these last few days are hard... the process of packing is going slow and we had to take all of our stuff down from the wall this morning. It is very strange to go into our room now... nothing on the walls, it is almost like we just moved in and we have yet to go around the world.
anyway... before I get too emotional...
I've put up some more pics from around the ship that I haven't had the chance to put up yet.
http://joeandjoy.com/ship2/index.html
I'm off to pack up some of the books I've bought back... not fun but someone has to do it.
joe
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Saturday, December 02, 2006
España
Arriving in Spain was very bittersweet. I was in full denial that we were docked in our last international port. Having been to Spain previously, I didn’t have the same feelings of anticipation that I had for all of our previous ports. However, our experience in Spain exceeded my expectations in many, many ways.
We arrived in the port city of Cadiz at 0800 on 11/23. Joe and I decided to explore the city of Cadiz and planned to rent a car the following morning. It was wonderful to step out into the streets of España, hear the beautiful Spanish language, and peer out onto the Atlantic Ocean! I could hardly believe that we were on the edge of the Atlantic.
We wandered around the streets of Cadiz and ended up at a sweet little restaurant for lunch with our friends, Alden & Kate. We drank a few generous mugs of beer, ate many small sandwiches (only 1 Euro each!), and found ourselves out on the streets in the middle of Spanish siesta. I am so intrigued by the timetable in Spain… breakfast between 10 & noon, lunch between 3 & 6, and then dinner after 10pm. I think I could get used to that lifestyle in the summer months, but it’s a little tough in the winter months with so little daytime sunlight. Anyway – we went with the flow and found ourselves eating many lunches post 4pm.
So… calling the following morning “scary” or “an adventure” is an understatement in my book. Joe had booked a rental car in Cadiz, but it turned out that the rental company was actually a few miles up the coast, north of Cadiz. No big deal, right? We had the option of taking a bus ride up there, or taking a ferry to the northern end of the Bay of Cadiz. Heck, why not take the ferry, right? WRONG.
So, when you picture a ferry, what do you see? I see a large, stable vessel, often with the capacity to hold many, many people and a significant number of cars, trucks, etc. No.
This was not one of those ferries. It was a very small passenger ferry that held – at maximum – maybe 100 people? I’m not sure. But, again – no big deal, right? WRONG.
Joe and I were the only passengers on the ferry on this particular morning, and let’s say that it was bit windy outside. Thinking nothing of this fact, Joe and I decided to sit in the front row seats of the ferry for our 25-minute ride across the bay. OH MY GOSH. I am not kidding you when I say that this ferry ride made any other boat experienced seem tame. The wind was out of control, and the waves & swells would – literally! – launch the entire boat into the air, CRASH down on the sea, rock back and forth at disconcerting angles, only to be launched again – sometimes sideways – into the air again. I was NOT loving it. I was hanging onto my seat with clenched fists, letting out the occasional whimper, and holding on for dear life. Beyond the fact that I was scared out of my mind, my stomach started to lurch in every direction, too. Joe was trying to calm me down, (unsuccessfully) but he eventually started feeling the effects, too. SOMEHOW, I made my way to the back of the boat by shimmying along the handrails so I wouldn’t fall down. Twenty-five minutes have never seemed so long. I have dubbed this ferry the “Scary Ferry” also known as the “Scawy Fewwy” (say this in a little kid voice).
The good thing about the Scary Ferry? Nothing on our gigantic ship seems scary anymore. Hurray! So, after gathering what was left of our stomachs and lying down for a bit, Joe went to get our car and off we were to Sevilla!
We didn’t arrive in Sevilla until the late afternoon and spent much of our time trying to locate the hotel we had booked online. We knew the hotel was located approximately 10 minutes outside the heart of downtown, but we had printed out the wrong directions and found ourselves totally lost on small cobblestone streets in the center of the city.
Since Joe speaks a teeny bit of Spanish, he was able to ask a few people for directions to our hotel. After many unsuccessful attempts, we finally found it! It turned out to be a fantastic hotel – our room was a two-level loft with hardwood floors! Pretty cool.
So, once we were settled, we went back into the city to meet our friends at the main Cathedral. I love looking at old cathedrals in Europe. The detail and architecture are so beautiful and so powerful. If you look at Joe’s pictures, you’ll see pictures from far above the city. These are taken from the very top of the tower in the Cathedral. A very beautiful place, but I’ll let you make your own determinations from the pictures.
We concluded our evening by attending a traditional flamenco performance. I didn’t know quite what to expect, but I figured it would be a good time. As we were standing in line to purchase tickets, a man (named Jeff) asked Joe about his SUNY New Paltz fleece jacket. Joe explained that he doesn’t actually work at SUNY New Paltz but at UC Santa Cruz. This lead into a long discussion about student affairs, and it turned out that Jeff was in the same field, working at a university in Switzerland. But, there’s more. After sitting down and sipping our sangria, Joe mentioned that we were with a few friends on Semester at Sea. “Oh yeah, I did Semester at Sea in 2001,” says Jeff. WHAT?!? Isn’t that amazing? We’re at a random, small, quaint flamenco show in the middle of Spain, and he just happens to not only have been a staff member on Semester at Sea, BUT he was also wearing a Semester at Sea t-shirt under his sweater. Small world.
The flamenco show was fantastic! I cannot believe how fast the dancers move their feet and their bodies. The singers and guitar players are incredible, too. I was very, very impressed. It made me want to learn how to dance flamenco!
The following day was very rainy, so we spent much of the day in the Royal Alcazar, a beautiful palace once occupied by royal families. This place is incredible! The detail of the architecture, stone & woodwork, and gardens were absolutely gorgeous. As you look at the pictures, you will see the influence of Muslim design and Arabic writing throughout the Alcazar. It was so interesting to see the blend of Muslim and Catholic influences all over Spain. I’m not sure I would have appreciated this blending of religio-cultures quite as much if we had not just traveled through Egypt and Turkey.
I loved the city of Sevilla. It has a wonderful Spanish European feel and is very inviting. I wouldn’t mind living there for a year or so, get involved in a Spanish immersion program, and learn to eat dinner at midnight!
The next day we headed for Granada. Having never been to Granada, we felt that we should go the famous Alhambra Palace. The Alhambra is on a short list to become one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. We spent over 4 hours at the Alhambra, just taking in all of the architecture, history, gardens, ceramic tiles, and amazing views overlooking the city of Granada. I don’t have the patience to spend 4 hours at most historical sights, but this place was worth the entire afternoon. Wow. Take a look at Joe's pics.
We traveled back to Cadiz on our last day in Spain and found our friends at an outdoor café sipping mugs of beer and reminiscing about our amazing voyage together. Many students were in tears as they boarded the ship and swiped in their official shipboard ID into the on-ship computer. I was trying to hold it together, but I was feeling the same way. We’ve all been a big, interconnected family – for good times & bad – over the last 3 months. It’s hard to believe it’s coming to an end.
The mood on the ship currently is pretty quiet and solemn, as the students are busy writing papers and studying for finals. Some people have started packing, but I can’t bring myself to do that quite yet. It would mean that I have to drag myself out of full denial that I am leaving this ship, our floating home. There are so many things I will miss, they are almost too difficult to name, but I’m going to try – for my own sake – and hopefully you’ll enjoy them, too.
What I will miss:
1. Our cabin (#4055) with our little mini bathroom and super comfy bed.
2. Eating meals out on the back deck of the ship, overlooking the ocean and contemplating how amazingly lucky we are to be on this ship.
3. Waking up just in time for the last 5 minutes of breakfast, and seeing all of the others doing the same thing… dragging themselves into the dining hall in their PJs with bags under their eyes.
4. Gaining an hour - 24 times - over the course of our voyage!
5. Playing euchre, hearts, Texas hold ‘em, and spades up in the faculty lounge with Joe, JB, and Tim.
6. Eating all of our meals together with different groups of people, sharing stories from the different ports and planning new adventures.
7. Walking down the ship’s hallways during rough seas and seeing everyone swaying into walls, looking like drunk fools, and laughing at ourselves.
8. Doing an abs workout or yoga class on the 7th deck, overlooking the ocean & peering up at the big “Semester at Sea” logo on the side of the ship.
9. The excitement on the ship whenever we have “Taco Day!” for lunch.
10. Looking at the world map on the wall of our cabin, incredulous at all of the places we’ve been.
11. Never having to make our bed or do the dishes.
12. Bonding over such things as seasickness, the sound of our morning wake up call, and how long the iceberg lettuce has been sitting around.
Most of all, I’m going to miss the people. This voyage has surpassed my expectations in so many ways, and I never could have imagined how much I would MISS these people. There is something really special about living on a ship for 108 days. You get to know people in very different ways. I honestly feel as though I’ve been living in an alternate reality, a life that is an offshoot of my regular life, but one that has no basis or connection to my former life. I don’t want to walk away from these people. I know I don’t have to. My biggest goal, and simultaneously my biggest fear, is to keep this experience close to me – to walk around with it every day and not allow it to drift too far from my consciousness. I know I have been affected significantly, and that is a good thing.
Only 4 more days at sea.
I’ve got some hugging to do!!!
See y'all SOON!
Can't wait to see you in Ft. Lauderdale, Mama & Dad!!!
We arrived in the port city of Cadiz at 0800 on 11/23. Joe and I decided to explore the city of Cadiz and planned to rent a car the following morning. It was wonderful to step out into the streets of España, hear the beautiful Spanish language, and peer out onto the Atlantic Ocean! I could hardly believe that we were on the edge of the Atlantic.
We wandered around the streets of Cadiz and ended up at a sweet little restaurant for lunch with our friends, Alden & Kate. We drank a few generous mugs of beer, ate many small sandwiches (only 1 Euro each!), and found ourselves out on the streets in the middle of Spanish siesta. I am so intrigued by the timetable in Spain… breakfast between 10 & noon, lunch between 3 & 6, and then dinner after 10pm. I think I could get used to that lifestyle in the summer months, but it’s a little tough in the winter months with so little daytime sunlight. Anyway – we went with the flow and found ourselves eating many lunches post 4pm.
So… calling the following morning “scary” or “an adventure” is an understatement in my book. Joe had booked a rental car in Cadiz, but it turned out that the rental company was actually a few miles up the coast, north of Cadiz. No big deal, right? We had the option of taking a bus ride up there, or taking a ferry to the northern end of the Bay of Cadiz. Heck, why not take the ferry, right? WRONG.
So, when you picture a ferry, what do you see? I see a large, stable vessel, often with the capacity to hold many, many people and a significant number of cars, trucks, etc. No.
This was not one of those ferries. It was a very small passenger ferry that held – at maximum – maybe 100 people? I’m not sure. But, again – no big deal, right? WRONG.
Joe and I were the only passengers on the ferry on this particular morning, and let’s say that it was bit windy outside. Thinking nothing of this fact, Joe and I decided to sit in the front row seats of the ferry for our 25-minute ride across the bay. OH MY GOSH. I am not kidding you when I say that this ferry ride made any other boat experienced seem tame. The wind was out of control, and the waves & swells would – literally! – launch the entire boat into the air, CRASH down on the sea, rock back and forth at disconcerting angles, only to be launched again – sometimes sideways – into the air again. I was NOT loving it. I was hanging onto my seat with clenched fists, letting out the occasional whimper, and holding on for dear life. Beyond the fact that I was scared out of my mind, my stomach started to lurch in every direction, too. Joe was trying to calm me down, (unsuccessfully) but he eventually started feeling the effects, too. SOMEHOW, I made my way to the back of the boat by shimmying along the handrails so I wouldn’t fall down. Twenty-five minutes have never seemed so long. I have dubbed this ferry the “Scary Ferry” also known as the “Scawy Fewwy” (say this in a little kid voice).
The good thing about the Scary Ferry? Nothing on our gigantic ship seems scary anymore. Hurray! So, after gathering what was left of our stomachs and lying down for a bit, Joe went to get our car and off we were to Sevilla!
We didn’t arrive in Sevilla until the late afternoon and spent much of our time trying to locate the hotel we had booked online. We knew the hotel was located approximately 10 minutes outside the heart of downtown, but we had printed out the wrong directions and found ourselves totally lost on small cobblestone streets in the center of the city.
Since Joe speaks a teeny bit of Spanish, he was able to ask a few people for directions to our hotel. After many unsuccessful attempts, we finally found it! It turned out to be a fantastic hotel – our room was a two-level loft with hardwood floors! Pretty cool.
