K-LEE AT SEA

hey all!!

2007-04-29T00:04:00.000-07:00

hey everybody... i still don't have a written up account of my doings for the past several weeks but i DO have some more pictures from japan... so enjoy!! i'll write up an actual blog for vietnam, china and japan very very soon-- i have 8 straight days on the ship coming up so i'm sure i'll have time to do it then... if i ever can tear my eyes away from the studying- ha ha ha!! so here are some more pictures!!

tea-time at the ryokan!

in our robes at the ryokan before the public bath... interesting!

sleepover at the ryokan-- japanese style hotel!

Becky and i in front of the jaws ride at universal studios JAPAN!!!!

me in my capsule at the capsule hotel in osaka

fishies at the osaka aquarium

becky and i at universal studios!

eating some DELICIOUS american food at hard rock cafe in osaka!

just wanted to throw in a picture of my beautiful mom and adorable puppy kayaking in florida!! looks like they're having a good time! this brings me to the very good point that if you send me emails with pictures i might just post them on the popular blog!! haha... miss you all!!

some pictures!!!

2007-04-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

hey all, i'm in japan right now but just wanted to put some pictures online for you... enjoy!!!

the a-dome in hiroshima... it's sideways, but i'm sure you'll figure it out.

the childrens peace memorial in hiroshima park

peace memorial with the a-dome in the background

before the mediterranean sea social: me, hayley, becky, ally, and ellie!

biking around yangshuo, china!

in front of moon hill, yangshuo

in front of mao and the forbidden city, beijing, china

mao and the forbidden city

lydia　and i being goofballs in vietnam on our last night

the great wall at simatai!

yours truly on the great wall

and some more great wall... it was... GREAT haha

becky and i at the japanese tea garden today

exploring the cu chi tunnels in vietnam

olympic garden, beijing

vietnamese children outside a temple in phan thiet

amazing sand dunes in vietnam... i went sledding on them!

one last shot of the great wall!!!

i'll write up what i actually DID in all these places later-- i promise!!
love you all and miss you... keep emailing!

India and Malaysia!

2007-04-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

I’m a bit tardy in writing this blog, but things just get going so quickly! We only had 3 days between India and Malaysia and I had just started to wrap my head around India when I was thrown headfirst into Penang… So I thought that while I was spending a quiet night in on the ship I would write about Chennai.

Everyone was talking about India like it was going to be the dirtiest, smelliest, most disgusting, and appalling place. I was surprised to find however, that it did not meet any of those expectations. We pulled into port around 8am and couldn’t even watch us pull into port because the outdoor decks were closed for the “smell.” We had to jump through a number of hoops to get our passports stamped and get our landing cards. It’s certainly a long process when 850 people have to meet face-to-face with the immigration officials. Lydia and I didn’t have much time to explore Chennai before our field trips that afternoon. Basically we just took a bicycle rickshaw and then an auto rickshaw around Chennai. It wasn’t nearly as crowded or intense or smelly as I thought it would be. The rickshaw ride wasn’t even that crazy!

That afternoon I did a field trip called YMCA Community Centers and Destitute Homes. It was really cool because there were only seven of us on the trip so we really got to have some one on one time with the kids and we also got to know each other pretty well. First we went to the YMCA Boys Town; upon our arrival the boys all sang some songs for us and then we all sang “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”—it was really funny that they knew that song except they were singing it in Tamil which is the state language of Chennai (Chennai is in the state of Tamil Nedu, their language is Tamil). After the singing, they boys were free to ask questions which were translated by the guides, mostly they just asked if we missed our families, what classes we were taking, etc, but the funniest was when one little boy asked what fruit comes from America and another asked what the biggest native animal is in the states. It was really cute. After, we were given about 2 hours just to play and hang out with the kids. They basically grab your hands and pull you all over and insist that you take pictures of them and they took my camera for about an hour and just took random and hilarious pictures of themselves doing handstands, grinning, basically just hamming it up. Our next stop was another YMCA Boys Town; we didn’t have as much time there so they just sang some songs for us and then asked us questions. Their questions were really intelligent, like whether we liked Bush or Clinton better and how 9/11 personally affected us. It was really eye-opening to see how much they knew about us and our politics while no one really knew anything about India until a week before we arrived there. We had a really nice dinner reception at the YMCA Guest House in Chennai where our guide thanked us for coming and spending the day with the boys. It was a really great day and I was so happy that I got to spend some time with kids that maybe don’t get to just hang out and play very often.

The next day I started my homestay in Chennai. I stayed with another girl on Semester at Sea named Regina. We got picked up by our homestay parents, Satyan and Parul Bhatt. They owned their own PR Business called PRism. They were clearly well off because they had a nice chevy sedan with a driver. We hung out in their office for a little bit, getting to know each other. They had a meeting that afternoon so dropped Regina and I off at Spencer Plaza which is basically a giant mall filled with little Indian shops selling basically anything Indian—sculptures, scarves, silks, pillowcases, rugs, etc. Regina and I wandered around and looked at all of the beautiful things that would have been so much money in the states but were so inexpensive here. The exchange rate is 45 rupees to 1 US Dollar, so beautiful crafts and fabrics were literally just a few dollars. Parul had told us not to buy anything because we would have more opportunities to shop around and pick out which ones we would want and she could help us choose the best products to assure we were getting the highest quality.

They picked us up from Spencer’s Plaza and took us to a cane and bamboo store where they had gotten a lot of their own home decorations. Needless to say, I binged on crafts to bring back to the states! After several more hours of stopping in shops and being shown the city of Chennai from their car window, we retired to their apartment. It was pretty big and pretty, very open and airy. Parul made a delicious dinner of rice and various sauces and side dishes that we got to mash up into the rice with our hands and then eat with our hands too. I love eating with my hands! After dinner we hung out with their two daughters and watched an Indian soap opera; it was in Hindi so we couldn’t really understand it but it was super dramatic and entertaining. We had to get up early the next day to tour some temples with our group of homestay students so we went to bed nice and early.

The next day we were brought to our bus at 8am and transported to a town called Mamallapuram to view some temples, eat lunch, and look around the town. We also visited the Five Rathas, which I can’t really explain, but are basically a series of temples. We also stopped at our guide’s farmhouse and he showed us a tree called a lipstick tree. Apparently a German cosmetic company has been going to India and using these trees to make lipstick. We all tried a little bit of the lipstick tree on our lips… not sure I’d be buying it right away but it was cool.

