tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72754224811252082192024-03-05T07:19:00.983+01:00Where in the world...Whether I'm traveling around the world or driving 30 minutes to the beach, its always an adventure. The names of others have been changed in order to protect the (not so) innocentAna Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-60810959859213479412015-04-20T22:22:00.000+01:002015-04-20T22:22:28.827+01:00Snacks? CheckEvery good road trip has snacks. Not just snacks though but snacks you enjoy and snacks a plenty.<div>
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When I was a kid this concept did not exist and neither did stopping at Burger King or McDonalds or any other popular fast food restaurant. My parent's ideas of snacks was sandwiches made at home that were not anywhere near our favorite. Example Liverwurst (the poor man's pate), egg salad, tuna fish. Today I actually enjoy any of these options but as a kid THEY WERE THE WORST!!!!!</div>
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So I asked the kids to make a list of snacks and beverages they enjoy so that we could ensure they have what they need for the almost 2000 round trip excursion we would be taking. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28KNmpZuV0jy6duDfsjJdp0iR1O_XH52BhCkM5z9g5UdDSAoRPdYzNScMM8_yWU58TmrT_DNBI9Tq8KH0Yp4n6BTw_gO2Hg1R2ZdOmPfmNgVlEB_aQjg2QxSqq1k7aIn-h65ZeHMcT_c/s1600/20150417_154807%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28KNmpZuV0jy6duDfsjJdp0iR1O_XH52BhCkM5z9g5UdDSAoRPdYzNScMM8_yWU58TmrT_DNBI9Tq8KH0Yp4n6BTw_gO2Hg1R2ZdOmPfmNgVlEB_aQjg2QxSqq1k7aIn-h65ZeHMcT_c/s1600/20150417_154807%5B1%5D.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMpXoiWsCZ2e7vwFruK9ITsEsuXoZt8oDIenmFfFYGHXRUst5DCD3vgZ5PbC28ltJCEuSG2RJrddwpXQZ_twkjjZv2pAkzBU2lPD5h-Gpp3gvrOq0PSfujer6MgUknheXWiklMsy8mhA/s1600/20150417_154821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMpXoiWsCZ2e7vwFruK9ITsEsuXoZt8oDIenmFfFYGHXRUst5DCD3vgZ5PbC28ltJCEuSG2RJrddwpXQZ_twkjjZv2pAkzBU2lPD5h-Gpp3gvrOq0PSfujer6MgUknheXWiklMsy8mhA/s1600/20150417_154821.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a><br />
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I pretty much got all their food stuff on these lists and then when we picked up Isabel she also had 3 bags of food.<br />
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So if you see us on the road and need a snack. We got you<br />
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Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-91558521444470586472015-04-17T21:07:00.000+01:002015-04-17T21:07:12.339+01:00Road Trip 2015<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was much younger my dad used to take us on road trips some of them planned, most of them not. Like the time we were going to visit our family in Boston and we ended up in Maine. Of course this was well before the days of cell phones, gps and stopping to ask for directions were the norm. Yeah my dad NEVER stopped and asked for directions. That is how that one hour trip to Boston turned into a 6 hour trip to Maine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While in my childhood I never really appreciated those trips, the times he would tell us to get in the car we were going to go for a ride and then we would end up in Western Massachusetts or Connecticut. It wasn't until I was much older that I truly realized those long days (sometimes evenings) in the car driving planted in me a love for the road. To experience sites you see from the window of a car, playing car games, falling asleep in one state waking up in another and then of course asking "Are we there yet?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As an adult I have traveled, 5 years ago, the reason I started this blog was my around the world adventure. Since then I have very infrequently had an entry to this blog, however I hope this entry and the seed that it plants will change that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I <span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">will embark on a Spring Break Tour with my co worker her 9 year old son. My nieces; Jasmine 13 and Maya 12. Nephews Omani 10 and Alex 8. Its an old fashioned "Road Trip" We are loading up the mini van (read "a decked out Honda Odyssey") and hitting the road. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The purpose of our road trip is an educational trip visiting many of the sites where Martin Luther King Jr. made a great impact and changed the course of civil rights in this country. It was Jasmine's interest in Civil Rights heroes that planted the seed which gave birth to this idea of doing a trip. Our MLK Tour will start in Atlanta at his homestead and we will visit Ebenezer Baptist Church as well as the Kin</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">g Center. Our plan is to continue on to Alabama and visit the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery as well as the Pettus Bridge in Selma, our tour will then take us on to Memphis, TN and the Lorraine Motel and the adjoining Civil Rights museum. We then will head to Washington DC and visit the MLK Monument and tour other grand monuments and sights in Washington DC ending our visit with a tour of the Capitol Building as guests of Congressman Langevin. We hope the Congressman will be able to meet with us. </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">We hope you follow our journey, I will be posting here, on FB and on my twitter @awbarraza</span><br />
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<a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/spbrktour15?source=feed_text&story_id=10101430772307764" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">SpBrkTour15</span></a> <a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/rdtrip?source=feed_text&story_id=10101430772307764" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">RdTrip</span></a> <a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/mlktour?source=feed_text&story_id=10101430772307764" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">MLKtour</span></a></div>
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Looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can along the way. (Read: help me maintain my sanity)</div>
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Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-67853109846072359812013-02-27T03:15:00.002+00:002013-02-27T03:23:14.069+00:00The party starts at 10:23 pm<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First and foremost let me say that while I can appreciate the athleticism of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan">Michael Jordan</a> and recognize that he is the best that ever played the game of basketball I was not ever a "Jordan fan" Hate me if you want. But the Jordan fan in my family is my baby brother Angel, my standom was reserved for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson">Magic Johnson</a>. I was once a great fan of the NBA and enjoyed watching it. Today, not so much.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Our story begins...</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Crystal and I had talked about going to NBA All Star Weekend in Houston Feb 14-14, 2013. As usual we arranged our accommodations and flights. In exchange for cat sitting, our soror Marketa let us crash at her crib while she rolled out to a wedding in Louisiana. (Thanks Keta, love you)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">We arrived Thursday night, nothing big to report there.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Friday, we get up and decide to hit the Galleria in Houston. Yes. That <a href="http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/2-arrested-after-Galleria-crowds-prompt-mall-4288520.php">Galleria</a>, the one that was shut down on Saturday because too many folks had descended upon it. Any how we valet park the car (cause we fancy), it actually turned out to be the smartest thing we did that morning. Then proceed to spend the next 10 hours, YES 10 HOURS in the mall, doing God knows what. I wont bore you with the details, but suffice to say we had a free dinner to end our day in the mall and were headed back to the apartment at 8pm to get ready to hit the scene.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">I had no idea what or where we would be going, I had only been told that the party started at 10:23 pm ( What an odd time to start a party I thought out loud) and that we needed to be there as close to that time so as to ensure we got in. So we primped and got ready and then we were off. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">We drive to one of the Hotels to pick up another soror, Terri, and then head to the "destination". So we are a few minutes away from arriving and Crystal says to Terri "Ana doesn't know where she is going". </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> Terri: Oh I have the address, just enter it into the GPS </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Crystal: (with a laugh in her voice) "No, we got that. Ana doesn't know to which event we are going to" </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">me: (interrupting) "Yeah, Crystal is probably taking me to a Q party". </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Terri: Do you mind if I tell her?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Crystal: Sure</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Terri: Well Ana, you know Michael Jordan is turning 50 years old on Sunday, we are headed to his 50th birthday party</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Me: So we are going to a Q party. (Laughing) WOW!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Crystal: I didn't want to tell you in case at the last minute we couldn't go.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">We park and walk to get in line</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">As we walk to the line I notice <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Spoelstra">Erik Spoelstra</a>, coach of the Miami Heat Walking in. I smile to myself and think I wonder if Magic is here?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">So we walk in to the party and immediately I am met with the image of Michael Jordan and a pictorial tribute to him</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each of the towers is topped with a picture encased in glass with Jordan's milestones in it</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then we walk around the flying Jordan, up the stairs and small talk with some of Terri's former co workers and friends. We start to make a loop around the place and run into Antoine Walker, some small talk there. I can see Big Tigger from where I am standing, he waves, I wave back. Then we walk around some more. Just then R Kelly takes the stage at the front of the room and proceeds to perform. We stop to watch and Crystal points out that on the other side of the couch from where we were standing was Nas. It was all I could do to not hurdle that couch and ask him to spit some lyrics. I also had on 6 inch heels and was wearing a dress, so I don't thing the couch hurdling thing would have gone over well. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Well we continued to walk through the party and then I saw him. No, Not Magic. I saw Michael Jordan. He was about 25 feet away from me. In his own VIP section at this already EXCLUSIVE party. We continue to walk and Crystal stops to talk to some folks she knows, then Terri says "I'm going to go over and say hi to Michael" So I walked behind Terri and had to shimmy past (think grind up on, ok so in my memory it was grinding but I slightly touched) Cam Newton to get into the area where Michael was. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Michael greeted Terri with a great big hello and a hug and they chatted for a minute as I stood there. Then </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Terri looks at me and says "Michael this is a girlfriend, Ana". She introduced me to MJ, I talk fast, wish him a happy birthday, tell him how much of an MJ fan my brother Angel</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is and how we used to trick my mom into letting us stay up late to watch him and Magic and the NBA in general and then I say have a Happy Birthday, and he leans down and he hugs me. During our hug I ask "will you take a picture with me?" he says "sure", I turn to Terri and in true publicist/PR/Marketing fashion she's all like"NO" so I turn and see the person waiting to talk to Michael and I say "Ndamukong hi!can you take this picture?" He obliged. So thank you Terri for the intro and thank you <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndamukong_Suh">Ndamukong Su</a> for taking the picture. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">after being introduced to the greatest to ever play the game of basketball</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thanked Michael for being so gracious and walked away. For the next few seconds my hands were actually shaking. I just met Michael Jordan, the man, the myth, the legend. I immediately walked to where Crystal was standing and told her and then as she talked to me, I sent the picture to my baby brother Angel. I knew he was going to loose his mind.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MJ talking to<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_bryant"> Kobe</a> and holding court with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmelo_Anthony">Melo</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James">LeBron </a>and others</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">For the next hour or so I watched as the next generation of NBA players came to "kiss the ring". </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> I stood within 10 feet of Jordan talking to Carmelo, LeBron, and Kobe to name a few. There were also former NBA players that came by to wish Jordan a Happy Birthday. Guys who played with him, against him. Those players that I enjoyed watching so many years ago. But no, no Magic in sight. There were also other athletes and entertainers in the mix. All the while R Kelly sang live from a stage in the front of the room. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">This was only the beginning of All Star Weekend, however it was also the highlight of the weekend, I mean can you think of anything that could top this?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">Click </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100517554039494.2416414.14314711&type=1&l=0585edd37c" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Here</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"> to view all the pictures I took that night.</span></span></div>
Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-59690804539803418222012-02-28T22:34:00.006+00:002012-03-10T05:01:47.817+00:00Once upon a time I drove from Texas to RI and back1728 miles or something like that is the distance from Dallas, TX to Providence, RI taking some detours along the way you can add a couple of hundred more miles to that. In December of 2009 I left my place in Dallas and ventured to drive home and back.<br />
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I love to drive. Really I do, I will drive anywhere at a moments notice. I once drove my BFF home to New York City (from RI: 178 miles, about 3 hours) and caught the bus back, just to make sure she wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel.<br />
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When I was 8 years old my dad drove from RI to Guatemala and I totally loved this experience. We stopped and ate lunch along side the Mississippi River and I remember driving past the Astrodome, then into the desert. It was then that the bug caught me. I love driving and being able to stop and just take in the sights at your leisure. However, this trip was a little different, a. I was driving alone My mother did not and doesn't know (so don't tell her) that I was driving alone. b. I was doing something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl, driving across country, I know Texas to RI isn't across the entire country, but its pretty damn close.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So I ventured out very excited on a Saturday morning and ran into the craziest traffic ever trying to get out of Dallas. I was in traffic for like 2 hours. UGH was this a preview to my trip. Please I hope not. So after battling for 2 hours I finally was on the road. First stop the Texas, Louisiana state line. But that wasn't after seeing the most curious signs ever not to mention the large road kill, and it wasn't just deer. Some of these dead animals were coyotes or dogs and armadillos.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> The trip was pretty uneventful. I drove past LSU and saw plenty of highway and more large road kill. As I crossed the Louisiana state line I stopped to take a picture at the rest area. Highlight of day 1 was watching the sun set as I crossed the Mississippi state line, just over the Mississippi River. It was a nice way to end the day. I had a few more hours to go crossing into Alabama and then Georgia as my dear friend TAnn was awaiting my arrival in Atlanta, where I would be spending the night.<br />
