Brasiiiil!

Sorry this post is so late… we’re now less than 3 days away from Ft. Lauderdale and I’m finally done with all my papers, exams, projects and it’s time to relax and enjoy my last few days at sea.. I’m sitting outside right now staring at the ocean- it’s so blue and sparkly. In about an our we should be able to see Puerto Rico from the ship—I wish they would stop there and let us go swimming for a little bit!! But anyway, we have our Alumni Ball tonight with a fancy dinner and dance so that should be really nice. it’s so sad to think I’ll never see a lot of these people ever again! it’s been such a perfect group of people to travel the world with and some of the most talented people I’ve ever met as well. but it’s awesome to now know people from almost every state so I can visit people all over the country :) Now to begin writing about our last port…..

Oh Brasil….what a perfect place to conclude this journey around the world. I never gave much thought to being in Brazil since it was our last port and I never thought the time would come.. but I think it ended up being one of my favorite places (I don’t know how many times I’ve said that about each country.. =P ) Everything is so lively and colorful and everyone is always dancing and drumming and celebrating life. I love it! South/central America is definitely the place where I belong, and I can see myself living here out of every country I’ve traveled to.
I woke up for sunrise on the 21st to watch us coming into the enormous city of Salvador. It’s a coast lined with tall buildings, beaches, and colorful houses piled up on hills. The weather was looking pretty ominous with dark storm clouds and rain showers but it ended up clearing up to become a beautiful day. The first thing I did was get off the ship with Allyn and our friend Sarah to find the bus station and buy our overnight tickets to Lencois. The three of us had decided to stay for a few days in Chapada Diamantina National Park, about 6 hours inland from Salvador. So we got in a cab and drove through the city, having our first look at Brazil. It’s beautiful- so colorful and tropical, lots of hills with houses and buildings built into them- and I never imagined how big of a city it would be! I think I’m always surprised by how much bigger cities are than I imagine them. We got out at the bus station- also a lot bigger than I thought- and managed to get our tickets for what we hoped were the right dates and times….. there are a lot less English-speakers than most of the places we’ve been and even though they could partially understand my Spanish, I could not understand their Portuguese! I was able to figure out a lot of the signs and menus though because many of the words look similar to Spanish. Anyway, while at the bus station we stopped in the supermarket to stock up for the depressing and long way home, and then headed back to the ship. I had an FDP for the rest of the day which I was not looking forward too after being frustrated with most of the SAS trips, but it turned out to be an incredible incredible day.
We left on a bus with a lot of kids from my digital storytelling class and a bunch of others- an extremely energetic group of people, which was fun, and headed off towards a favela (the name for slum or really poor neighborhood in Brazil) called Saramandaia. We were going to have a first hand look into the lives of people in the favelas, and to visit Grupo Cultural Arte Consciente, a project started by 3 young guys of the favela to teach and empower kids with art and keep them away from violence and crime. They have built themselves up in an amazing way and created a community of talented, happy kids who otherwise might get caught up in a life of violence and drugs. Although small-scale, they’ve been extremely influential and powerful- out of 1500 community service action groups in Brazil, they were ranked as the 7th best!! So we met the guys, Alex, Fabio, and Marcos, who teach boxing, circus arts, drumming, and graffiti to the kids. But first Alex led us through Saradmandaia, a maze of narrow streets lined with colorful houses, people sitting in their windows and balconies smiling at us, kids running and biking all around, and hill after hill of houses in the distance which just look like solid walls of colorful shacks. It was actually a quite amazing and beautiful sight- despite the fact that it is such a poor neighborhood- these people are so full of color and life that just makes it beautiful. The coolest grafitti covered almost every wall and the houses were all some shade of turquoise, yellow, or red, with little bird cages hanging out on the porches. Alex showed us the community “playground”, which was simply a big area of dirt/ a junk yard, where a bunch of kids biked and played around. We also saw their school, a tiny health clinic which serves their 40,000 residents, and the community gardens which grows much of their food. We then walked into the project’s building, where we met all the kids who participate and they performed for us. One boy who’s 15 years old has become some kind of boxing champion in Brazil just from their program. They also did juggling, all kinds of incredible acrobatics, trapeze, and contortion type stuff, a funny mime performance, and then a huge drumming ensemble. They were all soo talented and all they have is this little one room building with a beat-up mat and a trapeze. The drumming was so loud and powerful and after a while the whole room turned into one big drumming and dancing party- everyone joined in and it was SO crazy and SO much fun. Some SAS kids brought their drums from Ghana and played along and everyone else just went crazy dancing with the kids and feeling the rhythm of the drums. Some of the Brazilian guys even broke into capoeira and started doing flips and stuff- they are so talented and full of energy!! I danced with one little girl (who was SOOOO adorable) the whole time and she loved me and got so attached to me. She played with my hair and I gave her one of my bracelets… I just wish I could understand what she was saying! So the whole drumming and dance rave lasted like an hour until we were all so hot and dying for water that we had to stop. It was so cool though just to let loose and be dancing and laughing with these kids and celebrate the incredible things they have done for themselves. I was just having one of those moments the entire time- hearing the rhythm of the drums, the colors around me, the enthusiasm of Alex and Marcos and the kids, their passion for fun and being active, everyone letting loose and getting into it- (even my professors going wild!)- the strength and empowerment, just looking around me, realizing I’m in Brazil….. it sounds silly when I write it, but it was such a great moment. We finally had to leave and say goodbye to the kids, but our energy continued on the bus ride home- the drumming, the happiness, the enthusiasm. good day :) wonderful people.
So I came back to the ship in a great mood to find that many people did not have such a great first day in Salvador. Allyn and Courtney had been back for a little while after walking around the historical part of town and said they had heard of at least 15 people from the ship being mugged and robbed, during the day right in public! and this was just of people they’ve talked to! People had their cameras stolen, their wallets, their cell phones, and my friend Lauren had her necklace ripped right off her neck. So this really scared people the first day and unfortunately gave them an immediate bad impression of Brazil. I don’t know why after traveling the world for 3 months people still thought they should carry all their valuables with them and not think anything could happen, especially when they warned us the most about being careful in Brazil.… So I guess it was a little reality check. Anyway, most people were way too scared to go out that night so we just stayed on the ship, which was probably better to relax for a bit before taking our overnight bus at midnight.
We went back to the bus station with some of my other friends who were also going to Lencois, and pretty much most of the bus turned out to be SAS kids. It was a surprisingly comfortable bus—at this point I don’t expect much at all anymore—so I was able to sleep through most of the night except for being freezing the whole time. I woke up to us arriving at the tiny bus station in Lencois at about 6am, and when I got off there was a guy holding a sign with my name and I was still basically asleep so I had no idea how he knew my name. but then I remembered the hostel we were staying at said they would pick us up from the bus, so me Allyn and Sarah followed this guy into his 1969 falling apart baby blue Volkswagen van- the cutest car I’ve ever seen. The roads of Lencois are all cobblestone or uneven slabs of rocks, so as you can imagine it was a pretty bumpy ride in this van. It broke down a few times on the way (it was only a 5 minute ride), struggling up the bumpy rock hills, but we finally made it to our tropical magical treehouse. That’s really the only way I could think to describe this adorable hostel- Pousada dos Duendes- a tropical little treehouse in the cutest town in the world. It wasn’t actually a treehouse but it was this little open air complex built in the trees and gardens with balconies and hammocks and colors and murals all over the walls. I just fell in love with it, and with the whole town. Lencois is a tiny town where everybody knows everybody. You can walk to anywhere in town in less than 10 minutes, and it is completely surrounded by the most beautiful national park (I think) in the world.. (of what I’ve seen). The streets are all cobblestone and lined with colorful stone houses and tropical plants. Everyone is outside and it is so pleasantly quiet because there are practically no cars- besides a few vans doing tours into the park, all I saw the entire time was a few locals on motorbikes. Everyone is so happy and it’s probably one of the safest places in Brazil. One of the girls at the hostel laughed at us when we asked if it would be okay for the three of us to walk around at night—complete change from Salvador—it’s just a relaxed laidback atmosphere with no worries :) We had only less than 3 days there and before we left I knew my whole way around town and had seen some of the Brazilians we met multiple times hanging out in different places. Most of them had grown up there and never left… what a perfect place to grow up in. ahhh I just want to go back there so badly! I think this 3 day trip into Lencois and the park ended up being my favorite 3 days of this entire trip, and I would go back there in a heartbeat.
ANYWAY, back to our trip- So we arrived at the hostel and luckily they let us into our room early to take a nap before breakfast. We only got to sleep for about 30 minutes because we wanted to do a tour into the park and they left at 9. So we went downstairs and had breakfast which they provided- and it was amazing! they have a kitchen there and breakfast was a little buffet of all these little homemade dishes and wonderful coffee…. I felt so at home. This little guy Dodo was bringing out all the dishes and we became friends and he told us he would take us to the waterslide the next day. He said he goes surfing there which we were confused about but we would later find out..! So anywho we went and looked at all the tours the pousada offered so we could decide what to do, and we decided on a full day tour to see caves, waterfalls, and climb a mountain to watch the sunset :) And I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day.
Me, Allyn, Sarah, and this girl Valerie who was on our bus that night were all doing the tour, so we got in the van and started off. We actually became good friends with Valerie and spent most of our time in Chapada with her- I think she’s in her late 20’s and she had been spending a few weeks traveling around Brazil, aand she knew some Portuguese which was helpful. We had a Portuguese speaking guide and luckily an English speaking guide named Pedro who took us around for the day. First we had a beautiful drive through the park, passing miles and miles of open fields and valleys, surrounded in all directions by mountains. It was gorgeous- even in the morning fog and drizzle. We got out where we would climb down to explore the cave Gruta da Lapa Doce. We made the steep descent down to where the cave opened up- a ginormous archway of rock and sand that disappeared into a black abyss. I don’t know if I heard him right but Pedro said this cave extended for 27km in…! I know we didn’t walk that far but it seemed like we walked forever… it just kept going and going. So we started in, led by a Brazilian man with one small oil-lamp, and stopped to look at all the insane rock formations forming from both the roof and the ground. I think the cave was made of mostly calcite, and the whole ground was fine sand and smooth rock. As we walked farther and looked back the little opening of light got smaller and smaller until we were in complete darkness except for the lamp. These rock formations were incredible though- one looked like a mushroom of sparkling crystals and another looked just like an elephant. We just kept walking and walking- I’ve been in some caves before but never knew ones this big existed!! I was just scared the lamp would go out and we’d be lost down there forever. At one point we turned out the light and sat in the black stillness for a while. It was quieter than silence, like a whole other world that exists below while everything else is going on above. I opened and closed my eyes and there was no difference- it was such a peaceful but almost creepy experience. Luckily the lamp turned back on and we continued through the abyss, until we finally saw a speck of light up ahead. We finally reached the opening and it looked like an avalanche of boulders that had come crashing down and if one more big one came it would close off the whole thing. So we climbed up and back into the noisy daylight- such a strange feeling!
We hiked back up to the road and along the way found a HUGE centipede that pooped on Sarah’s hand, and then walked back along the dirt road to where we started. It’s weird to think the cave must be right under us the whole way. It’s really like a whole other world down there. We got in the van and headed to a cheap churrascaria for lunch- it’s like a Brazilian unlimited buffet of salad and meat that they cut off the skewer for you. It was delicious, and we tried some Brazilian sweets for dessert like this amazing coconut bread and brigadeiros, these popular chocolate fudge balls. yum. They also serve guarana everywhere—a soft drink made from the guarana fruit—which kind of tastes like ginger ale but 200x better, if that’s possible. So after being stuffed and happy we drove through the park until we reached another adorable pousada and outdoor restaurant where a hike started down to the Cachoeira do Diabo (I think) waterfalls. All the pousadas in the park are so adorable.. they’re all based around ecotourism and are just full of hammocks and gardens and trees and little outdoor restaurants with delicious homemade meals. I decided I’m going to start my own pousada in Lencois and live there forever :) but anyway, we hiked down to where we reached the natural orange pools and waterfalls. Pedro caught us a lizard on the way which was pretty impressive cause they move soo fast! The first waterfall was so neat- kind of like the natural waterslide we went to the next day, it’s just a wide stream of water sliding down a long slab of rock into the pool below. But Pedro kept us going to the “better” waterfalls, and when we got to the top of them we could see how incredible they were. These Brazilians had made a zipline from the top going all the way across the pool until they jumped off just before hitting the rocks at the end. It looked like so much fun. So we rushed down the pretty pink and white rock and jumped in the freezing orange water. It was definitely a workout swimming to the base of the falls- the current was so powerful and made it almost impossible to get there. But I made it and me and Allyn got behind the falls and sat up on the rocks in our little cave. It was so cool. We sat there forever, just watching the world from behind the falling water. It was another one of those moments. So we played in the water for a while and explored around the rocks and other little falls, and then hiked back up to the road.