So, once we were settled, we went back into the city to meet our friends at the main Cathedral. I love looking at old cathedrals in Europe. The detail and architecture are so beautiful and so powerful. If you look at Joe’s pictures, you’ll see pictures from far above the city. These are taken from the very top of the tower in the Cathedral. A very beautiful place, but I’ll let you make your own determinations from the pictures.
We concluded our evening by attending a traditional flamenco performance. I didn’t know quite what to expect, but I figured it would be a good time. As we were standing in line to purchase tickets, a man (named Jeff) asked Joe about his SUNY New Paltz fleece jacket. Joe explained that he doesn’t actually work at SUNY New Paltz but at UC Santa Cruz. This lead into a long discussion about student affairs, and it turned out that Jeff was in the same field, working at a university in Switzerland. But, there’s more. After sitting down and sipping our sangria, Joe mentioned that we were with a few friends on Semester at Sea. “Oh yeah, I did Semester at Sea in 2001,” says Jeff. WHAT?!? Isn’t that amazing? We’re at a random, small, quaint flamenco show in the middle of Spain, and he just happens to not only have been a staff member on Semester at Sea, BUT he was also wearing a Semester at Sea t-shirt under his sweater. Small world.
The flamenco show was fantastic! I cannot believe how fast the dancers move their feet and their bodies. The singers and guitar players are incredible, too. I was very, very impressed. It made me want to learn how to dance flamenco!
The following day was very rainy, so we spent much of the day in the Royal Alcazar, a beautiful palace once occupied by royal families. This place is incredible! The detail of the architecture, stone & woodwork, and gardens were absolutely gorgeous. As you look at the pictures, you will see the influence of Muslim design and Arabic writing throughout the Alcazar. It was so interesting to see the blend of Muslim and Catholic influences all over Spain. I’m not sure I would have appreciated this blending of religio-cultures quite as much if we had not just traveled through Egypt and Turkey.
I loved the city of Sevilla. It has a wonderful Spanish European feel and is very inviting. I wouldn’t mind living there for a year or so, get involved in a Spanish immersion program, and learn to eat dinner at midnight!
The next day we headed for Granada. Having never been to Granada, we felt that we should go the famous Alhambra Palace. The Alhambra is on a short list to become one of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. We spent over 4 hours at the Alhambra, just taking in all of the architecture, history, gardens, ceramic tiles, and amazing views overlooking the city of Granada. I don’t have the patience to spend 4 hours at most historical sights, but this place was worth the entire afternoon. Wow. Take a look at Joe's pics.
We traveled back to Cadiz on our last day in Spain and found our friends at an outdoor café sipping mugs of beer and reminiscing about our amazing voyage together. Many students were in tears as they boarded the ship and swiped in their official shipboard ID into the on-ship computer. I was trying to hold it together, but I was feeling the same way. We’ve all been a big, interconnected family – for good times & bad – over the last 3 months. It’s hard to believe it’s coming to an end.
The mood on the ship currently is pretty quiet and solemn, as the students are busy writing papers and studying for finals. Some people have started packing, but I can’t bring myself to do that quite yet. It would mean that I have to drag myself out of full denial that I am leaving this ship, our floating home. There are so many things I will miss, they are almost too difficult to name, but I’m going to try – for my own sake – and hopefully you’ll enjoy them, too.
What I will miss:
1. Our cabin (#4055) with our little mini bathroom and super comfy bed.
2. Eating meals out on the back deck of the ship, overlooking the ocean and contemplating how amazingly lucky we are to be on this ship.
3. Waking up just in time for the last 5 minutes of breakfast, and seeing all of the others doing the same thing… dragging themselves into the dining hall in their PJs with bags under their eyes.
4. Gaining an hour - 24 times - over the course of our voyage!
5. Playing euchre, hearts, Texas hold ‘em, and spades up in the faculty lounge with Joe, JB, and Tim.
6. Eating all of our meals together with different groups of people, sharing stories from the different ports and planning new adventures.
7. Walking down the ship’s hallways during rough seas and seeing everyone swaying into walls, looking like drunk fools, and laughing at ourselves.
8. Doing an abs workout or yoga class on the 7th deck, overlooking the ocean & peering up at the big “Semester at Sea” logo on the side of the ship.
9. The excitement on the ship whenever we have “Taco Day!” for lunch.
10. Looking at the world map on the wall of our cabin, incredulous at all of the places we’ve been.
11. Never having to make our bed or do the dishes.
12. Bonding over such things as seasickness, the sound of our morning wake up call, and how long the iceberg lettuce has been sitting around.
Most of all, I’m going to miss the people. This voyage has surpassed my expectations in so many ways, and I never could have imagined how much I would MISS these people. There is something really special about living on a ship for 108 days. You get to know people in very different ways. I honestly feel as though I’ve been living in an alternate reality, a life that is an offshoot of my regular life, but one that has no basis or connection to my former life. I don’t want to walk away from these people. I know I don’t have to. My biggest goal, and simultaneously my biggest fear, is to keep this experience close to me – to walk around with it every day and not allow it to drift too far from my consciousness. I know I have been affected significantly, and that is a good thing.
Only 4 more days at sea.
I’ve got some hugging to do!!!
See y'all SOON!
Can't wait to see you in Ft. Lauderdale, Mama & Dad!!!
still rocking and a rolling out here on the Atlantic
Well our almost perfectly smooth voyage has ended... the Atlantic is paying us back for all the nice smooth seas we have had.
It is tough to even think about packing when you can't stand up, but it seems to be getting better and since we don't really want to pack, it is ok. Today is a study day for the students, first day of finals tommorow.
Had an amazing Talent show last night, we have a large group of talented folks on the ship and it was fun to watch.
The Spain pictures are now up and hopefully Joy will get to do her blog today.
http://joeandjoy.com/spain/index.html
Brian S. - thanks for the pictures... Jackson sure is cute
NO takers on the airport yet... I guess I should look up when we are coming in.... ok we get in at 1:50 p.m. on Dec. 10th into San Jose
Hope everyone is GREAT!!!
It is tough to even think about packing when you can't stand up, but it seems to be getting better and since we don't really want to pack, it is ok. Today is a study day for the students, first day of finals tommorow.
Had an amazing Talent show last night, we have a large group of talented folks on the ship and it was fun to watch.
The Spain pictures are now up and hopefully Joy will get to do her blog today.
http://joeandjoy.com/spain/index.html
Brian S. - thanks for the pictures... Jackson sure is cute
NO takers on the airport yet... I guess I should look up when we are coming in.... ok we get in at 1:50 p.m. on Dec. 10th into San Jose
Hope everyone is GREAT!!!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The ocean is.... SWELL
wholly crap we've got some movement as we head across the atlantic towards Florida.
The Croatia pictures are up http://joeandjoy.com/croat/index.html
and I hope to get Spain up real soon. We rented a car again and it was a little more hair raising to drive in Spain, especially while in town. You can't get any narrower... I thought Ireland was narrow but Spain has it beat. But of course we had a great time and saw some wonderful sites.
Only endulged in Churros con Chocolate once which is my big regret... I'll have to go back.
Look for the Spain pics soon... enjoy your last weeks without us cause we are going to be cranky when we get home!
oh yeah and who is picking us up at the airport?
GOOD LUCK ON FINALS to all the Crownies
Someone send me a picture of that Stevens kid
The Croatia pictures are up http://joeandjoy.com/croat/index.html
and I hope to get Spain up real soon. We rented a car again and it was a little more hair raising to drive in Spain, especially while in town. You can't get any narrower... I thought Ireland was narrow but Spain has it beat. But of course we had a great time and saw some wonderful sites.
Only endulged in Churros con Chocolate once which is my big regret... I'll have to go back.
Look for the Spain pics soon... enjoy your last weeks without us cause we are going to be cranky when we get home!
oh yeah and who is picking us up at the airport?
GOOD LUCK ON FINALS to all the Crownies
Someone send me a picture of that Stevens kid
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Croatia
Arriving in Croatia was fabulous. The coastline is absolutely beautiful in contrast to the red tiles on all the roofs, the intrigue of the old walled city, and the giant mountains looming in the background. Joe and I decided to rent a car with our good friends, J.B. & Theresa, which totally made our trip. Having the freedom of our own vehicle was wonderful, and of course – Joe was our official driver and the three of us were happy to be sightseeing passengers.
On the first day we ventured into the walled city – built in the 1600s, which is a fascinating place. We had a beautiful blue-sky day, so we walked around the entire exterior of the walled city on top of the passageways on the outer wall. Joe and I took hundreds of pictures – it was such a beautiful day! (You’ll see the pictures SOON!) Some students decided it would be a good idea to cliff-jump off the cliffs below the city’s walls. Many of them had a great time, however, we learned later on in our trip that one of the students jumped from over 60 feet, hit the water wrong, and broke her back. Scary. Luckily, her spinal cord was not affected, so she was rushed to the hospital and eventually transferred via a medical evacuation plane to a different hospital in Vienna for immediate surgery. One of the RDs, our friend Kate, went with her to Vienna, and she just wrote me and let me know that the student is doing okay. It’s amazing that more stuff like this hasn’t happened on this voyage. I’m just glad the student isn’t paralyzed, although her voyage is over and I’m sure she’ll have permanent physical damage. Scary.
Anyway – after exploring the walled city, we were on a mission to rent a car. Dubrovnik, and the entire coastline of Croatia, is a huge tourist destination in the summer, but it is very serene and quiet in mid-November. Thus, tourism offices are not exactly prepared, nor excited, to deal with tourists. I can relate to this, having lived in Steamboat where the winter and summer are absolutely brimming with tourists, and the mud-season is barren of visitors. I used to relish those months where we had Steamboat back to “ourselves,” so I didn’t blame the Dubrovnik folks who seemed a little off-put by our presence. So, it took us a little while to find a rental car, and once we did – we decided to book the car for the following 4 days, stay on the ship the first night, and venture out early the next morning. And that’s what we did!
The next morning the four of us hopped into our Ford Focus and hit the coastal road. We knew we wanted to find a little villa along the sea, but we didn’t have a solid plan. So we just started driving. What a gorgeous drive!!! After about an hour and a half we arrived in the small town of Orebic on the Plejesac peninsula. We decided to stop and have lunch and check-out one of the tourist agencies to see what was available. The gentleman at the tourist agency was pretty doubtful, at first, that he had anything available by the sea. Then, after making a few phone calls, he directed us toward this house that didn’t have a seaside view from our apartment, but was attached to a home with a large terrace overlooking the sea. We decided to go check it out, and it turned out to be perfect and became our home for the next 3 nights. It was set right on the coastline amidst a grove of orange trees. So perfect! It was also within 5 minutes walk of local markets, so that we could make dinner in our little kitchen, drink wine, and kick back & relax.
This was the first port that truly felt like a vacation. All of the other ports have felt like a mental and physical challenge in some sense – which is good. Croatia didn’t feel that way. It is a tourist destination, and – beyond its recent history – I’m not quite certain why it is a port on Semester at Sea. Particularly in the off-season, it’s not a place that has a whole lot going on, and for the students it’s not easy for them to get around because they are not allowed to rent cars.
It’s hard to believe that Dubrovnik was a war-torn area in the very recent past – the beauty and serenity of the place masks its ugly past. The one aspect of the city that reveals the effects of the war is the tiled roofs. Many roofs have very new tile work, which we’ve been told indicated that those homes or buildings were bombed during the war and had to be re-built. You’ll be able to tell the difference in the pictures… some roofs look very new, while others are clearly worn.
Some highlights of our trip:
1. Croatia is wine country, but – again – since we were visiting in the off-season, most wineries were closed. But that didn’t stop us!! We ventured into one particular winery (that looked closed) and asked if we could do a wine tasting. Not exactly what you’d expect in the states… The gentlemen were more than willing to allow us to have a taste, so the man who spoke the most fluent English led us through the winery, arrived at one particular vat of wine, picked up the hose that was lying on the floor, brushed it off, picked up a glass that was sitting by the vat, brushed it off, and proceeded to pour the wine from the hose into the glass. We all thought this was hilarious, and – wow! – it was good red wine! So, we decided to buy a few bottles. Again, this was a little different in that we were asked – “Do you have any bottles with you?” Stunned, we looked at each other and said, “Well, we have some empty plastic water bottles..?” The gentlemen nodded that this would be a perfect solution, so we got our plastic bottles, he promptly filled them with the wine hose, and we went happily on our way. Pretty funny, huh? This was only one of a few times that we received wine in this manner.
2. Another highlight of our trip was being able to play Bocce Ball in an outdoor, lighted court while we drank our hose-filled wine, ate pizza and french fries, an d laughed the night away. We were certain the Bocce ball court was going to be closed, but were delighted when the not-so-helpful woman behind the counter said, “yes, you can play.” Woo-hoo!
