Hawaii

We spent our untraditional Thanksgiving in Hawaii. Family was exempt, home was distant, and typical customs were nonexistent. Ship dinner on the previous night included all the expected Thanksgiving foods so that piece of the puzzle had already been taken care of. Plans were not made, as with most other ports, and nationalism ran high. It had been over three months since stepping foot on American soil so the idea of an understandable language, currency, and culture was exciting. This day was clearly going to be more like the Fourth of July, rather than Thanksgiving.

We got out of port around 8:15am, easily snagging taxis. I will never take a common language for granted after this trip. Speaking to the cab driver in uninhibited English was refreshing, and almost a foreign idea in itself. We made our way to Walmart and immediately felt at home. After circumnavigating the world, making stops in so many impoverished areas, and taking classes that correspond to similar ideas, I expected to be more active in noticing labor differences, Made In China stickers, and overall cleanliness. Instead, it was a pretty typical super store-shopping trip, complete with two hundred SAS kids who had the same idea. The candy, alcohol, and beach toy aisles were raided and, for a second, I wondered if it was possible that everything was forgotten as we fell right back into our old ways. Perhaps Big Brother was successful in conditioning us to think that America is the only way. Or perhaps twenty years will always overcome three months, no matter the devastating, life changing experiences that those three months held. I wrote the notion off at the time, but today I have realized this was one more concept that is truly relative, as with most other things on this trip. The idea of change is relative- what was the starting point of this modification and in what direction, at what speed, did it occur? I expected to view everything in a different light, but perhaps, it will not be drastic- perhaps it will just be better in the sense that it will enhance the direction from which these once-everyday scenes are viewed.

After our Wal Mart invasion, we called the same taxi driver to take us to a black sand beach about twenty minutes away. We were with a huge group so the caravan of taxis was a clear sign that this beach of local Thanksgiving-celebrating families was about to be impacted. The far right side of the beach housed a cove that was perfect for us- beautiful and easy to access, but still protecting the families and other locals from our potentially invasive activities. There were around fifty of us there, with bags of snacks and jugs of spiked guava juice. It was an interesting scene and one that I’m happy was hidden from the general public. I had bought a water gun and a blowup pink inter-tube so my day centered on these thoroughly amusing beach toys. Throughout the day, many comments were made about picking up little pieces of trash and not leaving anything on the beach. I truly think that the attitude and outcome would have been completely different previous to the trip, before seeing other country’s, in specific India’s, rubbish situation. This was a small sign that this trip did more than show us all a good time. I climbed around the black rocks, using the phone that worked for the first time, calling relatives and friends. There were four turtles in the shallow area, sheltered by the high rocks, which were cool because they were so Hawaii-typical and so close and easily seen. I swam out and floated on the inter tube with two other friends for a while and had a water fight that reminded me a lot of the 4th of July. Spending a day with these people that have become so close and that would soon be on the other side of the country was fun in itself. It was great that we were in Hawaii but I’m aware that Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Honduras are not about the locations- they’re about the people. These people that we’ve traveled with, had life changing experiences with, gotten injured and sick with, and lived with will now be a five-hour flight away. This idea is sad and quite bizarre because of how close we’ve gotten over the past few months.

After the beach, we went to the downtown area, which was full of closed shops because of the holiday, and a small Farmer’s market. We sampled some of the fruits and talked with a girl working at a jewelry stand for a while. I’ve noticed how this trip has caused most of us to randomly talk to strangers a lot more. If the language barrier is surmountable, cab drivers, merchants, and locals in general undoubtedly provide the best experiences. We walked two miles to Ken’s Pancake House, which was the only place open for Thanksgiving meals. My friends all ordered pancakes, breakfast burritos, and hamburgers, but this seemed like blasphemy to me, so I ordered a Thanksgiving dinner. We then took a cab to the Rainbow Waterfall and hiked all around it, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Keep in mind that this entire time, including the diner and waterfall hike, I had the pink inter tube around me- pictures are a bit strange but it was a conversation starter throughout the day. A few of the guys swam at the top of the waterfall but it was freezing cold and we were cutting it close, so they made it quick and we headed back to the port in time for on-ship time.

It was a fast 10 hours but a very fun, unconventional way to spend Thanksgiving with great friends in a beautiful place. Nothing that usually reminds me of the holiday was present but, after these past months, I have never been more thankful on a Thanksgiving.

