Almost to the Motherland

I cannot be more pumped for Cape Town. As I’ve said in a previous post, I have very high expectations for this week- possibly too high. Regardless I am sure it’s going to be awesome. Amanda has been slaving away and doing my bidding- making reservations for various activities, giving my friends advice, and more importantly determined to show me a good time. She has even asked for an extension on a paper because I am coming to town… For those of you are clueless about my Amanda, Sussman, Mands, or Sussy references, Amanda is one of my best friends at Michigan and studying abroad in Cape Town. After my two day Safari which starts tomorrow, I will be spending the remainder of the port stay with her! As if Africa Day did not put me in the Cape Town mood already (I went to a seminar on Great White Sharks, saw Invictus, etc.) for the past couple days we have been sailing so close to land that I literally look out my window and see the motherland. Let me tell you, it’s a pretty legit sight to wake up to.

Since we are heading around the Cape of Good Hope, the ship has begun rocking heavily- at times it has been as bad as the Ensenada-Hawaii stretch of the voyage. Luckily I have not been feeling sea sick. You can really feel the rocking as you go to higher decks on the ship. The pool water on deck seven usually crashes back and forth and over the edges of the pool causing a Sea World type of “splash zone.” It’s actually comical to watch the pool water crash back and forth onto unsuspecting tanners.

Apart from amusing myself by watching other students get soaked by the pool water not too much has been going on since Mauritius. The real dodgeball tournament began and although we won in Sea Olympics my dodgeball career has ended prematurely in this tournament. Our team, consisting of the same members that were on the gold medal team, won our first two games and made it to the quarterfinals. Unfortunately our winning streak did not last. Let’s just say that I got pummeled by a dodgeball thrown by a boy or beast that everybody on the ship refers to as “Tank.” You can use your own imagination for my fall. It was too bad we played this team early on- we beat a team in Sea Olympics that advanced to the semis on the other side of the bracket. Bad luck for us. 3 v 3 soccer is up next.

We had a lovely sedar on the ship last night and approximately 125 people showed up for it including a lot of non-Jews which was great. I had matzah ball soup which I could not have been more excited about. The highlights of the sedar included my table being the most audible Dayenu singers. We rocked it. After Sedar there was the Crew Talent Show in which members of the crew perform their many talents. Duh. It was great watching mostly Filipino crew members, rock out to Greenday and Blink 182. Let me just say, our crew is VERY talented.

The last noteworthy occurrence that has happened on this Mauritius-Cape Town stretch of the voyage is that I have FINALLY finished the Sex and the City Series. I have seen every episode since I bought the series for $20 in Cambodia. Now I have to find a new show to take up my time. As a result of actively pursuing this Sex and the City goal, I have only made it through 200 pages of Mandela’s autobiography. My goal was to finish it by South Africa but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Sorry Nelson.

200 nautical miles outside of Cape Town, safari tomorrow, Sussman the next day- game on.

MAURITIUS SPRING BREAK 2K10

Mark Twain once said, “Mauritius was made first and God modeled heaven after Mauritius.” There are numerous variations of this quote but you get the idea. It is 8:42 PM and we just left Port Louis, Mauritius, the ultimate tropical paradise. Though many of you would argue that this entire voyage has been a giant spring break, Mauritius is in fact the “spring break” of Semester at Sea. We only had a mere night and two days on the island, (the SAS faculty does not like us going to Mauritius AT ALL because it’s usually one big party and more kids do stupid things here than in any other port, hence the short port stay) but it really didn’t matter. We were in Mauritius.

I expected most places in Mauritius to be a fairly short distance because the island is pretty small but I could not have been more mistaken. I had made plans with one group of friends to go on a day cruise/snorkel adventure in Grand Baie and another to stay in Flic-en-Flac over night. Grand Baie and Flic-en-Flac ended up being over an hour away from each other… The plan was to take a cab from Grand Baie to Flic-en-Flac after the booze cruise. This was not the brightest or safest idea and was soon forgotten. After the cruise, Ivy, Jill, and I would be living in the moment without plans of any kind.

Twelve of us headed to Grand Baie to meet the catamaran company that would be taking us out for the day. Unfortunately, yesterday Mauritius was definitely not a paradise and better resembled a giant hurricane. It was pouring rain and windy- two things that were not supposed to be part of the Mauritian Spring Break extravaganza. The coast guard would not let any small ships or in our case catamarans out until the weather cleared up. Though it stopped raining early we changed our day catamaran to a sunset catamaran in hopes that the weather would be nice.

Since we now had the entire day at our disposal, we hung out at the beach of the Ocean Villas (most people get villas in Mauritius) where the other nine members of our group were staying. It turned into a mini beach party with a good amount of duty free beverages. The entire time I was in the ocean near the beach I kept thinking I would step on a sea urchin for not having bought water shoes like the ship Doctor recommended. This fear was not a reality and I swam unscathed. The Ocean Villas included complementary water activities so all of us ended up banana boating. I had never been on a banana boat before and though it was fun, tubing is a lot more fun. A bunch of us purposely flung ourselves from the banana boat to make it more exciting. We soon made it to the outdoor hotel restaurant because all of us needed food for multiple purposes.

Ivy, Jill, and I agreed to find a hotel rather than crash at the villa and forced ourselves to leave the beach and trek Grand Baie in search of suitable accommodations. After walking on the sidewalk for a good fifteen minutes (there was apparently a sign that had said Le Meridian Hotel was five minutes down the road) we came across your everyday friendly Mauritian. He helped us call several hotels and it turned out that he owned the company that was responsible for building kitchens in all of the top Mauritian hotels. After making sure the phone call worked, he offered us a ride to the hotel in his car with his driver. Safe or unsafe- not really sure but sometimes you just have to go with it. We made it to the hotel which turned out to be an extremely nice resort (we sat in the lobby and were immediately given warm hand towels and glasses of pineapple juice) but way more than we expected to pay. Luckily the concierge lady was really nice and told us of a hotel that was just down the road and probably more accommodating. We made it to hotel Hibiscus which was perfect for our sole night in Mauritius. We got a room with three beds and everything ended up being complementary which was an extra bonus.

