Blog 21

That day, it was the final day that we would have in the Amazon, but we would not arrive back in Salvador until the following morning. We were in the motorboats, going back to the riverboat when someone asked if we could jump in. Enny stopped the boat and said, "if you're gonna do it, you should do it now." A handful of us seized our opportunity immediately and jumped off the side before he changed his mind. It was very deep at this part so we were diving in over and over again. The water where we were at was so black, that you couldn't see your torso. It looked like tea, if you dipped a hand in, it would got a darker and darker brown tint as it got deeper. After a few back flips, cannon balls, and belly flops; we loaded back up on the riverboat. We took a ride to where to Amazon River met up with the Rio Negro, and it took about 2 hours; but we spent the time sleeping in our hammocks, telling stories, or playing cards. That night we went all the back to Manaus and it ended up being very pleasant. As it started to get dark, I remembered that this was not just our last night in Brazil, but our last night in port on Semester at Sea! A very melancholic feeling came over me, but I was able to suppress it and enjoy the moment that I was in. Our guide, Enny, passed the time by doing a little ceremony where we all singled each other out to say something nice individually, you know… those bullshit bonding exercises where nobody really cares, but it makes everyone feel good.

As we neared the dock, everyone was sweaty, hot, and hadn't showered in days; and we were scheduled to go to an outdoor cantina where there would be dancing, a bar and a pool – not bad SAS. I'm not sure what their thought process was, but we had a red-eye plane to catch at midnight and I guess they were just trying to get us liquored up so we'd pass out on the plane? Well, it worked for most kids. The cantina was a lot of fun, we got 3 free drinks and there were dancers in tribal-wear on stage, and before we knew it, people were jumping into the pool. It was at this time that one of my buddies, Nick, broke out the high class cigars, he had bought for us at the airport. What a swell guy Nick was! It seemed like we were there a very short time before it was time to go, but as always, time flies when you're having fun. The plane ride was very calm, and everyone did seem to sleep the 4 hours back to Brasilia. That lay over was about an hour, and then our flight back to Salvador was very pleasant as well. When we arrived, it was 9 in the morning, but I had no intention of sleeping away the last day in Salvador.

The actual return to the ship was about 11AM right at lunch time. Lunch sucked, as usual, but I was able to meet up with my friends to go out for one last fun time. On-ship-time was 6PM that day, so we had about 6 hours to paint the town red, white, and blue. I set out with Jimmy, Jeff, and Sam; and we went to the market to grab some souvenirs. I picked myself up a hammock, a tank top, a hat, and a big bag of cashews (I finished the cashews the second day on the ship). We went back up the huge elevator, and followed the sound of music back to a little café that featured a slender attractive girl strumming a guitar and singing into a mic, with tables and chairs outside scattered around. We sat down and ordered some beers, while I decided to go see if I could find some playing cards. Communicating that I wanted to a pack of cards was the hardest thing I did. I could only use hand motions to convey this, so they all thought I was looking for drugs. They would usher me into a small corner and start speaking in a very hushed voice I until finally found cards. The cards were actually very expensive, but I bought them anyway. We played a few games of asshole, and then a game of kings cup as more SAS kids began to show up. We left around 4:45, and it started to rain. I was especially disappointed because we were supposed to have a cookout on deck 7 once we got back on the ship. It's funny how many incentives they gave us to be back on the ship on time in our last port. They said we were having a BBQ, there would be music, and they were playing Avatar in the Union. Everyone started coming back at the same time, and the amount of drunk people was astronomically obvious. Cindy, our dean was standing up on deck her walkie talkie just sniping people as they approached. Once I got up there, I heard her say things like "blue shirt" or "blonde hair in the yellow" into her walkie.

Otherwise all was merry; we had moved the BBQ inside and the ships dining halls were packed. There were ribs, hot dogs, chicken, burgers, everything a BBQ should have. I made some new friends that night and made sure that I was up on the 7^th deck as the ship departed our final port. We pulled out and the realization that I was going home truly came over me. No more would I have adventures in foreign lands. It now, is a bitter sweet feeling, but at that moment, it was all bitter. The journey of a lifetime was coming to an end and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Blog 20

I awoke the second say ready to take on the Amazon, but I had quite a journey just to get there. There were five Amazon groups through SAS, I was on group D. My group left in the late morning, and all the other groups left early that morning. We loaded up on the bus and we were ready to go while all seemed to be running smoothly. I had only a backpack full of stuff for the next three nights. I brought only, a couple shirts, some shorts, a pair of jeans and my camera. Once we got to the Salvador airport, much to our surprise, our flight had been cancelled, and it seemed that 20 SAS were out of luck. We finally found a ticket agent who spoke English who was able to redirect us to a flight to Brasilia, and then finally to Manaus. Besides the flight cancellation, I have only good things to say. It had nice big seats with some sort of hot pocket type snack, and complimentary beer! I sat next to a kid named Danny, and I'm glad I did. Danny and I had one of the most refreshing conversations I had had in a long time. Danny says he will be famous one day and I can tell you that he at least has his head in the right place. On the other side of me was a girl that I would sit next to for all four of my flights to and from. This girl had a fear of flying, which I had a good time with, and her name was Kaitlin Segal. You know, as in Fred Segal, that would be Grampa. I'm not kidding.

