On my way to the end....

I never was able to say Aloha in my last blog, so here it is!!! ALOHA! We are definitely way passed Hawaii as our boat is going very fast now! We are probably at around 23 or 24 knots. I last saw our route on the TV going from Honolulu to Port Caldera? If you know where that is let me know! Most likely we are stopping there to fuel the boat before we arrive in Costa Rica.
        I now only have two class days left! We are just reviewing and filling out course evaluations though. This means all I have is four finals! I have one on December 2, two on December 4, and one on December 6. Currently I am trying to get all my notes and materials ready to study for the next couple of days. Sleep is also a needed thing on this boat because of our constant time changes. After tonight, only four more.
        This is such a bittersweet part in my voyage! Of course I want to get home, but the more I think about myself being at home with these new experiences it freaks me out. I apologize because this is not making much sense. Let me talk about something else.

        Today I donated money to the alumni fund, which enables the Institute of Shipboard Education to give money to future students for scholarships. Also, it gives money to this new foundation in memory of Kurt Leswing. I could pick a number of different foundations where I wanted the money to go, but since Kurt was on my voyage and I knew him, I felt it appropriate to give to that foundation. I not only gave Semester At Sea money, I also wrote my name down on the list of people that will be contacted to recruit at home universities. I thought this was a neat idea and any college student should have this incredible opportunity like I did.

What else what else! All my friends are great and are working just as hard as I am for final exams and papers. It is quite funny to hear people’s conversations of how they are getting certain items that they bought home. My roommate bought this crazy Brazilian instrument that is absolutely huge. No idea how she is getting it home, but it is definitely not staying in the corner of our room! I don’t think it would even fit in the overhead compartment on the plane =)
You will be happy to know that our room is decorated with all Christmas decorations and there are even candy canes hanging from the ceiling! We are very festive in room 4038.
Yeah Christmas Time! Let the shopping begin!!

Love,

Kristen X0X0

Thanksgiving in Hawaii!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! It is no longer Thanksgiving for you, but I still have 2 hours =)
Today was absolutely fabulous. I am not going to lie, I missed being with my family, but it was definitely a Thanksgiving I will never forget.
The boat pulled into Hawaii at about 7:00 A.M and I was super excited because my phone was no longer roaming! It had been roaming since August! I called my family, Pa and Maureen, Grandma Loie and Grandpa Bob, and finally my friend Alex from John Carroll. I had not talked to her on the phone since August, so I was able to get the chance to call her!!
        It would have been a lot harder to contact people if I was not in the United States. I walked off the gangway of the boat at 10:00 A.M. and met my friend Ginny’s Mom! Ginny is from Madison, Alabama and is a junior at Birmingham either college or university, I can’t remember. Her grandparents live in Hawaii and her Mom wanted to see them for Thanksgiving as well as see Ginny! Apparently Ginny and her family go to Hawaii a few times a year.
        All right so here are my adventures in a ten-hour time period-
When Ginny saw her mom she immediately ran to her and hugged her so hard! It made me remember how much I loved every second of my parents being in Vietnam and seeing them for the first time in awhile. Her mom gave us all Hawaiian “Leigh?” I have no idea how to spell it and the people around me don’t know either! Anyways, it was really cute! I wish we were able to take them on the boat, but of course they confiscated them! Something to do with bringing foreign flowers and agricultural products on the boat.
Oh yes, and my two other friends were also with us, Ben and Amanda. I have traveling through most countries with them as you may have noted in my other blog posts.
        Okay we then headed to this place called Leonard’s. It was a local pastry shop with THE BEST donut like, sugar pastry. They had a certain name, but honestly I didn’t care what they were called. They were AMAZING. After eating too many of these pastries, we headed to the nursery home to visit Ginny’s Grandma.  Her Grandma has been living in this nursery home ever since she had a stroke ten years ago, but it is great that Ginny gets to see her a few times a year. We were able to talk to her a bit and Ginny’s grandpa who is eighty-eight and still doing everything with lots of energy. The nursery home had an incredible view of Diamond Head from up top the hill. Hawaii is fantastic and I would have loved to spend at least another few days there. The ocean, beaches, and hills reminded me a little of Rio.
        After that, we went to lunch at a place called “Zippys.” I asked Ginny’s Mom if they had any in the “mainland,” and she said that maybe in San Francisco but really just a Hawaiian restaurant. They had things ranging from Japanese to regular American food!! There were a few authentic Hawaii meals, but I decided to opt out on those. (I didn’t eat the Poi Maureen!) Besides the massive amounts of food we all inhaled, I had to get a Starbucks when my friends went and got Jamba Juice.
        Ginny had a few favorite beaches in Honolulu, but decided on one of her favorites where there were not a lot of tourists. We played in the ocean and attempted to tan, except it was a little late in the day.
        Finally we went to Ginny’s Grandpa’s house and got ready for dinner! We went to a country club that her Grandpa belongs to. The buffet was ridiculous!!! They had everything you could ever imagine for a Thanksgiving dinner. It was like the buffet at the Atlantis on steroids! Ginny said it usually is not that crazy, but they really do things up on Thanksgiving. I ate sososososososo much, but it was all so gooood!!!
        It was a very successful day in Hawaii! I can’t wait to come back and spend more time. I want to go back to every country I have been!! I am just so overjoyed that I was able to talk and text people because I am in the USA! Hahah not for long though. My next stop is Costa Rica!!! I am doing an overnight in San Jose where a few of us are zip-lining and drinking coffee in the rainforest =) Coffee Coffee Coffee! Nevertheless, we do have finals in about 5 days. I have four finals but will be done with them when we arrive in Costa Rica. I can’t wait because the after that we have our Ambassador’s Ball!!

