Brazil!!

Day 1:
I woke up for sunrise and to watch us pull into Salvador, Brazil. It was rainy and stormy in the distance, but it made for beautiful clouds and a unique sunrise!
My usual traveling crew all headed to the Amazon for the week, so for the last port I was with a new group of friends traveling to Rio! I was a little disappointed about not getting to go to the Amazon with them, but I wound up having a great trip and making more friends at the same time. I felt like this port, more than any other, was truly a vacation. We weren’t rushing to see sights or trying to be somewhere at a certain time, it was very relaxed and enjoyable. 
This was the first port I felt truly on my own. No one else had planned the itinerary or arranged any plans for me. It was just 4 other girls and I setting out to explore Brazil! We left for Rio the first afternoon.  We made it safely to our hotel in Copacabana and then had a wonderful dinner at a Churassco, or Brazilian BBQ. I had never been anywhere like this restaurant. There was a huge salad and soup bar and then waiters would come around to your table with enormous pieces of meat on skewers and slice it right onto your plate. They just kept bringing more and more meat! Needles to say, we were stuffed when we left there!

Day 2:
This was our sightseeing day! We began the day by going to Sugarloaf Mountain. We road a cable car up to the top and enjoyed the breath taking view of Rio. It is an absolutely beautiful city! We probably spent close to two hours up there just taking in the views and trying to soak it all up.
Our next stop was Corcovado, or the Christ the Redeemer statue.  Although it was covered in scaffolding and hard to see, it was still cool. It is one of the symbols of Rio and can be seen throughout much of the city. The views from the statue were also spectacular. We were lucky we even got to go up there though, because just days earlier it had been closed because the roads to it were covered in mud from the floods and it had also been struck by lightening!
We spent the rest of the afternoon on Copacabana beach people watching. Be prepared if you ever go to a Brazilian beach. If you think that girls wear skimpy bikinis on the beaches in the states, you haven’t seen anything. But it wasn’t only the girls; all of the guys were wearing Speedos!  If our skin tone and actions weren’t enough, the amount of fabric our swimsuits were made out of made us a dead give away as tourists!
Our final event for the day was a Brazilian Cup fútbol(soccer) game in the world famous Maranaca stadium. Although, the stadium wasn’t full, it was still quite impressive. The fans were as crazy as ever and were more than willing to let us join in on chants, cheers, and waving the flags. We had a blast and truly got to experience something at the heart of Brazilian culture.

Day 3:
Beach day! We went to Leblon, Ipanema, and ended the day back at Copacabana. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the whole day lying in the sun and stolling the beach!  Later that night we flew back to Salvador.

Day 4:
We began the day at the local market but before we made it anywhere else we had to go drop all of our purchases back at the ship!  After a quick refresher at the ship, we headed out to Pelourinho in the upper city. It was a beautiful little area with lots of old, colorful buildings lining the cobblestone streets. We spent a few hours there, shopping around and eating at a café on one of the side streets. I would love to go back there!
In the afternoon we went to Porta da Barra beach, an area in the more “hip” part of Salvador. We walked down the coastline and wound up at the famous lighthouse of Salvador. We spent a few hours sitting in the area surrounding the lighthouse, drinking our new favorite Brazilian soda, Guaranna, and observing the culture around us. This was one of my favorite parts of my whole time in Brazil. I felt like we got to see how real Brazilians live. There were teenagers Samba-ing in the parking lot, coconut milk stands by the beach, and tons of locals coming to watch the sunset. As we watched the sun set over the water, a local was playing his guitar behind us. It felt like a scene out of a movie!

Day 5:
We took a ferry to Itaparica Island, it was about a 45min. ferry ride. Once we got to the island, we went to the other side where the nicer beaches were. The water was calm and extremely clear. It was nice to finally be on a beach not filled with hundreds of people like the ones in Rio. We were able to actually leave our things on the beach while we got in the water. We got lunch at one of the many beachside restaurants and then headed back to the ship.

I really liked Brazil and would love to go back someday!