We got back in the car and drove to Morro do Pai Inácio, one of the tabletop mountains, just in time to climb for sunset. I had heard that if you go to Chapada this is a must see, and wow let me tell you… We climbed the steep rocks up the mountain for about an hour, and it was more than worth the effort. The 360 degree view from the top was INCREDIBLE. Not even my pictures can do it justice. The plateau at the top consisted of rocks with little pools of water, cactuses and shrubs, and a never-ending view beyond. The sun was at the perfect angle to make the all the mountains surrounding us shine bright green and yellow and the more distant ones a dark blue, and the clouds speckled them all with shadows. The three of us sat on the edge of a cliff for a while literally feeling on top of the world. We wandered around the top for a little while longer and Pedro tried to teach us some capoeira moves before we descended back down, watching the sun setting along the way. When we reached the bottom the clouds literally appeared to be on fire- I’ve never seen such a bright orange in the sky. We got back in the van, more than content with this perfect day in this beautiful part of the world, and headed back to the perfect little town of Lencois. Back at the pousada we took showers and relaxed for a bit before walking into the main square of town where all the little hole-in-the-wall restaurants and bars came alive at night. Walking down the cobblestone streets I just fell more and more in love with the town. All the little colorful restaurants put their tables and chairs outside in the streets and played music as people started coming out, exhausted from their treks into the park and ready to relax and enjoy the evening. We sat outside at this little Italian restaurant in the main square and ordered a delicious salad and pizza and caipirinhas, which I had been wanting to try. They are Brazil’s famous drinks, made with cachaca, sugarcane, and lime. And they were delicious. We were some of the only people out at dinner around 7 because most people don’t come out to eat until about 9 or so. We even saw Dodo and a bunch of other young Brazilian guys walking with textbooks through the square to their university classes. I didn’t even realize it was the middle of a school week! So we had a nice slow dinner and found some of our other SAS friends who wandered into the square, and later Dodo came and sat with us and then he took us over to the river where his friends were hanging out. It was funny because they were listening to popular American songs that we knew but they had no idea what the words were saying. So we tried to describe them through Dodo to them and they thought it was pretty funny. It was a great day and night- always awesome to hang out with the locals- and so nice to be able to walk all around this town with no worries, when we’re usually told to be so cautious. I loved it there.
I had forgotten that we had basically been up since the night before, getting so little sleep on the bus and then starting our day early, so we were exhausted. We decided to sleep in to about 9 or so the next morning, get breakfast, and decide what to do for the day. We woke up to beautiful weather, and went downstairs to have another wonderful homemade breakfast. There were a bunch more backpackers at the pousada now, and we sat down with this girl from Holland who had just gotten to Brazil. She was so nice, and had spent the last couple months I think in Argentina working on an organic farm. And she was just as surprised at how adorable and perfect the pousada was as we were. So anyway, Sarah Allyn and I decided to do a hike on our own from the pousada to some waterfalls close by. We got a map which didn’t make much sense so we just kind of walked through the little winding roads of town, seeing the cute little kids walking to school, and hoping we’d be able to find the trail. Somehow we easily found it, and we walked through the tropical magical wonderland until we reached another paradise. Walking there I seriously felt like I was in the secret garden or something- the trail was so peaceful and quiet and surrounded by tropical flowers, and we passed one man in a little hut selling coconuts and dream-catchers. What we arrived at was almost like this huge hill of rock, with water flowing down at all different points and flowing into hundreds of mini pools, with a picture-perfect view of the little colorful town at the bottom. I was in heaven- it didn’t even feel real. The rock all consisted of what looked like little stones of all different colors—bright turquoise, pink, white, black—all pressed down together and shaped by the water into one smooth soft surface. Me and Allyn had a couple slippery falls on the wet slick rocks haha. But this place was incredible- we explored all around, checking out the different pools and laying on the warm rock. Some Brazilian guys were there and would dive from pool to pool, jumping through the waterfalls and going all the way down the hill. I even saw Tarzan- literally this muscle man with tarzan hair standing on a rock looking out over the view meditating, stretching, and doing the separate nostril breathing I learned in the Art of Living Program. He stood in that same spot the entire 3 or so hours we were there- he was serious. This was just an everyday daily thing for these people- a few women came down to the lower pools to wash all their clothes, and laid them out to dry on the rock. I couldn’t imagine having a place like this as my home… really the only way to describe it is a magical wonderland…surrounded by a never-ending reserve of nature, so far from any big city… and so far (it felt like) from reality.
After feeling a little burnt from the sun we left this paradise and walked back to town to get lunch and meet up with Dodo to go to the waterslides. Sarah wanted to take a nap in the hammock at the pousada so me and Allyn walked around town looking for a place to eat. I bought a banana from this little old lady at her produce stand, which was less than 5 cents, and then we went into this tiny restaurant which was more like a kitchen with one Brazilian lady in it. We got menus which were all in Portuguese, so we just pointed to an item and hoped for the best. I ordered pao com ovo, which was a freshly baked roll with scrambled eggs in it- quite delicious considering I never get eggs on the ship and I miss them so much! And allyn got a roll with chicken and tomato and lettuce. All the food there, even stuff as simple as this, is so fresh and homemade and delicious…. and our total for lunch was less than $2! I’m definitely going to miss that when I’m home, especially since a meal that costs $10 isn’t nearly as fresh as this stuff. Walking back home we spotted a sorvetoria, or little ice cream parlor where you scoop it yourself and make your own little sundae. Their ice cream is a lot better than ours too- it’s so light and flavorful but not so rich and creamy. But enough about food- we walked back, found Sarah but not Dodo, and decided just to make the hike to the natural waterslides on our own. This time we took the opposite direction out of town, going up some steep hills and passing little farms and more adorable colorful pousadas and little restaurants. There was also some land for sale which I could buy and start my pousada and restaurant and live there forever……
So we had a little bit more trouble finding the trail than we did earlier that morning, but we found it and it was a nice easy hike through the forest and then we descended down to the big pool below which the waterslide led into. This was the coolest thing ever- the natural waterslide was this long, wide slope of rock where the water crashed down and dropped into a huge pool at the bottom. We found a lot of SAS kids who were on our overnight bus there- they had been doing a couple day trek through the park with some Brazilian guys and they had been camping in some caves the night before. I watched them go down the slide- it took you sooo fast! I was scared it would rip my bathing suit bottoms completely off because they were way loose on me anyway, but I climbed up and went down—screaming the entire way—but without a problem :) except for the fact that it hurt pretty bad. I still have bruises on my legs and butt but it was worth it. So then we found out what Dodo meant when he said he goes surfing…. the Brazilian guys there would climb all the way up to the top and go down the whole way standing up- how I do not know- but it was just like surfing! those rocks are incredibly slippery though so I have no idea how they manage to do that without falling.. but it looked insanely fun. I talked to one of the guys who was surfing and asked if he knew Dodo, and he laughed and said of course he did, and they hang out there all the time. It’s so funny how everyone knows everyone. I was saying how much I love that place and the guy said he has never left- he’s probably in his 20’s and has grown up there but he really wants to leave- he wants to go to Florida! All I could think of was how undesirable Florida is compared to this paradise we were in. So that was kinda funny- but I mean I can understand wanting to leave after living your whole life in a town that small, just like me wanting to leave Poolesville!.. but different because Poolesville is not a magical tropical wonderland.
We played in the water for a long time and then Allyn and Sarah wanted to get going before the mosquitoes came out- for some reason mosquitoes have not been liking me on this trip.. I think total I’ve only had 2 bites!.. so we hiked back to town and back to the pousada, where the super nice people there let us use the shower again and relax in the hammocks after we had checked out since our bus didn’t leave til midnight again. So we relaxed and went back out into the main square of town where we met up with our other group of SAS friends and all had dinner at another Italian restaurant (for some reason the majority of restaurants in lencois are Italian), had some pretty amazing banana-honey-cinnamon crepes, and relaxed until it was time to head to the bus station. I slept a little bit better on the bus ride back to Salvador, but was still pretty exhausted from the whole trip. So we got back on the ship and slept for a few hours before a fun day in the city.
Allyn and I walked over to the Elevador Lacerda which is this big elevator that takes you from the lower city to the upper city which is the old historic center of Pelourinho. I bought some acaraje from a street stand on the way because both Liana and our interport student recommended it to me and it’s a pretty popular food in Salvador. I wasn’t sure what to expect at all but the guy took this ball made of I think beans and fried in palm oil, cut it in half and put in these spicy pastes made from shrimp and nuts and peppers and I really don’t know, and then piled on some peppers and onions and then mini shrimps still in the shell (which I assumed you ate but I’m not really sure).. Anyway, it was delicious as always and definitely a new experience, and I wish I had some right now. So we got up to the Pelourinho area which was gorgeous with its cobblestone streets and colonial architecture and incredible cathedrals. The view right outside the elevator looked over the beautiful blue bay and the lower city below. The famous percussion band Olodum was playing in one of the big squares of Pelourinho, and everything was so lively and colorful- I loved it. We sat outside at this little French place for lunch, where I got the most amazing bowl of acai frozen-ish yogurt with sliced bananas and granola… couldn’t ask for more. I forgot that the acai berry comes from the amazon so you see it everywhere in Brazil! We walked around a little more and then decided to make our way to the beach, so we took a short cab ride to Porto de Barra. The beach was of course so lively- a pretty small cove but crowded with locals playing soccer, paddle ball, doing flips and being crazy, and enjoying the sun and beautiful clear water. We found Zach and Isaac and a few other SAS kids in the mass of people, so we layed with them and had a perfect afternoon at the beach. Brazilians were walking around selling all sorts of food and drinks, from freshly fried fish to huge sticks of cheese that they grilled for you right over their little fires. And one man set up a caipirinha stand right next to us… lucky us :) But these were the most fresh and delicious drinks you can imagine…. you just picked a piece of fruit from a bowl and he peeled it, put it in a cup with sugar and mashed it all together, shook it up with some ice and cachaca and there you go! Zach got a kiwi one which tasted just like drinking straight kiwis. SO GOOD. Sooo then zach and I both fell asleep and took a nice nap on the beach to wake up to a gorgeous sunset over the water. It was getting darker but the best part was no one had left the beach! Everyone was still there, all the energy and activity the same as it had been all day- all the Brazilians just celebrating life :) We had nothing to do, nowhere to be and nothing to worry about, so we watched the sun setting slowly on our last night in port. Eventually we decided it was time for our next meal, since we hadn’t been lazy enough all day, so the group of us walked down the street to a restaurant to get some authentic Brazilian food. A bunch of people tried moqueca, a seafood or vegetable stew made with coconut milk and palm oil, and I got some shrimp curry with mangoes. Another amazing meal. It was sad realizing this was our last night in port together…. so we all talked and reflected for a long time and made the most of it. We all ended up going back to the ship and some people went back out, but I was still so sleepy and just passed out.
Our last day in port. Couldn’t believe the day would actually come. I had no plans, other than to go get our complementary breakfast at the hostel we had booked in Pelourinho the night before and did not stay at because Allyn was being weird..I don’t know/don’t really remember what the issue was….. but anyway I was determined to get some of our money’s worth. So we walked back to the elevator and into the upper city where the cute hostel was and got our nice homemade breakfast. We then walked into Igreja de Sao Francisco, where the Sunday church service was going on. This church was incredible- the entire inside was made of gold ornate designs and the ceilings were all painted, who knows how many years ago. It was such a sight- and perfect timing to watch the service going on! We then continued to wander around the cobblestone streets and explore the city a little more and happened to run into my professor Erika and our global studies professor Don. Erika said they were getting a group together and meeting on the ship at noon to go back to the favela we went to the first day and help paint the building for the Grupo Cultural program! I had such a great time there and thought helping this amazing organization would be a perfect last day in Brazil. So me and Allyn made our way back to the ship and decided to go along. There were about 20 of us and we all got in cabs and drove back to the favela, bought paint and got to work painting the entire inside of the building. We all were excited to help out and had so much energy so we got it done super fast, and then got to watch the Brazilian guys graffiti all the walls! They are so talented… they painted a guy on stilts juggling, a big Brazilian flag with the word “Paz” in the middle, and all sorts of designs and inspiring words…. the end result was so great. I wish I could’ve seen the kids faces when they saw their new building! Helping out with all these enthusiastic people and enjoying the time with all of them made my last day in Brazil perfect… it was sad, but a great way to end it. Exhausted, we all made it back to the ship just in time, and the crew had a huge barbeque waiting for us for dinner. It was a bittersweet feeling, getting on the ship for the last time, knowing the next land I’ll be on is the US.
So now with just a few days left, I’m really trying to enjoy myself and take everything in….. because time. moves. way. too. fast.
-Michele

