Just a side note on ship happenings: the play I have been working on since we left Mauritius finally went up last night to a packed house! My friends and I performed Bert V. Royal's "Dog Sees God." It was a success and I am very proud of the impact we made on the ship community!
Can't wait to be done with finals, have my cell phone, and be home! Two weeks!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Second Half of Japan
The last two days in Kobe, Japan have been among the best days of my entire Semester at Sea experience. I signed up to do a home-stay through a company called HIPPO. Tami, her husband, her son, who was eighteen, and her daughter, Kumiko, who was fifteen, were my hosts. Even though I had been hoping to be staying with a family with young children because I love Japanese babies, it was a fantastic experience to talk to Kumiko who was around the same age as me. The most exciting element of my host family was that Tami is quite the world traveler! In fact, she has been to Long Beach, California! She knew all about the Queen Mary and in fact had been aboard it when she was nineteen and did a home-stay in Orange County! What a happy accident that she would end up having been to Southern California.
Tami and Kumiko picked me up from the ship and we went to lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. Then, we went to a sake museum. We happened to be in the area of Tami’s parents, so we paid them a surprise visit! They served us tea and a dessert they called cream cake. It was so rewarding for me and also for the parents to try and communicate with me in English. I was surprised that they spoke English, as most elderly Japanese do not. The most interesting part of our visit to the parents’ home was seeing the way that Japanese families interact. In America, if you visited your grandparents, you most likely would hug them when you entered their home. In Japan, there was no sentiment or exchange of affection, even between the mother and daughter. This is very typical of Japanese culture.
Finally, we made our way home. Tami’s home was at the top of a hill with spectacular views of Osaka. The winding roads up to the house reminded me of Northern California. My bedroom was a very traditional Japanese room, complete with wood walls and sliding doors and a mat to sleep on. The second I saw my mat, covered in thick blankets, I passed out asleep until dinner. And what a dinner it was! Cooked salmon, broccoli, sushi, edaname, and... octopus balls! No, it’s not what you’re thinking! Octopus balls are fried dough balls with octopus in the center. Let’s just say I wouldn’t eat them again.
At dinner, we were joined by Tami’s husband and son. The father is in the international oil business, so his English was very good. I enjoyed talking to him about the parts of America he’d seen, his opinion on the future of politics in Asia, especially involving China, and his dreams for his children. He wants them to be open to new cultures and new ideas and that is why he and his wife are so happy to have guests from all over the world. But Kumiko was getting mad at her father because she wanted to talk to me alone, so I excused myself and went back to the game room to hang out with Kumiko. She showed me pictures of all her friends and then taught me this awesome video game. It is like Guitar Hero, but instead of playing the guitar, the player plays a taiko drum! It was so much fun even though I was horrible at the game.
I slept like a baby and woke up to a fabulous breakfast prepared by Tami. Tami is not a housewife by choice (her dream is to teach English, but, as she shared, her husband prefers that she stays at home), but she sure is an excellent cook. We watched Japanese housewife tv programs until we left for Tami’s friend’s house.
It was a grand gathering of Tami and her girlfriends, all members of the home-stay HIPPO program, all hosting other Semester at Sea students. We learned calligraphy and origami with several Japanese housewives and their children. Then, most importantly, we ate! It was a potluck unrivaled! The most exciting part of the whole day was when Pero, our host, decided to put on music while we ate. She put on The Beatles! I just about died. There I was, eating potluck in a Japanese home, listening to I Want to Hold Your Hand. Some things are truly, truly universal, I guess.
After eating and drinking some delicious Hawaiian coffee (LOL), our group headed to a Buddhist temple. The air is so crisp in the cool Japan winter, and the cherry blossom tree-leaves are all a striking red-orange. No matter where one looks, the scenery is breath-taking.
Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends. But, I truly know that I will stay in touch with my host family. It was not just that they were friendly and hospitable—it was so much more. Here were people, half way across the world, who shared the same ideals that I will strive to achieve in my everyday life. They want to experience new cultures. They want to try new foods, learn new languages. They want to meet new people. They travel the world in hopes of better themselves and others. They take their children to Paris, opening their eyes to the world outside the oft-culturally-isolated Japan. These are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. And, happily, for the last two days, I did.
Well, this is just about it. In this I mean that I will be visiting no more foreign countries. Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Vietnam, China, and now, finally, Japan. Our next stop is Hawaii. US territory. Home. Home? I can’t wait to use my cell phone and go to Starbucks and use US dollars. At the same time, I don’t want this semester to end.
Tami and Kumiko picked me up from the ship and we went to lunch at a traditional Japanese restaurant. Then, we went to a sake museum. We happened to be in the area of Tami’s parents, so we paid them a surprise visit! They served us tea and a dessert they called cream cake. It was so rewarding for me and also for the parents to try and communicate with me in English. I was surprised that they spoke English, as most elderly Japanese do not. The most interesting part of our visit to the parents’ home was seeing the way that Japanese families interact. In America, if you visited your grandparents, you most likely would hug them when you entered their home. In Japan, there was no sentiment or exchange of affection, even between the mother and daughter. This is very typical of Japanese culture.
Finally, we made our way home. Tami’s home was at the top of a hill with spectacular views of Osaka. The winding roads up to the house reminded me of Northern California. My bedroom was a very traditional Japanese room, complete with wood walls and sliding doors and a mat to sleep on. The second I saw my mat, covered in thick blankets, I passed out asleep until dinner. And what a dinner it was! Cooked salmon, broccoli, sushi, edaname, and... octopus balls! No, it’s not what you’re thinking! Octopus balls are fried dough balls with octopus in the center. Let’s just say I wouldn’t eat them again.
