Our first foreign country! February 11, 2010

Greetings from Japan! I’d say hello in Japanese, but I don’t know how to say it, nonetheless write it :-p Japan is insanely incredible, I’d love to live here for a couple of months. It’s so innovative and far ahead of the US.  The architecture is incredible, it’s extremely clean (there are barely any trash cans around; people bring their trash home to throw it out), it’s sustainable (or as sustainable as a country of 120 mill people can get… in the public bathrooms for example, people bring their own towels around with them to dry their hands with, so paper doesn’t get wasted), no one locks their bikes/cars up (everyone has a TON of trust in everyone else), they dress their dogs (it seems that mostly the little ones are, rather than the larger dogs), there are parking garages that are automated and are stacked like shelves,  people are REALLY nice (even if they don’t speak english…it’s fun trying to communicate things to them by body language), the food is DELICIOUS, it’s a very pedestrian friendly city, and there is lots to do.  I didn’t buy anything yet and I probably won’t because things are EXTREMELY expensive and I should save my money for China, Viet Nam, and India where I can get more for my moola! All of the money we spent was on food :-p  I had incredible sushi and tempura and dad and I found this adorable pastry shop (I swear bread and pastries are a Robbins/ Rubin LOVE) where we stocked up on pastries and ate during our 6 hour long hike around Yokohama yesterday.

So, we pulled into port around 9:30 am two days ago and it took 2 hours for us to get out of the terminal, into the city. We had to go through immigration and customs; they fingerprinted us and took our picture Once dad and I were approved and released, we walked around Yokohama for about an hour. We felt pretty alien…first getting into a country where you don’t speak the language is extremely challenging and frustrating. The smells though were delicious noodles, soy, veggies, sushi, fish…you name it, I probably smelt it! We went around searching for stamps, but no, that’s didn’t work whatsoever. I even showed them a stamp and they had no idea what I was looking for hmmm…. Afterwards, dad and I went back to the terminal to catch our bus for the Tokyo city tour! I wasn’t very fond of sitting on a bus for 7 1/2 hours, occasionally getting off for 30-60 mins at a time, but I enjoyed it after we met our tour guide. She was so adorable and sweet, she made me happy just listening to her speak. She spoke really good english and she knew a TON of info (that is her job, but still). Our first stop were these gardens, which were pretty, but I didn’t see any point in really going to them. I guess they were built in the 1700s? They were the equivalent to the Botanical Gardens in Montreal probably, but at this time of the year, none of the trees or flowers were in blossom, so it was somewhat boring. I did find a new kind of toilet in the public bathroom though, which was pretty exciting!! It’s this urinal looking thing that’s in the ground where you have to squat like you’re peeing in the forest. I didn’t use it that time around, but I did yesterday; it was an experience!! Our second stop was the Toyota showroom…Dad and I went to the nearby mall though to try and find sushi. No such luck, we ended up splitting a panini. The mall though was CRAZY! It was built like a little city, with buildings and everything…every store you could imagine was there as well. The third stop was the electronics district. Dad and I didn’t go in to the shopping center because neither of us needed any new electronics, so we found a sushi bar. AHHHHH, it was heaven. I had been obsessing about sushi the WHOLE day and I wasn’t going to drop it till we ate it. Good thing we found some I devoured 4 things of it, which were 3 times the size of the sushi I’m accustomed to. I had shrimp, sea eel, and bluefin…DELICIOUS! Then we went to the Tokyo Tower, which is kind of like the Empire State building, but you didn’t go up as high. The tower is the tallest tower in Tokyo I do believe. At night, it’s lit up in orange and throughout the year is only changed twice; once pink for breast cancer awareness month and the second time blue, for diabetes. It was a pretty good day, if I must say so myself!

