Last day on the ship!

Hello everyone!
Sorry I didn't get to share stories of China Taiwan and Hawaii, but I can just tell you all in PERSON! I can't believe that we will be porting in the San Diego Harbor tomorrow, very bittersweet. I am so excited to see everyone but I am going to miss being in a new country every week. Love you all, thanks for following me around the World, right back to home sweet home. Hope you stayed classy San Diego, see you tomorrow :)

Singapore & Vietnam

Hello Family and Friends!

We are currently working our way back into American waters; we will reach Hilo, Hawaii on Sunday. We are currently docked in Honolulu, but can’t get off the ship, we are merely refueling, such a tease! I am busy with tons of schoolwork, essays, journals and finals right around the corner! (I actually had my first final today!) I am also trying my best to post a few last blogs before making it to San Diego on the 24th. I realize that I have yet to blog about Singapore, Vietnam, all of China and Taiwan. So I will try to just highlight some of the best parts of the last month of traveling. I will start with Singapore and Vietnam and hopefully post a blurb about China and Taiwan a little later.

SINGAPORE:

Singapore we were only there for a day so it was hard to get an idea of the culture and city there. The city was extremely clean and once we walked off the ship you would look out on the skyline to see all of these amazing buildings and architecture.

We went to this lunch market where you go around to the different booths and buy noodles there, buy fresh exotic fruits somewhere else, and sautéed vegetables and chicken another place. Needless to say it was delicious and I really enjoyed the set up, being able to look at this wide variety of foods and pick one dish from each. This was in Chinatown, and after lunch we went to little India. After a little while in little India we went to the main downtown area and shopped. I was so happy because we happened to stroll upon a MEXICAN FOOD RESTURANT! We had dinner and a few Coronas there, nacho, guacamole, and burritos oh my!


VIETNAM:

I absolutely fell IN LOVE with Vietnam. The city was bustling with motorcycles, European backpackers, and beautiful Vietnamese citizens. Saigon (also known as Ho Chi Minh City) was extremely urban and had so much going on including an amazing market, delicious Pho, and the backpacker’s district. I bought more movies and TV series than I know what to do with, all for under $30!

I took a trip to Nha Trang through Semester at Sea, which was about an hour plane ride from Saigon. It is a beach community that has recently been discovered by big name hotels such as Marriott, there is one being build! Nha Trang was absolutely gorgeous, light colored sand, turquoise waters, kind people, and it didn’t hurt to have a brewery a few steps from our hotel! We went out snorkeling one of the days, to one of the many nearby islands strung across the coastline of Nha Trang. The coral reef was so amazing full of colorful fish and a wide variety of corals. Once our trip to Nha Trang came to an end we flew back to Saigon, after a delay of course. The last day we spent in Saigon we went on an SAS trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple. The Cu Chu Tunnels were what the Vietnamese used to fight against the US in the Vietnam War. It was fascinating to hear some history of the war from the Vietnamese point of view and learn about how they had to live and fight from underground dirt tunnels. It was an extremely eye-opening experience. The temple was really spectacular also. We were lucky enough to see be in the temple during a worshiping ceremony. I look forward to taking another trip to Vietnam sometime soon.

So that’s the short and sweet version of my time in Singapore and Vietnam. China and Taiwan still to come, but for now, I need to get ready for my LAST PORT ☹ Hawaii!

India

So I realize that it has been a month since my visit to India but I thought that I would try to post a few last blogs before arriving to San Diego on April 24th. It is unbelievable to me how fast these past few months have gone by, but I guess that’s what happens when you sail to a new foreign country every week.

So lets talk India. It was one of the most spectacular cultures I have ever been exposed to. The streets are crowded with women in colorful saris, families of 4 to 5 on a motorcycle, and yellow rickshaws. I saw several temples, some of which carved and chipped away from huge boulders. I was amazed by the Hinduism religion; it was so breathtaking to see these masses of people worshiping the temples while learning a bit about the background of the religion. I also had the opportunity to visit a rural village, where we were carted around the large village by a couple of bulls pulling a wooden flatbed on wheels. We toured people’s homes, the small school house, and the coconut plantation where we watched a man climb up the tree and cut us down fresh coconuts to drink and eat. We learned all about the production of rice and I even had the opportunity to roll up my pants and climb into the food deep water and mud of the rice patties and assisted the women in planting the rice! It was an amazing day and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to be exposed to the rural life of India.