At dinner, we were joined by Tami’s husband and son. The father is in the international oil business, so his English was very good. I enjoyed talking to him about the parts of America he’d seen, his opinion on the future of politics in Asia, especially involving China, and his dreams for his children. He wants them to be open to new cultures and new ideas and that is why he and his wife are so happy to have guests from all over the world. But Kumiko was getting mad at her father because she wanted to talk to me alone, so I excused myself and went back to the game room to hang out with Kumiko. She showed me pictures of all her friends and then taught me this awesome video game. It is like Guitar Hero, but instead of playing the guitar, the player plays a taiko drum! It was so much fun even though I was horrible at the game.
I slept like a baby and woke up to a fabulous breakfast prepared by Tami. Tami is not a housewife by choice (her dream is to teach English, but, as she shared, her husband prefers that she stays at home), but she sure is an excellent cook. We watched Japanese housewife tv programs until we left for Tami’s friend’s house.
It was a grand gathering of Tami and her girlfriends, all members of the home-stay HIPPO program, all hosting other Semester at Sea students. We learned calligraphy and origami with several Japanese housewives and their children. Then, most importantly, we ate! It was a potluck unrivaled! The most exciting part of the whole day was when Pero, our host, decided to put on music while we ate. She put on The Beatles! I just about died. There I was, eating potluck in a Japanese home, listening to I Want to Hold Your Hand. Some things are truly, truly universal, I guess.
After eating and drinking some delicious Hawaiian coffee (LOL), our group headed to a Buddhist temple. The air is so crisp in the cool Japan winter, and the cherry blossom tree-leaves are all a striking red-orange. No matter where one looks, the scenery is breath-taking.
Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends. But, I truly know that I will stay in touch with my host family. It was not just that they were friendly and hospitable—it was so much more. Here were people, half way across the world, who shared the same ideals that I will strive to achieve in my everyday life. They want to experience new cultures. They want to try new foods, learn new languages. They want to meet new people. They travel the world in hopes of better themselves and others. They take their children to Paris, opening their eyes to the world outside the oft-culturally-isolated Japan. These are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. And, happily, for the last two days, I did.
Well, this is just about it. In this I mean that I will be visiting no more foreign countries. Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Vietnam, China, and now, finally, Japan. Our next stop is Hawaii. US territory. Home. Home? I can’t wait to use my cell phone and go to Starbucks and use US dollars. At the same time, I don’t want this semester to end.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The First Half of Japan
Day 1: The ship docked in Yokohama, a small city about a half an hour outside of Tokyo. The MV Explorer was greeted by taiko drummers on the dock, celebrating our arrival! Despite my having previously been to Tokyo, I could not resist its beckoning; the moment the ship was cleared I hopped on the subway towards Tokyo Tower. My friends were thankful I had been to Japan before and had a limited but valuable knowledge of navigating the subway system... which certainly isn't easy. Rebecca and I never made it up Tokyo Tower 3 years ago when we visited Japan, so I was eager to see it the second time around. After some spectacular views of the city 150m up, followed by a pleasant lunch, we hopped back on the train towards Harajuku in all its funky glory. It was heartwarming to return to Harajuku, one of my favorite places on earth, and also rewarding to see my friends see it for the first time. We found a shop where everything was 100yen (about $1) and explored the hip, goth, rocker, girlie, everything shops throughout the city. Sunday is the big day for the cos-players to come out, and since we were there on Friday, I only saw a few kids in their full regalia. But Harajuku could be completely empty and its funky alt vibes would still penetrate.
We went back onto the train and headed to my favorite district in Tokyo, Shibuya. We walked the busiest intersection in the entire world, saw the nine-story shopping mall, and ate at a sushi bar! Shibuya is like a clean and more glamorous Manhattan… on steroids. Ashley, Jules and I went bowling at this crazy eight-story arcade and we had a blast watching the locals hang out. We took the train back to the ship, exhausted in the way that only a city like Tokyo can exhaust you.
Day 2: Waking up on the ship would seem to be the same every morning, no matter what country the ship is docked in at that very moment. But waking up in Japan, you can FEEL it. You know you are in the home of samurais, emperors, harajuku girls, capsule hotels, sushi, geishas, intrinsic peace, sky-high buildings, compacted living spaces, and sake. A few girls who were headed to hostels in Tokyo joined Jules and I for lunch (sushi for me, of course) at Shibuya Station. Then, Jules and I hopped on another train bound for Asakusa, another district of Tokyo. We saw the beautiful temple that I had visited years before. We shopped more than we should of, and I joyfully indulged in a green-tea soft serve!
With only a few more hours remaining until we had to be back on the ship, Jules and I hit Shinjuku. Shinjuku is like Las Vegas, New York, Hong Kong, and Shibuya, with Harajuku flair... and then some! It is insane, filled with shops, neon lights and lots and lots of pachinko! Pachinko is this insane Japanese pin-ball slot machine gambling game and the center of its culture lies in Shinjuku. After some hilarious photos in one of those Japanese photo booths, Jules and I found ourselves at a restaurant that promised everything on the menu was only 270yen (less than $3 per dish and drink)! We had to walk upstairs to the restaurant, and when we finally got there, we saw that each table was individually separated by bars! It was like you were eating dinner in a cage! You ordered your food on an electronic menu—it was very futuristic and surreal. Luckily, one of the waitresses spoke Japanese, as the electronic menu was certainly not legible to us. The most exciting dish I ate was fried octopus, with all eight tentacles still attached! We spent way too long in the restaurant, impulsively ordering more food and drinks with the logic that everything was less than $3! It was a blast, but we had to high-tail it back to Yokohama because the ship was leaving!
