A government building
My friend Heidi trying on a sari
Not the cleanest river
I think this is Lakshmi, but I'm not sure.
You have to eat with your right hand!
Friday, March 21, 2008
India Pictures
A government building
My friend Heidi trying on a sari
Not the cleanest river I think this is Lakshmi, but I'm not sure. You have to eat with your right hand!
New pictures!
Hey friends and family!
I'm working on my India post and I'll have it up as soon as I can. I'm already in Malysia and I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write. I do, however, have a few minutes (and fast internet) to upload a few new pictures from Mauritius and India.
Miss you all so much!
E
Here are some pictures from Mauritius:
Climbing up La Ponce - it was quite a hike.
The MV Explorer from the top of the mountain.
From the top of La Ponce, looking down on Port Louis.
A beautiful sunset.
I'm working on my India post and I'll have it up as soon as I can. I'm already in Malysia and I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write. I do, however, have a few minutes (and fast internet) to upload a few new pictures from Mauritius and India.
Miss you all so much!
E
Here are some pictures from Mauritius:
Climbing up La Ponce - it was quite a hike.
The MV Explorer from the top of the mountain.
From the top of La Ponce, looking down on Port Louis.
A beautiful sunset.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
There isn’t a lot to say about Mauritius, because I didn’t do much except lie around on the beach all day, but there are a few tidbits I’ll write about.
On the first day, I was one of the first ones off the ship with a group that was going hiking up La Ponce, a mountain overlooking Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius where we’d docked.
The hike was very rigorous and it took about three hours of steep climbing to get to the top, but the breath-taking view was definitely worth it. I have a bunch of pictures, but as I’m sure you’ve realized by now, uploading pictures is a pretty big task and it might take me awhile to get them up. (I hear the Internet cafes in India are very fast and very cheap though, so maybe I’ll have some more luck there.)
After the hike, we were taken to Flic en Flac beach, which is about 30 minutes away from Port Louis. A few friends and I had rented a villa there for the week, and when I got to Flic en Flac, I found my friends already lying on the beach. Our villa was right across the street from the beach, and it cost about $100 US for each of us for the entire week. It was a little shabby but for the next few days it was the place to be and we had a bunch of people drive in from the ship to stay with us.
My friends Eric and Alan got up early one morning to go snorkeling with an SAS group. They had been at it for about 20 minutes when Eric suddenly started convulsing in the water. Alan grabbed him and ran back in to shore – they were in fairly shallow water but there was coral everywhere, and by the time Alan got back, his feet were completely sliced up. (We asked him about this later, and he said the adrenaline was pumping so hard he didn’t initially feel his feet getting cut.) The rest of the group swam into shore and started calling for help.
A doctor happened to be lying on the beach nearby, and helped to adjust Eric, who by this time was starting to regain consciousness but had dislocated his jaw. The coast guard came shortly after, and Eric was air-lifted to the nearest hospital in Port Louis.
According to the doctors, he’d had an epileptic seizure, although he wasn’t diagnosed with epilepsy. He’d had one a few years ago, and they concluded that the combination of dehydration, bright sunlight, overexertion and fatigue was the cause of his seizures.
Anyway, Eric had his jaw popped back in and spent the night in the hospital, but the next morning he grabbed a taxi and came back to the villa, perfectly healthy. By the way, in the picture of us petting the cheetah, Eric is the one in the middle in the white shirt.
Other accidents that occurred in Mauritius:
One girl had had a lot to drink and slipped off her chair at a bar. She hit her head extremely hard on the concrete floor and lost consciousness. They took her to the hospital (at the same time that Eric was there, which is how I know this) where she lay in ICU in critical condition, apparently due to bleeding in her brain. Eric said he heard that there was long-term mental damage. She was sent home before we left Mauritius.
Another girl was walking with a group of people and got side-swiped by a bus – she broke her arm and sprained her ankle. She’s sort of been a joke for the past couple of days (she thinks it’s sort of funny too). The traffic in Mauritius goes the other way, but you probably shouldn’t walk in the street in any country.
Another girl apparently had something slipped into her drink and had to have her stomach pumped, but I’ve heard less about that one.
