Last Post

Hey everyone. So I'm back in the United States. Yesterday was a hectic and typical SAS day. I managed to somehow make it off the ship to find my parents, say goodbye to my roommate and Elivia and then fly home with Natalie and a good friend Mack. Since then I've been trying to adjust back to life and it's not easy. Here's the last e-mail I sent out, just to reiterate the way I felt when I was last on the ship. I also have thousands of photos to share if you're interested. Thanks again for being a part of this experience by following my travels. As Mack says, this isn't the end of the voyage, it just keeps going. Love you all, E

"hey guys, just wanted to let you know that we are leaving Costa Rica tonight and I will be home, in the US on May 9th (4 days from now)! I added some posts and pictures of life up until Costa Rica and I will probably post about CR soon. It was a great stop and a really good way to go out with everyone. I know these next few days will be crazy with saying goodbye and attempting to pack and tear apart the place that has been my home for the past 3 and a half months. i can't even begin to reflect on the experience as a whole. The night we spent in CR a group of my closest girlfriends and were able to all go around and say some meaningful things to each other. it was hilarious and sad and truly one of my highlights. i've met amazing people who will stay with me forever. i've seen things that i never thought possible. i've done things that have changed me for the better and opened my eyes to the world that's out there. this was the greatest experience of my life and it hurts to know it's over in 4 days. but i'm not leaving with a bitter mindset. instead i see it as a chance to move forward. to take what i've learned from the people i've spent time with and the places i've seen and continue to grow. if anything i know now more about myself and what i like and want than i ever have before. i know what i want to do. i know how i'm going to do it. and i know who to call to reminisce about the hilarious moments ive had in 14 different countries around the world. thank you for experiencing this with me, for reading my blog, for sending me e-mails and for supporting me through this entire experience. I can't wait to share things with everyone in person. i've missed so many of you on a regular basis and i can't wait to reconnect.

many of you know that i will be coming home for only a short while and then will head abroad again. this summer from May 18th through June 14th I will be studying French cinema in Paris; a dream program run by Wisconsin that I am anxious to experience. When we land in Miami I will rush home to Marin for a few days and then to Madison to congratulate my friends who are graduating and catch up with my college buddies. After Paris I will be in Madison for the summer taking summer school courses and working to make a little bit of that money I spent across the world this past semester. hopefully i will get the chance to see you all at one point this summer. I am scheduled to take some trips to New York and hopefully home to Marin.

Again, this has been an unbelievable, unforgettable experience and I can't wait to share stories and reconnect.

Love and miss you all, peace,

E"

Pictures

Hey everyone... just wanted to upload some more photos for you all. These are from life on the ship, Hawaii and the Ambassador's Ball where we all got dressed up and had a blast. Hope you enjoy and I can't wait to show you all more photos. Miss you all!!!

Peace, E


Elivia, Matt, and Meggie (so many tries! haha)


(Ryan, Me, and Meggie on Waikiki Beach)


(Natalie and Meggie pre-Ambassador's ball)


(Natalie, Meggie, Me)


(Elivia, Me, Amy, and Meggie, at dinner)

Hawaii and Ship Life Since Then

Hey everyone...

So Hawaii was beautiful! We got in early and Natalie and I ran off the ship to shop a little before heading to the beach. Then a huge group of us headed to Waikiki beach. There Natalie and Nicole bought some amazing rafts and we spent all day hanging out at the beach and rafting in the ocean. It was beautiful and hot and so cool to just hang out with everyone. Since Hawaii is a State we were able to call people too, so EVERYONE was on their phone catching up and it was great to get to talk to some of my friends.

Since Hawaii ship life has been wonderful. We had the Ambassador's Ball, a fancy dinner/dance that is put on for the whole shipboard community. Natalie, Meggie, Elivia and I sat together and had such a blast together. There was great food and everyone was dressed up and looked really nice.

I brought on three big rafts from Hawaii, so Nicole, Natalie and I have been rafting quite a bit in our tiny pool on the ship. It's so much fun. A lot of my friends join in and it makes the tiny pool all the more better. I've been laying out a lot and hanging out with friends outside. It's currently finals week but you can't really tell on the ship. It's almost impossible to study, which is aggravating, but I'm not too concerned. I have a little place I try to study at. I only have one exam thankfully, though it'll definitely be hard. In my other classes I had papers due, and have been done now for a few days, which is sublime.

The days consist of waking up, class or working out, then hanging out on the 7th deck all day, either tanning, swimming or playing games like Rummy-O and cards. After my exam in three days I will officially be done with my Junior year of college!

Then we go to Costa Rica where I plan on surfing and white water rafting. It should be a blast. After that we have four days at sea to pack up and say good bye to everyone. It's so depressing! I really, really, really don't want this to be over. It's been the most amazing experience of my life and I can't imagine how I'll come back to reality, back to madison, and not be on this ship. But that's a post for another time.

I miss you all and love hearing from you. Talk to you and SEE YOU soon!!!

Peace,
E

Sea Life

Hey All,

I've been at sea for a couple days and I thought I'd fill you in with what's happening onboard the MV Explorer. Today we had a bbq out on the seventh deck by the pool. Since today was also a "NO Classes" day it was great to sleep in and head outside around noon. Tonight I have a fancy five course dinner meal for my Red Sea social. If you sign up early enough they put on this great dinners for 25 people. You get a special room and a free glass of champagne and some upscale food. It's a great break from the buffet style cafeteria food we have everyday.

Since leaving Japan a few girls and I have completed Season 1 of Prison Break! It's a great show, but as Elivia mentions repeatedly, not as good as 24.

It's been pretty rocky since leaving Japan and is finally starting to let up. The first few days were pretty bumpy and I learned that the ship can go 70 degrees sideways without tipping. Comforting.

Classes are going well. Nothing new really to update there.

Alright it's the first sunny day in a few days so I'm going to probably head out to the pool area. Unfortunately the pool is empty because it's been to rocky for water to be in it. But I can always lay out and read!

Miss you all.
Peace,
E

Japan

Hey everyone! Greetings from the ship. I am on my way to Hawaii at the moment. We left Japan a few days ago and I was so exhausted and spent that I haven’t done much since. I’ve spent a lot of time resting, and watching Prison Break (TV Show) with my roommate and some friends. Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted.

Anyway, Japan was pretty awesome. I chose to travel with two other girls, Hillary and Mandy and we mapped out a pretty intense course of travel. We decided to hit up Kyoto, Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima! We also wanted to spend a little time in our port city in Kobe. Somehow, we managed to make it to all these stops!

We started off by getting off the ship pretty late. Japan has some pretty intense regulations for disembarking and it took much longer than any other port. After getting off we walked around Kobe a little on the way to the train station. Kobe was surprisingly a pretty cool city. My friend had read to me, before getting off the ship, that Kobe was mostly a resident’s city and not one that would excite travelers. However we found the subtle differences from other cities to actually be pretty cool to experience. We also were generally just pretty excited to be in Japan. We made our way to the train station and caught an express to Kyoto. I was planning to meet up with AK, Ira and Zack in Kyoto which was a pretty great addition to the trip. Thankfully everything went smoothly and we managed to get in touch and get together for dinner. We had a great dinner with some delicious food and it was so nice just see family and get a taste of home. (Thanks again for meeting up with me Blumberg family!!)

The next morning was spent exploring Kyoto. We walked around the area of our hotel and managed to take a train to the Imperial Palace, which we later learned was only opened 5 days a year. It was a really cool palace with some interesting history. We walked around the grounds and ended up finding this little farmers market around the area. After roaming around we left for the shopping area. We walked through the Ponto-Cho district which is known for its nightlife and was completely dead during the day. While searching for a market we came across an outdoor covered mall that we walked around for a while at. We had to leave a little early to check out and catch a train to Tokyo. We could have easily spent the whole time in Kyoto, but we had to move on.

