3 Months later...

It has been just over three months since my adventure around the world. I have hesitated to write this entry for a while. Part of me has waited for more closure or some new revelation. The truth is that I changed while I was gone and I am still trying to get used to being home. Nothing is going to smack me in the face as a new revelation and I am not really going to get any more closure. I'm okay with that. I am a new person, passionate about new things, and I know a lot of new people. I miss them, tremendously. It really is kind of crazy how in such a short period of time I could become so close to so many people that allowed me to be exactly who I am. Thanks to all of them. I also truly appreciate all of the support from home before I left, while I was gone, and since I've been home. My family and friends here are truly incredible.

I have to quote myself again and say indescribable - that is still what my fall 2007 experience is to me. People ask how it was and all I can say is it was awesome and there are no words to describe it. It is kind of like describing God or an interaction with Him. You know how it felt and how it still feels, but you can't really explain it unless someone else has experienced the same thing. I have also found myself trying to reconnect with people that I met while abroad. This has helped me to transition back - as a way of holding on to that time in my life while moving on.

At this point, I miss so much from the ship and that period of time. I miss this ship itself, the dynamic living environment and all that went with it. I miss the people, my friends, the faculty, the crew, and Captain Jeremy's voice telling me to go to the muster station. I also miss "the voice" telling me to sleep an extra hour tonight by retarding the clock. I miss having my bed made everyday. I miss arriving in a new country every week. I miss meeting new people from diverse backgrounds. I miss bargaining. I miss being exposed to things that I didn't even know existed. I miss the children - the precious innocent kids that I got to meet while abroad that helped me realize that kids everywhere are pretty much the same - they want to play and have fun. I miss getting rocked to sleep every night by the ocean.

What was my favorite country?

Really? Is this what you want to ask me when I get home? As many of you have read, I have favorite aspects of things that I have experienced. There are cities that I enjoyed visiting more than others, but to say that a whole country is my favorite is just not possible. I can’t do that. To judge one culture, people group and country based on my experiences for five days is just unfair. I appreciate my experiences in each country for the fact that they have opened my eyes to many new things. I can point to specific things that I learned in each country. From my experience in Hiroshima, Japan that opened my eyes to issues like peace and conflict and nuclear weapons to the pollution in Beijing and globalization effects in Hong Kong. The poverty and reality of Vietnam and the wai in Thailand. The complex culture of India and unexpected contrast in Egypt with the media’s portrayal of Arabs. Turkey’s combination of East and West to the effects of war in Croatia and, finally, to Spanish and siestas in Spain. I have had an amazing experience and learned a lot from each country and culture. I am NOT the same person. I am not going to be. I am okay with that – if you are not, hopefully you will learn to be. I have become more comfortable being uncomfortable. I’ve slept on trains and buses that people at home would probably not even sit on. I have been made incredibly uncomfortable by the extreme poverty that I have seen and learned that this is discomfort that I can’t live with. I have truly learned the difference between physical and emotional discomfort. One I am okay with, the other is devastating. I know that I am driven to do something about the poverty that I have seen. I don’t know what it will be, but know that it is something that I have an incredible passion for.

I don’t know what to expect when I get home. It will truly be a new experience. T. S. Elliot says, “We shall never cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” This is an amazing quote especially considering all that I have learned about my own culture since leaving it. It is amazing that you can learn so much about something that you are completely separated from. I had no idea how much my culture has shaped who I am. It is amazing. Oh and, by the way, there are people in the United States that haven’t experienced the glory that is biscuits and gravy. Haha… this is a silly example, but it just shows how much different the south and my home are from other parts of the United States, not to mention the rest of the world. It is a beautiful difference. All cultural differences are beautiful in their own way. They are so interesting to me, especially now.

Happy Dinner - Egypt

Happy Dinner is this funny phrase that my friends and I said all throughout Egypt. The reason why comes from our overnight train to Luxor from Cairo. The meals were included and the server came in and said, "Happy Dinner!", as he served our dinner that night. We thought it was hilarious and said the phrase throughout Egypt. This blog is for them!! The train was nice, it was clean and cozy. This was in stark contrast to the one in India. I didn't get much sleep on the train because we could feel and hear every bump, but other than that it was nice. After the train in India, i really couldn't complain!

I want to apologize for not updating recently - my computer has died and many of my documents, pictures, and journal entries have been lost. Well, not completely lost, but I have not been able to access them. I don't think the problem is that bad, but it is not too much fun not having my computer... oh well!

Egypt

As a woman, I was both warned and concerned about traveling in Egypt. In order to save money, my friends and I planned to travel independently of Semester at Sea, which is something I have done in almost every country. This had some people a little concerned. These concerns were not justified at all. I felt so safe in Egypt. I did not feel uncomfortable because I was a woman in a predominantly Muslim country, as some had warned we may. I loved Egypt. I found Arab people to be completely welcoming and friendly. They were not like the stereotypes created by American media.

For those (like my sister) that want the abbreviated version, this is how Egypt went:
Day 1: Alexandria to Cairo to Luxor (all by train, but to Luxor was an overnight train)
Day 2: Luxor – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s Temple, and Karnak Temple followed by a ride on the Nile, then flight to Cairo
Day 3: Cairo – PYRAMIDS, we rode on camels to the pyramids and it was AMAZING, this is by far the coolest thing that I have ever done!
Day 4: Cairo Museum – more mummies, sarcophagi, and old Egyptian stuff than you ever thought existed, then train to Alexandria and evening in Alexandria
Day 5: Alexandria Library and walking around city

It was so amazing to me to see all of the things that I did in Egypt. Egypt was the reason that I chose to do the Fall voyage, instead of the Spring. I am so glad that I did. I have always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt – the pyramids, pharoahs, heiroglyphics, and all things Egypt. It was so surreal to actually see it up close. I cannot explain the feeling that I had the morning in Luxor walking to the Valley of the Kings and visiting tombs that are literally thousands of years old. I touched heiroglyphics on the wall that had been carved several thousand years ago. They are still there, the paint is still there and scholars cannot explain how all of it was done. We went in three tombs at the Valley of the Kings and none of them were exactly the same. There was differen tartwork and rooms designated for various things. We even saw a sarcophagus in one. The artwork was amazing, I wish I could have taken pictures.

Later, in Luxor, we visited the Temple of Hatshepsut. It is interesting that in this temple, the figures of Hatshepsut are carved out as if trying to hide the character because her successor (someone in her family) was mad that she tried to keep the thrown from him. It is quite an interesting story that I am excited to learn more about in the future. Later we went to The Karnak temple, which was amazing – it was HUGE!!! I took tons of pictures there, too. There were huge statues and artwork and many rooms and such a large facility. That night, we took a ride on the Nile with our guide, Monsieur and our buddy Ray Ray. They were really fun. Then, we flew to Cairo.

