Sunday, October 14, 2007
Vietnam
Jow!
Day 1: Vietnam has the best port by far (out of the ones I have been too). I woke up at 5am to watch us come into port as usual, but this time it was a bit different. When I walked out to the bow, we were making our way up the river! As we were floating up river, I saw people waking up and beginning their day on their small riverboats. It was amazing seeing the sunrise come over the riverbanks through the lush forests and dancing on the water. This was the first clear sunrise that I have gotten to see since the beginning of the voyage. All of the other ports have either had bad weather or have been cloudy on our arrival day. So getting to see it was wonderful! It was an interesting feeling weaving through a river with small bamboo boats on either side while we were in our HUGE ship! When we arrived at the port, the ship cleared FAST (YAY) and we got off the ship right away. The Vietnamese were kind enough to give us a free shuttle from the port to the center of Ho Chi Minh City. I did not have a trip scheduled until later in the day, so I went with two of my friends and went into the city to do some exploring. We went to the Big Bazaar, which was HUGE!! It had things stacked up way above our heads and all there was no space between venders, only a small area to walk through the venders. After the market, we went back to the ship to meet our group to visit the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf and Orphanage.
The school was amazing! All of the students (ages 4-18) were extremely excited and interested in seeing us. Immediately they began trying to communicate with us. I quickly noticed that there were similar signs (Vietnamese) to American Sign Language! They went up to a girl and were asking what her name was and she did not understand what they were asking. I went up to her and told her what they were asking and she spelled it out. Once the students figured out that there were a few of us that knew sign language, they bombarded us with signs. But remember how I said there are a few similar signs… well there are A LOT of different ones!!! But I absolutely LOVED seeing the similarities and differences!!! The students had prepared a small performance for us that included dancing from the girls and break dancing from the boys! You could tell that they had been practicing for a long time and they were all sooo cute! After their performances, we got a chance to hang out with them one on one and answer any questions that they had. They had made their own translation booklets and that was the main form of communication. The boy that I was with was very curious about numbers, in particular how they are spelled in English. I found this very interesting mainly because I was expecting questions about sports, clothing, or anything… not numbers. Some time had passed and it was time for us to leave. The students had such a wonderful time with us, as we did with them. After the school visit, we made our way to an orphanage that had mainly children affected by the Agent Orange disease, a genetic disorder that is caused by the Americans dumping chemicals into the forests to clear out the leaves so that they could see the Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War. It mutated the DNA of the people, which then was passed on to their children. When we entered the facility, there were designated floors for the children. The bottom floor was for the children with Downs Syndrome and Autism and the second floor was for the children with Cerebral Palsy and the children with Agent Orange. I immediately felt a since of peace, almost as if I was exactly where I wanted/needed to be. A lot of girls on my trip began crying profusely and had to leave because they felt that it was too intense. The children were in beds (6 squares in 3 rows and 4 columns). I walked around and looked around the facility and the children, and then I came upon a little boy with Cerebral Palsy who looked as though he could be 4 years old, but was around 8 or 9. I rubbed his little hand and I got an immediate response and he slowly moved his head to look at me. The tour guide had mentioned that the children do not get a loving touch often, so you will get an immediate response from even the slightest contact. His small fingers opened slowly and grabbed my finger. With each move that he made it appeared very difficult for him, but he was determined to grab my finger and hold it as tightly as possible. I couldn’t help but smile at him and stare into his eyes. We were giving small gifts to play with the children, mine were fuzzy stickers, so I pulled one out and had him feel it then I stuck it to the side bar of his bed. He followed with his head to see where I was going to put it. About 10 minutes later I decided that I needed to pass out stickers to some other children. Not more than 2 minutes after leaving the boys side, he began to cry. I felt horrible, so I went back over to him and tried to comfort him. He stopped crying and then it was time for everyone to leave so I got back up and waved goodbye to him. As I was leaving the room he began to cry again, but this time I could not return to be with him. I felt really bad that we could not stay longer to play with the children, but I was so happy that I got a chance to see the facility and how they care for children with disabilities in Vietnam. I only took one photo at the orphanage… and that one photo says a thousand words for my visit there.
