Hawaii was the best place I can think of to end our trip. It was such an awesome ease back into American life. My sea has lost every competition on the ship so we were the last ones to get off, as we will be the last sea to get off the ship in San Diego. I was so happy to have my cell phone again I talked the battery dead before the middle of the day. My friend Jessie and I rented mope heads and cruised around the Island of Oahu all day. It was so beautiful and relaxing. We would randomly stop in parks to just lay in the grass and reflect on the trip as a whole. It was the only moment I missed my long hair since it wasn’t flapping in the wind haha. Hawaii is like South Florida except way nicer and more relaxed. It smells so wonderful. I thought that going to Honolulu would be hokey and really touristy. But it really wasn’t that bad. Jessie and I had such a nice time in the 14 hours that we were there. We grabbed burgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise and sat on the beach and ate them then headed towards Diamond Head. We drove around the neighborhoods checking out all the cool houses and different coastlines. The weather was really nice; it sprinkled at times and became almost chilly at night. Jessie and returned out mope heads and headed to the beach to watch the sunset. It was so beautiful right on the coastline behind a mountain. After the sun had gone down we got ready to leave and I realized that someone had stolen my shoes. What are the odds that I get “robbed” for a third time on this trip? This time though I just had to laugh though. We went to a store and I picked up a new pair and we headed to this mini luau type thing at a hotel. We had some calamari and started cruising around the beach area. We walked into this market place and all of the sudden I panicked about not knowing what time it was. We had to be back on the ship by 10 and when we looked at the time it was 9:45. We were fore sure going to be late. We sprinted to find a cab and headed back to the ship. We got the coolest driver that sped through traffic to try and get us there in time but we were 3 minutes late and ended up getting in serious trouble for it. As our punishment we are not allowed to attend any of the pub nights or themed events, 5-6 hours of community service and on the last day we have to run luggage and be the last students to get off the ship. The last part isn’t that bad since my sea was scheduled to get off last anyways, but not being able to hang out with my friends on the last few days it a bit extreme. What sucks even more is that even though we were 3 minutes late we were given the same punishment as people who came on the ship drunk and 30 minutes late. We are not allowed to appeal the sanctions since they warned us about it. So that sucks….Its going to be a terrible birthday.
Anyways, my production went really well. Everyone loved it and it was a sold out show both nights. This last week was LGBT week and it concluded with a ship wide drag show which was….umm interesting to say the least. The funny thing was that more heterosexual people participated than gays. Even children got involved. There are more politically and socially active people on the ship than I have ever met in my life. There is always some group meeting to change something in the world. I felt guilty in the beginning for not being wanting to participate in anything like that but then I realized that just wasn’t my calling. Yeah it would be nice to go help out an orphanage in India some day but its not what I am supposed to be doing right now. A lot of the people on the ship judge other people because they feel the same way. Apparently Flagler is going through something similar. I guess they were protests and demonstrations about something to do with freedom of speech across the campus. It will be interesting to see what really happened when I get back.
So now that the trip is really starting to wind down I guess I should end my blog with some closing thoughts since I’ll be home and everyone can just call me to ask how my day was.
This trip was amazing. It was hard. It was fun. It was exhausting. It was absolutely life changing. I have a lot of mixed feelings about everything. I can’t quite stick with one feeling. There is so much to process that I don’t know where to start. I understand that when I get home people are going to ask me how my trip was and I will have their attention for as long as I can say the word amazing then they will stop listening. I am going to apologize in advance to everyone because the only thing I am really going to be able to say about myself is something SAS related because its all I know. I don’t know what movies are out, styles, tv shows, news, celebrity crap, what’s really going on with my friends and family…None of that. Everyone is going to have to fill me in and be patient while I reenter everyone else’s lives. I am really excited though. I miss everyone…a lot, especially St. Augustine. Hawaii really made me realize how fortunate I am to live in such a cool town and in such an amazing area. I miss the beach SO much and everyone that lives there. I am having a hard time realizing though that I won’t be on the ship much longer. There is a lot of activities I wish I would have participated in that I kept putting off for the next time around and people I wish I would have gotten to know better. I am finally really connecting with people on the ship and now know whom I will keep in touch with when I get home. I can’t wait to visit some of them and have them come visit me. I have learned so much from the people on the ship. I suppose it’s a low blow for the teachers but I have learned more on the ship from my peers and people at port than I have my classes. There is such a big difference in classroom learning and actually experiencing something. I never understood what exactly apartheid was until I went to South Africa or the real meaning of communism until I went to China. Its lessons such as those that really make an impact in my life. Everything I have been learning all my life about international affairs is now in a perspective that I can actually relate too and understand. Everyone complains about how expensive the trip was but now that its all done with I realize that the money isn’t even an issue. The experiences I had (sleeping in an internet café, shooting an M16, going to carnival, the mother Theresa orphanage in India, the Great Wall, the countless brushes with death in Vietnam, getting robbed in Mauritius and many, many more) are absolutely priceless. I can’t thank my parents enough for giving me the opportunity and to all my friends for their support on this trip. I couldn’t of done it without everyone’s help. Its been a long emotional couple months and I look forward to starting over back in The United States of America, a country I will always call home.

WHHAAATTTAAARR!

Wooo! Japan! Last port…Its so bitter sweet.
