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.

Blog 15

South Africa -

The country of South Africa is most definitely my favorite place that we've been so far. It's 11AM on April 5 and we're supposed to be sailing for Ghana, but the winds are too high in the Cape Town harbor so we're still docked. We were supposed to leave 8PM yesterday and we spent the whole night here and the morning thus far. We're all stuck on the ship only able to look at the city, It's such a tease!

We pulled into the harbor to find it was a waterfront community with an upscale mall, great places to shop, and people walking up and down the water's edge. There were vendors, street performers, and people from all different walks of life. I had gotten up very early that morning to get some good pictures from the ship; especially some shots from the front deck of Table Mountain, the butte that towers over Cape Town. I saw the South African sunrise for the first time as it came over the mountains. Absolutely beautiful! After I got some good shots, I went down to deck 6 for some breakfast out on the deck. Breakfast is the last meal that I am able to stand on the ship because I never wake up in time for it on a regular basis and the food at dinner and lunch is always the exact same. So being as excited for breakfast as I was, I engulfed quite my share of eggs, oatmeal, cereal, and peanut butter pancakes! MMMHHHH! Now I know why there's so many fat girls on the ship.

I finished eating and we were released to get off the ship pretty early that morning, around 10 AM. It's earlier than usual and we didn't have to do the face to face immigration like we usually do. Outside, it was a little windy but otherwise perfect weather. I wore short sleeves and a tee shirt when I first went out to explore the water front. I found various shops and restaurants and I was looking for a safari hat but never found a good one for a reasonable price. I had to be back to the ship by 11AM because my three day safari was scheduled to leave at that time. I had signed up for this trip before we departed and was very excited about it. We boarded a bus around 11:15 when everyone was present and accounted. There were about 38 of us; mostly students, a few life-long-learners, and some faculty. We had funny little South African tour guide whose name was Gerraldina Barry, but she just had us call her Gerry Barry. With her south African accent she would say things like, "if everyone could gather your bits and bots and move along gently".

After the bus ride, we boarded a plane in the Cape town Airport and traveled to Port Elizibeth, which is on the eastern coast but still in South Africa. The plane was very small and the flight was only about an hour long but we were treated like Kings. First of all, they served us lunch! (Take note American Airlines) Lunch on a plane! It was like 1992 again. And in the short hour we were onboard they came around twice for the drink service. The first time with a bottle of water, and then with the option of a FREE soda, beer, or wine. Not bad South African Air. I had myself a chicken sandwich and a Castle beer.

Once we landed we had another bus ride for about an hour until we arrived at Kariega game reserve. You'll have to ask me how to say that name in person. The bus pulled on the property and we lined up to get our keys and sign our life away, saying that we can't sue if we get mauled by a lion. We went for a quick drive before the sun went down, but before, we dropped by our cabins or our "Chalets" (were what they were called) before the drive. I was in Chalet 14 and was rooming with 3 other guys. Lukas, a half Asian kid; a Jewish guy we called Stone; and a Minnesota kid named Peyton, (eh?)... I had enough diversity for at least a month's worth of jokes. The Chalets were beautiful! Wood cabins in which we each had our own rooms and bathrooms. The cabin overlooked a beautiful scene from the balcony of the wild African terrain. WOW! Unreal.

Soon after settling in, the Cruisers came back to pick us up for the first drive. The safari guides were all young white guys with thick accents that drove Toyota Land Cruisers with no tops and three rows of three stadium seats. So including shotgun, which I nabbed for the first drive, there were 11 passengers in each cruiser. We started off finding some impala and got about 30 or 40 feet from them, it was very cool. Then we saw some rhinos and got about the same distance from them, but by this time it was getting very dark and we had to use the flashlight in the glove compartment. We saw some giraffe and monkeys swinging around in the trees too. We arrived at the main lodge after the drive for dinner. Dinner was excellent, one of the best meals I've had the whole SAS experience, it was a barbeque with ribs, chicken, beef, fish, and every kind of meat and bread you could think of. And the dessert table… my GOD! Some of the girls on the ship would have been unstoppable. That night we went to bed very early and we were scheduled to wake up at 5:30 AM for our next drive.

The next day was very foggy at 5:30 AM and we were all pretty slow moving to start with. This time, we went across the street to the other side of the reserve where we passed many signs warning of dangerous animals. First, we saw a bunch of elephants eating and carrying about. One was very large and obviously dominant of the group. They would grip the grass, plants, and even cactus with the trunks and bring it up to their mouth to eat all very loudly. We, apparently, got too close to one of these, and it started to walk towards our cruiser to ward us off. I got pretty excited until the driver told me that even the baby could flip us right over. We kept moving and got out of the dangerous area until we found a place to stop and get out for a drink of coffee. The cruisers all met up on a hill and enjoyed a cup of coffee that our tour guides had packed in the cruisers. By this time, it was sprinkling and we were wearing parkas.