Japan

Day 1:
The first day, following a long customs line, Lindsay and I took the subway to the train to Kyoto. Public transportation is known to be incredibly efficient, easy to navigate, and the best way to travel. The trains’ cars are attached but not by solid metal and create a sense of buoyancy. Every time I was on one, I felt like I was riding the Asian Polar Express. As we sped through southern Japan, we noticed how there were no gaps in the buildings. We covered a fair amount of land and never saw rural areas. There were both residential and commercial buildings, but never farmland of any sort. After arriving in Kyoto, we wandered around the extensive train station and found a sushi restaurant. The sushi chef and hostess were so incredibly welcoming and friendly and it really set the tone for the rest of the trip. This was our first interaction with Japanese locals, which was so refreshing after our experiences in Vietnam and a few in China. We pointed to a few pictures on the menu that looked familiar enough and ended up with tuna hand rolls and cucumber rolls. They were really good and shockingly fresh. We wandered around, found a map and started walking. We had opted out of taking the bus, mainly because we had no idea which line to take, so we walked in the general direction of where we knew we wanted to go. It wasn’t an extremely busy city and we were far enough away from the touristy sites that I felt like we got a good sense of suburban, residential life. We walked for a while and then saw a little building with a ton of bikes in front of it. We asked, or rather played charades, inquiring if we could rent the bicycles. We learned that the people living in the apartment building next door in fact owned them. He talked to his wife for a little while and she ended up drawing us an extensive map to what we thought was a bike rental store. They didn’t speak one word of English but they took so much time to be friendly and help us out. We followed the map and never found the store, but we really did appreciate their effort. Lindsay and I found the area we were looking for that had a touristy street, temples, and traditional Japanese buildings. We walked around all of the pagodas and were shocked to find that there were no non-Japanese tourists there. All of the people that had come to see the Kyoto sights were other Japanese. One of the buildings, in back of the temple, was symbolic of Buddha’s mother’s womb. We took off our shoes and entered the completely pitch black building, led by a rope into a small room one-by-one that had a dimly lit large stone with carvings all over it. It is said that, while placing your hands on the stone, the wish that you make is the strongest in the world. We made a wish and realized that we also made it on 11/11/2011, which tied our American superstitions to the Japanese traditions. This was a really cool experience and one of my favorites so far. We exited and made our way to the other side of the temple where we wandered around and basically watched people. The temples that we went to in India were religious buildings that Indians went to every day. These temples in Japan were big monuments that Japanese go to as a special event, and not on a daily basis. Again, we really felt the friendly and welcoming presence. One man offered us incense sticks to burn that he had just paid for. Others offered to take pictures of us with our camera, not that they wanted a picture for themselves, but that they wanted us to remember our day. Everyone smiled and tried to communicate on a very basic level. Afterwards, we made our way to the world-renowned love stones. It is said that if you make your way from one to the other with your eyes completely closed, you will find your true love. After this trip, that’s definitely not a priority, but it was pretty cool to do with other Japanese schoolgirls our same age. Afterwards, we walked back towards the train station. We stopped to get ice cream, which was possibly the best I have ever had (Dad- you would eat bowls on bowls), and figure out the bus routes. We went grocery shopping and bought a few drinks before remembering that it’s not socially acceptable to eat and drink in public. We found a glass cubicle in the train station on our layover that was designated for eating and drinking. There was an elderly Japanese man sitting in it drinking two different beers at once, so we figured we were allowed, and joined him. Lindsay and I made it back to the ship, ate dinner onboard, and met up with a group to head out. We wandered for a while, amazed at the bright lights. Everything at night in Japan is BRIGHT- and fluorescent. The signs are so lit up and so close together, that they take the idea of clashing to the next level. It truly is the hardest place in the world to play I Spy. A girl convinced us to come in her restaurant and we took the elevator up to the top floor, right above a casino. We took off our shoes and sat on the floor in our own, separated room to share some more dinner. Every table is in a separate room and waiters knock whenever entering. There are buttons on every table that you press to get service, and they always appear right away. In addition, the way that you order in most Japanese restaurants is completely different than in America. Instead of speaking to a person, there’s an easy-to-read, advanced screen for every table. You navigate and press the button for each option, selecting whatever item you wish to order. Afterwards, we walked through the casino downstairs and wandered some more around the city. We decided to call it an early night because we didn’t find anything too fun for less than a fortune cover charge. Right before reaching the ship, we ran into the Japanese tour company that was organizing events for Semester at Sea kids. They had rented out a bar for the night about fifteen minutes away so we hopped in their car and spent our night there.