It was refreshing to not feel compelled to buy souvenirs, as I already bought cheesy Japan t-shirts and the like the last time I was in Tokyo. It was spectacular to return to a country and find it comfortingly the same yet excitingly changed. It makes me long to re-visit even more countries! You know, like Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Vietnam and China!
Now, I am back on the ship for today. We reach Kobe tomorrow, where I will be meeting my host family for my overnight home-stay. I can’t wait to experience the reality of Japanese home life!
We went back onto the train and headed to my favorite district in Tokyo, Shibuya. We walked the busiest intersection in the entire world, saw the nine-story shopping mall, and ate at a sushi bar! Shibuya is like a clean and more glamorous Manhattan… on steroids. Ashley, Jules and I went bowling at this crazy eight-story arcade and we had a blast watching the locals hang out. We took the train back to the ship, exhausted in the way that only a city like Tokyo can exhaust you.
Day 2: Waking up on the ship would seem to be the same every morning, no matter what country the ship is docked in at that very moment. But waking up in Japan, you can FEEL it. You know you are in the home of samurais, emperors, harajuku girls, capsule hotels, sushi, geishas, intrinsic peace, sky-high buildings, compacted living spaces, and sake. A few girls who were headed to hostels in Tokyo joined Jules and I for lunch (sushi for me, of course) at Shibuya Station. Then, Jules and I hopped on another train bound for Asakusa, another district of Tokyo. We saw the beautiful temple that I had visited years before. We shopped more than we should of, and I joyfully indulged in a green-tea soft serve!
With only a few more hours remaining until we had to be back on the ship, Jules and I hit Shinjuku. Shinjuku is like Las Vegas, New York, Hong Kong, and Shibuya, with Harajuku flair... and then some! It is insane, filled with shops, neon lights and lots and lots of pachinko! Pachinko is this insane Japanese pin-ball slot machine gambling game and the center of its culture lies in Shinjuku. After some hilarious photos in one of those Japanese photo booths, Jules and I found ourselves at a restaurant that promised everything on the menu was only 270yen (less than $3 per dish and drink)! We had to walk upstairs to the restaurant, and when we finally got there, we saw that each table was individually separated by bars! It was like you were eating dinner in a cage! You ordered your food on an electronic menu—it was very futuristic and surreal. Luckily, one of the waitresses spoke Japanese, as the electronic menu was certainly not legible to us. The most exciting dish I ate was fried octopus, with all eight tentacles still attached! We spent way too long in the restaurant, impulsively ordering more food and drinks with the logic that everything was less than $3! It was a blast, but we had to high-tail it back to Yokohama because the ship was leaving!
It was refreshing to not feel compelled to buy souvenirs, as I already bought cheesy Japan t-shirts and the like the last time I was in Tokyo. It was spectacular to return to a country and find it comfortingly the same yet excitingly changed. It makes me long to re-visit even more countries! You know, like Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Vietnam and China!
Now, I am back on the ship for today. We reach Kobe tomorrow, where I will be meeting my host family for my overnight home-stay. I can’t wait to experience the reality of Japanese home life!
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Great Adventure
The Great Adventure that is China. Where can I begin?
The ship docked in Hong Kong on day 1. Actually, we were docked off of the island of Hong Kong in the island Kowloon. Of course, we all immediately wanted to go shopping! We rode the longest escalator in the world! It goes through the entire city of Hong Kong and it is hop-on-hop off. The escalator to nowhere truly exists!!! After some Thai food (LOL--Hong Kong IS an international city, after all!) and some more shopping, we headed to Victoria's Peak, which boasts spectacular views of all of the Hong Kong island chain. We had drinks at the Bubba Gump's at the top of the Peak Tower! Yes, this landmark was a shopping center. In China, every store is a mall.
Later that day we all went out to the social area of Hong Kong. It is the nightlife capital of the world! I had so much fun experiencing this exciting city. We had heard that there was an ice bar in Hong Kong. We really wanted to go to because there are ice bars all over the world and they are really famous and popular because, hey, everything in the bar is made of ice! Well, this ice bar in Hong Kong was certainly not an official ice bar! It was just a room that had ice in it! It was hilarious so of course we hung out there all night!
The next day I went on an SAS trip. We did Tai Chi with this little old Chinese man! It was actually really difficult, but maybe because it was really early and I had been out all night in Hong Kong the night before! I realized the key to successfully traveling: do not sleep. Stay out all night and wake up early the next day! It works... sort of...
The trip continued with some dim sum and then a tea ceremony. I love tea so this was really enjoyable. It was like wine-tasting, but with tea! Then we went to a water village. All these house-boats just chill in the river water and entire villages live on them! It was so beautiful. The highlight for me was the little dog, Rose, who helped drive our tour boat! She was the cutest dog in all of Hong Kong!
That night I met up with my friend Becky so we could venture forth to our hostel. Instead of staying on the ship as it sailed to Shanghai, we decided to independently traverse China and meet the ship later. Our hostel was in Hong Kong. We miraculously found it, even though it was literally inside of a mall (because every store is a mall). It was certainly not the worst hostel in the world, but it was certainly not the best. It was hot and sticky and dirty, but nothing was stolen from us and it cost about $5 each. That night we hit up a night market in the city and had a blast bargaining for dresses, souvenirs and gifts.
The next day we got up early and took the MTR (subway) to the Tian Tan Buddha, which is the largest outdoor Buddha in the world! It is made entirely of bronze. Even though it was foggy and FREEZING at the top of the enormous mountain we cable-cared and then hiked up, the Buddha was so beautiful and grand and magnificent. The only part that really sucked was we were carrying our backpacks with us and had to lug them all the way up to the top of the Buddha!