After the long day on the road and at the temples, Parul and Satyan picked us up and took us to the Pondy Bazaar in Chennai. It was definitely different than I was expecting. I thought it would be like a craft market, much like we had seen in Brazil and South Africa. However, it was more like a street lined with the contents of a dollar store. After looking around unsuccessfully for a half hour, we went back to their apartment. That night we went out to dinner where they had buffet style Indian food and Satyan tried to teach us about cricket, we were pretty hopeless though. That night Priyanka, Pooja, Regina and I just hung out in their room and looked at pictures from their times on Semester at Sea and they let us use their internet.

The next morning we slept in a little bit and then had breakfast with Pooja. She took us to do some more shopping. I never thought I’d say this, but by the end of my home stay I was actually tired of shopping!! That night, the Bhatt family got to come onto the ship and have dinner with us. It was really cool because a lot of the crew in the dining hall recognized Pooja because she had sailed just last semester! They got to stay on the ship for a nice long time and we treated them to candy bars and other unhealthy American treats. Saying goodbye was definitely not easy; our home stay family had been so welcoming and nice. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with the Bhatt family.

The last day in Vietnam I visited a very poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Chennai. The government was working to move the slums out of Chennai and to build communities to get the people off of the streets and into more livable conditions. We visited several schools in the community and some homes. Everywhere we go that we see extreme and heartbreaking poverty, it is so amazing to see how happy the children are. They are always so excited to see us and shake our hands and tell us their names. In this community all the kids ran around with paper and had us sign them, it was very adorable. After the visit to the community I went back to the ship for lunch and then went into Chennai for one last time with my friend Ellie. We went to Spencer’s Plaza because she wanted to finish her souvenir shopping. We found a grocery store and got some snacks to bring back on the ship and finally met up with some more friends and had dinner in the mall.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I got to India but what I experienced was amazing. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into their culture and traditions and everyone was very friendly and welcoming. I can’t wait to go back!

MALAYSIA

We got to Malaysia on Monday, April 2^nd. It was so crazy to only have 3 days on the ship between India and Malaysia, in the past we had usually had about a week between each port and that was a nice time to digest and reflect on our experiences in the country. Because I was still a little bit on overload from India I decided to sleep in and delay my excursion to Penang by a few hours. Plus, the pier where the ship would usually dock was being renovated so we had to be on anchor for the four days and take tender-boats back and forth between the ship and the pier. It was a fiasco for the first few hours on the tender-boats anyway so I didn’t mind skipping out on the long lines. Lydia and I went to the shore in the early afternoon and walked to the first tourist agency that we could find. Penang is actually an island and Penang is a state of Malaysia; George Town is actually the town that we were in and the capital of Penang Island. At the tourist agency we decided to take a ferry the next day to Langkawi Island which was advertised as a tropical island with lots of snorkeling and beaching opportunities. Lydia and I tried to book the treetop chalet at the Malibest Resort but it was booked so we had to settle for a beachside chalet—rough life. After we firmed up our travel plans for Langkawi Island, we took a cab to a Batik Factory about 45 minutes away from George Town. The drive was gorgeous; we went on winding roads along the coast and got to see a lot of beachside communities mixed in with gigantic disturbing resorts (like the Holiday Inn… in Malaysia? How did that happen?) The Batik Factory was small and we wandered around a little bit watching women make the patterns on the fabric. They paint on the fabric with wax and then dye it, then wax some more and then dye it again so at the end there is a pattern full of different colors. They can get incredibly detailed on the fabrics which is just incredible because it seemed very confusing and complex to me. There was a store at the factory too where you could buy batik paintings, clothes, fans, etc. After spending a while picking out some souvenirs we went back to the pier to catch a tender-boat back to the ship for the Penang Welcome Reception. After a long, irritating and sweaty line (more like a jumble of people trying to push to the front) to the tender-boats we had about 20 minutes before we had to meet in the union for the welcome reception. Fortunately, we made it.

The welcome reception was held at the University Sains Malaysia. The first part of the welcome reception was watching a shadow puppet in an auditorium. This is where they have intricate puppets that are basically pieces of paper with cutouts to look like people or things and they are held behind a big white sheet with a light on them, thus producing shadows. They usually tell a story and have music. The play we saw was half in Malay and half in English so I didn’t really have any idea what was going on. After the puppet show we were treated to a buffet of Malaysian cuisine and delicious tea. After the dinner we went back to the ship. It wasn’t the best welcome reception that I’ve been to; the only other one I’ve attended was in Puerto Rico which was amazing because we were paired up with actual students and could actually interact with them. I also heard rave reviews about the Indian welcome reception, so I had high hopes for the Malaysian one but was a little bit disappointed. No worries, the next day was Langkawi!

We had an 8:15am Ferry ride so we had to get up super early to avoid the mess of the tender-boats and all of the various SAS trips leaving for Borneo, Singapore, etc. The ferry was basically like an airplane on water, the same seats, same set up. There were even movies playing. After 3 hours on the plane-ferry we arrived to Langkawi Island. Our resort was about 25 minutes from the “jeti” (aka the ferry terminal) and the ride was beautiful, much like the ride to the Batik factory in Penang. We got to the Malibest Resort at 12 but were told that we couldn’t actually check in until 2 so we left our things and explored the rest of the town. It was basically a strip of shops and restaurants, mostly selling touristy items, clothes and jewelry. We got a quick lunch and were surprised to see that they didn’t accept debit or credit cards. When we asked where an ATM was, the only one on the entire island besides the jeti was at the airport. The restaurant owner was so nice (clearly this had happened before) and hailed us a cab so that we could go to the airport to find an ATM and then come back and pay him. I was definitely impressed with how trustworthy he was. By the time we got to the airport and back and paid out lunch bill we could check in to the hotel. Our “beachside chalet” was about 30 feet from the beach and pretty nice. It wasn’t a palace but it was obviously doable. We laid on the beach for a couple hours in the afternoon and tested the waters—ridiculously warm, I’m happy to note! It is seriously so hot in Malaysia it was disgusting, you couldn’t even step outside without sweating through whatever you were wearing. So we relaxed in the water and on the beach for awhile. That night we continued walking around, found an internet café and got some dinner. It was kind of weird because there weren’t really any people there or much to do at night. There weren’t very many restaurants that were open, but all the stores were open until midnight. We decided that in season it’s a tourist hotspot but we were there during the off season (which was fine with us as we basically got the town to ourselves!) As we were wandering around town we were entranced by a beautiful spa building and a man offering discounts for manicures and pedicures. We decided that we should seize the opportunity (“when else will I be able to get a pedicure at midnight on Langkawi Island, Malaysia??” was our reasoning I believe). So we got amazing pedicures and sat in the most comfortable chairs ever before returning to the chalet for bed. (Hedo, I just want to tell you that our pedicurist’s ringtone was smack that by Akon… it was a surreal moment).