Day 2:
Lindsay and I sleepily made our way to Nara- Japan’s old, historical, previous capitol. We immediately realized that the rumors were true- deer were everywhere. They roamed the streets, unconfined and clearly respected. There were stands lining the streets to buy small, round cracker-like snacks to feed the deer with. Children pet the alarmingly calm animals as they wandered around. Lindsay and I really loved this day as well because it was such a normal, relaxing day. There were no expectations and we really felt intermingled with the population, especially the incredibly cute kids. We had a picnic in the park of fish sandwiches and apricot tea, both of which were unlike any I had ever had. The deer would come up every once in awhile and families were tossing baseballs around us. It was a regular Saturday for them, a time to relax and spend time with family, and we were in the midst of it. We then walked to a more touristy area and saw another temple, got ice cream, and headed to the site of the biggest Buddha statue in the world. The area that housed the Buddha reminded me very much of the Taj Mahal- the size, the gates, and the symmetry. We didn’t pay the entry fee to go inside but we were able to see part of it from outside the closest gate. Japanese kids, who were learning English, approached us in order to interview us for a school project. They asked us basic questions about where we were from and why we were in Nara- they could not grasp the concept of Semester at Sea or the ship, but to be honest, I still don’t fully understand it. I’m still not sure if I’ll ever comprehend the vastness of the experience we are having. I never bought food for the deer but one little Japanese boy came up and shared with me. It was clear that these children were taught the value of sharing and kindness from an early age. In Nara, we also really noticed the fashion. Before even arriving in Tokyo, a fashion capital of the world, it was apparent that these girls know how to dress. It was an average day for them but they were extremely put together and looking amazing, in their own way. I was wearing running clothes, a bright green backwards hat, sunglasses, a blue windbreaker and hadn’t showered in 36 hours so I felt a little out of the loop, but they still accepted us. Another thing we really noticed was the accuracy of the peace sign stereotype. They don’t just throw the peace sign up when taking pictures on vacation. They peace sign is EVERYWHERE- used at any opportunity, by everyone- even old women. We discussed whether it is a fad or a permanent, cultural symbol and still don’t know the answer. Another thing that we noticed is the word “Hashamashe” – (I’m butchering the spelling probably as much as I was the pronunciation). This word is used in America when entering sushi restaurants and is used EVERYWHERE in Japan- while walking by every type of shop or restaurant, and more. We took the train back to the ship, had dinner, got ready, and packed for the next few days. Lindsay and I met up with the big group- 9 of us. These are the same people that I have traveled with since Malaysia and we always have the best time. Two of my other friends, Chelsea and Mitch, who didn’t know this group, joined us and it became a huge dream team. While waiting outside at one point, we started talking with two Japanese girls our age that knew a tiny bit of English. We mainly signed but they made it very clear how much they love Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean. We took a train to Osaka and found a hostel. Japan is known for being super expensive and we were all traveling on an extreme budget so we went to the sketchiest, cheapest places. Most either didn’t have open rooms, or didn’t want to rent them out to loud Americans- probably the latter option. We finally found one and got a few rooms- Japanese style- meaning there are no beds, just tiny, tiny rooms with a mat on the floor. There is one communal bathroom per floor and no other amenities, but it ended up being perfect. We talked to people later who couldn’t find housing for less than $60/person so we were pretty proud to say that we paid $12/person. Talk about bargain hunters! After dropping our stuff off, we made our way to Club 7-11 (Japan is too expensive for much more). We bought Strong Zeros (Japanese Four Lokos) and individually wrapped sushi triangles. We then ended up at a tiny bar where the owner invited us into his back room. We all squeezed into the room around one table on the floor and had a really fun night. We wandered around and explored a grocery store- it was so colorful and bright and different than any in America.

Day 3:
We woke up and immediately split up. We have learned that day trips are often best in small groups so Lindsay, Wendy, and I took the train to Mount Rokko. Mount Rokko is an island off of Kobe that is connected by a large bridge. We got there and took a cable car and gondola to the top to a city called Arima. Arima is a mountain town that has a few resorts and an indoor skiing facility. We walked for a while to a large public bath and spent most of our day around there. The public bath was extremely nice and well organized. We entered, removing our shoes, and promptly paid to receive our locker key and robe outfit. We went to one locker room, changed, and walked to another room, where we used the second key to leave those clothes. It was a well-thought out process that made a lot of sense but was fairly complicated. We then just went for it, disrobing and entering the area where clothes are not allowed. This was a huge, huge culture shock. Spending such a large amount of time completely naked with two friends and otherwise all Japanese women, going from sauna to bath to hot spring is a pretty unique experience. There were multiple rooms, both outdoors and inside, that offered places to bathe and relax. There was one big room with stools and mirrors side-by-side lining every wall. It was packed with women sitting on the stools and using handheld spouts to cleanse themselves with combs and soap. It was a really cool, and liberating, thing to experience. It was pretty apparent how crucial it was to act like this was a normal thing that we did- staring, shock, or hesitation was a sign of weakness. While on the cable car back down the mountain, a little girl, about seven years old, came up and gave me a few pieces of candy. I responded with my best attempt at a thank you- “arrigato”- and she replied in perfect English “I’m Korean” and walked away. Woops! We made our way back to the bottom of the mountain, ate McDonald’s (the first time on this trip, but we had to break down at some point) and headed back to meet up with everyone. McDonald’s, and other fast food places, all have a lot more room for seating than they would in America. This is because of the cultural view that eating in public, while walking, is not respectful. Even the convenience stores have little booths. We met the guys at our central, designated meeting spot- a lingerie store (I wonder who decided that) and headed to the bus stop. We got on the overnight bus for Tokyo, tired from the day and excited for our next stop. The bus was from 10pm-7am, but I probably got 3 hours of sleep. Aside from our friends, it was full of Japanese locals that clearly wanted us to be silent. I was blessed with a seat in the last row, which reclined all the way, right next to a window. Others were not so lucky so I took advantage of it by getting a few hours of sleep and resting. The bus would make stops at random truck stops every hour-and-a-half so people could use the restroom or purchase items from vending machines. (Vending machines are wildly popular in Japan and offer anything and everything that you could imagine). At one of these stops, half asleep and in a daze, I accidentally boarded the wrong bus. I walked all the way to the back before realizing my mistake. There wasn’t one white person on the bus- they were staring heavily but I thought that it was just because I was white. They chuckled as I threw up my hands, laughed at myself, and stumbled off. Stupid American! We arrived at 7am, tired, but ready to take on Tokyo.

