Reflections of Thailand

Bangkok is by far one of the biggest cities (geographically and in terms of population) that I have ever been too. It took awhile to get to pretty much anywhere you wanted to go. I was very impressed by how developed the city was though for how big it was. The city had a beautiful and massive skyline; but I also noticed for the first time, a lot of foreign business happening as well. Improvements such as side walk, street, and building repairs were noticeable anywhere we went, but the city as a whole was very well kept – much cleaner than many of the other major urban areas I have visited on this voyage. Thai food was incredible as well – eating street side food was definitely one of my favorite experiences of the trip. In addition, the people were great; everyone we met was very helpful if we needed directions. The Sriracha Tiger Zoo was pretty weird but I guess you have those sort of experiences every once and awhile. No plans for Vietnam as of now and I only have a couple days to put a plan together, let’s see what happens!

Thailand Day 4 & 5 (March 18 - 19, 2009)

Our final full day in Bangkok, the trip itself has seemed like a blur. In the morning Dean and I picked up our suits at the tailor – fit great! Dean had to have a few more adjustments done with his, so we decided to pick them up later that evening. We decided that day to head to the Grand Palace, still located in Bangkok but far away from our hotel. Initially taking a cab to its general location we soon realized that we would have to take a water taxi the rest of the way down the river. The water taxi was reasonably fast and packed as well – one of the main forms of transportation in Bangkok for the locals. We arrived at the Grand Palace, but weren’t exactly sure what entrance to go to. Luckily, we ran into a New Zealand couple on their honeymoon that was in our same situation. It was really neat to talk to them about our travels and hear about their stories as well. We chatted about rugby for awhile – they were big fans, we had just been in South Africa so we all knew a little bit about the game. After walking around what seemed to be the entire palace we finally found the correct entrance. Walking into the gate, I was absolutely amazed how large the palace grounds were! The architecture was amazing, it seemed like the entire palace was made out of gold. The Grand Palace itself served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand since the 18th century onwards. Even though I heard that the current King resides elsewhere, many of the modern looking structures were off limits, leading me to believe that some of the grounds are still used by the government. After the Palace, we headed back to the hotel to eat and pick up Dean’s suits. The last thing we wanted to accomplish in Bangkok was to go to a Muay Thai fight (not to be confused Mai Thai, even though they sound similar). It is a form of martial arts using kicks and punches – they do wear gloves though so it is somewhat similar to modern day boxing. Tickets for the fights are fairly expensive but we found out that there was a free fight that night, located in another part of Bangkok, far away from our hotel. We desperately wanted to see at least one fight though, so we headed to the mall where it the matches were being held. Thankfully, we were able to catch the last fight of the night -- an American woman versus a Thai woman. People all over the world move to Thailand and train Muay Thai. It was great that we were able to see a fighter from our own country. Even better, the American pummeled the Thai woman in about 10 seconds! Chalk one up for the good guys! I was absolutely blown away with the power behind the some of the punches but especially the kicks. It was a lot of fun. We went up to the ring after the match and discretely but effectively yelled “U.S.A!” in the direction of the American fighter. She looked at us, smiled and raised her gloves – it was awesome.

Unfortunately, our last day in Thailand was spent traveling back to the ship. It was about two hour drive back to the port. Right after we checked out of the hotel, we caught a cab and headed back to the ship – saw some of the country side though.

Thailand Day 3 (March 17, 2009)

St. Patty’s day in Thailand! I actually forgot to bring any green with me on the trip to Bangkok, oh well. A lot of today was spent walking the streets of Bangkok, I still can’t believe how big this city is; we’ve still only touched a small portion of it. For lunch, we decided on going to an Irish pub – appropriate given what day it was. I had a great steak and a Kilkenny (my new favorite beer), only one though. I was amazed at how cluttered the streets were with food and shopping stands. In Thailand, you can get a lot of great deals on bootleg goods too, even though I didn’t buy many. All my spending money was really going towards the suits. We headed back to the tailor for Dean to pick his suits up and for me to pick my fabric out. The suit of Dean’s that was done looked great, so I decided to get two of my own. We headed back to the hotel to get a quick nap and then went to dinner. This time we decided to go to an actual restaurant that served Thai food - great once again, but I still favor the street side atmosphere of yesterday’s meal. That night we headed to a different Irish pub and celebrated the holiday!

Thailand Day 2 (March 16, 2009)

Today, Jaclyn, Dean and I headed to meet Matt and Jack in Bangkok (they had gone the previous day to spend some time with Matt’s buddy who was staying there). We took a cab along with some other SAS kids. On arrival in Bangkok, we didn’t really know where to go. So we looked for some help in finding a hotel – sort of winging it. Luckily, Jaclyn lives in New York and is an expert at taking trains around cities. Following her lead, we got to the side of Bangkok we needed to be at and searched for the hotel. I couldn’t believe how many people there were; much like India, except all of the streets are much bigger. We ended up checking into the hotel around dinner time. After we were all settled in we decided to hit the streets again in search for some authentic Thailand food. We found a street side joint which literally had their kitchen and dining tables on the street. The food was amazing – noodles, seafood, spring rolls, etc. Definitely hit the spot. On our walk back to the hotel we stopped by a suit tailor and checked out what he had to offer. The prices were great, about $80 for a tailored suit, fabric of your choice. Dean got measured and his fabric cut, but I waited to make a decision on fabric. He took my measurements and I told him that I would stop by tomorrow. The guy was very reasonable about not being too pushy or urgent to get a deal done. We planned on being in Bangkok for the reminder of our time in Thailand, so I had some time to decide. I also wanted to see how Dean’s suits came out. After the fitting, we headed back to the hotel and met Matt and Jack in the hotel bar. That night we experienced some of Bangkok’s night life…Thai people stay up late…I’ll leave it at that.

Thailand Day 1 (March 15, 2009)

