There are 10 foreign countries on our itinerary for this voyage and Japan was our last country before heading back home to the States. Right now we are on our way to the beautiful islands of Hawaii and if all the other students are feeling the same as I am then they are able recognize that the voyage is coming to an end as we are winding down to our last port with Hawaii in sight. Before embarking on this journey, people would ask me what countries I am visiting and I could answer by simply saying the names of the countries but I must admit that I could not point out exactly where every country was on a map. It goes much deeper than that now. I am fortunate enough to the extent that I have met and made friends with people from each of these 10 amazing countries and I can say that these interactions have opened my eyes to things that otherwise would have gone unseen. I believe that I am wiser, experienced, more tolerant, and proud to say, worldly. The latter of these terms can be ambiguous. I believe that it is only after seeing, experiencing, and immersing oneself into multiple cultures that vary greatly from your own is one able to fully appreciate the weight of this term. After this voyage, the world seems so small now and I can fully comprehend my insignificance in this world. At the same time that doesn’t mean that my insignificance should stay this way. There are many ways we can help people and sometimes it’s as easy as saying hello. In Japan it sounded like this…“Konichiwa.” As a sign of thank you, the Japanese would bow their heads, Indians would shake their heads side to side, and South Africans would handshake with a snap at the end. There are many ways to communicate the same thing and learning these kinds of things was very fun for me. A Vietnamese phrase that embodies this is “same same, but different.”
Japan, the home of future hall-of-famer Ichiro, was yet another favorite stop for me. In hindsight, it probably IS my favorite (I know I’ve said this about nearly every port, but I mean it this time!). The people there are just amazing; they are so eager to help and even go out of their way to do so. I’m not talking about one instance we asked for directions, I’m talking about every time. We would reluctantly ask someone for help and on one occasion, where a man didn’t seem to know where our destination was, he got out his phone, called a friend, and relayed the information to us in broken English and hand motions. This was followed by a big smile and multiple bows. On another occasion we were lost in the subway station and asked a woman for guidance. We pulled out our map and pointed to where we wanted to go, a light bulb went off in her head as she pointed her finger in the air in understanding. She gestured us to follow her and briskly guided us to our station, which was clearly out of her way. There are many examples this sense of generosity.
Our ship arrived in Kobe on the 19th of November. We had no plans for the day so we walked to a place where we were told was a large mall and completed a little sightseeing. Our first order of business was to get some food and some wanted to try Kobe beef. Well we came across a place and found that a dish of Kobe beef would cost us over $100. And that’s just the beef. No potatoes or salads with it, just a $100 slab of beef cooked to perfection and placed on a plate. I guess the cilantro on top was the appetizer. So we ditched that place and found some Japanese sushi. I’m not a fan but I had to try it. After eating we walked around the mall a little bit and came across a Japanese arcade and multiple specialized anime figurine stores. We spent nearly an hour on this floor, it was quite entertaining. Upon walking out of the mall we saw a poster for Harry Potter and the date read Nov. 19. Opening Day! We had some preconceived notion that it wouldn’t come out in Japan until we were already on our way to Hawaii. We were very excited and practically ran to the theatre to purchase our tickets. That night after a dinner and a movie, a group of us went out to a club to celebrate Myndi’s 21st birthday, which was at midnight. The club we went to was a small little place and was crowded with SAS students, but they had great music, friendly locals, and good drinks. The next morning Myndi, Ari and I woke up and had to catch a flight to Tokyo. Luckily the airport was only a subway station away. Japan has some of the best public transportation in the world. The subways and trains are so easily accessible and safe that it makes the taxi services jack up their prices because the public transportation is used so frequently. Upon getting off our plane, we had no reservations at hotels so we asked someone where the best and cheapest place to stay would be. We soon find out that the man we’re talking to was the pilot of the place that just brought us here. He got on his Iphone and found listings that seemed reasonably priced. We arrived at this city and for the life of us we could not find a hotel that wasn’t booked. It was a Saturday and weekends in Tokyo are absolutely hectic. Every major hotel every weekend is booked. To make a long story short, after hours and hours of walking through the streets and getting turned down at Hotel after Hotel, we taxied to an Internet café which sported individual rooms and couches with free internet. It was quite an experience as you can imagine. The man at the front was very friendly and guided us to our “rooms.” I learned that when traveling you can’t be bogged down by unfortunate scenarios, you have to make the most of what you have and enjoy it. At the time, we thought, “this is just ridiculous that we’re doing this” but in hind sight I’m really glad we did it because it was that entire night was an experience to say the least.
Very tired and very groggy, the three of us awoke and quickly booked a hotel in downtown Tokyo so as to not make the same mistake twice. We trained to a town called Goyabacho and found a relatively cheap hotel to stay at for the next two nights. We spent the day walking around and enjoying our new surroundings; soaking up Tokyo. Myndi had to take her GRE test for grad school the next day so Ari and I spent most of the day and night trying new things and meeting cool people at night. We watched some sumo wrestling before heading out for the night. Everywhere we walked, we felt underdressed as about 90% of the people wore freshly pressed suits. And the people who weren’t wearing suits had a great sense of style. We went to a bar and spoke for a couple hours to a group of Japanese girls who had actually studied in Tacoma this past summer. It was fun to find some common ground in which to communicate with. The next day we celebrated Myndi’s completion of her GRE and went out to Shibuya – this is where the worlds largest intersection is…you’ve probably seen this area in movies as it resembles Times Square. Walking under the lights and past thousands of people was crazy. Some people still wore suits at night while others just looked classy. The Japanese know how to dress! Shibuya Street was one of my favorite developed places of the trip. I can definitely see myself making a trip back there. We came across a Dart bar and had to check it out. This place was like a stadium of Darts, so many games going at once. We played a couple games and decided it was time to see what else this area had to offer. After a great night of bar hopping, arcade playing, club dancing, we decided to call it quits and head home. The next day our ship was leaving from Yokohama so we had to catch a train there from Tokyo. Unfortunately, we had to leave this great place. With our bags packed, we got off in Yokohama and got directions to the port. She told us it was a long walk but we didn’t believe her and decided to walk anyway. Besides, we wanted to see the sights. Well, as you can imagine it turned into a very long walk especially with the extra weight of our backpacks on our shoulders. My whole time in Japan, I wanted to go see a baseball game but unfortunately it was not baseball season. But we came across the Yokohama baseball stadium and there was a convention of some sort there. We walked in, grabbed a pamphlet and a postcard, and continued on our way. The stadium seemed like a minor league stadium but the Yokohama Baystars seemed to have a significant fan base. People kind of stared at us white guys as we walked by (they must have known I was a championship pitcher back in my prime). (: Tired legged and somewhat exhausted, we finally arrived to our ship and put our down our bags for the last time in a foreign country. It was a sad realization but a happy one too because we knew that our homesickness would soon be alleviated. I continue to miss everybody so much and I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. By the sounds of things the company seemed great and I regret not being there. Well, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing I wasn’t there because all the food would have been on my plate if I was there. Hawaii is on tap for us next, which after all that we have seen, seems like a vacation. My final papers, presentations, and tests are soon coming to an end. Only two and a half weeks until I’m home for good. Can’t wait to see you all! Hang in there and I’ll talk to everybody soon.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
China
Hey everybody,
Today was our first day of classes since returning from China. I of course had a test today, but I think it went well. I also have a paper due tomorrow. It seems that between every port – where lately we have had only a couple days of class – I have a test or a paper that is due with only a little amount of time to study for. But I guess the teachers have no choice when they have to stick to such a tight schedule. It’s hard to complain about school though when this has truly has been the trip of a lifetime. I can say that China has probably been my favorite port. As interesting and eye-opening as Africa was, with its myriad of cultures and complex history as the Motherland, I am attracted to foreign (yet western) more developed areas. The Chinese dress so well too! Hong Kong was our first stop in China and the view from the ship looking out towards the hundreds of skyscrapers was captivating. I have never been to New York, but I would picture Hong Kong as a more condensed New York City. I only spent one night in Hong Kong, but at least I was able to see the building that Batman jumped off of in the Dark Night. A group of us spent the day taking a ferry ride to the mainland and walking around, experiencing the city and taking in the sights and sounds. We came across a bar district and made sure that we would all come back that night. Sure enough, later that night we taxied to the district where we found a large group of SASers in each bar interacting with the locals. Towards the end of the night we all converged to one club where SAS seemed to take over. Needless to say, it was a fun night.
The next morning I had to get up early, pack my bags, and head out for Beijing on my last SAS trip. This one was simply titled Beijing that consisted of a 4-day city tour. Other groups hiked the Great Wall for 3 days and actually slept on it in 30 below weather. Lets just say the jacket and glove industry in Beijing was booming for a couple days. Our first order of business in Beijing, even before our arrival to our hotel, was to participate in a home stay where a host family took us in for dinner and cooked us a family style Chinese dinner. Upon getting off the bus, all 40-50 of us on this trip were ushered into 2 person bicycle rickshaws where they supplied us with blankets. Driving through town, seeing Chinese style buildings adjacent to lakes with overhanging sycamore trees was an incredible first impression of the remarkable Chinese architecture and immediate culture. The wife who cooked us dinner with her sister did not speak any English so our incredible tour guide (named David but sounded like Davey when he said his own name) acted as an interpreter. After our delicious meal the wife pulled out some paintings that her husband had made and displayed her husbands works of art. He is a renowned artist and actually won an award in 2008 for his works.
That night I was lucky enough to have a single room at the hotel. Originally I did have a roommate but he stayed on the ship for personal reasons. I sure hope he didn’t sleep in because that would be a terrible excuse to miss a trip like this one. The next morning we first went to the Forbidden City and then to Tien’men Square, which is right outside the Forbidden City. Inside the City, when crossing through thresholds men had to step through with their left foot and women had to step through with their right foot. This is said to keep the bad spirits out and for good luck. The Forbidden City is the largest museum in the world, although I would hardly call it a museum even though they did have galleries scattered about. Eventually, after walking through the “gardens of prosperity” we came to the spacious center of the City and I could only picture ancient armies lined up leading the way for the Emperor to walk through. I’m not sure if that’s exactly what they were used for but I let my imagination wander and it was a cool sight to picture. Walking out of the Forbidden City, we came out where the famous portrait of Mao Zedong (Tse-Tung) hung. While we were standing there taking pictures of it, locals in front of us would get down on one knee and take pictures of us, it was pretty funny. Tien’men Square, home of the student protests from only a couple decades ago, was also a nice touristy thing to see. It is the largest square in the world. There was a traffic light off in the distance and our tour guide David told us that was the exact spot where the famous picture of the student holding his hand up in front of the tank was taken. After seeing these famous landmarks, we went to an orphanage school where one man started recruiting kids off the streets and began caring for them and teaching them in some old buildings that they now call their home. The kids ages ranged from 12 to 18, but I would say that most of them were around 15. Upon our entry they stood in lines and high-fived us all in a line as we walked in. We felt like celebrities they were so excited to see us, and we them. The kids showed us their living quarters, their lunchroom, the music room and some classrooms. They only had the bare minimum yet they seemed to not mind one bit; most were proud to show us where they slept. I walked into the music room and a young kid was playing the drums. After some time of listening I asked him if I could play. With a nod and a smile he sat up and gave me his drumsticks. I mashed away and when I was done his smile was wider and he excitedly sat back down to practice some more. We then played some tug-of-war with the large group of students (who were much stronger than they appeared). We then came across a large white wall with a silhouette of some drawings all over it. We all took turns painting in the pictures and when it was finished it was one big masterpiece that will be left with the kids forever. This was special. When it was not my turn to paint, I played basketball with some of the students and it eventually turned into a game of 4 on 8. You can guess who had 8. It was like a team of Shaqs against a lot of energetic Gary Paytons. This was very fun, maybe one of the most extraordinary experiences of my trip. As we were leaving, all the students lined up and sang us a farewell song in mandarin as we waved goodbye. One student who we were playing basketball with came up and gave me a hug goodbye.