3. Joe and I were itching to go for a hike in the mountain range behind our villa, so we went on a 2-hour hike to the top of the ridge and it was absolutely beautiful! It felt SO GOOD to be out in nature, taking in the fresh crisp air, and d getting our heart rate up after so many countries where we were breathing the intense pollution and humid air. We also ventured on many mini-hikes to old churches (which reminded me of the missions in California), old villages, and a few quaint local towns.
4. At one such old village, Joe happened upon a sign that read, “This site protected by the law.” This intrigued Joe, so he decided to check it out. Lo and behold, we were met by a wonderful woman named Vesna who was very surprised to see us in the off-season. After concluding that we seemed like nice people, she led us on a personal tour of this old, mostly abandoned stone village where only she and one other couple currently live. Wow. Her stories were fascinating. She was originally born in Bosnia, moved to London for much of her young adult life, was a journalist for the BBC, and then – somehow – found herself on the coast of Croatia inquiring about a home in an old broken-down village. And she’s been there ever since! She was definitely – and expectedly – a little quirky, but that only added to the charm of the place. She invited us into her very simple but amazing stone house, and offered us some homemade herb brandy, which she said she gets locally from “the brandy man in the van.”
This is one of the most amazing things about Semester at Sea… that you can end up totally off-the-beaten-path, in a small village with someone like Vesna. On most cruise ships, you are only in a port for 12 to 24 hours, which does not allow for these off-the-beaten-path experiences. I value these moments so much because they really give one a true taste of the people and the culture of a place.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Croatia. I’ll let Joe fill in the blanks with his picture commentary, but this is our story for now. We are currently docked in Gibraltar for a re-fueling session, and we arrive in Cadiz, Spain in the early morning. I can’t believe this will be our last international port!!! Where has the time gone? I’ve already asked some of the crew members if they will hide me in one of the closets so I can stay on the ship for the next voyage. The laughed and said they’re not allowed to do that. WHAT?!
See y’all SOON!!!
On the first day we ventured into the walled city – built in the 1600s, which is a fascinating place. We had a beautiful blue-sky day, so we walked around the entire exterior of the walled city on top of the passageways on the outer wall. Joe and I took hundreds of pictures – it was such a beautiful day! (You’ll see the pictures SOON!) Some students decided it would be a good idea to cliff-jump off the cliffs below the city’s walls. Many of them had a great time, however, we learned later on in our trip that one of the students jumped from over 60 feet, hit the water wrong, and broke her back. Scary. Luckily, her spinal cord was not affected, so she was rushed to the hospital and eventually transferred via a medical evacuation plane to a different hospital in Vienna for immediate surgery. One of the RDs, our friend Kate, went with her to Vienna, and she just wrote me and let me know that the student is doing okay. It’s amazing that more stuff like this hasn’t happened on this voyage. I’m just glad the student isn’t paralyzed, although her voyage is over and I’m sure she’ll have permanent physical damage. Scary.
Anyway – after exploring the walled city, we were on a mission to rent a car. Dubrovnik, and the entire coastline of Croatia, is a huge tourist destination in the summer, but it is very serene and quiet in mid-November. Thus, tourism offices are not exactly prepared, nor excited, to deal with tourists. I can relate to this, having lived in Steamboat where the winter and summer are absolutely brimming with tourists, and the mud-season is barren of visitors. I used to relish those months where we had Steamboat back to “ourselves,” so I didn’t blame the Dubrovnik folks who seemed a little off-put by our presence. So, it took us a little while to find a rental car, and once we did – we decided to book the car for the following 4 days, stay on the ship the first night, and venture out early the next morning. And that’s what we did!
The next morning the four of us hopped into our Ford Focus and hit the coastal road. We knew we wanted to find a little villa along the sea, but we didn’t have a solid plan. So we just started driving. What a gorgeous drive!!! After about an hour and a half we arrived in the small town of Orebic on the Plejesac peninsula. We decided to stop and have lunch and check-out one of the tourist agencies to see what was available. The gentleman at the tourist agency was pretty doubtful, at first, that he had anything available by the sea. Then, after making a few phone calls, he directed us toward this house that didn’t have a seaside view from our apartment, but was attached to a home with a large terrace overlooking the sea. We decided to go check it out, and it turned out to be perfect and became our home for the next 3 nights. It was set right on the coastline amidst a grove of orange trees. So perfect! It was also within 5 minutes walk of local markets, so that we could make dinner in our little kitchen, drink wine, and kick back & relax.
This was the first port that truly felt like a vacation. All of the other ports have felt like a mental and physical challenge in some sense – which is good. Croatia didn’t feel that way. It is a tourist destination, and – beyond its recent history – I’m not quite certain why it is a port on Semester at Sea. Particularly in the off-season, it’s not a place that has a whole lot going on, and for the students it’s not easy for them to get around because they are not allowed to rent cars.
It’s hard to believe that Dubrovnik was a war-torn area in the very recent past – the beauty and serenity of the place masks its ugly past. The one aspect of the city that reveals the effects of the war is the tiled roofs. Many roofs have very new tile work, which we’ve been told indicated that those homes or buildings were bombed during the war and had to be re-built. You’ll be able to tell the difference in the pictures… some roofs look very new, while others are clearly worn.
Some highlights of our trip:
1. Croatia is wine country, but – again – since we were visiting in the off-season, most wineries were closed. But that didn’t stop us!! We ventured into one particular winery (that looked closed) and asked if we could do a wine tasting. Not exactly what you’d expect in the states… The gentlemen were more than willing to allow us to have a taste, so the man who spoke the most fluent English led us through the winery, arrived at one particular vat of wine, picked up the hose that was lying on the floor, brushed it off, picked up a glass that was sitting by the vat, brushed it off, and proceeded to pour the wine from the hose into the glass. We all thought this was hilarious, and – wow! – it was good red wine! So, we decided to buy a few bottles. Again, this was a little different in that we were asked – “Do you have any bottles with you?” Stunned, we looked at each other and said, “Well, we have some empty plastic water bottles..?” The gentlemen nodded that this would be a perfect solution, so we got our plastic bottles, he promptly filled them with the wine hose, and we went happily on our way. Pretty funny, huh? This was only one of a few times that we received wine in this manner.
2. Another highlight of our trip was being able to play Bocce Ball in an outdoor, lighted court while we drank our hose-filled wine, ate pizza and french fries, an d laughed the night away. We were certain the Bocce ball court was going to be closed, but were delighted when the not-so-helpful woman behind the counter said, “yes, you can play.” Woo-hoo!
3. Joe and I were itching to go for a hike in the mountain range behind our villa, so we went on a 2-hour hike to the top of the ridge and it was absolutely beautiful! It felt SO GOOD to be out in nature, taking in the fresh crisp air, and d getting our heart rate up after so many countries where we were breathing the intense pollution and humid air. We also ventured on many mini-hikes to old churches (which reminded me of the missions in California), old villages, and a few quaint local towns.
4. At one such old village, Joe happened upon a sign that read, “This site protected by the law.” This intrigued Joe, so he decided to check it out. Lo and behold, we were met by a wonderful woman named Vesna who was very surprised to see us in the off-season. After concluding that we seemed like nice people, she led us on a personal tour of this old, mostly abandoned stone village where only she and one other couple currently live. Wow. Her stories were fascinating. She was originally born in Bosnia, moved to London for much of her young adult life, was a journalist for the BBC, and then – somehow – found herself on the coast of Croatia inquiring about a home in an old broken-down village. And she’s been there ever since! She was definitely – and expectedly – a little quirky, but that only added to the charm of the place. She invited us into her very simple but amazing stone house, and offered us some homemade herb brandy, which she said she gets locally from “the brandy man in the van.”
This is one of the most amazing things about Semester at Sea… that you can end up totally off-the-beaten-path, in a small village with someone like Vesna. On most cruise ships, you are only in a port for 12 to 24 hours, which does not allow for these off-the-beaten-path experiences. I value these moments so much because they really give one a true taste of the people and the culture of a place.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Croatia. I’ll let Joe fill in the blanks with his picture commentary, but this is our story for now. We are currently docked in Gibraltar for a re-fueling session, and we arrive in Cadiz, Spain in the early morning. I can’t believe this will be our last international port!!! Where has the time gone? I’ve already asked some of the crew members if they will hide me in one of the closets so I can stay on the ship for the next voyage. The laughed and said they’re not allowed to do that. WHAT?!
See y’all SOON!!!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Here's a quick blog about our port arrival... don't worry - I'm planning to write about our experience in Croatia later today, so check back a little later...
This was the absolute best port arrival ever. We were told the evening before our arrival in Dubrovnik that our ship’s captain was planning to blow the horn as we sailed around the corner near his family’s home. One official administrator had said that the captain would be blowing the horn at 0630, and then the executive dean said that he would be doing this at 0730. Being the optimist that I am, I decided to believe that this would not occur until 0730.
So… at approximately 0625, what do I hear? The freaking horn!!! I instantly jump – literally leap – out of my bed, mutter to myself “shit, I’m going to miss it!,” throw on my clothes, and sprint up four flights of stairs to the seventh deck. I burst out of the doors onto the deck to find that I am not too late. Whew!!
Our fabulous captain Roman is not a shy guy. He was not messing around when it came to blowing that horn. He did a couple warning horn blows when we were still about five minutes away from his home, and then just let it LOOSE with that horn! Wow. There was DEFINITELY no one left sleeping in his quaint little village by the sea. I was CRACKING UP, I thought it was so flipping hilarious. But then when I saw his family waving from the deck of their home, I burst into tears! I was doing the ol’ laugh & cry at the same time. Some of his family’s neighbors had made big banners and were waving, too. When Captain Roman stepped out onto the little winged platform that jets out from the bridge and started waving to his family, I totally lost it. It was such a cool moment.
I just read this blog to some students who rolled their eyes when I said I cried, but c’mon… that’s good stuff.
This was the absolute best port arrival ever. We were told the evening before our arrival in Dubrovnik that our ship’s captain was planning to blow the horn as we sailed around the corner near his family’s home. One official administrator had said that the captain would be blowing the horn at 0630, and then the executive dean said that he would be doing this at 0730. Being the optimist that I am, I decided to believe that this would not occur until 0730.
So… at approximately 0625, what do I hear? The freaking horn!!! I instantly jump – literally leap – out of my bed, mutter to myself “shit, I’m going to miss it!,” throw on my clothes, and sprint up four flights of stairs to the seventh deck. I burst out of the doors onto the deck to find that I am not too late. Whew!!
Our fabulous captain Roman is not a shy guy. He was not messing around when it came to blowing that horn. He did a couple warning horn blows when we were still about five minutes away from his home, and then just let it LOOSE with that horn! Wow. There was DEFINITELY no one left sleeping in his quaint little village by the sea. I was CRACKING UP, I thought it was so flipping hilarious. But then when I saw his family waving from the deck of their home, I burst into tears! I was doing the ol’ laugh & cry at the same time. Some of his family’s neighbors had made big banners and were waving, too. When Captain Roman stepped out onto the little winged platform that jets out from the bridge and started waving to his family, I totally lost it. It was such a cool moment.
I just read this blog to some students who rolled their eyes when I said I cried, but c’mon… that’s good stuff.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
one more to go... (tear)
So of course we had a great time in Croatia... a highlight for me was that we rented a car and I got to drive... not a real fancy car but it was fun to drive. It was a Ford Focus Diesel 1.6 L engine and it moved pretty well. If I could get that car in the states I would consider buying it... especially since they are building bio-diesel pumps in Santa Cruz County.
more on Croatia later... but I am finally putting up the Cairo pics... and for those who think we slack sometimes on our blog, we have friends who haven't written about Viet Nam yet and you get the treat of all of our pics... and of course it is great for us too... we are glad we have been able to share with everyone who reads.
so yeah... Cairo is loading as we speak and I will try and get Turkey up tomorrow and then hopefully Croatia up before we get to Spain... we shall see how we do.
Hope everyone is well!!!! Happy November!!!!
Monday, November 13, 2006
Let’s talk Turkey!
Hi Everyone! Sorry it’s been a little while. We were without Internet on the ship for a few days, so folks had to find different ways of entertaining themselves. Right now I am watching a tourism video about Croatia, which looks absolutely beautiful, so I’ll have to get my brain out of Dubrovnik and the islands of Croatia, and rewind to our experiences in Turkey.