After coffee, the drivers told us that there was a lion sighting near so we packed up and left. When we arrived at where the sighting was, we found the lions lounging in the bushes. There were a few females, at least 2 males, and a few cubs that we seemed to be interrupting from their nap. We drove by them and were able to get as close as 5 to 10 feet. One thing that we kept seeing that morning were giant spider webs draped from tree to tree and bush to bush. Huge webs that would stretch all the way across the trail, were the work of the African bark spider. This nasty little critter was about 2 inches big and would spin it's web at night, and then sit in it all night catching insects and bugs. In the daytime, it would retreat back to the tree bark and blend in until nightfall and do it all again. One was even stretched across the path of the cruiser and our guide ran into it to knock it down before we actually went through.

After breakfast that morning, which was once again, splendid, we had the choice of doing a hike to look for game, or the option of a canoe trip. The canoe trip filled up pretty quick but me and Stone were able to get a spot. We got down to the river and loaded up in the canoes. It had heated up quite a bit and the river was very nice and calm. We started downstream and went for a few miles or so, but were instructed to return in an hour and half. There was one girl who was in the front, and when we all turned back, she insisted that she had been told that the river connects and goes all the way around. The only thing she was forgetting was the laws of physics. I thought that everyone knew that Six Flags Lazy River is not a naturally occurring phenomenon. Anyway, we had all turned back and were just waiting around for the missing students to return. It was very boring just sitting on the bank, waiting and waiting. It was then, that I decided to cover myself in mud and write SAS 2010 on my chest for a picture. Who else can say they did that? We all had a good laugh and then another cruiser came back to pick us up. We barely made lunch because of the missing students who still weren't found yet, and the safari guides were getting worried because they were heading into areas which are known for hippo sightings. Hippos, believe it or not, are the deadliest animal in Africa. Apparently they are very territorial and have a jaw on them that can just snap you in half.

After lunch, we took a ride back to the cabin and I took, not a shower, but a bath. I took a bath because; 1. I needed to efficiently get the African mud out of my ears and 2. This tub was insane. We spent the afternoon kickin' it with a 6 pack of Castle Beer on our cabins deck, overlooking the amazing terrain and sighting some beautiful exotic wild birds. At 4:30 PM, it was time for another drive. On the drive, we learned the missing group from canoeing was found alive, indicating that it was now appropriate to give them wall bullshit for their stupidity. This drive, we saw hippos in the water (close to where we were canoeing in earlier), zebra, and giraffe that were were running. Seeing them run is quite a sight. The way that their bodies move almost looks like it's slow motion because they are so long. It's like a big wave of motion that shoots up their body, very awkward, yet very fast. We also experienced an attempt at mating when one of them tried to mount multiple times, but his home girl wasn't having it. Later on that drive, we approached the rhinos which started to run at us. The cruiser actually had to reverse until it backed off, it was pretty exciting.

After the drive it was about 7:30 PM and time for dinner. The dinner was phenomenal once again. I had a type of curry and some sort of beef with a few servings of bread and a great dessert, once more. After dinner, we went back to the Chalet and had most of the SAS crew over for some card games and drinks. We got to bed pretty late that night considering our waking time at 5:30AM, once more. Most of the crew, the next morning, went on the riverboat trip, but having seen the river while canoeing the previous day, my cabin decided on another drive to try to find the lions. We were actually unsuccessful in our quest but we did have a fun time joking with the tour guide about how the drunk SAS girls were, and how they were throwing themselves at him last night. We saw some ostrich, returned for breakfast, spent the morning relaxing, and then it was time to check out. The procedure for the transit home was just the same on the way home. A bus ride, top-notch airplane experience, and shuttle back to the ship.

Overall, the safari was absolutely amazing. The drivers were very knowledgeable, we saw hostile rhinos, lion cubs, we had unbelievable accommodations, great food, and almost experienced a giraffe rape. What more could you ask for. I was also very pleased to have 2 more nights, once we returned to Cape Town!

 

 

Blog 14

This blog not about anything specific; its just some thoughts about life aboard the ship, random topics of interest, and anything that I've missed since my blogging sabbatical.

The date is March 29, 2010 and we are currently sailing southwest along the coast of South Africa. I found this out last night during my workout. The workout deck is on the starboard side of the ship on the 7. For all you back home, that is the right side if you're facing the way the vessel is, and our ship has 7 decks. The workout area has a covered top but open to the outside. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that allow the passengers to look out into the sea. I was carrying on with my routine last night, when I noticed a coast full of lights. It is always very exciting when the ship can see anything but water, water, and more water. For example, the first time we saw another boat; the first time we saw a whale; and the first time we saw dolphins. I came back to the room to look on our closed circuit TVs to realize that we are in fact just sailing right along the coast for the next two days until we arrive in Cape Town. I am very very excited to reach Cape town. I'm scheduled for a 3 day Safari and I'm gonna hit a Rugby game and try to go Ostrich racing! We just watched Invictus the other night, and it got me even more amped about the country. I recommend the movie as well!