Next, we took the MTR to the Hong Kong train station where we hopped on our sleeper train for Shanghai. Have you ever ridden a sleeper train in China? Let me describe it for you. Your journey begins with 400 Chinese people pushing you onto the train because pushing is perfectly acceptable, and, in fact, expected in China. Then you will hopefully claim one of the bottom bunks in your cabin because there are no ladders and there are three stories of bunk beds! (Becky and I got the bottom bunks thank goodness!) Then, a Chinese woman who speaks English will yell at you for quite sometime. Then you will be pointed at, laughed at, and starred at by everyone on your train car. This all will be followed by some loud Chinese music coming from the cabin over. Oh, and who could forget your box dinner that consists of... well, I ate it, but I honestly couldn't tell you what it was! If you cough (which I certainly did--I think I have a sinus infection) your train-companions will freak out, convinced you have swine flu. Then at 10pm everyone will go to sleep, and at 6am everyone will wake up for some... delicious... rice porridge. Oh, and who could forget the squatter toilets and lack of both toilet paper and showers?
The truth is, it was one of the most fun and exciting 20 hours of my life! Becky and I passed the time playing card games with her South African card deck, which I found to be most telling of SAS as a whole. Oh, and we slept. A lot.
After my lovely awakening on the train by the sound of high-pitched Chinese singing and the smell of rice porridge, we got off the train and headed to our next hostel in Shanghai. OMG this was the most amazing hostel I've ever seen. It was like out of a dream! The workers spoke English, there was a bar and restaurant inside the lounge, there was a lounge!, our rooms were amazing, the door locked and there were even safes to put your stuff in! I can't wait to show pictures, this place was happening! And nearly everyone staying there was young, mostly European, and really cool for the most part.
We dropped our stuff of at the hostel and then headed for Shanghai's Old City. It was beautiful! Lots of old architecture and, of course, stores that were malls. In the Old City we found a tea shop and had tea samplings and ended up buying loose jasmine tea and some mugs. It was hilarious because China is famous for its bargaining, but one would not think to haggle in a nice tea shop! The woman, who kept insisting that I MUST be half-Chinese, brought the tea mugs down from $128 to $20. In a very nice tea shop! It is insane! You can walk into the equivalent of Nordstrom's and bargain. Which is what we did!!!
After some amazing dumplings, Becky and I took a cab to an acrobatic show! It was actually really cool. Some of it was so ridiculously unsafe it wasn't even fun to watch, but there was at least one dance that really stuck with me. Then we headed back to the hostel that had basically become a bar because they had happy hour! All the guests came down and it was so much fun meeting other travelers. The best part of the night came when I was reading some advertisements put up on the community board in the lounge. I saw an ad for a tour agency in Shanghai and in the picture in the ad was a tourist wearing a Semester at Sea sweatshirt! It was so crazy to think how much this program has left its mark. It probably was only super exciting to me and the other SAS people who were staying at this hostel. There was actually a pretty big group of us, even though only Becky and I had planned it together.
The next morning we woke up and went to an antiques market. The only problem was I felt really really sick. The sinus infection mixed with lack of sleep and China's air quality, not to mention its in the 50 degree range right now, just made things horrible and I had to go back to the ship, which was now docked in Shanghai. After a five hour nap, I headed back out. I can't be stopped--we're in China! Becky, Rachael and I went shopping on the famous Bund. It is like New York City on Asian steroids!
Today a bunch of us went out shopping at this huge indoor market. There were a ton of things we wanted to do outside, but its pouring rain and FREEZING!!! I spent way way way too much money on fakes so good you seriously don't know if they're real or fake. I bought some Uggs for $20, several Marc Jacobs bags, and more Louis Vuitton! It is seriously out of control. Katie, Rachael and I have decided that we can no longer shop together anymore because we are really bad influences on each other when shopping! Vietnam already killed us and now we were doing it again in Shanghai!
I had an amazing time in China. It is a country that will stress you out to no end as you fight crowds, constantly have Chinese screamed at you, and push your way through shopping centers as shop keeps battle for your Yuan. Traveling independently was one of the best decisions I have made on this whole trip so far. I can, with only one other girl with me, travel hundreds of miles across China with nothing but my backpack! I can do that! It was spectacular and we kept nervously commenting that nothing had gone wrong. One might expect that at least one travesty would occur on such an ambitious trip, but nothing bad happened. Now my ego is just at insanely high levels. I'm unstoppable! ; )
I was so happy to get back onto the ship a few hours ago and snuggle in my bed because it is so rainy outside. We were supposed to leave for Japan tonight, but for some reason the ship is now leaving tomorrow afternoon. There are a ton of rumors circulating as to why the ship is delayed, namely because we are supposed to have a huge guest speaker soon. It is just too convenient for the rumor mill that Obama is currently only a few miles away from the ship in Shanghai... I'll keep you all posted.
The ship docked in Hong Kong on day 1. Actually, we were docked off of the island of Hong Kong in the island Kowloon. Of course, we all immediately wanted to go shopping! We rode the longest escalator in the world! It goes through the entire city of Hong Kong and it is hop-on-hop off. The escalator to nowhere truly exists!!! After some Thai food (LOL--Hong Kong IS an international city, after all!) and some more shopping, we headed to Victoria's Peak, which boasts spectacular views of all of the Hong Kong island chain. We had drinks at the Bubba Gump's at the top of the Peak Tower! Yes, this landmark was a shopping center. In China, every store is a mall.
