Spain

It was crazy coming into our last port, knowing this was the last country we got to explore. However, it was really nice to finally be in a country where I could communicate. Because I speak Spanish with a Mexican accent, I found the Spaniards a bit hard to understand because they have such a different accent and different words for things, but aside from the little things, I had no problem. The first day we caught a train from Cadiz to the town of Sevilla, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. We spent the day exploring the city center and the many cathedrals. In Spain, as in many other Latin American countries, the people take a very long lunch (the biggest meal of the day) at around two and then take a siesta (nap) before returning to work later in the evening. It was very nice to sit at lunch for hours without any waiter trying to turn your table. We sat and drank sangria (a Spanish fruit wine) after lunch for about three hours. That night, we stayed at a nice little hostel that night for about twenty dollars a person. The next day, we went back to the city center, and to Sevilla’s most famous cathedral. The place was massive. The ceilings were about 75 feet tall and decorated with scenes from the bible and the life of Christ. We saw the monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus, and at the bottom of it, the tomb where he rests. I remember having an eerie feeling in this place, the heart of Spanish Catholicism, standing next to Christopher Columbus. This is where so much of what we know today, much of what relates to us, religion, our landscape, our languages, the entire civilization of the Americas dates back to. This all dates back to the man lying in front of me. However, this was also the man who led boats full of conquistadors to these lands to eventually slaughter millions of native peoples, destroying lives, families, and culture. All in the name of the Holy. That evening, we caught our flight to Barcelona. I was in Barcelona when I was about ten years old, but I didn’t remember too much about it. The only thing I really remembered was visiting the Pablo Picasso Museum. We visited many of the works of Gaudi, one of Europe’s most respected architects and a legend in the field. My favorite was the Sangrada Famila (Family Blood), a Cathedral with the appearance that it is melting. Melting towers peak from the top of the building reaching about one hundred and twenty fifty feet. Barcelona is a very international city, and it reminded me a lot of home. I think my most blatant example of globablization occurred in Barcelona. Here we were, in Barcelona Spain, and we were eating at a Chinese restaurant. While eating, the restaurant was playing an American rap song, and at the end of the meal, I paid with some Chinese Yuan (Mainland China Currency) that I had left over in my wallet. They laughed, asked where I got it, and were happy to except it as a form of payment. My favorite part of Barcelona was the hostel we stayed in. The place was called ‘‘Kabul’’ and was located just off the main street. There were four floors of rooms, and the bottom floor, where the reception was, had four computers for free use, a pool table, a foosball table, tables and chairs, and a bar that sold one liter beers for three Euros, which was cheaper than anywhere else around. It was cool because everyone staying at the hostel would hang out in this area at night before going out on the town at around midnight or one. I met a lot of really cool people from all over the world, including a very interesting European man who I had a long chat with about my insights. He is in the process of writing a book, and asked me if he could quote me in his texts, so we exchanged information and gave him the okay for it. The second night we were there, I overheard a table of Portuguese speakers. Without hesitation, I went over and introduced myself in Portuguese and was invited to sit down. I spent the next four hours practicing my Portuguese with a group of seven Brazilians. They were so much fun and got me really excited for my trip there in a few weeks. We spent the majority of our time in Spain in Barcelona, but returned again to Seville the last day before taking our final train to Cadiz. I enjoyed Spain but I have to say I am glad I didn’t decide to spend a year there studying, I am more of a Latin America fan as opposed to a European. It was really sad getting back on the boat, as I knew it would be the last time I would ever get ON this boat again, and I know it will be overwhelming when the idea that the trip is over really hits me. I see my life, and the world in a different way than I did before I left. Seeing everything from the Pyramids of Egypt to the poverty of India has really changed my perspective on things. I have incredible friends on this boat that I will sorely miss with all of my heart, and can’t imagine a day without them right now. Most of all, I have learned a lot about myself, and even though I am still trying to figure out the complications of my inner being, I feel that this trip has helped my stars to a line.
I give my deepest thanks to my parents for providing me with this opportunity, my feeling is beyond appreciation, and to my entire family for giving me their unconditional love and support.
The incredible camera I got to capture so many of my lifelong memories is credited to my grandparents. Thanks so much. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt LaVona, Uncle Jon, Mom, Dad, Marci, Grandpa Billy, Kelly, Linda Hoffman my habitat volunteer coordinator, Laura, Daniel, Mike, Bub, Alex, T, and Juan, thank you guys so much for making me feel at home when I felt more than a world away. I love you all very much. I will be posting a final assessment of the countries visited in time, so look for that. See you all very soon!

