Goodbye.... For Now.

Day 104 (05-01-09)

Well this is depressing. I still can’t move. I have a final tomorrow. And we aren’t going to any other ports. Lunacy. Today is a study day since B Day exams are tomorrow. So most of us are lying around trying to avoid our studies as much as possible. Those of us who happen to have all of their classes on A Days are gloating that they’ve been finished for days. Well, hooray for you guys. It could be worse though. I could be taking real classes. I mean…

 

Day 105 (05-02-09)

B Day Exams today. Luckily I only have one. I haven’t had as much studying to do as most people here. My Shakespeare professor decided we didn’t need an exam in our class; I suppose a final paper was sufficient. Biological Anthropology went as well as could be expected. It was a solid effort. After the exam, I wandered out of the classroom to the piano lounge where one of my buddies was playing background music for students and teachers deep in thought. An exam proctor yelled at us when our Billy Joel got too loud. But, come on. It’s Billy Joel. You HAVE to sing it with some… emphasis. Anyway. Here’s a weird feeling. Class is over. Completely. I don’t like it. You know why? That means that the semester is just about over. No more ports. No more class. No more voyage of a lifetime. But we still have Panama day/Prom night tomorrow to look forward to. I’ll be breaking out the Vietnam suit. Should be a rather epic evening.

 

Side note: I have a giant world map at home. It’s laminated. I draw on it with dry-erase markers. Why didn’t I bring it with me? So many people here are smarter than I am, and brought/bought a big world map for all of their friends to sign, yearbook style. It’s basically the thing to do here. All the cool kids are doing it. And I’m not. Because I’m a poor planner. Or I’m forgetful. I can never remember which.

 

Day 106 (05-03-09)

We’re almost back on East Coast Time. You mean, 9am on the ship is actually 9am at home, too? Madness. This morning and early afternoon were spent traversing the Panama Canal. And my sleep schedule nearly prevented me from experiencing it. I need to learn to get myself out of bed before 11:30am. Scratch that. I need to learn to go to sleep before 4am. The rest will take care of itself. The canal was a really neat experience. We’d cruise up to one of the locks and wait for a little while the water level went up or down to match us with the next section. I’m sure you know the gist of a canal’s function, but it’s really interesting to experience firsthand. When I first walked outside, I had forgotten it was Canal Day. I was pretty confused when the first thing I saw out the window was a concrete wall rising and rising. For a very brief, minute, infinitesimal split-second, I might have thought we were sinking. But I totally figured it out. After we left the canals behind us, it was time to start thinking about the evening’s main attraction: Ambassador’s Ball.

 

I’m going to be honest. It was sloppy. Anyone and everyone who had managed to sneak alcohol onboard at a previous port was probably saving it for prom night. And they drank it all. People were pretty ridiculous. But that’s not the focus of the party.

 

Dinner was delicious. I ordered the vegetarian meal (why?), but traded it in for the fancy beef dish. We all looked spiffy in our suits/tuxedos and dresses. It was kind of a hybrid between prom night and a wedding reception. And then there was the dance party. The sweaty, hot mess of a dance party. 700 students in the Union packed together like well-dressed, ill-intentioned sardines. Our heartbeats synced together with the bass line and we all throbbed and swayed in unison. People were dancing up on the piano. People were tearing down decorations and wearing them (guilty). And there was no water to be found. Anywhere. The ship provided us with a fancy dinner. And a delicious dessert selection. But no water. Anywhere. I was fortunate enough to run into Les McCabe outside his office while I was on my way to my room during the festivities, and he had some bottled water that he was willing to part with. Suddenly, the bottled water in my pocket made me the most popular guy on the dance floor; I ended up giving half of it away. Although the suit made me pretty popular as well. Not trying to talk myself up here or anything, but there’s no other way to say it. People love the white suit. Women love the white suit. Thus, I love the white suit.

 

It was a fun night.

 

After the festivities me and some of the guys wandered around the ship talking and reflecting about the evening’s events, and what the future might hold. Bittersweet times. This is it.

 

Day 107 (05-04-09)

So there are a few of us here on the ship. Four of us, to be exact. That have been hired for a daunting task. We basically have to roast the administration aboard the ship. It’s a fake Pre-port, and we’re in charge of every aspect of it. Today’s agenda: put all of our thoughts to paper and create this thing. Why the urgency? Because the performance is tonight. And as of 9am this morning… we haven’t done anything but gather ideas. All day, we worked on this pre-port. With some help from an advisor, we created a fake Green Sheet giving details on all the fun trips planned for Florida, and what types of culture shock to expect in the majestic port of… Ft. Lauderdale. We have each assumed roles in the performance: Jonathan is portraying the Asst. Executive Dean, Sara is doing the Doctor and the Field Office rep, Greg is the Academic Dean and the Photographer, and I’m the Executive Dean, the Videographer, and the Dean of Students. We have the A/V Music guy and the Security Officer making cameos as themselves. It’s nuts.

 

In preparation for my part as the Executive Dean, I found it necessary to get a haircut, as he is lacking in the “full head of hair” department. As my hair is short already, I went and got some bald spots shaved into the buzz cut. And I gave myself a soul patch. For added effect. He’s also heavily into fitness and working out. So I snagged one of his t-shirts (that everyone recognizes) and stuffed it with padding to give myself the extra muscle.

 

And let me just say, now that it’s over… oh man it was incredible. We struck the right balance of mockery, jest, and endearment, and students and faculty alike were amused. It was so much fun and it was a great way to put an end to our voyage. Cloud Nine right now. To Sara, Jonathan, and Greg, you guys are hilarious, and tonight was one of the best nights I’ve ever had on the MV because of what we managed to put together today. Cheers.

 

Day 108 (05-05-09)

There will be no sleep tonight. There can’t be. If I sleep, I miss out on the last night of the voyage. This is the end.

 

Today, we all just wandered around the ship, in a daze, trying to take in every moment. People with World Maps and Voyage Books ran from person to person, getting them to sign, yearbook style. People hugged. People cried. I still have to pack.

 

Crap, I still have to pack.

 

No worries, packing takes me 10 minutes. But you know what takes more than 10 minutes? Taco Night. Oh that’s right ladies and gents. Tonight, we get that final, succulent delight. Let me take you through it. You start with a plate. A big plate. You then grab 5 hard taco shells. No less, no more. Now, crush those taco shells on your plate, essentially turning them into nachos. Here come the layers. Meat. Pile it on liberally. Jump ahead in line and grab some cheese. Sprinkle it over the meat. Are you taking notes? Pay attention. After the cheese, sneak back to lettuce and apply as much as you deem necessary. This is the voluntary portion of the exercise. And now, things start to get messy. Sitting in front of you, in no particular order, will be three things: Salsa (Mild or Medium), Sour Cream, and Guac. Grab the giant ladle and apply ample amounts of each substance onto the top of your 2-pound mountain of Mexican goodness. When you are finished, go back to the cheese. Dump as much cheese on top as you can handle without it spilling off of the plate and onto the floor. Voila. You now have the recipe for the dinner I ate this evening. PS- if I were to look at another piece of food right now, I might vomit everywhere. Just saying.

 

And now, it is almost nightfall. Our last sunset aboard the MV. Naturally, we all claimed our spots at the back of the ship and watched as the Sun broke the line of the horizon. And we kept on watching until it was entirely gone from view. We took pictures. There was more hugging and crying. We sang lots of songs, too, which was interesting. It was more like 500 college students yelling random things off the back of a ship into an endless expanse of water that seemed deaf to our calls. But that’s always fun.

 

As the hours wore on, we got ourselves prepared. I had my deck chair reserved on the back deck, in case I did decide to sleep. All night, I bounced around the ship. From the back of the 5^th deck, to the 7^th deck where people were playing games and singing and chanting (it wasn’t weird at the time), I wandered and took in all the final moments with friends that I may never see again. It’s a depressing feeling, but I know there are at least some people onboard that I’ll never see again.

 

By 3am, Miami was visible in the distance. The city lights showing across the open ocean, beckoning us closer in the dark. And, although I was sure this wouldn’t happen, by 5am, the ship’s cleaning crew was kicking us out of our deck chairs and telling us to go inside. So I went in and found a friend drawing with pastels. I joined her. Believe me, as bad an artist as I am under normal conditions, I’m even worse at 5am after staying up all night and fighting off emotional turmoil. By 7am I was ready for my last hurrah. My final moment of glory aboard my ship…

 

Day 109 (05-06-09)

7am. Time to go. I made my way to the bridge of the ship, where I met with the captain of the MV Explorer, Jeremy Kingston. Before the ship enters each port, it must fly the national flag of the country it is entering as a sign that it will abide by all of the nautical regulations in place for the nation. At an auction on an earlier night, I won the privilege of raising the U.S. flag upon our final approach into Ft. Lauderdale. And now, 12 miles outside of a U.S. harbor, it was time for me to welcome my friends back home. Two crewmen accompanied me into a restricted area on the top deck of the ship, and we then limbed a ladder to the VERY top deck of the ship. There, we unfolded the flag, tied it to the rope, and I hoisted her all the way up. And now, we’re ready to come home. At least symbolically.

 

An eternity later, after watching the sunrise, we finally made it into the harbor. I called my dad to see where all the parents would be standing. We wanted to snag a good piece of railing on the appropriate side of the ship. So he tells me where they’re standing. And it occurs to me. The Assistant Executive Dean told me we were docking on the starboard side. But if we just pull into the harbor as is, we’ll be docking on the port side. That means….

 

Yes. The captain that boarded the ship in the harbor was pulling off a ridiculous maneuver. He pulled us into the harbor. And then turned and BACKED us into our space. He took. A cruise ship. And backed it. Into a parking space. A cruise ship. It’s almost six hundred feet long. Are you kidding me? Insanity.

 

And then we saw the parents. And we yelled. And they yelled. And there were signs. And tears. And surprises. And an airplane with a banner welcoming home Chase Puckett. It was interesting. And then we parked. And then…. We waited. I yelled some more at the people on land. My obnoxiously loud screaming voice can be a blessing and a curse, I suppose, because people could actually make out what I was saying. But anyway. They had to clear us to get off of the ship. Customs had to get situated. Our luggage had to be unloaded from the ship via crane. We still had a few hours before we were able to go anywhere.

 

So I took a nap.