Upon arriving in Brasilia, we had very little time until our next flight to Manaus. Upon arrival in Manaus, we loaded up on a bus to our riverboat. Upon arrival, it was actually very late at night, around 1AM. As we boarded the boat, there was a young guy and girl decked out in traditional Brazilian dress that would put a necklace and a safari hat on us as we boarded. Mine was way too small, but it was a pretty sweet hat nonetheless. The boat was pretty small, probably about 50 feet long and with two stories, but it was completely open to the outside. The crew looked as if they had been waiting for us for quite a while. They went over the ground rules; no booze, no running off alone, etc; and we had a snack and took off into the night. We were currently sailing along the Rio Negro until we got to the spot to stop for the night. Up on the second deck, hammocks were waiting for everyone, and we were off to sleep. That night, it was very difficult to sleep for a few reasons; we had been napping on and off on airplanes all day, we were very excited about our new surroundings, and we were sleeping in hammocks in the middle of the Amazon. Once I finally figured out how to sleep in my hammock, I finally dozed off. Not long after that, the sun was coming up and I was coming in and out of my slumber. Somewhere within this timeframe, the boats engines started up, and I could feel we were moving again. Our hammocks were now swinging steadily back and forth with the rocking of the boat and the sky was a reddish tint as the sun peaked over the water. I can say I was able to experience the sunrise, and then nod off back to sleep for an hour or two. Once I finally got up, that morning, I went down to find a breakfast that they had prepared rather impressively. Scrambled eggs in the Amazon? That's whats up! After breakfast we met up with group C and E from Semester at Sea. They pulled right along next to us and we all loaded up on smaller boats to head to a hiking spot. The hike was pretty cool, but I gotta say, I was surprised that it looked like it could have been somewhere in the everglades.

On the hike though, my opinion changed when we stopped every two seconds to learn about a new deadly plant, killer ants, or razor blade leaves. We saw even more stuff like spiky trees, all kinds of spiders, and mosquitoes galore. I climbed a vine up at least 30 feet up, and the guide thought it would be funny to dub me tribe chief by making a crown and leaf dress from a palm tree and dressing me up. I was lookin fly! Once, we were done, we were happy to get out of the unbelievably humid jungle and return to the boats. Upon our return, we were delighted to learn that we could go swimming. Both boats changed into our suits and took the small boats to a "safe" area to swim. This area happen to be only about 100 feet from the river boats, but for some reason, they insisted that we take the smaller motor boats. Here, it was shallow enough to stand in most places and there were trees jutting out of the water which we climbed and took a few dives out of. The swim was very refreshing, and the guides even broke out volleyballs for us to bat around. After the swim, groups C, D, and E remained together and we went to a nearby village on the river. At the village, we had a chance to buy some arts and crafts in the little huts, learn about the local people and the schools, and see the people at work. After a tour, I joined in a game of volleyball with the local teenagers, and the kids of the village. After that, we organized a huge soccer game on a full scale field. It reminded me of my high school days of soccer and how I hadn't touched a soccer ball since. Never did I think the next time I would be playing would be with Brazilians in the middle of the Amazon.

The afternoon was coming to an end and we took another swim to cool off and then loaded back up into the motorboats. We had arrived by riverboats, but they had left for some reason and we were traveling in the motor boats to meet back up with them. The sunset that evening was just as beautiful as it's rise. This time we were divided up into groups of about 15 people each, and we speeding through the water into the sun as it faded out. Once we arrived at where our ships were parked, we saw that they were anchored by a beach with chairs and lights set up with a sign that said "Welcome Semester at Sea". We could hear music as we approached, and they shot off fireworks that we could see from the water. That night, we enjoyed a BBQ with chicken, catfish, (that the other groups had caught) and all kinds of different Brazilian dishes. After dinner, group D went out in the motor boats alone with our guide Enny to hunt for some caiman (little alligator). He would shine the flashlight around near the trees and look for red eyes. We were very hopeful to find some, because the previous groups guide caught a 3-footer with his bare hands. Unfortunately, we didn't see anything but a pair of red eyes that quickly disappeared underwater, but I got a priceless response when we put on an act of freaking out as I splashed my hand in the water next to the boat. Half the boat slapped me high fives, and the other half didn't speak to me for the remainder of the evening. When we got back to the boat, the crew was cleaning up and everyone was exhausted, it wasn't long before everyone was in the hammocks fast asleep.