The rumors about people getting kicked off are true. At least most of them are. I can vouch for at least one. I hope I'm not throwing my good buddy under the bus by using his name but my friend who I've been exploring many port with, Mac, was released from the program in Mauritius. He will be missed, and there's not a worse kid for this type of thing to happen to. He is always a very happy and adventurous guy, with a smile on his face. He was down for anything and always willing to meet new people and try new things. I'm sure we will stay in contact when we get back. The story with Mack is he took a prescription drug known as adderall that was not prescribed for him. Adderall is a pill prescribed for individuals who have ADD like myself, but it apparently has some different effects on those who don't. My buddy, just took one to help him study for a big test he had. It's a damn shame, and a crock of shit, if you ask me. Because he took one little pill, he's thrown off the ship, missing out on the remaining 3 ports, receives no academic credit, and is stuck with the bill of a flight home from Mauritius. Poor kid. He was caught because he was drug tested and before the drug test, he admitted his offense and the still, they enforced full punishment. Other rumors, I know for fact are true, are that 2 other guys were thrown off in India from faking a prescription and trying to get drugs at an Indian pharmacy. Another one that I heard was that a kid was thrown off for heroin. I am pretty sure that one is true as well, don't know details but I heard he was quarantined in the lower decks for the remainder of his time here. A lifelong learner who I karaoke'd with in Japan is gone now for puffin the Maryjane in one of the ports, and he didn't even do it on the ship. I know that a lot of people are getting drug tested and that since I was friends with Mack, I'm on the chopping block. I don't have anything to worry about in that department though, and I'm thanking my lucky stars that I haven't made poor choices.

The administration here treats us like children, and have done a good job of instilling fear into the students and all the passengers, including lifelong learners. Kinda like Hitler did. There is very little freedom on the ship, we're treated like middle schoolers. Though we're all over 18 and I'm 22, we are still only permitted to have 3 drinks a night, and only on pub nights. We are not allowed to bring alcohol on the ship and but we have the option to pay $3.50 for a can of Budweiser or Dixie cup of Franzia. On pub nights, we are not allowed to play music, and if there's any drinks on a table, we can't play games there. They like to keep tabs on us if we roam the boat too late. The other night, I went to the front desk to ask for a stapler at midnight and the lady asked for my room number for "records". I would not be surprised if my room gets searched or I get drug tested after that. We are not permitted to take food outside the dining hall, and if you walk around with bare feet, you'll get dock time. Dock time is one punishment you get if you're in trouble, and it means you must be on the ship for a certain amount of time if the boat is in port. We have occasional talent shows and open-mic nights, which all must be PG rated. There have been kids who have been told they are not allowed to perform because the nature of their acts is deemed inappropriate and one act was affected because he was not permitted to swear in a stand-up routine for college kids. A little ridiculous.

On a lighter note, the sea Olympics were a riot! I had so much fun that day! We started with an opening ceremony in the union, which is our big lecture hall, where everyone showed their spirit and wore their seas colors. I was in the Aegean sea and we were light blue and I led our seas chant! All day, were events like tug-o-war, dance competitions, synchronized swimming, flip-cup (with water of course), lip syncing, and relays. It was like an adult field day, very fun! I participated in the pull-up completion, a pass-the-orange-without-hands relay, and tug-o-war. The day all ended with a big cookout with AMERICAN FOOD on deck 7! AHHHH!!!!! It was awesome!! Ribs and burgers, I think I had about 3 plates and then a 2 full dishes of ice cream. We ended up not placing in the top 3, but the day was very exciting and is still my favorite day on the ship so far. After dinner, everyone jumped in the pool with their clothes on, until we couldn't fit any more people in and everyone started chanting. The fun police eventually broke it up and we were asked to get out. A few days later we would get to India.

Between India and Mauritius, we had Neptune day. This was the day that we crossed the equator, and man! was it hot! I think I'm still peeling from that day. To celebrate Neptune day, a good chunk of the ship shaved their heads, even girls! So now the boat looks like a make a wish foundation, or a lesbian cruise. I decided not to shave my head because, well, it's nothing new for me. I should have shaved my beard, a clean shave would have really stunned my friends and family. It was the saddest day of the trip, though, a good percentage of girls went from hot… to looking like 4^th grade boys that morning. A damn shame! No, only kidding, the day was very fun and eventful. There was a ceremony where everyone got in a line and got fish heads dumped on them, then kissed a dead fish on the lips, and jumped into the pool. By the end, you couldn't see your hand 6 inches under the murky water. Yummy. That day, most of the students spent the day by the pool lounging, and they actually put music on that day. The only thing missing was the kegs, haha. That evening, we had a BBQ once again and watched the sunset out on the deck. Once again, a very good day.

