Just finished six action packed days in South Africa! WOW!!!

We arrived early than expected in port on February 19^th at 0530 hours. Arriving in port is probably one of my favorite times on the ship. Seeing the city lights in the distance, the anticipation of what you’re going to experience and see, the chilly dark morning while watching the sun rise, students out on the deck with cameras in hand listening to the drums and music play is indescribable. The ship docked at the Victoria and Alfred Water Front (V&A Water Front) in downtown Cape Town. The waterfront looked like a Fashion Island situated in Dana Point Harbor. This area was very touristy, safe and upscale. It was nice to have some comforts of home-like a Haagen Daz, KFC and a Pic’n’Pay which is a grocery store.

After arriving very early in the morning I actually went back to sleep until noon because my trip didn’t leave until 1300. The night before arriving in port it is VERY difficult to get any sleep with all the anticipation and excitement. Fifteen of us, along with our trusty guide Amelia, went to “Walk with the Baboons.” Walking with the baboons was started by a conversationalist named Jill who wanted to protect the animals from extinction along the peninsula. These animals faced a grim future when residential areas began springing up in their habitat. Residents would often shoot the baboons to keep them out of their trash and yards. We were split up into three groups of five and were led about 100 yards into this canyon. To my surprise we found a colony of 34 Baboons just playing and scavenging for food. We kept our distance but they kept coming up to us. This one juvenile who they named “Mikey” actually grabbed onto my leg! He felt very furry and cuddly. After we returned to the Waterfront and the ship, Kristin and I set out to tour the area and see the mall. We went grocery shopping and purchased some snack essentials-Tea, Cereal, M&Ms, crackers, and peanuts and also found the South Africans version of a Jamba Juice called Natural Kaui. I had about 5 while we were in port! Kristin left for her safari in the morning and I had a full day FDP the next day.

Wednesday, Mason, Lauren and I, along with 18 other classmates and our professor left for a full day tour of Cape Point, the Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope. Once we got out of Cape Town, I fell in love with the scenery and atmosphere of the small fishing villages, beach coves, vineyards and people. Kind of mix between Laguna’s coves meet Paso’s landscape of hills, ranches and vineyards. Our first stop was Hout Bay Harbor where we looked at different types of fishing methods- longlining and purse-seining for the overfishing part of the curriculum for my Human Effects on Coastal Systems class. Our next stop was a Table Mountain National Park-Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope is the most South-Western point of the continent of Africa. The most southern point is Cape Agulhas. (To find on your map, Val). The national park was beautiful! Lots of ‘fynbos’ or protected plant species, wild life and jagged cliffs. We actually climbed up to an old lighthouse and had a terrific view of False Bay, Cape Point, and the Cape of Good Hope. After the national park we entered False Bay and had lunch at an oceanfront seafood restaurant. The food was delicious! We had fresh swordfish while the group next to us was eating on grilled lobster! After lunch, before falling into a food coma in our amazing luxury coach, we visited Bolders. Bolders is another national park famous for the ‘jackass’ penguins that nest on the beach. There are four species of South African penguins. Jackass penguins got their name because their mating call sounds like a donkey. There were over 3000 penguins just chilling on the beach, enjoying a swim in the 50 degree water of the Atlantic Ocean and nesting under nearby brush. Afterwards we headed back to the ship where Lauren and I walked to find our pick-up location for the next days adventure-skydiving, and had lunch at a wannabe Mexican restaurant. I had chicken nachos and although it didn’t really satisfy my Mexican food craving, it was nice to have guacamole and chips!