One guy performed a song at Open Mic night with the lyrics: “It’s kind of suspicious, that night in Mauritius, when everyone came back with bruises and stitches.”
Needless to say, future Semester at Sea voyages will not be going to Mauritius.
The last day I came back to Port Louis so that I could see the downtown area. I went to the open-air market, which was pretty cool – very hustle-and-bustle, with lots of bargaining going on. I got a couple trinkets to bring back with me.
I should also mention that the MahaShivratri pilgrimage was going on while we were in Mauritius. It’s is a huge Hindu pilgrimage (Mauritius is 52% Hindu) during which many families walk from one end of the island to another carrying colorful floats that depict Lord Shiva (“floats” isn’t quite the right word – they’re like statues, almost, or miniature temples). I took a few pictures of the pilgrims as I passed them and I’ll try to post those a.s.a.p. I’ve learned a lot about Hinduism from the class I’m taking on board the ship, and I think it’s a really beautiful, interesting religion, so it was awesome to see a pilgrimage first-hand.
I think Mauritius was a real turning point in our voyage – it was the last place that we could still have many Westernized things at hand, like nice toilets, hot water, and electricity. It was a lot like spring break – a lot of partying and laying out on the beach and relaxing, but now we’re off to countries like India, Vietnam, and China where we’re not going to be able to do that. It’s time to get serious (at least until Hawaii).
It was also a turning point in terms of friendship – like I wrote earlier in my South Africa entry, there have been a lot of little dramas spurring up in different places, people getting angry at each other. So my original group of friends has more or less divided. I’m really lucky to have stayed out of everyone’s little personal fits (mostly because I’ve been very careful to keep my mouth shut and to not perpetuate gossip – harder than it sounds, believe me), and now I’m trying to branch out and meet other people – 50 days on a small ship and I still see people every day I don’t recognize. How does that work?
I’m trying to keep my head and my confidence up – I can tell you that cabin fever is a very real thing and people are definitely starting to go a little crazy.
In lighter news, here’s a tidbit from my Fiction Writing class that I wrote. It’s an experiment with magical realism:
Their feathers were beginning to turn a blanched magenta, but the flamingoes didn't seem to mind. They just bowed their heads against the arctic wind and continued to march, wiry legs twisting in the snow. Their beaks, now robin's egg blue, were glossed with ice. Most had gone blind. When the first bird collapsed, none stopped.
Night seized the crystal landscape. Stars began to appear, and then the Northern lights. For the first time in days, the flamingoes stopped and gazed upward. Carefully, they dislodged their frozen wings from their sides, ice cracking as they flapped experimentally. Then, as one, they pushed off the ground and broke into the blue and green light, a new brilliance exploding from the absence.
Okay, I’m off to class.
I miss you all! Xoxo.
Lots of love,
E
On the first day, I was one of the first ones off the ship with a group that was going hiking up La Ponce, a mountain overlooking Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius where we’d docked.
The hike was very rigorous and it took about three hours of steep climbing to get to the top, but the breath-taking view was definitely worth it. I have a bunch of pictures, but as I’m sure you’ve realized by now, uploading pictures is a pretty big task and it might take me awhile to get them up. (I hear the Internet cafes in India are very fast and very cheap though, so maybe I’ll have some more luck there.)
After the hike, we were taken to Flic en Flac beach, which is about 30 minutes away from Port Louis. A few friends and I had rented a villa there for the week, and when I got to Flic en Flac, I found my friends already lying on the beach. Our villa was right across the street from the beach, and it cost about $100 US for each of us for the entire week. It was a little shabby but for the next few days it was the place to be and we had a bunch of people drive in from the ship to stay with us.
My friends Eric and Alan got up early one morning to go snorkeling with an SAS group. They had been at it for about 20 minutes when Eric suddenly started convulsing in the water. Alan grabbed him and ran back in to shore – they were in fairly shallow water but there was coral everywhere, and by the time Alan got back, his feet were completely sliced up. (We asked him about this later, and he said the adrenaline was pumping so hard he didn’t initially feel his feet getting cut.) The rest of the group swam into shore and started calling for help.
A doctor happened to be lying on the beach nearby, and helped to adjust Eric, who by this time was starting to regain consciousness but had dislocated his jaw. The coast guard came shortly after, and Eric was air-lifted to the nearest hospital in Port Louis.