Coming into the port of Istanbul was an incredible sight. It was the first time that we stepped out from the interior of the ship into VERY chilly weather. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. I absolutely loved it! I’ve been missing that chill of fall weather that makes one want to put on a fuzzy sweater, drink hot coffee, and cuddle up in a blanket. Everyone was busting out their puffy jackets, stocking caps, gloves and scarves. It was a pretty quick transition from the sweltering warmth of Viet Nam through India to the mild temperatures of Egypt to seeing our breath out in the streets of Istanbul.
The picture I had of Turkey in my mind’s eye was nowhere near what it represented in reality. I had not imagined that we were entering into the western, very European-feeling, world quite yet. Istanbul and western Turkey have a very European feel, which I had not expected. To be honest, it was almost a little disappointing to emerge into a more familiar, western environment. That is not to take anything away from our experience in Turkey, but – again – it is marking the transition to the final stages of our voyage. I'm not ready yet!
Istanbul and western Turkey have a unique feel because of their European setting amidst a predominantly Muslim culture and texture. Turkey’s history and the story of Turkey’s national hero, Kemal Ataturk, are incredibly fascinating. I did not know much about Turkey until this voyage, but the tensions and controversies surrounding Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union have put Turkey’s history and culture under a magnifying glass. If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to research Turkey’s struggle with the European Union from multiple perspectives; particularly seek another viewpoint than the western viewpoint.
Anyway – Istanbul is a fascinating city. Joe and I spent many hours just walking through the cobblestone streets of the city, exploring the sights. On our first day we ventured to the Grand Bazaar in the old city, which is among the largest public market places in the world. It was fun to venture through all of the shops, the spice market, the quaint cafes serving Turkish tea & coffee, and seeing the Turkish “Evil Eye” everywhere!!! The evil eye is a symbol, in the likeness of an eye, which is traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits. We learned from our guide that the eye also represents a solar eclipse, which was something to be feared in ancient times, marking the eye as “evil.” At first I thought the evil eye seemed like a tourist trinket or souvenir, but the more we ventured around Turkey, I saw the evil eye embedded into walkways and hanging above doorways in restaurants & homes. So, don’t worry – you’ll probably get one of your very own when we return!
One of the other highlights of our first day – and definitely one of the highlights of our voyage, too – was stumbling upon this wonderful restaurant in the middle of the old city. Our friend J.B. had noticed a few rooftop bars, but most of them had looked closed and dark. However, there was one that had lights shining from above. J.B. and Joe both said, “Hey, this place looks open,” and simultaneously an attendant of the hotel/restaurant beckoned us to follow him upstairs. All I can say is “WOW.” We were ushered up seven or eight floors to a rooftop that was higher than all of the other rooftops around, nestled between the gorgeous looming sights of the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque, both absolutely beautiful in architecture and grandeur. As if that wasn’t enough, we were the only people on the rooftop, so we had our own private 5-star dining experience. My favorite part was right around sunset when the speakers of Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque rang out with their calls to prayer. Both calls to prayer echoed back and forth between the two religious sites, and it is really indescribable how beautiful, alluring, and spiritual it was to be standing up there. Luckily, Joe took a video of it, so you can experience it, too!
The following morning, Joe and I left on a Semester at Sea trip to Western Turkey. Joe was the trip leader for this adventure, along with 27 other faculty, staff and students. We had a really great group of people – very mellow folks who were interested to learn about the ancient sites of Western Turkey. As one student so poignantly put it: “There were no douche-bags on our trip.” Ha! What this comment is referring to is that there can sometimes be a select group of students who end up partying too hard during the trip, ignore the guide, arrive late for everything, and are generally a pain in the butt. We didn’t have any of that.
Our flight from Istanbul to Izmir brought us into some phenomenal weather! Our entire trip was full of blue sky and sunshine, with temperatures between 50-65 during the day. Chilly but refreshing. It is more difficult for me to write about all of the ruins we saw because I am by no means a history buff. However, I can say that we were able to walk down the marble streets of ancient Romans and Greeks, climb the steps of ancient amphitheatres from the 4th century, and walk amongst the looming ionic columns and structures of Ephesus. All of this will be better appreciated through the pictures, so I’ll defer to Joe on most of this.
Our experience was similar to that of seeing the ancient pyramids – it is absolutely incredible to see and learn about the histories of these ancient cultures that have literally been unearthed from the ground to tell stories of the past. The only time I had to really stretch my imagination was when we visited the remains of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world – The Temple of Athena – which was – literally – a lone column standing amidst a field of pieces of marble. Much of the ancient temple had been carried away and used to build other structures and buildings, so I had a hard time envisioning this massive temple from one remaining teetering column with a giant bird’s nest sitting on top. Joe found it interesting, so I tried to follow his lead.
Our second day in western Turkey took us to the smaller seaside town of Kusadasi, which is set on the Aegean Sea. A very beautiful town that we imagine is perpetually brimming with tourists in the summer. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay there very long before we were off to more ruins and museums.
Have I told you about the food yet? YUM! We got to sample many Turkish treats such as Turkish tea (yummy), Turkish coffee (mudlike), Turkish pizza (yummy), lots and lots of breads and cheeses, lentil soups, hummus, delicious salads, and crepes. Very similar to Greek cuisine in a lot of ways, but unique as well.
We also went to a carpet-weaving factory, as Turkish silk carpets are a hot commodity. While the factory provided a fascinating look at the process involved in making a handmade Turkish carpet, the prices were – um – not exactly in our price range, so we apologize if you were expecting a carpet for the holidays. The silk-on-silk carpets were – no joke – approximately $25,000. Do you have anything smaller?? Oh, yes, that one over there that one could place on an end table? That’s only $4500!!! They were beautiful, but c’mon people.
Once we arrived back at the ship from our trip, we had one more day in Istanbul to explore. Joe and I went inside the Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque which were amazingly massive and intricately decorated with paintings, mosaics, stained glass, beautiful archways and unique lighting. Again, we walked miles around the old city and ventured into the “new” city – the area around Taksim Square. When we arrived there, I felt as if I had been immediately transported into the Times Square of Istanbul. All of a sudden it felt like the Turkish culture had been absorbed into highrise 4-star hotels, McDonalds & Pizza Huts, department stores, and the hustle bustle of a modern city. It was interesting to experience, but I definitely enjoyed the old city feel. Before going back to the ship, Joe decided to go to a Turkish football (soccer) game. WOW. The scene in the stadium could barely be described by the words CRAZILY INTENSE. I’d say the ratio of men to women around the stadium was approximately 100:1, and the testosterone levels were through the roof. There were riot police everywhere, men pounding beers outside the stadium walls (no alcohol inside), and men sprinting to get to the game on time. I felt incredibly uncomfortable and out of place as a female in this particular environment, so my friend Kate & I watched the game from above on a street that overlooked the stadium. You could hear the crowd cheering in unison from many, many blocks away. It was amazing. Joe can tell you more about it.
Well, it’s getting late and I need to go to bed so I can wake up bright and early to see us pull into Dubrovnik. This is one of the most exciting ports for our voyage because the captain of our ship is from Dubrovnik, but his family hasn’t seen him sail into Croatia for over 14 years. So, his plan – at around 0730 tomorrow morning – is to blow the horn repeatedly as we come around the bend by his home on the coast. Hopefully we’ll be able to see his family waving to him!
Hope all is well over in your neck of the world!!
We miss all of you but will see you SOON!
Coming into the port of Istanbul was an incredible sight. It was the first time that we stepped out from the interior of the ship into VERY chilly weather. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. I absolutely loved it! I’ve been missing that chill of fall weather that makes one want to put on a fuzzy sweater, drink hot coffee, and cuddle up in a blanket. Everyone was busting out their puffy jackets, stocking caps, gloves and scarves. It was a pretty quick transition from the sweltering warmth of Viet Nam through India to the mild temperatures of Egypt to seeing our breath out in the streets of Istanbul.
The picture I had of Turkey in my mind’s eye was nowhere near what it represented in reality. I had not imagined that we were entering into the western, very European-feeling, world quite yet. Istanbul and western Turkey have a very European feel, which I had not expected. To be honest, it was almost a little disappointing to emerge into a more familiar, western environment. That is not to take anything away from our experience in Turkey, but – again – it is marking the transition to the final stages of our voyage. I'm not ready yet!
Istanbul and western Turkey have a unique feel because of their European setting amidst a predominantly Muslim culture and texture. Turkey’s history and the story of Turkey’s national hero, Kemal Ataturk, are incredibly fascinating. I did not know much about Turkey until this voyage, but the tensions and controversies surrounding Turkey’s bid to become a member of the European Union have put Turkey’s history and culture under a magnifying glass. If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage you to research Turkey’s struggle with the European Union from multiple perspectives; particularly seek another viewpoint than the western viewpoint.
Anyway – Istanbul is a fascinating city. Joe and I spent many hours just walking through the cobblestone streets of the city, exploring the sights. On our first day we ventured to the Grand Bazaar in the old city, which is among the largest public market places in the world. It was fun to venture through all of the shops, the spice market, the quaint cafes serving Turkish tea & coffee, and seeing the Turkish “Evil Eye” everywhere!!! The evil eye is a symbol, in the likeness of an eye, which is traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits. We learned from our guide that the eye also represents a solar eclipse, which was something to be feared in ancient times, marking the eye as “evil.” At first I thought the evil eye seemed like a tourist trinket or souvenir, but the more we ventured around Turkey, I saw the evil eye embedded into walkways and hanging above doorways in restaurants & homes. So, don’t worry – you’ll probably get one of your very own when we return!
One of the other highlights of our first day – and definitely one of the highlights of our voyage, too – was stumbling upon this wonderful restaurant in the middle of the old city. Our friend J.B. had noticed a few rooftop bars, but most of them had looked closed and dark. However, there was one that had lights shining from above. J.B. and Joe both said, “Hey, this place looks open,” and simultaneously an attendant of the hotel/restaurant beckoned us to follow him upstairs. All I can say is “WOW.” We were ushered up seven or eight floors to a rooftop that was higher than all of the other rooftops around, nestled between the gorgeous looming sights of the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque, both absolutely beautiful in architecture and grandeur. As if that wasn’t enough, we were the only people on the rooftop, so we had our own private 5-star dining experience. My favorite part was right around sunset when the speakers of Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque rang out with their calls to prayer. Both calls to prayer echoed back and forth between the two religious sites, and it is really indescribable how beautiful, alluring, and spiritual it was to be standing up there. Luckily, Joe took a video of it, so you can experience it, too!
The following morning, Joe and I left on a Semester at Sea trip to Western Turkey. Joe was the trip leader for this adventure, along with 27 other faculty, staff and students. We had a really great group of people – very mellow folks who were interested to learn about the ancient sites of Western Turkey. As one student so poignantly put it: “There were no douche-bags on our trip.” Ha! What this comment is referring to is that there can sometimes be a select group of students who end up partying too hard during the trip, ignore the guide, arrive late for everything, and are generally a pain in the butt. We didn’t have any of that.
Our flight from Istanbul to Izmir brought us into some phenomenal weather! Our entire trip was full of blue sky and sunshine, with temperatures between 50-65 during the day. Chilly but refreshing. It is more difficult for me to write about all of the ruins we saw because I am by no means a history buff. However, I can say that we were able to walk down the marble streets of ancient Romans and Greeks, climb the steps of ancient amphitheatres from the 4th century, and walk amongst the looming ionic columns and structures of Ephesus. All of this will be better appreciated through the pictures, so I’ll defer to Joe on most of this.
Our experience was similar to that of seeing the ancient pyramids – it is absolutely incredible to see and learn about the histories of these ancient cultures that have literally been unearthed from the ground to tell stories of the past. The only time I had to really stretch my imagination was when we visited the remains of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world – The Temple of Athena – which was – literally – a lone column standing amidst a field of pieces of marble. Much of the ancient temple had been carried away and used to build other structures and buildings, so I had a hard time envisioning this massive temple from one remaining teetering column with a giant bird’s nest sitting on top. Joe found it interesting, so I tried to follow his lead.
Our second day in western Turkey took us to the smaller seaside town of Kusadasi, which is set on the Aegean Sea. A very beautiful town that we imagine is perpetually brimming with tourists in the summer. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to stay there very long before we were off to more ruins and museums.
Have I told you about the food yet? YUM! We got to sample many Turkish treats such as Turkish tea (yummy), Turkish coffee (mudlike), Turkish pizza (yummy), lots and lots of breads and cheeses, lentil soups, hummus, delicious salads, and crepes. Very similar to Greek cuisine in a lot of ways, but unique as well.