Thursday the 21^st Lauren and I woke up really early to catch our ride out to the Skydive Cape Town’s drop zone. It was about a 25 minute drive to a private air-strip and large hangar. Once there, we met two other SAS students. My name was the first one up on the whiteboard. After we paid, (don’t worry mom, I got a video and over 100 still frames) I was fitted into a harness, introduced to my tandem partner and videographer and put into a Cessna 182! I was going up by myself without any other SAS students!! There were 4 jumpers crammed into the cabin with no seats, except for the pilot. My partner, Hugo, in his tshirt and jeans, has been jumping for over 17 years, although you’d never guess it by his sweet personality and young face. My videographer, Paul, has been jumping for about seven years. We climbed for what seemed like forever. I didn’t realize how high 9,000 was! Hugo explained everything I was to do in about 4 seconds and before I knew it the door opened and the free jumper was gone, then the videographer and now it was OUR TURN! My feet swung over the edge and landed on the step outside. The look of terror on my face in the video is hilarious! The free fall lasted about 30 seconds and once the parachute opened it was nice, quiet and peaceful. The view of Table Mountain and Robben Island were breathtaking! Hugo let me steer for a little bit and before I knew it we were landing in a big giant sand pit behind the hangar. I was the only tandem that landed on our feet, probably because I have really short legs. After skydiving we drove back to Cape Town where Kathleen Lauren and I caught a cab to the base of Table Mountain to catch the Cable car up 7,000 feet to the top. I was a little worried about my elevation sickness but it actually never hit, thank goodness. The view from Table Mountain was awesome as well. You could see the city with its skyscrapers, the suburbs of Cape Town and the buildings and stadiums that are going on for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, the city is littered with cranes! We met another SAS student named Cliff who had lost his buddy so he descended with us and caught a cab to Green Square Market where we shopped for about an hour. After returning to the ship, Lauren and I headed out to use the payphones to call home. It was so great to hear familiar voices and definitely made my day!!!

Friday the 22^nd, my safari left at 0445! 37 of us, including a faculty chaperone and a tour guide, departed for Cape Town International to take our 0630 domestic flight from CT to Durban Airport, kind of the North East of South Africa. The security in the airport was less intense than using your credit card in America. I literally put my backpack, with a full Nalgene water bottle, a container of sunscreen, and food, on the scanner and walked right through the metal detector with no one watching. It was amazingly convenient! We walked out on the tarmac and up the steps to board our Boeing 737 for the 2 hour flight to Durban. The Airports in South Africa, as I’m sure with any other less developed airport, are so simple! We boarded our bus for our three hour drive to Zululand Tree Lodge. I slept the entire flight and almost the entire bus ride there. The landscape reminded of North Shore Hawaii- red soil, sugar cane and the occasional chalet and house. Zululand Tree and Safari Lodge is located on a Nature reserve where the wart hogs, monkeys, Uyala and Impalas roamed freely through our open lobby and dinning area complete with a thatched roof, wooden walkways, large pool and bar. After our arrival we were assigned rooms and roommates, my roommate Heike and I stayed in a chalet at the Safari Lodge, about a 7 minute walk down the dirt road from the Tree Lodge. We embarked on an evening safari where we boarded these 10 seater open Land Rovers. We drove for about two hours and say lots of impalas, Uyalas, four giraffes, lots of zebras, two ostriches, and lots of birds. Everyone went to bed pretty early because we had a 0600 wake up call the next day.

Saturday, Feb. 23^rd. We boarded our rovers to drive twenty minutes up the road to the HluHluwe Infolozi Nature Reserve. Once we entered the reserve we took lots of dirt roads over looking water holes, large open fields, and the rolling hills. We saw one elephant, eight rhinos, 6 giraffes, tons of zebras, a herd of water buffalo, warthogs (pumba), a crocodile, a dung beetle and many birds. We saw three of the “Big Five” (Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant, Cheetah, and Lion) and was the only rover that didn’t see a Lion! The day was exhausting with a lot of sitting and driving. Our driver Ecebo was excellent!

Sunday, Feb 24^th- We woke up for our six hours of travel back to Cape Town. It was probably the most turbulence I have ever felt on a commercial flight! The landing gear on the plane touched the runway three times before our wheels were finally on the ground. It felt like home returning to the ship. I was very excited to take a LONG shower, unpack and see and hear everyone’s South Africa adventures. I found Kristin and we went to the mall to spend the rest of our rand where we purchased yoga mats and more food. We ran into Mason and Kelly at the wannabe Mexican restaurant close to the ship and had a farewell South African dinner. We were anticipating a very long line to board the ship but were surprised to see no line! Mostly everyone was already on the ship waiting to see a local Award winning South African high school choir perform on the ship. Their performance lasted over an hour and was amazing! Around 2200 the loud speaker came on and the assistant dean stated that we would not be leaving because the fog had rolled in.

Monday, Feb. 24^th- Woke up at 0800 to grab breakfast and head off to class. I was surprised to see that we were STILL in Cape Town and the fog was very thick. Finally, around 11am we left to a crowd of people that had gathered around the port. It was sad to say goodbye to South Africa and it was the first port that I didn’t want to leave! It did not take us long to hit rough seas. While napping, you could actually feel yourself catch air. The ship isn’t rocking that much because we are hitting the swells head-on rather than at our side. The spray from the bow is higher than our four story window!! My seasickness bracelets are on and classes are back in full swing. Five days until we reach Mauritius!!