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Day 2 the road awaits, but first a quick breakfast to meet one of my twitter friends Donte. TAnn and I met up with Donte and his children for breakfast in Atlanta just before the church rush came in. It was such a nice time to meet new people and reminisce with an old friend.<br />
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I kept a watch out for the time since I needed to finish driving through Georgia, then into South Carolina, North Carolina where I would be meeting Davida my soon to be staff member and her mom. <br />
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To give them the keys to my apartment as they would be staying there while I was in RI. We met by the road side in Charlotte and I was quickly off as I needed to get to Owings Mills, MD where my host family waited for me. Traveled through Virginia, and into DC, then Maryland. Finally arrived at Chez Ndzibah in Owings Mills, MD where I overstayed my time. My initial plan was to get on the road early so that I would have more time in New York, but that didn't quite work out that way. I sat and talked with my friend Nicole and we chatted about life and then I realized I needed to go so off I was to continue my journey. Next stop, New York City, so I traveled up familiar territory and was elated as I was familiar with all the markers letting me know how close I was to my next destination. Delaware, New Jersey and the Jersey Turnpike, then the George Washington Bridge. Oh what a familiar and friendly site. As I crossed the bridge I looked to my right and could see the New York City Skyline. All the lights of the buildings winking back at me as if to say "hey old friend we've missed you". I continued my drive into Harlem to see my BFF CJ. Tomorrow would be the last leg of the trip to RI.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXlCUJzrRhCOFZenrrHbXh5y6d9LikVC-piGaLK91qqWS9NYUc7NXgDl-Ku_18N3uz3G9KDWSlg_A0afV8bYR8oZxcZrf7OGm3SBqZrlkOMeKcRM-yOGa2N5iqmNqCFtAayo0NpBLJ8lB/s1600/DSC00992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXlCUJzrRhCOFZenrrHbXh5y6d9LikVC-piGaLK91qqWS9NYUc7NXgDl-Ku_18N3uz3G9KDWSlg_A0afV8bYR8oZxcZrf7OGm3SBqZrlkOMeKcRM-yOGa2N5iqmNqCFtAayo0NpBLJ8lB/s320/DSC00992.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> I stopped to take a picture of this sunset in New Jersey, it was just too beautiful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlojhr9uQ3_GhkffJIvxKn8kQns1oy3ODzse1RalZ1_cxIZpWsP3LowEHHPCPOThUNf3zpYz6YeR_NXJkPk21aB2O8OBjN7t0jrjL0hN7UBt5OHU_RCAGWsM_5evlogyDBOkvfwS64Y8/s1600/DSC00994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlojhr9uQ3_GhkffJIvxKn8kQns1oy3ODzse1RalZ1_cxIZpWsP3LowEHHPCPOThUNf3zpYz6YeR_NXJkPk21aB2O8OBjN7t0jrjL0hN7UBt5OHU_RCAGWsM_5evlogyDBOkvfwS64Y8/s320/DSC00994.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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After driving through east Texas I vowed that I would never again complain about driving through Connecticut, but once I hit the CT state line I remembered how much I hated it. Maybe its because CT is the one thing between RI and NY and when I'm trying to get to NY or vice versa its the only thing that stands in my way. Or maybe its the incessant construction that never seems to go away or end, but quite possibly it could be how I95 goes from being a Highway to a 2 lane road in most areas and just becomes mundane road to travel. Then all of a sudden the most familiar sign of them all. "Welcome to Rhode Island" that beautiful blue sign in the median reminding me that my journey is about 35 minutes from being over. In a flash I was pulling up in my mother's driveway, or actually my brother's driveway as I had done so many times before and beeping the horn to let them know I had arrived. Ahhh to be home.Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-33948801013660933832012-02-26T22:03:00.000+00:002012-02-26T22:03:23.317+00:00another Super Bowl WeekendFor the third time in my life I am preparing to attend another Super Bowl weekend in a host city. My first Super Bowl experience was XLIII (43) in Tampa Bay in 2009. I have the good fortune that my best friend is somewhat well connected and got me a great "shadowing" experience with her. I attended two of the major and exclusive events of that weekend one of which was the ESPN party. Oh JOY! no really it was a joyous event. I had the distinct privilege of announcing celebrities on to the red carpet. BTW this is what you don't see on any of the award shows. When a celebrity approaches the red carpet, I would hold up a sign (piece of paper) with their name written on it and announce for the many photographers who this person or group of people were. What made this all the more precious was that 9.5 times out of 10 I had no idea who these people were. Some times the celebrity would approach the red carpet and I would have to ask them, "and your name? and that is spelled? Ok thank you." other times it became a little more complex, like when I also had to ask "are you an athlete, actor?" basically who the hell are you? my bff got a great kick out of this. But it was one of the reasons that it made me good for this job, I treated them all with the same level of anonymity. Our motto for the weekend became, "this is all lost on me" I was meeting folks, yes actually introduced to people that were a pretty big deal, and would shake their hands, nod and smile and carry on, some of these folks were sports industry executives, former professional athletes, and current athletes.<br />
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The funniest story of the weekend actually occurred at a party they night I first arrived to Tampa. We entered into this club at the exact same time that TO and his entourage arrived. I was introduced to his assistant or body guard as we walked in. As we arrived we met up with a friend and she was standing with a group of people chatting and laughing, I was introduced to them all. One of the guys shook my hand and remarked, "my your hand is so soft", I replied, "well I use lotion". Well CJ immediately commented to him, "uh uh, you aint getting into it with her, she will give back as good as you" They mentioned his name and we just carried on, he offered everyone a round of drinks and I think we obliged. And we were off. A few hours later we were upstairs in this establishment when I noticed CJ was being (playfully) tormented by the same guy, I started to make a b line to where she was when one of her colleagues said "Oh McNabb is just playing with her", I turned to him and said, "McNabb? as in Donovan McNabb/" He looked at me and his face was like "Ana, I know you knew who he was" we both laughed it off and I later told CJ. That then became the joke for several years and even to this day, about the time I met Donovan McNabb, who was introduced as just Donovan and hung out with him for several hours and had no idea who he was. See just lost on me. LOL. But it was a fun weekend. Well we will see what fun this weekend brings. Let's Go Patriots!Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-71115313041781720492011-08-19T06:53:00.000+00:002011-08-19T06:53:47.701+00:00The stars at night-are big and bright1 year ago today, I arrived in Texas for the 3d time in my life. I flew into Love Field and was picked up at the airport by my high school friend Shan. <br />
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Unlike the other times I had been to Texas; once when I was 8 my dad drove the entire family from Providence, RI to Guatemala. Then in May 2010 I visited the North Dallas area again to interview for a job. I landed the job, a great career move for me, but I would have to move 1800 miles from everything I have ever known. I was coming to Dallas, TX to stay.<br />
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I would be leaving behind my parents, my brothers, my cousins, my social network (no KB or Jess or CJ), my sorority sisters in my grad chapter, my pham in general. My entire network that has spread out mostly through the northeastern part of the country. But most importantly I would be leaving my girls. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maya and Jasmine wearing an outfit I brought back from Vietnam</td></tr>
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The GuateRicans, my 8 and 9 year old nieces that I love dearly, that I helped to raise, the very ones that received a post card from every place I have ever been. My Jas and Maya. They're the ones I miss the most. Even now a year later, though I have been home and visited 5 times since moving to Texas, it is still hardest to say good bye to Maya, we both cry when we hug each other goodbye, it reminds me of when she was little and I would have to sneak out of her house to go home. Even though I assure her that I will be back to visit soon, it breaks my heart each time. I miss Alex too, my little boyfriend, but our relationship is quite different than that of Jasmine and Maya.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSKB4nCxEVEZhmsn846lqOuKbrIn5GJqT-CncpalWJ6V9CMEJnoQJdaxXLIJDgIBl9AMVA8ibI0ZcKNn7OwJAk_4s_Pl31DoHHzVt9iNdQEaWhj9LwfGxmbyGFxgKvjm4vAQUrKNfb-o/s1600/38580_695440878884_14314711_39424104_1454555_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSKB4nCxEVEZhmsn846lqOuKbrIn5GJqT-CncpalWJ6V9CMEJnoQJdaxXLIJDgIBl9AMVA8ibI0ZcKNn7OwJAk_4s_Pl31DoHHzVt9iNdQEaWhj9LwfGxmbyGFxgKvjm4vAQUrKNfb-o/s400/38580_695440878884_14314711_39424104_1454555_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with Alex at New England Patriot Training Day 2010</td></tr>
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Those girls did everything with me from the time Maya was 9 months old, we traveled together, made road trips to Maryland and NY they spent a lot of time with me. Those that didnt know me well, assumed that the girls were my children.<br />
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The move to Texas so far has been a blessing. I have been fortunate that I had a couple of friends that already lived in this area, and thanks to my "network" have made friends through some people I know from back home. After my arrival here the blessings have continued, from my job promotion and raise within 15 days of my arrival, to my acquiring a new car, and even finding a cool and compatible room mate. This move truly has been a great thing.<br />
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Since moving to Texas I have done some traveling. I have also taken in some of the Texas scenes and sights. I have seen Daley Plaza, been to the Rodeo, been to a Maverick's game (prior to their championship), been to a concert, been to a mega church, driven to another major city without leaving the state, driven to New Orleans, and even driven the 1800 miles back to RI. I can assure you I miss my little Rhody. I miss hanging out with KB and Jess, I miss watching my Patriots with little effort. I miss waterfire, the smell of the ocean, the proximity of things, the 3 hour drive to chill with CJ in New York, and I even miss winter. Though I will take this Texas heat over the Hazy, Hot, and Humid RI summers any day even if it is for a 50 day stretch as we have experienced this summer, it hasn't rained here since May. <br />
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Texas truly is a whole new world, and for now it is the capital of my world, it is my new home. I look forward to continue exploring it and will continue to post of my adventures no matter how boring they may be, I hope you continue to read.<br />
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Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-23695578940561734682011-08-19T05:57:00.000+00:002011-08-19T05:57:08.496+00:00San Diego to RI: completing the Circumnavigation of the globeThe sun rose over Mexico like every other sunrise we had seen for the past 11 ports. It was beautiful, but this one was different. The hug from former colleagues, now great friends was a little tighter and meant a little more. We were entering our last port. The end of a journey started 110 days prior.<br />
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We could see parents, family and friends holding banners, waving, and cheering on the dock. Welcoming us back. Students recognizing their parents and calling them on the phone. Emotions were high. Everyone had tears streaming down their face.<br />
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In the days before we had packed up all of our things, we had prepared for this day. While packing you could hear the students reminiscing of where they bought a shirt, a dress, a hat, a back scratcher. How they haggled with the vendors. All of their stories now memories. We placed all of our items outside of our door and they were collected and brought down to the belly of the ship to be brought out into the customs area for us. We would then just identify our items as we cleared customs ourselves.<br />
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Though I would remain on the ship for an additional day, when we finally departed and cleared customs, I sat there with all of my things waiting for my friend Daoud to come pick me up. He sent a friend to collect me, we loaded all of my luggage and bags and he drove me to Daoud's apartment in San Diego. As I left the port I could hear my heart pounding. I thought I was going to cry again, and just like that the ship was out of view and we were in a residential area. Within the next few hours I was doing laundry at Doud's and repacking my luggage preparing to fly back to Providence. The time flew by. <br />
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And just like that the next morning I was in line waiting to board my Southwest flight to Providence. I arrived to Providence on Dec 17, 2009. 120 days after I had departed from my own house. Left behind everything that I knew and was as familiar to me as my own hand.<br />
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Now here I was back again in the home I had grown up in, and though I looked the same, everything was different. All of a sudden the world seemed so much smaller, and I knew that I wouldn't be here for too much longer. Because there was so much more I wanted to see and explore, and I was going to continue to do so.Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-79540927985987337892011-08-19T04:57:00.000+00:002011-08-19T04:57:12.564+00:00the longest trip home<br />
the answer: 2554 miles<br />
the question: the distance we traveled in 4 days to get to San Diego, from Honolulu Hawaii<br />
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these 4 days were the 2nd longest 4 days of my life, 2nd only to the 4 days I spent in pain with my back out, in Jamaica alone after Hurricane Dean.<br />
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The voyage around the world was amazing. The experiences were once in a life time, the friends I made of colleagues are forever. But at this point we all just wanted to be home. There are only so many ocean views one can take.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnNC0E7du0s37TigSB5xJPH0E0JBHG4Q2sj-PO3fOr23UU2o0D8HAF-nvTvFA_-dhG8ELxA0Uz9qZGCRhtTyUDWw4xZLUWdco7GZbTWOPcgsRhJNPsZDWAhhIsJA-l6riBSV_QQLnmRE/s1600/12162_642032913874_14314711_37515767_950138_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnNC0E7du0s37TigSB5xJPH0E0JBHG4Q2sj-PO3fOr23UU2o0D8HAF-nvTvFA_-dhG8ELxA0Uz9qZGCRhtTyUDWw4xZLUWdco7GZbTWOPcgsRhJNPsZDWAhhIsJA-l6riBSV_QQLnmRE/s400/12162_642032913874_14314711_37515767_950138_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamond Head in the background as we depart Honolulu, HI</td></tr>
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Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-40705042824682620592011-08-15T19:15:00.001+00:002011-08-15T19:20:30.662+00:00stuck in paradiseFrom Honolulu, we traveled to Hilo, an island I had visited before. While in Hilo I once again visited Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, it has been erupting since 1983. This would be my second tour of the volcano. I went along to see some lava tubes and hear the tour and the story of Pele, the volcano goddess once again. <br />
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We returned to the ship excited for our departure in another day, only to find out that due to tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean, our ship would return to Honolulu and sit there for about 36 hours in order to let the storms pass.<br />
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For the 2nd time in my life, I was stuck in paradise. I know your thinking, why are you complaining, I can think of worst places to be stuck in than 86 degree Honolulu, Hawaii. I assure you I realize that, however after 100 days on this journey and being so close to being home, it was just "I wanted to get home"! There I said it.<br />