The ship took awhile to get cleared in Thailand, so Dean, Jaclyn and I decided to stay at the port due to the fact that our FDP to the Sriracha Tiger Zoo village was leaving in just a little under two hours. Once the buses arrived we headed to the Tiger Zoo. It wasn’t that long of a ride to the Zoo. Apparently, Thailand is known for animal training among other things (kind of random but I’ll roll with it). When we arrived to the Zoo, my first thoughts were “Wow, looks a little run down.” And that is exactly what the inside looked like too. The place was huge though. We had a little time before the “Tiger Show”, so we continued to explore the Zoo and ended up running into a trainer with an elephant that was picking tourists up with his trunk. So, for a little under five dollars, we each took turns getting picked up by an elephant with his trunk. The trunk felt…weird. The elephant looked miserable too…I’m sure I’d be miserable if I had that job. After that venture, it was time for the “Tiger Show!” As we entered what looked like a run down outdoor auditorium, we saw about nine tigers being kept in an underground cage. The show started with a pig running out and biting a rolled up flag which fell down and read something along the lines of “Welcome to the Tiger Show”. The tigers then did tricks ranging from standing on podiums to jumping through rings of fire, pretty impressive. Next, we were directed to the “Crocodile Show”. Crocodiles (which looked to be drugged out) sat and opened their mouths while the trainers did tricks around them. After the crocodile show, we headed to the “Elephant Show”. Elephants, of all sizes, did tricks ranging from basketball shooting to dart throwing. Let’s just say it was an interesting experience. Other attractions at the zoo included baby tiger feeding, orangutan picture taking, etc. To cap the “interesting” experience off, as we were heading to the exit gate, we came across a circular cage with windows all around it. The sign next to the cage read “The Happy Family”; and inside was a tiger running around ripping apart what looked like to be some sort of meat, a pig running from what looked to be a trainer with some sort of stick, and two dogs nervously shaking. All in all, the Tiger Zoo was one of the most unusual places I have ever visited…but it is Thailand. Next the buses took us to a world full of miniature sculptures and buildings ranging from the Eifel Tower to the Leaning Tower of Pisa…but there was a McDonald’s – we did a quick lap of the “miniature world” then grubbed. The McDonald’s had a Double Big Mac as well, so of course I took one down. It felt good to get back to the boat, due to the fact that it was probably one of the most random days I have had on the voyage…but I did get an FDP out of the way. That night we headed to Pattaya, and experienced some of the night life on “Walking Street.”

Reflections of India

Where do I start…India was the most eye-opening place I have ever been in my entire life – complete CULTURE SHOCK! It was the most difficult journal entries yet – you just can’t accurately portray and write every sight and every experience on a sheet of paper. Seeing the poverty, the historical monuments and architecture, the magnificent Taj Mahal, unforgettable experiences with the Indian people…I can’t get it all out. But, I guess I would be worried if I could get it all out. The more and more I see of the world, the more and more I realize that maybe all of these experiences are not supposed to come out clearly on a sheet of paper. I’ve met a lot of kids on the boat who did not enjoy India, and everybody’s experiences are different I guess. But, I am so thankful that I have been able to see these sights and live these experiences, even though it is hard at times. I will never forget the boys at the YMCA and their overall happiness in such a hard living situation. I will never forget the beauty of the Taj Mahal; as if it had been created and placed on earth by God. I will never forget how a group of port workers could so graciously invite three privileged Americans to join them in a pick-up match of their nation’s game. Those sights and experiences are now memories.

India Day 5 (March 9, 2009)

My last day in India was spent traveling around Chennai with the same crew. We stopped by a few more shopping areas, got hassled to buy pretty much anything you can think of, and simply explored more of the city. I ended up buying an India cricket jersey, to help symbolize the memories I have of India’s main sport. Honestly, cricket is everywhere here. Many of the open areas in the cities parks are filled with pick-up games and at least one cricket game is being played on the television at pretty much any time of the day. As we headed back to the port it was near the end of the work day. Spencer and I were carrying cricket bats which we had purchased earlier that day at a local sports shop. We saw that some of workers at the port were playing cricket. They saw that we had our bats and signaled over to us to come and play with them – what a great opportunity! So we crossed the tracks and got in the match. Two groups of people, from completely different backgrounds, playing the nation’s game. We all took turns batting (protecting the wickets) pitching (or bowling as it is called in cricket), it was an amazing experience. We had to be back on the ship at six, we didn’t notice what time it was, it was the last of our worries (it was about 5:30 though, I think). One of the guys motioned to us and told us we should better take off, we didn’t understand. Then he motioned over to the right and the three of us could see a train heading in our direction off in the distance. So, we exchanged handshakes and final goodbyes with all of the workers, and ran across the tracks to the port side. It had to have been an interesting sight for the train conductor and any bystander who could see us, but we made it back safely and on time.

India Day 4 (March 8, 2009)

Today was our last day in Delhi, and for the first part of the day we did a morning city orientation of Delhi, seeing numerous government buildings and historical sites. The main attraction of the day was the Red Fort Complex, a monument which has been inscribed as a World Heritage Monument, for the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage. It was built by the emperor Shah Jahan as his royal residence back in 1648 AD. It was huge, but like any other historical monument we had seen, it is hard to match it up with the Taj. It was still very interesting to see these monuments though, don’t get me wrong – India has a seemingly endless history. The flight back to Chennai went well, but we got back late. I met up with Spencer and Chandler again that night (they had just gotten back from their Taj trip as well), and we decided to take a little risk and walk the streets of Chennai at night. Nothing went wrong by any means but we did see some pretty eye-opening sights. We saw numerous people just sleeping on the beach and on the side of the roads as well. They even have charter buses, which I believe are sent by the government, parked on the beach at night, which offer the homeless a place to stay at night. I have never seen so many homeless people in my life – I can’t even put it into words. As we took our rickshaw back to the port, I looked to my left and saw a dirt lot filled with literally hundreds of people sleeping on the ground. Some of these people don’t even have shacks to sleep underneath…only the ground. They seriously live, work, and sleep in the same spot, with no structure…just…there…on the beach, streets, or ground. These sights will always be in the back of my mind.

India Day 3 (March 7, 2009)

We woke up early this morning at around five o'clock, and headed to catch the Taj Mahal at sunrise. On the bus ride over, the amount of poverty we saw was absolutely insane. As soon as we got off the bus, we were bombarded with people trying to sell us Taj Mahal souvenirs: snow globes, key chains, t shirts, etc. As we passed through security, we were lead into a courtyard with a gigantic entry way. The Taj Mahal was inside that entry way. The Taj Mahal itself cannot be put into words. It was the coolest and most beautiful structure I had ever seen. I could not believe how big it was. If God created a structure and placed it on earth, it would be the Taj Mahal -- that's how perfect it looked. I spent a lot of the time simply staring in amazement. The inside of the Taj was incredible as well; you really get a good perspective of how big it is when you are up close. The entire structure (inside and outside) is full of beautiful inscriptions and artwork. After the Taj we headed to a few different historic cities and palaces. They were interesting, but nothing could match the Taj. After our visits to these sites, our tour guide took us to a marble boutique where a number of beautiful (and of course expensive) marble pieces, such as furniture, sculptures, and other items are made. The head of the boutique gave us an introduction as to how all of the pieces are made. Apparently, everyone working at the store are legacies of the men who actually built the Taj (hundreds of years ago). It has been a father/son trade for centuries. Everything in the store was absolutely incredible – one of the coolest experiences in India. After the marble boutique, we traveled back to the Taj Mahal at sunset -- simply amazing. The pictures can explain it better than I can. After the Taj, it was time to head back to Delhi – the train ride was much faster this time around. We headed back to a packed Agra train station and as we waited to catch the train, a number of child beggars were near by -- it is so hard to see these children, knowing how this is their life. Also, guys with shoe cleaning kits would come up to you and forcefully try to shine your shoes – just have to say “NO” and walk away. It is hard but…what can you do. Like I stated before we arrived in Delhi much faster than the first time, and headed to our 5 star hotel that SAS hooked us up with. I would have been fine staying in a hostel, but SAS always wants to book the best, haha…no complaints.