We took a bullet to Tokyo where our first plan of action was Tokyo Disneyland. Yes, it was not my idea. Yes, I did have fun. Mandy and Hillary were SET on going and I decided it could potentially be fun and went along with it. The layout was almost identical to Disneyland in LA which I went to the summer I lived in LA. After that we went out in the Roppongi district and, of course, I found a ton of other SAS kids and spent a good part of the night doing Karaoke! We slept in a capsule hotel, which was pretty disgusting but an important experience to have. If you want details let me know, I’ll avoid going into detail here.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to head to the Harajuku district. We’d heard great things about the district from other kids who had gone and we knew it was where Gwen Stefani was inspired for her clothing style and some songs on her new CD. The district was so cool! We walked around for a good couple of hours in and out of shops and people watching. Then we went to another district in Japan where we walked around and searched for shoes. Japan has some pretty amazing shoes. Sadly, but happily for dad, I didn’t find anything in my size! After that we took a train to the Tokyo Giants baseball game! It was so much fun and again we ran into some more SASers. A huge group of us sat together and enjoyed a few hours watching some good baseball. It was so cool to be in a stadium cheering for the Giants again.

After the game we headed to the train station to catch a train to Osaka. We heard a lot of SAS kids were going to be there. We had some complications and didn’t make it until late at night into the city. Once there we walked around, realized we had no great hotel or hostel to stay in and decided to just take a train back to Kobe to sleep on the ship. Since we had bought rail passes ahead of time we saved a significant amount of money and decided it was just easier to sleep back in Kobe since the plan was to wake up early for Hiroshima. We hung out in the train station for a little while and caught one of the last trains out to Kobe. We met up with a ton of other kids back in Kobe and somehow made our way back to the ship after switching from subway to subway.

The next morning we awoke and headed to Hiroshima. This was my most anticipated part of the Japan trip (besides seeing my family of course). We took an early train and upon arrival went straight to the Hiroshima Peace Museum. It was a beautiful day in Hiroshima, one of the nicest we’d had in Japan. Walking through the outdoor grounds and then through the massive museum I was taken aback by the sense of hope and willingness to move forward for a safer future. I purchased the audio guide and was glad I did so as I walked through the museum that had some amazing artifacts, including letters from Einstein to FDR and Truman and details about the city and the bombs that I found fascinating. There was also a big section on the mayor of Hiroshima, who after the bombings began to write a letter every day for the rest of his term protesting the use of nuclear weapons to every major arms holder in the world. It was incredible.

We spent the rest of the day roaming the city and then made our way back to Kobe and hung out until we had to get back on the ship by 9 pm.

Japan was such a rush of motion and hurrying and waiting at train stations and shopping and city life. It was a lot of fun and very tiring. Like I said, I’m back on the ship and life is great now that I’m rested. Got to go work out – miss you all!!!

Peace, E

Hong Kong and China

Hey all, so Hong Kong and China were great! I went on a scheduled trip with five other kids and we had a total blast. We managed to get to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai.

In Hong Kong I spent the day roaming the city with Natalie. We met a man on the ferry from our port to the downtown area and he decided to take us around and show us some really cool things. We saw this awesome temple with an insane amount of incense coating the air. He introduced us to an amazing yogurt-type food that we loved. He showed us where to shop and finally let us off to explore the rest of the city. After that I met up with the Wisconsin girls and we all went out to a nice dinner. Hong Kong was a ton of fun.

We woke up early the next morning to fly to China. China was great. We had tour guides who took us all over the cities we were in. In Beijing, we managed to go see some great historic sights, a fun teahouse, a palace and ate some great food. We also got to meet up with family friend Bill who's been living in Beijing for about 5 years now. It was great to see him and catch up. In Xi'an we saw the amazing Terra Cotta soldiers which was an awesome sight. We also walked around the city which was pretty cool. Last was Shanghai, my favorite stop.

The morning we had free in Shanghai my friends Natalie and MacKenzie and I traveled far from the ship to the M50 district. The district is essentially a contemporary art gallery area. As we arrived upon the area we saw amazing graffiti lining the walls and I knew this was going to be a cool district. There were building after building of new artists work and we just walked through each building checking out some beautiful art. We also ate at this amazing art cafe... twice! I wanted to buy this artwork, but it was $6000. So I had to refrain. It was beautiful though. After that we explored other parts of the city, but I'm pretty sure that morning was one of my, if not the one, favorite day i've so far.

All in all China was a great experience and I would love to go back to Shanghai!

India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia

So here's a BIG ONE! :)

Hey everyone. Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted. Since India we have had only 2-3 days on the ship between ports. I just left Vietnam this morning. After India I went to Malaysia. From Malaysia I went to Vietnam and to Cambodia and back to Vietnam. Now we have two days until we get to Hong Kong.

Anyway, as I mentioned earlier India was a pretty difficult port to grasp. I don’t think I’ll post much about it except that it was a great experience. I went on a SAS program with about 70 other kids and I regret signing up for it. I wish I traveled in a smaller group. We landed in Chennai which is a smaller city on the Eastern coast. The smell of burnt rubber permeating throughout the ship and actually woke me up. Since then the smell would continue to be very intense throughout my time in India. The trip I was on traveled to Delhi, Agra, and Varanassi. Varanassi was definitely the highlight and I almost wish I just went there. Along with the Ganges Varanassi seemed to be the most like the India that was shocking. Cows walking through the street, numbers of men peeing on the side of the road, trash everywhere, layers of dirt coating the road and buildings, street vendors and hawkers shouting at people, beggers lining the street. It was a difficult city to process and I think it was made even harder when traveling by huge bus with so many American students. In Agra we saw the Taj Mahal and some beautiful forts. When in Delhi we traveled around the city viewing different major monuments including Ghandi’s memorial, the holiest spot for Buddhist’s in the world, and (my favorite) an amazing Muslim Mosque in Old Delhi. The trip was about 6 days, I flew to four cities, took two train rides, drove at least 10 hours by bus, and slept a total of 7 hours in a four day period. India was a wave of exhaustion, depression, shock, and peacefulness. It’s hard to explain but that’s what I’ll say on it now and maybe in the future I can elaborate.

Right away after India we had a few days and then got to Malaysia. In Malaysia nine of us flew from our port Penang to Kuala Lumpur the major city in Malaysia. We were in the country during Formula 1, a major speed car-racing weekend, which made travel hectic but not terrible and the city packed with tourists and promotional events. KL was much like an American city. Big and bustling with some great aspects and some not so great aspects. The nine of us managed to stay in a ridiculously nice hotel that had a number of positive amenities including free food and drink until 10:30 pm, free internet (good for skype-ing), and an amazing pool. We probably spent more time than we should have in our hotel suite, but had a blast regardless. The first day Natalie and I explored the city and managed to find a small section of the city called Little-Malay. The small part of the city was full of locals and Natalie and I just walked around hanging out with little kids, taking photos, and walking in and out of shops. After that we went on an elevated train to Park Titiwangsa, a park with a manmade lake and running lap and badminton courts. After that we made it back to the hotel where we met up and hung out with everyone in the group. The next day the whole group went to the Batu caves, a huge cave with a Hindu temple in it, and then to the Thean Hou Temple, a Chinese temple just outside KL. It was cool to all go together in a big van and see these really cool temples and monuments in the city. The last day we spent traveling back to Penang. When in Penang the first night, I spent a lot of time traveling with Kelly, Matt, Meggie, and Natalie. We had a blast one night trying to find an internet café. We didn’t really get internet until it was too late but we did find and enjoy a Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and a 7-11. The last day I spent exploring different aspects of Penang including a Chocolate Boutique, a major mall, and Chinatown. I managed to find a great cheap DVD store and purchased about 20 DVDs for around $40 – pretty excited about that! We left Penang the next morning and ended up stopping in Singapore to fuel for almost the whole day. I spent the day hanging out with friends and trying to recuperate from some intense traveling in the past few days.

