big plans!

Looks like it’s gonna be a gorgeous day today!!! Hopefully I can work on that tan that I still don’t have haha… It’s our 3^rd day back at sea and I’m thankful that the ocean is calmer at least!!! Walking, sleeping, working out and doing homework are easier to do when the ship isn’t rockin’ and rollin’.  All I’ve been doing really with my time is catching up on homework and still reading like it’s my job, because that’s all the teachers seem to assign.  I have my first paper due soon too… which I should probably get started.  At night I’ve been coming up with travel ideas for other countries and actually got a few people hooked on True Blood!! Haha, I have the whole second season on my laptop, thanks to my amazing boyfriend, and have been watching an episode a night with a few friends, so by the time we get to Japan we’ll have the season finished!!

 

We still have 8 days until we port in Yokohama, Japan and the plan once we get to Japan has finally been figured out! Here it is:

 

Feb 9: Arrive in Yokohama, spend day there, and get train to Tokyo that evening, explore nightlife and stay the night, probably a hostel

Feb 10: Wake up in Tokyo, go to fish market early in the morning, spend afternoon in city then hop on a train to Buddhist temple in Osaka (bullet train or sleeper train)

Feb 11: Arrive in Osaka, go to Koy San (spelling is probably wrong), a town up in the mountains, late that morning, and stay in a Buddhist temple that night (still have to make reservations)

Feb 12: Head to Nara after checking out of temple (which is right next to Kobe), spend the day, then take a train back to Kobe in the evening, sleep on the ship

Feb 13: I have a SAS trip-tea ceremony in Kyoto that afternoon, then the boat leaves that night for China

 

It’s pretty general at the moment, but I think we’ll be okay since we have the general idea of what we want to do.  I really wanted to go see Hiroshima, especially because I hadn’t seen Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, but I don’t think it’ll be very practical, since we’d be cutting time really close and to get there we’d have to be on a train probably for the whole day, going to and from, which would take that entire day away from us from seeing Japan.  There’s just so much to see and picking and choosing is hard, but either way we’re gonna have one hell of a time!!!

 

I stayed up late last night and made a make-shift itinerary of what I could possibly do in China as well, because I only have a SAS trip the first day and last day, so I have 6 days in between where I’m free!!! I wanted to do more of a non-touristy route, so here’s what I came up with (just gotta get a few more others to join):

 

Feb 16: Arrive in Shanghai, have SAS trip-Zujiajiao Water Village trip that afternoon, maybe take a night tour of the harbor, stay on ship for the night

Feb 17: Suzhou-1 hr away from Shanghai (great city to walk around, gardens, temples, rent a bike maybe), the Minghantang Café for free internet!!, hit the bars, and stay in a hostel for the night (Mingtown-Suzhou Youth Hostel)

Feb 18: Head back to Shanghai in morning, shop all day at Nanjing Street, Pearl Plaza and South Bund Material Market! Grab dinner at a local restaurant, take a sleeper train to Wuhan

Feb 19: Arrive in Wuhan, get famous morning xiaochi , spend the day, lay low, relax and explore, stay in hostel that night (Wuhan Pathfinder International Youth Hostel) and take 3 hr train to Guangzhou in the morning

Feb 20: Wander Guangzhou, check out Yuntai Garden & Baiyun Shan (White Cloud Mountain), Pearl River dinner cruise at night, stay in hostel (Guangzhou Riverside Youth Hostel)

Feb 21: Head to Macau, check out Macau tower, Fisherman’s Wharf, maybe hike in Taipa, spend night (Pousada de Juventude de Hac Sa-Youth hostel) in Coloane

Feb 22: Take ferry from Macau to Hong Kong in morning, dim sum, hiking maybe or shopping, explore night life, spend night on ship

Feb 23: SAS trip-Buddhist monastery/Lantau Island all day, then ship leaves port that night for Viet Nam

 