South Africa has a very laid back, friendly atmosphere. The people in these townships are so happy and hopeful although they live off of almost nothing. I remember visiting an orphanage in Mexico where we handed out tarps and while the people were receptive they were not overly friendly. The people here in the townships in South Africa would welcome you into their homes and let you take their pictures all while telling you their life stories.

Thanks for all the letters, emails and comments. Internet is sporadic while we are going around the Cape.

Still in Cape town South Africa! Fog has locked us in for over 12 hours now. Hopefully be able to get out sometime today. I will post a longer S.A.post later. Until then, onto classes while we're in port...fun!

oh- P.S. in the picture- Table Mountain in the background at ~7,000 feet and Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was a prisoner for 27 years!

Me and my trusty partner Hugo! It was a blast!!

Off to Safari for three days to hopefully see the "Big 5"- Rhino, Elephant, Lion, Giraffe, Hippo...

SURVIVED!!! Skydiving was amazing!! I would do it again in a second! It wasn’t like any other extreme adventure sport and big roller coaster where your stomach ends up in your throat. The view was breathtaking, the 30 second drop at 120 km an hour was exhilarating and the flight down was calm and beautiful

The plane ride up was when I got a little nervous but nothing to bad. We rode up in a Cessna 182, Dad! They had a fleet of 4 planes- Cessna turbo 206, another non-turbo 206, 182 and a 210. The entire company is operated out of this big hangar. They didn’t explain anything to you until you’re up in the air. So I was kind of thinking…I have this harness on, I’m strapped to a guy that for all I know I’m his first tandem dive, and they haven’t even told me what I’m suppose to do! However, I was happy to find that my tandem partner Hugo dove with Prince Harry in May 2006!! He was very kind and thorough.

It was awesome! Mom, don’t worry, I got a DVD and a picture CD! J

I will try and upload a picture but I can’t promise anything with slow internet connection. I’m going to make some phone calls tonight which would be about 6-7am Thursday morning PST.

Leaving for a Safari tomorrow morning or 6pm PST on Thursday! Love you!

HELLO from Cape Town!! South Africa is AMAZING, and we’ve only been here for 2 days!

So far I have walked with baboons (a juvenile actually climbed up my leg!), sat with the South African penguins and went to the south-west most southern point on the continent of Africa! The days are long but packed with soooo much. We have a beautiful view of Table Mountain outside our cabin window. Tomorrow, early morning, Lauren and I are going sky diving!!! I’ll try and post pictures before I leave on my safari at 0400 hours on Friday.

The food is beyond delicious, the people very kind (most speak English which is nice), Cape Town- surprisingly very touristy, the atmosphere is very laid back and safe. Our ship is stationed right next to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Complex which is a big mall with every comfort of home! KFC, Haagen Daz, a smoothie place, Pic n’ Pay (a grocery store) and a very clean environment! I can’t wait to get out of very Western Cape Town and head to Kwazulu Natal for my safari.

I will write a more detailed post once we leave South Africa. I’m going to TRY and make some phone calls Thursday morning between 5am-7am because it is a 10 hour difference.

I received a BUNCH of letters this morning!! THANK YOU!!!

*Also, has anyone received one of my postcards from Brazil? A bunch of us realized that the stamps we bought didn’t say AIRMAIL on them…oops!

Happy Valentine’s Day from the middle of the Atlantic ocean!!

You know its going to be a rough night when at 4 pm yesterday you can’t tell the difference from the sky and the ocean because it is so dark. It was very difficult to sleep last night. Chapstick, books, pens and snacks all fell on the floor. Finally around midnight Lauren and I decided to watch House which I fell asleep to. I heard that you know that you’re in rough seas when you wake up in mid air!

Woke up to really loud noises, the crew were banging pots and pans to wake us up for Neptune Day. King Neptune and Queen Manurva boarded our ship and said that we were not up to the challenge to cross their seas. The challenge: fish guts being poured over your head after which you jump in the pool, get out and kiss a fish. The optional challenge: to shave your head, which Lauren did- she has no hair and said I could have her shampoo. It was a fun day, but after working out (or trying to work out, after about 20 minutes I gave up) I was exhausted so I took a 2 hour nap.

