I am excited for these countries! I am going to Disney in Hong Kong so I am excited to see the differences compared to the one in the States.
I am also excited to see China and Beijing. The culture, the food and the GREAT WALL! This country is huge and is rising. I am interested to see how communism affects this country. They are so censored and regulated, which is so different from the US.
I am a little worried about the language barrier because clearly I have no idea how to speak Mandarin or Cantonese. Hopefully, we will get through it. I am really excited for this country, but I don’t know if it is a place that I will want to come back to.

11.9.09
I accidentally slept through Global Studies this morning…whoops. I will just have to go tomorrow to make it up. I tried to take it easy because I think I am coming down with a cold. I eventually emerged from my room for lunch.
I grabbed lunch with Mackenzie before class. We met for class up on Deck 7 forward for some flag flying ceremony. The flag came from the rotary club in India and the flag was for a polio free India. At some point in this ceremony, my notebook decided to flip open and all sorts of papers went everywhere. Luckily, I didn’t lose much.
Our service learning class was made up of talking with out provost. It was interesting to hear what she had to say.
At 1630, we had the Kentucky event. We had great food and drinks and it went pretty well. We inducted Dean Bob and Dean Nick as Kentucky Colonels. They were so surprised.
Afterward, we all went to dinner with the provost. She seems really interested in what we have to say. She also is really passionate about SAS and wanting more WKU people to participate in the program. I would really like to talk to her more about everything and hopefully I will be able to.
Tonight instead of a cultural preport, we had an extension of global studies and had a panel about China. It was vaguely interesting. Dr. Aimee was on it since she got her doctorate in Hong Kong. Then we went back to the room and played pish-posh and crashed.

11.8.09
Today I was expecting to sleep until noon because I was exhausted from Vietnam and Cambodia, but of course I woke up at 0830 and couldn’t go back to sleep.
Katie knocked on my door and we had a nice chart about planning Japan. She was stressing out a little bit, but we got it all figured out. We had to plan our independent travel in Japan because we have to have the forms in today. Originally, we were going to stay off the ship, but now after really looking at it and realizing how much it was going to cost, it just made more sense to stay on the ship. But now I don’t get to go to Hiroshima and DisneySea, but I still get to go to Tokyo, Kyoto, and now explore Kobe and Yokohama. But I figure that Japan is a country that I think I will want to come back to.
We grabbed some lunch and then hung out in the room. At 4, we went to Mackenzie’s Women in Leadership panel. Christie, Eileen, Dr. Burch, Dr. Mitnick, Rosario, Grace (from Global Nomads) and Dani were all on it. It was really empowering and amazing to hear all of their diverse backgrounds. I never realized how much I could learn from the people on the ship.
Afterward, we went to dinner and I finally got to meet Dr. Burch, WKU’s provost who has joined us on the ship until Hong Kong. We went up to Deck 7, grabbed some ice cream and I had to go to a CSI Committee meeting, where I realized that I have a lot of work left to do. I also went to a workshop on networking. I closed out the night with a game of pish posh.

Post Vietnam/Cambodia
These two countries were nothing like I expected. They were beautiful and the people were friendly. These countries are ridden with history and that should really tear these people down, but there seems to be no resentment. They are forgiving and ready to move on. They are willing to forgive, bit never forget. The fact that we were able to meet a survivor from the genocide museum. He wanted to tell his story and wanted us to bring it back to the US and let people know what happened in Cambodia.
Angkor Wat was incredible as well. I was supposed to see how little the influence of communism is. I was expecting people to be repressed and unhappy, but that wasn’t the case. The other shocking thing was that the ATMs in Cambodia gave out US dollars. It just goes to show that their government is leaning on the US and is unstable. But I loved their cultures and their food. Southeast Asia is a place I want to come back to as soon as possible. There is so much to explore and see here. Plus, it is gorgeous.

11.7.09
Mackenzie and I woke up at the butt crack of dawn this morning (0430) and stumbled half-asleep down to the bus. We made our way to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. We got to the temple and went down to the reflecting pool and waited for sunrise. Sunrise wasn’t nearly as pretty as it could have been. It was pretty cloudy so a lot of the light was blocked out, but even so it was still really fantastic. We met a couple from Colorado. They were really nice and they had had some friends do SAS.
After walking around the temple for a little while longer, we boarded the bus and went back to the hotel for breakfast. They had cereal and fried rice, which is not exactly the best combo, but I still enjoyed it. We had about 30 minutes before we had to leave again, so we went back to our room. I set my alarm from 0755 because we had to be on the bus by 8. I woke up, looked at me watch and it was 8. I fly out of bed, yell at Mackenzie, we grab our stuff and we literally run down the stairs to the bus and we made it just in time.
Our first stop of the day, well actually it was the 2nd, was Ta Prohm Temple. It was by far the most spectacular thing ever. It was set back in this jungle and it was huge! They are constructed in a similar way to Angkor Wat, where they are huge stone blocks and built over 800 years ago. It was absolutely gorgeous. Mackenzie and I were acting like little kids. We climbed around on all the rocks and took all sorts of pictures. Our guide warned us that it is really easy to get lost. Well of course we got lost. After wondering around and taking more pictures, we somehow stumbled upon our guide and the rest of our group. This was really lucky or I don’t think we would have ever gotten out of there. That would have been bad because it was super hot and humid. It was like Florida after it rains in the summer hot. It was basically a sauna times 10. Since it is a really big area, Mackenzie got lost and we decided that she needed a leash. We bought these coconut clacker things so whenever we got separated she would ring the clacker and we would be able to find each other. It really worked out quire nicely.
After we had gotten our fill of climbing around and being little kids, we climbed back on the bus and went to our third stop of the day, which was Angkor Wat. This time we went through the back entrance. We then walked around through the actual temple and our guide gave us the history and we got to see the detail of the carvings on the walls. At one point, we were walking through an area that I only know how to describe as a courtyard, and there were rocks sitting on top of a huge boulder. These rocks kind of looked like a huge version of the Indian money stones that you find in the rivers at home. Mackenzie touched one and it fell over, off the rock and broke into about 10 pieces. Way to go Mackenzie…you broke Angkor Wat. It was pretty hysterical to see her reaction. She was so worried that she was going to get into trouble.
We had an ungodly amount of free time. We chilled in the archways and took in the scenery and just relaxed. After spending some time taking in the view, we decided to check out the vendors and got mobbed. There were people selling post-cards, t-shirts, paintings and about pretty much everything else you could imagine. Mackenzie got a dress and I got a coke and some banana chips. As we were walking along the reflecting pool enjoying our cokes, these two little girls came up to us selling postcards. I didn’t want any, but we started talking to them. I didn’t really have anything, but I remembered that I had these two rings that I had bought before we left Vietnam. They were kind of like the old school friendship necklaces where they break apart and they form a heart or something when they are put together. I found rings in the market that formed mickey ears when they are put together. I had bought them originally for Ebonee, but I decided to give them to these little girls…sorry Eb. Don’t worry I got you something else. But anyway, I sat down with the girls and gave them the rings. They got so excited. Mackenzie then remembered that she had a bunch of plastic necklaces that she had intended to give away at the orphanage that we never went to. So she gave them to the little girls. They were adorable. They posed for the camera and when we got up, they ran back to admire their new jewelry. We met back up with the group and headed back to the hotel.
We grabbed lunch at the hotel and had a little time to relax. We changed into the dresses that we bought because it was so hot outside and we didn’t have to dress conservatively anymore. We gathered up our belongings and checked out of our hotel.
Our last stop of the day was Angkor Thom. This is another stone temple that is made up of over 250 stone faces that remind me of Olmec from Legends of the Hidden Temple. Once again, Mackenzie and I transformed into little kids. We took prom and senior pics in the windows and doorframes. There was also a freak rainstorm, but luckily I had my rain jacket. It ended up just turning the entire place into a sauna. It was pretty gross. At the temple, there was this annoying high-pitched buzzing noise. Turns out that it comes from a form of cicada. It was probably one of the most irritating sounds ever. The way the templeis laid out is that it has 3 levels. It is really old and it has a lot of steps and they have worn down over time so it was a little treacherous. I was a little concerned because I was in a dress and topsiders, but it all worked out.
After we had explored the temple we got back on the bus and drove by the Elephant Terraces and the Terraces of the Leper King. They were really not all that exciting. They were basically terraces with elephants carved into them…not that exciting.
After the terraces, we went back to the airport and the best thing happened at the airport…there was a Dairy Queen! We all ran in and bought blizzards. I would have never got an Oreo blizzard at home, but in this time and place it was delicious. We ended up having 2 hours to kill before our flight. I sat in the terminal and ended up just facebook stalking everyone on Mackenzie’s phone while she wrote her postcards.
We boarded out big (thank god) plane with about 800 small Asian women and it was pretty hilarious to watch them all get aboard the plane. The plane ride went quickly and we landed in Saigon around 1700. We ended up not getting back to the ship until 2000. Our guide that was with us from the airport to the ship was hilarious. He entertained us with some kara-o-kay. He even busted out a harmonica at one point and taught us a song. All it said was “Viet-Nam. Ho-Chi-Minh” clap clap calp. Yep great song.
Once back on the ship, Mackenzie and I literally ran from the gangway to my room and dropped our stuff in the room and ran to deck 7 for the BBQ. When we got to deck 7, they told us to go to Deck 6. I was really disappointed in the BBQ. Plus, they didn’t even have enough ribs for everyone. So I just grabbed a salad and about 5 pieces of corn on the cob.
After dinner, I went back to the room to figure out what the heck I had bought and clean my room. We ended up just watching a movie and catching up on everyone’s stories from Vietnam. We also had a mini fashion show of all the clothes people had made in Vietnam. Katie and Kristin’s dresses were beautiful and Jeremy and Bryan looked so handsome in their custom suits. I kind of wish that I had gotten a dress made, but I guess that gives me a reason to come back.