Later that day we all went out to the social area of Hong Kong. It is the nightlife capital of the world! I had so much fun experiencing this exciting city. We had heard that there was an ice bar in Hong Kong. We really wanted to go to because there are ice bars all over the world and they are really famous and popular because, hey, everything in the bar is made of ice! Well, this ice bar in Hong Kong was certainly not an official ice bar! It was just a room that had ice in it! It was hilarious so of course we hung out there all night!
The next day I went on an SAS trip. We did Tai Chi with this little old Chinese man! It was actually really difficult, but maybe because it was really early and I had been out all night in Hong Kong the night before! I realized the key to successfully traveling: do not sleep. Stay out all night and wake up early the next day! It works... sort of...
The trip continued with some dim sum and then a tea ceremony. I love tea so this was really enjoyable. It was like wine-tasting, but with tea! Then we went to a water village. All these house-boats just chill in the river water and entire villages live on them! It was so beautiful. The highlight for me was the little dog, Rose, who helped drive our tour boat! She was the cutest dog in all of Hong Kong!
That night I met up with my friend Becky so we could venture forth to our hostel. Instead of staying on the ship as it sailed to Shanghai, we decided to independently traverse China and meet the ship later. Our hostel was in Hong Kong. We miraculously found it, even though it was literally inside of a mall (because every store is a mall). It was certainly not the worst hostel in the world, but it was certainly not the best. It was hot and sticky and dirty, but nothing was stolen from us and it cost about $5 each. That night we hit up a night market in the city and had a blast bargaining for dresses, souvenirs and gifts.
The next day we got up early and took the MTR (subway) to the Tian Tan Buddha, which is the largest outdoor Buddha in the world! It is made entirely of bronze. Even though it was foggy and FREEZING at the top of the enormous mountain we cable-cared and then hiked up, the Buddha was so beautiful and grand and magnificent. The only part that really sucked was we were carrying our backpacks with us and had to lug them all the way up to the top of the Buddha!
Next, we took the MTR to the Hong Kong train station where we hopped on our sleeper train for Shanghai. Have you ever ridden a sleeper train in China? Let me describe it for you. Your journey begins with 400 Chinese people pushing you onto the train because pushing is perfectly acceptable, and, in fact, expected in China. Then you will hopefully claim one of the bottom bunks in your cabin because there are no ladders and there are three stories of bunk beds! (Becky and I got the bottom bunks thank goodness!) Then, a Chinese woman who speaks English will yell at you for quite sometime. Then you will be pointed at, laughed at, and starred at by everyone on your train car. This all will be followed by some loud Chinese music coming from the cabin over. Oh, and who could forget your box dinner that consists of... well, I ate it, but I honestly couldn't tell you what it was! If you cough (which I certainly did--I think I have a sinus infection) your train-companions will freak out, convinced you have swine flu. Then at 10pm everyone will go to sleep, and at 6am everyone will wake up for some... delicious... rice porridge. Oh, and who could forget the squatter toilets and lack of both toilet paper and showers?
The truth is, it was one of the most fun and exciting 20 hours of my life! Becky and I passed the time playing card games with her South African card deck, which I found to be most telling of SAS as a whole. Oh, and we slept. A lot.
After my lovely awakening on the train by the sound of high-pitched Chinese singing and the smell of rice porridge, we got off the train and headed to our next hostel in Shanghai. OMG this was the most amazing hostel I've ever seen. It was like out of a dream! The workers spoke English, there was a bar and restaurant inside the lounge, there was a lounge!, our rooms were amazing, the door locked and there were even safes to put your stuff in! I can't wait to show pictures, this place was happening! And nearly everyone staying there was young, mostly European, and really cool for the most part.
We dropped our stuff of at the hostel and then headed for Shanghai's Old City. It was beautiful! Lots of old architecture and, of course, stores that were malls. In the Old City we found a tea shop and had tea samplings and ended up buying loose jasmine tea and some mugs. It was hilarious because China is famous for its bargaining, but one would not think to haggle in a nice tea shop! The woman, who kept insisting that I MUST be half-Chinese, brought the tea mugs down from $128 to $20. In a very nice tea shop! It is insane! You can walk into the equivalent of Nordstrom's and bargain. Which is what we did!!!
After some amazing dumplings, Becky and I took a cab to an acrobatic show! It was actually really cool. Some of it was so ridiculously unsafe it wasn't even fun to watch, but there was at least one dance that really stuck with me. Then we headed back to the hostel that had basically become a bar because they had happy hour! All the guests came down and it was so much fun meeting other travelers. The best part of the night came when I was reading some advertisements put up on the community board in the lounge. I saw an ad for a tour agency in Shanghai and in the picture in the ad was a tourist wearing a Semester at Sea sweatshirt! It was so crazy to think how much this program has left its mark. It probably was only super exciting to me and the other SAS people who were staying at this hostel. There was actually a pretty big group of us, even though only Becky and I had planned it together.
The next morning we woke up and went to an antiques market. The only problem was I felt really really sick. The sinus infection mixed with lack of sleep and China's air quality, not to mention its in the 50 degree range right now, just made things horrible and I had to go back to the ship, which was now docked in Shanghai. After a five hour nap, I headed back out. I can't be stopped--we're in China! Becky, Rachael and I went shopping on the famous Bund. It is like New York City on Asian steroids!
Today a bunch of us went out shopping at this huge indoor market. There were a ton of things we wanted to do outside, but its pouring rain and FREEZING!!! I spent way way way too much money on fakes so good you seriously don't know if they're real or fake. I bought some Uggs for $20, several Marc Jacobs bags, and more Louis Vuitton! It is seriously out of control. Katie, Rachael and I have decided that we can no longer shop together anymore because we are really bad influences on each other when shopping! Vietnam already killed us and now we were doing it again in Shanghai!
