Here are some more pictures

Thailand day 1 and 2!

Ok so from now on I’m just going to hit the highlights. We only had two days in between each Asian country so they all blur together a little bit.

Day 1: Got off the ship and went to a HUGE mall in the port town and got STARBUCKS! YUM! Then Dalia and I headed for the Pattaya Elephant Village. It was a little village where elephants who were once used for lumber jobs and in circuses now hang out and do tricks or tourists. Usually you can tell when the animals are pretty freakin miserable, but it didn’t seem that way here. We got to ride them bareback which was pretty frightening and then got to double up in little carriages. It was so fun!! After the elephant village we were taken to this gem place where they have a ride that takes you through I guess the mining culture? It was pretty strange! Then we caught a shuttle into the town of Pattaya to meet up with Sara, Ashley, and Taylor at the Marriot. Well it turns out that the Marriot was harder to find than we had expected so we got there waaay later than they did and they had already left. So we had some drinks and appetizers at the Marriot (which was absolutely beautiful) and then set out for a real dinner. At this point Pattaya was alive with night life. I have never seen so many half naked girls just standing around. The sex industry in Thailand is one of the biggest in the world and its pretty hard to miss. You name it you see it. Also, Dad-you were absolutely right…they do some crazy things with their girl parts. Guys would come up to us in the street and hold out a menu of the different types of shows that we could see. Sara studiously took down each one for future reference (please excuse the language):

pussy flower fire
pussy writes letter
pussy ping pong
pussy fish
pussy eel
pussy opens beer
pussy candles
pussy balloon
pussy snake
pussy chopsticks
Pussy razorblades
Pussy fishbowl surprise (this I later found out…not first hand…that this girl did a dance and pulled all these things out and then at the end, brought out a fish bowl and dropped a baby turtle into it!!!)

We found a place to eat some Pad Thai and then headed back to the Marriot to grab a cab. Well it just so happens that the Marriot cab service is actually just a private car service FOR THE SAME PRICE!!!

Day 2: A bunch of us Chapman folk headed for the Tiger Zoo and Mini Siam today. I will not describe the zoo in too much detail other than to say that there was a show and that it wasn’t the most pleasant tiger show in the world. The whole thing payed off though when I got my arm licked by an orangutang and got to hold a tiny little baby tiger! Dalia and I actually paid off the zoo keeper to let us hold the little ones. We signaled to her from behind the glass and when no one was around she came out and asked us for 50 Baht each (so cheap) for a picture with it. ADORABLE! I almost died. Then we headed for Mini Siam, which was just really bizarre. It was this amusement park thing that had miniatures of all the world monuments and famous buildings. Then Sara, Dalia, and I hopped in a cab (cabs in Thailand are pick up trucks with benches in the back and a cover over the bed) with two other SAS girls, Charlotte and Elysse and headed back to Pattaya. We ate delicious dinner and drank girly, tropical drinks from pineapples and coconuts on a big floating restaurant with live (bad, but fun) entertainment. Then we headed back to the mainland and down walking street (where most of the strip clubs are). We even stumbled upon a Muy Thai boxing match that looked completely rigged. All in all it was a pretty good day!

Incredible !ndia (you can tell its a good marketing campaign when your blog is titled with their tag line...bravo India, bravo)

I honestly did not think that I was going to be prepared to step off the ship in India. They gave us so many warnings and kept saying that it was going to be the most difficult country emotionally and physically, that part of me almost didn’t want to get off. That’s a big deal considering how much I don’t like being on the ship (although I am liking it more and more everyday).

Because I felt like I wasn’t prepared, I decided to stay on the ship the first day until my FDP (Faculty Directed Practicum) at 1pm. It was called women writers of India. We were taken on a bus to a woman’s home where we met two women authors. The women both read passages from their works and one of us did a dance for us that I suppose is to go along with the story in her book…? They served us yummy food, but it was SO hot that we were all sort of falling asleep. When we got back I managed to get a ticket to the Welcome Reception, which actually was really fun. It was put on by one of the universities in Chennai and we pretty much just hung out and talked to all the students. I made friends with a girl named Aarkina who seems to have a pretty traditional family. It was really interesting to hear about the way that school works. If a guy fails a class he has to wait 6 months before he can retest and pass the test again. She said that its mostly guys that fail and it makes it so there are hardly any guys in any of the classes. She is almost finished with dentistry school. It was a really fun night beside all the bug bites I got. Plus, I got henna! YAY!

The next day was the start of my home stay. Honestly, it turned out a lot different than I was expecting. It was called a Rotarian Home stay and so we were to stay with a rotary family for three days. I guess when I signed up for it, I didn’t realize how high class Rotarians were! My family, which consisted of a mom, dad, daughter and grandmother, was really sweet despite the fact that I think they liked the girl I was paired with better than they liked me. The daughter, Anusha, was a year or two older and she had actually had been on the ship with us for the stretch between Mauritius and India. I was paired with a girl named Audrey. Let me tell you about Audrey. She has been home schooled most of her life and now commutes to college. She mentioned aliens and samurai more than once on our stay and for some reason, I just couldn’t connect with her.  That was the hardest part of my stay! I’m not sure why but I think they liked her better even though she mumbled and was awkward! I think part of it is because she likes spicy food and I can’t handle as much spice as she can. I tried really really hard and ate some really hot stuff and they didn’t give me any credit!

Anyway, the first day when we met up with our families, we pretty much just hung out, ate lunch and went to a movie. It was a really strange movie and even Anusha hated it. It was called Karma aur Holi. Now we though, since Holi was in the title, it would be fun! Throwing colors and so forth. Absolutely not. It was like a 2-hour episode of a soap opera that none of us understood. It was pretty awful! After the movie we got in the car (did I mention that they have their own driver?) and headed for a reception that the Rotary club was putting on or all of us. The reception was pretty dull with a long lecture and a few interesting singers, but the party really got started when it was time to eat! I swear it was like a stampede to get to the food, but man was it worth it! We ate with our hands the most questionable yet delicious meal ever!! The eating was followed by some acoustic music, which was then followed by DANCING! Oh my gosh it was so fun! We danced around to Indian techno music and exchanged moves with the drunken Rotarian wives. It was fabuloso.

The next day we were carted off in a bus to Mamalapuram I believe it’s called. It is this old Buddhist temple that is all carved out of rocks. There’s also this giant boulder balanced on top of a slope that they call Krishna’s Butter Ball…couldn’t tell you why. It was SCHORCHING hot and we were all sporting new Indian (conservative) swag so any shade we could find, we coveted! After sweating our brains out, we got back on the bus and went to another ancient temple. I hate to say it but I couldn’t tell you the name. The story of it is that it supposedly used to be under sand until one day there was a huge wave that uncovered it. They started digging and found an entire temple! Wild! Then we headed for lunch at this beautiful far house. It was like a hidden paradise on the side of the road that is used by one of the families as a weekend home. All of the houses along the little road are beautiful and incredibly expensive. We ate samosas and sat by the little creek running through the back yard surrounded by puppies and geese! It was the best lunch I have had so far!! At this point, we were all pretty pooped, but for some reason, they insisted on taking us to an alligator and snake zoo. I was a little bit less than excited, but was willing to pull it together enough to at least walk around. I know that they are super important amazing reptiles, but no matter how many times you tell me what kind this one is and what kind that one is…they just all look the same to me!