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My extra day in Hawaii was really uneventful. I spent it lazily laying on the beach taking in the sun and the air and the sounds of surf boarders and I appreciated another Hawaiian sunset. Some of the more adventurist students went to the other side of the island to witness a once in a life time competition, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A legendary big wave surfing contest, the Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, was held for the first time since 2004, waves had to reach a minimum of 40 feet in order to host this competition. They came back to the ship enthralled with what they saw. It was all just great.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1234047/Surfs-biggest-waves-years-come-Hawaii-North-Pacific-storm.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1234047/Surfs-biggest-waves-years-come-Hawaii-North-Pacific-storm.html</span></a><br />
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Next stop San Diego.Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-23646948613968352532011-08-15T17:54:00.007+00:002011-08-15T18:52:47.498+00:00There are 2 sides to every storyLike every other morning we arrived at a new port we woke up early and went up to the 7th deck to watch the sunrise over our new destination. Though, this was slightly different. We were home, well almost home. We had arrived to our first US port in 4 months of travel and though thousands of miles from our destination we were back in the US. This morning more than the usual community members joined us to watch our re entry. As the sun rose we were also surrounded by an unfamiliar sound. The sound of people chatting on their cell phones, students, staff, faculty talking to family members letting them know we were almost home.<div><br />
</div><div>USS Arizona/Pearl Harbor</div><div><br />
</div><div>One of the sights that I visited while in Honolulu was Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, its the other half of the story of World War I. The attack of Pearl Harbor and bombing of the USS Arizona is what led to the US dropping nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The USS Arizona still lies at the bottom of the Harbor and leaks oil, some 60 plus years after its 1177 passengers were entombed there. The site is a solemn place, reminding me of my visits to Arlington cemetery and the tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Lra5Oj3FqmulSOp3ubyu6gUyyQtqsUqUFft5i4ubgbIp8NXNvaWbOmFPcozUdLh6GmN-x3KsSIgz5fNq_uxDQudDVmG3p4MFl4QdSGeUxkyIOchfEDqKAUu5rjeyCdoIpbz7BBZ8Uzc/s1600/22242_648264660404_14314711_37739419_7064794_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Lra5Oj3FqmulSOp3ubyu6gUyyQtqsUqUFft5i4ubgbIp8NXNvaWbOmFPcozUdLh6GmN-x3KsSIgz5fNq_uxDQudDVmG3p4MFl4QdSGeUxkyIOchfEDqKAUu5rjeyCdoIpbz7BBZ8Uzc/s400/22242_648264660404_14314711_37739419_7064794_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div>We arrive to the monument and had to take a small boat out to the monument, a white marble structure that was built over where the Arizona lies. </div><div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UB9-LroZsTHfhI8_Vbs-BU_u5udDOmPGjxXWeBwZRxOtgsS95rvYrPMZH3bIJfxk8DIZi6ZcFg6UWg-qpBlO6fVi2RzVRCwKTgtntlX5yh4sb8OM0cgLVzfmWJKGeVS6HirEjW9KfjFD/s1600/22242_648264565594_14314711_37739402_7275448_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UB9-LroZsTHfhI8_Vbs-BU_u5udDOmPGjxXWeBwZRxOtgsS95rvYrPMZH3bIJfxk8DIZi6ZcFg6UWg-qpBlO6fVi2RzVRCwKTgtntlX5yh4sb8OM0cgLVzfmWJKGeVS6HirEjW9KfjFD/s400/22242_648264565594_14314711_37739402_7275448_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdEYVWSPtBWGw2vZ72HWpVjokizAnTsd3Cgf0oKVzqZ-3OvyFMPP5hH0Pt7bOLqCmBzZkmPW6VCGF2Bc5WtdsZ_g4KOY7FqdORRpnbsdxAIGLFT9Vl4EKwc5oJ1K1bg76T00OW63qkCo/s1600/22242_648264570584_14314711_37739403_4060030_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmdEYVWSPtBWGw2vZ72HWpVjokizAnTsd3Cgf0oKVzqZ-3OvyFMPP5hH0Pt7bOLqCmBzZkmPW6VCGF2Bc5WtdsZ_g4KOY7FqdORRpnbsdxAIGLFT9Vl4EKwc5oJ1K1bg76T00OW63qkCo/s400/22242_648264570584_14314711_37739403_4060030_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRvTzWKUbQoWkKjdAOX_23dLfLQdBoVS9nwNm2VqY8WoPGNpRe9F-12Sd4LEOjIAUtSouKqEcSq_mSmWFlja6ulBFiC43s_0Vln_V7DMFOVlE_07zkk1KoTFjJb479vAHhsIrlhCPMrQ/s1600/22242_648264575574_14314711_37739404_687989_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihRvTzWKUbQoWkKjdAOX_23dLfLQdBoVS9nwNm2VqY8WoPGNpRe9F-12Sd4LEOjIAUtSouKqEcSq_mSmWFlja6ulBFiC43s_0Vln_V7DMFOVlE_07zkk1KoTFjJb479vAHhsIrlhCPMrQ/s400/22242_648264575574_14314711_37739404_687989_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> As you enter the monument you see the flags of the states who's name sake battle ships were also affected. On the opposite side the flags representing Hawaii, the United States of America and the branches of the military.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT9XPRHp2koOmmSxWAFGgdft8SjgC5n_jbe43tk_41FVP3Dp1UpwHzgaa_6E30uTF1_biUgqo-qVtXPuAz_suzWG-x7t0-j-lRL_yg9FAjoaUZpighplv6GugFUnFru2dNY7lHu4Klz4/s1600/22242_648264580564_14314711_37739405_4307986_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVT9XPRHp2koOmmSxWAFGgdft8SjgC5n_jbe43tk_41FVP3Dp1UpwHzgaa_6E30uTF1_biUgqo-qVtXPuAz_suzWG-x7t0-j-lRL_yg9FAjoaUZpighplv6GugFUnFru2dNY7lHu4Klz4/s400/22242_648264580564_14314711_37739405_4307986_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qCQsR_dSKpPlyu0ueqeWfuhzkQswte0HqBVKk_wcm3nXRg1VOQbLZ4dglyTq0xn087Z6x51MfKoPZrCm6GkNaOSO4wkpf3X1dF-oborAk954KxD8qTG0d-G3NACyLG1KytQIzQvoHTw/s1600/22242_648264585554_14314711_37739406_556859_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qCQsR_dSKpPlyu0ueqeWfuhzkQswte0HqBVKk_wcm3nXRg1VOQbLZ4dglyTq0xn087Z6x51MfKoPZrCm6GkNaOSO4wkpf3X1dF-oborAk954KxD8qTG0d-G3NACyLG1KytQIzQvoHTw/s400/22242_648264585554_14314711_37739406_556859_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> As you walk through there is space, in the middle a hollow for one to look down and see tropical fish among the wreckage, among coral that now covers the barely visible USS Arizona,<br />
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and then the silent yet visible reminders in form of oil droplets or black tears, that something horrible happened and that there in fact are remnants below. <br />
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On the far wall, the list of names of those 1177 people who's lives were lost on that day in December 68 years almost to the day that I visited the Arizona<br />
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</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-53992870442823037662011-08-15T17:54:00.006+00:002011-08-15T18:19:45.515+00:00HiroshimaI am writing this entry almost 2 years after I visited Hiroshima.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">On August 6, 1945 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">at 8:15 A.M. the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on this capital city. Devastating it and the surrounding area.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I visited this city and saw first hand some of the monuments that still stand, a tribute to a day and time that should never be relived.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I also visited the Museum, dedicated to eradicating the use of atomic/nuclear weapons. It was quite a site to see. The images and stories of the people captured within are forever embedded in my mind. Which is the primary reason it has taken me this long to write this post. When as a human being you are exposed to the atrocities that have been inflicted on other human beings, in the name of your own rights it is hard to come to terms with it. As a resident of the United States of America, it is an inheritance that I have fully been able to benefit from yet when faced with the responsibility to understand, It has been a hard pill to swallow. War is not easy, and seeing first hand the decimation that took place in a country half way around the world was a bit much and still all too real.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I ramble so I will stop. Here is more information on Hiroshima. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima</a></span>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-51714578943444630912010-01-03T23:50:00.001+00:002010-01-03T23:57:42.234+00:00Mt. Fuji<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><b></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><b><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This day we would travel for about 4 hours to </span></span></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park to visit the tallest mountain in Japan; Mt. Fuji (3776 m or 12,388 feet). If you have never been to a snow capped mountain up close then you can not understand how majestic it is to see. As we were driving along the route it seemed as if all of a sudden the mountain just popped up out of no where.</span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">By tour bus we would travel up the Yoshida route to the 4</span></span></span><sup><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">th </span></span></span></sup><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">station 2305 meters (7562.3 feet or 1.4 miles) above sea level as close to the summit as we could get for the time of year we were visiting. Our view of the summit was gorgeous, covered in snow, with the sun over top. A slight wind would blow the snow causing a cloud effect. </span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">At this location there was a restaurant and a few shops to purchase souvenirs and a Shinto temple, from this location near the summit we could also view the mountain rage across the way, referred to as the Japanese Alps by our guide, this mountain range added to the vista.</span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As we left Mt. Fuji we would now go to Hakone and ride a cable car into the fog to catch another view of Mt. Fuji, however due to the fog we barely could see each other never mind any views.</span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course the fog cleared as we boarded the ferry taking us to the other side of one of the five lakes that surround Mt. Fuji. This ride on the ferry also gave us some great views of Mt. Fuji within the mountain range, during sunset. It was breathtaking and not even the chilly 40 degree weather deterred us from enjoying being outside.</span></span></span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div></b></span></span>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-89258963411513472562010-01-03T02:16:00.001+00:002010-01-03T04:23:42.037+00:00Welcome to Japan, now be quiet<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">We arrived to Yokohama, Japan as with most other ports I met with ED on the outer deck to watch our entry into the port.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And watch one of the most amazing sunrises of the voyage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Is it any wonder the Japanese refer to their homeland as the Empire of the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the sun came up, we could see the majestic Mt. Fuji with a rose colored glow as the sun reflected its rays off the snow capped mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the ship pulled in to its birth we were met with Japanese drummers, mostly women, playing on large drums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We enjoyed this only for a few minutes as we were aware that the clearing of the ship in Japan was going to be a unique experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a member of the Living Learning Team, it was our responsibility in most ports to assist with passport distribution and distribution of other important documents necessary for our shipboard community to travel within the country we were visiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In India we had to ensure each of our community members had a shore pass, as was the case in Vietnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If these documents (shore passes) were lost, than the person who they belonged to would not be able to leave for the ship for the duration of our stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This actually happened to a couple of students.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> In Japan the whole process of passport distribution and preparation to disembark was different. Prior to our arrival in Yokohama as a team we were trained by the medical team to take the temperature of each of our community members, which was a requirement of the Japanese government. The Japanese would quarantine any member that had an above average temperature, their prevention of spreading the H1N1 virus into their country. Once we arrived to Yokohama, the Living Learning Team was dispatched into the port terminal and given assignments. Some were to direct students through immigration, others were to hand out their passports and custom forms in the terminal (this was usually done on the ship), and I was assigned the task of informing the members of our shipboard community the following:</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“behind me you will collect your passport from another team member, as usual by you ship id number, you will then form a single line facing forward only and will be directed by another LLC to get through immigration, once you clear immigration, you will walk about 20 feet and clear customs, at that point you can wait in the terminal to re board the ship or leave the terminal, this must be done in complete silence. Any questions you might have please direct only to a terminal agent. Please remove your hats and sunglasses and again I remind you COMPLETE SILENCE”</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I must have given those instructions 100 times at least. Of course there were some people that objected to being quiet, I would remind them that we are here as guests and if they have questions about the guidelines they should address them with the Japanese officials. The process took a few hours and finally our ship was cleared. </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we were clear I along with 4 of my colleagues headed into Yokohama on foot to get our train tickets for the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkansen"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shinkansen</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> which we would take two evenings later from Tokyo to Kobe</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. On our way to the train station we passed Chinatown ( I thought to myself, damn a Chinatown in Japan, now I seen it all). After we purchased our tickets, PL and I decided to walk to the ferris wheel and possibly go for a ride to get an arial view of Yokohama.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> As we got closer to the ferris wheel the sun started to go down and it got a little colder and we realized we had no cash on us so opted out. We walked through a mall and around the amusement park and then decided to head back to the ship, having had a full day of walking. We very much enjoyed our personal tour of the Yokohama water front. Tomorrow we were off on a tour of Mt. Fuji</span><br />
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</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-46883415893434436882009-12-11T10:00:00.002+00:002009-12-11T10:20:21.465+00:00Shang Hai so nice to meet you<div class="MsoNormal">Though we flew out of Hong Kong to Beijing, our return was to Shanghai, within the country of China. While it was about 78 degrees the day we left Hong Kong, and a cold blustery average of 35 while we were in Beijing, it was a wet and overcast 50 or so degrees in Shanghai, we would have only one short day in Shanghai so we decided to make the best of it.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once again some colleagues and I decided to venture out into Shanghai to see what it had to offer. We walked for hours in the rain our first mission was to find a post office and perhaps visit a museum. Well we found the museum and also found it closed so on to our next mission the post office. Just then we received a FB message courtesy of my blackberry informing us that we had more time in Shanghai; due to an ocean storm our captain had delayed our departure until the next day. Now we had a few more hours to burn in Shanghai. So without being deterred we decided to seek out a post office, but first a side trip to McDonald’s. We entered Mickey D’s and sat and waited a while as we were still a little early for lunch. As we sat there waiting we noticed that this McDonald's had delivery. YES DELIVERY! The delivery men would pack up their McDonald’s delivery boxes and get on their mo-ped scooters and head out to deliver lunches to those that had ordered them, we thought it was a riot, so of course we took pictures.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once that was out of the way on we were with our mission – to the Post office. While walking we came across a Dunkin Donuts. I was truly excited. This was a little bit of home so far away from home. On the other side of the world to be exact.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2ULLwZgz-LTjD64CNoKU462WqWFLHforN7XKdN5px0Sq2sT6ofS6jnY6fnM9t6F1C3gQyrXVVVZkGTX7FyxRpw9vnSmkuRp6-VMmjtx4Ukccz_6XPkx1b-yGfwBtcn-BIbejvtVTxU18/s1600-h/DSC06402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2ULLwZgz-LTjD64CNoKU462WqWFLHforN7XKdN5px0Sq2sT6ofS6jnY6fnM9t6F1C3gQyrXVVVZkGTX7FyxRpw9vnSmkuRp6-VMmjtx4Ukccz_6XPkx1b-yGfwBtcn-BIbejvtVTxU18/s320/DSC06402.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: small;">Im supposed to be pointing at "Providence", my home town right above where I am pointing "Sacramento"</span></span><br />