I had an amazing time in China. It is a country that will stress you out to no end as you fight crowds, constantly have Chinese screamed at you, and push your way through shopping centers as shop keeps battle for your Yuan. Traveling independently was one of the best decisions I have made on this whole trip so far. I can, with only one other girl with me, travel hundreds of miles across China with nothing but my backpack! I can do that! It was spectacular and we kept nervously commenting that nothing had gone wrong. One might expect that at least one travesty would occur on such an ambitious trip, but nothing bad happened. Now my ego is just at insanely high levels. I'm unstoppable! ; )
I was so happy to get back onto the ship a few hours ago and snuggle in my bed because it is so rainy outside. We were supposed to leave for Japan tonight, but for some reason the ship is now leaving tomorrow afternoon. There are a ton of rumors circulating as to why the ship is delayed, namely because we are supposed to have a huge guest speaker soon. It is just too convenient for the rumor mill that Obama is currently only a few miles away from the ship in Shanghai... I'll keep you all posted.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
'Nam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Insane. Motorbikes, smog, communism.
Day 1: My friends Katie and Rachael came with me to meet my Mommy at the Rex Hotel. It was so awesome of her to meet me in VN! Our first stop was to the tailor to get measured for a custom dress! I’ll be wearing my coral and champagne colored dress to at the Ambassador’s Ball, the big dance at the end of our voyage. Then we stopped at our hotel, which was outside of the touristy area of HCMC. Our hotel was amazing—more like a bed and breakfast! Trang, the hotel manager, took great care of us with everything from breakfast to tips to calling us drivers to fresh mangos in our hotel room! Then, we hit the market for some SERIOUS shopping. The most ridiculously real fakes in the entire world find their home in Vietnam. I stocked up on Marc Jacobs bags, Louis Vuitton bags, and Northface gear. And, of course, I bought a straw cone hat! That night we went to the infamous Pho 2000 restaurant where Bill Clinton dined when he was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 2000. I love pho!!!!!!!!!
Day 2: Mom and I hit the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Cao Di temple. The temple was bizarre. The religion is like a combination of Christianity, Buddhism and Daoism. Sort of. Then our driver took us to the Cu Chi temples where we saw first hand the underground tunnel system that the Vietcong literally lived in during wars—first with the French and then with the US. These tunnels were so complex and are still standing, at least those tunnels that were not bombed out by US planes. It is no wonder we lost the Vietnam War; our enemy was literally impenetrable. We watched an anti-American propaganda video before touring the tunnels. It was so interesting to see how the current Vietnamese government has transformed what they call the American War from a civil war that the US became involved in, to a war between the Vietnamese and the Americans. Since all of VN is united now, the government likes to paint the image that the country was always united, all banning together against the “cruel and horrible” American soldiers.
That night Mom and I went back to the non-touristy area of HCMC where our hotel was located. We walked around the area and discovered active night-life at the local park. Everything from dance lessons to games to late-night working out to young lovers stealing a moment took place in this beautiful and extensive park. It was a fantastic and unique experience to be flies-on-the-wall in this section of VN—we were literally the only white people in the entire park.
Day 3: The next morning I showed my Mom my home, the MV Explorer. I also loaded her up with souvenirs to take home to alleviate my packing process in December! Then we hit the War Remnants Museum. A lot of the information presented at this museum was anti-American, which I truly appreciate seeing; at least it’s a different perspective! I learned a great deal about Agent Orange, which was the chemical the US planes spread all over VN during the war. Since the Vietcong lived and hid in the deep thickets of the VN jungle, the only way the US planes could successfully kill the VC was by destroying their hideaways. We decided to us the most toxic chemical known the man kind, now referred to as Agent Orange. Our planes sprayed this chemical all over the country, both in the North and the South. The chemical did not just kill plants; it also killed and deformed the humans living amongst these plants. It did not just harm Vietnamese citizens; it also killed and deformed US soldiers who came in close contact to the chemical. Agent Orange stays in one’s DNA for four generations; all over VN one sees deformed and mutilated people who have been affected by Agent Orange. At home in America, we do not like to discuss the horrible deaths and deformities that have been caused by Agent Orange. But both Vietnamese and Americans have been, and still are, affected by Agent Orange.
Anyway, at the War Museum, there were extensive photographs of victims of Agent Orange and other events of the war. Outside the museum sat US military planes and tanks that had just been left in VN once the US pulled out. Mom and I were walking among the tanks when we heard an American voice say, “There it is,” when he saw the biggest tank. We went over to talk to him. He had tears in his eyes as he sat and looked at these huge, overwhelming weapons of mass destruction. We asked him if he was a Vietnam vet, and the woman who was with him told us that he was. She was a therapist who leads a group called Soldier’s Heart. She and her husband lead groups of people, mostly vets, who come face-to-face with their enemies in order to forgive their enemies and themselves. This veteran from Wisconsin was, bravely, returning to VN to heal. It was so powerful to be a part of his healing.
The war may have been years ago, not even in my own lifetime, but here I was, standing in front of this man who was still, to this day, so deeply affected by the things he saw in the country we were both visiting. It is easy, I think, for my generation to forget or dismiss the Vietnam War as part of all the craziness that was the 1970s. But what truly slapped me in the face was the fact that this is not history—this is present. My parents, my teachers, my family, and this veteran, were all, and still are, incredibly affected and changed by the war. America was affected by the war. It was the first war we lost, and the first war where there did not seem to be definitive sides of “good” and “evil.” Vietnam, although they have moved on from the war in terms of their country’s psyche in a way America has not, is still affected by the war. Agent Orange still abounds. Huge craters litter the countryside from bombs. The tunnels still remain. And, of course, the result of the war was that the North took VN; they are a Communist country.
