Day 1:
Arriving in South Africa was truly a dream come true. I sang songs from Lion King as the sun rose illuminating Table Mountain, which was much more in your face than I had anticipated. It was a tad unusual stepping off the ship into an area clearly designed for tourists. Not only were there restaurants up the wazoo, but there was a huge, metropolitan-esk mall. I had heard Cape Town was urbanized, but I wasn’t expecting such a tourist hub. However, I was still able to enjoy a beautiful morning. A few friends and I explored near the port finding a tiny market where I was unable to buy anything because I had only brought with me 70 rand which is less than 10 dollars…I guess I was still stuck in Brazilian real exchange. Oops. I had an FDP that afternoon, so I only had time to grab some lunch and head back to the ship.
My FDP was for my HIV and AIDS class – we visited Bush Radio, a community radio station discussing issues anywhere from violence in schools to AIDS. We received a tour of the station, met the people working there, then proceeded to a room where we watched drawn-out, home-made documentaries about their radio station for THREE hours!!!! Let’s just say this was not how I anticipated spending my first day in South Africa. I was extremely disappointed in the practicum. I thought there would have been many other ways for us to learn more about the HIV and AIDS pandemic in South Africa than at this radio station. Bummer…
That evening I went out to Long Street (the happenin’ street in Cape Town) with some friends and retired early to leave on my safari at 4:30 a.m.!
Day 2:
I signed up for a four day safari at Kapama Buffalo Camp thinking that no one was going to want to spend a four days on a safari and I would be guaranteed a spot, so I wasn’t really surprised when I saw it listed as one of my confirmed trips. Turns out I won the biggest lottery out there! SAS had made a mistake in assuming the Buffalo Camp could accommodate 40 people, but later found out it could only take 10 – by this time it was too late to remove the trip as a choice. I turned out to be one of THREE students picked in the lottery. The rest of the group was made up of my philosophy professor, his wife, the assistant dean, his wife and two kids. We stayed in “tents” on stilts that had actual beds, furniture, and a bathroom in them. They were pretty luxurious. The rest of the Camp was gorgeous and pretty much indescribable, so I won’t even try. It was amazing to say the very least! Our group got very close over the four days. There was another group of 65 that went to Kapama and stayed in the Lodge about ten minutes away from our camp. I was so thankful to be in the small group…I later heard a lot of stories of SASers in the Lodge drinking all night long, being extremely obnoxious and rude to other guests.
Enough about that…let’s talk about the animals! We weren’t scheduled for a game drive until 4:30 p.m., but immediately after we had settled into the camp and put our things away, our ranger, Natalie, got a call that there were two lions right outside our camp. So the first animals we saw were a female and male lion lying under a tree! The male was super relaxed, but the female was definitely staring us down. Since this was our first animal I was a little scared for my life…I later got used to that feeling. On our actual safari that evening we saw giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, impala, warthogs, and HIPPOS! We stopped by a large waterhole for snacks on our game drive and watched the hippos pop their heads in and out of the water and witnessed the renowned, spectacular African sunset first hand. We came across those two lions one more time as we drove back to camp.
We came back from our first game drive to a scrumptious dinner with the most amazing dessert I have ever had in my entire life!! It was a super moist chocolate cake bathed in a delectable pudding-like vanilla sauce. Wow. After dinner “the kids” went in the pool until I discovered the leaf floating next to me was no leaf at all, it was indeed a scorpion! That was the first and last time we went in the pool. We spent the rest of the evening playing card games.
Day 3:
We woke at 5 a.m. for tea at coffee before our game drive at 6:00 a.m.. We had an outstanding morning! The first animals we encountered were two huge White Rhinos! I thought they were elephants at first because of their size, but quickly realized the lack of giant floppy ears was not just a genetic defect. I was blown away at how close we were able to get to them – they weren’t fazed at all by our presence. We then came across the rescue lions chillin’ out by the fence; they’re separated because they have not yet become acclimated to the surrounding area. There was a gorgeous male with three females. It felt a little as if I was in a zoo watching them through a fence… We drove down the road and came upon a very photogenic elephant. He was literally five feet away from me – I could have reached my hand out and touched his trunk. He posed for quite a bit of pictures. After the elephant, was saw a ton of buffalo hanging out at a waterhole. It was surreal.