 

I know, I know, after everything I’ve said about the past two days, I can’t believe I napped at a time like this, either. I should’ve been running around saying goodbyes and catching people one last time, but at this point, I figured that would be too much. I said what I needed to say. And I’m not one for prolonged goodbyes. So I rested. After my nap, I groggily gathered the rest of my things from my cabin and walked to the lobby. I grabbed a spot right at the door and watched as friends made their way through the exit. And then, just like that, it was my turn. No big ado. No fanfare. No last sprint through the ship to absorb what I could. Just a long walk into customs, head held high and eyes straight. I may not like it, but it’s time to move on.

 

My bags were there, right in the middle of the warehouse holding all of the luggage. And I was through customs and out the door without any semblance of a delay. I saw my parents, and they welcomed me back. I said goodbye to a handful of people standing outside the exit tunnel. And then… I was ready to go. After several instances of my mother asking, “Are you SURE you’re ready to go?” we made our way to the rental car, and my adventure officially ended. We stopped at the first Wendy’s we saw so I could get a Baconator, and life went on.

 

Flash Forward.

Day 119 of My Old Life (09-02-09)

I know. In the time it’s taken me to finish this damn thing, I could’ve sailed around the world again. And then some. But I didn’t want to. After coming back, I settled right back into my old routine from the summer before, and I became normal again. And I didn’t like it. This trip changed me. I look at things differently now. So the same old routine brought about a whole new set of emotions and implications. I got cabin fever in my own home. I was tied down by my job and there weren’t 700 people sitting in my kitchen every morning when I went downstairs to get food. There were none. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to be able to see my family and friends from home again, but such a blunt transition is never going to be easy. For almost 4 months, I wasn’t in the same place for more than a week at a time. And then… I was. My sense of wanderlust kept taking over and willing me away from Pennsylvania, and little trips to New York, Massachusetts, even New Jersey were necessary to keep from exploding. The monotony wore heavily on me because I had just been on such a wild ride.

 

So I didn’t finish the blog this summer. At the time, that would’ve been too much closure. But now, after the drive out to Boulder and all of the mini-SAS reunions I’ve had in the past few months, I’m content with where I am. And I don’t have to dread the end anymore. My reasoning for putting it off is similar to the feeling you get when reading an incredible book. You get to the end and put it down for a little while, because it’s so good that you don’t want it to end. When you come to the end, you have nothing else to look forward to. But this is not the end of the book… just the end of a chapter. And I look forward to continuing my story soon.

The End... Almost.

So I know it's been awhile since my last post... sorry about that. I have about 6 more days of ship life to write about. But I'm not a fan of closure and I don't want to accept that the trip ended over a week ago. So I've been putting it off. But I'm thinking the last journal style posts will be up sometime next week, Monday or Tuesday. With a reflection on the entire trip to follow. But that part will take longer to write, so I doubt it will go up at the same time. And I'll also post pictures next week, too. So Cambodia, China, Japan, Hawaii, and Guatemala will have their own albums on the photo site. But not Vietnam, because I didn't actually take any pictures there. Weird, I know. Anyway, thanks for being patient (not that you've had a choice), and I'll write again soon.

Christopher 

Day 96 (04-23-09)

Last Day of ‘A’ Class today. People are starting to realize that the end is coming. While it’s nice to be done with classes, it’s not so nice to know that our voyage is almost over. I spent some time watching the Voyage Video from a past SAS semester. Even though their trip went to several different ports of call, it was very easy to relate to the things that they’ve done. The people they met. The experiences that changed their lives. I don’t know how I’ll be able to be sedentary for the next three months. Trapped in Hatfield. In Allentown. In my little niche. People keep talking about going back to the Real World. Well guess what. I’m in the Real World. I’m seeing it right now. My world at home is a little bubble. An insignificant chunk of the whole. I’m going back to a daily routine. Wake up. Work. Home. Sleep. Repeat. Where’s the adventure? Where’s the spontaneity? The culture shock. Why don’t all of my friends live 100 feet away? I’m not really giving myself very high expectations for the summer, in case you couldn’t tell. But after the past three months… how can I?

Day 97 (04-24-09)

Last Day of ‘B’ Classes. We did some more of the presentations in Shakespeare class today. Learned some more about monkeys and their evolution into people in Biological Anthropology. I took a nap. Sat out on the top deck for a little while watching the water. We all have a final exam tomorrow in Global Studies, so people have been pretty low-key. Studying is over-rated, I think I’ll avoid it at all costs. Oh! The Simpsons Movie is playing on TV. And Pan’s Labyrinth! They put the good movies on when no one wants to spend time watching them. But I think I’ll watch anyway.

Day 98 (04-25-09)

Happy Birthday Valerie!

The Global Studies exam was supposed to be during class time, but they pushed it back to 4pm to give us extra study time. Yes! We can sleep in! OH WAIT. No. Muster Drill. 9:30am. Thanks SAS. At 9:25am, I’m awakened by the most God-awful noise (the seven short blasts of the ship’s horn, followed by a long, sustained high-pitched noise) that doesn’t make me look forward to the day. After standing outside wearing a life jacket for a half hour, they send us back inside. Time for bed again.

Four Hours Later.

Oh right, we have a Global Exam today. Maybe I’ll look over some of that material now. After lunch. So I eat lunch and study for a little while. Take the exam. Not a big deal. Some questions were obvious; some were related to concepts that I’d never heard of in my life. Typical test. But I’m okay with it. And since my only ‘A’ day class doesn’t have a final exam, I’m done with tests until May 2nd. Time to relax. What’s happening tonight? Suits and Settlers. That’s right. We’re nerds. Four of us decided that we would play Settlers of Catan in the suits that we had custom-made for us in Vietnam. And so “Suits and Settlers” was born. People gave us some funny looks tonight. But I also got a lot of compliments on my suit. So that’s good. Time for bed. Another day to sleep in tomorrow. I’m excited.

Day 99 (04-26-09)

Study Day today. In other words, another day off. We had a meeting about our fake pre-port presentation for Ft. Lauderdale today. Four of us are doing a little sketch comedy routine before Florida poking fun at our logistical and cultural pre-ports. I’m excited.

I have two or three (or four?) papers due before the end of the semester, so I’m finishing them all up now. All of my professors decided to make their assignments due by the concrete date of “sometime before the end of the voyage,” so I clearly haven’t done any of it yet. But I’ll be done after tonight. And then, I only have one final on ‘B’ day to worry about. But that’s after Guatemala. Dude, we’re in Guatemala soon. And that’s like… our last port. Whoa.

Day 100 (04-27-09)

‘A’ Day Exams Happened today. But I didn’t have any, so I slept until 1pm. Hallelujah. My Media class did meet though. So I showed up at 4:15pm like usual, and I got an unexpected little treat. Apparently, anyone who did a multimedia project instead of a paper for the last assignment had to present their project to the class. Uh oh. There were only five people who chose to do so. Of course, I happened to be one of them. It wasn’t the presentation aspect that bothered me. I can make up a presentation on the fly, no problem. But I wasn’t expecting anyone in the class to see this. I recorded a couple videos of me singing a song in English and also in the Shona tribal language of Zimbabwe and included them in the project I was doing on a song and how it related to my time in South Africa. So now, I had to stand up in front of my peers and show them these videos of me sitting in my cabin singing a tribal song a capella style. But I made some self-deprecating jokes before I started, and everyone seemed to like the presentation. Hooray.

Also, the grades are in! B on the Global Studies exam. And a B for the year. Wahoo.

Pre-port for Guatemala was tonight. Here’s the summary. Don’t go to Guatemala City. Don’t ride on a chicken bus. Don’t camp on volcanoes. Swine Flu hasn’t been introduced into Guatemala yet, but in case you get it, here are the symptoms. Don’t drink the water. Don’t eat the food. Don’t go home with locals. Don’t wear flashy jewelry. Don’t go to isolated areas. You might get mugged. Don’t take the taxis. Don’t go to the airport. Don’t go anywhere at night. Mandatory curfew of 11pm if you are on an SAS trip. Take anti-malarial medication. Stay hydrated. Avoid the beach. Never be alone. Remember, you might get mugged. But, most importantly… Have fun!

Sheesh.

Day 101 (04-28-09)

One hundred days down, eight to go. Welcome to Guatemala. Our last country. We had a Diplomatic Briefing this morning with one of the consular officers. He said basically the same things that we heard last night at pre-port. Right after the meeting, it was time to go. My group went outside, hopped on a bus, and our adventure began…

There are 35 of us on this trip. We’re all packed into a touring bus, and our tour guide, Emanuel, let’s us know what we’ll be doing for the rest of the day: Transferring to a chicken bus, driving up an isolated dirt road, and then hiking up a volcano and sleeping on top. Flashback to last night: No chicken bus. No isolated areas. No sleeping on a volcano. This trip is going to be awesome.

Those guidelines were set out for people that were doing independent travel. Since our group is on a trip that’s sponsored by SAS, it isn’t a problem. But it was funny either way.

After driving for an hour in the touring bus, we stopped at a gas station and got our first glimpse of Esmeralda. Esmeralda is the chicken bus that would be our transportation for the next hour or so up the volcano. I’ve mentioned them several times now, and you might be wondering, Chris, what on Earth is a chicken bus? It’s an old-fashioned Blue Bird school bus from the ‘70s with rock hard seats and an aisle that’s eight inches wide. But it’s been retrofitted with modern stereo equipment and it’s (as our guide told us) “pimped out.” It’s painted all sorts of crazy colors. It was an experience, for sure. Apparently, these things just roam around the city here and pick up people at random, then drop them off whenever it’s convenient. But many of them are operated by drug cartels, and so they purposely drive through certain checkpoints where the driver has to pay a fee. When the driver comes up short of the required amount, armed “transportation officers” come onto the bus and politely request that the passengers pay the remainder of the due funds. Yikes. But the adventure company owns our bus, and it was chartered for us. So there was no problem. Plus, we had a police escort as soon as we transferred onto the bus. They followed us up the dirt road, and actually stayed with us for the duration of our trip. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

We drove this chicken bus through a little town and up the makeshift gravel road that led to a farm on the volcano. This was where our journey began. Here, at about 5,000 feet, is where our guides set out the plan for today. It was about 10am, and we had a couple hours of climbing before lunch. After that break, it’s another few hours up before we make it to camp. Then it’s dinner, relaxation time, and sleep. Awesome. Plus, there’s a pickup truck here that’s taking all of our bags for us. So we only need to carry our water bottles and cameras. Yes. Easiest hike ever. Ha… wrong.

