Same Same...But Different

Getting to Viet Nam only took a day to get to from Singapore, which was a good thing seeing as I really am not a fan of being on this ship. I was excited to get to Ho Chi Minh City, there was a lot to do and see, and I was ready for it. Viet Nam was also the first communist country I’ve been too, but it didn’t feel like that on the streets.  Getting off of the boat was simple, the city was right there, and there was plenty of transportation to be found. The first day Joann, Julia, and I set out and immediately got some food at a small restaurant, with a limited selection of snake heads, frog, chickens feet, and eel. Needless to say I got plain rice that I ate with chili sauce. It was good but it made me worried to think that this is what I had to look forward to eat for five days!

In Viet Nam, the popular method of getting around is on the back of a little motorcycle. You just hop on the back of one and they take you anywhere you need to go for about a dollar…or if you’re a local, less. We took a bunch of photos while we were driving around on the motorcycles and it was a blast. After lunch we went looking for some DVD’s as we heard they were cheap in Viet Nam…and if you don’t go to the first place the motorcycle people bring you, they aren’t. What SAS and the guidebooks don’t tell you is that most of the taxi drivers have deals with local shops and will set you up. Fool me once…and then I learn. We got jipped at the DVD store the first time, but made up for it the second and third DVD places we went to.

After the DVD store, we went to Hong Kong Market, a large market with several floors all basically selling clothes and cosmetics. Once again, to get things you have to bargain effectively because if you don’t then you will get ripped off.  After the market we explored a little before going back the ship and getting ready for dinner and to go out. Joann left to be with her boyfriend who had come to visit her from Hawaii. Julia and I went out for dinner at a pizza place and then out to people watch at a place call GO2 before going back for the night. Unfortunately Julia’s purse got stolen by someone. It was a two person set up. Someone must have seen us walking, and then back tracked to get behind us. One person ran by and snatched her purse, and then jumped on the back of a motorcycle and the both of them sped off.  That was the first time I had had any experience with crime or anything of the sort during my whole trip.

The next day my friend Amber and I went out to the markets, and then met up with a friend of a friend of hers who lived in Viet Nam and we went and hung out with him for a day. That day was fun because the markets were busy and good deals were being made. We had pho which was hard to eat with chopsticks but was good to have tried.

The day after that I slept in and met up with my extended family sister Hannah, and we set off for the Viet Nam War Remnants Museum, something I had really wanted to see. The museum cost about .75 cents to get in and outside of it were large US military vehicles like tanks and jets, and even a plane and helicopter. The inside was something else all together. There were many different types of weapons and guns as well as ammunition. The worst thing was the pictures…the pictures were chilling. I’m having flashbacks as I type…they were gruesome, sickening, and real…very real. Down to the effects of bombs, torture by US soldiers, and the worst: the effects of Agent Orange. It was disgusting, awful, appalling, and every other word you can think to use along those lines. There were misshaped fetuses in tanks, and pictures of people with horrible birth defects. I don’t know when, or if I’ll be able to get those images out of my head…or if I even want to. In school back in the states we don’t learn about the war in that way…as in from the other side’s perspective. What happened, why it happened, and that we lost…that was a real eye-opener; one that I was glad, if not shocked to have.

That night I went out to dinner to a Mexican restaurant with Hannah at a place called Chico’s.  It was some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had in the States, but it was in Viet Nam, cooked by Vietnamese people…insane. After dinner Hannah and I went to the Crazy Buffalo and met some Kiwi’s and hung out for the night. It was great to talk to some non-SAS people for a change before going back for the night.

            The next day I hung out with Hannah again as well as her roommate Daniel. We went out for the day exploring some more markets, and eating some more. We ended up splitting up because the girls wanted to go to the spa and I decided to go to the movies before heading back to the ship. Little did I know, I was going to be greeted with tragic news.

               Upon going back to the ship those aboard were told to go to classroom 9 and wait to be told what had happened. When the dean came in she told us that a student had died in his room. Andre, a 20 year old student from California had overdosed on heroin in his room and died hours before being discovered. The girl who found him was with him the night before doing heroin with him, left in the morning, and then hours later made the cabin steward open his door, finding him dead, and bleeding from the mouth and nose. She then proceeded to wipe the heroin off of the bedside table and put it in her pocket. The medical team was then called, and he was pronounced dead soon after. The ship called a meeting for everyone onboard, and told us a very abbreviated version of what had happened…basically that he had died. I went back out for the night, finding the ship to be too somber…rightfully so of course, but it was just all too uncomfortable for me. I ended up going back to the same Mexican restaurant with my friend Amber and then walked around the city for a bit.

            When we came back to the ship about three hours later, it was closed off and there were many students sitting over to one side waiting to be let one. I stood on the opposite side of the entry way with Amber and another student also waiting to be let on, when several crew members walked down the gangway with a black body bag. Only the three of us could see, but they took Andre’s body off of the ship, and loaded it into an ambulance before driving away with the sirens off.  After that we were allowed to board the ship, and after that the rumors started. The MV Explorer is much smaller once you walk inside of it.

            The day after was uneventful, I went to the market and did some exploring before going back to the ship. I then went out and found one of my friends and went to dinner with her at…once again, Chico’s. It was just so good, I had to have it as much as I could! We ate dinner, and then left to get back to the ship before on ship time.