There are a lot of activities and academics that are coming up, so if I don’t blog on everything I am doing, I apologize now! I love getting the e-mails and phone calls on people enjoying my blogs. I have honestly really enjoyed putting all my thoughts down in writing. It will be neat to read these down the road ☺

Hope all of your Thanksgiving’s were magnificent!

Love Forever,

Kristen

Time Warp!

Hello! I am still sailing on the open seas =) we are getting so close to Hawaii that I can see the islands on my TV screen! I actually think that we are really close; therefore the boat is only going about 10 knots. It usually goes around 20.
The weather is very nice here- probably about low to mid 80’s. I know that it is absolutely freezing at home, so I won’t rub it in! If it makes anyone feel better, I am excited for the snow and cold! I feel as if I am having like a 7-month summer because all I wear are flip-flops around the boat.
        Nothing too new on the boat, everyone is writing papers still and getting ready for finals after Hawaii. We had a day off 3 days ago, because we went through the international dateline. I can’t say that I have ever had two of the same day, but I did! November 22 was a great day!! I have had two time changes since we crossed the international dateline. Now we are 6 hours behind EST. Tomorrow we will be 5.

        Last night we had an “open mic night” where any one can get on stage and either sing, or play an instrument like piano and guitar. This is popular at actual colleges ☺ My friend Katie who is a religion major at a small school in California got on stage and performed a song she wrote and then a popular song called “Imagine.”
        Listening to her sing and play the guitar was incredible. She has the most amazing voice. The song that she wrote was about Semester at Sea, and all of the hope in the world. I had a tear in my eye listening to this because I think it in a sense made it all real to us. We have all journeyed together on this voyage, but each of our experiences are different and we have to take what we get from this semester.
       
        Yeah! Okay let me tell you what I am doing for Thanksgiving in Hawaii! My friend Ginny has grandparents that live in Honolulu. Her Mom will be in Hawaii also because she wanted to visit Ginny’s grandparents and see Ginny. My friend Amanda and Ben, and I were invited to come hang out with all of them on Thanksgiving! We will be visiting Ginny’s Grandma in the nursing home, then hitting a beach, and finally Thanksgiving dinner! I am excited that I will have something fun to do and somewhere to go with my friends! And of course I will be thinking of Pa, Maureen, Mom, Dad, Matt, Uncle Billy, Aunt Patti, Danny, and Nicole. This will be my first Thanksgiving without them all!! I will also miss Grandpa Loie and Grandpa Bob, as I will always remember those great Thanksgivings at their house.

Love to you all- and see you in less then three weeks!!!

Kristen

Girl on the Pacific!!

Girl on the Pacific!

Aloha! I am just getting ready for Hawaii! Yeah Yeah I know that it is still in one week, but I can’t wait! Wanted to just write a small post, telling you things are still going good on the ship. Everyone is buckling down now on their work. It was hard with two class days in between each Asian country. There was a period where I think we didn’t go to class for like a week. It is very bizarre.
        Everyone is also starting to freak out because they realize that papers are sneaking up on them and then the issue of finals. Ahhh I am not sure I want to go through that again, but we all have to pull strong for the end. We can do it!!
        Another thing we have to look forward to is the Ambassador’s Ball. It is put on by this committee of students at the end of the voyage. I think that it is a few days after Hawaii, so not quite at the end, but pretty close. It is the last hurrah before finals. It is apparently a night of everyone wearing their formal attire, a special dinner with champagne, and then dancing! I have heard that it is the absolute best night on the ship!
Yeah!!!
Well, yes I think that is it. Short but sweet. In a few days more will be coming- don’t you worry!!!

Miss you!!!!