We also went to a carpet-weaving factory, as Turkish silk carpets are a hot commodity. While the factory provided a fascinating look at the process involved in making a handmade Turkish carpet, the prices were – um – not exactly in our price range, so we apologize if you were expecting a carpet for the holidays. The silk-on-silk carpets were – no joke – approximately $25,000. Do you have anything smaller?? Oh, yes, that one over there that one could place on an end table? That’s only $4500!!! They were beautiful, but c’mon people.
Once we arrived back at the ship from our trip, we had one more day in Istanbul to explore. Joe and I went inside the Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque which were amazingly massive and intricately decorated with paintings, mosaics, stained glass, beautiful archways and unique lighting. Again, we walked miles around the old city and ventured into the “new” city – the area around Taksim Square. When we arrived there, I felt as if I had been immediately transported into the Times Square of Istanbul. All of a sudden it felt like the Turkish culture had been absorbed into highrise 4-star hotels, McDonalds & Pizza Huts, department stores, and the hustle bustle of a modern city. It was interesting to experience, but I definitely enjoyed the old city feel. Before going back to the ship, Joe decided to go to a Turkish football (soccer) game. WOW. The scene in the stadium could barely be described by the words CRAZILY INTENSE. I’d say the ratio of men to women around the stadium was approximately 100:1, and the testosterone levels were through the roof. There were riot police everywhere, men pounding beers outside the stadium walls (no alcohol inside), and men sprinting to get to the game on time. I felt incredibly uncomfortable and out of place as a female in this particular environment, so my friend Kate & I watched the game from above on a street that overlooked the stadium. You could hear the crowd cheering in unison from many, many blocks away. It was amazing. Joe can tell you more about it.
Well, it’s getting late and I need to go to bed so I can wake up bright and early to see us pull into Dubrovnik. This is one of the most exciting ports for our voyage because the captain of our ship is from Dubrovnik, but his family hasn’t seen him sail into Croatia for over 14 years. So, his plan – at around 0730 tomorrow morning – is to blow the horn repeatedly as we come around the bend by his home on the coast. Hopefully we’ll be able to see his family waving to him!
Hope all is well over in your neck of the world!!
We miss all of you but will see you SOON!
ahhhh Internet
Hey Kids... sorry if you have been going thru withdrawls without any updates but we were pretty darn busy in Turkey and then had no internet access for a few days... sorry!!!
Turkey was ... very ROMAN... at least for us. We did a big trip that took us to many amazing ancient Roman sites... good times!
Trying very hard to get all these pics up but it is a challenge... but you can now go see the pics from Alexandria.
http://joeandjoy.com/alex/index.html
and I'm gonna work on the Cairo ones... but there are a ton of those and a ton from Turkey... oh man ... plus we are in Croatia tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2nd to last country... very crazy.
Oh and something I will write about briefly is my trip to a soccer game the last night in Istanbul... wow... we had passed the stadium on a walk around town and noticed that it looked like they were getting ready for a game so we asked around and found out that there was one that night at 7. We continued our walk and headed back to the stadium around 6:30... you could feel the energy in the air. It was right out of the news... 12 soccer fans get trampled to death at a soccer game in Brazil... I was with Joy and Kate and they did not feel to comfortable with all the testosterone and I even felt a little unnerved by it. We had decided not to go in and were walking up the hill to a space where you could watch from the road, when I realized I might not get another shot like this so I decided I would go in and go to the top of the stands where there wasn't many folks. It was AMAZING! The crowd was singing the whole time. I unfortunately had to leave with 15 min still left to play because there was thick tension in the air. The home team was down 0-1 and they were clearly the better team, so the crowd was very anxious for a goal. Wish I had some pictures but I decided it would be a bad move to bring my camera in.
ok... more later...
joe
Turkey was ... very ROMAN... at least for us. We did a big trip that took us to many amazing ancient Roman sites... good times!
Trying very hard to get all these pics up but it is a challenge... but you can now go see the pics from Alexandria.
http://joeandjoy.com/alex/index.html
and I'm gonna work on the Cairo ones... but there are a ton of those and a ton from Turkey... oh man ... plus we are in Croatia tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2nd to last country... very crazy.
Oh and something I will write about briefly is my trip to a soccer game the last night in Istanbul... wow... we had passed the stadium on a walk around town and noticed that it looked like they were getting ready for a game so we asked around and found out that there was one that night at 7. We continued our walk and headed back to the stadium around 6:30... you could feel the energy in the air. It was right out of the news... 12 soccer fans get trampled to death at a soccer game in Brazil... I was with Joy and Kate and they did not feel to comfortable with all the testosterone and I even felt a little unnerved by it. We had decided not to go in and were walking up the hill to a space where you could watch from the road, when I realized I might not get another shot like this so I decided I would go in and go to the top of the stands where there wasn't many folks. It was AMAZING! The crowd was singing the whole time. I unfortunately had to leave with 15 min still left to play because there was thick tension in the air. The home team was down 0-1 and they were clearly the better team, so the crowd was very anxious for a goal. Wish I had some pictures but I decided it would be a bad move to bring my camera in.
ok... more later...
joe
Monday, November 06, 2006
En Route to Turkey
Well… we were supposed to leave for Istanbul at 2300 two nights ago, but we didn’t end up leaving until about 1830 last night. The seas were SUPER rough as a result of major storms in the Mediterranean, so our captain kept stalling our departure - for good reason! As a side note, our captain and his team are awesome guys. After hanging out with them at the Captain’s dinner, I feel totally comfortable chatting it up with them anytime I see them. Before meeting them, they seemed like untouchable high-ranking officers – but now – they’re just regular guys out at sea! Our captain is from Croatia, so I know that he is really looking forward to steering us into Dubrovnik. Anyway – as we finally began to pull away from the dock last night, one could look out past the breakwater and see all of the large white caps!! My body was clearly not ready for the rough seas – I had my first major bout of seasickness. Boo. I guess it was bound to happen eventually.
I felt like total crap until curled up on my bathroom floor and felt the coolness of the tiles on my body. There was something about that spot that really helped, but I also knew that Joe would probably be a little disturbed by the fact that I was sleeping on our teeny-tiny bathroom floor. So… I forced myself to get up and moved into the little hallway outside our bathroom door and curled up by our closet. This spot was also helpful, so I slept on the floor all night! Pretty funny. I actually slept really well, except for the few moments when the ship would lurch into the air and then CRASH down from the front end. I was expecting to be a little scared, but it was actually kind of cool (once I felt better).
Anyway – we are VERY excited to be on our way to Istanbul! Everyone was getting very antsy to get underway because we had all been stuck on the ship in the port of Alexandria for almost 24 hours. It’s no fun to look out the window at a city and not be able to get off the ship. Istanbul sounds like a fascinating city, so everyone is psyched. Joe and I are going on a 3-day/2 night Semester at Sea trip all over Western Turkey, which sounds like a great trip. I’m really looking forward to it.
Life on the ship has transformed for me into a much more relaxed, almost cruise-like experience. Imagine that! Having the Sea’Lympics over with was a major load off, so I’m trying to take on a few other projects to help lessen some of my colleagues’ loads. Other that, I’m trying to hang out with the students on my sea, read books, and enjoy all of the amazing aspects of being on a ship… I don’t want it to end!!!
Until next time…
I felt like total crap until curled up on my bathroom floor and felt the coolness of the tiles on my body. There was something about that spot that really helped, but I also knew that Joe would probably be a little disturbed by the fact that I was sleeping on our teeny-tiny bathroom floor. So… I forced myself to get up and moved into the little hallway outside our bathroom door and curled up by our closet. This spot was also helpful, so I slept on the floor all night! Pretty funny. I actually slept really well, except for the few moments when the ship would lurch into the air and then CRASH down from the front end. I was expecting to be a little scared, but it was actually kind of cool (once I felt better).
Anyway – we are VERY excited to be on our way to Istanbul! Everyone was getting very antsy to get underway because we had all been stuck on the ship in the port of Alexandria for almost 24 hours. It’s no fun to look out the window at a city and not be able to get off the ship. Istanbul sounds like a fascinating city, so everyone is psyched. Joe and I are going on a 3-day/2 night Semester at Sea trip all over Western Turkey, which sounds like a great trip. I’m really looking forward to it.
Life on the ship has transformed for me into a much more relaxed, almost cruise-like experience. Imagine that! Having the Sea’Lympics over with was a major load off, so I’m trying to take on a few other projects to help lessen some of my colleagues’ loads. Other that, I’m trying to hang out with the students on my sea, read books, and enjoy all of the amazing aspects of being on a ship… I don’t want it to end!!!
Until next time…
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Stuck in Alexandria
We were supposed to leave Alexandria at 10:00 pm last night, it is now 1:30 pm the next day and we are still tied up to the port. The Mediterranean Sea is a little on the rough side, so rough that the Port is closed, we could leave if we wanted to but we would not get a Pilot from the Port to take us out and once we got into the open seas the swells are large. Rumor has it that two ships "crashed" last night, not really sure what that means. At 2pm we are supposed to reevaluate the weather... so we shall see.
I've decided to split up the Egypt pictures into three sections: Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria. Because Suez has the least amount of pictures I've put that up first.
http://joeandjoy.com/suez/index.html
It isn't real exciting but we had an amazing sunset... of which I took way to many pictures of.
Once I get Joy's pictures of Alexandria and Cairo I can work on those two pages... Might have Alex done by the end of today (store isn't open so I'm bored) but Cairo is going to be big so it may take awhile.
The sad news is that our summer has ended... the weather in Alexandria is not too bad, cloudy and windy but Turkey is in the high 40s, low 50s so folks are starting to realize they should have brought some cold weather gear. I forsee a run on sweatshirt in the store tomorrow.
Hope everyone is well!!!!
joe
I've decided to split up the Egypt pictures into three sections: Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria. Because Suez has the least amount of pictures I've put that up first.
http://joeandjoy.com/suez/index.html
It isn't real exciting but we had an amazing sunset... of which I took way to many pictures of.
Once I get Joy's pictures of Alexandria and Cairo I can work on those two pages... Might have Alex done by the end of today (store isn't open so I'm bored) but Cairo is going to be big so it may take awhile.
The sad news is that our summer has ended... the weather in Alexandria is not too bad, cloudy and windy but Turkey is in the high 40s, low 50s so folks are starting to realize they should have brought some cold weather gear. I forsee a run on sweatshirt in the store tomorrow.
Hope everyone is well!!!!
joe
Friday, November 03, 2006
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Greetings from the Alexandria Library... which is amazing. It was just completed in 2004, I think and it is simply beautiful. By far the coolest library i've ever been in. The architecture is what makes it, I really have no idea how the collection is, I do know however that it has the second largest hard-drive in the world and has a picture of every website in the world (so they say)
http://172.16.0.6/English/Overview/overview.htm to check it out. You can tell by the picture how amazing the architecture is.
So far Alexandria has been good, we have a cute little hotel room on the sea, it overlooks the Stanley Bridge, we had Pizza Hut for lunch, which had an amazing view of the Mediterranean and we both wanted pizza. Then we toured some catacombs, and the grounds of an ancient Roman city, complete with large granite pillar. Then walked thru a street market that seemed to go on forever, someplace few foreigners must go, based on the looks we were getting. Finally got a cab to take us to the Library, very nice guy that spoke zero english but got us to the library, almost safe and sound. Right as we were about to get out of the cab... BAAAM... we had a little bumper bender... nothing hurt but the two cars and things got very heated as we tried to slip away from the commotion after handing the driver some money. He even tried to give me change... such a nice guy.
Not sure what we will do for dinner, there is a little ceasar's right next to the pizza hut... yum. We are celebrating our 4 year anniversary here since we will be at sea on the 6th.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister... hope you have a good day.
also Adam Warrington's bday but i'm not sure he reads this.
Hope the baby stevens is here... can't wait to meet the little one!!!
hasta ...
http://172.16.0.6/English/Overview/overview.htm to check it out. You can tell by the picture how amazing the architecture is.
So far Alexandria has been good, we have a cute little hotel room on the sea, it overlooks the Stanley Bridge, we had Pizza Hut for lunch, which had an amazing view of the Mediterranean and we both wanted pizza. Then we toured some catacombs, and the grounds of an ancient Roman city, complete with large granite pillar. Then walked thru a street market that seemed to go on forever, someplace few foreigners must go, based on the looks we were getting. Finally got a cab to take us to the Library, very nice guy that spoke zero english but got us to the library, almost safe and sound. Right as we were about to get out of the cab... BAAAM... we had a little bumper bender... nothing hurt but the two cars and things got very heated as we tried to slip away from the commotion after handing the driver some money. He even tried to give me change... such a nice guy.