The next day, we were off to the pyramids! I rode a camel over sand dunes and desert to reach the pyramids. It was quite literally the most amazing thing that I have ever done! I just can’t describe it with words. WOW!! My camel was really cool – the guide called him Mickey Mouse. It was funny, too – the guide told me that there was something wrong with my camel’s saddle so that he would have to ride with me. I don’t know if it is true or not, but he definitely wanted me to think so. He was really nice and not weird at all. He even offered me the pyramids as a souvenir. haha!! When we got there, we walked around and even climbed up the pyramids for a while, which was just awesome!! Then, we went inside Cheops pyramid (The Great Pyramid). My friends and I each got in the sarcophagus, which was really freaky, but fun!

The next day we went to the Cairo Museum, which is huge and has tons of artifacts. I feel like they had more stuff than they knew what to do with. I saw mummies and all of King Tut’s stuff. It was all really awesome. The mummy display was really cool because they set it up so that the descendants and families were all next to each other. It was interesting to see the mummies of the people whose tombs I had been in two days prior.

That night, we returned to Alexandria. We walked around the city and i ate the best falafel ever! It only cost 10 cents. We also met a man named Mohamed who helped us navigate the city. He also taught me a few phrases in Arabic. The next day, we went to the Alexandria Library and walked around the city.

Egypt was awesome- it was very different than I expected.

Birthday in Croatia

I had my BIRTHDAY in CROATIA!!! It was AWESOME!! Honestly, I could not have asked for a better birthday. We began the day (our second day in Croatia) by walking the city walls. It did not rain all day, which was great. We have had a lot of rain on this trip, so for it to hold off on my birthday was awesome. After walking the city walls, which were beautiful, we got sandwiches and had a picnic lunch by the water. We sat outside the city walls on the coast and enjoyed the view. It was a great lunch! Then, we went into a palace in the walled city. After that, we went down by the water and climbed up a hill and took more pictures. We kind of took it easy that afternoon and went up the hill and sat around for a while. Then, we climbed down to some rocks, where we watched the sun set over the water. It was absolutely beautiful. Then, we went back to the ship and got ready for dinner. We went to dinner at a charming restaurant named Mimoza. I had the best steak I have probably ever had (filet mignon and my friends wouldn´t let me pay for anything). After dinner, we went to a club called Fuego to dance. Overall, I had a great birthday and I am so glad I got to spend it with good friends in a beautiful place.

Turkish Delight

In Turkey, I visited Izmir, Ephesus, Pamakkule and Istanbul. I think Istanbul may be my favorite city in the world. It was so interesting to me with the east meets west feel. It was just such a neat place. I went to the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern, Grand Bazaar, and so much more.

Ephesus was a really interesting place for me - i saw the house where the Virgin Mary lived the last twenty years of her life. I also saw the ruins of Ephesus, which is where Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians. As I walked through the city, I stopped every few hundred yards and sat and read a chapter of Ephesians. It was awesome to read as I was sitting where it had first been written. We only stayed for one day in Ephesus, but it was worth it and we got to see pretty much everything we wanted to.

The next day, we went to a place called Pamakkule. We heard about it from a man on the plane and decided to check it out. I´m glad we did. It was so beautiful. It started out as a park with ruins and things to see. We went, though, to see the tiered hot springs. They were so neat. I don´t really understand how they were made, but they were teired pooles down a hill. We climbed down the hill and into the town for lunch. Later that day, we returned to Istanbul.

I know that my family was worried about me going to Turkey, but I didn´t feel that it was dangerous at all - in the city or otherwise. I am so glad that we went there and so glad to have experienced the unique mix of the european and middle eastern culture. Istanbul was definitely very European, but the other cities showed another side to Turkey.

Egypt

As I am sitting in an internet cafe in Barcelona, Spain, I will try to update briefly my time in Egypt. As you may have read, my computer is broken, so I have actually written a blog, but i am unable to post it because it is on my broken computer.

Egypt -
Day 1: Alexandria to Cairo to Luxor (Cairo to Luxor by overnight train)
Day 2: Luxor - Valley of The Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut, Karnak Temple (we walked in tombs that were over 3000 years old, it was AWESOME) then flight to Cairo
Day 3: Cairo - PYRAMIDS AT GIZA - this was so surreal for me.. seeing the pyramids as I was riding a camel in the desert.. wow, no words!
Day 4: Cairo Museum - more Egyptian artifacts than they know what to do with, then train to Alexandria
Day 5: Alexandria Library and walking around city

Egypt was great! I was warned about traveling there independent of SAS and did not feel the fears were justified at all. The trip was amazing. Arab people are great, they are warm and friendly - not at all like how they are portrayed by American media. I had a nice conversation with an Egyptian man about politics. He found out that I was from America (after some good guessing.. they thought I was from about any country in Europe, which is a compliment because I didn´t look or act American, which does not necessarily have the best connotation). When he found out he turned his head and acted like he didnt want to talk to me anymore. After we talked for a while, he basically said that he likes Americans as people, but dislikes the American government and foreign policy. After traveling quite a bit, I realize that this is the way many people feel around the world. It is good, though, that (unlike many Americans) people can tell the difference between the people and the government or the stereotypes. Hopefully, my friends and I have helped to change the stereotype.

I will definitely write more later .. i already have, i just cant post it - but I will just say that Egypt was awesome, it is the reason why I went on the Fall voyage, instead of the Spring and I am so glad that I did. It was amazing to see heiroglyphics that were carved thousands of years ago and paint on walls that scholars are still unsure how it got there. I am so glad that I got to go there... it was amazing!!!

Computer Problems!!!

I am very sorry that I have not updated recently... i wish I could.. my computer has crashed and the journals and blogs that I wrote on my computer cannot be reached right now. I was able to recover some stuff on the ship, but could not get everything right away. It is not a big problem and will likely be resolved easily once I get home.. the sad thing for now, though, is that I will either have to wait til I get home to update or do shorter updates now without picture

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blog and to all who have sent me messages, letters and everything!! i love yall and will be home soon!

Service Visits

In both Vietnam and India, I participated in service visits. In Vietnam, I went through Semester at Sea, but in India, I went by myself. In both countries, I went to orphanages. These have been incredibly emotional experiences for me.

I recently read in my Bible that "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (James 1:27) This is pretty heavy stuff. As I have been traveling the world, it becomes incredibly difficult not to be stained by it. I feel, though, that i have not been stained, but that i have been changed. My eyes have been opened, my heart has, too. I have seen and experienced so many amazing, beautiful, sad, ugly, interesting, and different things. This has not stained me and made me jaded as it has to so many people. My heart has not been hardened, but has been opened to the marginalized peoples of the world. I do not know what i will do with this new realization, but I have no doubt that it is something that God is doing in my life to lead me. I do not know where it will take me, but I am excited to see.