We started upwards and it was great. Acatenango is one of fourteen volcanoes in Guatemala. It’s presently dormant, but others in the area are very active. Pacaya, a volcano that several SAS kids climbed on day trips, is one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world. Lava flows down its sides every day. Our volcano was basically just like a mountain. No lava. No big plumes of smoke and ash. Just rocks and lots of foliage. So we made it up to the lunch spot sometime around noon and sat down. That was a solid hike. Not too hard, but certainly rough enough to make us winded. This is going to turn out to be a fun little trip. The description said it would be strenuous, and I think we’ll all be sufficiently tired after a few more hours of this. Well guess what, kids. We aren’t getting a few more hours of this. We’re getting a few hours of Hell. The next leg of the hike caught us completely off guard. The trail started to get steep. And then steeper. And steeper. And then there were switchbacks. And it got steeper. And the hills became longer. And the gravel became looser. We’d fall one step lower for every three that we took upwards. There were only a few people on the trip who had done anything like this before. I’ve done some hiking, but nothing this intense. It was essentially a three-hour long marathon session of complaining. And I loved it. Oh man. One of the guides acted as a pace-car for us, and I don’t think this guy ever even broke a sweat. His name is Axel. He just blazed the trail with his machete and sat down every fifteen minutes to let the gringos catch up. My buddy Keith and I were able to keep up with him the whole time, but it wasn’t easy by any means. For the last leg of the journey, the guides all stayed in the back to give encouragement to those that were falling behind, and Keith and I were the first to make it to camp. A group of blue tents has never looked so beautiful. At 10,500 feet, we sat down by the fire pit and watched as our fellow adventurers made it into campsite over the next hour. I suppose it was about 4:30 or 5pm when the last of the stragglers filed in. The remainder of the evening was spent by the fire. We just ate our burgers and talked about what we had just done. Even now, with a week left on the voyage, I made some great friends that I had never even met before. It still blows my mind how that happens. By 7:30pm, we were all in our tents and ready to sleep for days. Unfortunately, our wake up call is at 4am. So we’ll just sleep as much as we can…

Day 102 (04-29-09)

…It won’t be very much, though. 1am. I’m awake. I have to go to the bathroom. But I’m thinking it’s probably near enough to 4am that I can just wait until the guides wake us up. 45 minutes pass, and there’s nothing. I check the clock on my iPod and see that it’s only 1:45am. Oh jeez. I wonder why I feel so awake and ready to go. I didn’t fall asleep right away, so I’ve only been asleep for four or five hours. This is nuts. I walk out of the tent to utilize a bush and I happen to look up. Oh man. Last night, the sky air was so filled with our campfire smoke that we couldn’t see the campsite twenty feet in front of us, much less the sky. But since the fire went out, the sky cleared. And what a view it is. The stars are everywhere. That white stripe of the Milky Way is visible. A satellite is passing overhead. A shooting star. And another. The lights of Antigua are glistening thousands of feet below us. I take a deep breath…

Holy crap it’s cold out here, what the hell am I thinking standing on a volcano and night in shorts and a t-shirt? Jesus, get me back to my sleeping bag.

After two more sleepless hours in my tent, the guides come around and tell us to wake up. 4am. Fireside. Breakfast. Chats. Groans. I didn’t sleep. Did you? No. Figures. What are we thinking? If we were dying yesterday, how are we going to finish this thing? 5am. Go time. Only three people stay behind. Altitude sickness. Bad knees. Unfortunate, but understandable. We start the hike. And it’s even tougher this time around.

Acatenango Volcano is the third highest peak in all of Central America and the Caribbean (they’re grouped together because they’re both on the same tectonic plate). Its highest elevation is approximate 13,040 feet above sea level. And that’s where we’re going. Are you kidding? They somehow conned 31 students and a professor into climbing to the summit of a 13,000-foot volcano? You need to be in shape to do this sort of thing. And the only warning that SAS gave us? “This may be a strenuous hike that could take up to six hours. Comfortable shoes are recommended.” Give me a break.

As we blazed the trail upwards and into the sky, the views couldn’t have been better. We were above the clouds. And the clouds were blanketing the mountains below us. From afar, it looked like there was a lake off in the distance, but it was the cloud cover lying flawlessly over a valley. Unbelievable.

We stopped a few times along the way, but it was mainly just uphill hiking for hours on end. 5am. Let’s walk. 6am. Keep going. 7am. Almost there. 7:30am. We can see the peak. There it is. We’re standing in the “saddle.” It’s the valley between the false peak and the actual one that rests on the upper edge of the crater. From here, it’s only a few hundred feet up. But those feet have never looked more daunting. After hours of climbing. And hiking. And slipping. And falling. The last part of the climb is the most challenging and technically difficult of all. Great. The trees and dirt are gone. All we have to step on are very loose volcanic rocks. They slide out from underneath you with each step, sometimes sending you closer to the edge of the rocky cliffs on either side. Imminent doom is upon me. If I don’t slip and fall, I’ll probably pass out and go with gravity anyway. My water ran out a half hour ago. My heart is beating in my throat. The sun’s UV rays are piercing the ozone layer with obnoxious force. It’s cold, but I’m sweating. I’m dirty. I hurt. Fifty feet. Forty. I can see the crater. Thirty. Fuego Volcano is erupting in the background. Twenty. Five people are at the top. If they can make it, so can I. Ten. The trail of SAS students looks a mile long as it snakes down the trail. Five feet. The slope decreases. The Earth levels out. 13,040 feet. It’s 8:15am on a Wednesday and I’m standing on top of the world. What have you done today?

We spend a solid hour at the top of the volcano, walking around the rim of the crater and enjoying the view around us. At least ten of Guatemala’s fourteen volcanoes are in sight. The nearest one, Fuego, shoots up plumes of ash and smoke from its mouth every few minutes. Periodically, Fuego spits up lava and chunks of rock the size of Volkswagens, but we didn’t get such a show. Not that I’m complaining. How many people can say that they’ve seen a smoking volcano before? It was great. Oh, and inside the crater, there were a bunch of white rocks that were arranged into a German message. I think it said, “Marry me, ____.” I don’t remember the name. But this gave me what will probably be my last great idea on this voyage. I was just kind of thinking out loud and I said, “Hey, we should rearrange those to say SAS or something.” Well, apparently, people liked the idea. While I was taking pictures of Fuego, people were down in the crater moving rocks. I didn’t even realize they were doing it until it was almost time to leave, so I didn’t even help very much. But we left our mark. SAS ’09 was spelled out in giant letters on the inside of the volcano. While there wasn’t much time to admire it and photograph it properly, I figured it would make a nice surprise for the next group. Another thirty students are doing the same hike today and tomorrow. Hopefully, when they get to the top of the volcano and feel that overwhelming sense of accomplishment, they’ll look over and see our sign. I mean, as long as no one moves it, it’ll be pretty hard to miss. I’m excited.

Anyway. That was up. Down… different story. Down is a completely different animal. Yes, it’s easier. Yes, it’s faster. But it’s more dangerous. Much more dangerous. We started climbing down around the crater, and things were going pretty well. For about ten minutes. Then… we went skiing. There was a slope on the side of the volcano that had loose pebbles on it. Apparently, the best way to make it to the bottom of the slope is by running down in a skiing motion. Your feet slide in and under the pebbles, and you can keep your balance more easily than if you hesitate and try to walk down the fragile terrain slowly. After watching a few of my friends run like kamikazes down the hill, I decided to give it a go. And if it weren’t such a chore to climb, I would’ve hiked up and done it again. Man, that was cool. I got into such a groove going down; it just felt so natural. When I got to the bottom I just slid my feet in sideways and sprayed rocks up on everyone. People just assumed I was a skier since I go to Boulder, but I’ve never skied in my life. Maybe this is a sign or something.

After emptying 947 rocks from my shoes, I made my way back to camp with the others. We stopped for some pancakes, and packed our bags. I made sure to put my camera back into my bag; after this morning, there’s no way I want that thing around my neck when I’m coming down the hills we walked up yesterday. By 10 or 10:30am, we were walking down the path. And then the walking turned into jogging. Jogging to running. With the steepness of these paths, it’s very difficult to take them at a walking pace. You kind of just have to run and let gravity and momentum do the rest. But then, when each hill bottoms out, you have to dig in really hard with you feet to stop yourself from going to fast and tumbling face-first down the slope. It’s a delicate balance. And it’s murder on your legs. All the sprinting and immediate stopping really puts a strain on your toes, ankles, knees, quads, and hamstrings. It’s really tiring now, but I can’t imagine how sore I’m going to be tomorrow.

Around 11:45am, we’re almost to the spot where we ate lunch yesterday. And the second group of SAS students is there right now, eating. I had just cut up my leg sliding in the dirt because I ended up running too fast. I compensated for the speed by sliding in the gravel on my own terms rather than trying to stop and hurting myself some other way. But I’m the first person in our group, and I can see people sitting on the clearing, at the base of this last big hill. So I decide to mess with them. They’ve only done an hour or two of hiking. And it was the easy part. They have no idea what lies ahead of them. I’m tired. I’m sweaty. I’m dirty. I’m burned. So I run down the hill, full tilt. A few people hear me coming, so they look up, see me, and tell their friends. When I get to the base of the hill, most of them are staring at this idiot running towards them, and they start cheering and clapping. They know I’m coming back from the same trip that they’re starting, and they want some feedback. When I finally stop myself, a few feet away from them, they get a good look at my appearance. It’s pretty horrendous. Someone asks me how it was. I look at him, and then just look away into the distance. Then I look around at everyone, fall to my knees, roll over onto my back, and shut my eyes. At this point, a few other people are coming down the hill, but I think my entrance was still pretty decent. We talked for about twenty minutes before our group started heading back down the path again. Another hour later, and Esmeralda was waiting for us once again. I hugged her. What a trip. I thought climbing Table Mountain was an accomplishment, and that was, what, 5,000 feet tall? Oh man. I think it’s a toss up between today and the second day of my Thailand jungle trek for the “dirtiest I’ve ever been in my life” award. And it feels great.