The next morning we got breakfast and laid on the beach and then went back to the jeti to hang out in some air conditioning before the ferry back to Penang. The ferry back was much different than the ferry to Langkawi, it was much more crowded and we were surrounded by crying infants; also it took 4.5 hours instead of 3. I wouldn’t usually complain about this but it was also very rocky and rolly and sweaty and by the end we were delirious and wanted to be off the ferry! We got back to Penang around 6:30 and then took the tender-boat back to the ship. I was so exhausted by the time I got back to the ship that I just wanted to shower, eat a pizza, and go to bed. So that’s exactly what I did.

On our last day in Malaysia we got up early and went into George Town to find a pay phone. The 12 hour time difference is a little hard to work with because it’s never quite convenient to make a phone call. We finally found phones that worked with the phone cards we had bought (the Malaysian payphone system needs a bit of work, let me just tell you). After, we took a taxi to Penang Hill and took a cable car up to the top. The view was gorgeous but it was a little hazy so we couldn’t really see that much but we did get some good pictures of the ship and the city, don’t worry. After the Penang Hill excursion we went to Gurney Plaza, which is basically just a big mall, and had lunch and shopped around a bit. We found an internet café and did some emails and firmed up our China plans (finally!) and then took a taxi back to the pier. On-ship time was 9pm but the last tender-boat was scheduled to run at 8:30. We thought we were playing it safe to get there at 6:45 but we still waited in line for 2 hours to get on the tender-boat. When we got on the tender boat at 8:15 the line was just as long as it had been at 6:45 so we got a late start to say the least. Overall I enjoyed Malaysia; it was very relaxing and was an enjoyable atmosphere. It wasn’t my favorite port but it was definitely better than Mauritius!

Finally Some Pictures I hope!

2007-03-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am currently on my homestay in Chennai, India and my host family has so kindly let us stay up and use their computer for the free internet. So far India has been amazing, it is so different from anything I have ever been exposed to or seen before and I am LOVING it! The food is amazing, the sights are beautiful, my host family is so great and I just love everything! I need more time! Check out the pictures from Cape Town! They're not in order but I'm positive you can figure it out!
Also-- if you didn't receive my email, something is wrong with my Allegheny email address so please send all mail to kleebowman@hotmail.com from now on...
Thank you!
Love, Klee

In front of Nelson Mandela's Cell

First night out in Cape Town... the strongest strawberry dacquiri ever- so strong it was GROSS!

Siphokazi's grandmother in her kitchen

Neyo (front), Siphokazi, Lydia, me, and Siphokazi's friend who's name I unfortunately cannot spell or pronounce

Giraffe on Safari...

On my hike up Devil's Peak in Cape Town

View while hiking Devil's Peak

On the ferry ride to Robben Island, Table Mountain in the background and of course yours truly!

The pyramid that inspired the phrase "rainbow nation" on Robben Island... don't ask me which rock is Nelson Mandela's!

On Safari, Cape Buffalo in the background. (PS it's approx 7am... ouch!)

Townships in SA

Typical Township Scene

Threatening sign at our safari camp... watch out!

giving stickers to kids in khayelitsha on our first day.

Rhino on my safari through Kwazulu Natal, SA

Zebra on Safari

Carpe Diem! This is right next to wear we were docked in Cape Town.

Cape Buffalo crossing!

Craft Market on my township visit on the first day in Cape Town.

Beautiful TABLE MOUNTAIN... sunrise pulling into the Cape Town harbor

Outside the Bed and Breakfast in Khayelitsha township

First night, on the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town

the Black iMfolozi River in Kwazulu Natal

Sunset on our first night on safari during our night drive... beautiful!

Pictures from Cape Town

2007-03-16T07:45:00.001-07:00

Well, my photos from Cape Town won't upload... boo.
Maybe in India i'll be able to get it to work...
until then, all my love!
Klee

Ahoy from Mauritius!

2007-03-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hello from Mauritius! Of course, being delayed as I am, I’m not writing about Mauritius, but instead about South Africa! South Africa was, in a word, amazing! Cape Town is a gorgeous city and the people are so friendly, diverse, and ahh—just amazing! We got to Cape Town on Friday, March 2nd at 0700. I woke up super early to watch us pull into the harbor- and I’m so glad I did! The view of Cape Town before dawn is magnificent. The sun was rising over Table Mountain (pictures at the end) and it was the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. The pier where we were docked at was right at the bustling Cape Town waterfront—full of shops, restaurants and tourist information booths. Right away I knew that one week wouldn’t be long enough to do everything that I wanted to do. We got off the ship ASAP and explored a little bit, I had a delicious apple cinnamon crepe for lunch—extra ice cream (always healthy of course!) Lydia and I rushed back to the ship for our trip that started at 1:30 (or 1330 for all of us nauti-savvy folk).

Our trip was to Khayelitsha Township, which is one of the Townships where all of the Black and Coloured people (in SA, the term Black is used to describe actual tribal ancestors, and coloured is used for people of “mixed blood” or where tribal ancestors may have married an Afrikaan, or Dutch descendant… confusing, I know) were sent to live during apartheid. The word Khayelitsha actually means “new town.” It’s amazing because we always think of slavery and civil rights as part of the United States’ history and it feels like so long ago (to some, maybe not to others). Apartheid in SA only ended in 1992 and so the divide in quality of living is still so abrupt. Literally on one side of the road are pristine golf courses and the other is a Township, lined with tiny shacks that hold entire families, with barely any room between them. These “shanty houses” are made up of anything that you can think of- mostly plywood and corrugated metal, and they’re literally only about 5 feet by 5 feet. Our first stop on the township tour was at the Khayelitsha Craft Market, where people of the township have an opportunity to sell their crafts. Their was a marimba band playing in the market and little kids running around everywhere as we plastered their hands and faces with stickers.