While in India I did a service project where we went to one of the poorest schools in the Chennai area to play with the kids and learn a bit about the school systems. The school ranged from kindergarten to 12th grade. The children were so excited to talk with us, show us their work, sing to us, dance for us and ask us to sing and dance for them. Somehow, I was convinced in front of a classroom full of 6th grade kids to sing our national anthem while doing the robot. I apologize to everyone if now the youth of India thinks that Americans are by far the worst dancers and singers of the world.

I took a vegetarian cooking class where we learned how to cook Indian cuisine. It was so much fun and so fascinating to take a cooking class in a different culture. It was also interesting to learn what exactly it was that we had been eating the entire time in India.

On our last day in India we caught news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Once back on board the ship, we were told that we were able to stream the news, we all gathered and watched the unfortunate events unraveling. We were fortunate enough to continue to get the news and kept up with Japan as much as possible. For a few days after, SAS continued to say that our route and itinerary would not be changing, explaining that the ports we were intended to stop in were not affected by the tsunami. After the nuclear power plants began to become more of a threat then expected, SAS announced that we would no longer be going to Japan due the unsafe conditions. They gave us three options as to where we could possibly go, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. After many days of suspense of the upcoming mystery port, it was announced that we would now be traveling to Taiwan. There are mixed feelings and opinions towards the new port, although I think everyone is just disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to visit Japan. While I am sad that we will no longer be traveling to Japan, I feel that it would be overwhelming to try to travel there right now with all the devastation, I would much rather travel through Japan when I can travel freely and without feeling like a burden.

Now that we have already traveled to Taiwan, and yet another earthquake has hit Japan I think it was a smart call of SAS to change the itinerary, although I will make my way to Japan at some point in my life.

Mauritius and a quick stop at Diego Garcia

Sorry about the delay, it feels as though we have been in port nonstop for the past month! I will just say a quick blurb about the two stunning islands visited a few weeks ago.

We arrived at the beautiful island of Mauritius early in the morning, complete with turquoise water and tall green mountains. I shopped around a bit and then when to a beach in the northern part of the island with my friends Gabi and Ali. It was so nice and relaxing, not to mention SO refreshing to take a dip in the warm, clear water after soaking in the sun. I am sad we only had a day to spend in Mauritius but happy we had the opportunity to go.

A few days after Mauritius there was an announcement made on the boat explaining that a few students on board had medical emergencies and we would have to make and unexpected stop at a small British-owned island currently occupied by the American military by the name of Diego Garcia. We turned on all the engines, put the petal to the metal and ended up arriving at Diego Garcia the following morning. The whole excursion was extremely top secret, we were not allowed to get off the ship, we were not allowed to take pictures and we weren’t even allowed to dock on the island. The MV Explorer was docked away from the shore and there were boats that came alongside the ship with men in military uniforms and quite possibly the largest guns I have ever seen. After being stationed outside the beautiful island for about 8 hours, the students were safely transferred to Diego Garcia and from what we are told are doing well now.

South Africa!

SOUTH AFRICA!