All plans are subject to change obviously!  So we’ll see what happens :)

rain, rain go awayyy

Got our first rain today… kinda depressing.  Especially since we just left beautiful, sunny Hawaii! So much for that tan!!! Haha. It’s pouring outside right now so it doesn’t leave much room for options, since we’re back to being surrounded by nothing but ocean.  You already feel isolated as it is so by not being able to go outside at least is torture lol. Maybe this way I’ll finally get some stuff done, like catching up on reading for classes and starting to write a paper I have due soon…

 

The countdown to Japan begins.   Can’t promise I’ll have anything really exciting to write about until I port again, because I’ll have classes every day up until then… I’m going to be itching to get off this boat!!! At least it gives us plenty of time to sit down and plan Japan!  We’re thinking about staying in Yokohama for a night, Tokyo for a couple nights possibly, stopping in Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and trying to plan to stay at a Buddhist monastery for the night in the misty mountains.  Would definitely  be an experience, that’s for sure, and something most people wouldn’t normally think about doing.  And from what I learned from Hawaii, those kind of trips are the trips worth doing! Got my rail pass all squared away, so I won’t have to worry about transportation at all, just food and lodging.  We shall see what happens! Stay tuned :)

it was fun Hawaii!

Right now I'm at this coffee shop in Honolulu a few blocks from our ship, called Bad Ass Coffee, using their free internet until I have to be back on the ship in an hour or so. We're shipping off to Japan tonight, but won't get there for 11 days or so. Heard we're going to bump into more rocky waters, being winter in the middle of the Pacific and all. The closer we get to Japan the colder it will get too, unfortunately. My poor efforts of keeping a consistent tan will fade away until we get to Viet Nam probably.

Honolulu was a lot different from Hilo. Honolulu was more like Boston with palm trees haha and Hilo was a strip of plazas and beaches, very small compared to Honolulu. Honolulu was a breath of fresh air and very, very beautiful... especially along the coast. I saw the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen and the water was a turquoise color, something I've never seen before!!! Gorgeous. The very first thing I did when we ported in Honolulu was venture downtown where I bought fresh mango and a lei (which I'm laying out to dry to bring back home). I was a little disappointed though with Honolulu, because the activities that I did this time around weren't as exhilerating, I guess you could say, like they were in Hilo. The first day I went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a class field trip and wasn't too impressed, to tell you the truth. The tour was supposed to last from 10:30am-10:30pm, but once I got there I realized that going around the place only took about a couple solid hours, nothing more. A group of us ended up catching a bus back to our ship, because we had seen everything there was to see and didn't want to stick around any longer. What I saw though while I was there was interesting though... pretty much what the center is are small villages dedicated to the different Polynesian cultures (Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Figi and Tahiti). In each different villages there were people from those individual countries who put on shows, dances and comedy routines it seemed like. It was all pretty entertaining and where the center was located was absolutely beautiful... lots of palm trees and vegetation, which I took tons of pictures of lol. After a long bus ride adventure back to the ship I met up with a few others and went into Wakiki to grab dinner at Rainbow Drive-In, which had some of the best tasting food I've had so far on this trip!!! It was just a hole in the wall, but had the traditional Hawaiian food that I had been waiting to try. Also went to my first Cold Stone after and had the BEST ice cream I've ever had haha, Birthday Cake Remix to be exact ;) It was a fun way to end a long day.