Kristen X0X0

Yokohama and Kamakura

Goodbye Japan, Look out America! Well sort of America…not the continental United States. Our next stop is actually Hawaii on Thanksgiving =) Soon (in two hours) I will be sailing on a new ocean, the Pacific!!!
I am very sad to leave Japan because it was a blast! Yokohama was a beautiful city and I would love to go back and be able to explore more. We only had a day and a half in Yokohama, so I definitely would like to get the chance to come back to Japan.

For the first day I explored the city by foot because a lot was within walking distance, at least for the places I wanted to go. I walked to a few parks and eventually made my way to this place called “Queens Tower,” where they had plenty of shops and restaurants.  Because I am a Starbucks freak, I had to go again, and this time they had Christmas Coffee Cups!!! Oh my gosh!! Christmas Time is coming!!!! After Starbucks I proceeded to head to the shops! I bought a few things for my friends, and found a Zara! The only other place that I have seen Zara was in Spain. For those of you that don’t know, Zara is  a clothing place with trendy and fashionable clothes. I tried a few things on, but only ended up buying a cute vest.
After leaving that shopping tower, I found myself at another shopping center right next door to the other! This place was crazy with shops and restaurants. The number of little bakery and pasty shops was insane! It also smelled delicious. I didn’t do as much shopping at this place, but had a lot of fun looking at the Japanese fashion.

Okay so lets fast-forward to the next day because it was the highlight of my couple of days. Today was my day dedicated to a Semester At Sea trip to Kamakura. Kamakura has a population of 300,000 and is called the small Kyoto that I visited earlier in Japan. It was a really cute town with lots of little shops and restaurants. Not to mention the city is known for the Shinto and Zen temples.
        I had signed up for this faculty directed trip because I need to write three papers on different temples that I have visited. Now, I have visited plenty of temples on my trips and travels throughout Semester At Sea, but I had not visited any Zen temples. Unfortunately I couldn’t have gone to any Zen temples in Africa, because there is no Zen Buddhism in Africa! My class called Zen Buddhism definitely called for me to visit an actual Buddhist temple.
        We first visited a Shinto temple and were able to experience monks chanting different sayings and phrases. My favorite part of visiting this temple was that you had to purify yourself before entering. It reminded me somewhat of holy water, but you would pour water on each hand and kind of rub your hands together. Then you would take more water and cup it in one hand and put it up to your lips, but not drink it. It was a lot of fun and cool that I was able to pretend that I was Japanese or practiced the Shinto faith for an hour or two.
        The next place was an actual Zen Temple. I really enjoyed this because in my class we learn so much about Zen and the ways of life for these Buddhist monks. This is what Semester At Sea is all about, learning about these countries cultures and histories, and then being able to go out and watch the people or visit places first hand. The group and I walked around the temple for a while and noticed how beautiful all of the nature was surrounding the temple. There was one point where I just sat down right in front of one of the buildings in the “temple complex” and reflected.
        I thought of how there is no place in the United States where I could go and even experience a part of what I was seeing. There were artists painting the different gates and buildings all around and photographers figuring out the different angles of the best picture to capture the fall foliage. I wish that when I visited the other temples throughout these last three months I could have just sat down and reflected on what I was seeing at that moment. It made me appreciate where I was and what I was looking at a lot more. I tired to do the same for other structures and places such as the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio, my safari in Kruger, the Taj in India, and the Great Wall in Beijing. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes makes all the difference in the world.
        Hase Temple was our next visit and this place had huge statues of Buddha that were in different parts of the temple. I was not allowed to take any pictures of these Buddhas, but I am pretty sure I can snatch one from a person that illegally took one. It reminded me of my brother when we were at the Sistine Chapel in Italy. He took video footage of the ceiling, while causally walking around like he wasn’t doing anything. I thought it was pretty impressive. =) The Hase Temple had a great view of the city of Kamakura and a even more fantastic view of the Pacific. It was such a glorious day with the sun beaming down on the lovely blue water.
        The temperature in Japan was amazing! It was not forty degrees like it was in Beijing or ninety degrees like it was in India. It was probably upper 60’s to low 70’s. Perfect weather!
Our last visit was to a place to see “The Great Buddha.” This Buddha was ridiculously huge. It is something like 45-50 feet tall and is not even the biggest one in Asia. A few girls that I was with on my trip told me that they went to Hong Kong to see the real “Great Buddha.” We still are not sure even if that one is the biggest, but apparently the one they saw is three times the size of the one that I saw. I couldn’t even imagine. I secretly wanted to climb up and sit in the Buddha’s hand for a picture. But then again, I probably would have gotten kicked out!
        Today was a lot of fun! I also was able to hang out with a girl on Semester At Sea that lives in Arkansas, but goes to Baldwin Wallace in Cleveland! Baldwin Wallace is probably about 20-30 minutes away from John Carroll. We shared some fun stories about the bars in Cleveland and of course the snow that we are both most excited for. Haha. Yeah, I don’t know about that one! I have met a few people on the boat that are from the Cleveland area that I am definitely going to be visiting!