            Viet Nam is definitely on the top of my list when it comes to my favorite countries. There was a lot to see, and not some much to do, but even though you were doing some of the same things every day, it was all fun. Even if you went to the same market, there was some new stall that you hadn’t seen before. I would definitely like to come back to Viet Nam and see some other parts of the country. Viet Nam was a country that I was excited to go to and it met and then surpassed my expectations. Now the question is: How do I get all the movies and television shows I bought back to the US and through customs?

Give Me Something to Sing...apore

Coming from India, going to Singapore was like going to New York City. Singapore is modern, wealthy, and clean…three things I wouldn’t say first when describing India. For the first time in five years, Semester at Sea students were allowed to disembark and get off of the ship. Before, the ship would dock and refuel, but no one was allowed to get off. In our preport,  we were all warned to be on our best behavior due to the strict laws that Singapore has regarding drugs and alcohol., and since it was Halloween the night that we arrived, Halloween + Semester at  Sea could easily equal a problem.

We were only going to be in Singapore for about 36 hours, so there was only so much time to do the bunch of things there was to do. For the first day Julia, Joann, Collin and I went to the Raffles Hotel for a world famous Singapore Sling, and then to the mall to meet Joann’s friend who lives in Singapore. Collin, Julia and I decided to go to the zoo, the best zoo in Asia, and one of the best in the world. It was awesome, we saw an elephant show, they had three white tigers, and we saw a pygmy hippo give birth.

After we got back from the zoo, I had to get ready and go to the Singapore Flyer, the tallest ferris wheel in the world for a high class dinner. The taxi situation in Singapore is pretty awful. Taxis will only pick you up from certain designated taxi  waiting areas, you cannot hail them from the street, so if there is a long line of people waiting for a taxi (and there usually is) you may have to wait a while. I got caught behind a really long line at the zoo, so I got back to the ship late. I took less than ten minutes to change, and then left to take a taxi to the flyer. Unfortunately the trip from the ship to the street takes about ten to fifteen minutes because we were docked in a cruise terminal. It was six oclock when I actually got into the taxi, the same time I was supposed to be at the flyer, unfortunately I didn’t have any cash on me and the taxi I got into refused to take my card, so he dropped me off in the middle of the street. Thankfully another taxi driver picked me up and was able to bring me to an ATM and then to the flyer, which I arrived at almost twenty minutes late.

The dinner was awesome, the food wasn’t amazing, but at $120 dollars you get decent food and great ambience. It was really cool to get to be sitting on the world’s highest ferris wheel eating dinner and seeing Singapore lit up all around and below us…it was awesome. When the dinner was over, I made my way back to the ship to meet Joann, Julia, and Collin to go out for Halloween. We took a taxi to a busy part of the city and walked around enjoying the nightlife and having a good time before going back to the ship for the night.

The next day Collin, Julia, and I took off for Universal Studios for the day. The two main rides were closed but it was an awesome time. We bought some of the pictures that they take on the rides, and went to Chili’s for lunch. It was really fun and it was cool to go to Universal Studios in Singapore. After that we stopped at the grocery store and then got back on the ship. Singapore was really fun, but expensive compared to the other countries we had been in. Singapore really isn’t all that different from home, and it was a good friendly reminder of what I’ll be going back to soon.

India...The land of Chutiyas...Oh the Chutiyas.

India…was such an experience, an experience that I am so grateful for being able to have had. After having come from Mauritius, where it was all fun all the time, India was going to put everything back into perspective again, which of course it did. In fact, that was my only assumption about India that came true…the others (being more other people’s assumptions that were told to me, rather than actually being my own) were, in my opinion, exaggerated or untrue.

Getting off of the ship in India was a challenge. This was the first port where we needed not only our passports, but also a piece of paper stating which electronics we had brought into the country. It was a little hard remembering to keep track of those two things just because there was so much to see and do that our minds were preoccupied by other things. The other challenge was the line that we had to wait in to get past security and out into the city because it was long…very long.

Finally free of the line, Collin, Joann, and I tried our hand at negotiating with an auto rickshaw driver, and we hitched a ride to a random street, and went looking for food. Driving in a rickshaw is an experience everyone must have in their life…it is thrilling, crazy, and downright terrifying, but most of all it is amazingly fun. A rickshaw is a small three wheeled go-cart-like vehicle with a roof that weaves in and out of traffic at high speeds and beeps constantly…it was amazing. Anyway, the three of us got dosas, drank from coconuts on the side of the road, and a bunch of other things we were told not to do by the medical team…my attitude was that I wasn’t not going to enjoy India because I was scared that I was going to get sick, which I hadn’t so far in the trip, so I didn’t worry about it. The place that we went for lunch served dosas, which was exciting for me because I went to Hampton Chutney Co. in SoHo, NYC before I left where I had a dosa for the first time…and there is no comparison. While the dosa I had in NYC was mostly cold, soggy, and hard to eat, the dosa I had in India was crisp, hot, delicious, and easy to pick up and enjoy. It was awesome!

After lunch we wanted to go shopping so we hopped on another rickshaw and asked the driver to take us to the market…and he promptly took us to the mall, the very expensive, very Americanized mall…so we went in and explored a little, seeing nothing we wanted and left, and hopped on another rickshaw and asked to go to the market once again. This time the driver told us that the market was closed and took us to other very expensive stores until it opened. This went on for some time until finally he brought us to Pondi Bazaar, a big market lined up and down the streets. We soon realized that those shops paid drivers to take tourists to their stores instead of the markets. There was no way the bazaar closed in the middle of the day, it was huge and packed…we were definitely duped. Thankfully though, a rickshaw ride is usually a dollar, so we didn’t feel that bad about it.