We take the chicken bus back to the touring bus, and hit the road for Antigua. When we arrive, lunch is waiting for us in a nice little local restaurant, where they served us a giant plate of meat. Sausage, steak, and chicken, with black bean soup, potatoes, and tortillas. Oh, and cheesecake with raspberry sauce for dessert. Delicious. We wandered around Antigua for an hour afterwards and then made it back to the bus. Here, I immediately fell into a coma-like napping state, and I didn’t wake until we were back in Puerto Quetzal at the MV Explorer. What a successful trip. Back onboard, I wasted no time before getting into the shower. I got myself clean, and also found every single cut, burn, bruise, and scrape on my body. Funny how hot water makes those things easy to seek out, even when you aren’t looking for them. Ouchies. Dinner on the ship was decent. I sat with fellow hikers who looked as dazed and exhausted as I felt. Others around us were shooting us weird looks, but it’s okay. There’s no way for them to understand. They didn’t just hike two miles upwards to the top of a volcano. Plus, I’m too delirious to make a coherent enough statement to anyone that doesn’t speak hiker. Some people went out to check out Puerto Quetzal tonight, but it was pouring rain with loads of lightning. Not that I had the energy to go anywhere, but the weather gave me a good enough excuse not to. I put on a movie in bed and fell asleep. I think I’ll just take it easy tomorrow. There’s a mountain biking trip in Antigua that I was thinking about joining tomorrow, but my legs will probably be stiff. Plus, there’s no way I’d ever be able to wake up in time to catch the bus in the morning. Right now, I’m just excited for sleep. Goodnight all.

Day 103 (04-30-09)

Wake up. 3:50. Wait a minute. It’s pitch black in my room. I’m incredibly tired. Is it 3:50am or pm? I get up, limp across the room, and open my computer. Ugh. Pm. I slept the day away. I hate it when this happens. Last day in port. Ever. And I missed it. Now, by the time I’m ready to do anything it won’t even be worth leaving the ship. Especially since the port (Puerto Quetzal) has nothing to do within a 30 minute drive. Oh well. I had my Guatemalan adventure. Definitely got my money’s worth from this country.

Speaking of which, I can honestly say that, at least in recent memory, I have never been this exhausted. That hike was ludicrous. My toes hurt. My feet. My calves. Hamstrings. Quads. Shoulders. Neck. Back. Arms. Glutes. And I have a headache to top it off. But would I do it again? I’d leave today if given the choice. The pain was worth the reward. By a long shot.

Barbeque night tonight on the ship. Ribs. Baked Beans. Grilled chicken. I’m pleased. At 8pm, as the tugboats pulled us sideways from the dock, I watched as our last foreign country faded from view. My evening was spent on the top deck with friends watching the lights of Guatemala disappear into the distance. Today’s the last day of April, so we’ve only got five full days left. And on that sixth day… let’s not talk about it.

Day 89 (04-16-09)

Today, the only thing really of note was the Talent Show. The planning committee that I’m a part of put on a talent show for the shipboard community. It was a long night; we had 34 acts performing. But it was lots of fun… singers, dancers, Chinese yo-yo, juggling, band performances, comedy skits, spoken word performances, etc. Mayhem. It lasted 2 hours. But we loved it. Afterwards, we all just kicked back and relaxed around the ship. We’re in the home stretch… time to soak it all in. More sea days to come, I’ll try to live them up also.

Day 90 (04-17-09)

Class. Boredom. We’re all avoiding the white elephant. No one wants to admit the fact that we have less than 3 weeks left. I’m included in that group.

There was a Multicultural presentation tonight in the Union. We all gathered together and one of the counselors read out a list of things that students could relate to. If a certain statement applied, you stood up. The purpose was to see some of the diversity that we have onboard the ship, and for us to realize that there are some major social, economic, and cultural differences even between those of us in the room. The exercise worked very well. I thought it was pretty eye-opening seeing some friends that I’ve known for months stand up when asked, “Have you ever helped your family to pay the bills? Has your family ever relied on welfare and food stamps? Will you potentially be barred from marrying a person that you love due to sexual orientation or other social/political reasons?” Stuff that us upper-middle class straight white guys don’t usually think about.

Afterwards, we had a “block party” for those of us that live on the 5th deck. It was pretty fantastic. A gathering of faculty/staff and 5 kids aged 14-19 eating ice cream cake together. Delicious. I’m pretty pleased with the 5th deck situation. Living up with the faculty is probably a much different experience than living down with the other students, but it’s what I’m used to and I don’t think I’d change it if given the choice. I mean, seriously, free cake.

Day 91 (04-18-09)

Pre-port. Finally. We’re almost at another port. Hawaii is tomorrow. Oahu. Honolulu. Family. Mother. Father. Sister. Grandmother. Wowzers. People from my little bubble back in Pennsylvania actually still exist. Who knew?

One of our professors on the ship has lived in Hawaii (on Molokai) for the past 13 years, so he gave a presentation on the islands and gave us some background on the culture and the people and whatnot. And then there was hula. I like hula.

Plus, he played a song by Brother Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo’ole), a popular Hawaiian singer that you may know for his version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It was a good time.

Yikes. We have to be awake at 6am tomorrow for our customs checks. Time to crash.

Day 92 (04-19-09)

“Living in Americaaaaa…” This is how they chose to wake us up this morning. At 6:12am. Ugh. Why does this process have to start so early? Silly America. You and your security laws. Wait a minute… America? HOLY $&*# we’re back in America! I don’t like saying that one bit. But if I have to be back in the states, why not Hawaii? It’s like… BARELY the Unites States. Plus, I suppose it will be nice to see my family again. Or something.

After they made us walk through the faculty/staff lounge, hold up our passports to our faces, and then walk out again, it was only 7am. Now what?

Time for some breakfast and a look outside. Good news: It’s absolutely beautiful outside. Welcome to Oahu. We’re docked at the Aloha Tower and it’s sunny and it feels like Hawaii. Ha, go figure. The next hour is spent showering and packing some things for my family to take with them. Wait a minute… ahhhh my family is here!

I run down to the gangway somewhere around 8am and I wait. And wait. And wait. Some people are allowed off the ship, but I’m not one of them. Also, they’re letting people onboard, but only in very small groups. Oh great, more bureaucracy and red tape. I snag a cell phone from someone. They’re coming. But where? I can’t peek around the corner to look outside. Wait, there’s a head. Nope, don’t know her. That’s someone else’s mom. We must be getting close. Another 5 minutes. Another group of people. Wait! Outside! That’s a familiar face. Kelly’s here. Oh, there’s mom. Alright, that didn’t actually take too long. Soon enough, they’re all onboard and it’s time for the family moment. Sister hug. Mother hug. More mother hug. A chorus of “Awww” flows through the line of students trying to leave the ship. Mother is still holding on. Okay, seriously mom, I’ll hug you more later, let’s just get out of everyone’s way, people want to see Hawaii and we’re blocking their access. Sheesh.

The next hour or so is dedicated to a tour of the ship. My parents weren’t able to see the inside of the ship in the Bahamas, and Kelly/Grandmom had never even seen the ship before.

After showing them around and giving them some souvenirs, it was time to depart and see some of the island. We went to the car and made our way to the most important destination of the day: The Cheesecake Factory. I scouted it out before hand and dropped some oh-so-subtle hints about a possible meal here, so we made a point of stopping. Chicken and biscuits. Strawberry Lemonade. Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake. Mmmmm…. Tastes like America. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to relax for a little while. I showed off some pictures. We shared stories. It was fun.

Next up: Luau. Big pig barbeque right on the beach. Lots of Polynesian dancing. Hips shouldn’t be able to do these things. But I’m glad that they can. Spear throwing. Fire spinning. And the people sitting next to us were from Media, PA. Small world.

Unfortunately, my mother and grandmother had already been in Hawaii for several days before the MV docked this morning, so they had to fly home tonight on the red-eye. But I’ll be home again in a couple weeks, so I supposed they’ll see me again soon enough. Dad, sister and I crashed at the hotel for the night with a friend of mine from the ship, Elise. She’s spending the day with us tomorrow, so it makes sense for her to just crash with us tonight. Arghhh we have to wake up early again tomorrow. I suppose it’s bedtime. Goodnight.

Day 93 (04-20-09)

Hawaii: Part Two. 6:30am, time to wake up. Now why would I choose to wake up at 6:30am when I’m in paradise? Shouldn’t I be sleeping in? No no no. Today, we skydive. And in order to beat the rush of SAS kids to the airstrip, we have to be there by 8:30am. Let’s go.

As it turns out, Honolulu traffic isn’t nearly as bad as we though it would be. We passed by the city with no problem and made it up to Skydive Hawaii headquarters by 8am and we were surprised to see some jumpers already in the air. Apparently it was really windy yesterday and no one was able to jump. So they opened up early today to give some of yesterday’s overflow a chance to get airborne. How nice. After signing eight or nine sheets of paper that said “I acknowledge that skydiving might maim or kill me, I’m choosing to do it at my own risk, and no person but myself can be held accountable for anything that may go wrong,” we got harnessed up. I was attached to a guy named Big Jim. He was crazy. We got along. I requested to do a back flip out of the plane and then tumble around through the air for a little while so it would feel like we didn’t have control. He just laughed and told me he had little to no regard for his own life, and he didn’t really care about mine, either. Suffice it to say, our senses of humor meshed perfectly. We got up in the plane and Elise was first to jump. She screamed bloody murder as she fell out, so that was fun to witness. I went next, and we back-flipped and tumbled and flew and posed for the camera and all that nonsense. Great jump. More fun than last time. Here, they were so relaxed with everything. There was no mandatory dive training on the ground. No rules as to how we had to leave the plane or hold our posture while falling. They just let you jump and have fun with it. But out of all of us, Kelly got the most bang for her buck.

So I’m floating to the ground with Big Jim after the parachute deploys, and he points something out to me. He says, “See that parachute over there? Someone’s on a reserve chute.” I looked over at where he was pointing and there were two parachutes next to each other. One was open and holding a tandem group. The other was collapsed and looked like a deflated blue balloon, floating away with the wind. Hmm… that person is above me, so they probably jumped after me. NO WAY. Is that Kelly? I steered the chute for awhile and then we made our way to the ground. A minute or two later, Kelly landed and, sure enough, she was the one using the backup. Apparently her jumpmaster pulled the cord on the parachute, and it opened, but its lines were tangled around each other. He tried adjusting it for a minute or so, but then he gave up and cut it away. Which led to another freefall that caught my sister incredibly off guard. But the backup worked. So, ya know, that’s good.