After the croc zoo, we headed home for dinner. The mother’s cooking was so good! Everything was super fresh and so well prepared! Then us three girls went out for a little fun! We started by going to a market where we bought, as Anusha calls them, gypsy beads! I got a bunch of fun stuff! This is where I encountered the most beggars. They were the most beautiful little girls with so much pain in their eyes. I was actually pleasantly surprised when Anusha walked them to a food stand near by and bought them food instead f just handing them money or blowing them off. The Hindu spirit is so beautiful. Then we headed for the beach where they have a little mini carnival at night. We shot bee bee guns at balloons and then sat down to have our fortunes told BY A PARROT!!! Let me describe the scene. There is a little man sitting on a blanket with two little green parrots in a pretty little cage. You sit down and the man lets one of the parrots out of its slot in the cage. Then it goes though a pile of cards, pulling each one off the top with his beak. When he finds one that he believes suits you, he walks it over to a relic (just to double check with the gods) and then hands it to the fortuneteller. The fortuneteller then proceeds to double check. He pulls a different card off of the pile and shows it to the bird that then shakes his little parrot head. They do this a few times and then the fortuneteller shows the parrot the card that he has picked and the parrot chirps! This goes on a few more times and then the fortuneteller opens up the card and tells you all about your fortune! (I will try to post Anusha translating it for all to see…its pretty amusing!!)

The next day was spent shopping! Yay! Then we went back with out families to the ship. Man was it a hubbub trying to get them on! But they finally embarked the ship and we gave them a tour. At this point I was SO tired that I really didn’t have the patients to give a tour. I felt really bad, but I left them with Audrey a little bit early so that I could take a nap. One I was showered (I didn’t shower the entire three days that I stayed with them and considering India…that’s pretty disgusting) and napped, I called up Sara and we went out with two other guys to ACTUALLY see a Bollywood movie. On a side note, there’s this strange phenomenon that I was introduced to in India that I had never seen before. Tuk tuk (rickshaw) drivers will give you a decent price, but only if you stop at a shop and look around. We were taken to two different shops on our way to the movies and usually they have really nice stuff, but are incredibly overpriced. I think it is safe to say that locals would never set foot in one of those shops. Anyways back to Bollywood. Oh my god…this movie…it was literally the Bollywood version of the Producers. IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it but it was truly a gem!!

The next day we woke up and decided to head to a Bollywood movie studio were they were supposedly shooting a movie! When we got there we found out that they were only shooting a fight scene, but somehow we managed our way in and watched them film! It was actually pretty cool besides the fact that it was hotter than Hades in the studio. We spent the rest of day shopping around and bargaining with Tuk tuk drivers. It was quite an adventure. Overall, I really enjoyed India. It was definitely a learning experience and I am really glad that I did a home stay instead of going to the Taj Mahal. I’ll just have to go back I suppose!

Until Thailand!!

Oopsie!

Well we are in our final stretch here at sea and if you have been keeping up, it is clear that I am not great at updating. However, there is good news! I only have a final paper and an art project for finals week which means that I will have lots of time to work on my blog! Hooray! As for right now, I am sitting on the top deck, eating a chicken sandwich looking out over the pacific, trying to finish my homework before class in ohhhh 35 minutes : D back to work.

dalia and elephant

dalia and awkward banana

spices in Morocco


sorry these are all out of order....but I am doing my best

wow!

I didn't realize how far behind on my blog I was! Well readers, I am currently in Japan and am working on the entries I have missed...but I have 9 days at sea coming up so don't worry, it'll happen! In the meantime, here are some pictures!! HOORAY
This is a girl that I met in India named Aarnika



me and Ashley on her birthday


view off the back deck of the ship


our bathroom...


my bedroom


more a bit later

Just what I needed?a day on the beach!

We woke up today in Mauritius!

Sara, Ashley and I hopped off right away and set out for the local market. We found it a little bit disappointing considering most of it was imported from India and other neighboring countries and also really expensive! There are no natives to Mauritius by the way, only immigrants and tourist. After a while at the markets, we decided to head to the beach. Our cab driver took us to this BEAUTIFUL tiny little beach where the water was luke warm. We stayed there for the majority of the day and ran into various SAS students throughout the day. At one point, my friends Lindsay and Hadley decided that they wanted to go tubing! So they did and I went on the boat to take pictures of them. It was pretty funny! Afterward, we walked to have some lunch at a Chinese restaurant near by. Then we explored a few of the shops near by and headed back to the harbor area. Thankfully, we got an AMAZING cab driver. He took us through the part of the island that most tourists don’t get to see. He took us by all sorts of Hindu temples, Muslim mosques and through beautiful fruit markets and little shops. He even stopped and let us book a hostel for Thailand at an internet café! He really was the greatest. As soon as we got back to the ship, Kristina, one of my friends who shaved her head, realized that she hadn’t picked up any earrings! (She is collecting earrings) So we made a mad dash for the nearest open shop (everything in Mauritius closes at 4 or 5) to find some earrings! We finally did and then hopped on a water taxi just in time to make it on the ship! It was a perfect, relaxing, beautiful day.

Until India!!!!!!

Best Port Ever. South Africa.

Most definitely my favorite port thus far. Cape Town reminded me of a mixture of San Francisco and Sydney. I think that I am going to make this easier for you and for me and this is how I am going to do it:

Day 1: I was feeling sick this day with a nasty cough and a runny nose. I ended up staying around the waterfront area and explored the different craft markets. I got some really great stuff! Then I met up with Ashley and two other girls and set out for a night of theatre. We went to a little tapas restaurant near the theatre for dinner before hand and met up with other SASers at the theatre. The play was absolutely phenomenal. It was a silent play that used masks and Commedia del arte. It was so beautiful, I highly recommend looking it up! Pictures of You it is called. It’s a story of an older couple and how their life together has changed. There are frightening nightmare sequences that are paired with young love flashbacks. I think we all left the theatre absolutely blown away.