11.6.09
This morning we woke up at 615, collected our stuff and checked out of our room and went to breakfast. When we were down at breakfast, it was then that I realized that we had left our passports in the safe in the room. I ran back to the check in counter and they let us get back into the room.
Our first stop of the day was at the Genocide Museum, which is a bit heavy at 700 in the morning. The Genocide Museum is located in an old high school that the Pol Pot regime used as a torture center. People would stay there for a maximum of 6 months and then they were sent to the killing fields. They were tourtured for information before they were sent to the killing fields where they were executed by being hit on the head with a club. Also, if there was a family involved, they would kill the children in front of the parents, then the wife and then kill the husband. They wanted to inflict as much pain as possible, both physically and emotionally. In total, 1.7 million people were killed with 15,000 coming from the camp we were at. Out of those 15,000 there were only 7 survivors. 4 have since died of natural causes, but there are still 3 alive. While we were walking through the archives, an older man approached us. It turns out that he was one of those 7 survivors. He came over to speak with us and answer our questions with Sun acting as translator. It was incredible. He told us his story and it was gut wrenching what he went through. His whole family was killed right in front of him. We asked how he could stand to come back to a place where he was tortured. He said that he has made peace with it because his torturers are being brought to justice in court. Also, he wants to come back and tell people like us his story so we can go back and tell others.
It amazes me that all of this happened in the mid 1970s. Sun’s family was relocated from the city into the rural area, where they were forced to work in a field. One day, his mother just didn’t come back. He was 2 years old. It is amazing because hardly anyone in the states has ever heard of it. Sun said that everyone has lost someone in the Pol Pot regime. It is so much more raw than the Holocaust. It is almost worse. Yes, Hitler killed a lot more people, but at least he didn’t torture them by pulling out their fingernails and then pouring alcohol on it. Yes, people endured hard labor camps, but from what I have read they were at least able to walk around. Here they were chained into the cells. It is crazy how the survivor just wanted to talk about it.
We left the museum and went to the actual killing fields. There were these mass graves. One had 450 bodies in it. Sun was telling us that how when they kill people, they kill them in brutal ways. After seeing some of the graves, we saw the only thing I know to call it is The Tree. This is a tree where they would hold toddlers by their ankles and bash them into the tree until they died. All of this was done in front of the parents. They also club people rather than shoot them because they want people to suffer and it would have been a waste of a bullet.
They had a memorial set up on the grounds. It was basically this tall tower and they had taken all the skulls that they had found in the mass graves and assembled them. This has caused quite a bit of controversy within the Cambodian culture. Cambodians believe that the body must be cremated in order for the soul to move on. People want to come and collect their loved ones remains and with DNA testing they have been able to identify some, but it is a very long process.
We boarded the bus and it was pretty quiet. It is all a little intense and a lot to take in before lunch. It was just hard to process because by The Tree there was a little boy and little girl just running around and playing and laughing. It was just really spooky. It was way more intense then going to Auschwitz.
Our next stop was the Russian Market. It is called the Russian Market because apparently that is where a lot of Russian people used to shop back in the day, but now they are all gone and it is just a market. We didn’t have a lot of time there, but I bought a couple of silver bracelets and a little Buddha that I am treating as my thimble from Cambodia. One small note about Cambodia is that their economy and currency is so unstable that they use US dollars. Even when you go to the ATM you get US Dollars out rather than Cambodian Riel. The market was crazy though. It was very cramped compared to the Ben Than market.
We went to lunch. I managed to swipe some awesome green chopsticks. My lunch again consisted mainly of rice, but there were a few dishes that were good. The restaurant had these crazy fish that were HUGE! And they looked really grumpy.
We made it to the airport about an hour before our flight to Siem Reap. We had to say goodbye to Sun ☹. He was such an awesome guide. He ranks right up there with John, Sam, and Jamal. But he helped get us checked into our flight and then we said goodbye.
Our flight was on a baby plane again and I sat next to Dr. Strenecky. He read the paper and I read my book and 40 minutes later we were in Siem Reap. We met our new tour guide, who was not as cool as Sun and went to our new hotel. It was much nicer than the one before. There is mahogany wood everywhere, we have a balcony and flat panel TV. There is a peek-a-boo window from the bed to the bathroom. It is so nice. We had some time to kill so we relaxed and watched CSI: New York.
We all met in the lobby at 1630 to go to Angkor Wat. Wat means temple and Angkor is the town. So it is like the town’s temple. Angkor Wat is around 800 years old. It was awesome. I didn’t realize how big it is. Mackenzie and I barely got into to it before it was time to go. We went right at sunset so the lighting was perfect. We only had 45 minutes, but we are going back tomorrow morning at sunrise. But the temple itself is made out of large stone blocks. And there are all these intricate hallways and rooms and worship sites. It was pretty incredible.
After leaving Angkor Wat, we went to dinner. It was in this huge open-air pavilion and was a buffet dinner. The dinner was pretty good and had a wide variety of food. I had some sweet and sour pork, fried rice and spring rolls. The only down side was that the pork had bones in it so that was hard to maneuver.
After dinner, we were treated to a cultural dance show. We had a perfect seat right up front. It was really interesting. They had really elaborate costumes. The dancers are known for being able to bend their hands backward where the tips of their fingers touch their arms. It is the weirdest looking thing ever. They also move really deliberately and slowly and it was pretty neat to watch. One of the dances they did had to do with a boy and the girl in the rice fields and their flirtation. It is just really cool to think that even though I had no idea what they are saying in their language, everyone in the audience clearly understood what was going on in the story.
We hopped back on the bus and it dropped us back off at the night market. It was pretty neat. One thing that I wasn’t expecting was Dr. Fish massage. They have these kiddy pool looking things full of fish. You pay for a Dr. Fish massage and you stick your feet into the pool and then these fish attack your feet and pretty much eat the dead skin off your feet. The little fish looked like minnows and they literally swarmed your feet. It was the most bizarre scene and sensation. I didn’t get one on my feet, but I did put my hand in. I didn’t really like the idea of sticking my feet into this pool on the side of street in Cambodia with hundreds of fish and dirty water, especially when I have a cut on my foot. That is just an infection waiting to happen.
We wondered around the market and I bought a couple of things, well actually a lot of things, but I didn’t spend more than $30. I love Southeast Asia and their prices. The market was really intense compared to the ones in Vietnam. They people actually grab you and pull you back to their stalls. And all they can say is “Madam! T-shirt! Very Pretty! Good price!” It is really annoying. Mackenzie, Kaitlyn, and I grabbed a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. A tuk tuk is a mix between an auto and a cyclo. It is a motorbike with a seat on the back, but it is two seats that face each other and you can usually fit about 4 people in one. They are much more comfortable than autos, though. I love the tuk tuks. Our driver was really nice and we were able to bargain down out price. Mackenzie loved our driver so much that she got his business card and a picture with him.
We crashed once we got back to the hotel because we have to be up so early for the sunrise at Angkor Wat tomorrow morning.