That night, I had a little trouble sleeping but would like to think I was adjusting nicely to my new sleeping arrangements. I tried to wake up early for the sunrise, but it was just cloudy and gloomy, so I made no effort to keep conscious. Later, when I finally did wake up, I had my scrambled eggs once more, and we were told the nature hike was cancelled due to the expected rain. Instead, we stayed on the boat and enjoyed the morning playing a few hands of cards and relaxing. Throughout the trip, there was a snack table that always had mangos. I think I ate about 5 a day, they were absolutely delicious. Soon after, we traveled to another village where we learned about some more deadly plants and village life. This time, we even did some cooking of our own on their fire stove. Everyone had the opportunity to make a Brazilian wheat dish on the stove, and some chose to take advantage and some didn't. There was also a small hut where the locals had taken advantage of being a spot for tourists and there were souvenirs sold. It was here that I bought my blow gun, which the airport security guards would later confiscate my darts. I had the chance to climb another tree and we stood around for a while before it was time to bounce. On the way back to the riverboat, we took a stop in the brush where we passed out fishing poles and tried our luck with some piranhas fishing. We fished for about 45 minutes in two different spots until finally; our trip leader caught himself a massive piranha! It was huge, about 10 inches to a foot, and our trip leader was an English man named George from Canada in his 70's.

Blog 20

I awoke the second say ready to take on the Amazon, but I had quite a journey just to get there. There were five Amazon groups through SAS, I was on group D. My group left in the late morning, and all the other groups left early that morning. We loaded up on the bus and we were ready to go while all seemed to be running smoothly. I had only a backpack full of stuff for the next three nights. I brought only, a couple shirts, some shorts, a pair of jeans and my camera. Once we got to the Salvador airport, much to our surprise, our flight had been cancelled, and it seemed that 20 SAS were out of luck. We finally found a ticket agent who spoke English who was able to redirect us to a flight to Brasilia, and then finally to Manaus. Besides the flight cancellation, I have only good things to say. It had nice big seats with some sort of hot pocket type snack, and complimentary beer! I sat next to a kid named Danny, and I'm glad I did. Danny and I had one of the most refreshing conversations I had had in a long time. Danny says he will be famous one day and I can tell you that he at least has his head in the right place. On the other side of me was a girl that I would sit next to for all four of my flights to and from. This girl had a fear of flying, which I had a good time with, and her name was Kaitlin Segal. You know, as in Fred Segal, that would be Grampa. I'm not kidding.

Upon arriving in Brasilia, we had very little time until our next flight to Manaus. Upon arrival in Manaus, we loaded up on a bus to our riverboat. Upon arrival, it was actually very late at night, around 1AM. As we boarded the boat, there was a young guy and girl decked out in traditional Brazilian dress that would put a necklace and a safari hat on us as we boarded. Mine was way too small, but it was a pretty sweet hat nonetheless. The boat was pretty small, probably about 50 feet long and with two stories, but it was completely open to the outside. The crew looked as if they had been waiting for us for quite a while. They went over the ground rules; no booze, no running off alone, etc; and we had a snack and took off into the night. We were currently sailing along the Rio Negro until we got to the spot to stop for the night. Up on the second deck, hammocks were waiting for everyone, and we were off to sleep. That night, it was very difficult to sleep for a few reasons; we had been napping on and off on airplanes all day, we were very excited about our new surroundings, and we were sleeping in hammocks in the middle of the Amazon. Once I finally figured out how to sleep in my hammock, I finally dozed off. Not long after that, the sun was coming up and I was coming in and out of my slumber. Somewhere within this timeframe, the boats engines started up, and I could feel we were moving again. Our hammocks were now swinging steadily back and forth with the rocking of the boat and the sky was a reddish tint as the sun peaked over the water. I can say I was able to experience the sunrise, and then nod off back to sleep for an hour or two. Once I finally got up, that morning, I went down to find a breakfast that they had prepared rather impressively. Scrambled eggs in the Amazon? That's whats up! After breakfast we met up with group C and E from Semester at Sea. They pulled right along next to us and we all loaded up on smaller boats to head to a hiking spot. The hike was pretty cool, but I gotta say, I was surprised that it looked like it could have been somewhere in the everglades.

On the hike though, my opinion changed when we stopped every two seconds to learn about a new deadly plant, killer ants, or razor blade leaves. We saw even more stuff like spiky trees, all kinds of spiders, and mosquitoes galore. I climbed a vine up at least 30 feet up, and the guide thought it would be funny to dub me tribe chief by making a crown and leaf dress from a palm tree and dressing me up. I was lookin fly! Once, we were done, we were happy to get out of the unbelievably humid jungle and return to the boats. Upon our return, we were delighted to learn that we could go swimming. Both boats changed into our suits and took the small boats to a "safe" area to swim. This area happen to be only about 100 feet from the river boats, but for some reason, they insisted that we take the smaller motor boats. Here, it was shallow enough to stand in most places and there were trees jutting out of the water which we climbed and took a few dives out of. The swim was very refreshing, and the guides even broke out volleyballs for us to bat around. After the swim, groups C, D, and E remained together and we went to a nearby village on the river. At the village, we had a chance to buy some arts and crafts in the little huts, learn about the local people and the schools, and see the people at work. After a tour, I joined in a game of volleyball with the local teenagers, and the kids of the village. After that, we organized a huge soccer game on a full scale field. It reminded me of my high school days of soccer and how I hadn't touched a soccer ball since. Never did I think the next time I would be playing would be with Brazilians in the middle of the Amazon.

