Hawaii and Home

Hey All,

I am so sorry that it has been ages since I checked in! We sailed from Japan to Hawaii and I got sick and was laying low. Time flew by and I didn't actually get out and about very much in Hawaii. However, it was sunny and beautiful and I did make it to the Duck game with the Oregon Semester at Sea group! We had a great time and the Ducks won! I visited Pearl Harbor and was able to check in with home.

From Hawaii to San Diego we had finals and the ambassador ball. It is always a hectic time to be packing and getting ready for home. I found things in my cabin that I had gotten ages ago and had to make room for. Fitting the world in 4 bags is hard.

This trip has been incredible. The world has opened my eyes and my heart. I feel so fortunate for all that I have. While I am excited to be home, it will take some time to adjust. Semester at Sea is a life changing experience and I will miss my friends and community on the ship and the people and places that I have visited all over the world.

I hope that this blog gave you a small taste of the world through my own personal experiences. I wish everyone a very merry holiday and peace on earth.

Love, Rudy
(Sam- thank you for this B-E-A-utiful sunset pic!)

Thankful for you!

Hey all,

This note is a little late…but it takes a long time for a turkey to deliver a message from the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This was the first year in my whole life that I have missed out on Thanksgiving dinner with my fam! However, I did have turkey and as I sat around the table with my “ship family” I thought of all of you. I am so thankful to have all of you as friends and family. Without you, I would not be who I am. This trip has been an absolute whirl wind and I will come home the same…but different… or as they say in Vietnam, “same, same, but different!” The things I have seen are hard to define in one word, hard to explain in once sentence and impossible to imagine without having been there yourself. That being said, I feel so fortunate to be able to sail back to my little nook in Portland for the holidays and come home to all of you. I have learned so much about the world and myself on this trip, but more than anything else, I know that family and friends, community and love are the most important things in life. I have seen, met, hugged, cried and laughed with people who have nothing–except family, friends and love. When there is nothing else, we have each other. That being said, I want to wish all of you the happiest of Thanksgivings and I can’t wait to see all of your faces in a few weeks! Love and peace from the ocean! xoxoxo

Tokyo

I don’t know how many of you have seen the Kill Bill movies, but I was really excited to go to Tokyo and pretend I was Beatrix Kiddo. We got up early and caught the train from Yokohama to Tokyo. The trains here are amazing. Everyone gets their tickets and waits in single file line for their train. When the train arrives, everyone waits for the arriving passengers to get off before everyone boards. Along with regular cars they have cars exclusively for women, children and senior citizens. We got to Tokyo and it was raining, which reminded me of home. For those of you that have never been to Tokyo it is like a giant NYC except in Japanese. They have the biggest intersection and crosswalk in the world! It was nuts. We found a few temples and had lunch at a really yummy restaurant that reminded me of St. Honore except with a self-serve salad bar that was SO GOOD! It was super green and organic and such a nice change from all the foods I have been eating the last 4 moths. Tokyo had a 4 story H&M and so you can imagine my excitement as we ran toward it! We visited the China town in Tokyo and then headed back to the ship in Yokohama.

Yokohama

Yokohama is much smaller. This was our last day in Japan and so me and my roomie Clara went with some friends to the Starbucks in little China Town to Skype our friend Genna who had to go home in India because she had malaria. We miss her so much and so it was so good to catch up with her and hear her voice! Then we got lunch in China town and walked around town and had coffee. It was nice to just soak up the last couple of hours in Japan and be in our last international port. I didn’t have any expectations for Japan and I didn’t know what to expect, but it exceeded the expectations that I didn’t have and I really liked it. Japan has so much style! One thing that I loved about Japan was their attention to detail, especially in shopping malls. When you make a purchase they ask you if you want your purchase gift-wrapped? I always say no. If you buy something like stationary without gift-wrapping, they take the paper and wrap it in tissue. Then they fold it into a decorative paper, take a ribbon and make a loop that they stick with a sticker. Then they put it in another small paper sack before putting into a sack with handles and then tape that sack shut. If you have ever seen the movie Love Actually (my favorite movie of all time) and have seen the scene where he is gift-wrapping with cinnamon and holly with candy on top, it was just like that! It made me wonder what a purchase with gift-wrapping would look like.
Speaking of gift wrapping and the holidays, I busted out my Bob Dylan Holiday tunes and we decorated our room with holiday garlands and Thanksgiving is tomorrow! We actually have two Thanksgivings because we are crossing the international date line and will finally be back from the future. For the past few days I have been living in the future…a day ahead of all of you, and as I told my grand dad on the phone, I have known all about your tomorrows since I have already lived your yesterdays. This also means that with two Thanksgivings I will have extra time to think about all the things I am thankful for, but I will share a few with you now. I am thankful for all of my friends and family. I am thankful to have the opportunity to travel the world, to learn and explore. I am thankful for clean water, for food, for shelter, for happiness, for safety, for health. I am thankful for you–Happy Thanksgiving from the Pacific Ocean. xoxo

Kobe

The next day we got up bright and early and took the subway into town. We didn’t have any plans except to just walk around and explore. It was so early that all the shops and houses were buttoned up, but we walked through neighborhoods and got a glimpse of Kobe outside of the busy city center. Around lunch we headed back to the city center and did some shopping and visited China town. It is funny to visit China town after just being there! We got these amazing pot stickers at a street vender and people watched. Then we walked around and found this dessert called a dessert burger. It was a doughnut for a bun and had a cookie crunch inside and was packed with yummy fruit and hot chocolate syrup. It was SO good. I felt like I was on splendid table and so I took a video of us eating it and we gave a great NPR narration of the goodness. That night we were back on the ship to transit to Yokohama. Our transit day was nice, because transit is optional and so there were only about 250 of us on board and so it is quiet and you can catch up on journaling and school work and just watch movies and relax. It was a good day.

Kyoto

We arrived in Kobe and had a LONG debarkation process. We had to wait in line for about 2 hours to get pictured, finger printed and all of your forms checked. It was about 5 minutes per person, but they have to process 700 people and so it was a long morning. We also had to pass temperature checks in order to be let into Japan and I was so happy to pass since the whole ship came back from China with colds. Once we got through immigration we headed right onto the subway line that took us to the train station. We grabbed Chai Tea Lattes and headed for Kyoto. It took about an hour to get there and so by the time we got there the sun was setting. The station had a HUGE mall and so we wandered around and looked at clothes and stationary and accessories. Japan is super hip and trendy and so everything is cool, right down to the shoelaces that they wear—stylish from head to toe.
Then we went and found where the bus station was and got on a train into town. We got on the train, which was JAM PACKED with people. Nothing was really in English and all we had was a map and we were traveling at rush hour. We had an idea of what stop we wanted to get off at, but we weren’t exactly sure. When we got on the train I did make out an announcement that said the bus didn’t accept anything but exact change and so by some miracle I had what I needed. However, for a future note, if you are ever taking a bus in Japan, know that you need EXACT change. And, as I was on the bus with all my bags and was digging for change, I thought how smart it would be to bring those change holders like you can buy at IKEA to have in your car, and that way, on a trip, you don’t have to be digging deep in your purse in a crowded space in the dark. Anyway, we were on the bus for what seemed like an hour to move 3 stops, but we finally made it to the exact street where we wanted to be.
        We went to a temple that is open at night and it was SO beautiful. All the lanterns were lit up and it was quiet and peaceful. I think my favorite part about the temples is that you can be in rush hour traffic, surrounded by wall-to-wall people passing on the street, walking by food stand after food stand with yelling and crowds, and then you make one turn and you find yourself in a temple that is totally tranquil... you could hear a pin drop. This temple backed up to a huge park and a pond and so we just wandered around. Then we went back to the main street and wanted some food. I found a stand on the street and this guy was deep frying something that looked yummy and there was a line, which was a good sign. When I got up to the counter I asked what was in the fried dough and he walked back into his little kitchen and came out with a HUGE BOWL of octopus. He spoke absolutely no English and pointed to the pile of octopus guts.  Then I pointed to another fried thing and he pointed to the bowl again. I have to say that while I didn’t eat any, I bet it was good. Instead we kept walking. We found a big open grill on the sidewalk and a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant behind the grill. An old man was making these amazing pancakes filled with eggs and veggies and spices and seaweed and all this yummy stuff. We watched him make them and decided to eat. It was SO GOOD! After dinner we stopped in some shops before taking the train back to Kobe that night.