11.5.09
This morning, Mackenzie and I gathered in the piano lounge at 10 to leave for CAMBODIA! We drove from the ship to the airport for our flight. Once we got checked in, we had some time to kill, so we walked around. Everything is SUPER expensive. For example, a Cosmo costs $15! We eventually just sat at the gate and jammed out to my iPod. When it was time for boarding, we got on the bus and drove out onto the tarmac. Our plane was a little worrisome. It was bright purple and about the size of my car and operated on propellers. So this was my first prop plane experience. Thank goodness it was as short flight. I sat next to Kaitlin and we chatted about WKU study abroad for a bit, but then we had to fill out our Cambodia paperwork. The flight was so short that before we finished the paperwork, we were landing.
We got into the airport and walked through the heat senser to make sure we didn’t have a fever and got in line to get our visas. Eventually, we had all paid our $20 and got our visas. I am going to have to get more pages in my passport if I go out of the country again. I only have a couple of pages without stamps on them.
We boarded our bus and met our adorable tour guide – Mr. Sun. He is probably the most adorable thing ever. We drove a little ways then one of the girls lost her money belt. So Dr. Stenecky went with her back to the airport to look for it, while the rest of us went on to the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace. It was absolutely beautiful and huge!!! There were flowers and pagodas and Buddha statues everywhere. Inside the Silver Pagoda the floor is covered with silver and also inside are about 900kg of gold and over 8,000 diamonds, with the largest being about 26 karats. It was awesome. We also saw where outside where monks write blessings on the leaves. It was really cool. We also walked through what used to be the elephant stables. Sadly, there are no longer elephants there. They all died of starvation during the Khamer Rouge. It was still really pretty. Mackenzie and I saw some monks playing these really interesting instruments that were making some melodious music. The instruments looked like xylophones. The best part was that they invited us to play with them. They showed us what to do and then it was show time. So I just had a jam session with some monks. It was marvelous.
We boarded the bus and went to the National Museum. We saw a lot of statues that showed how the Hindu and Buddhism have blended together and how Cambodians practice both. We stayed there for about an hour and it really wasn’t all that exciting.
Our next stop was a sunset cruise on the Mekong River. While waiting in traffic to get to the boat, I look out the window and what do I see…Jumbo the local elephant. Yep, an elephant. It turns out that Jumbo (how fitting of a name) is the only elephant in Phnom Penh and we were lucky enough to get to see her. According to Mr. Sun, Jumbo is very lonely, but there are no male elephants around for her. But come on, it’s not everyday that you see and elephant just walking down the street.
We boarded our somewhat sketchy little boat and cruised along the river. It was so relaxing and a neat way to see the city. It kind of reminded me of the Danube cruise we did when we were in Budapest.
Afterward, we were supposed to go to an orphanage center that was founded by SAS alumni. The traffic was really bad and we were wiped out so we decided to skip the orphanage and go directly to dinner. Sun told us how he eats spiders (yeeah!) and silk worms (You want the wom?). Luckily, dinner did not include spiders or silk worms, but rather of rice, rice cakes, spring rolls, a weird fish dish, a seafood soup and a platter of some sort consisting of shrimp, octopus and something else that I don’t know what it was, but it was good. I mainly stuck with the rice because I didn’t much care for the rest.
We eventually made it to our hotel, where we were greeted with what I take to be the Cambodian equivalent of a Shirley Temple. Our hotel is really nice. Mackenzie and I settled into our room with our bathrobes and our slippers. We ventured down to the spa. I got a pedicure and an hour and half long massage for $20.
We got the pedicures first. They didn’t really scrub our feet like they do in the states, but it was still nice. And even better it was only $8. Our massage was next and that was an experience in itself. Mackenzie went for the aromatherapy one and I went with neck, back, shoulders and head massage. They showed me to the little room, which was pretty nice. I changed into the robe, but didn’t get completely naked because that kind of freaks me out and even more because I am in Cambodia. But anyway, the woman comes in and I lay down on the table and she lays a towel over me and I just think I was going to get a normal massage. But I was wrong. The next thing I know the woman is wrapping the towel around my underwear and pulling it down. I was a little surprised, but I just went with it. Who knew that a head, neck and back massage also includes your butt. It was also a little awkward to have a small Cambodian woman straddling me and massaging my back, but whatever it’s an experience. Toward the end of the massage she left and washed her hands. When she came back she had me flip over and lay my head in her lap. She then massaged my scalp, face and ears. When she started massaging my ears, it took everything I had in me to not smack her, but she did feel me tense up. Overall, it was a great massage and it made it even better that it was only $12. And to think that I even overpaid because when they are not in a hotel they only cost about $7 in a 24 hour massage parlor…yeah that is not sketchy at all.