Ghana

Day 1:
My first day in Ghana was great! The port in Tema is about 45min from the main city, Accra. So Sally, Becca and I got a taxi to the city of Accra and got dropped off on the main street to go exploring and souvenir shopping!
We walked around for a while and then got lunch at the local fast food place, Papayes. After lunch we walked back down the other side of the street and found a few guys selling drums. I had thought about getting a drum as my souvenir from this stop, so we stopped and checked them out. I wound up buying one, but before I left Sally and Becca had maracas, and some more Ghanaians showed up and we all played our instruments together. We made friends and had so much fun!
Later, we grabbed a snack at the local grocery store and set outside to enjoy it. As we were finishing up we met some more locals around our age. We sat with them for awhile, played Mancala, and talked. They were security guards at a bank trying to make money to go to the university. They were very interested in America and what it had to offer.
 Then we went back to where we had been earlier in the day and wound up finding our instrument friends. We sat and talked to them again for awhile. One of the guys invited us to go to church and then to his house with him. I was excited about the opportunity, but we had several other locals tell us to be really careful with this guy, he was known for lying....so we decided it would probably be best not to go. We settled for dinner at Mama Mia's, a local pizza restaurant(my first time to have pizza since I have been gone!) and it was soo good!  Then we headed back to the ship for a much needed shower and some sleep.


Day 2:
We left Tema at 7:00a.m. drove about 5 hours north. Bumpy, unpaved roads for a good 2/3 of the drive! We hiked 45 min to the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen. It was huge! We went swimming and stood under it. It was quite refreshing and a much needed break from the 90degree weather. It was amazing to stand at the bottom of the waterfall and look up. There were hundreds of really colorful butterflies around the waterfall too! Some compared it to a scene in Avatar! Then we hiked back and got back on the bus for another 2 hour ride to a small village to see the Mona Monkeys. I fed a monkey a banana! We held them out and then the monkey would come up to it and actually peel the banana and then eat it! While the monkeys were cool, I loved being in the village. They way these people live is really eye-opening. Most kids only wore underwear and many were naked. The women and children had to go get water from far away and then they carried it back on their heads. They all live in little mud shacks with thatched roofs. I live like a KINGat home, I am so blessed!
We left there for another 3 hour ride back to the ship! While it was a lot of driving and riding, we got to see a lot and I had the chance to get to know some new friends from the ship better!


Day 3:
Sally, Becca, Tyler, and I went on the Habitat for Humanity service trip in Chebi. It was sooo hott! I would say it was somewhere close, if not hotter than 90 degrees. We started off with moving cement blocks and then moved onto hauling dirt back and forth from a huge pile to fill in the foundation for the house. We worked hard and it was probably the sweatiest/nastiest I have been on the entire trip. However, I don't regret going one bit! It felt good to give one of our many days in port to help others.
After lunch we were walking back to the sight to start working again and I saw an older lady at the water pump about to get some water. I asked her if I could try to do it and she let me fill up her bucket for her. Then she invited us into her house! She brought us in and sat us down, then proceeded to get a papaya, peel it, and serve it to us. We were a little nervous about eating it, but we knew we had to because she had been so hospitable. It was not very good, it was hot and mushy, but we managed to get a lot of it down. We thanked her, took pictures, talked for awhild and got her address. I hope to send her a picture of us in her house! Im so glad we got the opportunity to actually see one of the houses in use. There were about 80 habitat houses in this village, but the houses are much much different than the habitat ones we build at home. They are concrete with a few rooms and concrete floors, but very appropriate for the town they were in.
We worked a couple of hours longer, played with the local village kids and then headed back! We got to stop at a little town on the way back to pick up some drinks(we weren’t provided with any water all day!). I think we made this little town's day. We bought a ton of drinks and ice cream from them and they probably sold more in the 5 minutes we were there than they do in a whole week!
We got back to the ship, took the best feeling shower, grabbed some dinner, and then all of our friends stayed in and played games! We played sardines on the ship! It was awesome and so fun to be old-school!ha