Day 2: Today I began my journey to the Mekong Delta with my SAS group. We took a bus from the ship to the delta, which was about a 2-hour bus ride. Along the way we passed rice farmers working out in the marshy rice fields. Within the fields were elevated tombs of the farmers family members that are buried far below the water levels to “help the rice grow and to watch over the fields.” We finally made it to the delta where a boat was awaiting our arrival. We hopped onto the small boat that was about as tall as me and made our way up the Mekong Delta. The river life was amazing to see, there were families living on small boats, houses on stilts with elaborate houses right next door, little children running along the riverbank waving at us. Our first stop was rice popcorn factory. It was a family owned and operated business where each member of the family had a specific job that they did every single day. We learned the process of making the rice popcorn, melting the coconut milk, and making the final product which looks a lot like a Rice Krispy Treat but it does not taste at all the same!!! They also made rice paper, which is used for making egg rolls and is also used to wrap any foods together to eat. After we learned how to make all the treats, we got to sit down and try them! Some were wonderful and some were not my cup of tea. Once we finished there, we made our way to a small village where we had a surprise bike ride waiting for us. When we got to the place where the bikes were I immediately thought to myself, “Maybe I could run while everyone bikes?!?!” I am not the best bicyclist, and luckily there was another girl who had a sort of phobia of bikes. We both ended up riding, and after about the first ½ mile, I began getting the hang of it! Then we went off roading… when I say off roading, I mean sharing a broken concrete walkway that we shared with MoPeds! At one point in time I had to bale off my bike because the MoPed almost ran over me! 45 minutes later we ended up at a persons house that they open up to the public and for backpackers to come and hang out. We also got a chance to see their family pet… A PYTHON!!! For any of you that know me well, I don’t do snakes! Everyone in my group held it and took photos with it while my friend Kiya and I were standing a good distance away. Once everyone had a chance to hold it, they turned to us and said, “You’re only in Vietnam once and why not conquer your fears here!” So we decided to hold it together… we kept the head far away from us and well… I am still scared S***TLESS of snakes!!! Maybe even more now! We had tea and tried exotic fruits and SNAKE WINE!!! Which I personally did not like AT ALL!!! The photo says it all! We then continued on our bike ride and I saw the beautiful countryside and all of the lush forests. After the bike ride we got back onto the boat and headed to the home where we stayed the night. This was not any ordinary home, it was a house on the river on stilts and we slept in cots with bug nets around us!!! There were hammocks to take naps on (the best nap of my life!), and a jungle for the backyard! It was an amazing experience!!! We helped to cook dinner, veggie rice paper rolls, “standing fish,” and a few other dishes. When we finished eating dinner a local traditional singing group came on the boat and sang to us and did a little theater acting as well.
Day 3: We woke up to the LOUD sound of motorboats driving by at 5:30am, so we got up and ate breakfast, which consisted of bread, jam, cheese, bananas, tea, and coffee. Then we said goodbye to our host family and went to a brick and pottery factory. It was interesting to see the process and to see how they reuse all of the materials. We saw where most of the Home Depot and LOWES pottery comes from (not for sure, but that is the running joke). After the tour, we got back on our little boat and were treated to fresh coconut milk straight out of the coconut! We got back to the dock where our bus was waiting and left that section of the delta. We had to take a ferry across the river in order to get to our hotel. We went ahead of our bus and took the ferry… it was INSANE!!! There were more MoPeds than I have ever seen in my entire life!!! I think I almost got ran over at least 10 times!!! We met our bus on the other side and went to our hotel. We had an hour for free time then we went to an Orphanage for homeless children on a surprise visit! The children were so excited to see us and the big ice breaker was letting them play with our cameras! A boy that I gave mine too was hilarious; he would take photos of everything from people to artwork. He actually took really good photos, but all of the kids thought that it was so funny that they could see the photos after taking them. We sang songs with them, taught them some English words, and ate LOTS of candy! It was time for us to go, so we said our goodbyes and went to visit some temples. We went to a Buddhist Temple where we got the opportunity to talk with a Monk. I learned a lot about Buddhism by simply seeing him and listening to the way he answered questions. When the Monk was finished talking with us, we headed back to the hotel, then ate dinner on a rooftop, and eventually went to bed.
Day 4: Yet again we had an early morning, but this time it was to go to the floating market. We got onto another small boat and went to see the market up close and personal. The venders sell mostly fruits and vegetables on their boats and the way to tell what they are selling is by looking at a pole that is hoisted up (it has the fruit or veggie attached). We went onto a boat that was selling pineapple, they cut some up for us and we had “pineapple lollipops!” They were DELIOUSOUS!!!! Then we went to what I like to call the “living market.” Basically everything they are selling is still alive; frogs, fish, crabs, snakes, etc. I also noticed that they use EVERY part of the animals; head, eyes, feet, neck, EVERYTHING!!! It was certainly an experience!!! It was almost time for us to head back to the ship, so we went to the bus and grabbed a bite to eat. The Vietnamese cuisine was sooo good!!! I loved their style of cooking!!!
Day 5: I had no trips on this day, so I walked around Ho Chi Minh City with some friends and bought some gifts for everyone!!! We had to be back on the ship before 9pm and it was raining, so it was a pretty uneventful day.
Overall Vietnam was AMAZING and I absolutely loved the Vietnamese hospitality and the people. The land is beautiful and I learned so much from my visit there!!!!
Day 1: Vietnam has the best port by far (out of the ones I have been too). I woke up at 5am to watch us come into port as usual, but this time it was a bit different. When I walked out to the bow, we were making our way up the river! As we were floating up river, I saw people waking up and beginning their day on their small riverboats. It was amazing seeing the sunrise come over the riverbanks through the lush forests and dancing on the water. This was the first clear sunrise that I have gotten to see since the beginning of the voyage. All of the other ports have either had bad weather or have been cloudy on our arrival day. So getting to see it was wonderful! It was an interesting feeling weaving through a river with small bamboo boats on either side while we were in our HUGE ship! When we arrived at the port, the ship cleared FAST (YAY) and we got off the ship right away. The Vietnamese were kind enough to give us a free shuttle from the port to the center of Ho Chi Minh City. I did not have a trip scheduled until later in the day, so I went with two of my friends and went into the city to do some exploring. We went to the Big Bazaar, which was HUGE!! It had things stacked up way above our heads and all there was no space between venders, only a small area to walk through the venders. After the market, we went back to the ship to meet our group to visit the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf and Orphanage.