India Day 2 (March 6, 2009)

This morning I woke up fairly early, and caught a flight to Delhi for my SAS trip to the Taj Mahal. I slept most of the flight. We arrived in Delhi and took a train to Agra. The train station was like nothing I had seen before in my life. It was packed with an absurd amount of people. Child beggars would come up to us and ask us for money, it is so hard to say no to them, but you have to. If you give in, you get flocked with about 15 other kids asking for an offering. The train finally arrived and departed for Agra. The train itself looked very weathered -- all the windows had bars on them. When we finally arrived to Agra it was pretty late. We ate dinner at our hotel, and then went to bed. The entire day was pretty much surrendered to traveling

India Day 1 (March 5, 2009)

Woke up this morning ported in India...I can't believe we are in India! At breakfast I walked outside and could already tell that we were now in a country that smells and looks like a country that has and is moving too fast for its own good. It was incredibly hot and muggy as well, and it was still fairly early in the morning. My friends Spencer, Chandler and I had to be to the boat around two o’clock, we were all doing service projects and visits that afternoon. We decided to fill the morning with shopping and exploring the city of Chennai. We got off the ship and walked to the port gate, before we knew it we were surrounded by rickshaw drivers forcefully asking us where we needed to go. A rickshaw is essentially and three wheeled motorized cart. The rickshaw is the most recognizable form of transportation in India. However, the drivers often times try to rip you off by taking you not to the actual place you want to go, but most of the times to markets or other attractions where they will receive commission. The rickshaw driver was nice about letting us drive some of the way...absolutely insane! However, we got in a little argument with our driver about the price once we finally reached the actual mall we wanted to go to. Eventually, we learned that the best way to avoid these confrontations is to just laugh when the driver tries ripping you off, give him the initial price that you had agreed on and simply walk away. The mall was fairly big and commercialized but it was still a good time, a lot of natives were there too. After shopping and a little lunch, we headed back to the ship. The service visit I did was a visit to the Chennai YMCA Boys Town. It is sort of like a camp ground with a number of cabins. At the site, about 100 Indian orphan boys are housed and educated. The bus ride over was pretty eye opening, seeing shacks on the side of the road and in empty lots. In addition, the streets are covered with trash, people bathing and on the side of the street; like nothing I had ever seen before in my life. The YMCA visit was absolutely amazing, we first walked into the gym, and all the boys were sitting in lines of ten, youngest in the front and oldest in the back (ages were about 5 to 16). The boys sang some songs for us and then we sang for them, it was a lot of fun. After the gym, the boys went back to their cabins and we were able to visit and play with them and see the site itself. Each cabin was very hot and filled with beds and nothing else. All the boys were wonderful though, so happy. They loved posing for the camera and playing thumb wars, hand slap games and arm wrestling with me specifically. Before arm wrestling, they would point to them say "India", point to me and say "America", making it a competition. One of them would start to arm wrestle me, then two more would jump on my arm pushing it down to help "India" win, then one would start poking me in the neck and sides…and I would eventually give in. It sounds a little crazy, but it was all in good fun. They told me that I looked like a professional wrestler and would want to wrestle me. So, I'd have one boy on my shoulders, another two hanging from my arms, etc. Let’s just say I was exhausted by the end of the visit, but I loved it. It was amazing to talk with the boys and just see how happy they were. I asked them if they loved living there and they just smiled and said something along the lines of "of course, we are all brothers here" - like a fraternity. After about an hour of playing and visiting, our group headed into the city of Chennai, and ate dinner with the founder of the YMCA Boys Town. The food was great and the founder told us the history of the facility and basically his story in general. The entire day was incredible. I will always remember the visit to Boys Town, the smiles on their faces, and their overall enthusiasm for living. These kids have been dealt hard lives, and are some of the most genuinely happy people I have ever met.

Mauritius (February 27, 2009)

All I can say is…PARADISE! When we ported in Port Louis, I looked out my window and the only thing that could come to my mind was…why would Semester at Sea ever take us here? (Just kidding). The island itself has a number of interesting facts behind it. It formed eight to ten million years ago through a series of underwater volcanic eruptions and is well known for the dodo bird – the first animal to ever be documented as an extinct species. However, around the ship, the rumor was that the scheduled port for a day in the island paradise of Mauritius was supposed to act as our “spring break”. The weather was beautiful the entire day. My friends and I rented out a boat cruise to take us around the island and on a snorkeling tour. Snorkeling is another huge attraction in Mauritius, and it was obvious why – beautiful coral reefs everywhere around the island. The tour guides grilled out for us on the boat after snorkeling; the food and beverages were a great capper at the end of the day. Even though we were only in Mauritius for a day, it felt a lot like the Bahamas, and I am definitely a fan of the island atmosphere in general.

Reflections of South Africa

All in all, I left South Africa with it being my favorite port so far. And why shouldn’t it be: I faced a fear, had a great cultural experience with the music that I play and love, accomplished a childhood dream, etc. Everywhere we went; the people were very friendly, much like Namibia. South Africa left me with feelings of satisfaction and thankfulness. I learned a lot, grew as a person, and really do see now how lucky we have it back in the United States. It was shocking to travel into the townships – much different than anything I had ever seen before. In Morocco, I saw a different style of poverty; a style found in a country which was undeveloped in parts. In South Africa, traveling into the townships of Cape Town was like traveling into a completely different country – well developed yet stricken with poverty in certain parts. Overall, I feel like I accomplished a lot and have absolutely no regrets from this port. There is no doubt in my mind that I would love to travel back to Cape Town and South Africa in general.

South Africa Day 5 (February 22, 2009)

The last day was spent in Cape Town. It was a great opportunity to explore the city, due to the fact that my first day in port had a pretty jam-packed itinerary. All in all, I would love to spend a whole semester here. I met a few students who study at the University of Cape Town, which was a great opportunity to talk to a few locals around my same age. We had great weather for the last day as well, which made it an excellent day to walk around the port area. Throughout the day there were a number of entertainment acts, such as African drummers, dancers, etc.

South Africa Days 2 – 4 (February 19 – 21, 2009)

We woke up early to catch our flight to Johannesburg on the 19th. The safari I signed up for was at Pilanesberg Game Reserve which is located in North West Province, South Africa, about two hours outside of Johannesburg. We completed a total of four safaris in the three day period – two being from 4:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., and the other two being from 5:30 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. This is my field log for the trip.

Safari #1 – Thursday, February 19 (4:30 – 8:00 p.m.)