        Yeah! I have nine days until I arrive in Hawaii! Not as bad as my hike from Cape Town to India, but it should be fun. We also have two November 22 because we cross the international dateline. I think that for one of the 22 we don’t have class.  This is going to be real strange gaining hours now! Wahoo! Oh my gosh I just turned on my TV and it already says Yokohama to Honolulu! I love that my TV tracks where we are, how fast we are going, and the longitude and latitude! I am going to miss that at home. Where is the ship channel? Maybe I will go on the website and track the next voyage ☺
        I am sad that we are leaving Asia! I just had a whirlwind of countries in the last three weeks. My body is really exhausted, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I cannot wait to look back on everything that I have done and say, “I traveled the world to it’s fullest.” I hope that statement makes sense, but it is true. I did however have an emotional patch about three days ago. For some reason after I got off the phone with my parents I started crying. This trip is physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging and constantly changing your views of the world. It was most likely a mix of me talking to my parents and thinking about all the ways I have changed is surreal to me. What a gift I have in my hands and inspiration for my future.

I guess I should go catch up on more work. The only unfortunate thing about Semester At Sea, is that the class are really REALLY hard. It takes some getting used to the rigorous schedule that we have going.
Hope everyone is getting excited for Thanksgiving! Talk to you soon!

Love,

Kristen X0X0

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, and Good Evening VIETNAM!

Hey All- sorry for the delayed Vietnam post....I sent it to my blog but apparently it did not get there!!!

Mom and Dad-hope you enjoy this one=) Sorry it didn't go through!

Love you!

I told my parents that I would not title my blog “Good Morning Vietnam,” but I had to do it, no matter how cliché it is.  I feel like it has been forever since I have written in my blog and the more I think about it a lot has been happened since the last post!

        School is really heating up now that we do not have that many days in between ports. When I went from Brazil to Namibia I think that I had a week to get back into the swing and the same in between Cape Town and India. Now that I have hit Asia I only have about one or two days in between each country. I will have to learn to recuperate rather quickly so that I have enough energy for the rest of my adventures.