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</div>Though we had just had a cup of coffee at Starbucks less than 2 hours before, PL and I were about to go in when the Becker’s joined us; the four of us strolled into D&D and ordered our coffee and donuts. Now I am not a huge fan of donuts and typically will not eat them, though here I had to have a French Cruller (sp), it was very disappointing. While trying to decide on which donuts we would ultimately have LB came across a sea weed and bacon option to which we all took a pass. We sat there and enjoyed our coffee and donuts for what it was and then continued back on our search for the post office. As we continued our walk we were detoured around (Shanghai is the host of the 2010 World Expo and doing a major over haul of parts of their city) and finally stumbled upon the post office, however I did not get stamps because they had run out. We decided to continue searching and then walk towards the Pearl, one of the major skyline buildings that Shanghai was known for. After a brief stop in what can only be described as an indoor flea market, we made a pit stop in the Renaissance Hotel to use their facilities and to ask directions. While there the valet/concierge asked me if I wanted to mail the postcards (I had taken them out for a visual in the event the person we encountered for directions did not speak English), I informed him that they were not ready to be mailed out as they did not have stamps. He then offered to put stamps on them and that he would make sure they were mailed out (note to those reading this, if you did not receive your postcard from my trip to China the valet/concierge at the Renaissance Hotel in China is the one to blame). I gladly handed him the postcard and money to pay for the stamps and quickly we were once again on our way. We arrived to the pearl and made the decision not to pay the money to go up for the non-existent view since it was overcast and rainy.<br />
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We took a few pictures at the base when 2 of our international students (the Columbian guys) happened upon us and informed us of how to get a great free view of the city and the Bottle Opener (another of the world famous sky line buildings in Shanghai, this one is one of the tallest buildings in the world). PL and I were all over it, we decided we were going to go for it, leaving the Becker’s behind we were now on our way. As we were detoured through a park and around a crossing we came within feet of the base of the building without finding a way to get to it and finally we succumb to the cold and rainy day.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">this is as close as we got to one of the tallest buildings in the world, due to detours and traffic and mostly weather</span></i><br />
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We gave up and decided to call it a loss. We then took a subway back to the pier area and thought we would be close enough to walk to our ship. We arrived to our subway stop and started what we thought would be a short walk. We walked for about 45 minutes and stopped at a convenience store to spend the last of our money on chips and beer. We finally arrived to our ship and were pleased with the events of our day, I mean after all we had chips and beer. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggihA7xDSVMR1I8PHjbXyCjHlf3UnaGR8NSiaVFEx8CJ2gO4V2SRe5-XSUy6n_rH8ARmC8-SppVMPYhAIC7d4e58noNbcGSHsP9avTIx5Ckz-bHI0P-JSQOwFkVAdpu-n80VjDKYqx3IU/s1600-h/DSC06439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggihA7xDSVMR1I8PHjbXyCjHlf3UnaGR8NSiaVFEx8CJ2gO4V2SRe5-XSUy6n_rH8ARmC8-SppVMPYhAIC7d4e58noNbcGSHsP9avTIx5Ckz-bHI0P-JSQOwFkVAdpu-n80VjDKYqx3IU/s320/DSC06439.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">this was the view Shang Hai harbor from my cabin window</span></i><br />
</div></div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-28655923194061867622009-12-07T11:09:00.000+00:002015-01-06T21:47:08.235+00:00The Great Wall...an experience of a lifetime<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2b5H4X8vkJjs5Pq1WTOTbt5NLTvFBHjS-gMMqBwnbNjOuVBjyz6p-pUuHs_veolygxm5lld6YAIsbKos05tFYHnr02gypYb91mjPKd6GXIcxUAwtyLGyt1yc3wMtNipb_MLg7V4GsG4/s1600-h/DSC06055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2b5H4X8vkJjs5Pq1WTOTbt5NLTvFBHjS-gMMqBwnbNjOuVBjyz6p-pUuHs_veolygxm5lld6YAIsbKos05tFYHnr02gypYb91mjPKd6GXIcxUAwtyLGyt1yc3wMtNipb_MLg7V4GsG4/s320/DSC06055.JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">With my visit to the Great Wall of China I am able to check another
item off the bucket list, the 2<sup>nd</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of
the Wonders of the World I would visit on my voyage around the world. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I walked, hiked, fell, but mostly
climbed the Juyongguan Pass of The Great Wall China on Friday, November 13,
2009. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnV4bbveNSy5iUvB__H4CX1zg2-Cv7DHFxwVp0oU00aF4vehVqHQ5ro59dDLGx5Sh2b_kba8AuTKSmEYGebKIhC28oKqaAQp9RhIMKe7Li2vJtShLnIRDGBaCjZf_tCiE9BD0VYnGLJeA/s1600-h/DSC06049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnV4bbveNSy5iUvB__H4CX1zg2-Cv7DHFxwVp0oU00aF4vehVqHQ5ro59dDLGx5Sh2b_kba8AuTKSmEYGebKIhC28oKqaAQp9RhIMKe7Li2vJtShLnIRDGBaCjZf_tCiE9BD0VYnGLJeA/s320/DSC06049.JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">As we arrived we were quite excited about what we were about to
embark upon, I along with about 30 students and two colleagues dismounted our
bus in about 30 degree weather, and though there was snow on the ground we
started straight away to the entry way of The Great Wall. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>We stopped only to take pictures as we
started up the STEEP staircase, it was then that it occurred to me that I was
in no Disney movie and this Great Wall hike was actually going to be more of a
climb than a hike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The steps were in no way uniform not one step was the same height as the next but the one thing they did have in common was that they were all very steep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also due to the snow that had fallen just days before our arrival they were covered in snow and ice which made the hike up much more treacherous. </div>
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Though I started my climb with 4 layers (2 outer and 2 inner layers) I was down to my 2 inner layers as the first 20 minutes of the hike had me quite warm.</div>
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About an
hour into the hike, I could hear some of our students yelling “Here comes Ana
the LLC, Here comes Ana” I then realized it was our international student from
the Basque region and he along with another student. They had commandeered one of the forts of the
wall and were dropping snowballs, throwing them on all the passers-by yelling
“in the name of the Basque country, go home you filthy Mongols” <br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It was a bit funny, he and his snowball throwing partner were throwing snowballs at everyone, even if they weren’t with our group; everyone enjoying this break from the serious climbing and joining in the impromptu snowball fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I managed to keep walking by unscathed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though how he and got ahead of me without my noticing is beyond me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But up on the next tower were my colleagues the Becker’s with some students who had commandeered another fort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had an arsenal of snowballs and were just getting everyone as they came up the hill towards their tower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was grazed once or twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I entered the ground floor of their fort and I could hear them plotting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I crept up the stairs and around corners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I heard a small commotion, it seems that LB lost control of a snowball and ended up pegging a Chinese man that was on the fort with them. He realized it was all in fun, then he and his friend joined the Becker’s and our students and engaged our students on the ground in an International snow ball fight on the Great Wall of China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The students on the ground were the International student from the Basque region joined by some French folk and other Semester at Sea students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so much fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later on the bus on the way back to our hotel I thanked the student from the Basque region, telling him the snowball fight indeed made my Great wall experience a different experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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After the break we finished hiking the wall, it was steep everywhere, just as we thought the worst was over because we had reached the tallest part of our section of the wall and we would start our descend, it occurred to us, we have to climb down this thing, and the part that we descended on was not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On our descend we remarked just what a marvel of engineering this wall is, the angles and slopes on the side of these mountains literally made you feel as if you were about to fall off the mountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We came to the realization that even climbing the stairs up you had to look down at your steps because they were uneven in nature, is it any wonder the Mongols were kept out of China, and if they tried to cross in the winter as we experienced, at times this would make them sitting ducks because the snow would only dampen their effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the time we were literally walking backwards as we held on to the hand rails, as if we were repelling off a mountain side, It was more snowy and icy on the climb down than it had been on the hike up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was treacherous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We descended for about an hour when we started to see that the end of our hike was nearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we arrived to the platform on the bottom we saw just how steep the Wall had been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our Great Wall experience was over and it had been Great, it felt like an accomplishment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-78767628528432134942009-12-03T17:30:00.000+00:002009-12-03T17:30:38.184+00:00A whirlwind tour of Beijing<div class="MsoNormal">In the early hours of November 13, 2009 a group of 30 or so members of the Semester at Sea community woke up at 4am to meet and head out to Beijing, China from Hong Kong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We boarded our flight by 730am and were delayed due to weather, in my usual form as I do on airplanes, I immediately fell asleep and was only awaken by one of my colleagues a few rows away telling me to make sure I ate the meal they were about to serve since we would miss lunch due to us being late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes we were served a hot meal aboard this China Air flight, it was pretty good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were about to be on a 4 day excursion to Beijing sponsored by Peking University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the next 3 nights and 4 days we would visit the Summer Palace, the Ming Dynasty Tombs, the Great Wall, Tienanmen Square, The Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">First stop the</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace"> Summer Palace</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (in winter)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3ICMCc4Eb0AvaIijDGQtDzyvck_F0Byy_j0CNrjRxUPNDOoG0DWC6s4EVqooo2Fxe-JEOc4_EEA3FQBFdgw3DDtlj1NiW_tDHaiWICTu_V5tZWHmoxMfW6YfRpHxkjf0Y3LfpmJcgoU/s1600-h/DSC05964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3ICMCc4Eb0AvaIijDGQtDzyvck_F0Byy_j0CNrjRxUPNDOoG0DWC6s4EVqooo2Fxe-JEOc4_EEA3FQBFdgw3DDtlj1NiW_tDHaiWICTu_V5tZWHmoxMfW6YfRpHxkjf0Y3LfpmJcgoU/s320/DSC05964.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty_Tombs">Ming Dynasty Tombs</a>,<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> where we had to come back through the gates and announce that we were back (among the living) so that our spirit would not remain with the dead. A superstition<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Wall">The Great Wall </a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHJ9UimgXz6uLm4Aqka0PtpKCpRlzAv3Zj9TKOhF0L1KlztEJ7jIHOfRBXCpIWCGyQKzL4352RvUpD55BubbgjMI-Y3FROJ7duVNyQ07g0cUoxQLqQXbkXB8NkRNxxAHfAjHFIuspiTA/s1600-h/DSC06061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHJ9UimgXz6uLm4Aqka0PtpKCpRlzAv3Zj9TKOhF0L1KlztEJ7jIHOfRBXCpIWCGyQKzL4352RvUpD55BubbgjMI-Y3FROJ7duVNyQ07g0cUoxQLqQXbkXB8NkRNxxAHfAjHFIuspiTA/s640/DSC06061.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tienanmen_Square">Tienanmen Square</a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigueVelQdEdK_SWi6k1joYOqRMz960cnMwfKP4jP_PxIle2-y74h2KnGF4XAhPvmpIyHgP9tVrlnO_1VHqIXqQm1loR_pKSjGM6kxrc7_ywblmgFNyhVCRS1nGj45bUll6hFx6WDYhctkD/s1600-h/DSC06152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigueVelQdEdK_SWi6k1joYOqRMz960cnMwfKP4jP_PxIle2-y74h2KnGF4XAhPvmpIyHgP9tVrlnO_1VHqIXqQm1loR_pKSjGM6kxrc7_ywblmgFNyhVCRS1nGj45bUll6hFx6WDYhctkD/s640/DSC06152.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City">Forbidden City</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz6Lj5evpaVh0PNRBO-hRYdb_MUzyhnHNcry_2n8t6fcJLhsZuE9ShiWom-yCFM65txeFEnOnyV3unDwvxfpcWH9lvzrX2em6clunxZY93ObNzjN3iAIvdJaaOoVi0b2ZrdDrouPtoqg/s1600-h/DSC06226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNz6Lj5evpaVh0PNRBO-hRYdb_MUzyhnHNcry_2n8t6fcJLhsZuE9ShiWom-yCFM65txeFEnOnyV3unDwvxfpcWH9lvzrX2em6clunxZY93ObNzjN3iAIvdJaaOoVi0b2ZrdDrouPtoqg/s640/DSC06226.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5bau6I9CGkOd_Q55NdHiG-KqRqeOIaJx4TXlloOfgnswXpRNK-4WSdzxnheiu6Vn1BhwvHeJ1fjQSrcDdlGs8t2SLVmsPfZYEUbq7zZ-x9MAlMfyPJuTxjmUMmdE2_ArF5DUc9mSakI/s1600-h/DSC06228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5bau6I9CGkOd_Q55NdHiG-KqRqeOIaJx4TXlloOfgnswXpRNK-4WSdzxnheiu6Vn1BhwvHeJ1fjQSrcDdlGs8t2SLVmsPfZYEUbq7zZ-x9MAlMfyPJuTxjmUMmdE2_ArF5DUc9mSakI/s320/DSC06228.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMU1Qy0NnVeTSH3-oVvfUZg6oIUg4emb4F2S1FPVtmxIbNLgaX7mi5m-uk7UsPLqN5hGUrYsvUk23BiUHqZXk_Ab47RkuJTKG9X4QXrVHFuH0X6wcMiSstHp45HfJ_CXqwt7iwSFsKm7t/s1600-h/DSC06230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Heaven">Temple of Heaven</a></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-5RxU9tmiKcKx6L-sguPGWke_T0bK_rU_0QJXscxWkJ7j28RPFxFZA9NRMwHR34QaFCcVuJTajcrwlYMEyuA-HKThfNDnE_amDCY2j1HTyqYS51shUySUfK2szdWRonxf6u83ihtGBXS/s1600-h/DSC06318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-5RxU9tmiKcKx6L-sguPGWke_T0bK_rU_0QJXscxWkJ7j28RPFxFZA9NRMwHR34QaFCcVuJTajcrwlYMEyuA-HKThfNDnE_amDCY2j1HTyqYS51shUySUfK2szdWRonxf6u83ihtGBXS/s640/DSC06318.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I would also partake of some of the best Chinese food I have ever had (of course it’s the best since Im in China), though I am not a fan of Chinese food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Including the adventurous visit to Ghost street, (rightly named because the restaurants that line it are open into the wee hours of the morning) where we ate Hot Pot, literally a pot of soup that had everything in it including 4 whole frogs and was so spicy it made us sweat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLllHliRWgjKpuXhqFJKurkcO7reQWWpkWFlFMQAymlGOgArAsjXRVo2Z1BtP5FYm7gZkEG8rQqofvPoDyq58zVOlVbG8BWOAiiSFPnjqXNcSn8fxxzidSFY3intQb1o_ZsITA03CNcs/s1600-h/DSC06145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLllHliRWgjKpuXhqFJKurkcO7reQWWpkWFlFMQAymlGOgArAsjXRVo2Z1BtP5FYm7gZkEG8rQqofvPoDyq58zVOlVbG8BWOAiiSFPnjqXNcSn8fxxzidSFY3intQb1o_ZsITA03CNcs/s320/DSC06145.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be a whirlwind tour and truly amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only one of these visits that I will blog about separately is The Great Wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the rest I hope you enjoyed the pictures.