The next day we woke up early again with fresh happy memories from the day before and got even more excited knowing that we would be hiking the Great Wall of China. We took a long bus to the Wall, towards the base of the Wall I woke up from my nap and looked outside to experience one of the most beautiful car heads I have ever been in. I wasn’t even on the wall yet and yet was amazed by my surroundings. We took a trolley up to the wall and walked around for about 2 hours. The Great Wall was everything I was hoping it to be. It is simply that, just a Wall; but you can picture Mongolians coming through the hills and crashing with the Great Wall centuries ago. Even when we looked off into the distance towards the surrounding mountains we could still see a distant winding snake-like wall making its way through the mountainous hills. Possibly the best part about the wall was the toboggan ride down. I felt like I was in the Olympics as I sped past trees down this zigzag course on my little 3-foot long cart. This was soo much fun, at least up until the point you reached the slow person in front of you and had to slow down enough in order gain some more distance between him. It is no wonder why the Great Wall is a wonder of the world, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Chairman Mao once said “you are not a real man until you have seen the Great Wall with your own eyes.”
The next day was full of shows and plays. We first went to a Kung Fu school where some of the students prepared a show for us, showing off their talents they learned at school. They were quite amazing and fun to watch. After the show some taught us some moves. I know kung fu now so you all better not mess with me! Or else. It was that night that we saw a Chinese flying acrobatic show. The show reminded me of Cirque Du Soleil. Consisted of contortionists, balancing acts, amazing gymnastics, spinning plates, 10+ people on a bicycle, etc. It was quite amazing. In short, China was amazing. I really enjoyed my time there and I can definitely see myself going back there in the near future. Everyone there dressed so nice so I’ll come back with some fashion tips for you all. Soon I will be arriving in Tokyo and it will be my last visited foreign country on the voyage. It’s Myndi’s birthday on the 20th so we’ll be celebrating then in Kobe (after a nice Kobe beef meal of course). Then it’ll be off the Tokyo where I have heard only good things – except that it is very expensive. I’m sure I’ll see some cutting edge electronics which I’m excited for. And who knows, maybe I’ll even try some puffer fish or live squid, so many options! I miss everybody so much and will be seeing you all very soon, a little over 3 weeks to be exact. I can’t believe its almost over!
Today was our first day of classes since returning from China. I of course had a test today, but I think it went well. I also have a paper due tomorrow. It seems that between every port – where lately we have had only a couple days of class – I have a test or a paper that is due with only a little amount of time to study for. But I guess the teachers have no choice when they have to stick to such a tight schedule. It’s hard to complain about school though when this has truly has been the trip of a lifetime. I can say that China has probably been my favorite port. As interesting and eye-opening as Africa was, with its myriad of cultures and complex history as the Motherland, I am attracted to foreign (yet western) more developed areas. The Chinese dress so well too! Hong Kong was our first stop in China and the view from the ship looking out towards the hundreds of skyscrapers was captivating. I have never been to New York, but I would picture Hong Kong as a more condensed New York City. I only spent one night in Hong Kong, but at least I was able to see the building that Batman jumped off of in the Dark Night. A group of us spent the day taking a ferry ride to the mainland and walking around, experiencing the city and taking in the sights and sounds. We came across a bar district and made sure that we would all come back that night. Sure enough, later that night we taxied to the district where we found a large group of SASers in each bar interacting with the locals. Towards the end of the night we all converged to one club where SAS seemed to take over. Needless to say, it was a fun night.
The next morning I had to get up early, pack my bags, and head out for Beijing on my last SAS trip. This one was simply titled Beijing that consisted of a 4-day city tour. Other groups hiked the Great Wall for 3 days and actually slept on it in 30 below weather. Lets just say the jacket and glove industry in Beijing was booming for a couple days. Our first order of business in Beijing, even before our arrival to our hotel, was to participate in a home stay where a host family took us in for dinner and cooked us a family style Chinese dinner. Upon getting off the bus, all 40-50 of us on this trip were ushered into 2 person bicycle rickshaws where they supplied us with blankets. Driving through town, seeing Chinese style buildings adjacent to lakes with overhanging sycamore trees was an incredible first impression of the remarkable Chinese architecture and immediate culture. The wife who cooked us dinner with her sister did not speak any English so our incredible tour guide (named David but sounded like Davey when he said his own name) acted as an interpreter. After our delicious meal the wife pulled out some paintings that her husband had made and displayed her husbands works of art. He is a renowned artist and actually won an award in 2008 for his works.
That night I was lucky enough to have a single room at the hotel. Originally I did have a roommate but he stayed on the ship for personal reasons. I sure hope he didn’t sleep in because that would be a terrible excuse to miss a trip like this one. The next morning we first went to the Forbidden City and then to Tien’men Square, which is right outside the Forbidden City. Inside the City, when crossing through thresholds men had to step through with their left foot and women had to step through with their right foot. This is said to keep the bad spirits out and for good luck. The Forbidden City is the largest museum in the world, although I would hardly call it a museum even though they did have galleries scattered about. Eventually, after walking through the “gardens of prosperity” we came to the spacious center of the City and I could only picture ancient armies lined up leading the way for the Emperor to walk through. I’m not sure if that’s exactly what they were used for but I let my imagination wander and it was a cool sight to picture. Walking out of the Forbidden City, we came out where the famous portrait of Mao Zedong (Tse-Tung) hung. While we were standing there taking pictures of it, locals in front of us would get down on one knee and take pictures of us, it was pretty funny. Tien’men Square, home of the student protests from only a couple decades ago, was also a nice touristy thing to see. It is the largest square in the world. There was a traffic light off in the distance and our tour guide David told us that was the exact spot where the famous picture of the student holding his hand up in front of the tank was taken. After seeing these famous landmarks, we went to an orphanage school where one man started recruiting kids off the streets and began caring for them and teaching them in some old buildings that they now call their home. The kids ages ranged from 12 to 18, but I would say that most of them were around 15. Upon our entry they stood in lines and high-fived us all in a line as we walked in. We felt like celebrities they were so excited to see us, and we them. The kids showed us their living quarters, their lunchroom, the music room and some classrooms. They only had the bare minimum yet they seemed to not mind one bit; most were proud to show us where they slept. I walked into the music room and a young kid was playing the drums. After some time of listening I asked him if I could play. With a nod and a smile he sat up and gave me his drumsticks. I mashed away and when I was done his smile was wider and he excitedly sat back down to practice some more. We then played some tug-of-war with the large group of students (who were much stronger than they appeared). We then came across a large white wall with a silhouette of some drawings all over it. We all took turns painting in the pictures and when it was finished it was one big masterpiece that will be left with the kids forever. This was special. When it was not my turn to paint, I played basketball with some of the students and it eventually turned into a game of 4 on 8. You can guess who had 8. It was like a team of Shaqs against a lot of energetic Gary Paytons. This was very fun, maybe one of the most extraordinary experiences of my trip. As we were leaving, all the students lined up and sang us a farewell song in mandarin as we waved goodbye. One student who we were playing basketball with came up and gave me a hug goodbye.
The next day we woke up early again with fresh happy memories from the day before and got even more excited knowing that we would be hiking the Great Wall of China. We took a long bus to the Wall, towards the base of the Wall I woke up from my nap and looked outside to experience one of the most beautiful car heads I have ever been in. I wasn’t even on the wall yet and yet was amazed by my surroundings. We took a trolley up to the wall and walked around for about 2 hours. The Great Wall was everything I was hoping it to be. It is simply that, just a Wall; but you can picture Mongolians coming through the hills and crashing with the Great Wall centuries ago. Even when we looked off into the distance towards the surrounding mountains we could still see a distant winding snake-like wall making its way through the mountainous hills. Possibly the best part about the wall was the toboggan ride down. I felt like I was in the Olympics as I sped past trees down this zigzag course on my little 3-foot long cart. This was soo much fun, at least up until the point you reached the slow person in front of you and had to slow down enough in order gain some more distance between him. It is no wonder why the Great Wall is a wonder of the world, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Chairman Mao once said “you are not a real man until you have seen the Great Wall with your own eyes.”
The next day was full of shows and plays. We first went to a Kung Fu school where some of the students prepared a show for us, showing off their talents they learned at school. They were quite amazing and fun to watch. After the show some taught us some moves. I know kung fu now so you all better not mess with me! Or else. It was that night that we saw a Chinese flying acrobatic show. The show reminded me of Cirque Du Soleil. Consisted of contortionists, balancing acts, amazing gymnastics, spinning plates, 10+ people on a bicycle, etc. It was quite amazing. In short, China was amazing. I really enjoyed my time there and I can definitely see myself going back there in the near future. Everyone there dressed so nice so I’ll come back with some fashion tips for you all. Soon I will be arriving in Tokyo and it will be my last visited foreign country on the voyage. It’s Myndi’s birthday on the 20th so we’ll be celebrating then in Kobe (after a nice Kobe beef meal of course). Then it’ll be off the Tokyo where I have heard only good things – except that it is very expensive. I’m sure I’ll see some cutting edge electronics which I’m excited for. And who knows, maybe I’ll even try some puffer fish or live squid, so many options! I miss everybody so much and will be seeing you all very soon, a little over 3 weeks to be exact. I can’t believe its almost over!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Singapore & Vietnam
In remembrance...