After dropping our stuff off at the hotel we went back to Ocean Villas for our sunset catamaran cruise. A dingy came to shore to chauffer us to the catamaran. Aboard we had unlimited drinks as well as appetizers and dinner. Though the rain had subsided by this point it was still windy and the water was choppy. Though choppy water does not translate to a calm, serene, sunset cruise, it does mean a wilder ride. After sailing for about an hour and playing on the water nets we anchored. The sun had set (the sunset was basically nonexistent because of the storm but I’m not sure any of us noticed at the time) and we were able to night swim. All of us immediately jumped in the water. We were night swimming in the INDIAN OCEAN, pretty cool. Night swimming, partial skinny dipping and lots of jumping ensued. Soon into our swim I got pretty tired of treading water- blame it on me being asthmatic, not having worked out in the foreseeable past, or just not being a great swimmer- and found a life ring to chill on. I think it’s worth mentioning that one of the coolest things about our Indian Ocean night swim were all of the stars. In LA you don’t really get to see a full sky of stars but in Mauritius you definitely do. It was amazing- the swimming, star gazing, and just being. When in Mauritius.

The catamaran brought us back to Ocean Villas around 9:30 PM and Jill, Ivy, and I still had to make our way back to Hibiscus to shower, change, eat, and attempt going out. Exhausted and disgusting from the day we put off showering to enjoy our complementary dinner which turned out to be a legit five-course meal. We had been expecting a quick buffet type meal but instead sat through five courses all of which were surprisingly good. On top of it there was a huge flat screen TV showing the Manchester United/Liverpool game so I was beyond content with the situation at hand. We returned to our room to discover an ant infestation in our bathroom (they were attacking our complementary cocktails from earlier that day after booking the room)- complementary cocktails, dinner, and ants, oh my. For some reason the ant war did not seem to bother us at the time and we all managed to shower without complaint. By 11:30 we forced ourselves to get dress in hopes of going to Banana Bar which is where a lot of SASers were supposed to be congregating at. Unfortunately after stepping into the street to hail a cab we soon noticed that a. the street was completely dark and b. it was completely abandoned. The desk receptionist soon came out to tell us that the chances of us getting a cab were slim and that three girls should be careful at night. Not wanting to take any chances and more importantly now having an excuse not to go out, we made our way back to the hotel beach and later to our room.

Jill returned to the ship early the next morning which left me and Ivy together in Grand Baie. From this point onward, this day will now be referred to as Ivy and Alex’s Day of Fun. For some reason our hotel was not crowded at all and as a result Ivy and I had our own romantic breakfast without any other hotel guests and more importantly an omelet maker at our disposal. After eating breakfast we used more of the hotel’s complementary services and went kayaking. A motor boat picked us up from our hotel and took us two beach areas over to where the water sports equipment was held. We shared a double kayak and no doubt my shoulders and arms will be sore tomorrow… it was worth it. The water was turquoise and beautiful and the sun was shining. Today Mauritius looked and felt like paradise. We returned back to our hotel’s boat house to see what other fun things we could do when the words “Underwater Sea Walk” caught our eyes.

After booking our reservations with the Underwater Sea Walk Company we were shortly picked up once again in a motor boat and taken to the middle of the bay where another boat was anchored. Ivy and Alex’s Day of Fun was about to get A LOT more fun. For those of you who are unfamiliar with an Underwater Sea Walk, think walking on the ocean floor with a Harry Potter bubble charm on your head or being a part of 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We were given a very quick five minute orientation of what we would be doing and the signs we were supposed to use if something went wrong and soon were rigged up and ready for action. We had to hold onto the boat’s ladder where the workers placed a large, weighted bubble on our heads. The bubble or helmet weighed us down and we were soon on the ocean floor. The bubble was rigged so that air was constantly being pumped in and connected to the boat above. Though I could breathe in the bubble I initially held my breath on the way down. I don’t think I smiled more or was more amazed for any given period of time in my entire life. Ivy and I walked on the ocean floor, touched the coral, and were surrounded by fish. On top of it we had a personal photographer and videographer to capture the entire experience. Though I was the only person who could hear myself speak, I caught my times saying wow a lot. The workers brought bread into the water and threw it near us so that even more fish would surround us. They were everywhere it was almost like you were in a giant fish tank. Ivy eventually made me hold the bread and I received my second fish massage in a month. After about twenty minutes we resurfaced. I recommend bubble or helmet diving to anyone and everyone- just bring some bread with you.

Ivy and I made it back to the ship by 2:30 and I had just enough time to get a hotdog from the grill and take it to the trip bus by 2:45. Not wanting to solely have a “spring break” in Mauritius I volunteered to visit the SOS Children’s Village in Baeu Basin. Though I had been to two orphanages before on this trip (Xi’an and Phnom Penh) I was unsure what to expect at the Children’s village. It was honestly remarkable. The village is designed (there are approximately 480 SOS Children’s Villages worldwide) so that there are multiple houses that each have a house mother. Each house is home to around seven to nine children. The children are ordered to the village by the state as a result of home problems (sexual abuse, domestic abuse, parents with drug addictions, etc.). The children remain at the village until they are 18 however if they decide to continue their education which many are beginning to do, they are welcome to stay as long as necessary. The children are property of the state and cannot be adopted. The concept of having multiple houses, each with a house mother, was amazing. The children are given a real family situation with their own house and I think it is a nice alternative to most orphanages. A lot more attention is given to each child and each child is cared for by a mother. More importantly I really felt that these children viewed each other as family.