Our evening game drive was just as exciting! We came upon a gigantic gang of giraffes! I counted 8, but someone else counted 10. There was absolutely beautiful and majestic. I got some incredible pictures. Natalie then informed us that she needed to “show us something”, so we took off on our “Ferrari Safari”! On our way to the surprise, we saw two Rhinos who apparently weren’t too happy - they had their tales curled up indicating uneasiness. The surprise turned out to be a pride of four lions – one large male, two male cubs, and a female. They were, not kidding, right next to our jeep. The young male was very skeptical of our vehicle and began circling around…a little nerve racking. They were super intimidating. We spent a good amount of time with the lions, so by the time we were done we had to speed back to camp for dinner.
Day 4:
The highlight of our fourth game drive was the herd of elephants passing right by our jeeps. There was probably about 15 of them, including four babies. Adorable. Between our morning and evening game drive, we went to visit the Kapama Lodge. It was a lot more beautiful than I had imagined. When you think of a lodge, you think of a building…this was no building. They had an insane pool that looked too good to be true – we ended up jumping in with all of our clothes on! It was so hot that was dried off in an instant. Our evening game drive was another adventure! (I could never get tired of game drives J) We pulled up right next to a handsome male with a full mane! I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be watching a gigantic lion five feet away from me and not feel like I was going to die. I cannot describe to you how happy I was throughout these four days. That evening we were able to watch the sunset and eat our snacks with a herd of zebra and wildebeests. *STUNNING* Could life get any better?
Day 5:
We woke a tad bit earlier to go on an elephant safari! Essentially an elephant safari is the same as a regular safari…but on an elephant. Mine was named Setombe and she had a little baby who toddled right along side of us. We strolled through the brush watching the sunrise surrounded by impala, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, and warthogs. It was a gorgeous morning and a perfect way to say goodbye to Kapama. We came back for breakfast, packed up our things, and said our goodbyes to the Buffalo Camp, Natalie, and Charles.
The previous night I had asked Natalie all sorts of question of how she became a Safari Guide…because that seems like possibly the coolest job out there. She went to school for three years studying Nature Conservation at a tech school in Jo’Berg. She works a ton, though. The guides have to work 21 days in a row from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., then they will get seven days off. Not only did she drive us on our game drives, but she would wake us up in the morning, serve us, clear our plates, get us drink…she did pretty much everything. I was very surprised at all of her responsibilities.
We left Kapama at around noon and didn’t get to Cape Town until 8:30 p.m. (our plane was delayed), causing me to miss all of my friends, so I spent the remainder of my evening uploading my pictures and getting some sleep.
Day 6:
Seeing as my first day in Cape Town was a bust, I had to fit EVERYTHING into one day. My friends and I got a van with a driver to take us around all day in order to jam in as much as possible. We hit up the Greenpoint Market first where I bargained my way into Funky town. We then drove along the coast around Table Mountain out to Boulder Beach where they have a random, massive population of penguins. We got to sit right next to them…but no touching because apparently they can bite a chunk out of your arm. We then hiked Table Mountain…and when I say hike, I mean we took the cable car up…but no one needs to know that. I would have loved to hike it, but we just didn’t have enough time. It was a spectacular view. I also got the chance to go to a grocery store to stock up for the next couple of weeks. It was a lovely, squishy day. In order to say farewell to Cape Town, Semester at Sea invited a youth choir from a township to perform on the ship. The first note coming out of their mouths blew me off of my chair! I have never heard anything like that…ever. My cheeks hurt by the end from smiling so much. It was the perfect way to end our stay in South Africa.
Now, my friends, it’s just a hop and a skip to Mauritius!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
10 Days of Sea...
We have 1 more day until South Africa and we are all going CRAZY! You would think that 10 days on a ship would not be that big of a deal…but you are wrong. There indeed are limitations on what you can do on a ship. How many times can you play Apples to Apples? Actually…things are not all bad; we’ve had some pretty exciting times these last few days...
A few nights ago we had a dance on the ship themed Animal Party! The goal was to dress up as animals…the concept is easier said than done when you are on a ship and only brought normal clothes (except for one guy who decided to bring his cow costume…yeahhh). I dressed up as a sloth - I wrapped my fuzzy brown blanky around my body (like a toga), painted my face, and duct-taped some socks together to make three-toed hands, and called it a night. My friend’s animals were lion, elephant, unicorn, flamingo, ladybug, cat, zebra, and chia-pet. The dance was short lived, but pretty fun. It was a little difficult to dance while wearing a blanket toga.