The afternoon was coming to an end and we took another swim to cool off and then loaded back up into the motorboats. We had arrived by riverboats, but they had left for some reason and we were traveling in the motor boats to meet back up with them. The sunset that evening was just as beautiful as it's rise. This time we were divided up into groups of about 15 people each, and we speeding through the water into the sun as it faded out. Once we arrived at where our ships were parked, we saw that they were anchored by a beach with chairs and lights set up with a sign that said "Welcome Semester at Sea". We could hear music as we approached, and they shot off fireworks that we could see from the water. That night, we enjoyed a BBQ with chicken, catfish, (that the other groups had caught) and all kinds of different Brazilian dishes. After dinner, group D went out in the motor boats alone with our guide Enny to hunt for some caiman (little alligator). He would shine the flashlight around near the trees and look for red eyes. We were very hopeful to find some, because the previous groups guide caught a 3-footer with his bare hands. Unfortunately, we didn't see anything but a pair of red eyes that quickly disappeared underwater, but I got a priceless response when we put on an act of freaking out as I splashed my hand in the water next to the boat. Half the boat slapped me high fives, and the other half didn't speak to me for the remainder of the evening. When we got back to the boat, the crew was cleaning up and everyone was exhausted, it wasn't long before everyone was in the hammocks fast asleep.

That night, I had a little trouble sleeping but would like to think I was adjusting nicely to my new sleeping arrangements. I tried to wake up early for the sunrise, but it was just cloudy and gloomy, so I made no effort to keep conscious. Later, when I finally did wake up, I had my scrambled eggs once more, and we were told the nature hike was cancelled due to the expected rain. Instead, we stayed on the boat and enjoyed the morning playing a few hands of cards and relaxing. Throughout the trip, there was a snack table that always had mangos. I think I ate about 5 a day, they were absolutely delicious. Soon after, we traveled to another village where we learned about some more deadly plants and village life. This time, we even did some cooking of our own on their fire stove. Everyone had the opportunity to make a Brazilian wheat dish on the stove, and some chose to take advantage and some didn't. There was also a small hut where the locals had taken advantage of being a spot for tourists and there were souvenirs sold. It was here that I bought my blow gun, which the airport security guards would later confiscate my darts. I had the chance to climb another tree and we stood around for a while before it was time to bounce. On the way back to the riverboat, we took a stop in the brush where we passed out fishing poles and tried our luck with some piranhas fishing. We fished for about 45 minutes in two different spots until finally; our trip leader caught himself a massive piranha! It was huge, about 10 inches to a foot, and our trip leader was an English man named George from Canada in his 70's.

Blog 19

On the morning that we arrived in Brazil, I woke up very early once again, but was disappointed to learn that I had just barely missed the sunrise, once more. I was so disappointed again, but that just means I'll have to be an early riser on the rest of the days on the final days to Fort Lauderdale. Anyway, I got up on deck a little late and I saw that Salvador was already in sight. It seemed to be very close, but we couldn't reach it for another 2 or 3 hours. I was able to get some breakfast and squeeze in a short work out on deck 7 as we docked. While I was lifting in the open air, I was reminded just how lucky I am to be able to work out as we pulled into the beautiful sights of the Brazilian coast side. I took quite a few breaks that allowed me to stop and take in the scenery. The coast looked kind of like the cliffs of the American west coast, except there were old traditional buildings all the way up the rocky side. The buildings were all sorts of pastel colors with beautiful Spanish style shingles. Most of them were eroding and often times the paint was chipped away, but it only added to the character of the scene. The weather was about 70's and warming, it was gonna be a hot and sunshiny day.

During my workout, I was pleased to hear the loud speaker come to life and announce that we were clear for landing. After a shower and throwing on some swim trunks and flip flops, I met up with a few friends and we set off to explore the city. We had been warned over and over of how dangerous the city is, and we were careful to wear clothes with zipper pockets and to not forget our money belts. The crime rate in Salvador was truly outrageous, that is the only negative thing that I have for Brazil, and especially Salvador. We would come to learn that snatch-and-grabs were a more than common occurrence; and by the end of the day, 14 Semester at Sea kids had reported some sort of theft. Luckily, I have done a full revolution around the world without experiencing any of this.