Last Day in China

Today we spent the day wandering around Shanghai. We wanted to take a cab to the old part of the City and had no map and no idea where it was. We asked like 4 door mans where we were and where we were trying to go and all of them said they didn’t speak any English. However, they all know how to say, “I don’t know English.”  We finally got in a cab and the driver had no idea what we were talking about and so we got out and found friends that had a map. Then we went to the metro station and got a ticket to the old city. When we got out of the metro we left our friends who had the map and were standing looking lost and a little old lady came over to me and asked if we wanted to go to the old city? I said yes and asked her if she spoke any English at all and she only spoke a tiny, tiny bit. She took us to exactly where we wanted to go and tried to explain to me where she lived and that she had lived in Shanghai all her life. She was so sweet. I just wanted to fold her up and put her in my bag and bring her home with me! She was SOOOOO cute! Sometimes when you are traveling, it is easy to get worn out with the language barrier, the overload, the unfamiliar, the everything new, the here, there and everywhere…so when you find those kind people (the mom in South Africa who gave me a hug, the school teacher in Vietnam and the sweet little old lady today) they make everything better, they make the world seem small, and they make everything seem possible. It was just what we needed! We got to a long street of vendors and we have now been around the world and so we are pros at cutting the prices in half. We saved a ton of time by naming our price and walking away. Actually, the language barrier was so fuzzy that we typed prices into calculators and then walked away! But it was a success! The weird thing was that I heard Christmas music playing in English today, but I didn’t meet a single person who spoke English…go figure. Tonight we are all back on the ship and heading for Japan. Classes are back in session tomorrow! Hope all is well! Love from China! xox

Temple of Heaven

The last day in Beijing we went to the Temple of Heaven that is in a park. Just FYI: The emperors from the Forbidden City were known for going to this temple and all the roofs have blue tile to match the sky (instead of the traditional yellow tile). The square was full of senior citizens playing bad mitten, cards, dominos etc, because the senior citizens get into the temple for free—Terwilliger Plaza would have LOVED this place! It was pretty cool to see all these guys having domino competitions!  Then we went to a traditional teahouse! They showed us all these different types of traditional Chinese teas and how to smell them and taste them and how to hold your tea cup with your pointer finger and your thumb and have your middle finger on the bottom of the cup. These cups were not even cups-- it was like tea shots! They were sooooo small. I have HUGE tea MUGS at home and so I would have to have about 2 billion trillion sips of tea in order to even fill one of my mugs. But, they were fun to try and it was interesting to learn about all the different types of teas and what time of day they drink each kind and what tea to drink when you are sick or sad or whatever. It was good to have the tea ceremony at the end of the trip because if you have seen the bathrooms in China, you know to hold it. I thought I had to pee at the Great Wall and when I walked into the bathroom I decided to just wait until we got back to the ship… I have been to Ghana and India so that is saying a lot. Actually, now that I mention it, there are a lot of places in the world that you should probably just hold it and wait. Luckily, today, in Shanghai when we were looking for a bathroom they didn’t even have any—ANYWHERE--and had no idea what we were talking about. That takes care of that.

The Great Wall!

The next morning we went and visited an international Kung-Fu School. They put on a performance for us where they broke glass using their heads, smashed big sticks in half and kicked each other. Then they had picture time and if you know me at all you know that I:
A.      Never get up on stage
B.      NEVER Get my picture taken with people on stage
C.      NEVER Act like a kung-fu person in a picture on a stage
D.      But I am happy to watch other people do A-C on stage.
So I stood and watched from the audience. Then they taught us some moves…again, I just watched because I don’t need to learn kung fu. I was watching friends attempt Kung Fu moves when I suddenly noticed a bunch of little kids outside. I walked outside and all these little kids that were between ages 3-9 years old were learning kung fu. They were SO cute! ADORABLE! This one little kid (who I wanted to take home) was about three and he didn’t really want to learn kung-fu or be out in the freezing cold and he was trying so hard and trying not to cry. His dad was amazing at kung-fu and was trying to help him along. I was a huge help to this little kid (I am sure) as I took pictures and video of him and was cheering him on as he tried to do the splits. I wished that I had been able to speak fluent Chinese to tell him that I am 21 and still can’t do the splits so not to worry about it. I also wished I could have told him how proud I was that he was sticking with it—since I would have gotten up and said no way—I want to go inside and play with my toys. He was precious. SO CUTE! I watched them for about an hour and we left they were still practicing! Then we drove the rest of the way to the Great Wall! The Great Wall is called “the long wall of Ten Thousand Li.” However, the Great Wall is way better than great and so I think it should be called the freaking amazing, incredible totally cool wall! FYI: It took more than 300,000 men and 10 years to complete. I didn’t know that there were so many stairs and so I was surprised by how much uphill and downhill there was and you can trip and kill yourself if your not careful! I made sure not to trip. Don’t trip on your trip. That is the motto. I do think that there should be a race on the wall! I think that would be awesome—an ultra marathon! We took a tram to one of the sections and got to walk along the wall for about an hour. It was so amazing! We had a photo shoot and took a million trillion pictures! We got to watch the sunset and then we got coco and made our way back to Beijing. We had a HUGE meal with all kinds of rice, chicken, beef, and pot stickers, hot and sour soup, egg soup, rice cakes, spring rolls, egg rolls, fruit! It was so yummy! Then we went to an Acrobatic show. They had live birds that flew all around and it probably had a theme, but it was all in Chinese so who knows?!? The acrobats climbed up on a stack of 10 chairs and then did hand stands (I can do that), made a pyramid with a trillion people (no big deal), balanced on bicycles (easy), jumped through hoops and were bendable in all directions (anyone can do that). It was impressive. I am not a huge acrobat fan, but this was cool. It was similar to Cirque de Soule (yup, spelled that wrong) and then we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Day 2 in Beijing

Day 2 in Beijing

We woke up early headed to the Forbidden City. For whatever reason, none of us really thought it was going to be that cold because we thought that only Japan would be cold. FALSE. It was cold. But it didn’t matter because the Forbidden City was so incredible! We got there early in the morning and so it wasn’t crowded. For those of you that don’t know, the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors (so the place is huge) and the whole city has a total of 8,706 rooms where 8,000 people lived. This place makes the White House look like Polly Pocket! But, the architecture was amazing and I couldn’t stop taking pictures of all the dragons that run along the rooftops. Fun Fact: The stone walkways were designed to be orthopedic as emperors walked around in their slippers. Then we made our way out of the Forbidden City and into Tian’men Square where Mao Zedong (chairman of Communist Party) proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The square was super busy with lots of people and Chinese people rushed up to me to get a picture of me with my blonde hair. After lunch we went to a market and it was so different from the other markets that we have been to. In India and Morocco when you want to buy something they offer you a price. Then you can spend about a half an hour (unless you were in Morocco with us—then you spend an hour) arguing about a good price before walking away empty handed or with your new cool “whatever”(in Morocco we got a blanket).
At the market in Beijing it went like this:

Vender: Want to buy this?
Ru: How much?
Vender: name price
Ru: How much?
Vender: $250 Yuan (for a mug)
Ru: $10 Yuan
Vender: No
Ru: Ok, Bye
Vender: Ok! Ok! $10!!!
All in the span of 2 seconds. …

After success at the market we went to a migrant school in Shunyi. This school was started 4 years ago for orphans who are ineligible for government subsidies. They gave us a tour of the school. I have been to several orphanages in Morocco, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt and Ghana and this one was not as nice as some. The rooms were basic with metal bunk beds and a comforter, a locker for each child’s things, and they had decorated the white drab walls with crayon. They had no running water, and they washed their clothes by hand. When I looked in the medic room they had hardly any medical supplies. They only turned the lights on when absolutely necessary and while the children had coats, they needed hats and gloves---it was FREEZING outside. While we were there we painted a mural, played basketball and ran around. They were really sweet and nice, but I wished that everything were brighter and cleaner.
That night we had a dinner that Guy would have LOVED! It was everything Duck. Everything that can be made from a duck (right down to the webbing in their feet) was served at this dinner. We couldn’t “duck out of it!” (Thank you for that one Mandy! So funny!) And so we tried it all and then headed out to the mall for a break. The mall was fun because the style is so different. The colors, the window displays and even the fashion show happening in the lobby was all unlike our Nordstrom (etc) at home. We got hats and gloves so that we wouldn’t freeze at the Great Wall. It was fun to poke around town and be out at night. Beijing is HUGE and so downtown felt like NY!