Venturing out on our first safari, I was not sure what to expect. Initially, I had no clue how large the park was. We were very fortunate in our first outing, seeing all of the following: Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, White Rhinoceros, Elephant, Kudu, Warthog, Springbok, and one male Lion. The climate for our first outing was sunny and hot to begin with, somewhere around 80 degrees Fahrenheit with not much breeze; this cooled off once the sun went down. We traveled a good amount of the park in the first day. The park consists of very beautiful savanna-like plains -- numerous hills and a vast amount of vegetation, including many species of trees and shrubs. My group and I noticed, specifically, that the blue wildebeest were always hanging around packs of zebra. Our guide informed us that this was because of the wildebeests’ horrible eyesight and hearing; hanging around zebra packs is a form of protection for the Wildebeest.

Safari #2 – Friday, February 20 (5:30 – 8 a.m.)

Our first morning safari, the weather started out somewhat chilly (around 55 degrees Fahrenheit), and getting warmer throughout the day. Overall, our animal sightings were similar this morning as they were yesterday afternoon; our only new sightings were of Ostrich and Hippopotamus. However, we did see two lions mating. Our guide informed us that it was indeed mating season for lions. He stated that a typical mating session will last for thirty seconds, and a single male will mate with numerous females throughout the entirety of the season.

Safari #3 – Friday, February 20 (4:30 – 8 p.m.)

The weather eventually ended up very similar to that of yesterday afternoon; however, there were a few light showers early on in the outing. This could explain the “lack-there-of” of animal sightings for this particular evening. Once the weather cleared we did see a pack of Giraffes, and numerous babies of animals we had seen before in the previous day (zebra, white rhino, etc.) Later on in the voyage, our group noticed a somewhat bloated giraffe off by herself, not with the rest of the pack. Our guide informed us that she was indeed pregnant, and female giraffes, when pregnant, will venture off by themselves to have their child. This allows the baby time to adapt to the environment. A female giraffe can be in labor for up to 19 months! Once the sun went down, we saw numerous night owls – which surprisingly allowed us to get fairly close to them. It was interesting to see them, because despite the park having over 360 species of birdlife, our bird sightings were limited throughout the entire three days.

Safari #4 – Saturday February 21 (5:30 – 8 a.m.)

Our last and final outing -- only new species sighting was of Baboon. The pack, lead by the male, were all sitting on top of one of the park bridges. Apparently, according to our guide, there are often battles between baboon and leopard within the park. Our guide stated that baboons will, more often than not, win that battle.

I was able to observe the actual size, color, and habitat of a number of species for the first time in person. Specifically, I had some interesting findings with the white rhinoceros. Despite being named “white” rhinoceros, they are in fact grey. There is also a chance that you will see a rhino with brown patches on its skin, this is mud. Rhinoceros will take these mud baths, to help cool off during the heat of the day, and also use it as a defense mechanism to fight off ticks. The ticks on the rhinoceros’ skin will dry up in the mud, and then the rhino will scratch its skin against a tree or something of that sort. The dried up mud will release from the rhinoceros’ skin along with the dead ticks. Thanks to the willingness of our guide to share information such as this, I learned a number of new facts about all of the animals we saw during our three-day safari at Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
Overall the entire safari experience was amazing. The resort in Pilanesberg was built right into the park, and our huts and the surrounding resort area were held in the park by short electric fencing. The resort was beautiful, and the food was amazing as well -- we dined and lived like kings for the entire trip. However, the best part about the safari was the safari trips themselves – of course. The park had breath taking scenery and it was absolutely incredible to be that close to wild animals. Going on an African safari had been a dream of mine ever since I was a child; and the trip to Pilanesberg Game Reserve did not disappoint – one of the best experiences I’ve had.

South Africa Day 1 (February 18, 2009)

Ported in Cape Town!!! Finally, a port that actually looked more like a set of boat docks and not an industrial park. One of the first sights from the boat was a massive looking stadium being built off in the distance (South Africa is hosting the World Cup in the summer of 2010). Our main goals for the day were to hike Table Mountain, abseil down the top of it, and then go on a Jazz Safari (talk about it later). Abseiling – I didn’t even know what that meant before today, and once I found out, I almost backed out of it. Basically it is repelling down the side of a cliff or in this case mountain. Apparently, Table Mountain is the highest commercial abseiling venture in the world (112 meters); add that title to my already major fear of heights and you can see as to why I was a little skeptical of going. But there were about 15 other kids doing it so I decided to face the fear and go for it. The abseil tour vans picked us up at the port and drove us to Table Mountain. Once we arrived to the mountain we bought our gondola tickets and rode to the top. It was cloudy and foggy out, especially the higher up we got, but the sights on our way up to the mountain were incredible. Heading full face into a cloud, our gondola finally reached the top. Once we reached the top, you could hardly see down. I guess it a good thing that I couldn’t see the bottom, with my fear of heights and all. We huddled around the abseiling guides and they told us our safety procedures. After the procedures were complete, the rest of the group and I signed our lives away for the second time (ATVing being the first). My friend Jack, he’s from Colorado, very spiritual and philosophical guy. I decided to ask him to be my partner on the way down (we all went down two at a time), due to the fact that I was nervous as hell and if anyone could get me through the fear it would be him. We connected our carabiners to a rope and carefully walked over the first ledge to the second ledge where we would be repelling from. Once we got to the second ledge, the clouds started opening up and both Jack and I looked down to see the rest of Cape Town. I attempted to mentally block all fear out of my mind and it did help to some extent, but I was still very nervous. So once the guides strapped us into the repelling gear, we took four steps back, and then were simply hanging back, feet up against the rock ledges, 16000 meters of mountain underneath our backs -- an absolutely insane sight. I started slowly giving my rope slack, stepped back with each foot very cautiously, and finally made it over the ledge. Making it down the cliff, we lost sight of our guides, the last words we heard them say were “look out for the surprise”, and I thought to myself “Oh great…” Jack and I continued down the mountain, I started to get my bearings for the abseiling technique and it got a little easier as we went on. Then we ran into the surprise. Looking through my legs, heading down the mountain I realized that the mountain seemed to disappear underneath us, there wasn’t any more ledge once we hit a point. We stepped down to a side of the cliff that was not there and suddenly, we were hanging right side up…literally hanging. The only thing holding us from free falling 16000 meters down the mountain was some rope. I embraced the situation and looked out to the rest of Cape Town. We were out of the clouds and you could see the entire city, it was amazing. We lowered ourselves about 30 more meters and the abseil was over. I couldn’t believe how quickly it went. It felt good to face the fear though and sack up and do it. This was only the beginning of the journey however. On our way back up the mountain Jack and I got lost. We had taken a wrong turn and ended up halfway down the mountain. The walk was tough, one of the hardest and most uneven hikes I’ve ever done. Not to mention our bags were not with us, which is always a little nerve racking especially in a foreign country. I was starting to get dehydrated and pessimistic, Jack got my head straight though. So, we tied our shirts around our heads and ran a total of about three miles down the mountain and back to the gondola pick up. We bought a second set of tickets and headed back up the mountain to meet up with our group. Once we got to the top, we met up with our group and headed back down the mountain. It was kind of a hassle but oh well; we were the only ones in our group that can say we scaled Table Mountain in its entirety. We arrived back at the ship for our semester at sea trip. For the Jazz Safari, we first headed to a local Jazz club entitled “Best Ugly”. Apparently, the jazz scene in South Africa is one of the largest in the world. The music was great; it had been so long since I had heard live jazz. It was a very cool experience. Afterwards, we split up into small groups and headed into a township to go to a local musician’s home for dinner. As we approached the township, the entire atmosphere of Cape Town changed. Seeing houses with boarded windows, partially burned floors, was very much a different sight than some of the houses we had seen in the center of the city. Our tour guide, Jacque, told us that the musician’s home we would be going to was a local trumpet player named Reginald “Blackie” Tempi. It was completely random, but I was extremely excited that we would be with a trumpet player, hopefully, he would let me play a few notes. We arrived at the house and got a tour. It was a very nice house compared to some of the others we had seen in the township, but it was still a house in the township. As we entered the house, we saw Blackie and his bass player Pokey playing a jazz standard, which sounded really great. The house was actually not Blackie’s but belonged to a man named Ezra, who played piano I believe, and was a close friend of Blackie’s. Mama Ezra (Ezra’s wife) held down the kitchen along with other family members and friends. The food was great – everything homemade, we ate chicken that was slaughtered that day and had lamb stomach. The stomach had a weird smell and texture but it’s good to say that I tried everything. Mama Ezra served ginger beer (non-alcoholic of course) to drink; it was very good, tasted like lemonade with a little bite of ginger to it. The rest of the night was filled with music and dancing, we learned native songs and dance moves. I also had the opportunity to talk to Blackie about his career and South African Jazz in general. We all bought his CD too, which has a pretty neat story behind it – the entire CD was created in the same house we were in (the recording itself, cover, casing, etc.). It was truly an experience that I will never forget. It is amazing how different groups, from completely different backgrounds can be brought together as one through singing, dancing, and music in general. Blackie told us that many of the songs on his CD are focused around that point: unifying the people of his country.