Day 2: I woke up this morning with absolutely no plans. I decided just to go to breakfast and see who I could find. Unfortunately the only people I found were the Chapman boys. Now, they are nice guys, but I have never met a group of people that are so stingy and disconnected from the world. I feel like they haven’t had too many real life experiences if that makes sense. Anyways because cabs cost money, they decided that we should walk to Long Street, one of the main streets in downtown Cape Town with lots of shopping and food and clubs. Well, named appropriately, Long Street is quite long and little did we know that most of the good stuff was at the far end. About half way through, the boys got frustrated and decided to turn back after some ice cream. Well, as they were eating ice cream, I turend to Christina and said, “I think I need to start taking a hold of my own destiny on this ship” and she said “do you want to start right now?” and I said absolutely! We hopped in a cab and had him take us to the closest beach. We ended up at Clifton Beach which is in a very Malibu-esque area with an absolutely BEAUTIFUL beach. After hanging out for a while and watching awkward guys in speedos, we decided to walk down to hill to an area called Camps Bay where there are a bunch of shops and restaurants. We got some ice cream and shopping and then went to the grocery store where we saw JADE FROM AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL!!! Christina got a picture with her and I really hope it turns out!!!! Anyways so the guy at the shop we bought dresses at suggested an AMAZING restaurant to us that had these huge white couches with big blue pillows that you sat on to eat. We had a couple other people meet us there and it was by far the most enjoyable dinner I have had thus far. Good food and great company! Plus lots of fruity girly drinks…including a fish bowl drink called the Jelly Fish that was litchi flavored! YUM! Then we went back to the ship to change and then all went out dancing! It was SO much fun. The best night I have had so far, I can’t even explain.

Day 3: I found my future work place. We did a visit to the Amy Biehl Foundation. For those of you who have never heard of her, Amy Biehl was a student who came to South Africa in the 90s to help ratify apartheid. She was going to pick up her friends in a Township (shanty town where the blacks were forced to live) during a riot, when she was attacked and killed. After her death, her parents started this foundation which provides after school activities for kids in townships. The most amazing thing is that there were four killers convicted, two of which her parents have forgiven and that now work for the foundation! It just blows my mind! Anyways so we went to the main office and learned all about what they do and then they took us to a couple different schools where they have programs. A bunch of the kids performed for us and it was absolutely hard warming. Then we met up with another group of kids in a field hockey program that the Dutch national team had come to teach! They were so ecstatic and full of hope! Afterward, a group of girls and I decided to go watch the rugby game at a local sports bar, well as we were waiting, a bunch of people came by and said that tickets were still available! So somehow we ended up getting tickets and going to the game! It was a lot of fun even though I had NO idea what was going on! Haha! Afterward, we all went to a local jazz club for a drink and some live music. It was the perfect way to end the day!

Day 4: This was the day that I planned a trip all on my own! I planned my very own cycling through the wine lands tour! Little did I know how out of shape I was haha! We met up with our tour guide on Long Street and then headed to the train station where we boarded a very run down train to Stellenbosch. Throughout the course of the day, we visited 4 wine farms and cycled about 14 miles. My butt was aching! But it was a lot of fun in the end and we all definitely met our exercise quota! When we got back to the ship, a bunch of safaris had just gotten back so the line to get back on was HUGE! Butters (a Chapman guy whose real name is Andrew) and I decided that it wasn’t worth it to wait so we wandered around a little bit and got some fancy sushi for dinner…unfortunately it wasn’t very good sushi. Once we got back on the ship, I sort of decided to call it a night. But then Dalia came knocking on my door insisting I come out with her. So we went to an Iris pub on Long Street to see our resident guitar man play. Not only was it Thursday, so the pub was packed, but it was also gay night!!! It was fun and in the end I was glad I went out.

Day 5: Last day : ( Today Ashley and I were supposed to go to a township on another one of my planed tours. Unfortunately, because it is so hard to keep up communication on the ship, the tour didn’t actually get booked, so instead we just hung out around the water front.

I really love South Africa and have every intention of returning, maybe even to work here!

Until Mauritius!

Namibia

Its true what they say about Namibia; the desert bumps right up to the ocean! We started off day one by taking FOREVER to change our money. Then we worked really hard to negotiate a taxi price to Swakopmund because we knew that they all wanted to charge us far too much. After finally giving up we hopped in a taxi driven by a guy named Chico with a gold star in his tooth. He drove us the 25 minute drive to Swakopmund from Walvis Bay. The road had giant sand dunes on one side and the ocean on the other!

Swakopmund is a quaint little German town with all sorts of little shops and a beautiful beach! We started our day (Valentine’s Day) at the internet café where I wasn’t able to load any pictures : ( and then had lunch at a little café near there. I had a vegetarian burger that consisted of mushrooms, canned pineapple, cheese, and a fried egg…it was interesting to say the least. Then once we made a few phone calls, we set out for the day. We walked the practically empty streets to the ocean side where we found the Aquarium. It was pretty small with little tanks filled with pretty ordinary fish. Then they had one main tank with a tunnel that you could walk through. We made it just in time to see a diver get in the tank and feed the fish. There were lots of sharks and bigger fish and one or two sea turtles in the tank, one who was particularly hungry. He literally followed the diver and would go right up to the diver’s face until he was fed, he would swallow the fish whole and then go right back for more. The diver actually had to push the turtle away a few times! Then we went upstairs and found that you could look into the tank from above. While we were up there, the hungry turtle had found a new friend. He would come up and touch her hand and then swim back down. When she left, I put my head over the water ad he came up and gave me a kiss! It was pretty cool, but we didn’t get a picture : (.

When we were upstairs, we were joined by a group of chattering African school children crowdig around our feet and pressing their faces against the glass. We were surrounded and coldnt escape. Then their teacher, a yound English guy, asked them to let us through. He explained to us that they were a group of students from a very poor, rural village in Namibia. He said that they were seeing the sea for the first and probably the last time. Since we are both from California, we gave them first priority.

We left the Aquarium with a humbled feeling and set out to climb the tower in the middle of the town. We figured out that to get the key to the tower you had to go into this little shop and pay some small amount of money. Well it turns out that that shop was the best in all of Swakopmund. I had more fun at the shop than I did climbing the tower! It was run by these amazingly nice women who fill their store with all sorts of crafts and jewelry and gifts made by different collectives throughout Namibia. They know every single one of their craft makers personally and most of the proceeds go to some sort of Women’s tuberculosis village or another. I got some really great stuff there and we talked to them for a long time. We later found out when we got back onto the ship that our dean had also visited the shop and that the women had raved about us to him! They were so sweet!

Anyways we met up with some friends at the shop and then set out for more exploring. We went to this craft market near the water that was a bunch of blankets all laid out next to each other and covered in all sorts of trinkets. We did all sorts of bargaining and saying no thank you until Ashley found something she liked. So we started to bargain with him and we got him down to 50 Namibian dollars ($5) and he gave it to us for that. Then we started to walk away and he brought the same exact thing (a banana leaf picture of two giraffes) to me and said or you 40. So I bought it and then said that he should give Ashley back $10 since he gave it to me for less than her and he started laughing and said no, no, no and I said what you don’t think she’s pretty? And he laughed and said no! I couldn’t believe it! It was pretty funny and it made me feel pretty good about myself! haha!