Beijing!

We flew from Hong Kong to Beijing (the Capital of China) for our Beijing trip! At this point I had a full on cold and so I was SO HAPPY to see Starbucks (don’t judge me—you know I support local at home) and got a Chai tea latte and orange juice. Fun fact: Starbucks has REALLY good food in Asia. We got to Beijing and it was FREEZING! But, I was so happy when I stepped off the plane and smelled Fall—which my friend pointed out, was probably burning pollution—but I am going to picture a nice cozy fire instead! We took a pedicab (which is a three wheeled bicycle) to a local families house. It was so cold outside, but it was really fun to get to ride through narrow streets and see all the neighborhoods. We arrived at a little house where a lady and her husband had prepared a traditional Chinese meal for us. The kitchen area was small and we all gathered around little tables and got our own chopsticks and had all kinds of yummy food. She served sticky rice, spicy things and hot and sour things with chicken and beef, veggies, soup, pot stickers. It was so good. While we ate she told us about her family, her house that was over 300 years old and the traditional customs of a family, inheritance, marriage, children etc in China. Her husband was the fourth generation living in his family’s house and the house is only passed onto the oldest son. Her husband was an artist and so they showed us all of his paintings and his studio. The artwork was beautiful and the rice paper was amazing.

Hong Kong!

We arrived in Hong Kong! I was fighting off a cold and not feeling very good and so we had an easy day of no agenda and exploring! We took a ferry over to a little island and visited the Hong Kong Po Lin Monastery. At the Po Lin Monastery is a HUGE Buddha that sits on the hill. The Monastery was really beautiful and had a garden, a walkway lined with horoscope statues of every year you could be born. My statue (the year of the snake) had a mean looking warrior with a snake on his head. We made our way to a small open square that was lined with small fires to light in scents and in scents that were burning in long rows. We bought a package and I lit them for friends and family that have passed away and whom I wish were here. It was really peaceful. We got lunch and spent the rest of the day just wandering around the Monastery and the Temple. Happy Birthday Grand dad! Love you!

Dear friends and family,

It has been a while since I checked in. After every port my brain is like a boiling pot of water that is overflowing with stories, thoughts, and happenings from all of my adventures. I use my blog as a place to share everything in one long, unedited, train of thought. My words spill out onto the page as I write from trains, planes, my room etc. However, this post was the first time where I have had to truly sit down, reflect, think hard, and deliver some very sad news. On the 6th of November a student passed away on our voyage. Although I did not know him personally, his death was a huge loss to our community.  Because we are away from our friends and family back home, the ship becomes our home, the community becomes our family, and each and every one of us was affected by his passing.  As we gathered together on the ocean to support one another, as we made our way to China, I couldn’t help but think of all of you (my friends and family) at home. I am so thankful, so grateful, so lucky to have each and every one of you in my life. Every single one of you has given me love and support and made me who I am today. Now, I am in China, practically a day ahead of all of you, and as I wrap up my day and you start yours, keep in mind that life is short and we all have to live everyday to its absolute fullest! Peace and Love. I can’t wait to see you all soon! Xoxoxo

Mekong Delta

I keep meaning to say, happy November Everyone! Only one more month and a little bit and I will be home! Today we went to the Mekong Delta. Along the Mekong, rice, fish, soybeans, peanuts, and tobacco are produced. The guide also said that The My Tho area is famous for its coconut palms. We took a boat along the Mekong to a house where they were making coconut candy. They let us taste all the different kinds (plain, chocolate, peanut butter etc) and we watched them make the candy and package it. Then we took a small canoe up the river and had lunch in a thatched hut by the water. I was sitting by the edge of the water and a HUGE (I say huge meaning like the size of my hand) lizard came out from the marsh and walked under the table! And they had these land fish that are basically fish with feet that walk up out of the water and onto dry land and then walk back into the water. I have NEVER seen them before. You guys should all Google image walking fish! They are nuts! It reminded me of the duck mobiles that drive on land and then drive into the water and turn into boats. We wrapped our own spring rolls (Stevie, wish you had been there, you would have been a pro!) and they brought a WHOLE cooked fish to the table and skinned it and boned it there. Then they brought out shrimp and we had to shell them, and then they brought out burners and bowls and they made us soup. The best thing that we had today was that they cut up fresh pineapple and they dip the slices into salt with chili peppers. It is sooooooo good! From now on, that is the only way I am having pineapple! Hawaiians are going to think I am so weird when I ask for salt with my pineapple! Haha! On the boat ride back we drank from coconuts! Now we are back on the MV and getting ready to head out for dinner. I just had a friend ask what I was doing? And I said, “I am updating my blog” and she said, “Does anyone read your blog?” I don’t know? But I hope so, and I hope that whoever you are, you go and find your self some pineapple and dip it in salt! Bon Appetite!

Vietnam!

Hey All!
I woke up at 5AM this morning to watch us come in! It is really beautiful and all the little fishing boats and houses were fun to see from the water as we arrived. One of the things that you can only experience on SAS is the fact that you get to wake up in a cool new place every few days and that on mornings like this one, you can find a friend with a French press, grab some mugs and go sit and watch the sun rise over a brand new city that you have never been to before. I feel very lucky. Once we got in port we visited the History Museum, which was really cool and had lots of pictures and descriptions talking about Vietnams culture in the past, present and future. At the museum, they have a water puppet performance. This is a tradition in Vietnam and dates back to the 11th century. I didn’t know this and so I was totally surprised. The stage is a pool of water and the puppets emerge from the water and the puppeteers are hidden behind a large set. It was really cool. Then we went to the Presidents Palace and got to walk around and see all the rooms. It was fancy. Then we went to the Thien Hau Pagoda which was really interesting. People come there to pray and light in scents and depending on how many they light to burn, means different things. Some only light one to pray for everyone and everything. Others light many to pray for good health, a job, work, happiness etc. There were also in scents that hung from the ceiling and burned. It was really beautiful. We had a really amazing 6-course meal for lunch. We had a lotus salad (I think that is what it was) and it was tasty. Then we had spring rolls, then fruit, then sticky white rice, tofu, sweet and sour soup, and rice cakes. It was super yummy. We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral and City Hall. The last place that we visited was called Handicapped Handcrafters where they employ handicapped people to make this AMAZING eggshell and etched stone pieces of traditional Vietnamese artwork. It was really neat to be able to see the process and time that goes into each of the pieces.

That night, we went to what we thought would be a coffee house and music place and it turned out to be just a big seating area with a stage. The music was not a small coffee shop setting at all and the singers were in these VERY sparkle and shine outfits and sang a whole bunch of Vietnamese songs. It was like something I have seen out of a movie.

Vietnam is huge and there is a ton of traffic. Everyone rides a moped and there are NO traffic rules whatsoever. You can ride on the sidewalk, you can go through a light, and you can do whatever you want. I have seen mopeds carrying up to 5 people, with babies, with dogs, with HUGE loads of whatever. If you happen to not have a moped and are crossing the street (me) you just start walking and you don’t stop or flinch or sprint. You just move at a cow like pace and all the mopeds go around you at a bazillion miles an hour. I swear, when I get home, is going to be the quietest place ever compared to here!

Singapore!