The school was amazing! All of the students (ages 4-18) were extremely excited and interested in seeing us. Immediately they began trying to communicate with us. I quickly noticed that there were similar signs (Vietnamese) to American Sign Language! They went up to a girl and were asking what her name was and she did not understand what they were asking. I went up to her and told her what they were asking and she spelled it out. Once the students figured out that there were a few of us that knew sign language, they bombarded us with signs. But remember how I said there are a few similar signs… well there are A LOT of different ones!!! But I absolutely LOVED seeing the similarities and differences!!! The students had prepared a small performance for us that included dancing from the girls and break dancing from the boys! You could tell that they had been practicing for a long time and they were all sooo cute! After their performances, we got a chance to hang out with them one on one and answer any questions that they had. They had made their own translation booklets and that was the main form of communication. The boy that I was with was very curious about numbers, in particular how they are spelled in English. I found this very interesting mainly because I was expecting questions about sports, clothing, or anything… not numbers. Some time had passed and it was time for us to leave. The students had such a wonderful time with us, as we did with them. After the school visit, we made our way to an orphanage that had mainly children affected by the Agent Orange disease, a genetic disorder that is caused by the Americans dumping chemicals into the forests to clear out the leaves so that they could see the Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War. It mutated the DNA of the people, which then was passed on to their children. When we entered the facility, there were designated floors for the children. The bottom floor was for the children with Downs Syndrome and Autism and the second floor was for the children with Cerebral Palsy and the children with Agent Orange. I immediately felt a since of peace, almost as if I was exactly where I wanted/needed to be. A lot of girls on my trip began crying profusely and had to leave because they felt that it was too intense. The children were in beds (6 squares in 3 rows and 4 columns). I walked around and looked around the facility and the children, and then I came upon a little boy with Cerebral Palsy who looked as though he could be 4 years old, but was around 8 or 9. I rubbed his little hand and I got an immediate response and he slowly moved his head to look at me. The tour guide had mentioned that the children do not get a loving touch often, so you will get an immediate response from even the slightest contact. His small fingers opened slowly and grabbed my finger. With each move that he made it appeared very difficult for him, but he was determined to grab my finger and hold it as tightly as possible. I couldn’t help but smile at him and stare into his eyes. We were giving small gifts to play with the children, mine were fuzzy stickers, so I pulled one out and had him feel it then I stuck it to the side bar of his bed. He followed with his head to see where I was going to put it. About 10 minutes later I decided that I needed to pass out stickers to some other children. Not more than 2 minutes after leaving the boys side, he began to cry. I felt horrible, so I went back over to him and tried to comfort him. He stopped crying and then it was time for everyone to leave so I got back up and waved goodbye to him. As I was leaving the room he began to cry again, but this time I could not return to be with him. I felt really bad that we could not stay longer to play with the children, but I was so happy that I got a chance to see the facility and how they care for children with disabilities in Vietnam. I only took one photo at the orphanage… and that one photo says a thousand words for my visit there.
Day 2: Today I began my journey to the Mekong Delta with my SAS group. We took a bus from the ship to the delta, which was about a 2-hour bus ride. Along the way we passed rice farmers working out in the marshy rice fields. Within the fields were elevated tombs of the farmers family members that are buried far below the water levels to “help the rice grow and to watch over the fields.” We finally made it to the delta where a boat was awaiting our arrival. We hopped onto the small boat that was about as tall as me and made our way up the Mekong Delta. The river life was amazing to see, there were families living on small boats, houses on stilts with elaborate houses right next door, little children running along the riverbank waving at us. Our first stop was rice popcorn factory. It was a family owned and operated business where each member of the family had a specific job that they did every single day. We learned the process of making the rice popcorn, melting the coconut milk, and making the final product which looks a lot like a Rice Krispy Treat but it does not taste at all the same!!! They also made rice paper, which is used for making egg rolls and is also used to wrap any foods together to eat. After we learned how to make all the treats, we got to sit down and try them! Some were wonderful and some were not my cup of tea. Once we finished there, we made our way to a small village where we had a surprise bike ride waiting for us. When we got to the place where the bikes were I immediately thought to myself, “Maybe I could run while everyone bikes?!?!” I am not the best bicyclist, and luckily there was another girl who had a sort of phobia of bikes. We both ended up riding, and after about the first ½ mile, I began getting the hang of it! Then we went off roading… when I say off roading, I mean sharing a broken concrete walkway that we shared with MoPeds! At one point in time I had to bale off my bike because the MoPed almost ran over me! 45 minutes later we ended up at a persons house that they open up to the public and for backpackers to come and hang out. We also got a chance to see their family pet… A PYTHON!!! For any of you that know me well, I don’t do snakes! Everyone in my group held it and took photos with it while my friend Kiya and I were standing a good distance away. Once everyone had a chance to hold it, they turned to us and said, “You’re only in Vietnam once and why not conquer your fears here!” So we decided to hold it together… we kept the head far away from us and well… I am still scared S***TLESS of snakes!!! Maybe even more now! We had tea and tried exotic fruits and SNAKE WINE!!! Which I personally did not like AT ALL!!! The photo says it all! We then continued on our bike ride and I saw the beautiful countryside and all of the lush forests. After the bike ride we got back onto the boat and headed to the home where we stayed the night. This was not any ordinary home, it was a house on the river on stilts and we slept in cots with bug nets around us!!! There were hammocks to take naps on (the best nap of my life!), and a jungle for the backyard! It was an amazing experience!!! We helped to cook dinner, veggie rice paper rolls, “standing fish,” and a few other dishes. When we finished eating dinner a local traditional singing group came on the boat and sang to us and did a little theater acting as well.