The next morning was Valentines Day AND Neptune Day! We were woken up at 7:00 a.m. by the crew marching down the halls banging pots and pans together. It was awesome… Neptune Day celebrates crossing the equator and is a rite of passage to the sea. It started off with a speech from King Neptune (Dean Ken all dressed up), then I voluntarily got fish guts dumped on my head, jumped in the frigid pool, and kissed a fish’s lips. The fish guts smelled awful, but I’m sure I would have regretted it if I didn’t participate. Not to mention we were in the middle of a crazy storm, so the ship’s rocking made the fishy water slosh back and forth on the deck. The next step of Neptune Day was the shaving of the heads. Our voyage now holds the record for the number of girls to shave their heads on Neptune Day (39). I was not one of them J. The remainder of the day was spent napping, catching objects about to slide off the table, and eating valentine’s cake.
Last night we had our first Sea Olympic challenge (I’m a member of the Caribbean Sea) where each sea had to create a song and perform it for everyone. It was pretty entertaining, to say the least. Immediately afterwards we had a “Coffee House” show where students AND faculty showcased their talents. We have some awesome guitar players/singers on this ship …and a guy that can juggle and tell hilarious jokes at the same time. I guess you could say we are kept pretty entertained here on the ship.
I wish I had more to report at this point…but don’t you worry – South Africa will make for a plethora of stories!
A few nights ago we had a dance on the ship themed Animal Party! The goal was to dress up as animals…the concept is easier said than done when you are on a ship and only brought normal clothes (except for one guy who decided to bring his cow costume…yeahhh). I dressed up as a sloth - I wrapped my fuzzy brown blanky around my body (like a toga), painted my face, and duct-taped some socks together to make three-toed hands, and called it a night. My friend’s animals were lion, elephant, unicorn, flamingo, ladybug, cat, zebra, and chia-pet. The dance was short lived, but pretty fun. It was a little difficult to dance while wearing a blanket toga.
The next morning was Valentines Day AND Neptune Day! We were woken up at 7:00 a.m. by the crew marching down the halls banging pots and pans together. It was awesome… Neptune Day celebrates crossing the equator and is a rite of passage to the sea. It started off with a speech from King Neptune (Dean Ken all dressed up), then I voluntarily got fish guts dumped on my head, jumped in the frigid pool, and kissed a fish’s lips. The fish guts smelled awful, but I’m sure I would have regretted it if I didn’t participate. Not to mention we were in the middle of a crazy storm, so the ship’s rocking made the fishy water slosh back and forth on the deck. The next step of Neptune Day was the shaving of the heads. Our voyage now holds the record for the number of girls to shave their heads on Neptune Day (39). I was not one of them J. The remainder of the day was spent napping, catching objects about to slide off the table, and eating valentine’s cake.
Last night we had our first Sea Olympic challenge (I’m a member of the Caribbean Sea) where each sea had to create a song and perform it for everyone. It was pretty entertaining, to say the least. Immediately afterwards we had a “Coffee House” show where students AND faculty showcased their talents. We have some awesome guitar players/singers on this ship …and a guy that can juggle and tell hilarious jokes at the same time. I guess you could say we are kept pretty entertained here on the ship.
I wish I had more to report at this point…but don’t you worry – South Africa will make for a plethora of stories!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Tudo Bem, BRAZIL!
Day 1:
At 5:30 a.m. on February 5th our ship sailed into our second port, Salvador, Brazil. The sunrise that morning was breathtaking, setting up a perfect beginning for an exhilarating port. We arrived in Salvador on the last day of the biggest party in the world, Carnival. I was super nervous for both the port and the festivities because we were constantly told awful horror stories of students getting mugged and how we must take ALL possible precautions. Before making my first excursion into the city I put on my fancy shmancy money belt, hid money in my sock and bra, and stripped myself of jewelry that might look like it cost anything. I was ready for anything!