Yesteraday, dad and I hiked Yokohama!! We didn’t really have a destination, only to essentially get lost and wander. We had a map though, just in case :-p We had a really great time together, seeing what was out there and meeting the locals. We first got the map, some coffee, and made a few family phones calls…then we went to the post office to get some money. After that, we headed for the center of the city, somewhat destined for Sogo (the huge dept. store), but I don’t believe we ever made it there. Instead, we wandered up and down streets, looking at the stores, watching people, and eating our delicious pastries I mentioned earlier. I went into some boutiques (one of which Dad talked with the owner, who’s husband is from Boulder…she spoke really good english) and discovered that you had to put this cloth thing over your head when trying on the clothes. I’m guessing it’s to keep the hair off of the clothes…great idea!! After finding ourselves in an area that wasn’t very bustling, we turned around and pushed ahead to the Landmark Tower. First though, we stopped and had incredible tempura (there was no sushi to be found…) in this really quaint restaurant. I’m assuming this place sort of resembled what old Japan used to look like (I really wish all of Japan had somewhat stayed the way it was a few centuries ago…with all of the temples and trees and such. None of this cement and industrilization. I suppose though, that’s how economies thrive… Luckily, there are parts of Japan that still look like the Japan we all fantasize about, like in Mulan! Dad’s going to a location like this tomorrow; Kyoto. I’ll be going the last day for a Tea Ceremony, I’m STOKED). We then made our way to the 69th floor of the Landmark Tower to see the incredible view of Yokohama. When we were sitting there, a group of kids my age asked to talk to us for a school project! They asked us things like have you been here before, what do you like, would you come back, etc. They gave us a card that they made, which explained the project a little better and the email of the teacher; Dad and I are going to email them soon! I also gave them this blog url, so hopefully they’ll check it They all spoke really good english…one of the boys who we met had lived in the US for 9 years, so his english was superb! Dad and I then went back to the ship, we were both exhausted and my shins were killing me unfortunately.
So far, this trip has been more than I could ever have imagined. We have so much left to experience too, it’s all so unreal and exciting! The social life on the ship has been so much fun…I’ve met some awesome people who I definitely will be keeping in contact with once this trip is done. BUT we still have 2 1/2 months left There’s nothing like being on the ocean… Dad actually pointed out yesterday that time to us has kind of become this meaningless object. We didn’t even know what day of the week it was yesterday…I had to check on my phone I like it this way, much more relaxing and we don’t find ourselves looking into the future…we live the day up as it comes to us. I mean of course we look forward to the plans we have made for future days and such, like in the countries to come, but we seem to be enjoying every day much more. Pretty interesting observations… okay, lots of work to catch up on!!!

Relaxed and happy! February 7, 2010

Yoga & meditation, my new found loves…calming, escaping, and stretch-tastic!! I’ve been doing both every other day with one of the faculty on the ship. She’s been practicing for 12 years, so she’s pretty amazing at what she does. Things have been really good lately overall. Classes have been going quite well, we finally finished Herman Melville’s novel Typee and we’re on to Master and Commander! We have a literary analysis due on Valentine’s day on Typee where we had to pick a 2-3 page passage in the book and relate it to a theme or themes throughout the whole book. I was freaking out about the essay until I did it yesterday afternoon. I’m glad I have that out of the way! We’re presently talking about child birth in Child and Adolescent Develop…I’m sure you all can guess how all of the guys are taking that… even I sometimes catch myself making faces thinking “this is what I’ll be going through at some point in the next 10 years, holy shit!” Right now as it stands, I’d like to adopt and NOT go through the pain and procedures of cutting the skin so the baby can pop out faster. ughh. ANYWAYS! There is a Global Studies exam tonight and everyone has been vigorously studying for it. I on the other hand have not because I don’t have to take it, what a stress reliever that is! I’m not taking the course as credit, which comes along with the fact that I don’t have to take any of the exams. It’s wonderful Two days till Japan!! The itinerary is this: 1st day- Tokyo with pops, 2nd day- zen meditation with REAL LIVE MONKS! 3rd day- on the ship in transit from Yokohama to Kobe 4th day- YMCA service learning visit and out that night 5th day- NOTHING planned…hopefully eating Kobe beef though on that day I’m pretty psyched for sushi too, only the best in Japan! I’m getting stocked as well because my mom is coming in 9 days to China… dad and I have missed her incredibly. We might not let her leave; she’ll be captive! Keep reading for updates!

P.S. the boat is showing the superbowl WOOPY!!!!!! GO SAINTS!!!!!