Day 4: We got off the bus feeling tired and in great need of a shower, so we made a stop in the train station restroom. We washed our faces, as much of our bodies as possible, brushed our teeth, and changed clothes. The Japanese population heading to work seemed a bit confused but I’ve gotten used to being the grungy, out-of-place backpacker. We found lockers to rent and started our day in Tokyo. Lindsay, Ken, Tim, and I spent the day doing as much as humanly possible. We first took the train to the kitchen district where we walked around and looked at all the bizarre street food. There were fish tails pinned to a board, dried octopi, and every type of live fish you could imagine. We had sushi, the freshest of the fresh, and got some coffee to go. Throughout Tokyo, I noticed that they have really intricate walking devices. There would be one conjoined escalator that went from an incline to flat to an incline. Everything about this country is just beyond efficient. Everyone is orderly and stand in a line on one side, without fail, so that anyone in a hurry can run past on the other side. My entire time in Japan, I had been searching for a Japanese Vogue magazine. My friend Nicole from home really, really wanted one so I had stopped at every magazine stand or any store that might possibly have one. My dedication had become a joke between the people I had been travelling with at this point but Ken recommended that I try a bookstore that we passed and I FOUND IT! It was a very exciting moment! We then wandered for a while and ended up in a seven-floor electronic store, filled will everything under the sun. We played around in the music section for a while and then made our way to Harujuku district. (Nicole and Kate- this is your happy place). Japanese fashion and pop music are my new favorite things in the world. There was one main, crowded street with tons of stores and restaurants. The clothes in the stores were so, incredibly tempting and if I’m ever given a shopping spree, I want it to be there. Crepe shops split up the retail stores and offer every flavor imaginable. We shopped around for a little while but the boys got antsy quick so we had some curry for lunch, split a crepe, and headed for the temple. The temple was about to close so we hurried down the long entryway, which was covered and surrounded by immense trees and wildlife. It was incredibly beautiful and the flowers were out of this world. At almost every temple, off to the side, there is a place to hang wooden signs that individual temple-goers have written on. It was pretty cool because we cam upon a sign that our friend had written the day before. We then headed back, hung out at a pub for a few hours, and waited to meet up with Ken’s friend, Yuchi. Yuchi has lived in Japan his whole life and worked with Ken when Ken interned in Tokyo last summer. He is 25 and extremely successful. He spoke enough English for us to communicate on a basic level and Ken translated the rest. He took us to a ramen house where we ordered miso ramen- SO GOOD. The food in Japan was amazing, different, and for the most part, very fresh and healthy. Yuchi paid for everything, was so welcoming, and talked to us about everything under the sun. He told us about Japan’s business culture, where you oftentimes work 7am to 7pm, six days a week. This is a common schedule and necessary to become remotely successful. Yuchi invests in foreign currency and has about 8 million US dollars in his control every week. Afterwards, we went to a bar and talked a lot more. Again, there was the screen where you order and the drinks come almost instantaneously. For the entire voyage, my group of friends has been playing a game called Birdman- which is the most childish, yet entertaining, game ever. If someone is looking away, and you put your hands in circles over your eyes, and that person looks at you, he or she has to immediately lie on the floor. However, if that person somehow senses that you are going to Birdman them, or sees it in their peripheral vision, and blocks it by circling only one eye, than you have to lie on the floor. It sounds so incredibly stupid but is funny in certain instances. For example, my personal favorite was when Lindsay and I Birdmanned Colin as he was passing through the silent, orderly Japanese customs line. Anyways, we taught Yuchi and his friend Aoki how to play Birdman and they loved it. It was quite funny to see two proper guys in suits get so into such a bizarre game, especially when it is considered inappropriate to sit on the floor outside. They instantly caught on and were doing very well by the end of the night- a prime example of the Japanese learning curve. We caught the last train back to the ship in Yokohama and slept in our own beds that night, which was very much needed.

Day 5: Ken, Lindsay, and I spent the last day exploring Yokohama. It was basically a quaint port town with shops and restaurants, but nothing huge was going on. We just walked and enjoyed great conversation, ate curry, and shopped a little bit. We ran into a friend of ours who showed us a tattoo that she had gotten on her left butt cheek. It spelled out “Ubuntu” with an anchor next to it. Ubuntu is a word that we learned the first day of Semester at Sea and means, “I am who you are”. It’s supposed to signify a “global citizen” but has really just turned into an overused cliché for everyone on the voyage. I wonder how she’ll feel about that one in a few years. We made it back to the ship an hour ahead of on-ship time and went straight to bed.