According to the doctors, he’d had an epileptic seizure, although he wasn’t diagnosed with epilepsy. He’d had one a few years ago, and they concluded that the combination of dehydration, bright sunlight, overexertion and fatigue was the cause of his seizures.
Anyway, Eric had his jaw popped back in and spent the night in the hospital, but the next morning he grabbed a taxi and came back to the villa, perfectly healthy. By the way, in the picture of us petting the cheetah, Eric is the one in the middle in the white shirt.
Other accidents that occurred in Mauritius:
One girl had had a lot to drink and slipped off her chair at a bar. She hit her head extremely hard on the concrete floor and lost consciousness. They took her to the hospital (at the same time that Eric was there, which is how I know this) where she lay in ICU in critical condition, apparently due to bleeding in her brain. Eric said he heard that there was long-term mental damage. She was sent home before we left Mauritius.
Another girl was walking with a group of people and got side-swiped by a bus – she broke her arm and sprained her ankle. She’s sort of been a joke for the past couple of days (she thinks it’s sort of funny too). The traffic in Mauritius goes the other way, but you probably shouldn’t walk in the street in any country.
Another girl apparently had something slipped into her drink and had to have her stomach pumped, but I’ve heard less about that one.
One guy performed a song at Open Mic night with the lyrics: “It’s kind of suspicious, that night in Mauritius, when everyone came back with bruises and stitches.”
Needless to say, future Semester at Sea voyages will not be going to Mauritius.
The last day I came back to Port Louis so that I could see the downtown area. I went to the open-air market, which was pretty cool – very hustle-and-bustle, with lots of bargaining going on. I got a couple trinkets to bring back with me.
I should also mention that the MahaShivratri pilgrimage was going on while we were in Mauritius. It’s is a huge Hindu pilgrimage (Mauritius is 52% Hindu) during which many families walk from one end of the island to another carrying colorful floats that depict Lord Shiva (“floats” isn’t quite the right word – they’re like statues, almost, or miniature temples). I took a few pictures of the pilgrims as I passed them and I’ll try to post those a.s.a.p. I’ve learned a lot about Hinduism from the class I’m taking on board the ship, and I think it’s a really beautiful, interesting religion, so it was awesome to see a pilgrimage first-hand.
I think Mauritius was a real turning point in our voyage – it was the last place that we could still have many Westernized things at hand, like nice toilets, hot water, and electricity. It was a lot like spring break – a lot of partying and laying out on the beach and relaxing, but now we’re off to countries like India, Vietnam, and China where we’re not going to be able to do that. It’s time to get serious (at least until Hawaii).
It was also a turning point in terms of friendship – like I wrote earlier in my South Africa entry, there have been a lot of little dramas spurring up in different places, people getting angry at each other. So my original group of friends has more or less divided. I’m really lucky to have stayed out of everyone’s little personal fits (mostly because I’ve been very careful to keep my mouth shut and to not perpetuate gossip – harder than it sounds, believe me), and now I’m trying to branch out and meet other people – 50 days on a small ship and I still see people every day I don’t recognize. How does that work?
I’m trying to keep my head and my confidence up – I can tell you that cabin fever is a very real thing and people are definitely starting to go a little crazy.
In lighter news, here’s a tidbit from my Fiction Writing class that I wrote. It’s an experiment with magical realism:
Their feathers were beginning to turn a blanched magenta, but the flamingoes didn't seem to mind. They just bowed their heads against the arctic wind and continued to march, wiry legs twisting in the snow. Their beaks, now robin's egg blue, were glossed with ice. Most had gone blind. When the first bird collapsed, none stopped.
Night seized the crystal landscape. Stars began to appear, and then the Northern lights. For the first time in days, the flamingoes stopped and gazed upward. Carefully, they dislodged their frozen wings from their sides, ice cracking as they flapped experimentally. Then, as one, they pushed off the ground and broke into the blue and green light, a new brilliance exploding from the absence.
Okay, I’m off to class.
I miss you all! Xoxo.
Lots of love,
E
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Finally, an update on South Africa!