Hey All,

Some of you are wondering where I am and I am behind on blogging and ahead in traveling. I left India with so much in my head and my heart that before I knew it we were in Singapore! Singapore was a 360-degree turnaround from India. It is clean and organized in kind of a “big brother” kind of way. They have lots of rules to keep the city in tiptop condition and so it makes it safe and easy to get around. There is a LOT of shopping in Singapore! The first day we didn’t have any plans and so we went into the main part of the city (the whole island is only 26 miles long! It could be run!) And I have to admit; I caved and went to Starbucks. It was my first coffee since August. There was 2 huge yellow labs sitting out front and the holiday cup was a little pre-game for when I get home at Christmas! We wandered around and looked in the windows of all the designer shops and all the malls. Then we took a tram over to Sentosa, which was an island built for tourists. They have Orlando Studios and the Hard Rock Café and lots of touristy things to see and do. They had a butterfly garden and beaches and resorts. We saw a surf competition going on and the surfers were in these huge glass boxes with high-powered water. The whole thing was really weird. We felt like we were in Pleasantville or some made up city. That night I went to the zoo for a Safari dinner and Halloween party. The zoo was really great, similar to San Diego or Washington DC. They had a big Halloween party and that was Halloween. Actually, on the ship, a few days ago, the little kids came by and went trick or treating from cabin to cabin and so we had Halloween on the ship too! I hope everyone had a good Halloween at home!

The next morning we got coffee again and wandered around town before grabbing lunch and heading back to the ship. When we left India I had 4 tests in 3 days and so I was exhausted in Singapore and it only took one day to get to Vietnam and so I had to do laundry and finish up any homework and get ready for Vietnam. And that is where I am now!!!

So happy to hear about the Giants and the Ducks! Three Cheers! Or as my mom likes to say, “three chairs!” hip hip horray! Hip hip horray! Hip hip Horray!

Reflection of India

Like I have said a million times, I am still trying to process everything I did and saw in India. I am exhausted! My teacher told me that there are two types of people in the world: The ones that have been to India, and the ones that have not been to India. I feel so thankful that I can now say I have been to India. It is so much more than I ever could have imagined. The poverty, the people I met, the experiences that I had are still flooding my mind. I wonder what will happen to the mother that I met who had a 3 day old baby and who was sitting on the corner of a busy street. I wonder what will happen to the children that I saw that were begging for food, or to the babies that were sick, or to the helpless and the homeless. There are so many faces, images, colors, and smells that I keep thinking about and can’t seem to shake off. As I wash India out of my clothes (my sink water was literally black from all the dust and dirt), scrub India off my fingernails and out of my hair, piece together newspaper clippings, tickets and postcards in my scrapbook, download pictures and listen to India tunes, my mind is crowded with thoughts. I want to share everything I saw, everything I felt, and take you to where I have been. However, India is an impossible place to describe in a word, a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph. To help me out, I will leave you with the words of Mark Twain who said,  “"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!"

Gandhi!!!

The next morning we went to the Bahai house of Worship. The building is shaped like a huge lotus blossom. I thought it would be cool if it was designed to open and close and it would have been really pretty if it were pink, but it didn’t open or close and it was just white. We attended a brief service and then we went to the Gandhi Museum. This Gandhi was really amazing, because the museum had you start in his room and then walk through to the courtyard and finish where he was shot and killed. Essentially, the museum was designed to take you through the last day of Gandhi’s life. It was really moving. They had Gandhi quotes that lined the path all the way to the courtyard and then they had a house that was part of the museum that gave a timeline of his life. Then we visited the Sikh Temple. We had to take our shoes and socks off and “wash” our feet in the water. I say “wash” because the water was like black, so it was more of a symbolic, religious act then a literal sparkly clean that you might think of when you think of “bath”. I really don’t know all that much about the Temples or the Indian religions and so we just observed the prayer and then had to bow as we left and then they handed us some dough to eat (although, none of us ate it) and then we went and looked at this pool that was blessed by a god and then we went to the airport to fly back to Chennai.

Last day in Delhi

The last day, a few of us went to a market near the hotel which was filled with people and silks, food, shoes, kitchen appliances, toys…you name it, they were selling it. The markets are hot and dusty, busy and crowded. But, we were so glad that we had some free time to go explore and we had a really good time. Then we headed back to the train station. While we waited on the platform in the dark, little kids jumped off arriving trains and begged for our soda bottles, cereal, scarves, watches, bracelets, jackets and sweaters. Little kids (about 4) were holding infants (little sisters and brothers) and the ones that weren’t begging for food from us would hop off the platforms and go through the trash on the train tracks. Homeless with no legs or arms were begging for money. Huge rats were wandering around the platforms and in between luggage. We boarded the train and headed back to Delhi.

Day 3: India

We got to the hotel and we went to the Agra Fort of the Mughal Dynasty, created by four emperors. The walls are 20 meters thick. Fatehpur sikri is a city that has been preserved for the past 400 years and the city was abandoned because they could not get water. Then we went to the Taj Mahal. I have seen lots of famous monuments but nothing could have prepared me for the Taj. I walked through the garden and made my way around the entrance and there was the Taj. It is such an incredible monument. India is so busy and non-stop that when you get the Taj it feels like time stops. It is quiet and calm and serene. As I walked up the path the Taj just gets more and more beautiful. It is something that you can’t capture in a picture. I had to keep pinching myself that I was there and I was looking at the real thing. It was amazing. The next day we went to Mother Teresa’s Ashram. I didn’t really know what to expect, but when I studied international social work I had the opportunity to visit a lot of orphanages. However, this was so much more overwhelming then I ever could have anticipated. First, a nun who worked with Mother Teresa met us and she showed us around the orphanage. The first room had newborns that were sleeping in rows and rows of cribs. Some of them had braces on their legs to keep their limbs growing the right direction. Then we went into the next room that had a large blanket on the floor about 15 newborns. They were all crawling around and these were the babies that would be adopted to Indian families. We got to hold the babies and play with them. Then we went into the next room where the disabled children were. They were sitting in beds and these children, we were told, would not be adopted. It was so hard to see such severe disabilities and suffering. Then we went to another set of rooms across the courtyard where the disabled babies would eventually go when they were older. These rooms held the disabled adults that ranged from ages 6-80. The orphanage and the nuns who managed it were providing love and care for so many disadvantaged children and adults and while it was good that these babies, children and adults were being well taken care of, it was so, so sad. I am still trying to process everything that I saw.

India: Day 2

Day two was the start to my adventures to the Taj Mahal. We had to fly to Delhi. They don’t have gates at their airport and so you just take a bus straight to the plane. We watched Friends on the airplane, which made me laugh…HAHA. It was a super nice flight. Then we got in and took a bus to the hotel. The hotel was so excited that we were coming that they met us at the doors with flower necklaces and blessed us as we came in and had a HUGE flower welcome arrangement in the lobby. The next day we took a train (the Taj Express) to Agra. The train is wild. There were monkeys (like the ones you see at the zoo (BEHIND GLASS)) just wandering around looking for food. The station is so crowded with billions of people going all directions. We rode first class…but India just smells, and so it was smelly—not our version of first class. They sell Chai and tomato soup and all kinds of Indian food…none of which I was adventurous to try... all of it totally random. Nothing on the train is labeled and there are no announcements for where you are or where you are going and so you have to just ask people around you…lucky for me, I was traveling with SAS and so I didn’t have to stress out trying to figure out where we were. It was so early in the morning that everyone outside was waking up and so as we were traveling I watched people wake up out the window, look through trash for food, and gathered around small fires. The poverty here is so heartbreaking.

India Day 1

I am still trying to process everything from India. The first day a group of us went out. We actually got pictured in the paper!!!--as drivers were ambushing us! We caught a rickshaw, which is a motorized scooter that holds two people. On the way to a market we got in a fender bender—also minute one. Our rickshaw driver was talking to the other rickshaw driver and a car pulled out in front of him and he swerved into us and we got sideswiped by a van in the oncoming lane, but we were all ok. We went to a consignment store (which drivers are tipped for if they take us there) and so everything was really over priced. Then we went to a restaurant and had yummy food and then we went and got silks. I didn’t opt to have a sari made because I would never in a billion years wear it in Portland, but I got lots of scarves! Some of the girls I was with got beautiful sari’s made... really beautiful! Then we went to a Temple. We left our shoes with our driver and bought flowers as a peace offering to leave at the shrine. I don’t know very much about Indian Culture and so I just kind of followed the group and left the flowers at the alter to be blessed and they took them and then I was blessed and then they hand you this mint type leaf and then there are candles and incents and whatnot. It was nice. My first impressions of India: Crowded, busy, poor, beautiful…takes your breath away by how many scents, sounds, colors, textures, garbage, rubbish, children, and poverty there is. India is like no place I have ever been before and I don’t think it will be like any place I will ever go. This was day one.