Day 3: We woke up to the LOUD sound of motorboats driving by at 5:30am, so we got up and ate breakfast, which consisted of bread, jam, cheese, bananas, tea, and coffee. Then we said goodbye to our host family and went to a brick and pottery factory. It was interesting to see the process and to see how they reuse all of the materials. We saw where most of the Home Depot and LOWES pottery comes from (not for sure, but that is the running joke). After the tour, we got back on our little boat and were treated to fresh coconut milk straight out of the coconut! We got back to the dock where our bus was waiting and left that section of the delta. We had to take a ferry across the river in order to get to our hotel. We went ahead of our bus and took the ferry… it was INSANE!!! There were more MoPeds than I have ever seen in my entire life!!! I think I almost got ran over at least 10 times!!! We met our bus on the other side and went to our hotel. We had an hour for free time then we went to an Orphanage for homeless children on a surprise visit! The children were so excited to see us and the big ice breaker was letting them play with our cameras! A boy that I gave mine too was hilarious; he would take photos of everything from people to artwork. He actually took really good photos, but all of the kids thought that it was so funny that they could see the photos after taking them. We sang songs with them, taught them some English words, and ate LOTS of candy! It was time for us to go, so we said our goodbyes and went to visit some temples. We went to a Buddhist Temple where we got the opportunity to talk with a Monk. I learned a lot about Buddhism by simply seeing him and listening to the way he answered questions. When the Monk was finished talking with us, we headed back to the hotel, then ate dinner on a rooftop, and eventually went to bed.
Day 4: Yet again we had an early morning, but this time it was to go to the floating market. We got onto another small boat and went to see the market up close and personal. The venders sell mostly fruits and vegetables on their boats and the way to tell what they are selling is by looking at a pole that is hoisted up (it has the fruit or veggie attached). We went onto a boat that was selling pineapple, they cut some up for us and we had “pineapple lollipops!” They were DELIOUSOUS!!!! Then we went to what I like to call the “living market.” Basically everything they are selling is still alive; frogs, fish, crabs, snakes, etc. I also noticed that they use EVERY part of the animals; head, eyes, feet, neck, EVERYTHING!!! It was certainly an experience!!! It was almost time for us to head back to the ship, so we went to the bus and grabbed a bite to eat. The Vietnamese cuisine was sooo good!!! I loved their style of cooking!!!
Day 5: I had no trips on this day, so I walked around Ho Chi Minh City with some friends and bought some gifts for everyone!!! We had to be back on the ship before 9pm and it was raining, so it was a pretty uneventful day.
Overall Vietnam was AMAZING and I absolutely loved the Vietnamese hospitality and the people. The land is beautiful and I learned so much from my visit there!!!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Hong Kong
I only had one day in Hong Kong, but I was able to see a lot of the city! Hong Kong reminds me a lot of LA or New York City (what I have seen on TV). There were tons of higher class stores such as Parada, LV, Burberry, and many others!
I went to the Animal Oceanic Park where I learned about the Giant Panda Bears and Dolphins. Unfortunatly it was POURING RAIN so the trip wasn't as fun as it could've been. We had to buy ponchos and walk around in the monson but it was still pretty interesting and fun! 
When I got back to the ship I was able to see the famous city light show. There is a seciton of the city that is located on the seaside and we were docked in the front row. It was cool, but I could only see a small portion of it because I was invited to meet with the man whose father invented the Semester at Sea Program!!! 
He donates tons of money to the program and is fulfilling his father's dream of International Education. It was such an honor to meet him!!! However when I shook his hand, it was softer than mine!!!! Awkward!!!! 
After the meeting he gave a speech to us about his love for Interational Education and how proud he is of the program. Overall Hong Kong was a very short lived trip, but I was happy that I got to see it!!! Next stop Vietnam!!! 
Monday, October 1, 2007
China
Ni Hao!!!