The next few days on the ship I spent a lot of time reading about the genocide in Cambodia (since that was the next stop) and studying in my classes. We arrived in Vietnam and I was scheduled to do a Faculty-Directed-Practicum (FDP – required for everyone to do a certain number of FDP’s). The FDP was a trip to a UPI photo-journalists home just outside Ho Chi Minh City. A small group of us walked through his home where he had blown up pictures from the various wars that he worked on. Listening to the man speak about the Vietnam war was pretty interesting and the photos were haunting to say the least. We had trouble communicating with him directly, but managed to get some major points answered. There was also a little shrine/memorial for the 200 journalists killed in the Vietnam War. After visiting his house the bus took us to the WAR museum. We had about an hour to walk through the museum, which had some fascinating and depressing exhibits. I spent most of my time viewing the exhibit on Agent Orange and the exhibit of current/recent genocides and child soldiers. All in all the day was difficult to digest but really interesting and important. I came back to the ship and washed up so I could meet with Meggie and her parents who were visiting. I met up with Natalie and Jimmy and we took the shuttle bus to downtown where we walked to the Vietnam House to meet with about 35 other students and have dinner. There were about three sets of parents, all of Wisconsin girls on the ship visiting through the parent program, so the group was mostly Wisconsin and the dinner was great. It was really cool getting to meet the parents and all hang out together for dinner.

The next morning I had to wake up very early to get to the airport and fly to Cambodia. I was on a scheduled SAS trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia to tour the temples of Angkor Wat. As we got to Cambodia the group checked into our really nice hotel and then traveled straight to the major Angor Wat temple. We spent about 3 hours touring around the grounds of the temple and it was HOT and humid. Then we went to a dinner with a cultural dance performance that was really cool to see. At dinner we met up with 2 other SAS trips and there must have been about 200 of us at this dinner.

As we came back to the hotel my friend David Frisch (from Wisconsin too), and I decided that we wanted to break away from the group and travel independently to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia and the major site of the Khmer Rouge regime during the 1975-78 genocide. Having just studied the genocide, Frisch (who is also in my International Law class on genocide) and I decided we had to see the Killing Fields and the S-21 Torture Prison, which has now been turned into a museum. As I said, there was an SAS group at dinner and they had visited those places the day before so I got some good advice on how to travel and what to see. That night Frisch and I booked our flight tickets and were ready to go. We had to get up around 6 am the next day to head to the airport and catch our domestic flight to Phnom Penh. Upon arrival we found a taxi and told him to take us straight to the S-21 prison. We spent about 2 hours touring the grounds of the torture prison. It was a very important experience to tour through the museum and it was really intense even to just walk the same grounds where such atrocities occurred. The buildings have been maintained and throughout the rooms they outline all that took place throughout the years of the Khmer Rouge regime including training soldiers, torturing prisoners, capturing victims, interrogation styles, confessions from soldiers, as well as showing the barracks as they were during the time. Even reflecting on it now I don’t know how comprehend it all. It was a monumental experience so far on this voyage and it was certainly a call for me to pursue a career and life that works toward preventing something similar from happening or to stop it from currently happening as is in various countries still today.

After the torture prison Frisch and I grabbed lunch at a local Thai restaurants and then traveled to the Killing Fields. This was a very weird experience. We both had a different image of the way it would look and were taken aback by coming in through the gate and seeing a massive monument/building that housed hundreds of skulls of victims (17 levels) that had been excavated from the mass graves. We walked around the fields and it was pretty scary just to roam past the mass graves and see holes where bodies were piled up as well as scattered remains of clothing and even of human bones. They also labeled different stops according to where certain methods of killing occurred. All in all it was incredibly depressing and important to see.

After this our taxi driver asked if we wanted to shoot guns. We both laughed at the idea of being taken to the torture prison and the killing fields and then being asked if we wanted to try out shooting AK-47s for fun. We passed.

Instead we drove to the airport a little early and hung out at a Dairy Queen and read/napped until we caught our flight back to Siem Reap. Back in Siem Reap we took a moped (Driver, Me Frisch in that order on one moped…very humorous) to the place that SAS was intended to be for dinner as it noted on the itinerary. Naturally they weren’t there but Frisch and I decided to stay and enjoy a nice dinner. One of our friends and companions on the SAS trip showed up about 5 minutes after we did also looking for the group and ended up staying with us as we ate and discussed our days.

The next morning I woke up and met up with my friend Amy from Wisconsin. Amy also had parents visiting and they invited me along for the day. We broke off from the group and decided to first go ride elephants. It was pretty cool to ride elephants near and around ancient temples in Cambodia. After that we went this rural town outside of Siem Reap and loaded up on a long motorized canoe-type boat. The drive alone out to the fishing markets and water homes was pretty remarkable. We went off the street and passed shack after shack filled with Vietnamese people relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. On the water we rode passed homes, buildings, and markets that were all pretty cool to see. We also saw a number of animals and fish when we made a stop at the fish museum and market. It was cool to hang out with Amy’s family too as they were really excited just to travel and experience Cambodia. After that we made our way back to the hotel where I met up with my original group for lunch and then to go tour more temples.

We went to a number of temples before making our way back to the airport so we could fly back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Back in Vietnam for the last day I met up with Elivia and we decided to go to the Cu Chi tunnels, old tunnels used during the Vietnam War. The tunnels were about an hour and a half outside of the city and we ended up hiring a driver with four other SAS kids. The driver, Ting, also became our tour guide as we went all over the tunnels and surrounding area. At the Cu Chi tunnels we got to see a number of fascinating things including old weapons, tanks, traps, food, and the tunnels themselves. We crawled through the tunnels which were a tight squeeze. We also were able to shoot guns at a firing range, which was pretty fascinating because as we toured throughout the area we constantly heard the startling noise of guns firing. We also got to try a shot of rice liquor fermented in snake, pretty gross. We ate tapioca and drank tea as well. All in all the experience was pretty crazy and well worth the $10.

After that Ting took us to a local Vietnamese restaurant where they spoke zero English and he ordered for us. It was cool to try it out and the food was pretty descent. After that Elivia and I rushed back to the ship to get ready and meet Meggie and her family for dinner. We ended up just missing them but they left a note so Elivia and I took a cap and eventually found the dinner restaurant where we met up with Sara (Dorsey, another Wisconsin girl) and her mom as well as the Wagner’s. We ate at Lemon Grass and it was one of the best dinners I’ve had on the trip. It was great to talk to Meggie’s parents some more; they are really cool.

After that we took a taxi back to the ship and it took us about an hour longer than it should have since we managed to get lost. It was pretty stressful, but oh well.

So there it is. Everything since India. I have a Global Studies exam tomorrow and five page paper due for my women’s issues class, so I’ve got to run. I’ll be in Hong Kong in about two days and I’m so excited! I wish we had a week to regroup, but that’s how SAS rolls.

I miss you all and hope all is good! Please e-mail and keep me posted on your lives when you get a chance! Huge disappointment for the Badgers vs Davidson, but it’s ok… next year. I’m sure Davidson will take the tourney. Also, enjoy Opening Day for me! I miss my Giants! Also has anyone seen Semi-Pro? Was it good? Is Will Ferrel still amazing? I need a movie update from my family members! Ok, that’s all!

Peace,

E

India Pictures

Hey everyone, so here are some photos from India. I had a really incredible time in India. It was a very difficult, chaotic, peaceful at times, and interesting experience. It's not a few days I can really blog about. I will likely make a post about my experience at the Agra train station, which was tough, but for now I'll leave some pictures and a few captions and hopefully you enjoy!



(The Taj Mahal!)