Day 4:
We went on a visit to the Torgorme Village. We arrived and were greeted by close to 200 village members! After shaking hands with most of the elders of the village, we were seated and then participated in a naming ceremony. Each one of us was called up individually by the chief of the tribe and was given a traditional African name, a hand-made pot from the village with our American and African name on it, and a strand of African beads by the women of the village.  Your first name in the tribe is determined by what day you were born on and your second name is given to you by the tribe/village. I was born on a Tuesday so my first name was Abla and my second name was Kpexdasi, meaning precious stone.  While other people were being given their names I got to know some of the kids of the village. I had one little 2yr old in my lap the whole time and then I really got to know my friend Phillip. He is 15, loves to play football, and dreams of coming to the U.S. one day. He was so excited when I showed him my United States passport because it had the flag and the bald eagle on it. Then I showed him my driver’s license and he was amazed that I could drive! I also showed him American money and he thought it was so cool! He was so interested in anything having to do with the United States! But throughout our whole time together he was very concerned about how he would find me if he ever came to the U.S. So I gave him my phone number and address and told him he was always welcome at my house!  A little bit later, he showed me around the village. We saw the women forming the clay pots and learned this village is one of the main producers for the pots we have in the states. Then we observed a man making the famous Kente cloth of Ghana. It is a really colorful and beautiful fabric. I was able to get a piece made right there in the village. As we were leaving the village, Phillip made sure to ask when I would be home because he really wanted me to call him or write him a letter. I hope we can stay in touch and maybe one day he will make it to the U.S.
Later in the afternoon, we went to Shai Hills Game Reserve. It was really funny because here we were in a huge, lime green, 40-passenger coach in the middle of the plains of Africa on a hunt for game. We saw some antelope and a few baboons but that was about it. The bus finally parked and we hiked to the Obonu Te and Se Yo Caves. It was actually a beautiful hike and the cave was really neat. Except for the fact that it was filled with bats! While we were in the cave, two people had bats fly into their face and of course who would be one of the two but ME! It was absolutely disgusting; I screamed and was out of there!


Lots of students and faculty were ready to leave Ghana and some didn’t even get off the ship on the fourth day. However, I really enjoyed Ghana! It was not touristy and I felt like I was able to really “see” Africa! I found the African people and culture to be very intriguing. I would love to come back some day!

South Africa
Look out for the change of address card in the mail; I think the Walker family might be moving to South Africa. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I was so blessed to share the experience with my whole family!

DAY 1:
I had been awaiting  March 31st for quite some time and I could not have imagined it to be any better. We pulled into port with the most gorgeous view in the distance. The sun was rising over Table Mountain and slowly the stunning city and waterfront of Cape Town were coming into sight. I was soo excited we were finally there! I ran up to the top deck in eager anticipation of seeing my parents. I saw them headed towards the ship in the distance and I jumped and screamed and shed a few tears because I was so happy to see them in person. 2 ½ months is a long time! When they got closer we waved, yelled hello and took pictures of each other, but it was still another hour before I could actually go see them. So as soon as the ship was cleared you better believe I was off of there. I ran down the gangway, across the dock, and jumped into their arms! Finally being in their embrace was one of the best feelings!
We hung around the dock area for awhile and my parents were able to meet all of my friends as they came off the ship. Taylor and Tanner showed up a little while later and I was able to bring them all on the ship. It was cool to show them what my “ship life” looks like. I showed them my cute little cabin, where I eat, where I hang out, where I email them, where I go to class, and all the things they have heard me talk about in emails but could never really picture. After the tour of the ship they were all planning when they would take their voyage!
We left the ship and headed to the hotel to meet our driver. The first stop of the day was the township of Karaleshya, but what we passed on our way there was astonishing. Just minutes outside of the downtown area, there were miles and miles of bright colored, tin shacks. Lining both sides of the road, they went on for what seemed like forever. It was amazing how the disparity of wealth changed in such a short distance. Once in the township of Karaleshya, we went to a daycare and spent a few hours hanging out with the kids. Taylor and Tanner played football with all of the boys and mom and dad fell in love with each and every one of the children. They were absolutely adorable and beautiful!
After the township we stopped at the African Chick-fil-a, Nando’s for lunch. We enjoyed some “peri-peri” wedges and learned that in Africa, chips are fries and crisps are potato chips. Then we began our scenic tour around the coast. The views from all of the stops along the way were unbelievably beautiful with breathtaking views. Chapman’s Bay, Halk Bay, Simon’s Town, so many stunning places! 
Later that evening we met Lee and Tina Riedinger and Victoria(my roommate!) for dinner at The Africa Café. Lee and Tina are two professors from UT who have been like my second parents on this voyage. They always have their eye on me and its possible my dad might have hired them as his spy for me! It was fun for them to finally meet my family. The Africa Café served traditional African food and had live music by local Afrikaans. We all really enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the wonderful food!