We walked around, bought a few things (I only got a set of glass bracelets for my best friend Alexandria because they were teal and gold, the colors she painted her dresser, so they reminded me of her), and by that time we were hungry so we went out for dinner. We ended up at this nice restaurant and had the best meal of my entire time in India. Curry chicken, chicken pakodas, bread (something similar to naan, but not) chicken tikka masala, and prawn masala, fresh lime juice, and Indian ice cream. Ah, it was so good! We had also gone grocery shopping beforehand, so after that we hopped into another rickshaw and headed back to the ship for the night.

The next morning I was up and ready to go for my Art of Living trip, which was a three day yoga and meditation class taught by an Indian Guru. There were 32 of us, and we got together, got on the bus and took off. We made a few stops along the way to a few temples and the butterball, a huge sphere made of solid stone sitting on a rock slope for hundreds of years, never moving. We weren’t able to appreciate the sights as much as we wanted to do to the massive amounts of people trying to sell you things. And by things I mean marble carvings, bracelets, charms, and so many other things…it was insane. Anyway, I bought a few things for a good price, especially when like the rest of the countries I’ve been to bargaining is the name of the game.

 When we finally got the village we were staying at, we had lunch, had some free time, and at 4:30 our yoga sessions began. Over the course of the next three days (Actually we had 12 hours the first day, 24 the second, and 12 the third) we had about twenty hours of yoga and meditation. We had some time to shop in the craft market, go on a tour, and we had amazing food. But there was a lot of meditation, and in the end while I’m glad I did it…I’m not sure I would do twenty hours of it in forty-eight hours again. It was amazing experience however, especially a two hour meditation session that was truly an out of body experience…unreal. One moment I was just lying there, the next I was in a deep trance, and the next I was sitting up…in what felt like the time span of a minute. It might sound like I was asleep, but I know that I wasn’t, it was something much more than that though, and unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

When we left it was odd, it was like everything sped back up again…because when we arrived it all seemed to slow down. I’m glad I went. When we arrived back on the ship it was time for a shower, and then I went out with Joann again for some pretty undelicious (Joann’s word) expensive food. That was a disappointment, but also fun because I was back in the city and able to go out and explore again. After going out for the night, we headed back to the ship for some sleep…I was exhausted!

The next day, I had my Indian Cooking demonstration SAS trip. It was not what I thought it would be…less interactive and less enjoyable than I had hoped, but like everything even if it wasn’t that fun it was still an experience that I was glad that I had. The woman who was cooking was the Indian equivalent of Rachel Ray, and with a little counter stove and microwave made a few Indian dishes, and then we ate the food that was made for lunch. Afterwards, we got back to the ship where I hooked up with my friend Mindy, who I met on the Art of Living and my other friend Amanda. We went out to the mall, went to a spa, and went grocery shopping before getting dinner and heading back to the ship. I got ready to go out again with Julia. We were looking for places to go out, but everywhere was closed. We ran into our friends Elizabeth and Liz who were hanging out with a few locals that they knew and we all went back to one of their houses to hang out before heading back to the ship for the night.

The next (and last) day I went out with Julia and Joann and Collin for the day and we went back the spa for the appointment we had made. We went out shopping a little, and then got some food before we went back to the ship to make it back before on ship time. India was great…I had heard so many negative things about it beforehand, I was worried to be honest, but once I got there I really didn’t see the truth in any of them. My favorite memory was in a rickshaw one day when a beggar woman came up to the side of us and started asking for money by putting her hand out. She then proceeded to shut her left eye and cover it with part of her clothing, trying to insinuate that she didn’t have an eye…except for the fact that I had seen it before she tried to cover it. I pointed to my eye, and then to hers…and then she smiled, uncovered and opened her eye and smiled, still asking for money…it was hysterical.

India was an amazing time; I would love to go back to a different part and see more of it. I enjoyed the Art of Living, the food, the cheap shopping…I enjoyed it all, even the traffic. The people we nice, the reality of the real world that you get confronted by is awful to realize, but a necessity to see. India was real, it was raw, and it was amazing.

Mauritius...So Delicious

               I’d been looking forward to Mauritius since before the trip even began. On Facebook a girl mentioned that she was going to be getting a Villa and was looking for people to come with her. I booked my spot, and then waited until October 14^th until we arrived in Mauritius. During our preport the professor who spoke made no qualms about it…Mauritius was spring break, and I knew it was going to get crazy…which of course, being SAS it did.

            My original plan was to go see the waterfalls and do some diving and swimming, and then go the Casela Nature Reserve and play with some lions. Originally it was only Mike and Allison and I, and then Kamrin and Daniel asked to come along. When we got off of the ship we asked one of the taxi drivers that was standing out front  to take us to the waterfall, but he refused telling us that swimming wasn’t allowed, which I knew wasn’t true but we didn’t fight it. Instead we arranged for an Island tour that would show us the cools sights of Mauritius.