Reflections of Namibia

Namibia was much more relaxed and easy going than Spain or Morocco, besides for the ATVing (INTENSE!!!). One in five people in Namibia have HIV. It is very noticeable too, you see so many young people; hardly anyone who looks over the age of fifty. But honestly, the people in Namibia have been the nicest yet. Everyone was so helpful and kind to us. In addition, it is amazing how embraced American pop culture is here. This country more than any other we have been to, was in-the-know about everything happening in American pop culture – probably because everyone is so young here. The lifestyle is so relaxed and laid back; a very nice change from the hectic streets of Barcelona and Marrakech. The whole atmosphere reminded me a lot of the Bahamas, except with a desert. It is funny how before this trip, I had no idea a country in Southern Africa called Namibia even existed. Now, the country itself has given me so many great memories which I will never forget. Shredding apart the sand dunes with ATVs was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. But, all in all, I will remember Namibia mostly for its people.

Namibia Day 3 (February 16, 2009)

After waking up a little later than we had planned, we set out for breakfast. We stopped at a beachside joint which served breakfast food (Namibia’s food has been the closest to America’s so far). The waitress we had was very nice as well. She loved Barak Obama and professional wrestling. She thought I looked a lot like John Cena. After breakfast, we set out for some shopping. Telling street side vendors we were “going to the ATM”, Matt, Mark, and I went to a legitimate sport and jersey store. I bought a very cool Namibian national soccer jersey as a souvenir for the country. One of the most memorable moments of the entire trip was conversing with this store’s owner and workers. We talked about soccer, Namibian specifically. Apparently, the owner had been part of the national team when he was younger, so we were grilling him on all of the best Namibian players. He told us that today; the best player in Namibia is Quinton Jacobs who plays professional in Norway. The rest of the day was filled with more bartering and traveling back to port.

Namibia Day 2 (February 15, 2009)

Day 2 in Namibia was jam packed with extreme sports! We woke up to the African heat, it was incredibly hot outside. I obviously had not adjusted well to the African heat either, because I had woke up with a v-neck tan line (more so sunburn), which I had gotten from our walk in Walvis Bay. We left the beach house in search of a place to eat. The search just lead us back to the restaurant we had eaten at the previous night, oh well. After lunch, we went and got some ice cream. The flavor I chose was great! Like nothing I had ever tasted before – Kiwi. Some of the main tourist attractions in Namibia are extreme sports in the sand dunes (ATVing, sand-boarding, etc.). So we found a place, called Outdoor Orange, to go ATVing. Our group was fairly big so only Mark, Matt, Jack, Dean and I went today. I couldn’t wait, but was a little nervous. We all were presented the contracts, and signed our lives away for the first time on the trip. Not to say anymore signings are going to come, but you never know. There was a two hour lay away before our venture actually started and four untouched computers with unlimited internet access…so…we did what any male students deprived of the internet for the past month would do -- Facebook and ESPN! Once it was time though, we hit the road for the desert. Upon arrival, we did a quick tutorial and got fitted for helmets. Then, with no other prior experience to riding ATVs, I hit the dunes (along with the rest of the group). It was very intense at first, but I soon got the hang of it. It took Matt awhile to get used to his though; his stalled out and he went about 150 yards in the other direction. It was hilarious. The best description for the entire experience is that it is like an on-going roller coaster which never stops. However, at any moment, the bike can feel like it is going to completely flip over; especially when riding up and down a huge sand dune. The largest dune we rode on was probably in the height range of 100 feet. Picture these beautifully and naturally-laid sand dunes, which don’t even look real. Then picture five guys in their early 20s on off-road machines with a max speed of around 50 mph. Put two and two together and it is a great picture. It is somewhat of a great and intense feeling, looking at all of the beautiful sand hills while riding on an ATV through the desert. Then when the time comes, ripping that dune apart with you ATV. It is kind of hard to explain. The whole trip was great besides for the last ten minutes. My ATV stalled out on me (I think because we had them all on max speed the entire time). I ended up doing the last ten minutes of the venture on the back of one of the guide’s bike – “got to be flexible”. It was a pretty funny sight though, and it gave me a chance to really enjoy the scenery. Once we got back to the beach, we immediately headed down to the beach to watch the sunset. Jack and I played the guitar as we were all down there – a very cool experience. That night we ended up hanging out with a lot more S.A.S. kids, it was great to see some more familiar faces.