**Warning this is going to be a long one!** :)

I will begin with saying I am moving to South Africa…well in my dreams. The boat pulled into Cape Town and we were all in awe. It was like a little slice of Europe in Africa! It also looked like heaven because we were supposed to arrive the day before, but due to strong winds we could not clear the narrow passage into the harbor so we couldn’t dock. We spent a day and half doing circles outside of Cape Town, we saw it about 8 times with out being able to dock, we were so close yet so far! This was a huge issue for many trips that were planned and I had my huge four day safari with the elephant ride that was supposed to leave at four in the morning the second day, I woke up to find that we had still not docked. Eventually the day after we were supposed to arrive, the winds died down enough for us to get into the harbor and we were finally docked! As I watched all the kids excitedly pile off the ship I had to hang around and wait to hear any news about my Safari. The big complication with rescheduling our flights to the reserve was that there were zero flights available because there was a U2 concert that night! Eventually we were told that there was no way we were making it out that day so my friend Grace and I wandered around Cape Town. When we came back to the ship, there was a paper posted saying that our safari got cancelled. I was disappointed, but only for a moment because there is so much to do and see in Cape Town that you can’t really complain. Grace and I immediately thought that this was a sign for us to go to the U2 concert, we tried to scalp tickets but eventually gave up. A bunch of students from SAS went and said that it was an amazing show. My friend Alex’s sister lives in Cape Town so that night Grace, Alex and I went to her sister’s friend’s house. They had a traditional barbeque for us; the food was DELICIOUS and was cooked on a wood-burning barbeque. It was so great to hang out and talk with some locals; after we ate they took us out to Long Street, which is the popular nightlife street with bars and clubs. We went two a small local bar called The Neighborhood and then to a dubstep club by the name of Fiction. I was so impressed about the amount of amaaaazing techno/dupstep music in Cape Town; I had no idea that it was so popular there!

The next day I went to Table Mountain with a group of friends. We took the cable car up and walked around the top, the view was unbelievable. You could see all of Cape Town, including the MV Explorer docked in the harbor! After we enjoyed the amazing sights, we decided to abseil down the side of the mountain, which is like propelling or belaying down in rock climbing. It was by far the single coolest thing of my entire life. We hiked down a little bit to get the ledge that we would get propel off of. After getting all harnessed in we were ready to go. The guides mentioned that there is a “surprise” half way down, we had no idea what that could be but were all excited to find out. Our group propelled down two at a time and after Ali and another women went down, it was time for Liz and I to go. It was so crazy to just walk backward off of a cliff and turn 90 degrees and allow your weight to shift to be 100% depended on ropes and being walking/falling down the side of a mountain. We were laughing and having so much fun turning around and looking at the ridiculous views. At one point there was a huge fog cloud that engulfed us and then passed by. It was the most epic experience of my life. After we went out and got a beer and fish ‘n chips! We came back to the ship, got showered and then joined a big group of people heading to a winery in the Stellenbosch region for dinner and wine tasting. The winery was Asara and before dinner we tried a tasting of 6 different wines; a white, a rose, three reds and he pulled out a special dessert wine for us. All of them were so amazing, and then we sat for dinner. I went with my gut and got dessert for dinner, boy am I glad that I did. I had a chocolate trio complete with a milky liquor shot, a rich chocolate passion fruit cake and an ice cream truffle; it rocked my mind to say the least [hence me blogging about it haha]. Once we were done with dinner we all went out to Long Street.

The following day Gabi, Liz, Haley, Ali and I took the train to Boulder Beach to see the African Penguins. These are the only tropical penguins; they literally live on the beach! They were so adorable. We stopped and got lunch a little hole-in-the-wall bakery, which was delicious. We also went to a nearby African market. After arriving back on the ship, we got ready and went out for sushi! I had been craving sushi for so long. Gabi had a friend that had studied abroad in Cape Town and gave her a list of things to do, including the name of a sushi restaurant with half off cocktails and sushi on Sundays! It just happened to work out that it was a Sunday so we got a group together and went to Beluga. It was yet another delicious meal, complete with blood orange coconut mojitos! Yummy! After that we went to bar on the waterfront called Mitchell’s. Gabi and I called it and early night because we had an early morning and headed back to the ship.

The next day was…CAGE DIVING! There was a group of seven of us that were picked up at 4:30 am by a van that drove us two and a half hours to the beach. We arrived at a lodge where we ate breakfast and met up with the rest of the group that would be going out on the boat with us. We were then given a talk about the endangered great whites and heard a little bit about the company that would be taking us out to dive. After the talk, we filled out of the lodge and walked to the boat that was near by. We drove out about 30 minutes to the spot where we anchored and threw in some bate and chum, just waiting for the great whites to show up to the party! While we waited we changed into our full-body wet suits, including a head covering and booties. Our group was one of the last groups to get into the cage, the second to last. There were about 8 people in the cage at a time and it was a long rectangular cage where we would be side by side. Your heads would be out of the water until the crew told you “Divers, down and to the right” where you would plunge into the freezing cold water, hold your breath and watch the shark swim toward you, open it’s jaws and lunge towards the bate then swim away. You would then pop back out of the water gasping for air, laughing and exclaiming how awesome it was. Our group got lucky and saw about seven sharks, at one time one of the sharks came towards the cage head on, jaws open and bit the bate, tugging and thrashing, turning upside down and bit the entire bate off. It was such an amazing thing to stare into the eyes of a great white shark after watching shark week for so many years! It is definitely tied with abseiling as the coolest thing I have ever done.  After diving, on our way back to the ship we went by a near by town, it was really nice, we went around and shopped at an African market. Then made our way back to the ship. We went out with a bunch of SAS kids later that night, which was a good time.