There is little to be said about Mauritius, mostly because there was very little done in Mauritius (or very little I remember), but everyone just sat on the beach and drank beer. I will say that the country is absolutely, stunningly beautiful and it rivals the Caribbean in beauty. The terrain is very tropical and the towns are carved out of the forest. The beaches are white sand and the water is aqua green. I got the same feeling from the people in Mauritius as I did from the people of Hawaii. Kind of a laid back atmosphere, in which time or urgency was not an issue, and the pot may or may not have been plentiful. The SASers did use the port as spring break release, after the country of India and the stress of midterm exams, but treated it with much respect. We rented a house on the beach for a very reasonable price and were very impressed by the accommodations and condition of our stay. I would love to return to Mauritius!

Blog 13

Two days later, we arrived in Kochin and I was ready to give India another shot. We were cleared for landing much earlier that morning because there was only about 200 kids on the boat, the rest had traveled independently (most up north to see the Taj Mahal). We got off the ship once more to a city on the west side of the peninsula that is India, and we were greeted by a similar scene of hustling rickshaw drivers and vendors. Kochin, however seemed to have more trees and had less of in industrial feel. It was actually very pretty and kind of pleasant once you got used to the smells. The minute I stepped off the boat, I had a better perception of the country than the one I got in Chennai. The process of getting off and on the ship was very tedious and the security was very tight, apparently because there had been high terrorist alerts that day. We were checked by at least 3 different Indian officials each time in and out. However, this is not the first time the boat has been on alert for terrorist activity. When we sailed through the Strait of Malacca, we were going at top speed after the news of a cruise ship attacked by pirates the day before in the area. The Strait of Malacca is the stretch of water in between the islands of Malaysia where Singapore is. We stopped in Singapore one morning as well, to refuel but we did not get off the ship, it sure was beautiful though. I remember going through the strait, I was up on deck 7 (the pool deck) and the head of security was doing laps around and using is binoculars every few minutes or so to scope out every direction all day long.

Anyway… Back in Kochin, we found a driver who turned out to be pretty straight up with us and pretty legit about price and destination, though from our Chennai experience, we were very skeptical. This driver even told us that he wanted to take us to a few shops so that he would get a free tee shirt, we obliged him and admired his honesty, but bought nothing at the shops. We cruised through the city in a rickshaw and got an idea for the layout. Kochin was made up of about 4 or 5 islands and connected by bridges. The islands were all pretty similar and could be described as much more of a towny, working man's place. We requested a hotel from our driver and he took us to 3 different spots before we settled on one. It ended up being about 15 dollars a person for a four person room, or at least we were going to make it a four person room. The crew, once again was Mack, Sam, Yudai, and myself. The hotel was very interesting. It was all cement, all white, and was open to the outdoors beside the rooms. From the outside, it looked like an embassy. We cruised around the town seeing the sites for the rest of the day, snapping pictures of locals, seeing establishments and viewing temples. We went back and took showers and got ready for dinner. There was a place called "princess street", which I'm sure had no influence from the British Empire being in India, which was rumored to have good restaurants that we decided to check out. We walked down to this place through dirt roads, we passed night soccer fields that seemed to still be very alive and random groups of Indians on the move. There was minimal lighting on the street and most places had fences from the street to the entry way. After finding a restaurant with some fairly priced food and traditional Indian music playing, we had found our spot. We enjoyed a nice meal with VERY spicy curry and a type of flatbread that we were encouraged to eat with our hands, but there were utensils available as well. I started out with my hands, but then just to speed things up, switched to my fork. Have you ever tried to eat rice with just your fingers?

That evening, there was a girl named Amanda who was having a birthday party, so we decided to go that. I was impressed with the organization of this event. It was at a hotel on one of the islands about 20 minutes away and had a DJ, a bar, and a dance floor. The night was very very hot. I was sweating so much, my nice collared shirt was drenched from top to bottom and sticking to me. We made the best of the night and had a fun time, and an interesting experience.

The birthday party, I think made me feel a little more at home and familiar with my surroundings of people. I'm very pleased to have been able to see Kochin, because Chennai left a bad taste in my mouth. The country of India was not my favorite port, but I'm glad and thankful for the experience. The next day we would sail for Mauritius.

Blog 12

As I near Mauritius, I am recalling my experience in the country of India. Right now, I'll go ahead and excuse my blog from Mauritius. Mauritius is the equivalent to any other schools Spring break. This port, which is well known by the faculty and staff, is our party port. So, though some of you might like to hear about the wildness about to occur, I'm sure Gramma doesn't want to hear about beer bongs and booty music.