Meeting the veteran was one of the most important and definitive experiences of my life. War is something huge and real; I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my life. I write this and feel silly; my country is at war right now, at this very moment. People are dying at the hands of my countrymen in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Why is it that this statement does not feel concrete to me in the way that the Vietnam War does?
Day 4: Mom and I took a taxi to VN’s Chinatown. We had no idea what we were in for! Chinatown was certainly not set up for tourists! Mom and I ended up in Chinatown’s motorbike parts district, I think. We were ogled and stared at like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It was exciting for us and for the Vietnamese people who may have not seen Americans in their shops before! I saw live fish, pig penius for sale, fish heads, pig brains, live frogs, oh and live chickens, all for sale. Many people did not even get off their motorbikes as their purchased live animals! It was a strange and exciting experience.
Then we headed back to tourist-civilization and hit the spa! What was supposed to be a sixty-minute massage followed by manicures and pedicures turned into a three-hour event! No joke—we were in this spa for over three hours!!!! I can’t complain too much though. : )
Then Mom and I met up with my friend Jules for dinner. After some MORE shopping at the night market, we walked to the area of the city where the young tourists hang out. It was basically a SAS convention, as the local youth spots inevitably end up being in every port. Mom got to meet a lot of my friends at the bar. It was fun and now, Mom, you can pretend you are cool. ; )
Day 5: Sadly, Mom had to catch her flight this morning. After our driver dropped her off at the airport, I headed back to the ship to drop of my luggage. While headed up to the ship, I ran into my friend Madison. She invited me to join her to visit the house where her dad used to live! Her grandfather worked for the government and in the late 1960s their whole family lived in HCMC. We found the house and knocked on the gate. Can you believe it—the woman who answered spoke English! Han invited us into her home, letting Madison take pictures for her father. We saw the entire home! It was incredible and so lucky to yet again be a fly-on-the-wall and see deep inside the home of a traditional Vietnamese family. Han proudly told us she was still single and that is why she still lived at the family home with her aged and yet still lively parents. What fate it was that she answered the knock at the gate; no one else in the household speaks a word of English and probably would have dismissed us immediately! Moments like this, and I seem to have them over and over on this trip, reaffirm my strong belief in fate.
Madison and I were, obviously, giddy, and headed back to the market to spend the rest of our dong before we had to get back on the ship to leave VN. I got some Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume for like $10!!! And I got some Mac makeup and Chanel lip gloss! : DDD
After a few 333 Bias, my personal favorite, I headed back to the ship where I proceed to pass out before 9pm. Saigon wears you out, believe me. Everyone on the ship absolutely loved VN; you can tell because everyone, including me, slept in today until at least noon. Thank goodness we have the day off from classes.
American tends to see Vietnam through the lens of the Vietnam War. But this is a country so much more complex and beautiful and interesting than a country we “bombed back into the Stone Age.” I have a new understanding of Vietnam Veterans and, truly, of America and Americans after visiting this country. Funny how I learn about America once I leave. I don’t think I will ever forget the courage that the Vet I met at the War Museum showed. I can’t imagine wanting to return to a place you were told to destroy, a place that truly, destroyed your entire life. Now, this is a country of technology, speed, and youth. It is a country changed. Vietnam changed America and, truly, it changed me.
Day 1: My friends Katie and Rachael came with me to meet my Mommy at the Rex Hotel. It was so awesome of her to meet me in VN! Our first stop was to the tailor to get measured for a custom dress! I’ll be wearing my coral and champagne colored dress to at the Ambassador’s Ball, the big dance at the end of our voyage. Then we stopped at our hotel, which was outside of the touristy area of HCMC. Our hotel was amazing—more like a bed and breakfast! Trang, the hotel manager, took great care of us with everything from breakfast to tips to calling us drivers to fresh mangos in our hotel room! Then, we hit the market for some SERIOUS shopping. The most ridiculously real fakes in the entire world find their home in Vietnam. I stocked up on Marc Jacobs bags, Louis Vuitton bags, and Northface gear. And, of course, I bought a straw cone hat! That night we went to the infamous Pho 2000 restaurant where Bill Clinton dined when he was reestablishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam in 2000. I love pho!!!!!!!!!
Day 2: Mom and I hit the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Cao Di temple. The temple was bizarre. The religion is like a combination of Christianity, Buddhism and Daoism. Sort of. Then our driver took us to the Cu Chi temples where we saw first hand the underground tunnel system that the Vietcong literally lived in during wars—first with the French and then with the US. These tunnels were so complex and are still standing, at least those tunnels that were not bombed out by US planes. It is no wonder we lost the Vietnam War; our enemy was literally impenetrable. We watched an anti-American propaganda video before touring the tunnels. It was so interesting to see how the current Vietnamese government has transformed what they call the American War from a civil war that the US became involved in, to a war between the Vietnamese and the Americans. Since all of VN is united now, the government likes to paint the image that the country was always united, all banning together against the “cruel and horrible” American soldiers.
That night Mom and I went back to the non-touristy area of HCMC where our hotel was located. We walked around the area and discovered active night-life at the local park. Everything from dance lessons to games to late-night working out to young lovers stealing a moment took place in this beautiful and extensive park. It was a fantastic and unique experience to be flies-on-the-wall in this section of VN—we were literally the only white people in the entire park.