I’m going to have to do this one in two parts – South Africa was incredible and I have so much to write about. I’m sorry I haven’t updated in a long time – Internet hasn’t been very reliable lately, but I promise I’m going to keep up with my blogs as well as I can.
CAPE TOWN
Q. How do you get 750 college students up at 5:30 in the morning?
A. Take them to South Africa.
The entire ship was up and taking pictures of a very beautiful sunrise the morning we pulled in to Cape Town. We were off the ship by 8 and I trekked up the famous Table Mountain with a group of girlfriends. Unfortunately, due to high winds, we weren’t able to take the cable car to the top, but we got about halfway and I got some incredible pictures, so I wasn’t too bummed out. With my zoom lens, I could see the MV Explorer in the distance (like I said earlier, I’ll post more pictures when I have better internet).
So, defeated, we drove back into the main town and walked around the waterfront. The Cape Town waterfront is very posh – lots of designer stores that were fun to look at but way too expensive to buy anything from.
After the mall, we freshened up on the ship and went out to dinner for two of our friends, Kevin and Mallorie, who both had a birthday the day we docked. We had the most incredible dinner – I had a spicy chicken curry that really hit the spot after eating bland ship food for 10 days. After an appetizer, dinner, and several bottles of wine (split among us), my bill was R135, about $18 USD. Then we went out to a club and danced with some of the locals - it was so much fun and we met a lot of South Africans.
The next day I went out with my friends Jeff and Eric to the winelands, a part of Cape Town called Stellenboch. The vineyard we visited was called Spier, and they had really great wine. I got a little pocket wine-tasting guide that gave me an idea of look for in a wine, in terms of color, texture, and taste. My favorite wine was one called a Chenin Blanc, which I had never heard of before – it’s a very light white wine, and the one at our vineyard was really nice. I wish I could have taken a few bottles but I’m not allowed to bring them on the ship, and it would have cost over $300 to ship some back to the States.
Right next to the vineyard was a cheetah preservation project, and for 80 rand (about $10 USD) we could go in and pet the cheetahs. (See picture below.) It was so neat – I was a little nervous but our cheetah, Joseph, was very relaxed the whole time. The guide said the cheetahs’ instinct is to conserve energy until it’s time to hunt, so they sleep all day until they decide they’re hungry. Thankfully, Joseph didn’t seem too hungry when we went in to pet him.
We rode the train back in to Cape Town, which was cool because we could see the whole countryside. We shared our compartment with a bunch of hotel staffers who had just gotten off work. It was a relaxing, uneventful ride.
That night a small group of us went to a little restaurant on the waterfront and ordered a few appetizers and had some drinks while the sun set. There’s a group of seals that hangs out near the waterfront, so we watched them for awhile and I got some cute pictures. I didn’t realize there were seals in South Africa, but they’re really cute and like to swim around the MV Explorer.
SAFARI
The next morning I woke up at 6 a.m. and got ready for my safari. We took a bus to the airport and flew out to Jo-burg. The flight was a little shaky, which made me nervous, but we landed just fine and took a 2 ½ hour bus ride to Pilansberg.
We were all completely exhausted after the bus ride, which was really hot (no air conditioning), but when we pulled up to the lodge, all the safari guides were standing outside with glasses of cold guava juice for us. We were served an incredible lunch and then set out on our first drive.
Here, there is so much to write about that I’m not even sure where to begin. Our safari guide, Leon, was incredibly knowledgeable, and broke everything down for us. He was able to answer every one of our questions (and we asked a lot), and he joked around and really showed us a good time.
Did you know the collective word for a group of wildebeest is “implausibility”? As in, “Look at that implausibility of wildebeest.”
Other collective words:
A dazzle of zebra
A murder of crows
A parliament of owls
A kaleidoscope/stretch/ladder/corpse of giraffe
Just a few of Leon’s little tidbits.
On the first day, we saw 3/5 of the Big Five. First we ran into a couple of rhinos sleeping under a tree, then we came upon an entire parade of elephants (yes, parade is the collective word for a pack of elephants). There was a tiny baby elephant among them (see picture below) that Leon said was only 2 weeks old. That night we ran into a pride of lions and the male walked right past the car on my side. I was so amazed and scared that I couldn’t move. They’re really incredible animals.
