Day 43 (03-02-09)

Stop. No. Don’t do it. Come on. Please? I’ve been doing so well. Ugh. Fine. I’ll admit it.

I’m sick.

It was only a matter of time. In contained environments like this one, illnesses spread like wildfire. My throat’s sore. I can’t really hear out of my left ear. I cough if I take too deep of a breath. Oh well. At least I’ve made it this far. And the food in India will probably make me sick anyway, so at least I’ll get it all out of the way at once. But on a good note, once we get to Thailand on March 15th, we only have 6 days of classes through Japan. That’s March 15th –April 11th with a grand total of 6 class days. What a good month. That’s my kind of spring break.

After classes today, not much went on, but there was a two-day-late celebration of Black History Month in the Union, so I went to that. Always enlightening, especially after visiting some of the places we just did. Now it’s time to watch 10 Things I Hate About You. And that’s actually academic for me. Since it’s based on Taming of the Shrew, I can write a paper on it for my Shakespeare class. Score. My life is so difficult. Wait, no…

Day 44 (03-03-09)

Alright, I didn’t even make it out of bed until 12:30pm today. Slept through Global Studies. Slept through breakfast. Almost missed lunch. No bueno. But I have a paper due in my 4:15pm Media class, so I suppose I should finish revising it before then. The one time all voyage that I’ve had to turn something in for a decent amount of credit, it’s the day I’m sick as a dog. Murphy’s Law. C’est la vie. I’m over it. What’s the difference. India in two days.

Oh, and I never mentioned it again, but Slumdog Millionaire was fantastic. It’s shocking to think that I’ve actually seen places as destitute as those depicted in the movie, and that I’ll probably end up seeing more. If you’ve seen the movie and you think that it’s playing up the slum factor to garner an emotional response, you’re only half-right. It is trying to get that response. But it’s also entirely true. There are parts of the world that really do look like that. And they really deal with these horrifying issues on a regular basis. It was a scary enough thought to have when I was just another kid living in the suburbs. But now, having seen the truth firsthand, it’s a completely different feeling. I can’t really describe it, and there’s no way to make those kinds of situations feel real without actually walking through a slum or a township. Next time you start complaining about the financial crisis…just stop. Our way of life is exponentially better than most. Even if we have to start sacrificing that mid-afternoon latte. Appreciate what you have, and know that it could always be worse. As long as we live in America, it could always be worse.

Sorry for preaching. It wasn’t initially intended to be that way; I kind of go off on rants sometimes.

Some clarification for those who asked for it:

As mascot of the Arabian Sea, I was a UPS worker. I wore a brown jacket and pants with homemade UPS logos, and I carried a package around with me. I wandered around telling people I had a package for them, which was construed as something TOTALLY different, and it might’ve actually helped us in the end.

Also, the picture from Spain of my friends walking into the hostel with the creepy red sign and the ominous clouds in the background was touched up ever-so-slightly in Photoshop to make it look more disturbing. It was still pretty creepy though.

I’ll add more pictures to the Photo site sometime soon. Hopefully before India.

Yes, I want to go to the World Cup in South Africa next year. Cape Town, here I come.

Yes, I would love to go backpacking in South America or Southern Africa after I graduate. Let’s go.

No, I haven’t gotten a tattoo. Yet.

Yes, I’m sleeping on the Great Wall of China when I get to Beijing. I think my excitement should be rather self-explanatory.

Yes, I’m remembering to take my anti-Malaria medication.

Yes, when I was in Namibia I did drive past the hotel where Angelina Jolie gave birth. We didn’t go inside, though.

As for all of the questions regarding the female population, I can only say:
No, I’m not getting married in Hawaii.
No, I didn’t meet and fall in love with a South African Princess.
Yes, I’m still AIDS free. (Seriously guys?)
No, I haven’t made anyone pregnant.

And I’m not even going to post the other questions. This is a family blog. Try to keep it PG.