(Mandy, Me, Hillary at the Taj Mahal)


(Me at Ghandi's memorial, his ashes lie in the marble behind me)



(buddhist monk walking on the grounds of the area where Buddha gave his first sermon)


(Ganges River, night prayer ceremony)


(Ganges River, 6 am next morning)

Mauritius

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay on posting. It’s been a crazy trip since Cape Town. After leaving Cape Town we traveled for five or six through pretty rough waters. The first day especially was rough and we were actually delayed out of port due to massive fog. Everyone on the ship for the first two days were really out of it. People were exhausted and trying to catch up on work. The ship gets in these group moods, it’s pretty ridiculous actually, but everything happens in group waves. There are times when everyone is exhausted and times when everyone is excited. It makes sense, it’s just weird to be a part of.

The plan for Mauritius was to rent a villa and hang out on the beach and relax. The day before Mauritius everyone had a big Global Studies exam and a bunch of papers due so we were a little stressed. When we got to Mauritius, Matt, Ryan, Zach and I got off the ship as soon as we could and found a taxi driver. We rented a villa on Flic-en-Flac beach which was 45 minutes away from our port. So we took a nice drive to the villa and checked in and it was beautiful. We had a villa less than five minutes from the beach that was three stories and had a big pool with a bridge connecting it to more villas.



We got situated in the villas and went grocery shopping for the week so Natalie and I could cook! Unfortunately our stove didn’t really work, so we had to use our friends’ villa to cook, which was annoying but not too frustrating. Then we spent most of the day at the beach and in our pool by the villa.



The next day we all woke up pretty early and made our way to the beach where we ran into about 100 SAS kids. It was fun just hanging out at the beach all day, swimming and lying out. My friend Matt and I came upon a beach volleyball tournament which was fun to watch. It was hilarious because in Mauritius they speak a strange version French so the announcer would babble off in this bizarre French and every 20 words or so he’d say Pepsi Beach Challenge because it was sponsored by Pepsi. Matt and I figured out the rhythm and would join in every time he said it.



The next day I woke up early again and went for a long run on the beach. It was so so hot which made the run a little challenging, but it was very worth it to run on the flat ground. Plus it was pretty amazing to run on the beach. When I get a chance I’ll post pictures and you’ll see how beautiful it really was. After that I made my way back to the villa where I met up a bunch of girls and we went to the beach to go snorkeling. I saw some really cool fish and enjoyed swimming in the warm Indian Ocean. After that we went back to the villa to relax and clean and hang out by the pool. Spent the rest of the night with all the kids in the villa and had a blast.




The last day I woke up early and made my way back to the Port city where I walked around Port Louis’ downtown area. It was like any other small city which was nice to be surrounded by. I love the hustle and bustle and after ship life it was a much welcomed change. I also got to window shop and hear all sorts of languages and smell all sorts of strange foods.

After that I made it back to port and was able to finally make a phone call home!

Since then we’ve been at sea making our way to India. Yesterday was the Sea Olympics and I’ll write a separate post about that soon. Miss you all and keep sending those e-mails!! Peace

E

Cape Town 2

(Operation Hunger)


(Pre Sky Diving!)


(About to start the Table Mountain Hike)


(View of Table Mountain from the ship)

Hey all again. So it’s hard for me to blog about Cape Town because it was truly amazing. I’ve never done so much in one week. It may have been one of the best weeks of my life. I’ll do my best to document the rest of the week and try to explain why it was so truly amazing.

Before getting into the details let me reiterate how much Cape Town reminded me of being in San Francisco. The city, the wharf, the mountains all reflected pieces of my home. It was really wonderful being able to relate such a positive experience with such an important feeling of comfort for me.

Alright, after Operation Hunger, which again was really a great experience, I came back to the ship and met up with some friends. We ended up staying around the wharf area and found a fun jazz bar to spend the evening at.

I woke up early the next day to go…SKYDIVING! Four other girls and I hopped on a shuttle bus and drove to the only skydiving company in Cape Town. We split into two groups and boarded these tiny dinky planes with plastic peel up doors. We flew up to 7,500 feet and just jumped out! It was unreal. So beautiful to soar above the Cape Town coast and see the mountains and the ocean all around you. The free fall was something like 35 seconds and I loved every second of it. I have it all on video and will hopefully post it on YouTube for everyone to see. Soaring down was beautiful. All the girls had a blast and it was really a great trip.

After that we made it back to the ship and then decided to shop around downtown Cape Town. So we drove the Green Market/Long Street area and checked out a number of boutiques and the market. It was nice to see downtown during the day because I’d been so busy with other things that I hadn’t been able to just walk around and window shop. There were some really cool stores. I also got to meet some local Cape Towners which was cool and I struck up some interesting conversations. From most of my conversations, they all want to visit the United States and have generally positive feelings toward Americans. We made it back to the ship that night to have dinner on the boat and save some money. Then we went out to the Long Street area again at night and again saw about 300 SAS kids all over the street.

The next morning woke up early to go back to the shopping area with some other kids. We made it to Green Market and Long Street and walked around again during the morning. We also tried this nice Mexican Restaurant on a side street that made the most bizarre chips! We had planned to meet people back at the ship at 1 ish so we had to cut our shopping short. When I got back three other girls and I decided to do a tour of the Cape of Good Hope and the Western Cape coast. This was such a good idea! We loaded a private shuttle and drove to Boulder Beach where we saw a ton of Penguins! We also got to drive around the coast and see beautiful coastal houses, an ostrich farm, and baboons wandering in the street. It was so fun. The guys who drove us around were really cool as well (we’re facebook friends now, fyi) and they played the Celine Dion DVD show the whole time. It was hilarious.

We got back and ran into Marsh Allen, my RD and one of the coolest guys on the ship. He told us about this huge Gay Pride festival party that was going on in the Waterkant district (much like the Castro district). We knew we’d have to check it out. So the same girls got together and made to the VIP party where we danced side by side with lots of men in tight tank tops and jeans to blasting techno music. It was a lot of fun. We left a little earlier than I wanted and made it to Long street to end out the night with the same 300 SAS kids from the nights before.

The next morning a big group of girls all woke up super early so we could hike Table Mountain. Table Mountain is beautiful and insanely challenging to climb. It was by far the hardest and most rewarding hike of my life. My friend Mandy and I broke away from the group and made it up the mountain in about two hours. The last 45 minutes were especially challenging as we essentially were climbing rock stairs. Once we made it to the top we saw an amazing view of the city and the coastline and it was so worth it. We definitely took the cable car down though.

We then took a taxi back to the wharf area and Mandy and I met some other kids for a planned tour of Robben Island. Robben Island was great. It was about a forty-five minute ferry ride to the island where we had a bus tour and walking tour both provided by two ex-political-prisoners. It was touching and I definitely need to read more about the prison and about the famous prisoners.

After that we made it back to the ship in time to load up and check in.

We had to delay our departure from Cape Town because there was some intense fog preventing us from leaving.

It’s been a few days since we finally left and I’ve been catching up on sleep, work, and hanging out with people who I didn’t see while I was in port. I can’t believe how amazing Cape Town was and how unreal it is that I have so many more countries to go to! Next stop is Mauritius, don’t worry no one knows where it is. It’s an island off Madagascar. It’s supposed to have beautiful beaches, great flea markets, and amazing scuba/snorkeling and hiking. I’ll be sleeping/reading on the beach a lot and Natalie and I are planning on cooking some decent meals finally! Hopefully I’ll get some good internet time and I can finally e-mail those of you who I haven’t been able to keep in touch with very well. Again, thanks to everyone who has written e-mails, it really means a lot! I feel so out of the loop sometimes and it means a great deal to hear from you guys. I’ve got such great friends! I’ll also try to upload more pictures later. Love and miss you all,

Peace,
E

Cape Town 1

Hey Everyone,

So I’m in Cape Town, South Africa and it’s really pretty amazing. It actually strikingly resembles San Francisco, which puts me automatically in a good mood. You’ll never believe what I did today. Today I jumped the tallest bungee jump in the world (off the Bloukrans River Bridge in Plett, South Africa). I’ll get to details later, but check this out!!