The first day in India, I got up bright and early with my Nikon. By 7:00 AM, I was on the front of deck 7, like always. This time, I waited and waited… but nothing ever happened. I started seeing the occasional cargo ship, and some fishing boats. Nothing new. I eventually got frustrated and went back down below deck for a while. We didn't end up getting docked until a little after 9 AM, if my memory serves me correctly. When we finally started pulling into the port, we saw that it was a very dirty and industrial looking scene. We were being tugged into a very brown, but very bright and hot dock point. We were running a little behind schedule as a ship, and were playing catch up in order to be let off in time after all the processing and landing procedures. Around 11:30 AM, we were finally able to get off the ship. I had an FDP at a disabled children's home for my Intercultural Communication class, for which I had to be back for at 12:30. I figured maybe I could get off the ship and find just a few cool sites, and snap a few pictures before the trip. I was in a hurry to get out of the port and look around. As it turns out, we were docked in place that was used primarily for cargo and was absolutely filthy. A walk down the street to the gate would cover you in dust and soot, and the walk was about ½ mile. The heat would make you sweat within minutes, not to mention the conservative culture which required that no knees and no shoulders be shown. I was wearing khaki pants and a white tee shirt. By the time I had gotten to the gate, where industrial trucks would speed by stirring up the air, I was filthy and we still had a sea of rickshaw drivers to ambush us. In this country, 4 or 5 to Indian hustlers to each tourist would actually grab you and put their hands on you to get your business. I kept walking with my camera and ignored them. I walked for about 15 minutes before it was time to turn around and return for the FDP.

After returning from an unsuccessful first journey out, I boarded a bus that would take us on our field trip. We drive for about an hour to get to the children's home, our final destination. We walked through an Indian village through dirt roads while chicken strutted around us, and Ox and cows roamed through the street. On foot, we zigzagged through the village following a young Indian man until we came to a fence. Once the fence opened, we were funneled into a building that was open to the outside and ended up in a very large room. In the room, we found a group of mentally handicapped individuals of all ages enjoying their lunch. They were all sitting in the floor eating with their hands out of large metal dishes. My first thought was that, these individuals were eating this mobid-seeming way because of their condition, but I then realized that all people eat this way in India. I noticed some kids who looked to have no visible conditions of being mental handicapped. I started snapping pictures and bonding with the people. We brought balls and toys for the kids and begin with the activities once the group had finished eating. I played with the little boys throwing a bouncy ball and attempting to play a form of cricket, as it is their national sport. A bit later, we were asked to help with the chores around the home. Some washed dishes, some swept, I cleaned cob webs from the ceilings with a broom that was just a palm leaf wrapped around a stick. Once everyone had finished, we return to the group and played with the children once more. By this time, the kids had gone haywire with the play-doe we bought them, and it was sure to be one big ball of dark brown play–doe soon enough. We concluded the visit with a dance when someone turned in some upbeat music and everyone joined in. One little kid, was clearly the star, and the others new it, as he took the floor and everyone else attention. I can't remember the last time I saw a group of kids so happy. We all took a picture and waved goodbye.

Once we returned to the ship, we had some dinner and took a short nap. Sam, Yudai, and I attempted to find a local restaurant to enjoy some nightlife. We set out to a 5-star hotel, taking the advice we learned from pre-port about the only bars or alcohol consumption in the city being available at these establishments. Once we argued with more rickshaw drivers, we finally agreed on a price and got into the rickety cab. Half way there, the driver, said you pay 200 rupees, which was double what we agreed to pay. I got angry and told him to stop, he did and we got out and started to walk away until he said "ok ok ok, 100 rupees." We reached the hotel, paid our driver, 100 RUPEES and entered the place. The bar was an Australian themed place where we were ushered immediately to the second floor. The lower level was packed with people and, apparently, was reserved for couples and hotel guests. Upstairs, it was pretty dead and the drinks were very overpriced. We got a pitcher of beer for the 3 of us and enjoyed some laughs and peanuts. A little later, we went to a dance type club joining another crew of other SASers. A little later that evening, I was asked to not dance to close to a girl on the dance floor by the bouncer who found it necessary to rush out on the dance floor to tell me. It was like I was back to my middle school dances. Outside, I was approached by an aggressive Indian who started to talk negatively about America. The night concluded on a less than average note.

The next day I awoke early and set off by myself. I was frustrated with the evening, but decided to set off by myself. I was trying to get some tank tops for the boat for the smoldering heat and was looking for some Henna for a gift. I hired the first Rickshaw driver I found, which I later realized, was a mistake. I told him I wanted to go to a market place called Spencers for 100 rupees and he agreed. He told me that Spencers was closed for the day but he would take me to somewhere very similar. I should have known that this was a mistake from the beginning. I rode around with this man for hours while I tried to tell him to take me to this market place while he continually lied to me and took me to little shops where he got kick-backs for bringing tourists there. It was shop after shop, even after I said "back to the ship, back to the ship". By the end of the day, I was so frustrated, hot, and exhausted. Once I finally got back to the ship, my driver angered me more by demanding an obscene amount of money. He underestimated the American rule of the customer is always right. Let's just say, there was a heated discussion and he wasn't happy with the outcome.

The ship was sailing that night for Kochin and I was pleased to be sailing on it.