            We piled into the taxi and made our way to a volcano. It was huge and green covered in lush vegetation. We were at the very top and the view of the island was amazing. The next stop was to a mini waterfall where we were able to swim in a little in a small lagoon and climb the waterfall and sit in it. It was so refreshing…and it was a blast! The next stop was lunch, and then we were off to the nature park to play with the lions. That was amazing! There were two in the enclosure, one sitting in a tree growling the whole time, and one that was with us on the ground. I had pet a cheetah in South Africa but since cheetahs sleep 18 hours a day, it wasn’t as interactive as the lion encounter was. She was gorgeous and full of energy always moving around and nuzzling. It was a great experience!

            After that Daniel and Kamrin went back to the ship and Allison, Mike, and I went to the villa. Dinner was already being made, so we ate when we arrived and then hung out on the beach for the night, swimming and having a good time. It was a much needed relaxation period   and I’m glad we did it. The next day we hung out on the beach until we had to get back to the ship. Mauritius was fun…and that’s about it. There wasn’t a cultural aspect to take in, not for SAS anyway. We’ll probably be the last voyage to go to Mauritius, as SAS has proven to be too much trouble for the island. This time the worst thing that I heard happened was that someone threw an empty liquor bottle at a waiter across the street and it hit him shattering everywhere. No wonder why they took half our time away from us…

            Anyway, it was a nice 36 hour spring break and much needed. The beautiful weather, great food and white sand beaches were…quite simply, delicious.   

37 is The Magic Number...

The way from Ghana was tumultuous and unpleasant to say the least, so South Africa was a welcome change. A new port, a new country, a new perspective awaiting us…there was so much to look forward to. Coming into South Africa, I had three trips lined up and I was eager for them all. Even though they were through Semester at Sea, they looked promising. We were going to be in South Africa for six days, longer than any other port so far. Getting off of the boat was a little harder this time, as we had to meet with South African officials individually to be allowed off of the ship…but even so it was still relatively early when the ship was cleared and we were able to get off.

Cape Town is right on the water and has a bunch of things to do, and I decided to venture off on my own, getting some much needed alone time. I decided to head off to the aquarium, a place that back home I found relaxing and fun, and at $13 dollars (or 96 Rand) was a decent price to get in. I walked over, through the waterfront markets and made my way into the aquarium. I spent a good hour and a half exploring its underwater treasures before going back to the ship for a quick lunch. I had plans to meet up with someone, which unfortunately fell through, so continuing with keeping to myself for the day I decided to venture out to the theme park Ratanga Junction and go ride a few roller coasters and have some fun for the day. The park was small and a little disappointing but the novelty of it made up for that.

When I got back to the ship I met up with some people for dinner and we went out to Long St. a place where everything is happening at night. Unfortunately, we went too late for dinner and too early for anything to be happening at night, so we went back and had dinner at the waterfront. It was a good first day however it was clear to me that South Africa was going to be an expensive country, with over $50 dollars of taxi rides the first day.

The second day I had a Faculty Developed Program, also called an FDP. This FDP consisted of a tour of Cape Town, a visit to the District Six Museum, a visit to a township, was supposed to go to Robben Island, the prison where nelson Mandela was held prisoner for over thirty years, however since the ferry to the Island broke, that part of the trip was canceled. The first part of the trip was a tour of Cape Town, in which our tour guide told us things about the city as we rode around in the bus. The next part of the trip was to the District Six museum to discuss the Apartheid and learn more about it. When we left the museum we headed into one of the townships for lunch and a tasting of some local beer. On the way, we were able to see the poorest of the poor in South Africa living in literally shacks made up of thin sheets of metal or plywood, about the size of a small shed.  It was shocking to see that and compare it to the city. South Africa has an unemployment rate of almost 50%, and it was clearly evident.

Lunch in the township was the best part of the FDP. We went to the home of a woman named Shelia and ate at the restaurant that was inside of her home. It was there that I enjoyed ostrich meat for the first time and was able to listen to some live African music as we ate. I also bought a wall carving of the big five that I fell in love with as soon as I saw it. It was a wonderful time and I was happy that I went, even though I would have loved to go to Robben Island. When we got back from the FDP I went to the post office to send the carving back home as I knew it would be too big to keep in my cabin, and too big to fit in a duffel bag coming home. That post office was the worst one that I had ever been to in my life. Not only did they not have boxes, but they made me find my own (I had to find two, and tape them together with the tape they made me buy from them), wrap it myself, and then send it home at the price of 1109 Rand, about three times what I paid for it in the first place. Ugh. That night I hung out with Shelley in Hout Bay for some quiet R&R, internet usage, and a good dinner.

The next day I decided to book a safari, realizing that I was going to regret not going on one more than I would paying for one, so I booked a simple day trip safari for the 7^th. Afterwards I had to get ready because I had a township homestay that night. We weren’t staying in the same township that had the shacks, but it was pretty close, so I was weary at first. However, when I got there and saw how it really was, while in severe poverty, it was also a relatively happy place, and my worries went away. The family I was paired with was very nice and accommodating, and the two sons they had showed my around the township and we hung out for the night…it was a great cultural experience.

The next morning I had to leave early because I had a wine tour at 8:00am. I had to get up early and make my way to the ship for some breakfast, and then a taxi ride to Eco Café where we were all meeting for Bikes ‘n Wine, a winery and wine tasting done on bike. I had never done a wine tasting and it was quite fun! The only bad part about it was the bike riding which I hadn’t done in quite some time, so it kind of hurt. The best part was going to the Cheetah Sanctuary where I got to pet a cheetah! At the end of the tour we each got a bottle of wine, which was not allowed back on the ship, which meant we had to drink it before hand. I did end up drinking mine, but once I got back on the ship I ended up falling asleep…from the wine or the riding I wasn’t sure.