Mauritius

Hey All,

I just got back from Mauritius, which is an island off the coast of South Africa. If you hold up your left hand with your palm faced toward you that is the shape of Mauritius and so you can always find it on a map–or so my cab driver told me. Have any of you ever been in the MAC store and seen the screen savers of the white beaches with the perfect umbrella and endless turquoise water? Well, that is EXACTLY what Mauritius looks like. The first day that we got here, a group of us just threw a dart at the map and picked a beach to go to. For those of you that know me well, you know I am not fond of swimsuits and so you all would have been so surprised to actually see me in the ocean—even I couldn’t resist passing up the warm water and white sand! At one point I was chasing after a vollyball and actually fell into the water and got soaked from head to toe. However, I did end up talking about how much I miss cold Cannon Beach, warm chai, big bonfires in the rain and sweaters and boots (as I re-applied sunscreen).The rest of the day we just relaxed and had time to catch up with each other because we had all been so busy on various trips in South Africa and had midterms on the ship. We went to this really good Indian restaurant for dinner.

The next day I went on an SAS trip to see the volcano and the largest waterfall in Africa. We stopped at the Ghandi Center and learned about the do-do bird that went extinct a trillion years ago and all about the flora and fauna. We went and saw the 7 sands, which are the 7 sands of the world and they are all different colors. Then we got some free time at the beach before heading back to the ship. This was a short stop because we were only stopping for fuel. It was like a tiny spring break.  Now I am back on the ship and we are heading to India. I have a lot of presentations and tests coming up and so there is lots going on! I want to send a special thank you out to mom, Emma, Eli, and Julie for sending me “REAL” mail! You are the best! You made my day and all of your notes are up on my wall! I am half way to home! More to come soon! Love to everyone!

African Art!

Today was our last day in Cape Town! I am so sad! I absolutely love it here! First we went to this place called African Allsorts, based in Salt River. Brothers Jason and David Rosenstein established this bead and wire art company in March of 2004. Their primary goal is to create jobs in Africa! They employ local artists who are super talented bead workers and they make these absolutely AMAZING bead sculptures of animals, people, plants and bowls. We got a chance to meet all the artists and they taught us how to make beaded hearts. It was really cool! They are super talented and taught us some cool bead skills! Some of the animal sculptures were just insane! They had a life size zebra made entirely of beads! It was SO COOL! And the beads are small; like tiny beads that you make jewelry with. This one guy was making a beaded ladybug and so I told him, “I like your lady bug” and he said, “What is a lady bug?” and I pointed to the beaded sculpture in his hand and he said, “this is not a lady bug, this is a lady bird. “ I loved that! A ladybird! You can see pictures of these amazing pieces at www.africanallsorts.com. Then we went and visited Montebello Design Centre. It is such a cool place that reminded me so much of the Oregon College of Art and Craft. This place sits in the original farm buildings of the historic Montebello, in the middle of the greenbelt of Newlands, and is a development project for previously disadvantaged artists. They rent space to the artists and help them become independent self-employed artists. They had jewelry studios, pottery studios, a hand weavers studio (that mom would have LOVED!) a woodworking studio, a printing studio, and a greenhouse. They had a great café and we got hot chocolate and ate cranberry apple muffins. It was such a cool place. Then we went to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (that is on the slope of Devils peak). It is one of the world’s most famous botanical gardens! It has over 8,500 species of indigenous plant species! It is also home to one of the 6 floral kingdoms of the world! Mom and George would have gone nuts! This place was really, really incredible. We got to walk all around and have lunch. I love you Cape Town! Oh and a VERY HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY to Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu!

Inverdoorn Game Reserve

We drove out to the Karoo, past the wine region of Paarl and Tulbagh Valley to Ceres. This game reserve had 10,000 hectares dedicated to conservation, 1,2000 wild animals representing 28 different species. When we got there we had pineapple juice and hung out for a bit, then we got into our jeeps and headed out. We saw giraffes (which we got out of the jeep and got to walk on land with!), zebra, waterbuck, Oryx, sable antelope, kudu, impala and springbok. We also saw Cheetah and lions (Karl, the lions were so cool!)!!! Fun Fact time! Fun fact #1: The cheetah is an endangered species and one of the things we learned was that they have a hard time regulating their body temperature and the male cheetahs get hot when they run and they get so hot that their body heat kills their sperm and so that is one reason the number of cheetah cubs is so low. Fact #2: A zebra has different stripes on its left side then on its right side. Fact #3: A giraffe runs with its front right foot and back right foot and then runs with its front left foot that follows with its left back foot and a horse runs with its front two feet and its back to feet. Fact #4: A giraffes tongue can be up to a foot long!

Cape of Good Hope

I had a free day today and so I tagged along on a trip with a few friends. We got a driver to take us to Cape of Good Hope, which was a really pretty drive. Parts of South Africa remind me so much of Napa or Monterey Bay. We stopped at some lookouts and got amazing pictures of beaches. On our way to the Cape, my friend Jen (who is a world class horse back rider in the masters at home) looked out at the view and saw a house with horses and so we had our driver drive us to this house and she went and introduced herself and they ended up taking us on a 2 hour horse back riding trip down long beach and back. White beaches and the sunset and we were the only ones on the beach!!! I am not a horse rider and to be honest, not a big fan of horses, but this trip was SO much fun and it was so cool that we got to ride on the beach! The Cape was clear and the weather lucked out and so it was really fun to be at the southern most point of Africa!!! We had a low-key night of Calamari and Cider (I missed you Shep! They have amazing cider here!).

Wine lands!

Today I went to Stellenbosch (wine country) and we rented mountain bikes and biked the wine lands. We got to a vineyard and had a wine tasting and lunch! The wine was so good and they had certain foods out to try with certain wine, which was really neat. White wine and fish/shellfish/cheeses. Red wine and red meat.  It was really fun! I loved Stellenbosch. The university of Stellenbosch is right there and so it is a cool little college town with neat galleries, coffee shops, restaurants etc. I want to go to school there! The town reminded me a lot of the campus in Boulder CO! Logan, Julie, Spencer, Sam---you guys would have loved town! Emma, I wished you had been there for all tasting!

Table Mountain!

This morning we got up and went out to this amazing breakfast place that was just like St. Honore at home! I missed my mom and Alison so much because they would have LOVED this place so much! They had such good coffee! Then we went and packed a picnic lunch and took the hike up to Table Mountain! This hike was AMAZING! I LOVED IT! I wish that CJ, BJ, JFro, Dana, and Tony (and Trish and Dean to, although they hiked it like the day before I did☺) had been there to hike it with me because they would have loved it! The hike was a climb, very rocky and straight up! It took about 2 hours but it felt so good to get a good work out! The views were SPECTACULAR! We met lots of awesome travelers along the way from all over (the Netherlands, England, Iceland). I was so happy that we hiked it on such a clear and sunny day because sometimes, the clouds cover everything and so it was so great to get to the top and be able to see for miles and miles! We took the cable car down and it was this really cool egg shaped car that spun as it descended down the mountain so you get a 360-degree view! We did some shopping in the afternoon and then we went out to dinner and I tried Ostrich (Guy would have been so impressed!)—Tastes like steak if anyone was wondering!

From South Africa!