Eating dinner was hilarious and kind of fun. Definitely, better than any ride at Disneyland. Luckily it wasn’t raining so we ate out on the 6^th deck. Lettuce was flying everywhere because of the wind. Glasses sliding across tables, plates and knives hitting the floor. At one point my chair moved away from the table with me sitting in it! As Kristin said, as we’re rolling at a 50 degree angle: “I’m trying to eat my Valentine’s Day cake!”

Crossed over the Mid-Atlantic ridge this morning.

Sea depth: shallow ~ 4000 meters

Wind: light at 35 knots J

Swell height: I don’t know… but in a matter of seconds your window goes from dark ocean to sky (If you’re lucky to tell the difference.)

I can’t describe the pitching and rolling. It is fun, intense and often hilarious. I heard this isn’t even rough and that it only gets worst. Classes will be fun tomorrow. We have FOUR days until Cape Town!!! I will be so excited to see land. Staying hydrated and haven’t had to take sea sick pills yet, knock on wood.

Loose another hour of sleep tonight.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I miss you all!!

Bom Dia (pronounced: Bonj-ia) from Brazil! We were just in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Salvador being the city, Bahia, the state and Brazil the country. We arrived on a beautiful morning earlier than scheduled on Tuesday around 0530am. The sunrise behind the skyscrapers of Salvador was breathtaking. The pilot met us at the entrance to the bay and two tugs guided us in. We were one of six cruise ships scheduled to arrive in port that morning. The process of docking, clearing the ship, immigration and unloading 700+ students is a very long process. Robyn, Kate, Shane, another Kate, Kristin and I finally disembarked and walked down the long flight of stairs from the 5^th deck to the dock. The six of us (plus all other 700 students) were stared at and almost looked down upon as being “Americans.” I’ve never felt more vulnerable in my life. It is like the street vendors saw us and thought “oh, rich Americans” and often called us Americanos. You know, they tell you to “blend-in” but that is IMPOSSIBLE here. You stick out like an enormous, swollen, stitched, bandaged, sore thumb. What an eye-opening experience!

Another Thing- PORTUGUESE is hard! I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to communicate with people. The few Brazilians that we ran into who spoke English were very excited to show off by saying “hello!” “Have good day.” It was nice to know that if you spoke in Spanish they often understood what you were saying like “bano” (Spanish) vs. banherio (Portuguese). Needless to say, we did A LOT of pointing and sign language. It was all in the adventure and very fun!

Salvador is divided into an upper and lower city. Four giant elevators (for .05 reals) transport people from the two different levels. The upper city that we visited a lot was called Pelourinho, a very touristy old city. The architecture and cathedrals were mesmerizing. The humid weather and strong sun was definitely an adjustment. We went through the port terminal and walked out into the bustling street. I was a little taken back by the large crowds of solicitors, beggars, and whistlers. The residents of Salvador all look completely different, there is no stereotype “Brazilian.” Salvador was once the capital of Brazil until it was moved to Rio de Juniero and then finally Brasilia. We arrived on the last night of Carnaval (a 5 day celebration that symbolizes the coming together of the Portuguese, Dutch, Africans (slaves) and Indigenous people). Carnaval is a massive celebration divided into three parts among Salvador. (Carnaval takes place throughout Brazil) You had the traditional Carnaval (the one we saw) with costumes and brass bands and then there were the two other locations where camarotes would parade down the streets. A Camarote is a semi truck with a band ontop. The space inside the semi is one big GIANT speaker. It is hard to describe the noise and energy. Everyone was dancing and jumping up and down.

Pelourinho was once a very populated, dirty, unorganized city until the government threw everyone out and cleaned up the city turning it into a touristy site. The families that were thrown out now live on the streets and are often mad at the tourists. An example: We were eating at this internet café (had delicious acai and pizza) and this little skinny emaciated boy kept hounding us for money and food. Finally, the owner of the café chased him out but he kept coming back until I guess he finally realized we weren’t going to give him money. Another thing we had to get used to, were the bodyguards and escorts. It was very comforting to know that there was someone there that spoke the language. Robyn, Kristin and I semi-dressed up for our Traditional Carnaval walking tour put on by SAS. 200 of us SASers, 8 bodyguards and 3 Tour guides walked the streets of Carnaval. We were given some free time but were kept on alert at all times. Although often uncomfortable and sweaty, my money belt came in VERY handy. The day that I did take my camera out I wore it under my clothes. Another neat aspect of Carnaval was the amount of police stationed around the city and the helicopters with spot-lights above our heads. Needless to say we all survived Carnaval and had a great time seeing the festivities, costumes, drums and music.