Departing the ship is always such an awkward experience; 700+ white college students flood into the streets at the same time all heading in the same general direction. It is nearly impossible to not look like a tourist in this situation. The first thing I spent my Brazilian Reais on was a Guarana, the national soda. It takes kind of like ginger ale with a citrus flavor and a boost of energy. In order to get to the “old city” of Salvador, Pellorinhio, you have to take a 20 story public elevator which cost 5 centavos. I don’t have any pictures of it because I indeed left my camera on the ship. Pellorinhio was completely captivating with its cobble stone walkways, fountains, statues, and aggressive street peddlers. It was prepared for Carnival with massive stages, boarded up store windows, and extra cerveja (beer) vendors. We walked the streets for a few hours in the scorching sun and ate a traditional feijoada meal consisting of beans, rice, and floppy meat. It was kind of nasty. :-/
After taking a nap on the ship, it was time for CARNIVAL! I had tried to get a ticket to go on an SAS Carnival Camarote (a safer route) because I was so unnecessarily paranoid about the “might/could/would”s. Instead, I sucked it up and made the decision to go with my friends…best decision ever! We left the ship around 6 p.m. and made our way up to Pellorinhio. The festivities were just starting to pick up but were definitely not in full swing quite yet. We ended up in a tiny square where small bands with just drummers were marching in circles accompanied by men on stilts with masks 5 times the size of their head. We danced right along with all of the locals, bouncing up and down, getting a strange foam sprayed all over our bodies. Three locals befriended us and we formed a dance circle, going on the middle one by one showing off our carnival moves, later forming a conga line. Their friendliness and exuberance was such a nice thing to encounter.
We left the square after a while and headed toward the “real” carnival scene. People flooded every single street; not just young people, but little kids, grandparents, mothers, babies, everyone! We met our first float. The floats were European style busses decorated elaborately with bands playing atop. Each float has what’s called a “block” and in order to be in the “block” you have to pay anywhere from 100 to 500 reais for the specific shirt. What separates the block from the average carnival viewer is a rope extending for a good quarter of a mile around the float. We were not in a block, so we danced in front of the roped off float. This dancing was the craziest thing I have ever experienced. When the float would advance, so would the people…and they moved fast! You would all of a sudden find your body moving so quickly and against your will that it felt as if you were floating. It was absolutely fun, but it was also the time when I felt most unsafe. Javier (our interport lecturer) advised us girls to not be surprised if a Brazilian decides to come up to you and kiss you because they love kissing. This is only a funny concept when it doesn’t actually happen to you! At one point while dancing, some Brazilian men were trying to dance with me and my friend - I never once made eye contact with this man (he was behind me) and I kept trying to push him away. However, the music stopped and all of a sudden a face whipped around and his mouth and tongue were all over my face. I immediately yelled “PARA!” (“STOP”) and pushed him away. He wasn’t trying to harm me…but it was really raunchy. Apparently, according to Javier, this happens all the time.
After that lovely experience we made our way to a less rambunctious area were we saw other SASers for the first time all evening. From this spot you could watch the floats pass by without being near the crazy Brazilians. We stayed there until I looked over to an area people were moving away from and saw a blonde SAS girl throwing up like the Exorcist (sorry for that gruesome picture, but I felt it necessary J) We vacated the premises, weaved our way through the crowds back to the square we began in. We grabbed some Brazilian food before calling it a night – many of us had to get back to the ship early in order to leave on our red eye flights to places like Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon, Lencois, and Iguacu Falls. The entire night was a blast and I never felt as if I was about to be mugged. We were back on the ship at 10:30 p.m.
Day 2:
The first and second day in Brazil kind of blurred together - I only got one hour of sleep between the two because our SAS trip to Rio de Janeiro left at 2:30 a.m.! Our group only had 18 people in it, which was much nicer than traveling with 40 people like the other group. Salvador to Rio is usually done in a straight shot, but we ended up having a three hour layover in a city I yet to have a name for. From what I could tell from looking out the airport window was it was very green and inland. We finally arrived in Rio at NOON! The other group left at 6:00 a.m. and got to Rio the same time as us…this was very unfortunate to say the least. We all immediately went to grab lunch on Copacabana Beach and afterwards quite a few of us returned to our hotel for a nap. The moment my head hit the pillow I was out. I’m not one of those people who can stay up all night and remain unaffected – I will get sick. I got on the internet that night on the hotel’s computer where I was able to talk to my parents and my sister on instant messaging, which was super exciting! I slept the rest of the night….kind of lame, but very much needed.