I did write to you today about Andre and the past few days, but when we are on our SAS email for too long it automatically logs you out. So I spent a long time giving a detailed description and tried to send it but forgot about the allotted time limit and a screen came up telling me “user limit exceeded.” I became disheartened given the content of the email and I just couldn’t write it all over and relive it again at the time. But now I’ll try again and hopefully it’s as good as the first. I’m feeling better about Andre but the constant grim atmosphere on the ship makes it hard to overcome while the wounds are still fresh. Nonetheless, my group of friends is a source of support as we are helping each other alleviate the pain. Two days ago we held a ceremony for Andre to celebrate his life on the ship, which proved to be a positive event. Many people bought suits in Vietnam. Andre liked to look good when going out so we all wore our newly purchased suits in memory of him. The ceremony began with some selected readings from the Quran, Torah, and Bible. Then a couple of his closest friend came up and told a few stories about Andre: his ever-present positive aura, his ability to light up a room with his hyenaesque laugh, and his constant care-free attitude. As they were taking turns saying these things through teary eyes, I remember recalling to myself that he was all of this and more. Desmond Tutu then came up and led us in prayer. Following Father Tutu’s speech was a slideshow of submitted pictures and memories of Andre accompanied with his favorite techno beats. I constantly had to wipe my eyes to fully see the next set of pictures. This entire ordeal has been one of the most emotional times of my life. It really made me think about the relationships around me and to not take the small things in life for granted, which I believe is what makes the journey of life unforgettable. Then the Captain came up and told us what was going to happen next. We rarely see the Captain but his confident, proud Slovakian voice is familiar to us through the intercom. He came up with a shaky voice and teary eyes, he was not the same confident Captain we were accustomed to. He broke my heart as he spoke because he seemed be to taking it quite hard. He told us that we were to walk out of the Union where we would each be given a flower and continue to walk to the back of the ship, say a personal prayer, and let go of the flower in to the ocean. Walking out of the Union, not a word was said. Our ears still rang with Andre’s favorite techno as all 700 or so people on board walked slowly in a line to the back. Comforting hugs were given constantly over the soft sobs and sniffles. In recent memory I have never experienced such a morbid atmosphere, yet, seeing that it was a celebration of Andre’s life it was a combination of sorrow and joyful memories. All in all, I believe this ceremony helped to ease some of the recent pain as it offered a sense of closing. Andre and I shared a class together and seeing that he was one of the first people I met on this voyage, he was faint friend of mine. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Singapore & Vietnam....
So far on this voyage, Singapore has proved to be the most westernized country yet. We spent one day on the small Island of Mauritius (which was spent hiking to a waterfall and participating in some cliff jumping) and Singapore is about 1/3 of the size of Mauritius. If I recall correctly it is about 14 miles N to S and 24 miles E to W. Singapore is home to a very low birth rate and is actually urging young, educated people - mainly from the UK – to come live there. Most of the people who come to Singapore are on vacation and are looking for some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful land. It even has a Hollywood Studios theme park and cable cars for enjoyment. Myndi called it “Singaworld” as in a large country sized Disneyworld. I unfortunately do not have pictures from Singapore because the night before our arrival, I was uploading my pictures from India to my computer and forgot to charge my camera overnight. To get out of the port we had to go through a mall, which was actually pretty cool. Once they cleared our passports off the ship, we were welcomed by a three story mall with all kinds of stores and restaurants. When I walked out of the mall and gave my camera to someone to take a picture of me, she held it up and told me that the screen was blank. Hopefully I can get some pictures from the public folder. I spent the day with some friends – Ari, Kahlil, Myndi, Elliot, Jenna, Ben, and Christina – eating the local food and taking the public transit to places (Singapore actually has some of the best public transit in the world, probably because a $20,000 Toyota Camry in the US would cost nearly $90,000 in Singapore). My main event for the day was to go the Singapore Zoo. I heard it was supposed to be one of the best zoos in the world and believe me, it was. Some people broke off to go to the adjacent botanical gardens and didn’t want to spend the $18 it cost to get in. But I was to hell with that, I am most definitely going to this Zoo! Ben, Ari, and I bought tickets and walked around the entire Zoo, which took about 3+ hours if we were constantly moving. This place had the works: Australian outback, African safari, worlds best bird park, white tigers, ancient giant tortoises, a million different monkeys including Orangutans and Chimps - which we sat and watched in amusement to rest our legs, etc. etc. Everything. It made my day haha. And they had a Leopard which I saw up close to complete my viewing of the African Big 5 (Lion, Elephant, Water Buffalo, Rhino, and the elusive Leopard). That night we went out to a cool bar area on the water called Clark’s Quay and drank the famous Singapore Sling, among others. Singapore was a lot of fun and a great segway into East Asia. It gave us a taste of the Asian culture but still somewhat reminded us of home in a way.
After Singapore we had only a day or two between Vietnam and spent most of my time planning and preparing for Nam. Vietnam is probably my favorite stop so far; it offered a balanced sense of chaos and order. Chaos in the sense that the streets are absolutely ridiculous (motorbikes everywhere you look, groups of twenty in between every car) and order in the way that they made it work. You could practically cross the street whenever you wanted but the constant traffic made it difficult at first. We then realized that the bikers are respectfully aware of you even though it may not seem like it. One could probably cross the street blindfolded and not disrupt the moving traffic one bit while not getting hit. It was also yet another vastly different country from what I’m used to, which I love immersing myself in. The majority of people wore those hospital operating masks over their mouths, but these ones were made of cotton and decorated in style. I first thought that people wore them in order to not inhale the hazy air, but I was told later that they wore them to keep from getting sun and to stay pale, which is seen as a sign of beauty. Either way, they were prevalent and ordinary.
The first day was spent walking to a hotel that Jenna had booked ahead of time, and we did not want her to go out alone. She was meeting her boyfriend from the States who was going to stay for the duration of the trip until we had to leave for China. Even though it wasn’t a short walk, I really enjoyed it because we got to see the way of the land and see things we wouldn’t necessarily see by taxi. Getting lost and disoriented on the way, we finally found the hole in the wall hotel where Jenna dropped her stuff off and afterwards we all went out for dinner. I tried Pho for the first time early during this summer and fell in love with it. Pho is a Vietnamese dish and I had it every possible meal I could. I think some got a little irritated by me always wanting Pho for every meal. Oh well, when in Vietnam.
The second day I left early for an SAS trip called Mekong Delta Explorer. This trip was great, and even though we didn’t really do that much in our three days on the Mekong Delta, the sights and sounds alone made it worthwhile. One of my favorite trips so far. We took a bus from the ship to a small boat where we all sat on cushions made from straw sitting on folding chairs in a single file line on both sides of the boat. I sat in the back so I could have a full 180 degrees of picture taking abilities. This “river” was amazing. I believe it touches through 6 different countries including Laos, Burma, Vietnam, among others. The water was brown but that did not stop the people from doing their laundry in it, cleaning their bowls and chopsticks in it, cleaning their hair and bathing in it, fishing and eating from it; It appeared to act somewhat of a lifeline to the people who lived around it, both on land and on boat. We stopped at a floating market where our guide showed us how rice paper was made, how toffee candies were made and packed in rice paper, and how rice popcorn was made with a buttery paste that reminded me of rice krispie treats. All of these were made manually and each more delicious than the last. It was great because chickens were walking around at our feet, puppies playing together, and kittens swiping at anything that moved. There was a lot going on. From the floating markets we went to a school and watched Vietnamese children around the age of 10 doing their “morning exercises” which consisted of the teacher pacing in the back shouting things every 10 seconds or so while the single file lined children would change exercises at the sound of his voice. These kids loved our presence and laughed at everything. We did not stay too long because I think that we were disrupting the ones that were in lessons inside. From there we walked to a fruit market and got back on our boat. We took a ride through the Delta again and reached a peaceful canal where we arrived to our house on stilts. We stayed the night here, with the boys all in one room and the girls all in another. It felt like camp. It was a fun night of games, lounging in hammocks, eating, and chatting. For dinner there was a musical show of three stringed instruments (only one of which I recognized to be a guitar) and two singers, a male and female. They sang in Vietnamese of a love story about a city man and a country girl falling in love. After the show most of us crawled into our cots, pulled our nets down over our bodies to keep the bugs out, and went to sleep to the sounds of crickets and chirping birds. Sitting in this bed, wide awake, listening to the night sounds and thinking about where I was, gave me surreal feeling which put a smile on my face.
We were all awoken by the sound of a helicopter outside our window. It was not actually a helicopter but it was louder than one. An early morning boat with a huge muffler was heading out for the day and passing our house, surely waking everybody up in the process. That day we went to a couple of Vietnamese Monk Temples and chilled with a few Monks as they practiced their English on us. This was also an unbelievable experience. They had to cut our conversation short as it was time for them to pray. They went into the Temple and welcomed us in after them. They sat on their knees at an angle facing a large female Buddha (the one with short spiked hair and long ear lobes) and began to hum sounds in unison. I stood in the back of the room and found myself lost in the sights and sounds as their hums tranced me into a carefree sense illusion. That night we had a huge catered dinner on a large boat that went out onto the water. We sat on the top deck which welcomed a great view of the buildings colorful lights reflecting off the water. Halfway through our meal I get up to go to the bathroom and guess who I see sitting at the table right next to us… my eye doctor Chris Barry! I was shocked and amazed and went over to say hello to Chris and his wife and their company. We were almost too shocked to say anything except to share our pleasant surprise. Mom and Dad, if they haven’t done so already, I’m RSVPing for them to the Christmas party! Haha! Karaoke (which is big in Vietnam) was also going on, and in case being on a moving boat for a catered dinner in Vietnam wasn’t enough, Karaoke gave us an additional form of entertainment. Eventually by the end of the night a group of us went up there and sang Build Me Up Buttercup to a techno beat that totally had the wrong rhythm for the song. Thankfully the Barry’s had already left at this point. After we finished we walked back to our table in the back with every Vietnamese persons head turning to stare at us as we passed. All we could do was smile and acknowledge the few cheers that were sent our way. This was very fun, and very funny.
Vietnam has made me excited for China and I can’t wait to arrive in two days. I have a trip planned to see the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, an Acrobatic Show, and other unforgettable things that are only adding to my list of wonder. With the recent tragic incident on board, many people have been in a state of frozen numbness and as we complete our journey we will surely be thinking of Andre and completing it for him as joins us spiritually. He would want us to continue to have the time of our lives, and those of us who had spent time with him know that he would have made sure of that. Those of you who have emailed me, thank you so much for that and it’s a blessing to have so many people thinking of me while I’m abroad. I love you all so much and I can’t wait to see your faces again. Keep Andre and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they work through this unfathomably tough time. Talk to you all after China.
I did write to you today about Andre and the past few days, but when we are on our SAS email for too long it automatically logs you out. So I spent a long time giving a detailed description and tried to send it but forgot about the allotted time limit and a screen came up telling me “user limit exceeded.” I became disheartened given the content of the email and I just couldn’t write it all over and relive it again at the time. But now I’ll try again and hopefully it’s as good as the first. I’m feeling better about Andre but the constant grim atmosphere on the ship makes it hard to overcome while the wounds are still fresh. Nonetheless, my group of friends is a source of support as we are helping each other alleviate the pain. Two days ago we held a ceremony for Andre to celebrate his life on the ship, which proved to be a positive event. Many people bought suits in Vietnam. Andre liked to look good when going out so we all wore our newly purchased suits in memory of him. The ceremony began with some selected readings from the Quran, Torah, and Bible. Then a couple of his closest friend came up and told a few stories about Andre: his ever-present positive aura, his ability to light up a room with his hyenaesque laugh, and his constant care-free attitude. As they were taking turns saying these things through teary eyes, I remember recalling to myself that he was all of this and more. Desmond Tutu then came up and led us in prayer. Following Father Tutu’s speech was a slideshow of submitted pictures and memories of Andre accompanied with his favorite techno beats. I constantly had to wipe my eyes to fully see the next set of pictures. This entire ordeal has been one of the most emotional times of my life. It really made me think about the relationships around me and to not take the small things in life for granted, which I believe is what makes the journey of life unforgettable. Then the Captain came up and told us what was going to happen next. We rarely see the Captain but his confident, proud Slovakian voice is familiar to us through the intercom. He came up with a shaky voice and teary eyes, he was not the same confident Captain we were accustomed to. He broke my heart as he spoke because he seemed be to taking it quite hard. He told us that we were to walk out of the Union where we would each be given a flower and continue to walk to the back of the ship, say a personal prayer, and let go of the flower in to the ocean. Walking out of the Union, not a word was said. Our ears still rang with Andre’s favorite techno as all 700 or so people on board walked slowly in a line to the back. Comforting hugs were given constantly over the soft sobs and sniffles. In recent memory I have never experienced such a morbid atmosphere, yet, seeing that it was a celebration of Andre’s life it was a combination of sorrow and joyful memories. All in all, I believe this ceremony helped to ease some of the recent pain as it offered a sense of closing. Andre and I shared a class together and seeing that he was one of the first people I met on this voyage, he was faint friend of mine. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Singapore & Vietnam....