DAY 2:
We left Cape Town early on a flight to Hoedspruit, where we landed on the longest runway in the southern hemisphere. Having the longest runway, you might think it would be a legitimate airport, but quite the opposite. We walked off the stairs of the plane, onto the runway, and then into the two-room airport. We were greeted by our safari guide and then shown to our ride to the lodge- a safari vehicle. The guide loaded up our luggage into the vehicle and we were off. It was like a safari just getting to our lodge! We stayed at the Kapama Lodge and Game Reserve. We were shown to our chalets and then met for high tea with the rest of the people staying at the lodge before our afternoon drive.  We piled into the vehicle and were off! We immediately saw a zebra and giraffe, my safari was complete the instance we saw a giraffe, but luckily we saw a lot more that afternoon too. We saw rhinos and probably one of the coolest animals of the whole safari, a male lion. Our vehicle was able to pull up fairly close to him and just after a few minutes of sitting there he began to roar. When he roared you could see it coming from his whole body. It was one of the most powerful sounds I have ever heard and even after we left the sight of the lion we could here it for miles away. Even though we saw impalas fairly often, it was one of our favorite animals because of the way the guide said “impaaala” in his South African accent! After a short snack stop on the reserve, we began the night safari. I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack because of the number of spider webs and HUGE spiders we passed and went under. However, being in fear was worth it because we were able to track down the three lion cubs of the pride. It was just a quick glimpse as they ran through the brush, but they were adorable. We finished our evening drive around 7:30 and then went back to the lodge for a wonderful dinner with our safari group and guide!

Day 3:
Tea and coffee were at 530am and by 600 we were out on the hunt again. Except for the rain, it was another successful drive. We saw the rhinos in plain sight, a herd of buffalo, baboons and monkeys, and elephants. We had quite the encounter with the mama elephant of the group as we turned the corner. We were head on with her as she flapped out her ears and made sure to let us know we were stepping on her territory by letting out a loud trumpeting sound! I wasn’t sure the lady in the front seat of the vehicle was alive after that encounter! We followed the elephants down to the watering hole and were able to see the whole herd in plain view. After our drive, we went back to the lodge for a wonderful breakfast and naps on the porch. I think we all enjoyed a day of relaxing! We went on another afternoon/night drive, but didn’t really see anything but a chameleon! We came back to the lodge for another great meal and then I got to share my pictures from all of the other ports with my mom and dad!

Day 4:
One more early morning drive before we left the reserve. Unfortunately we didn’t see a whole lot and it was rainy and cold, but I guess it was worth a try! We left the reserve in the late morning to go to the Krueger airport for our flight back to Cape Town. We arrived back in Cape Town around 4 and were in for a treat when we arrived at our hotel, Cape Grace. All 5 of us were surprised when the receptionist showed us to our apartment on the third floor that overlooked the harbor (and my ship in the distance!).  The apartment was beautifully decorated and the kind of customer service we received was unreal. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in our humble abode☺ and then later walked down to the waterfront for dinner. We shopped around for a little while after dinner and then my mom and I went back to the ship to gather some souvenirs I had gotten for the fam!

Day 5:
Our plan for the day had been to hike Table Mountain, but due to the high winds the mountain was closed. Although a little disappointed at first, our day wound up being better than any of us expected. We drove out to the Cape of Good Hope. The boys and I hiked up to the lighthouse and then all of us hiked down to the beach. The waves were bigger than any of us had ever seen before and they made thunderous sounds as they crashed into the rocks. We really enjoyed our time playing around on this beautiful beach until we tried to get back up. Talk about a hike! We all finally made it up and then continued on to the most southern tip of the continent of Africa. Every direction from this point had a fantastic view with miles and miles of coastline and ocean that went on forever. I don’t think words can adequately describe what we saw. If anyone is ever in Cape Town I would say it is a place you must visit! I think we would have stayed there all day if I didn’t have to get back to the ship. We took a family picture at the infamous Cape of Good Hope sign and then headed back into town.
My mom, dad and Tanner walked me to the ship, we said our goodbyes, and I was off again. Although I would be home in just a little over a month, it was hard to say goodbye again. I couldn’t believe something we had been looking forward to for sooo long was coming to an end. However, I could not have asked for a better week and I was extremely happy we got to share this South African experience as a family!