All of the countries that we have visited have been amazing in their own way. India was the most emotional, eye-opening country, while South Africa had the most to do and was the most convenient. Malaysia was the best 24-hours of my life while Vietnam was gorgeous and had amazing food. Japan was, in my opinion, the most well rounded port. I loved the people that I travelled with and it was the perfect mix of culture and fun. In my mind, even though we still have three ports to go, the bulk of major ports are over. Hawaii is only for one day, Costa Rica and Guatemala both for two each. Each of these three will be very fun, but I’m not expecting any of them to be as crazy as what we have seen in the past few months. I am so incredibly happy with the way that things have gone and would not trade any experience for the world. The people that I have met here will be in my life for a very long time. That being said, I am getting ready to be home. I miss being home, my family, the Ducks, and DG a lot more than I expected I would. I never thought that I would be homesick because I rarely am while at school. The idea that I could be enjoying this so much yet still yearning for home a little bit is strange, but I think that it’s just because I wish that everyone from home could be here, experiencing it all as well. There is nine days on the ship before Hawaii, and we get to live Nov. 19th twice as we cross the International Dateline. My life will revolve around improving my grades, working out, and spending time with all of the amazing people onboard the MV Explorer.

SHANGHAI

Day 1:

We woke up and got off the boat pretty early, relative to other ports. Since there were less of us “in transit”, there were less passports and bodies to get through customs. I walked out of port with four others that were “in transit” and, after walking around trying to find an ATM, we hopped in a cab in an attempt to find a specific water market that we had heard of. I have no idea how to spell the name of the market but it had a lot of X’s and Z’s in it, if anyone’s been here. It was about an hour away from port but it would have taken a lot longer had we not had the driver we did. He cut in and out on the freeway, driving fast and scary- it was a bit disconcerting. We passed through the city of Shanghai, as well as the suburban areas surrounding it, and were amazed at the sheer immensity of it all. Typically in a large city, the buildings are all massively tall and clustered. In Shanghai, some are close together, but many are a block or so apart and go on forever, so that it looks like the highest skyline spans for the entire country. We passed sets of apartment buildings- five identical skyscrapers in a row, with laundry hanging out the window, that clearly houses the incredible population that China accommodates. We had no idea that our destination was over an hour away, so the one girl that spoke a little Mandarin kept asking how much longer. Even she had no idea what he was saying in response so we just went with it. We ended up getting there, but we’re lucky that the taxi fares are cheap. The water market consists of streets upon streets of tourist goods, restaurants, and local shops on either side of a river. Small waterways wind through the shops, which create the need for decorative, authentic bridges. We saw maybe two or three white people the entire time that we were there. There were definitely souvenir, tourist shops, but I got that feeling that those were for Chinese from other parts of the country. It was a very authentic experience and going in the shops that were for locals was very interesting. The grocery store really blew my mind because, in a way, it was very similar to ours. However, it had bins and bins to scoop jello-candies and aisles of food I had never seen or heard of. Dried cucumbers, anyone? We walked around and shopped, finding that people were speaking the truth when they said to do all your shopping in China. At one point, I was bargaining with a woman over a necklace. She kept telling me that it was her lowest price ever because I was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. I asked her if she told all her customers that. She dropped her Asian accent a good amount and responded “yeah- gotta make a buck”. My friend and I couldn’t stop laughing and ended up talking with the woman for a while. We appreciated the honesty and ended up buying the necklace. We went to an extremely local restaurant for lunch- we were stared at and we stared right back when we were handed the menu with no pictures, solely in Mandarin. After a few confusing exchanges, she handed us a torn, brown menu that had some English on it. There was clearly only one of these in the restaurant and it had not been used for some time. We ordered hot and sour soup, which had mushrooms and most agreed, was terrible. We also had a bowl of spicy tofu, which I really liked, and egg fried rice, that was fresh and amazing. We headed back to the ship to drop off our things and immediately head out to explore the Bund. The Bund is the waterfront that houses many shops, restaurants, and monuments. We walked along, mainly focusing on the bright buildings across the water. Shanghai is similar to Hong Kong in that it has such a variety of architecture. There is one building that is a straight needle with three spheres on top of each other. They are bright pink in the daytime and have a type of organized light show at night. One sphere is a restaurant, one is an observation room, and I’m not sure about the other. A joke between a few friends about me is my obsession with the babies that we have seen on the trip. For some reason, the African and Asian babies are, in my eyes, so much more adorable than most white babies. (Adoption might have to happen). Every time I see one, I stop and try to play with them. Often, the parents look at me with fear, but sometimes it works. Hong Kong had so many babies, that it was quite overwhelming. We’ve heard in class about how their child population drastically outweighs the elderly, which poses a population growth problem. However, I had no idea how apparent it would be. In Shanghai, as we were walking along the Bund, I was approached by a mother who wanted me to hold her son and take a bunch of pictures. It was pretty funny because they had just been making fun of my borderline inappropriate obsession. I think that she requested my contact because I was the only blonde as far as you could see in every direction, and probably farther. We kept walking and came upon an underground market, selling trinkets and fake goods. I talked to the woman for a while about her purses, but didn’t see any I liked, so I asked for more. She asked “More?” I said, “Yes, do you have more?” With that, she grabbed my hand and pressed one of the walls, leading me into a tiny, dark waiting room. I asked her to wait, and went out again to grab a boy to come with me, just in case. I returned to the little waiting room and then she pressed another door within it that led us to a room lined with designer bags, purses, wallets, and suitcases. The whole hidden, secret room with fake purses is pretty common but the darkness and sketchiness of this whole situation in particular freaked me out a little bit. After I picked one out and bargained my little heart out (she told me that I was breaking her heart and starving her family- yeah, right), I asked her why her hidden room was different from the rest. She told me that most of the purses are knockoffs, but these ones were real and stolen. I compared this purse in particular back at the ship to real ones that girls have from home and fake ones that others had bought and its definitely real. I’m pretty excited to say that I got a $600 Tory Burch bag for about $22. We had a long dinner with hilarious conversation and made our way back to the boat. My friends got ready to go out but I decided that I still wasn’t 100% and I stayed in. Taking it easy has not been my mentality on this trip in the slightest but I really want to be completely healthy for Japan. I, instead, joined a few girls that live down the hall and went to a pub around the corner to just sit and hangout. These girls had bought so much in China- I couldn’t believe it. One had bought 8 pairs of UGGs, one had bought 14 Tory Burch bags, and many had bought tons of cashmere sweaters. I came back and before going to bed, organized my whole room.