The next day Kristin and I left at 8am for Itaparica Island (a trip though SAS). Forty of us boarded our own private boat and motored our way to Ihla dos Frades. The island reminded me a lot of Hanauma Bay in Hawaii minus the thousands of tourists. We were one of a couple groups that had the beach all to ourselves. I’ve never seen so many thong Bikinis and Speedos. The water was 85, air 80 and humid. After getting a little too much sun we boarded the boat and set out for Itaparica Island where a delicious buffet lunch was waiting. Many of the people (middle class) leave Salvador during Carnaval and come to the Island where the population goes from 35,000 to 65,000. It was a very fun, tiring day and felt nice to get to bed early.

Thursday was able to sleep in which felt amazing. While at sea breakfast is only served from 0700-0830 so you have to get up super early to eat ( I know 0830 is late but when you’re on a school schedule with lots of reading its early). Around noon we all set out for Pelourinho to find an internet café. It felt like you were walking in a completely different city from Tuesday night. Carnaval changes the city and today it was regular Salvador. We boarded the elevator and went up to the upper city and found an internet café where we ate acai (accent on the c) and played on the internet for an hour. Everyone got a lot accomplished (including posting pictures on my blog) and it felt very fulfilling to be able to answer emails, read facebook, catch up on the news and blog. Afterwards everyone felt very content and happy to be able to get in touch with home. I bought a Brazilian flag and a pair of authentic Havianas (flip-flops that are made here in Brazil). We headed back to the ship to get ready for our exciting Brazilian futebol game (It is spelled with an ‘e’ in Portuguese). Over 300 Semester at Sea students (yep, that’s 8 luxury buses) made our way through Salvador to watch the Bahia team play. The team is playing at a make-shift stadium versus their huge home arena. The caravan of massive buses snaked through the side streets of this little town. When we pulled up the stadium we were surprised to see what looked like a high school football game at LBHS. There was one set of stands and a small field that many U.S. high school stadiums put to shame. I was thinking- what a scene we are going to create, 300 Americans flooding the parking lot of maybe 30 cars with our 8 luxury buses. Well, it was a scene and everyone was pretty respectful of us. We had our security guards and tour guides with us again. Bahia won 2-0! The crowd was intense. People were climbing fences, shouting, and the beer was flowing. They probably made their entire quota last night with all the jerseys, beer, popcorn, sugarcane, and ice cream that everyone bought. It was very interesting to see that 10 armored guards stood on the sidelines. Once half time was called, the armored guards with their dogs, shields and machine guns swarmed the referees and escorted them off the field. I guess that lots of referees have been shot from the stands over controversial calls made during the game. Like I said, intense. Once the final whistle blew, we were all told to stay seated so we could make a safe and secure exit. All the little local boys wanted their pictures taken with our digital cameras and to be able to see it afterwards put a huge smile on their faces. We made it back to the ship around 0:00 (midnight). Observation: the cars here are either a bus or a tiny fiat, no SUVs. Another observation: I haven’t seen one McDonalds while we were here. That should be in the world record books or something!

Friday, my steward Andrew came in and woke me up around 9am. I was all covered in my bed covers and he didn’t see me and started cleaning. (Lauren, roommate, was gone to Igacu Falls all week). When I rolled over in bed to say good morning he flew through the roof- I scared him and he apologized profusely. Tracy, Kristin and I set off to find Brazilian coffee, Kristin some flip-flops and I wanted to find a free newspaper to mail to my vicarious voyage classroom in Massachusets. We ate at our favorite Bahia Internet Café and shopped for a good 2 hours and only found Kristin flip-flops. It’s hard to stay out for more than three-four hours at a time due to the sun and heat. We came back to the ship early and I was able to get my Peer Advisor application filled out for CLU and do some school stuff-blah. I’m going to try and fax this application in, wish me luck. Also, my cell phone doesn’t work while I’m in port. I can buy a calling card from the Purser’s Desk for $20 but it is only good for 13 minutes. So, for now, it looks like I will be blogging and emailing. I’d rather pay more money for internet minutes than a short phone call. Although I’d love to hear some familiar voices.