I woke up early to watch us come into port, but there wasn't much to be scene because we are traveling in between typhoons so the weather hasn't been exceptional. As we sailed in, I could begin to see the buildings and lightnouses in the fog. In each port a portliner comes with a man that jumps onto the ship and drives the ship into the dock. I have made many friends with the crew members, three in particular. Their names are Edgar (a waiter), Tyrell "Chuck" Norris and Vald (the piano bar guys). Unfortunately Edgar had finished his time on the ship and was heading back to the Phillipines after Hong Kong, so this was the last time that we would see each other:( We said our goodbyes and wished each other a great future full of excitement! After the ship cleared immigration Nicole, Kelsey, and I threw on our rain gear and were set free in Quindao!
The port was a little inconvinent because it was a shipping yard!!! We were weaving in and out of cars and giant storage boxes in order to get to the main road get flag a taxi!!! We took a cab to the Chinese version of WalMart which was interesting becuase there were actual department stores within the building and a full food market in the bottom of the store. In Quindao there are different streets for each type of dress, such as Wedding Street, Resturant Street, and Beer Street. We were warned that people would stare at us because they are not used to seeing Americans and well they were RIGHT!!! I have never had sooo many people stare at me at once, as we walked down the street EVERYONE was looking at us and pointing as though we were naked or something!!! But all we could do was laugh and smile and wave. Later Kelsey and I went to tour the Tsingdao Brewey and it was really interesting to see the process of making beer and the beer was pretty tasty too!!! 
We walked around the city for a few more hours in the rain and then made our way back to the ship. It was really cool seeing the area where the sailing portion for the 2008 Olympic Games are going to take place!
The next day I flew to Guilin, China which is known for its beautiful gumdrop hills. I thought that I was going into a rural area but I was wrong there were lights in the trees and on the edge of bridges!!! It was a pretty touristy area!!! The following day we went on a river boat cruise along the Le River where we saw the beautiful scenery of Guilin. It was a 4 hour cruise and there are no words to describe how beautiful it was and the pictures don't do give it justice. There were small villages, water buffalo, water taxis, and cranes!!!
There were only 14 people on my trip, 5 students and the rest were professors and life long learners. It turned out to be really fun getting to know all of them. We ended up in a small town called Yangshuo where we went shopping. Then we went to the 1300 year old banyon tree where I took a photo with monkey's!!! During the photo they began to argue and slap each other... yeah... I was not feeling the monkey's after that. We took a 2 hour bus ride back to the hotel where we ate dinner and hit the sack!!!
The following day was full of relaxation. We woke up at 6:30am and had a Tai Chi lesson with a Tai Chi Master. I found it to be really relaxing and cleared my mind. After we ate breakfast and went to Seven Star Park where we saw 3,000 years of history combined with Disney character billboards surrounding it. IT was interesting to see how the children and grandparents fit in with the scenery. We went to see the Giant Panda, Yue Yue, and he was soooo big and cute!!!
We saw bonsai gardens, and had a rock and fossil tour. Then went to Yao Mountain where we took a ski lift or "cable car" up to the top and saw a beautiful view of the city. On our way down 4 of the girls and I went on the Alpine Slide which was a pretty good time. After the slide we had a traditional Chinese art professor teach us how to paint. I was not a very good artist, but it was still really interesting and fun. After we left and ate dinner our tour guide asked us if we wanted to go and get massages. The girls and I leaped at the opportunity and went to get foot and body massages.
The massage parlor was VERY different from what I was expecting mainly because when we walked into the back room there were many many many half naked men getting massages in the same room!!!! All you could hear were slapping and hitting noises and there were only curtains separating us. We were the ONLY women in the entire room besides 3 other massage theripists!!! My friend Ness and I were put into a room together, THANK GOD, and were given a SMALL towel and then left alone. We looked at each other, laughed, and decided to leave our clothes on and waited for the theripists to come back. Once the men came back and began massaging our faces, necks, and arms I figured out quite quickly that this was a reflexology massage. As he continued down to my legs, I began laughing really hard because I am SUPER ticklish there and I think that I scared him a little bit. It didn't help hearing all of the noises in the background and thinking about how akward the whole experience was. 
Then he massaged, or a better word BEAT, my back!!! I was slapped, chopped, and practically punched all to "relax" my body!!! He kept telling me to relax but how could you when getting your back beatin' to oblivion!!! After it was all over, I began feeling a bit more relaxed, but the next day I had a few bruises from my experience and was a little sore too.
On our final day in Guilin we went to the Reed Flute Caves that are located inside one of the hills. It was opened in 1962 and has been a tourist attraction ever since. When you walk into the caves, they are lit up with neon lights which makes them appear really beautiful and vibrant. After the caves we went to the South China Sea Pearl Factory where we learned about how pearls are collected, raised, and how to tell if your pearls are real or fake. It was pretty interesting and it was fun to see all of the pearls. Then we went to a Traditional Chinese Medical Center where we learned about the traditional herbs used for medicine in China. It was really cool to see which herbs treat what and how they do not used over the counter drugs liek we do. It was time for us to catch our flight to Hong Kong to meet the ship and we said Good Bye to China and Hello to Hong Kong!!!!