We had a diplomatic briefing for the first time since South Africa. It was kinda boring but now I know what the American Consulate does in Japan. After that we had the coolest Japanese drum ceremony. It was awesome! There were three women drummers that tore it up. Our ship docked at a train station so it was really easy to get to the middle of town. Kobe was a really cool city from a first glance. After the ship was cleared a bunch of my friends and I set out on the train to find an ATM but that ended up being much harder than expected. The train was so clean I couldn’t believe it. We got out to the middle of the city and I felt like Mary Tyler Moore I just wish I had a hat. It was so beautiful outside and the city was incredible. Japanese culture is so orderly and beautiful. All the people are dressed to the nines at all time and are so mannerly. Jaywalking was absolutely out of the question and most people don’t talk on the trains. It’s a really peaceful place. Almost all the bathrooms where these crazy robot toilettes with heated seats and many other functions that I was afraid to use because the instructions were in Japanese and I didn’t want any surprises. Anyways, my friends and I cruised around town and checked out everything. There were malls intertwined with everything. It was similar to Malaysia except everything was way more expensive. That night we went to get genuine Kobe Beef steak for dinner. Apparently if you are a cow you want to be a Kobe cow. The get massages everyday and allegedly never touch the ground. My friend’s dad sent him a bunch of cash for his birthday to take his friends out so he paid for my $56 steak dinner that was AMAZING Ohhhhhh My Gosh. It was seriously the best meat I’ve ever had. I’m not even a big meat eater and I would eat that everyday. After that we headed to this place called Amusement World, which was an 11-story arcade, bowling alley and Karaoke room. We bowled a game and rented a private karaoke room and sang all night. It was SO much fun, there was probably 12 of us. After that we headed back to the ship just late enough to miss the last train so we had to catch a cab. The cabs are so nice. The doors open up automatically and all the drivers are dressed in suits with hats. I felt like royalty. They were much more expensive than any of the cabs in any other port though which pretty much was the case for the whole country.
The next morning a group of my friends and I headed out to a historical city called Kyoto. It was a cute little city with lots of temples. The temples were beautiful. There were monks sweeping rocks and hand scrubbing the floors. After that my friend Jayme and I broke off from the group and went to dinner and to shop around for a bit then met back up with our friends at a British Pub. We ended up meeting a man that had participated in SAS back in 95 and had been living in Japan ever since. Some logistical problems arose when we left and my friend Jayme and I ended up not having a place to stay for the night. We had missed the last train back to Kobe and all the hotels were booked so haha…ummm We stayed at an internet café. In Japan the Internet cafes are so nice. You can rent a mini living room with two computers, a TV, PS2 and free showers, drinks, tanning bed, free bedrooms slippers and blankets and toilettes that wash and dry you while playing a rushing water noise so no one could hear what was going on in the bathroom. It was SO cool. We caught the earliest train we could back to Kobe the next morning. It was kinda cool to be in the middle of rush hour on the trains. Even though they are packed everyone is kind, courteous and quiet. We made it back to the ship and I took a nap before heading back out into town. A couple of my friends and I headed up to the mountains to go to a hot spring. We went to the cutest little town that looked like it was something out of a tiny European country. The bath was SUPER hot but it was really relaxing. After that my friends wanted to get Kobe Beef but I didn’t want to spend the money so I shopped around for a while and came back and their chef was still cooking the meal. He cooked each individual piece of garlic and each strand of green beans separately. It was almost painful to watch because it was so meticulous. After 2 hours the food was finally done. Everyone got their bills and about had a heart attack. Two girls shared a meal and it was $360. I was so glad I decided not to eat. ( I went to the bakery down the street instead and loaded up) After that we went to a karaoke bar again but this time the people I was with got way too intoxicated and just after I warned them not to dance around the table they knocked an entire table with about 12 full drinks on top all over me. I was soaked all the way down to my bra and socks. I was ENFURIATED because I don’t have ANY patience for belligerently drunk people and didn’t think it was funny at all. I immediately stormed out and headed back for the train station. The ship has instituted a new Breathalyzer rule that if they suspect you are drunk they will make you use it. I smelled like I had been bathing in a Jack Daniels distillery and was so scared that I was going to get in trouble. Luckily though I think they saw how soaked I was and understood. I took a shower and went to bed so I could get up early the next morning for Hiroshima.