Saturday, Kate and I had a mission to find a grocery store. Everyone else was out doing their FDPs or getting back from trips. Kate and I managed to bargain our way (speaking maybe 3 words of Portuguese) with lots of writing and shaking our heads for a taxi ride that cost on $15 Reals to the grocery store. The grocery store was about 10 minutes away and resembled a Vons but was called something completely different. Shopping down the isles was tough! All I wanted was Saltine Crackers, a chocolate bar (you CRAVE chocolate on this ship), and a box of cereal. I only wanted three items, yep, 3 things. I managed to recognize Tony the Tiger on a box of cereal and thought that was a safe bet. I also recognized Nestle con Leiche (which I figured was milk). No luck with the Saltine Crackers but after staring at all these labels of Portuguese, I’m fine with my box of cereal and chocolate bar. The ride home was very interesting. Our next taxi driver wanted $ 30 R to drive us to the port! That is twice the amount we paid to get there! We bargained him down to 20 and just wanted to get back to the ship after our tough day of shopping. This taxi driver was CRAZY. He turned up the music really loud, ran a red light, almost hit and pedestrian and the car had no seatbelts. Luckly, we got to the port safely and seeing the ship was a big relief. I was holding my breath for a while there. Everyone boarded the ship on time. We were scheduled to depart at 2300 but Lauren got up and looked out the window and saw that we were leaving early-2130. We all ran up to the 7^th deck and watched the skyscraper lights of Salvador disappear. This guy Alex, who has a hilarious Southern accent, as well as a bunch of other people and myself gazed at the stars. You can see the Milky Way as clear as day and the Southern Cross that you can only see when you’re on the Southern part of the equator. I also saw the brightest shooting star I’ve ever seen. It is tough to believe that we won’t see land for 10 days. I guess later in the week we are suppose to hit rough seas (two different ocean currents colliding). I’ve heard as rough as 15 foot swells…but we’ll see about that. I might be taking my first sea sickness pills.

Another new addiction of mine is watching TV series because we have no TV! Lauren has two seasons of Grey’s Anatomy (I’m on the second), ER, House, The Office and a ton of movies. I watched the entire season of The Closer that I brought in one week! I can’t tell you how relaxing and calming it is to watch a movie and let your mind escape this crazy around-the-world adventure. My computer has been my lifesaver. Without any distractions and when I want to escape, I end up playing on Photoshop, reading or playing games (yes, board and card games) with people around the ship.

Overall, Brazil is a very beautiful and organized yet chaotic city with very kind and rude people. A place of many contrasts. Like it says on the flag: Ordem e Progresso. Order and Progress! I think that might be a familiar theme with many of the countries we visit. There are large mansions next to frames of burned out buildings. You see men urinating in the corners of buildings and a newspaper stand that looks like it should be in downtown Manhattan, Women in heels with business suits next to a dirty, smelly men with one shoe. Everything has an extreme opposite and it can be found on the streets of Salvador.

Back to classes and ship life! Classes are starting to pick up and I have two tests over the next few days. We have 4 days of classes, then a day off (Neptune Day) and then four more classes. Also loose an hour of time about ever day. We loose five hours between Brazil and Africa. Everyone is really excited for Cape Town, South Africa. We have an inter-port student from Cape Town named Victoria who is really sweet and obviously very passionate about her country. South Africa is our longest stay in port- 6 days. Four of those days I will be on a safari at Kwazulu Natal, the first day I’m visiting a Baboon Sanctuary and the second day visiting Cape Point which is an FDP for one of my classes. I have one day free and a bunch of us are thinking about climbing Table Mountain.

I’ll keep you posted. Next post might not come for a while. I’m starting to get busy with school work.

Good Luck in Bakersfield this weekend Girls! Miss you!

Thanks for the mail. Aunt Kelly, thanks for the picture- brought tears to my eyes.

Grandma- Hope you’re feeling better.

MAIL: If you put my cabin number next to my name it will sort faster (Cabin #4046)

I will write a longer post on Brazil once we leave! Having a blast, seeing alot and staying safe and cool!!!

Far left- Explorer is blue ship in the pictures! Right- coming back on the ferry from Impartica Island (Salvador in the Background)

Left- first sunset on ship.

Right- crossing the equator!!!!

Top left- sleeping on the deck arriving Puerto Rico. Top middle, Fort Cristabol in Puerto Rico. Top Right- sunrise over Salvador, Brazil. Botton left- Itaparica Island- Brazil. Bottom Middle, my Vicarious Voyage partner Sofia and our flat Stanleys!