The next morning we had a drive at 5:30 a.m. We ran into the same group of elephants who were eating on a mountainside. We stopped and watched them for probably two hours – they’re really the most fascinating animals. I was entranced by them the entire time. They seemed to understand we were watching them, and a few of them came really close to the vehicle. The most amazing thing I saw on the entire safari was the mother elephant gently pushing her baby up a hill with her trunk.
Other animals I saw on the safari: hippos, zebras, giraffes, impalas, owls, water bucks, bush bucks (apparently very rare), a kingfisher (also apparently very rare), wild dogs, crocodiles, baboons, warthogs, more rhinos, elephants, and lions. On one occasion, we saw a lion that had just finished eating a water buck; its mane was covered in blood. I’ll post the picture as soon as I can – it’s amazing.
It was hard to leave the lodge. We got Leon’s e-mail address and convinced him to create a Facebook profile. I decided that some day I would really love to come back to South Africa – it’s a beautiful country, despite its problems. I was sad to say goodbye.
OTHER NEWS:
We’re back on the ship, and it’s been pretty boring. I’ve been occupying myself by watching movies with friends and playing intense games of Gin Rummy. Tensions have been starting to erupt within groups and little dramas are starting to happen everywhere. Fortunately, I’ve managed to avoid most of them, but some of my friends are starting to divide up, which puts me in an interesting position.
I’ve started to realize that other countries’ perceptions of the U.S. are not entirely unfounded. I’ve stopped hanging out with some people because they were only concerned with getting drunk, and then getting belligerent and rude. It definitely sends the world a bad message about Americans, and I don’t want to be associated with that message.
We’re almost halfway through, though. Mauritius is up next. I’ll update as soon as I can.
I miss home very much.
Xoxoxo,
E
CAPE TOWN
Q. How do you get 750 college students up at 5:30 in the morning?
A. Take them to South Africa.
The entire ship was up and taking pictures of a very beautiful sunrise the morning we pulled in to Cape Town. We were off the ship by 8 and I trekked up the famous Table Mountain with a group of girlfriends. Unfortunately, due to high winds, we weren’t able to take the cable car to the top, but we got about halfway and I got some incredible pictures, so I wasn’t too bummed out. With my zoom lens, I could see the MV Explorer in the distance (like I said earlier, I’ll post more pictures when I have better internet).
So, defeated, we drove back into the main town and walked around the waterfront. The Cape Town waterfront is very posh – lots of designer stores that were fun to look at but way too expensive to buy anything from.
After the mall, we freshened up on the ship and went out to dinner for two of our friends, Kevin and Mallorie, who both had a birthday the day we docked. We had the most incredible dinner – I had a spicy chicken curry that really hit the spot after eating bland ship food for 10 days. After an appetizer, dinner, and several bottles of wine (split among us), my bill was R135, about $18 USD. Then we went out to a club and danced with some of the locals - it was so much fun and we met a lot of South Africans.
The next day I went out with my friends Jeff and Eric to the winelands, a part of Cape Town called Stellenboch. The vineyard we visited was called Spier, and they had really great wine. I got a little pocket wine-tasting guide that gave me an idea of look for in a wine, in terms of color, texture, and taste. My favorite wine was one called a Chenin Blanc, which I had never heard of before – it’s a very light white wine, and the one at our vineyard was really nice. I wish I could have taken a few bottles but I’m not allowed to bring them on the ship, and it would have cost over $300 to ship some back to the States.
Right next to the vineyard was a cheetah preservation project, and for 80 rand (about $10 USD) we could go in and pet the cheetahs. (See picture below.) It was so neat – I was a little nervous but our cheetah, Joseph, was very relaxed the whole time. The guide said the cheetahs’ instinct is to conserve energy until it’s time to hunt, so they sleep all day until they decide they’re hungry. Thankfully, Joseph didn’t seem too hungry when we went in to pet him.
We rode the train back in to Cape Town, which was cool because we could see the whole countryside. We shared our compartment with a bunch of hotel staffers who had just gotten off work. It was a relaxing, uneventful ride.
That night a small group of us went to a little restaurant on the waterfront and ordered a few appetizers and had some drinks while the sun set. There’s a group of seals that hangs out near the waterfront, so we watched them for awhile and I got some cute pictures. I didn’t realize there were seals in South Africa, but they’re really cute and like to swim around the MV Explorer.