I couldn’t let myself not go to Hiroshima even though it was a really expensive train ticket. I heard that it was the most touching city to go to so I shelled out the money and went with some of my girlfriends. We took the bullet train which was pretty cool. It was so roomy and clean. We got there in about 2 hours and it was almost 300 kilometers away. We got lost on the way to the Hiroshima Peace Park but stumbled upon this amazing Indian restaurant. It was some of the best Indian food I had ever had. I am craving again now that I am thinking about it. Indian food is probably my favorite now and I’m thinking that’s what I want to eat for my birthday dinner…just as a side comment. Anyways after we ate we finally made it to the peace park and as soon as it was in my view I immediately got chills. It was such an eerie feeling. I can’t really explain it but it was like the hair standing up on your neck feeling crazy vibes sorta thing. The park was beautiful and had a building that somehow wasn’t leveled from the bomb renovated to help it stand as a reminder of the destruction. As I walked around the building I came across a very old couple that looked like they were praying towards the building. It was so touching and heartbreaking. I don’t know if they were victims or had just lost family but it was so sad to see that. They could barely walk yet they were still going to pay their respects. We saw the Children’s Memorial Peace Park, which was really pretty. People from all over the world fold paper cranes to symbolize the children that died. A girl that died from radiation to fold 1000 cranes to symbolize peace started a trend. The dependent children on the ship did as well and we found them amongst the thousands of paper cranes hanging. We knew it was theirs because there was a class schedule folded into a crane haha. After that we saw the eternal flame and the monument that holds the official record of the 300,000 victims. Then we headed to the Peace Memorial Museum. It was SO big. It had a lot of really interesting facts about Japan and the wars prior to WWII. It also gave a lot of information about their plea for peace. There was an exhibit on all the many letters the mayor of Hiroshima had sent to countries asking them to disarm their weapons of mass destruction. I was very shocked at how pro peace the museum was. It wasn’t necessarily “look what the U.S. did to us” type museum but more a plea for peace and to show the effects of nuclear war. I learned a lot about the bomb that I had never been told in school. I saw some horrific photos and statistics and read stories that made me nauseated and tear up. Photos of peoples skin hanging off and their bodies charred. Survivors drew pictures to depict what happened and they all looked like pictures that describe hell. 300,000 people died, some instantly, many in absolute agony. I have never seen such depictions of human suffering as I did in that museum. I feel kind of haunted by the images and stories I read. I am so embarrassed now that I am part of a culture that did such a thing. The really amazing thing about it though is that the Japanese don’t hold a grudge at all. They are the most peaceful people I’ve ever been around. Vietnam was similar. They were able to forgive and move on. Why can’t our country do that? South Africa ended apartied with out a war and now although there are many inequalities still they are living in peace. Anyways, after that we walked around and ate dinner than headed back to the train station. This train was much faster than the previous bullet train. This one went 285 k when I saw the sign and we made it back in just over an hour. We almost missed our stop because we couldn’t believe that we were back so early. I decided not to go out even though it was the last night of the trip to go out, I was tired and emotional from the day.
The next morning I woke up absolutely exhausted like I didn’t sleep at all. I had made plans to go to Osaka but I was too tired and slept in. I cruised around Kobe all afternoon by myself and had such a relaxing day. I sat at a café for a while and wrote almost 10 pages in my journal trying to catch up on China and Japan. My journal is 8 pages away from being full and I am so mad that I might have to start another one before the trip is over. I really like journaling now. I feel a lot better after I have written out my feelings. I don’t like to read it over though. I’ll always keep it in hopes that my kids will take this trip and I will give it to them and let them read it.
I ate dinner on the ship and wrote some more. I was actually awake to watch the ship leave this time, which was very unusual for me. When we pulled away from the dock I realized that I am going home. It’s so crazy to think about this trip coming to an end. I have very mixed feelings about it. Living on a ship and traveling has become my life and its about to do a complete 180 again and go back to “normal” I am excited and happy about going home but at the same time I keep thinking about the “what ifs” What if I had gone to some different sights, what if I didn’t’ sleep so much, did I really use my time on this trip wisely to get the most out of it that I can? I am trying hard not to think that way so I don’t’ get mad at myself but its hard. Processing everything is really difficult. I don’t know what to think about first (if that makes any sense) I have so much running through my mind. I am in a fantastic mood though which is good, probably the best mood I’ve been in a long time and It hit me as we left Kobe so I guess my mind and body are telling me that I am ready to come home. Mom, Dad, and Bryan…. I’ll see you in 14 days. Everyone else, I don’t know haha I have been kept in the dark about the flight plan for getting back home. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my blog. I will probably post one more entry after Hawaii. I counted it up and my online blog is 24 single spaced pages and almost 18,000 words. Its like a mini novel! That’s probably more than I have written in the past 3 years and that’s not including my written journal which is almost an entire notebook. I didn’t think I had it in me haha. Hopefully by doing all this documenting I will be able to relive my trip all over again when I am really old and so I don’t have to try and tell people about my trip over and over, I’ll just print it out and hand it to them haha.
Ship life is a little bit busier than normal. We had a crew talent show last night and it was awesome! There were so many cute little Philippine men that work in the bowls of the ship that I’ve never seen before dancing like they were in some rap music video. We are also having silent auctions, live auctions, and garage sales. My play opens up in two days and we have yet to do a full run through so that’s a little stressful. The ambassadors ball is on the 4th and I am really excited. These next couple weeks are probably going to be the craziest of the whole time at sea because we have two 8 day stints….Cabin Fever anyone? Everyday right after a port I pull a sleep marathon, yesterday I managed an 18 hour one, Brittany you would be so proud of me. I am really ready for my classes to be over with though, some of them are getting really annoying. My communications class professor is a joke and doesn’t even show up to class or teach for that matter because she hasn’t graded our mid terms yet so we haven’ had any work to turn in. I have a feeling she won’t be hired again. I am sorry I haven’t called anyone since Malaysia, the time difference is so big that its really hard to coordinate it right. I promise that I will be in touch when I get to Hawaii. Love all of you!