MAURITIUS

Day 1:
I went on a Semester at Sea trip to the Adventure Park with Sally, Becca and Cara and several other friends in the jungles of Mauritius! The park consisted of two courses. The first course was a series of suspension bridges and then the second course was different sets of hanging nets, balancing beams, and a zipline. We had a lot of fun but it was more of a workout than we were prepared for! After lunch we went to Flic-n-Flac beach to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. As we were leaving we got ice cream from the ice cream truck! But instead of a wrapped ice cream treat, it was soft serve in a waffle cone with chocolate syrup and nuts! Now that is the kind of ice cream truck I am talking about!
We got back to the ship, met up with our other friends and headed out to Blue Bay(about an hour away) to find our hotel! We made it to the hotel, but when the staff saw we had 14 people for 2 hotel rooms they were not very happy. We hung out on the beach for a while to avoid the situation. There were hardly any lights on the beach so the stars were gorgeous! It started to get a little chilly, so me and three of the girls decided to head in. We were able to sneak to our room with no problem, but the others didn’t have as much luck. 7 of the 14 wound up having to sleep on the beach!  However, I’m not sure our sleeping situation was too much better. The lights in the room didn’t work and we pushed two twin beds together for the four of us to sleep on, I guess at least we had a roof over our heads!

Day 2:
We met our catamaran around 9 at a dock near our hotel. A few more semester at sea kids showed up and 8 people from France joined us too! The adventure began with about a 3-hour cruise along the east side of Mauritius. We sang songs back and forth with the French and laid out on the trampolines on the front of the boat. The water was unbelievably clear and we could not have asked for better weather.  We stopped at a waterfall and then went snorkeling! As we snorkeled, the catamaran crew grilled out chicken and marlin for us. We got back on the boat and had a wonderful lunch with lots of local dishes and fresh pineapple! After lunch we sailed for another hour or so until we reached an island. It was a touristy island with a resort and restaurant and several little shops. If I ever have the chance to return to Mauritius, this is where I will come. I thought places like this only existed in movies and pictures! Tiki huts, luscious green mountains in the distance, turquoise water, island music, and sunshine, too good to be true! We wanted to stay a lot longer, but we had to be back to the original dock by 4 to ensure we would make it back to our ship in time and we were a long way out! A little side note- we have to be back on the ship in every port by 6p.m. If we are one minute late we get 3 hours of dock time in the next port. Which means we can’t get off the boat until 3 hours after they have cleared the ship. Our next port is Cape Town- where the family is coming to see me!!   So when we reboarded the catamaran it was already 230 and we started to feel the crunch. The crew was very accommodating and tried to make good time. As we got closer to the dock we all got dressed and were ready to go as soon as they let would let us off. They gave us the ok and we were gone! Luckily, we had arranged two vans to be waiting for us. My friends and I piled in one and we put the drunk people in the other, in hopes that if they got sick we wouldn’t have to stop for them. Well, our driver didn’t know where he was going so we had to follow the other van. Once we finally got on the road around 415, we were making good time and we thought we would make it back in time. But then we got stuck in traffic and our driver lost the other van. Then he decided he wasn’t really in a rush so he lit up a cigarette and started texting!! It was now just before 5. We knew we had to be getting close so we tried to be patient, until we saw us passing our ship! We got the driver to pull over at the port authority and we asked for directions on how to get back. They told us to turn around and go back one stoplight. So the driver pulled a u-turn and just as he was finishing a police officer comes up to the van and pulls him over.  It was now 5:15. However, as the officer was writing the ticket he started to count the number of people in the van. Well come to find out, we had just ridden across the island by an unlicensed driver! We grabbed the money we were going to pay him, hopped out of the van, and started to run. 11 Americans sprinting down the road in rush hour traffic trying to find a ship was a pretty funny sight! We saw a sign for a water taxi and had seen some pull up close to our ship the day before, so we went for it. All of us jumped on the little dinghy and were yelling for the driver to go, but he wouldn’t move until we paid him. So the whole wad of money intended for the van driver for the hour ride across the island went to this water taxi driver for a 5 min ride across the harbor. I don’t think the water taxi could have gone any slower and to make it worse, as the driver passed his other boating friends he would whistle and they would smile back recognizing the fact that he had totally ripped us all off! But at this point we didn’t care, we had to be inside that ship by 6 and it was 5:35. Of course the dock for the taxi would be on the complete opposite side of the ship. So we went all the way around our ship, jumped onto the dock, only to find a huge line to get into the ship. As we waited in line the van driver of the drunk bus, that actually made it to the ship, came up to us and demanded that we pay him because he said our other friends hadn’t paid. But we had no way of knowing for sure because the others had already made it on the ship. I didn’t believe him, but some of the others thought we should pay him. As they got their money out to pay, the wind blew and $10 blew into the ocean….just some icing on the cake!ha Once that ordeal was taken care of the line moved fairly fast and all of us made it through security and on the ship with 10 minutes to spare! You would have thought each of us had won the lottery as we walked through the gangway! However, I think I was most relieved knowing that I wasn’t going to have to explain to Tom and Kandee that although they had flown 21 hours to see me, I couldn’t get off the ship for 3 extra hours!  I really wish I could have videotaped that last hour and a half of events because now looking back, it was hilarious! I think I now know what it would feel like to be on the Amazing Race!