SAFARI
The next morning I woke up at 6 a.m. and got ready for my safari. We took a bus to the airport and flew out to Jo-burg. The flight was a little shaky, which made me nervous, but we landed just fine and took a 2 ½ hour bus ride to Pilansberg.
We were all completely exhausted after the bus ride, which was really hot (no air conditioning), but when we pulled up to the lodge, all the safari guides were standing outside with glasses of cold guava juice for us. We were served an incredible lunch and then set out on our first drive.
Here, there is so much to write about that I’m not even sure where to begin. Our safari guide, Leon, was incredibly knowledgeable, and broke everything down for us. He was able to answer every one of our questions (and we asked a lot), and he joked around and really showed us a good time.
Did you know the collective word for a group of wildebeest is “implausibility”? As in, “Look at that implausibility of wildebeest.”
Other collective words:
A dazzle of zebra
A murder of crows
A parliament of owls
A kaleidoscope/stretch/ladder/corpse of giraffe
Just a few of Leon’s little tidbits.
On the first day, we saw 3/5 of the Big Five. First we ran into a couple of rhinos sleeping under a tree, then we came upon an entire parade of elephants (yes, parade is the collective word for a pack of elephants). There was a tiny baby elephant among them (see picture below) that Leon said was only 2 weeks old. That night we ran into a pride of lions and the male walked right past the car on my side. I was so amazed and scared that I couldn’t move. They’re really incredible animals.
The next morning we had a drive at 5:30 a.m. We ran into the same group of elephants who were eating on a mountainside. We stopped and watched them for probably two hours – they’re really the most fascinating animals. I was entranced by them the entire time. They seemed to understand we were watching them, and a few of them came really close to the vehicle. The most amazing thing I saw on the entire safari was the mother elephant gently pushing her baby up a hill with her trunk.
Other animals I saw on the safari: hippos, zebras, giraffes, impalas, owls, water bucks, bush bucks (apparently very rare), a kingfisher (also apparently very rare), wild dogs, crocodiles, baboons, warthogs, more rhinos, elephants, and lions. On one occasion, we saw a lion that had just finished eating a water buck; its mane was covered in blood. I’ll post the picture as soon as I can – it’s amazing.
It was hard to leave the lodge. We got Leon’s e-mail address and convinced him to create a Facebook profile. I decided that some day I would really love to come back to South Africa – it’s a beautiful country, despite its problems. I was sad to say goodbye.
OTHER NEWS:
We’re back on the ship, and it’s been pretty boring. I’ve been occupying myself by watching movies with friends and playing intense games of Gin Rummy. Tensions have been starting to erupt within groups and little dramas are starting to happen everywhere. Fortunately, I’ve managed to avoid most of them, but some of my friends are starting to divide up, which puts me in an interesting position.
I’ve started to realize that other countries’ perceptions of the U.S. are not entirely unfounded. I’ve stopped hanging out with some people because they were only concerned with getting drunk, and then getting belligerent and rude. It definitely sends the world a bad message about Americans, and I don’t want to be associated with that message.
We’re almost halfway through, though. Mauritius is up next. I’ll update as soon as I can.
I miss home very much.
Xoxoxo,
E
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
From the middle of the Atlantic
Hey Readers,
Sorry I’ve kept in you suspense since Carnivale – I’ve been busy with classes, friends, sunbathing and yoga. One of the professors on board is a yoga instructor and she teaches a class every night, so I’ve been trying to go at least a couple times a week
Here’s a brief summary of how I spent my last two days in Brazil:
The day after Carnivale I left with a group of friends to spend a few days on Itaparica Island. We ended up taking the wrong ferry and, while we still landed on Itaparica, we were on a strange part of the island. We asked a cab driver to take us to a nice hotel. The first hotel he took us to was decent but our impression of the neighborhood was that it wasn’t very safe. These were some people stumbling around, apparently drunk at 3 in the afternoon, so we kept driving.
30 minutes later we arrived on a better part of the island, where we found a nice hotel in the center of town. We were the only white people we saw the entire time; we were completely surrounded by locals, which was so amazing and gave me a feel for life in a small Brazilian village.