Then we went to find some ice cream, but instead I found a charm and a patch! It was a really fun day! That night we went out to celebrate Ashley’s birthday. We took this ridiculously long walk to a resataurant called the Raft or the Lagoon as its known by the locals. The restaurant would literally be a 5 minute walk from the ship if we were allowed to go out the other side of the port gate, but there was only one entrance and it was in the opposite direction. Anyways we finally got there and found a table just in time to order food before the kitchen closed. I was so hungry that I ordered the first thing I saw and that was a Hawaiian pizza, not exactly authentic, but delicious nonetheless. I went to the bar with my friend Andrew to order a beer and we got to talking to a couple of locals at the bar. Well we quickly made friends and the one who claimed he was in an HBO series bought us a couple rounds of Jaeger shots. Since it was Ashley’s birthday she got some special treatment and everyone order her some fancy drink or another. Needless to say we had a lot of fun. Towards the end of the night we got to talking to them about life in Namibia. It was a long and tough conversation but the bottom line is that they hate black people and think that the world should be split for white and blacks. Although I disagree completely, I can see where this frustration comes from. In Namibia, whites are the minority and since they used to have the power, they feels as though they should be treated with respect. They think that black people are dishonest thieves, drunk drivers etc. After we had this intense conversation, they offered to give us a ride home so that we didn’t have to take a taxi driven by a black person. It was a nice gesture if you forget about their reasoning. Anyways we got a ride home with a young guy named Waldo who is training to play in the rugby world cup! He was a really nice guy and got s back to the port safely!

The next day we woke up early because we had half a day to kill before Ashley and I went camping and star gazing. We decided to head to dune 7 (a big dune where there are all sorts of sand sports that you can try out) to go sand boarding. Let me tell you, it was quite an experience! We were driven up a GIANT sand dune (thank goodness because you usually have to walk up them) which was a pretty scary experience in itself! There’s not exactly traction when your driving up a big mountain of sand so we had to back up a couple times to get up enough speed. Once we got up pretty far we had to jump out and walk the rest of the way to the top. It was SO sandy! We practically sank up to our knees with every step we took! Once we got to the top our driver man laid out literally a board like the kind that go in the pack of paintings and told us to lie down. It was quite an experience! We went down SO fast on our bellies! It was a lot of fun but my hands got pretty torn up! Then we saw that they had what Sara Weinberg calls a Zorb, but they called a Hydroball. Basically it’s a giant hamster ball blown up with water inside. You climb into the ball and they roll you down the dune! Well we had to try that out! So we geared up and head out to a smaller dune to roll down. It was insane and bizarre at the same time! We were covered in water and it felt like you were weightless inside the ball! After fulfilling our thrill quota for the day before noon, Ashley and I headed back to meet our trip at the ship.

An hour or two later, we left for the campsite. It was a long drive in a hot van with windows that didn’t roll down. I thought I was going to die. We finally got there and saw that there was a larger main tent where there were tables set up for dinner and a bunch of smaller tents for sleeping. We decided once we put our stuff in our tents to explore the rocks and desert around us. We walked to “the river”but it was pretty much a dry bed. We climbed some rocks and hung out on the top of one for a little while. My friend Lindsay and I sat there while Ashley scaled one of the taller mountains. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. We pretty much hung out and waited in the hot hot heat for the sun to go down and for dinner. Everyone got sick off of the dinner, but we had a nice Marimba band that came to entertain us! So this trip was supposed to be a camping and star gazing trip right? Well, just our luck, we were there the one night probably all year that Namibia will get rain. Needless to say, there wasn’t much stargazing. No one slept at all because it was so hot and the next morning we were all cranky and ready to go back.

This was the morning that I started to get sick. It started with diarrhea that caused me to stop our convoy on the way back and squat behind a bush. Then we got back to the ship and I felt miserable. I was coughing and sneezing and freezing! I must have caught the flu from someone at some point. It was miserable! I was sick all day until we got to South Africa and even the first day we were there! That however is for my South Africa blog.

More later!

Morocco!

Imagine a sea of people. Men in big colorful hats with gold goblets strung around their necks. The haunting song of snake charmers floating through the air. The occasional monkey howl. The color of tons of stacked oranges in market stalls. The sound of men and women speaking broken English asking for anything out of the pockets of tourists. This is Marrakech.

Our tour started in Casablanca and then went to Marrakech, Essouria, Safi, and last, El Jadida. Our first stop, Marrakech, was by far the most overwhelming. We had lunch in a beautiful restaurant that was through a tiny entrance and up stairs. It room opened up into this beautiful decorated lounge sort of place. We were served Moroccan salads, an array of different cold appetizers of lentils, beets, and other things. Then we were served a beautiful plate of what looked and tasted like pot roast. Then for desert (this was my favorite part of the meal) we were served the biggest most beautiful oranges I have ever seen. They were sweet and juicy and the best oranges I have ever eaten. Then we were served a glass of the most amazing Moroccan mint tea I have ever had. Totally my deal.

Then we left for the markets. As soon as you entered the main square, you were bombarded by men putting monkeys on your shoulders, women grabbing your hands to give you henna, snake charmers hanging, what we suspected, were dead snakes around your neck. We got some pictures with snake charmers and they asked us for 300 Durham, about $35. Of course we said no and they kept harassing us. Thank goodness for our guide because he came over and saved us and we ended up giving them just some coins. I guess in Morocco looking someone in the eye can get you in trouble. I only experienced this once when I looked a Jafar-like guy in the eye on accident. He yelled after me saying that I had beautiful eyes, the eyes of a Berber woman, etc. The rest of the trip, I followed the ground with my eyes.

After exploring the square we went to a palace near by whose entrance you could have walked by without ever knowing it was a palace. Supposedly P Diddy had a birthday party there. Something interesting that we learned was the Prince or the master of the house had usually around four wives and he would hire musicians to play for him in his bedroom. Now, in order to keep the identities of the wives (or whoever else came in and out of his bedroom) he would hire blind musicians! We came to find that a lot of men in Morocco were a bit like pigs. A lot of people were really upset by it, but I guess I am so used to getting harassed when we go to Mexico, etc. that I have learned not to let it ruin my time.

So there was this group of girls in our group who were just too much for me. They wanted to stop at every shop and probably spent $50 at each place…and that’s saying a lot considering the conversion rate from dollars to Durham. They all go the University of Miami and are from long island. Jewish American Princesses if you will. They complained the entire time, pushed to the front of the lines and were just basically brats. My friend Megan and I tried our hardest to avoid them. Although they were annoying, their desire to shop did allow us to stop at a lot of cool shops. I got some great silver jewelry, an iron birdhouse, and some pottery that I absolutely love.

Once we finished exploring the castle, we hopped on the bus and headed for the hotel. We had a few hours until dinner so we set out to explore around the hotel. We happened upon this great little indoor marker filled with all sorts of treasures. I actually made a friend there who gave me deals on everything. This is where I got the birdcage FOR HALF OFF! He even offered Megan 1,000 camels for me to stay there with him. It was pretty funny. After the market we went to Zara, an H&M kind of store that is all over Europe and now the US. I got a cute top on sale and then spent a bunch of money on a beautiful satin top. Then we ate a pretty average dinner at the hotel and then went to the hotel bar for a glass of wine. The wine was awful haha!! Then I hit the sack.