Center of the World

So I was in Ghana, the closest country to the center of the world! Our ship’s port was in Tema, about a 40 minute bus ride to Accra, the capital and biggest city. I don’t really know how to say this but Ghana was one of the most “real” ports to me. Maybe it was because tourism is not as big and I saw the “real” Africa that I’ve only seen in textbooks and movies before—the villages with clay houses, women walking around with baskets on their heads—it was all just the real thing.
My first day in Ghana was full of music, smiling faces, and Africa at its Africanest. Allyn, Courtney and I decided to go into Accra and explore for the day since we were leaving for trips into the country the next day. We took the shuttle into Accra which dropped us off at this tall, out-of-place, bright purple building which I think was a hotel or bar or something. It was by far the tallest building around, and we were in the center of the biggest city in Ghana (it would be a tiny building compared to any US city). All around us were relatively run-down buildings and street vendors. We had the name of a pretty well-known cultural arts market so we got in a cab and drove about 10 minutes there. As soon as we stepped out into the dirt and walked into the maze of shacks that made up the market, Ghanaian guys from every direction came over shaking our hands and asking our names. They would just hold on to our hands the whole time we were introducing ourselves- it was kinda funny. One guy named Joseph kept saying ‘one love’ and kept calling me Michele Obama, and insisted I come look at his paintings. I talked with him for a while and he was really nice so I went to his booth and looked at his paintings which were so amazing. All of these guys in the market who were just normal young guys could make all these incredible crafts- they are soo talented! So I ended up buying a couple of his paintings and he showed me this huge one he did of Michelle Obama- it was amazing. I asked Joseph where I could get a drum because all the guys were sitting around playing their drums, and so he took me through the market to I guess his friends shop where he sat me down and gave me a drum lesson! He taught me a bunch of different rhythms and I sat there for about an hour having the greatest time, and trying to keep up with him and all the other guys who joined in. Every single one of the guys there is incredible at the drums- it’s almost like they’re all born with the natural talent. So after playing for a while and Allyn and Courtney found me in the shop, Joseph asked  if I wanted my name carved into my drum and I said of course! I had spent a lot of time there with them and it was finally time to continue on and explore the rest of Accra, so I had to say goodbye to Joseph and my new friends. It’s hard to leave new friends after spending such a short time with them, but once again I was so happy to meet such friendly locals and be instantly welcomed.
We took a cab back to the main street of Accra where we were first dropped off and attempted to find some good African food for lunch. Part of our group was so hungry and dehydrated and  decided to settle at a fast food place right on the street, but me and my friend Erin really wanted to find a local restaurant with Ghanaian food. We asked a man who told us about Asanka, a popular place with the locals that was a little walk away. Erin and I walked along the street, asking different people until we found it. Asanka was kind of like a big open-air pavilion, with a kitchen in the front where huge pots of food were being prepared. We sat down and looked at the menu which had everything I had wanted to try in Ghana! luckily I had written down what a bunch of the names meant in our “cultural pre-port” the night before when our Ghanaian student was speaking about the food. Anyhow, I ended up ordering banku with grilled tilapia and Erin ordered Red Red. Basically, despite having to wait foreverrr for our food (they’re pretty slow and easy-going in Ghana), this was one of the most delicious meals I’ve had on this entire trip. Banku is this type of cornmeal dough that you usually eat with soup or fish and a type of sauce. Mine came with a whole grilled tilapia—head, tail, bones, and all—and a spicy tomato and pepper salsa. It was delicious- the freshest tasting fish I’ve ever had. Erin’s red red was a kind of bean dish accompanied by fried plantains- the best part about Ghanaian food! So in Ghana you eat everything with your hands, and the waiter brings out a bowl of water and hand soap which you use to wash yourself with. Anyway, I was very happy to have the chance to try real Ghanaian food, since that is one of my favorite things about visiting these countries! Their food is so flavorful yet so simple- most meals just consist of a soup or stew with fish, some kind of corn dough, and plantains.. yum :)
After being very satisfied with lunch, Erin and I walked back to the main street where the fast food place was to find Allyn and Courtney. They had heard of a big soccer game going on at the stadium so we decided to try to go there. We got in a cab which took us to the stadium but the game apparently wasn’t starting until way later. Sooo, we asked the driver to take us to Global Mama’s, a fair trade organization which sells traditional crafts by women in Ghana. we drove a long ways, along the coast (back at the Atlantic Ocean!!) until the driver pulled into this nice beach resort.. I think the only resort in Ghana. He had misunderstood where we wanted to go, so we had to drive all the way back to Osu, a suburb in Accra where Global Mama’s is. The store was awesome- all handmade crafts and clothing made by women in Ghana, and all the proceeds go directly to them or the NGO’s helping their businesses. I also bought a cookbook with all the traditional Ghanaian recipes :)
After spending a little too much money and feeling pretty dehydrated, we continued walking through the colorful streets of Accra, not really knowing how to spend the rest of our day. This city is pretty small for being the biggest in Ghana! We decided to stop at Frankie’s, a hotel/ice cream parlor/restaurant/bar, to rest for a while and watch a little soccer on tv. Finally we decided just to head back to Tema where the ship is, and attempt to go out around there for the evening. We took the shuttle back, showered, and tried to go out but Tema is more of an industrial city.. so there wasn’t much around and it was getting dark and a little sketchy. We ended up just coming back, packing, and getting some sleep for our eco-adventure the next couple of days :)
Allyn and I left early in the morning with a group of about 20 for our 2 day eco-adventure in the Volta region. Unfortunately everything is pretty far from everything else so the trip ended up being A LOT of driving. We drove about 4 hours in the morning—the bumpiest ride of my life—into the tropical rural region of Ghana. All of the roads were dirt roads with huge bumps and random pot holes about every 2 feet. We drove through several rural villages, passing mud and stick houses, goats and chickens wandering about, and women carrying everything on their heads from bowls of watermelons, to piles of yams, and I even saw one man carrying a sewing machine up there! It was really neat to see the real Africa- seeing these villages and people as they actually live. I saw children around the community well pumping water into their buckets to carry back to their houses, and women sitting around their one-room huts pounding fufu with a huge mortar and pestle.
After the long drive we arrived at the base of Mount Afadjato, the highest mountain in Ghana. We started the hike, which takes you 885 meters up, and about 5 minutes in we were all dying. First of all, the air around us was hardly air, it was more like a pool of humidity and the temperature had to be at least 100 degrees. Secondly- the hike literally went straight up for the entire hour it took, with no flat land… at all. There were signs along the way saying “don’t give up”, “don’t be a quitter”. Some people didn’t make it all the way up, but when I got up there in about an hour, it was definitely worth it. I’ve never been so drenched in sweat, but the 360 degree view around this little mountain peak was incredible. I was at the highest point in Ghana and I felt like I had deserved it. The view all around me was of smaller mountains and a few little villages here and there with their dirt roads and colorful shacks. Desperately needing water I started back down, which turned out to be even harder than going up. My legs were shaking from being so worked on the way up, and it’s just hard to descend straight down a mountain without falling! At that point I really missed Sugarloaf. I felt much better when I got down and got some water, because I lovee hiking and any chance I get to move around and not be sitting on a bus when we’re in port! The only thing then was that it was about 1pm, we hadn’t eaten since 6am, we just climbed a mountain, and we weren’t getting lunch until we drove another couple hours to the waterfalls. We were all dying for energy and when we asked our tour guide Emmanuel it was like he didn’t even have a plan for us ever eating lunch. Soo, we drove an hour or two more until we reached the Wli Waterfalls, where we finally got our bagged lunches and had to hike another hour through the jungle until we reached the falls and could sit down and eat. It was a gorgeous hike through the trees and over little bridges (crossing the same river 11 times!), passing children and their mothers washing clothes in the streams and kids chasing after us giving us mangoes they picked off the trees. Apart from the poorly-planned trip and being so energy-drained, the nature we got to enjoy was gorgeous and well worth it. Stepping into sight of the waterfalls was incredible- I think they’re the tallest falls in Ghana, and there is a constant rainbow sprawling across the base of them. The water looked SO refreshing and inviting but I was SO hungry- so I stuffed my sandwich in my mouth and rushed into the clear water. The water came cascading down a huge cliff—which I later noticed was covered in bats—into a beautiful pool of water below. As I walked in closer to the falls I could feel the spray and it was hard to keep my eyes open when we got too close. The feeling was amazing-- the most refreshing cool mist coming from clean water straight from the mountains. At one point I looked up to see a swarm of bats circling around and around overhead- the coolest sight. I made my way under the falls and it felt like a nice back massage, but a little painful when the water came down too hard, haha. So once again to go along with our poorly planned trip, they called us out of the water after being there for a total of 45 minutes… including the time to eat our lunch :( I was a little annoyed but they said we would miss dinner at our hotel which was a few hours away. It was frustrating to have to spend the majority of our trip riding in the bus, but I guess it was inevitable if we wanted to get to all these places. Also SAS has to find the absolute nicest hotels available for all of their trips, so we had to drive 3 more hours to this unnecessary resort-like hotel when we could have stayed at any little local place near the falls. Seriously- I didn’t even know hotels like this existed in rural villages of Ghana. It felt a little out-of-place… Allyn and I walked into our room which was actually 3 rooms- a front room, a huge bedroom with 2 queen beds and a fridge, and a bathroom with a shower which I couldn’t even touch both walls when I stretched my arms out. Sorry for the vivid description but it just seemed ridiculous that after spending all day in rural Ghana seeing these villages with one-room huts and no running water- that we would stay in a mansion like this. Anyhowww, we had a buffet dinner at the hotel restaurant, and then finally got a chance to wash off all the sweat and dirt from the day. It was a long and exhausting day but I was glad to be in the real heart of Ghana.