Anyway, we left the airfield and headed around the North Shore to see the other side of the island. Sandy beaches, lush tropical fauna, etc. As we rounded the Northeast corner of the island and headed south, we drove past Kaaawa Valley, an area where many scenes from Lost are filmed. Lost is filmed entirely on Oahu, and all of the scenes that take place on the inner portion of the island are shot at two locations, one of them being Kaaawa Valley. There wasn’t enough time for a tour of the area, but even just looking at the valley from the road, you could tell that the mountains and the valley looked just like the Island.

Lunchtime: California Pizza Kitchen. BBQ chicken pizza. Delicious.

Stopped by Kelly’s house to take a tour, and then went to Sea Life Park to check out where she works. She showed us around and gave us the scoop on her animals. I personally liked the penguins and sea lions. I think playing with them all day would be a sweet job. Plus one for Kelly.

Afterwards, we headed back to Kelly’s place to relax for a little while. Her beach is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread. If you’re into beaches and stuff. It’s a beach for locals. So no one ever goes there. When we walked out to the water, there was one other guy on the beach, and he was doing work collecting tree branches or something. Take that Waikiki. We sat in Kelly’s house for awhile talking about SAS with her roommate Dani who was lame and didn’t skydive with us. Actually I just said that because I know she reads this… I know it wasn’t your fault. Sorry none of your plans worked out these past couple of days.

Ugh, 4pm. Time to head back towards the pier. Why don’t we have more time here? Sheesh. After a stop at the grocery store for some essentials (Pop Tarts, instant soup, and Bugles), Elise and I were back aboard the MV with 20 minutes to spare. Dinner on the ship was halfway decent though. Lots of macaroni and cheese. When the ship pulled away at 8pm, I saw my dad standing on the pier watching us leave. So I went to my cabin, called him, and grabbed the industrial strength laser pointer I got in China. Then I shined it straight up in the air. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see it… too much ambient light. So I shined it down into the water right in front of him. Judging by his reaction (and all the curious voices I heard in the background), I think I lit up the entire bay in green. So that’s pretty cool I guess.

Aloha Hawaii. I wasn’t even looking forward to your sights that much, but I was pleasantly surprised. Kthanksbyeee.

Day 94 (04-21-09)

I did absolutely nothing today. Everyone was pretty down today. I mean, it’s the first day of a 7-day stretch at sea. Plus, we just left Hawaii, which we only got to see for two days. Not nearly enough time. What’s there to be happy about? We only have two weeks left. We should be in “savor every moment” mode. But instead we just sleep and finish up homework all day. It’s sad.

Today: Slept through Global. Woke up at 12:30pm. Ate lunch. Played some games. Went to class at 4:15pm. Ate dinner. Met with a group about a project we’re presenting tomorrow. Worked on the project. Played more games. Sleep.

How useless.

Day 95 (04-22-09)

So today I had my final presentation in my Shakespeare class. That was really the most exciting thing that happened all day. Our group took MacBeth and set it in modern-day Thailand. Duncan owned a sex club. The three witches were the three “showgirls.” Lady MacBeth was the head prostitute and MacBeth was the bouncer. It sounds weird, and it is, but it worked. I think we did well.

Oh and they showed the Breakfast Club on tv tonight. Great movie. I followed it up with a nice long sit on the outside deck staring into the darkness and the water (since I don’t have very much time left to do that), and then Austin Powers 2. Solid night. Oh and we lose another hour tonight. Figures. That means that, as of tomorrow morning, we are 2 hours behind Boulder and 4 hours behind the East Coast. It was so much cooler when we were 13 hours ahead. And in the stretch between Japan and Hawaii when we crossed the International Date Line, I really felt like I was time traveling. I had no idea what time it was. We lived the same day twice. It was awesome. Now it’s just pretty much normal. And I’m not a fan of normalcy.

Day 86 (04-13-09)

Global Studies exam today. I hate taking tests in the Union. The chairs are fairly comfortable and padded and whatnot, but there aren’t any desks. So they give us trays from the cafeteria to put on our laps and lean on. It’s rather rudimentary. And distracting in a testing environment. But I think I did well enough. I suppose I’ll find out in a couple of days. More classes after the test. Dinner. Know what sounds like a terrible idea? All-nighter. Chris, do you have any fathomable reason why you’d need to pull an all-nighter? No. The answer is no. But will you do it anyway? Oh yes. Yes I will. I spent the wee hours of the morning wandering around the ship with friends. Sitting outside. Enjoying the waves. Talking with friends while they registered for classes in the computer lab. It was enjoyable. But tiring. I crashed at about 6:15am. Bad idea…

Day 87 (04-14-09)

Today, we get the day off. Sort of. It’s picture day. So we had our group photo at 8am outside on the top deck. What was I thinking sleeping for an hour? I should’ve just stayed up straight through. Whatever. Oh and of course, only about half of the students showed up. More great planning on the part of SAS. Let’s take a group picture with all 726 students at 8am on our only day off. It was doomed from the start. Afterwards, they broke us off into groups by our home universities, and we took school pictures. It was great. A photo with (60 of) the 80 Boulder kids. We sang our fight song together. It was the first time I’d sang it since Colorado last fall. Fight, Fight, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

Tonight, there was a mini career night in some of the classrooms. A few of the professors and Living Learning Coordinators got up to give some descriptions of their careers and the steps that guided them down their respective paths. I sat in on the “higher education” and “working abroad” lectures. Who knows, maybe I’ll be teaching English in Borneo someday.

Just for the hell of it, I decided to shave my head again tonight. I got some clippers from someone on the ship and my friend Sara shaved me down, bald as Neptune Day. My hair had been growing in differently than it ever had before. I didn’t like it. Maybe it’ll fix itself? One can only hope.

Day 88 (04-15-09)

Yet another lazy day here on the MV Explorer. Slept. Ate food. I had a friend of mine shave my head with a straight razor today. Just to get it down to the bare minimum. My head is very white. And smooth. It’s different. Sunburn, here I come. Oh, and I kept the sideburns. So I have no beard. No hair. But I have big mutton chops. It’s pretty ridiculous.

Oh, I finally took the Bridge Tour today. Every day, the crew gives a tour of the ship’s Bridge, where the captains steer the ship and do all the captain-y things that captains do. I loved the new perspective. Seeing the open waters in front of us from the bow of the ship, sitting in the captain’s chair. Fantastic. And there are these guys. That stand in the Bridge in shifts. 4 hours on, 8 hours off. And their sole job is to stare out the window and look for stuff. They point out any irregularities or pieces of debris that are in the water and the ship’s systems might not detect. It’s not really an interesting job, but I thought the concept was simple and neat.

We sailed through a little storm today at about dinnertime. Nothing big or life altering. But it yielded the best rainbow I’ve ever seen. It was a perfect arc. Touched the water on both sides and reflected in the waves. And it was clear and thick and bright. And, sadly, short-lived. We passed through the storm and the clouds broke a little bit, leaving our rainbow as a 5-minute memory. But we saw it. And it was one of those things that just brought us all together, if only for a few minutes. We all just stood at the railing, shoulder-to-shoulder, realizing in that brief moment how lucky we are and how we’ll never be a part of something like this again.

The first performance of the on-ship play was tonight. It’s The Persians by Aeschylus. Pretty dark and dramatic. And it would have made much more sense had we actually went to Turkey. Since it followed the fall of Darius after a battle with the Greeks. But it’s no big deal. I enjoyed it.

Test results are in. B on the Global Studies exam. Solid.

Alright, well enough of this rambling. Bedtime. Hasta la bye-bye. 

Day 85 (04-12-09)

Happy Easter!

So it’s Easter Sunday. Not a big deal, we still have class. And in case you think this is a typo, think again. We’re crossing the international dateline. Our incessant loss of an hour’s worth of sleep most nights at sea has been avenged by the gaining of a day. It just happens to fall on Easter. And they’ve been playing Groundhog Day on our TVs for the past two days. Cute. So from now on, I’ll be behind you all in time instead of ahead. It’s probably a simple enough concept, but it’s taken me (and several others, I’m not the only slow one) a lot of time to try and figure it all out. And it wouldn’t matter to me in the slightest, except that the time/day change happened right at the time I’m supposed to register for next semester’s classes at Boulder. So I didn’t know if I was supposed to register yesterday, or this morning, or tomorrow, or what. But I got it figured out. I was on the internet at 4am sorting through it. But I’m registered. Hallelujah. Anyway.

We have an exam tomorrow. And the ship is rocking all over the place making people seasick. And we lose another hour of time tonight. Great planning, Semester at Sea. Give us a test the morning after we lose an hour of sleep. Thanks for your help. Everyone is busy working and studying. The ship hasn’t been this dead since… well the night before our last Global Studies exam. Go figure. It’ll be over soon though. And we have an auction tomorrow night. Picture day is the 14th. The play is on the 15th and 17th. The talent show is the 16th. We have plenty of stuff to keep us occupied. But the trivial things like exams interrupt our social schedule every once in awhile. How trite.

Day 84 (04-12-09)

Happy Easter!

So it’s Easter Sunday. Not a big deal, we still have class. The boat started rocking again today. It’s a familiar feeling, but one that we haven’t encountered since we left South Africa at the end of February. South Africa was in February? Oh man. People keep seeing whales in the water (where else would they see them?), but I haven’t seen any yet. I’m thinking after 9 days of ship food, a meal at the Cheesecake Factory might be necessary in Hawaii. To whom it may concern, there’s a Cheesecake Factory at Waikiki. And reservations would probably be a good idea for a group of 5 or 6 of us. Just saying.

On one of the random TVs we have on the ship, they’ve been showing the Voyage Videos from previous SAS semesters. It’s making me pretty excited for the video we’ll be getting in a few months. Our videographer is a really cool guy and I think a video with some familiar faces and places will be just what I need when I’m in travel withdrawal this summer. May 6th, you’re approaching too quickly.

Day 78 (04-06-09)

Today: Kobe. A city by the sea. A city of beauty. A city of sake and beef. Mmm, Kobe Beef. Now it’s time for a realization: we aren’t in Southeast Asia anymore. Holy wow stuff is expensive here. I mean, it’s probably comparable to the US, but that’s sill really expensive compared to what we’re used to at this point. Two dollars for a 6-minute train ride on the subway? Inconceivable.