So far on this voyage, Singapore has proved to be the most westernized country yet. We spent one day on the small Island of Mauritius (which was spent hiking to a waterfall and participating in some cliff jumping) and Singapore is about 1/3 of the size of Mauritius. If I recall correctly it is about 14 miles N to S and 24 miles E to W. Singapore is home to a very low birth rate and is actually urging young, educated people - mainly from the UK – to come live there. Most of the people who come to Singapore are on vacation and are looking for some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful land. It even has a Hollywood Studios theme park and cable cars for enjoyment. Myndi called it “Singaworld” as in a large country sized Disneyworld. I unfortunately do not have pictures from Singapore because the night before our arrival, I was uploading my pictures from India to my computer and forgot to charge my camera overnight. To get out of the port we had to go through a mall, which was actually pretty cool. Once they cleared our passports off the ship, we were welcomed by a three story mall with all kinds of stores and restaurants. When I walked out of the mall and gave my camera to someone to take a picture of me, she held it up and told me that the screen was blank. Hopefully I can get some pictures from the public folder. I spent the day with some friends – Ari, Kahlil, Myndi, Elliot, Jenna, Ben, and Christina – eating the local food and taking the public transit to places (Singapore actually has some of the best public transit in the world, probably because a $20,000 Toyota Camry in the US would cost nearly $90,000 in Singapore). My main event for the day was to go the Singapore Zoo. I heard it was supposed to be one of the best zoos in the world and believe me, it was. Some people broke off to go to the adjacent botanical gardens and didn’t want to spend the $18 it cost to get in. But I was to hell with that, I am most definitely going to this Zoo! Ben, Ari, and I bought tickets and walked around the entire Zoo, which took about 3+ hours if we were constantly moving. This place had the works: Australian outback, African safari, worlds best bird park, white tigers, ancient giant tortoises, a million different monkeys including Orangutans and Chimps - which we sat and watched in amusement to rest our legs, etc. etc. Everything. It made my day haha. And they had a Leopard which I saw up close to complete my viewing of the African Big 5 (Lion, Elephant, Water Buffalo, Rhino, and the elusive Leopard). That night we went out to a cool bar area on the water called Clark’s Quay and drank the famous Singapore Sling, among others. Singapore was a lot of fun and a great segway into East Asia. It gave us a taste of the Asian culture but still somewhat reminded us of home in a way.
After Singapore we had only a day or two between Vietnam and spent most of my time planning and preparing for Nam. Vietnam is probably my favorite stop so far; it offered a balanced sense of chaos and order. Chaos in the sense that the streets are absolutely ridiculous (motorbikes everywhere you look, groups of twenty in between every car) and order in the way that they made it work. You could practically cross the street whenever you wanted but the constant traffic made it difficult at first. We then realized that the bikers are respectfully aware of you even though it may not seem like it. One could probably cross the street blindfolded and not disrupt the moving traffic one bit while not getting hit. It was also yet another vastly different country from what I’m used to, which I love immersing myself in. The majority of people wore those hospital operating masks over their mouths, but these ones were made of cotton and decorated in style. I first thought that people wore them in order to not inhale the hazy air, but I was told later that they wore them to keep from getting sun and to stay pale, which is seen as a sign of beauty. Either way, they were prevalent and ordinary.
The first day was spent walking to a hotel that Jenna had booked ahead of time, and we did not want her to go out alone. She was meeting her boyfriend from the States who was going to stay for the duration of the trip until we had to leave for China. Even though it wasn’t a short walk, I really enjoyed it because we got to see the way of the land and see things we wouldn’t necessarily see by taxi. Getting lost and disoriented on the way, we finally found the hole in the wall hotel where Jenna dropped her stuff off and afterwards we all went out for dinner. I tried Pho for the first time early during this summer and fell in love with it. Pho is a Vietnamese dish and I had it every possible meal I could. I think some got a little irritated by me always wanting Pho for every meal. Oh well, when in Vietnam.
The second day I left early for an SAS trip called Mekong Delta Explorer. This trip was great, and even though we didn’t really do that much in our three days on the Mekong Delta, the sights and sounds alone made it worthwhile. One of my favorite trips so far. We took a bus from the ship to a small boat where we all sat on cushions made from straw sitting on folding chairs in a single file line on both sides of the boat. I sat in the back so I could have a full 180 degrees of picture taking abilities. This “river” was amazing. I believe it touches through 6 different countries including Laos, Burma, Vietnam, among others. The water was brown but that did not stop the people from doing their laundry in it, cleaning their bowls and chopsticks in it, cleaning their hair and bathing in it, fishing and eating from it; It appeared to act somewhat of a lifeline to the people who lived around it, both on land and on boat. We stopped at a floating market where our guide showed us how rice paper was made, how toffee candies were made and packed in rice paper, and how rice popcorn was made with a buttery paste that reminded me of rice krispie treats. All of these were made manually and each more delicious than the last. It was great because chickens were walking around at our feet, puppies playing together, and kittens swiping at anything that moved. There was a lot going on. From the floating markets we went to a school and watched Vietnamese children around the age of 10 doing their “morning exercises” which consisted of the teacher pacing in the back shouting things every 10 seconds or so while the single file lined children would change exercises at the sound of his voice. These kids loved our presence and laughed at everything. We did not stay too long because I think that we were disrupting the ones that were in lessons inside. From there we walked to a fruit market and got back on our boat. We took a ride through the Delta again and reached a peaceful canal where we arrived to our house on stilts. We stayed the night here, with the boys all in one room and the girls all in another. It felt like camp. It was a fun night of games, lounging in hammocks, eating, and chatting. For dinner there was a musical show of three stringed instruments (only one of which I recognized to be a guitar) and two singers, a male and female. They sang in Vietnamese of a love story about a city man and a country girl falling in love. After the show most of us crawled into our cots, pulled our nets down over our bodies to keep the bugs out, and went to sleep to the sounds of crickets and chirping birds. Sitting in this bed, wide awake, listening to the night sounds and thinking about where I was, gave me surreal feeling which put a smile on my face.
We were all awoken by the sound of a helicopter outside our window. It was not actually a helicopter but it was louder than one. An early morning boat with a huge muffler was heading out for the day and passing our house, surely waking everybody up in the process. That day we went to a couple of Vietnamese Monk Temples and chilled with a few Monks as they practiced their English on us. This was also an unbelievable experience. They had to cut our conversation short as it was time for them to pray. They went into the Temple and welcomed us in after them. They sat on their knees at an angle facing a large female Buddha (the one with short spiked hair and long ear lobes) and began to hum sounds in unison. I stood in the back of the room and found myself lost in the sights and sounds as their hums tranced me into a carefree sense illusion. That night we had a huge catered dinner on a large boat that went out onto the water. We sat on the top deck which welcomed a great view of the buildings colorful lights reflecting off the water. Halfway through our meal I get up to go to the bathroom and guess who I see sitting at the table right next to us… my eye doctor Chris Barry! I was shocked and amazed and went over to say hello to Chris and his wife and their company. We were almost too shocked to say anything except to share our pleasant surprise. Mom and Dad, if they haven’t done so already, I’m RSVPing for them to the Christmas party! Haha! Karaoke (which is big in Vietnam) was also going on, and in case being on a moving boat for a catered dinner in Vietnam wasn’t enough, Karaoke gave us an additional form of entertainment. Eventually by the end of the night a group of us went up there and sang Build Me Up Buttercup to a techno beat that totally had the wrong rhythm for the song. Thankfully the Barry’s had already left at this point. After we finished we walked back to our table in the back with every Vietnamese persons head turning to stare at us as we passed. All we could do was smile and acknowledge the few cheers that were sent our way. This was very fun, and very funny.
Vietnam has made me excited for China and I can’t wait to arrive in two days. I have a trip planned to see the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, an Acrobatic Show, and other unforgettable things that are only adding to my list of wonder. With the recent tragic incident on board, many people have been in a state of frozen numbness and as we complete our journey we will surely be thinking of Andre and completing it for him as joins us spiritually. He would want us to continue to have the time of our lives, and those of us who had spent time with him know that he would have made sure of that. Those of you who have emailed me, thank you so much for that and it’s a blessing to have so many people thinking of me while I’m abroad. I love you all so much and I can’t wait to see your faces again. Keep Andre and his family in your thoughts and prayers as they work through this unfathomably tough time. Talk to you all after China.
India
Like it is with every port, I awoke in India to the disembodied voice over the intercom telling us “we are now welcoming the “x” sea (each floor and section of the ship is designated a “sea” to which we can be identified by. My sea is the Red Sea) to receive your passports and do the face-to-face diplomatic briefing in the Glazer Lounge.” Once I realized that this voice was not part of my dream and in fact reality, I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and walked the three steps it takes to get to my bathroom to shower and wake up in preparation for the adventure that was India. Knowing that it would be hot and muggy – not to mention smelly – I dressed accordingly and headed straight to the Glazer Lounge, which was originally a bar/dance floor but SAS turned it into the “Teacher’s Lounge.” I walked in, received my stamp and walked out ready to meet up with my friends. We walked down the Gangway where a long line of SASers was awaiting us. After an hour or two we finally got through security and jumped on a couple Indian rickshaws. These rickshaws were fun. They consisted of a three-wheeled motorbike with a big box around it, accompanied with three small seats in the back. These rickshaws were fun yet scary; the drivers are gutsy and crazy and I’m actually quite surprised we didn’t get in a crash. It would take forever for the driver to finally succumb and take you to your final destination. They told us they were taking us to a “cheap” store of Indian handicrafts and goods, but in the end we realized that they get commission for taking us to certain shops. That’s why it takes so long to get where you wanted because the driver would take us to these stores where we did not necessarily want to go to and after awhile it just became one after another. I didn’t mind going to these places because we didn’t really have any other plans and I believe it was an experience, but some of the others did not feel so inclined to oblige by the drivers desires and became a little cranky. I urged them to keep their spirits up; after all, we were in India. Soon we arrived to our destination, Spencer’s Plaza, and began shopping for many of the same goods we just saw but at a lower price. Spencer’s was a giant mall (more of an indoor market than a mall) with narrow hallways down the sides that gave the mall an added maze-like quality. All of India seemed to be a maze; because of all the people (population of about 1 billion) it made it difficult to get around. There were people literally everywhere. In addition to a rather unstable government, an enormous population that is affected by a caste system left countless of people homeless and poor. The meager life style was palpable by many and the more traveling I did it became rather prevalent.