Ok, so like with every port Meggie and I woke up around 5 am to watch the sunrise. Coming into Cape Town was beautiful. It was dark until like 6 unfortunately, but once it got lighter out we got to see the amazing site that is Table Mountain, a massive plateau shaped mountain that seems to be plopped right in the middle of it all (isn’t really, but coming into port it looks that way).

We pulled in to a wharf not unlike any pier on the Embarcadero and saw sea lions swimming and fishermen untying their boats and everything that just screamed San Francisco. A group of us decided to head off the ship once we were cleared by customs and find a tourist agency to book some crucial stops for our time here. We walked through the wharf area and ended up booking a trip to Robben Island to see Mandela’s prison cell and a guided township visit. In doing so I managed to also book some other little adventures that I’ll get to in the next post in the near future.

After taking care of business we walked around the pier area and shopped a little and enjoyed a nice pizza lunch, we were craving anything but peanut butter sandwiches! I left lunch and rushed back to the boat with a few others who were signed up to an FDP or Faculty Directed Practicum. FDP’s count for 20% of our grades in class and are requirements in certain ports. I will be taking care of a lot of FDP’s in Cape Town since much of the culture and cities history is relevant to my studies. For this first FDP I went to the Desmond Tutu Peace Center (or what exists as of now). It’s a building in progress that hopes to promote peace to South Africa, Africa as a whole, and internationally. About 20 of us sat in a tiny room in the building which is under construction and had a private meeting with executive for the program, Nomfundo Walaza. Walaza is a member of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the UN and involved in many other important organizations globally. She’s had a fascinating career as a psychologist and crisis center working and spent nearly 11 years working in various countries in Africa speaking with rape victims and helping with the healing process. The meeting lasted about 3-4 hours and we were able to ask some heavy questions. I was surprised at her abilities to answer the questions in ways I never would have assumed… needless to say I took some good notes.

After that the group traveled back to the ship where I met up with my friend Matt S. Matt and I decided beforehand that we were going to try to see a play in Cape Town and I had some other friends going that night. So we bought some tickets on our own and traveled alongside the SAS scheduled group to the Baxter Theatre. We saw, “Red George” a one-man play about apartheid. It was good, only we were pretty exhausted and there wasn’t too much action throughout the play. Regardless it was great to see the Baxter theatre which is right next to Cape Town University and to at least dabble in the South African theatre life.

We somehow pulled ourselves together and went out and met about 300 of our closest SAS friends on Lang Street (pronounced Long) where there are a number of restaurants and bars.


The next morning happened in such an amazing rush.

Matt G and I were supposed to wake up at 4 am and meet four other friends in the lobby area to head to the airport to catch a flight to George, South Africa. Once arriving in George we’d have to take a taxi two hours to the Bloukrans River Bridge, home of the highest bungy jump in the world (it holds the Guinness World Record). Conveniently Meggie had to leave at 3:45 am for her Safari trip and I expected to wake up when she woke up. Of course, I woke up at 3:45 and went right back to bed without properly setting my alarm. At 6:07 am I woke up and looked at my clock and FREAKED out. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:50 am and I knew the airport was about 30 minutes away. I jumped out of bed and called Matt. He was also in bed. I asked him, “Should we do this,” and without hesitation he said, “Yeah, let’s go.” So I literally chucked everything on my counter into my bag, threw on shorts and a shirt and ran out the door where I saw Matt (who lives down the hall) running towards me. Right before leaving I made calls to everyone else in our group and NO ONE answered. Very reassuring.

So Matt and I ran through the ship, down the gangway out to where the taxi men were standing. While running we were shouting, “TO AIRPORT. FAST!” and one guy started running and said, “Me. Follow Me!” As I’ve mentioned when discussing Puerto Rico and Brazil my experiences with taxis hasn’t been all that comforting. Let’s just say that this one tops the cake. We made it to the airport in 10 minutes and I was hyperventilating most of the time. Once we got there, we jumped out of the cab ran through the airport parking lot (convenient how they put the parking lot between the drop off drive through and the building!) and rushed to security. We got to security, ran to the front and tried to get through with just the printout confirmations. They weren’t having it, so we had to run from one end of the airport to the other (not that bad, it’s smaller than Madison’s airport, but still the clock was ticking!) and cut the line at the ticket booth.

As we got to the front we frantically explained our situation and on the loud speaker we hear, “Final boarding call for Gate 3, flight to George. Final Boarding call for Gate 3 flight to George.” Oh god, I thought. The man took our passports fumbled on the computer for longer than was what we wanted and eventually gave us our boarding passes. We then ran back to the other end of the airport where security was. Mind you Matt’s in flip flops and has nothing on him but his passport and camera (including no money) and I have a shoulder bag full of nothing important (i.e. a binder and three ring notebook, as well as an empty water bottle and power bar wrapper). We rush to security somehow make it through quickly and run to our gate where they wave us down and say “Hurry!” Oh, right, they want us to hurry!

So we get to the gate and find that we have to board a bus that will take us to the plane on the runway. We get on the bus and as we walk in I see our group all sitting in the corner talking about us! We rejoiced in meeting up with everyone and finally took a second to breath. Matt and I decided if we get desperate we’re going to apply for The Amazing Race on CBS. We’d kick butt!

So we flew from Cape Town to George where we met up with a scheduled shuttle bus (not part of the initial plan but SO essential! Thank you Kate and Rachele for organizing that). Nine of us boarded the shuttle bus that drove us through a number of towns that resembled the Midwestern countryside. Two hours later we made it to the Bloukrans River Bridge. Let me just say, it’s beautiful.



So we all walked over to the booking shack and signed up as a group to individually bungee jump! When signing up they offered us a deal where we could zipline to the middle of the bridge where we were meant to bungee. We decided to take it and all got strapped in to our harnesses and made our way to the bridge. We walked down this little side path trail and ended up at the zipline post. This is where I started to get a little nervous. Somehow I got over it and jumped up the platform to the zipline. It was surprisingly relaxing whizzing from one end of the bridge to the middle. It got us all a little pumped up too. Then they gave us the order for bungee jumping and Kate was first! She was a champ though, excited and ready.



The area where we jumped off the bridge was this little block probbaly 50 feet by 50 feet. There was a DJ booth (sooo necessary by the way) that would play a new song for everyone once it was their turn (mine was a techno/rap remix of "Dyin in Your Arms Tonight" - a classic, I know). And about 15 crew guys there to play jokes on us and laugh at us as we all got nervous and excited.

I was fourth up and after watching the three before me I knew I had to do this. I've wanted to bungee jump for a long time now and this was such an amazing place to do it. Frederick, the one making fun of me most of the time, strapped my ankles together and walked me to what I called "the plank". The music was bumping and frederick and one other guy held my hands out and made sure my shoes were hanging off the edge halfway. Then they speed counted from 5 down. 5, 4, 3, 2, Bungee! I jumped off and felt an amazing rush. The first three or so seconds of just realizing you jumped off a bridge feeling no resistance was unbelievable. I was shocked, excited, and scared all at once. After free falling I snapped back up and down for a little while, then rested staring at the Indian Ocean one way and a beautiful mountain landscape another. The hanging part was surprisingly relaxing and serene. The whole experience was so fun. Such a rush!

After everyone went we all boarded the shuttle bus and drove around various coastal cities. We stopped at this fantastic oyster place where Matt and I ate everything but the fish! We then drove back to the airport where most of us got out and boarded a plane back to Cape Town. Some people stayed to explore George a little more.