</span><br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-17472471165591360032009-12-02T17:57:00.001+00:002009-12-11T01:37:51.875+00:00Hong Kong in less than 24 hours<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div class="MsoNormal">Thank God I can’t drive to Hong Kong on a whim, because I would be there all the time. I would describe this magnificent country (it’s a special administrative region of China) as a mixture of Miami, Las Vegas, New York, and New Orleans, with a little Rodeo Drive and Madison Avenue thrown in for good measure. By far the most magnificent sky line of any I have ever seen, and as metropolitan as any major US city, with a great sense of history and culture thrown in. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZUrgRb9IT5nRVoGyGHNiguWPy-l4Ge55e2u1zZ4W_XqKtOeQPAOvfBrl0TwYcIKSe9GrJXLCUzzS0JRyP7Upt-TlrHGwNifkocnCkHHrHFByU4suro0hkJyWUqHCIOiyD15kz3RAHVk/s1600-h/DSC05643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZUrgRb9IT5nRVoGyGHNiguWPy-l4Ge55e2u1zZ4W_XqKtOeQPAOvfBrl0TwYcIKSe9GrJXLCUzzS0JRyP7Upt-TlrHGwNifkocnCkHHrHFByU4suro0hkJyWUqHCIOiyD15kz3RAHVk/s320/DSC05643.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We knew when we arrived that we were only going to be in Hong Kong for less than 24 hours and would have to plan wisely in order to make the best of it. So after coming into the magnificent harbor and doing our usual morning responsibilities joined by 4 of my colleagues we decided to go out and see what Hong Kong had to offer. In leaving the port area we had to walk through a mall to exit, this was the most high end mall I had ever been to; Armani exchange, Dolce and Gobana, Burberry, Chloe and other boutique stores, all for children. We knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore. As we walked out of the exit we were encountered by Christmas decorations, they were everywhere outside this mall it was a winter wonderland, it made us actually remember that the Christmas season was upon us. We asked for some quick directions and thought were on our way when in mid stride we were immediately stopped by a small group of school children that wanted to survey us on what we thought of Hong Kong, of course having just arrived we couldn’t answer many of their questions though GH did answer as much as he could.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of we went to discover the city. Walking into what seemed like the downtown area past 5 star hotels and more A-list name stores. It really felt like we were in any major city in the US, with the exception of all the Chinese writing on the buildings of course. We had to run a quick errand with AH who needed a stamp on her passport and while she ran off with PL to take care of that me, ED, and GH went to Starbucks to get real coffee. We had been missing “real” coffee (the ship coffee is made from a paste, and taste like it). We enjoyed every sip of the coffee. Having our errand done, we now did our usual first day in port things:<br />
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</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">1.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Exchange money<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">2.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Get stamps<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">3.<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Get postcards<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After we had finished that we decided it was time to figure out how we would spend the next few hours. There were so many options and so little time. Should we hop on the tram and get a guided tour of the area, or would Hong Kong Disney be our next stop, or Victoria Peak. Instead I convinced the group that we should take the subway and head to Lantau Island and see the Tian Tan Buddha. You might be thinking what’s the big deal about seeing a Buddah, you seen one you seen them all, no? Well not so my friend. The Tian Tan Buddha is the 2<sup>nd</sup> largest outdoor seated Buddha in the world and a magnificent sight. Since none of us had any real plans for our day and everyone was game, off we went. A subway ride and 360 degree view cable car ride later we found ourselves on Lantau Island walking towards the Big Buddha, but not before stopping to watch a kite demonstration.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We watched as 5 men shifted around this huge kite which looked like nothing in particular on the ground and as soon as it was airborne we could see that it was an octopus. We stood around and watched until that kite crashed and then they put up these diamond shaped kites with long tails that made ripping sounds. After a few minutes we kept walking towards the Buddha. At the foot of the steps to the Buddha we noticed there was a monastery across the way, so we decided to visit that first and then circle around to walk up the many stairs to visit the Buddha.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">We walked over to the monastery and walked through the entry way, which was more lake an ante room, to reveal a quiet courtyard and a beautifully ornate temple. Incense had been burning outside the temple entryway but not beyond its doorways. Everything was so beautiful. We walked around a bit taking pictures and being reflective before we headed back towards the Buddha.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once at the bottom of the stairs again we started our ascent to visit with the sitting Buddha. As the clouds rolled in around him it seemed like he was moving at times. The closer we got the more details we noticed and the more interesting he became. Finally at the summit just below the lotus throne he sits on we walked around wondering how he had come to be, sitting atop this mountain. He was immense and amazing. We walked around a bit and then descended from his throne.<br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUMkY1PUhnOE5jLtjR97HX1SUd03Hksted20gwzdoxHq-lAuM22fPdXXhHXEdKUg_MUeEwexULqaIM7eYTJ50yF_xd7CwKqMM6HZcoHBIwrcb84nuyzGbo-hpZeAn3mmR7eozmAoEq9M3/s1600-h/DSC05840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUMkY1PUhnOE5jLtjR97HX1SUd03Hksted20gwzdoxHq-lAuM22fPdXXhHXEdKUg_MUeEwexULqaIM7eYTJ50yF_xd7CwKqMM6HZcoHBIwrcb84nuyzGbo-hpZeAn3mmR7eozmAoEq9M3/s320/DSC05840.JPG" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Having enjoyed our visit with the Big Buddha we were pleased that we had selected this way to spend the little time we had in Hong Kong. We boarded our crystal cabin cable car to take us back, we enjoyed the 25 minute ride as we watched planes take off and land from nearby Hong Kong international airport, we watched other empty cable cars swaying in the wind as well as other magnificent views as we lost view of the Buddha in the distances. We arrived to the ground safely and after a brief stop at the post office walked back to our subway station and took the subway back to the center of Hong Kong. By the time we reached our ship it was dark and the magic of the city was all aglow. The light show in the harbor would begin shortly as buildings flashed their neon lights while others stood hovering above just glowing. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our day was well spent. Next time I'm in Hong Kong perhaps I will do the city tour.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Tan_Buddha">Tian Tan Buddha Wikipedia</a><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngong_Ping_360">360 degree Crystal Cable Car Cabin</a><br />
</div></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></span>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-56549159054305873352009-12-01T15:55:00.000+00:002009-12-01T15:55:11.626+00:00a tale of two stories, ok maybe 3 while in Vietnam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">There are 2 things that were all the rage and we kept hearing to make sure we did while we were in Vietnam.<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> 1. </span></span></span>Get a custom tailored suit made<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> 2. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Get a</span></span></span></span></span> massage<br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course I did both<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Day 2 of my tour of Vietnam I ventured out into Ho Chi Minh City by myself and searched for the seamstress some of my colleagues had been to the day before to order their custom made dresses and suits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had decided that I would have a 3 piece suit made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A standard blue pant suit with a skirt as the 3d piece, but I first did a little homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I printed out from the JC Penney website a style of suit that I liked, both pant and skirt design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also priced on a couple of websites what those suits cost, reminding myself repeatedly that I was about to have something tailored to me and needed to account for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So with a price that I would spend in mind the pictures of the style of suit I wanted in hand headed out into the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shuttle from the port to the Rex hotel took a little longer than I anticipated and finally as I was dropped off in front of City Hall I got my bearings rather quickly and headed down the 10 or so blocks in search of my suit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crossing busy intersections and passing vendors, wishing for me to purchase their goods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Passing a fruit stand with the most outrageous looking fruit I had ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Finally I was there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I walked in and tried to communicate with the seamstress bringing her initial price of $150 USD to $100 USD for my custom tailored suit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was quite proud of myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave her my debit card so she could charge the 900,000 Dong (Vietnamese currency) equivalent to $50 USD and she ran it once and then again but to no avail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked her if there was an ATM machine nearby and she directed me to a bank two doors down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked to the bank, not really concerned because I had communicated with my bank as recent as India regarding my bank card (this entire situation will be blogged about in its own entry as the drama around my debit card deserves its own post), I inserted my card, entered my pin and then watched as the screen flashed in RED and in English, “Compromised”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ATM machine kept my card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I immediately panicked and quickly realized the reality of my situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked up and realized I was at a bank and immediately thought, “Maybe they will give me my card back and let me withdraw cash from the bank?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked in the bank only to realize they were at lunch and would not be back for 35 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked over my shoulder and realized there was a desk with a young woman at it; perhaps she works for the bank?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked over to speak to her and asked if she spoke English, she nodded and smiled and immediately I knew this was not going to be easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then realized the desk she was working at was a tour agency, neither she nor another women that was sitting there would be able to help me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no recourse but to wait until the bank reopened at 1pm.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the bank workers returned from lunch and the bank reopened I finally was able to communicate with someone who was able to return my card to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that point they directed me to a window where I would deal with a woman who would try to help me withdraw money, she seemed earnest in her attempt to help me, as I approached she took my card and asked for my passport, I looked in my purse and realized I had left my passport on the ship and the only thing I had in my possession was the id card we were to show the port agent upon our entrance and departure from the port, she smiled nicely and repeated “I need your passport to do this transaction”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I smiled back and informed her I would have to go and retrieve my passport from the ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked out of the bank and back to the seamstress, informed her that I would return shortly that I had to retrieve my passport from the ship to withdraw money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She smiled and nodded which led me to believe she had no idea what I was saying; I smiled back and walked out of the shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I walked the 10 or so blocks with an even quicker pace this time, not so concerned about the traffic any more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I was concerned to get to the safety of the ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I literally started to panic, because I had no access to money and was in a foreign city and alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I arrived to the ship about an hour later and was still a little panic stricken when I ran into a colleague MR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was about to head out into HCMC and asked if I wanted to tag along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agreed as I started to tell him my story, he turned to me and said don’t worry I can let you borrow until you get it straightened out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We headed back into HCMC and did some running around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Met up with an acquaintance of his, ate some Pho (pronounced Fuh), then walked over to the seamstress shop and gave her my deposit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so relieved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>A few days later and thanks to the kindness of a stranger wiring me money (also another post for another day) I was able to pick up my custom tailored suit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now, I grew up having clothes custom tailored for me, my grandmother (abuelita) was a seamstress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would make me and my cousins play cloths and formal dresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She made my cousin Astrid’s wedding dress, and all of our bridesmaid’s dresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She made my graduation dress for 8<sup>th</sup> grade graduation, and my prom gown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t until I went in for my first fitting and saw the seamstress chalking and outlining a newspaper that all of these memories kept flooding back to me about how my abuelita would be up late in the night cutting and stitching and sewing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It was like I was in my abuelitas little apartment all over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried on my suit and it needed a couple of adjustments, within 24 hours (3days after I had initially been fitted for the suit) I walked into this little shop and picked up my custom tailored 3 piece suit and I was happy.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another of the “checking off the list things to do while you’re in Vietnam” is to get a massage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are massage parlors everywhere and they are cheap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m talking $20USD will get you an hour of a good massage and an experience of a lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now before the men start asking questions, I don’t know if that includes a happy ending, I’m sure you can find those type of parlors in Vietnam too, but I can honestly say that neither I nor anyone that I was with was approached in that vein.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We walked around for a few hours peeping at the vendors when we decided in the late afternoon that it was time for our massage, we finally found a massage parlor that was to our liking (as far as prices went) and decided to give it a go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2 of my colleagues and I walked in and immediately waited on, we received spa manicures, and spa pedicures, complete with a paraffin dip on our hands and feet, and a 75 minute massage for $45 USD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spa manicure and pedicure were standard and no big thing to write home about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the massage was probably the most intense and best massage I had ever had.