Hong Kong was exactly what I though it was going to be like. There were huge modern buildings and lots of skyscrapers. There would be six or seven buildings that were exactly the same next to each other. It was really pretty with lots of mountains in the background. Unfortunately it was a very overcast and rainy day and but it wasn’t cold at all. Our ship docked literally in the middle of a super ritzy mall. We had to walk through the mall to get outside. A bunch of my friends and I headed to an internet café as soon as we arrived. After that we split up and headed to find a place to each lunch. We had to take a ferry to Hong Kong Island from Kwaloon where our ship was. I had no idea that the whole city was a bunch of different islands. My friends and I found a place to eat off the side streets. It was lunch hour so even the street vendors had a long line. We found a place that didn’t have a line but quickly realized that it probably wasn’t that good but we were hungry so we took the gamble. It ended up being really good and we left there to browse around the city. I came across this really cheap trendy store and started looking for gifts for some of the girls. I asked to try on some things but they told me no. I was kinda taken aback by that but kept looking anyways. I had some leggings on so I though I would just try some things on in the middle of the store but before I could get a leg in, I was bombarded by a worker who started yelling at me saying I couldn’t try anything on. Luckily I wasn’t kicked out of the store and took a gamble and bought the clothes. If they don’t fit you guys, at least I tried. We left there and headed to what we though was the “World’s Largest Aquarium” We were very deceived when we got there. It was this huge theme park that was fairly expensive to get into. We paid to get in a hopped in a cable car hoping to see this huge building but when we finally did see it, it was not very big at all. It was still cool to see but certainly not even comparable to the Florida Aquarium. We got to see a lot of the island from the cable car though, which was really cool. Unfortunately the Panda Exhibit was under renovation so we couldn’t see that. We left there and headed back to the ship to get ready for dinner but got distracted by a silk market and ended up hanging out there for while. I found the coolest gift for you there! I TOTALLY had your name on it. All the guys that had suits made in Vietnam wore them out and all the girls dressed up and we headed out to dinner. We found this really cool restaurant where the headwaiter spoke really good English. He ordered for us since all Asian food comes out family style. It was all really good. He challenged us to a tea-pouring contest for free dessert or having to wash the dishes. We had to traditionally pour tea into tiny little cups without spilling it. Three of us had to do it perfect to win. Thank God for that because I butchered it. He gave my friends that did it perfect a really nice tea set and I got some really good loose tea. He also gave us free postcards and took pictures with us. It was so cool to have such hospitality. We left there and headed out to the bars and clubs area only to find the entire street full of SASrs…. I don’t know how it is that we always all end up at the same places but its sometimes annoying because it’s hard to meet locals when you take over the whole place. I ended meeting three people from Australia, Canada and England and we talked for a while. Than crap hit the fan and some of the guys started fighting. It was so embarrassing, glasses were being broken and beer being thrown. I finally found my group and insisted that we leave before anything else happened. I jumped in a cab and then one of the guys that we with us was being taunted by some British guys through the cab and then all of the sudden he launches out of the cab and starts beating the crap out of the other guys and another all out brawl started. All the guys that were around jumped in too. I told the cab driver to just go even though the girls inside were screaming stop but there was really no reason for me to stay and watch that. I was so disgusted with the whole situation I didn’t care if my friends got arrested or not. I got back to the ship and went to bed.
The next day I wasn’t feeling well so I laid around most of the morning and just packed for my trip. Amy and I went out and got McDonalds as disgusting as it sounds, but we were craving fries so bad that we absolutely had to. We looked around at some shops and headed back to leave for our trip. Amy, Raisa, Lindsey, Tim and I planned a trip to X’ian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors and then to Beijing to see the great wall and Tien’anmen Square. Our train to the airport was delayed so we missed our flight to X’ian and had to spend the night in the airport. It was defiantly not the type of airport that catered to people that missed their flights. I was so exhausted though that I just passed out. I woke up with a bunch of mosquito bites though. Unfortunately, coffee is exported into China so its REALLY expensive so that was a bummer. We made it X’ian and went looking for a cab to take us to our hostel that we were supposed to take us to the night before. This woman talked everyone else in the group to using her cab even though she walked us down to the parking garage and made us wait, then took us back up to the ground level than back down to the parking garage. I was pissed because I couldn’t understand why my friends thought that this was a good situation. The guy finally showed up with a car that didn’t have enough seats for us and used a meter that was hidden in the glove box. In a situation with 4 against me we took this super shady cab to the Terra Cotta Warriors, which ended up being a considerable distance away. They took us there because apparently it was closer to go there first than to go to the hostel. We got there finally and hired a tour guide and checked out the premises. I expected it to be very rustic looking since they were still excavating the site but it was beautiful and kept nicely. I guess X’ian is close to the desert because it was SO dusty and dry. We looked around at the warriors and took lots of pictures than left to go to X’ian to catch out train for Beijing since it was too late to go to our hostel now and shower. We had dinner at the dirtiest restaurant I have ever been too but the food was pretty good. We headed to an internet café to pass the time till our train came. The train area was so packed. There were people sleeping on the streets waiting for their train, many of them seemed to have all of there earthly possessions with them. I got a little nervous when I saw that because out train ride was going to be 11 hours. Luckily Tim got us tickets for the Soft Sleeper cabins. We got on the train and Raisa and I shared a four person room with a old Chinese couple that didn’t speak any English they just laughed at us trying to get up on to the super tall bunk beds. The rooms were really nice and we had down comforters. There were little tv’s at the foot of our beds and headphones to go with it. I wiped down and washed my hair in the sink and there was mud water running out of my hair from all the dust. I read some of my