11.4.09
We woke up this morning, grabbed some breakfast and went to the union. We had an orientation with some Vietnamese students that will serve as our translators for the day while we are doing the $100 solution. We basically just sat around. Since I am a bus leader, I passed around the sign in sheet.
Once the students got back from their tour of the ship, Aleks and Colby gave a presentation about the $100 solution and basically talked about what we are going to be doing today and the history of the $100 solution.
We loaded onto the bus and drove 45 minutes to the YMCA. We were welcomed with a chat with the director and he gave a 141 slide powerpoint. When he finished, we had lunch. We all sat at tables of about 7 and lunch was delicious. They just kept bringing us more food. It was funny watching Mackenzie eat with chopsticks. I tried to teach her, but it didn’t really help.
After lunch, Paulo and Olivia got up and did a presentation about American culture with the help of our translators. Then Mackenzie, Maria, James, Paulo and Olivia all did the Thriller dance for all the girls that are at the YMCA. They are there because they work as seamstresses and sew school uniforms. The money they make doing that they send back to their families. They loved the dance and wanted an encore. We didn’t really prepare for that so Paulo got a beat working and did some break dancing. Then as in a response, one of the girls got up and sang a Vietnamese song. It was so pretty even though I had no idea what she was saying. Then they wanted to hear an American song. Joey saved the day by getting up and singing Wagon Wheel. Carly, Bobbi-Lee and I proudly sang along. They loved it.
Then it turned out that the orphanage was a lot farther from the YMCA, so Dr. Strenecky said we had the option to either stay at the YMCA and do a $100 solution there or go to the orphanage as planned. Mackenzie and I decided to stay at the YMCA because we wanted to get back earlier so we could have more time in Ho Chi Minh.
After the groups split up, which was really stressful because I had to get a list of who was going and who was staying and then there wasn’t enough room in the van so some people couldn’t go, but then they just decided to take the bus so everyone could go. It was just confusing. After they left, we got a tour of the facilities and got to speak with some of the girl who work there. It was amazing seeing how quickly they can sew. After we got the tour, we had a question answer session with the director and then it was time for the $100 solution. We asked what he wanted and he said training. He believed that the girls needed more training because the work that they do at the Y is very temporary, but when they leave they don’t have a skill. Yes, they can sew, but it is not good enough to be a tailor so they are kind of in limbo. Somehow, we got off on a tangent about HIV/AIDS education and a library. It was the most frustrating 3 hours. The whole point of the $100 solution is asking what THEY want and not doing what WE think they need. He said training so why are we talking about HIV/AIDS education? I spoke with Dr. Strenecky and I still really didn’t get a straight answer. All he said was that I would really like the solution. Well great.
What we ended up with was that we would send one girl to get tailor training and then they could come back and train the other girls. Well then if we just picked one girl that would cause tension between the others. Then we thought about just getting them a machine that they could practice on because the ones they use to sew the uniforms are different than what they use as a tailor. But then how would they get money to buy supplies to practice because they send all their money back to their families. It just seemed like whatever we came up with, it would just not work out. In the end, we just gave them $100 with the promise of coming back and doing another solution. I really felt like it was a complete waste of a day. I think the reason we had such an issue is because there was no apparent need. Everything they needed was long term.
After venting out my frustration and getting back to the ship, we had dinner, grabbed our laptops and went to the market. I bought entirely way too much stuff. We then hit up Tutti Frutti, a local ice cream place and used their free internet to skype.
We headed back to the ship (while on the way back I was walking and stepped on a HUGE bug) I bought more DVDs and got on the ship. Once I was back in my cabin, I packed for Cambodia and watched America’s Next Top Model.

This morning we docked in Vietnam. The pilot joined us at the mouth of the river. Us going up this river is completely dependent on the tides. This river is really narrow and we have to make sharp turns. It was really fascinating because we went through really rural Vietnam. People were just chilling in their boats and fishing and we sail by in our huge ship. These poor fishing boats got taken out by our tidal wave of a wake.
We slowly moved from rural to urban as we got closer to Ho Chi Minh City. (Saigon=Ho Chi Minh City) I chatted with Dr. Aimee and Carter English for a bit. I then went to my cabin to get ready for the day.
Around 1130, because this is the SAS parent trip, all the parents were allowed on board. Katie’s mom came so we all went up to deck 7 to greet her. Katie looks and acts so much like her mom. It is so cute. She was so excited to see her mom. It was nice to have a mom around. It just makes you feel so much better.
We grabbed some lunch on the ship and then jumped on the shuttle into town. It dropped us off at the Rex Hotel, which is where the parents are staying and is also right in the middle of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. There was a large group of us. Most of the group was looking for tailors to make dresses or suits. Mackenzie and I decided to break off on our own and go to the Ben Than Market because we don’t have a lot of time because we are going to Cambodia. We thought we were going the right way, but we weren’t. We had to duck into the Park Hotel to get directions. Turns out we were going the wrong direction.
We eventually made it to the market and it was the most overwhelming thing ever, but awesome. I spent entirely WAY too much money. I bought a bunch, but I spent most of it on DVDs and seasons of shows because they are super cheap. Even though I spent a lot of money I justify it by thinking about all the money I am saving…right.
Mackenzie and I spent the whole day at the market. It was quite ridiculous. We made it back to the ship and relaxed for an hour before going out to dinner with Becky. We went and ate at Pho 24. Pho is a noodle dish with beef or chicken in some sort of broth. It is kind of like ramen, but way better. It was really good, but very funny to watch all of us try to eat it with chopsticks. We also got some spring rolls.
There ended up being a night market. Becky found a shop with a bunch of NorthFace jackets and I got a fleece lined one for $17. We walked and observed and made it back to the hotel by 1030 to catch the last shuttle back to the ship.
We got back on the ship and Mackenzie stayed in the room since Rosario is in Cambodia and we watched The Ugly Truth. It is probably one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time.

I didn’t realize how excited I am for Vietnam. I am excited to see the country behind the war. Right now whenever anyone says Vietnam, I automatically think war. By the time I leave I want that to change to a country. It is supposed to be beautiful and have delicious food.
It is my first Asian country, as well as my first communist country. I don’t really know what to expect because communism has such a negative connotation in the US. I am also really excited for shopping. There are NorthFace and other designer brands pretty much everywhere. I am ready to shop – probably a little bit too much.
I feel like there is a lot that I can learn from Vietnam. They have such a different culture and history that no one knows about because of the war. It will be interesting to see how they will treat us because of the war.

11.2.09
I can’t believe that it is already November! It is crazy this is going by so quickly. Yesterday was cultural pre-port for Vietnam. I feel bad because I can’t understand a word that our interport student is saying. She spoke most of the time so I really have no idea what to expect for Vietnam. During global studies they had a panel of teachers talking about the war and the draft. It was really interesting to hear.
After pre-port, they had 80’s bingo. It was a blast. I wore Mackenzie’s leggings and some bright blue eye shadows and rocked a pretty sweet side pony. It was pretty awesome. I don’t know why I didn’t wear that for Halloween. I didn’t win any of the games, but it was still really fun.
Afterward, I went to find Mackenzie who was learning the Thriller dance to perform at the $100 solution orphanage in Vietnam. They all looked great. We went and grabbed some ice cream and played pish posh with Rosario, Erica, and Robyn. Mackenzie ended up winning.
Before bed, I had to plan out my semester classes for next spring. It is not the best schedule in the world, but it works. I am taking 18 hours so my last semester won’t be as bad. When I tried to plan earlier in the day, I got kicked off TopNet because it was 2am at home. That was annoying.
We also had a presentation about the $100 solution and the do’s and don’ts while we are at the orphanage. Mackenzie led it and did a great job. I had a meeting with Bridget because I am a bus leader for the trip so that was kind of exciting.