I woke up early to watch us come into port, but there wasn't much to be scene because we are traveling in between typhoons so the weather hasn't been exceptional. As we sailed in, I could begin to see the buildings and lightnouses in the fog. In each port a portliner comes with a man that jumps onto the ship and drives the ship into the dock. I have made many friends with the crew members, three in particular. Their names are Edgar (a waiter), Tyrell "Chuck" Norris and Vald (the piano bar guys). Unfortunately Edgar had finished his time on the ship and was heading back to the Phillipines after Hong Kong, so this was the last time that we would see each other:( We said our goodbyes and wished each other a great future full of excitement! After the ship cleared immigration Nicole, Kelsey, and I threw on our rain gear and were set free in Quindao!
The port was a little inconvinent because it was a shipping yard!!! We were weaving in and out of cars and giant storage boxes in order to get to the main road get flag a taxi!!! We took a cab to the Chinese version of WalMart which was interesting becuase there were actual department stores within the building and a full food market in the bottom of the store. In Quindao there are different streets for each type of dress, such as Wedding Street, Resturant Street, and Beer Street. We were warned that people would stare at us because they are not used to seeing Americans and well they were RIGHT!!! I have never had sooo many people stare at me at once, as we walked down the street EVERYONE was looking at us and pointing as though we were naked or something!!! But all we could do was laugh and smile and wave. Later Kelsey and I went to tour the Tsingdao Brewey and it was really interesting to see the process of making beer and the beer was pretty tasty too!!! 
We walked around the city for a few more hours in the rain and then made our way back to the ship. It was really cool seeing the area where the sailing portion for the 2008 Olympic Games are going to take place!
The next day I flew to Guilin, China which is known for its beautiful gumdrop hills. I thought that I was going into a rural area but I was wrong there were lights in the trees and on the edge of bridges!!! It was a pretty touristy area!!! The following day we went on a river boat cruise along the Le River where we saw the beautiful scenery of Guilin. It was a 4 hour cruise and there are no words to describe how beautiful it was and the pictures don't do give it justice. There were small villages, water buffalo, water taxis, and cranes!!!
There were only 14 people on my trip, 5 students and the rest were professors and life long learners. It turned out to be really fun getting to know all of them. We ended up in a small town called Yangshuo where we went shopping. Then we went to the 1300 year old banyon tree where I took a photo with monkey's!!! During the photo they began to argue and slap each other... yeah... I was not feeling the monkey's after that. We took a 2 hour bus ride back to the hotel where we ate dinner and hit the sack!!!
The following day was full of relaxation. We woke up at 6:30am and had a Tai Chi lesson with a Tai Chi Master. I found it to be really relaxing and cleared my mind. After we ate breakfast and went to Seven Star Park where we saw 3,000 years of history combined with Disney character billboards surrounding it. IT was interesting to see how the children and grandparents fit in with the scenery. We went to see the Giant Panda, Yue Yue, and he was soooo big and cute!!!
We saw bonsai gardens, and had a rock and fossil tour. Then went to Yao Mountain where we took a ski lift or "cable car" up to the top and saw a beautiful view of the city. On our way down 4 of the girls and I went on the Alpine Slide which was a pretty good time. After the slide we had a traditional Chinese art professor teach us how to paint. I was not a very good artist, but it was still really interesting and fun. After we left and ate dinner our tour guide asked us if we wanted to go and get massages. The girls and I leaped at the opportunity and went to get foot and body massages.
The massage parlor was VERY different from what I was expecting mainly because when we walked into the back room there were many many many half naked men getting massages in the same room!!!! All you could hear were slapping and hitting noises and there were only curtains separating us. We were the ONLY women in the entire room besides 3 other massage theripists!!! My friend Ness and I were put into a room together, THANK GOD, and were given a SMALL towel and then left alone. We looked at each other, laughed, and decided to leave our clothes on and waited for the theripists to come back. Once the men came back and began massaging our faces, necks, and arms I figured out quite quickly that this was a reflexology massage. As he continued down to my legs, I began laughing really hard because I am SUPER ticklish there and I think that I scared him a little bit. It didn't help hearing all of the noises in the background and thinking about how akward the whole experience was. 
Then he massaged, or a better word BEAT, my back!!! I was slapped, chopped, and practically punched all to "relax" my body!!! He kept telling me to relax but how could you when getting your back beatin' to oblivion!!! After it was all over, I began feeling a bit more relaxed, but the next day I had a few bruises from my experience and was a little sore too.
On our final day in Guilin we went to the Reed Flute Caves that are located inside one of the hills. It was opened in 1962 and has been a tourist attraction ever since. When you walk into the caves, they are lit up with neon lights which makes them appear really beautiful and vibrant. After the caves we went to the South China Sea Pearl Factory where we learned about how pearls are collected, raised, and how to tell if your pearls are real or fake. It was pretty interesting and it was fun to see all of the pearls. Then we went to a Traditional Chinese Medical Center where we learned about the traditional herbs used for medicine in China. It was really cool to see which herbs treat what and how they do not used over the counter drugs liek we do. It was time for us to catch our flight to Hong Kong to meet the ship and we said Good Bye to China and Hello to Hong Kong!!!!
Japan!!!
Konichiwa Everyone!!!!