I had a really amazing two hours with the kids. After being told the logistics of the organization we were told to go play with the ninety eight children and have fun. The fifteen or so of us that made it on the trip ventured outside and started mingling with the kids. Once again language was irrelevant (some kids knew a little English but the majority spoke in French and Creole). I saw a group of boys playing soccer and immediately joined in. At first I think they were a little skeptical of my playing ability but after juggling for a while and successfully performing a rainbow, I earned their respect and passed the test. I’m pretty sure they had never seen a girl actually know how to play soccer before and they managed to tell me “you play very well.” On top of it I told them my name was Alex but they saw my full name on my SAS ID Card and refused to call me Alex because it was not a girl’s name and called me Alexandra. We juggled and ended up playing games of keep away. I was defending one of the boys (we were playing barefoot on mostly dirt and rock) and as luck would have it hurt my toe. I legit think I broke it (I didn’t actually break it but it hurts a lot, is swollen and bruised, and in my doctoral opinion is at least sprained). Regardless that was the end of my SOS soccer career and I resorted to playing with the younger kids and giving piggy back rides (like I said my toe isn’t actually broken). This was the perfect way to end the perfect two days.

Mauritius was the best remedy to a full week of classes with two tests (we actually do have tests on SAS) after India. I am now the proud owner of not one, not two, but THREE, Mauritian Flags- in case I don’t find them I tell my friends to buy them for me if they see them… this time we all found them. Brooke managed to find me one that was the perfect size though. Flag collection is going strong. Up next: Cape Town, South Africa and Amanda Sussman. I’m expecting big things.

NEPTUNE DAY

And that's how it's done.

Moment of truth.

Nickelodeon Slime anyone?

Neptune Day celebrates the crossing of the equator at sea,

It is a big deal with a bbq and an initiation ceremony

Shellbacks, polywags, dead fish, hair shaving, and slime

A day of no class, it was obviously a good time

We were uncertain what would happen on Neptune Day

The staff was ambiguous with very little to say

We would apparently know what to do when the time came

And sure enough early in the morning we knew things weren’t the same

Unlike NELP when I was woken up with Amelia’s Waltz and a glass of OJ,

On SAS the crew decided to wake us up in a most original way

Whistles, banging, and chanting could be heard down the hall,

Growing ever closer, a line of crew members were right outside our wall

We had crossed the equator, it was time to get out of our beds

And run upstairs where we would be reborn and could shave our heads

Us polywags were ready to be made shellbacks and listened carefully to the rule

Of how we would be converted by completing rituals around the pool

Fish guts and slime were poured on our heads first

We were then cleansed in the pool to ensure we weren’t cursed

Next up included kissing a very dead fish

There was no alternative way to grant our wish

Fish kisses aside, we honored King Neptune and his Wife,

By kissing their rings and offering prayers of long life

Then Sir Don knighted us with a sword and made it very real,

“I now pronounce you a shellback” he said, while we had to kneel

To acknowledge this crossing and sign of rebirth

Many boys and GIRLS shaved their heads to prove their worth

Shout out to Laura Budde, a fellow Michigan Wolverine

Who shaved her head and to me this is how she’ll always be seen

The day will end with a huge outdoor bbq,

I am now lucky to say I am part of an elite few

Who are true voyagers and friends of the sea

A shellback I will die and most happily!

COCHIN

After arriving in Cochin around 2:00 PM, the overwhelming majority of kids on my trip quickly made their way to the pool bar on the seventh deck for some hot dogs and burgers. Oh the joys of American food. Jenny and I decided to explore Cochin that afternoon and ventured out with a cab driver. We had two goals for the afternoon: find an Indian flag and visit the Jewish Temple and the Jewish quarter of Cochin.

Our cab driver ended up staying with us the entire afternoon for $20 (which was probably way more than he should have received) and acted as a guide. Whenever we exited the cab to go into a shop or down the road, he accompanied us on foot as well. The Jewish Quarter in Cochin was really cool. There were lots of little souvenir shops with tapestries, blankets, t-shirts, menorahs, candlestick holders, etc. Another bonus was finding Hebrew writing and the Star of David everywhere. We made our way through the quarter, which was relatively small and probably consisted of a two block street, to the entrance of the synagogue. The guards made us leave our bags outside the building which made me paranoid of being robbed the entire time we were touring inside.

The temple was smaller than most but elaborately decorated. There were chandeliers, bright colors, and the ark was adorned with lots of jewels. The decorations clearly screamed India and it was wonderful seeing a Jewish temple in South Asia. As a result of the Spanish Inquisition and expulsion of the Jews from Spain, many fled to India and the state of Kerala. The Cochin Synagogue was built in 1568 and is still active even though the number of Jews in India has decreased significantly. Today the temple has only ten congregants from five different families however services are still held on both Friday nights and Saturday mornings.

Visiting the temple in Cochin made me really proud to be Jewish. Though I’ve been to Israel and Jewish Quarters in Spain and Eastern Europe, I felt an equally strong if not a stronger connection with Judaism in India because it is so far removed from what I associate with Judaism. The sense of pride I felt could be related to the fact that I was in a 400 year old synagogue in a country that was dominated by mainly Hindus and Muslims. We had persevered and even though there are only ten congregants at this temple, they were still there and practicing. It was remarkable, overwhelming, amazing, pick your adjective.

The second part of the afternoon was devoted to finding an Indian flag which was pretty much impossible. I had failed in Chennai, Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. All of the previous store workers had told me that it would be very hard to find a flag because there wasn’t an election going on and it wasn’t a national holiday. We basically told our driver “take us to where we could buy a flag.” After two failed attempts of ending up in small textile shops we found a small shop owner who lo and behold sold flags. Granted the flags were hand painted which better translates to having random paint blotches in various locations but it didn’t matter… mission accomplished. So far the flag hunt is going well though some of my flags are not the correct size but I am slowly realizing that this task is a lot easier said than done.