We walked around for awhile, trying to talk to some of the locals. There was a girl in our group who spoke decent Spanish, so with her second language, and with the locals’ second languages, we managed to piece together some understanding.
We ate a restaurant that was written completely in Portuguese, so we decided to take the safe way out and order “Pizza Portuguesa” – a pizza with ham and olives.
After dinner we found a tour guide – a little boy named Willy who was selling peanuts. After showing off his capoeria moves, he led us to an amusement park that had been set up for Carnival. A few of my friends went on the bumpercars, but I hung back and took pictures (which I’ll hopefully be able to post soon).
There were still some people dancing and singing in the streets, so we joined in, partying until about 2 a.m. when we finally went back to our hotel.
The next morning we woke up early and had an authentic Brazilian breakfast at the hotel. There was a lot of amazing fresh fruit, manioc (which I had heard of, but never even seen before, much less eaten), and some doughnut-type things that were ridiculously delicious.
We walked to the beach and spent the entire morning there until it was time to catch the ferry back to the ship.
When I got back, I went out with a few friends to look for souvenirs – I didn’t find much, but I really liked walking about the Merchant’s Mercado, which was full of handmade clothes, paintings, and sculptures. I was tempted to buy a painting because they were beautiful, and incredibly cheap, but it would have been awkward to travel with when I get back to the States.
That night I went out to dinner with a huge group of SASers. The meal was all-you-can-eat for 45 raels per person (about $25 US) and the food was incredible. The guys were blown away by the quality of the steaks, and probably had 5 or 6 a piece. I don’t like steaks but I tried rabbit (it made me sad, but it was really delicious), chicken heart (only a tiny piece – it really just tasted like regular chicken meat), lamb (which I still don’t like) and a number of sausages from parts of animals that I don’t want to think about. In addition to the meat, they had an amazing salad, sushi and seafood bar. My favorite was a squid salad made with vinaigrette.
I had pineapple ice cream for dessert, garnished with papaya.
The next day was our last day in Brazil, so I went out and walked around with friends again and went to the Angolan Capoeria school.
My original impression of Capoeria was that it was very fast, with lots of gymnastics and upper body strength, like breakdancing. But at this school, they were practicing a different method of Capoeria that was much slower and much more controlled.
When I watched them, I thought it looked easy and I was unimpressed by the initial display. I wanted to see some fighting. But then they made us try it, and I realized how incredibly strong you have to be to exert that much control. They were able to roll up into a handstand effortlessly and hold it as long as they wanted – it took me 5 minutes to find my balance before somersaulting forward and nearly breaking my neck. By the end of the hour, I was sweating profusely, and the next day I was sore everywhere.
After the trip, it was time to get back on the ship. Everyone was back on the ship by 2130 so we were able to leave earlier than expected (we were scheduled to leave at 2300).
Now we’re somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where, according to the bridge report, we’re on top of 5,000 meters of water and surrounded by something like 3,000 nautical miles of water in all directions. It’s actually nice feeling being so isolated from the world.
We had our first Global Studies exam yesterday, which was a big ordeal. Everyone was up late studying for it. I haven’t gotten my grade back yet, but I’m fairly confident I made an A.
I still love all of my classes, especially Fiction Writing. I wrote a story for the class that I might post on here, if I refine it enough.
By the way, thanks to Steve for posting my pictures of Brazil I can only transfer 50 MB of data or my internet minutes will be automatically cut off.
My luggage never arrived in Salvador, which was a bummer, but fortunately I found someone who has the same type of camera as I do, and he agreed to let me borrow his charger in exchange for a pizza at the snack bar.
Anyway, I have a class in about 30 minutes that I should probably start preparing for (I’m still in my pajamas).
Xoxoxo.
Sorry I’ve kept in you suspense since Carnivale – I’ve been busy with classes, friends, sunbathing and yoga. One of the professors on board is a yoga instructor and she teaches a class every night, so I’ve been trying to go at least a couple times a week
Here’s a brief summary of how I spent my last two days in Brazil:
The day after Carnivale I left with a group of friends to spend a few days on Itaparica Island. We ended up taking the wrong ferry and, while we still landed on Itaparica, we were on a strange part of the island. We asked a cab driver to take us to a nice hotel. The first hotel he took us to was decent but our impression of the neighborhood was that it wasn’t very safe. These were some people stumbling around, apparently drunk at 3 in the afternoon, so we kept driving.