Not sure what we will do for dinner, there is a little ceasar's right next to the pizza hut... yum. We are celebrating our 4 year anniversary here since we will be at sea on the 6th.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister... hope you have a good day.
also Adam Warrington's bday but i'm not sure he reads this.
Hope the baby stevens is here... can't wait to meet the little one!!!
hasta ...
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Egypt & the Suez Canal
I am writing to you from the narrow passageway of the Suez Canal! There are only about 150 of us who are making the transit on the ship through the canal. The others are off frolicking around Egypt. A tough decision to make… to stay in Egypt and find your way to Alexandria on your own, or experience something that not many people do – transit the Suez canal on a ship! Joe and I chose to do the trip not only because it seemed pretty intriguing, but also because some of our favorite people are here on the ship with us. Making the trip up the Suez definitely marks a pretty significant point in our voyage… venturing into the Mediterranean Sea makes it seem like we’re approaching the beginning of the end of our voyage, but I’m trying not to think about it that way.
Anyway – going through the canal should take anywhere from 12 to 18 hours. We started in the line-up of ships at about 10:00am, so we’ll be watching it unfold all day and into the evening. There are a series of three locks in the canal, but I’m told that one can’t really tell when the ship is in one. As I look out off the back deck of the ship I see a vast desert to the west and the city of Port Suez to the east. It is incredible and surreal to be here.
Speaking of surreal experiences, Egypt has – for me – been one of the most unreal ports we’ve arrived in. The history and culture is so ancient, it is difficult to wrap my brain around how OLD everything is!!! Joe and I went on a two-day Semester at Sea trip into Cairo, which was about an hour & a half away from where our ship was docked. It felt like we were traveling through the southwest – the desert is so vast here, but I’m not used to seeing the desert rolling into a great big sea. The Red Sea provides a lot of blue in contrast to the endless dust, brown and orange earth of Egypt.
The first sight of the pyramids in the distance once we arrived in Cairo was absolutely unbelievable. The pyramids are the only wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world still in existence. They are over 4500 – forty five HUNDRED – years old. The first pyramid we visited is called the Step Pyramid because (shockingly, I know) it was built in the shape of large steps. The construction of the pyramids is mind-blowing; particularly considering the wheel had not even been brought to Egypt at the time of the pyramid construction. Most of the granite stone blocks used to construct the pyramids ranged from about two to fifteen TONS. Until the 19th century, the Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest building in the world! Anyway – we visited the Step Pyramid, and then went to the Egyptian museum which was almost as fascinating as the Hong Kong museum. I’ll spare you museum details, but – again – absolutely incredible to think about how intricate, beautiful and detailed all of the artifacts, jewelry and tombs were… I was blown away.
In the evening we went to “The Sound & Light Show” at the Great Pyramids. This is something that sounded incredibly hokey and cheesy, so I wasn’t expecting much. I didn’t understand why something so historically amazing needed a sound and light show, BUT… just as expectations always help to change your perspective, we actually truly enjoyed the show! It was definitely Vegas-esque, but it was well done, very informative, and illuminated (literally & figuratively) the intrigue of the pyramids. We were very much looking forward to seeing the pyramids at sunrise the following morning.
Our wake-up call was at 4:15 the next morning, so we were a little groggy. The pyramids were located very close to our hotel, so we didn’t have far to travel for the sunrise. In fact, I was shocked to see how close modern civilization bumps up next to the pyramids. It’s an odd sight to be out in the streets of Giza and feel like you can reach out and touch the pyramids.
The sunrise was incredible. They had arranged a special sunrise experience for us at the pyramids, so our Semester at Sea group was the only group there. I won’t try to describe it… Joe has some sweet pictures of it. We spent the entire morning roaming around the three main pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. We were also lucky enough to be one of 100 people per day to go into the Great Pyramid. It was almost like being in a cave at first, then we had to shimmy through a claustrophobic tunnel up into one of the shafts that leads to the top of the pyramid. We got to stand in the room where the king’s tomb once lay… is that amazing?!? It felt very spiritual to me. The echoes of the past were definitely present.
After leaving the pyramids, we went to one of the local shopping bazaars in Islamic Cairo. The markets are always one of the most culturally interesting places to me… you really get a sense of the day to day life of Egyptians. It’s very powerful to be going about your daily business, and then to hear the “call to prayer” for the Muslim community. It was very interesting for me to be in a Muslim country after studying Islam and the Qu’ran in grad school. The Middle East is not somewhere I ever thought I’d be… but now that I’m here, I realize what I already knew – that the Middle East is not the stereotypes we hear on the news and in the media of the west. They are beautiful, wonderful amazing people whose culture has not been overly tainted by western influences. While I definitely struggled to comprehend the oppression against women (through my western lenses) and the widespread military presence, I also gained a respect for the conservatism of dress and culture and the importance of religion in everyday life.
Joe and I spent one more night and day in Cairo before returning to the ship late last night. What a great city. We could have stayed longer, but we are off to Alexandria! By late tonight, we’ll be in the Mediterranean Sea!!!
LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!!
Shout-outs:
JOY & JOE’S PARENTAL UNITS: Thanks for being such avid readers of our blog and for commenting so often… we love it!!
CRISTINA – We finally got your card from China – thank you, thank you!!
SARAH & DANNY – No worries about Croatia – we totally understand. You will be missed, though!! We’ll have to plan a different international adventure together!
TNT FRIENDS – KICK SOME BUTT out there in all of your training & events. You’ll have to help whip Joe & I back into shape when we get home. My longest stint on the elliptical machine is about 20 minutes and I’ve only been on the treadmill twice. DOH!
HEIDI & THE PROGRAMS CREW – I miss you guys!!! Hope all is well at C8!!
Anyway – going through the canal should take anywhere from 12 to 18 hours. We started in the line-up of ships at about 10:00am, so we’ll be watching it unfold all day and into the evening. There are a series of three locks in the canal, but I’m told that one can’t really tell when the ship is in one. As I look out off the back deck of the ship I see a vast desert to the west and the city of Port Suez to the east. It is incredible and surreal to be here.
Speaking of surreal experiences, Egypt has – for me – been one of the most unreal ports we’ve arrived in. The history and culture is so ancient, it is difficult to wrap my brain around how OLD everything is!!! Joe and I went on a two-day Semester at Sea trip into Cairo, which was about an hour & a half away from where our ship was docked. It felt like we were traveling through the southwest – the desert is so vast here, but I’m not used to seeing the desert rolling into a great big sea. The Red Sea provides a lot of blue in contrast to the endless dust, brown and orange earth of Egypt.
The first sight of the pyramids in the distance once we arrived in Cairo was absolutely unbelievable. The pyramids are the only wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world still in existence. They are over 4500 – forty five HUNDRED – years old. The first pyramid we visited is called the Step Pyramid because (shockingly, I know) it was built in the shape of large steps. The construction of the pyramids is mind-blowing; particularly considering the wheel had not even been brought to Egypt at the time of the pyramid construction. Most of the granite stone blocks used to construct the pyramids ranged from about two to fifteen TONS. Until the 19th century, the Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest building in the world! Anyway – we visited the Step Pyramid, and then went to the Egyptian museum which was almost as fascinating as the Hong Kong museum. I’ll spare you museum details, but – again – absolutely incredible to think about how intricate, beautiful and detailed all of the artifacts, jewelry and tombs were… I was blown away.
In the evening we went to “The Sound & Light Show” at the Great Pyramids. This is something that sounded incredibly hokey and cheesy, so I wasn’t expecting much. I didn’t understand why something so historically amazing needed a sound and light show, BUT… just as expectations always help to change your perspective, we actually truly enjoyed the show! It was definitely Vegas-esque, but it was well done, very informative, and illuminated (literally & figuratively) the intrigue of the pyramids. We were very much looking forward to seeing the pyramids at sunrise the following morning.
Our wake-up call was at 4:15 the next morning, so we were a little groggy. The pyramids were located very close to our hotel, so we didn’t have far to travel for the sunrise. In fact, I was shocked to see how close modern civilization bumps up next to the pyramids. It’s an odd sight to be out in the streets of Giza and feel like you can reach out and touch the pyramids.
The sunrise was incredible. They had arranged a special sunrise experience for us at the pyramids, so our Semester at Sea group was the only group there. I won’t try to describe it… Joe has some sweet pictures of it. We spent the entire morning roaming around the three main pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. We were also lucky enough to be one of 100 people per day to go into the Great Pyramid. It was almost like being in a cave at first, then we had to shimmy through a claustrophobic tunnel up into one of the shafts that leads to the top of the pyramid. We got to stand in the room where the king’s tomb once lay… is that amazing?!? It felt very spiritual to me. The echoes of the past were definitely present.
After leaving the pyramids, we went to one of the local shopping bazaars in Islamic Cairo. The markets are always one of the most culturally interesting places to me… you really get a sense of the day to day life of Egyptians. It’s very powerful to be going about your daily business, and then to hear the “call to prayer” for the Muslim community. It was very interesting for me to be in a Muslim country after studying Islam and the Qu’ran in grad school. The Middle East is not somewhere I ever thought I’d be… but now that I’m here, I realize what I already knew – that the Middle East is not the stereotypes we hear on the news and in the media of the west. They are beautiful, wonderful amazing people whose culture has not been overly tainted by western influences. While I definitely struggled to comprehend the oppression against women (through my western lenses) and the widespread military presence, I also gained a respect for the conservatism of dress and culture and the importance of religion in everyday life.
Joe and I spent one more night and day in Cairo before returning to the ship late last night. What a great city. We could have stayed longer, but we are off to Alexandria! By late tonight, we’ll be in the Mediterranean Sea!!!
LOVE TO ALL OF YOU!!
Shout-outs:
JOY & JOE’S PARENTAL UNITS: Thanks for being such avid readers of our blog and for commenting so often… we love it!!
CRISTINA – We finally got your card from China – thank you, thank you!!
SARAH & DANNY – No worries about Croatia – we totally understand. You will be missed, though!! We’ll have to plan a different international adventure together!
TNT FRIENDS – KICK SOME BUTT out there in all of your training & events. You’ll have to help whip Joe & I back into shape when we get home. My longest stint on the elliptical machine is about 20 minutes and I’ve only been on the treadmill twice. DOH!
HEIDI & THE PROGRAMS CREW – I miss you guys!!! Hope all is well at C8!!
Friday, October 27, 2006
New Page
so some of you might have noticed that joeandjoy.com has a new look. It is much easier for me to update when I put new pictures up... speaking of which if you tried to go to the India link it wouldn't have worked until now and it still won't work all the way for awhile... it is uploading as I type and it takes a little while.
Halloween dance tomorrow night... not sure what I'm going to be yet, if anything...
We are now in the Red Sea and yesterday we sailed within 2 miles of Yemen, which we could see out our port. Learning a lot about the history of Egypt, which I, like most of the other countries, knew nothing about.
The third global studies test is tomorrow... plan on taking it but I haven't done all the reading for this one so it might be ugly.
Had a noon intramurl basketball game today... way too hot to be playing basketball at noon on the red sea. It was a good game but we couldn't pull it out at the end. I play with RD Gail and a professor named Michael Pearson. We aren't that bad but we usually get out sized and we have no subs. I think that might have been our last game as we didn't make the next round.
Also played my first volleyball game on the ship last night, was a little dark but still a lot of fun.
*** just had a Deja vu moment, but I can't imagine ever writing about playing volleyball on a ship in the middle of the red sea***
Ok, I'm gonna go now... keep checking the India picture page, should be working sometime today.
http://joeandjoy.com/india/index.html
Halloween dance tomorrow night... not sure what I'm going to be yet, if anything...
We are now in the Red Sea and yesterday we sailed within 2 miles of Yemen, which we could see out our port. Learning a lot about the history of Egypt, which I, like most of the other countries, knew nothing about.
The third global studies test is tomorrow... plan on taking it but I haven't done all the reading for this one so it might be ugly.
Had a noon intramurl basketball game today... way too hot to be playing basketball at noon on the red sea. It was a good game but we couldn't pull it out at the end. I play with RD Gail and a professor named Michael Pearson. We aren't that bad but we usually get out sized and we have no subs. I think that might have been our last game as we didn't make the next round.
Also played my first volleyball game on the ship last night, was a little dark but still a lot of fun.
*** just had a Deja vu moment, but I can't imagine ever writing about playing volleyball on a ship in the middle of the red sea***
Ok, I'm gonna go now... keep checking the India picture page, should be working sometime today.
http://joeandjoy.com/india/index.html
Thursday, October 26, 2006
INDIA
I know, I know! Could I take any longer to write about India?!
