… and they all kneel on the ground and bow at certain times, and in the back of the temple on the 2nd floor there is a group singing and playing music.  It’s interesting.  After the service, we were waiting outside for some to go to the bathroom and a man came up to me and Steph and started talking to us.  He was Vietnamese and had such good English!  And he was explaining the outside of the temple to us, and how apparently in one of the pillars at the top, there was a body of one of the followers I think.  He told us how he went to university and that was where he learned his English, but he is a motorbike taxi driver. 
After the temple, we drove about an hour to Cu Chi where we went to the Cu Chi tunnels.  The Viet Cong used the tunnels during the war and they lived down there.  When we got there we watched a movie that was the Vietnamese side of the war.  It was talking about many people from the town of Cu Chi and how they killed Americans and how many each one killed and how they were giving awards for doing it.  After that, we toured the area and we came to one place and our guide uncovered a trap door!  It was just chilling in the middle of the ground and it was covered by leaves and no one knew it was there.  I thought we were just stopping there to make sure everyone was with us until this guide took the lid off.  The guide then got in and showed how the Viet Cong had used it and you couldn’t even tell it was there when he disappeared into the ground.  It was insane!  Then we each tried it and I was hesitant at first because it was so tiny but I did it.  And it led down to a network of tunnels but all we did was go down and then pop right back up.  It smelled so bad down there.  Wow… sorry this is random but on my iTunes the song Turn! Turn! Turn! By the Byrds just came on.  And it reminds me of American Dreams and this song was playing when JJ left for the Vietnam War.  I remember stupid things like that.  But anyway!
After that, we walked around some more and saw all the different type of booby traps they used in the war and it was insane!  There were so many different types… ones that your foot would go through a nail and be stuck in a cage, some that you would fall through and land on bamboo spikes… just so many… and that was so upsetting because of course, behind the booby traps are paintings of American’s falling into each one and how it hurts them…granted the paintings were more cartoon-ish and not as realistic but it was still upsetting.  After that, we went to another station there and saw how they made weapons.  Then, we finally got to a network of tunnels and were able to climb through them.  It was 100 meters long (you could stop at any set of steps during that 100 meters and get out) and it was sooooo small and dark and I got a little claustrophobic but I did all 100 meters of it!  I was luckily behind a girl with a flashlight so me and Steph stayed close to her.  After that, you could shoot guns at the shooting range if you wanted.  I chose not to because that is not something I am interested in.  I just thought it was so weird too that your at this war memorial type place yet they encourage you to go shoot AK 47s and all.  After people shot guns, we just went back to the bus and came back to the ship around 5ish.  I was EXHAUSTED after that day.  OH!  And by the way.. my stupid camera broke!  I was looking at pictures on the bus before we got to the temple… and then when I turned my camera on to take pictures the screen was completely black!  It still takes pictures but I just can’t see what I’m taking pictures of.  It s such a bummer because I still have like 2 months left and no camera!  But I plan on being a very skilled photographer by the end of the trip.  Haha. 
But I must go.  I’m going to an explorer seminar that Neha is in and it is about arranged marriages which I’m excited to learn about!  Wow, I sounded like a nerd right there.