Day 2:

Lauren and I woke up early to go to the Volkswagon Factory for a FDP (class-mandated field trip). We got to the bus and found out that it had been canceled, so we grabbed our computers and went with a few others to a café to get Internet. They had to sign up for classes and I wanted to look mine over in preparation of signing up next week. There we found out that all social media sites in China are blocked- Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. We stayed for a while and then made our way to a big knockoff market. The market is the biggest in Shanghai- it’s ridiculous and something that every shopaholic needs to put on their bucket list. It’s about a square mile in width of 5 stories. Anything and everything is offered and the bargaining is ruthless. There were many, many more secret rooms but it was less scary than the one the day before. The only way to get the price to the lowest possible is to almost have a yelling match, so it’s a very stressful environment. I felt a little bit bad about shouting at strangers that were trying to sell me stuff, but it’s just the culture there. If you walk away in an effort to find a better deal, they literally follow you and grab your arm quite forcefully and bring you back to make a lower offer. I ended up getting a bunch of gifts that I’m very excited about- but the whole day was just nonstop craziness. There were a lot of things to look out for- for example, all the Rosetta Stone sets were for Mandarin language with stickers over the language title with Spanish, English, Russian, Dutch, etc. Lauren headed back to the boat for another FDP and I stayed with two other girls that we had run into. One of them, Christine, had an internship in Shanghai last summer and speaks Mandarin so she showed us around for the rest of the day. We went to lunch and got ice cream before hopping on the subway to another underground market. This one was nicer, and primarily made up of individual shops. The bargaining was less aggressive but the goods were nicer. We bought a good amount of stuff- I didn’t want to spend too much money but I bought into the mindset that I might not be here ever again and the prices were too hard to pass up. I still feel a little bad about it but I know that I’ll be okay with it when my friends have the best Christmas ever. We took the subway back to the ship and got onboard just in time.

My China experience was probably not as outrageous as some of the kids on the ship. Unfortunately, I didn’t see Steve Aoki (yes, he played in Beijing) or toboggan down the Great Wall, but those are just more reasons to return. I am extremely excited to come back and do everything that I missed but, in the short term, I can’t wait for Japan. I have a midterm this afternoon to redo the one that I slept through and then tomorrow will be spent in class and planning Japan- the next morning we’re in Kobe. We’re backpacking from Kobe to Yokohama with most of the time spent in Tokyo. Can’t wait! I’m happy and healthy and everything is perfect onboard the MV Explorer! Happy early birthday, mama!

Hong Kong

Two days before arriving in Hong Kong, I got really sick with flulike symptoms that progressed quickly. That evening was extremely painful and I ended up in the medical clinic the next day. My malaria test was negative but it was clear that it was more than the flu. My white blood count was exceptionally high so I definitely had some sort of an infection. The doctor’s diagnosed it as Dengue Fever, but I’m still not sure that that’s what it was. I spent the second day taking tests and figuring out if I was still going to participate in what I had planned for China. Hong Kong and Shanghai were both supposed to have stringent mandates for temperature screenings and medical records for those entering because of their past epidemic issues.