Vietnam was extraordinary! I am not just saying this because my parents came and visited me. (Of course this was the highlight of my trip though). In the past my ship has either anchored or docked at the pier rather early around 8 or 9 A.M.  However, because the only way to get to the pier in Ho Chi Minh City is to go through a river, we had to wait until high tide around noon to take us down through the rest of the river.
        I was so anxious to see my parents that the minute I found out we were not going to be at the dock until noon I was not the happiest of campers. But, I did quickly recover the moment I saw them on the side of the pier trying to find me on the seventh deck of the boat. When the ship was close to where the parents were located my Dad called me and said, “Kristen we are about 400 meters away from your ship.” I immediately hung up the phone and flew up the flights of stairs to the outside deck. I completely forgot that it takes a little while for the boat to actually dock at the pier, but I did get to see my parents from the upper deck and wave to them as my ship pulled in.
        Writing this right now is reminding me of how happy I was to see them and the tears of joy that were flowing from my eyes watching them wave to me from below. It was surreal to think about them being there after flying half way around the world to see me. I wanted to share each and every bit of excitement and fun that I had been having for the past two months and I was finally able to do just that.
        They were eventually able to board the ship at about 1 P.M after having been standing out in the sweltering sun and humidity for two hours. The heat that we experienced was unbelievable, but I think both of my parents handled it quite well considering the tour company told my Dad not to wear or bring shorts :/ Ask him to tell you about the shorts story in the market; it is priceless =)
We finally reunited in the hallway leading into the dining room and it was great!!! I missed them like crazy and already do. After hanging on the boat for an hour or so we decided to pack up some of my things so that I could stay at their hotel for a few nights. I am really glad that I did because I was able to spend more time with them and be away from the ship for a while.
        Over the course of four days we did a lot of shopping in the markets, ate at some delicious restaurants, and went on a few tours with Semester At Sea as well as on our own.
        The first night in Vietnam we went out to dinner with a student from the ship and his Dad that my parents met on the parent trip to Thailand and Vietnam. We also were accompanied by eight of  “big Al’s guy friends. The stories that were being told from the ship were hilarious because I could relate to all of them! It was a fun night and the Vietnamese style cuisine was tasty too!
        The next day we set out with a Semester At Sea tour to a Cao Dai Temple and the famous Cu Chi Tunnels. The temple was extremely unique with intricate colors and shapes of different patterns and animals. It was the first temple that my parents and myself had visited where there were actual monks and people praying in the temple. I like going to different temples and comparing and contrasting religions and countries traditions.
        Next was time for the Cu Chi Tunnels. When we arrived we were escorted down into these huts to watch a movie which was pretty much propaganda. The movie clip was talking about Americans and how their impact on the war really messed things up. Let me just say it was not a fun video to watch. We then were able to see the tunnels that thousands of men lived in and crawled through in the war. These tunnels were incredibly small. The men that were down in the tunnels were about 100 pounds. You had to be that small though or else you wouldn’t have fit through these openings. I was able to go down a bigger tunnel and it was an adventure. I do not normally get claustrophobic and hot that easily, but these tunnels put a new definition to sweaty and no airflow.
        The story that our tour guide told us about the Vietnam War and all that they went through was mind-boggling. I don’t think that we will ever be able to understand what went though their mind and all atrocities of war in general, but learning and being educated about what happened makes me understand a little more about the world we live in. 
        That night we went to a great restaurant called “Level 23” and it was on the top of the Sheraton Hotel, on you guessed it the twenty-third floor. The view from the top of the hotel was breathtaking! You would not believe how many motorbikes were in Vietnam -so the view from up top was also seeing an insane about of motorbikes and cars. My parents and I were really surprised that there were not more accidents in the city. They say that there are ten million people that live in Ho Chi Minh City and there are at least five million motorbikes! I can’t wait to show all of you pictures!
        Third day was devoted to some sightseeing in the city! We booked a private tour to take us all around Ho Chi Minh. The first place we went to was a Buddhist pagoda with a huge Buddhist statue that we took a picture with. We went on to visit another pagoda, which was intricate and was partially open from the outside. Unfortunately for us it was raining- but we managed getting around and taking it all in. Our final stop before lunch was to a Chinese market. This was probably the hottest and most humid place in the city. There was everything in this market from thousands of shoes, hair accessories, different varieties of every food, etc. You could just imagine what this place smelled like, and believe me I definitely want to forget the smell. This gets me real excited for China! Hehe.
        After lunch, our tour guide by the name of Sonny took us to the War Museum. After going through each and every room of photographs, newspapers, guns, depictions of the children’s view of the war, etc, it was incredibly powerful. I don’t think that I have ever completely thought about war in this way after seeing these strong and powerful words and pictures. Of course I have thought about war in the sense of the word, but after being to this museum you need to sit down and wrap your head around what you had just seen.
        We proceeded next to the Reunification Palace which was dedicated mainly to the bringing together of North and South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. By the way they still say Saigon on a regular basis. I was told that it was just easier to say then Ho Chi Minh City.
        The palace was not like any other palace I have ever seen. It was unique in its own way, but did not resemble anything as far as the palaces in Europe go. The history was cool and our tour girl took us to the different rooms of the palace. It was without doubt a major tourist attraction but not a place where I am itching to get back to. My parents and I were going to go to Vietnam’s version of the Notre Dame Cathedral but we were way to exhausted to take another step. Not to mention the city was in complete torrential downpour. I decided instead to show my parents my pictures while having a drink in the lobby at the fabulous Renaissance hotel.
        I think that I may have skipped a day because I am already to the point of writing about my last day. Oh yes I remember what we did the first day. We went shopping around town and I bought a beautiful wrap around black dress that I am very eager to wear! I also bought a very nice blue skirt that will look good with a few blouses at home!
        Sorry about that detour. I hope I didn’t forget anything else that was important. I am sure my parents can tell you all about it when they get home.
        The last highlight of my stay in Vietnam was an excursion to the famous Mekong Delta. We took a two-hour bus ride out to the Delta with all of the other Semester At Sea parents and kids. When we arrived at the Mekong River, we boarded a small riverboat where we were escorted all around the different islands.
        We first stopped on a cute island where we tasted some of the local fruits. We had dragon fruit, mango, pineapple with strange salts, and more fruits that I don’t remember the name of. After tasting fruits we went to another island where they make coconut candy! It takes like taffy and there were many flavors to choose from. We bought the chocolate and the peanut ones =) After that it was honey tea time! They made a certain type of tea and put their homegrown honey into the tea! It was awesome!
        Finally we made it for lunch, not that any of us were really hungry after all of the taste testing…but oh well! Our first course at lunch took us all by surprise. They brought out a fried “Elephant Eared Fish” to every table at our group. I am talking about every part of the fish was still intact. The waitresses took a piece of what is called “rice paper” and wrapped that with noodles, vegetables, and the fish. It probably doesn’t sound like best, but after having tried it- it was rather scrumptious!
        That night was my final night in Vietnam, and therefore I had to be back on the ship at 9:00 P.M. My parents came onboard one last time and we had dinner and attended a lecture together. The goodbye was not as difficult as the one in August, but it was still rough. I am grateful to have parents that came and visited me, and I am pretty sure they had an awesome time just like me. When you get home Mom and Dad, Thank you for an extraordinary time in Vietnam. I enjoyed every moment of being there with you and will cherish it forever.
        Well now that I am to the point of tears, let me tell you what is next! The day after tomorrow I arrive in Hong Kong! I am only spending a half of a day there because my friends and I are doing a SAS sponsored trip to Beijing and Xi’an. I think that this trip is five days long including all the traveling. After five days we spend two days in Shanghai.
        Tonight we all had to get our temperatures taken in order to disembark the ship in Hong Kong. Apparently if you have a temperature the officials immediately think that you have bird flu. Sounds a little strange to me. I am perfectly healthy though!
Hope you all enjoyed my blog!!! Oh Yes and today is election day- go out and vote!!!! We are getting coverage all day tomorrow- well for me tomorrow will still be your election day! Talk to you all real soon and take care!