Our next stop was a school area and the kids literally swarmed us, wanting stickers and their pictures taken. These kids were absolute HAMS with the cameras—they didn’t care who you were they just wanted to strike a pose. And after, of course, they demanded to see the picture (thank god for digital!) It was crazy because Lydia had alligator stickers (for Allegheny obviously) and the little kids kept putting them on their shirts and saying Lacoste. I was so taken aback by this—these kids didn’t even have shoes on and about 80% are infected with HIV/AIDS… and they know what Lacoste is? I didn’t even know what Lacoste was until high school! It was just amazing and, I don’t really know what the word is, a little bit troubling I guess…

After the stop at the school playground we went to the Kopanong Bed and Breakfast which is run by the inspiring Thope Lekau. This woman was determined to not have her township left behind by Cape Town’s stake in the tourist industry. So she decided to have a bed and breakfast and make it available to the tour companies. So when people come to Cape Town and decide to humble themselves a little by riding a big shiny bus around the townships they will actually be able to step off the bus and maybe learn a little bit about the vibrant communities that exist inside the corrugated metal walls of poverty. Thope Lekau earned a degree from the University of Pittsburgh actually and now runs workshops for women in her community who want to open their own B&Bs. She claims that after she earned her degree and opened her B&B that she “had a whole cake but could only eat one slice, I wanted to share the rest with my community.” She was incredibly inspiring and told us many stories while we ate delicious coconut cakes in her breakfast room.

Our first night we had dinner at a Caribbean restaurant of all places, but it was delicious and about a million times better than the ship food. Long Street is where all of the restaurants, bars, and clubs are in Cape Town and that is where we went to dinner and to a couple bars after (nothing too crazy parents, don’t worry, I had to be up super early for the safari!)

On Saturday I left at 7:30 am (ouch) for my 3 day tented safari to Kwazulu Natal Game Park. We flew from Cape Town to Durban and then took a 3 hour drive to the game park. We met our guide (a hilarious little man named Stefan or Qwebus- pronounced kweb-us… Qwebus is his tribal name) and took a 3 hour game drive from the entrance of the park to our site. It was a little bit of a bummer because we were still in the passenger vans and not the open air trucks, but we saw elephant, giraffe, zebra, and rhino! We saw the elephant (the only one on our whole safari) literally 5 minutes after the park entrance! Our camp was so cute; it was definitely rugged and outdoorsy- just what I was hoping! The tents were huge and slept 8 people on four bunk beds… the mattresses, pillows and blankets were nothing to write home about but it was so exciting just to be there. The cook, Mama Cook, made us the most amazing lasagna I’ve ever tasted (or was I just starving after 6 hours of driving?) and Qwebus gave us some rules to follow. The first one was to never go out at night without a buddy and a “torch” (aka a flashlight—for a brief moment I thought, in terror, we would all be wielding open flames in the brush, just asking for disaster) because there wasn’t a fence surrounding our camps and all sorts of terrifying animals (hyena, lion, elephant) have been known to traipse through the camp. We sat around the bonfire for a bit before passing out in bed early, knowing that a 5am wakeup call was in store for us.

The next day we had an early morning game drive in the open air jeeps and saw rhino, zebra, cape buffalo, monkeys, warthogs… pretty much anything you could think of (except lion and leopard). After the game drive Mama Cook made us some French toast and then a man from the game reserve gave us a little lecture about the African Wild Dog. That afternoon Qwebus took us all on a little nature walk of sorts to Kwazulu Natal’s own “Pride Rock” where he told us about all of the animals in the reserve. He was so knowledgeable about every animal we asked him about. His mannerisms also happened to be hilarious. That night, a new guide, Duncan, stepped onto the scene. (Duncan also happened to be GORGEOUS by the way… haha). He took us on our night drive where we saw much of the same. It was definitely a crazy feeling knowing that we had probably driven by lions, but they were probably camouflaged by lying in the grass… only 15 feet from our jeep! That night we had more delicious food and then sat around the bonfire eating marshmallows and having Qwebus tell us about crazy stories from other safaris.

Monday we left bright and early and took our time leaving the park, hoping to spot some of the big cats—we never did get to see lion or leopard. Overall, I’m so glad that I got to do a safari, it was so much fun and I really felt like I got to see a different part of South Africa than touristy Cape Town. Also, our tented safari was so much more rugged and like an actual safari than the wimps that stayed in the prissy lodges (haha…)Monday night I went out to dinner to the Ocean Basket which had delicious fish- I had sole, the “famous” South African kingklip, and prawns. Everything was so good! I think that the ship food is so bad that everything in port just tastes amazing comparatively. We spent Tuesday around Cape Town, doing the touristy shopping things, souvenir hunting, and sampling some of the fine foods. That night we had dinner at a jazz club and listened to some of Cape Town’s finest jazz at the Green Dolphin Jazz Club.Wednesday morning I decided to subject myself to a brutal hike. The original plan was to hike Table Mountain. Unfortunately, the winds were too high so we wouldn’t be able to take the Gondolas back down, so we had to resort to hiking Devil’s Peak, which is the left peak of Table Mountain. The name speaks for itself. It was actually a really beautiful hike that spit us out at Cape Town’s botanical gardens, where we were able to walk around for awhile before heading back to the ship.

After the Devil’s Peak adventure, Lydia and I went to Robben Island, which is where Nelson Mandela was for 18 of his 27 years in prison. The tour took us around the various sites, including the lime quarries where the prisoners worked. After apartheid ended, there was a reunion banquet in 1995 at Robben Island and Nelson Mandela and the other prisoners made a pile of rocks from the quarry. This pile of stones symbolizes the triumph over the brutalities of the prison, and since all of the rocks were of different colors and sizes, the term “Rainbow Nation” was coined. There are about 1200 stones piled there. Some interesting bits of info about Robben Island are that the minimum security prison was used for the criminals while the maximum security prison was for the political prisoners. Also, there were cages for the dogs that were on Robben Island and the cages were 3x3 meters while the prisoner cells were 2x2 meters. The black prisoners weren’t allowed to have socks, shoes or jackets even in winter and were often subject to solitary confinement. The prisoners couldn’t talk to each other, there was a voice radar detection system or something and a light would go on by your cell if you were talking and then you would be subject to whatever punishment they felt you deserved. The most amazing thing about Robben Island is that the ex-prisoners work as guides and that they feel that they have reconciled with the guards who victimized them and they now all work together on the island.