The ship’s plan was to dock in Hong Kong, stay for two days, and then leave for Shanghai for two days. The transit also took two days. Students had to designate weeks ago whether they would take the ship from one port to the other or travel independently and meet the ship there. Whatever you had chosen could not be changed because of manifest laws. I had signed up for independent travel because I was planning on going to Beijing in between Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Even though I felt better the morning of arrival, the doctor did not advise sleeping anywhere but the ship or going too far. This meant that I had to stay on the ship for the two days in between Hong Kong and Shanghai, and miss my trip to Beijing. The papers were signed almost immediately. I was upset about wasting two days in a country but I knew it was the smartest decision. The next decision was whether or not I would even be able to get off the ship in Hong Kong or Shanghai because of the medical paperwork that they had to submit in order to change my registration from independent travel to an “in transit” passenger.  The assistant executive dean told me that technically, I would not be allowed off the ship, but it would take time to process the paperwork so I could probably slip through.

Day 1:

After dealing with all of this, my friends were still on the ship because of customs, so I met up with them. I walked off no problem! We took the ferry across and wandered around for a little while. We walked through a huge mall, complete with every fancy designer store and a ton of watch stores, for some reason. We noticed this in other places, too- Hong Kong loves watches. After stalling for a little bit, we met up with Tim’s two friends from home. They have been teaching English in Ladi for the past six months, which is about 3 hours away by train. We immediately walked to get lunch somewhere, preferably something Chinese. This was the first non-third world port that we have been in so it was a bit shocking to see such a clean, nice city. I have never been to New York or anything comparable, but many were saying that it’s New York on steroids, with a little Chinese culture thrown in. Technically, Hong Kong is an independent republic, and not a part of China so it definitely has a diluted sense of Chinese culture. Nonetheless, the street food and markets are vibrant and smelly and everything I expected. Either way, lets be honest, I’m the last person who knows the difference between a Mandarin and Cantonese sign. We had lunch at a busy lunch restaurant that was ill fit for big groups. Most tables were for two so we were told that we had to wait a little while to get a table for six. Even though we were fine with that, a smaller group at a larger table moved and joined another party so that we would have a seat. This was one of many unspoken, kind gestures that we experienced in Hong Kong. Although we couldn’t speak the same language, it was very refreshing after Vietnam. We ordered by pointing at pictures on the menu and the waiter silently scanned everything and ordered it electronically. The food was amazing, as was every other meal that we had while in HK. We wandered around the city for a while, marveling at the hustle and bustle. The architecture of all the buildings is really extreme and intricate and many seem to defy gravity. We took an elevator to the top floor of one of the highest buildings to get a better view, which gave us a better idea of just how large Hong Kong is. Even though it was a little cloudy, you could see the cluster of islands and the massive buildings on each. After lunch, we walked to the hill that has the longest outdoor escalator in the world. It’s split up in different segments but riding the whole thing up gave us a really good feel of the area because it went through apartment complexes, outside markets, and commercial buildings. One of the two friends that live in China had been to Hong Kong briefly, so he was trying to remember what he liked and showed us those areas. It was kind of fun not having a plan and just wandering- especially when I wasn’t feeling one hundred percent healthy. We made our way to a zoological and botanical garden and walked around, looking at all the birds and monkeys. It wasn’t too spectacular but the set up was really cool and at the end, we had a great view of the city. Most of HK is on a steep slope (a lot like San Francisco) so the whole day we were either trudging uphill or running downhill. We made our way to a bar for an hour to relax and then I headed back to the ship with one friend to nap for a while. We had dinner and watched the light show from the ship, which was awesome but didn’t totally live up to what I had heard. It was pretty cool how all of the buildings coordinated their parts, but the overall impact wasn’t as overwhelming as I expected- I later found out that that was just because of where we were watching it. We ended up going out and meeting the rest of our friends but I was trying to take it easy so I came home before the night got too out of hand.

Day 2:

I woke up and found my friend Ken on the ship, when we realized that we were the only ones of our friends who had slept onboard. I was pretty unmotivated and we had no contact with our other friends so we just went into the mall and got Internet for a couple of hours. Luckily, we ran into one friend who was on her way back to the ship to change so we rallied and joined back up with the group. We walked through the subway and took a bus to a place where we could get Dim Sum. Ken was very adamant on getting Dim Sum at some point so that was a top priority. In the states, Dim Sum is a specific type of dumpling but in China or Hong Kong, Dim Sum refers to any type of tapas. We got a bunch of different small Dim Sum dishes and shared. They were all very good and I can’t wait to get more in Shanghai. Afterwards, we made our way to an electronic market because a few of us had certain things that we wanted to get- for cheap. I forgot my camera battery charger at home and I had been using another kid’s on the ship that has the same camera. He’s not a good friend, though, and I was starting to feel bad about always asking for it. We got some good deals, but nothing spectacular. Afterwards, we went to the “ladies” market that was just rows and rows of cheap clothing, jewelry, and fake goods. I didn’t buy much because I’ve heard that everything is cheaper and better quality in Shanghai, but it was definitely interesting to see. After that, most of the group split off to head to the train station and Ken and I went back to the ship. We had relied on the HK-savvy friend to get us to the market so getting back was a little tricky. Let’s just say that my sense of direction will never be trusted again. We rested, got more Internet, and headed out to take a cable car up Victoria’s Peak. We had heard that the views from Victoria’s Peak were incredible and that it would be a perfect place to watch the light show. Unfortunately, we got there and found that a lot of people had the same idea. The line was extremely long and we had to be back at the ship by 9pm so we opted out and walked around the city a little more. I really appreciate feeling safe and clean after the ports we have visited and it was great just exploring and looking at all the buildings and lights. We got dinner and headed back to take the ferry back to the ship. It was awesome because we ended up catching the light show while on the ferry. The angle we were at was prime because the lights hit the water in such a vibrant way. It was a perfect way to end our time in Hong Kong, even if it was way too short.