It’s funny because I used to be SO BUSY on the ship that I’d make myself write a blog in the twelve minutes of free-time I had each day… and NOW… I have so much free time, I keep putting it off!!
Anyway – here goes…
So, as I alluded to earlier, India was a tough port for many people. (Thank you, Nancy, for suggesting the trip to Erode – it was definitely the way to go!!!)
Even though we knew that we would encounter some harsh realities in India, many people were not emotionally prepared for the human hardships they would face on a daily basis – extreme poverty, rampant begging, etc. At our previous ports, when everyone returns to the ship during our last day in port, we hear endless accounts of positive experiences, adventures, quests and heart-to-heart moments with local people. This time was different. I heard a lot of: “I don’t like India,” or “I’ll never go back to India.” This was very sad for me to hear for a number of reasons. First, Joe and I had a totally different experience of India and would DEFINITELY go back someday. Second, I was disappointed that so many people (students, staff, and faculty alike) would so easily write off an entire country because of a few tough experiences. Granted, some folks who went to the Taj Mahal were burdened by a trip that was WAY TOO LONG and involved way too much travel and too little cultural immersion. But still… it makes me sad to think that some people will never go back because they didn’t get the chance to see another side of India – beyond some of the touristy spots that do not reflect the soul of India.
It had been recommended to me by my friend Nancy to do a homestay in one of the rural villages of southern India. This turned out to be one of the best pieces of advice on our voyage so far. I was the trip leader for a group of 30 students, staff & faculty to a town named Erode, southwest of the port city of Chennai. Chennai itself is the 4th largest city in all of India, so it is definitely an overwhelming, big, hustle-bustle city with fast-paced, slightly unnerving rickshaw rides all over the city. I can’t really describe what a rickshaw is, so I’ll wait for Joe to show y’all pictures of them. (P.S. Brian Holtz, you would want one of these rickshaws as your personal vehicle. They are awesome!)
Anyway - On the evening of our first night in port, my group traveled by sleeper train overnight to Erode. The sleeper train was so much fun! We had heard nightmares of bed bugs in the blankets on the train (yikes!), but we didn’t experience any bug attacks. We woke up from our little train beds at about 6:00am with bags under our eyes, but ready to experience rural India. We were met by our gracious guides who took us by motor coach into their small village of Jayaramapuram. When we reached the village, we were greeted by our host family and welcomed into their beautiful home. Our hosts brought out endless cups of hot tea & coffee, which immediately warmed our bellies and our hearts. The heads of the household were joined by their son and daughter in law, and a few other family members who served as our guides, friends, and hosts for our trip. They were amazingly accommodating and were willing to answer endless questions and tell many stories about their lives, arranged marriages, Hinduism, the caste system, etc. This particular family has been hosting Semester at Sea groups for 18 YEARS!! They love the opportunity to share India with the students and, as our wonderful friend Bharathi put it, “send more ambassadors for India out into the world.”
On the first day they took us on a tour of their farm, to the rice paddies, and adventured with us to the local markets. In between our outings, we were treated to some AMAZING homemade Indian food. Let me tell ya – I was in vegetarian’s paradise in India! The food is incredible, and since the cow is sacred in India – no cow meat and very little other meat is served. For dinner we were served a traditional Indian dinner on banana leaves. We all ate with our right hand – not our left because it is considered offensive. We got very accustomed to eating with our right hand! Did I tell you how good the food is??!! Coconut rice, chutneys, curries, naan bread, and endless yumminess!!! I was in food heaven!
We played games, told stories, and just hung out with the family and their children.
The following day we had to leave our wonderful host family, but it wasn’t without drawn-out goodbyes. We were sad to have to leave our gracious hosts, but it was time to join up with our guides and travel to the Bhavani temple in Erode. This temple was incredible… intricate, detailed Hindu stories and gods depicted on buildings… beautiful shrines… and an elephant that blesses each person that gives him (or her?) rupees! (see pictures).
We also had the pleasure of visiting two different Indian schools – one was a school for physically challenged young children, which was an incredible experience but way too short! The children performed for us – dances, martial arts and more – and then we performed for them, too! We had developed a routine the night before which included some acrobatic moves, an African stomp dance, and a traditional dance from Java.
Next we traveled to a large school in Erode to experience a day in the life of an Indian student. It was so fun! We got to look around the classrooms – 4000 students attend the school!! – talk with students, play a little basketball, see more traditional performances, and then – get ready for it – for our performance (we were not aware we had to perform)… our group pulled off a synchronized, country-style “Electric Slide” on stage in front of the whole school! It was hilarious.
Some of the students from the school accompanied us throughout the day, visiting temples, local factories, etc… this was really the highlight of the whole trip… to have such incredible travel companions who were so willing to share themselves and their culture. It was wonderful.
As the day came to end, we knew it was time to leave but none of us wanted to get back on the sleeper train. Our trip was too short, but we’ll always remember it!!
We slept like rocks on the way back, had another early wake-up call on the train, and arrived back at the ship around 6:30am. Joe and I took a nap and then traveled to Mamalapurum (south of Chennai on the coast) with the Exec. Dean and his wife, their son, and our friends J.B. and Theresa. Mamalapurum is a coastal town that has a resorty feel to it. It was very beautiful and we got to visit some ancient ruins that date back to 500-600 AD, yet were only discovered very recently. Joe has some great pictures of these…
All in all, we had an incredible experience in India. Our homestay provided us with the opportunity to see another side of India outside of Chennai and to truly interact and “just be” with our newfound friends in rural India. We definitely plan to return someday!
It’s funny because I used to be SO BUSY on the ship that I’d make myself write a blog in the twelve minutes of free-time I had each day… and NOW… I have so much free time, I keep putting it off!!
Anyway – here goes…
So, as I alluded to earlier, India was a tough port for many people. (Thank you, Nancy, for suggesting the trip to Erode – it was definitely the way to go!!!)
Even though we knew that we would encounter some harsh realities in India, many people were not emotionally prepared for the human hardships they would face on a daily basis – extreme poverty, rampant begging, etc. At our previous ports, when everyone returns to the ship during our last day in port, we hear endless accounts of positive experiences, adventures, quests and heart-to-heart moments with local people. This time was different. I heard a lot of: “I don’t like India,” or “I’ll never go back to India.” This was very sad for me to hear for a number of reasons. First, Joe and I had a totally different experience of India and would DEFINITELY go back someday. Second, I was disappointed that so many people (students, staff, and faculty alike) would so easily write off an entire country because of a few tough experiences. Granted, some folks who went to the Taj Mahal were burdened by a trip that was WAY TOO LONG and involved way too much travel and too little cultural immersion. But still… it makes me sad to think that some people will never go back because they didn’t get the chance to see another side of India – beyond some of the touristy spots that do not reflect the soul of India.
It had been recommended to me by my friend Nancy to do a homestay in one of the rural villages of southern India. This turned out to be one of the best pieces of advice on our voyage so far. I was the trip leader for a group of 30 students, staff & faculty to a town named Erode, southwest of the port city of Chennai. Chennai itself is the 4th largest city in all of India, so it is definitely an overwhelming, big, hustle-bustle city with fast-paced, slightly unnerving rickshaw rides all over the city. I can’t really describe what a rickshaw is, so I’ll wait for Joe to show y’all pictures of them. (P.S. Brian Holtz, you would want one of these rickshaws as your personal vehicle. They are awesome!)
Anyway - On the evening of our first night in port, my group traveled by sleeper train overnight to Erode. The sleeper train was so much fun! We had heard nightmares of bed bugs in the blankets on the train (yikes!), but we didn’t experience any bug attacks. We woke up from our little train beds at about 6:00am with bags under our eyes, but ready to experience rural India. We were met by our gracious guides who took us by motor coach into their small village of Jayaramapuram. When we reached the village, we were greeted by our host family and welcomed into their beautiful home. Our hosts brought out endless cups of hot tea & coffee, which immediately warmed our bellies and our hearts. The heads of the household were joined by their son and daughter in law, and a few other family members who served as our guides, friends, and hosts for our trip. They were amazingly accommodating and were willing to answer endless questions and tell many stories about their lives, arranged marriages, Hinduism, the caste system, etc. This particular family has been hosting Semester at Sea groups for 18 YEARS!! They love the opportunity to share India with the students and, as our wonderful friend Bharathi put it, “send more ambassadors for India out into the world.”
On the first day they took us on a tour of their farm, to the rice paddies, and adventured with us to the local markets. In between our outings, we were treated to some AMAZING homemade Indian food. Let me tell ya – I was in vegetarian’s paradise in India! The food is incredible, and since the cow is sacred in India – no cow meat and very little other meat is served. For dinner we were served a traditional Indian dinner on banana leaves. We all ate with our right hand – not our left because it is considered offensive. We got very accustomed to eating with our right hand! Did I tell you how good the food is??!! Coconut rice, chutneys, curries, naan bread, and endless yumminess!!! I was in food heaven!
We played games, told stories, and just hung out with the family and their children.
The following day we had to leave our wonderful host family, but it wasn’t without drawn-out goodbyes. We were sad to have to leave our gracious hosts, but it was time to join up with our guides and travel to the Bhavani temple in Erode. This temple was incredible… intricate, detailed Hindu stories and gods depicted on buildings… beautiful shrines… and an elephant that blesses each person that gives him (or her?) rupees! (see pictures).
We also had the pleasure of visiting two different Indian schools – one was a school for physically challenged young children, which was an incredible experience but way too short! The children performed for us – dances, martial arts and more – and then we performed for them, too! We had developed a routine the night before which included some acrobatic moves, an African stomp dance, and a traditional dance from Java.
Next we traveled to a large school in Erode to experience a day in the life of an Indian student. It was so fun! We got to look around the classrooms – 4000 students attend the school!! – talk with students, play a little basketball, see more traditional performances, and then – get ready for it – for our performance (we were not aware we had to perform)… our group pulled off a synchronized, country-style “Electric Slide” on stage in front of the whole school! It was hilarious.
Some of the students from the school accompanied us throughout the day, visiting temples, local factories, etc… this was really the highlight of the whole trip… to have such incredible travel companions who were so willing to share themselves and their culture. It was wonderful.
As the day came to end, we knew it was time to leave but none of us wanted to get back on the sleeper train. Our trip was too short, but we’ll always remember it!!
We slept like rocks on the way back, had another early wake-up call on the train, and arrived back at the ship around 6:30am. Joe and I took a nap and then traveled to Mamalapurum (south of Chennai on the coast) with the Exec. Dean and his wife, their son, and our friends J.B. and Theresa. Mamalapurum is a coastal town that has a resorty feel to it. It was very beautiful and we got to visit some ancient ruins that date back to 500-600 AD, yet were only discovered very recently. Joe has some great pictures of these…
All in all, we had an incredible experience in India. Our homestay provided us with the opportunity to see another side of India outside of Chennai and to truly interact and “just be” with our newfound friends in rural India. We definitely plan to return someday!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
No Pics but more Video
So I don't have the pics ready yet from India but I've got a little video clip of some of the things we saw. It is really short but it will give you a little taste at least.
http://joeandjoy.com/india.mov
I've been hoping to totally redesign the website to make it easier for me to update and for you all to find everything but I can't seem to find the time or rather the energy to do it. But we still have 4 days until Egypt so maybe.
I'm currently reading a book called "The 13.5 lives of Captain Bluebear: a novel" found it in India and it is pretty amusing. Not sure if you can find it in the states or not but you might be able to get it online and I highly recommend it. Those of you in santa cruz can borrow it when I get home. The books I've read so far goes like this:
Populaiton 485 - so so book about rural life in Wisconsin... Kristi and Brad might like it
Best Women's Travel writing 2005 (I think) - thanks Brian and Nicole it was great
Norwegien Wood - Japanese author... supposed to be the most widely read book in Japan and I enjoyed it.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - given to Joy by Marilyn... she hasn't read it yet but I liked it very much.
Burmese Days - I think George Orwell's first (we all read 1984, I'm sure) It was a pretty interesting book about what life was like in Colonial Burma under British control.
Now on Bluebear...
Ok the video is up so I'm gonna sign off!!!
joe
http://joeandjoy.com/india.mov
I've been hoping to totally redesign the website to make it easier for me to update and for you all to find everything but I can't seem to find the time or rather the energy to do it. But we still have 4 days until Egypt so maybe.