That night Rachel, Jenny, and I got our own tuk tuk driver (meaning he would stay with us throughout the night) and went to a recommended local Indian restaurant. Up until this moment we had mostly been eating “Indian food” that always had a couple simple dishes like plain rice or pasta and cream sauce, so I never had to fully go native. I figured on the last night I would try my luck. The owner of the restaurant ordered our meals for us and I made sure to tell him that I was picky and to go easy on me. I LOVED what he served me- I forgot the exact name but it was basically chicken and eggs in a crunchy pastry wrap thing. I probably got the simplest Indian food ever made but in my mind it definitely counts as Indian. Jenny and Rachel went wild with different sauces and dishes but unfortunately the pepto was not enough. At least they got sick from an amazing meal. On the way back from the restaurant the tuk tuk driver asked us if we wanted to drive the tuk tuk. Without hesitation Rachel and I responded yes. Driving the tuk tuk was awesome- it was actually really easy and set up like a motorcycle with handlebars rather than a steering wheel. For something we had been driving around in since Cambodia, it was cool to actually drive one.

The next day I went on a field trip to the Chendamangalam Village, a rural village two hours outside of Cochin. We were hosted by a women’s group and brought inside the village where we saw traditional dances and songs, and were made a traditional Indian lunch. Note about the lunch: I had to eat (and look like I was enjoying) River Fish in a green curry sauce. For those of you who don’t know, I don’t do fish. I consumed half of it before I felt that it was a sufficient attempt and would not be considered rude to stop eating. I was able to interact with the women and learn about their lives. There were fourteen members in the woman’s group and the purpose of the group was to microfinance female business ventures. Their motto was along the lines of empowering women through women. They stressed the importance of education and learning a trade so that women in rural areas could learn to be self-sufficient. These groups are becoming more common in rural India and it was amazing to see these women really striving to reduce the great gender inequalities.

Once again my camera proved to be a friend maker- this time to a ten year old boy who was one of the group member’s sons. I ended up with about one hundred more pictures that day of the village and random things he thought was worth photographing. At the end of the day I gave him a mechanical pencil I had in my bag and he was so amazed and thankful for it. The gifts we received were cooler- the group hand made us beaded purses and filled each purse with a bag of many different spices. Overall it was a really amazing day and I loved the fact that I was able to meet real Indians and was welcomed into their village, lifestyle, and culture. It was a much needed break and experience from the many tourist sites.

Brooke and I were just discussing how hard it has been to write our India blogs. It is easy to retell where we went and what we did but really hard to convey why India was so amazing. I’ll give it a shot. I think the reason I loved India is because it was so different than anything I had ever been to before. The Indian culture is so welcoming and it was remarkable to see so many happy, and I mean genuinely happy Indians who had so little. I constantly push myself to do better or get more- in essence I am never fully content because there is so much more that I can achieve. I am a very happy person and content with my life thus far but would not be content if I did not pursue higher ambitions. In India I feel as though that drive or need to earn more, do more, achieve more, is reduced. Perhaps it is not that they are happier but rather content and more grateful. Always being thankful allows them to live happily and without resentment of what they do not have. India is a completely different world with a lot of disparities and heart breaking qualities. After visiting the country I believe that there are more heart “mending” or “strengthening” qualities than breaking ones. Go to India- you won’t get it until you visit.

Northern India: Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur

I’ve decided to combine these three cities and the majority of my trip into one blog post to ease you of the pain of having to read about every single fort or museum and instead present you with the highlights of my Indian adventure. Some parts are a lot more rushed than others so deal with it.

Day 1 Start Time: 3 AM

Delhi consisted of boarding a tour bus and visiting every major monument or noteworthy site in the city before dinner time. We went to the Qutub complex which is home to a large number of buildings, ruins, and above all a five-story tall tower called Qutub Minar which was build in 1192. After exploring the area we went to a banquet buffet lunch (sounds a lot better than it was- there were some bugs in my cup and on my silverware, cool) where I experienced amazing naan. Further sightseeing included going around New Delhi by bus and seeing the Parliament houses, Embassy Blvd., India Gate, and the President’s house. We visited Humayun’s tomb which is like a mini Taj Mahal. This was followed by a bus tour of Old Delhi which could not have contrasted greater with New Delhi. New Delhi was well developed with cleaner roads, nice landscaping, and lots of green. Old Delhi was more like Chennai in the sense that it was a chaotic mess, a lot poorer, dirtier, and crowded. We went to Gandhi’s memorial which had a constant burning fire surrounded by a pond with lilies. Finally we hit up the hotel for dinner (this was the best buffet dinner ever, and where I found out that I like Water Buffalo). A quick word on the hotels: it’s so weird to be in a country where you see such poverty and then sleep in a five star hotel. You can’t help but feel a little guilty for the privileges you are given.

Day 2 Start Time: 4 AM

After a 4 AM wakeup call, we were at the Delhi train station by 5:15 and ready for our two hour train ride to Agra. It was still dark when we got to the station and immediately stumbled upon a rather depressing sight. Upon entering the station, we passed by hundreds of primarily Indian men who had been sleeping outside the train station all night. I am unsure if they were all homeless, or perhaps from a naïve perspective waiting to catch a train, but regardless one could not help but sympathize for them. Many of them were sleeping barefoot and in ragged clothes without other belongings. To add to the reality of the situation there were dogs intermingled with the men. I hate to make the comparison between these men and the dogs they were sharing the floor with but the reality of the situation really equated the two... the expression “men living like dogs” never had as much meaning to me as it did then. The train station resembled a NYC subway station but on a much larger scale. It was extremely crowded with men and dogs alike crossing the tracks at their own peril. Once you got over the chaos, the whole situation actually seemed pretty normal. It was just another day and another train ride in India.