30 minutes later we arrived on a better part of the island, where we found a nice hotel in the center of town. We were the only white people we saw the entire time; we were completely surrounded by locals, which was so amazing and gave me a feel for life in a small Brazilian village.
We walked around for awhile, trying to talk to some of the locals. There was a girl in our group who spoke decent Spanish, so with her second language, and with the locals’ second languages, we managed to piece together some understanding.
We ate a restaurant that was written completely in Portuguese, so we decided to take the safe way out and order “Pizza Portuguesa” – a pizza with ham and olives.
After dinner we found a tour guide – a little boy named Willy who was selling peanuts. After showing off his capoeria moves, he led us to an amusement park that had been set up for Carnival. A few of my friends went on the bumpercars, but I hung back and took pictures (which I’ll hopefully be able to post soon).
There were still some people dancing and singing in the streets, so we joined in, partying until about 2 a.m. when we finally went back to our hotel.
The next morning we woke up early and had an authentic Brazilian breakfast at the hotel. There was a lot of amazing fresh fruit, manioc (which I had heard of, but never even seen before, much less eaten), and some doughnut-type things that were ridiculously delicious.
We walked to the beach and spent the entire morning there until it was time to catch the ferry back to the ship.
When I got back, I went out with a few friends to look for souvenirs – I didn’t find much, but I really liked walking about the Merchant’s Mercado, which was full of handmade clothes, paintings, and sculptures. I was tempted to buy a painting because they were beautiful, and incredibly cheap, but it would have been awkward to travel with when I get back to the States.
That night I went out to dinner with a huge group of SASers. The meal was all-you-can-eat for 45 raels per person (about $25 US) and the food was incredible. The guys were blown away by the quality of the steaks, and probably had 5 or 6 a piece. I don’t like steaks but I tried rabbit (it made me sad, but it was really delicious), chicken heart (only a tiny piece – it really just tasted like regular chicken meat), lamb (which I still don’t like) and a number of sausages from parts of animals that I don’t want to think about. In addition to the meat, they had an amazing salad, sushi and seafood bar. My favorite was a squid salad made with vinaigrette.
I had pineapple ice cream for dessert, garnished with papaya.
The next day was our last day in Brazil, so I went out and walked around with friends again and went to the Angolan Capoeria school.
My original impression of Capoeria was that it was very fast, with lots of gymnastics and upper body strength, like breakdancing. But at this school, they were practicing a different method of Capoeria that was much slower and much more controlled.
When I watched them, I thought it looked easy and I was unimpressed by the initial display. I wanted to see some fighting. But then they made us try it, and I realized how incredibly strong you have to be to exert that much control. They were able to roll up into a handstand effortlessly and hold it as long as they wanted – it took me 5 minutes to find my balance before somersaulting forward and nearly breaking my neck. By the end of the hour, I was sweating profusely, and the next day I was sore everywhere.
After the trip, it was time to get back on the ship. Everyone was back on the ship by 2130 so we were able to leave earlier than expected (we were scheduled to leave at 2300).
Now we’re somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where, according to the bridge report, we’re on top of 5,000 meters of water and surrounded by something like 3,000 nautical miles of water in all directions. It’s actually nice feeling being so isolated from the world.
We had our first Global Studies exam yesterday, which was a big ordeal. Everyone was up late studying for it. I haven’t gotten my grade back yet, but I’m fairly confident I made an A.
I still love all of my classes, especially Fiction Writing. I wrote a story for the class that I might post on here, if I refine it enough.
By the way, thanks to Steve for posting my pictures of Brazil I can only transfer 50 MB of data or my internet minutes will be automatically cut off.
My luggage never arrived in Salvador, which was a bummer, but fortunately I found someone who has the same type of camera as I do, and he agreed to let me borrow his charger in exchange for a pizza at the snack bar.
Anyway, I have a class in about 30 minutes that I should probably start preparing for (I’m still in my pajamas).
Xoxoxo.
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