The next day was my safari which I expected to be great. I had to wake up at 4:30am to get picked up on time at 5:30. The ride there was about two hours long and we were greeted with a glass of wine when we arrived. After breakfast it was time for our safari, and we set off. We were able to see lions, rhinos, a leopard, cheetahs, crocodiles, warthogs, elephants, hippos, zebras, a giraffe, and more. It was great!  When it was all over we had lunch and drove another two hours back to the ship.

That night I went out to dinner with a few people, and had a great time. I ended up going to bed when we got back since dinner was so long, but then someone invited me back out so I decided to go. We went to a club for the last night in South Africa, and after a good time didn’t get back until almost 5:00am.

The next day was our last in the port and it was time to do a little shopping for people back home. After a quick lunch, we made our way over to the Green Market, which was a bunch of merchants selling things outside in a square. I grabbed a few things and we were on our way back to the ship.

South Africa was fun, but expensive, long, and yet it flew by. I was happy to go, and happy to experience another culture that before, was previously unknown to me. It was another country that I would go back to, though also another country that I need more time digesting. There was so much to do, and yet so little was done…and the opposite it feels like as well. It was fun South Africa…you taught me that 37 is the magic number, and so much more.

Gha-Na

I originally had two Semester at Sea trips planned for Ghana, Kakum National Park, and the village experience. By this time I had grown weary of SAS trips, as they seem counterproductive of being a traveler, seemingly sticking you in the tourist group and not letting you escape. Up until that point I had only done two, Sevilla and Cordoba in Spain, and Hiking in the High Atlas Mountains with the Berbers. The one in Spain was awful, and the one in Morocco was great, but I was still skeptical and wasn’t sure that I still wanted to do them.

 Well, fortunately for me, a few people that I knew asked me to tag along on their own Ghana trip which would be heading deep into the country away from the cities, and all urbanization to a remote village named Senase to bring school supplies and help to the children in the village. I happily accepted, wanting to have a much more cultural experience than Semester at Sea would provide, so I sold my two trips, paid for the new one, and was ready to go as soon as we could leave the ship.

            The morning we docked, my group gathered in Tymitz Square and waited for the second group that would be joining us. My groups mission was to help out in schools, while a second group that had nowhere to go asked to join us, and they would be installing a water purification system in the same village. This port was the same as Morocco, which meant that the city was not close to where the ship docked and a decent walk was required to reach it. So our group set forth, and when we reached the gates, we met our guide Fredrick Benna, who operates his own tour group, CAN DO LAND TOURS, and who had also been very active on Facebook, trying to talk to people and use his tour services. There were fifteen of us from the ship, plus Fred which made a total of sixteen. When we saw the van we would be traveling in, I knew that we wouldn’t all be able to fit in it, as it was clearly made for no more than twelve people, including the driver. Nonetheless, we squeezed in as best we could, however Fred didn’t feel safe with that many people in that small of a vehicle so we drove for a few minutes before we went to the rental company and switched into a bigger van, and used the ATM at the same time. The next stop was to switch license stickers on the front of the van (illegally I might add)from a commercial van, to a private one due to the number of people who were riding in it.

After that it was off we went, and began the drive to Senase. After driving for two hours we stopped in this town/village/side of the road with a few buildings for a short break, where we got to interact with the locals for a few minutes before we set off again. Not too long after that, the driver saw a dog in the road and veered off to the side to avoid hitting it. We saved the dog, but screwed up the car somehow and were stuck on the side of the road in front of Pastor Jacob’s  12 Apostle Church. The driver tried to fix the van, but was having no luck, so the rest of us decided to go and see the people who were standing outside of the Church looking at us. There we met Pastor Jacob, and his family who told us that this was his house, and that on days of worship the people would come here to join them in Prayer. The great thing about Morocco, which was also the case but even more so in Ghana, was that most people spoke English, so communicating was not as difficult in Spain. At first it was a bit awkward trying to talk to them as we were so foreign, and many of the younger people/children had never seen white people before. Then I realized that I had brought Dum Dums and went to go and get them from my bag in the van. When I returned and passed them out, the children had never had them and had no idea what to do with them, and so at first they put the whole thing in their mouth, until I unwrapped them for them. Even the adults wanted some…it was a great ice breaker.

Pastor Jacob and his daughter Charity then showed us around their home and property. They had many chickens and ducks running around, some puppies, and of course the dog that we almost hit was theirs as well. They showed us the swamp that they used as a toilet, and told us that that was where they also washed their clothes. Their house was little more than a hut with no running water, and barely anything else. In America it would be appalling to live in these conditions and anyone who would be doing so would be more than miserable, but here the sense of community is so strong that the people draw their hope and inspiration from each other, and they focus on what they have, not what they don’t. For them it not about what they want, but about wanting what they’ve got, and they were some of the happiest people I’ve ever seen. When I asked Charity later about the lollipops, she said that none of them had ever had them before, and when I heard that tears came to my eyes. Lollipops are something that I’ve grown up with, and had countless times was such a big thing to them, and something that I had always taken for granted. I had never experienced giving people such joy before in my life, through such simple means.