The next morning Emmanuel told us breakfast was at 6, because we needed to get on our way to Tafi Atome village, yet another 3 hours away. It ended up only taking us an hour to get there because there was no traffic… so basically we woke up at 5:30 for nothing because the village was the only thing we were doing that day and we’d only be there for 2 hours. Anyway, the drive to Tafi Atome was really cool- we drove through some bigger villages bustling with people walking around selling their goods in the market. I feel like everyone sells the same thing- fruits, bread, water, prepared street foods… I just don’t get who buys it all if they’re all selling it. And it’s not like there are many tourists around to buy anything.. it’s just all the locals who all have access to the same things. They all stared as our huge bus came bouncing down their little dirt streets and waved to us like we were celebrities. We made it to Tafi Atome, a unique village that practices conservation by keeping their wild monkeys sacred. First we walked into the forest where the friendly mona monkeys were jumping about in the trees around us. The guy who led us brought some bananas and made some monkey calls to lure them to us. Once they saw bananas in our hands they each came forward, eyeing us suspiciously and then jumping towards our hands to grab the banana. Some of them would sit while we held a banana and would peel it, taking off chunks and then running away. They were so cute! They would stuff a whole banana in their little mouths and run off before any others could steal it. So we had a fun time playing with the monkeys and I got to feed Commando- the king of the tribe. We continued through the forest, finding a different tribe of monkeys and some huuge bugs that looked like grubs from the lion king. These centipedes were longer than my hand!! They did look quite fat and juicy.. for a second I wanted to eat one.
We walked out of the forest and then had some time to explore the village.. From what I saw there was one long building which served as the school, and all the kids were sitting on the steps outside looking curiously over at us. Next to the school was the one-room church, and outside that was the well where some kids were filling buckets to take back to their houses. The rest of the village consisted of bamboo huts and small clay houses, with little goats wandering and people sitting around, either working around their homes or cooking meals or caring for babies….. It was real life. And we were just visitors, walking through their real life like it was a movie set or something. It was just kind of a strange feeling—even though they are relatively used to it with visitors coming to see their sacred monkeys, I just felt strange. There was one bright blue and yellow payphone randomly standing up in the middle of the dirt, which was so out-of-place and kinda funny.
So we didn’t have much time at Tafi Atome, not sure why since it was the only place we were going that day… but we got back on the bus, realized about a minute down the road that we forgot Wade at the village, went back to get him, and were headed out of the Volta region and back towards Accra. We crossed the Adome Bridge, the “most attractive bridge in Ghana” over Lake Volta which is the largest man-made lake in the world. Then we stopped for lunch at this gorgeousss resort hotel on the lake. It was even nicer than the one we stayed at- didn’t know that was possible. We had a nice buffet lunch and then hung out along the water for a while before heading back to the ship. I’ve realized how much cheaper all these SAS trips could be if they didn’t insist on booking the nicest hotels and restaurants, when we could just as easily stay in hostels and eat at local places on the streets. …especially while spending 2 days in the rural villages of Ghana. It just doesn’t seem right to drive 2 hours out of the way just to sleep in an upscale hotel. It’s also funny because if I compared our hotel to any one in the US, it would definitely not be considered “fancy”. We still had to turn on a heater to get hot water and there were lizards crawling all over the walls, but after spending so much time in these poor areas you get a whole new perspective on what’s “fancy”.
On the way back we stopped at a supermarket so we could have a chance to buy some Ghanaian chocolate our guide was talking about, which is supposed to be some of the best chocolate in the world. Cocoa is one of their largest exports, so I guess that would make sense. And mmm it was for sure the best I’ve had. Also being the cheapest since it’s made right there, I bought a lot to bring home to all of you reading this :)
Well, we got back home much earlier than planned, so Allyn and I and our friend Amanda decided to relax in the pool for a little since no one was on the ship, and then head out to Accra for dinner. Back in the bustling streets of Accra (but not really) we joined a couple other friends to attempt to find Bella Roma, an Italian place recommended to us. After asking a bunch of people we finally found it, this surprisingly awesome looking Italian lounge, randomly down some dark alley. We went inside and to our surprise found this gorgeous restaurant, much classier than I think any of us were expecting. We sat in a huge booth with pillows and ordered some delicious fresh mozzarella and tomato, the best garlic bread EVER, and margherita pizza with freshhhh basil. It was quite a satisfying meal, and then the owner came over and talked with us and gave us free dessert :) He’s from Rome and his family had this restaurant in Accra for years, which I thought was a pretty random place, and he did not seem like the type of person to fit in in Ghana. He said he likes it alright but I think he would fit in much better back in Rome. Anyway, we said goodbye and walked down the main street, stopping at an outdoor bar where all the locals were hanging out. Ghanaians are quite friendly people- so relaxed and easy-going, so they were a lot of fun to hang out with. We ended up seeing a lot of SASers all around town and luckily we caught the last shuttle back to Tema around 11.
My last day in Ghana I was spending at an orphanage, prepared to do service work and play with the kids. We left early for the Osu Children’s home, where we first got a tour of the whole place, including the school and the homes for the different age groups. There are orphans ranging from infants to kids in their 20’s, and they don’t get sent out on their own until they are sure they have real jobs to support themselves. It’s sad because some of the older kids can’t move out because they are still not educated enough to get jobs. Despite how friendly the orphan mothers are and how good of a program this is, it was still really depressing to witness. Their conditions aren’t the greatest and there are just too many kids to be able to give attention to each of them individually. They were happy doing the simplest things, like throwing a bouncy ball around with us for an hour, and then they received their tiny lunch bags with a little sandwich and a drink pouch. One kid I talked to named Atsu was 15, and he said his best friend was adopted a couple years ago and gets to live in California now. I asked him what his name meant and he said “twin”, so I asked where his twin was and he said very nonchalantly that he died as a baby. I was torn with my feelings the whole time I was there- it’s so good to know there are people who will take in orphans and street kids but so depressing that they still don’t have loving families or very nice living conditions. We spent some time scraping and painting walls, and then some time playing with the kids and holding the babies… they were so adorable. The worst thing was that when we left, we once again went to this super nice hotel for a huge buffet lunch. I don’t get SAS at all… we could have used the money that went to paying for that fancy buffet to give to the orphanage, and just had lunch on our own. Needless to say I felt pretty bad going to eat all that and be waited on while these kids we were just with had so little. Lunch was at least authentic African food though.. we had groundnut (peanut) soup with chicken, fish and vegetables, rice balls, and fried plantains… very tasty and very overfilling.
We got back to the ship kind of early, but I didn’t have enough time to go back into Accra before the ship would leave.  So I spent some time running and reflecting on everything I saw, and I realized I’m really glad we had a chance to stop in a place not so touristy and big-city-like like many of our other ports. That’s what made it so real for me, and I’d much rather have experiences like this than going to a bunch of famous sites to take pictures in front of.
I had a great time being in the center of the world, and it’s hard to believe I was really just in West Africa! Somehow I think I’ll believe it more when I get home and look back at all my pictures, but for now everything’s happening so fast and it’s hard to get my mind around the fact that I’m actually in all these places. We’re now well on our way to BRASIL, which I never gave much thought to before since it’s our last port…. buttt now that I’m researching it I’m getting SO excited. The culture and the cities seem so colorful and lively and fun. But I guess I’ll see for myself very soon :) I want to sleep in hammocks. We might go backpacking in Chapada Diamantina National Park, or travel around the coast of Bahia through the different beach towns- not sure yet. Whatever we decide to choose I’m determined to make it an AMAZING last port, the end of our journey, and the beginning of many more journeys. hopefully I just don’t get robbed..!
-Michele

AFRICA!