Wednesday night, Lydia and I met up with a young girl named Siphokazi. Lydia met her on another township tour that she had gone on while I was on my safari. We took her and her friend (who’s name I can’t pronounce or even spell because it has a click in it- they speak khosi which is a click language). We took them out to dinner on the waterfront and then took a cab back to Siphokazi’s house where she lives with her grandmother and little sister. She doesn’t live in a little shanty house like most of the people in the townships (she lives in Khayelitsha) but in a new government-built house that is a little bigger and built out of cinder blocks. The cab ride was a little bit scary because the driver pulled over on the high way and took the taxi sign off the roof of the car so that we wouldn’t be targets… At her house though, I never felt unsafe once. Mostly we just watched TV and talked about school, music, family, etc. It was so nice to be in an actual house and not sleeping on water. The next morning Siphokazi’s grandmother made us breakfast. There were some women scrubbing the road a couple houses down and we asked what they were doing. Well, apparently that night someone had been stabbed there and the women were washing the blood off of the street. It was crazy because I felt so safe in her house and didn’t hear a single thing through the whole night. I guess we were just lucky to be in her home and not out on the street. That day we went to this big gorgeous mall that the girls took us to. They wanted to shop around and then we all got lunch. We took these crazy bus/cab things (basically big passenger vans) around—it was so cheap to travel that way! Back in the township, we went to her after school program, which is where Lydia had met her in the first place. It is a program run by “Africa Jams” and they mostly just have the kids play games and do skits for 3 hours a day, 5 afternoons a week. It was really nice to interact and play with a bunch of kids, they were all very friendly. It’s amazing because each kid speaks three languages, basically fluently! They all spoke English, Afrikaans, and Khosi. After the after school program we took some more crazy cabs back to Cape Town and then had to say goodbye to our new friends and Cape Town.

While I was a little sad that I didn’t get to do any of the “extreme sports” that I wanted to (bungee jumping, sky diving, shark diving), I’m so glad that I got to go on a safari and spend a night in the township. The night in the township is something that I will probably never get to do again and I’m so glad that I had such a unique experience in Cape Town!

Now I’m in Port Louis, Mauritius. We got here about 4 hours later than expected because of rough seas and bad weather (apparently Mauritius had some tornadoes hit the right before we arrived) but nevertheless, we’re here! Unfortunately my trip for yesterday was cancelled. Instead, we took the water taxi to the waterfront and walked around the marketplace. There is a huge Indian influence here; Mauritius is actually known as the “gateway to India” by people from Africa. I went to dinner in china town and had some very authentic Chinese food… sweet and sour prawns, chicken, spring rolls… everything was very good. Today I had a trip to Terre de Paix which is a school for kids who have been separated from their parents because of neglect. Most of them don’t actually live at the school, but live at other boarding houses and come to the school every day. Mostly the school is used to re-socialize the kids—they do a lot of activities like home economics, music, a bunch of different art classes, and then they have social studies classes. It was really fun to interact with the kids and hear about this great program for kids that have been abused or neglected.Tomorrow I have my catamaran and snorkeling adventure! Tomorrow night at 2300 we leave Mauritius and begin the 7 day trek across the Indian Ocean to India!
Lots of love, Klee

Pictures So Far!

2007-03-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

hi everybody! i'm in south africa right now (more about that later) but i just really wanted to upload some pictures from puerto rico and brazil. they're not in order (couldn't figure that out, sorry!) but the captions are underneath, so i'm sure you'll be able to figure it out!! enjoy, and i miss you all!
klee

the lacerda in salvador, brazil

salvador sunset

last dinner in old san juan, puerto rico with professor maniates

new camarote friends!

cockfights in puerto rico

pretty brutal

biking in san juan

artwork in brazil

kayaking in puerto rico! gorgeous

me being a nerd in puerto rico

this is one of the blocos at carnaval, the band on top is araketu, this picture is from the camarote

at the camarote in salvador, brazil, the 2 bartenders, lydia, and me wearing a sweet hat

at the welcome reception at the university of puerto rico. this is rafael, our host.

pulling into salvador, brazil!

on ilha de frades, brazil, the band that was walking around playing all day

pulling into puerto rico!

our ship with salvador, brazil in the background!

puerto rico

BRAZIL!