Namibia Day 1 (February 14, 2009)

Ported in Walvis Bay, once again very industrial. Our group rented out a beach house in Swakopmund, or “German Town” as it is referred to by the locals. However, my friends Dean, Jack, Heather and I decided to spend the day in Walvis Bay, instead of heading straight for the beach house like the rest of the crew. It was a smart decision though, because we knocked an FDP (field requirement for classes) out of the way. I’ll touch on that part later. We ported in the Bay at about nine in the morning. Dean, Jack, Heather and I basically did a self tour of the city. It was very peaceful, the traffic specifically, compared to Marrakech. Everything seemed way more laid back, which was a nice change from Spain and Morocco. As soon as we left the gate, the locals had stands ready for bartering. We waited until after lunch. The place we found was pretty neat, “The Raft”, or something like that. The entire restaurant was on stilts in the ocean, with miles of beautiful beach right next to it. We all went with seafood, which could have been a tad risky but it ended up being really good, and none of us got sick -- a plus. After lunch, we bartered. I bought a great mask for about half of the man’s asking price. All of the stands were selling a lot of beautiful African woodwork, jewelry, etc. I wanted to spend more time just browsing, but I new that we would be here for quite some time more. The four of us stuffed ourselves into about two open cab seats and road back to the port. Namibian cab drivers are much more chill and reasonable that the ones in Barcelona and Marrakech. Once we got back to the ship, I took about a three minute shower and made it in time for the MICE FDP. The MICE group is a music group that makes music through computer technology and our natural environment. My Ecoacoustics class requires me to attend a few of their concerts. This was the first time I had heard the group, so I did not really know what to expect. We drove out to the middle of the desert, and after walking over a few small sand hills, we found our teacher and the rest of the MICE group alongside $10,000 of recording and sound equipment. There was a little time before the actual concert so we climbed up one of the huge sand dunes surrounding the site. The climb was absolutely exhausting, a very hard workout. The view was absolutely incredible, well worth the climb. The concert was…how do you say...interesting? I heard a number of new sounds and saw a number of new ways to actually play and make music. It was interesting; I’ll leave it at that. After the concert we climbed more dunes. Being sandy, hot, tired, and blistered, all I wanted was a cold shower and a beverage. We caught a cab to Swakopmund fo roughly four dollars a person for about a 35 minute cab ride. When we arrived at the beach house, everyone was just waking up (don’t forget it was the middle of the day though). The house was way bigger than I had expected. That night we met a few locals (3 teenage girls) that directed us to a great place for dinner. The S.A.S. girls we were with conversed and talked about American celebrity gossip with these Namibian girls, and all of the guys pretty much stayed out of the conversation, as you can probably imagine. The rest of the night, we walked around Swakopmund and experienced a little bit of the night life.

Reflections of Morocco

Overall, Morocco was amazing. Spain, and the European culture in general was way more similar to ours back in the United States than Morocco. It is so astonishing to see and recognize that people today, are living as if it was a thousand years ago. Driving through the Atlas Mountains, we were able to see an entirely different lifestyle than anything remotely close to in the United States. I also noticed the power of American culture and certain American companies, such as Coca-Cola. Here we are driving through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, and we are able to purchase a Coke in a somewhat run-down street side convenience store. It is said that around the world, a Coca-Cola is what embodies American culture the most; Coke in a sense embodies “The American Dream”. It is amazing how admired American culture is around the entire world. Morocco was a whole new and completely different experience than Spain. I can’t wait for our voyage to Namibia and South Africa!

Morocco Day 3 (February 5, 2009)

I hate to say it but the third day in Morocco was nowhere near as adventurous as the previous. Breakfast was great though: fresh fruit, Moroccan pancakes (similar to crepes), hard-boiled eggs, and great coffee – everything incredibly fresh. Our bus was scheduled to head back to Casablanca at 12:30, so we had about an hour and a half to walk around Marrakech for the last time. This time we got the address of the market, took a cab, and it ended up being much easier than yesterday. Walking around the market was pretty amazing. Like I stated in my previous entry, we saw produce stands, boot-leg movies and music for sale, a number of vendors selling clothes, snake charmers, and guys with chained up monkeys doing tricks. These men would physically hold the monkey’s arm out to you, and ask you to touch it. I ended up getting a great picture of this, but there is no way that I was touching one of those animals. We also noticed that one of the monkeys was wearing a diaper. It turns out that before being strapped up with a diaper, this monkey had a problem with throwing his…well…you know…at people. This diapered monkey was a pretty funny sight and story. We ended up stopping by a few stores to do some bartering and I ended up buying only a pair of fake sunglasses. The rest of the day was left for the bus ride back to Casablanca.

Morocco Day 2 (February 4, 2009)

In my last entry I had forgotten to mention that a few of us had had a great late night talk with our guide Sashim that night at the Nomad Camp. He basically told us his life story in addition to interesting points about Morocco and Islam in general. Here are some of my notes from that night:
- The Muslim culture is not focused on sacrificing oneself for salvation. Suicide bombers more often then not commit those acts in search of a better life for their family – their family receives payment after the act is committed.
- Unlike many other people we have met, Sashim is not “obsessed” with Barak Obama as president. He believes that it gives the United States a better image around the world (which I can agree with), but says that it is essentially just another man in the same seat, and stated that a number of Moroccans share this same view as well.
- The Moroccan government is currently working to give women more rights within the country (I have noticed so far that there are no waitresses, women drivers, etc.).
- A few of the largest problems in Morocco are the lack of schools and poverty.
- Morocco used to be heavily dependent on agriculture; but has since moved to immigration and merchants.
- They don’t really celebrate birthdays. Sashim even sometimes forgets when his birthday is.
The second day in Morocco was packed with a bunch of stories. We trekked back through the Atlas Mountains via bus to Marrakech. As soon as we arrived in Marrakech we set out to eat lunch. We ate at a nice place in the infamous Market Square (Marrakech’s main bartering area). As we walked to the restaurant we passed produce stands, guys selling bootleg movies and music, snake charmers, and leashed monkeys. We got to the restaurant, and like every other Moroccan meal…it was meat tagine. I really like it, but the dish is starting to get a little old. A few of us headed to check into the hotel after lunch. The hotel was a very nice and classy place (students always stay at nice places while on S.A.S. trips). As soon as I got to my room, I hit up the shower to wash off the bonfire stench…Thank God. As you can probably imagine, the bathroom facilities were not that impressive back at the Nomad camp. After the shower the real adventure started. Three other friends of mine and I attempted to head back to the market square where we had eaten lunch. We unfortunately ended up in a different market square though. We must have walked a mile from our hotel before anyone even approached us to ask us where we were going. In Morocco, there is a piece of wardrobe that is very popular among the men. Essentially, it is a full body cloak with a pointed hood, and they come in an array of colors. Anyways, a man, dressed in one of these cloaks, came up to us and asked us what we were looking for. He was a smaller man, about 5’6’’, spoke fairly decent English, big nose, no teeth, and was holding what looked like a plastic grocery bag filled with I have no idea what. So, us being the typical American tourists, decided to follow this man – he spoke decent English, so it made sense…right? He tells us that he knows where the market is. We walk with this sketch-ball for about twenty minutes, through dark corridors, covered walkways, unlit streets – no other American or even legitimate looking person in sight. We see blind men singing for money, women holding babies asking for offerings, and just plain beggars. We ask this guy where he is taking us, questioning him numerous times and he keeps saying “No confidence? Only 10 minutes away, I don’t want any money.” The “no money” thing is what really freaked us out because he is honestly the first person in Marrakech who we had talked with us, who didn’t ask us for money. We continue to a “Mosque” surrounded by what looks to be homeless people, handicapped men and women and a few children. He says “take pictures”, so we American tourists continue to follow whatever this guy tells us to do, and take out four cameras and start taking pictures. It starts to get dark, and we have already been walking with this guy for about 40 minutes, so we finally stop. A 12 year old kid sees us, doesn’t speak English, but we can tell by the look in his eyes, he was saying “what the hell are you guys doing here?” The man yells something in Arabic to the kid, and says to us “he is just a kid, don’t listen, the market is only 5 minutes away”. We finally come to our senses that we are not supposed to be there. We start speed walking back to where we had come from. The man follows us for awhile but we finally lose him. As we are walking back, a taller man with a moustache, wearing a Nike stocking hat asks us if we want to go to “the market” – we don’t even respond. Frustrated and a little freaked out about what could have possibly happened to us, we stop by McDonald’s on our way back to the hotel – amazingly tastes exactly like back in the states. However, the portions were much smaller than in America; there was no “double” anything, you were only given one packet of ketchup. Instead of the dollar menu, they had the 20 dh menu (roughly $3) which included a single sandwich, small fries and a small drink. It was a very comforting meal however. That night our S.A.S trip took us to what seemed like some sort of “Moroccan Disneyland”. Obviously set up for tourists, the place was full of entertainment and music. I got to sit on a camel too, so I guess all is not lost in the SAS trip -- no camel trek but at least we got something. Dinner was good too though; it took until the last night but we were finally served couscous, and not meat tagine. After dinner, we told Sashim about our story with the guy who we followed around for an hour. Sashim told us that these guys will search for tourists and take them to markets which aren’t out in the open. The owners of these stores will then pay these men commission on what they sell to us. So, we were probably fine, but it seemed pretty sketchy at the time. Overall, great day though.