Blog 11

The next day in Vietnam, I slept in a little bit more and awoke around 11:00AM. It was a slow moving day and I was still pretty tired. There was nothing on the agenda so far besides exploring the city and experiencing the culture. I ate lunch on the ship that day and spent the early afternoon deciding what to do. There was a group of kids who I was supposed to accompany to a resort-style location about 3 hours away from Saigon. Unfortunately, I did not return from the Cu Chi tunnels to catch the bus the night before. It would have been cool, but I'm sure I would have spent too much money. I decided to search for some internet activity from anywhere that I could find it. It was much tougher than I thought and I ended up unsuccessful for that day. So I paid another man on a motorbike to take me around so I could take more pictures of the city and all that surrounded it. I was trying to communicate that I wanted him to take me outside the city and snap a few urban shots so I kept saying "water" and "trees". The guy would always act like he knew what I was saying and take me somewhere interesting but not quite what I wanted. That was the day that I experienced the most smells. These smells had a very wide range and very few of them were good, though still very distinct and will always remind me of Vietnam.

After that journey, I returned back to the ship and found a group of friends who had dinner plans that evening so I decided to tag along. After a shower and a quick nap, I met my friends Aaron, Kim, Griffin, Chad, Lauren, Amanda, and Scott for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I had another Tiger beer(love that beer), and a full Japanese meal complete with edamame, miso, and of course – rice. Since Griffin had pointed out on a map where the restaurant was, and the fact that I had been walking around the city a good amount, I decided to walk to the restaurant while everyone else took motorbikes. That was a mistake. The directions weren't exactly where they appeared to be on the map, and I ended up walking around the city for 20 minutes until I stumbled across a lost Kim with a rogue motor bike driver, and then we found the place together. It was some good and fun bonding time for the two of us on a lost adventure in Ho Chi Min City. After dinner, we dispersed while I took a walk back to the ship – where I got lost again, and the others went to the night market to get measured for their suits. The plan was to meet up in an hour back at the ship and we would go out. As it turns out, I came back to the ship and fell asleep cold as soon as I hit the bed, it was a long and hot day.

I was ultimately glad that I didn't go out and party that night because the next day I would wake up and get on a bus at 7:30AM. This bus was one of my FDP's for credit, which stands for Faculty Directed Practica. Think of them as field trips to supplement our classes. This particular FDP, I wasn't signed up for or required to do, but was optional for my Intercultural Communication class. I was going to a disabled children's school across town for the day. It took about an hour to get there and there were probably about 30 total SASers participating. This includes the faculty, the young children on the ship, and the lifelong learners. Once we got to the school, the kids could not be happier to us. We were instructed to go to a big room where we would be organized and divided amongst the classrooms. As we walked to the room, the kids were standing in doorways and peeking out of windows, waving and smiling at us.

The principal of the school addressed us with a translator and then we were released to interact with the children during their recess. The kids ran around, waved, jumped, and played with unbelievable energy. I felt very weird because I felt excited to see this kids and I usually am terrified of the thought of dealing with kids. Some people were playing hopscotch with the kids, some were tossing balls, and I was taking pictures and videos and showing them to the kids. They would come up to me and point to my camera and then point to themselves. Then they would runaway and return with a flower or a friend or dance for the camera. At the end of recess, the principal banged on a big drum and all the kids ran back into their classrooms with which we, as visitors, were divided up into. Me and Griffin ended up… I think… in the mentally handicapped classroom, because they couldn't figure out how to play tic-tac-toe or color in the lines, but it was great non-the-less. We made the kids some bracelets out of some string and beads that we brought for them. After a while in the class room, we were summoned to meet back up in the big room. We said goodbye to the kids and headed back to the room, we were thanked by the teachers and staff, and then boarded the bus once more.

After the ride back; the girl who lives across the hall, Bailey; her friend Tracy; Griffin and I, went to lunch at the spot that I had eaten at with our motorbike guide two nights before. It was just down the street and we had some more very good Vietnamese food. There were noodles, rice, and fried chicken, I was hoping that I wasn't ordering an American style dish with a Vietnamese spin on it, but it was damn good either way. On the way home, we stopped at one of the vendors to get a pineapple-mango type drink, it was downright delicious and it was about 20 cents. The girls were very iffy on the drinks because they contained ice and we were instructed by SAS to not drink the water or even drink anything with ice in it, but I assume SAS is just covering their ass in case of a liability. I ended up finishing the girl's drinks myself. Ya know how you can't finish something because you have a mental block, therefore it doesn't taste as good… Kinda like trying to eat a milk dudes after seeing rabbit shit. I'm thinkin' that's why the girls didn't finish theirs

Once again… exhausted, I used the afternoon to take a short nap and watch my New Family Guy DVD's. I awoke and had dinner on the ship and got ready for the last night in the country. The last night is always the biggest night. Everyone goes out on this night and a lot of SASers get obliteratingly drunk. Also the following day is the day when kids usually try to sneak alcohol on the boat for the long haul to the next port. My pike buddies from Chapman had got back from their Cambodian trip and I was planning on going out with them that evening. A big luxurious and foreigner hotel in the country is called the Rex Hotel, and the bar at the top was where we planned to spend the evening. We set off with a very large crew, and since to go through the names would mean nothing too you as the reader, I won't bore you. Our crew decided to drink cheaper, and it just so happened that public drinking is fully legal in the country, so we set off with two destinations, a convenience store and a park. We grabbed a few beers and found a park which seemed like the local middle school hangout… because there were kids on BMX bikes all over the place.