I signed up for an SAS trip to see the Taj Mahal, which left on our third day in India. We had to catch a flight from Chennai (formerly Madras) to Agra early in the morning. Our group met in the Union (our largest classroom) and left by bus in preparation for a 45-minute bus ride to the airport. By the time we reached the airport the sun was barely visible on the horizon. With sleepy eyes and tired legs we walked through the already crowded airport with eyes following us everywhere we went (Indians like to stare. Even if you look back at them they will continue to stare. To some this became bothersome, but to me I knew that they were only doing this because we look so different than the vast majority of the population. But still, when you catch the eyes of someone and smile to him or her and don’t receive a smile back it can become a little unnerving). When we arrived in Agra, another bus was awaiting our arrival to take us to our hotel. A two hour bus ride may seem like a long time, but when you are sitting there listening to your favorite music and looking out into a foreign land as if to study it, two hours goes by quite fast. Driving along the countryside made it clear to see how India’s major sector is agriculture. Our bus had to stop once in order to not hit a crossing cow. Cows are holy in India and many have the ability to literally do whatever they want. A cow walking along the side of the street became a common site as the trip went on. We arrived at our hotel just in time for a late lunch, which actually felt more like dinner. We had the evening to ourselves and walked around the area a little bit with rickshaw drivers haggling us everywhere we went. They would follow us but in order to not fall into the same trap we told them that we would just walk this time. We eventually went back to the hotel as the sun was setting went to the roof and sat in the viewing terrace to chat and learn things about our new friends with the silhouette of the barely visible Taj Mahal off in the distance. We went to bed knowing that we would see that grand structure early the next morning.
I awoke to a 5 am wake up call and crawled out of the refreshingly fluffy bed and made my way to the lobby. We arrived to the Taj Mahal parking lot at around 6:00, where more “hawkers” awaited our arrival and bombarded us as we walked off our bus that was adorned with a large “TOURIST” sign over the front glass. We walked to the back of the line while avoiding people trying to sell us dangles (Indian bracelets) and magnets. There was a large, grand entrance building that you have to pass through to get to the Taj Mahal. As you walk up to this entrance, the distant Taj Mahal comes into sight; I began to walk faster. Wide-eyed and anxious, I passed through this entrance building and stood in awe as my jittery legs came to a halt before the gardens that lay in front of this magnificent masterpiece. I felt like I was looking at a postcard, yet at the same time pictures do not do it’s beauty justice. We spent about an hour walking around the gardens and taking pictures from different angles and viewpoints. I would try and try again to take a picture that would personify its splendor, but in the end only a few would come close to representing its warranted brilliance. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical and made entirely out of white marble. Its amazing how something so big and beautifully complex was made in the 17th century. As the story goes, the Taj Mahal was made by Emperor Shah Shajan and built for his wife, Taj Mahal. They had 14 kids together and on her death bed she had a few wishes for him, two of which I remember. One of them was to never love another again, and the second was to build her a lovely tomb to remember her by. And thus the Taj Mahal was built. In fact, the only thing that is not symmetrical in the tomb is the white marble coffin of Shah Shajan resting next to his beloved wife in the center of the structure. There was also a mosque built to the left of the Taj and in order maintain the symmetry, a “guest house” was built to the right of the Taj with the same exact dimensions. During our sunrise visit, we did not have enough time to go inside the Taj but we made another visit that night where we were fortunate enough to see the inside. I was expecting something grand because the outside was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. But the inside was simply a dark tomb with giant ceilings, beautiful nonetheless. Between our visits to the Taj, we saw the Agra Fort, which welcomed a distant view of the Taj across a giant river. We also stopped at a white marble factory and saw how Indian semi-precious gems were embossed into white marble. This store was adorned with many gorgeous tables and small little handicrafts with each being more coveted than the last. My trip to the Taj Mahal was an amazing experience that I believe is reason enough to make a visit to India.
After one more day of seeing Agra, we left for Delhi and stayed in the nicest hotel I have ever had the pleasure to stay in. It was quite an odd feeling staying there because the whole time in India we constantly saw poor and underprivileged people walking the streets and begging for money or food. One time on the rickshaw, we were stopped in traffic and a mother no older than 15 yrs old was carrying her infant child and with her free hand was gesturing towards her open mouth asking for food. This was just a weird experience staying in this 5-star hotel knowing that there were people outside who had never slept in a proper bed in their lives. At the buffet I looked around and noticed that every person eating there was wearing a suit. I asked the people at my table, “how many of the people staying here do you think are here for business or for vacation?” We looked around and only noticed one couple who appeared to be on vacation. A resounding “business” was the response. My last day in India we had a large group and rather than getting in rickshaw this time, we got a large taxi where all 7 of us were able to fit. As we drove off, our driver pulled down a screen and started playing a Bollywood movie that depicted a robot saving a damsel in distress and right when the movie was starting to get good (it was quite entertaining, reminded me a little of Terminator) as the robot’s creators began to use him as a weapon, we had to get out in order to make it to our on-ship time. At least I got to see part of a Bollywood film! I thought that India was an incredible experience and I can totally see it becoming a powerful player in the world economy in the near future. With it huge population and driven people (all of the rickshaw drivers I met had a college degree) I will not be surprised when I hear about India making strides towards a greater economy.
The ports are coming quite rapidly now and it seems that we had no time between India and Singapore, only a couple class days. Singapore was a great place that I will write about after Vietnam, but we were there for only day (a good day at that: Halloween) which made it hard to fully appreciate all that it has to offer. We left Singapore yesterday and will be arriving in Vietnam tomorrow morning. I’m really excited for Nam and I can’t wait to eat pho everyday! I’ll talk to everybody soon and I love you all!
I signed up for an SAS trip to see the Taj Mahal, which left on our third day in India. We had to catch a flight from Chennai (formerly Madras) to Agra early in the morning. Our group met in the Union (our largest classroom) and left by bus in preparation for a 45-minute bus ride to the airport. By the time we reached the airport the sun was barely visible on the horizon. With sleepy eyes and tired legs we walked through the already crowded airport with eyes following us everywhere we went (Indians like to stare. Even if you look back at them they will continue to stare. To some this became bothersome, but to me I knew that they were only doing this because we look so different than the vast majority of the population. But still, when you catch the eyes of someone and smile to him or her and don’t receive a smile back it can become a little unnerving). When we arrived in Agra, another bus was awaiting our arrival to take us to our hotel. A two hour bus ride may seem like a long time, but when you are sitting there listening to your favorite music and looking out into a foreign land as if to study it, two hours goes by quite fast. Driving along the countryside made it clear to see how India’s major sector is agriculture. Our bus had to stop once in order to not hit a crossing cow. Cows are holy in India and many have the ability to literally do whatever they want. A cow walking along the side of the street became a common site as the trip went on. We arrived at our hotel just in time for a late lunch, which actually felt more like dinner. We had the evening to ourselves and walked around the area a little bit with rickshaw drivers haggling us everywhere we went. They would follow us but in order to not fall into the same trap we told them that we would just walk this time. We eventually went back to the hotel as the sun was setting went to the roof and sat in the viewing terrace to chat and learn things about our new friends with the silhouette of the barely visible Taj Mahal off in the distance. We went to bed knowing that we would see that grand structure early the next morning.
I awoke to a 5 am wake up call and crawled out of the refreshingly fluffy bed and made my way to the lobby. We arrived to the Taj Mahal parking lot at around 6:00, where more “hawkers” awaited our arrival and bombarded us as we walked off our bus that was adorned with a large “TOURIST” sign over the front glass. We walked to the back of the line while avoiding people trying to sell us dangles (Indian bracelets) and magnets. There was a large, grand entrance building that you have to pass through to get to the Taj Mahal. As you walk up to this entrance, the distant Taj Mahal comes into sight; I began to walk faster. Wide-eyed and anxious, I passed through this entrance building and stood in awe as my jittery legs came to a halt before the gardens that lay in front of this magnificent masterpiece. I felt like I was looking at a postcard, yet at the same time pictures do not do it’s beauty justice. We spent about an hour walking around the gardens and taking pictures from different angles and viewpoints. I would try and try again to take a picture that would personify its splendor, but in the end only a few would come close to representing its warranted brilliance. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical and made entirely out of white marble. Its amazing how something so big and beautifully complex was made in the 17th century. As the story goes, the Taj Mahal was made by Emperor Shah Shajan and built for his wife, Taj Mahal. They had 14 kids together and on her death bed she had a few wishes for him, two of which I remember. One of them was to never love another again, and the second was to build her a lovely tomb to remember her by. And thus the Taj Mahal was built. In fact, the only thing that is not symmetrical in the tomb is the white marble coffin of Shah Shajan resting next to his beloved wife in the center of the structure. There was also a mosque built to the left of the Taj and in order maintain the symmetry, a “guest house” was built to the right of the Taj with the same exact dimensions. During our sunrise visit, we did not have enough time to go inside the Taj but we made another visit that night where we were fortunate enough to see the inside. I was expecting something grand because the outside was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. But the inside was simply a dark tomb with giant ceilings, beautiful nonetheless. Between our visits to the Taj, we saw the Agra Fort, which welcomed a distant view of the Taj across a giant river. We also stopped at a white marble factory and saw how Indian semi-precious gems were embossed into white marble. This store was adorned with many gorgeous tables and small little handicrafts with each being more coveted than the last. My trip to the Taj Mahal was an amazing experience that I believe is reason enough to make a visit to India.
After one more day of seeing Agra, we left for Delhi and stayed in the nicest hotel I have ever had the pleasure to stay in. It was quite an odd feeling staying there because the whole time in India we constantly saw poor and underprivileged people walking the streets and begging for money or food. One time on the rickshaw, we were stopped in traffic and a mother no older than 15 yrs old was carrying her infant child and with her free hand was gesturing towards her open mouth asking for food. This was just a weird experience staying in this 5-star hotel knowing that there were people outside who had never slept in a proper bed in their lives. At the buffet I looked around and noticed that every person eating there was wearing a suit. I asked the people at my table, “how many of the people staying here do you think are here for business or for vacation?” We looked around and only noticed one couple who appeared to be on vacation. A resounding “business” was the response. My last day in India we had a large group and rather than getting in rickshaw this time, we got a large taxi where all 7 of us were able to fit. As we drove off, our driver pulled down a screen and started playing a Bollywood movie that depicted a robot saving a damsel in distress and right when the movie was starting to get good (it was quite entertaining, reminded me a little of Terminator) as the robot’s creators began to use him as a weapon, we had to get out in order to make it to our on-ship time. At least I got to see part of a Bollywood film! I thought that India was an incredible experience and I can totally see it becoming a powerful player in the world economy in the near future. With it huge population and driven people (all of the rickshaw drivers I met had a college degree) I will not be surprised when I hear about India making strides towards a greater economy.