The perfect movie, for the perfect voyage! February 3, 2010

J-A-W-S!!!! Duh, dun, duh, dun, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, ARGH!! ha that’s what we watched tonight on the ship! It was aired for two different classes, but anyone and everyone was invited go to see it in the Union…what a CLASSIC! I told Katie halfway through when the shark was on the boat, that that’s what will happen to us if we sink :-p She freaked on me; it was great. I’m a little scared to go in the water though, not going to lie! So presently, I’m sitting in the hallway writing this update and people who are passing me look at me like I have ten heads; I get better internet service out here than in my room! The boats been good…today Katie and I soaked up the sun for a few hours, getting golden, and met some new people! We didn’t have classes today, which was SO nice!! 6 more days till JAPAN! Woot woot! Dad and I are going to be in Tokyo the first day, the second day I have a zen meditation with real live monks , the third dad and I are getting back on the boat to transfer from Yokohama to Kobe, and the last day I have a service visit. A large majority of the students aren’t getting back on the ship the third day, so we’ll see how fun this will be…they’re all getting hotel rooms or taking the bullet train to different cities. I guess I’ll just be catching up on some work!! Work is going to start getting more demanding soon actually, essays are beginning to be due. Fun fun :-/  The whole college decision process is also starting to hit me, but I still have to find out if I got into Boston University and Northeastern before I make my choice! Decisions, decisions!! Last night there was a dance…quite interesting, but a good time! Not the typical dancing I’m used to at school dances, but it was fun….minus the part that my foot was stepped on by a four inch stiletto. We lose a day tomorrow, so we go from the 2nd (which it will only be for 4 more minutes) to the 4th…quite weird, but pretty awesome at the same time…so pretty much I’ll be in everyone’s FUTURE!!! I’ll let everyone know how it is there. Other than just living life, going to school, meeting people, and basking in the sun, not too much has been going on! Dad seems to be doing well..he’s been working out almost every day or going in the sauna they have here…he’s so disciplined!! Classes seem to be going well for him too, I always find people who are taking his class and they really seem to be enjoying it! Okay, need to get out of the hallway!

Oh, the daily life on a ship February 2, 2010

Sorry I haven’t updated lately; life has been pretty busy! I’m actually putting it out there that I probably won’t be updating every day. Anyhow, I had my first test today in Child and Adolescent Develop., it went well; 40 multiple choice, each question counting for one point…there were some questions that I wasn’t sure on, but hey, everyone has those during tests!! Dad is giving two 10 min. speeches in Global Studies today (I’m going to support him in 30 mins since I skipped the morning session to study). I’m excited to hear what he has to say. I believe the speech is on Asian culture? No clue. Katie and I have been in a laughing stock the past two days; non-stop laughter all the time. People probably think we’re ridiculously lame :-p That’s okay though, we’re having a great time in our own little world! We’re on the stretch to Japan and have crossed the International Dateline!!! No classes tomorrow and we will be losing a day on Feb. 3rd. Woot woot!!!! There’s a dance tonight, we’ll check that out, Dad has his extended family (a group of students he “adopted”) dinner tonight, and the showing of Jaws is tomorrow night. Katie’s making me go with her for comfort hehe Class time!!!

Adios Hawaii! January 30, 2010

One stop down, so many more to go. It’s kind of odd how we’re already through Hawai’i :-/ and in less than a week and a half, we’ll be in a completely new and foreign country; JAPAN!! VERYYY exciting. I went to the beach all day yesterday with Katie, it was us against the world! I felt so grown up being by ourselves (Dad was getting back from a fish market as we were leaving and wanted to stay on the boat the whole day and do work)…it was really nice. We took the bus to Waikiki beach, basked in the sun for an hour and  a half, got incredible pizza, shopped a little, found her rents and younger brother, layed on the beach with Skye for abut another hour and a half, got ice cream, then walked home…5 miles In Hagen Daz, we met this really sexy Brazilian man who is living in Hawaii for a work study program…if all of the men are like him in Brazil, I’m sorry to say, but I don’t think I will be returning home. It was a really relaxing day, didn’t eat to well, but I figured I wouldn’t be getting pizza and ice cream for a good amount of time. Last night I spent probably a total of 2 hours on the observatory deck, soaking in the breeze, watching the moon and stars, listening to the empty, soothing sound of the ocean. I was really inspired to write in my Sea Journal for class so I wrote down everything I observed for about 30 mins. It was pretty incredible. Maybe I’ll post that entry for you all to read! Today Katie and I had class at 9:30 and went up to the 7th deck afterwards to do work, but really all we did was goof off. She started making faces (which she tends to do on a regular basis, along with the most incredible sound effects, it’s pretty great) at me and I busted up laughing harder than I have in a long time. Everyone probably thought I was nutso. I had my lit class a few hours ago, but I couldn’t really concentrate all that much, so once I was done I crashed for about and hour. Keep reading!