After feeling a little looser and getting to know each other better, we headed on down to Rex, where the bar was on the roof, about 10 stories high. The rest of that evening I spent dancing and attempting not to spend money on drinks for girls. I woke up the next morning pleased to see that I still a good amount of money in my wallet. I went back out in the morning and had enough time to pick up my suit, skype Mom and Dad, grab some cheap DVD's, and make it back in time for the on-ship time.

Blog 10

Lt. Dan Viet-nam!

Alright, we left Vietnam a few days ago and I got a lot of ground to cover, sorry for the delay.

The first day:

I wake up earlier than normal this time, about 5:00AM or even 4:30AM. I was really having trouble sleeping that night. I got up on deck way too early that morning but eventually the sun did begin to rise off the shore. I turned on the TV that morning and saw the zoomed in map of the ships location. They keep us updated, on our location on the closed circuit TVs… kinda like how they do on flights with the screens in the head rest. I saw that our route would take us up a river to get to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We started down the river about 6 or 6:30AM and immediately there was evidence of the rich Vietnamese culture. The Vietnamese sun was rising behind the lush green horizon where we could see rice patties that stretched for miles. There were fishing boats where early morning fisherman were up and active, and they would all wave to us as we went by.

I went back down below deck after a got some good shots and took a much needed nap, I woke up, did a very quick work out because I promised myself that I would, and then we were cleared for landing. We got off the ship with no particular plan in mind but I decided to roll with my buddies, Sam, Mack, and Yudai. Right as we walked off the gangway, it was an immediate surge of locals grabbing us every which direction and saying "where are you going?" "Hello" Where are you going?" "You buy?" As well, there was just a street full of motorbikes driving like madmen with no stop lights and very little signs posted. At first, we ignored the pestering men and started walking but 2 or 3 very persistent little guys followed us as we walked. About 300 feet later, we caved and realized the determination of these guys was unstoppable. He offered us a deal saying that for 5 dollars, he would take us around all day. Not a bad deal right? We couldn't pass that up. And the truth was, we really didn't know where we were going.

We decided to go get suits first thing. We had heard about the opportunity to get tailored suits for very cheap in Ho Chi Minh. The first ride on the motorbikes was a rush on its own. The way that the traffic worked was the opposite of American traffic mentality. There were no lanes and very few observable rules of the road. The first was that you don't make sudden movements. You try to keep a relatively steady pace and God forbid you shutter or confuse others with hesitant decisions. Everyone just accommodates one another. Crossing the street, you would wait for some kind of a small break in traffic and then just begin a slow pace across the road. The motorbikes and even cars would slow slightly or just weave around you. It was amazing.

We got to the first tailor and decided it was a little too expensive for our liking, so we would hold out for cheaper. We exited the shop and walked outside to our trusty motorbike drivers waiting to serve us. We had them take us to an ATM after because we realized that we didn't have any money. We really had a clear schedule for the day, so after we didn't really have a plan. We were standing outside with our pilots for the day and I remembered something that I saw in a movie and said "You guys wanna drink snake blood?" Mack was down for cause all the way, and Sam and Yudai were a little more hesitant… But the driver started making a gesture with his hand like a cobra striking followed by a gesture of taking a shot… He knew what was up

They took us to a place which lay next to a large pond, it was an outside bar that was a wood deck over the pond with a palm roofing. There were a few men in casual wear enjoying lunch at a nearby table and a row of stacked glass cages with snakes inside. Before we knew it, a lady had a bowl, a cup, a funnel, and pair of scissors. Another lady brought out a 3 or 4 foot black snake and the two snipped the head clean off.

We watched her ring out the blood from the serpent into the funnel and into the container. We ended up mixing the blood with vodka and taking it in shots, and then with the remains, we had a soup that they cooked up. After we enjoyed some high quality snake, we went down to the big market place. The first thing we noticed was how cheap everything was, as well as the variety of stuff that was for sale. The smell of that market is something I will never forget, they had everything from dried duck esophagus to the finest pirated DVD's. I picked up Family Guy seasons 1-7 for less than 250,000 Dong (about 10 or so dollars). The currency in the country was 18,000 dong to 1 USD. So when I would get out a hundred bucks at the ATM, I would get out almost 2 million Dong. After cruising the market for a short while and being grabbed my numerous Vietnemese market woman dozens of times, I was left with the DVD's and a tailored suit that was to be picked up in 3 days. The suit ended up costing me about 70 USD. The day wound down, we returned to the ship and had some dinner onboard.

The word for all the SASers that night was that the hot spot was a club called Apocalypse Now... I shit you, not! It seemed almost insulting to go to a club like that in this country, but I wasn't gonna say no. We got ready and dressed in the least clothes we could find, because the humidity in that country seemed to never quit and we were ready to rock and roll. Me and Mack were planning to meet another crowd at a Kareoke bar across from the ship. There we met Kiki and another girl with huge boobs who I don't remember her name. The 4 of us raised our glasses to SAS too many times to count and then set off for Apocalypse Now, it was a fun club with what seemed like all Foreigners and we danced and concluded the first night in Vietnam.