I think the best way to describe India is an attack of the senses. From the smells, to the people, to the beautiful and breathtaking sights, it was an incredible place like I have never experienced before.

Day 1:
My first encounter with the “Indian head nod” was trying to leave the ship. I showed the guard my passport and he nodded his head sideways like he was saying “no.” I took this as something was wrong. I tried to ask him about it, but he just kept moving his head from side to side. I finally got frustrated and walked away, but he didn’t stop me. Well come to find out in India this means “o.k.” or “yes.” All week I found myself confused by this gesture!

I spent most of the day at a mentally retarded home in the outskirts of Chennai. This institution housed 45 people ranging in ages from 3 to 65. I played cricket with the boys for the first hour or so and then I colored and drew with the older women for the last couple of hours.  Although there were several communication barriers, a smile and a hug went a long way. As we asked questions and learned more from the owners I was so glad we were able to provide them with some relief for a few hours. Most of the residents get up around 4a.m. every day because they sleep on straw mats on concrete floors and cannot sleep for very long. Then they feed them three meals a day and plan activities for them throughout the day every day. All of the residents are full-time and very few, maybe one or two, have family who come and visit.
The drive to the home and back was also eye-opening. We would see a shack, then a three story concrete home right next door with a car in the driveway. The unequal distribution of wealth was very apparent.
Later that evening I went to a welcome reception with students from the local university in Chennai. We were greeted with a red bindhi (a dot on the forehead between the eyes) and a beautiful lei. We got henna beginning at our fingertips up our arms(an Indian wedding tradition) and got to try on sarees. Later we meet some of the students and my friend Sally and I became friends with Roshni Ganesan, a 1st year female student in engineering. We were asking her lots of questions about the culture and weddings and she mentioned there was a wedding going on in the next building over and that we should go check it out. So once Roshni left, Sally and I went to see if we could at least look and observe the wedding. Well, the actual wedding part was over but we found the reception. We walked into the reception and we instantly became the honored guests. We had our picture made with the bride and the groom and then they invited us to dinner upstairs. Of course we went! While walking up the stairs we met one of the bride's friends who showed us to a seat and then explained the food to us. Then he proceeded to tell me I looked like an Indian and started asking what my plans were while I was in Chennai. I told him I was leaving in the morning and was heading to northern India. He said well I work tomorrow, but if you will stay until the weekend I can show you the city. I explained to him I couldn’t and just kinda laughed it off. We knew we didn’t have much time before we had to be back to catch the bus, so we tried some of the food and then told him we had to go. As we walked out we got presents from the wedding party and we checked to make sure our bus was there before we said goodbye. We saw a semester at sea bus and were relieved we hadn’t been left, so we decided to stay and talk to the friend a bit longer. This new "friend" became speechless and just stared at me. He said "I will never forget you, what is your address?" He then repeated that I looked Indian and that I was beautiful. I seriously thought he was going to propose to me right there. I gave him my email address and he said he would email me tomorrow! We shook hands and said goodbye and he waved to Sally. So Sally and I walked away cracking up about what had just happened, but only to find that the bus we had seen was not our bus! We had been left. Luckily, a man who spoke English and knew we were from Semester at Sea stopped us and asked us what we were doing. We told him we thought that was our bus but he said ours had just left!. He called someone and Sally and I got a private bus ride back to the port. I don’t know if our tour didn’t take role or no one really missed us, but somehow we didn’t get in trouble.
I received an email the next day from Hariharman Ramakrishnan asking me to keep in touch. I have not responded….