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The woman that attended to me was at most 5’2” and about a size 2, yes a tiny little thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her hands were strong and amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She massaged my neck and head applying just the right amount of pressure to each at one point asking me if I wanted her to press harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so relaxed I couldn’t even speak, she had to ask me again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She massaged the soreness out of my legs and twisted my muscles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point she started at the balls of my feet and literally ended up crawling up on all fours up where I could feel her shins in the middle of my back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the strangest thing but it felt so good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she finished I felt like I was floating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing that separated me from the other customers was a curtain and I could hear some moaning and sighing from MR two stalls away as the masseuse walked on his back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Myself and AH were more relaxed in receiving our massage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all walked out of there renewed and pleased with our choice, and recommended it to others;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>another great experience on an outing with friends and colleagues.<br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-27377575813288869052009-12-01T14:06:00.000+00:002009-12-01T14:06:43.683+00:00Gooooood Morning Vietnam!!!!<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the more interesting ports that we have come into was Vietnam, not because of its magical sunrise or because of the great view of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as we docked, but because we had to travel from the Ocean for three hours up the Saigon River to reach HCMC Vietnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s the big deal with travelling up the Saigon River you ask?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well for one it is one of the busiest waterways in Southeast Asia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">it is the main water supply for Vietnam as well as the host of</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">Saigon Port” (Wikipedia, 2009). I do also recall though that for the sunrise over Vietnam, it did seem as if the water was smooth as glass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">On November 3, the Living Learning staff were invited to one of our colleague’s cabin on the 7<sup>th</sup> deck balcony for breakfast croissants and real coffee to relax in comfort as we travelled up the Saigon River, dodging, other freighters, small fishing boats, other watercrafts carrying dirt, iron, and supplies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many times the pilot and/or the captain would blow the horn for a smaller vessel to move and give our ship the right of way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole thing was like a scene out of a movie.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we arrived into Saigon port, Saigon is the old name for HCMC, we were greeted by a group of Vietnamese women wearing Áo dài (pronounced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Vietnamese" title="Wikipedia:IPA for Vietnamese"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">ǎːwzâːj</span></a>), the traditional Vietnamese dress and straw hats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like we were living in a postcard.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We went through the usual routine of getting and distributing our passports and obtaining our “special cards” which in Vietnam we were required to carry at all times and present whenever asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first few hours in HCMC were spent on a City tour, checking out the sites of HCMC and a couple of their museums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t remember much from this tour in part because the heat and humidity were oppressive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of all the countries we had been to, this had to be the most hot and humid, it was intense.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The other unique aspect of Vietnam was also the amount of motorbikes (mopeds) and motorcycles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During rush hour it would seem that there were a million people on the road on motorbikes, and not just one or two, but at times a whole family of folk, it was all so interesting to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We were also informed, prior to our arrival, just how we were to cross the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed simple, step off the curb and walk, “the motorbikes” will just go around you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were told don’t run, don’t stop midway, just walk at a normal pace and the traffic will dodge you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is so much easier to say than actually do, though by the time we left Vietnam 5 days later, I was a semi pro at this maneuver. Look to see where the traffic is coming, find an open spot, step off the curb and walk (and pray to God you don’t get hit).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was simple alright.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-36801272089226278152009-11-30T13:52:00.003+00:002009-12-11T01:45:09.697+00:00"The Taj Mahal: a testament to love'<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As explained to us by our guide Mr. Singh. A Mahal is a palace, throughout India there are many Mahal’s the crown jewel of which is the Taj Mahal. I am sure you are aware of the story of the Taj Mahal. It is the gorgeous palace built by “<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire" title="Mughal Empire"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Mughal</span></a> Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Mahal" title="Mumtaz Mahal"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Mumtaz Mahal</span></a>. In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_empire" title="Mughal empire"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Mughal empire</span></a>'s period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauhara_Begum" title="Gauhara Begum"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Gauhara Begum</span></a>. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death. Despite her frequent pregnancies, Mumtaz traveled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. She was his constant companion and trusted confidant and their relationship was intense. Indeed, the court historians go to unheard lengths to document the intimate and erotic relationship the couple enjoyed. In their nineteen years of marriage, they had thirteen children together</span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumtaz_Mahal#cite_note-K19-5"></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, seven of whom died at birth or at a very young age.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div></div></div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Mumtaz died in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burhanpur" title="Burhanpur"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Burhanpur</span></a> in 1631 AD (1040 AH), while giving birth to their fourteenth child. She had been accompanying her husband whilst he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burhanpur" title="Burhanpur"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;">Burhanpur</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> in a walled pleasure garden known as </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zainabad&action=edit&redlink=1" title="Zainabad (page does not exist)"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;">Zainabad</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. Today, the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal" title="Taj Mahal"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;">Taj Mahal</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> stands as the ultimate monument to love and homage to her beauty and life”. (Wikipedia, 2009)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Or to put it in more crass terms, as one of the t shirts (that I should have bought) advertised "it’s the greatest hard on a man has ever had for a woman." But honestly it is a standing monument of beauty that is immense and not only beautiful, it is breath taking.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmJ1J1iviEwKgeXoc62A0Q6neXqXP5RT0PxJOGv9ZLvCqj0sm-b12fwYWiVqNAIycF-_Ok87LdA-IpMCzvqxB9HTSsDwcbNGAA1EMkkQzFcHUnW3Gt4SExfc2G0PhZmwza-tqWYggXWQ/s1600/DSC04781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmJ1J1iviEwKgeXoc62A0Q6neXqXP5RT0PxJOGv9ZLvCqj0sm-b12fwYWiVqNAIycF-_Ok87LdA-IpMCzvqxB9HTSsDwcbNGAA1EMkkQzFcHUnW3Gt4SExfc2G0PhZmwza-tqWYggXWQ/s320/DSC04781.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On October 24, 2009 we arrived in Agra and checked into a hotel 10 minutes from the Taj Mahal, in the morning we would take off before dawn to see the sun rise there and return in the late afternoon to see the sun set. I was so excited. I hardly slept or so I thought, when my alarm went off at 4am, I quickly prepared and dressed for the day. My colleague PL called me to confirm I was awake and we agreed to meet on the bus. As I left my room I hoped onto the elevator and there was a couple already on there, they looked a little distressed but I didn’t think anything of it. I saw that the Lobby button had been pressed and watched the doors close. For the next few minutes I came to learn firsthand why the couple had looked distressed. We rode the elevator for the next 10 or so minutes stopping on other floors (none of which we pressed, or that there were people waiting for an elevator). I started to get anxious. I was going to miss my bus. I was sweating and close to tears when finally we arrived to the lobby and I ran out of the elevator into the lobby and ran into the parking area to see the last of our tour busses pulling away. I chased it down only to realize another bus was waiting just outside the hotel gates. Knowing it was not my bus but one of the busses from our tour, I hoped on an apologized to the SASers on their bus. They understood told me to take my seat and off we were to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We arrived just outside the gates and were told we would have to walk a few minutes to then wait in line outside the gates. As I walked to the gates in the dark with members of our ship community I thought wow I can’t believe I almost missed this. I arrived to the gate to see my bus mates waiting for me, PL seemed relieved, when I told him about my elevator ride he sort of laughed. We waited and watched as dawn came and started to lighten the sky then we were let in. After a quick search of our bags and a brief frisking we were on the grounds of the Taj Mahal. We walked towards and arch way and could see its grandeur almost busting through the arch way. </span><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As we came through the archway the Taj seemed larger than life. The sun rising to its east reflecting its rays made the dome seem pink. It truly was a wonder to see. I cannot do it justice, as a matter of fact, any picture that I have seen or taken of it cannot do it service. It is much more magnificent and beautiful than any captured picture of it can portray.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We returned to the Taj, in the late afternoon to witness the evening sun setting around it. The number of visitors seemed to have increased by the thousands, in the early morning it seemed like we had it all to ourselves in comparison to the hordes of people now present. Nonetheless we still appreciated its beauty and splendor. This time we were with thousands of other visitors and a gang of monkeys as well. </span><br />
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</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">To think, I almost missed this due to riding the elevator.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-21271565689128857112009-11-28T19:07:00.001+00:002009-11-28T19:13:09.309+00:00India<div class="MsoNormal">October 23, we arrived in Chennai, India. As usual a group of us waking up to see the sunrise over our newest port. This sunrise in particular was special. One of our colleagues would be leaving us in India and returning to the US after visiting her family. Our sunrise was bitter sweet.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Upon our arrival while still in the waterway before 6am we could hear the traffic. Horns blowing and just vehicle noise. This should have prepared us to the congestion and amount of people we would encounter in India, the vehicles, rickshaw, farm animals and pedestrians all part of the traffic pattern. We were also greeted in the harbor by these large lavender and crimson colored jelly fish.<br />
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I had somewhat anticipated India to be filthy and smell horribly bad, worse than Morocco even, but that in fact is not the India I experienced at all (not to say it does not exist). <br />
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Our first day in port a group of 6 of my colleagues and I wandered into Chennai we took a taxi to the port entrance past an inspection point (which is a story and blog which may cause some ethical concerns and international incidents, therefore I have decided that in order to protect the not so innocent I will blog about it when the voyage is over) to The Sheraton Chennai; an oasis among the busy dusty street in Chennai. a guard and gate informed us that not even the parking area was open to all. We walked into the hotel itself and was stunned by its beauty. We decided that instead of just asking for directions, we would have our lunch at a restaurant in the hotel, we then had a fabulous lunch of local authentic Indian food, which the waiter ordered for us. He would ask us if we liked, lamb, or chicken, or this or that and we would nod our head in approval. Now anyone that knows me knows that I don’t like hot spicy food, but even I gave this a go. It was all amazing, the smells, the taste, the atmosphere. We ended our lunch with a dessert and coffee, which I watched the chef concoct for me.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After lunch we ventured into the streets in search for this “saree mart” for a low cost on those beautiful outfits the Indian women wear. We walked and walked and walked the streets of Chennai for like an hour. It was hot, the sidewalks mostly unfriendly (constantly in disrepair), we could see why people walked in the street and were part of the traffic pattern.<br />
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We finally arrived to the store we were looking for and made our purchases and opted to walk around to visit and experience the street vendors. Our group of 6 breaking up into pairs as some opted to return to the ship while others opted to continue shopping. After a long day of walking and shopping ED and I decided to take a rickshaw back to the ship, well we were in for quite an adventure as the rickshaw (a motorbike with a covered seat in the back) bobbed and weaved in and out of traffic, cutting off cars, barely stopping at traffic lights, dodging cows and people.<br />
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By the time we arrived to the port gate we were happy to be getting out of the rickshaw. What a first day experience in Chennai.<br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-80650712040809839032009-11-27T06:51:00.000+00:002009-11-27T06:51:56.305+00:00Falling on my ASSetsHaving for the past 4 years been the primary person responsible for overseeing the University of RI Challenge Course and a challenge course facilitator trainer I thought it would be a good experience to go to an adventure park while in Mauritius. My adventure began as we boarded our tour buses and traveled about an hour into the mountains of Mauritius. We were able to see some beautiful landscapes along the way and finally arriving in the Chamarel region realized that we were nestled in the side of a mountain with a breath taking view of part of Mauritius: as was the adventure course. The description on the Adventure Park Chamarel website is as follows:<br />
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“<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Discover new outdoor activities in the <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">heart of a unique 12 hectare tropical forest,</span></strong><b> </b><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">in Mauritius, with Parc Aventure Chamarel</span></strong><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Regardless of athletic ability, the young and not so young can roam <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">from trees to trees</span></strong>, and <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">path to path</span></strong>, attached to a lifeline (safety equipment). In order to fully enjoy the site’s fabulous views, kiosks have been placed overlooking the Chamarel valley.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">A lot of fun of these outdoor activities resides in their ability to give you a fright, without ever putting you in danger.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">...Parc Aventure Chamarel…Adventure at your fingertips…”<o:p></o:p></span></strong><br />