Lauren Gray
Career Development Program Assistant

We had a big presentation in Dr. Aimee’s class, so I spent most of the day preparing for that. In the end, the presentation went well so now until the end of the voyage, I only have a few big projects, which is really nice.
But on a happier note – today is HALLOWEEN!!!
All the dependent kids came by the cabin and were trick-or-treating. I signed up to participate and bought some candy in India. Unfortunately, a lot of it melted, but I still gave them some candy and stickers. There were 12 kids total. I dressed up as a FGIT. I wore a long blue skirt and I borrowed a purple shirt and belt from Mackenzie. I made a wand out of cardboard and construction paper. I even broke out my pixie dust. When the little twins came I gave them some pixie dust. Dr. Aimee even wanted to make a wish and got pixie dusted. Mackenzie got it all on video and it was great. After trick or treating we grabbed some dinner I went to an explorer seminar and then at 2100 it was time for Halloween Dance!
People got soooo creative with their costumes. My favorite was that someone was a SAS student on a rickshaw and the duo was even complete with a hawker following them. Terrence and Bobbi-Lee were Beetlejuice and his girlfriend. They looked great. The Ambiguously Gay Duo was there, someone was the picture from the room complete with crazy stories on the back, the girl from the grudge who even did the creepy crawl across the floor and a ton of people were zombies.
Becky, Katie, Kristin, and Mackenzie were the SAS dance crew. I found a silky bright green shirt in Mackenzie’s closet and I went as Tinkerbell, even though I didn’t have time to make wings. The dance was packed!
Maria was the emcee, and cleared the dance floor. She acted like we were going to have a fashion show of people and their costumes for the costume contest, but then zombie’s took over.  They crawled over the floor and then jumped up and did the Thriller Dance, with Paulo as MJ. It was the hip-hop class that Paulo had been teaching on the voyage. It was fantastic. Bryan, Olivia and Rochelle were all in it and did great! They had a costume contest, but I don’t know who won. The dance ended about 1130 and then we all had to leave the union. We were all pretty tired so we just went to bed.

10.30.09
Today was a normal class day. Kristin and I had our voyage of discovery meeting and that was exciting. I was going to go to an explorer seminar, but I thought that it would be better to stake out a spot on the stairs in line so I could get a seat for the crew talent show. Katie, Kristin and I managed to get into the union pretty quickly and snagged seats in the 3rd row.
The talent show was so good! Our crew is so talented. There were some fabulous singers, a lot of great dance numbers, comedians and much more. One crew member did a dance to joyful joyful from Sister Act and it was fabulous because while he was dancing he went back to this easel and finger painted a picture of Jesus and it was great. To close the show all the crew members came out and sang We are the World. It was a great way to end the show and the night. Everyone was on their feet singing along. The whole show was a way to raise money for the crew. I don’t know how much was collected, but I gave $20. Afterward, we just went back to the room and went to bed.

The big scuttle on the ship today is the global studies midterm. He is offering an additional test that won’t replace the first one, but will act as another grade to try to help the people that bombed the first one. People were in an uproar. If the man would just make a powerpoint that we could study from instead of getting up there and rambling on for an hour and a half things would be much better, but because someone advised him that powerpoints wouldn’t work so he won’t do it. The whole thing is just being so blown out of proportion. He said he wants to uphold the high academic standards of his home university, but I’m sorry IU is not exactly an academic hotbed. (sorry Alex, but WKU really isn’t either). A girl got up and asked him for the people that came to class, studied and did the reading what they needed to do in order to do better on the final. He basically looked at her and said I don’t know what the hell to tell you. Well that’s helpful. Plus, he kind of took a shot at all the other professors saying that they dumb down their classes because we are on Semester At Sea…nice.
Eventually, he just stopped letting people talk and turned on a documentary about Pete Peterson, a Vietnam POW turned Vietnam ambassador. I found it interesting.
Nothing else exciting happened except I took 2 tests. I think I did alright on both. We also finished our SWOT analysis of the World Cup in South Africa presentation.
We had a lifeboat/muster station drill this evening. That was annoying as usual. I had dinner and went to an explorer seminar about leadership in movies. That was kind of neat. I finished the night by playing 2 games of pish posh.

Today was a reading day as well as picture day. We had our WKU picture and then I had so much homework to catch up on. I spent basically the entire day studying for tests, writing FDP journals, and preparing for my international management presentation. That turned out to be a lot less stressful then I thought it was going to be. Thank you Dr. Aimee.
We went to an early dinner and then I had my Disney info session presentation. A good number of people came, but Rita didn’t make an announcement so not everyone knew about it. The presentation well really well though.
Afterward, I went to post port reflections and it was great. Hearing everyone’s stories was really hysterical. I wish I had brought my video camera. I even got up and recounted my adventure from Bangalore to Chennai. That is something I normally wouldn’t have done. Kristin got up and talked about the art of living and their breathing techniques that they used. That was pretty funny. Olivia also told about the massage she had and how invasive it was. Post-port ended with a group of people that did one of the village home stays. It seemed like they had a very cultural experience even though they had no idea what was going on half the time. It was a great way to end the reflections.
After post port we had the idea that we were going to plan Japan, but that never really materialized. We all just ended up going to bed. Yep, we were really productive.

India was not nearly what I was expecting. That was the underlying theme for sure. I was expecting poverty and shacks everywhere, but I found a modern bustling city. It was quite amazing.
I LOVED the rickshaws. Granted the driving was a little crazy, but still awesome. When you are riding in a rickshaw you are right in the center of the action and India is just in your face.
While being by myself was very stressful, it all worked out ok and it is now a great story. It gave me a confidence that I have never had before. I figure if I can survive being lost in India, I can survive pretty much anything.
Overall, India surprised me. It had nice cities, good food and friendly people. I really want to go aback though and see the other side and the Taj. While I was in India, I made a list of observations about India and everything I saw.
1.      The Head Bobble – Indians had this adorable head bobble where they kind of wiggle their heads back and forth. And they use it for everything: yes, no, maybe, to fill time, to laugh at you and about 20 other things
2.      It’s Dirty – No matter how nice of a place you are in it will never live up to the cleanliness standards in the US, but that is not necessarily a bad thing
3.      They are never on time – Shashank confirmed this when he said that you normally tell people 30 minutes before you want them to show up so they will be there on time, but it is not nearly as bad as Ghana.
4.      They are crazy, but good drivers – They don’t really oey traffic signals or lane distincitions and everyone uses their horn, but yet te closest thing I saw to an accident was when my auto bumped into a motor bike’s review mirror. They all watch the other guy and drive defensively and somehow it works out.
5.      They don’t believe in automatics – everything in India is a stick shift from the 3 wheeled autos to the tour buses
6.      They like to see how many people they can fit on a motorbike – it is amazing to me how many people they can fit. Families of 5 ride along like it’s nothing. The kids just balance somehow holding onto their parents and the bike.
7.      Everyone has 2 cell phones (or at least everyone I met) – Shashank explained to me that it is cheaper to text with one plan and call with another. So one phone is to call and the other to text, which is what his rally car driver friend does. Or, like Shashank, one is a business and one is personal.
8.      Sandals are the way to go – Even though you can buy tennis shoes on the street – no one does. Everyone wears Velcro sandals, flip flops, or some sort of dress shoe.
9.      They have delicious food – Granted I was tasting the watered down “bland” food, but it was still really good.
10.     They substitute the word nice for the word good – Where Americans would normally say “the food is good”, Indians say “the food is nice.”
11.     They are obsessed with cricket – Even though their national sport is field hockey no one really cares. And the world cup is coming up and the whole sports section is still dedicated to cricket.
12.     It is the most colorful place I have ever been – Whether it is the fabric of the sarees, the lights leftover from Divali, or the decoration on the autos everything is super colorful and I love it.
13.     The can fall asleep anywhere – Everytime Shashank and I got on a bus everyone feel asleep. People sleep in their cars, in their autos or even on the streets.
14.     Everything is a journey – not a trip – I love this and I think that I am going to start using it. It just makes everything sound so much more exciting.