Morocco Day 1 (February 3, 2009)

Ported in Casablanca this morning. It is a little more free-and-easy this time around because my Semester at Sea sponsored trip is taking care of everything for basically the whole time we are in Morocco. The only downfall to this though is that we were supposed to get here yesterday, which means some adjustments had to be made to our already set itinerary. Basically, our “Marrakech and Camel Trek in the Sahara” trip is now just Marrakech and the Sahara; which is somewhat of a downer because the camel trek was the main reason why I signed up for this trip. But as our executive dean told us the first day onboard: “you got to be flexible” – I’m trying to live by that slogan. But anyways, we got into Casablanca then headed straight for the Sahara, passing through Marrakech on the way to pick up our guides. On our way through the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara, they informed us that Morocco’s number one export is olive oil -- we saw a number of these olive trees throughout the road trip. Along the way, we stopped at a small grocery store in the mountains. Some of the students experienced their first Moroccan bartering session…I just got a coke – which tasted exactly the same as it does back in the states. After the stop we continued on our way. It is mind-blowing how many of these natives live. I first noticed this when driving on the outskirts of Casablanca. We saw numerous beautiful houses and estates followed by shacks, constructed of sheet metal roofs and mud sidings. Once we arrived into the mountains, it was as if we had entered a third-world country. We saw shepherds, numerous small agricultural fields, and women hiking up very steep cliffs, carrying huge loads of hay and other materials on their backs…absurd. It is crazy to think that these people have been living like this for thousands of years! It is also amazing how spread out and individualized each village is. We passed numerous small villages throughout our road trek, yet there was a noticeable stretch of untouched land in between any two of them. Around 5 o’clock, we had finally made it to the restaurant where we would be eating lunch. I had my first taste of Meat Tagine – a Moroccan specialty. It is essentially a meat stew, usually made with lamb, potatoes, and a few vegetables. It was really good! Even after this first dish, I could tell that I was going to enjoy Moroccan food way more than the food in Spain. Moroccan food simply has more flavor. The dessert was simple, but tasted amazing – orange slices topped with cinnamon sugar. Which brings up another point, Moroccan produce (specifically fruits) – best I’ve ever had. After lunch, we all did a little more bartering at some nearby shops. I bought a hat, which was presented to me, at first, by the store owner forcing it over my massive amount of hair to get it on my head. He told me word for word “see, it fits, it fits. And if you wet hair, it fit better”, after that effort, I had to buy the hat – only four American dollars too. We then continued on our journey to the camp site in the Sahara. I was a little skeptical at first but soon felt very safe. We ate dinner once we got there – meat tagine followed by fresh fruit for dessert! After dinner, there were a few bonfires, dance parties, local music (provided by people from a nearby village), and men making different artwork from palm tree leaves. The entire night was very fun.

Reflections of Spain

Spain was awesome. I wish we could have done more, but I know that I will be back again. It was such a wonderful experience to see all of the beautiful cathedrals of Cadiz, the amazing architecture and city life of Barcelona, and the soccer match. It was incredible to see how much a simple game means to an entire culture. However, some of my favorite experiences during the past four days were simply those spent conversing with the cab drivers. Even though the conversations mainly consisted of my broken Spanish alongside their broken English, it was still great experience; something I will always remember. Spain was definitely a great start to the voyage. I’m excited for Morocco, only one day to wait.

Spain Day 4 (January 31, 2009)

By getting back the previous night, we were able to spend a full day in Cadiz. We first went to lunch. I ordered this ravioli, which looked and tasted exactly like the kind you get out of a can in any grocery store in America. I can honestly say that it tasted great though, I was craving for a little taste of home after eating fairly-bland Spanish food for the past three days. After lunch, we walked around a good amount of the city, seeing a number of beautiful cathedrals and historical monuments. Apparently, Cadiz is one of the oldest cities in Europe. I have a load of pictures from the city itself.

Spain Day 3 (January 30, 2009)

Our third and final day in Barcelona was a great one as well. We woke up early, and hit the streets once again, our flight being later that night. The girls went shopping and Matt and I just sort of wandered. The streets of Barcelona are filled with entertainers: brass-painted men and women pretending to be statues, different fantasy like characters, people pretending to be animals, kind of weird but interesting. Also, you can buy almost any type of bird or rabbit from the different vendors. The available birds for purchase range from a parrot, to a rooster, to a pigeon. You can get any sort of rabbit as well; there were even ones that looked almost exactly like that character from Gremlins. Pretty random stuff, but I guess birds and rabbits are just popular pets in Barcelona. The flight back to Sevilla went very smooth. We weren’t exactly sure how we were going to get back to Cadiz that night though. We arrived too late to catch the last running train, so we forked over some major cash for an hour and a half cab ride back to Cadiz. Not an insane amount when divided among six people, but a lot. It was worth it though, we were able to get a little taste of the Cadiz night life, and got to check back into the boat and sleep in our own beds (which was excellent)!

