geez, my roommate!

gosh, my roommate is such a lush! and she never cleans the room!!!

haha, just kidding!!! she told me that her family found my blog so i just wanted to say hello and nice to *meet* you. she:s a great girl and a wonderful roommate! you raised her well.

p.s. i:m still having difficulty with this keyboard.

hello family and friends and all those who care! i just wanted to apologize for the lack of communication. i tried to post a blog but i guess it didn:t show up. i:m now trying to figure out the japanese keyboard. it:s a little difficult.

i ran out of internet minutes but once i:m able to, i will catch up on all the blogs. hope all is　ウェklfdfdfいsｓほぺ　ほぺI messed it upaa again…sorry. I have to type I Microsoft word. Talk to you soon!

Vietnam part II

04/15/07

Hello! I ran out of internet minutes so the only time I’m able to get online is while we are in port at an internet café so I apologize for the delayed/limited responses and postings.

Some LOGISTICS:
Currency: Vietnamese Dong
Conversion: 16.455 per US dollar
Port: Ho Chi Minh City
Religion: Predominately Buddhism
Clothing: It’s rare to see a Vietnamese person in shorts. Pants is the norm for both men and women. Our taxi driver busted into laughter when he saw an American student without a shirt and in swim trunks walking along side the road.
Random fact: Speaking loudly in any situation, especially by women, is considered rude.
Transportation:Walking, motorbike, or taxi. It costs 32,000 Vietnamese Dong (about $2) to get anywhere. Although the taxi drivers would always try to charge us A LOT more. One time they even tried to charge us $25 for a less than 10 minute driver. He explained to us that it was very far and he had to charge more. Little did he know, we had been there the day before and knew the short distance.
Where the heck is Val in all my stories???: Her sister met her in Vietnam so she traveled all over the place and according to her stories, she had a GREAT time!
We missed her :(


The rest of the time spent in Vietnam was just as great as the first couple days. We went to the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. It was emotionally trying to go through and made me feel shameful many times. The pictures were gruesome and very difficult to look at and imagine the lifestyle during and following the Vietnam War. I think the most difficult aspect was seeing those affected by Agent Orange and land mines because they both remain a pervasive problem today. Statistically, there are four deaths/injuries per day caused by land mines (according to my Global Public Health class). Many babies, born generations after the war, are forced to live with detrimental deformities caused by Agent Orange. I think it should be a requirement for all SAS students to visit this museum while in port. Unfortunately, it is not. Learning more and more about the Vietnam War, especially from the “other side of the coin”, makes me sad and ashamed about how little I knew, and know, about our history. And even the stuff I do know is very one-sided. I could also see many parallels between the Vietnam War and our current war with a shift from communism to terrorism. A few SAS students complained that the museum was too one-sided and unfairly represented both Americans and Vietnamese people with a bias. I guess they haven’t been to too many heroic American museums…or maybe they’ve been to too many.

We also went to the Cu Chi Tunnels on the last day. They are an underground system used to hide from U.S. soldiers. They are sooo small and difficult to maneuver through even though they were enlarged by a foot all around. Celina, Michael and I crept our way through the first tunnel. It wasn’t too complicated; we just had to crouch down and slowly walk our way through. It was almost impossible to see and the stuffy air suffocated us. Celina backed out half way through and took the “emergency” exit but Michael and I finished the entire tunnel. After that, we had some hot green tea (which wasn’t too refreshing in the stifling air) and something they called tapioca. I’m not too sure how closely related it is to the pudding but it tasted nothing like that and we dipped it in something that looked and tasted like crushed peanuts with salt and sugar. After a few minutes, our guide asked if we would like to go through a tunnel that hasn’t been enlarged. I was a little reluctant but we decided to do it. It was tough! We had to crawl through by hands and knees almost the entire way and it was 10x as hot as the first. At the last 20 feet of the tunnel, a bat came flying toward my head so I screamed a little and made Michael go first. Luckily, we had just passed a drop which allowed me to back up or else it would have been impossible to move around each other. Michael didn’t believe me and thought it was a leaf. He went first and scared it away, thank goodness. I was terrified going through the rest of the tunnel; i kept imagining hundreds of bats flying out from one of the side tunnels and surrounding us and laying eggs in my hair or whatever the rumor is…But we got out safe and sound, drenched in sweat, brown from dirt, and lookin an overall hot mess!