Our main goal for the day: Find a Sake Brewery and do some tasting. After taking a few trains and walking down some sketchy back alleys, we finally found the place we were looking for: The Shu-Shin-Kan Brewery. Here, a little Japanese guy gave us the rundown on Sake production and its several stages. Afterwards, we tried sampled of seven or eight different sakes that the brewery makes. Most of it kind of just tasted like wine to me… I don’t know if that’s normal or not. But oh well.

After the sake, it was time for lunch. We found a local sushi place and had some authentic Japanese raw fish. It was one of those neat places that have the conveyor belt of food going past your table. So you just pick up whichever dish you’d like to eat. Then you eat it. Scrumptious. In the afternoon, we headed over to Mount Rokko. I mean if there’s a mountain within view of the port, why not go? They’re fun to climb and, you know, look at. I found a Wendy’s for the first time this entire voyage. But I restrained myself. I only got a frosty. But it was such a good frosty. That night, we went back to the ship for dinner before heading back into Kobe for a night of good old-fashioned non-alcoholic fun: Karaoke. It was invented in Kobe, and it still thrives here. And if you’ve never been to Japan, I don’t think you understand. There are establishments that are 100% dedicated to karaoke. You walk in, and the guy behind the counter takes your group somewhere in the building to one of several dozen soundproof booths. Once inside, you have as long as you’re willing to pay for with your microphones and television. Then you sing. It’s ridiculous. Why don’t places like this exist in the US? Granted, a four-story building filled with karaoke booths probably wouldn’t make too much money stateside, but it should. Long day, longer night. Bedtime.

Day 79 (04-07-09)

Lazy day. Slept in a little bit. Wandered around Kobe some more by myself. Made a point of getting Kobe Beef at a local buffet. It’s usually unbelievably expensive ($50 a plate at a cheap restaurant), but since I went to a buffet, they had lots of other choices, and the Kobe beef was put out as a specialty dish in little three-bite portions. But man, were those bites tasty. Jerry, the on-ship videographer saw me wandering the streets and stopped me for an interview. Who knows, maybe I’ll show up in the SAS video now. Later in the afternoon, I was feeling pretty lethargic, so I went to the movie theater near the train station and saw Watchmen. I had been excited to see that movie since I read the book in a class last semester, and we were in India with SAS when it came out in March. So this was probably my last chance to see it on the big screen. Afterwards, I hopped on the train back to the ship with an hour to spare before on-ship time (curfew, essentially). I’ll be sailing with the ship tomorrow between Kobe and Yokohama, which was not my original intention at all. There’s a tourist Rail Pass that you can only buy outside of Japan for use of the Japanese JR and Shinkansen (Bullet Train) rail systems. I was planning on buying it in Thailand. And then Vietnam. And then China. But it never happened. And it was $285 for a weeklong ticket. Which would’ve been worth it, but everything is so expensive here that adding the price of a train ticket to hotel stays and extra food and all the little sightseeing things in Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, etc, would have left me with literally no money when I got back to Florida. So, in an effort to act financially responsible for the first time in my life, I sacrificed a crazy five-day tour of Japan for a more mundane 4-day stay. Oh well.

Day 80 (04-08-09)

Wow. The people who stayed on the ship in between Hong Kong and Shanghai got gourmet, five-course meals at dinner. They played games and won prizes, including free massages. You know what we got for staying on the ship in between Kobe and Yokohama. Nothing. The same terrible, buffet-style meals we get every day. Nothing extra to do. They showed the Bourne Trilogy on the screen in the Union. Wahoo. What a bummer. I was hoping for a good meal. Oh well. Today was the ultimate boring, lazy day. Some people didn’t emerge from their rooms other than to eat. I played some Pictionary and Sorry. That’s about it. Hopefully I’ll have lots of energy for tomorrow though. I’m going to need it.

Day 81 (04-09-09)

Today is my adventure day. If you know me, you should’ve seen this coming. As soon as the ship was cleared this morning, I made my way to Tokyo. From there, I hopped on another subway line to go to Tokyo Dome City. It’s the area around the Tokyo Dome, which is the world’s largest indoor baseball field. The Tokyo Giants weren’t playing today, but that’s not the reason I went to this part of the city. You know what else is at Tokyo Dome City? Amusement Park. That’s right, I got my roller coaster fix today. There are 3 roller coasters here: a small spinning wild mouse-type deal, the world’s first Impulse Coaster (like Voodoo at Dorney, but without the twisting), and Thunder Dolphin. That’s right, Thunder Dolphin. It might not sound very intimidating, but it’s awesome. 262 feet tall. 80+mph. I’m back in my element. But I got here at 10:30am. And I was done by 11:15am. You know what that means? I can make it to Tokyo Disney by noon. Hell. Yes.

The Tokyo Disney complex has two parks: DisneyLand and DisneySea. Clever. There wasn’t a ticket that includes both parks, but there was a discounted ticket when you visited the park after 6pm. So I decided to buy a normal day pass for DisneyLand, and then hop over to DisneySea after 6pm. It actually worked out very well. And I had so much fun. I had forgotten how much I love DisneyWorld. Most of the rides were exactly the same, only in Japanese. It’s A Small World in Japanese… hilarious. But I had my hopes raised and dashed in a matter of seconds when I first entered the park. There were advertisements leading up to park entrance for the new ride: Monsters, Inc: Ride and Go Seek. I was pumped. Monsters Inc is my favorite Pixar movie. Do you go inside the Laugh Factory? Does the ride mimic the door chase? Can I go on an adventure with Mike, Sully, and Boo? Sadly, the answers to those questions are “I don’t know, I don’t know, and No,” respectively. Today is April 9th. The ride opens to the public on April 14th. So I walk through the front gate, and the first ride that I encounter on the path is Monsters, Inc: Ride and Go Seek. And the doors are open! And people are walking inside! Oh man, it opened early! This is awesome; I can’t believe this timing! Wait, why are you holding your arm out across the entrance? Silly language barrier, I thought getting in line was universal. What are you pointing at? No there’s nothing on my chest. What’s around your neck? A VIP tag that says “PRESS” on it. No, I don’t have one of those. Wait, why are all the people in line wearing the same Monsters, Inc t-shirt? Why are they all holding cameras and microphones? Why d…. OH MAN. No. Of all the luck, I show up on press release day. Today was the soft opening for the press to preview the ride and get the word out to everyone about how cool it is. Stupid media. They have all the fun.

Anyway, I wandered around DisneyLand for about 5 hours. Got all the major stuff out of the way. Space Mountain. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters. Haunted Mansion. Star Tours. Pirates. Not Splash Mountain though… not feeling the water ride today. So I did everything I wanted to do. Well, everything that was open anyway. Stupid Disney people. Why couldn’t their opening day coincide with the MV Explorer’s arrival in Yokohama? Whatever.

Next up: DisneySea. I didn’t really know what to expect from this park, but it’s really cool. It’s set up kind of like Universal Islands of Adventure in Florida in that it has different themed sections in a giant circle around a lake. And this park is massive. It has fewer rides than DisneyLand, but total area has to be much higher. Tower of Terror was a little lame in comparison to Florida, but still good. There’s a really neat Indiana Jones ride that opened at the same time as the most recent movie. But I think my favorite ride was Journey to the Center of the Earth. There’s a Mysterious Island section of the park that’s all Jules Verne themed. There’s a lake inside a giant volcano and different futuristic, time machine-like things are scattered around. And the two rides in the area are Journey and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. They aren’t the most exciting in the world, but they’re different and they’re fun. Anyway. The big Tokyo Disney 25th Anniversary Finale Fireworks Spectacular whatever it’s called was cancelled due to high winds, so we left a little bit early and headed back to Yokohama. But the amusement park junkie got his high today, and it was a great time. Hooray Tokyo. I’m beat. It’s bedtime.

Day 82 (04-10-09)

Last day in Japan. That means we only have 2 ports left. Hawaii and Guatemala. With 16 days at sea in between. This is not good. Each day, we begin to realize more and more how little time is actually remaining. It’s sinking in. And I don’t like it. Not one bit. No offense or anything, but I’m not ready to be home yet. I mean, I like you all and everything. You guys are the rays of sunshine that make my flowers grow (or something), but I’m having too much fun to come home now. Oh well.

Today was another lazy-ish day. I think the weight of the past month finally just hit me in the face today. I was planning on getting up early, heading back into Tokyo, and wandering around today. But it was just too much. I only saw a small portion of the city, but it’s one of those places that I figure I can go back to fairly easily. I hope. But I hadn’t seen any of Yokohama yet, so this was the last chance to do it. It’s really a great little city. Very clean. Very quiet. Home of Japan’s tallest building, the Landmark Tower. We wandered around the streets for a few hours just to take it all in. We got some Starbucks. Walked to a park on the waterfront. Looked out at our ship sitting in the harbor. It was nice. Oh, and I forgot to mention before: It’s cherry blossom season. So throughout Kobe and Yokohama, the trees are in bloom and they’re gorgeous. I would’ve loved to see the area around Mt. Fuji, but my ongoing time dilemma still stands. Still haven’t been able to stop time yet. It’s on the to-do list.

After the longest customs/immigration process we’ve ever had to go through, we made it back to the ship and crashed for the evening. Another day gone. Another country gone. Another night of blogging, trying to write down every detail I can remember. And failing. I always remember more things that I should’ve said, after the fact. Maybe I can give you more details in person sometime. We’ll see.

New development: Two of the bartenders on the ship were fired in the past 48 hours, and they’re now off the ship. They were two of my three favorite crewmembers. Rumors are swirling all over the place regarding their dismissals. I just hope they make it home (to South Africa and Jamaica, respectively) in a safe and timely manner. Farewell. You are missed. Gone but not forgotten. All that cliché good stuff.

Also: nuclear winter never came. We were all wondering in the days leading up to Japan if North Korea was going to launch. And then they did. And it was the most anti-climactic ending I could imagine. The first two stages of it fell into the water. Nothing happened with the third stage. Japan didn’t do anything. And that’s the end of it. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the worldwide panic, with us hapless tourists stuck in the middle? Where’s the Hollywood action and drama? Man, World War Three was boring.