Day 3:
We met our tour guide, Rodrigo, in the lobby at 8:45 a.m. (which is 3:45 a.m. your time..haha) after having an amazing complementary breakfast! Brazil has some outstanding pastries if I may say so myself. We first visited the favelas, the slums of Rio. The homes looked as though large concrete boxes were stacked atop of one another with little holes cut out for windows. The favelas spanned for miles and miles, climbing up on hill sides and leaking into the industrial areas. It was ironic how beautiful they were from a distance. We didn’t actually go into the favelas because it was too dangerous, but we got to visit a special school set up for the kids in order to take them out of the streets and give them a good life. They have these kinds of schools all over the city. We also visited a Samba school where they practice dance for Carnival, although we didn’t get to see any dancing because Carnival had just ended. It was kind of a bummer.
Next Stop: Sugar Loaf Mountain! Sugar Loaf looked a little like an oversized mound of manure…but much prettier and less smelly. We ascended the mountain via cable cars capable of fitting 40 people, and by golly we fit all forty! That part was a little smelly… The view from the top was unbelievable! Christ the Redeemer kept peaking out from behind the clouds every five minutes making for some beautiful pictures.
Afterwards we went to one of Rio’s fabled Churrascarias, an unbelievable all-you-can-eat restaurant with every possible kind of meat served to you on skewers the size of a sword. The meal was complete with singing, dancing, and waving of napkins. If you ever go to Brazil, you must go to a Churrascaria.
That night we were lucky enough to see the famous Brazilian futbol team, the Flemengos, play in Brazil’s largest stadium! The stadium was hardly crowded, maybe one third full, but we ended up sitting in the section where the most action was going on. Brazilians dressed in their black and red jerseys played drums, sang, and waved flags the entire game long. They really did not stop once…not even for a breath or a sip of water. It was pretty nuts. The game was all right, but I enjoyed the environment much more - we made friends with a couple of Brazilians who spoke really good English. After getting back from the game, me and a couple of my friends found a pizzeria along the beach where they had the most amazing pizza I have ever tasted…yes, even better than Mackenzie! My friend had heard Brazilian pizza was good, but who would actually believe something like that – you expect things like rice and beans from South America. We were pleasantly surprised to say the least.
Day 4:
Today was the day of Christ the Redeemer! We left again at 8:45, but this time we boarded four-by-four jeeps. It was a little awkward riding through the city of Rio in these jeeps made for the jungle, but the locals didn’t take a second glance. The rainforest sits right in the middle of the city, rather the city sits around the rainforest. On the way up we saw a couple of waterfalls and stopped at a Pagoda donated by the Chinese that overlooked the most astounding view I had ever seen. Describing it would not do justice…ask me for the pictures when I get back.
Christ the Redeemer was far touristier than I could have imagined, but it still did not fail in amazing me. The crowds of people were difficult to maneuver around in order to get a decent, undisturbed picture…at the same time the statue is so tall that no one could possibly get in its way. If you have never seen a picture, Jesus Christ is a massive stone figure with his arms outstretched reaching out to the entire city of Rio. How they got that statue all the way up that mountain is beyond me.
That was supposed to be our last stop…however our tour guide decided to take us to Saint Sebastian, a small town near the favelas. While we were there, we discovered our jeep’s axil was broken. Hah. Our group leader started freaking out, yelling at our tour guide, and some of the dudes in our group started doing the same. It was all really silly. All we had to do was get some taxis to take us back to the hotel, which was accomplished in about ten minutes. They say people’s true colors come out in a crisis!
We made our way to the airport and arrived at the ship that night around 10:30 p.m.
Day 5:
Today was simple and nice. I slept in until 10:30, woke up, met some friends and went into Pellorinhio. I ate my last Brazilian meal complete with a Guarana. We went to an internet café where I got to talk to my Daddy on the telephone, which made me very happy because I haven’t talked to him directly since I left home. We hit the market for the remainder of the day where I bought some gifts for both friends/family and myself.
We said goodbye to Brazil on the ship with a grandiose barbeque. Brazil was a much more enjoyable experience than I had thought it was going to be…in fact, I can honestly say I will be back.