The snorkeling trip…and more January 28, 2010

I’m just warning everyone who is reading this that this post is going to be long; lots of stories to share! Yesterday was our last day i Hilo, Hawaii and dad and I both went snorkeling, but on different excursions. He went on Captain Zodiac Snorkeling adventure which actually took him on the ocean in boats and I went to tide pools which were around volcanic rock! Dad had an amazing time..saw a whale, dolphins, the legendary volcanic rock that looks like a face (the natives way back when used to light the holes that made the face up with fire), saw parrots flying around, and of course 170 ft. below him of sea life. Amazing!! I on the other hand had an interesting time of my own… I went on an FDP (field directed practicum which is led by professors, in my case Prof. Sumner for my lit class), so there was only a small group of us; 16. We left around 1 pm, got our snorkeling gear, and went to a nearby museum where we watched a brief powerpoint on the creatures we were going to see and which ones we could or could not touch. So we were sitting there and the main lady started talking about how there are poisonous fish in these tide pools (I kept on thinking “great! and with my luck, I’m going to be the one with a poisonous stinger in my foot while they rush me to the hospital!”). We drove about an hour out to a little community that had a private “beach” and the drive was gorgeous…we were able to see a lot of Hilo! So when we parked the van, I went over to the other van and got some water shoes, but of course I had to be one of the last people there, so I got two different shoes, two different sizes; a 9 and 10. Of course whenever I walked through the water during the hour we were there, they’d always fill up with water! We got to the place where we were to launch from, I put my fins on (hard to maneuver on the rocks cause you couldn’t step on the coral since it’d kill the thin cover over it and expose the zooxanthellae, killing the membrane..a little marine bio!! and the rocks were also really slippery.) Keep in mind that my fins were also a little too big. So I got in, dove in, and guess what happened…my bikini bottom almost came off, in clear water none the less. There’s a string that holds the front and back together and it came out of the hole. The main lady came over and told me I couldn’t stand on the rocks, but I was like “yeah, well I can’t really go anywhere!” She helped me feed the string back through with a key she had on her person. Once we had that figured out…I swam around for about ten mins, but then realized I forgot my shoes on the rock! I had to swim back to get them and this time it was even harder to get around the coral. I swam around for another 10 mins (the coral reef was GORGEOUS; it’s so incredible how that ecosystem lives in such a small, compact area and there’s so much diversity) and then it was time to switch into the other pool. I tried getting up on a nearby rock (almost grabbing the top of a huge hole, but realized real quick that I wasn’t in the mood to get bitten by a poisonous eel), one of my hands holding the shoes, and the other trying to help me balance as I got up since I couldn’t grip the rock since my flippers were too big. Once I got up, I walked over, sat down and tried putting my shoes in the flippers so I didn’t have to carry them (a lot of people were doing that), but realized that that wasn’t going to work. I took them off, but the flippers back on, but they had stretched out from the shoes. I just put the flippers back on over the shoes, I was so fed up. It took me about fifteen mins to actually get back into the water afterwards cause I couldn’t find a deep enough place to dive in. Once I did, I started having minute panic attacks because it was so shallow and I was more worried about killing the coral than hurting myself (they’re already going extinct and I didn’t want to make it worse :-/ ). So, having enough of the trip and needing to start heading back to the van anyhow, I found a rock, got up, and left. I did find a crab though that was really small, cute, and pink So yeah, that’s my snorkeling experience…sorry it was so long!!! I’m proud of anyone who read that all ha! But the coral was extremely pretty and it was worth going through all of those unfortunate events. The excursion actually helps a lot with Marine Bio We got into Honolulu this morning…Dad and I had the Pearl Harbor Arizona Memorial tour…that was pretty awesome and really moving! I almost started crying during the 25 min. movie they showed. Once we got off the bus, we walked around trying to find ice cream (there was none to be found annyywheree!!!), but we ended up getting smoothies. I had a honeydew bubble drink, which is a smoothie, but at the bottom are these gel balls that tasted like coffee (I think) and you suck them up with a really big straw. It was DELICIOUS! So we’re going to do some work now and then go to a macrobiotic restaurant? Whatever that means! Someone on the boat found it :-p Honolulu is really nice and HOT HOT HOT!

Our 1st stop :) January 26, 2010

Aloha from Hilo!! We arrived at 6 am today, all of us waking up at 5:30 to go through customs (which consisted of getting in a line, picking up our passport, showing it to a guy, and giving it back). Dad and I got off the ship around 9, went to Walmart (traveling 2500 miles and that’s the first place we go…talk about tourists :-p) and stocked up on food and things we realized we needed! Then once we dumped all of that off at the boat, we took at 2 mile walk to downtown Hilo, went to an INCREDIBLE crepe restaurant, got local coffee (soo nice to have decent cup of coffee and there’s no better place to get a good cup of java than Hawai’i!), went to a local farmers market (picked up a sun dress) and walked back to the ship!! A little bit more than a 4 mile walk felt so nice…not so much for my feet though! Hilo’s really nice; there’s beautiful parks along the shore and the city has a small town feel. Downtown was a little like Pburgh’s downtown; original buildings, but just a lot sunnier than home :-p We’re now getting ready to have the Hawaiian initiation…LU’AU!!! There’s a ton of people going from the ship, so I’m sure it’ll be a good time!! Miss everyone!