Love You,

Kristen

Kobe and Kyoto

        Konnichiwa! Or as we would say in English, Good day! I wish that I could be really cool and able to speak Japanese.  Actually, knowing any other language would be awesome! Maybe I’ll work on that when I get home….

Japan is SPECTACULAR! I couldn’t really tell you what my favorite port has been this far just because all the places I have been are wonderful, but Japan is extraordinary. I don’t even know why I like it so much, but I do =)
Yesterday we pulled into Kobe around 8:00 and they started the Quarantine process. Yes the process that I explained in my last blog was a real big pain in the butt. I think by the time the whole quarantine, immigration, and customs procedure was done, it was about 1:00 P.M. At that point, a bunch of friends and I were planning on going to Hiroshima on a bullet train, but I was not able to go.
         I may have mentioned in a blog that I couldn’t get a Japanese rail pass because I had to do certain Faculty directed Semester At Sea trips. One of my friends told me that I could get a day trip pass though. We went to go see and check it out, and it was ridiculously expensive. The rail pass for the entire week came out to be $270. The day pass to Hiroshima and a few other places was $180. There was no questioning whether or not I was going at that point! It was okay though because right across the street from the train station was a cluster of department stores and shops! I found some shirts and new jeans, all while enjoying a starbucks ☺

        Today, I woke up early for a Semester At Sea trip to Kyoto. Kyoto was Japan’s capital up to the late nineteenth century when Tokyo took its place. Our first stop was called Kiyomizu Temple where we enjoyed a beautiful view of the entire city from up top hills and mountains. I was finally able to experience some Fall foliage! That is something that I deeply miss at home. Enjoy it while you can.  Next, we went to Maruyama Park and enjoyed lunch while viewing Heian Shrine that honors a peace period from the 700’s-1100’s This was a place where some of the movie “The Last Samurai” was being filmed. I will have to see that movie again since it has been awhile and now I am more interested in the topic.
        In the afternoon we visited Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion). This Pavilion was constructed in the 1390’s as a retirement villa for Shogun Yoshimitsu, and featured a three-story pavilion covered in gold leaf and topped with a bronze phoenix. Oh my gosh was this place picturesque! It was set back right near the mountains and was surrounded by a pond with plenty of vibrant colored leaves. I am sure that this place is just as great in all seasons.
Finally we went to Nijo Castle. The castle was built in the 1600’s and is known for its gorgeous interiors as well as the perfectly manicured gardens! I don’t think I could have asked for a better day and a better way to see the city.

I am back on the boat, but not for long! Tomorrow we have sort of a free day because about 600 students are not traveling to Yokahama with us. They are elsewhere traveling in Japan. I am excited to catch up on my work and most importantly my sleep.

Time to go turn in my passport! It is getting really full with lots of stamps and visas!

Peace and Love,

Kristen

TOMORROW: JAPAN!

How exciting!! I have heard from Semester At Sea Alum that Japan is the most fun out of all of the countries. I am not sure that I really believe that, but I will get back to you on that one. Tomorrow (the 14th) we arrive in Kobe, Japan. Although the trek from Shanghai to Kobe has not been the smooth easy ride that we know of traveling through the Asian countries.
        In fact, last night I probably woke up about four or five times from the waves being that choppy. I don’t think that I have experienced these waves since we came into Cape Town and left Cape Town.  Today I was reading in the dining hall to get away from my room, and my water bottle completely slid off onto the ground and rolled away.
 I also noticed that people went from one side of the hall to another while losing their balance. I think that we got used to not having the seas or oceans being very rough. Now we are all flipping out because it is ridiculous! It does kind of stink being having a room in the front of the boat where it is the rockiest. I heard that leaving Japan and our hike to Hawaii is also a great time! You are probably wondering why I am still mentioning the boat rocking, because apparently I am supposed to be used to it. But, when you are on land so often you get used to being stable!