The crew that day was some of my Tokyo traveling buddies; Jimmy and Jeff, along with Sam and the two girls across the hall, Bailey and Tracy. After exiting the terminal and the ever-present swarm of hustling merchants and cab drivers; we headed for an ATM and once we finally found one that had English, we made our withdrawals and headed for the nearby market. Once we got there, we looked around for a little bit and then headed uptown. When I say up town, I don't mean north town. I'm talking about altitude, there was a giant elevator that can be taken to get from the bottom of the rocky cliffs to the top where you can find the historical Salvador area. We boarded this Elevator for the equivalent of about 25 cents each, and headed for the top. There, we found a beautiful plaza that over looked the lower part of the city. It was here that we noticed all the beggars and homeless people; many of them children. You had to be very careful to keep your distance though, because this was how the people got close enough for a quick grab, especially the kids. They would follow you until you got into vulnerable position and then make their move. We kept moving down the street and found ourselves in an even more beautiful plaza with a great big catholic church at least 40 feet high. There was a large fountain and a cross in the middle of the plaza, and on the ground there was a pattern of white and black rocks, which we learned, are distinctly Portuguese. We continued down these streets to find shops and bars with umbrellas and tables set up outside and the Brazilians lounging and enjoying the beautiful morning.

Down one street, we stumbled upon a crew setting up a stage at a large fork in the road up on a hill. We found out that they were scheduled to shoot a music video there that day. We snapped some pictures and made our way into a nearby cab and set off for a beach. We requested a beach called Flamingo beach which we would soon learn was 45 minutes away. Our cab driver was singing in the car the whole time and encouraged us to sing along when the American song "All by Myself" by Celine Dion came on the radio. We were happy to enthusiastically oblige. Did I mention we had stopped at one of the outdoor cafes for a few beers before we got into the cab? Once the radio returned to music sang in Portuguese, we were relatively silent for the rest of the ride. Another reason was the growing anxiety of the cab fare clock steadily rising. 50 dollars later, we were at flamingo beach, and we decided to cut our losses and make the best of it. The beach was mostly locals and very few people that spoke English. The Brazilian women were absolutely beautiful on that beach, and the Brazilians were not shy about seeing and being seen. I think I had eye-sex with at least 5 women in the first 5 minutes and everyone was decked out in their finest thongs and Speedos. We sat down at a table and enjoyed a nice lunch of fish, chicken, and fries; and took a walk down the beach. The water was gorgeous and very warm so I took a very relaxing swim. Bailey and Tracy didn't bring their swimsuits for some reason and ending up buying some. The most conservative ones that they could find left very little to the imagination, which quickly became the theme of the afternoon.

The afternoon ticked on and we decided that it was time to return to the ship. This time we were able to knock the cost down and all squash into one cab and split the pay. The ride was uncomfortable but we had to be economical. We were dropped off in front of a market close the ship called Mercado Modelo and did some shopping for something very specific. I suppose it's no big deal now to spill the details, but we spent a few hours doing some covert ops, arranging supplies, so that we would have a GREAT time at the Alumni Ball for the voyage back to Fort Lauderdale. Who ever heard of a party for college kids without alcohol anyway? It was then, that it started to rain, a nice warm rain, it was though. Jimmy, Sam, and I explored the lower part of the city for a while making sure to stay close to each other. We returned to the ship and had a very average SAS dinner. Then set out for some nightlife back in up town. That night we spent most of the time at a bar called Samba where the rest of the SASers showed up a little later, and had a great time. The next day, I would leave for my riverboat adventure in the Amazon!

Blog 18

The next day I spent walking around the Tema, the port that we were immediately in; as opposed to Accra, the place where the shuttle takes us. Tema, however, had very little to offer, I found. Everything seemed to be the same. It was nice that most everyone in Ghana spoke English as their first language. There were plenty of people out and about. Many were manning their personal stores outside the residencies; and there were other vendors and shop keepers, selling fruit and bread. I had seen a good deal of Tema and spoke with many people of the city, but I decided to return to the ship. I had a skype session with my Mom and took care of some odds and ends for school and business back at home via the internet. I had an early dinner on the ship, around 5:30PM and got ready to go out for the night, once again determined to get up early and seize the day in Accra for the last day.

I left that evening headed out for the SAS party and ended up somewhere that I never guessed I would have. After taking the bus into the Accra and getting off at the gas station and convenient store. I bought a beer with some friends and sat outside to drink it before we went into the club and paid out the ass for drinks. As we sat and sipped our beers, it wasn't long before a crew of street kids joined our circle and started engaging in conversation. The first one to approach our group was a local Ghanaian named Henry, he told me about who he was and his life. He was 19, he lived down the street, he said he was hungry, and he said that he liked hip-hop. I brought him back into the convenient store and bought him a drink and some food. We spent the next hour talking about American hip-hop and I learned his favorites, little Wayne and Snoop Dogg. He asked me questions about America and I answered them as thoroughly as I could. He was shocked to hear how tall American hip-hop and movie stars are in real life. Henry pointed out his shirt, which was a Fox shirt and he told me that his American friend gave it to him. He told us to meet him at the same spot tomorrow and he would show us around town. That night, we had a very fun time at the SAS party, but were still able to get up to meet our new friend. At 10AM, my buddy, Pierce and I, met up with Henry at the convenient store as planned. I brought him a Fossil and Famous Stars and Straps shirt. Henry took us to his house, which was a two room cement bungalow near by, where he lived with his family. It was crowded amongst many others like it, it smelled of sewage, and there were dogs and chickens scattered about. There was a shower outside that looked very dirty and was open for all to see. Now, I could see why Henry smelled so bad. We kept moving, on to the market, where I told Henry that I was looking for a soccer jersey. I really wanted to get a Chelsea jersey, so I ended up getting a Ghana Jersey, along with the Chelsea Jersey with Henry's approval. We were walking down the street towards a more diverse market when we passed a man who was selling posters of American rappers. Henry insisted that he buy one for me. I told him it was unnecessary, but he kept pressing it, and I didn't want to insult him. So now, I am the proud owner of a humongous poster that looked like a sloppily photo-shopped collage with every rapper from Eminem to Ludacris to Snoop Dogg to Rick Ross.