Well I have just finished up my Japanese adventure and I am now in Quindao, China! But let me give you a run down of Japan!!! I got into Yokohama, Japan at 5:30am and I woke up to watch us to sail into port. We were actually in the middle of a Typhoon while coming into port so it was REALLY rainy!!!! But as we got closer to the port, the clouds and fog cleared and we could see the city!!! This was the first time in Semester at Sea history that the ship ported in Yokohama! So there was a BIG ceremony with the Ambassador of Yokohama and the Capitan exchanging gifts. The ceremony was followed by a music and dance performance then the Ambassador gave everyone on the ship handkerchiefs called “Happies.”
After the ceremony I began my trip around Yokohama and Tokyo. I got a full tour of Yokohama City and it is really compact and high (if that makes any since). The city is full of millions of people all of whom are really friendly and helpful!!! While in Yokohama, we went to a garden that was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! It was full of old buildings and bridges from the early dynasties!!!
After that we went to a cemetery called the “Foreigner’s Cemetery.” It was interesting and elegant. Then we went to the 52nd floor of a building that had windows all the way around so that you could see the entire city!!! There are a lot of similarities with the country of Japan and the United States a lot of the stores and merchandise are similar and the price of items is only about $2 difference. Japan is pretty pricy but all of the stuff that I bought was worth it!!! 
But with the similarities comes many, many differences!!! Such as people drive on the other side of the street!!! Which is quite scary when sitting on the tour bus watching them make left hand turns on a red!!!! And when getting off of the bus you take a left… NOT a right!!! It is a weird feeling, let me tell ya!!! Some other differences include, tipping (you do not tip in Japan), tax (there is no tax on things purchased), and toilets!!! Yes rather than having a porslin bowl to sit on, you have a hole to stand over and well… you can do the math!!! Luckily in every public restroom, there were one or two stales that had “western style” toilets!!! YAY!!!! And in the hotel rooms there was western style along with heated seats, a spray and bide option, and a deodorizer button!!!! Oh the Japanese does it right!!! 
Once we finished the Yokohama tour, we made our way to Tokyo!!! Tokyo was unlike anything that I have ever imagined!!! There are lights EVERYWHERE and the technology was INSANE!!! There were people constantly walking around and getting on and off the subway sooo fast!!!! Speaking of the subway, the way people travel in Japan is CLOSE, in your personal space plus some CLOSE!!!! But it was an entertaining experience!!! I saw so many amazing things in Tokyo such as Shrines, Temples, the Sky Scape with a view of the entire city, the property of the Emperor, and the Electronics District. Tokyo was a lot different looking than Yokohama, in the fact that the city had more high rise apartments and buildings rather than high rises and small suburbs. Overall I really enjoyed Tokyo and Yokohama and the hospitality in both cities was superb!!!
My roommate and I traveled on our own while the ship went from Yokohama to Kobe. There was one day in between for us to go and explore Japan! We stayed in a hostel in Yokohama and then woke up and took the bullet Train to Kyoto and explored the ancient capital.
While in Kyoto we saw some Giesha’s, which I found extremely exciting because they really are the face of Japan!!! I tried green tea ice cream as well… and it was surprisingly tasty and I am now HOOKED!!! Unfortunately I do not think that I will be able to find it anywhere else on my journey!!! After Kyoto we made our way to Kobe and stayed the night at another hostel. The next morning we got up early and went to the pier to watch the ship sail in!!! That is only time that we will get to see it sail to us rather than having us sail with it!!! So that was really exciting. The ship was greeted by a band and dance performers!!! After the dance performance, we were invited up to learn the dance and perform it with them!!! It was really fun and I learned the “YES” Dance!!!! Then I was off to Hiroshima!!! We took the bullet train to Hiroshima and then toured the city and went to the hotel and ate a big Japanese style dinner!!! Within that dinner, was snake!!!!! Which I was not informed of until after consuming it!!!! 
But it was actually pretty tasty and I would not eat it ever again mostly because snakes FREAK ME OUT!!!! The next morning we went to the Hiroshima Memorials that are set up around the “A Bomb Dome” which is the only remaining building after the bombing. Seeing all of the Memorials and then visiting the Peace Memorial Museum was an eye opening experience!!! There were A LOT of artifacts recovered from the bombing mostly children’s clothing and some other items that are a little more grusem.
I learned sooo much from visiting the museum and I realized that there is a lot that we don’t know about that day in history. It was an erie sensation being around all of the memorials and the museum especially after being at Pearl Harbor and seeing both sides of the story. I am extremely happy that I went to Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor both because now I feel that I have the full knowledge of the entire situation and I am able to share the stories of the memorial.
Japan is an amazing hospitiable country that I recommend everyone going to at some point in their life!!! All of the people are very interested in Americans and want to help tourists constantly!!!! The land was absolutely beautiful and rich in culture!!! I learned sooo much from the 5 day visit and I cannot wait to show you all more photos from my journey and tell you even more stories because this e-mail barely scratches the surface!!!! I love all of you sooo much and I cannot wait to tell you about China!!!!! Peace, Love and Happiness!!!!