book and fell asleep around 9. I slept the whole night surprisingly and woke up when we were arriving in Beijing. It took us a long time to find our hostel because of the extreme language barrier. I had dealt with a written barrier before in India but it wasn’t near as bad as in China. Most of the cab drivers didn’t read or speak English so if we wanted to go somewhere we had to have it written down in Chinese. We finally found our hostel and it was beautiful! It was called the Red Lantern and was so cool inside. It had little ponds with koi fishes and lots of decorations and plants. It had the best full service café too. We settled down for a minute than headed to Tienamin Square. It is the largest public square ever built and that was actually true. It was so big! We had watched documentary on what happened there during the student riots and the massacre that followed right before we got there in Global studies so it was kinda eerie to actually see the sight. We took a lot of pictures and went to the Forbidden City. Its kinda like the Chinese version of the Louver minus the artwork. It had 5000 rooms in it. Amy, Raisa and I decided that we didn’t want to spend the money to go in because it was rather expensive so we waited in the huge courtyard area. We went and had tea and snacks than sat against the huge wall and read our books although we were constantly interrupted by groups of people asking to take pictures with us. It was really funny because they didn’t speak any English and would hand the camera like they wanted us to take a picture of them and then when we would say yes, hand it to a friend and then sit between us and put their arms around us to take a picture. Girls, guys, young and old did this many times. We decided next time we were going to be sitting somewhere we would have a sign that charged people for pictures. After that we shopped around for a while. Raisa and Lindsey found a little market that they wanted to stay at and Tim Amy and I wanted to shower and go out so we left them but it took us an hour and a half to get back to our hostel. We tried to take a cab but ended up just taking a bus. We ate at this restaurant that a dancing pig neon light sign, I was skeptical because China so far was the worst place for people who don’t eat pork. We ordered and ended up doing a good job because the food was really good. According to Chinese manners (which are about the only manners they display I thought) where that you order a couple dishes for the whole table to eat and it’s unheard of for people to order one dish for themselves. We did it every time and got similar responses each time wondering why we weren’t ordering vegetables and why so many dishes. The only thing I really didn’t like about real Chinese food is the fact that there are so many bones in everything. Tim ordered Peking Duck and Amy and I decided that we wouldn’t be able to eat our meal starting at his huge duck so we asked the waiter to bring it without the head. He laughed and did so. After that we finally went back to the hostel and showered and changed. Some of our friends were staying there as well so we sat in the cool little courtyard area and talked. We were going to go check out the nightlife but I realized I didn’t have anything to wear and most of the people dressed up on a daily basis I couldn’t imagine what they must where for the clubs. So we stayed back and talked to the people and I went to bed early. I felt bad about not going out and seeing more of the city but I was just so tired that I wasn’t much company as it was.
The next day we had arranged for a driver to pick us up and take us to the great wall. We kinda got scammed because they were commissioned by this huge jade factory to take us there first. The translator told us that we could leave whenever we wanted too but that was a lie. We went through this really short tour on how they carved the jade and finished it than let us go into this huge gallery and shop full of beautiful things that we obviously couldn’t afford. We told our guide we wanted to leave and she stalled us for like 30 minutes so clearly we had a time limit that we had to make us stay there a certain amount of minutes for them to get their money. We finally made it to the part of the Great Wall that we wanted to, called Matinyu. It had this super long bobsled/luge slide thing that we could take down to get off the wall once we got there. We got up to the wall and started hiking. It was SO steep in some places and the steps looked never ending. You had to look up too see what was a head of you because if you looked forward it was just steps. We hiked it a long ways till we got to the end of that section for tourists. There were other people further so we decided to go further. It was a section that hadn’t been refurbished so it was all crumbling and over grown. The scenery was so beautiful that we sat down and spent a while there taking lots of pictures. Then we started the hike back. The slide was SO much fun. We got yelled at by every guard for going to fast, I hit a bump and caught air. I was so glad I didn’t’ crash. We made it down the bottom and bought some of the biggest apples and yummy dried fruit for lunch and headed back. Once we got back to the hostel we napped for a bit than looked for a place for dinner. We found one that was probably the best food I had the whole trip. After that we walked around the street that we were one. It was a really trendy music and clothing street. The clothes they have there are so cool I wish I hadn’t bought clothes in other countries and just waited till then. We went back to the hostel and debated whether or not to go back out but we decided that we would just hang out there again. It was fun though. I got to talk to the owner of the hostel about a lot of things; he showed me the kitchen and gave me free homemade Chinese apple pie that was incredible. I learned that all Chinese food starts from a soup base that cooks for a minimum of three days for about three months and that it is used in every Chinese dish. I bought a Chinese cookbook and now I am really inspired to use it. Anyway, the owner also questioned about gun control and if I had a gun. He was so disgusted about the Virginia Tech shootings. In china is completely illegal to own a gun and knives half to be a certain length
The next morning we were supposed to get up at catch a ride to the airport at 5 but we defiantly over slept. Luckily we made it in time to check in. If we had missed that flight we probably would have missed the boat. There happened to be a subway in our terminal, which was the best subway I had probably ever had haha. You don’t realize how good a fast food restaurant is until you can’t have it for three months. We made it back to the ship around 10 that morning and I showered and crashed only getting up to eat. I could have gone out and explored the city but I wasn’t feeling well again. It was so dry there that my sinus’s constantly felt like they were on fire. I woke up this morning with bloody lips and a bloody nose from it, it scared the crap out of me. Which brings me to now, after sleeping all day again and still feeling like I could sleep some more. Its actually rough seas today which feels strange since its been calm seas ever since India.