I'm currently reading a book called "The 13.5 lives of Captain Bluebear: a novel" found it in India and it is pretty amusing. Not sure if you can find it in the states or not but you might be able to get it online and I highly recommend it. Those of you in santa cruz can borrow it when I get home. The books I've read so far goes like this:
Populaiton 485 - so so book about rural life in Wisconsin... Kristi and Brad might like it
Best Women's Travel writing 2005 (I think) - thanks Brian and Nicole it was great
Norwegien Wood - Japanese author... supposed to be the most widely read book in Japan and I enjoyed it.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - given to Joy by Marilyn... she hasn't read it yet but I liked it very much.
Burmese Days - I think George Orwell's first (we all read 1984, I'm sure) It was a pretty interesting book about what life was like in Colonial Burma under British control.
Now on Bluebear...
Ok the video is up so I'm gonna sign off!!!
joe
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Captain's Dinner last night
Last night we finally got to go to a Captain's Dinner... I think it was the last one and it turned out to be a pretty good time. Pretty much what it boils down to is a fancy shmancy dinner with all the high ranking ship crew, faculty, staff, and adult passengers. We were not at the captain's table but at the Chief Engineers and I got to sit next to Biff, who is an adult passenger from Seattle and she is a hoot. The food was very good and I actually drank 3 glasses of wine.
Unfortunately, I was pooped and didn't last long after the dinner.
So it isn't there yet but within the next 12 hours (It is 3:07 a.m. in california right now) I hope to have this video up... if doesn't work the first time you try, wait a few hours and try again.
http://joeandjoy.com/eledance.mov
peace... joe
Unfortunately, I was pooped and didn't last long after the dinner.
So it isn't there yet but within the next 12 hours (It is 3:07 a.m. in california right now) I hope to have this video up... if doesn't work the first time you try, wait a few hours and try again.
http://joeandjoy.com/eledance.mov
peace... joe
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sea’Lympics
Whew. What a day!
The Sea’Lympics was a huge success, so I’m feeling pretty good right now. It was a great day for the whole shipboard community – lots of smiles and laughter… and some pretty amazing, crazy energy!!! I think we needed a day of fun, particularly since India was pretty tough on some folks, and also because we’ve had some negative energy recently with 5 students being discontinued from the voyage.
It was hilarious to see everyone up and awake by 7am – out practicing for their events, yelling their cheers and dressing like fools! Usually we can’t drag the students out of bed for Global Studies at 9:20, but for Sea’Lympics… it was no problem.
One of the best parts of the day for me was that I got to be “the voice” for the day. For those of you who have done SAS before, you know what I mean! It’s fun to be the one who gets to make all of the announcements over the loud speakers broadcasted throughout the entire ship.
I was running around literally all day – from 8am to 11:30pm – just making sure that everything was running smoothly, people were happy, and that each event was as fair as it possibly could be.
Just so you have an idea of how this works, there are 9 “seas” and 9 Resident Directors that go along with each sea. In addition to the 9 seas, we dubbed the remainder of the shipboard community (the faculty, staff, family, and other adult passengers) the “Pacific Ocean.” So, there were 10 teams competing all day in different events ranging from tug-o-war to synchronized swimming to egg toss…
Some highlights:
o My sea – The Caspian Sea – bringing it home with 1st place wins in dodgeball, volleyball, and root beer pong… gives you a sense of my sea, huh?
o My boss – the Director of Student Life – winning first place in Ping Pong (with his fancy-schmancy $60 ping pong paddle!)
o The executive dean, academic dean, global studies professor, doctor, and a few professors doing a HILARIOUS synchronized swim routine in the pool. I could not breathe, I was laughing so hard.
o An absolutely ENDLESS game of 10-cup root beer pong – we’re talking 4 hours long… which MY SEA WON. (proud mama).
o Our incredibly intricate obstacle course, which involved spinning around a bat, pushing one cheerio on the ground with your nose, crab walking, playing Catch Phrase, tossing water balloons from one deck to another, eating peanut-butter filled saltine crackers, crawling under deck chairs, and finally shooting free throws… it was a little dramatic to try and judge this event, but everything ended up being okay. Small controversies, but I kept trying to remind people that the Sea’Lympics are a day to have FUN, not to get crazy over winning.
o Joe almost bringing in the bronze at the hot dog eating contest (yuck!!) It was absolute CHAOS at the hot dog eating contest. I had to yell at the top of my lungs to get people to shut up so we could start the competition – people were cheering for their seas SO LOUD! Each person had to eat as many hot dogs as they could in 3 minutes. Of course, after 3 minutes we had a tie for 1st place (14 hot dogs – no buns), so I had them do a 1-minute playoff. Not a good idea. They tied again (4 more each), so I just gave them both first place. I wasn’t about to make them eat another freakin’ hot dog.
o The Talent Show to close out the evening was definitely one of the highlights. My sea did a skit called “Joy’s Night Out in Vegas” which started out with one of my students singing an “Ode to Joy” on the acoustic guitar, which had… um… slightly inappropriate lyrics. He is an amazing singer, so people were very impressed & laughing hysterically. Then some of my girls performed a fancy ladies dance – Vegas-style. And THEN… 7 of my most burly, athletic, testosterone-filled boys performed a choreographed “Chip ‘n Dales” type dance that they had practiced for 3 days straight. It was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S. I love – absolutely love – my sea. I start to get teary-eyed when I even think, for a second, about having to say good-bye to some of these guys. You form such a different sort of bond on an adventure like this.
o We were winning the whole thing for much of the day, but in the end – we got beat in the Talent Show, and came in 2nd place overall. My sea had lots of sad, puppy dog faces, but I told them that they are ALWAYS number #1 to me!!!!
It was, by far, my most favorite day on the ship so far. But… I’m glad it’s over!!!
I know, I know… I haven’t even written about India yet, but don’t worry – it’s coming!!!
The Sea’Lympics was a huge success, so I’m feeling pretty good right now. It was a great day for the whole shipboard community – lots of smiles and laughter… and some pretty amazing, crazy energy!!! I think we needed a day of fun, particularly since India was pretty tough on some folks, and also because we’ve had some negative energy recently with 5 students being discontinued from the voyage.
It was hilarious to see everyone up and awake by 7am – out practicing for their events, yelling their cheers and dressing like fools! Usually we can’t drag the students out of bed for Global Studies at 9:20, but for Sea’Lympics… it was no problem.
One of the best parts of the day for me was that I got to be “the voice” for the day. For those of you who have done SAS before, you know what I mean! It’s fun to be the one who gets to make all of the announcements over the loud speakers broadcasted throughout the entire ship.
I was running around literally all day – from 8am to 11:30pm – just making sure that everything was running smoothly, people were happy, and that each event was as fair as it possibly could be.
Just so you have an idea of how this works, there are 9 “seas” and 9 Resident Directors that go along with each sea. In addition to the 9 seas, we dubbed the remainder of the shipboard community (the faculty, staff, family, and other adult passengers) the “Pacific Ocean.” So, there were 10 teams competing all day in different events ranging from tug-o-war to synchronized swimming to egg toss…
Some highlights:
o My sea – The Caspian Sea – bringing it home with 1st place wins in dodgeball, volleyball, and root beer pong… gives you a sense of my sea, huh?
o My boss – the Director of Student Life – winning first place in Ping Pong (with his fancy-schmancy $60 ping pong paddle!)
o The executive dean, academic dean, global studies professor, doctor, and a few professors doing a HILARIOUS synchronized swim routine in the pool. I could not breathe, I was laughing so hard.
o An absolutely ENDLESS game of 10-cup root beer pong – we’re talking 4 hours long… which MY SEA WON. (proud mama).
o Our incredibly intricate obstacle course, which involved spinning around a bat, pushing one cheerio on the ground with your nose, crab walking, playing Catch Phrase, tossing water balloons from one deck to another, eating peanut-butter filled saltine crackers, crawling under deck chairs, and finally shooting free throws… it was a little dramatic to try and judge this event, but everything ended up being okay. Small controversies, but I kept trying to remind people that the Sea’Lympics are a day to have FUN, not to get crazy over winning.
o Joe almost bringing in the bronze at the hot dog eating contest (yuck!!) It was absolute CHAOS at the hot dog eating contest. I had to yell at the top of my lungs to get people to shut up so we could start the competition – people were cheering for their seas SO LOUD! Each person had to eat as many hot dogs as they could in 3 minutes. Of course, after 3 minutes we had a tie for 1st place (14 hot dogs – no buns), so I had them do a 1-minute playoff. Not a good idea. They tied again (4 more each), so I just gave them both first place. I wasn’t about to make them eat another freakin’ hot dog.
o The Talent Show to close out the evening was definitely one of the highlights. My sea did a skit called “Joy’s Night Out in Vegas” which started out with one of my students singing an “Ode to Joy” on the acoustic guitar, which had… um… slightly inappropriate lyrics. He is an amazing singer, so people were very impressed & laughing hysterically. Then some of my girls performed a fancy ladies dance – Vegas-style. And THEN… 7 of my most burly, athletic, testosterone-filled boys performed a choreographed “Chip ‘n Dales” type dance that they had practiced for 3 days straight. It was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S. I love – absolutely love – my sea. I start to get teary-eyed when I even think, for a second, about having to say good-bye to some of these guys. You form such a different sort of bond on an adventure like this.
o We were winning the whole thing for much of the day, but in the end – we got beat in the Talent Show, and came in 2nd place overall. My sea had lots of sad, puppy dog faces, but I told them that they are ALWAYS number #1 to me!!!!
It was, by far, my most favorite day on the ship so far. But… I’m glad it’s over!!!
I know, I know… I haven’t even written about India yet, but don’t worry – it’s coming!!!
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Sea 'Lympics Today
Today is Sea 'Lympics day which is very exciting, as well as the biggest thing in Joy's job description... so she is a little on the busy side. I will be competing in Tug-o-war, Flip Cup, and the Hot Dog eating contest.
Should be fun.
Since folks are wanting us to post more things, I'm really going to give it a try during this long stretch to Eygpt...
Today you have a fun treat of watching some cane ball in action.
http://joeandjoy.com/caneball.mov
The quality is not great cause it would take way to long for me to post it if I made it big but you will get the idea.
Hope everyone is well... Joy sends her love and she will put something on tomorrow when she is less stressed.
Oh and finally we are starting to see some wildlife ... yesterday there were some whales (which I missed) and just 20 min. ago I saw some dolphins chasing a school of fish around. Good Times.
Should be fun.
Since folks are wanting us to post more things, I'm really going to give it a try during this long stretch to Eygpt...
Today you have a fun treat of watching some cane ball in action.
http://joeandjoy.com/caneball.mov
The quality is not great cause it would take way to long for me to post it if I made it big but you will get the idea.
Hope everyone is well... Joy sends her love and she will put something on tomorrow when she is less stressed.
Oh and finally we are starting to see some wildlife ... yesterday there were some whales (which I missed) and just 20 min. ago I saw some dolphins chasing a school of fish around. Good Times.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Looking out on Sri Lanka...
(tried to post this last night but it didn't work... so here it is now)
If you have been paying any attention what-so-ever to the goings on in the world you will know that Sri Lanka is in the midst of a "civil" war. In the last 2 days there have been a couple of battles that have happened at sea. I kind of thought we would swing out way away from the island but as it turns out we just spent the last 3 hours looking out on its eastern coast. Many thoughts went through my mind, especially as we past all the small fishing boats. People going about there business, trying to make a living, as their home land is in constant strife. It also is the coastline that was hit so hard by the tsunami 2 years ago.
Sad news on the ship is that we lost a fabulous staff member. The amazing NAM, has gone to be with her family in Florida , and help her mother battle cancer. We will miss her very much but she will be glad to know that folks kept their word last night and had a gin and tonic for her. It was bound to happen sooner or later but with Nam being gone, I have volunteered my services to work her DUTY shifts... just can't get away from the Res Life life. :0)
There is a lot to say about India but you all haven't even seen the Burma pics yet so I will save writing about India for another night but the long and short of it is WOW... in good and bad ways... WOW.
So with any luck the Burma pics will be up before I go to bed (23:19 here at the moment)
http://joeandjoy.com/burma/index.html
A couple of quick shout outs:
B. Stevens: YOU READY????
White: Congrats... when do you leave?
Upper Quad RAs: keep on keepin on... you all rock
Holtz: I got Apps
David P: Hope your feeling well and will be hiking soon
Karen P: twins and mets... DOH
The Fam: Love Ya!
Yum Yum: We love ya and miss ya already!
M Stevens: what happened to your blog?
Sarah W., Sarah H, Christina B - Thanks for the mail... keep it coming
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