The next day we ate breakfast in the hotel and then loaded up for Essouria. I really did not know what to expect of Essouria, but I can tell you that it certainly exceeded my expectations. Supposedly it was a place that Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger came to hang out. It’s a little beach town with incredibly murky brown ocean. Many of the buildings are bright white with vibrant blue and indigo shutters. We met a local guide there, Rashida (which means wise in Arabic), who immediately admitted that she hadn’t spoken English in a while. She was full of joy and so friendly! She really worked hard to meet the needs of the whole group. We sat with her at lunch and she told us all about Moroccan weddings, her view of American politics, and all sorts of other stuff! It was so interesting to hear her perspective! It was very grounded and well supported!! Anyways she was very sweet and helped me get something different for lunch when I didn’t care for the fried fish.

I just realized that I haven’t said anything about Latvi! Latvi was our guide for the three days and he was absolutely fabulous. He was very in tune to what we liked and disliked and made all sorts of jokes that made it clear he was familiar with American pop culture. There was a fly in the bus at one point and we were all hunting for it. He came on over the speaker in the bus and said “welcome to your Moroccan safari!”haha! He was the first to receive one of my San Francisco snow globes : )

Anyways, so after lunch we got back on the bus and headed for Safi. Safi is famous for is beautifully decorated pottery, so of course I had to get some : ) Then we went to the hotel and hung out until dinner. After another average buffet dinner, we changed to go out to the nightclub that was attached to the hotel called “Night Club”. Unfortunately, the Night Club didn’t open until 12:30 so a group of us played a brutal game of BS (brutal because I lost). Once we got the club we descended two flights of marble stairs into the dance floor and bar area. The bar didn’t take anything but cash so we went to the hotel reception to buy so much moneys worth and then take it to the bar…a bit sketchy, but we got our drinks! After two glasses of sprite and vodka (with very little vodka) we set out for the dance floor. I have to say it was a bit uncomfortable. There was a live band a live singer singing songs in Arabic that we could hardly hear the words to and there weren’t very many people on the dance floor. We also didn’t want to provoke anything so we kept things pretty basic. A couple older guys at one point tried to approach us but we quickly dodged them. Needless to say, we didn’t stay very long.

The next day we hopped on the bus again and headed up the coast to El Jadida. To be honest, I’m not really sure why we stopped in El Jadida. The only thing we really saw there was this underground fortress I guess that was lit by a big whole in the ceiling. It allowed for some cool pictures, but other than that I’m not really sure what the value of the visit was. Then we headed up the coast for Casablanca and saw the most beautiful mosque ever! We even drove past Rick’s Café. I was really happy with the time we spent in Morocco! It was beautiful and different! I can see why is has so much appeal to moviemakers!

I’m sorry it had taken me so long to post this but it is a rather long entry!
Until Namibia!

Boo!

We just arrived in Namibia and Ashley and I are in Swakopmund. I want you all to know that I spent over 30 minutes at an internet cafe trying to upload pictures to my blog and it didn't work...see what I go through for you people?!

Maybe I'll try again another day.
But for now its time to explore!!!!

Jus checkin in! and feeling better : )

I thought I would connect with you all since this Morocco entry is taking much longer than it should. Thank you to all of you who emailed me giving me your strength and love. It means a lot to me! I have to say these past couple of days I have been doing much better. I have sort of let go of a lot of things and have really started to focus on what I want to get out of this trip. I feel a lot more like myself. Not 100% there but almost.

I guess I should tell you about Neptune day. Neptune day is a tradition here on the MV Explorer that happens the day (or in our case the day before) you cross the equator. I have to tell you, I was expecting a bit more than what the day ended up to be. We were woken up at around 7am by people running through the halls blowing whistles, banging on pots and pans, and screaming their heads off. At around 9, we were summoned by “the voice”(our announcer) telling all us “pollywogs”that we had to report to the top deck. On the top deck we found the captain and others dressed up in green face paint and silly bed sheets. The right of passage to be taken by all pollywogs was to have “fish guts”poured on you and then you had to kiss the rings of the kings and a dead fish. I did not partake in these festivities and my excuse was that I had already crossed the equator on a ship (which is true). Then those who chose to do so, shaved their heads, including my dear Sara Wineberg. For those of you who don’t know her, she has been planning this for quite some time now. She is a chameleon, always changing shapes. It began last spring when she cut her long hair short. Then at the beginning of the fall semester, she bleached her hair and then shortly after she died her hair bright purple. I can safely say that I have never seen a girl with a buzz cut that looks as good as hers. Not even Natalie Portman.

Anyways, the rest of the day was left to our leisure and it was absolutely wonderful. It has been warm and a bit humid but just right for sitting outside in the shade. We are definitely moving into summer here, which is nice! I am a bit nervous about Namibia being VERY warm, but I am also really excited to experience such a unique place.

I have also been keeping myself busy by planning some independent travel things. It’s actually a lot easier than I thought it would be! I am organizing a biking in the winelads tour and a township tour in South Africa all by myself! I’m finding that I am actually pretty good at it!

Also my roommate and I have been really getting along. I think we make a great pair. We are both equally goofy and silly and stupid and girly and just fun! Some nights we just hang out in the room together and watch sex and the city. Outside of the room we don’t really hang out so it makes it even more fun when we report our days to each other before we go to sleep every night.

Speaking of sleep I have been having incredibly vivid, strange dreams lately! Like ones where I think I’m awake or where I think I’m hearing things going on outside of our room. Last night I had a strangely real Disney dream in which most of the characters looked like real people. It’s probably from always eating pasta and veggies…or something.

Another interesting thing is going on. I learned yesterday that we are taking a route that ships don’t normally take. In order to take readings of water temp and current, we’ve been dropping 100 pound buoys of the side of the ship! Cool huh?

Well anyways tonight is our preport for Namibia and I can’t wait to step off onto African soil again!

ARGGG

I’m working on my entry for Morocco, but first I need to get this off my chest.

I don’t know what it is about this place, but I am having major self-confidence issues. I feel like I’m in middle school again. I am really afraid of putting myself out there I guess. I spend a lot of time in my room and lately I’ve just been really home sick. I think it has hit me how long that we’re on this ship. How long it is until I see home. It is so hard to get into a routine. The workout room is impossible to get a space in, the food is pretty bad, and every day my schedule changes. Not to mention that my class schedule is whack. On A days I have one class at 415 (besides Global Studies at 920) and on B days I have class at 1215 and then at 2 55 (also after global studies at 920). I thought that being in the play would lift my spirits and keep me busy, but I’m not really feeling the Greek tragedy. Not to mention the director is not very good. He’s very indirect and slow with his direction. We have rehearsals from 730-1030 on some nights and 930- who knows when on other nights.