Ship time:

We’re back on the boat now in between Hong Kong and Shanghai and it’s a ghost town. I have a few friends on that previously planned on doing it to save money, but I’m having a little bit of a hard time being positive about it. All I can think about is that if I hadn’t gotten Dengue, I would be sleeping on the Great Wall right now. I am completely aware of how spoiled I am and how ridiculous that comment is because I am so lucky to be on a ship and in between two internationally renowned cities. I’ve been trying to study for the midterm I slept through before Hong Kong (woops!)- good thing my teachers love me. I’m going to retake it after Shanghai but studying is so difficult because all I want to do is sleep. I feel better but still not at full gear. I’m excited to get to Shanghai but even more excited for Japan. My friend Ken who I’ve traveled with through Malaysia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong is half Japanese and has been there over ten times. He’s going to take a small group of us backpacking from Kobe to Yokohama. We’ll probably spend a majority of time in Tokyo and I can’t wait!

I’m really starting to feel like a seasoned traveler. I’m totally confident going out and exploring without a plan. I used to feel like I needed to be with a huge group to feel safe, but I’m now confident and feel self-sufficient with one or two others, depending on the specific region’s level of safeness. Either way, I’m less shocked when I’m pushed through busy intersections and I only take Pepto if the food is extremely questionable. Showers are not a priority and dancing in the middle of the street is a regular occurrence. I’ve learned that even though plans are great, going with the flow and merely watching what is going on around me is sometimes the best. The places we are going to are incredible, magical places that I am eager to return to. My mom joked that I always email her right afterwards with how much I LOVE each country. It really seems like I’m over exaggerating how I feel about each place, but I’m not. The travel bug is way stronger than any disease I’ve ever heard of and this experience is kind of freaking me out because I had no idea the impact that it would have on me. I think that the biggest change it has had on me is that it has made me realize what I want my life to be about.

If each day in each of these countries has been one of the best days of my life, more than any day back home, how is it even feasible that I go home and don’t work every day to return? The mere reality is that this is what I want to do with my life. I now think that I want to live abroad after college for a little while, maybe in multiple places; but I definitely want to make it a top priority to have these experiences on a semi-regular basis. I realize that the situation of traveling the world for such a length of time with so many kids my age will never happen again, but bits and pieces can be replicated. I want to go back to South Africa and see where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, to bungee jump, and to cuddle with cheetahs. I want to go to India and swim in the Ganges River. I want to backpack through Southeast Asia: return to Langkawi, hike to caves in Kuala Lampur, party in Singapore, and go through Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. I want to learn the rules of the streets in Vietnam, rent a motorcycle, and not have an end date to my adventure. I want to take the ferry to work every day in Hong Kong.

Will any of this happen? I’m not sure. But hopefully, some will. The reality is that these can be realities- which is extremely scary but also liberating. All of these things are done daily by adventurous, amazing human beings that I have met. At home, we are surrounded by people who don’t do what they really want, a lot of times because they aren’t aware of what they want.

Whenever people ask what you want to do with your life, it’s regarding your job, or at least the type of job you want. I don’t know what I want to do because I haven’t found a career that I’m truly passionate about. I now feel so blessed because this trip has helped me to realize my passion. I don’t particularly like public speaking, art, or any sport. I now know that I love speaking with language barriers in China, drawing with artists on the beach in Ghana, and playing soccer with children in India. Keeping this all in perspective and recognizing reality is crucial because I am so determined to have this experience become more than a dream upon return. I am overwhelmed by it all but also so excited because it is feasible.

I’m a caged animal on this ship and the only people that are helping me hold it together are the amazing people on here. Five days, three friends, one bus ticket, a small backpack and an entirely unknown country is the only thing on my mind and the only thing that separates me from that unreal adventure is this ship- oh, and two days in Shanghai. I’m aware of how lucky I am and I’m also coming to terms with the fact that it’s never okay to settle. I’ve always been okay with settling in many instances- grades, for example- but if there’s something that you want your life to be about, why not? The older people that I have met who have been to over 100 countries impress me tenfold more than CEOs of major multinational corporations, so I clearly have an idea of success in my mind. I finally have an area of life that I want to thrive in, am excited about, and will never get sick of. I’m also worried about getting back to the states because I think that that’s going to be the worst culture shock of all. Who wants to start taking bets for where I’ll be next summer?