We arrived in Agra at around 8:30 and headed to a hotel where we would be eating both breakfast and lunch. We had the privilege of seeing SASers who were on one of the just Taj trips. Our group (Taj and Jaipur) then headed to the infamous Taj Mahal. We had to walk a fair amount and were bombarded by child hawkers who were really good at their jobs. The females and males were separated into two security lines before being granted entry into the actual site. Even though there were specific gender lines, there were many Indian females who remained in the male line with their husbands for fear of something happening to them if they were alone.

The Taj is probably 1000 times more amazing than anything your imagination could generate. Its massiveness, white marble, symmetry, exterior fountains and landscape, all assisted in making a typical tourist’s jaw drop for a solid three minutes. Similar to the “oh my god we are on the Great Wall of China” feeling, the “oh my god we are standing in front of the Taj Mahal” feeling was just as wild. There are certain pictures that everyone must take at the Taj. These include holding the tip of the Taj in between your thumb and index picture, perhaps a jumping photo, and a standard size comparison photo. I’m happy to report that “professional” Indian photographers insist on taking your pictures and are able to print them out for you for a total of one hundred rupees or approximately $2. Needless to say, there is a great picture of me at the Taj up on the wall next to my bed. With the digital age upon us, having a printed picture is really nice.

We were given special booties to wrap around our shoes (so that we would not have to go barefoot) before entering the Taj. Walking up the stairs to the Taj and around the exterior of its raised platform really gave you a sense of its size. The whole time I could not help think about the irony in having something so big to hold something so small. All I know is that any girl would be lucky to have a husband who would build a rival world wonder in memory of them. I guess Shah Jahan was a bit of a romantic.

Post Taj we visited the Agra Fort that the Indian Military still partially uses today followed by Fatehpur Sikri, an ancient abandoned city. Not to go into detail about these places but Fatehpur Sikri was built in 1570 but was abandoned only fourteen years after its completion because the water supply was unable to sustain the growing population. It was pretty awesome to see this city exactly how it was five hundred years ago and how well it has been maintained. Our trip was titled Taj Mahal and Jaipur. We had now been to Delhi, Agra, and the Taj but still had to venture to Jaipur. This “venture” would be in the form of a five hour bus ride. It was on said ride that I began reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. We made it to Jaipur late that night and had a quick dinner. Though I missed out on the festivities because I was exhausted, there happened to be an Indian nightclub attached to our hotel.

Day 3 Start Time: 6 AM

Jaipur is dubbed the Pink City because the city wall and many of the city’s buildings are pink. I believe the story of why Jaipur is pink (though I could be lying right now) is because the British architect who was assigned to design the city wanted to be in the King’s good graces and used pink because it was a color of royalty and respect. That description is probably inaccurate but I think the story goes something along those lines… feel free to make any clarifications- my lack of comments is becoming humiliating.

We visited the main area of the city wall and the palace to find SNAKE CHARMERS on the sidewalk enjoying their mornings. It was so cool to see a real snake charmer in India though I am not sure how legitimate they were- most of the King Cobras were defanged and once one started losing concentration the snake charmer would quickly switch baskets a take out a new snake to hypnotize. I regret not taking a picture up close and personal with the snake charmer… oh well, next time I’m in India I’ll be sure to do it.

We started our day so early because we were proceeding to the Amber Fort which we would ascend by riding ELEPHANTS. Riding an elephant was something I had always wanted to do and was so excited about. My excitement slowly diminished as we entered the back of the long tourist line and watched hundreds of exhausted elephants trek up to the fort and then back down over and over again. Though I definitely felt horrible for these animals, I was still obviously going to ride the elephant. Honestly my camel riding experience in Israel was a lot better than my elephant riding experience in India. The fact that Indian men kept hitting the elephants with pointed spear like sticks did not make the experience any more satisfying. The elephants were decorated with paint and jewels but most just looked sick. Next time I ride an elephant I am going to make sure it is not in such a tourist-elephant riding assembly line setting.

We visited the fort, the observatory and the city palace followed by a “jewelry” store that was a lot like the silk market in China. Honestly it is just annoying to be taken into these stores (Marble, Jewelry, and Carpet) where we are shown how to make the items for maybe two minutes and then asked to buy $500 carpets. The fact that three hours of our time over the course of two days was wasted at these stores was absurd. I understand that the tour guides probably receive some sort of commission for bringing tourists to the stores but how much commission can they actually receive if no one buys anything? By the time we were supposed to be taken to the carpet store, the overwhelming majority of students on our trip signed out and did our own thing for the remainder of the day.

After signing out of the trip I had a goal: find an Indian flag. After buying almost everything but an Indian flag I had learned that it would be very difficult to find a flag at this time because no election or holiday was occurring the market was closed on Sunday. I gave up for the day but did end up purchasing an elephant tapestry, a quilt/bed throw thing, and two floor cushion seats, all of which will be mismatched with the rest of my trip’s purchases in my room next year.

Day 4 Start Time: 5 AM

Flight from Jaipur to Mumbai (Bombay) and then a second flight from Mumbai to Cochin. After a long day of flying, an hour drive from the airport to the port terminal, and a long amount of waiting to enter the ship after immigration and security, I was back on the ship.

I would like to take this moment to say two things. In comparison to the Xi’an/Beijing SAS trip, the India SAS trip was subpar. I felt that it consisted of not having enough free time, too much time spent traveling, and a very constricted amount of time at each site. Essentially the time was poorly allocated. Though the trip itself was not amazing in terms of organization or structure, India was so amazing it did not matter. I am going to make a pretty bold statement right now but I think India has been my favorite country to visit so far. This entry is a mere regurgitation of where we went and what we saw and it fails to accurately display the beauty, happiness, and hospitality of the country. I have more to say about India than only the places I visited but all that will have to wait for a later blog.