        Yes, so tomorrow I am going to be in Japan. Apparently there is a huge process this time for disembarking the ship. There are two different “phases.” The first phase is that each passenger is required to have his or her temperature taken before 8a.m. and 9a.m. on the day of arrival. Japan has a huge fear about the spread of Avian Flu, as a result, the immigration is much more strict. The night before we arrived in Hong Kong, we needed our temperature taken as well, because if we had a high temperature they figured we had Bird Flu.
        Phase two is that each passenger on the ship is required to meet face to face with immigration officials, and then for FINGER PRINTING! This is something new and exciting! It is just like when I had to have my finger printed for Disney! No I am just kidding, it is more important this time =)
We have been told that this process takes forever. Probably from 7:30-1:00 P.M. I don’t really care though because we will be in Japan! I think I remember someone telling me that we have the same process for Japanese tourists coming into the United States

Today was my first Global Environmental Policy class in which Kurt was not there. A few of us students went up to the front of the class and said what a pleasure it was to work and talk to Kurt during group projects. My professor also read us a poem that was very heartfelt and meaningful to all of us. The mood on the ship is pretty much the same, but it has been especially hard because we realize that it could have been any of us.

        On a lighter note, I will be writing more about Japan soon because I will be staying on the ship between Kobe and Yokohama. Tomorrow I hope to hang about Kobe for a while and then maybe go to Hiroshima. I may not get there, but we will see how the day unfolds. I am seriously practically already in Japan? It was definitely just yesterday that I was in Brazil, right?  Actually, Brazil seems like forever ago, but it is just because I have experienced so much in the past two and a half months.
Tomorrow is my day to register for class at John Carroll Spring 2009! 2009? Seriously? Okay I am done freaking myself out! Almost time for dinner anyways. See you all real soon.
Stay Well,
 
Kristen
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Hong King, Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai all in six days!

Yes that is right. I went to four huge cities in six days! As much as I would love to explore China more in depth, I am physically and emotionally exhausted.
Early on in the semester, some friends and I planned on going on the Semester At Sea Beijing and Xi’an trip. I am really happy that I ended up signing up for that trip because it was a blast. Semester At Sea always puts you up on the most luxurious hotels and they really plan out everything quite well.

        We arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday the sixth. My friends and I just hung out and wandered around for a few hours. We did a little shopping in the city center and had a great lunch. That afternoon we had to make our way back to the ship for our flight to Beijing! There were a total of seventy Semester At Sea students and some faculty on our trip.
        That night when we arrived, we transferred immediately to a cute dinner place right near Tiananmen Square. The square was really neat at night, and strangely enough it was one of the things I was really looking forward to in Beijing. Sophomore year at John Carroll I took a class on comparative politics focusing on India, Japan, and China. We learned a lot about Tiananmen square and the “New China” that was established in 1949. I think that my family can attest to the fact that I was determined to make it to Beijing after that class.
        The first full day in Beijing was tremendous! We started our day with a trip to the Great Wall! The scenery was awe-inspiring and literally took your breath away. Climbing up those stairs was not as bad as I thought it was going to be because there were sections that you could rest at. I did make it to the top while receiving my award of a t-shirt! I could definitely have just picked a spot to sit and watch people climb while enjoying the mountain ness scenery. The hardest part was making my way down the wall because each step was different. There could be a few tiny steps on one section and then you would have to take gigantic steps on the next section. It was also twice as hard to take pictures while descending the stairs =)

        Semester At Sea took us to the nicest lunch and dinner places in town! We always had more then enough food including lots of rice, sweet and sour everything, wanton soup, etc. Next was our tour to the Summer Palace. This was the place to be in the summer. I can see why one of the Emperors would love to come and stay. I walked in and the first thing you see were these giant lion statues on either side of the front entrance of the palace. It was huge with acres of land with unique looking buildings and pagodas. After exploring the palace for a couple of hours we stopped right in the area where the Olympic sites were. We were able to see the Birds Nest and the Aqua Cube. I couldn’t believe that I was at the place where the whole world was watching just a few months ago.

        The second day in Beijing was up for an early wake up call! We ate breakfast at the hotel and departed for out headset and tape tour of the Forbidden City! Unfortunately I forgot to charge my camera the night before, so my camera died right at the beginning of entering ☹ I think that my friends are going to let me take some of their photos though. I was glad that we were given the headsets and tape because I learned a lot more then I would have just walking through. When you first enter there are like hundreds of people trying to get through at the same time as you are. There was also a huge picture of Mao Zedong right at the entrance of the gate. The gate was filled with lots of red and yellow and suddenly you would remember that you are in a Communist country.

        After the Forbidden City we drove to the Temple of Heaven, which was pretty darn cool. It is the biggest construction complex of heaven temples. It was the palace where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvest.  Shortly after the temple we went to a great lunch and then straight to the airport for our flight to Xi’an!