Day 83 (04-11-09)

Aw nuts. We have to like… study again. Apparently classes pick up while we’re at sea or something. So we have to, you know, do work stuff. What a drag. And there’s a test in global studies coming up? I think? Who knows. I don’t know how far away it is though. It’s not that I don’t pay attention, we just have Easter Sunday twice, so I don’t know how far away things are. The test is on the 13th. So that means it isn’t tomorrow, the 12th. Or two days from now, the 12th. It’s in three days. Got it. Alright. Maybe I’ll go, like, study or something. Meh.

Repent, the End is nigh!

It's raining missiles! It's raining missiles! Don't let them fool you! It wasn't a satellite! Let the apocalypse begin! The North Koreans are coming! The invasion is here! Tokyo will fall! Kim Jong-Il will prevail! Hit the deck! Hide under your desks! Flash!

World War 3 has begun, And I'm right in the thick of it.

Finally

Sorry it's been a little while. China got in the way.

Day 70 (03-29-09)

Rainy day. No bueno. It’s pretty foggy this morning. But outside of the ship’s windows, we have the most amazing view of the Hong Kong skyline. We couldn’t be docked in a more perfect location. It’s crazy. I looked out the window and the first thing I saw was the building Batman jumps off of in The Dark Knight. It was exciting.

Random fact: our ship is docked at a shopping mall. Like… we walk off the ship in an airport style gangway, and the other end of the hallway dumps us out into the 4th floor of an upscale shopping mall. It’s so random. So now when we get back onto the ship at night, we’ll be walking into a mall with very low lighting, no open stores, and only a few security guards to keep us company. When a bizarre place to have a port terminal.

After getting off the ship, my friend Mandy and I set off for the Star Ferry that goes from the Kowloon side of the city to the downtown Hong Kong side. From there, we walked to the ferry terminal for the hour-long trip to Macau. Brief geography lesson: Hong Kong and Macau are both Special Administrative Regions of China. They operate within the constructs of the People’s Republic of China under a “One Country, Two Systems” initiative. When China regained control of the two cities (from the UK and Portugal, respectively), the government allowed them to retain their own administrative systems to ease their transition back into Chinese rule. As such, both Regions still issue their own passports and run their own governments. Both are very capitalistic, and they differ from mainland China greatly in these respects.

Anyway, since these two cities are their own separate entities, we had to go through customs when we left Hong Kong and entered Macau, and now an entire page of my passport is dedicated to a day’s worth of stamps from the two cities. It’s pretty cool. Why go to Macau in the first place? Bungy jumping. The world’s tallest bungy jump is located on top of Macau Tower. 760 feet. And it isn’t your typical bungy jump. Usually, you jump off of a bridge or some kind of cantilevered platform that allows you to swing underneath it. Not here. The tower looks like a mini version of Stratosphere in Vegas. So when you jump off of the observation deck, you’re heading down towards the Earth just a few meters away from the tower as you fall. You can see the structure whipping past your eyes as you plummet downwards, giving you an unbelievably clear idea of how fast you’re actually moving. Clearly, I loved it. And so did Mandy. She’s afraid of heights, and I’ve been talking this up so much in the past few weeks that she decided she had to come and face her fear. It was a milestone day, I suppose.

Afterwards, we wandered around Macau for a little while. It’s essentially China’s version of Las Vegas. There are casinos everywhere (including an MGM Grand, a Wynn, a Sands, and a Venetian), and it’s heavily under construction with more. The economic crisis deal kind of made it hit a snag, but it’s still growing.

Another hour-long ferry ride later, we got back to Hong Kong just after sunset. The championship game of the Rugby Sevens was in town tonight (it’s the final game of the world’s biggest rugby tournament of the year), and tourists from all over the globe were in town to see it. The streets were filled with people. It was nuts. I imagine this is what it felt like to be in Germany during the France/Italy World Cup match in ’06. Maybe to a slightly lesser extent, but it was still a sight to behold. If only we were able to have more time here. The city seems incredible after walking around it for a few hours. But our flight to Beijing leaves tomorrow, and we have to make it to the airport in the morning. I’d love to come back here someday, though. Hong Kong is the first BIG city we’ve been to this entire voyage. And I love the feel of a big city. Bangkok was big, but it was sprawling, and there was no defined skyline. Walking around it, I didn’t feel like I was in a downtown area of a big city. But Hong Kong definitely felt that way. It could have been Manhattan. Only the streets were much cleaner and less narrow. It was refreshing.

After some more wandering, we headed back near the ship to grab some internet for a couple calls home. Hooray. Mainland China tomorrow. Bring on the Commies.

Day 71 (03-30-09)

Wake up. Pack. Terminal. Meeting. Crowds. Hangovers. Sucks for them. Bus. Airport. Chinese food. Crazy Airport. Huge Airport. Escalator. Another. Another. Tram. Walkway. Where the hell is gate 49? Moving sidewalks. End of the terminal. Boarding. Takeoff. Naptime. Landing. Are we all here? Let’s go. Bus ride. Hotel. Crash.

Ever have one of those days where everything kind of runs together? It’s just a giant blur of events that passes by without you noticing where the time went. Today was that day. After checking in at the hotel, we wandered up the street to find some dinner. Authentic Chinese food. Guess what: it’s pretty much the same as ours. Only the portions and the plates are smaller. We ordered a bunch of meals, and they came out family style. There was a smaller rotating glass table on top of our actual table, and we just spun it around to take portions of the food that we wanted. Chicken. Beef. Vegetables. Rice. More rice. Dumplings. All of it. After 3 hours of eating an talking, we went back to the hotel to prepare for our upcoming adventures in Beijing. What have we gotten ourselves into this time?

Day 72 (03-31-09)

After a nice breakfast our group of 140 students divided itself into 5 smaller groups. Mine had 26 members and our tour guide was a little Chinese guy named Tony. Several Tony the Tiger jokes ensued. First stop: modern Beijing. You know what I’m talking about. Bird’s Nest. Water Cube. Olympic City ’08. World Records. Phelps. Bolt. You know what’s happened since then? Nothing. The stadiums are only being used as a draw for tourists. The Olympics are over. The Bird’s Nest is being used for one event in 2009. One. A 423 million dollar stadium. Is being used. Once. In the calendar year after it opened. Once. Are you kidding me, China? What are you thinking? And it’s lack of use and upkeep is showing already. The sidewalks outside are being overgrown. The underground entrance plaza has doors that hang crooked off of their hinges. It’s blocked off for visitors, they have to walk in through a smaller gate on the ground level. We didn’t have enough time to go inside the stadiums, but they look just like every other stadium once you’re inside, anyway. No big deal. The Water Cube still looks decent. So that’s good. Oh, and they aren’t lit up at night anymore, either. I suppose it makes sense, as there would be no use having fluorescent lights flowing over empty stadiums, wasting energy by the minute. But these venues don’t have any glory anymore. They’re just hollow shells of their former selves. Waiting to rot away into obscurity. Such a shame.

Our afternoon continued with a visit to the Ming Tombs. Here, the 3rd-5th and the 7th-13th emperors of the Ming Dynasty are enshrined. We went down into the underground tomb of the 13th emperor, as his is the only one that’s been excavated. It was 9 stories underground, separated into different sections representing the Earth and the Heavens. Craziness.

Lunch. Szechuan-style Chinese food. Spicier that normal. But very good. And still in that rotating table-style setting. How enjoyable.

A 3-hour nap/bus ride later, we arrived at the Great Wall of China. The 2nd of the New 7 Wonders of the World that I’ve seen on this voyage. We hiked up a section of the wall and watched the sunset over the mountains and the Wall. Surreal is probably the only word to do this situation justice. I’m whipping through this blog pretty quickly, but I think this moment deserves a little bit of a pause. Today, I got off of a bus and walked onto the Great Wall. Of China. THE Wall. The one that runs over 4,000 miles across the country. And then, we weren’t even rushed. We had over an hour before the sunset. So we sat back and enjoyed it. Time almost seemed to go at a normal pace here, instead of the Houdini-like time travel we always end up dealing with. I’m standing on the Great Wall of China watching the sunset with some of my best friends. How…? Nevermind. There’s no way to even fathom this situation myself, and I’m the one that’s actually here. So I’m not going to try and pose any questions to anyone else. Nothing I say can aptly describe these circumstances, and I’d like to avoid sounding like a pretentious little snob. But it was beautiful and unreal and I still don’t believe it. Anyway.

We walked back to the buses, got some dinner, and then we hiked up onto a different section of the wall. It’s dark. It’s 25 degrees Fahrenheit. We’re layered. We’re cold. But you know what? It doesn’t matter. Because we’re sleeping on the Great Wall tonight. We got up to our terrace/watchtower and laid out our sleeping bags. Then we explored. Without a guide. Without a guard. Just a small group of students. Feeling like Indiana Jones or something. We had flashlights and water. And we started walking away from the camp, further out along the wall. It was incredible. There’s no light. No railings. No signs. Just a wall to walk along. And this section of the wall is authentic to the Ming Dynasty, and hasn’t been rebuilt or restored in the past 600 years. It’s creepy. After about a half-mile of walking, we stopped in a watchtower to take it in, and a few other people from our group started walking up the path behind us. I crept into the shadows, turned off my flashlight, crouched down onto the ground, and I waited. That poor girl. She never saw it coming. As she entered the watchtower with her friends, shining the light around, there was no way she could have known that I was behind the pillar. But I was. And I jumped out and yelled with perfect timing. Her scream was so shrill and genuine. It was beautiful. I’m a creep and I’m mean, but it was so worth it.

Okay, here’s the tricky part. We have to sleep on the wall tonight. It’s 25 degrees outside. I was hoping it would snow, but to no avail. But yeah… umm. It’s really freaking cold out here guys. This was a pretty miserable night’s sleep for us all. I had to put my shoes on inside the sleeping bag at one point during the night because I had lost feeling in my toes. But the rest of me was alright temperature-wise. I just lacked a pillow and a mattress. Both would have helped exponentially. Oh well, we survived the night. Which leads us to morning…

Day 73 (04-01-09)

I woke up this morning on the Great Wall of China. How did you start your day?

Well, we’re awake… now what? The Hike begins. Six miles of hiking along an authentic portion of the wall between JinShanLing and Simatai. Up. Down. Stairs. Ruins. Rubble. Dirt. Gravel. Great. Wall. Of China.

Life goals added whilst on Semester at Sea:
1) Climb Kilimanjaro
2) Solve World Hunger
3) Backpack Myanmar/Thailand/Laos
4) Live in Cape Town
5) Hike Great Wall End-to-End
I’ll see how that works out for me.