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I was excited to participate but immediately knew I was in for a challenged, having learned a while ago how to read between the lines I knew this was going to be challenging: anytime you read “Regardless of athletic ability” you should question that in part because it is very difficult to build something that will challenge your experienced and athletic participants and not be too much for your first timers. Also, “attached to a lifeline (safety equipment)” should be a warning to you that there is some risk whenever you have to don a harness with carabineer, which at times may be the only thing preventing you from falling on the ground, which I learned first-hand. And lastly, “their ability to give you a fright, without ever putting you in danger”, this line alone makes me raise my eyebrow and should have been a huge red flag. But I digress; let me continue to what happened when I visited the adventure park.<o:p></o:p><br />
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As we arrived we were fitted with the ever so attractive harness and ropes with attached carabineers. We were then led down to our first bridge, which seemed safe enough, we were instructed how to attach our carabineer’s to the support cable and then safely cross the ladder bridge which was only about 3 feet off the ground, the rungs or steps on this ladder bridge were about 1 foot apart from each other which added a challenge but it was ok. I watched as mostly all of the students some faculty and an elderly life-long learner went across the bridge with minimal effort. <br />
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The next bridge crossed part of a ravine which at its deepest had about a 10 foot drop, and increasingly the challenges became a little harder, the steps a little more far apart from one another and the heights increasingly higher, until we came upon a bridge with nothing to support your hands, it was a straight bridge with steps about one foot from each other and at times 2 immediately next to one another but nothing for you to grab. It was quite challenging, it was then followed by a steep hike and then another bridge with nothing more than a couple of ropes hanging from the support cable and each step about 3-4 feet apart from one another. <br />
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I thought I was going to die from an increase in blood pressure, the drop below the bridge was only about 4 feet, but as anyone who has done these type of challenges before can tell you when you are 5 foot 5 a four foot drop looks like a nine foot drop. Anyway I pressed on to meet my next challenge which I thought I was ready for. <br />
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This next rope cave as I like to call it would be my undoing I approached it as all things looking at it strategically and deciding where to place my hands and feet. Let me describe this to you, completely made of rope tied into squares it came up my right side, across over my head and down my left. It was probably a distance of 10 or so feet. The objective: start at point A and get to the end. Well I placed my hands grabbing the rope and then gently placed my right foot and then my left, immediately before I got my left foot off the safety platform I felt myself go into what I describe as a Russian split(each of my legs in opposite direction) and then I lost my hand grip and immediately fell to the ground only scraping each side of my body as I fell. I landed with both arms through the 2<sup>nd</sup> to the last rung on the rope and my right foot on the ground, left foot still in the rope rung. I was hurt but more embarrassed than anything else. I immediately jumped up onto my feet assessed the bruises and applied hand sanitizer to the one on my hand and realized the ones on my arms were more rope burn than bruises. I kept going and finished the course with the zip line and felt I had accomplished something. <br />
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Overall it was a great experience. I enjoyed the bridges and the hikes, but mostly the amazing views. It was only the next day that I realized how bad I had been bruised. My arms looked bad. The bruises are gone now but the experience of the day is forever embedded in my memory and helps me to laugh at myself and not take myself too seriously.<o:p></o:p><br />
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</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-89517107792836805352009-11-25T14:16:00.000+00:002009-11-25T14:16:26.750+00:00Mauritius: I didnt know you before but I know you now<div class="MsoNormal">Before embarking on this voyage around the world I had no idea where Mauritius was or what to think about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly didn’t even look it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing I knew for sure was that it was off the coast of Madagascar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
</div><div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 4.8pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“Mauritius</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, officially the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Republic of Mauritius</span>,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>French:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span xml:lang="fr"><i><span lang="FR" style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">République de Maurice</span></i></span><i></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">is an<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>island nation<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>off the coast of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>African continent<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometres (560 mi) east of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Madagascar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The island of Mauritius is renowned for having been the only known home of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>dodo. First sighted by Europeans around 1600 on Mauritius, the dodo became extinct less than eighty years later.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Wikipedia, 2009).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">During my visit to Mauritius one of the guides on a trip I was on said, “Mauritius is about as big as the state of Rhode Island with about 1.3 million people” I was delighted that she even knew about RI, later when I told her I was from RI and asked her about it she just stated, “Oh I just know it’s the smallest state in the US."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for deflating my balloon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway here is the recount of my Mauritius adventures.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Blue Safari<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">From the ship I took a guided tour bus to Peyrebere Beach where the group listened to a conservationist group talk about the efforts that Mauritius is trying to make in the past 4 years to conserve their coast line and beach areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The government and these conservationists are not on the same page with their efforts and much of the problem comes from unregulated tourism (scuba diving, snorkeling, and other water sports) and the construction of resorts and hotels right on the coast line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>After our educational piece we were shuttled to where we would board a small boat out to the ship where we would board the 10 person submarine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our trip to the ship was about ten minutes long; while we were en route to the ship the captain slowed down to allow a school of about 20 dolphins to pass by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I finally got to see my dolphin in the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Once we arrived to the ship<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we were instructed how to board the submarine,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>aboard the submarine we were informed on some of the things we would see, more importantly how we should make the submarine surface in the event that our pilot passed out or become distressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I paid close attention to those instructions.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While in the submarine we dove 30 meters to an amazing coral reef where we saw some interesting tropical fish, an old anchor completely covered in coral, a sea anemone with clown fish (of course) and a small octopus (by small I mean his head was as big as my head and tentacles were as long as my arm).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>We were also taken to see a ship that was submerged in order to grow a coral reef and were able to see all the great under water life that is now dependant on its existence there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">About an hour after we had gone down below we surfaced and I suddenly had a major headache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was well worth the experience.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sunset at Flic en Flac<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Upon my return from the Blue Safari, I asked one of the tour agents where is the best beach to see the sun set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She informed me “Flic en Flac Beach” and then directed me on how I should get there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took a city bus (an adventure in and of itself) for a 45 minute ride to Flic en Flac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sat quietly and watched the people board and disembark the bus at times without the bus even stopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Flic en Flac is a beautiful white sand beach with coral and sea shells strewn about on the shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ate dinner sea side, ordered form one to the vendor trucks; it wasn’t a fancy meal but it did allow me to sample some authentic Mauritian seasonings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I ate I walked along the beach for about 15 minutes before “the show” started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun made its appearance. It was a very overcast evening, but the sun did appear to answer its curtain call in an equally magnificent manner as if there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pictures do not do it justice<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">After the sun set I was prepared to hail a cab and pay $35 US dollars to get back to port.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as I approached the street the bus appeared and though we had been warned not to take public transit in the evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I threw caution to the wind and hoped for the best; after all it can’t be as bad as riding a NY City subway after midnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I arrived safely to the port having enjoyed my full day of safari and sunset.<br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-73118075547443233252009-11-18T15:59:00.000+00:002009-11-18T15:59:28.658+00:00On Safari in South Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5mC4VS_SKiQp_5Z1lOAAdjnTtcurWr8iK4AchVC06HWAthXEzIItVmUDPduuo_EgUxqrcUJJsEr_VtCE0ey-0YX-XYHJvjbhyphenhyphenc-pLNHc3oL7A3lEwY2yCqmzhzvjm5mrtUskQG_jEFc/s1600/DSC03497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5mC4VS_SKiQp_5Z1lOAAdjnTtcurWr8iK4AchVC06HWAthXEzIItVmUDPduuo_EgUxqrcUJJsEr_VtCE0ey-0YX-XYHJvjbhyphenhyphenc-pLNHc3oL7A3lEwY2yCqmzhzvjm5mrtUskQG_jEFc/s320/DSC03497.JPG" /></a><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">There are 3 things I have been looking forward to on this voyage around the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visiting the Great Wall of China, visiting the Taj Mahal in India, and going on Safari in South Africa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>October 6, 2009 was the day that the first of these three adventures would begin.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">That morning I woke early to get on a bus that would take 30 or so of the Semester at Sea community to the airport where we would fly to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, we arrived safely to the Mpumalanga area and were immediately whisked away to our resort; Sabi River Sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived to our tropical oasis and quickly checked in to the hotel and freshened up and were quickly shuttled to Kruger Park for our first safari run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We broke up into groups of 9 per safari vehicle, HM one of my colleagues and I were in the same safari group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I selected the vehicle who’s guide had only one leg, yes one leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured if he is working in this field with only one leg he has to be good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, we got into our jeep and rode in to the park, we first had to register our group, as our guide took care of the registration I looked on this board outside the registration office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pictured on this board was where the Big 5 and a few other popular animals had been spotted on that day and the day before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought wow, this is cool, we just may get to see the Big 5 today.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">What are the Big 5?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are the Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, Elephant, and White Rhino.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may think well you are going into this park where they live, so you are bound to see them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well that’s like saying you are bound to see a shark in the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can assure you I lived in RI 35 years of my life, and have swam in the Atlantic Ocean at least once each summer, add to that I have been on a ship since Aug 24 (70+ days at sea to date) and I have yet to see a shark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are no guarantees.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well I tried not to enter with any expectations so as not to be disappointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first animals that we saw were some buck, and then Zebra, then Kudu (the Kruger park mascot) and then the most dangerous animal in the park, Hippos (not the answer you were expecting) come to find out hippopotamus are the most dangerous animals in the park; due in part to their territorial nature, sharp teeth and immense size, as well as them not seaming as being a threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The entire safari experience was wonderful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t bore you with the day to day details, after all I was on a three day safari.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I will tell you about the few highlights of my experience.</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Leopard<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We were on the road on our way from watching the hyena in the watering hole when we came upon some traffic in the road, and cars vying for a better view. When all of a sudden I stood up and saw what they were looking at. It was a beautiful leopard laying low from the afternoon heat. Eyes looking like yellow jade. just laying there in a ravine, cool as a cucumber. <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Lioness and her boys.<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On day two (the only full day of safari) our guide was informed that there was a lioness with 2 adolescent males near a watering hole, so off we went on a drive for several miles to view this .