We came back to our ship from the Cape Town airport and decided to shop around the wharf area for a little and eat dinner at this semi-fancy restaurant near the ship. The dinner was incredible, great food! Then I called it a night having barely slept in the last two days and headed back to the ship with another girl who had to get up early for a safari.

Today I went to a township called Phillipi about 30 minutes outside Cape Town. I went on an SAS organized program with the NPO "Operation Hunger". "Operation Hunger" does a number of things for those living in township areas and today we helped weigh children to check their nutritional vitals. Malnutrition is a big problem in the townships, so we were able to speed up the process for Operation Hunger by speeding through an entire school of children. I spent most of the time playing with the kids, juggling for them, running around with them and picking them up and spinning them. It was tiring and fun and such a great interaction. We also met some High School kids and snacked on Wimpy's (a fast food chain much like in-n-out only not nearly as tasty). Since then I came back to the port and jumped on the internet to post this and some more photos (see other posts).

That's all for now, but much more lies ahead in Cape Town. I have three more days and plan to fill them up with as much activity as possible! I'll post again soon! Miss you all,

E

Ship Life 2-16-08

Hey all, it’s been a little while since I posted, and that’s been because of a few reasons. First off, the internet on the ship is agonizingly slow. So I try to spend as little time as possible on it, just out of sheer frustration. Also, I try to spend as much time as I can outside since it’s so beautiful. I haven’t spent as much time as I want, since I’ve been indoors completing school work or sleeping a lot, but I try to be outside as much as I can.


(Krystle, Ben, Blake, Me)

As for life on the ship it’s pretty simple. I wake up, go to class, eat, hang out with people, do work, workout (sometimes), sleep (most of the time), lie out, do some more work, eat, then hang out with people and then sleep. It’s a nice routine. I can’t complain. There are times when everyone gets ansy to get on land and explore and move around off the ship. But most of the time we keep ourselves occupied with each other. I’ve played more board games in the past month than in my entire life! But, everyone does it, so it’s not that lame…right? My favorites as of late are Balderdash and Apples to Apples. Mostly we play cards… get ready J… we constantly play Egyptian Rat Screw, which I always dominate (I kid you not Jeff, I have not lost a SINGLE game since being on the ship). I’m not bragging or joking. I’m dead serious. I think I’m cursed. In a good way though!)


(Group Dinner)

School is actually really good. It’s challenging for two reasons. First, it’s really hard to read when the waves are smashing against the windows of our library or Piano Lounge (where most kids do work). I have fortunately found a hidden spot on the second floor that remains pretty calm. It’s a big spot so I can spread everything out and get my work done down there. It’s also hidden from everyone, so it’s a nice little homework escape (much like the cages at Memorial, which I find myself missing in some weird way). The other reason they are challenging is because the content is new to me. Two of the courses are legal oriented. One is concerned with women’s issues from a UN perspective and revolves around the UN’s actions in the past few decades towards equality of genders. The other is an international law course on war crimes and crimes against humanity. While it’s my favorite course, and I’ve by far learned the most, it’s terribly hard. I have to read A LOT and understand a lot that I’m not usually challenged to understand. I like that though. The teacher is amazing and I hope to talk to her about connecting my interest in social justice and filmmaking, she has some contacts who produce documentaries on injustice in Africa and other areas of the world. I’m also in a fiction short-writing course, which is great because I get to practice story-telling from a new angle.


(Me and Erin)

As for other things on the ship, we just had Neptune Day, which we celebrated a little later than we were supposed to. Neptune Day is essentially the same as Navy hazing day, where when ships cross the equator they wake the g-d of the sea, Neptune. There are a number of rituals like pouring fish guts on each other and shaving heads that go on. I think 100 out of 700 people shaved their heads, 30-40 of which were girls! Crazy I know. I woke up for about 20 minutes of the festivities and then slept for the rest of the day. It was a really, really rocky day at sea and I took some pills and was knocked out all day.

We are just starting up the Sea Olympics. I should preface with the fact that my floor will undoubtedly win the Sea Olympics. I live in the “Red Sea” which is a section of the fourth floor. We have the best RD, the best kids, and are the most active on the ship. There is a noticeable difference from my sea to other seas. More on the Sea Olympics in future posts. I think I’m signed up to compete in the Flip Cup challenge (I’ll do my best to represent Wisconsin)!


(Zach, Me, Matt G, Ryan)

Lastly, I just wanted to let you know that Meggie and I want to try to make a video tour of the ship for everyone. We’re going to try to get that done before South Africa, but frankly we don’t rush things here on the MV Explorer. So keep posted for that.


(Me and Meggie)

Also, I wanted to wish a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tommy T (Feb 14th) and Jocie (Feb 16th). I wish I could be around to celebrate or at least talk to you both! Be safe and hope you have a great one!

Also, my condolences to those involved in the shooting at NIU. I wish a healthy recovery to those injured and a safe healing process for victim’s families.

Peace, E

BRAZIL

Brazil was incredible. We pulled into port to yet another beautiful sunrise. Kate, Natalie, Meggie and I went up to the seventh dock to watch the sunrise over the city of Salvador. We came in on the last day of Carnaval, which I hope most of you are familiar with.
Carnaval is a weeklong festival hosted in all the major cities of Brazil. It’s essentially a huge party where major streets are blocked off and bands play atop trucks that blast music and hundreds of thousands of people dance in the street. We came in to Salvador on the last day, which is known as the craziest and most eventful.


(Brazil Sunrise)

Right after breakfast a big group of us left the ship after a mandatory diplomatic meeting that was really useful in terms of orienting ourselves and where to be at Carnaval. Salvador has a bunch of major sections of the city that were blocked off for different types of parties. There was the Old Section that hosted kid-friendly music and was more traditional. There were a few other sections and then there was the Lighthouse area where I spent most of the night. More later.

For the daytime a bunch of us all got together and went up to the Old area. We had to take an elevator up this huge hill which was just slightly claustrophobic. Then we walked around the area and ate lunch at this great side alleyway at a little restaurant. The twelve of us took it over! It was a lot of fun and the food was awesome, but expensive unfortunately. Then we walked around the area some more and met up with other SAS kids in this major courtyard area. We basically shopped and hung out all day in that square. Then we all snacked for dinner and headed off to the Lighthouse area for Carnaval.

The lighthouse area was a long strip with loud music and millions of people. I have never been on a more crowded street with more people dancing and singing all at once in my life! It was complete insanity. Crowds of people had overtaken every possible balcony in every home and hotel on the street, hired military were in packs on every block, the sidewalks and street were completely packed wall to wall and every double-decker bus that had a band playing on top of it was packed to the brim with people. There was a group of five of us that ended up dancing down the street together. The music was mostly Brazilian and was surprisingly really good. There was also Fatboy Slim a band from the States that are alright. A lot of SAS kids paid $200 for t-shirts called known as an “abada.” They were let into roped off sections behind certain trucks, including the FatBoy Slim one. Others, including my roommate paid for a “camarote” which was the blocked off area on balconies overlooking the street. The last option was what I did, didn’t pay for anything and just walked in the streets around the roped off people and past them. All three options were worth it in some way or other. It was an insane amount of fun and I can only hope that I get a chance to go back for Carnaval again sometime in my life.

The next morning was rough since I had to meet in the Union at 6 am for my scheduled “Best of Rio” trip. We left the ship around 6:30 am and headed to the airport in Salvador. Forty of us flew to Rio and drove to hotel where we checked in and then were let free for the rest of the day. Marsh Allen (my RD) is one of the coolest people on this ship and he just happened to be the Trip Leader for my group in Rio. He was awesome and the first cool thing he did was let us room with whoever we wanted. So Kate from WASB and I picked a room which was great because the girl I was meant to room with was not on the same routine as I was. After checking in Kate and I and a few other kids on the trip decided to walk around our area. We grabbed some lunch at an all you can eat Brazilian restaurant and explored the city. We ended up finding an Irish Pub called Shenanigans, by reference of an American who’d been living in Rio de Janeiro for almost two years.