After the hikes and lunch, we drove back to the hotel from our first night in Beijing, and stopped for showers and such. Then we headed out to the Silk Market for some cheap knockoffs. I’m not much of a shopper, so I called it an early night and went to bed early after that. The hike was pretty draining today, and we’ve got more touring tomorrow.

Day 74 (04-02-09)

We got to sleep in a little bit today. Our bus didn’t leave until 8:30am. Woo hoo. First up: Tiananmen Square. Oh, here’s a fun little experiment. Google Tiananmen Square at home. Browse the results. See what information you can find about the massacre that occurred in 1989. Now, go to mainland China. Google Tiananmen Square. You know what you’ll find? A nice description of the Square and its relevance in modern Chinese society. A few nice pictures of the area. Some sites about the Forbidden City, the National Museum, and Chairman Mao. But nothing regarding the “incident.” Our tour guide, a 27 year-old man, still didn’t really know what happened there. He just told us not to mention the “incident” while we’re in the Square, as the area is monitored and Chinese officials have been known to hassle and hush those that are vocal about such things. The censorship here is unreal.

We wandered around the Square for a bit and went into the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao. He’s been dead since 1979, but he elected to have himself frozen and put on display. You know, like most people. So every day, he’s elevated from his freezer, and put on display in his crystal coffin while citizens and tourists alike file past. He’s been dead for 30 years. And I saw his corpse. It’s creepy. Apparently I could’ve done the same thing in Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh is on display somewhere. And Lenin in Russia did the same. But that’s just weird.

Next up, passing through the Red Gate, we entered into the Forbidden City. See, I always thought the Forbidden City was just near Beijing, but separated from it somehow. Maybe in some dense forest, surrounded by trees, shrouded in secrecy somewhere. Silly me. The Forbidden City is in the heart of Beijing. And there are actually no trees anywhere near the main section of the city for security purposes. I guess that shows what I know.

Next up: Lunch. This one is important. Dad, this is for you. You remember when we were talking on the phone in Hong Kong, and you were a smartass and asked about finding a Chinatown in Beijing? Well GUESS WHAT. We ate in Chinatown in Beijing. It exists. The Chinatown Restaurant. Almost within sight of the Bird’s Nest. It’s there. We ate inside it. It was delicious. We got McDonald’s milkshakes afterwards. It was a great time. And I completed your task in the process. Chinatown. Check.

A quick stop at the Pearl market gave way to the end of our Beijing adventure. We went to the train station and boarded our overnight sleeper train to Shanghai. I had never been on a sleeper train before. I felt like I was in a Harry Potter story or something. It was cool, but the pillow wasn’t comfortable. And a good pillow is the key to a good night’s rest. Maybe that’s just me, I don’t know. But we had some fun on the train and then slept until our rude awakening the next morning…

Day 75 (04-03-09)

Some Chinese lady unlocks the cabin door at 6:40am, yells something about the trashcan, takes the garbage away, and then leaves without shutting our door. Good morning to you too, sunshine. We got off of the train at 7:15am and made our way to the bus that brought us back to the ship. Ah, the MV Explorer. Home, sweet home. Some breakfast and a quick shower were the only stops this morning though, as today is the only time we have to explore Shanghai. We grabbed a taxi to Pudong and went to the world’s second tallest building, the Shanghai World Financial Center. The only building officially taller than it is the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan, but that includes the antennas and such on the roof. As far as strict building height goes, from ground level to roof: the World Financial Center is the tallest in the world. And it has the world’s tallest observation deck. Which I went to. It was pretty foggy again, like in Macau, but it was still a great view. Shanghai has 3 of the world’s tallest buildings, so it was interesting to see the other 2 buildings look small while I was standing above their peaks. After descending back down to the basement level, we found a Cold Stone and decided it was necessary to get ice cream. I mean, come on, it’s Cold Stone. We walked around the city a little more, and actually discovered that there’s another building under construction right now that’s going to dwarf the Shanghai World Financial Center in height, so I don’t even know what they have planned over here. This city is booming. It’s under massive amounts of construction, more than I’ve seen anywhere else in the world. I was not expecting that from Shanghai. I think it might even rival Dubai for the amount of development that’s going on right now. Who knows.

We made it to a mall for some lunch and some shopping (I was with girls, it happens), and I got the rest of the clothing I need to finish out the suit I had made in Vietnam. Vest and skinny tie: check. We hopped a cab back to the ship and relaxed for awhile as the rest of our shipmates filed back onboard. The Shanghai skyline looks incredible, especially at night, and we have a perfect parking spot just like in Hong Kong. I don't know who plans this stuff, but our location couldn't be any better. Crazy day. Crazy week. Crazy life. Goodnight everyone.

Day 76 (04-04-09)

My napping was rudely interrupted by class today. How sad. Some giggly Japanese girls gave a presentation about tea ceremonies and other mildly relevant Japanese things at our cultural pre-port this evening. And then I didn’t go to sleep until 3:30am. Silly rabbit. I don’t know where time goes or why I lose track of it so often. And yet, here I am. At least I’m consistent.

Day 77 (04-05-09)

They weren’t kidding. As soon as we hit Thailand, time just sped up completely. Five days on, two days off. Five on, two off. Six on, two off. What are we doing here? Not to sound like a broken record, but there really isn’t any time to process all of this. Maybe that nine-day stretch between Japan and Hawaii will give me some time to make sense of it all. But whatever. I’ll be in Japan tomorrow I guess. Just another country to try and digest in far too little time. Not that I’m complaining by any means. This voyage is amazing and I’m not taking any of it for granted. But now that I’ve gotten a taste of so many places, I want to go back for more. I just hope I get that chance. Goodnight all.

Day 68 (03-27-09)

Today was just another day at sea. Global studies. Media class. 5 hours of nothing in between. Cultural pre-port for Hong Kong/China tonight. It’s still weird having pre-port the first day back. But I was thinking a few days ago about my trip thus far. Since leaving Nassau, we’ve been to 9 countries. They’ve all impacted me differently, and I decided to make up some way of comparing them to something that’s familiar, so that you can relate to them on a more personal level. With that, here is…

The World

(As a list of ex-girlfriends)

Spain – Ah, she was my first. I thought I was in love. The time spent with her was incredible, and I couldn’t imagine anywhere else that I’d rather be. And yet, in retrospect, I know it wasn’t love. It was puppy love. There was still so much ahead of me at this point, and I didn’t know it. I was happy with Spain. But, as I’d learn later, she wasn’t the best.

Morocco – This girl was like nothing I’d ever seen before. She was exotic. She was different. And she was a good cook to boot. I didn’t know what to expect from this girl, but I’ve always been interested. Something about the bizarre caught my eye. I basically followed her around. Doing whatever she wanted me to do. But I didn’t know enough about her to take charge and try to be open and embrace her. She cracked the whip and I obeyed. I needed the experience, to help me move on. To see what other people had to offer. I’m happy with the situation, but I’m not desperate enough to go back.

Namibia – This girl was adventurous. Fast-paced. Not afraid to get a little bit dirty. She’s the girl with the tattoo. The girl that conservative folks scowl at when they see her walking down the street. She was my black rose. But I’m not that dangerous. I love a good adventure, but I’d never be able to keep up with this girl. It was too much too fast. Maybe if I meet her again someday, we can have another fling. But it’ll never last.

South Africa – Call me naïve, but I think I loved this girl. What do I know about love? Nothing. But I know how I felt when we were together, and I know how I feel now that she’s gone. No one else has quite compared. I’ve been with other girls, but she’s the only one I've ever decided to go back to. I know I’ll go back. It’s just a matter of when. We can be adventurous and spend some time living in the fast lane. Or we can relax, and take in some music at a local jazz joint. She fits me. She sticks around when the memories of others fade away. I want my parents to meet her. After just a few short days, I knew that my family should fly out and see this girl. She’s just that special. I’m sure there are other girls out there that will have the same impact. But I haven’t found them yet. And if I someday end up back in her arms… that’s okay with me.

Mauritius – This was a blind date that went horribly wrong. I was on the rebound from my last girlfriend. She didn’t really know what I was all about. It was really awkward. I felt sick. She didn’t know what to say. We just cut our losses, laughed about it, and went our separate ways. In time, I doubt I’ll even remember her name.

India – Everyone else said she was an amazing girl, so I gave her a shot. Afterwards, I really only enjoyed her one redeeming quality: that smile. Those white teeth. Perfectly symmetrical. Cast in marble. Such an exercise in perfection would be futile to try and recreate. But she was annoying. She talked too much. Her friends talked too much. And she was dirty. What should’ve been a one-night stand turned into four, and all I ever wanted to do while I was around her was take a nice long shower. I’m glad it’s over. I guess I don’t regret it, but I’m in no hurry to ever call her again.

Thailand – This just happened so fast. We were perfect for each other. It didn’t matter what we did; we just always had fun. Whether we were spending all day working hard, or walking aimlessly through the city, we always found something to laugh about. You were beautiful. Dark and mysterious. I didn’t know anything about you before diving headfirst into our relationship. But I learned. And we hit it off so well. Oh and the food. I feel like all we did was eat. I spent way too much money on you. It made sense at the time, but in retrospect, I could’ve used that for other things. But you spoiled me with your beauty, so I wanted to spoil you back. I wasn’t ready to leave. I just wanted another day. Another hour. Five more minutes. But you kicked me out and sent me packing. I walked away, tail between my legs, and wondered what would come next…

Vietnam/Cambodia – This was a steamy little love triangle. I started off with one girl, and everything was going pretty well. I still wasn’t completely over my last girlfriend, but I was ready to start trying. We seemed to be getting along, when all of a sudden, the other woman showed up. We went on a holiday for a few days, and things got hot. So hot. I can honestly say, there hasn’t been any other girl that’s raised my body temp like this one. But again, I knew it wouldn’t last. I ended up slinking back to where I came from, hoping to regain acceptance. And I got it, reluctantly, after a significant kick to the ass and a few lessons learned. But I needed the lesson, and now I know better.

So if you haven’t picked up on it yet… this is pretty farcical. I’ve never actually been a part of a love triangle. I’ve never been on a blind date. Etc. Some entries may relay more truth than others, and I certainly had some people in mind, but nothing here is meant to be taken seriously. I just thought I’d spice up my blog again for a bit of a laugh. Hope you enjoyed.