        Xi’an is not as far north as Beijing, but is more to the west. Our first stop on the third day was to a place called the Lesser Wild Goose Pagoda. This was a Buddhist temple that was very unique looking. Right near the pagoda was Chinese men and women doing their daily practices of either ballroom dancing, some sort of sword practice, etc. It is a kind of daily ritual that the older Chinese men and women practice. We also visited the Xi’an history Museum where we learned more about Jade, Calligraphy, and Buddhist sculptures. 

        Our next stop was to the famous Terra Cotta Warriors Museum!! We all couldn’t wait to get there!! I did not know practically anything about the history of the warriors or the museum, so I am glad that I was able to learn more about the story. There were three pits that were discovered by I believe only two farmers. Pit one was first found in 1974, Pit two and three came within the next ten years. These life-sized warriors and horses are valued as a treasure of knowledge and are revealing this vision of the Qin dynasty. The museum opened up in 1979 and has been regarded as being “The Eight Wonder of the World.” It was without doubt a great place to see, and if you ever get the chance to go to Xi’an, I wouldn’t skip the warriors!

        The day was almost over, but not without a trip to the Tang Dynasty show and dinner! It was more or less a show and a dinner, but the show was spectacular! People were dressed up in all of these intricate dresses and outfits that looked like they were from these eras. They was a lot of dancing and some singing in the show! I absolutely loved the dresses that the women wore ☺
        The final day in Xi’an was an extremely busy one. We first set off to the Museum of the Forest Stele where we were able to see slates or stones that had calligraphy from thousands of years ago. It was also a Confucius temple wrapped around the Museum. However, the highlight of the day was our calligraphy lesson. We went to a place where they sat us down in a classroom and we learned and practice some calligraphy! I am not the best at it, but it was fun to try.

We made our way to a few more stops at the Bell Tower and the People’s square and then to the Yang Tombs of the Han Dynasty. They were both great stops to both shop and tour more of the underground tombs just like the Terracotta warriors.

        After a long five days, we headed towards the airport for our flight to Shanghai. There were a total of five different Semester At Sea Beijing trips and also independent trips to other places in China. But, if you were not doing a Semester At Sea trip or an independent trip to another city, then you would have sailed with the ship from Hong Kong to Shanghai. It is weird to think that the ship sailed two days without me!
The trip was a blast and I am happy that I was able to do it with my friends.

I am not sure if I should really be putting this in my blog, but I think that I have to write to process and understand how I feel right now.

        While I was in Beijing, my troop leader (professor on the ship) took a call from our Executive Dean telling us of a tragic accident that had happened in Hong Kong the night before. One of the students on the ship was out at night with some friends in Hong Kong at about 11:30-12 and was drinking with them at a bar. Apparently the student, or better known as Kurt was alone at about 2:00 A.M. and was in the street flagging down a taxi when a car swerved and missed him, but the taxi behind him did not. This taxi who ended up being a drunk driver struck Kurt. We know that Kurt had also been drinking, but not sure to what extent. He was alone for some reason and the only thing that he had on him was a credit card. Every student on the ship has a “Ship ID,” but that was not found on his person.  Kurt was unconscious after being struck, and unfortunately died while on the way to the hospital.

        The United States Consulate and the Institute for Shipboard Education are handling everything. They have contacted his parents in Wisconsin as well as others that need to be contacted. Tonight after all of the students boarded the ship, we all gathered in our union and talked about the incident as well as having moments of silence.

        When I heard this information my heart sank. I did not know Kurt that well but I have talked to him and had a class with him on the ship. He was the nicest kid and always had a smile on his face. I couldn’t even imagine how his parents are dealing with this, especially because this happened so far away. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. I have seen how this has affected a lot of students on the boat that were extremely close to him. Our trip leader made a note to us that the ship will not be the same when we get back. I would have to say that I agree with him because I think that everyone is affected by this and grieving in some way or another.
        The next night I called my parents and told them what had happened and I think that I was immediately struck with sadness and grief after talking with my mom. This really puts into perspective how precious we need to take this experience and life itself. Kurt was such a great kid, but I think that he is also in a happy place and would want us to remember all the good times that we had and experienced with him.

I am sorry that I wrote this in here, but it is the first time that I was able to write how I feel about all of this. …

Well, for the next two days I will be at sea. Our next stop is Kobe, Japan and then Yokahama Japan. I have a few faculty directed trips that I need to go on, but other than that not much planned. A lot of my friends went and got a Japan rail pass to travel throughout Japan, but unfortunately with these silly trips I can’t do that. It should be fun just traveling in the cities we port to anyways.

Just wanted to say that I love all of you guys and cannot wait to see everyone in December =) Thinking of you all the time!

Love Love,

Kristen
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