In not even trying to, I have been practicing the pure religion that James talks about. More than the beautiful sights and landmarks (and the Taj Mahal was beautiful), I remember the children in these orphanages and my desire to love and help them. One girl in particular touched my heart. She is from India and her name is Roja. She was the most precious child that I have seen in quite some time. All i could do was look at her, hold her hands and hold her. She is very small and has very thin limbs. She is bed-ridden and cannot move much at all. Her leg was broken and it did not look like she ever got out of bed. Her muscles seemed very weak, all except for her hands. She used her small hands to grasp my fingers and hold on to my shirt as I held her. She could not open her eyes. I held her and whispered affirming words into her ear and rocked her. I know she could not understand me, but it didn't matter. I could tell that she really enjoyed this because I could see her smile and she held on to my shirt tightly. I was heartbroken when I had to put her down because she began to cry. She showed me so much without using any words.

This was so tough for me because many of the children at the orphanage had physical or mental disabilities. It broke my heart that God could allow people to be born this way and have children born to families that don't want them. I have never understood this and seeing it up close made me confront the issue even more. I still can't understand it, I don't understand a lot of things about God, but this one bugs me more than others. It is something that I am working through, even though I may never find an answer that satisfies me. I think this drives me to want to change it and help the situation even more. I have always wanted to help people and change the world (i know I am idealistic), I still don't know what contribution I will make to make the world a better place, but this is certainly an area that I have a lot of passion for.

An interesting thing about both orphanages is that the children there are incredibly happy. I thought it was so beautiful that these children were so happy despite the sad things that are in their lives. They do not have a basis of comparison, so they do not understand that they are missing out on anything. This made me happy to realize because they are not sad about their own situation. This gave me hope.

Varanasi, India

The night after my visit to the Taj Mahal, we traveled on an overnight train to Varanasi (my favorite city in India, so far). The train was sketchy at the very least. The windows did not have glass, but they had metal bars. There were eight people in each section and the beds folded down from the walls. The train smelled pretty bad and there were people everywhere. Luckily, I was very tired and slept during most of the ride. We boarded the train around 9pm and did not arrive until noon the next day. The train was late by several hours. The next morning, we were offered breakfast from a salesman that didn’t have any shoes on. I did not have breakfast this day. I also did not use the restroom on the train because it was more than disgusting. Two of my friends that traveled with me did not sleep at all while we were on the train. This was not the most enjoyable experience of my visit to India, but I am glad that I had it. It makes me appreciate other forms of transportation more.

My visit to Varanasi was worth the terrible train ride. Varanasi is amazing. It is a perfect picture of India. We had the first day for free time. We went to a mall and watched a Bollywood film, which was in Hindi, so we could not understand it. It was funny, though, to be in the audience and see how Indian people responded to movies. They were very into the movie and even talked during it. It was interesting to see. We left at intermission, which was over an hour into the movie. Bollywood films are an average of 3 or more hours.

That night, we went toward the Ganges to see the ceremony in which the river is put to rest for the day. We never made it. We were walking down a road with tons of vendors on each side. We were also told that there was a festival going on that day (apparently, India has festivals almost every day). They celebrate the holy days of all major religions, so they have many festivals and holy days. Anyway, on the way there, we met this man that was quite nice. He took us on what he called a “short cut”. It wasn’t a big deal because there were many people in the streets we were walking down until we got to one alleyway that was sparsely populated. My friends were like, let’s go this way ok… I started walking with them until I turned around and noticed a man that had been kind of following us and he was on his cell phone. As soon as he saw me see him, he shot out of the alley. Then, I told my friends that I had seen some of our friends that we were trying to meet. They had no idea what I was talking about and it took a bit of odd persuasion to get them to realize that I didn’t want to go down there. We walked back the way we came and found some people that looked like they spoke English so that we could lose the guy that had been leading us. We ended up talking to some eastern Europeans who thought we were nuts, but helped us out. About five minutes after we got to the main street, all of the lights turned off. This happens every night in this area of India. Everyone was used to it and expected it. We still have no idea what would have happened if we had gone with the guy down that alley. We stopped at this nice lady’s stand and bought some necklaces and things. She had one of the few stands with a generator for supplementary electricity. She gave each of us bracelets for good luck. I have not taken mine off since. I don’t really believe in luck, but I like that the bracelet was tied on by a woman in India.

The next morning, we got up very early and went for a boat ride on the Ganges at sunrise. It was amazing. This was the most poignant picture of India. The sun was very bright and the river was busy with people bathing on the sides and boats rowing up and down the river. I expected the river to smell badly, but it did not. It was very dirty and you could not see through it at all. The Ganges River, however, is one of the most sacred places for Hindus. There were gats on the side of the river, which are places that people pray to various Hindu deities. People were on the bank washing clothes. The river was alive.

Some children sold us flowers with candles placed in them to light and send up the river. They told us to wish or pray for someone and place the candle in the river. I did this and made a silent prayer for my family, friends, and this journey.

We also saw the section of the river where people go to burn the dead. They have a particular ritual for completing the cremation. First, they take the body into the river, open its mouth and fill it with water. They submerge the body in the river. Then, they let it lay on the bank for a few hours to dry. After this, they cremate the body on a wooden platform and spread the ashes in the river. There are variations to this depending on the financial stability of the family. An interesting thing about funerals here, though, is that nobody can be sad at them. The sadness is thought to follow the loved one into the next life. Therefore, families cannot mourn their loved ones at their funerals.

Varanasi was quite an awesome place and taught me a lot about Indian culture. It was amazing to me because I have seen documentaries and pictures of the river and the city, but to actually be there was incredible. I felt like I was in the Channel One documentary, which is where i saw Varanasi for the first time.

India - October 15-19, 2007

I haven’t updated about India yet because there is just so much to say. India really stole my heart. I saw so many things that I did not expect. Really, I didn’t know what to expect. I saw children that were working instead of attending school. I saw cars dodge cows in the middle of the street. I saw whole families sleeping on the street. I didn’t have any expectations for India, so none of what I saw was what I expected.

I visited Agra, which is where the Taj Mahal is. I went to Varanasi, which is a holy place for Hindus because it is situated on the Ganges River. I visited Delhi and then returned to Chennai, where the ship was docked.

The Taj Mahal was amazing. It was so beautiful. It was literally a huge slab of marble. To see it in real life was just incredible. I have seen pictures and all sorts of depictions of the Taj, but to see it for real was awesome. We arrived there at sunrise and were able to stay for a few hours for pictures and exploring. There were Indian tourists there as well and they were very excited to see us and eager to take pictures with us. Several families stopped my friends and me for pictures. It is also interesting that the children wanted us to take pictures of them so that they could see themselves on our digital cameras. Later that day, we visited the Agra Fort. It was a large building and was once ornately decorated. There were also many Indian tourists there. It was funny that in each place the other tourists would take pictures with us in the background instead of the Taj Mahal or Agra Fort. It was quite obvious that they wanted pictures with foreigners.