Wow. I knew South Africa was one of the places I was most excited for but I never expected to fall in love with Cape Town as much as I did. I can honestly say it’s the most beautiful city I’ve ever been to… and I know I’ve said how amazing every place we’ve gone is, but this city just blows everything else away!! Cape Town has everything—a gorgeous waterfront with restaurants and shops and boardwalks, hundreds of white sand beaches and turquoise oceans, an awesome downtown with the mountains directly behind it, and valley after valley of wine lands— everything! Not to mention the perfect 75 degrees and clear skies we had every day. I would live here in a heartbeat.
I woke up once again for the sunrise as we were coming in, and it was one of the prettiest yet. To one side was the orange sun peeking over the mountains and through the clouds, and to my other side was the incredible view of the city of Cape Town sitting just in front of Table Mountain. As we sailed into the port seals played in the water around us and we docked at a beautiful waterfront area that looked more European than African. Finally we were at a port which wasn’t a cab ride away from an actual city! So that was extra nice. The ship we were docked next to looked like a really nice cruise ship, except I didn’t see anyone one it. Later I found out it’s the 6th biggest privately owned yacht in the world, and the owner isn’t even there- he just has it parked there waiting for the world cup in June! How insane is that.
So the first day my friend Ashley and I planned on going horseback riding on the beach. We stepped off the ship into the V & A Waterfront, which is a whole boardwalk area with nice restaurants, shops and malls. We stopped in a café for breakfast and headed off to find a cab to Sleepy Hollow Horse Farms in Noordhoek Valley. Besides being WAY ripped off by our cab driver, it was a beautiful ride up through the mountains with stunning views of the city and the coast beneath us. I just could not get over how beautiful everything was! We made it to Noordhoek about a half hour away and found ourselves in a beautiful rural valley of farms and country estates. Two girls about our age took Ashley and I and 4 others on a 2-hour trail through the valley and out to the beach. I got on my cute horse named Habana, who of course only wanted to eat and eat and eat. We started out down the trail, winding through grasslands surrounded by mountains in every direction, and the trail eventually opened up to an enormous expanse of pure white beach—more like a giant white desert—with no one on it but us. One of the girls asked me and Ashley if we wanted to gallop, so we galloped down the beach and I felt like I was in a dream. I had never seen anything like this beach before. I had to laugh as I looked around and realized this was real—to one side of me a valley next to a never-ending range of mountains, to the other side a pure white desert ending at the most turquoise ocean with huge white waves crashing down. We did come upon a few serious surfers- the waves were huge!! But the prettiest color water I’ve ever seen (just as amazing as Mauritius!). I’m trying so hard to describe this but it’s just about indescribable.
So we galloped around and trotted some more, and it felt so good to be on a horse again (except for anticipating how sore I was about to be)! Unfortunately we had to turn around and go back, but I could not have asked for a more beautiful and vitalizing first day in South Africa.
Ashley and I made it back to the waterfront around 5pm, and I finally found something to eat after not eating since 8! It was SO nice to finally have fresh food again. Our ship literally ran out of lettuce for salads, after it being yellow and brown for about a week. Sorry for the complaining but the food was just getting REAL bad- and I’m not even a picky eater. Anywho, I walked around the waterfront shops for a little bit while I was waiting for Allyn and Courtney to get back from Cape Point. We eventually met back up on the ship, got ready, and went out to Long Street in downtown Cape Town for a late dinner and some deeelicious South African wine. Even the cheapest wine on the menu was better than anything I’ve ever tasted. Long Street is the main street downtown for restaurants and bars and shops, so we hung out there for a while and then went back to the ship. We met a guy named Ian Mitchellson at dinner who moved to Cape Town and started his own photography business- sounds like a perfect idea to me! He said to make money here you have to come start your own business, not work for someone else. Maybe I’ll be back in a few years!
The next morning Allyn, Courtney, Mychaela and I had a service visit to the Amy Biehl Foundation and to the townships to see some of the programs the foundation is running for the kids. Most of you probably don’t know who Amy Biehl is so I’ll fill you in a little first -- Amy Biehl was a Fulbright student who was working in South Africa in the anti-apartheid movement, and she was killed by a mob of black South Africans the day before she was supposed to come home. She loved South Africa and was working to end apartheid, but the mob had mistaken her for a white supporter of apartheid. Her parents started the foundation in her name, and they were incredible enough to forgive the young men who killed her and even hired two of them to work at the foundation. They are a nonprofit organization raising money to fund programs for the youth in the townships, providing activities and supplies and most importantly providing them with a happy nonviolent childhood that the boys who killed Amy Biehl never had.
We were really lucky to have Amy Biehl’s mom come on the ship to talk to us the morning we reached Cape Town. She visits the foundation in South Africa about twice a year now so we were lucky she was there then! She’s an incredible woman- she told us how the boys who killed her daughter call her “grandmother” and after a long forgiving process they actually think of each other as family now since they never had a typical childhood or loving family as kids. We also had the surprise of having Easy, one of the men who killed Amy and who now works as the project manager at the foundation, come along with us on our visit to the township and speak to us. We first went to the foundation in downtown Cape Town to see where they work and learn a little bit more about it. They’ve been so creative with ways to get donations and fundraising and I cannot believe how much money they get for this project! We then headed out of the city to the townships—the real South Africa.
As soon as you drive out of the city it’s a whole other world. We drove through miles and miles of flat lands crowded with tin and wooden shacks, people wandering outside through the maze of them and kids playing with each other in the dirt. We first stopped at a primary school where all the kids stood around in a big circle in the courtyard, clapping, singing, some drumming, and a few teachers in the center leading them in a song. The teachers would march around the circle clapping and encouraging anyone to come in the middle and dance. Some little kids would jump in and do the most impressive dances and flips… and eventually some people from our group jumped in, but of course we looked silly trying to do African dance like them haha. It was a lot of fun though to watch them having such spontaneous fun filled with so much energy. I was kind of mad we had to leave so quickly because we had to catch our lunch at this popular township restaurant, but I didn’t realize we had the whole rest of the day to play with kids.
We drove through the township and past the gas station where there is a stone cross showing where Amy was killed, and then to a veryy popular outdoor township restaurant called Mzoli’s. It’s probably the most popular restaurant with the South African township people, and it’s basically a big barbeque. Coincidentally while we were there, the “Football Friday’s Bus” was parked there with a South African comedian getting people pepped up for the World Cup with music and dancing. He was giving away a bunch of world cup stuff so that was fun. Anyway, they brought us out two HUGE platters of South African barbeque (I think it’s called Braai)—I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much meat on a platter—and phutu, a type of ground maize meal, with tomato and onion sauce. This was our traditional Xhosa lunch- pretty delicious and simple, but I don’t think you’d survive if you were a vegetarian.
After lunch we went to a different primary school where the kids jumped all over us wanting to play. They were SO adorable and energetic. Soon they had attached themselves to us and held our hands as we walked over to the soccer field. The little kid who walked with me was so intelligent and spoke perfect English! When I told him I was from America the first thing he asked me was if I knew Rihanna.. haha! He knew a lot about the US though and started singing some of his favorite American songs.. I was impressed! We got to the soccer field which was a giant dirt field with one goal post. We all had our big cameras out and the kids just went CRAZY with them. Haha they were so serious about them! They each took a hold of our cameras and would make their friends pose for them as they zoomed in and focused and were really serious about taking pictures… they loved it. This one kid sat down with a video camera on a tripod and filmed the entire time we were there. It was funny how obsessed they are with cameras and how serious they are about them…. that was definitely the highlight of their day. They would fight each other about holding the biggest one… I had my big lens on mine and they went crazy over it. So needless to say we all ended up with hundreds of pictures that day… really good ones of the kids posing for each other too :)  Anyway, it was an amazing day of playing in the dirt and being with these kids who were so grateful to play with us. We played soccer, relay games, painted tattoos on each other, and played some of their traditional games in a circle like “the horse is on the mountain…” It was so much fun. We spent hours and hours there until the sun was about to set over the mountains, and then before we had to say goodbye we each donated a few Rands to buy juice and snacks for all the kids. I didn’t want to leave- I could come back and play with them every day. I felt so happily worn-out and dirty as we sadly got on the bus to leave- what a rewarding day.
Another lucky coincidence we had in South Africa was that the International Jazz Festival was being held on April 3rd and 4th! And even luckier- the evening we got back from our service visit there was a free kick-off concert in Green Market Square, a beautiful little area off Long Street in downtown Cape Town. So as soon as we got back, Allyn, Courtney and I had a quick dinner, showered, and headed off downtown. The concert had been going on since 5 and ended at 11, and a bunch of jazz bands from all over the world each played a few of their songs—it was so good. There were tons of people in the square and it was such a pretty atmosphere, the buildings around it had restaurants with balconies where people were watching and other people were sitting in trees throughout the square to have a better look. South Africans are crazy for jazz.. and I can see why! It was such relaxing music to listen to- at times I felt like I was at a Dave concert minus his voice. Also, while we were making our way to the front near the stage, Courtney ran into her friend who’s studying abroad in Cape Town! So that was pretty funny and random, and we hung out with her and her friends for the rest of the night before heading back to the ship. I couldn’t have asked for a better day… good people, games, laughter, kids, music, and a beauutiful country.
My third day in South Africa was all about the wine country. Like I said, there’s such a variety of things to do near Cape Town- I could have stayed here weeks and never been bored. So I woke up early to do a “cycling in the winelands” trip with an SAS group. We had a small group which was nice and we took off in a motor coach heading out of the city for a little less than an hour, through the mountains and the valleys, until we reached Franschhoek (which means French Corner). We got out in this adorable little French town with one small main street lined with beautiful churches, restaurants, shops, and a gorgeous backdrop of the mountains. I took my time walking along the street until it ended and I met up with the group as we got on our bicycles. We cycled back down the street and continued along the scenic road for about 20km, passing hundreds of wine estates and guesthouses- it was incredibly beautiful. I was a little worried I would miss the place we were supposed to stop at for lunch but luckily the car was waiting there to stop us. We stopped at Solms Delta, a wine estate about the same distance between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, another well-known town in the wine-lands. I cycled down the driveway past the vineyards and we all got off our bikes for a picnic lunch at their outdoor restaurant. The atmosphere was beautiful—as always—clear blue skies and a lush green field surrounded by vineyards, trees, and mountains in the distance. We had a light lunch outside of sandwiches and salads and a mini apple tart for dessert. Then the wine tasting began! I’ve never been able to do a wine tasting before, especially not at a gorgeous South African winery. We tasted I think 6 different wines, each better than any I’ve ever tasted. I really had no idea wine could be so good. The guy who served us made us shake our glasses up and down and then smell the wine and pick out the different fruits we got from it. He could pick out like 6 different fruits from each wine! I don’t know if he was just making it all up or if he’s actually that much of a connoisseur. Anyway, we tried a couple different red wines, white wines, a Rose, and my favorite, a sparkling Rose. They all had special names but I know nothing about wine so it made no difference to me. So- feeling good and classy after a wonderful morning of cycling and delicious wine, we had to continue on in the motor coach to the town of Stellenbosch. We drove through the campus of the University of Stellenbosch—which by the way is where I’ll be going next year—probably the most picturesque college campus I’ve ever seen, and then parked on the street downtown where we had time to walk around and explore and do a little shopping. With all the cafés and cute little restaurants I felt more like I was in Europe than Africa! What a gorgeous day. I’ve said that a thousand times but the air was just so crisp and clear, the sun so warm and scenery so perfect- once again I felt like I was in a dream.
We got back to the ship in the evening and I waited to meet up with Allyn and Courtney who were doing a different wine tour. We met up and had a nice late dinner on the waterfront at this traditional South African restaurant called Karibu (“welcome” in Swahili). I tried a salad with Biltong, which is like dried spiced beef, a lot like beef jerky. It was delicious!
The next morning I woke up early to go for a run along the waterfront. I started running, having no idea where the path would take me, but it took me along the shore and opened up to a beautiful boardwalk that must have gone on for miles with green parks and small hotels and restaurants across the street. It was a beautiful run- people were out walking their dogs, the blue ocean was crashing below me on one side, and on the other side an awesome scene of Table Mountain behind the city. Not knowing if the boardwalk would ever end, I eventually turned around and ran back, exhausted and feeling good. Allyn and Courtney had gotten up super early to go shark cage diving so I decided just to wander around the waterfront by myself for the day. After showering I gathered my postcards and went to an outdoor café to relax, write to everyone, and enjoy a spectacular vanilla milkshake for breakfast (seriously the best milkshake I’ve ever had). I feel like I don’t get much time in ports usually to sit down and enjoy my surroundings (since there’s always so much to do in so little time) so it was really nice to enjoy this beautiful morning to myself, with nothing to do for the whole day. I walked all around the waterfront, looked in all the African craft stores and markets, went into a few bookstores (yes- I actually read some books!!), and did a little food shopping in the mall. There were also groups of African drummers and dancers performing on the waterfront so I watched them for a little while as well. It was a perfect day by myself and I later met up with Lauren, Zach, Allyn, Courtney, and her other friend who is studying abroad in Cape Town, and we went out to a “Cape Malay cuisine” restaurant-- also super tasty.
I was starting to feel really sick that night so I went to bed after dinner, so I’d be ready for our early Table Mountain hike on our last morning (Easter!). Courtney, Allyn, and I got up and headed straight for Table Mountain, unfortunately on the most windy day of our trip. They closed the cable car that goes up and down the mountain because of the extremely high winds, and they were warning everyone not to hike up. We decided to go anyway, and I’ve never felt like I was literally going to be blown off a mountain like this before! There is no “easy” hike to climb up Table Mountain, each trail is basically straight up. We started up and realized we should only go part of the way because it was actually that scary. We still got up high enough to see some crazy views of the entire city and coastline below, and I got some incredible pictures. Hiking back down was even scarier- I had some pretty close calls to being blown straight off the mountain, not even kidding! Anyway, I’m glad we got to at least climb halfway up, and I guess I’ll just have to finish it the next time I’m in Cape Town :)
At the bottom we took a cab ride to Long Street, where nothing was open because it was Easter Sunday. We walked over to Green Market Square where merchants had a big African market set up and I bought some neat jewelry and handicrafts. After that we had the lovely idea of walking back to the waterfront, buying food at the supermarket, and having an Easter picnic on the shore! Anything that includes fresh food is always a winner for me. So we went and bought fresh baguettes, brie, chicken salad, raspberries, apples and had the most perfect Easter picnic on a cliff overlooking a sparkling black sand beach. We layed there for a few hours in the warm sun, enjoying our last few hours in this amazing country. It was a more appropriate Easter than I was expecting to have, a hike and a picnic on a clear sunny day, but ended quite sadly as I boarded the ship for the last time in Cape Town. We were supposed to start sailing around 8pm, but they closed the port due to the intensely high winds. Of course I didn’t mind being stuck in Cape Town, but when I woke up the next morning and looked out the window, there was the glorious Table Mountain- we still hadn’t left! We couldn’t leave until late afternoon, and luckily because if we didn’t leave by nighttime we would lose a day in Ghana! I can’t believe Ghana is our next stop- only 2 ports left…. I can’t even talk about it! :(
Well, a few more long days on the ship before we get there, a few more papers to write, and a lot of getting excited for a whole new part of Africa!!!!!!YAY
-michele