At 5:30 a.m. on February 5th our ship sailed into our second port, Salvador, Brazil. The sunrise that morning was breathtaking, setting up a perfect beginning for an exhilarating port. We arrived in Salvador on the last day of the biggest party in the world, Carnival. I was super nervous for both the port and the festivities because we were constantly told awful horror stories of students getting mugged and how we must take ALL possible precautions. Before making my first excursion into the city I put on my fancy shmancy money belt, hid money in my sock and bra, and stripped myself of jewelry that might look like it cost anything. I was ready for anything!
Departing the ship is always such an awkward experience; 700+ white college students flood into the streets at the same time all heading in the same general direction. It is nearly impossible to not look like a tourist in this situation. The first thing I spent my Brazilian Reais on was a Guarana, the national soda. It takes kind of like ginger ale with a citrus flavor and a boost of energy. In order to get to the “old city” of Salvador, Pellorinhio, you have to take a 20 story public elevator which cost 5 centavos. I don’t have any pictures of it because I indeed left my camera on the ship. Pellorinhio was completely captivating with its cobble stone walkways, fountains, statues, and aggressive street peddlers. It was prepared for Carnival with massive stages, boarded up store windows, and extra cerveja (beer) vendors. We walked the streets for a few hours in the scorching sun and ate a traditional feijoada meal consisting of beans, rice, and floppy meat. It was kind of nasty. :-/
After taking a nap on the ship, it was time for CARNIVAL! I had tried to get a ticket to go on an SAS Carnival Camarote (a safer route) because I was so unnecessarily paranoid about the “might/could/would”s. Instead, I sucked it up and made the decision to go with my friends…best decision ever! We left the ship around 6 p.m. and made our way up to Pellorinhio. The festivities were just starting to pick up but were definitely not in full swing quite yet. We ended up in a tiny square where small bands with just drummers were marching in circles accompanied by men on stilts with masks 5 times the size of their head. We danced right along with all of the locals, bouncing up and down, getting a strange foam sprayed all over our bodies. Three locals befriended us and we formed a dance circle, going on the middle one by one showing off our carnival moves, later forming a conga line. Their friendliness and exuberance was such a nice thing to encounter.
We left the square after a while and headed toward the “real” carnival scene. People flooded every single street; not just young people, but little kids, grandparents, mothers, babies, everyone! We met our first float. The floats were European style busses decorated elaborately with bands playing atop. Each float has what’s called a “block” and in order to be in the “block” you have to pay anywhere from 100 to 500 reais for the specific shirt. What separates the block from the average carnival viewer is a rope extending for a good quarter of a mile around the float. We were not in a block, so we danced in front of the roped off float. This dancing was the craziest thing I have ever experienced. When the float would advance, so would the people…and they moved fast! You would all of a sudden find your body moving so quickly and against your will that it felt as if you were floating. It was absolutely fun, but it was also the time when I felt most unsafe. Javier (our interport lecturer) advised us girls to not be surprised if a Brazilian decides to come up to you and kiss you because they love kissing. This is only a funny concept when it doesn’t actually happen to you! At one point while dancing, some Brazilian men were trying to dance with me and my friend - I never once made eye contact with this man (he was behind me) and I kept trying to push him away. However, the music stopped and all of a sudden a face whipped around and his mouth and tongue were all over my face. I immediately yelled “PARA!” (“STOP”) and pushed him away. He wasn’t trying to harm me…but it was really raunchy. Apparently, according to Javier, this happens all the time.
After that lovely experience we made our way to a less rambunctious area were we saw other SASers for the first time all evening. From this spot you could watch the floats pass by without being near the crazy Brazilians. We stayed there until I looked over to an area people were moving away from and saw a blonde SAS girl throwing up like the Exorcist (sorry for that gruesome picture, but I felt it necessary J) We vacated the premises, weaved our way through the crowds back to the square we began in. We grabbed some Brazilian food before calling it a night – many of us had to get back to the ship early in order to leave on our red eye flights to places like Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon, Lencois, and Iguacu Falls. The entire night was a blast and I never felt as if I was about to be mugged. We were back on the ship at 10:30 p.m.