Another interesting thing is that outside of the Taj Mahal, there is a dirt road and a few street vendors. I expected it to be heavily developed and very tourist-friendly. I found it quite funny that the exterior was just a dirt road like any other place in India. There was a large cow in front of the entrance when we were there. The term “holy cow” really does come from India. I rode down many streets in India where the cars dodged out of the way so that they would not hit the sacred creatures.

One thing that I noticed in India that I did not expect was the beautiful traditional dress. The women wore beautiful saris in a variety of bright colors. I knew this was traditional dress, but I did not realize that it was daily dress, as well. It was one of the most beautiful parts about India.

I also really enjoyed Indian food. I was afraid that this food would make me sick because we were strongly warned about water quality and health standards in India. The administrators on the ship basically implied that most of us would get sick. I did not, which was great. I ate a lot of local food, too, so this was surprising. I am excited to try Indian food when I get home because this was my first experience with Indian food, so I am interested to see how authentic the food is in America.

I have so much to say about India, so I am sorry that this blog seems really random, I will write some other, more direct entries soon.

Pirates, Dolphins, and Islands in the Distance (October 8-12, 2007)

On our voyage from Thailand to India, we had to pass through the Strait of Malacca, which is the most pirated area in the world! There were jokes and comments for a few days about seeing Captain Jack Sparrow and the hopes that the potential pirates would resemble Johnny Depp. The ship was at almost full speed and we had several other ships traveling very close to us for safety. Rumor has it that we also had the water cannons ready. We were not met with adventure and pirates, but we did have fun pretending like we would.

During this time there were also many dolphins around the ship. Watching the dolphins was quite fun and gave us an excuse not to study. We could also see outlines of islands and land for a while, which is different from all of the rest of our time on the open ocean.

I’ll also say here that I get to watch sunsets over the ocean every day. It is so awesome. I live on the east coast, so I never see sunsets on the ocean. I have realized, though, that I really love them. It is awesome that no 2 sunsets are the same. They are each beautiful and painted with unique colors and clouds. I love to sit on the back of the ship, eat dinner and watch the sun set.

Thailand (October 4-8, 2007)

So my first day in Thailand was the most stressful day that I have had on this whole trip. We did not clear the ship until about 2:15 pm. This wouldn’t have been that big of a deal except for the fact that Tyson was going to meet me in Bangkok at 12:30 pm. Unfortunately, the clearing process took much longer than expected. I finally got to Bangkok around 4:30 pm and began searching for Tyson. The funny thing is that SAS chose a drop off point for the shuttle that is literally the largest mall that I have ever seen. I began searching for Tyson, thinking that it would be a quick thing and soon found out that it would take a while. Luckily, my friend Nick was there to stay with me and help me look. If it wasn’t for him I would have been freaking out big time. All in all, it took us until about 9pm to find Tyson. After finding him, we went to the hotel where Nick had reservations and Tyson and I got a room there. After checking in, we went to a market, ate Burger King and returned to the hotel.

The next day, Tyson and I got up early to head for the airport. Some of my friends met us there to fly and travel with us. We took a morning flight from Bangkok to Phuket. Even from the air, Phuket was beautiful. We flew over the northern part on the way down and could see the limestone pillars of Phang Nga. It was beautiful. We arrived at the airport, booked a hotel and caught a cab to Karon Beach, where the hotel was. The hotel was nice and the beach was pretty. We checked in, ate and went for a swim. The water was so clear. Even though it rained for a bit, we still had a blast that afternoon. We searched for sea shells and took a walk on the empty beach. This was not peak tourist time, mostly because it is right in the middle of the rainy season. Unfortunately, we had to deal with this rain most of the time we were there. After swimming, we cleaned up and went to dinner.

The next day, we took a tour to the Phi Phi Islands. It was the most beautiful place. The ferry ride was less than enjoyable because a storm was coming in as we were traveling to the islands. This meant rocky seas and rain, so everyone crowded inside on the ferry. If you ever go to these islands, take the speedboat. It is a little more expensive, but apparently you can go to a lot more places on the island. This is the option we wanted to take, but some of the people we were traveling with did not. The first stop was Monkey Beach, where we could swim to shore or snorkel. We chose to snorkel. It was absolutely amazing. This is the first time that Tyson had ever snorkeled, so it was really fun to swim next to him. I also snorkeled in Hawaii, but this was much better. The reef was colorful and alive and there were tons of fish. The water was so clear, too. I also took my camera with an underwater case, so I hope that I got some good pictures. This was awesome and it made me want to get SCUBA certified.

After snorkeling, we went to another island for lunch. After lunch, we rented kayaks and kayaked to another small beach with monkeys on it. The monkeys were curious and wanted to take things from our bags. In fact, had Tyson not caught one of them, it would have gotten away with my camera. We walked on the beach for a while, which was nice because we were the only ones there. The sand was so white and fine, it was unlike anything I have ever felt. The water, again, was so beautiful, too. It was clear and blue and just like the pictures.

After our adventure on the island, we took the ferry back to Phuket and returned to the hotel. That night, Tyson and I went to dinner and then we decided what to do the next. We decided to go to Phang Nga, which is a naturally beautiful water landscape with limestone caverns and mountains in the ocean.

The travel to Phang Nga was not bad; we took a bus. We got to the dock and rented a longboat for the day. Our guide was this sweet Thai man that told us, with broken English, as much as he could about the sights. We rode the boat in a cave and around many of the islands. We visited the James Bond Island, which is where one of the movies was filmed. Rain came as we were leaving the island, so we waited it out for a while. For lunch, we stopped in a Muslim fishing village and had a great lunch. Then, we returned to the dock. From there, we took a tuk tuk (essentially, a truck with the back made into a covered seating area for passengers) to an elephant village. We rode elephants and took lots of pictures. Finally, we returned to the bus station to head for the airport.

The last day, Tyson and I spent exploring Bangkok together. We went to a market, to a monastery/temple, and walked around the city. It was nice.

I really enjoyed visiting Thailand. The people were very respectful and kind to tourists. One thing that I loved is a greeting that the Thai people have. One holds their hands together in front of their chest and bows slightly. This is accompanied with a greeting, sawatdeekaa (the spelling is probably wrong, but this is how a female would say hello). This greeting is known as a wai and is quite respectful and common. I grew quite fond of greeting people this way and when I said hello in Thai, I was often asked if I actually spoke Thai, which I sadly had to respond with no. In the two days right before port, we have 2 pre-ports, one for culture and one for logistics. These get us prepared for everything we need for the next port. The cultural ones are very helpful because they generally give us instruction on a few greetings in the native language of the area that we are visiting. I have enjoyed picking up greetings in the various languages and have been met with a great deal of appreciation from the locals because I have made an effort to greet them in their language. I think this is important to remember when traveling because too often tourists visit a foreign country and expect standards to be at a Western level and expect people to all speak English. This ethnocentric attitude is rude and disrespectful. The reaction I got from attempting to speak their language was warm and appreciative and I got the impression that few people attempt this.