We ended up hanging out at Shenanigans for a couple hours meeting other travelers, mostly Irish and British. We also got to watch some Brazilian soccer games on TV, which was cool. We left to take naps at the hotel but never made it back to the but never made it to our room because we saw a big group in the lobby and decided to get dinner all together. We got dinner at a place near our hotel and tried some great Brazilian food. Then we got into a cab and headed to a bar we’d heard about from people on the ship. This was one of the most ridiculous cab rides of my life. We must have been in the cab for at least an hour as we got completely lost looking for the bar. We had hilarious conversations with each other and Kate attempted to speak Spanish to our driver who only knew Portuguese. So funny.

We eventually got to the bar and it was closed! Probably because it was Ash Wednesday, which somehow didn’t cross our minds till we got there. So by default we went back to Shenanigans and had a good night. We met more international people and it was a lot of fun. I bought a shirt that I thought was just a normal small t-shirt, but no, it’s a tank top barely big enough for Chelsea! It’s hilarious. Oh well.

The next morning we got up early and loaded on a big bus for a driving tour of different places in Rio. Everyone was exhausted from the past few days so we spent a lot of time laughing at how tired we were and sleeping. We saw a school community and a samba school dance area. Then we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain, which is a huge mountain on the beach in Rio shaped like a big cylinder, kind of. It was a beautiful scenic spot of Rio and was fun because we rode a couple gondolas from mountain to mountain. It was also really beautiful. After Sugar Loaf we went to this massive restaurant for another all you can eat style Brazilian meal. It was crazy because in the middle of the meal a band and woman dressed in some bizarre outfit came out and danced all around us. Very fun.


(Whitney and I at SugarLoaf)

After that we went back to hotel and had an hour before heading to a soccer game between Flamengo and Redondo. Our tour guide was a huge Flamengo fan so he pumped us up for the game. We all bought jerseys beforehand and looked pretty cool as a huge group. The game was awesome. The soccer was really good, the fans were crazy, and we all got really into it. I met a lot more cool kids on our trip at the game which was an added bonus. After the game we ended up trying to go to this Brazilian bar that was pretty low key and not really right for our big group, so we resorted once again to Shenanigans! This time decked out in our jerseys we took over a section of the bar and had a blast.



(Soccer Game)

The next morning Kate, Liza, Jen, Whitney and I woke up super early to go hanggliding! Our tour guide set up a hanggliding trip for us where we got picked up in these cool four by four Jeeps that had open backs so we could see all around us. We drove to through this really cool rainforest national park up to a hanggliding spot and all strapped in and ran off the mountain. It was amazing. Since I went paragliding with Matt once in Switzerland I didn’t get too nervous and I made sure that I got to do some tricks while in the air, so we did a bunch of spirals and went pretty fast. It was a definite rush. We all landed on the beach and hung out for a little while before heading back to check out at the hotel and jump on different four by fours to head to the huge statue of Christ.



(Hangglidding)

We took these open backed jeeps through another section of Rio that was really cool, a colorful district on the way to Christ’s statue that had a ton of open air restaurants and parks. Then we drove through the rainforest, which was beautiful and refreshing and swirly. We made it to the statue and took some great photos. Then we drove back to the hotel had an hour to hang out and left for Salvador.


(Greg, Me, Chris, Kate, Mara)

We came back to Salvador pretty late and stayed in. I got a phone call at 4 am from Matt and Ryan and ended up hanging out with them and Natalie for a little while that next day, which was a great welcome home.



Matt, Ryan, Natalie, Kate, Krystle, and Zach and I spent the next day walking around Salvador shopping and exploring. We also went to the Afro-Brazilian museum which was a surprisingly good experience. Turns out I can use the trip for one of my classes as long as I write up a summary, so that’s good. Natalie, Krystle and I left for an internet café and then headed back to the ship in time for BBQ night. BBQ night was awesome because everyone who made back to the ship in time got to enjoy a great BBQ meal on the 7th deck, which is something we never get to do.

Now I’m back on the ship which just pulled out of port and is off to South Africa. I’ll be busy the next few days with some important class work. I have my first exam in three days and a huge hour long presentation for my International Law class on the same day. Woo hoo. So I likely won’t be on the internet again for a while. But I’ve loved getting e-mails and I’m sorry if I haven’t found time to respond to them yet. Hang in there, I’ll get to them! Again, it’s great to hear from you all. Big Ups to WISCONSIN basketball ranked 8 in the country! Keep it up badgers. For the rest of you in Madison, stay warm and safe throughout the blizzard! I miss you all!

Peace, E

Puerto Rico!

Hey All - here's the latest:

Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico was an awesome first stop. I didn’t expect to find the city so much fun and so full of activities! The day before I went Natalie and I planned out some activities that we thought would be really fun. Most of which didn’t happen. Ha. But it was still a great way to get organized.

The morning we got to San Juan I woke up at 5 45 and met up with Kate and a friend Rachele to watch the sun rise over the city, it was beautiful and there were a ton of kids on the dock.

Customs was a breeze and a group of us headed off the boat early to find a restaurant/bar to enjoy an early lunch. We all got off the ship, in the beating sun and walked toward this famous fortress called El Morro. It’s funny because you see SAS kids everywhere you go. We ran into a ton of kids and eventually found a wonderful lunch spot called Café Amapola right on the water. Our group took over the balcony and ate a delicious lunch (I had shrimp and pineapple which was so so good and I tried the local Junca (sp?) or potato dish.) Of course we had to try the mojitos which I thought was very tasty. After that we headed through Old San Juan and found another group of kids. We just hung out and chatted for an hour or so and then I got a group together and we went to a cockfight!

We took a cab to Isla Verde, 15 minutes out of San Juan, to this hilarious Cockfight Arena. This place was ridiculous! Girls got in free, and I’m convinced the only women were waitresses or SAS girls. There were about 20 of us and we took over a section of the circular stadium to enjoy the festivities. Cockfights are so intense because they don’t last very long and they end in death. The cock’s have little spears taped to their feet and just pluck at each other. It was pretty sad actually. Ryan and I decided to make a few bets (poor decision, sorry dad) and we just had a blast shouting at our own little fighters. Kate and I made friends with two boys currently in the Coast Guard who were also at the cockfight which turned out to a be a really good thing (more later). After the fight we came back to the ship because we were a little worn out and took power naps.

We all got up around 8 and headed out to meet the Coast Guard boys for dinner. Ryan and Kevin have both been in San Juan for about a year and they knew all the best places to go. Kevin took us to his favorite restaurant where we ate amazing steak, paelle and, of course, sangria. Kevin actually paid for all 12 of us, which was kind of ridiculous. We then went to the boys favorite salsa club because we all really wanted to dance. So we went to NuYo Rican, a great hole in the wall dance club. We danced for probably 2 hours! I think Ped was a little bored, haha, but he was a trooper. It’s been really cool to get together with Andie, Ped and Julia (all friends from High School).

After NuYo Rican we went to Calle San Sebastian which I heard before leaving was THE street for bars and that was no joke. Every building was a bar all the way down the street. We met up with something like 500 SAS kids and all had a blast dancing and meeting people. Also, randomly, some Puerto Ricans had bongo drums and were playing in the middle of the street, so it became a big block party with SASers and young Puerto Ricans crowding the streets.

I woke up around 10 am and slowly got together Matt, Zach and Ryan. We met up with Natalie and a bunch of girls who were at Ocean Park, a really nice looking beach about 20 minutes away. The drive was crazy because our taxi driver, like every other taxi driver in P.R. was a nutcase! He was blasting reggaetone and talking on TWO cell phones while weaving in and out of traffic at very high speeds. It was hilarious and frightening at the same time. After arriving safely we hung out on the beach for a couple hours. The coast guards met us and we all went swimming in the ocean, which was rough, but a lot of fun.