The last thing I would like to end my Delhi-Jaipur entry with is the fact that I might as well be Indian. I cannot even count the number of times that I was asked where I was from, where my parents were from, or if I was Indian. My tour guide went as far to tell me that I looked exactly like his fifteen year old daughter. I was constantly asked to have pictures taken of me or with me. I was awkwardly the center of a picture surrounded by ten Indian men. On the topic of my “Indian” look, I also apparently look like a thirteen year old in India. Along with the “where are you from” questions, I was also asked how old I was. Almost every Indian thought I was somewhere in the 14-17 age range and was shocked to know I was 21. All I can say is that I looked Asian in China, Viet Nam, and Cambodia, Indian in India, and will probably be dark enough to fit in in Ghana. Bottom line: thanks mom and dad for really making me a global wonder.

NAMASTE CHENNAI

You know you’re in India when:

1. The crew lays down cardboard next to the gangway and makes sure that it covers every square-inch of floor and stair on the entire ship
2. The auto (tuk tuk) drivers take you to at least four pseudo-destinations before finally taking you to the correct one
3. You consume two tablets of pepto bismol every four hours and STILL get traveler’s diarrhea
4. You see the most beautiful and vibrant colored saris everywhere
5. You eat naan 24/7 and wonder how this has not been a staple of your diet for the past twenty one years
6. Cricket tournaments and the national field hockey tournament are televised on every channel
7. People Magazine only has two pages of American stars (Taylor Swift and Celine Dion both made the cut) but hundreds of Bollywood stars… shout out SRK
8. You see men of all ages walking hand in hand down the street
9. There are stray, injured, abandoned, or sick dogs EVERYWHERE
10. You buy countless decorations for your room next year only to realize that everything will have to match the Chinese lanterns and Japanese wall hangings you previously bought...

The Indian adventure began in Chennai, a port in the Bay of Bengal. My trip to the Taj and Jaipur did not leave until the next day so we had the entire first day to explore and more importantly shop. The one downside about the first port was that our ship was not docked close to anything…it was a good mile walk to get to outside the port terminal. Regardless eight of us set out in three autos hoping to get to Perry’s Corner, which we heard and assumed was a market.

A wikitravel quote about the auto-rickshaw drivers in Chennai: “Auto-rickshaw drivers in Chennai do not use meters; they grossly overcharge and often behave rudely and drive rashly. They are happy to exploit foreigners and locals alike.” Fact. The three auto drivers were persistent in wanting to drive us around all day for twenty dollars a person. Besides the fact that this was absurd, we were not completely sure what we would be doing and just wanted to handle things as they came. We asked the drivers to take us to a market, in hopes of finding typical touristy souvenirs. Unfortunately before taking us to a “market” they drove us around Chennai and included auto tours of the St. Thomas Basilica and Elliot’s Beach. After about twenty minutes of being under the control of the auto drivers, we lost two of our friends whose auto driver decided to leave the group and take them elsewhere. Peace out Rachel and Keith. One auto down, the two remaining ones took us to a shady store area that they definitely got commission for taking us to. Luckily Ivy placed down the rupees we owed our driver and we rushed away hoping to escape the drivers who still wanted to stay with us. A little foreshadowing: the auto driver would come back to haunt us later that day.

The six of us, four girls and two boys (don’t worry mom there were boys with us), made our way through the back alleys of Chennai trying to avoid our previous drivers and find some type of market. We hailed new auto drivers and told them to take us to Spencer’s Plaza, an Indian mall with lots of shops which ended up being perfect for shopping. It was after we arrived in the mall and were trying on light cotton pants and such in a store that one of the previous auto drivers found us and started yelling. Apparently the driver of the other auto insisted that he made a deal with his customers and that they each owed him ten dollars for his services. This was insane! A crazy auto driver had not only tracked us down miles away from where we escaped from him but now insisted that we owed him money and were in debt to him. Nice move Ivy in forcefully laying down our money in our rickshaw. To get rid of the crazy driver the boys ended up paying him $35 US dollars. Welcome to India. One thing I learned in India is that you can easily be traced and found.

Once we got past this shock of being found so easily in the most populated country in the world, we continued with our shopping. After that afternoon I was the proud owner of four new pairs of light pants, each costing around $3, the entire series of Friends for $15, and a bunch of pretty cool silk pillowcases. A note about the Friends series- I made the guy test it in his store to make sure the discs worked and even though he showed me a working episode, I got screwed. The discs do NOT work. I guess that’s karma for trying to pay $15 dollars for something that usually costs $400. On the bright side 3 of the 4 pairs of pants (one was just a terrible purchase and I should have known I would never wear them) turned out to be very useful for the duration of my trip.

That night, Brooke, Andrew, and I decided to go out to a local hotel bar. The American consulate reps warned us about drinking Indian liquor because we would apparently be more hungover than we had ever been in our lives if we drank it. The plan of action was to go to a local hotel bar (they’re more upscale, serve to women and men alike, and are more likely of staying open past eleven which is when local bars close) and ask for imported alcohol. A couple martinis, pita and hummus, and bowls of French fries later we found ourselves in the company of about ten other SASers at the “Leather Bar” in the Liberty Park Hotel. Unfortunately being slightly intoxicated and having to wake up several hours later (the Taj Mahal and Jaipur trip met to leave in the Union at 3:30 AM) I had to end the festivities early and head to the ship.

Fun night, rough morning- maybe I did drink the Indian alcohol after all… Hangover aside, I successfully managed to make it to my trip on time. Needless to say once I sat down in the plane I fell asleep immediately and may or may not have held an “air” sickness bag the entire time, just in case.