Day 2:
The first and second day in Brazil kind of blurred together - I only got one hour of sleep between the two because our SAS trip to Rio de Janeiro left at 2:30 a.m.! Our group only had 18 people in it, which was much nicer than traveling with 40 people like the other group. Salvador to Rio is usually done in a straight shot, but we ended up having a three hour layover in a city I yet to have a name for. From what I could tell from looking out the airport window was it was very green and inland. We finally arrived in Rio at NOON! The other group left at 6:00 a.m. and got to Rio the same time as us…this was very unfortunate to say the least. We all immediately went to grab lunch on Copacabana Beach and afterwards quite a few of us returned to our hotel for a nap. The moment my head hit the pillow I was out. I’m not one of those people who can stay up all night and remain unaffected – I will get sick. I got on the internet that night on the hotel’s computer where I was able to talk to my parents and my sister on instant messaging, which was super exciting! I slept the rest of the night….kind of lame, but very much needed.
Day 3:
We met our tour guide, Rodrigo, in the lobby at 8:45 a.m. (which is 3:45 a.m. your time..haha) after having an amazing complementary breakfast! Brazil has some outstanding pastries if I may say so myself. We first visited the favelas, the slums of Rio. The homes looked as though large concrete boxes were stacked atop of one another with little holes cut out for windows. The favelas spanned for miles and miles, climbing up on hill sides and leaking into the industrial areas. It was ironic how beautiful they were from a distance. We didn’t actually go into the favelas because it was too dangerous, but we got to visit a special school set up for the kids in order to take them out of the streets and give them a good life. They have these kinds of schools all over the city. We also visited a Samba school where they practice dance for Carnival, although we didn’t get to see any dancing because Carnival had just ended. It was kind of a bummer.
Next Stop: Sugar Loaf Mountain! Sugar Loaf looked a little like an oversized mound of manure…but much prettier and less smelly. We ascended the mountain via cable cars capable of fitting 40 people, and by golly we fit all forty! That part was a little smelly… The view from the top was unbelievable! Christ the Redeemer kept peaking out from behind the clouds every five minutes making for some beautiful pictures.
Afterwards we went to one of Rio’s fabled Churrascarias, an unbelievable all-you-can-eat restaurant with every possible kind of meat served to you on skewers the size of a sword. The meal was complete with singing, dancing, and waving of napkins. If you ever go to Brazil, you must go to a Churrascaria.
That night we were lucky enough to see the famous Brazilian futbol team, the Flemengos, play in Brazil’s largest stadium! The stadium was hardly crowded, maybe one third full, but we ended up sitting in the section where the most action was going on. Brazilians dressed in their black and red jerseys played drums, sang, and waved flags the entire game long. They really did not stop once…not even for a breath or a sip of water. It was pretty nuts. The game was all right, but I enjoyed the environment much more - we made friends with a couple of Brazilians who spoke really good English. After getting back from the game, me and a couple of my friends found a pizzeria along the beach where they had the most amazing pizza I have ever tasted…yes, even better than Mackenzie! My friend had heard Brazilian pizza was good, but who would actually believe something like that – you expect things like rice and beans from South America. We were pleasantly surprised to say the least.
Day 4:
Today was the day of Christ the Redeemer! We left again at 8:45, but this time we boarded four-by-four jeeps. It was a little awkward riding through the city of Rio in these jeeps made for the jungle, but the locals didn’t take a second glance. The rainforest sits right in the middle of the city, rather the city sits around the rainforest. On the way up we saw a couple of waterfalls and stopped at a Pagoda donated by the Chinese that overlooked the most astounding view I had ever seen. Describing it would not do justice…ask me for the pictures when I get back.
Christ the Redeemer was far touristier than I could have imagined, but it still did not fail in amazing me. The crowds of people were difficult to maneuver around in order to get a decent, undisturbed picture…at the same time the statue is so tall that no one could possibly get in its way. If you have never seen a picture, Jesus Christ is a massive stone figure with his arms outstretched reaching out to the entire city of Rio. How they got that statue all the way up that mountain is beyond me.
That was supposed to be our last stop…however our tour guide decided to take us to Saint Sebastian, a small town near the favelas. While we were there, we discovered our jeep’s axil was broken. Hah. Our group leader started freaking out, yelling at our tour guide, and some of the dudes in our group started doing the same. It was all really silly. All we had to do was get some taxis to take us back to the hotel, which was accomplished in about ten minutes. They say people’s true colors come out in a crisis!
We made our way to the airport and arrived at the ship that night around 10:30 p.m.