It is officially Summer here in the Southern part of the hemisphere. Crossed the equator yesterday, a day when we had no classes. We crossed it at 36 degrees 53.78 minutes west.

Everyone cannot wait to get to Brazil for Carnival (supposedly the biggest party in the world- resembles Mardi Gras times 100,000,000,000). A lot of students are hiring body guards to follow them around all night. I’m going on a SAS sponsored trip where we dress up and have a security detail with us. They were saying the safest place to be is on the balconies or on the buses. SAS will brief even further on safety at our pre-port meeting. I know a lot of students who are flying to Rio, the Amazon or Lencois to get out of Salvador. Luckily, we’re arriving on the last day of Carnival.

I don’t have much planned for Brazil. I’m doing Carnival on Tuesday night and going to Itaparicia Island on Wednesday. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are still up in the air. Lauren is going to Iguacu Falls (by the borders of Bolivia and Paraguay) I believe cousin Sandy has been there. Last night we had our first Vicarious Voyage meeting. A girl from North Carolina, named Sophia, and I received a first grade classroom in Massachusetts. Each student wrote us a “hi pen pal” letter and included their “Flat Stanleys”. We are supposed to take these Flat Stanleys wherever we go taking pictures to send back to the class. I’m really excited to begin communicating and learning more about the students.

Yesterday was a no class day. It felt so nice to SLEEP IN and layout on the pool deck in between rain showers. The water is calmest it has been since we left Puerto Rico! You could sure tell that it is Summer here!! It was 82 degrees and humid at 11am this morning. We are now a 5 hour difference from home.
One of my goals in Brazil is to find an internet café to try and upload some pictures. Hopefully it will work. Off to read/study…I can’t believe this is a

P.S. I wrote a blog when we were crossing the equator but it is on my computer. Right now I’m in the computer lab and don’t have it available. But I will post it soon. It was amazing and I was totally expecting like a bright yellow line of buoys or something, but no, just wide open blue ocean!

Arrived in Brazil early around 530am (130am PST). What I saw coming in, the city is gorgeous- large skyscrapers next to poor structures that are houses. The ship is waiting for clearance and then we are allowed to disembark. Today, a large group of us are going to check out the upper city and the Mercado market. There is actually an elevator that takes you to the upper part of the city. Tonight I’m doing a SAS sponsored Carnival trip to be safe. A bunch of us are dressing up in bright colors with face makeup. Carnival is the biggest party in the world- over 4 million people flood the streets. Wednesday I’m going to Impatrica Island (looks like Catalina but at a closer distance) to go hiking and enjoy the nice beaches. Thursday 200 SAS students are going to a Brazilian Futbol game!! No one knows who they are playing but we all want to experience it.

My goal is to find a cheap internet café to post pictures and take care of some school stuff while in Salvador for the next 5 days. Miss you all.

Feb 1st: Lost another hour of time last night. It is only 4am at home! Seas are a lot calmer which is nice. They had oatmeal for breakfast- that right there already made my day! Tomorrow we have no classes!!! Only three hours of classes and then I’m off to either read in the sunshine ( if it comes out) or sleep again.


Jan 31, 2008:
Roughest Day at sea yet and no sunshine. I hardly slept due to the loud crashing of the waves outside our cabin. Who needs TV? Staring out your window anticipating the biggest splash is more entertaining that doing homework! The big waves splash water on our window and we are on the 4th deck! I’ve heard that it only gets rougher when we leave Cape Town to Mauritius. I did the elliptical for 30 minutes…talk about TOUGH!

I received a lot of my first choice field programs! They left our finalized schedule outside our cabin door last night. I got the Borneo Orangutan Adventure in Malaysia (Borneo is actually an Island in Indonesia). I’m sooo excited! It is the only Orangutan rehabilitation center of its kind in the world! I still have nothing planned for Asia. Although a group of us were talking about taking the train from Hong Kong to Beijing to sleep on the Great Wall and see the Terra Cotta Soldiers and then take the train back to Shanghai, still in the works and just an idea. I haven’t had to take any motion sickness meds yet, thanks dad for your iron stomach. Walking down the halls is hilarious as you watch everyone’s body slant 45 degrees parallel to the floor swaying from one side of the hallway to the next. Only one more day of classes and then we cross the equator. Keeping my eye on the horizon! Love you!