Finally, I will say that it was so good to see Tyson. It was very nice to have someone fly half way around the world to visit me. It was great to have someone here that I am so close to and comfortable with. So far, I have seen and done so much and I just wanted someone to listen to it all – I needed to emotionally vomit, I guess. That’s not to say that I don’t have good friends here because I do, it was just nice to have him here. It was also great that we got to do all of the things that we did and travel together. There are so many things I have done and seen that I want to share with people from home – my family and friends; I am glad that I got to share some of this.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (September 27-October 1, 2007)

More than anywhere else we have been, Vietnam was real. My visit to Vietnam showed me how so many people in the world actually live. People in Vietnam are very obviously poor. The Vietnamese Dong has an exchange rate of $1 USD = 16,100 Vietnamese Dong. A local told us that Vietnamese people actually use more American cash than Americans do. There is no credit system in Vietnam, so everything is paid for in cash. Small purchases on a daily basis are paid for in Dong. Anything larger than a few hundred thousand dong is paid for in US dollars. Anything larger than a few hundred or thousand dollars is paid for in gold. I thought it was interesting how willing local people were to take foreign currency. I thought about how it would be received if someone tried to use dong in America.

Vietnam has a lot of people that many from a Western point of view would consider to be in poverty. The people don’t seem to think of themselves as being in poverty. Some people begged on the street, but this isn’t what I mean. People that live in nothing more than shacks are still very happy. This is what they are used to. They seem to be content in the conditions that they live. We visited a house of a rather wealthy former photographer and it was still similar to other dwellings. There was a thatched roof and a wood floor. It wasn’t glamorous, but it is all that they need. I was quite impressed by the Vietnamese people’s ingenuity. We visited a village and were shown how many of their products are made. They use everything! Even the shells of nuts and things, they don’t discard them, but use them for fuel for fires. This was incredible and I thought about how different America would be if we just chose to be a bit less wasteful and use things even half as well or as long as the people in this village did.

In my time in Vietnam, I had many adventures. I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, Mekong Delta, Monkey Island, the War Remnants Museum, an Orphanage and school for deaf children, and the market. From all of my trips around Ho Chi Minh City and beyond, I learned why we say “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This is not some super American speech… haha. I just mean that the pursuit really is the most important part. Most people feel like they will reach happiness – as if it is a destination. My adventure in Vietnam showed me that the happiness is really in the journey. I rode busses that my Mom would be mortified to step foot into, I rode on the back of motor bikes with strangers, I was in the middle of nowhere, I stomped through a monsoon and mud in the woods to climb through tunnels – I had a BLAST!!!! (seriously, though – I am not reckless or trying to get into dangerous situations – this is just the way people travel here, it is an entirely different way of life; I did my best to embrace life the way that Vietnamese people live it every day). All of these things were part of the journey, but I probably remember them more than some of the destinations. This is what I mean – the pursuit means that you should be happy in every moment, not just at the destination – the journey should be the exciting part (because really in life we all have the same destination and I’m in no hurry to get the that point yet – I have too much life left to live).

A final thought I must mention from Vietnam is the result of my visit to the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels. I honestly know very little about the Vietnam War. We just don’t learn about it well in American public schools, which is sad. Considering that those that do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it, we really should learn from our mistakes. Obviously we haven’t, I mean look at our current situation in the world, but that is a different topic for a different blog. The museum was sad and had very gruesome depictions of the war including graphic photographs, artifacts, and detailed descriptions. The photographs showed US soldiers doing terrible things. It also had preserved deformed fetuses on display, which completely shocked and repulsed me. I say all of this to show that I had no idea what to expect at the museum and that it was incredibly difficult to see. It also left me with more questions than answers. I had no idea what to think because I did not have enough of a basis in my own history to know different from the museum’s description of the war. I do understand, of course, that when a communist regime creates a museum it is going to be biased have propaganda. The sad thing is, though, that I knew so little about the war that I didn’t know what was blatant propaganda and what wasn’t. I also left with questions about my own grandfather’s involvement in the war. Unfortunately, he doesn’t talk about his time in Vietnam because I know that he could answer some of the questions that I have about it all. I just want to understand why America thought it was our responsibility to interfere in internal struggles in a country half way around the world. I don’t understand why we went to Vietnam (except for the ideas about containment and the domino effect that don’t suffice, there was too much at stake for that to have been the only reason). These are the questions I have pondered, asked, and attempted to study since my visit. The exhibits did reveal to me why many Americans protested the war.

I also visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, which was quite an interesting experience. First of all, when we got there, it was pouring rain, like a monsoon and we toured in the downpour, which was kind of awesome. This gave me a feeling of what it really would have been like in the war as there were no other tourists around and it was pouring rain and kind of eerie with just the three of us and guide in the middle of the woods. We watched a video in which the American troops were referred to as “crazy devils”. This anti-American sentiment was evident throughout the whole video and made me quite uncomfortable.

The anti-American feelings in the museum and at the tunnels were in stark contrast to what I experienced from the individual citizens in Vietnam. For the most part, they were very welcoming and accepting of Americans. This conclusion is not just from the tourist areas that we visited, but from the average citizens on the busses and things that we used. We met several people that were quite kind and interested in our experiences in America. This shows the difference between a government and its citizens. I am glad that this distinction can be very obvious because I have noticed many people throughout this journey that do not like the foreign policy of the United States or some other governmental entity, but do not dislike American citizens. This has been fortunate as a traveler that most people can distinguish between my government and me as an individual.

Indescribable

At this point, we are on the way to Thailand and I am so excited about it. It is amazing that two days ago, I left Vietnam and now I am on the way to Thailand. This whole trip can only be described in one word – indescribable. I have tried to use words like amazing, incredible, and awesome, but they just don’t cut it. I truly can’t explain all of the things that I have experienced. It is just, in a word, indescribable. A friend of mine and I had a discussion about this trip the other day and this is the result. I appreciate the fact that there are things about this trip and my life that are beyond words. I appreciate this depth. I am blessed to do things that most people that I know have never imagined were possible. I have visited places that I never though I would. I have met people that I never though I would. I am truly having the experience of a lifetime, just like I hoped I would.

I am having the unique opportunity to have a comparative approach to so many cultures, countries, and ways of life. I love being able to compare one culture or place to one other than the United States. I love having another option for comparison. I love getting out of the ethnocentric bubble that most Americans live in. I love this trip!!

I want to describe everything that I am doing and completely explain everything that I am doing, but the truth is that I just can’t. I am traveling to and seeing things beyond words and the things that I am learning and experiencing are too tough to describe right now, maybe ever. Thanks to everyone who has supported me, encouraged me, and prayed for me. I appreciate all of you at home doing all of this for me. Also, thanks for the letters.