Day 5:
Today was simple and nice. I slept in until 10:30, woke up, met some friends and went into Pellorinhio. I ate my last Brazilian meal complete with a Guarana. We went to an internet café where I got to talk to my Daddy on the telephone, which made me very happy because I haven’t talked to him directly since I left home. We hit the market for the remainder of the day where I bought some gifts for both friends/family and myself.
We said goodbye to Brazil on the ship with a grandiose barbeque. Brazil was a much more enjoyable experience than I had thought it was going to be…in fact, I can honestly say I will be back.
Friday, February 1, 2008
My Average Day on the Ship:
We go by military time here on the ship, so I will write out the times in military time so you guys can feel the confusion we all felt the first couple of days. NOTE: my B days are slightly different.
0800 - I wake up and go to breakfast. I love breakfast on the ship, even though it is really early in the morning. I always have cereal, scrambled eggs, and a teeny muffin. Delish.
0920 - We all are require to take Global Studies and we have to go every single day. Instead of attending class in the main room, the Union, I like to go to a satellite room because I can focus better. The basically teaches us about the port we are about to visit. For instance, class today was all about Brazil’s economy.
1035 - I usually take a nap from this time until lunch, because napping is probably the best thing on the ship to do. The rocking + pitch blackness of my room = amazing sleep.
1200 - Lunch time! Lunch is rarely as good as the other meals. I usually eat sandwiches or something small at home, but they seem to serve a lot of heavy food at lunch.
AFTERNOON – Depending on the day, I have class either at 1215 or 1455. (yeahh, that is when the military time gets a little confusing) Before or after class I do either three things: lay out and read on the deck, write e-mails/blogs, or hang out with people.
1730 – Dinner has been relatively the same food since I got on the ship….good, but the same. It usually consists of a pasta, roll, meat, fish, salad, and rice. If you are really craving something different you can always go to the grill on the 7th deck for a burger or pizza.
EVENING – Everyday there are meetings going on between 1900 – 2100. I am taking Portuguese right now to be able to communicate with people when I get to Brazil. After the meetings I am usually playing some kind of game with my friends in the dining hall. It is amazing how sufficiently we can all entertain ourselves.
2200 – Snack time is an extremely adored time on the ship!! They have mini sandwiches, bars, etc.
2300-2400 – I’ve been going to bed pretty early because we keep losing an hour. Like I said before, sleep on this ship is amazing!
That is my day in a nut shell. It appears that I am busy, but I don’t feel that way. When we’re on these long stretches I will probably miss home more than any other times…but I’m sure those feelings will be put aside when I’m in port.
0800 - I wake up and go to breakfast. I love breakfast on the ship, even though it is really early in the morning. I always have cereal, scrambled eggs, and a teeny muffin. Delish.
0920 - We all are require to take Global Studies and we have to go every single day. Instead of attending class in the main room, the Union, I like to go to a satellite room because I can focus better. The basically teaches us about the port we are about to visit. For instance, class today was all about Brazil’s economy.
1035 - I usually take a nap from this time until lunch, because napping is probably the best thing on the ship to do. The rocking + pitch blackness of my room = amazing sleep.
1200 - Lunch time! Lunch is rarely as good as the other meals. I usually eat sandwiches or something small at home, but they seem to serve a lot of heavy food at lunch.
AFTERNOON – Depending on the day, I have class either at 1215 or 1455. (yeahh, that is when the military time gets a little confusing) Before or after class I do either three things: lay out and read on the deck, write e-mails/blogs, or hang out with people.
1730 – Dinner has been relatively the same food since I got on the ship….good, but the same. It usually consists of a pasta, roll, meat, fish, salad, and rice. If you are really craving something different you can always go to the grill on the 7th deck for a burger or pizza.
EVENING – Everyday there are meetings going on between 1900 – 2100. I am taking Portuguese right now to be able to communicate with people when I get to Brazil. After the meetings I am usually playing some kind of game with my friends in the dining hall. It is amazing how sufficiently we can all entertain ourselves.
2200 – Snack time is an extremely adored time on the ship!! They have mini sandwiches, bars, etc.
2300-2400 – I’ve been going to bed pretty early because we keep losing an hour. Like I said before, sleep on this ship is amazing!
That is my day in a nut shell. It appears that I am busy, but I don’t feel that way. When we’re on these long stretches I will probably miss home more than any other times…but I’m sure those feelings will be put aside when I’m in port.
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