2007-02-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

So Brazil was AMAZING… we were in Salvador in the state of Bahia (pronounced Bye-hee-yuh) during Carnaval and it was just such a lively, fun, party atmosphere. Bahia has the highest percentage of Afro-Brazilians living in Brazil so that really has shaped their culture. From the religious aspect (the religion called Candomblé) to the dances (Capoeira, more about that later). Salvador is also divided up into 2 different sections, the lower city and the upper city, also called Pelourinho. The ship was docked in the lower city and to get to the upper city we walked for like 10 minutes (on a street that smelled awful… I saw several people peeing on the streets. Yuck!) to a huge elevator (aka the Lacerda) that takes you up to Pelourinho. The upper city is where Carnaval takes place. So the first day we walked over to the “Modelo Mercado” which is basically this huge market that sells a bunch of souvenirs, clothes, and other crazy stuff and it’s right outside the lacerda. We also spent some time in Pelourinho exploring, since it was early in the morning when we went up there it was pretty quiet but there were a lot of people around setting up for Carnaval that night. I guess it started on Friday but the mornings are pretty quiet. Capoeira is what the Africans invented when they were brought to Brazil by the Portuguese colonialists to be enslaved. They weren’t allowed to do any dancing so they invented capoeira (cap-oh-air-uh) which basically looks like really fast fighting with lots of kicking and flips and it’s usually done with 2 people in a big circle with everyone else singing and clapping and there’s usually a little band with some unrecognizable instruments. So it’s really amazing to watch and we could just stand there for hours! Also, they do this all barefoot on rock streets, sometimes even uneven cobblestone—and they’re doing like 5 flips in a row! It’s just crazy because they are such unbelievable athletes.
Saturday night Lydia and I went out to Carnaval and went to a little plaza in Old Pelourinho. We started drinking some VERY cheap beer (cans of beer for less than 1 US dollar)and were watching some Capoeira for awhile. The Capoeira boys (who, let me just add, have amazing bodies) dragged us into their circle and taught us some capoeira moves—mildly embarrassing but who cares, no one knew me! Then we all went down to the stage area where a band was playing some traditional Carnaval music and we all started dancing and the Capoeira boys were teaching us this traditional dance so that was really fun. We just danced for a long time there and then this guy “Edy” started dancing with Lydia and basically fell in love with her and he took us into the actual parade area for Carnaval. This is the area where it gets really crazy and you can actually get a feel for the 2 million people that are there. Basically there are these huge 18 wheelers but double the height called “Blocos” that carry people and a band. There’s also a closed off area (secured by a bunch of guys carrying a big rope) around the Bloco and you can only get into it if you have a t-shirt for it. So even though you can’t get into or on the Bloco you’re still allowed to follow behind them and dance and that’s exactly what we did!! We stayed out late just dancing and having a wonderful time!
Sunday morning Lydia and I tried to go to a mall because she wanted to buy some clothes, and after a pricy cab ride to a mall the taxi driver informed us that all the stores were closed for Carnaval. So we were livid of course. That afternoon we just walked around Pelourinho for a little bit, did some shopping and watched more capoeira (I’m telling you, I could watch it for hours!). That night we went back up to Carnaval and danced some more at the same plaza. These little girls were trying so hard to teach us to samba but we were just hopeless- it’s so hard! They seriously move their feet so fast it’s crazy. Anyway that was really cool because all these little girls were trying to teach us and it was just really cute. I wish I had had my camera but it was just too dangerous to bring it out, especially at night. Apparently the first day there, several groups of Semester at Sea kids got knives pulled on them and had all of their cameras and money stolen—I was not about to take that risk even though it means I don’t have too many pictures from Brazil. At lest I still have my camera! Anyway, Edy found us again (he was really a nice guy… I was just a little irritated that he was ALWAYS around) and we went back to the parade. It was actually good to have Edy there because if not I’m sure that we wouldn’t have been as safe, he really watched out for us. Sunday night was a totally different experience, there were way more people following the Blocos and it was just way too crowded for me! I was exhausted.
Monday I spent the day at Itaparica Island and Ilha de Frades. At Frades (actually pronounced fredge-ace or something) we just went to the beach and ate some shrimp (ew! They had their heads and legs still attached!) and went swimming in really warm water and then had lunch on Itaparica Island. The lunch was amazing—I don’t have any idea what I ate I just know it was delicious- it was all Brazilian food and just generally amazing. We also visited a fountain of youth with 3 faucets for youth (obviously), health and money. We were on the ferry for most of the time but it was nice to be out on the water (you’d think I’d be sick of it by now but I’m not!).
That night we went out to dinner at a yummy little place called Mama Bahia and had the most amazing dinner! We split a bottle of wine and had delicious appetizers (cheese balls—I don’t know if it’s Brazilian but they were amazing), filet mignon (my fave) and some kind of dessert. After we went back to our plaza and just watched some of the bands and danced a little bit. I was exhausted from my day on the islands and ferry so we didn’t stay out too late.
On Tuesday I didn’t do a thing! I was so tired from all the dancing and partying and jam-packed days that I literally slept until 2 (the joys of not having a window in your room—complete darkness!) and then just lazed around. They were playing grey’s anatomy on the tv’s in our rooms so I watched that for awhile. Tuesday night (our last night by the way) we went to an “evening camarote” which is basically a viewing area for Carnaval and it’s in the section of Barra which is where they do the judging I guess. The camarote was basically amazing—a couple different bars, lots of places to eat, and it was all basically outdoors so you could watch the parade but not be quite as close to it, it’s definitely a safer option so I could bring my camera! I met some young Brazilians that we hung out with a bunch and that was really fun. They all spoke really good English because they had studied in Santa Barbara so it was so nice to be able to actually talk to people. We also made really good friends with the bartenders and they kept inviting us behind the bar to take pictures so I have some funny shots of that.
After the camarote we went back up to Pelourinho and watched some more bands and capoeira and then went to bed. On our last day it was raining but we decided to go to the beach anyway. So it stopped raining eventually but was really cloudy and gross so we left, kind of a waste of the morning but oh well- at least we got to see the beach! We went back to the modelo Mercado and shopped a little bit and got lunch at Mama Bahia again (cheese balls!!!) and then did some more shopping. That night we made some phone calls and got some pizza before going back to the ship for good… and now we’re at sea! We’ve been at sea for… well this is day 3 I guess. South Africa next Friday! I can’t wait for that—my safari is going to be amazing! Hope all is well with everyone—I miss you all so much!! Keep sending emails I LOVE to hear from people!

Hola from Puerto Rico!

2007-02-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

Blog:

Hola from Puerto Rico! I’m sitting on the 6th deck of the MV Explorer on our last night in San Juan. The past couple of days have been beautiful and exciting in our first port.