Henry led us deep within the market where we were grabbed and hollered at for our attention, and our comfort zones were most definitely violated (nothing new). Pierce found a hilarious bright yellow tank top that said "ITS ALWAYS SUNNY IN LA". We weaved in and out of small booths and covered passageways with vendors. It all seemed that they were mostly selling the same things. I was still on the hunt for some good portable speakers, but never found what I was looking for. The day ticked on and we returned to the spot where the buses would pick us up to return to the ship. The buses must have been on Ghana time as well because the bus didn't arrive until 45 minutes later than expected. Unfortunately, Semester at Sea and our ship was NOT on Ghana time. While we waited for the bus to arrive, we found a small restaurant which looked pretty westernized and got some chips (fries) and then ice cream. When the bus finally did come, the bus stop had accumulated quite a group of antsy SAS kids, all expecting a ride. This group also attracted the attention of every beggar and street merchant in within a mile radius. This whole time, Henry was still just kind of hanging around with Pierce and I; it was like he had nowhere else to go. One of his friends made me a key chain which he wove that said Ghana and had Red, Yellow, and Green. We said goodbye to our new friend Henry and he told me he would come visit me in America. We exchanged emails and phone numbers and went our separate ways. The trip back to the ship was nice and air conditioned and before I knew it, I was back on the ship before 6 and we were on our way to Brazil!

Blog 17

Ghana was a country, once again, dissimilar to any others that I have experienced before it. We got there on the first day and I woke up bright and early, but apparently not as early as I thought. I got up on deck and realized that I missed the sunrise. Just barely though, I got out to the front deck to see the sun just a little above the water off to the east. The last time I woke up far too early and this time, too late. No biggie though, I've got plenty of shots of the sunrise. I went down and got my peanut butter pancakes and then got in a quick workout before we were cleared to get off the ship. As we were pulling in, it was very clear that we were pulling into yet another, very industrial port. It was very reminiscent of what we experienced in India. We were not close to any sort of business or establishment; in fact, this time, Semester at Sea charged our student accounts and set up a shuttle system to bus us, the hour-long ride back and fourth to Accra, the capital.

After we were cleared for landing, we all crowded off the ship and stood around, waiting for the buses to come back and pick up the remaining 400 students. Luckily, I made friends with a girl on the ship who attends the University of Arkansas, but grew up in Ghana and she invited me to her house for an authentic Ghanaian lunch. My Ghanaian friend's name is Sheila and her Father was waiting outside the gate to pick us up and take us to her house. Her Dad was a big stern black man who seemed very guarded, but was very polite and seemed nice. Her mother and aunt, who were also there, were very nice great hosts. The group was about 10 of us who went to her house, and they cooked SOOO much food. The food was different and very interesting; I ate lamb, full fish, and even snail. The snail was very chewy and tasted like fish. Sheila's house was in a part of town that you never would have guessed it was there. There are random streets where all seems to be a little more sketchy and even dangerous, and then we pulled into Shiela's house. It was part of a set of condo's that her father owned. We passed the gate through a high cement wall to her property and found 3 cars owned by her parents, a dirt yard, and 3 dogs. Sheila's mother also ran a shop that stood directly outside the home. After noticing this, we learned that many people set up shops outside their house and sell drinks and snacks. Upon this, I started noticing these stands set up all over the streets.

It was after we finished lunch that I grasped the concept known as "Ghana time". Ghana time was a sense with a lack of any sort of urgency, it drives American's absolutely loopy, but Ghanaians were very loose with the perception of time. It was all about "get to it when you get to it", and things will happen when they happen, and if they don't then they don't. I went for lunch to Sheila's house and didn't get back to the ship until 10:30PM that night. We left Sheila's house around 6PM and went to mall, unfortunately it was a Sunday and they sure do obey the Sabbath. Everywhere you looked, there were signs of Christianity. "Jesus Saves" and "through Christ, I" and "God is my rock" written all over buildings, bumper stickers, and clothing. So none of the stores were open in the mall, and after cruising the only open grovery store like shop, we still spent about an hour and a half.