The ports are coming quite rapidly now and it seems that we had no time between India and Singapore, only a couple class days. Singapore was a great place that I will write about after Vietnam, but we were there for only day (a good day at that: Halloween) which made it hard to fully appreciate all that it has to offer. We left Singapore yesterday and will be arriving in Vietnam tomorrow morning. I’m really excited for Nam and I can’t wait to eat pho everyday! I’ll talk to everybody soon and I love you all!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Adventures in Africa Part 4: South Africa
Hello everybody!
The ports just keep getting better and better! After a speech by Desmond Tutu the night before our arrival in South Africa, everyone on the ship was ecstatic to get off and see what South Africa had to offer. That was until the morning of our arrival, when the speaker from our diplomatic briefing scared the hell out of everyone. He began by telling us his experiences and how each and every day there was a new person in his office who had just been mugged. He guaranteed us all that “by the end your stay here in South Africa, at least one of you will have been to my office.” His demeanor was actually quite laughable; he told us about all of these recent stories concerning travelers getting robbed and/or beaten but while he was saying these things he said them with a smirk and so matter-of-factly. I looked around and people did not know whether to laugh or to genuinely be afraid.
With this guy’s stories in the back of our minds, we walked off the ship and remembered to be aware of our surroundings. However, through our immediate interactions and our surroundings (which was quite westernized) we all quickly learned that the diplomatic man was only trying to scare us into being careful and aware. The harbor was a very nice, industrialized place. There was a mall, an aquarium, restaurants, pubs, nighttime live music, etc. It was a welcoming area. It reminded me of a boardwalk in California or Miami. The only trouble that one may find would be to go to the outskirts of the area (which is night and day compared to the harbor) and see where many of the black South Africans live. I only briefly saw the “town” that some lived in on the bus ride to the airport for our Safari. It broke my heart to see these kinds of living conditions. Their homes consisted of tin and cardboard walls and no running water. Families would cram into a “house” that was smaller than the size of my room on the ship.
Walking off the ship you can still see remnants of the World Cup that was held in South Africa only months before. I really wanted to go to a soccer game at the stadium, but the closest game was to be held a few days after our departure. Even with no soccer game to see, Cape Town was simply amazing. There is so much to do there. Many people went hang gliding off of Lions Head peak, many went shark diving, and I’d say a good majority of the students on the ship went bungee jumping. The bungee jumping location was the tallest in the world. I probably would have done it myself if it did not cost as much as it did. Walking around the town, you can see Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain towering over its inhabitants. There are sometimes beautiful clouds that cover the top of the mountain which the locals refer to as its “table cloth” that is most definitely a sight to see. It is possible to hike to the top, so once we heard that this was an option we jumped on it. The walk was fairly difficult because each step was on rocks that were placed there, well, boulders more so than rocks. It took a little under two hours to reach the top and being immersed into the middle of a cloud we were all soaked due to the altitude and precipitation. At the top, one could not see twenty feet in any direction until the clouds momentarily dispersed. And when the clouds went away, right when you could see your surroundings, the table would get set again and the “table cloth” would once again haze your vision. There was a trolley at the top that went every half an hour so that once you reached the top you could easily take the trolley down and save your knees. However, lucky us, right when we found the trolley station through the thick fog, they told us it was too windy for usage so we had to walk back down. We could not feel our hands at the top but about an hour and a half later back at the bottom, the sun was brightly shining and our tired legs could finally rest. I believe it was our friend Ari who had the bright idea to walk back to the ship in order to save some money. Being at the base of a mountain and at a higher elevation than sea level we could see our port, but seeing it does not make it any closer. This post-mountain walk lasted another two-three hours and needless to say, a cold brew and warm meal really hit the spot once we reached port.
The second day Brian and I bought a ticket for one of those touristy hop-on hop-off buses so we could see Cape Town in its entirety. We stopped and grabbed a meal near a famous market called Green Square Market and did some “light” shopping after one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had. After a few hours of bargaining and haggling, we hopped back on the bus and went to a place called Camps Bay, which was behind Table Mountain. The houses that we passed looked straight out of Orange County, very nice to say the least. The situational living disparity was overwhelming after seeing the houses that some were living in and the shack towns that existed only minutes away. Even though the Apartheid is over, white South Africans are still much better off than the black South Africans. Driving past the houses, I peered into the windows to catch the interior and saw only white people. And when driving past the shack towns its occupants appeared to be 100% black. It was a very sad reality.
The third day, a group of 5 of us went to the wine country in Stellenbosch for a day of wine tasting and enjoyment. We got up early to catch the train and looking out the window you could gradually see the hills change from a westernized culture to a more poverty-stricken culture to hills of grapes and vineyards. It was a strikingly beautiful transformation. Getting off in Stellenbosch, we caught up with our tour bus just in time. The bus took us just a couple minutes away from the train station to our first stop at a winery called Simonsig where we met up with a group of about 25 or so. It was here where they told us how they age the wine, how it is stored, when they know it is ready, how to taste it, how to differentiate, etc. After this tour, they sat us down and gave us a sheet of various wine names – ranging from champagne to white to sweet to red to desert wines - and descriptions that made each wine sound better than the last. All in all we went to 4 different wineries, each advertising their own brand and one of them even featured cheese tasting which the cheese they made themselves. It was a great day of leisure and satisfaction as our teeth gradually stained scarlet. With what we thought to be our new-found sophistication, we hopped back on a train to Cape Town and awaited the arrival of the sunrise. What’s so special about the sunrise? Well, generally nothing other than its natural beauty, however, its not everyday that you wake up in Africa and get to go on a three day Safari. It is easy to picture an elephant, a giraffe, or even a rhino; because of their foreignness to the US these animals are commonly depicted and portrayed in many different ways. One could even go to the zoo and see them, even if it is in their pseudo environments. But let me tell you, watching these animals in their unfeigned environments is humbling and in many ways aesthetic. We took part in 2 safaris a day, one that consisted of a 5 AM wake-up call and one a couple hours after lunch. Each safari was something that I looked forward to and became more exciting with each one considering the things that we saw the last one. Our hotel, the Kapama Lodge, was really nice. The food was impeccable (best breakfasts ever) and the serenity of the environment was awesome. The safari animals were not our territory, we were in theirs. I was lucky enough to be one of the two to have their own rooms. After sleeping on a rocking ship with a roommate and constantly surrounding myself with company, a room to myself aided in the tranquility. Their were 4 safari cars each layered with stadium seating and Brian and I sat in the back each time with our International Business teacher who I consider as much of a friend as a teacher. Lets hope for an A! Our drivers name was Jefferey and our spotters name was Prem. Prem was the man, he could spot things a mile away and even got out of the car (which you can imagine is very dangerous) to track down the lions, which he did! He called on the intercom and we raced to where he was. A pride of 4 female lions awaited our arrival. They were on the move so we had to follow them through the bush and in doing so our driver took down small trees and made his own path. Jefferey was also the man. There were two “teenage” lions that would constantly play and smack each other in the face with their frying pan sized paws and “nibbled” at each other’s ears. If you want to picture it, picture oversized benji and daisy going at it with more swipes to the head. In addition to the lions, which was everyone’s favorite, we had close encounters with a herd of elephants and a one month old baby elephant. I could watch these giant bumbling beasts all day, they seemed so happy and playful. However a swing with their trunk could kill a man. I promise though one little one was showing off to us, he got on his hind legs and swung his trunk around as if he was saying, “look what I can do!” His mother came over and nudged him along. We also saw a large group of baboons in the distance, but they are very skittish and ran off the second we tried to approach.
I could keep describing these experiences in detail but I think some are best told in person, which will have to wait until I get back. I have some more midterms in a few days so I’ll be staying busy in the near future on the ship. For my classes there is not much homework which is great so the only outside class work is either studying for a test, writing a paper, or participating in a Faculty Directed Practica (FDP) that consists of a “field trip” at one of the countries on the itinerary. I miss everybody so much and think about you all daily. I loved hearing from some of you after my last email, I hope that you all get my response. Again feel free to email me at trvanderboegh@semesteratsea.net. Talk to you all soon!
The ports just keep getting better and better! After a speech by Desmond Tutu the night before our arrival in South Africa, everyone on the ship was ecstatic to get off and see what South Africa had to offer. That was until the morning of our arrival, when the speaker from our diplomatic briefing scared the hell out of everyone. He began by telling us his experiences and how each and every day there was a new person in his office who had just been mugged. He guaranteed us all that “by the end your stay here in South Africa, at least one of you will have been to my office.” His demeanor was actually quite laughable; he told us about all of these recent stories concerning travelers getting robbed and/or beaten but while he was saying these things he said them with a smirk and so matter-of-factly. I looked around and people did not know whether to laugh or to genuinely be afraid.
With this guy’s stories in the back of our minds, we walked off the ship and remembered to be aware of our surroundings. However, through our immediate interactions and our surroundings (which was quite westernized) we all quickly learned that the diplomatic man was only trying to scare us into being careful and aware. The harbor was a very nice, industrialized place. There was a mall, an aquarium, restaurants, pubs, nighttime live music, etc. It was a welcoming area. It reminded me of a boardwalk in California or Miami. The only trouble that one may find would be to go to the outskirts of the area (which is night and day compared to the harbor) and see where many of the black South Africans live. I only briefly saw the “town” that some lived in on the bus ride to the airport for our Safari. It broke my heart to see these kinds of living conditions. Their homes consisted of tin and cardboard walls and no running water. Families would cram into a “house” that was smaller than the size of my room on the ship.
Walking off the ship you can still see remnants of the World Cup that was held in South Africa only months before. I really wanted to go to a soccer game at the stadium, but the closest game was to be held a few days after our departure. Even with no soccer game to see, Cape Town was simply amazing. There is so much to do there. Many people went hang gliding off of Lions Head peak, many went shark diving, and I’d say a good majority of the students on the ship went bungee jumping. The bungee jumping location was the tallest in the world. I probably would have done it myself if it did not cost as much as it did. Walking around the town, you can see Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain towering over its inhabitants. There are sometimes beautiful clouds that cover the top of the mountain which the locals refer to as its “table cloth” that is most definitely a sight to see. It is possible to hike to the top, so once we heard that this was an option we jumped on it. The walk was fairly difficult because each step was on rocks that were placed there, well, boulders more so than rocks. It took a little under two hours to reach the top and being immersed into the middle of a cloud we were all soaked due to the altitude and precipitation. At the top, one could not see twenty feet in any direction until the clouds momentarily dispersed. And when the clouds went away, right when you could see your surroundings, the table would get set again and the “table cloth” would once again haze your vision. There was a trolley at the top that went every half an hour so that once you reached the top you could easily take the trolley down and save your knees. However, lucky us, right when we found the trolley station through the thick fog, they told us it was too windy for usage so we had to walk back down. We could not feel our hands at the top but about an hour and a half later back at the bottom, the sun was brightly shining and our tired legs could finally rest. I believe it was our friend Ari who had the bright idea to walk back to the ship in order to save some money. Being at the base of a mountain and at a higher elevation than sea level we could see our port, but seeing it does not make it any closer. This post-mountain walk lasted another two-three hours and needless to say, a cold brew and warm meal really hit the spot once we reached port.