The last day a few girls went out to breakfast and after Gabi and I went wine tasting. We took the large double-decker red tourist bus to the Constantia region. We had a great time traveling through South Africa, listening to the history and seeing the different areas outside of Cape Town. We ended up going to the oldest winery in South Africa, Groot Constanta that was founded in 1685. The grounds were absolutely beautiful; we went on a tour of the cellar and learned about the production of wine. After the tour, we had a wine tasting. Then we got back on the bus and headed back to the ship to catch it before we set sail. When we got back on to the ship, it was taco night, which is a big deal, such a nice change from mystery meat, potatoes and pasta! Next stop is a good one but a quick one, Mauritius!

Ghana

GHANA! Well Takoradi, Ghana was quite an eye-opening experience. I can honestly say that this was my first culture shock of the trip, and I know it is not going to be my last! The first day we arrived I had a field program called Twin City Orientation. In this FDP, we drove around two cities in Ghana. We stopped and got out at a small fishing village where we learned about how they made the large canoes that they use to fish. The kids were so cute and were fighting and pushing each other asking to have their picture taken. The poverty of the village was overwhelming. Later on that night we all went out to the only local bar showing the Super Bowl! It was pretty amazing to watch the kick off all the way from Africa! 

The following day I went to Kakum National Park and saw a cultural performance. Kakum was so beautiful and we hiked up to the canopy walk, where there were suspended wooden bridges strung across from treetop to treetop. It was spectacular to see a rainforest from the canopies of the tallest trees. After we went to a hotel, ate lunch and watched a cultural performance of native African dance and drums accompanied by instruments made from bamboo. We all got up and learned a few dance moves; it was a lot of fun! The next day I went see a water village, it was quite the adventure to get to; two hours on a bus and an hour canoe ride. It’s strange how canoes are becoming a common mode of transportation for me! Once we arrived it was amazing and unlike anything I had ever seen, an entire community was built on top of the water, all the houses were on stilts. The village had a small school and was run by a chief, we had an opportunity to talk with the son of the chief and listen to the history of the village. Later on that night a large group of Semester at Sea kids went to Axim Beach, a beautiful beach about an hour away where we rented bungalows. It was so amazing and the water was so warm and clear. Unfortunately, this is where my camera was stolen. The only thing that upset me the most is that I lost all my pictures from Ghana, those aren’t replaceable but luckily the camera is.

On the last day I went on another FDP, where we learned about the gold mining industry in Ghana. Ghana has rich gold deposits, but still finds itself in extreme poverty because a mere 3-5% of the profits of gold mining stays within the country. We went to the headquarters of a grassroots organization named WACAM, which helps empower locals to stand up against the injustices of mining, then visited a village displaced by mine waste rock and after proceeded to village that was built in order to replace the one destroyed. This was such an eye-opening experience; I was completely unaware of the corruption in the gold industry and how many of thousands of locals are being forced from their land because of mines.

Overall, I had such an amazing time in Ghana. It was a culture shock, but it was great to see a different country of Africa before going to South Africa. I learned so much from my trips and was greatly impacted by the poverty and injustices that I witnessed.

Brazil

Camping in the Amazon

Monkey!

My apologies for not posting a blog in a while! I have been one busy woman! I have had two huge research projects, I was stressed but now feel great that I already have them done and out of the way!