pictures from Vietnam and Indiaaa

here's a few more.... it's hard to pick only a couple out of the thousands i've taken!!

good morning Vietnam!!

deeeeelicious Vietnamese food- my yummy chicken pho

Austin & i in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Nha Trang


Mekong Delta, Vietnam

tasting the sweeeetest fruits ever in the Mekong Delta

scary looking lunch- "elephant ear fish"

my Indian college friends i met at the temple :) they are so pretty!!

Krishna's Butterball- Mamallapurnam, India

beautiful henna in India

Allyn and I with our life coach- Art of Living retreat in Chennai

Art of Living yoga and meditation retreat

picture update!

So I'm in Cape Town right now and finally found an internet cafe-I don't have much time right now but here's some pictures since the last time I updated in Hong Kong!

walking around with our friends Alex and Samantha in Hong Kong

This whole street was lined with markets selling goldfish!

The giant bronze Buddha on Lantau Island


The laser light show that happens every night in Hong Kong- our view from the ship

J' <3 L'ile Maurice

"You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius." –Mark Twain
Oh Mauritius…. I’ve never been to a more picturesque island. The white beaches and clear waters and green mountains are like what you see on the postcards, only they actually look as beautiful as the postcards. It is heaven for sure, and being there for less than 2 days was such a tease!
The first morning I decided to go hiking with some of my friends Lauren, Zach, Erin, Eliza, Caitie, and Spencer. We set off, and not surprisingly it takes forever to get from our port to the actual town, so we walked a few miles until we found the bus station in Port Louis. Walking by the waterfront was beautiful- it’s filled with shops and restaurants and markets all with the most beautiful architecture. We got on the public bus and rode for a long while mostly uphill through streets of colorful shops and markets  until we got off in a town somewhere. We were planning to hike around the highest peak on the island where you can stand over the giant volcanic crater. So we wandered down the street and of course stopped in the first bakery we came to, where we basically bought one of everything they had so we could share and try it all. The Mauritian food is very eclectic just like the people who live there. It’s a big mix of Indian, French, Asian, and a little bit of everything else. So all the sweets and pastries at the bakery were delicious despite having no idea what they were. After wasting about an hour there we kept walking, asking people for directions and somehow Zach and I fell behind the group and stopped at this street vendor looking at the yummy samosas and Indian snacks. We were wondering what they all were and this nice little man who was buying some explained them to us. We kept talking with him (he spoke perfect English), found out his name is Parma, and he asked where we were from and it turns out he’s been to DC and Maryland and Pittsburgh (where Zach lives) and basically he’s been all over the United States. We asked him how to get to the crater and he said he actually lives a 5 minute walk from the crater and he could take us in his car and show us around! So we found our group up ahead and all 7 of us shoved in his little car and he was soo happy to take us around. We found out he grew up in Mauritius and as an adult has taught in basically all of Europe and the US and several other countries! He is now an adorable retired grandfather and lives with his wife in a beautiful house on the highest point of the island…. how nice right? He was the sweetest man I’ve ever met though….. he taught us how to say Mo content toi which is “I love you” in Creole and said how you should always greet someone with ‘I love you” because “it’s the very best type of greeting!”. Haha… he just kept talking about the importance of peace in our world and caring for the environment.. he was so cute! Mauritius is such a cool place in that it’s so multicultural—there’s Africans, Indians, Asians, French, and all kinds of people—all living together and getting along in perfect harmony.
Anyway, Parma drove us all around his home town, gave us a little tour, and then drove us up to the peak where we could see the crater. He says he walks around there every morning on his daily walk since his house is only a few minutes away. It was a little rainy and foggy that morning but it quickly cleared and we could see the enormous crater and a view overlooking the entire island and all the mountains in the distance. Parma then took us through the neighborhoods of beautiful houses and gardens and we ended up at his house! He’s in the process of renovating it so it was empty and a little torn up but still gorgeous. It was full of windows with these intricate steel designs in them and he had a roof terrace up top where he has breakfast every morning and can see over the entire island.  It was gorgeous- what a lucky little man.
So after spending some time with our new Mauritian friend he drove us to a bus stop where he suggested we take a bus to another town to walk around and do some shopping. Right before we left him he also revealed to us that he used to work for NASA as a rocket scientist… he’s done everything! Everyone I end up randomly meeting turn out to be the most interesting people. So we got on the bus and headed to the next town, where we walked around the streets and the markets and Zach and Spencer found a place to try dholl puri, a mix of spicy beans and veggies wrapped in a pancake, kind of like the dosas in India. I had to meet Courtney back at the ship around 5, so we headed home and took forever finding the ship after it had to moved to yet a different port while we were gone.
I found Courtney, and me, her, Zach, and Lauren were talking to one of the Mauritian customs guys on the ship asking how safe it would be to sleep on the beach. He said not very safe and it sometimes rains overnight but he could take us up to Grand Baie, where we wanted to go, and find us a villa to stay in for the night so we’d have the entire next day at the most beautiful beach on the island :) That of course sounded perfect to us so we all went out to dinner on the waterfront and then the customs guy Ashwin and his friend drove us up north to Grand Baie. I never expected to make so many friends during my 2 days in Mauritius! We hung out on a little beach (and I could tell how clear the water was despite it being pitch black out!), stargazed for a while, and had an awesome night and then Ashwin found us a villa that had 2 bedrooms, a living room, and kitchen! I was expecting a little hut on the beach, but this was like a house! If only we had one more day…
We woke up early and sadly left the villa with its beautiful gardens outside, to get an early start on our day at the beach. Ashwin drove us to what he thinks is the prettiest beach on the island, a few minutes drive from Grand Baie. He dropped us off and said goodbye, and I swear I have never seen a more perfect beach. Crystal clear turquoise water and the softest white sand…. 50 feet out from us were boats pulling waterskiiers, tubers, parasailors… it was a paradise. It was also not at all crowded- there were only some French vacationers and a few locals walking their dogs. This beautiful remote paradise was all ours. To make the morning even better, an ice cream truck drove by on the sand road behind us, where we got huge soft-serve cones filled with wafers and sprinkles… for breakfast :)
Needless to say we had a wonderful morning relaxing on the beach and taking it all in. In the afternoon we took the bus back to Grand Baie where we walked along the beachfront in the more developed area and found an awesome outdoor restaurant for lunch before finding the express bus back to Port Louis. We found Mychaela, Chris, and Steven on the bus, so it was a nice long ride sharing our stories and amazement at Mauritius. I think everyone underestimated Mauritius because it was only a two day stop and everyone was just looking ahead to Cape Town. But by the time we got back everyone was dying to stay longer, and I was surprised to have met and learned so much from the people in such a short time. The most beautiful moment was while we were taking a water taxi from the waterfront back to the ship and a giant rainbow appeared over the island, crossing over the waterfront and disappearing into the green mountains beyond. It was beyond both words and photographs.
It’s sad to think Mauritius is probably the place I’ll never get back to because it’s so remote! I can’t believe I’ll be able to point on a map and say I’ve been there. But it was definitely two days of ultimate paradise and I learned so much more about the people and the culture than I expected to.
I can’t believe we’re already this far on our journey. There’s only three ports left… but all I can say now is helloo AFRICA! :D
Mo content toi, Micha