I’ve also been sleeping a lot not only for lack of feeling like do anything else but also because it’s the only personal space that I have.

I’m having trouble meeting people that don’t think their hot shit. I guess it takes a certain type of person to do something like this. Outgoing, adventurous people. But so many of those people are really arrogant. I’ve met some people that are just so backwards to me. It makes me realize why people hate Americans.

Also, I feel like I finally have really great friends that care about me at school and so its hard to come here and not really have anyone. But then I feel like I havnt established myself enough and put myself out there enough to really have any close friends. I know its mostly my fault for I guess not being open minded enough. I guess theres nothing really to do about it now but suck it up and put a smile on.

Just keep swimming

Spain a little bit late

Last night we left the beautiful port of Cadiz and headed across the straight of Gibraltar. Now we are sitting in a holding pattern waiting to get into the port of Casablanca, Morocco in bad weather.

Let me tell you about my time in Spain. I suppose I left off with the first day. Well the White Town Route was absolutely spectacular. We started in a town called Los Arcos de…something I can’t remember (don’t judge me it has been a hectic few days!). It was a small town on top of the hill with thin streets of cobblestone streaking around tall white buildings. At the top of the hill was a beautiful cathedral, one of many I saw in Spain. Then we went to Ronda, a town that was a bit bigger and less interesting than Los Arcos. After seeing the biggest bull ring in Spain, we headed back to the ship and didn’t get there until 830pm! It was a long day with not very much free time, but a lot of the sights were worth it. We ended the night with a big pan of paella and glass of sangria.

The next day was my first independent travel adventure. Me and two other girls, Lindsay and Lauren woke up early and took a train to Sevilla. The two-hour train ride was beautiful through the Spanish countryside. We arrived in Sevilla and took a bus that dropped us off near our hostel. We stopped for coffee at a place called taste of India or something like that. I got a hot chocolate and it was literally a cup of thick liquid chocolate. Unfortunately, it was too rich to finish so I paid Lindsay to chug it, which she did and almost got sick haha! Then after walking around the square a couple of times we finally found our hostel in a tiny alleyway. Surprisingly, the tiny door opened up into a tall square corridor that the rooms were centered around on each floor. Unfortunately, I was traveling with two girls who are younger and have much less travel experience, so I had to take the reigns on a lot of the business aspects of the trip. As soon as we got all checked in, we set out to explore the city. In my horrible Spanish, we found our way to the cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful and huge! Supposedly Christopher Columbus is buried either underneath the Cathedral or he’s held in a box by some statues, we couldn’t really figure out which. We actually met some people there that were visiting Sevilla from Barcelona where they were studying abroad.

After getting lost and wandering for the majority of the day, we headed back to the hostel to take a nap before dinner. When we got there however, the girl and guy that we were meeting up with had arrived and so we didn’t get much of a nap at all. We did meet our roommate though! We were in a room with two bunk beds, the fourth occupied by an older French man. Fortunately the guy that was with us spoke French and sort of got the down low. He assured us that he was a nice guy. It actually turns out that he has done a lot of traveling and gave us some good tips about South Africa.

We had a drink in the hostel bar and then headed out to find some tapas for dinner. We ended up going to an AMAZING tapas place that was recommended to us by a local. We ate almond chicken, tenderloin, stuffed eggplant and tons of other stuff until we couldn’t eat any more. Then we head to “Alfalfa Street”for a night out. Apparently that was the best place to be. However, when we got there we quickly learned that people really don’t start going out until midnight! So we did some bar hopping and ended up at an overcrowded Flamenco bar filled with drunken foreigners that were making so much noise that the woman doing Flamenco was getting pissed off. She finally started and I have to tell you it was nothing compared to the other flamenco that we saw. Very unimpressive. After a couple drinks at the Flamenco place and we were over it so we went to a different bar that was much more fun! We met some more people that were studying abroad in Barcelona and bonded right away! I hope I can find them on facebook because they were really great! We headed back I think before things really started to get crazy, as we were all exhausted! The next morning we piled on the train with a million other SAS kids back to Cadiz.

Although Spain was absolutely great I have one regret. When we were in the White Towns I saw the PERFECT charm for my charm bracelet, but I didn’t have time to stop and get it. Then I saw another one is Sevilla, but didn’t get it because it wasn’t quite perfect and then never found them again! So my charm bracelet will be without a charm from Spain. Oh well. I had a great time and am really looking forward to Morocco!

<

The Spaghetti Feast

Wow. Spain.

Cadiz is a great little city that I would certainly love to get to now a little better. Today was a long but fruitful day. It started off with me not being able to sleep with excitement and actually watching us pull into port out the window at about 645am. Then, incredibly excited, a bunch of us went out to explore the city a bit on our own. Unfortunately, our group ended up  I think  a little bigger than we would have liked. I don’t know if you have any experience traveling in large groups that are not lead, but its not easy. So after a lot of going one way and then another and some people wanting to stop and blah blah blah, a group of us that had a tour at 1230 broke off to pick up some lunch beforehand. Well this turned out to be more of an ordeal that we had expected. After rushing around trying to find real food, we finally found a place to sit down for a bit and get something. At this point we had about 45 minutes until we needed to be back to the port.

So we sat down and in my rusty Spanish sort of ordered, but I was honestly not completely sure about what I had ordered. Well time started to pass and we all started sweating bullets about getting back to the dock in time. Long story short, one of my friends inhaled a piping hot plate of spaghetti, we left before the second course of the meal and bolted making our tour barely on time. One of the guys that was with us thankfully wasn’t on the tour so we left him with some money. Later I found out that, although the waiter was upset with our leaving before the second course, the guy we left there got a big plate of lamb and French fries. The best lunch he ever had he said!

Anyways, the tour we took was a city orientation that was somewhat helpful, but more ran me down. By the end of the tour I was exhausted. I then met up with some other friends who had been shopping all day (I was and still am jealous) and we enjoyed some tapas before going to our Andalucian Flamenco Night.

Flamenco night was definitely not what I was expecting. We were all given some sherry and escorted to sit in an arena type thing. Then the show began. BEAUTIFUL horses pranced around in the ring surrounded by women dancing flamenco. Then there was a mock bull fight. It was pretty silly actually. The “bull” was really a calf and they were more teaching him to charge at the blankets. It was pretty cute actually. Then we went into a dining room where we ate assorted meats (the best I’ve had so far on this trip) and watched amazing Flamenco dancing!! Check out my facebook for videos eventually.

When we got back we went in search for Paella, but were ultimately unsuccessful. After being followed by a “creepy guy” who turned out to be crew on our ship, we returned to the ship for a well-deserved rest!

I know that past SAS students always say never sleep in port, but I don’t think I would survive! I don’t do well out late and I think I would be miserable the next day! Plus I’m not sure that I am really into the club scene. I guess it is just something that I will have to figure out on my own. Tomorrow I am off on the White Town Route. I’m not really sure what that is all about, but I am bound to come back with some great pictures!!
<3
I miss my kitties!! (there are tons of them all around Cadiz!)