The next day, I woke up bright and early at 7AM for a trip to go see the Wli Waterfall and Mona Monkeys, the bad part was that these attractions were 4 hours away. We loaded up on a bus, which was actually pretty nice, it had comfortable seats and even air conditioning. I sat in the back of the bus with some of my friends and tried to sleep. We soon found out that sleep was next to impossible with the conditions of the roads; it was so bumpy and there were so many pot holes, that my friend Jason, who was laying down across the seats actually got thrown from his seat onto the floor. So we spent the ride talking and getting to know each other a little better. Once we got there, we got out and I bought an African-style necklace with shells and then we began our hike to the waterfall. Now I was traipsing through the jungle, shirtless, and wearing an African necklace; really trying to play the part. We criss-crossed the stream multiple times before we reached the waterfall. At one of the crossings, we saw villagers washing their clothes in the stream. One girl was wearing a shirt that read "Obama Girl". When we finally reached the waterfall, it was a magnificent sight. It was about 100 feet up and had a shallow pool at the bottom. When you looked up, there were hundreds of bats swarming the cliff that they nested in. Most people took a swim in the water and played in the waterfall which was unbelievably refreshing after the long hike, we found a short cliff to jump off of as well. If we could have stayed there all day, I'm sure we would have, but the guide was rushing us along.

On the way back down, I decided to pick up one of the many mango littering the ground and have a snack and I'm glad I did, it was one of the juiciest and most delicious mangos I've ever had. After the hike back down, we had quick lunch on the bus of some-sort of pita-like chicken wraps as we headed to the village where the monkeys were. When we neared the village, the kids from the local school ran out to greet us, very curious about the white people. They were all so happy, they would smile and come close to us, but when we would walk towards them, they would run away and laugh. That is, until we offered our black friend Jason to them, who they ran to immediately. The group moved on, into the jungle and we found where the monkeys were. The first one came a little hesitantly up to us in search of food, and then when he started after the bananas we brought, it wasn't long before the rest mobbed us. They would come close enough to grab the banana, but after they got their food, they were hesitant about distance. I was able to grab one of the tails that was hanging down before he scurried off, and I touched another ones arm as he was eating the banana in my hand. After the monkeys, we took a walk through the village, which was most definitely third world conditions, and boarded back up on the bus. The village was composed of huts made from scraps of garbage, and odds and ends of steel and wood, and there were goats and chicken roaming the place. The people who were outside would smile and wave to us as we walked through, and seemed happy to have company. On the way home, our guide gave us some banana chips that were delicious and I finished an entire bag throughout the 4 hour return drive. We had more bonding time on the way home, and that evening, I went out with some of the kids on the trip.

Blog 16

We got back to the ship around 6 PM on the third day that the ship had been docked in Cape Town. We were exhausted but also ready to seize the day… or what was left of it. Getting back on the ship was a pain in the ass because they always check everyone's bags especially thoroughly when overnight trips return. One kid I was with, filled up a water bottle full of vodka and they sniffed that right out. He was right in front of me in line and you should see the security guards faces light up like a Christmas tree when they see some action. After the 45 minute line, I set up a Skype date with my parents and found some wireless internet somewhere in a mall, it was a space on a bench that I could barely get a signal but it seemed to serve its purpose. It was great to catch up with the parents and see what was new in the states. After, I showered, changed, and met back up with some friends to head out to the notorious party spot known as Long Street. There had been flyers handed out all over the ship earlier that day that were advertising a club that all the SASers got free entry to. So after exploring the waterfront for a little longer, seeing street performers dance, and finding a place for some beer and calamari (an English fish and chips joint), the gorgeous sun was setting on Cape Town and we made our way down town. The place that was hosting the SAS party was called Ivy League and it was very fun for a while, but later, a group of us set out to explore new places and meet new people. That night I talked with many strangers and enjoyed plenty of rounds of Castle beer. They were very confused when I tried to order a pitcher; all the foreigners when asking me about America, are fascinated by the concept of renting kegs of beer and a drinking age of 21.

The next morning, I got a late start. I woke up around 10AM and decided to go without breakfast that morning, I didn't have any particular plan in mind since the rugby match was a no-go. One of our inter-port lectures for South Africa assured us that there was a rugby game on the 4^th day but when we asked around about it, we were told that it wasn't even in Cape town, but another province of South Africa. It was a huge disappointment. I found a group on the ship which comprised of my friend Matt, Yudai, a girl named Emily, and a girl named Dominique. Matt is a fun guy who I pretty much just know from fun times out at the bar ports, Yudai is our Japanese mascot, Emily is a Jewish hottie who sounds like she's been smoking since she was 6, and Dominique is rich, Spanish-speaking Daddy's girl from Miami. We decided to go up to table mountain, which is a huge flat mountain that sits above Cape Town and we heard the view was stunning. We got up to where the cable car takes you up, and it had begun to get cloudy so that you could no longer see the top. A ticket for the cable car was about 20 bucks so we decided against going to the top, but took some good picture from where we were at, which was still high above Cape Town, with great views. There was even a rainbow that made an appearance shortly after we arrived and we were able to work it into the picture. After this disappointment and a 10 dollar cab ride, we settled on a visit to Long Street during the day to visit something called the Green Market. The Green Market was like a flea Market that was set up everyday just off of Longstreet which had reletively cheap little knick-knacks or memorabilia of South Africa. I saw everything from authentic tribal masks to paintings of townships to jerseys and jewelry. We walked around the green market until it closed around 4PM and everyone seemed to be satisfied with our shopping. I got a South African flag, a rugby Jersey, and a wooden tobacco pipe that I'm lucky I got on the ship. After a bit of shopping we walked towards Long street once more. Apparently, it had some good day shopping as well, but a bit pricier. We found however, that all these shops were closed too; everything was closed early because of the Easter weekend.