10.27.09
Today I barely got up in time to get to the bus for my trip. Mackenzie (who got back around 2am) and I toured Prasad studios, which is one of the largest movie studios in India. We met a director/teacher and got to see the sound mixing area. We got a preview  of some of the movies and that was cool. The studio wasn’t as big as I thought it was going to be. We were hoping we would get to see some shooting, but there was none going on.  We did get to see them build and tear down a set. The set they were building looked like a music video of some sort. It looked like it would be really cool. We also got to see them splice negatives and put them back together. They operate completely on film, which I thought was interesting since most of the industry works digitally now. They took us into the developing room and I was all the sudden hit with a flashback of the photo lab with all the developing chemicals. It made me really glad that I don’t have to smell those chemicals anymore.
Afterward, we signed out of the trip and went to Spencer’s Plaza. It is like a shopping mall/marketplace rolled into one. The first store we come to has a huge sign that said “Special Discount for MV Explorer” So of course we went there first. Their stuff was pretty cheap and I loaded up on gifts for people. But the time I left Spencer’s I had way more stuff then I was expecting.
We got outside and needed a rickshaw to take us to the post office and then back to the ship. The first guy said 300 – I said 150 and he walked away. There was no way I was paying that much because we are not that far from the port. Another guy said 200, but I grabbed Mackenzie and we started walking in the general direction of the post office. Then another driver came up and said 150 so we went with him. Once we actually got in his auto, he said 150 and one store. The driver’s in India work with shop owners to bring tourists to their shops. The more people the driver brings to their shop the bigger the kick back from the store the driver gets even if we don’t buy anything. We agreed on one store because we had time and nothing else to do.
We made it to the post office and I mailed a letter to Nate and my Disney Campus Rep application. Our driver waited outside for us and then took us to the one store. The store actually turned out to be really nice. If there was any way that I had a lot of money and a way to get furniture back to the US I would have bought something. We left and didn’t buy anything, but our driver still got some money. After the store, we had to argue with him to get him to take us back to the port without any other stops, but he eventually did.
We checked back on the ship and just hung out and showed everyone each other’s purchases. It was a pretty chill evening because everyone was exhausted from the craziness that is India.

10.26.09
I woke up about 8 and finished getting my stuff together. I had the same breakfast of my grilled cheese type thing and waited for Shashank. One of the hotel guys called about 9:15 and escorted me to the campus gate. We waited there about 5 minutes and Shashank showed up. We got in an auto and went to the bus terminal. I am not really sure what happened, but we ended up following this guy into what looked like a booking agency and Shashank got my ticket. We stood around for 20ish minutes waiting for the bus.
The place next door to us had a homeless man sleeping outside of it. The people from the other store poured water all over him to try and wake him up. I was afraid he was dead because he didn’t move, but after they poured a pot of water directly on his head he stirred a little, but still didn’t get up. He must have been really tired. When Shashank and I left to go to the bus, he was still there.
After some mild confusion, Shashank put me on my bus and we said goodbye. He wrote down the address of the port gate and told me not to pay more than 200 rupees. He also arranged for the bus driver to help me find an auto when we get to Chennai. He had to pay them a little bit, but it worked (I think it was only about 30 rupees which is <$1)
We got on our way, but things quickly turned south. After picking up a few more people, we got stopped. I really wasn’t sure what was going on, but someone finally told me that the bus I was on did not pay their road tax. After about 45 minutes, we got back moving again. Turns out that we ended up going to another bus depot and we were kicked off the bus. Great. So here I am on the side of the road by a bus terminal in the middle of Bangalore. I have no idea what is going on and no idea how I am going to get to Chennai. I met a nice guy from Tibet because neither of us spoke whatever language they were speaking. Eventually, this nice Indian man took pity on me and tried to explain to me what was going on. His name was Ganesh and I decided to attach myself to him because he had to get to Channai for a job interview. I figure that eventually we would get there. After standing on the side of the road for about 20 minutes looking completely confused another bus pulled up. I asked the bus driver if it was going to Chennai and I got the annoying Indian head bob that could mean a variety of things. Everyone else that was on the original bus got on so I got on as well. I sat next to my new friend Ganesh. Ganesh loved my sunglasses. He was trying them on and asked me how much I paid for them. He also loved my nalgene, but he was very concerned about whether or not it was India water or US water. Then he started asking me about my life at home. He asked how old I was and if I was married. I figured my best way to answer was to say yes, I was married. Then of course he asks me about my husband and what he does, so the only thing I ca think to do is make something up. I ended up describing a mix between Brian and some made up person. So thank you Brian haha. Apparently, my answers appeased him because he quickly went to sleep.
As we are slowly getting closer and closer to Chennai, the not in my stomach slowly got bigger and bigger. I was supposed to be in Chennai around 5:30, but with the issues we ended up not getting in until 7:30. That means that it was dark outside…great. Before we got off the bus, I started talking to a guy that was about my age who was sitting behind me. It turned out that he wasn’t from Chennai, but was studying there. When we all got off in Chennai, he ended up helping me get an auto to the port. He actually got be a discount. He said that he could get it cheaper, but at this point I didn’t really care as long as the driver knew where the port gate was because it was a bit away from the bus terminal. The driver assured me that he knew where it was so I decided to pay a little more and just get to the port. It was so stressful getting off this bus because it is dark, I am by myself and there are a ton of drivers hassling to get you to go with them. So as I am riding with my driver, I am trying to relax because there is nothing really I can do. I am going to make it eventually. I started taking in my surroundings and watching my driver. That is when I realized that my driver had a twitch. It was probably the cutest, and most funny thing. It probably wouldn’t be that funny normally, but the events of that day I just had to laugh. But my adventures were not over. Turns out that my lovely driver, which I have come to affectionately call Twitch, does not know where the port gate is. We end having to stop and ask about 3 other drivers to see if they knew where it was.
We came around this corner and who do I see by James and Rosario and I felt like I was going to burst into tears. The stress that I had been carrying around all day just melt away. The ship was still there. I made it back without getting mugged. Everything worked out! I have never been so excited to see the ship in all this time.   I made it to the port gate and had to check in at security. I found a rickshaw driver and he drove me to the ship because I was not about to walk through our port at night since it is such an industrial port.
I finally got on the ship and dropped my stuff in the cabin and pretty much ran to get food at the piano bar. That roast beef sandwich was some of the best food ever. I was exhausted, but I found Katie and she told me about the Taj and Varanasi. It sounded amazing. We both eventually just crashed.