We also went to the Cao Dai Temple which is an indigenous religion that attempts to create an ideal religion through the fusion of the secular and religious philosophies of the East and West. We went during one of their daily practices which was very interesting but a little awkward because we were in there watching them pray and sing and chant, a time which I would imagine would be sacred.

After the temple, we went to a Vietnamese soldier cemetery. It was really sad. Not nearly as nicely kept as Ft. Logan. Actually, not even comparable but it was still beautiful. Especially the large tombs. I feel like I can’t really explain anything and I keep deleting sentences because I don’t really know how to describe everything I’m seeing and experiencing. But I’ll continue to try my best.

Next stop: China! I’m planning to travel independently (meaning not through Semester at Sea, NOT meaning alone) from Hong Kong to Beijing to Qingdao.

Vietnam

04/10/07

First, Happy Easter!!! Or belated Easter I guess. I went to church on board with Archbishop Desmund Tutu. This time the whole student body was invited for a large service. The dinner was better than usual. We had turkey and ham and the usual pasta and potatoes. I’ve been trying to eat as much as possible because I’m losing weight for some reason. I bought a ceramic painted egg in India and Celina and I were going to hide it from each other and have a hunt but we never got around to it. I felt more homesick than usual because I knew you all were together eating great food and visiting. I missed the Quiche this year :(

GOOOOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!! Geez, this voyage is really flying by quickly! I can’t believe that I only have a few more ports left. Anywhooooo…I guess I’ll just start by saying I love Vietnam. Surprising right? I betcha woulda never guessed…haha ;)

First, Happy Easter!!! Or belated Easter I guess. I went to church on board with Archbishop Desmund Tutu. This time the whole student body was invited for a large service. The dinner was better than usual. We had turkey and ham and the usual pasta and potatoes. I’ve been trying to eat as much as possible because I’m losing weight for some reason. I bought a ceramic painted egg in India and Celina and I were going to hide it from each other and have a hunt but we never got around to it. I felt more homesick than usual because I knew you all were together eating great food and visiting. I missed the Quiche this year :(

We got in a couple days ago and just moments after stepping into port, we found a taxi driver who ended up taking us around town all day. The first stop we made was to a tailor to make custom-made suits for Michael and Greg. Celina and I ended up getting dresses as well. I’m not sure why but I guess a custom-made dress will always come in handy and plus it was cheap. We have to go pick them up tomorrow so we’ll see how they turn out.

While Michael and Greg were measured for their suits, Celina and I walked around and looked at different shops. We met a guy from England who seemed really excited to meet some American females. He was interesting to talk to. Everyone is very friendly here and I think I’ve been smiled at more here than any other port. The traffic is INSANE! It’s a close race between India and Vietnam on which is crazier. There are a lot of motorcycles and in order to cross we’re supposed to slowly walk across the street even when 50 are speeding in our direction. They swerve around us. I took video of it and if I can figure out how to post it, I will. I sound look a goof ball but the fear and shaking voice are not staged whatsoever. We had pho for lunch and it was amazing! It costs about a dollar for a large portion so that makes it even better. We went to an indoor market and the people there were just as aggressive as they were in India. A woman had me and Celina trapped in her shop and wouldn’t let us out until we bought something. We didn’t even have to bargain, she did all the work. I really didn’t want what she was trying to sell me so I kept saying “No thank you” and trying to leaving but she kept going down lower and lower until eventually she made it from $40 US dollars to $10 so I had to take her up on her offer.

Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

04/08/07

I loooove Malaysia!!! We arrived in Penang on the 2^nd of April and we’re actually docked in the middle of the ocean. We had to take our lifeboats to shore. Needless to say, the disembarkation process took a pretty long time. The SAS warned us that we would be in a Muslim nation so we should pay extra attention to what we wore so we wouldn’t offend anyone. As in the past few ports, I made sure to cover my knees and shoulders. Michael, Sam, Greg and I decided to go to Kuala Lumpur for the 4 days we were there; our flight left that same night. The first day, we went to the mall which was about six levels high and a few blocks wide. Celina and Val were in HEAVEN. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw two happier girls. There were a lot of shoes stores, all of them seemed to have clearance sales. All the stores in the mall were geared to a younger crowd. I can’t remember seeing anything that anyone over the age of 30 (I hope I don’t offend anyone…) should wear. It was like a whole mall of Forever 21. We ate at a restaurant in the mall. I had broccoli soup, chicken teriyaki, and some sort of dessert. It was like a coke gelatin – not one of my favorites. There were about three ladies at the top of each elevator who would throw paper advertisements and brochures of their salons so by the time we got to the top, I had a whole notebook of these flyers. Somehow I got separated from Michael, Sam, and Greg. We had to leave the mall around 6:00 to make sure we got back to the ship and packed in time to make it to our 10:30 flight. I couldn’t find them so made my way back to the ship alone in hopes that they were already at the ship packed and ready to go. It took me about an hour and a half to get on board because of the little boat, which only ran every half hour, we had to use to get on board. They weren’t on board so I just packed and hope they’d make the next boat or the following. Eight o’clock came and went and once 9:00 approached with no signs of any of the fellas, I was sure that we missed our flight and starting to get worried about them. Luckily, the guys made it there just barely before 9. We left as soon as possible but had to account for the 30 – 40 minute taxi ride to the airport and that the check-in counter closes 40 minutes prior to departure so we were literally pushing it to the minute. We had the taxi driver speed as fast as he could (about 40 mph on the highway) to the airport and made it there just seconds before they left the check-in counter. The flight only lasted about 40 minutes. It felt like the captain came on, told us to buckle our seatbelts, and no later than the belt sign turned off it was turned right back on for landing. The walls of the airplane started smoking which really scared me but I guess it was just some sort of humidifier for the plane. After the plane ride, we had to catch an hour long bus to Kuala Lumpur, then a short taxi ride to our hotel, Hotel Equatorial.

The next morning we woke up relatively early and walked around the city with Dan and Maria, who met us at our hotel. Kuala Lumpur is basically the New York City of Malaysia. It’s very busy and there are a lot of sky scrapers. The first thing I noticed was how clean it is, but that may have to do with the fact that we just left India. We were starving so we searched for Malaysian food. For some reason, we found the most sketch restaurant in the whole city to eat at. It was in the basement of some building and was buffet style in a tiny kitchen. The selection was fried fish heads, fried piranhas, eel, some sort of beef that looked like paste in a brown sauce, pasta salad, white rice, and an assortment of sauces. It was interesting…I’m not sure if it was typical Malaysian food or not but trying it the first day kind of scared me away. Everyone at that restaurant and in the streets was staring at me for some reason. Initially I thought I was showing too much skin because the religion is predominately Muslim but I had a lot more clothes on than the majority of the female population. I’m not sure why they were staring but even Greg noticed. I felt really awkward and uncomfortable. After lunch we went to the mall which was even bigger than the one in Penang and a lot fancier. Most of the stores I didn’t even dare go into (Prada, Gucci, Versace), actually most of them but it was still fun to walk around. As the night fell, the entire city lit up. Greg said it looked like a fruit snack…whatever that means. Weirdo. We went to a couple that were all either next door or within a few blocks of our hotel. The drinks were ridiculously priced and there were a lot of crazy SAS kids but it was still a great time.

The next day we did pretty much the same thing – walked around the city. It felt like it was 100 degrees out! The Grandprix was coming to Malaysia so there were a lot of promotional events and billboards all over the city. We missed it by just one day and missed Kanye West in concert by a few days.

I loved Malaysia! Probably one of my favorite ports, although I saw that about each one and mean it wholeheartedly. I’d like to go back one day and according to the experiences we had in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and the stories from Cameron Highlands, where Celina and Val went, there is still much to see in Malaysia, as in the rest of the countries we have visited. But our experiences in the different cities were so different from each other that I would like to go visit other places to see how different, or similar, they are.

Pictures!!!

India

http://colorado.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142606&l=6adca&id=10205694

Mauritius:

http://colorado.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2141030&l=a97b1&id=10205694

South Africa:

http://colorado.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136848&l=e22a7&id=10205694

Bahamas/Puerto Rico/"Brazil":

http://colorado.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2135276&l=8d865&id=10205694