Brazil was amazing! We were there for a total of 5 days. The first day, I got off the ship and walked around Manaus with a few friends, saw the Opera House and beautiful parks, unfortunately because it was Sunday, many of the restaurants and shops were closed. I went on a field program later on that day where we drove around the entire city of Manaus, looking at the different communities and the industrial park. It was a little boring, because we were on the bus for 4 hours and didn’t stop anywhere, but I was glad to have had the opportunity to see a large portion of Manaus. That night I went out with a few friends to a popular Hotel and went to a few local places, one place had a small carnival going on. But the second day was when the real adventure started!

I signed up for a 3 night/4 day trip to Tupana Jungle Lodge, said to be the most remote jungle lodge of the Amazon, boy were they not kidding! It took us 6 HOURS to get there! We first got off our ship and onto a double-decker boat. We were on that for about 2 hours and passed by the meeting of the waters. This is where the brown water of the Amazon River meets with the black water of the Rio Negro, because of their pH, they do not mix so there is this distinct curvy line of where the two waters meet. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! After the boat, we got onto a bus, continued on that for 2 hours before having to stop and at a barge in a small community and back our bus up onto a fairy boat in order to cross a small body of water. We all had to get off the bus and stand on the fairy; we were all crossing our fingers that the bus wouldn’t flip! Then we got back on the bus and continued for another hour before reaching the last leg of the trip: little wooden canoes! We grabbed all of our backpacks and crammed into these small, motorized wooden canoes for about an hour ride to our lodge. Needless to say we were all happy to reach the lodge safely after the long journey, especially because our canoe was leaking!

The lodge was absolutely beautiful, complete with wooden buildings and huts with palm faun roofs. There were animals that called the lodge home, a tapar, monkey and tarantula! A tapar is a relative of the rhino and looks like a combination of an elephant, anteater and has the body of a wild bore, interesting animal to say the least! During our stay we went on hikes, visited to a local home, and went fishing for Piranha were we saw pink dolphins! We also went out late at night on the canoes with flashlights looking for alligators, unfortunately we couldn’t spot any. The stars were by far the most breath-taking that I have ever seen, a plus for being 6 hours deep into the Amazon Jungle! One night we left the comfort of the lodge and went camping the rain forest! It took a canoe ride and a long hike (including tree trunk bridges!) to get our campsite. After setting up camp and starting the fire our guide realized he had forgotten to bring the food, luckily the cooks at the lodge had the same realization and someone brought it to us. Our guide hacked off wooden skewers from the trunks of trees with his machete that we used to cook the meat over the fire. It was such an amazing experience. We slept in hammocks under a small hut; it was surreal to listen to the sounds of the Amazon Jungle while falling asleep (some of which drowned out by the sounds of professors snoring haha). It was so amazing to be completely submerged in the Amazon for 4 days and be fortunate enough to listen to the beautiful sounds of rain falling in the rainforest (luckily the night AFTER camping haha). The beauty of the Amazon was breathtaking, but after the long journey back to the ship, where we encountered torrential downpour and a thunder and lightning storm, we were all happy to be back onto the ship and have a HOT shower! I have never appreciated a shower more in my entire life! Brazil was so much fun and just got me more excited about what the rest of this semester has in store! We will be reaching Ghana tomorrow; I cannot wait to finally see Africa! I am also excited to be able to say that I watched the Super Bowl in Takoradi, Ghana…how many people get to say that!!! :) Missing you all.

Also, I have an email that I can access on the ship for free, so if you want to email me or get in contact with me send it to this address! ambrown@semesteratsea.net

First stop, Dominica!

Dominica: The Nature Island

Well, we have just set sail from our first port, Dominica! The small Caribbean island was BEAUTIFUL, it is known as the nature island. We were there for only two days, Jan 16^th through the 17^th. The people here are absolutely beautiful and so nice! Yesterday, I went on a rainforest aerial tram, it was amazing to see the rainforest from that view, it included a small hike that included a suspension bridge over one of their 365 rivers, one for everyday of the year! We also were able to swing from vines in the trees, very Tarzan and Jane! Haha The majority of the Semester at Sea kids went out last night to two clubs JR’s and the Krazy Koconut, both of which are normally closed on Sundays but opened up for us! Today I walked around town and went snorkeling in Champagne Reef, famous for the tiny gas bubbles that come up from the sea floor, produced my the dormant volcano. It looks like you’re in a glass of Champagne! (Hence the name) The reef was beautiful, we saw tropical fish, a king crab, barracuda, and I managed to find the jellyfish and red ants, or they found me I guess, ouch! Nothing too bad though, no worries! We walked around and went to the market, lots of fresh fruit and picked up a few souvenirs from the vendors. There was some tropical rain, complete with two rainbows! We now continue with classes and I go back to work in the library. Next stop, Brazil and the Amazon!