Wow! Wow! WOW! It has been such an amazing time in Cape Town South Africa! Whew, let me start from the beginning. We arrived on the 3rd of October. The port is BEAUTIFUL and reminds me so, so much of Mystic Sea Port. It is very touristy with lots of shops and ships and fish and chips. There was a small mall next door, which had a grocery store and so we took the morning to do some shopping. I love grocery shopping abroad! The foods and brands and things to taste and try are so yummy that we went a little crazy and bought a ton of cookies, crackers, granola, soymilk and Nutella to get us the rest of the way around the world. We had cheese and tomatoes crepes for lunch and then we headed out to the Khayelitsha Township.
This is one of South Africa’s fastest growing townships of about 2 million people. During our time in the township we got to visit the Philani Development Centre and Craft Shop that was started by the women in the town ship (with the help of Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu) to provide child health and nutrition to the children in the community. The women work in weaving, silk screen printing, bead work and fresco painting to create these amazing works of art and the proceeds from all the sales go directly to Philani Center! To learn more you can visit philani.org.za. The women were so gracious and showed us around the facility. It was really a special place. I could have stayed and talked and made art for days and days.
Our next stop was to the Kopanong B&B, which was started by women from Cape Town who lives in the township. She wanted visitors to see first hand what it was like to stay in a township and become a part of the neighborhood while visiting Cape Town. The room and board costs all get fed back into the community. I was bummed that I didn’t have more days in South Africa or I would have stayed here longer! The townships are shack after shack after shack and no words can describe the amount of poverty that these people live in. But, once you set foot in a township, you are welcomed into their communities, homes, and families. I found that the shacks are all quite beautiful. They have so much unique character in each scrap of metal, broken doorframe, shutter, wire, fencing, and windowpane. They are incredibly small and hold very little, but they are neat and tidy and well kept. We stopped in a park in the middle of the township and played with the kids at the playground. We sang songs and asked about school, family and music. The kids were so great and it was so good to spend time with them. Everyone was so incredibly friendly. We were sitting talking to some boys who were about 6 and 9 and the mom came over and we started to get up (because we were worried she was going to be upset for these strangers (us) to be talking to her kids) but as she came closer her arms were open wide and she grabbed me into a huge hug and squeezed me tight. I miss my mom so much so it was so nice to have a hug. Then she explained a bit about the neighborhood and the township.
That night we headed out to dinner and I was missing my uncle Guy and wishing that I could tell him all of my stories and so in honor of him I ordered a HUGE bowl of mussels! Cool fact: South Africans call traffic lights “robots”! So they would say, “go straight and turn right at the next robot.”

Reflection?I LOVE GHANA!

As I have said over and over, there is so much poverty in Ghana. It is so crowded and dirty and there is so much pollution and garbage. The landscape looks so fragile and delicate, as if one storm would blow down everything. Plastic bags and garbage pile up on the sides of the roads, most of the children don’t have shoes and their clothing is dirty and tattered. Not once did I see a hospital or a grocery store or a house that was fully built with a strong roof, front door and windows (like we see at home). The roads are so bad that what should take a half hour drive takes hours. There markets are filled with things that are imported or donated from America and all other corners of the world. Old refrigerators and TVs are used in Ghana homes as shelves and closets. However, there is a huge sense of community here. Most everyone walks everywhere and so they know each other.  If your shack is right next to someone else’s, you are also sharing a fire. And if you are sharing a fire, you are cooking and sharing vegetables. And if you are cooking, your children are playing outside and you are keeping an eye on them and so everyone is working together. At home, we spend so much time in the car and on the phone that we do not have these types of interactions with people. For the most part, we are self-sufficient and don’t need to depend on others to keep the fire burning and the clothes line dry. As a result we don’t interact with others face to face unless we make an effort to say hello in a grocery store or take a day to garden with a neighbor or have coffee. I fell in love with the sense of community and friendship that Ghanaian people have with one another. And truth be told, if we gave them the houses that we live in with buttons and washers and technology, they wouldn’t know what to do. And if I lived in their tiny little houses I wouldn’t know what to do either. The trick is to finding a balance to live a sustainable life. All of us need a strong foundation of friends and family. So, as we make our way to South Africa and I catch up on all my homework and papers, I hope that all of you at home will make some time to unplug and connect with those around you. Community is so important and over time our wants and needs will come and go but our friends and family are forever. Ghana is an amazing place and I hope that all of you get the chance to make a trip here at some point in time—I can’t wait to come back!

Habitat for Humanity

Today I went to a small village with some other SAS students and worked with Habitat for Humanity. At the sight they had three houses that they were working on. They had the foundations laid down and the houses were being made with cement blocks and concrete with tin roofs. We spent the day digging out concrete and thick clay mud that would eventually be the floor of this house. They had very little tools and it was so humid. But, we worked all day and it felt really good to be making a difference. While we were working some children that lived near by came over and talked with us. While we worked, they taught us songs and took pictures with our cameras. For lunch a few women came out of the bushes with 3 huge coolers and inside it was filled with 20 plates and forks and hot rice and chicken. It was such a good meal. I still want to know how they cook in the jungle with just a pot and some rice and live off so little. I have never seen so much poverty in my entire life, and yet they are so happy and giving. The kids are so cute and sweet and told us all about going to school and church and that they liked to play soccer. One little kid came up to me and asked for my shoes. He said that he couldn’t go to school because he didn’t have shoes. I wish that I had had a whole box of TOMS to give out.

The Water village

We took a trip to a water village. We drove about 3 hours out to this little town and walked out to a beach where small canoes were waiting for us. We got in and canoed out of town into this jungle. It was a 45-minute ride where we paddled through swampland, crocodile waters (although we didn’t see any) and passed by men and women making their daily commute by boat to their city. We are out in the middle of nowhere and it starts pouring rain and suddenly we see a little village of about 20 houses on stilts. We arrive and are welcomed by the men and women that live there. They take us through the village, which had a small schoolhouse, a church and one room houses with pots on hot coals cooking food and babies sleeping on small mats and children playing with a small deck of cards. The kids were so cute and we gave them our silly band bracelets. It is still so amazing to think that these people live in a water village—it is not even like a houseboat…it is like living on a dock. The story says that a snail led these people to this village and they have lived here ever since. They have chickens and fish and have a teacher and a doctor. They hang their laundry out to dry and make all their tools by hand. If they need anything, they take their canoe into town and get it. Otherwise, the village is entirely independent and self-sufficient. It was amazing. As I walked around I tried to envision myself living there and growing up on the water. After spending time with the villagers we made our way back into town and were met by Ghanaian people with fresh coconut that they cut open and handed to us. I don’t know about any of you, but I have never drunk straight from a coconut that was just cut from the tree, but it was tasty. We got lunch back in town at a restaurant and were sitting outside on the beach and all these little kids came over and sat near us. They were hungry and we ended up giving them our soda’s and plates of food.  It is heartbreaking to see so many poor and homeless children and families. They make do with so little, and we have so much to give.

The Water village

We took a trip to a water village. We drove about 3 hours out to this little town and walked out to a beach where small canoes were waiting for us. We got in and canoed out of town into this jungle. It was a 45-minute ride where we paddled through swampland, crocodile waters (although we didn’t see any) and passed by men and women making their daily commute by boat to their city. We are out in the middle of nowhere and it starts pouring rain and suddenly we see a little village of about 20 houses on stilts. We arrive and are welcomed by the men and women that live there. They take us through the village, which had a small schoolhouse, a church and one room houses with pots on hot coals cooking food and babies sleeping on small mats and children playing with a small deck of cards. The kids were so cute and we gave them our silly band bracelets. It is still so amazing to think that these people live in a water village—it is not even like a houseboat…it is like living on a dock. The story says that a snail led these people to this village and they have lived here ever since. They have chickens and fish and have a teacher and a doctor. They hang their laundry out to dry and make all their tools by hand. If they need anything, they take their canoe into town and get it. Otherwise, the village is entirely independent and self-sufficient. It was amazing. As I walked around I tried to envision myself living there and growing up on the water. After spending time with the villagers we made our way back into town and were met by Ghanaian people with fresh coconut that they cut open and handed to us. I don’t know about any of you, but I have never drunk straight from a coconut that was just cut from the tree, but it was tasty. We got lunch back in town at a restaurant and were sitting outside on the beach and all these little kids came over and sat near us. They were hungry and we ended up giving them our soda’s and plates of food.  It is heartbreaking to see so many poor and homeless children and families. They make do with so little, and we have so much to give.