I will be in Japan the day after tomorrow than I will be heading home. Its crazy to think that this trip is quickly coming to an end. 22 days left! I got your cards mom and Millie, thank you! I also got your St. Patties day card Bryan and it was really funny and so out of context, I got your last letter too Javier! Thanks! I love you all!

I was so excited for this country. Malaysia gave me a second wind for traveling after India. I woke up early to watch the ship enter the Saigon River and watch it try to maneuver through it without hitting fishing boats. I went back to bed shortly after and we had a arrived by the time I woke up. It was a lot more developed than I was expecting. Sometimes I feel like they do not prepare us enough for the countries before we get there. I was expecting a very underdeveloped country but that wasn’t the case at all. Across from the river where we docked were brilliant neon billboards for SANYO and other electronic companies. There were tall hotels and bank buildings all over. We had to wait to get off the ship till noon. As soon as we were cleared my friend Chris, Paul and I set off to find some food and a tailor to get some stuff made. We decided after almost yelling at the motorcycle cabs to get away that we would take a cyclo, which is a bicycle rickshaw. That was a little nerving because there are about 1.5 billion motorcycles speeding around one square mile haha. It was fun though. Our drivers dropped us off at the completely wrong spot so we just walked into some place and ordered food according to what the picture looked like (it was actually really good considering I have NO idea what it was) and set out to find the stores we were looking for. We hopped on the back of a motorcycle cab and pulled right out into oncoming traffic to go down town…And that’s when I wet my self. After changing clothes…haha just kidding. It was scary though. We finally found the tailors and the boys got some suits made but they were WAY more expensive than I though they would be. I actually didn’t have a dress made because there just happened to already be a dress that had my name written all over it. It’s a short little black cocktail dress with a hand-embroidered and beaded peacock on it with a REALLY fancy and intricate tail that goes down the left side of my leg…its so fun! I think I might wear it to the ambassadors ball if my escort isn’t too embarrassed by it haha. After that we found a place to have a massage. I decided to get a mani and pedi since it was only $7 for both. I was so excited about my $11 massage that I pretty much Bruce Almighty’d my clothes off and jumped on the bed. Little did I know that I was about to have a 90 lb Vietnamese woman crawling and walking up and down my back and judo chopping every inch of me. I couldn’t help but laugh though. It was probably the most movie cliché moment of my life. The boys had never had a massage before so they are a little scared now to ever get another one. I tried to explain to them that they are not like that back in the states. Anyways, after that we found a noodle bar and ate dinner. Food is SO cheap here that I was really easy to eat constantly since I was only paying $2 for a full meal. After that we ran into some of our friends randomly and went to another restaurant to hang out. It was a fun outdoor restaurant. Most of the restaurants had open kitchens. It was a little gross seeing all the meat hanging from hooks in windows though. We all jumped on the back of the mopeds to get home but we couldn’t only find 5 drivers so we were all riding three deep on these little moped taxis…I have a video from it. It was so much fun. The next day I was supposed to go to the Mekong Delta with SAS for what I thought was only one night, but it turns out I was on the three-day trip. We set off on a 2-½ hour bus ride there and saw some really interesting things. Vietnamese houses are 2 and three stories extremely narrow and absolutely beautiful. Of course this isn’t the majority but a lot of them were like that. We go to the Mekong river and starting heading down to this area where we watched them make candy, rice paper and puffed rice snakes. After that we went to this place for lunch. All of the little open cafes had hammocks and beds to lay in after you ate. So of course I had to oblige in tradition and ate my lunch and passed out for a good 30 minutes. The scenary is so beautiful in the rural areas. It was comparable to Biopeba Island. All of the natural flowers and trees were so colorful. This particular café we went to also had a bonsai garden that we really cool to check out. After lunch we walked for a long time in the blistering heat to this place where we rented bikes. We rode all around the island. It was so fun! We got to see parts of the island that I don’t think had seen many tourists. All the people are so curious. They just stare at us and smile. In India they stared too but normally it was because they were coming to ask for money. These people were much more humble than that. Infact I think I only encountered one begger the whole time. After that we got back on the boat and headed to where we were staying for the night. It ended up being a Vietnamese “guesthouse” which a very primitive bed and breakfast type thing in the middle of nowhere. We were split up into two rooms that had 8 beds each. The beds were wood framed canvas cots with a mosquito net over it. The house was on stilts right ontop of the river. The bathrooms and showers were like camp. We relaxed and napped on the hammocks the rest of the evening until it was time to help make dinner. They had a pretty big very primitive kitchen that in no way would ever pass sanitation standards in the U.S. but it was very typical for Vietnam I guess. We made our own spring rolls and watched them prepare the feast. They made so many different dishes for us. It was so good too! A little traditional band came to play for us while we waited for dinner to be ready. After that I crashed. It was so sleepy. We woke up at 6:30 and saw the sunrise over the trees. It was sooo pretty! We ate breakfast and peaced out up the river to go to this open market. It was a HUGE outdoor market that sold literally everything. There was a meat section where women were