My taste of India

I will be back. India is an incredible country with beautiful people and I only saw a tiny fraction of it. But I loved everything I saw, everyone I met, and their completely different way of life. I’ve never seen such a vibrant and alive culture! All I can really say is I can’t wait to return.
So the morning I woke up to India I was feeling a little down, not sure why since I had been getting so anxious to get there. The first day I had a field trip for my digital storytelling class to one of the poorest neighborhoods of Chennai to see how the people live and their daily struggles. We took a bus through Chennai along the coast past these super wide beaches, which actually looked pretty nice in parts. There were some people riding horses and vendors set up all along the edges. It was funny to see goats and cows wandering around on the beach, and some areas were covered in trash and little shacks where people must be living. We reached the village, which I learned is a relocation village funded and built for families displaced by the 2004 tsunami. Despite the help and funds they were given, these people still live in extreme poverty. They are provided with a little shelter, schools, and places for women to learn new trades so they can hopefully make a living. We went into a cosmetology school for women, which consisted of one small room with very little supplies. The women loved to see us and we sang them a song and this kid James in our group break-danced for them! Then we went into the room next door which had a few sewing machines where women make and sell sanitary napkins. These families have to find all new ways to make a living because many of them were from fishing villages on the coast which were devastated by the tsunami. We then walked over to the primary school and visited several school rooms of kids, who were soo so happy to see us. These kids had almost nothing- no desks, tables, or chairs in the rooms- but were some of the happiest kids I’ve ever seen. I just wanted to cry the entire time, but I was trying so hard to keep my smile on for them. I felt like a celebrity, they just wanted to touch my hands and I gave them my journal which they all fought over to write their names down for me. They were learning English which was good, and a few of them could understand and speak to me. It was so hard to leave the school- this one little girl was blowing kisses to me and then watched for me out the window after I left. I just couldn’t believe how happy they were! I then felt even worse about myself because I was thinking… how can these kids who have almost nothing, have such big hearts and be genuinely excited to see me, a perfect stranger, when I who have more than they could ever imagine be selfish enough to feel so down on myself for no reason..?
We left the school and walked over to an area where the village separates and composts their biodegradable garbage and uses a process to turn it into fertilizer. It was nice to see these people benefiting from the projects and help they were given, but at the same time they were still given so little. I walked inside the home of 3 people that consisted of one room—smaller than my cabin on the ship—which served as their bedroom, living room, and kitchen. There were no beds, just 2 pillows and a blanket on the floor, the kitchen was just a counter with a hot plate, and there wasn’t even a window.
As we walked back to the bus, hot and dripping in sweat, all I could think about was that what we just saw for a few hours is what these people’s lives are like every single day. Yet everyone I saw had a smile on their face, all the kids were running about and playing in the streets…. they were just so happy. Why can’t Americans who have everything be this content?
So that was definitely an eye opener for my first day in India. And instead of being inspired by these positive people I just met, I felt even worse for letting myself feel sad when I am as lucky as I am.  I got back to the ship the same time Allyn and Courtney were getting back from shopping all day, and we decided to go see a Bollywood movie that night. We took a cab to this mall where the theater was, and it was such a nice mall- it was very modernized and had a KFC, subway, and some other western stores. We picked a random film which was called “Atithi”, and of course it was all in Hindi with no subtitles. It was a comedy though and really entertaining and the bollywood songs were awesome. Also we think that the main actor in it was the “movie star” that all the little kids were obsessed with in Slumdog Millionaire… so that was kinda funny.
We took an auto rickshaw back to the ship which was crazy…. drivers just swerve around into the oncoming traffic to pass people and the roads are all just madness, I don’t know how they do it. Courtney and Mychaela had to pack and leave for their trip to the Taj at 3am, and me and Allyn were leaving for our Art of Living retreat the next morning, so we all packed and got excited for our excursions in India.
Allyn and I met with our group in the morning and headed off to learn the art of living :) We first traveled South of Chennai along the coast to Mamallapurnam where we saw the Five Rathas- ancient temples and animal sculptures carved out of a huge stone, and which used to be completely covered in sand. While walking around them I saw a group of Indian girls around my age wearing their beautiful saris so I asked if I could take their picture. They got so excited and wanted their picture with me also. I talked to them for a little bit, although they spoke little English, but I found out they were in college as well and were on a field trip. It was so cute how they all just surrounded me, staring and smiling. So those were my new Indian friends… and I started to realize how easy it is to make friends in India :)
We took the bus a little further to Mahabalipuram and saw Krishna’s Butterball, a huuge boulder somehow resting on a hill without rolling down, and then some beautiful stone bas-relief carvings and temples. Next we made our way to the Shore Temple, a huge temple carved out of stone right on the shore line. I actually saw some Indian kids surfing—didn’t know they surfed there!
We finally arrived at Dakshina Chitra, the “heritage village” where we stayed for our program, around 5:30, and started off with a grandmother’s storytelling session about myths and legends of the Hindu gods, and then right away began our first Art of Living class. There’s no way I can write about everything we did and learned each day, but it was for sure the most relaxing three days of my whole trip. It was almost too relaxing… I felt like all we did was rest and eat, lay down and rest, and eat, and rest some more… I kind of got antsy! We had 3 classes a day for about 3 hours each, and we focused more on the breathing and meditation aspect of yoga rather than the physical part. The first thing our teacher had us do was get up and introduce ourselves to each person in the class saying “I belong to you”. She talked a lot about living in the present moment, focusing on our breathing, and becoming aware and accepting of all the thoughts that pass through our mind. We learned pranayama breathing, ujjai breathing, nadi shodhan (breathing in and our through each nostil), bastrika, om chanting, and Sudarshan Kriya- the deepest relaxation I’ve ever been in. After our first class we had our first of many traditional vegetarian Indian meals, which are served on banana leaves and eaten with your hands. The food was all of course delicious- it all consisted of some kind of flatbread to dip in sauces or chutney, dosas, curry and rice, fried donut-looking lentils or fried cauliflower, and some kind of sweet dish. Most of it was quiteee spicy, but I loved it. I don’t understand how Indians eat such spicy food and drink hot drinks every day when it is SO hot out. I think I was sweating after every meal. Each morning of the retreat we awoke at 6:30 to have cocoa and then start our early morning session of basic asanas (physical yoga poses) and then a 20 minute meditation. I walked out of each session feeling so at peace and awake, hearing only the birds chirping and feeling the warm sun. Out of all of these countries, I never expected to have the most relaxing experience in India! The only part I was kind of upset about was that this “heritage village” wasn’t a real Indian village, it is more of a tourist village where they recreated homes from each of the South Indian states and had some craftsmen selling their work. So at times when I was feeling bored of resting I kind of wanted to get out of this place and into the real India! But it’s really hard to complain about such a relaxing experience. We took a tour of the village and saw a silk weaver and glass blower at work—who was incredible! He formed the most complex tiny sculptures out of a stick of glass in minutes. And he would make whatever you requested- ganesh, shiva, elephants, whatever! There was an extremely talented man painting tapestries which I bought a few of… some of the super intricate ones of all the Hindu gods he spent 30 days on! I also got a henna tattoo on my foot which was a beautiful peacock and flower design that a lady created in like 2 minutes!... they are all such incredible artists.
So on our second day we did our usual pranayama and ujjai breathing and then learned Sudarshan Kriya, a deeeep deep 1 hour meditation. We sat upright and listened to this recording of “so…hum…” over and over at different speeds, and all you do is focus all your attention on breathing in during “so” and out during “hum”. It was so much deep breathing that I began to feel lightheaded and my face and limbs went tingly, like I was on an oxygen high. After 30 minutes the recording tells you to lay down and relax. That lasted for 30 more minutes and when I got up I had no idea where I had been!  I realized that I had never fallen asleep but I was not really awake or aware of myself either.. I was in some other state. This was for sure the deepest relaxation I’ve ever felt.. I had no idea I could get to that point!
During our sessions our teacher also had us ponder and discuss many hard questions about ourselves and statements about life, and we did exercises like gazing into each others eyes for a long time. Overall she stressed the satisfaction of giving and doing one act of kindness every day. It was actually a truly enlightening and refreshing 3 days, despite my anxiousness to see the real India.
The third night we had a quick Indian dinner and left to take our overnight train to Cochin! What an experience… For some it was hot and cramped and dirty, but for me it was the kind of experience I was dying to have. The beds were bunks of skinny benches with a little curtain, and they supplied us with some wonderful stained sheets and a wool blanket. We bought some Indian magazines and cookies in the train station to occupy us for a while… and all night these men walked through the aisles saying “coffee” “chai” or “breakfast”. I really wanted some good Indian chai but I heard that “chai” just means tea, and masala chai is our version of chai. So I bought some Indian coffee, which tasted like chai. Haha.. Indian coffee is nothing like ours… it’s made out of this coffee powder which is super sweet and yummy. So it was my first cup of many, despite how hot it was outside every time I drank it.
I actually slept very well on the train, but we all seemed to wake up around 7 or earlier because people were worried about missing our stop at 9 since they don’t announce the stops. Buttt we all got off on the right stop, and found our bus to take us back to our lovely home now docked in Cochin. It’s funny how we all consider the ship our home and it’s so nice to come back to after traveling.