Sea Olympics and Bridge Tour

We are, we are the Arabian Sea

We play these games, we’re so classy

We’ll sweat, we’ll bleed, ‘til we win this fight

Then we’ll back it up and shack it up ‘til the end of the night

As a proud member of the Arabian Sea (each hall or deck on the ship is divided into different seas or if you want to go Harry Potter style, houses) I had the great privilege of chanting this cheer over and over again two days ago. If anyone was wondering two boys made it up. The Sea Olympics was the most fun day on the ship thus far. For all you camp goers think Color War but for twenty-one year olds. Banners were made, cheers were chanted, and team colors were worn.

The events:

1. Sea Feud- family feud
2. Extreme Musical Chairs- it was extreme
3. World Cup of Crab Soccer- you know you played crab soccer if you have huge blisters on the palms of your hands
4. “Hula” Hoop- self-explanatory
5. “Asian” Cube Scramble- race to pick up ice cubes with chopsticks
6. Sea Sponge Scramble- filing up a sponge in the pool, passing to three other teammates before rinsing it in a bucket… the first team whose bucket was filled with water won
7. Salty Whistle- eat ten saltine crackers and then whistle twinkle twinkle little star
8. Limbo- self-explanatory
9. Pirate’s Pull- tug of war
10. The Singing SASer’s- lip synch competition (our song was Bohemian Rhapsody)
11. Nail the Sailors- Dodgeball Tournament
12. Synchronized Swimming- self-explanatory not to mention hilarious
13. Adveture”ers” Trivia Bowl- questions about Sustainability, Geography, Potpourri, SAS
14. Dean “White” Says- Dean White’s version of Simon Says
15. Dress your LLC- dress up your RA in the most sustainable way possible
16. The “Gun” Show- pull up competition
17. The “Explorer” Relay- leap frog, fruit pass, mystery chug, library book find, wheel barrow race, whip cream find, flip cup, fishing… in that order

Highlights and Facts:

1. The Arabian Sea is the smallest sea on Semester at Sea and probably has around thirty members, other seas have eighty…
2. I, along with Brooke, Kyle, and Dane, are the SAS Dodgeball Champions!!!!
3. Fruit Pass in the relay was a lot harder than it looks, you have to pass a fruit between your chin and chest to your team of four without dropping it… bottom line, you get up close and personal
4. Our synchronized swimming routine consisted of four boys dancing/swimming to the YMCA
5. Our Lip Synch routine consisted of five boys performing in their underwear
6. I scored three goals in crab soccer but we lost to the Caribbean Sea in the first round
7. The team who wins (turned out to be the Red Sea) gets to be the first sea off the boat in Fort Lauderdale… I’m not sure if that’s such a great prize anyway
8. We ended up coming in 5^th Place… not too shabby

Overall Sea Olympics were so fun and it was a nice break from the previous four days of school and previous month of constant go-time. To top it all off there was a huge bbq on the 7^th outside deck that night that included burgers, ribs, and corn on the cob. At the end of the bbq everyone started piling into the pool and the swimmers kept chanting we need more people. Every time a new person jumped everyone went crazy. Needless to say the pool rules were restated in the Dean’s Memo the following day.

Apart from Sea Olympics and repping the Arabian Sea in Navy Blue, I went on a Bridge Tour yesterday. I was able to see the control room and all of the equipment that is used including the different radars and communication devices. The highlight of the Bridge Tour was sitting in the Captain’s chair and wearing his hat. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a huge steering wheel like you see on most sailboats but rather a small wheel that was similar to a Nintendo car racing steering wheel. I learned that when we went through the Strait of Malacca aka Pirate Strait we picked up speed to 19 knots (we usually travel at 11). The chance of a pirate vessel actually catching us was unlikely. The MV Explorer is one of the fastest if not the fastest maritime vessels of her kind. Go us.

Life is definitely good. We’re cruising to India and arrive in Chennai in a day and a half. Right now I am thinking of India as being a completely different world than anything I have ever experienced. To further add to that effect it creepily has a weird “half hour” time zone. We gain thirty mintues tonight. Instead of being ten hours ahead of the East Coast we will be ten and a half hours ahead… strange.

Love from the Bay of Bengal.

FISH MASSAGE

Feet being attacked by fish.


More feet being attacked by more fish.



Ewwwwwwwww. But then I liked it.

CAMBODIA- SIEM REAP & ANGKOR WAT

Luckily after arriving in Siem Reap we went straight to our hotel. The hotel was GORGEOUS and had a ginormous swimming pool which I had the time to jump into before showering and heading to dinner. The one problem was that the hotel only gave out ONE room key for each room. My roommate, Amanda (assigned alphabetically by last name) who was from Oklahoma and went to Vanderbilt, let me be in charge of the key. With the power of the key I was free to come and go as I pleased.

That night for dinner we went to a Cambodian cultural show. I have a very new and big appreciation for buffets. There was a huge buffet for dinner and having the ability to choose what you want to eat was a new privilege. The food was great, the show was eh. It was not as exciting as the two shows we saw in China though the costumes were gorgeous and the show got points in my book for letting us go on stage after and take pictures with the performers. Dad and I have a great shot, center stage, and actually tall in comparison to the two Cambodians we were posing with.