butchering meat out in the open and fruits and vegetables and everything else. I tried to brave it through the meat section but I got half way through it and realized that if I started to smell something rotting I might throw up so I wandered out of there. They had hug dead pigs lying around and all kinds of chicken heads and duck heads in baskets. It was really gross to see all that, don’t worry though Dad it wasn’t enough to make me a vegetarian. After that we left to make the trek to our hotel in a city called Can Tho. We had a huge lunch and had the rest of the afternoon off. I was so sick of being herded around as a group so I wandered off on my own and found a place to get eyelash extensions finally. Hardly anyone in that city spoke English so it was really difficult to find a place even knows what I was trying to say. After that I was on a search for a traditional Vietnamese Jade Bangle. These are supposed to bring you good luck and are permanent. They are extremely difficult to squeeze on and the only way to get them off is to break it. I found a place that had them cheap so I was trying to figure out a size and how to get one on. The lady grabbed one that I didn’t necessarily want and what I thought was just going to show me how to put it on…WRONG. She puts lotion on my hand and starts talking to another girl that grabs my fingers with a towel and the other lady forces the tiny bracelet down my hand. Note these are solid stone, so they don’t flex AT ALL. I was screaming so loud. I though they were breaking my hand. I tried to pull away but they kept forcing it on my hand. They finally got it on after I though my hand was broken and just laughed at me and I had to pay for that bracelet because there was NO way it was coming off the same way they got it on. 5 days later and my hand is still really sore. I couldn’t use it for almost 2 days. So I guess that this will be my permanent reminder of the trip. After that I went to this orphanage and hung out with the kids for a while then we went to dinner. It was fun restaurant right on the water. There were only girls on this trip so we wined and dined and chatted like we were all best friends for a long time. After that some of the girls went out with some people they met, I decided a $5 massage was calling my name before I went to bed since our hotel had a spa. I went up there and got a weird feeling about it. All the girls had on mini skirts, which were completely taboo, every other place I had been. The rooms were closed off from one another but not at the top. It was really loud in there because you could hear everyone talking. My masseuse didn’t leave for me to change, which was really creepy. I laid down for the longest most uncomfortable hour of my life. The girl sat on me the whole time and massaged me without lotion and literally beat the crap out of me. It was not relaxing at all. A bunch of men came in to get massages shortly after wards and all of the sudden I smelled cigarettes and heard giggling girls and men all around me. I quickly realized that this was most certainly a brothel. There was a little old woman walking up and down the halls ordering the girls around. Cell phones were ringing and then mine switched with anther girl. It was really traumatic but I tried to get up and the girl just kept going. I left and walked wide-eyed back to my room while I tried to piece together where I just was. After that we got up early and got on a boat to check out the floating markets. That was really cool. I sent the fam a postcard of the markets. It was crazy. Everything was sold from theses boats and they were squeezing in a out of each other throwing fruits and vegetables around to different boats. It was crazy! We got on the bus to go back to the ship after that. We got back and I cleaned up and headed out to pick up my dress and some things from the tailor for bryan. I was finally getting used to riding the little motorcycles everywhere. It was really fun. After that my friends and I went out to dinner at the Famous Rex Hotel. After that we went to this club called Apocalypse Now that was full of Europeans and locals. It was so much fun! They had a fruit bar and little deli and everything. My friends and I hopped on the back of the motorcycles again to head back to the ship 3 deep again. The next day 8 of my friends and I negotiated with the motorcycle taxis to take us to the Cu Chi tunnels. It was almost 2 hours away. We had SUCH a good time riding on the motos. We played tag throughout the city and almost wrecked every couple of miles. It was so amazing to get to see the countryside like that. We drove past rice fields and open markets. I saw a woman butchering meat on the side of the road while getting a pedicure and huge tropical fish in plastic bags for sale. My rear end was soo sore after we finally got there that I was sure I wasn’t going to make it back on one of those. We crawled through the Cu Chi tunnels, which was absolutely fascinating to learn about. I could barely fit through them and they had been widened for tourist access. I got to shoot an M-60 fully automatic which was REALLY cool. It was the most primitive shooting range I have ever seen though. No eye protection and worthless ear protection. After that we all headed back on the motorcycles much to my dismay. It ended up taking us less time to get back though some how even though it was rush hour. Once again a rowdy game of tag and near death experiences followed. I rode Side Saddle for a while and that was even more of a thrill. One of my friend’s drivers plowed over 60-year-old pedestrian at 50kpm. Tyler had to double up with Jess and his driver had to take the other guy to the hospital. My driver luckily didn’t hit anyone, but I did brush up against a bus. We got back finally safe and sound and had dinner on the ship. I set out to find an Internet café and ended up having to walk forever because I forgot my money for a moto. I though I was going to be late getting back on the ship but I made it back just in time. So now I flooded with tests and papers due and long rehearsals for my play in the three days it takes us to get to China and I rocking a full blown cold…blah. Oh well…I will be home in exactly a month from today…Do you guys miss me yet?