What a beautiful day! January 25, 2010

Today was pretty much GORGEOUS!!! I tanned with Katie for 3 or 4 hours…I’m sunkissed There was yoga earlier and I feel really bad that I didn’t participate, but I had no idea it was going on! Oh well, 3 more months on the ship, I’m sure there will be other chances! So things have been going really well…WE’RE IN HAWAII TOMORROW!!! YIPPY!!! Lu’au tomorrow night hehe I had a weird episode of life today, another thing with my age on the ship.. I was in Child and Adolescent Develop. today and we were talking about the stages of one of the theories we learned about. Professor Medora asked who was a Freshman in college and I raised my hand (I knew I was the only one in the class), but I WASN’T prepared for her to ask my age. She thought I was 18 or 19, but when I said 17 she was astonished (I thought she knew I was 17, guess not) and everyone in the class gasped in unison. AH it was TERRIBLE! I kept my cool, but it didn’t help the situation that I had to repeat my age to Medora two more times. This girl blurted out, “you’re not even old enough to drink on international waters”, even though that’s completely not true cause international waters means NO drinking age…I think she meant on the boat though which is 18. I didn’t defend myself though cause there was no point. I felt my face getting really red the whole conversation. :-/ I wish I was more confident when I said my age, but I didn’t figure I was going to get such a reaction…I haven’t the whole trip! guurrr It’s weird too cause last night I was talking to this guy, Jimmy from Denver, CO, and he said that it didn’t even seem like I was 18 and that I shouldn’t let my age get in the way AT ALL. I’m not trying to, but today’s incident just messed that whole philosophy up lol ANYWAYS…it’s okay, guess I just don’t look 17 :-p Classes are on hold for 4 days since we’re in port, WOOPY! Dad’s been doing well, I saw him going to work out about an hour ago! He’s been finding new ways to do things in his classes, for example he’s been giving quizzes on the readings every day in the Anthro of Food class to make sure everyone’s reading. I don’t believe he’s ever done that before! He’s figuring out new things to get his classes active and talking, which is good.

Good morning! January 23, 2010

Good morning everyone or should I say good afternoon on the east coast :-p This morning started off interesting…we had to set our clocks back an hour, but I set it forward (we’re now 5 hours behind you guys)..so instead of waking up at 810, I woke up at 610. I then realized that my wisdom tooth (the only one that has erupted I might add) was bleeding. It’s been hurting ever since we got on the boat, but I’ve tried dealing with it and the pain hasn’t lifted. I’ll probably have to get it removed when I get home..joy :-/ ANYWAYS, I’ve been having a lot of reading to do, which has been keeping me busy and Katie and I have been talking to more people…this is good! Mostly they are guys (not necessarily a bad thing :-p) cause some of the girls give off a snobby attitude, but most of the ones that we’ve met are really nice! Sleeping has been a bit of an issue for everyone as of lately…the boat has been extremely rocky. Last night though wasn’t as much. I have two classes today and time in between to work out! We’re in Hawaii on Monday, WOOPY!, so I’ll be able to call/text when I’m there. That will be my only stop which I’ll be able to though. Apparently the weather is supposed to be gorgeous, I’m pretty psyched. The first night we’re there we have a lu’au, the typically initiation to the Hawaiian experience, the next day I have a snorkeling field trip (with my lit teacher and other people in his classes), the third day is a trip to the Arizona (sooo excited to see that since I’m such a fanatic about WW2), and the last day is a beach day!! I find out soon if I am accepted into UNC-Chapel Hill I do believe, so everyone keep their fingers crossed for me re

Just another day on the Explorer January 22, 2010

The boat has been EXTREMELY rocky, which has been pretty entertaining; everyone walks at a 45 degree angle down the hallways to keep themselves up. There’s also the occasional person who smashes into a wall and the times when you have to go against gravity to get through a door :-p fun times! I’m definitely taking meds tonight though to sleep through the whole night since things in my room continuously fall off the shelves throughout the whole night. Classes are still going well, still very interesting! I read 30 pages of my Child and Adolescent textbook and for once I was actually interested in what I was reading…a VERY good sign! Dad’s feeling a lot better about everything, not as overwhelmed! Same in my case. I’m beginning to talk to people more and I signed up for the Salsa dancing and photography club Not sure if I’ll ever go, but hey! at least I signed up! Hmm what else…my book for my lit class, Typee, is getting a little more interesting; it’s pretty raw and boring. That’ll be done though in a few weeks!