☺ Bo Jaymes Forster ☺
Well I have just finished up my Japanese adventure and I am now in Quindao, China! But let me give you a run down of Japan!!! I got into Yokohama, Japan at 5:30am and I woke up to watch us to sail into port. We were actually in the middle of a Typhoon while coming into port so it was REALLY rainy!!!! But as we got closer to the port, the clouds and fog cleared and we could see the city!!! This was the first time in Semester at Sea history that the ship ported in Yokohama! So there was a BIG ceremony with the Ambassador of Yokohama and the Capitan exchanging gifts. The ceremony was followed by a music and dance performance then the Ambassador gave everyone on the ship handkerchiefs called “Happies.”
After the ceremony I began my trip around Yokohama and Tokyo. I got a full tour of Yokohama City and it is really compact and high (if that makes any since). The city is full of millions of people all of whom are really friendly and helpful!!! While in Yokohama, we went to a garden that was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! It was full of old buildings and bridges from the early dynasties!!!
After that we went to a cemetery called the “Foreigner’s Cemetery.” It was interesting and elegant. Then we went to the 52nd floor of a building that had windows all the way around so that you could see the entire city!!! There are a lot of similarities with the country of Japan and the United States a lot of the stores and merchandise are similar and the price of items is only about $2 difference. Japan is pretty pricy but all of the stuff that I bought was worth it!!! 
But with the similarities comes many, many differences!!! Such as people drive on the other side of the street!!! Which is quite scary when sitting on the tour bus watching them make left hand turns on a red!!!! And when getting off of the bus you take a left… NOT a right!!! It is a weird feeling, let me tell ya!!! Some other differences include, tipping (you do not tip in Japan), tax (there is no tax on things purchased), and toilets!!! Yes rather than having a porslin bowl to sit on, you have a hole to stand over and well… you can do the math!!! Luckily in every public restroom, there were one or two stales that had “western style” toilets!!! YAY!!!! And in the hotel rooms there was western style along with heated seats, a spray and bide option, and a deodorizer button!!!! Oh the Japanese does it right!!! 
Once we finished the Yokohama tour, we made our way to Tokyo!!! Tokyo was unlike anything that I have ever imagined!!! There are lights EVERYWHERE and the technology was INSANE!!! There were people constantly walking around and getting on and off the subway sooo fast!!!! Speaking of the subway, the way people travel in Japan is CLOSE, in your personal space plus some CLOSE!!!! But it was an entertaining experience!!! I saw so many amazing things in Tokyo such as Shrines, Temples, the Sky Scape with a view of the entire city, the property of the Emperor, and the Electronics District. Tokyo was a lot different looking than Yokohama, in the fact that the city had more high rise apartments and buildings rather than high rises and small suburbs. Overall I really enjoyed Tokyo and Yokohama and the hospitality in both cities was superb!!!
My roommate and I traveled on our own while the ship went from Yokohama to Kobe. There was one day in between for us to go and explore Japan! We stayed in a hostel in Yokohama and then woke up and took the bullet Train to Kyoto and explored the ancient capital.
While in Kyoto we saw some Giesha’s, which I found extremely exciting because they really are the face of Japan!!! I tried green tea ice cream as well… and it was surprisingly tasty and I am now HOOKED!!! Unfortunately I do not think that I will be able to find it anywhere else on my journey!!! After Kyoto we made our way to Kobe and stayed the night at another hostel. The next morning we got up early and went to the pier to watch the ship sail in!!! That is only time that we will get to see it sail to us rather than having us sail with it!!! So that was really exciting. The ship was greeted by a band and dance performers!!! After the dance performance, we were invited up to learn the dance and perform it with them!!! It was really fun and I learned the “YES” Dance!!!! Then I was off to Hiroshima!!! We took the bullet train to Hiroshima and then toured the city and went to the hotel and ate a big Japanese style dinner!!! Within that dinner, was snake!!!!! Which I was not informed of until after consuming it!!!! 
But it was actually pretty tasty and I would not eat it ever again mostly because snakes FREAK ME OUT!!!! The next morning we went to the Hiroshima Memorials that are set up around the “A Bomb Dome” which is the only remaining building after the bombing. Seeing all of the Memorials and then visiting the Peace Memorial Museum was an eye opening experience!!! There were A LOT of artifacts recovered from the bombing mostly children’s clothing and some other items that are a little more grusem.
I learned sooo much from visiting the museum and I realized that there is a lot that we don’t know about that day in history. It was an erie sensation being around all of the memorials and the museum especially after being at Pearl Harbor and seeing both sides of the story. I am extremely happy that I went to Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor both because now I feel that I have the full knowledge of the entire situation and I am able to share the stories of the memorial.
Japan is an amazing hospitiable country that I recommend everyone going to at some point in their life!!! All of the people are very interested in Americans and want to help tourists constantly!!!! The land was absolutely beautiful and rich in culture!!! I learned sooo much from the 5 day visit and I cannot wait to show you all more photos from my journey and tell you even more stories because this e-mail barely scratches the surface!!!! I love all of you sooo much and I cannot wait to tell you about China!!!!! Peace, Love and Happiness!!!!☺ Bo Jaymes Forster ☺
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