The second day Brian and I bought a ticket for one of those touristy hop-on hop-off buses so we could see Cape Town in its entirety. We stopped and grabbed a meal near a famous market called Green Square Market and did some “light” shopping after one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had. After a few hours of bargaining and haggling, we hopped back on the bus and went to a place called Camps Bay, which was behind Table Mountain. The houses that we passed looked straight out of Orange County, very nice to say the least. The situational living disparity was overwhelming after seeing the houses that some were living in and the shack towns that existed only minutes away. Even though the Apartheid is over, white South Africans are still much better off than the black South Africans. Driving past the houses, I peered into the windows to catch the interior and saw only white people. And when driving past the shack towns its occupants appeared to be 100% black. It was a very sad reality.
The third day, a group of 5 of us went to the wine country in Stellenbosch for a day of wine tasting and enjoyment. We got up early to catch the train and looking out the window you could gradually see the hills change from a westernized culture to a more poverty-stricken culture to hills of grapes and vineyards. It was a strikingly beautiful transformation. Getting off in Stellenbosch, we caught up with our tour bus just in time. The bus took us just a couple minutes away from the train station to our first stop at a winery called Simonsig where we met up with a group of about 25 or so. It was here where they told us how they age the wine, how it is stored, when they know it is ready, how to taste it, how to differentiate, etc. After this tour, they sat us down and gave us a sheet of various wine names – ranging from champagne to white to sweet to red to desert wines - and descriptions that made each wine sound better than the last. All in all we went to 4 different wineries, each advertising their own brand and one of them even featured cheese tasting which the cheese they made themselves. It was a great day of leisure and satisfaction as our teeth gradually stained scarlet. With what we thought to be our new-found sophistication, we hopped back on a train to Cape Town and awaited the arrival of the sunrise. What’s so special about the sunrise? Well, generally nothing other than its natural beauty, however, its not everyday that you wake up in Africa and get to go on a three day Safari. It is easy to picture an elephant, a giraffe, or even a rhino; because of their foreignness to the US these animals are commonly depicted and portrayed in many different ways. One could even go to the zoo and see them, even if it is in their pseudo environments. But let me tell you, watching these animals in their unfeigned environments is humbling and in many ways aesthetic. We took part in 2 safaris a day, one that consisted of a 5 AM wake-up call and one a couple hours after lunch. Each safari was something that I looked forward to and became more exciting with each one considering the things that we saw the last one. Our hotel, the Kapama Lodge, was really nice. The food was impeccable (best breakfasts ever) and the serenity of the environment was awesome. The safari animals were not our territory, we were in theirs. I was lucky enough to be one of the two to have their own rooms. After sleeping on a rocking ship with a roommate and constantly surrounding myself with company, a room to myself aided in the tranquility. Their were 4 safari cars each layered with stadium seating and Brian and I sat in the back each time with our International Business teacher who I consider as much of a friend as a teacher. Lets hope for an A! Our drivers name was Jefferey and our spotters name was Prem. Prem was the man, he could spot things a mile away and even got out of the car (which you can imagine is very dangerous) to track down the lions, which he did! He called on the intercom and we raced to where he was. A pride of 4 female lions awaited our arrival. They were on the move so we had to follow them through the bush and in doing so our driver took down small trees and made his own path. Jefferey was also the man. There were two “teenage” lions that would constantly play and smack each other in the face with their frying pan sized paws and “nibbled” at each other’s ears. If you want to picture it, picture oversized benji and daisy going at it with more swipes to the head. In addition to the lions, which was everyone’s favorite, we had close encounters with a herd of elephants and a one month old baby elephant. I could watch these giant bumbling beasts all day, they seemed so happy and playful. However a swing with their trunk could kill a man. I promise though one little one was showing off to us, he got on his hind legs and swung his trunk around as if he was saying, “look what I can do!” His mother came over and nudged him along. We also saw a large group of baboons in the distance, but they are very skittish and ran off the second we tried to approach.
I could keep describing these experiences in detail but I think some are best told in person, which will have to wait until I get back. I have some more midterms in a few days so I’ll be staying busy in the near future on the ship. For my classes there is not much homework which is great so the only outside class work is either studying for a test, writing a paper, or participating in a Faculty Directed Practica (FDP) that consists of a “field trip” at one of the countries on the itinerary. I miss everybody so much and think about you all daily. I loved hearing from some of you after my last email, I hope that you all get my response. Again feel free to email me at trvanderboegh@semesteratsea.net. Talk to you all soon!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Adventures in Africa Part 2: Ghana
Let me tell you about Ghana…
Even though it’s the same walk every time, walking down the Gangway from the ship to land never gets old. Each time it’s like surfacing into a whole new world. Because each time, it IS a whole new world that is as exciting, if not more, than the last. Ghana was the second of three places in Africa that we have the pleasure of visiting, yet it was the first that actually felt like the Africa that one would picture. To me, Morocco felt more like a middle-eastern country than an African country. Not only did the people look more middle-eastern – maybe because of the large Muslim population – but the clay houses, the arid climate, and the interactions they had among each other were not as carefree and lighthearted as the Ghanaians. The people of Ghana blew my mind as to how friendly and welcoming they were, especially knowing that we as Americans are descendents of the very same people that enslaved them a couple centuries ago. At the other end of the spectrum, maybe they are so responsive to us is because Americans and Ghanaians were both dependent on the British and now are Independent countries. Further yet, maybe their friendliness is simply due to the visible differences in the people. I learned quickly that the more different you look to them, the more interested they are in you.
Walking down the Gangway - as is the same with every port - there was a long walk along the port to any imminent civilization. Our first order of business was to find an ATM. It took us awhile to find banks that worked for everyone, but once everyone had enough Cedi’s (Ghana Currency) we continued walking to a large market off in the distance. Along the way people would unconditionally welcome us and shake our hands. There is a cool handshake that seemed universal in Ghana that I need to bring home and show everyone. Many of the women would walk with large bowls balanced on their heads and at first we would try and give them a lot of space to walk past us but we soon realized that they are professionals at balancing things on their head and as courteous as it may seem, we did not need to give them that extra space (us tall people sometimes had to duck though because the straw – or whatever it may be – would stick out three feet on both sides of the bowl). Upon entering this open-aired market, the smell of dried fish and meat mixed with waste filled our nostrils. It was a tight squeeze to walk through the marketplace and the passing children would touch our pant legs. As we looked down they would simply smile and wave happily. Live giant snails and crabs would catch our attention but we could not stop and gaze at anything for too long because the people behind us had to get through. It was a constant current of passer byers and balanced bowls of produce.
The second day I had a trip that I registered for through SAS. Brian signed up for this same trip, called the Cape Coast Historical Tour. We were fortunate enough to meet many new people on this trip, where in the end there was a group of ten or so we could all call our close friends. The trip consisted of a visit to the Kakum National Park - where we entered the rainforest and took part in a canopy walk, an overnight stay at the Coconut Grove Hotel located on the beach, and visits to two different Castles on the Cape Coast where the British, Dutch, and Portuguese held Ghanaian slaves. The castles where incredibly eerie and gloomy, yet they made you proud of these people seeing what they once had to endure and what they’ve come through. It would be exceptionally easy for Ghanaians to hold a grudge against the people of their past, yet they continued to be the most kind, warm-hearted, worry-free people I may have ever met. It was a very sobering and refreshing trip. The canopy walk was very cool. It rained the second we got off the bus and stopped the second we got back on. I guess they don’t call it a rainforest for nothing. And it wasn’t just drizzling, it was pouring. The rickety bridges we walked across were mostly made of rope and one plank of wood below our feet. Below the planks was a 140 ft. drop to the top of the canopy. With our raingear on and hoods over our heads, we each took hesitant turns to grab the ropes and walk across the 7+ bridges that were there. The night at the hotel, we had a nice buffet dinner consisting of bread, rice, and chicken and sauces that was very delicious. As the sun set behind the palm trees and beach, a group of Ghanaians started pounding on some drums. As the amount of drummers increased, three acrobatic dancers came out in grass skirts and started dancing before us. They were small yet incredibly strong. One of them even started playing with fire and eating balls of fire. Some of the things they were doing seemed straight out of Cirque Du Soleil. After the show, we walked to the beach where there was a giant bonfire. We all had a few drinks at the bar and brought our beers to the beach, sat in front of the fire and talked about life while watching the moonlit waves crash up against the shallow rock beds that littered the beach.
I wish I had more time to write about every little detail, because these experiences I just tried to explain only begin to scratch the surface. If people have specific questions about anything, please feel free to email me at trvanderboegh@semsteratsea.net I would love to hear from you.
You will hear again from me after South Africa. Some students are skydiving and going on a shark dive, whereas I’m only going on a 3 day African Safari, poor me. I love you all and stay classy!
Even though it’s the same walk every time, walking down the Gangway from the ship to land never gets old. Each time it’s like surfacing into a whole new world. Because each time, it IS a whole new world that is as exciting, if not more, than the last. Ghana was the second of three places in Africa that we have the pleasure of visiting, yet it was the first that actually felt like the Africa that one would picture. To me, Morocco felt more like a middle-eastern country than an African country. Not only did the people look more middle-eastern – maybe because of the large Muslim population – but the clay houses, the arid climate, and the interactions they had among each other were not as carefree and lighthearted as the Ghanaians. The people of Ghana blew my mind as to how friendly and welcoming they were, especially knowing that we as Americans are descendents of the very same people that enslaved them a couple centuries ago. At the other end of the spectrum, maybe they are so responsive to us is because Americans and Ghanaians were both dependent on the British and now are Independent countries. Further yet, maybe their friendliness is simply due to the visible differences in the people. I learned quickly that the more different you look to them, the more interested they are in you.
Walking down the Gangway - as is the same with every port - there was a long walk along the port to any imminent civilization. Our first order of business was to find an ATM. It took us awhile to find banks that worked for everyone, but once everyone had enough Cedi’s (Ghana Currency) we continued walking to a large market off in the distance. Along the way people would unconditionally welcome us and shake our hands. There is a cool handshake that seemed universal in Ghana that I need to bring home and show everyone. Many of the women would walk with large bowls balanced on their heads and at first we would try and give them a lot of space to walk past us but we soon realized that they are professionals at balancing things on their head and as courteous as it may seem, we did not need to give them that extra space (us tall people sometimes had to duck though because the straw – or whatever it may be – would stick out three feet on both sides of the bowl). Upon entering this open-aired market, the smell of dried fish and meat mixed with waste filled our nostrils. It was a tight squeeze to walk through the marketplace and the passing children would touch our pant legs. As we looked down they would simply smile and wave happily. Live giant snails and crabs would catch our attention but we could not stop and gaze at anything for too long because the people behind us had to get through. It was a constant current of passer byers and balanced bowls of produce.