Ghana

We arrived in Ghana and it was incredible. The first day we just explored the city. I wish that all of you could have been there with me because it is hard to put Ghana into words, but I will try my best to paint the picture in your mind. Ghana is a rainforest. Huge ferns and palm trees of green, wide muddy red roads with puddles and potholes that are so big that cars can get stuck (make for an VERY bumpy car ride), Ghanaian people running up to our taxi’s and busses waving and smiling, women carrying huge loads of bananas, fish and laundry on top of their heads and babies wrapped in pattered fabrics on their back. Shack upon shack with simple metal tin roofs and found pieces of shutters and wood that stack together that stand around small fires and lines of laundry, baby goats, pigs and stray dogs running all over. School children running around in beautiful bright colored outfits of purple and yellow and pink and little kids sitting beside their mothers, asleep in front of their tiny houses or gathered around a big bowl of mushy rice. Huge dark clouds roll in and tracheal rainstorms soak everything. Then the sun comes back out and all the while the air is humid, sticky, smoky, dusty, and tropical. The people are so welcoming. They have open arms and smiles that stretch from ear to ear. The invite us into their homes and markets, share stories and offer us rice, coconuts, fabrics, and beads…and that is just the beginning.

What happens at Sea?

Hey everyone! I know that it has been ages since I checked in! For all of you that are not SAS Alumni, you should know that time at sea is filled with full time work. It is a mad catch up when we all get back on the MV and have classes and papers and projects due and everything has to get done before our next stop. This is one of the many reasons this trip is NOT a vacation. Before I fill you in on all the Ghana details I wanted to share with you some of the things that we discuss while at sea. In my sustainable communities class we discuss a lot of issues both environmentally, economically and socially that affect the environment. My teacher reminds us “not to let the landscape over ride our mindscape.” We talk about a region, such as Ghana that was once inhabited by 2,000 and now has a population of over 3 million and how that affects community, resources and survival. We discuss our role as students, teachers, community builders, voyagers and travelers and the notion of “giving someone a fish or teaching them how to fish.” We refer to people in the field such as Howard (who studied the importance of garden cities), Mumford (who studied the growth of industrial cities) and Leopold (who said, treat the land for the land) and how these ideas relate to the now and our current state in the world.  From all this we conclude that we need “enough, for all, forever,” and it is up to us to take the next step to “be the change we wish to see in the world (Gandhi).”

From Morocco!

Hey All!

I know it has been a while since I checked in! I was backpacking my way through Morocco. Actually I took a bus, but I had everything in my backpack (Thanks to learning how to pack from my mom and Hope!) and then we trekked all around once we arrived with our backpacks! We got here during the end of Ramadan (which all depends on the moon) and so it was up to the moon when it would come to an end. But everything was closed and everyone was hungry and ready to celebrate! Once the moon ended Ramadan the celebrations began and it was really fun to be there for the occasion!

We got to Casa Blanca and had a day to just explore. I was impressed that I could remember how to get to the bank and the postage stamp stand from the last time I was here. The next day we took a bus to Marrakech. I missed the memo that Marrakech is in the desert (literally like Palm Desert, minus the golf courses and Hawaiian shirts and white shoes). I am not one to complain about weather…but it was SO SO HOT in Marrakech. It was kind of nuts. I have no idea how they have there heads covered and wear full-length clothing and don’t pass out from the heat, but they don’t. We stayed at this cool hotel with lots of tile. The shower didn’t work and there was no air conditioning and so we were roughing it, but it was in a perfect location and we had a good view of the city and it had a really pretty pool. The thing that I couldn’t seem to remember is not to drink the water—and so you can’t hold your toothbrush under the sink unless you want to get sick.  We found this awesome restaurant that literally felt like being in Oceans 11. The whole night I was waiting for George Clooney to come down this flight of marble stars that was lined with candles down the middle of the restaurant and sit down with us, but he never did. Tim Gunn would have been mad that I didn’t pack any “night out” clothes and literally wore Nike to dinner. Maybe good George didn’t drop by.
We visited the Bahia Palace, the Dar Said Museum and the reed-covered bazaars. The Palace has this AMAZING tile that you can’t possibly capture in a picture. It is totally incredible. My favorite part is that there were these circular holes in all the doors throughout the Palace and they put them in for all the feral cats that wander the palace so that none of them get stuck in one room and claw the place apart. We tried to imagine what it would be like to be a cat living in a Palace that was built in 1880. The gardens were really amazing with Palma granite (my favorite), grapefruit and oranges. At the markets we got a work out. It is so EXHAUSTING to get a good price and we literally spent an hour in one stand trying to get a good deal on a blanket. The guy was so funny, saying, “I am your friend, I say truth, I don’t spit because you cannot put that back in your mouth…so I give good deal.” We were literally in this blanket stand dishing it out with this guy for the best price—but it ended in success! A wool blanket from the Atlas Mountains! Then the guy wanted us to take his families name and number and stay with them in the Atlas Mountains. Not enough time! Ha-ha! That wore us out and so we left for the Jema el Fna Square and that was INSANE! There are these snake charmers that put snakes around your neck and NO means nothing. They have monkeys that they try to put on your head, fire-eaters and storytellers and tons and tons of food. It is wall to wall filled with people! It is nuts! I–THANKFULLY- did not have anything put around my neck or on my head, but a few guys got a hold of a fake snake just to freak me out!

The next day we went to Safi. We stopped in Essaouria and it was a cute little beach town. The shops were cute and we got Nutella Crepes which tasted so good, but are so bad for you. Then we got a carton of Moroccan OJ (Which is the best stuff on earth) and sat by the ocean with the International Herald Tribune and caught up on the world. When you are traveling the world you have no idea what is going on IN the world and when you are home sitting at your desk you know everything that is going on in the world! I miss news! Then we went to Safi. We got there late and so we had dinner and green tea. If you ever go to Morocco you have to have green tea. It is the second best stuff on earth and it is not sold at Starbucks or at Tazo. This stuff is SOOO GOOOD–AMAZING. The pottery in Safi is so pretty. It is impossible to choose what to get and so we took lots of pictures of things that we liked and the pottery wouldn’t fit in an overhead compartment unless we broke it into a bunch of little pieces anyway! Oh and Marla, if you are reading this, I got an AWESOME beaded bed cover in attempt to make my room as cozy as your dorm at Haystack! You would love it!

If you haven’t been to Morocco you should know this: Morocco is really special and it is such an amazing place, but it is also a hard place to visit. There is a lot of pollution and poverty and it is dirty and there is litter everywhere, homeless, hungry and shantytowns. It is busy: there is traffic, cars in all directions, donkeys carrying fruit and eggs and chickens. There are chickens for sale, (even, chicks that they dye in all different colors and sell in boxes) hookah, lots of yelling and shouting. There is peace: the call to prayer, compasses in cars and lights that flash from the tops of mosques that point to Mecca, and there are mosques with beautiful tile and patterned rugs to pray. It is dusty, dirty, hot, busy, and crowded with blue oceans, beaches, palm trees, mountains, olive orchards, sheep, goats and donkeys. There are people from all over the world, unlimited pot full’s of green tea, heaps that are all colors of the rainbow, henna and camels–and that is just a small taste.

The last day back in Casa Blanca we went to one of my FAVORITE restaurants (that I found last summer with Lauren—I missed you girl—and that I went to with Courtney and Brooke—missed you two too!) and ate amazing food and loaded up on as much green tea as possible. It was the perfect way to wrap up Morocco. I love it! I will miss it and I am excited for Ghana! Hugs to all of you and LOL---meaning LOTS OF LOVE!

First Taste of Morocco

We arrived in Morocco today and everyone is getting various trips figured out! It was a really short trip from Cadiz to Morocco and so we arrived a day early. I am heading to Marrakech and Essaouria for the time that we are here! We did have a chance to head out into town. I remembered where the bank was! Along the way we saw kittens, had chickens offered to us to buy, passed by all the markets and people and dodged cars and mopeds. I had forgotten how dirty/crazy/busy Morocco is!
Before I leave I have some late Thank you shout outs!: Thank you Emily and Kate for finding me Soy Milk in Spain. Thank you Nimish for putting this amazing map up on my blog during your internet time at the Cathedral. Thank you Kate for the Lemon Drops. Thank you Amy for the vitamin C. Thank you mom for my note that arrived in Spain!
Oh, and I heard a great tip of advice a few days ago that I forgot to share with everyone. Some times on SAS you have to use the “F” word ––– FLEXIBILITY.  We had one of those moments along the way last week and a friend turned to me and instead of saying the SAS “F” word, she said, “SIUAD”, which means: SUCK IT UP AND DEAL! I think that this is great advice. It is fall (my favorite time of the year) football is starting at home and if you find yourself not having enough time to read all my posts, you are feeling sorry for yourself that you can’t travel right now, you are getting back into the groove of school or work or whatever and you are missing me terribly, I want you to think to yourself, “SIUAD.”