10.25.09
I woke up in time to see the sunrise over Bangalore this morning from my window. It was beautiful. I got ready and had some time to spare so I flipped through the Cosmo that I bought yesterday. About 7, Shashank called and we had breakfast in the lobby. We grabbed our stuff and went to the bus station. We caught the 7:50 bus to Mysore. We chatted the bus ride there, which took about 3 hours.
Once in Mysore, we got a taxi to the Mysore palace. The palace is huge!!!We bought out tickets. Shashank only had to pay 20 rupees. I had to pay 200!! Dang my not being an Indian. We had our bags checked. I had to check my camera because they didn’t allow cameras inside. We then checked our shoes. My tennis shoes stood out like nobody’s business amongst all the sandals. So Shashank was barefoot and I was comfy in my socks. We walked into the palace and had our bags checked again. I got in trouble because I forgot I had my flip so after the guard laughed at me, we went back to the camera check.
We came back for round 2 and we were allowed inside. The inside was gorgeous. The carvings and everything are so ornate. We walked into the wedding pavilion and I wish I had my camera. There were beautiful peacock motif stained glass windows and these archways that looked like carved wood, but they were actually cast iron. The place was spectacular.
We kept walking through the palace. We had got a little audio tour so we walked and listened. We next entered a huge pavilion  thing where the king would hold court. They had magnificent archways that looked out into a beautiful courtyard.  I thought a saw a rat scamper across one of the balconies, but it was actually a squirrel. I thought that it was interesting that they are worried about people taking pictures, but they have squirrels running around inside.
I would have never imagined the wealth of India. There was a thing to put on the back of an elephant that was covered in 80 kilos of gold!  And there were chairs made out of crystal!
Right after we entered the palace we went into a temple. It was totally not what I expected. It was kind of dark and not at all like I thought a place of worship would be. Shashank got these sugar-covered things that tasted sort of like a sugar cookie that people consider holy. I can’t remember what it was called.
Once we were out of the palace and collected our shoes, I perused the gift shop, while Shashank went and returned the audio tour headset. I thought surely I would find a thimble because the palace is such a touristy place, but no luck.
We went and collected the cameras and walked around the courtyard. It was full of beautiful flowers and the humungous bronze tigers. It was very pretty.
As we were exiting the palace, we walked through all the stalls of the street vendors and Shashank got to experience a new side of India. Since he was with me and in cargo shorts and a Walt Disney World polo, all the vendors assumed that he was a tourist too. It was pretty funny to him react to all the vendors. By the end of it, all he had to say was that he was glad he was Indian and doesn’t have to be put up with that.
Shashank called our taxi and he took us to one of the 8 sacred hills in southern India. There was a huge temple at the top. The line to get in was at least a 2 hour wait. We decided to pass on going inside and walked around on the outside. As I was taking a picture of the temple, I almost got run over by a cow. It was really funny. It is amazing how they are not afraid of people like the cows at home. They bolt if you get too close. It could have something to do with the fact that they don’t eat cows in India. While we were up there, I had a red and yellow cloth tied around my wrist and a red dot put on my forehead by one of the holy men for luck. That was pretty cool. Up at the temple, they sell coconut with flowers on these platter things. Shashank explained to me that they are offering to the gods. Inside the temple, they break open the coconut. The water inside is used as a sacrifice and then the coconut is returned to you. You then go home and make a meal with the coconut and have a blessed meal.
When we were done at the temple, our driver took us to The Bull. It is a large black statue of a bull that is a holy place for Hindus. That was not what I was expecting, but that seems to be a common theme for India.
One the way down from the Hill we could see all of Mysore. Although, it was a little hazy due to the pollution, but it was still very pretty. I felt a like driving back at home because it was hilly and windy road.
The taxi dropped us off by the bus station and we headed into a local hotel for lunch. The hotel had 2 restaurants with different themes. One was a jungle theme and the other was a cave theme. We went with the cave one. It reminded me of a cross between T-Rex and Rain Forest Café. Shashank made a point to ask for stuff that wasn’t spicy. The started we got was delicious, but it definitely had a kick to it. It was kind of an Indian take on chicken wings, but much better. For the main meal we had white rice with a cashew chicken gravy. It was more sweet than spicy. It was definitely my favorite meal so far. I wish I could learn how to make it at home.
After lunch, we walked back to the bus station and caught a bus back to Bangalore. Once back in Bangalore, Shashank dropped me off at the hotel. I had about 3 hours until he would be back to pick me up for dinner. I showered, watched some TV, and used the hotel computer to look up information on Japanese rail passes.
Shashank picked me up and then we picked up his friend who we are going out to eat with. His friend is a rally car driver and is leading the league right now. We went to the building and up to the 13th floor where there is a really trendy lounge bar – aptly called the 13th floor. We ate out on this balcony overlooking the city of Bangalore. It was absolutely beautiful. It turned out that Shashank’s boss was there, so I got to meet him. He seemed like a pretty cool guy. He obviously had some clout because whatever he wanted got done. The place was blasting techno music and I felt extremely out of place in my tennis shoes. We had some French fries and I felt so stereotypical. I had chicken kabob thing that was good. Shashank and his friend had something really spicy with peppers all over it. He tried to get me to try it and he thought it was spicy so there was no way I was trying it. We stayed there for a while and chatted. It was a very nice way to spend my last night with Shashank.
After dinner, Shashnak dropped me off at the hotel. It was about midnight so I got my stuff ready and went to bed. When we got back to the hotel the doors were locked so Shashank had to call his friend to come let us in. I went upstairs and crashed.

10.24.09
I woke up this morning and got ready for the day. The next thing I know a man is knocking on my door with a tray of breakfast. What service! I stayed away from the omelet, but there were some slices of toast and cheese and that was delicious. I ended up making a grilled cheese type thing. So good!
Shashank came by to check on me before he went to work and he looked so handsome in his business suit. It was weird because I have never seen him dressed up like that. I am so used to his Casey’s Corner costume. Shashank is the assistant dean of the university.
Anyway, I hung out in the room until about 11, when one of the guys at the hotel came and told me that my ride was here. He escorted me to the elevator and there was Shashank. He took me to the car, which he apparently he had gotten for the day. The car took me to pick up his girlfriend, who I am going to call Hashi because I butcher her real name and that is somewhat close. The ride took about 40 minutes and the drivers had Hashi’s number. We picked her up and she ran to go buy her bus ticket back to Mumbai, where she is working as an architect.
The cab dropped us off and we had a time trying to cross the street. We made it and saree shopping began. The first shop we went into was a small one and he showed us all kinds of sarees. They are all so beautiful and colorful! I had no idea what I wanted. I wanted them all! We set some aside and said we would be back (which would never happen). We went into the next store, that was much bigger and had much more of a selection. They had this beautiful red one with gold bead work and real gold in the fabric, but it was over 10,000 rupees ($1 = ~46 rupees you can do the math). Clearly, I didn’t want to spend that much. I set 2 more aside and left. Hashi had been trying to call Shashank’s friend, who owns a saree shop. She eventually got a hold of him and we headed back to his shop. It is in the tallest building in Bangalore at 24 stories or something like that. We went into this store and it was all manned by women, where as all the others were manned by men. After looking at about 234275987 different kinds of sarees – I FINALLY found one! It is maroon and dark blue and has fabulous bead work and gold thread. The best part it was 3,000 rupees or roughly $80. I figured I should go all out because I am not in India everyday. I also got 2 gold and red bangles to go with it.
When Shashank’s friend got to the store we ended up going out to lunch with him. We all went out to eat at a rather upscale restaurant. At first the served us cantaloupe juice – that was interesting. That is probably not what it was, but that is what it tasted like. Then there were waiters that walked around and put chicken, fish and veggies on our plate. I stayed away from the fish and I tried a bit of the veg dish, but it really wasn’t my thing. The chicken and potato thing was delicious. After that, we got a plate and went up to the buffet. I had a chicken stew and mutton stew type stuff. When we got back to the table we dipped Nann (Indian bread) in it. They were both tasty, but I preferred the chicken one.
After lunch, we went to his other store. He had more bangles then I have ever seen. They seemed to go from the floor to the ceiling in every color of the rainbow. We ended up not buying anything so we said goodbye and went on our way. We ended up on Commerce Street, which is a market place in Bangalore. I bought entirely way too much stuff. When we were done shopping, we went to the mall to go see a bollywood film at the multiplex. The security to go to the mall and movies is ridiculous. You park underneath in a parking garage, but they swipe you car for bombs and you are not allowed to take cameras into the theater because of the whole copyright thing. Unfortunately, there were no playing at the time we were there. So instead, we grabbed some drinks and a doughnut and sat in the food court and chatted. We had a great conversation about the environment, her career, arranged marriages, life in India, life in the US and so on. I hope we can keep in touch!
We eventually left the food court and I grabbed some candy at a little stand for the dependent children on the ship for trick or treating. We dropped Hashsi off and we had to say goodbye since she is leaving for Mumbai tomorrow.
I made it back to the hotel and chilled out. Shashank and I are going to Mysore tomorrow so I need a good night’s sleep.