We arrived in San Juan on Wednesday at 8am. Pulling into port I was a little overwhelmed and I think it started to hit me that this trip is actually underway and I was arriving at our very first port. The governor or Puerto Rico (forgive me, I’m blanking on his name!) came to the ship and addressed all of the students. It was crazy- there were paparazzi in the union and they all freaked out when Archbishop Desmond Tutu walked into the room. I don’t know if I told all of you, but he will be with us on the entire voyage, it’s such an amazing opportunity to meet and even get to know one of the most influential figures in recent history! Anyway, it was a privilege to hear the governor speak to us and he stressed the importance of our upcoming experiences and our education and that no matter what happens and what changes we will always have our education. It was definitely really cool to have the governor on our ship. In Puerto Rico the governor is basically the equivalent of the President.
After the governor’s address I went up to Old San Juan via taxi with a group of girls and we just wandered around and went into some cute shops. Old San Juan is a pretty cute little city and the people are very friendly. I had to be back at the ship by 1 to go on my kayaking trip but unfortunately this other girl and I got into a crazy cab and the driver didn’t understand where we wanted to go so we were running a little late. Luckily I got to the ship on time and could still get onto the trip. It is definitely hard not knowing the language… I can only imagine how much harder it will be in the upcoming countries.
So we rode on a bus for about an hour to a big bay and got partnered up. I was partners with this really cool girl Alex who I’d met a couple other times. After brief kayaking instructions by our gorgeous guide, Julio (of course), we were off! I hadn’t been kayaking in a while and it was a little bit harder than I remembered. We basically kayaked around a big bay which was not as exciting as I had expected although we did see an iguana (but they bite apparently so we were warned not to get too close). Then we went ashore and went swimming for a little while and Julio found a sea cucumber (anyone remember the Jackass movies? haha). Then we kayaked along the shoreline back to our original spot. In the description of the trip it said that we would kayak to see this “majestic tree” that grows “magically” in the middle of the bay… well, no such tree. So that was a little disappointing but at least I got to be out in the sun and got to meet some new people.
When we got back from the kayaking trip almost everyone went to welcome receptions at various universities around Puerto Rico. I went to the Universidad de Puerto Rico and it was absolutely amazing, I’m so glad that I got to go. We were greeted by a bunch of friendly students and Lydia and this other girl Sarah and I were paired with Rafael. We got pina coladas and small gifts (a glass with the University Seal on it, a small PR flag, a bracelet and some other cool goodies) and then sat at a table to chat. There was also a small group of students dressed in traditional outfits and playing traditional Puerto Rican music, they were so good and it was such a fun atmosphere. We spent some time talking to Rafael and he told us some cool places to check out near San Juan. The band walked around all the students and I even got to play one of the instruments (no idea what it’s called, my bad). The food that they served us was delicious and then 2 students taught us to salsa dance. Well, they tried to teach us. I personally failed miserably, haha. It was definitely really cool to get to talk to other students and I was amazed at how welcoming and friendly they all were.
Yesterday Lydia and I woke up super early and took a taxi out to Isla Verde. We wanted to spend some time at the beach and go to watch some of PR’s national sport… cockfighting! We asked some police officers where we could see the cockfights and they actually called one of their friends and told us that they were at 4pm that day. So we walked to an internet café and then came back to the beach where we just lounged for hours. I took a nice nap and Lydia and I drank strawberry and mango daiquiris. The water was beautiful and warm although there was a lot of gross seaweed attacking my legs. Around 3 we decided that we had gotten enough sun (turns out the backs of my legs were bright red… yikes!) and so we stopped at a cute little café and got sandwiches and gelato (of course we also took nerdy pictures). Then we went off to the cockfights. Women get in for free (either because women can’t bet or there just never are any there… we’re still not sure).
The cockfights were the most bizarre thing imaginable. Although I definitely did not enjoy watching 2 roosters fight to the death I’m definitely glad that I got to experience something that is so important in the Puerto Rican culture. Basically it is a big pit with Astroturf in the bottom and this ref guy sits there and yells things out that we obviously couldn’t understand. The roosters get lowered down in these fiberglass boxes on this conveyor belt and then get put into these burlap sacks where they are weighed. Then the ref examines them (who knows what he’s looking for…?). Then the guys that were putting the roosters in the ring would take this little stuffed animal rooster and kind of try to rile the roosters up by like hitting it in the head with it. Then they are placed in these clear plastic boxes facing each other where they get more agitated. Finally the boxes are picked up and they start the fight. It was really intense and definitely gory but as I said, I’m glad that I went. Each fight is on a 15 minute timer (although they usually didn’t last that long) and then a winner is proclaimed; usually it’s pretty obvious. I’m not really sure how it is such a popular sport because it just seems so cruel, but I guess that since it’s been going on for so long and is so embedded in their culture that it is almost like the USA and boxing, for example… it’s not exactly pleasant to watch I guess but people love it. Or maybe greyhound racing… although they don’t run to the death (in most cases anyway). Thursday night we just checked out old San Juan some more and got coffee and sat in a little piazza and people watched. It was low key but definitely enjoyable.
Today I went on a biking “eco-adventure” at 8am. It was definitely not what I would describe as an adventure, but pretty cool nonetheless. Since I hadn’t ridden a bike in years literally, I was a little wobbly at first but got the hang of it. We rode on a boardwalk through the woods and then out along the beach. Then we came to a pretty area and stopped for about 20 minutes to take pictures and have some water and then biked back and spent an hour at the beach. I didn’t wear my bathing suit but apparently the water was really warm. It was a nice relaxing morning to say the least. And our guide Javier was definitely hitting on Lydia, haha.
We grabbed lunch on the ship and then ventured back into Old San Juan to spend the afternoon doing some shopping. We went into a great little gallery where I got 2 prints of gorgeous paintings and even got to meet the artist and his wife who were so sweet. We just wandered around some more and took dorky pictures of course. Tonight Dean Maniates (aka the political science professor from Allegheny turned Academic Dean of SAS) took Lydia and I out to dinner to a very authentic Puerto Rican restaurant. It was really nice to have dinner with him and a great way to end our time in Puerto Rico. We grabbed coffee and cookies after at a historical pastry shop, La Bombadera. We leave in about an hour and start the trip to Salvador Brazil. I have class for 7 days in a row (eek!) but then about 5 off where I get to experience Carnival!
I hope everyone is doing well! Post Comments or send emails to bowmank@allegheny.edu
I miss you all!
Ps- pictures will be uploaded when I'm in Brazil so I don't use up precious internet minutes

2007-02-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends and Family!

I just wanted to post really quickly to say that we have successfully EMBARKED on our voyage. Mom and Doc and I got to the Bahamas yesterday around 4ish (like they say—time in the Bahamas doesn’t really matter). We took a cab ride from the airport and found our hotel- the Quality Inn. It was… well let’s just say 3 stars was being incredibly generous. But no worries, we were in the BAHAMAS. We took a short walk over to Senor Frogs and I had my first (legal) strawberry dacquiri. It was really cool because it’s right on the water and you could see the water underneath the floors. We ordered up so delicious fried food and listened to drunk people singing karaoke (around 5pm… good times.) Then we went back to the hotel and I called Lydia (who is also an Alleghenian) and we met up around 7:30 at her hotel on Paradise Island (famous for the Atlantis). So we met up for a little while and then went back to our hotel.
This morning Mom and Doccie and I went to a little Bahamian restaurant for breakfast and then dragged my crazy-heavy bags (93 lbs total… eek!) to the insanely long line. I got onto the ship (MV Explorer by the way) and found my way to my room. After some struggles with my ID card (my key for everything) I finally got into my room. I also found Professor Maniates (aka Dean Maniates, a poli-sci prof from Allegheny but who is the Dean for SAS this semester… cool!) I got off the boat and found my parents and then got back on (this was all overwhelming and a total blur… I didn’t really meet anyone but was kind of walking around in a group of similarly confused group of people). I said goodbye to Doccie and my mom went to get in line to board the ship with some other eager parents.
Around 2:30 I found my Mom and we explored the ship a little bit, found my room, FINALLY met my roommate, Noopur (from UConn and a fellow New Englander, yay!). Mom met Dean Maniates and then we said some (a little bit teary) goodbyes. I was finally on my own!
I unpacked a little and explored a little and met some really cool girls on my hall.
We left right after our lifeboat drill (which was painfully boring, I must say.) We had to stand in a dining hall for about 45 minutes wearing these RIDICULOUS life vests (bright orange obviously) and had to be silent. (Don’t worry, there are a few pictures of us looking gorgeous, obviously!)
Then we watched the ship pull away from Prince George Wharf in the Bahamas and our now on our way to Puerto Rico. Already it is moving so fast! I can look out the window and see the Ocean moving quickly by us.

Alright, I’ve gotta get in the insanely long line for dinner and then meat my Sea-mates (aka people on my hall).
Bon Voyage!
Love,
K-lee

Give and Take... I'll Send You Mail, Return the Favor!