Natalie and I left with the girls to shower and get ourselves put together. Then Nat and I roamed through the streets of Old San Juan for probably 4 hours. It was great because she’s such an easy person to travel with. We walked all over the different districts and just explored what makes up Old San Juan. We also found a Walgreens and Grocery Store which was a great way to get some essentials for the ship. We also found an awesome little artisan fair with live music and custom booths. We spoke with the local artists, musicians and jewelry makers which was really awesome. Then we made our way back to the boat where we met up with Ryan, Zach, and Matt. Then the five of us and a few other friends got together and went to Calle San Sebastian (the street with all the bars). We ended up just walking into one which was really cool and played pool and sat out on the balcony. We met up with a ton of other SASers simply by seeing them from the balcony and waving them up.

The last day consisted of an independent hike that Natalie and I set up through recommendations from two other girls on the ship. We planned a guided tour through the El Yunque National Rain Forest Park. It was a lot fun because, for only $40, we were taken the park, which is beautiful, and then led on a guided tour of where to hike, where to stop at the waterfall, and where to get scenic photos. It was also cool because we did the trip with a bunch of Wisconsin and Berkeley kids and they were all fun.

We left the park and headed straight to that Starbucks so we could plan renting a villa in Mauritius for 3 days. We’ve heard from a ton of people that it’s the thing to do, so I did some research and I think I found an awesome one on the Flic En Flac beach. We’ll see how it goes. It’s great that I’ve kind of already got a group because they’re all really fun and easy going and make planning things and traveling really enjoyable.

After the internet fest at starbucks we all headed back to the ship and made it on board just in time to head out of San Juan. It was an early night since I barely slept the whole time in PR.

So now we’re off to Brazil and I’ve officially had all of my courses. I’m dropping one because the teacher was dreadful but the other two were really very cool (I left out Global Studies, which everyone takes). I’m going to have A LOT of work to do, but I’ll learn a lot and am excited because the material is interesting and pretty relevant! Only downside, I have 500 pages due in three days. For just one class. So ya. I’ll be busy with that. However, I’ll probably do it in a bathing suit, tanning in the hot sun.

That’s all for me at the moment. As you can tell, if you got through this whole thing, Puerto Rico was a blast! I can’t wait for Brazil. We get into Salvador on the last night of Carnival so we’ll have to jump right into the celebration. Then I have a planned trip to Rio which should be really cool.

Keep sending e-mails!! : )

Peace,
E

Ship Life Photos

Hey all, here are some photos of life on the ship - soon I'll post about Puerto Rico which was AMAZING!


Me, Ryan, Kelly, Matt, and Kate


Matt and me


sunset







Meggie and I before life boat drill


Tommy, Me, Ryan

Ship Life (First Couple of Days)

HELLO ALL! Greetings from the MV EXPLORER. I'm currently sailing between Nassau and Puerto Rico. We will arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico tomorrow morning and I am SO EXCITED.

Let me start off by saying this has been an awesome experience so far. Most everyone I have met has been really cool and it seems like we're all here to explore the world and have a great time. I've already made a little group of friends. I hang out with my friend Natalie (who I've known since way back and was close with up till middle school and then we parted ways for HS and college) and three guys that are really cool, Ryan, Matt and Matt. Ryan and I have pretty much hung out since we boarded the plane in Ft. Lauderdale. He's a really cool guy from southern california who goes to UT in Austin. The Matt's go to Pitt and are really cool also, friendly guys! I also hang out with this girl Kelly and some of her friends from college (Univ. of Miami in FL) - I met her on the plane too. It's hard to label a group already because everyone is meeting everyone and just hanging out and trying to grasp this whole experience. I've also been spending some time with Kate from Wisconsin who's a friend from WASB (no time to explain, haha).

Here is my journal entry from Day 1, it's pretty long but I think you may enjoy it:

Day One
I woke up early in my Atlantis hotel room in Nassau in order to get ready to board the ship! I took a big van cab to the Prince George Wharf with a group of kids that we’re all pretty cool. I got to the port and it was ridiculous. Crowded, hot, and slightly disorganized. I placed my heavy, heavy bags under a tree near the entrance gate and walked a lot of blocks away to the back of the line. It was HOT and uncomfortable, but I made a friend in line and we chatted for a while. She’s on ALL of the same excursions as I am so I’m sure we’ll meet again soon (Liza from Depaul).

After going through security and all the paperwork on the ship I made it to my room! Which was so exciting. It turns out, completely randomly, that I am rooming with Meggie Warner, a junior from Wisconsin! She’s from outside Milwaukee (went to high school with Sover!) and is very chill. She’s got sorority sisters on the boat, so is very connected with the Wisconsin crowd. She’s really sweet though and I’m excited to get to hang out with her. Plus we have an AMAZING suite. It’s huge compared to other rooms and has a couch and will definitely be a happening spot. I also took a shower and it far surpassed all expectations! Haha… (Cool sidenote, it’s a new SAS tradition to sharpie the back of the paintings that hang above our beds, so Meggie and I took down the painting and read through a bunch of scribbled notes with humorous sayings and tricks for using the room to its full advantage, etc).

So once I got to the room I unpacked and explored my floor. I’ve got a pretty cool floor as it turns out. My buddy Ryan lives like 8 doors down. Also two girls, both of whom I spent most of the day yesterday with at the Atlantis (friends of Natalie’s) are just down the hall. I also met two really cool guys from Pitt (the Matt's) who live two doors down.

Then we had a lifeboat drill, which was pretty lame, but I did get to meet some more kids. Then Ryan and his roommate Tommy (also very cool kid from socal) came and hung out with Meggie and me in our SWEET room. Then we went outside to wave farewell to the parents as we left the port and set sail! It was pretty cool to have all the kids out on the back decks cheering and looking out as we left Nassau for Puerto Rico.

While hanging out on the deck with Ryan and his roommate Tommy I met the Matt’s and two girls they know from Pitt and Natalie ran into us. Then Ryan, Matt (x2), Natalie, and the two girls all went to the dining room and got some dinner. Krsytel and Sarah (Nat’s friends and the two girls I like from yesterday) randomly met up with us and hung out in the dining hall. We just sat in that room for like 2 hours laughing at ridiculous stories and getting to know each other. It was cool.

Then the Dean gave his important speech and then we met up with our floor, known as the “Red Sea”. More details on that in future posts.

The boat is swaying a lot this evening, which is a welcome change to my routine. I find myself talking and falling over. Very humorous.

So, I’m all packed and set to go to bed so I can get up early tomorrow for a full day of orientation, meetings, and last minute bookings. Life is good aboard the MV Explorer.


For Day 2 I was basically a blob. Ryan, Matt, Natalie and I (plus a ton of others who came in and out) sat out on the upper deck and hung out by the pool. We went to some manditory meetings which, no joke, Ryan/matt/I slept through all of. Then we sat out by the pool some more. It's amazing because it's HOT and everyone is meeting a ton of people. There's a great snack bar with ridiculous smoothies also that I've come to enjoy. It's important to note that the alcohol will not be served until after Puerto Rico, so everyone's been resorting to playing cards and other games to meet people. Tons of kids sit by the pool and read or attempt to work out (super funny because if you try to run on the treadmill without holding on you WILL fall over or bang into the wall, as Kate's roommate has already done). It's nice to get to know everyone before we start to party.

As for day 3 I went to Global Studies, the mandatory daily class with Matt and Ryan, and it was terribly boring, but no worries. In about 30 minutes I'm going to meet with Natalie and plan travel through Puerto Rico!!

I'll post pictures soon, with a guide of the ship, which is UNREAL - it's huge and fantastic. I'll also let you in on my travels and expected travels.

I miss you and all and would love to hear what's happening by you!!!

Peace!