After dinner and heading back to the hotel three of us decided to go to pub street. We took Tuk Tuks there for a grand total of one dollar. A tuk tuk is basically a roofed cart on wheels that is pulled by a motorcycle. It was really fun riding in them in the open air. We were planning on going directly to the bars but something on the sidewalk grabbed our attention: FISH MASSAGE. There was a huge tank that had a sitting ledge around the exterior of the tank for people to sit on. The idea of the fish massage was to put your feet into the tank where hundreds of fish would swarm to them and starting eating away the dead skin. Four things about the fish massage. 1. It cost $3 for a total of 20 minutes. 2. The second the fish touched my feet I yelled and had to take them out. I am very ticklish and the feeling was so strange- think thousands of little things sucking at your feet. I finally got enough courage to stick them back in and man up for the remaining time. 3. My feet must have been disgusting because the second my feet went in 90% of the fish in the tank swarmed to my feet. If that’s not a sign that I need to take better care of my feet I don’t know what is. 4. This is probably the coolest thing that has happened on SAS thus far. As we were sitting along the edge of the tank there was a group of three boys sitting on the other side whose feet were submerged in the water as well. We began talking and it turned out that the boys were from the US and Canada and studying abroad in Singapore. They were in Cambodia for spring break. All of a sudden one of the boys said he went to Michigan. I met a fellow Michigan wolverine who was in my grade while getting a FISH MASSAGE IN CAMBODIA! I thought that was pretty awesome and amazing and made him take a picture with me. It’s a VERY small world. All in all the fish massage was one of the coolest things I’ve done on the voyage and was a great experience. Plus, my feet are super soft and clean now!

Pub Street consisted of many outdoor bars with tables near the street. The first bar we went to was called Angkor What? and it had a really chill setting. Everything on the wall was graffitied in a sense and visitors were allowed to sign the wall. I got a pretty sick shirt. After this bar we made it to another bar called Temple. Drinks are VERY cheap here- I got a draft beer for 75 cents. This bar had music and the inside had a small dance floor. More SASers came to join us and we ended up dancing for a couple hours before deciding to take Tuk Tuks back to the resort- after all we were waking up at 4:30 AM to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. A note about the Tuk Tuk drivers- the second you leave a bar and walk on the street you are bombarded with tuk tuk drivers asking if you need a ride. It’s almost hard to pick who you want to take you back on your dollar tuk tuk ride.

The Angkor Wat sunrise was optional. When are bus was asked the previous night to raise our hands if we planned on going to the sunrise all but two people raised their hands. If you guessed that my parents were the two people who opted not to go watch the sunrise you were right. Apparently getting up at 4:30 in the morning is something worth doing if your around the age of 21. We woke up very early and headed to the Angkor Wat park where we had to each take a picture and obtain a park entry pass that allowed us admittance for the rest of the day. It was pretty dark when we got to the sight and had to carefully climb through the ruins to the place where we would see the sunrise. We were seated on the outside of a small lily pond that was in the front of Angkor Wat. The sunrise was cool but overrated. By time the sun actually came out it was already light. I did get some good pictures though. Regardless I can now proudly say that I saw the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Sick.

We returned to the hotel for breakfast and then back to the park to explore some temples. The temple ruins were really cool and we made friends with a small Cambodian boy who my mom dubbed Mogli. The way all of the towers were constructed with blocks that formed faces was incredible. One of the security guards even took us to a place where if you stood and hit your hand against your heart the entire tower echoed. The echo was only produced if you hit your heart and couldn’t be made if you clapped your hands or yelled. After exploring these ruins we went to the actual Angkor Wat to see it in the daytime.

Outside of Angkor Wat were lots of monkeys that like the squirrels at Michigan were not afraid of people. We saw mothers with their babies attached to them and other monkeys reaching out for our water bottles or peeling apart bananas. The reason I mention the monkeys is because we were so enthralled with the monkeys we failed to initially be captivated by Angkor Wat. When we finally got over our monkey stupor we made our way to Angkor Wat and climbed it and explored it. In each of these temples or sacred sites you have the option of laying down lit incense in front of a Buddha statue. Today in class I watched a movie about child labor in India and learned that a lot of children are responsible for making incense- I unknowingly supported child labor. Great. Moving along from my innocent, naïve, or plain stupid mistake, Angkor Wat was very cool. We headed back to the hotel for a buffet lunch and to check out quickly before going to a final temple and ruin site.

The final ruin site we visited reminded me of the set of LOST with the giant four toed statue. There were colossal statues all over the temple ruin and they all had carved faces made out of stone. I took a really cool picture in which I sat on a statue that was the first of a long line of them… little did I know that this was a no no and I was soon yelled at by the security. We saw a giant Buddha, the biggest one I have seen so far on SAS and made our way to the elephant sanctuary. There were not any elephants at the elephant sanctuary but rather elephants carved in the walls. I think the elephants go to the sanctuaries around 4 PM when it gets a little cooler out. We visited a market that was around the temple and got a much needed second ice cream of the day. Then we headed to the airport to our flight back to Viet Nam.

It’s very hard for me to say which country has been my favorite so far because they have all been so different especially in terms of how I traveled them. In Japan we did it independently. In China I went on a SAS trip. In Viet Nam and Cambodia my parents were with me the whole time. Every place is so different and has been a lot of fun. One thing is for sure, I have learned a lot about myself and different people in the world.

We were told to reflect about the voyage (we are almost half way done) today in one of my classes and evaluate ourselves for change in any aspect of our lives. After visiting all these places and seeing how the people live I have realized that I need to give back in some way. Now that my eyes are open and I have seen for myself the disparity of living all over the world (I understand that I could have easily arrived at the same conclusion in the United States without ever leaving the country), I would feel guilty if I did not make my own contribution.

I have always wanted to be a lawyer and still do- the plan is to take the LSAT this fall, apply to law school, and attend law school for the Fall ’11 semester. Now however, I am contemplating taking time off before law school and doing something like Teach for America or participating in another NGO. I’m not making any bold statements about my future yet- I’m definitely still taking the LSAT and applying to law school, but I may be applying to other programs as well… I am always going to be able to apply to law school but I’m not always going to be in the position to take two years off and teach or volunteer somewhere. Time will tell and hopefully by the end of this voyage I’ll have a better understanding of myself and what I want to do after senior year. Sea Olympics are tomorrow and opening ceremonies are in 30 minutes. So far the Strait of Malacca has been calm and there aren’t any noticeable signs of pirate activity (we have watchmen with binoculars on duty 24/7). More importantly India is just around the corner!