Day 2:
We left the ship around 3:30a.m. for our flight to Varanasi. We arrived in Varanasi, the longest inhabited city in the world, and as we stepped out of the plane I felt like I had gone back 50 years in time- dirt roads, old cars, and very little development. Our first stop was a Buddhist temple and then the sight of Buddha’s first sermon. Later we all loaded up on rickshaws to ride down to the Ganges River. Graham and I were on ours and we concluded they were not made for American-sized people! It was a crazy ride with motorbikes, cars, bicycles, tuk tuks, and people everywhere! I have never heard so many horns in all my life. I don’t know how we made it to the river alive! On the riverbanks a traditional Hindu ceremony was taking place honoring those who had died that day. There were thousands of people watching as 6 Hindu leaders performed a dance and candlelight ceremony to music. People were also observing from boats on the river. It was a beautiful sight as there was a floating candle arrangement lit and put into the water to honor each person that had passed away that day. We were able to spend about an hour on the steps of the bank and it was amazing to observe and watch the people around us. Their culture is so vastly different from ours that every way I turned I was surprised by what I saw. Once the ceremony ended we wandered the streets in search of our rickshaw and finally found ours down a dark alley. The one time my phone worked in India was when we were on the rickshaw ride back to the bus. My dad called and it was a very funny conversation because we would be talking and then all of a sudden I would scream and then I wouldn’t talk for a few seconds. All he could hear was horns and my scream- I think half of our conversation was him asking me if I was ok!  We finally made it back safely to the bus and then to the hotel where we had a late dinner and then hit the sack.

Day 3:
We left the hotel at 4:30a.m. to return to the Ganges River for sunrise. But this time we witnessed the ceremonies from a boat on the river. Indians come to the river every morning to bathe in the “holy water” and worship the sun god. It was an absolutely beautiful scene. The sun was rising on the east side of the river and on the west side of the river there were gorgeous old buildings lining the whole side. The way the sun shined on the buildings and the Indian people was stunning. While on the boat, we passed an actual cremation sight. The bodies would come in on bamboo ladders and then were burned right there on the banks and then the ashes were dumped into the river. Many Hindus travel to Varanasi to die because it is believed that if you die there you will immediately go to Heaven. That is the reason for so much concentration and attention paid to death in this city.  After our boat ride we explored the back streets of Varanasi. Winding through alleys and dodging cows and motorbikes gave us a first hand look into what life was really like there.
Later in the morning we flew to New Delhi. We didn’t get to see much there because our plane was delayed, but we did do a driving tour through the parliamentary district. We saw the United States consulate and several other major buildings of the Indian government. Even with just the little time we had to see Delhi, I noticed a drastic change from Varanasi. There were paved roads, manicured lawns, and a lot more development, but even with all of this modernity, the poverty was still visible.

Day 4:
Another early morning….We went to the train station in Delhi around 6:30 and caught a train to Agra. It was a two hour ride through rural India with more interesting sights to see. Our first stop in Agra was the prince’s palace and then we went to Agra Fort. Agra Fort was the final resting place of the King who built the Taj Mahal. It was huge and beautiful with views of the Taj in the distance. While at the fort we were stopped by many Indians asking to have their picture made with us. At first it seemed strange, but the more it happened it made me realize I do the same thing. I take pictures of them in their traditional clothing and they just want to do the same in return. It took forever to actually leave the palace because of all the photo shoots, but at last we headed toward the much-awaited Taj Mahal. Once we finally made it inside the gate and had the first glimpse of it, my jaw dropped. I have never seen a more beautiful building. I had expectations for it, but they were far exceeded. It was gorgeous and the detail was exquisite. Every part was completely thought out. For example, the four towers on the corners are each tilted one-degree outward so that if something ever happened they would not collapse inward, but rather outward and away from the tomb. We had to wait awhile to actually get inside, but the wait was not bad because the line wrapped around the building and we were able to admire the whole structure. As we were walking away from the Taj Mahal and back towards the entrance, I found myself turning around and staring in awe. I would have really enjoyed another hour there to sit on a bench and just take it all in. But we had a train to catch! We had to get back to Delhi that night for our early flight the next morning, As we waited for our train in Agra, I saw some rough things. I had done pretty well all week controlling my emotions when I saw some of these situations, but I finally broke down that night. While we were waiting for our train a young boy, who couldn’t walk because of a deformed leg, crawled up to us and started grabbing at our legs asking for money. When we didn’t give him anything he started to make conversation with us.  Well, while he was talking to us another boy came up to him and started to yell at him for something. I guess he had done something to make him mad because the boy who was yelling pulled out a broken glass bottle with jagged edges and began to hit the disabled boy with it. I couldn’t stand to watch what was happening and I had to walk away. It struck my heart and I started to cry. All I wanted to do was take them home with me and give them a better life. This incident and a few others that night in the train station really made me struggle with the question of why and how was I so fortunate to be born into the blessed life that I have.