2007-01-12T18:30:00.000-08:00

Now I know you guys are all expecting with great anticipation all of the amazing postcards and letters you will be receiving. However, I have exciting news... You could not only be receiving cool stuff but you could also be responding and sending me mail and cards as well! How truly exciting, I know! Ok, so here are all the port addresses and the dates by which you have to mail them so that I will get them. And you'll have to restrain yourselves- no packages. Sorry friends, I probably wouldn't get them because of customs and stuff. Better luck next time!

Mail for Puerto Rico, send by January 24th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives February 7, 2007
Cruise Plus Service & Sales
1760 Fernandez Juncos Avenue
San Juan, PUERTO RICO, 00909

Mail for Brazil, send by February 3rd
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives February 17, 2007
Oceanus Agencia Maritima
Av. Estados Unidos, 397, Room 601-604
40018-900 Salvador, BAHIA-BRAZIL

Mail for South Africa, send by February 16th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives March 2, 2007
John T. Rennie & Sons
PO Box 702, 1 Thibault House
8000 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Mail for Mauritius, send by March 1st
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives March 15, 2007
Ireland Blyth Limited
1 Queen Street, P.O. Box 53
Port Louis, Mauritius

Mail for India, send by March 11th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives March 25, 2007
J.M. Baxi & CO.
52 Rajaji Salai
Channai-600 001, INDIA

Mail for Malaysia, send by March 19th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives April 2, 2007
Inchcape Shipping Services SDN
4th Floor Unit 4B
Wisma Saw Chong Thuah
39-c, Pengkalan Weld
10300 Penang, MALAYSIA

Mail for Vietnam, send by March 26th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives April 9, 2007
General Forwarding & Agency
5th Floor Osic Building
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
D.1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM

Mail for Hong Kong, send by April 3rd
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives April 17, 2007
Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd.
Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor
No. 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG-CHINA

Mail for Qindao, China, send by April 7th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives April 21, 2007
Penavico Qingdao
21 Wuxia Road
Quingdao, 266002, P.R. CHINA

Mail for Japan, send by April 11th
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives April 25, 2007
Inchcape Shipping Services
Kenryu Bldg II, Room 303
6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku
Kobe-shi, Hyogo-Ken 650-0024, JAPAN

Mail for Hawaii, send by April 23rd
Kristen Bowman
Care Of: MV Explorer
Arrives May 7, 2007
Inchcape Shipping Services
Gentry Pacific Center
260 North Numitz Hwy, Suite 103
HONOLULU, Hawaii 96817, USA

I'll be sending you guys lots of stuff and it would be wonderful to hear from everybody because I will definitely be missing you like CRAAAZY!

Ciao, K-lee

Insert Witty First Blog Title Here

2007-01-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

I decided to create a blog before I embark on this adventure that is Semester at Sea so that I wouldn't have to waste internet minutes picking out a fancy schmancy template. That's right folks, your favorite internetaholic and facebook addictee will not be able to peruse the internet with the same leisure that I do now. Afforded only 250 free minutes of "slow-as-death" (apparently half the speed of dial up- help!) internet, I will have to control my minute usage or be doomed to spending 40 cents a minute. Hmmm I think that money could be used more wisely- perhaps bringing back some souvenirs for you kiddos. So anyway, after a longwinded introduction as to why this exists, here I go...

I leave for Semester at Sea on February 3rd from Orlando, FL and fly to Nassau, Bahamas. On February 4th at 1000 (yes, I will have to master military time...) I will begin the boarding process onto the MV Explorer and the adventure will begin!

This is my itinerary:
-depart from NASSAU, BAHAMAS
-SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
-SALVADOR, BRAZIL
-CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
-PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS
-CHENNAI, INDIA
-PENANG, MALAYSIA
-HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM
-HONG KONG, CHINA
-QINDAO, CHINA
-KOBE, JAPAN
-HONOLULU, HAWAII
-arrive in SAN DIEGO and head home

Pretty exciting if I do say so myself!
While I'm "at sea" the classes (I know... what classes?!) will go on but at port we have that time to explore and go on excursions. The classes that I am taking are...

Global Studies: everyone takes this class, it's like the orientation class basically where we learn about all the different countries that we are visiting.
Cross Cultural Perspectives on Families: examining different family situations throughout the world and how families are constructed in the different countries we are visiting.
Human Reproduction: seems pretty straightforward to me, but what the hell, let's see what they have to say about it. No, just kidding, we're talking about family planning throughout the world and issues with reproduction as a global issue- right up my alley!
Gender, Class, Race, Ethnicity and Social Change: it's a mouthful but i'm sure it will be very interesting!

In each port we have the opportunity to go on different excursions. There are excursions that you can go on that are planned and coordinated by SAS but you can also do similar trips that you plan yourself. These independent trips are called "indy trips" and interest me. However, I did sign up to do a number of trips through semester at sea- I like the idea of having everything planned out for me although I know that there will probably be some negatives, just as if there would be if I planned out everything "indy."
These are the trips that I signed up for. (Pre-sale only, there are tons of other trips available but I don't have to decide until I actually board the ship... so this isn't all I'm planning on doing, don't worry!) I haven't found out yet but I should in just a few short days (decisions are sent out tomorrow, January 12th! Crossing my fingers...)
Puerto Rico:
Seven Seas Kayak- kayaking around some beautiful bays and taking a trip to see a mangrove tree mysteriously growing in the middle of the bay
Coastal Bike Eco-Adventure- biking on a boardwalk through the rainforest and then out towards the beaches with a scheduled swimming stop
(hopefully I develop my outdoorsy streak...)
Brazil:
Evening Camarote- Viewing Carnaval in style in a stilted tent to watch the passing parade up close and personal... complete with snack and OPEN bar.
South Africa:
Three Day Tented Safari to Kwazulu Natal- it's always been a dream of mine to go on a safari, now here's my chance!
India:
Rotarian Homestay- I will have the opportunity to stay with an Indian family and gain some firsthand experience with their cultures and traditions.
Vietnam:
Phan Thiet (don't even ask me how to pronounce that)- Taking a 3 day trip to a fishing village and exploring some of the most beautiful sand dunes in the world!

Like I said, I haven't found out if I'm actually scheduled for these trips yet, nor are these all the options available. I'll keep you posted on the other trips I'm planning on (such as kayaking and snorkeling in Mauritius and helping out at an orphanage in India) and whether I got into these trips.

Ok I think that's long enough... phew!
Ciao, K-lee