10.23.09
I woke up this morning in India! I did not see us pull into port. I figured Chennai would look a lot like Casablanca with it being an industrial port and everything and I was right.
I had some breakfast and looked into India. It did not smell as bad as I thought it would. Actually, I really can’t smell anything at all. The ship took forever to clear, but before that there was a diplomatic briefing. There were 4 people from the US consulate speaking to us. It was pretty interesting. They review over 500 applicants for visas to the US in Chennai alone! And that is considered a slump. At peak, there are about 1800 a day. Afterward, I went and got some money exchanged and headed back to my cabin to wait for the ship to be cleared. We do not carry our passports, but rather a shore pass while we are here. Shore passes are really important and if we lose it we are screwed. They were calling us by seas to come pick up our documents from the faculty/staff lounge. While waiting, I receive a phone call from the pursers desk saying that my pick up is here and I can leave. I was a little confused because the ship wasn’t cleared. I was thinking what crazy mystical power does Shashank have to get me off the ship before it clears? I went to the pursers desk and a woman was telling me that I needed to leave, but I didn’t have any of the proper documents so I was super confused. Once I relayed this to the woman she told me to wait. But she did tell me that Shashank was waiting for me at gate number 7. I just couldn’t really believe that I was in India and going to see Shashank.
The ship was finally cleared and Katie, Kelli and I set off in search of Gate 7. Well, we are in the super industrial port and there are trains and buses and rickshaws and random people and it is hot as hell. Welcome to India. Gate 7 turned out to be a 15 minute walk through the port. By the time we are reached the gate we are dripping in sweat because most of us are in jeans because we were told to dress conservatively. At the gate, we have to show our shore pass and get checked my the port agents. The process took forever! I finally got through and walked through the gate and there are Shashank and his girlfriend. I got so excited I ran and gave him a huge hug. He told me we were headed to Bangalore. The only issue with that is that I didn’t pack anything for overnight. That was a little dumb on my part because I really don’t know what I was thinking. I convince Shashank that I have time to run back to the ship and pack a quick overnight bag and that I will be back in time to catch the bus to Bangalore.
I sprint back to the ship. I pass a ton of SASers and they all look at me pretty strangely because I am running back to the ship rather than into port. But I get to the ship in record time. I am running back to my cabin when my purse handle catches on the banister in the hallway and I pretty much flipped backwards. I am really surprised that I 1. My purse didn’t break or 2. The banister didn’t rip off the wall. After recovering, I made it to my cabin and packed a small backpack. I had 2 shirts, my jeans, and a skirt and my tennis shoes. It was packing REALLY light, but I figured I would buy clothes along the way. I ran off the ship and found a rickshaw driver to drive me to the gate. I kind of cut the shore pass line so I would make it out in time. I stood in line longer than it actually took me to get back to the ship and pack.
I eventually made it back out to Shashank and we made our way to the bus station and all three of us squeezed in an auto. An auto is a three wheeled, mini bus looking things that runs on a go-Kart engine. After about 45 minutes, we got there and found our bus, which thankfully is air conditioned. We all chatted and caught up and it is so good to see him!!! A friendly face.  We made a small pit stop at this little place off the side of the interstate to have a meal. They call it a meal and it is basically rice with all sorts of fun things you can put on it. Shashank thought that they were really bland, but I thought they had a little bit of a kick. This does not bode well for future meals. I am convinced that Indians burn their taste buds off since birth so therefore they can’t really taste the spiciness. But that is just a theory. I also tried to eat with my hands like the Indians do, but I looked stupid. So much so that Shashank laughed at me so I gave up and used a spoon. We got back on the bus and continued our journey to Bangalore.
We stayed on the bus for what seemed like forever because of the traffic once we got into Bangalore. Shashank’s girlfriend, whose name I can’t pronounce and therefore need to give a nickname, got off in front of us because it was closer to her home. Shashank and I had an interesting conversation about arranged marriages. I never realized how common they still are. He said that about 6 or 7 out of 10 are still arranged. That blew my mind. Then we moved on to the caste system and I always assumed that the caste system was monetary, which I think a part of it is, but it is also about what denomination (which is probably the wrong word to use) of Hindu you are. He did say that you usually marry within your caste. There are agencies and databases of people to help get matched up for arranged marriages. I think that is absolutely fascinating. I would have never guessed. There is no way that would fly in the US.
Once we got off the bus in Bangalore, we were both hungry and Shashank suggested I try KFC in India. It was so good! Definitely better than in the US. We had to cross a busy street to get to the KFC and there were autos and rickshaws and cars and buses and about every other mode of transportation you can imagine. They don’t exactly obey traffic laws or lanes so it is kind of confusing. Luckily, Shashank guided me across the street.
After we ate, we grabbed an auto and drove to his university. Everything here is so colorful! I love it! The only down side is that there is a lot of pollution. It was kind of giving me a headache.
He got me all checked into my hotel, which is on his campus. They have a hotel on their campus so the hotel management majors have a place to practice and then students families have a place to stay when they come and visit. The room itself is much better then I was expecting. There is a big bed and air conditioning. The shower is a different story. I can’t really figure it out. There is a showerhead, a drain on the floor, a stool and a bucket. I ended up flipping my hair over in the bucket and washing my hair and that made me feel a million times better. I was also really excited to see that I had a normal toilet. That has not been the case in some of the countries we have been in. And bonus! They provided toilet paper!
I got all cozy in my bed and settled in to watch Disney Channel. So I am happy. I am a little nervous because this is really the first time that I have been away from SAS. I also had my Mauritius green sheet, rather than my India green sheet, which sucked. I just have to put it out of my mind or else I will not be able to enjoy my time here. I just keep having all these irrational thoughts go through my head like the ship was going to leave a day early and I wasn’t going to know and I was going to miss the ship. Stupid, I know. I ended up going down to the computer and checking the dates to make myself feel better before I went to bed.

I am excited, anxious, scared, curious and about 8 billion other emotions in preparation for India. I am so excited to see Shashank. It will be so nice to see a friendly face, especially since we are in a port like India. The Hindu faith is something that I have always been interested in so I am excited to learn more.
They have started laying cardboard down on the 5th deck so it doesn’t get too dirty. If they are burning coal when we arrive, the ship will turn black. They have closed decks 6 and 7 so we don’t go outside until we have to. They have told us that we can actually smell India before we get there. They say that monkeys and cows roam the street. That I will see poverty that rips my heart out and it will do so even more knowing that there is nothing I can do about it. I have been told that I can get extremely sick if I am not careful, but at the same time it is some of the best food I have ever eaten. They say that all my sense will be assaulted and that I will be able to scrape a layer of grim off my skin. They say all these things in order to prepare us, but how can we prepare for India? I am ready to embrace India – both the good and the bad. This culture has so much to offer.
The counseling center is having extra hours during and after India. This place really grabs a hold of people. I have always heard of India as this mystical place and I can’t believe I am going to be there tomorrow. They say love India and it will love you back. Hate India and it will hate you back twice as hard.
I am really excited to go shopping Shashank said he is taking me saree shopping and I am pumped! Pooh (our interport student) had on a beautiful saree and I want one so bad. Gah I am so excited I can’t stand it.

Half-Way
We have reached the half-way point in our voyage. So here is a little recap in numbers that I think is interesting

Countries Visited: 6
Oceans Crossed: 1½
Time Zones: 10
Mountains Climbed: 6
Near Death Experiences: 2
Items Lost: 3
Photos Taken:  4,257
Amount of Video: 11 hours 45 minutes
Times I’ve cried: 2
Time I’ve laughed until I’ve cried: way too many to count
Items bought: 101 (sorry Mom you will probably be putting stuff in your suitcase on the way home)