Well, with only 2 days left in India and way too many things we wanted to do, Allyn and I dropped our stuff off on the ship and headed back out, without showering, to keep on going. We wanted to explore the backwaters of Kerala so we asked the tourist guys outside the ship and they made arrangements for us to meet this guy in Ernakulam. I really didn’t want to do something with a tour guide, but we had such little time and no idea how to get to the backwaters! So this is the story of our new friend Allan….
Me, Allyn, and our friends Chloe and Lucy had to take the ferry over to Ernakulam to meet this guy who would take us to the backwaters. Walking to the ferry we were surrounded and followed by at least 6 different auto rickshaw drivers insisting on us taking their rickshaws, and they followed us all the way to the ferry and then waited there with us for about 20 minutes before realizing we weren’t interested. The four of us took the ferry across and found the Indian Coffeeshop where we got a quick breakfast of masala dosas and more Indian coffee and then met our new friend Allan outside. Allan lived in India growing up and then Dubai for a few years, then the UK with his brother for a few months, and just recently came back to India to work for his brother’s tourism business. He is actually really intelligent and speaks perfect English (and like 4 other languages) and most of the time he just drives around to explore different parts of the country and teaches himself about them. He took us to the backwaters of Kerala where a little villager rowed us with a stick in a tiny canoe. We rowed through a small canal past rural villages where kids would stare and wave at us. We saw a bunch of Chinese fishing nets which are these huuge contraptions made out of palm trunks. Allan pulled us over at one point to stop in a Toddy shop, which is an alcoholic drink made out of the coconut palm. There were a few men in there enjoying their drinks and we got to taste it—it actually tasted just like sparkling cider—and we saw them preparing fresh tilapia and tapioca dishes. The whole time we were with Allan he would go up to random people and it would seem like he knew them for years- everyone is just so friendly and open. We continued through the canals a little longer until we reached a bunch of fish farms where we got out and walked around for a while. It’s just crazy that these village people live way out here in the middle of nowhere, tending their fish farms every day and probably never see the cities. On our way back along the narrow canals this little girl on the shore ran along side us holding her finger up and Allan said she was asking us for a pen. Chloe ended up having one so we threw it on the shore and made her the happiest little girl in the world :) it was so cute. We got out back where we started, where the little village market was, and walked around looking at the produce markets and a few men selling fish. I’ve never seen so many different types of bananas before! And then Allan bought us some banana fry which was delicious.
On the way back to our surprise Allan invited us to come to his nephew’s 2nd birthday party that night! He actually turned out to be way more of a friend than a tour guide, and we talked about a lot that day and all about his travels. We decided to hang out with him the next day as well and he wanted to take us to bathe the baby elephants! He even gave me and allyn some of his Hindi and Tamil cds to copy on our computers… which by the way is our new favorite music :)  So anyway, he took us to his home where we waited while he showered, and we met his lovely mother who came out with coffee, bread, and the biggest watermelon I’ve ever seen. She was so sweet. It was awesome to be in their home! It was actually pretty nice relative to others- they had a little courtyard in front with plants and an aquarium, and inside it was pretty small but they had a nice tv and computer. So when Allan was ready we left, and Chloe kept asking us if we were nervous about the whole thing, but to me Allan was a completely genuine person and we just went in his house and met his mother! They make everyone so paranoid on the ship and from my experiences so far, every single person I’ve met in other countries is MUCH friendlier to strangers than any American I know. I even mentioned to Allan how fascinated we’ve been with how friendly and kind people are in other countries to strangers, and he just went off about how he doesn’t believe in strangers, because everyone you meet in your life is at some point a “stranger”. It just really made sense, and now it makes me sad that we have such a concept at home of being insensitive and closed to people we don’t know. When we were quiet at times or didn’t want to take all the food he offered, I could tell Allan felt worried that we didn’t trust him and I felt bad. So Chloe was a little nervous about going to the birthday party and she said she had to meet her friend on the ship at 7, but that she would bring her friend along. We waited for her to go in the ship and then she came back out saying she had to go out for her friend’s birthday. I felt really bad and I could tell Allan was so hurt. He thought it was him and he really had the sense that we didn’t trust him or weren’t being genuinely open to him.
So Allan drove us over to his cousin’s house in fort Cochin where the party was, and we walked in to this huge extended family and an adorable little birthday boy playing around on the floor. The family was huge and they all spoke perfect English (Allan said they are Anglo-Indians, or Portuguese descent) and they were all so pleased to have us, complete American strangers, at their family gathering. It’s awesome how close extended family is in India, and they all live so close to each other. So they offered us chairs and some raisin bread and mini cups of super sweet wine, and we chatted and watched the little boy playing with his new presents. Later Allan took us outside and up stairs to the roof terrace, which looked like a space shared by all the houses in that row. It was such a nice open space up there compared to the crowded streets below. All the food was set up there and it was so spicy that I was sweating like craaazy. I don’t get how they eat like this every day! So we hung out a little longer and then it was pretty late so Allan drove us around Fort Cochin, which was actually a really nice and cute little town- it was definitely a Christian area and there were some beautiful churches- and then he took us back home to the ship.
It was such a fun day and nothing like the “tour” I was worried about, and we got to go to a little boy’s birthday party! We decided to meet Allan again at 6:30 in the morning so we could drive to this village an hour away and catch the elephants getting their morning bath. The area we drove to was beautiful, it was a more rural hilly region with farms and little villages. We stopped at a stand to buy bananas to feed the elephants and Allan bought us each this red banana- the sweetest banana I’ve ever tasted, it was SO good. We got out and walked down to the river, where of course a bunch of SAS kids were washing the elephants. They would just lay down in the water and the trainers would scrub them with pieces of coconut shell. I didn’t realize how cool elephant skin feels! Later they brought the adorable babies down and we washed them too. We fed them the bananas which they went crazy for, feeling all over us for more with their trunks. And I got to feel an elephant tongue! Haha it was such a weird feeling. So we played with them for a long time, and then as we walked back through the village to Allan’s car he would just point out all these different trees and plants around us like cinnamon trees, cashew trees, nutmeg trees, papaya trees, just growing all over the place. It’s so neat how these villagers can just grow their produce and spices right in their yard- how convenient. Allan saw a woman sitting outside her house and he asked if we could go in her yard, where he showed us jasmine flowers and then shook a papaya tree to get a ripe papaya for us. The woman went inside and came out with 2 more papayas and a knife for us to slice them—once again people are so friendly! We just went into a strangers yard and took some fruit and she was more than happy to see us. So then Allan took us into a little country store where we had breakfast on banana leaves of rice pancake-like things with chutney and coffee. We drove back to Cochin- it was a crazy ride with Allan- he doesn’t wait to sit behind anyone, he just swerves into oncoming traffic and swerves back just in the right time…. there were definitely a few scary moments! But everyone drives like that there, there’s just no concept of lanes. Allan says you just have to rely on your confidence…. I know I could never drive there. We had Allan drop us off in Fort Cochin so we could walk around and do a little shopping before sadly heading back to the ship. Fort Cochin was such a cute little town and I bought SO much :D There were actually a lot of Europeans there and I met this girl my age at the ATM who was by herself traveling around India for 2 and a half more months, after she had just been working in an orphanage for a couple months. That sounded so neat to me and I really want to come back to volunteer or teach English somewhere, and then travel all around. The more I saw of India, the more I was falling in love with it and I actually became really really upset that we had to leave.
So me, Allyn, and Lucy decided to have lunch before we went back, and we went to the Mango Tree Lounge which was almost like a tree house with a huge mango tree growing through it! I finally got some real chai, and some amazing Kashmiri naan. It sucks going back to ship food after a week of such amaazing cuisine. We found a rickshaw driver who was soo thankful to take us, and along with the rupees we gave him an American dollar which he was so excited for. I was truly upset to get back on the ship, but Allyn and I were talking and decided this is only the beginning of India for us, not the end.
India has definitely been the country I’ve been fascinated by most. The people are so beautiful- and it’s different than what our usual sense of beauty is.. but I don’t even know how to describe it. Everything is so colorful and rich and vibrant… the faces are so kind and hopeful. Their way of life and views on life are at times so completely opposite than any other people I’ve seen, but a lot of times it makes more sense to me than my own ways. I know I only saw such a little fraction of what really exists so my first impressions may not really be true, but that just means I have to come back and see it all! I could definitely see myself living in India. As soon as Allyn and I got back we Indiafied our room with tapestrys and elephant mobiles and ganeshes and buddhas, and we’ve been playing Allan’s music non-stop. I miss it so much already. But there’s no time to be sad, because after all it’s only the beginning of India, AND we’re on our way to Africa!!

Yesterday morning we passed the equator, so today we’re celebrating with Neptune Day! We don’t have classes and this morning at like 7:30 the crew marched through the halls banging their drums to wake everyone up. We went out to the pool for the ceremony, where the deans were dressed up like the sea gods and poured fish guts on people and made them kiss the fish. Then the tradition of head shaving began…. a lot of the guys did it and some of the girls too! I wish I could just do it for a day and then have my hair back… that would be ideal. It feels like I’m at summer camp right now…. upstairs is just a huge pool party and we have a barbeque and the talent show later. The only bummer is I have two midterms tomorrow! Ugh. How can I take all this seriously when my teachers dress up like mermaids and sea gods with tridents..
Well I can tell we’re getting close to some beautiful islands- yesterday the ocean was like a flat sheet of blue glass and the sunset was probably the most incredible I’ve seen. I can’t believe we’re already halfway done with this trip…. I just keep telling myself it’s only the beginning… I’m just getting my first taste of the world so I know what I want more of. :)
-Michele