Today I was a little disappointed again when I thought I was going hiking on Diamond Head crater and turned into pretty much just being a bus tour around the island. It was such a beautiful day and I really wanted to soak up some sun and work up a sweat, but ended up being in a bus most of the morning/afternoon. Instead of hiking our tour guide brought us to several look-out points around the island where the most beautiful views can be seen. So, not a complete failure, got some really sick pictures (one being the one I posted in this entry). Pretty breathtaking views, just wish I could have actually walked along some of the beaches and laid out to tan or something!!! Oh well. I learned a lot from my stay in Hawaii that I can carry along with me into other ports, like not choosing to do as much touristy things. My very first day in Hilo is what I hope I'll be able to experience in other ports on my trip, because it was impulsive, random and adventurous! And not planned with no flexibility. I wish I could have had the chance to bum on the beach, but there will be plenty of other beaches I can lay on... I have high hopes to come back TAN!!! Haha :P

Greetings from Hilo, Hawaii

The last couple days spent in Hilo were amazinggg, incredible, adventurous, breathtaking, memorable… all of the above.  Our very first day (my first time to set foot on Hawaiian soil ever) or any soil for that matter in 8 days since we’d been at sea, was one of the best days I’ve ever had in my life.  Hawaii is by far the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to in my life so far… everything about it, the weather, the beaches, the people, the adventures; priceless.  Here is a quick re-cap on how my first day went:  once I got off the ship a group of 5 of us or so caught a taxi into downtown Hilo where we explored a farmer’s market and found some famous kona coffee.  It was not even 9am at this point, so pretty much everything was closed except for a small local shop which the owner opened up for us.  He welcomed us with a ceremonial drinking of ‘kava’ which is a euphoric drink made from wheatgrass which eases the mind, but also as we came to find out, makes your tongue numb!!! Haha. The ceremonial drinking began with us dipping a finger into the coconut shell cup filled with kava and dripping some on the ground for the “roots” and then up in the air for the “gods” then clapping and then drinking the kava.  It was a really interesting and unique experience!  After that we went to Kosmic Cone where we all had our first spam burgers (the national meat of Hawaii hahaha).  Believe it or not it wasn’t that bad! After we ate we walked the 2.5 miles or so to Rainbow Falls State Park where we hiked and got to cliff jump into a huge pool of water!  We spent a couple hours there and then made our way to Richardson beach, which is known for the HUGE turtles that come up to sun bathe on the rocks, which we got to witness! We also met a crazy taxi driver named Teresa who became our driver during our stay in Hilo.  She talked about zodiac signs and horoscopes and predicted our love lives hahaha People in Hawaii, I realized, are some of the most down to earth and fun people I’ve ever interacted with!  We hung out on this gorgeous beach, where we also got to see some evidence of whales and just hung out with other SAS students, drank and relaxed.  Later that night we found a local bar where most of us hung out and enjoyed our first night in Hawaii! It was a GREAT day.

 

Today was definitely more laid back then yesterday’s activities, but still was good! Headed downtown in the morning to Nautilus Dive Shop where a bunch of us signed up for scuba diving! We were all supposed to go in a large group, but since me, and my friend Alex were not certified we couldn’t dive with everybody else, which was a bummer.  We ended up meeting up with them though at their dive site and hung out in the sun.  We got to have our own dive session with the instructor later in the day, which was such an incredible experience.  The site where we were was full of an abundance of marine life.  We got to dive up to 20ft underwater and came in contact with beautiful fish, coral and huge sea turtles!!! I’m so glad I decided to do it, because I think I would have totally regretted it if I hadn’t.  Who knows the next time I’ll be able to do something like that… not soon that’s for sure! Got some close-up pics underwater that I hope will come out good.

 

Back on the ship now and heading to Honolulu.  We’ll port around 8 tomorrow morning.  On tomorrow’s agenda I’m going on a field trip for class to the Polynesian Cultural Center which is the #1 tourist attraction in all of Hawaii.  We only spend 2 days in Honolulu as well and on the second day I’ll be hiking Diamond Head and bumming at the beach :) Then we’ll be stuck on the ship for longer than before, about 11 days, on our way to Japan!

Aloha!

It’s a little after 12:30am and in a little more than 5 hours we’ll be porting in Hilo, Hawaii!!! This experience still is so surreal to me, I feel like it’s more like a vacation more than anything! Haha.  But, don’t worry I am learning something! My classes have been really engaging and interesting and the best part about them is that now when we port at all these different countries we’ll be able to get first hand experiences… which not many people get to have.  I feel almost like a little kid again… all these experiences I’m going to be having within the next few months will all be firsts for me, which is beyond exciting!!! I feel really lucky. 