Long Street was a very interesting street during the day, it was lined with shops and bars and most every building had a balcony that customers could enjoy lounging on. The feel was extremely reminiscent of New Orleans with it's French architectural influence. I was very disappointed when topless girls were screaming for beads. The group, at this point, decided to part while the girls and Yudai went back to the ship, and Matt and I went to one of these balcony restaurants. Our first thought was to follow our instincts to a place called MEXICANO with Mexican colors painted tackily on the side and pictures of big fat burritos and margaritas in the window; but after looking at the menu, Matt told me he knew of a place with great nachos and it had a balcony too. We decided to go to the place with the balcony and the atmosphere was that of a casual Saturday afternoon in Cape Town, the weather was perfect, I had another Castle beer, and I could watch hot girls walk by from a distance without them knowing.

After some delicious nachos, which had a curious red spicy powder in them, we paid the bill and departed the balcony restaurant, shortly after, we saw a sign for astonishingly cheap drinks and followed our nose. We were led to a hostel called Abantu Backpack Hostel, which coincidentally was also a bar. We asked about their hours and how long the drink special ran and we were delighted to hear it was a 24/7 deal. I took this opportunity to do a little work for my global studies project and asked the nice girl at the front desk/bartender some questions about water consumption. She was very nice and her name was Nicky. It was actually some incredibly long African name but she told us to call her Nicky. We planned to return later that evening. The sun was beginning to set once more and it was our last night in Cape Town (or so we thought). Matt and I found a ride back to the ship and I went down to the beach to take some pictures of the sunset, it was pretty astonishing, fire red that faded the African sky into a pastel yellow and then finally burnt out. I went back to the same internet spot in the mall to check my bank account…. I don't wanna talk about it. I got back to the ship and met up with the crew to go out, Matt was waiting on some beezie to get back from her safari so we could go out, and once again, the whole ship was in a balls-to-the-wall party mode for the last night. We waited for this girl and of course, her set of friends, to set out for the evening. We went to get some food at a nearby waterfront restaurant and the night began.

We went to a place that was it's own microbrewery and I ended up just getting appetizers or "bar snacks". I got fish and chips and forgot what I ordered until I got fish and French fries and then I asked for ketchup and they looked at me confused until I said Tomato sauce. We were with a group of girls, which… to be honest I don't remember all of their names, but I do know we were with my ship neighbors Melissa and Megan; and the crew of us promised that no matter what happened that night, we were going to get up early and go to the Cape of Good Hope(the southern most part of Africa). The night was fun and we actually did get up at 7:30AM. We hurried outside and found a cab. Our cab agreed to take us to the Cape and show us the sights. We had about an hour drive where we stopped at a few markets and beaches until we neared the southern tip. Just before we got there, we went to a penguin beach and watched these little creatures wobble around while we took pictures. I decided that I wasn't amused enough, so I took a video of me getting too close to the penguin and then it biting me. Who else can say they've been bit by a penguin? We loaded up in the car and kept moving, we got to the cape where there was a light house which took quite a hike to get to. The view up there was amazing and worth every step. On the way back, we stopped by an ostrich farm which I was sooooooo close to jumping the fence and jumping on for an ostrich ride, but the girls kept getting mad at me. I settled for buying feed and then letting the ostrich nibble at it, out of my hand. It was after that point that I could say that I had been bitten by an ostrich as well. Now I can say; who has been bitten by an ostrich and a penguin in the same day? The day was winding up and it was time to start heading back to the ship to make on-ship-time at 6PM. We hurried back, but not before driving through a township. A township is a place where all the underprivileged African's live in South Africa. It's an entirely black community and each structure is a one room fortress made from random odds and ends. They are all made with wood, tin, metal, even street sign and pieces of board. They are made with whatever the builder could find and they all look like they are about to fall apart. There are kids playing in the streets next to drug dealers and activity and people everywhere you look. It's amazing to see the contrast in the community.

We finally made it back to the ship, and I considered grabbing all my belongings and staying in South Africa. Who needs a transcript? South Africa was most definitely my favorite port.