One of the people who I was with had also brought a few soccer balls, and decided to inflate one of them and give it to Pastor Jacob and his children. As they played together, I took a video of the fun, and then we were presented with raw cocoa from Charity, which has a terrible texture and an amazing taste. Even though we were having so much fun, the van was eventually fixed, and it was time to go.

We kept driving, nonstop until we finally got to Senase, almost eleven hours later. I hadn’t been in a car that long since I was six and drove from Rhode Island to Florida, Oklahoma, and Missouri, and then back again, not something that I enjoy. Since we broke down, we missed the community dinner and tribal presentation that we were supposed to have, and instead went immediately to Fred’s house, where we were greeted by his mother and the rest of his family. His sister had made us dinner, and by that point we were all very hungry. Dinner consisted of ground fish with some sort of mashed leaf and spice over boiled white rice. For me, seafood is not an option so I had ground egg with tomatoes and peppers over the same rice…it was delicious. At first I wasn’t sure what it was as we all dug into it with our hands…because in Ghana they do not eat with silverware, and was concerned that it was turtle meat as one of Fred’s brothers was playing with one that he said were abundant in the area. Then we split into our sleeping groups and went to bed for the night…or at least tried too. At first there was a giant bug in the room, then we were woken up by someone who yelled at us for having the door open, and then we were woken up by someone opening the door that we had closed with a chair leaning on it from the other side and making the chair fall, but in the end it was still a fantastic first night in Ghana.

            The next morning we got up and met with everyone for some breakfast in the “town” which really just consists of the center of the village. Breakfast was porridge in a bag, which you eat by biting a small hole in the corner of and sucking. The porridge was grey in color, gritty in texture, and resembled sour milk in taste, and was accompanied by balls of fried dough, which is their version of a donut. Before, during, and after breakfast we were quite the town spectacle, causing all of the children to run up to us and want to play and have their photos taken, which they love. They loved to pose with us, and then see the picture on the screen afterwards. After that we met with the Queen Mother of the village and asked for permission to stay in Senase and do what we came to do, which of course she said yes to. Usually a Queen Mother or chief never speaks directly to anyone but each other, instead they use a linguist, who then relays their message to everyone else. When we were there however, she chose to speak directly to us…a rare privilege.

            After meeting with them, the two groups spilt up to each complete the tasks we went there to do. My group climbed into the back of a large flat bed truck with planks of wood running horizontally across the back for seats. The eight of us and Fred all climbed in and set off. Nothing prepared us for how rocky it was going to be, not how fun it was. Chris and I decided to stand up and it quickly became a thrill ride…until the rain. We went to Ghana at the end of their rainy season, so we thought we would be able to escape it…unfortunately that was not the case. The drizzle that came initially turned into rain pretty quickly, and then came harder and harder, until it literally hurt us due to the fact that the harder it seemed to rain the faster the driver seemed to go, so the rain while fun, made me have to put my sunglasses on so that I could still see. As we were standing up, not only were we facing the rain and the bad roads that threatened to eject us from the truck, there were many tree branches that dangled down and hit me in the face a few times, as well as Chris. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the trip as well, even if most of them were completely soaked.

            We arrived at the school in a short amount of time, and even though the rain had not lessened we continued onward in our task. The school we went to was just on the outskirts of Senase, and provided education to the children from the nearby much smaller villages, some of them walking over three miles from home to get there. The school consisted of a tin roof made up of sheets of metal, littered with holes, supported by wooden beams that were held into place by badly made wooden fences. It was completely open and offered almost no protection from the elements. There were four classrooms, with a fifth being built, for the different grades that the school taught. After a quick tour, we split up into two people each per classroom to pass out the supplies that we brought and to help teach the kids. We colored with them, and talked to them, and they loved playing with the bubbles that we had brought, even the teachers enjoyed playing with them.

            After school got out we walked some of the kids back home, one of which picked us oranges right off the tree in his yard, which we ate on our way back to Senase. Once back in Senase we saw some of the water village people who were having difficulties with their project, so we had to wait for them to finish. For a little we just stayed in our room, but not too long after we decided to go explore. We didn’t get far as a swarm of children surrounded us and wanted to play. Grant ended up having candy on him which definitely enticed the children, but once they saw that Chris had another soccer ball they weren’t going to go away anytime soon. They jumped on us, climbed up my arms, demanded to be spun around, wanted dozens of high-fives and fist pumps, and wouldn’t stop laughing. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

            When we finally tried to escape we ran back into our room, which unfortunately had many windows…windows which let the children see that we were hiding from them, one of them even busted open the door! Anyway, once the coast was clear we once again met up for dinner, which that night was bush meat and fou-fou. The bush meat was deer, and once again there were no utensils, so everyone was expected to dig in. I tried a little of the fou-fou, and found it not to my liking so I had a repeat of the egg and tomato dinner. When dinner was over some of us decided to go out and have a beer in the closest thing to a town outside of the city, which provided good conversation and company, until we headed back and went to bed.

            The next morning we woke up early and unfortunately found out that Fred as sick in bed. I hadn’t known that Fred had malaria until that day, and we were all very concerned for him. Fortunately he recovered enough to get out of bed and come with us for the village dancing we were supposed to have seen the first night. The elders were there once again, but this time the water purification system had been set and used so that the other group was able to present some clean water, which amounted to about a gallon every two hours for a village of 4,000. After the water presentation some village teenagers came out and did some traditional Ghanaian dances for us. After that, it was time to go.