Malaysia is awesome…I’m just going to throw that out there right away. Its beautiful, its modern, quite super clean and the people are really nice. If I ever move to a country because of my visit to it, it would be this country. I woke up and watched the boat pull in. It harbor is surrounded by beautiful buildings and mountains like Cape Town but much smaller. We dropped anchor kinda in the middle of the bay and had to use the lifeboats to get to and from the dock. That sounded kinda cool in the beginning but turns out is a huge pain and the people that drove them went to the Stevie Wonder School of Lifeboat Docking so it took 10 minutes of backing in and out of the slip to park it. The first day I had an island orientation tour. Our first stop was a butterfly farm, which was super cool. Ali I got you something for your birthday from there…. Then we headed to a Chinese Snake Temple but it was very un-anticlimactic. I expected to see snakes everywhere like on Indiana Jones but there wasn’t anything close to that many. Although I did see the biggest incense sticks I’ve ever seen burning at the alter. They were 4 feet high and were extremely thick. It was like breathing in Chennei again in there. After that we went to lunch at this interesting restaurant that served us food family style. The food was pretty good considering the condition of the building. After that we climbed up this huge Chinese temple mountain type thing. The temple was so beautiful! The artwork and craftsman ship was awesome. There was a bunch of Buddha’s all around. They were so tall that it was hard for me to get a full picture of them. One of the Buddha’s looked just like Burt Reynolds, it had the mustache and eyebrows. After that we went to these botanical gardens where monkeys roamed around everywhere. After that we headed back to the ship to go to the welcome reception that on of the University’s in Penang was holding for us. We were super late because of the whole tendering situation but we got there in time to watch a traditional shadow puppet show. These weren’t just hand puppets either, they were so incredibly ornate! After that we had what we thought were going to be snakes but it ended up being and incredible meal. It was so yummy. It was all Indian food. I don’t know that I will ever get over Indian food it so good. Anyways, after that I just headed back to the ship. Its such a hassle to get on and off I didn’t want to be out all night waiting to get back on.
The next morning I left for my trip to Kuala Lumpur. It was supposed to be only a 4-hour bus ride but it ended up being 6. The scenery was incredible. Its so lush and mountainous. Traffic in Malaysia is extremely smooth. No honking, everyone stays in their own lane. It was so almost peaceful. We stopped in this tiny little town and ate lunch in this hole in the wall restaurant. It was not very good though. We finally got there and it was storming and lightening very bad. We got to our super nice hotel and had a little time to hang out before dinner. Our hotel is the heart of downtown so it was really close to everything. We got ready for dinner and headed out to some famous Malaysian Dinner Theater place. It was the biggest buffet I had ever seen. I wish I had a rascal or segway just to maneuver around the food lines. The food there was incredible. After dinner we went out to find the most cliché karaoke bar we could find. We found another bar first called “Funtheque” and with Kuala Lumpur’s best live band called the Turquoise playing. They were so entertaining. They were a Malaysian band that performed all American cover songs. After that we finally found a karaoke bar we sang the night away with some random Asians. It was really fun.
The next day we were scheduled to go on a tour of the city but I was tired of being herded around so I went off and did my own thing. I tried to get to the race track but it was too far away. So I went to the different race exhibits around the city and shopped a lot. I walked into a random electronics mall and came across an Intel BMW Sauber promotion. The MC asked a question, I answered and got to race in a simulator against Sebastian Vittel, BMW Sauber’s Friday driver. He is also the youngest Formula 1 driver ever. That was really cool. He seemed nice, he wasn’t that bad looking either. After that I my friends and I went out to dinner at this restaurant called Bangkok Jam and had some Thai food. After that we hopped on the monorail and headed to China town. China town was outrageous. I had never been to one before. It was crowded and loud with music. We hung out there for a while looking for cheap DVDs then headed back. It was ladies night at Funtheque so Maddie and I went back there. Ladies night in Malaysia is a little different from Ladies night in the states. In Malaysia it consists of a cabaret type show complete with transvestites. During the shows intermission they asked a question about racing to win a ticket to the Malaysian Grand Prix. I ran down there, got the question wrong, but I still got the ticket. I was so excited about it but it was kinda bitter sweet since I won’t actually get to go. After that Maddie and I headed to get sheisha and hummus and ended up talking to the waiter for while. He was from Afghanistan and really cool to talk to. He was very hesitant to tell us where he was from. He told us that one time he hung out with some people from Australia for a couple weeks and then they found out where he was from and stopped talking to him. I was really saddened by this. I told him to pull up a chair and join us. Maddie and I called it an early night and went to bed early. We had to get up early to get to the Petronas Twin Towers early enough to get a ticket to go up.
We headed out to the towers and got there 45 min early and we still were in a huge line. We got our tickets though and were able to go up and check it out. The highest they allow visitors is the walkway between the bridges 44 stories high. It was really cool view though. After that we headed back to catch the bus. The ride home was really long and we stopped at this mall for lunch.. It took 2 hours to get back on the ship because of the whole tendering situation. The hold up this time is that the security guards check our bags really good the last day. I always feel like a criminal when they do that. I was really nervous too because I had taken huge Formula 1 banner off a light post and there were two cops at the dock scanning us. Luckily I made it through and finally got back on the ship just in time for dinner. Which leads me to now. Writing this blog, watching a movie and trying to digest all the HUGE amounts of food I ate while I was here so I can work out.
Malaysia is one of the most amazing countries I have ever been. I didn’t have any expectations before I got here. I had no idea what it was going to be like. They did not accurately brief us on the situation before we got there. They told us that we had to dress modestly and we weren’t’ allowed to drink. Neither of which was true. The population is so diverse here. There are Chinese, Malays Indians and other kinds of people. The cities are so modern and clean. Its not loud and crazy like India was. It was a breath of fresh air. The race fans gave the city a cool vibe and I was so glad I got to see a lot of the thing I did. I can’t wait to return here one day and actually get to see the race. Malaysia gave me a second wind and now I am ready to take on the rest of Asia. I will arrive in Vietnam on Sunday. If anyone wants any thing in particular let me know. I exchanged my 82 Malaysian Ringots for 150,000 Dong. I felt like a hundred thousand-air. It was really strange seeing bills in increments of 50,000. I hope all is well back in the states. I miss everyone! I will be home soon…(Unless of course I decide to stay here…)