Day 3: The next morning I showed my Mom my home, the MV Explorer. I also loaded her up with souvenirs to take home to alleviate my packing process in December! Then we hit the War Remnants Museum. A lot of the information presented at this museum was anti-American, which I truly appreciate seeing; at least it’s a different perspective! I learned a great deal about Agent Orange, which was the chemical the US planes spread all over VN during the war. Since the Vietcong lived and hid in the deep thickets of the VN jungle, the only way the US planes could successfully kill the VC was by destroying their hideaways. We decided to us the most toxic chemical known the man kind, now referred to as Agent Orange. Our planes sprayed this chemical all over the country, both in the North and the South. The chemical did not just kill plants; it also killed and deformed the humans living amongst these plants. It did not just harm Vietnamese citizens; it also killed and deformed US soldiers who came in close contact to the chemical. Agent Orange stays in one’s DNA for four generations; all over VN one sees deformed and mutilated people who have been affected by Agent Orange. At home in America, we do not like to discuss the horrible deaths and deformities that have been caused by Agent Orange. But both Vietnamese and Americans have been, and still are, affected by Agent Orange.
Anyway, at the War Museum, there were extensive photographs of victims of Agent Orange and other events of the war. Outside the museum sat US military planes and tanks that had just been left in VN once the US pulled out. Mom and I were walking among the tanks when we heard an American voice say, “There it is,” when he saw the biggest tank. We went over to talk to him. He had tears in his eyes as he sat and looked at these huge, overwhelming weapons of mass destruction. We asked him if he was a Vietnam vet, and the woman who was with him told us that he was. She was a therapist who leads a group called Soldier’s Heart. She and her husband lead groups of people, mostly vets, who come face-to-face with their enemies in order to forgive their enemies and themselves. This veteran from Wisconsin was, bravely, returning to VN to heal. It was so powerful to be a part of his healing.
The war may have been years ago, not even in my own lifetime, but here I was, standing in front of this man who was still, to this day, so deeply affected by the things he saw in the country we were both visiting. It is easy, I think, for my generation to forget or dismiss the Vietnam War as part of all the craziness that was the 1970s. But what truly slapped me in the face was the fact that this is not history—this is present. My parents, my teachers, my family, and this veteran, were all, and still are, incredibly affected and changed by the war. America was affected by the war. It was the first war we lost, and the first war where there did not seem to be definitive sides of “good” and “evil.” Vietnam, although they have moved on from the war in terms of their country’s psyche in a way America has not, is still affected by the war. Agent Orange still abounds. Huge craters litter the countryside from bombs. The tunnels still remain. And, of course, the result of the war was that the North took VN; they are a Communist country.
Meeting the veteran was one of the most important and definitive experiences of my life. War is something huge and real; I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like that in my life. I write this and feel silly; my country is at war right now, at this very moment. People are dying at the hands of my countrymen in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Why is it that this statement does not feel concrete to me in the way that the Vietnam War does?
Day 4: Mom and I took a taxi to VN’s Chinatown. We had no idea what we were in for! Chinatown was certainly not set up for tourists! Mom and I ended up in Chinatown’s motorbike parts district, I think. We were ogled and stared at like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It was exciting for us and for the Vietnamese people who may have not seen Americans in their shops before! I saw live fish, pig penius for sale, fish heads, pig brains, live frogs, oh and live chickens, all for sale. Many people did not even get off their motorbikes as their purchased live animals! It was a strange and exciting experience.
Then we headed back to tourist-civilization and hit the spa! What was supposed to be a sixty-minute massage followed by manicures and pedicures turned into a three-hour event! No joke—we were in this spa for over three hours!!!! I can’t complain too much though. : )
Then Mom and I met up with my friend Jules for dinner. After some MORE shopping at the night market, we walked to the area of the city where the young tourists hang out. It was basically a SAS convention, as the local youth spots inevitably end up being in every port. Mom got to meet a lot of my friends at the bar. It was fun and now, Mom, you can pretend you are cool. ; )
Day 5: Sadly, Mom had to catch her flight this morning. After our driver dropped her off at the airport, I headed back to the ship to drop of my luggage. While headed up to the ship, I ran into my friend Madison. She invited me to join her to visit the house where her dad used to live! Her grandfather worked for the government and in the late 1960s their whole family lived in HCMC. We found the house and knocked on the gate. Can you believe it—the woman who answered spoke English! Han invited us into her home, letting Madison take pictures for her father. We saw the entire home! It was incredible and so lucky to yet again be a fly-on-the-wall and see deep inside the home of a traditional Vietnamese family. Han proudly told us she was still single and that is why she still lived at the family home with her aged and yet still lively parents. What fate it was that she answered the knock at the gate; no one else in the household speaks a word of English and probably would have dismissed us immediately! Moments like this, and I seem to have them over and over on this trip, reaffirm my strong belief in fate.
Madison and I were, obviously, giddy, and headed back to the market to spend the rest of our dong before we had to get back on the ship to leave VN. I got some Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume for like $10!!! And I got some Mac makeup and Chanel lip gloss! : DDD
After a few 333 Bias, my personal favorite, I headed back to the ship where I proceed to pass out before 9pm. Saigon wears you out, believe me. Everyone on the ship absolutely loved VN; you can tell because everyone, including me, slept in today until at least noon. Thank goodness we have the day off from classes.
American tends to see Vietnam through the lens of the Vietnam War. But this is a country so much more complex and beautiful and interesting than a country we “bombed back into the Stone Age.” I have a new understanding of Vietnam Veterans and, truly, of America and Americans after visiting this country. Funny how I learn about America once I leave. I don’t think I will ever forget the courage that the Vet I met at the War Museum showed. I can’t imagine wanting to return to a place you were told to destroy, a place that truly, destroyed your entire life. Now, this is a country of technology, speed, and youth. It is a country changed. Vietnam changed America and, truly, it changed me.
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