From Spain!

Hey All,

It has been a few days since I have checked in! It has been so busy and time flies when we are in port. Our time in Cadiz was really fun. The first day I went on a dolphin watching tour and expected to see about 4 dolphins. We ended up seeing about 200 or more! It was really fun.
        The second day I went on a hike to Grazalema Natural Park! I had been there before and it is still one of my favorite places! You pass the white town route and go on about a 5 hour hike where you reach the Puerto de las Cumbres and at the top you can see the Andalucian Sierras, the boarder of France on one side and Morocco on the other. This is also only one of three forests in the world that has the Pinsapo pine tree and they have been around for over 600 years.
        The next day I went to Arcos and Rhonda. I have been to these places too, but I couldn’t wait to go back! Both are part of what they call, “The White Town Route.” These are small white villages that are tucked into mountainside. Arcos is this perfect little town with cobble stone streets that wind up the hillside, with one little church at the top of the hill with tiny little cafes that line the sides of the street. Once you reach the top, the views of the mountains, gardens and valley are spectacular.
        Rhonda was the last great uprising of the Moors against Ferdinand and Isabella and sits on the ridge of the Sierra, split by the Tajo Gorge and the sides of the cliff drop 400 feet. It was much busier than the last time I was there because at the Plaza de Toros (Bullfight Square) they were getting ready for a Bull Fight! They only have a bull fight three times a year, when everyone comes and watches the fight and it is a really big deal. The whole town comes to watch the fight– even the Royal Family was there! I made it to the Palacio Bosco, which is a house that was built in the 18th century and you are able to take a tour to see what a typical Andalucian house looks like from the inside. This house has AMAZING gardens and views of the Tajo River. While we were there, a tour guide told us that when Michelle Obama visited Rhonda she came to this house and spent a half an hour enjoying the gardens and the view!
        Then I headed to Seville and explored the city. There was so much to see and do. I had never been there before, but was hooked the second that we got to town. Some of the highlights included the Real Alcazar (Royal Palace), the Cathedral (we walked all the way to the top and could see views of the whole city)…the bell tower was 320 feet tall, we also went to the Archives museum and I was able to find Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle in Spanish! YAYAYAY!
        The last day in Spain, I spent in Cadiz with friends. We walked all over the city and went out for breakfast for the famous churros con chocolate! If you haven’t ever had this—it is just heaven on a plate. It is this fluffy pastry that you take and dip into a bowl of hot chocolate syrup and then you wash it down with café con leche (Coffee with milk). We found the post office and I ended up doing a little shopping and found two FABULOUS coats that I can’t wait to wear back in Portland. If any of you have ever seen the Seinfeld when Jerry buys that new leather jacket (with the pink lining) and is so excited that he wears it with his pajamas that was me last night. I had on my pj’s with my new jacket! 

Cadiz! Day 1:

Hey everyone!

We made it to Cadiz this morning! We got here just in time to eat breakfast and watch the sunrise over Cadiz with Dean David who joined us for breakfast. It was so nice. Everyone has scattered to the four winds for all their different trips. We watched everyone leave and then got ready and a group of us went on a boat trip to watch dolphins. We headed out with a Marine Biologist and I was expecting to see maybe 4 dolphins (if that). Well, not only did I see 4 dolphins, I saw about 200+ dolphins! It was crazy! We even saw a dead one (which was sad) and the biologist caught it in a net and brought it on board and some of us (no me) touched it.  It is super hot and sunny here and so it was the perfect trip to be on the ocean. We were on the trip with the marine biologist class on SAS and a lot of those kids are scuba certified and so it was fun to talk about all the goings on under the oce (ocean)!

The past few days I have been reading and working. Time management is one of the hardest things about SAS. There is never enough time in a day. And we kept loosing hours and so not only are/were we tired, but we are behind.

I am taking the following classes: Sustainable Communities, Video Journalism, Global Studies and Anthropology: Family Utopia. I am really liking my Sustainable Communities class. It makes me appreciate Portland (even more). Green is the new Black. We are ahead of the game! I love it! And Family Utopia has brought up a lot of good conversation and deep thinking. Yesterday we learned that god parents are supposed to support you, not only physically, but also spiritually (Rod and Charlie and Marg) and that their role holds a lot of responsibilities. I am still practicing the video stuff, but we are working in groups and so I think that will help.

Tomorrow I am running in Cadiz in the morning (YAYAAYAY!!!!) before heading for Rhonda and the White Town.

Peace and Love

Happy September First!

Hello,

 

A quick update from the ocean. We are almost to Spain...almost. Just two more days of ocean. So far we have seen one fishing boat and some islands and that is it! But the weather has been sunny and today is the first day with no sea patches, ginger or medicine! We finally have our sea legs!

 

The last few days have been class days and class logistics. It is really busy and hectic with tons of reading and a whole lot of work. There is a lot more reading and work than I remember there being the last time I was on SAS. Time management has been  tricky.

 

The cutest thing I saw today: There are some teachers on the ship who have twin 4 year old girls and they are so cute. While I was out on the 7th deck reading by the pool the twins came over and wanted to "make footprints.' They had their mom and dad dip their feet into the pool and then they would put the girls on the wood floor around the pool to dance around and "make footprints." They did this for like a half hour. It was so, so cute! I love having all the little kids on board!

 

The time change is nuts! We just keep loosing an hour everyday. I think Oregon is about 8 hours behind me now. Day and time have suddenly disappeared and now we just keep track of time by what port we are going to or are in and what classes we have.

 

I miss running on land so, so much. One of the treadmills is broken right now, but I am excited to get to Cadiz and run on land for a change!

 

Back to class for me!

 

 

 

From the Ocean!

Hey all,

I got settled in! I have an awesome roommate and we are having a good time! Today was orientation and getting ready for tomorrow's classes! Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu talked today and it is still so exciting that he is traveling with us! Very fun! Our room has a window which is pretty much like looking at the ocean on a big screen TV. I love it! We have decorated it from top to bottom and so it is super cozy.  Everyone is really nice and friendly and it has been great to get to hang out with some of my SAS 2009 Alumni!. I hope that the Hood to Coasters had a great race! I wish I could have been there!

How to reach me on the ocean!

Here is my Ship Email:

RJShaffer@semesteratsea.net

I hope to be hearing from all of you as I make my way around the world! 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain

Semester at Sea Round 2!!!

Hey Family and Friends,

I am heading around the world again! I know this is going to be a shock to some of you, since I didn't get around to telling everyone I was leaving before I left! Here is the scoop:

I am headed to:

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Cadiz, Spain
Casablanca, Morocco
Takoradi, Ghana
Cape Town, South Africa
Port Louis, Mauritius
Chennai, India
Singapore
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Hong Kong / Shanghai, China
Yokohama / Kobe, Japan
Honolulu / Hilo, Hawaii, USA
San Diego, California, USA

with: Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu!!!!

I am also sailing with some faculty from my past summer SAS 2009 trip and a whole new crew of amazing people I can't wait to meet!

If you don't know already, I am majoring in Liberal Studies with a focus in "Reciprocity in a Globalized Society" which means that traveling around the world is essential to my major and my interests. I have no doubt that Semester at Sea will open my eyes (yet again) to amazing places, experiences, adventures, friendships and discoveries! I wish that I could take all of you along, however, I am only limited to two suitcases and so I am keeping this blog so that you can live vicariously through me! I will try to keep it up to date as best I can!

Before I head out I want to send a special shout out to the Summer 09' kickit crew and my SAS 09' roomie Molly who will be in my thoughts every single day of this trip! To Carolyn, just keep on running and I will be home before you know it! Much love to all my friends and family and most importantly, thank you to my mom, dad, Lottie, and grand dad for giving me the world.
Love and peace