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we arrived our guide had to maneuver the vehicle to find us a good viewing spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there they were, three lions, a female and two adolescent males lazily laying around the concrete container of water which fed the “natural” watering hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a few feet from them was some Antelope like animal, alert that the lions were in the vicinity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so surreal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched for about a ½ hour then moved on. We moved on about our day to see Giraffe, a hyena keeping cool in the midday sun, Elephants, warthogs, and crocodiles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were en route to another spot to see Elephants crossing a road when all of a sudden our guide spotted something, he turned into a little shady spot and there they were, perhaps the same three lions from earlier today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lioness and two adolescent males just strolling through, the guide stopped the vehicle and turned off the engine as these amazing creatures walked by us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point the lioness was about 10 feet from our vehicle and she just sat down and yawned (as if posing for pictures) it was incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched for a few minutes more when they just gathered together and crossed the road into some dense bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were squealing with delight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though we had seen the Cape Buffalo and Elephants, this is what we really came to see, and we got to see them up close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Elephants Crossing<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">About an hour later I saw a sight that was the highlight of my day, a pack of about 20 elephants walking through the dense brush and then they decided to cross the street in front of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were enormous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we noticed what seemed to be baby elephants, and again were delighted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing baby animals was a whole other feat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Towards the end of the elephant parade, we watched and noticed there was a momma elephant with the smallest baby any of us had seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guide said it was probably only a few weeks old, it stood only about 3 feet high, it seemed so tiny in comparison to the rest of the herd, as it ran almost underneath its mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was truly a delight to see<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hyena Feeding<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That evening we participated in an evening safari.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most students were looking forward to seeing a kill, I personally thought they were aiming too high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw a quick peek of hippos walking through the dense brush and some other animals (night animals) we had not seen before, and of course some Kudu, but the highlight of the evening was as our night safari was coming to a close, we were in the homestretch about 200 yards from the border of the park when our guide pulled over to the side of the road and flashed the spot light on two mother hyena’s with cubs attached to their teets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the most tender thing I had seen in a long time.<br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Rhino’s and lions<br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the last day of safari we were after two things seeing a male lion and the white rhino.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had yet to see a white rhino up close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So as the day was winding down our guide got news that an even rarer sight was to be seen, he took us to the top of a hill got out of the car and went around a bend in search of a rhino, he came back with nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then as we were traveling down the hill, there we saw about 250 yards down on the savannah a black rhino.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We watched and watched as it moved from one tree to another just pulling at the leaves and cracking the branches as if they were twigs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then went on a quick drive as he got news of a pride of lions on a rock, we arrived and saw a scrawny pride; a male with a mane and three female lions just lazily laying atop of a rock, they barely moved when our vehicle approached.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From there we went on to leave the park and came across the White rhino about 20 feet from our vehicle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>My safari experience had been full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just great.<br />
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</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7275422481125208219.post-34675566276556503702009-10-18T21:13:00.000+00:002009-10-18T21:13:37.849+00:00Power, Privilege, Forgiveness, and Redemption<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Over a year ago while I was back home in Providence, RI I attended service at Cathedral of Life Christian Assembly (COLCA), head pastor Rev.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Dr. </span>Jeffery A. Williams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While attending service there Pastor Jeff did a series of sermons on “Forgiveness”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I first heard those sermons I internalized the word and applied it to my life at the time and some family issues that had been going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Sunday October 4, 2009 once again I could clearly hear Pastor Jeff’s message in my head playing over and over as if it were a recording.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gist of the message was; if we choose not to forgive someone that has done us wrong we are tied to them forever and in essence unable to let go of the guilt, hurt, or whatever other negative feelings there may be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgiveness not only sets free the person that trespassed against you but it will set you free as well. I never thought I would see forgiveness play itself out in a real life example over a year later and half a world away.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On Sunday, October 4, 2009 my second day in South Africa I set out to participate on one of the Semester at Sea Field Practicum opportunities (a Field Practicum is typically led by one of the faculty and can be directly linked to a class that a particular faculty is teaching aboard the ship while we are at sea), this one would have us visit Robben Island (former prison and leper colony), <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for an “in-depth exploration of the island guided by South African peace activist (and former SAS professor) Terry Crawford-Browne”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The group of 30 took the 7:30 am staff ferry to Robben Island, as we were boarding Terry informed us that this ferry that is now used to transport the workers of the island and the children that attend school on the island was one of the transport vessels used to shuttle the prisoners to Robben Island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we boarded the “staff ferry”,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terry informed us that when the prisoners were loaded on board they would be shackled to each other and put below, the 45 minute ferry ride was uneventful other then the day was overcast<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with a wind blowing, which made the seas choppy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We arrived to Robben Island and as we were getting off the ferry it occurred to me that one of the people on this ferry was going to be our tour guide through the prison, a former prisoner, here they were on a ferry that may have once brought them to this island to detain them and now they come willingly as a means to earn an income and to tell their story and in part the history of their country along with some of the atrocities that occurred on its way to freedom from Apartheid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we were about to get off the ferry Terry pointed out that the ferry docked at the pier was the very one that brought Nelson Mandela over to Robben Island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nelson Mandela is Robben Island’s most famous prisoner though the island itself has a long history; “<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">amongst its first permanent inhabitants were political leaders from various Dutch colonies, including</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Indonesia</span>, later<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">The Moturu Kramat, a sacred site for Muslim pilgrimage on Robben Island, was built in 1969 to commemorate</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sayed Abdurahman Moturu</span>, <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Prince of Madura</span>. Moturu, one of Cape Town's first 'imams', was exiled to the island in the mid 1740s and died there in 1754<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">. Muslim political prisoners would pay homage at the shrine before leaving the island</span>” (Wikipedia 2009).<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We were first taken to the beach front home of the penguin colony on Robben Island, though currently the penguins are struggling to thrive in part due to the over 30,000 rabbits that are inhabitants of the same small island competing for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>habitat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might think well Penguins and rabbits can coexist they don’t eat the same thing, well they may not eat the same things but they look to nest in the same privacy and so far the rabbits are winning. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After seeing both penguin and Rabbit in feet’s distance from each other we went on to the visitors center where we informed that visitors were often turned away or not allowed to see their loved ones even though they may have traveled thousands of miles for days on end, or when they were allowed to visit with their loved one, at times were they themselves detained from leaving the island for hours on end; since they were not allowed to write things down, this method was used to deter the visitor to transport direct news or information to people on the outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We continued on our walk past <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">the Moturu Kramat mosque on the island and</span></span> then walked over to the Leper cemetery, our walk continued on to the Robert Sobukwe House, where Robert Sobukwe was held in solitary confinement for his crimes, uprising and getting others to do the same against the apartheid regime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sobukwe was not allowed to speak to anyone, the guards that were responsible for guarding him were not allowed to speak to him, it is said that this affected his mental stability later in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a simple looking concrete holding with windows, were it not for the fence and large lights in the immediate area surrounding it, one would think it was a very humble residence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Our walk then took us to the limestone quarry where the prisoners of Robben Island worked, nicknamed the University due to the fact that many prisoners received instruction from fellow prisoners that were more educated than they.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stood next to a pile of rocks about 3 feet high while Terry told us of how Nelson Mandela himself was one of the workers at the quarry, then Terry turned to the pile of rocks and said “upon a return, a prisoner’s reunion, Mandela placed a rock here and his action was followed by each of the prisoners that were here”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pile of rocks was their way of commemorating their return to a place that once was their prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>From their Terry took us to the place where we would eat our lunch and hear him tell us of what it is that he does as a peace activist, The Church of The Good Sheppard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terry refurbished the church and is its current pastor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has great plans for this simple yet beautiful building as a means to serve the community on Robben Island and to continue to tell the story of all of its past inhabitants. We then continued on by bus for a tour of the residential area of the island; about 100 people currently live on this island. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an elementary school which caters to about 40 students with 2 teachers for instructing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rode past a Taiwanese shipping boat wrecked on the coast line, when the wreckage originally occurred the prison warden thought it was an attempt to free Nelson Mandela and detained the ship’s crew until matters were cleared up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wreckage sits in its original location though it is not the only ship that wrecked on Robben Island, due to its location in the bay many ships and smaller boats have wrecked on the island.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From there our tour continued on to the prison, when we arrived we got off the bus and were met at the prison doors by a former prisoner who took us down the halls and into the courtyards of the place which once held him here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He showed us Nelson Mandela’s cell and took us the the courtyard where many important messages and even a manuscript and its copy were kept in hiding in Mandela’s garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>One of our students asked him what he had been arrested for, and he listed an unending list of charges from terrorism, to possession of bomb making materials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I could think about while he was talking was “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”.</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I did not go into specific detail about the prison or even Mandela’s cell because it seems so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a cell, he was denied his freedom as were all of the prisoners, they were made to sleep on little more than a 6X2’ carpet and prisoners of Mandela’s status were denied interaction with most other prisoners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some were beaten and mistreated, while others were denied access to be educated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All in the name of Apartheid,<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"> a system of legal</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">racial segregation</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">enforced by the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">National Party</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">government in</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">South Africa</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">between 1948 and early 1994.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To think its only been 15 years that South Africa has been an independent country able to elect Nelson Mandela and other former prisoners president of their new independent country. As our tour ended we walked past a sign of prisoners on a ferry boat with a placard in front of them which read “Freedom” and then we walked past the tall fence outside of the prison area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Nelson Mandela served 18 years of a 64 year prison sentence, for speaking and acting out against Apartheid, while many others like Steven Biko gave their lives for the same cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it happened in my lifetime, I remember when the song "I dont want to play Sun City" came out and hearing of Nelson Mandela being wrongfully imprisoned and then when he was freed, I was in college, and when he was elected president too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed so long ago, yet not long enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As the day came to a close I felt emotionally drained and kept thinking back to Pastor Jeff’s words about forgiveness, and understood how the former prisoners of Robben Island now come every day to this place, that once imprisoned them, to work and tell their story, and how they have come to forgive those that imprisoned them, and yes by our guide's own admission he has forgiven those that imprisoned him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are living in a freedom we can only hope to live.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
</div>Ana Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02043308296249802936noreply@blogger.com0