Spain Day 2 (January 29, 2009)

Day two in Barcelona was full of sight seeing and just simply walking the streets, trying to soak in as much of the culture as possible. Throughout the entire day though, we were all filled with anticipation for the coming night’s soccer (futbol) match. We had ordered tickets about a week before arriving in Spain. We didn’t find out until we actually arrived in Barcelona that the match meant much more than we had thought. It was a Spanish Cup Championship Match, pairing up FC Barcelona (the team we were rooting for) against RCD Espanyol (one of Barca’s biggest rivals, also located in Barcelona). We arrived to the match a little late; it took us a while to get there -- the subway being absolutely packed the whole way. We arrived at the stadium, Camp Nou, which looked about 3 times bigger than Lambeau Field. Standing outside the stadium we could hear the roars of 100,000 plus Barcelona fans inside. On our way to the ticket window, we passed a number of security squads, which looked more like the Spanish military than security guards at a sporting event. Once we got our tickets, we quickly ran to our gate, which was located on the exact opposite side of this massive stadium. The roars of the crowd continued. Matt and I thought that the score must have been 10-0 by the time we actually got to our seats, we both looked at the scoreboard, sure enough: 0-0. The inside of the stadium was absolutely breath taking. Never before in my life have I seen 100,000 people completely focused on every single movement of the field. Also, instead of booing the opposing team, they whistle in very high pitches – it is a really cool sound. It was crazy to observe the anticipation in every single person as a player would make an attempt at scoring. It was even crazier to observe the explosion of the stadium once a goal was actually scored. Barcelona’s star player, Lionel Messi, is only 21 years old. His ball skills are like that of an artist, and he is incredibly quick as well. Before seeing this game and specifically this player in person, I did not have much respect for this sport. But after being there, it is simply amazing, everything about it. It is amazing how every person in the stadium worships this player Messi. Whenever he makes a good move or has a good attempt, the entire crowd chants “Messi, Messi, Messi”, and 100,000 people bow up and down in the direction of this 21 year old kid. It is absolutely breath-taking. I could tell by just being in attendance that the magnitude of importance this sport has in this specific culture, cannot be matched back in the states. We were fortunate enough to have been able to see a great game. 3-2 was the final score: Barcelona the victors. I bought a jersey on the street outside the stadium after the game -- #10 Messi.

Spain Day 1 (January 28, 2009)

Got an hour of sleep the night before, woke up ported in Cadiz, Spain. Actually, three other friends of mine, my roommate and I stayed up the whole night just talking -- about everything. It’s pretty cool too, because we are the first students to have seen the lights of Cadiz, we went out to the observatory deck at 5:30 in the morning – I got some good video of it. The line to get off the boat was pretty long; it felt great to finally be on land though. Our group (four guys, four girls), walked around the streets of Cadiz for about an hour – first observation: a lot of stray cats. In addition, this city offers a number of amazing cathedrals; I was absolutely mesmerized just by the sight of them. I stopped by a small music shop to buy some guitar strings, which are way more expensive in Cadiz than they are in Champaign. It was a cool first purchase though. We headed to the nearby train station to catch a train to Sevilla; our flight from Sevilla to Barcelona was later that night. It is amazing how efficient the train system is in Spain and Europe in general. I had heard stories from my sister, who had lived and died by the train system when she was traveling throughout France and Ireland, but it really is amazing how many people use this means of transportation in these countries. The train ride to Sevilla was fairly calm and relaxing. When we stopped in Sevilla, we were all starving; so we walked the streets for a while in search of a lunch spot. The place we found was very neat. It was a small joint, looked exactly how I had pictured any small European bar-like restaurant to look like. There was a lot of cod on the menu (or bacalao in Spanish). The food was good, especially when accompanied by a certain native beverage, entitled Cruzcampo. After getting refueled at lunch, we continued to walk the streets of Sevilla.
The airport process was almost as simple as the train station had been. Customs is a lot stiffer in the United States than it was in Spain. I was a little nervous about the plane ride but everything went smoothly once we were boarded. I caught up on some sleep during the plane ride, recovering from the sleep lost the night before. Once we arrived in Barcelona, we caught a cab and rode to Matt’s friends’ apartment. The cab ride was my first site of the city of Barcelona. It was dark out so I couldn’t get a full view of the buildings and everything else, but it was still a beautiful sight. One of the most amazing sights the city has to offer is the Sagrada Familia, a massive Roman Catholic Church that has been under construction since the year 1882. It is still being built today and is honestly the single most impressive structure I have ever seen in my entire life. Matt’s buddies’ apartment lived close by. All of the guys that lived there were great, very generous for letting us crash at their place for a couple days. We got to know each other for a bit and then they showed us the Barcelona night life; which is absolutely nuts – an entirely different culture than back in the U.S.

Condensed Beginning to Bob’s Voyage – Preface (written January 26, 2009)

The first post is finally here! I will be most likely updating the blog after each port -- filling all of you in on my travels, adventures, thoughts and reflections of each country. I cannot believe that it has already been about a week onboard. The ship is amazing. I am just now getting my bearings for where everything is located, and believe me, there is a lot of stuff on this ship. First and foremost, I’ll fill you in on some SAS terminology about our ship, the MV Explorer: this is indeed a ship (not a boat) and the ship has decks (not floors). The first week though has flown by. It has been a great way to meet and get to know everyone aboard. My roommate, Matt, is from Philly and is a Beta at Penn State. He’s pretty much just like me – frat guy, into sports, likes music.
I cannot wait for Spain, only about 36 hours until port. It is definitely weird not really having actual 7 day weeks though (while on the ship). Every day on the ship we have class, which is different, but I do like all of my classes so far. Shipboard days are denoted as A and B days. I decided to sign up for some classes that aren’t typically offered at DePauw – Zoology (A), Ecoacoustics (A), Cultural Myth & Language / Identities (B), and the standard Global Studies (A&B) course which everyone takes on the ship. It is crazy that within the past week, we’ve seen nothing but water. A few students have seen other boats and whales, but besides for one small fishing boat, I have seen nothing but water. Honestly though, the water itself is pretty amazing. This is one of the first voyages where the ship has had an observatory deck (deck 8), apparently it was added a year or two ago. It is very relaxing and peaceful to go out there during the day, especially when the water is somewhat calm. We’ve been lucky to have had fairly good weather in the Atlantic so far. One or two small storms but nothing crazy. I’ve been able to get my lifting in for football as well. There is a solid weight room on deck 7, but you have to be careful – every once and awhile the boat will catch a swell and force you to perform a balancing act while lifting.