            We had a blast in Senase and plans were made to go back, as there is so much work that needs to be done. We said our goodbyes, gathered our things, and piled back into the van. It was another long ride back, though not as long as before, this time it only took us eight and a half hours since we did not break down on the way back. When we got back to the ship it was time for a shower, and then some dinner before heading out for the night to experience the local nightlife.

            The next morning was out last day in Ghana, and a group of us spent it at the beach. We just relaxed and talked, and hung out enjoying being on land before we had to get back on the ship. After the beach I hit the market that had set up outside of the ship trying to lure us in and spend any extra money that we had. I got a few things for some good prices, and got back on the ship.

            Ghana was amazing, and unlike anything I had ever experienced before in m y life. I had no idea what to expect, and I still am digesting it. I like Ghana more than Morocco and Spain combined, and if I had to go back to either of the three it would be Ghana. I feel so privileged to have been able to experience their culture, their countries, and their lives.

Morocco and the Giant Mountains

It’s been far too long…this blog post is far over due, and I know it! But, regardless it’s here now, and Morocco was wild! Not wild in that anything crazy happened, but with the culture shock, and the trip that I went on…the experience was remarkable to say the least. Our getting to Morocco ended up happening sooner than we thought. We left Spain on time, however instead of stopping in Gibraltar to refuel; we went straight to Casablanca and had an extra day in Morocco!

  Before we even got off of the ship, everyone already had presumptions about what Morocco would be like. During our Preport meeting we were shown a chart that told us of The United State’s approval rating in the countries we were visiting, with 80% for Ghana at the highest, and a measly 16% for Morocco at the lowest. With an approval rating so low, most of us were a little worries as to how we would be received, especially since Morocco is an Islamic Country. Not only is it an Islamic Country, but we were to be spending September 11^th there as well, which some people felt uncomfortable with. In my opinion it’s only as uncomfortable as you make it, however we were warned to be very careful because there was someone in Florida who allegedly was going to or did burn Qurans on the 11^th which made national (and international) news, and there was talk of some sort of retaliation. Nothing ended up happening beyond the normal pick pocketing and such, though one person did get robbed at knife point.

After getting off of the ship one thing was clear, one of the other things mentioned at the Preport was true; the city was not close to the ship. In Spain there was a five minute walk from the ship to get to the port gates into the city. In Morocco it was a twenty something minute walk to the port gates, with two buses running back and forth between the gate and the ship until 9:00pm. The air in Morocco smells like pollution, and animal dung, which was something else to get used to.  So myself, Ellie, Eloise, Camille, and Arianna all set off for an internet café and shopping at the markets. Walking up the main street was quite a task. Using the ATM was as well. There were two men intently watching anyone who used it, which made us suspicious, and they even cut us in line as we waited, just stepping in front of me as I walked up to the ATM.

There were a multitude of shops lining the street, each with someone wanting to sell you any, and everything. Hookahs, paintings, carvings, jewelry, and many more things could be found there. We made our way past that, and entered into the market and did some exploring, and saw what was for sale. There was a huge selection of fake products such as sunglasses, and watches…some of which I wanted and none of which I bought. I did end up getting a gelaba, which is a long robed piece of clothing that is traditionally worn by both men and women.  All five of us also got henna, the girls got flowers and I had a scorpion. After some time there Eloise, Ellie, and I went to go look for the internet café, and agreed to meet up with the others for dinner. We had no luck with the café, as everything was closed due to Ramadan, so we went back to the ship to shower and wait for dinner.

That night we decided to do something that I had never done before: hookah. In Morocco they call it sheeshah, but there was a place to do it near the ship, so we decided to give it a try. As a nonsmoker I thought it would be a little uncomfortable to smoke tobacco, however it was quite fun. We also had some orange juice (so fresh and delicious) and some of Morocco’s famous mint tea (equally tasty). Afterwards we went out to the Flower Restaurant and had some couscous, which I had never had before either. It was a fantastic night, and quite possibly my favorite out in port up to that point.

            The next day I woke up early to leave for my trip, which had the following itinerary:

Day 1
Casablanca > Marrakech (we dined on lemon and olive chicken at Dar Zellij and spent the night at Hotel Oudaya)

Day 2
Marrakech > stop for water in Takerkoust > Tachbibte (where the trek began) > lunch in olive grove > Ait Zitoune (the first gite at 900m)

Day 3
Ait Zitoune > Tizgui riverbed > Tagante (piney woods) >Tizi N’Ait Ahmed (lunch in pine forest) > Douar Ait Ahmed (two gites at 1200m)

Day 4
Ait Ahmed > Angal > Imintala > Amizmiz > Marrakech > Casablanca

I was off to Marrakesh to spend the day, and then after that to the High Atlas Mountains to hike and live with the native Berbers for three days. I had heard that it was a great trip, and my boss Shannon and her husband Sam (genuinely phenomenal people) were leading the trip so I was even more excited. We went to the train station to get on a three hour train to Marrakesh, which ended up taking a little longer due to the fact that the train was over an hour late. Our train seats were first class and we sat in small compartments of six people each. My compartment already had two Iranians in it, and we had some great conversations along the way. When we arrived we went straight to the hotel and checked in, and had free time until dinner.