Part of me can’t wait to get home and share all of this with everyone that will listen, but reality is smacking me in the face with the fact that nobody can understand all of this. So few people that I know have been abroad and can understand the feelings and emotions associated with seeing so many things. I hope that I can bring some of this to words so that I can share it because all that I am experiencing is truly amazing and I want for people to understand. I want to share it. I can’t keep it all in! Pray for me during this process. Thanks.

Hong Kong (September 23-24, 2007)

As I stepped off of the plane in Hong Kong, I felt like I was back in the United States. Hong Kong is truly so westernized that it is difficult to believe that it is part of China. For example, there was a Krispy Kreme in the airport. There was also a McDonald’s right off of the dock. I ate at a Hard Rock Café in Hong Kong. There was Pizza Hut and California Pizza. It was crazy how many American companies have infiltrated Hong Kong. This is globalization in practice – Hong Kong is what globalization looks like.

The people in Hong Kong are proud of the characteristics that make them unique from China. We had a guide on the bus from the airport that explained some of the differences between China and Hong Kong. The languages, for example, are different. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Mandarin is spoken in mainland China. These are just different dialects, but one language is not recognized by a speaker of the other. In Hong Kong, they drive on the opposite side of the road (like in Britain). This shows the influence of Britain in Hong Kong. In mainland China people drive on the right side of the road, instead of the left, like in Hong Kong. Also, more people speak and understand English in Hong Kong. This is another example of the influence of Britain. Hong Kong is much more modernized and westernized than mainland China. Hong Kong is also much cleaner than mainland China. It is difficult to believe that the two places are under the same government because of the distinct differences in the cultures, people, and development.

During my stay in Hong Kong, I visited Lantau Island, which was beautiful. Unfortunately, it was raining, but we had a great time. We saw a huge statue of Buddha that sits on top of a hill. We also visited a monastery. The drive to and from the monastery were the prettiest parts of the visit. Looking over the mountain from the road, you can see the beach and vegetation on the side of the mountain and it is incredible.

Later on, we just walked around Hong Kong, ate Pizza Hut and went back to the ship. I enjoyed Hong Kong a lot, partially because of the familiarity, but also because of the unique way that western culture has been accepted into an eastern place.

Beijing, China (September 20-23, 2007)

We arrived in Beijing a little later than expected because the flight (for whatever reason) was delayed from Qingdao. When we got there the sun was going down, but I noticed that it looked different than sunsets I had seen before. When we walked outside and I got breath of air, I realized why it looked so different. That haze I noticed was smog. I have never experienced smog before, so that aspect of Beijing was quite unpleasant. The landmarks that I was able to see, though, made up for the air. I did a university hosted trip in Beijing, so I got the chance to meet with several students from Tsinghua University. It was very interesting to get the chance to talk with these students. I learned about their perspectives on things, which made me understand Chinese culture more. I will discuss this a bit more later.

My itinerary for the 4 days that I spent in Beijing was something like this (this is for those of you, like my sister, who prefer to see an abridged version of the things that I have done):

Day 1: Arrive in Beijing, Peking Duck dinner with Tsinghua University students, check into hotel, walk around hotel area at night

Day 2: Trip to the Great Wall of China (it was AWESOME!!), Mongolian hot pot for lunch, Giant Panda Zoo, Dinner and visiting with University Students, Bowling after dinner with some of our new friends from the University

Day 3: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, Chinese Laundry (dumplings) for lunch, The Temple of Heaven, Silk Street Shopping, Chinese Acrobatics Show

Day 4: View of the “Bird’s Nest” where the 2008 Olympics will be held, The Summer Palace, Lunch at the University, Depart Beijing for Hong Kong

As you can see, we fit a lot into a short time. I felt busy the whole time. It was nice that I went with Semester at Sea on this trip, instead of trying to do it independently. It seems like it would have been very difficult to plan and travel independently in China. I am planning most of my trips in other countries independently, with small groups. The driving situation in downtown Beijing was unlike anything I have ever seen. Lanes really don’t seem to matter. The vehicle with the loudest horn and the courage to pull out is the one that gets to go. It was kind of scary, except for the fact that we were in a huge bus.

My favorite visit in China was to the Great Wall. I was just amazed at the size and length of it. I wondered how people could build such a thing so long ago. The earliest construction of the Great Wall began during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). I found this incredible considering the huge structure that stood before me. I cannot imagine how much time it must have taken to build the individual sections of the wall that were eventually joined together. The wall itself was quite steep. We were able to climb it. It has stairs to several different levels. We went about as far as we could in the time allotted. The views kept getting better the higher we went. The t-shirts for sale got cheaper the higher we went, which I thought was interesting. I loved staring out at the natural beauty of the area. The mountains are amazing there. I am not from a place with mountains, so just to see this was fun for me. The wall over all of it just added to the beauty because it is such an unreal thing to see. Another thing I really liked about the Great Wall was all of the languages that were spoken there. There were so many visitors from all over the world. It seemed like a modern day Babel with all of the languages and people gathering there together. I also liked that despite or varied backgrounds, everyone was there for the same purpose and everyone was very friendly.

I visited Tiananmen Square in Beijing, which is like their version of the Mall in Washington, D.C. Their Congress building and other important national monuments are there. There is also a building that houses the body of former leader, Mao Zedong. The citizens really seemed excited to visit this site. We arrived in Tiananmen Square at about 9 am and there was already a huge line waiting for entrance to see Mao’s body. I found it kind of odd that they were so excited to see the embalmed body of their former leader, but this just reinforced the idea of cultural differences. We walked around the Square and I got this eerie feeling remembering what had happened there almost 20 years ago. The Tiananmen Square Massacre (as it is referred to by many Americans) is not mentioned in China. The event basically was a bunch of students protesting communism by sitting in Tiananmen Square and participating in a hunger strike. There is a red book that is a compilation of sayings from Mao, which the students burned and desecrated in the Square during this time. The government responded to this uprising by bringing in tanks and military personnel to basically mow down the protest. Thousands of students died. As I stood there, knowing what had happened here, I wondered how many of the Chinese people there knew about this or were ever taught about it. I also wondered if I would have been one of those students had I lived in China twenty years ago. It was a strange feeling. I couldn’t take a picture of me smiling in Tiananmen Square because of the odd mix of emotions I was feeling.