 

There really haven’t been any complaints thus far in the voyage, besides the rough waters at the beginning of the week.  I did hear though that once we leave Hawaii for Japan we’re gonna bump into even rougher waters, but I guess we’ve gotten accustomed to it, so hopefully (crossing my fingers) it won’t be all that bad.  It’s gonna be an interesting transition too, going to Japan, because every day will get colder and colder.  Japan and China are cold during the winter months (just like home), so they’ll be our coldest ports that we’re going to… hopefully I won’t lose the nice tan I’ve got going on!  :)

 

Today was a really good day! Great weather and high spirits! Today we realized we were not alone, when we woke to seeing another ship in our waters, which was cool to see, as well as more wildlife, like Hawaiian albatrosses and flying fish!!! Apparently before the sun went down people claimed to see the silhouette of land in the distance… sooo soon! Laid out for a couple hours today up on the deck and actually participated in a yoga class! Good stuff. Once we’re able to get off the ship tomorrow a bunch of us are going to explore the area with no real plans, which will be an adventure! We’re gonna be true adventur”ers” as our Global Studies teacher would say lol.

 

Bring it on Hawaii!!!

don't worry, be happy!

I'm out on the deck, just ate dinner and am in good company.  The sun is setting and shades of orange and pink engulf the horizon... incredible.  One of these nights I'm going to have to remember to take pictures, because as the sun goes down the sight becomes even more remarkable!  Never will I be able to look at a sunset in the same way ever again, or appreciate how beautiful this world really is.  It's hard to ever have a care in the world when you look out into never ending horizon... the sound of the waves are comforting and ease my thoughts.  The ocean really does wonders.  Life is good! And will be even better when we arrive in Hawaii on Monday!!!

that explains everythinggg

So we have a specific ID number which we use to log onto the internet so that they can track our internet usage and we have these certain sites that are "free" that we can go on at our leisure, but APPARENTLY you’re not supposed to log in to view them, because it’ll automatically charge your internet account… greattt. I wish I had known that before, because I was wondering where the hell all my internet minutes were going!!!  I just bought another package of internet (only for an hour worth of time) and I hope I’ll be able to make it work for a while.  I can’t go onto Facebook and I can’t post all the pictures I want on my blog either… so I figured after each country I go to I’m gonna sneak online to add just 1 picture that I think represents each country I go to… so unfortunately I won't be able to share all my pictures until I get home in May. Oh well! Sorry guys.

The ship continues to be battling with choppy waters; come to find out it’s because we’re feeling the effects of all the storms that hit the West Coast just a couple days ago… we’ve actually veered off course slightly as well, to try to avoid the ship to be even more rockier!!

I bought my rail pass for Japan just a little bit ago, which is very exciting (I have to pick it up in Honolulu).  It was a little more than $300; not too bad.  It gives me unlimited transportation all over the country for the 5 days that I'm there. A bunch of us are planning on heading right to Tokyo when we port in Yokohama for a couple nights, then going to possibly Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Hiroshima and meeting the ship in Kobe.  It’s gonna be fun!!! Can’t waittt :)

we will, we will, ROCK YOU... literally.

I'm starting to get a little light headed, because the ship is moving even slower than before, which means that it's rocking more than ever.  It's hard to stay concentrated in class, doing homework and even eating for that matter!  You have to be on your guard at all times so that you don't fall out of your seat, or trip down the hallway!

I've been meaning to put up pictures, but the e-mail I have on the ship doesn't allow me to attach pictures (which is how I write the entries for my blog), but I thought I'd put up a couple (using my precious internet minutes that I'm paying for) so that you all can see what I've been up to.