The next morning I woke up at 7:30AM to meet the same motorbike guys that we hired the day before. We had agreed to meet them at 8 AM and they would take us to the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi Tunnels for a total of 25 USD. Yudai, Mack, Sam and I all made it out to meet them in time and the day seemed to be starting off as planned. We realized that we were in for a very long day on the back of some Super-Vespas. The trip to the Delta took about an hour and half, and my ass was not feeling so great, but I shrugged it off and forgot about it pretty soon after we got there. We stopped once to take a break before we got there and enjoyed coconuts from a local vendor. A little old lady waddled out from her hut toting a machete and hacked into a few coconuts, added straws, and then, aggressively demanded payment. Once reaching our destination, we bargained to get a trip around a few of the islands and see the sights. We got on a small motor boat, and toured many small islands before stopping to have lunch. The first island was an old Buddhist monastery where monks used to live, one in particular whom the island was named after. It translated to Coconut Island because there was one monk who only drank coconuts and ate nothing else ever. Also, on this island there were some crocodiles in captivity that we were able to feed by dangling sticks of raw meat over them while they snapped. The whole time I was just thinking how PETA would be up in arms if we were in America. Moreover, there were chickens in cages getting ready for cock fights right next to the crocodile pen.

After that island we went to a smaller island where they made a type of candy from sugar cane, we were able to see the simple process and even taste the candy. It was very good and actually tasted like caramel. We chose not to buy any and we moved on to lunch. Lunch was at yet another small island where we were served somewhere that was cut out of the jungle and had palm tree roofs. They brought us a big grilled fish on a stand, some prod, and of course, rice. We dug in, the only way that we knew how and it seemed to satisfy our hunger. Once we were finished, we learned that we were in rush, if we were going to make it to the Cu Chi Tunnels before they closed, so we hurried up and got back to the motorbikes. Once back, we strapped up, helmets and all, and set off. With a few minor set backs; filling up for gas, and stopping to get water, we had made it the tunnels at about 4:15PM.

The Cu Chi Tunnels are tiny little tunnels made specifically to not accommodate US soldiers and only the Viet Kong and North Vietnam during the war. Mostly collapsed or blocked now, they used to stretch for miles and miles connecting villages and allowing for people to live, work, and wage war from these tunnels. The first thing we saw was a hole in the ground about a foot wide and 8 inches long. This was the first example of the entrance to the tunnel. At this point, we each had a chance to try to get in, and believe it or not, I fit. Just barely though, my shoulders were the big part and I had to go diagonally and pivot. You'll have to wait for the videos. Next we saw all kinds of booby traps and strategies that our enemies used. They were all very clever and very deadly, and the only thing I could think was – you little shits. Last but not least, was the time that we were going to actually crawl through the tunnels. We went through the tourist entrance, which the guide informed us, had to be made bigger for fat Americans, all the way till the last exit as it got smaller and smaller. After that rush, he told us that there was another tunnel which wasn't adjusted for tourists that we could crawl through but it was optional and much smaller. So of course we had to do it

By the end of it, we were filthy from being on our hands and knees, except for Yudai, who was too chicken shit, but he held our cameras and back packs so, hats off to you buddy. If we would have shown up 30 minutes earlier, we would have been able to shoot AK-47's like the rest of the tourists but unfortunately, the park was closing. So we started off for the street and got ready for the 2 hour ride on the back of a motor bike, all the way home.

By this time, this sun was setting and we were riding through small villages and very rural and beautiful areas back to Ho Chi Min City. Everywhere we looked, people would be out and about, the women all in their rice patty hats carrying what looked like old fashion scales, full of stuff with their bodies as the fulcrum; and men, shirtless and skinny, working on boats or laying in hammocks. There were shades of green on the ride home that I have never seen before, and the Vietnamese sunset was nothing short of astonishing. We passed an open field to see a few kite salesman were having a successful day where at least 200 kites were visible and active. There were families with kids, parents, and grandparents all flying kites as the day came to a close.

We returned back to Saigon a few hours later and I was feeling refreshed and ready for some Vietnamese food. Our drivers took us to a place where we ate noodles and drank Tiger beer for under 5 dollars, it was amazing food too. The street that we ate on was just getting started, as it was a night market, so we decided to return that evening. After paying and thanking our drivers after the day had come to an end, we took short naps and then met back up to return to the night market. We returned toured around, and experienced looks of fascination from the inhabitants. We were definitely the only foreigners there. We had a very famous Vietnamese dish called Pho, actually I had two servings, from a street vendor. They were delicious and the vendors couldn't be happier to serve us. We concluded the night after strolling up and down the street and drinking a few more Tiger beers.

It was a big day and I was very tired…