            A group of us walked to the main market, which took about forty-five minutes. We stopped for lunch, where we all got panini’s and I got a Nutella and banana milkshake which was delicious. Going to the market was a great, if crazy experience. The first thing was saw were snake charmers, which in all honesty were less than charming themselves. They would walk up to you with a snake in their hands and drape it over your shoulders whether you wanted them to or not. Then they tried to lead you over to a rug where a King Cobra and two rattlesnakes lay and have you sit inches in front of them as they hissed at each other. This happened to Camille who didn’t mind it as much as I would have. The snake people would then demand money, or throw the snakes in your face to make you pay them. They wanted 200 Dirham which is about $22. Let’s just say that I got away as soon as I could, and didn’t go back. We wandered through the market, not staying too long due to having to get back for dinner, and didn’t see much of anything that wasn’t sold everywhere else. When we were leaving we stopped at a stall for some fresh orange juice, and that’s when I saw the monkeys. There were a few men walking around with monkeys letting people hold them and take pictures with them. I instantly wanted a picture (and a monkey to take home) and promptly had two sitting on me. I had Camille take a few photos and that was that. Well I knew I was going to have to pay these people so before hand I asked them how much, to which they responded with telling me however much I wanted to give them. I should have known that was a gimmick. They wanted $200 as well, which I was not about to pay. I offered them $20 which they threw back at me and shouted 200 repeatedly. When I refused three more men came over and cornered me, all telling me to pay $200 Dirham. I ended up handing them back the $20 and getting away as fast as I could. We walked out of the market, and tried to get a taxi. We got one, but unfortunately it was at the cost of fitting eight people into a five person taxi. That was quite an experience.

That night we drove to our dibber which included a belly dancing show. When the shuttle bus finally stopped we were in what looked like the middle of some poverty stricken shady as can be neighborhood. We walked for a short amount of time, and then were shocked. We went through a doorway and low and behold a beautiful five star restaurant lay inside. There we were served the most amazing lemon chicken, which in all honesty was the best chicken I have ever had in my life.  We had some bottles of wine, and relaxed as we watched the belly dancing show. It was a great night.

The next morning we set off on our hike with an hour and a half shuttle bus ride to the where we would begin. When we arrived we got all of our things, which to our surprise were promptly packed on the backs of many mules. Our hike on the first day was uneventful, but beautiful. The scenery was like nothing I’d ever seen before in my life. We stopped for lunch at an olive grove, having a light, but refreshing lunch. We continued onto the gite, which is the name of the housing establishment of the berbers, getting there in a short amount of time, as there seemed to be three groups of hikers the entire time; the express group, the normal group, and the slow group. The express group (which I was in) was able to see a little more than the other groups as we were going so fast, we were able to deviate off of the path a little and still get to our destination much more quickly than the other groups. The normal group carried on at the expected pace, and the slow group stopped and had a detailed tour the entire time but was about an hour and a half behind the first group.

The Berbers live in incredibly simple conditions, devoid of even toilets. The funny thing is, they live among mules, have goats running everywhere, and even then there are satellite dishes on top of the houses. The Berbers are gentle folk, providing for themselves, and quite literally enjoying the simple things in life. That night the most remarkable star gazing was available. The Berbers called the gite “a thousand star hotel” and it really was. The stars were more numerous than I could have even imagined…seeing them so clear and bright really puts things in perspective, it really shows puts you in your place. It was stunning, and I will never forget it.

The next day called for a five hour hike, which provided much of the same gorgeous scenery. For my group, we went up the side of a mountain, only to come back down on a ledge about a foot and a half wide, stopping short and giving an ample view of the hundred and something foot drop below. As a person who finds nothing but terror in heights it was at first, a nightmare, but once it was over it was a real accomplishment…for me at least. It was really amazing to be high enough that the clouds were eye level and the picture taking opportunities were awesome. The hike was at times challenging, however it was not as bad as it was enjoyable, so it was an experience of a lifetime.

That night after my group covered the five hour hike in about three and a half, we stayed at a second gite, which this time had two houses so the fifty something person count was split up for sleeping this time. Once again the same simple lifestyle was evident in this gite, yet so was the same humbleness, the same happiness, and the same hospitality. The Berbers have figured out how to live uncomplicated yet fulfilling lives at the same time…something that I hope that I too may accomplish in time.  After another simple dinner and many games of cards and mafia, we called it a night and once again was provided the chance to sleep on the roof of the house and stargaze until I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning we set off again for a short forty-five minute hike to the shuttle busses. We drove to the city we stopped for water and then continued on to the train station where while waiting for the train I was able to stop at a market and buy a few things. After an uneventful trip back to Casablanca, I went back on the ship and showered to get ready to go out. That night we went to a nice restaurant and had a great dinner after we went to a hookah bar once again. It was a nice quiet evening to settle back into the swing of things after getting back from experiencing a life so different then our own.

The next day was filled with small errands, spending the last of my Dirhams, and enjoying the city since I had not has a day in it besides the first day we arrived. Morocco was interesting, a place that if I go back will not be to Casablanca, a city I found slightly unappetizing, however Marrakesh was quite enjoyable and I heard good things about other places. My jaw had not been fixed, though on the last day it felt slightly better which was a welcoming change, as was the tan I got in the mountains. Once again, another port down, and another port to go. I mo-rock-oed the heck out of Morocco, and I wouldn’t have it  any other way. Next stop: Ghana…wish me luck.