This is my cozy little room! Not bad


Here's some people I've met along the way! Nick, Helen, Jason & Molly (my roommate!)


Pub night with some of the guys I'm gonna be traveling with! Alex & Mike

We're almost to Hawaii and I'm thinking about adding scuba diving on the list of things to do!

Got lots of reading to do, probably should get that started...

the scoop.

It is absolutely gorgeous out right now. I'm sitting on the top dock of the ship and practically everybody is laying out in their swim suits, soaking up the sun. I would be doing the same thing if I didn't have class soon... can't wait 'til it's over so I can soak up some rays too. This is the life. We have 4 more days until we reach our 1st port and I've been trying to plan out the trips I want to go on... for a couple of my classes I have to go on 3 required FDP’s, which are Field Directed Practica that are worth 30% of my grade.  I’m also trying to figure out which SAS sponsored trips I’m going to buy as well as trying to plan independent traveling too.  There’s just so much I want to do!!! So far here is what I'm thinking...

Hilo:
BEACHHH

Honolulu:
Polynesian Cultural Center (for my Identity Development class)
Diamond Head hike (SAS trip)

Yokohama:
Buy Japan rail pass & probably travel to Tokyo for a couple nights... (Independent)

Kobe:
Rail pass continued (Independent)
Tea Ceremony (SAS trip)

Shanghai:
Zujaijaio Water Village (SAS trip)

Hong Kong:
Buddhist Monastery & Lantau Island (SAS trip)

Viet Nam:
Nha Trang beach/island excursion (SAS trip)
Co Chi tunnels (for my Environmental Ethics class possibly)

Chennai:
Yoga
Orphanage Service Visit (for both my Identity Development & Environmental Ethics class)
Mental Global Health Discussion on ship (for my Identity Development class)

Cochin:
Alleppey Backwaters (SAS trip)
SOS Children’s Village (for my Environmental Ethics class possibly)

Mauritius:
Adventure Park & beach (zip lining!!!)(SAS trip)
Catamaran (Independent)

Cape Town:
Cycling through the vineyards & wine tasting (Independent)
Habitat for Humanity project (SAS trip)
Abseiling off Table Mountain! (Independent)

Ghana:
Mona Monkeys & waterfalls (SAS trip)
Torgorme Village Visit (SAS trip)

Brazil:
Hopefully go into Rio (Independent)
Maybe plan a visit to the Amazon… (Independent)

The ship is rocking like CRAZYYY, but it is beautifulll, gotta run to class!!! :)

here at last!

On the ship at lasttt. Different shuttles from San Diego bused all 500+ students down to Ensenada, Mexico where we met our ship yesterday afternoon. I was on the second batch of shuttles so the ship was pretty empty, but I got to get my stuff situated in my cabin and waited all day, ANXIOUSLY to meet my roommate, who I absolutely love!!! Here name is Molly and she's from Chicago, but goes to school at the University of Wisconsin. We clicked instantly, having pretty much the same personalities, so I'm looking forward to a fun 3.5 months living with her :)

Yesterday was pretty overwhelming and saying goodbye to my Dad in San Diego and getting on that bus not knowing anybody whatsoever was a little nerve racking. The girl I sat next to on the bus was very friendly and nice, and actually lives in NH and goes to UNH!! Everybody I met yesterday was friendly and nice, which was a relief, but we were all in the same positions... generally not knowing anybody signing up for this experience. On the bus ride down up until I boarded the ship I met tonsss of interesting and exciting people, some of who I made networking connections with, which was pretty cool!!! Definitely a small world.