Spain Awaits!

1/26

Day 8 at sea and I can’t wait to see land.



Being on this ship is pretty exhausting! We’re on our 6th day straight of classes and not having the weekend is really difficult. Until today, my sea sickness had ceased. However, as we get closer to Spain it will get worse. We’ve slowed down a lot so as not to arrive early in port and because of this the captain has turned off the stabilizers. That means that the rocking is slow but big…if that makes sense.



Other than that things are going well. All the activities started a couple days ago and as usual I signed up for too many. I auditioned and got into the play! Yay! It’s a Greek tragedy called The Persians and it’s possibly the most boring play I have ever read. Hopefully it will turn out ok!



Other than that there is not too much else new here! I’ve started to get accustomed to the boat and have been able to find my way around pretty well. I think we’re all starting to get a bit stir crazy, so practically two weeks in port in Spain and Morocco will be greatly appreciated! Only one more day! I think were also all tired of eating potatoes and pasta.



If you would like me to send you a personal email, please email me so that I can reply! Unfortunately none of my contacts transferred over so I have hardly anyones email addresses!



Much love!

More Learning and Discovery

Well I have officially been to each one of my classes and I am pretty excited about the way that they've turned out! My International Short Story teacher is goofy and has made it clear that the class is very experimental. I also signed up to do a practicum led by him to meet an Indian writer in her home so that should be interesting! Today (On the ship we have A day and B day of classes) I had intro to drawing and Place and Space in Rhetoric. My drawing class was fun! We did blind contours of the people sitting next to us, meaning that we drew their face without lifting our pencils and without looking at our papers. You might be able to pass mine off as some sort of Picasso-esque type of portrait...but worse. My rhetoric teacher is a hoot! Clearly very liberal and Jewish. She speaks in a loud sort of scratchy voice and has already told us to be on the lookout since were always being watched on the boat.

I had a very interesting experience yesterday exercising for the first time. I never though that it would be so difficult! You are moving forward and backward while trying to keep your balance as the boat rocks back and forth! At least I'm getting a little something in! It seems that the most edible things on this ship are the carbohydrates which make exercise a must.

That's all for now!
I hope all is well with you! I only have 120 minutes of internet time (2 hours for four months...) so it is difficult for me to check my blog and see if you're commenting. If you have a comment that you would like me to respond to please email me at lvclopp@semesteratsea.net. Our on-board email account is free! yay!

<3

A Quick Update

Hello Everyone!

Well it seems as though my international email on my phone isn't quite working yet. I've tried to send a few updates to my blog through my phone but they haven't been delivered yet, so my entries might be a little out of order.

Our current location is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at 28 degrees latitude and 62 degrees longitude. Our rooms are nicely sized with a housekeeping service everyday! My roommate is really nice but probably not a person that I would hang out with 24/7. So far I haven't really met that one person that I really click with, but it will come I'm sure. The seas are definitely taking their toll on us. Yesterday I had a date with the toilet that was rather unpleasant. The food is less than to die for, but what can you expect when floating in the middle of the ocean. Yesterday we halted activities to watch the inauguration and I was absolutely thrilled! We even had a little celebration with cake and champagne last night that I tenderly attended watching carefully for the nearest restroom. Today is our first day of classes and although my first real class is at 4:15pm (1615 in ship time), I had to get up early to attend the daily Global Studies course. As I was warned, it is definitely dull. Also as I was warned, there are many people here who really seem to be here for the party. I understand how it can be fun to drink and go out from time to time, but why would you waste your money on a a trip that you will hardly remember? Seems silly. It also seems silly to me to try to get with the opposite sex. By the end of the trip everyone will know everyone else's business and everyone will have slept with everyone else. We are a floating laboratory for all sorts of disease!

Anyways our dean is really nice and he's actually pretty funny! It's great to see all of the staff with their family on board. The kids are adorable!

The first day i experienced some pretty funny L&D! Supposedly it is well known that past voyagers write advice and little notes on the backs of the framed paintings in each room! Well behind ours, there was a little note that fell out! After giving us advice on what do to in each port, it said "p.s. look behind the desk for a surprise". Sure enough there is a little hatch behind the desk and inside of it there is a bottle with a small amount of some elixir! I don't think either of us have any intention of drinking it since its smell is not familiar, but it was a fun discovery!

Time for lunch now!
Until Later!

Lindsey
lvclopp@semesteratsea.net

Here we go!

So my journey began this morning at 450am when I awoken and taken to the airport by my darling mother. It was about a 5hr flight to atlanta it was a good flight once I shed a few tears looking out over the foggy bay. I actually passed out for most of the flight most likely with my mouth open which is pretty surprising for me! now I await my flight to nassau.

Although I have only been here an hour or two, I can already tell you that Georgia is very different from California. Flying over Atlanta, I noticed that most of the houses are big with HUGE backyards and they are all really far apart! All of the food service employees that I have encountered would probably be less bored watching snails cross the road and all of the food places are junk food. I was forced to choose between a hot dog and a personal pizza for lunch. I chose pizza.

Hopefully someone will show up soon looking sas bound. Until then I will continue being bored by the football game that's on...
"Loose your dreams and you'll loose your mind" -Rolling Stones

AHH!

T minus 2 days until departure

I can't believe its almost time for me to take this incredibly journey!
From now on I will most likely be posting from my blackberry! Hooray!

Also a quick note that my semester at sea email that I will set up to receive on my phone is lvclopp@semesteratsea.net


"Loose your dreams and you'll loose your mind" -Rolling Stones

Pre-SAS Info

Ok so I know that two posts in one day is unheard of but I wanted to give anyone who is interested in my future whereabouts some info.

Here is a link to our itinerary:
http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2009/itinerary.php

If you are interested in sending any good old fashioned mail here is what you would do:

Airmail: It is recommended to send international mail at least two weeks in advance preferably via courier. Do not send currency, food or
medicine. Sending packages is not recommended because of customs restrictions and/or duty charges (as a result, packages are not always
received by the intended recipient onboard). ISE is not responsible for any mail not delivered to the recipient. The port agent in each country is
able return it to the sender at the sender’s own cost. Please address mail to participants as follows:

MV Explorer – Spring 2009 Voyage
Attn: Lindsey Clopp
Port Agent Address (from list below)

Address of Port Agent:

Cadiz, Spain (Send by Jan 14)
Perez Y CIA S.L.
C/ Ecuador, 2
110007 Cadiz, SPAIN

Casablanca, Morrocco (Send by Jan 18)
LASRY MAROC S.A.
30 Avenue des Far
20000 Casablanca, MOROC

Walvis Bay, Namibia (Send by Jan 31)
OCEAN LINER SERVICES
The Maritime Building
2 Third Street/ PO Box 4
Walvis Bay, REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA

Cape Town, South Africa (Send by Feb 4)
JOHN T. RENNIE & SONS
19th FLOOR
No.1 Thibault Square
8001 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Port Louis, Mauritius (Send by Feb 13)
Ireland Blyth Limited
Shipping Operations Department
No 6 Dr Ferriere Street
Port Louis, MAURITIUS

Chennai, India (Send by Feb 19)
J. M. Baxi & Co.
3rd Floor, Clive Battery Complex
4 & 4A, Rajaji Salai
Chennai 600 001, INDIA

Bangkok, Thailand (Send by Feb 27)
OIA GLOBAL LOGISTICS (THAILAND) Ltd
1168 / 20 - 4th Floor
Lumpini Tower Rama 4 Road
Thungmahamek, Sathorn
BANGKOK 10120, THAILAND

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Send by Mar 6)
General Forwarding Agency
5th Floor Osic Building
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
D. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM

Hong Kong, China (Send by Mar 13)
Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd.
Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor
N° 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG – CHINA

Shanghai, China (Send by Mar 19)
Penavico Shanghai
3/F 13 Zhong Shan Road (E 1)
Shanghai 200002, P.R. CHINA

Kobe, Japan (Send by Mar 23)
Inchcape Shipping Services (Japan) Ltd.
Kenryu Bldg, Room 502
6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku
Kobe-shi, Hygo-ken 650-0024, JAPAN

Yokohama, Japan (Send by Mar 26)
INCHCAPE SHIPPING SERVICES
2F Asahi Seimei Yokohama Honcho Bldg
36, 4-Chome Honcho, Naka-ku
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 231-0005, JAPAN

Honolulu, Hawaii (Send by April 3)
Inchcape Shipping Services
521 Ala Moana Blvd.
Suite 256
Honolulu, HI 96813

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala (Send by April 14)
Transoceanicas S.A.
Modulo #208
Nuevo Edificio de Servicios Auxiliares II
Puerto Quetzal, Escuintla, GUATEMALA, C.A.

I would LOVE to get mail while I'm at sea! I will also have my new international phone that recieves emails and should opperate on the same phone number. I suggest however looking up how much it costs for you to call me based on where I am at the time. It would probably be easiest to just email me at clopp100@mail.chapman.edu

If you would like me to send you post cards please leave comments with your addresses!

Love you all and can't wait to tell you all about my journey : )

Africa

As many of you know, I have been a very lucky girl this year when it comes to travel opportunities. Last January I visited Australia, and this summer I went to the Galapagos islands. I have also just returned from celebrating Christmas in Tanzania and am about to embark on a journey by sea around the world for about four months. Case and point.

Let me tell you about Tanzania.
I have never been to a country where I felt more welcomed than Tanzania. And it wasn't that "I'm so glad you're here to spend our American money" kind of welcome, but a truly genuine welcome. Our amazing tour guides were Maliga and Godliving (great name I know) and they carted us around through the bustling town of Arusha, through the high grasses surrounding Lake Manyara, into the enormous Ngorongoro Crater, over the vast plains of the Serengeti and finally to the birthplace of Lucy the Australopithecus, Olduvai Gorge.

Lets start with Arusha. What a great town! It is bustling with markets selling lost shoes of tourists and live chickens. People line the streets mostly walking to their destinations. You see the occassional Maasai wearing their shoes made out of recycled tires, carying their sticks and sometimes even riding bycicles! We stayed in a beautiful Lodge in town situated next to a Christian school. Nearing Christmas, the voices of the students singing carols drifted into our rooms. We were also awoken each morning around 5am to the eerie singing of the Muslim call to prayor. We visited a local womens group who makes cheese and coffee by hand and even got to help out! The women were so much fun, dancing and singing and laughing with us.Then we went to a local potter's studio where we met the only male potter in Tanzania. There was a lot of emphasis on the fact that he was a man doing a women's job. It seems as though the women in Tanzania are the ones who do all the dirty work and the men do all of the "important" jobs. The next day we visited this Tanzanite place where they showed us a bullshit video on the "history" of Tanzanite and then sold us really small stones for really high prices.

In the afternoon, we moved to Maramboi Tented Camp in the Tarangire-Lake Manyara area. Before we left for Africa, I had a sore throat and was put on Amoxicillin with no real diagnosis and around this time is when the sickness kind of kicked in. The arrived in the afternoon and went on a very warm game drive where we saw all sorts of animals, but most notably, a herd of elephants that passed in between our two jeeps. The next day we went on another longer game drive and thats when I really started to feel it. I was nauseous and weak and was burning up so I skipped the afternoon game drive and tried to rest. We spent one more night in the Tangiere and then moved on to our next location.

The next day we departed for the Ngorongoro Highlands and on the way stopped at a local Maasai village. This was definitely my favorite part of the entire trip. The women in the Maasai village are the ones who do all the work so after a musical welcome where the women were dressed in Maasai robes and beads, we were asked to help patch a roof and put homemade cement (manure, dirt and water) on the walls. After we helped out a little bit, we were invited to share breakfast with them. This meant puncturing the jugular of a cow (not killing it), collecting its blood in a gourd, and mixing it with milk. Because it is "yummy food", in order to respect it you get on one knee and then drink. Feeling absolutely horribly, I didn't try it, but my uncles and aunt and cousin did. Then we were invited into the hut of the 1st (of four) wives hut where we asked and were asked questions by the four wives. They had amazing sense of humor and such a passion for life!

That nigth we arrived at the Ngorongoro Farm House and I took an interesting trip to the hospital! (Learning and Discovery as our tour guide would call it. Seeing as how I was not getting any better, we decided that it would be best for me to see someone. So we headed for town where we first stopped at a "laboratory" were an older man took my temperature and told me to come back in the morning to test my blood for Malaria. Then we went to a Lutheran hospital that was clearly closed, but our tour guide somehow scrounged up a doctor who ended up diagnosing and treating me for Malaria. Turns out that I most likely had strep throat and not really Malaria, but it took the Malaria treatment only helping a little bit and Cipro helping a lot for us to figure it out. The next day I rested in the room and tried to get better instead of going to the Ngorongoro crater which was a big bummer.

The next day we arrived at our tented camp in Serengeti National Park. Each tent was equipped with a flushing toilet and hot showers (operated by a member of the crew who hoisted a bucket of hot water over the shower and poured it into a shower head). We spent about four days at this camp (including Christmas) and had a great time doing daily game drives and hanging out around the camp. We even heard lions around our camp at night!

Then we returned to the Farmhouse where we stayed one more day and then to Arusha where we took naps and packed up. Then we started on our 26 hour journey home.

Although I got sick and the bugs and khaki got a little bit old, I had an absolutely amazing time. Our tour guides were amazing, the food was amazing, all of our accommodations were beautiful, and I can't thank my grandfather enough for giving us time to be together as a family.

I highly recommend visiting Tanzania!
(I will add photos and maybe a video or two later!)