We were given a pamphlet by the university that hosted us that describes the landmarks that we would be visiting. In the section about Tiananmen Square, it only mentions the Massacre in 1989 as the Tiananmen Square event of 1989. It does not say anything about the event and disregards it as unimportant. I found this so interesting. It reinforces the ideas of censorship and governmental control of speech and expression in China. Another interesting thing about speech and expression in China is that I could not access my blog while I was there. I tried to access my blog to update it a little, but when I entered the web address, a page appeared that said “this site does not exist”. I tried to access my blog several different times on 3 different computers to make sure that it wasn’t a computer glitch or a typo. I found it interesting that the Chinese government has strict enough censoring of websites that it would censor my blog. I asked some of my new friends from the University about this and they basically told me that freedom and speech are not important to the Chinese government, “propaganda is number one”. I found it interesting that the students themselves referred to the media as propaganda. I thought this word was something that people use about other governments or an idea that people are unaware is being used, but I was wrong. Wikipedia is also not allowed in China. I thought that this was interesting, as well.

All in all, China was quite an interesting port. I am very glad that I went there. I learned a lot about the Chinese people, culture, and government. Many of my preconceived notions were also challenged, which is something that I needed and am glad to have experienced.

Qingdao, China (September 19-20, 2007)

Qingdao is the port city that we docked in. This was not what I expected at all. The whole experience in Qingdao was literally culture shock after spending a week in Japan.

The ship docked in an industrial yard where huge trucks were moving large pieces of metal and some of us almost got run over. (don’t worry, I’m fine, haha). It was rainy and rather miserable when we got off the ship, which was not the best first impression of China, unfortunately. I walked around the port city the first day with my friend, Robin. We had a fun time and bargained a little at a market. I got some gifts and some things for myself. I bought a cool necklace with a dragon made from jade.

The city itself was incredibly poor. The buildings were in bad condition. The buses and public transportation looked very unsafe. The traffic was interesting because it seemed as if the largest vehicle or the loudest horn ran the traffic. There didn’t seem to be strict traffic laws that restrict the way that people drive. The people were fairly nice, not nearly as much so as in Japan. The locals really seemed to be quite poor. This was in stark contrast to what I expected in China. I have always understood that China is a communist nation. My understanding of communism has always been that equality is a key to the distribution of resources. In communism, people are supposed to have enough; they are supposed to have jobs, and enough to eat. This was not what I experienced. People were living in terrible conditions and literally begging us to buy things from them. There was an incredibly visible disparity between rich and poor. In areas of Qingdao, one could see large high rise apartments that were utilized by government officials when they visited the area. These apartments and leisure homes cost much more than most locals will probably make in their lives. There were also many people riding bicycles or other inexpensive means of transportation, while some people drove expensive cars. These things struck me as out of place in the supposed communistic state. The capitalism that I experienced in markets and such was also unexpected.

It is obvious from my trip to China that it is an area in transition. China joined the World Trade Organization recently and has opened itself up to a lot of western influence. China is also hosting the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, which is bringing renovations to many areas of China to assist with the influx of people during this event. The presence of both capitalism and communism was very interesting. It shows the western influence in the country, as well as the transition going on in China.

After spending a day and a half in Qingdao, I took a trip to China’s capitol, Beijing. This was a very different experience from Qingdao. To be honest, I was glad to leave Qingdao. I am very glad that I got to experience this real part of China. I am also glad that I have a better understanding of how most Chinese people actually live. This has given me a better understanding of the differences between communist theory and practice. Obviously, the theoretical ideas of communism are not being completely practiced in China, as evidenced by the disparity between rich and poor. This has given me a real picture of these differences, rather than just from reading about them. These are the things that I appreciate so much about this voyage.

Hiroshima, Japan

Now I know why the Bible says, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” (Jesus, Sermon on the Mount). Anyone who sees Hiroshima, Japan knows why peace is so important. Hiroshima is the toughest place so far for me to write about. It touched me in a way that I did not expect. From the second I stepped off of the bus, I knew that this was going to be much different than I expected. It was the saddest thing that I have ever seen, but the thing that I am most glad to have experienced while in Japan. Nothing could have prepared me for this.

As I stepped off of the bus, my heart sunk when I saw the dilapidated skeleton of a building that was once the heart of Hiroshima. This building, now known as A-bomb Dome was once a busy building with many people working. Now, it is a memorial for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in August of 1945. The park, called Peace Park, was difficult for me to get through, not because of the terrain, but because of the emotional significance of this place. It was not only a place for tourists either as I also saw school groups and what seemed to be locals walking in the park. There was a large monument with a goddess of peace and doves around it. This was also covered in paper cranes because people make these as an offering and they stand for peace. There is a belief that if you make one thousand paper cranes and hang them, then your wish will come true. At this monument, there was a noise box that explained in Japanese first, then English, the significance of the monument. It described the lives lost, the children who gave up their youth for their country and very sad depictions of the day that the bomb was dropped. As I sat there listening to the number of teenagers that had died in the bombing, I imagined how I would feel if this were to happen in my home, to my friends. I thought about people the same age as those described in the recording. I thought about my youth group from home, I wondered how it must have felt for so many parents to lose their children. After this sad contemplation, I headed for the museum.

We were making our way to the museum, when somehow we began a conversation with a Japanese man and 3 Japanese women who were walking in the park. This was interesting as I almost expected them to be hostile toward Americans, but they were some of the kindest and most accepting people that I have ever met. It was incredible. The man spoke to us about our travels and appeared to be very interested and accepting of America. The women had paper cranes that they had made and placed in plastic bags to hand out. They gave each of us one and smiled a lot and spoke with us in English.

Then, we crossed the street toward the museum. We were stopped by an older woman with an umbrella, shielding the sun. She stopped each of us to bless us (or pray) for us specifically. We did not know what she said, but she closed her eyes, bowed her head, put her hand in front of one of our faces, and said some words in Japanese. After a long silent pause, she lowered her hand and said thank you many times. This was interesting and we didn’t know what it meant, but were glad to have experienced it as the lady was very glad to have done what she did.

We arrived at the museum and paid 50 yen to enter, which is less than a dollar in America. We entered and watched a video that had English subtitles, which described the gruesome events. After the video, we waited in line with people that were mostly of Asian descent to see artifacts of the bombing and historical documents that led to the event. There were letters from US presidents and former heads of state from other countries. There were the letters from Einstein that led to the creation of the bomb. There were things that I had no idea existed because we don’t learn about this event very well in American public schools.

The saddest artifacts came after the factual documents. There were clothes from school children that were killed in the bombing. There were plaques next to the clothes that told the names and ages of the children and teens who had worn those clothes the day they died. The plaques described where the victims were and what they were doing that fateful morning at 8:15. Most of the children struggled home with deep and deadly burns and died hours later by their parents. There was hair and even fingernails that parents had kept because it was all that remained of their children. I had no idea that I would see things like this. The museum and park put the whole event into a different perspective for me. It was also interesting to be one of few Americans in the museum. Most visitors appeared to be Japanese or of Asian descent. This was an awkward experience for me because I would expect for the victims of such a horrific incident to be hostile toward Americans, but they were not. For the most part, the other visitors were accepting and kind. I was very emotional in parts of the museum and even cried. This was met with sympathy, instead of hostility. Of all of the things that I expected to experience, sympathy was not one of them – wow! I could not believe this; my country is responsible for what happened and they were kind to me when I got upset.