Day 5:
We spent a good part of the day traveling from Delhi to Cochin and arrived back at the ship around 4:30. As soon as I got on the ship I found Sally and Becca who were about to head out to explore Cochin. Although I was exhausted from the week, I decided I could sleep when I wasn’t in India, so I set down my bags and headed back out again. We grabbed a taxi and tried to find a market for some souvenirs. But we ran into the same tourist trap most people had encountered all week. Every Indian seemed to have a “friend” in the business. For example, even though we didn’t want nice rugs we were made to stop and get out of the taxi to check out his “friend’s” rug store. After we finally made it to the kind of shop we wanted to go to, we were made to tell our taxi driver how much we had spent so that his “friend” could give him a cut. As frustrating as the situation was, we had to be careful because he was our only form of transportation. It was beginning to get dark and we were not about to be stuck in the middle of Cochin! Luckily, we made it back to the ship safely and called it an early night after a long week of travels.

Day 6:
One more day to see India! Sally, Becca, and I caught the ferry from our wharf and took a $0.01 (yes, one cent) ride to Ernakulum across the harbor.  We really had no plan for the day except to shop and enjoy a day without having to be somewhere at a certain time. That is exactly what we did! We wandered the streets and markets and found several great souvenirs. We had lunch at a nice hotel and then enjoyed ice cream at Baskin Robbins! I think one of the best parts about our day was that even though we weren’t too far from the ship, we didn’t see one Semester at Sea person or tourist except for when we went to the hotel. Usually we see at least one if not several fellow shipmates, but it was really cool to feel like we were discovering the city on our own. We went back to the ship early afternoon and like usual, wrote postcards and shared pictures and stories with each other!


Six days in India was not enough. Out of the 5 countries I have been to so far, it is the one I most definitely want to return to. I want to learn more about the people and about their culture. I found it to be a truly amazing and intriguing country.

As I ate dinner and then showered off the dirt, put on clean clothes, and laid down in my warm bed, I could not help but think about those women sleeping on the cold concrete floor in the train station, the men selling beads for money for their family and the hungry children begging for food I had encountered throughout the week. I know for a fact none of them went home that night to any of the simple things I take for granite each and every day. I am so fortunate and blessed to have all that I do and I hope when I look back on this week in India I don’t just remember the Taj Mahal or beautiful sights at the Ganges River, but I hope I remember the people and the impression they left on me.

Well I’m officially headed home. Right before India, I was as far away as possible from Tennessee- completely on the other side of the world. But we have now begun the journey around the other half!

Tonight we set our clocks back 30 minutes. There is a random 30 minute time zone change for India because Pakistan and India hate each other so much, they don’t even want to be in the same time zone!

I will start with today and work backwards!

I arrive in Chennai, India tomorrow morning! I think India is one of the ports I am most excited about because the more I learn about the country, the more I realize what kind of culture shock I am going to face. Over 1.2 billion people live in India and 76% of their population lives on less than $2 a day.  Tomorrow I will spend the day on a service project at a disabled home housing people from age 3 to 50. Then later in the evening I am going to attend a welcome reception at a local Indian university. Friday morning I will head out at 3:15a.m. for my trip to the Taj Mahal and Varanasi!  These next few days are packed full, but I am sooo excited to explore and experience India!

This morning as my friends and I were sitting at breakfast we noticed a small boat in the distance out the window. This size boat was very unusual for how far out we were.  But what else was unusual was that it kept coming closer to us. As it continued to get closer, we noticed it had black flags flying and three men waving. The men looked like they were waving for help or they were in distress because they never stopped waving.  Before they could get too close, our boat sped up and we lost them in our wake. Of course there was talk it was pirates, but later it was confirmed by the crew that that is most likely what they were. However, our captain didn’t take the time to find out for sure, he played it safe and we got out of there. Pirates have been a subject of conversation throughout the voyage, especially in the last week because we passed through the straights of Mallaca with armed escorts, but seeing that boat today was a scary reality.

Three days ago we had the Sea Olympics. It was by far the best day on the ship yet! The day began with games such as “Sea Fued,” Asian Scramble, and hula hoop. Later I participated in the Pirates Pull(tug-of-war) and Nail the Sailor(dodge ball) for my Sea. Other events included synchronized swimming, limbo, trivia, a relay race, and crab soccer. We had no classes and everyone was outside all day enjoying the weather and fun! But the best surprise of the day was our BBQ on the 7th deck. They grilled out burgers and ribs and had a spread of other food for us while we watched the sun set and listened to music. I am seriously so blessed to be where I am. I cannot believe I am getting the chance to have this experience! Going back to regular school is going to be rough!