Officially Set Sail!

Hey everyone! So it is my second day aboard the MV Explorer, and so far so good! I boarded the ship on 1-11-11 along with all the other students doing the work-study program. We have officially set sail in route to Dominica! Some families were gathered on the deck in the Bahamas waving goodbye to their loved ones as we set sail at 8:00 pm (or 2000 I guess haha). My roommates name is Becca, she is from Colorado and seems really sweet. It’s pretty windy and some are already falling ill from seasickness, I am staying strong, lets just hope I can remain strong! Haha I worked from 7am to 3pm today directing my fellow students where to go, was a long time to be standing but it was a good way to meet people. We have a full day of orientation tomorrow and have to set the clocks an hour ahead, first day at sea and already losing hours! I hope you all are doing well, stay posted!

Bahamas

Atlantis!

Atlantis!

Well it is now my final day in the Bahamas, I leave tomorrow to board the ship! It has been such an amazing time, filled with lots of sun, sand, and Bahama Mama drinks haha :) Tyler left today to catch his plane back to the states, it was great to have him with me for the few days! We went to Atlantis and spent a day there... it was AMAZING exceeded all expectations. Next time I'll have to stay there ;) We also went jet skiing! Which was a blast, I had never been on one before. I am nervous, excited and anxious to get on the boat and start my journey. There are a lot of people staying that the hotel that are going on Semester at Sea, I have met a few... hoping to meet more today and tonight! Missing everyone already!

Packing up!

Hello family, friends and followers, so tomorrow is the big day! I will be flying to the Bahamas and staying there for about a week with my boyfriend, Tyler. From there I will board the ship on 1-11-11 and set sail the following day. Words simply cannot express the excitement I feel. Below, I have listed my itinerary for the next four months. There is also a link to the Semester at Sea website so you can check out a world map and get a visual of where it is that I will be sailing to. It will be difficult to have much communication once I hit international waters, so if you want to keep up with what's going on with me, this blog will be the best way! I will miss you all but can't wait to come back with so many stories to share! This has been a dream of mine for years and it is a surreal feeling knowing that I am about to embark on the most amazing journey of my life. Stay tuned! :)

Nassau, Bahamas	Depart	Wednesday	January 12	1700
Roseau, Dominica	Arrive Depart	Sunday Monday	January 16 January 17	0800 2000
Macapa, Brazil (Amazon Entrance)	Arrive Depart	Thursday Thursday	January 20 January 20	1830 2300
Manaus, Brazil	Arrive Depart	Sunday Thursday	January 23 January 27	0800 2000
Macapa, Brazil (Amazon Exit)	Arrive Depart	Saturday Saturday	January 29 January 29	1400 1530
Takoradi, Ghana	Arrive Depart	Sunday Thursday	February 6 February 10	0800 2000
Cape Town, South Africa	Arrive Depart	Thursday Tuesday	February 17 February 22	0800 2000
Port Louis, Mauritius	Arrive Depart	Sunday Sunday	February 27 February 27	0800 2000
Chennai, India	Arrive Depart	Sunday Friday	March 6 March 11	0800 2000
Singapore	Arrive Depart	Wednesday Wednesday	March 16 March 16	0800 2300
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam	Arrive Depart	Saturday Thursday	March 19 March 24	0800 0600
Hong Kong / Shanghai, China	Arrive Depart	Saturday Friday	March 26 April 1	0800 2000
Kobe / Yokohama, Japan	Arrive Depart	Monday Friday	April 4 April 8	0800 2000
Hilo, Hawaii, USA	Arrive Depart	Sunday Monday	April 17 April 18	0800 2000
San Diego, California, USA	Arrive	Sunday	April 24	0800