The port where we met our ship was breathtaking! Once we boarded the ship we got to hang out, explore and get situated into our cabins. Once we left port around dinner time, it finally hit me. I'm going to travel around the world... omg. Watching the ship slowly move farther away from shore was one of the most exciting things I have ever experienced! When we started moving though, we realized that it would take some time before we all would get our "sea legs." You can barely walk in a straight line and if you aren't cautious, or holding onto a ramp, you most likely will tumble down the hallway. The boat seems to be moving pretty fast and we've actually run into some rough waters ever since we left shore, because apparently there's a storm heading to California. LUCKY US!! It was definitely an interesting night that's for sure... the rocking of the boat did a lot of damage to those who get easily sea sick, but to those who don't it rocked them to sleep like babies.  Sitting on my bed now in the cabin, writing this entry, I'm swaying slightly back and forth, but it doesn't seem to bother me. If anything it's been making me extra sleepy, as I realized when having to sit through hours of lectures ever since we got on board. I did wake up a couple times though in the night, a little freaked out, but I think I'll get used to it fast.

Today was filled with more lectures, but I had some time to check out the gym which was... interesting, haha. I think I'll be sticking to the elliptical, because if you can imagine, working out on a ship isn't the most stable of things to do in the world!!! lol I'm starting to form some close friendships with people I've met, so I'm pretty excited to what else is in store for us. I've already started making traveling plans with friends and cannot wait to adventure when we port. We arrive in Hawaii on the 25th, so 'til then I'll be taking classes, which start tomorrow actually!!! More on that tomorrow...

BON YOYAGE!

in front of the battleship Star of India


Ocean Beach waves





Today is my last day in San Diego... we walked around the harbor again, but also checked out Ocean Beach and the San Diego Zoo!! I have to meet my shuttle at 7:30am which will take me to my ship in Ensenada, Mexico! Cannot believe it's finally hereee... in about a week's time I'll be in HAWAII :D Stay tuned!

lovin' San Diego!

walking along Harbor Island


pelicans!


my Dad and I in front of what is called a "Dragon Tree" at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is spectacular!


the beachhh

Second day in San Diego and no complaints!! Beautiful weather, couldn't ask for anything better!  Walked along Harbor Island and Coronado Island today. Meeting up with an old friend who I used to play basketball with for dinner tonight in Little Italy<3

Welcome to San Diego

Landed in San Diego today approximately around noon, western time, and let me tell you... San Diego is gorgeous!!! I've fallen in love with it. Everything about it, the atmosphere, the scenery, the weather... it's great! I could definitely see myself coming back to it at some point to enjoy it more thoroughly. Was pretty wiped when we landed, but after relaxing for a bit, my Dad and I walked along the boardwalk to take in everything that it had to offer...


San Diego skyline


palm trees of course!


Embarcadero Marina Park


sunset on the harbor

Have 2 more days in this beautiful city...
and Sunday I board the ship.

bummer!

Found out that I didn't get into the riverboat trip in the Amazon that I originally signed up for... what a bummer!!! What to do, what to do... guess I'll have to find something even better :) keeping my fingers crossed!

no turning back!

Today was my last day in good 'ole New Hampshire. Just arrived at my father's house in Mass where I'll be spending the next couple nights before I leave on Thursday. Leaving my boyfriend, friends and family was one of the hardest things, but I know I have to stay positive, because this is just the beginning to the journey of a lifetime. Not many people are able to say that they had the opportunity to travel the world like I'm about to do, so I'm going to cherish it as much as I possibly can. I think the biggest obstacle that I will have to learn to overcome is missing the people I care about from back home, because I wish they could come along with me. I can't wait to bring back stories and pictures and to keep them updated about my travels. I have been waiting to do something like this for a very long time and I can't believe that my dream is going to finally become true. I wouldn't have been able to do it though without all the support and love from all my family and friends. I'm going to miss you guys!!! See you in May ;)

1 week.

Next Tuesday I'll be leaving New Hampshire and traveling down to Mass to stay with my Dad and Stepmom for the night, pack on Wednesday and fly out early morning to Cali on Thursday... I can't believe it. It's not gonna hit me 'til I'm on that plane... A week and a half 'til I board the ship (Sunday Jan.17th), my nerves are definitely starting to kick in!!! Good ones of course! AHHH