Something that I found particularly interesting is that in the museum and Peace Park, the historical references were incredibly objective. The plaques and information did not implicate Americans as terrible people or harshly describe the events. This was surprising to me and shows the importance of the betterment of humanity. Even though the United States was responsible for this terrible tragedy, the Japanese did not express this truth in a harsh way. This shows their desire for peace and the ability for the Japanese to be humble and seek this peace without trying to blame anyone for their suffering.

At last, my trip to the museum was over, but I left with this overwhelming feeling of sorrow for the people of Hiroshima and a deep desire to not ever let something like this happen again. This leads me to what may be the saddest memory from the museum. In the museum are copies of over 500 letters written from the mayor of Hiroshima to heads of state in nations that are testing and developing nuclear weapons. These letters implore the leaders to reconsider their use of nuclear weapons and use the experience of Hiroshima to convince them how destructive these weapons can be. The leaders have never responded and have obviously not learned from the sad and destructive example of Hiroshima.

I think that Hiroshima is something that everyone should see. I think that witnessing something like this can really lead to the peace that the people of Hiroshima seek. If everyone understood how destructive and devastating these weapons are, maybe we would truly move toward disarmament (instead of just talking about it). I am very glad to have had the opportunity to see this incredible place. I know I have several readers on this blog and I don’t know how you feel about war, but know that the victims are real people – just like you and me. Think about it.

Japan - September 12-16, 2007

Japan is amazing – I loved it!! I also adore the Japanese people. They are so kind, welcoming, and helpful. This conclusion is not just from my visit to Japan, but from my interactions with Japanese students aboard the ship. We are blessed to have several Japanese girls studying with us this semester. Of all of the people on the ship, they tend to be the most helpful. I asked one girl about Hiroshima and she drew me a map in English so that I would know exactly where to go when I got there. These are things that typical Americans just don’t do.

Japan itself is awesome. I visited Yokohama, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. We docked in Yokohama on September 12, 2007. In Yokohama, we sent some letters, exchanged money and set out for the train station. We took the train into Tokyo, where we exchanged our rail passes. After what seemed like an eternity on trains, busses, and subways, we arrived in Asakusa, which is the district of Tokyo that our hostel was in. We settled in at the hostel then went for dinner at a nice traditional restaurant. My friends and I removed our shoes and sat on the floor to eat our dinner. It was awesome. We had soba noodles and each of us ordered different other things. The noodles were very good and I also got shrimp tempura, which was also very tasty. After eating, we explored the city and found a karaoke box to sing in. It was fun and the walls had bright lights on them depicting an underwater scene. After singing karaoke, we returned to the hostel, spent some time on the internet and then went to bed.

The next morning, we got up early so that we could be in Ryoguku by 8 am. This is where people buy tickets for sumo wrestling. We didn’t actually get there until 9 am because we were traveling in a rather large group and it took some people forever to get ready and leave. We got to Ryoguku and bought our tickets, which were about 2100 yen (the equivalent of about 20 bucks in the US). The tournament lasted all day, but the better fighters did not start until around 4 pm, so we decided to explore the city and meet back together later. From Ryoguku, I went with a group to see the Imperial Palace and to Shibuya (a district of Tokyo with lots of shopping and restaurants. We walked a lot that day to try to see lots of sights. We ate lunch in Shibuya at a restaurant that didn’t have any English menus. We just pointed at a small picture of something that looked good and waited to see what we had ordered. Mine came and it was chicken tempura, which was really good. After lunch, we did some shopping until it was time to return to the sumo arena.

Sumo was very fun. It was tough to get used to at first and figure out what they were doing and how one person won. We stayed for about 2 and a half hours and really enjoyed the experience. The sumo wrestlers were very nice and allowed us to take pictures with them. After sumo, we went to the capsule hotel where we were staying. It was quite an interesting experience, especially the communal shower. The girls I traveled with, though, put our bathing suits on and showered. The capsule hotel was really neat and was basically a row of capsules on each side of the room. The capsules were like bunk beds that were encapsulated with a mattress on the floor of the capsule and a television and a light in each one. After checking out and showering, we went to Shibuya to have dinner and hang out. We returned to the hotel by taxi, which was rather expensive.

The next morning, we got up at 6am to catch the train for Hiroshima at 7am. I have an entire blog to put up about Hiroshima, so check it out. We left Hiroshima and went to Kyoto. Everyone was saying how difficult it would be to find a place to stay in Kyoto, but we found a nice place the first hotel we stopped at. It was a little more expensive – 15000 yen, but that equals about 50 dollars per person. This was definitely the most expensive place we stayed, but it still wasn’t very bad. The hotel was really nice and a good change from the places we had stayed the few nights before.

The next morning we got up and visited the tower at our hotel that overlooked the whole city. We headed for temples and sights and ended up running into the guys that we had been traveling with and got separated from. They are very nice guys and it was good to run into them again because that day it was only the three of us girls traveling together. It was Christen (my roommate), Robin, and me that were traveling together. We ran into Blake, Aaron, and Drew. They are really nice and fun to travel with. We went to the Golden Pavilion, which is one of the most famous temples in Japan. Then, we went to Nijo castle, which was huge and a large property. We went to Gion, which is the geisha district of Kyoto. We had fun, shopped, ate lunch, and actually saw a few geishas. They do not stop for photographs, but we snapped a few anyway. From Gion, we went back to the station and took off for Kobe, where the ship was docked.

We got to the ship and settled in a bit. Then, Christen and I went looking for a pay phone to call home. It was about 1:30 am when we got back to the ship, but at no point that the two of us were walking around did either of us feel unsafe. It was incredible how safe Japan felt – I felt safer there than walking around downtown Charleston at night. It was comforting to know that a safe place like this exists.

The final day of our trip in Japan, we visited Nara. In Nara, there are deer that walk around everywhere and are very friendly and domesticated. We went to Todaiji temple, where the largest copper statue of Buddha ever cast is displayed. It really was huge!! I had a great time in Nara. It was a short trip. We only went to the one temple and the deer park. We got lunch, did a little shopping and went back to the train station.

When we got back to Kobe, we looked for a place that served Kobe beef, but they were all really expensive, so we just went to a local place and had some Japanese cuisine, which was really good. Then we went back to the station to ride the tram back to the ship. We got on the ship pretty early. I fell asleep by 9 pm because I was so exhausted.

Japan in general was amazing – I really enjoyed every part of it. I did a lot of things and traveled with some good friends. I also learned that traveling in smaller groups is better than traveling in big ones. I learned about a different culture than my own. I met some very kind people that were able to help me despite the language barrier. It was awesome!!! I love Japan.