The second day I had a trip that I registered for through SAS. Brian signed up for this same trip, called the Cape Coast Historical Tour. We were fortunate enough to meet many new people on this trip, where in the end there was a group of ten or so we could all call our close friends. The trip consisted of a visit to the Kakum National Park - where we entered the rainforest and took part in a canopy walk, an overnight stay at the Coconut Grove Hotel located on the beach, and visits to two different Castles on the Cape Coast where the British, Dutch, and Portuguese held Ghanaian slaves. The castles where incredibly eerie and gloomy, yet they made you proud of these people seeing what they once had to endure and what they’ve come through. It would be exceptionally easy for Ghanaians to hold a grudge against the people of their past, yet they continued to be the most kind, warm-hearted, worry-free people I may have ever met. It was a very sobering and refreshing trip. The canopy walk was very cool. It rained the second we got off the bus and stopped the second we got back on. I guess they don’t call it a rainforest for nothing. And it wasn’t just drizzling, it was pouring. The rickety bridges we walked across were mostly made of rope and one plank of wood below our feet. Below the planks was a 140 ft. drop to the top of the canopy. With our raingear on and hoods over our heads, we each took hesitant turns to grab the ropes and walk across the 7+ bridges that were there. The night at the hotel, we had a nice buffet dinner consisting of bread, rice, and chicken and sauces that was very delicious. As the sun set behind the palm trees and beach, a group of Ghanaians started pounding on some drums. As the amount of drummers increased, three acrobatic dancers came out in grass skirts and started dancing before us. They were small yet incredibly strong. One of them even started playing with fire and eating balls of fire. Some of the things they were doing seemed straight out of Cirque Du Soleil. After the show, we walked to the beach where there was a giant bonfire. We all had a few drinks at the bar and brought our beers to the beach, sat in front of the fire and talked about life while watching the moonlit waves crash up against the shallow rock beds that littered the beach.
I wish I had more time to write about every little detail, because these experiences I just tried to explain only begin to scratch the surface. If people have specific questions about anything, please feel free to email me at trvanderboegh@semsteratsea.net I would love to hear from you.
You will hear again from me after South Africa. Some students are skydiving and going on a shark dive, whereas I’m only going on a 3 day African Safari, poor me. I love you all and stay classy!
Adventures in Africa Part 1: Morocco
As part of our three stops in Africa, Morocco was the first and I had an amazing experience being part of and observing a culture that is vastly different from the life that I am accustomed to in the U.S. Our port was in Casablanca and there was about a half an hour walk to just get out of the port and into a busing street. A half an hour walk might not seem very long but in 100+ degree weather you become drenched in sweat the first couple of minutes. Directly getting off the ship you get a taste of the culture as there are taxi’s waiting outside to rip you off. Unless you want to pay a $10 dollar, 2 minute taxi ride, walking is your best bet. Once we got to the main street off the port there were a bunch more taxi drivers haggling you to get into their taxi’s. They would follow you down the street (for even a mile) as you walk away, asking if you would like a taxi ride. The phrase “no, thank you” does not mean anything to the locals in Morocco. Walking towards the Hassan Mosque II with the taxi drivers finally in the rear view mirror, we were able to soak up our surroundings while dodging traffic and also dodge some glaring eyes. The Hassan Mosque is the second largest mosque in the world (Mecca, being the largest) and the pictures that we took simply do not do it justice. Since we were not Muslim, we were not able to go inside but I got a peak of the interior and it was simply beautiful. I was even told it had a retractable roof (just like Safeco!). That night a group of us had dinner at the infamous Rick’s Café. We each had some Rosé wine to go along with our small-portioned meals. The movie “Casablanca” was playing on various TV’s throughout the restaurant and live piano music straight out of the movie.
The morning after, I met up with my friend Brian and his friend Emilio – who both go to Stanford – and the plan was to meet up with their friend from Stanford named Zeneb (Z for short) who is Moroccan had a house in Marrakesh. We met at the train station in Marrakesh where Z told us that in Morocco, time is relative; which we realized after our train was over an hour late. The hospitality that Z and her parents showed us was sobering. Z’s father, Abdel, is the main importer/exporter of Hyundai’s in Africa and also does many jobs on the side such as working in the fishing industry. Needless to say, his income was way beyond the vast majority of all of Morocco. We arrived to this house (it was actually their guest house) that was situated on a golf course, accompanied with a large yard and swimming pool. For every meal, their “maid” prepared us feasts that at the end of the our 3-day stay, I think I put on a few lbs because I wanted to be “polite” and try everything that was placed in front of me. Lets just say that this maid knew her way around a kitchen. Before going to bed, Adbel would ask us what time we thought we were going to get up in order to have the food out on the table in the morning when we walked down the cement spiral staircase leading to their main living room. After a late night in Marrakesh and early morning breakfast, Abdel arranged a driver to pick us up to take the three of us to the Atlas Mountains, which is the largest mountain range in all of Africa (Contrary to popular belief, Kilimanjaro is not a mountain but a volcano). After a three hour car ride up a snake-like road with mere inches between our car, passing cars, and the rock wall beside our car, we arrived at a small Berber Village. Our guide, also named Abdel, was half man-half goat. During the tough parts of the hike where we had to watch our footing, after a few steps and a couple of feet further we would look up and see Abdel way in the distance as we heard his Arabic singing faintly drift away with the gentle breeze that ever-so-slightly cooled us off. After about 2-3 hours of hiking we came across another village where Abdel said he had a surprise for us. We watched Abdel walk into a small, clay hut. We where hesitant to follow. The owner of the house greeted us as he gestured to have a seat in a room on the side, which was adorned with small sleeping mats and a few pillows (we found out later that this was the room where the whole family slept). He came in with a table and some Moroccan tea (very sweet mint tea) and two bowls of assorted nuts that we could tell were straight from the village. As I just started to enjoy the nuts, he took the bowls away and came back with a large loaf of bread, 2 plates of egg, and 3 bowls of dipping sauce – a Moroccan sauce, honey, and oil. As we were eating, Abdel made small talk with the owner of the house, while Brian, Emilio, and I looked at each other with thoughts of “-is this okay to eat? –man, this is delicious, -I can’t believe were having lunch in a Berber village, etc.” His children would peak through the doorway and laugh and run away as we made eye contact with them. As I was sitting in that small, padded room with a fresh cup of tea in my hand while watching the children peer into the room and run away giggling, I thought to myself that this sure was an experience of a lifetime.
The next day we spent most of our time in the markets, attempting to barter with the shopkeepers to get the lowest possible price for something that we will never have to chance to purchase again. Even if I had no intention of buying something, I would let the shopkeepers who all say “looking is free, come into my shop” grab my attention and practice my bartering skills. Something that started out at 500 Dirhams (Moroccan currency), I would try to get to 100-200 Dirhams. Often times you can get what you want because if you think it’s a bad deal and walk away, they will immediately give in and drop the price a ridiculous amount. I wonder how many people buy those things at asking price. And who really knows how much the things they sell are really worth?
I could go on and on about the cultural differences, the greediness of the poor, the hospitality of the rich, the dodging of traffic (which has a culture of its own), the Muslim religion and Call to Prayer, the disparity between men and women, but that’s for another time. I do have a lot of reading to catch up on, a paper to write, and tests to study for. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you all and wonder how you are all doing. I can’t wait to see everybody and give you hugs of worldly comfort. Much love and I will write again soon after Ghana which is sure to be yet another eye-opening experience. Love you All!
The morning after, I met up with my friend Brian and his friend Emilio – who both go to Stanford – and the plan was to meet up with their friend from Stanford named Zeneb (Z for short) who is Moroccan had a house in Marrakesh. We met at the train station in Marrakesh where Z told us that in Morocco, time is relative; which we realized after our train was over an hour late. The hospitality that Z and her parents showed us was sobering. Z’s father, Abdel, is the main importer/exporter of Hyundai’s in Africa and also does many jobs on the side such as working in the fishing industry. Needless to say, his income was way beyond the vast majority of all of Morocco. We arrived to this house (it was actually their guest house) that was situated on a golf course, accompanied with a large yard and swimming pool. For every meal, their “maid” prepared us feasts that at the end of the our 3-day stay, I think I put on a few lbs because I wanted to be “polite” and try everything that was placed in front of me. Lets just say that this maid knew her way around a kitchen. Before going to bed, Adbel would ask us what time we thought we were going to get up in order to have the food out on the table in the morning when we walked down the cement spiral staircase leading to their main living room. After a late night in Marrakesh and early morning breakfast, Abdel arranged a driver to pick us up to take the three of us to the Atlas Mountains, which is the largest mountain range in all of Africa (Contrary to popular belief, Kilimanjaro is not a mountain but a volcano). After a three hour car ride up a snake-like road with mere inches between our car, passing cars, and the rock wall beside our car, we arrived at a small Berber Village. Our guide, also named Abdel, was half man-half goat. During the tough parts of the hike where we had to watch our footing, after a few steps and a couple of feet further we would look up and see Abdel way in the distance as we heard his Arabic singing faintly drift away with the gentle breeze that ever-so-slightly cooled us off. After about 2-3 hours of hiking we came across another village where Abdel said he had a surprise for us. We watched Abdel walk into a small, clay hut. We where hesitant to follow. The owner of the house greeted us as he gestured to have a seat in a room on the side, which was adorned with small sleeping mats and a few pillows (we found out later that this was the room where the whole family slept). He came in with a table and some Moroccan tea (very sweet mint tea) and two bowls of assorted nuts that we could tell were straight from the village. As I just started to enjoy the nuts, he took the bowls away and came back with a large loaf of bread, 2 plates of egg, and 3 bowls of dipping sauce – a Moroccan sauce, honey, and oil. As we were eating, Abdel made small talk with the owner of the house, while Brian, Emilio, and I looked at each other with thoughts of “-is this okay to eat? –man, this is delicious, -I can’t believe were having lunch in a Berber village, etc.” His children would peak through the doorway and laugh and run away as we made eye contact with them. As I was sitting in that small, padded room with a fresh cup of tea in my hand while watching the children peer into the room and run away giggling, I thought to myself that this sure was an experience of a lifetime.
The next day we spent most of our time in the markets, attempting to barter with the shopkeepers to get the lowest possible price for something that we will never have to chance to purchase again. Even if I had no intention of buying something, I would let the shopkeepers who all say “looking is free, come into my shop” grab my attention and practice my bartering skills. Something that started out at 500 Dirhams (Moroccan currency), I would try to get to 100-200 Dirhams. Often times you can get what you want because if you think it’s a bad deal and walk away, they will immediately give in and drop the price a ridiculous amount. I wonder how many people buy those things at asking price. And who really knows how much the things they sell are really worth?
I could go on and on about the cultural differences, the greediness of the poor, the hospitality of the rich, the dodging of traffic (which has a culture of its own), the Muslim religion and Call to Prayer, the disparity between men and women, but that’s for another time. I do have a lot of reading to catch up on, a paper to write, and tests to study for. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you all and wonder how you are all doing. I can’t wait to see everybody and give you hugs of worldly comfort. Much love and I will write again soon after Ghana which is sure to be yet another eye-opening experience. Love you All!
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