Croatia

We arrived in Croatia on a cloudy, drizzling morning. I remember waking up, and looking out the window at one of the many islands that speckled the coastline. The many islands contained sailboats and white stucco homes with Spanish style roofs. The first day, Mike and I decided to start walking to the old town, with no plans. We came across a bus station, and at that very moment, we decided to hop on a bus and drive five hours to a city north of Dubrovnik. The drive was beautiful, the highway paralleled the coast the hole way, and the combination of the landscape, Spanish style homes, and the beautiful ocean reminded me a lot of southern California. About two hours into the ride, to our surprise, we entered Bosnia, as it lied directly in our path to Split. We stopped for a bathroom break at a mini store in Bosnia, and I bought a coffee mug, just to say I got something from Bosnia. We arrived in Split that night around eight or so with no plans and with no where to sleep. In the bus station, a little old lady who was renting out a room in her home for the night approached us. The room was about 100 Kuna, equivalent to twenty dollars U.S. so Mike and I agreed. We had our own room, with two beds and a bathroom. The king size bed I slept in was very comfortable. There was a down mattress cover, down pillows, and a down comforter. We spent the next day exploring the beautiful beach town of Split. It was very cold, so the city wasn’t as lively as in the summer, but we still had a good time. That evening, we crossed back through Bosnia and continued to Dubrovnik. The next day, a few friends and I walked around the old town. Old Dubrovnik is a several hundred-year-old walled city that is still the heart of Dubrovnik life today. The weather was cold, but it only rained a few times. When it did rain though, it rained very hard. While in Dubrovnik, we noticed a large cross situated atop the steepest incline in the city. We got the idea to climb up to this cross, but we wanted to ask a local first if it was safe, because we had been warned to not venture to far off the beaten path as there were still live landmines buried from the Serbs a decade or so ago. After getting the okay from a few locals and a tour guide, we began climbing up to this cross. We first walked through little neighborhoods to get up to the highway that lined the side of the mountain. After crossing the highway, was jumped into the woods, to begin our climb. We fought through sticker bushes and pine trees for the first half hour or so, and then had to scale some large rocks. After about forty-five minutes we exited the woods and were about halfway to the cross. The last half of the exhausting hike was trekking up loose rock. We reached the top, turned around, and saw one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen. The water was turquoise blue, the palm treed islands scattered the coastline, and the brick buildings of the old city complimented the Spanish style homes outside the walls. The cross was about twenty-five feet tall, and behind it was ruins of some buildings. These buildings were once a Croatian military fort before this hill, along with the rest of the city, was bombed by Serbians in the early nineties. We explored these buildings, and even though the raid is fifteen years passed, it appeared as if had happened only yesterday. The soldiers beds were still tipped over, clothes were scattered on the ground, and many of the walls were littered with bullet holes and blood. The feeling in this place was really uneasy. The last day we just hung out in the old city and drank wine at one of the many outside restaurants. That night we saw a movie. We saw the new American movie ‘‘Rendition.’’ It was weird to be in a movie theatre again, especially watching an American film with Croatian subtitles. The movie was set in Egypt, and it was cool to see after recently visiting that country. However, some of the movie was in Arabic, and the English subtitles of the movie would overlap with the Croatian subtitles, making it hard to read. I would love to return to Croatia in the summer time, as I can only imagine how beautiful it would be. Manning a sailboat through the isles of Croatia is a new dream of mine.

Istanbul, Turkey

Our trip across the Mediterranean and Agean Seas lasted only two days, but the weather changed immensely. It was quite a change from Egypt, where it was dry and about eighty or ninety. The first day we arrived, it was raining, and I stepped off the ship to see my breath for the first time in about eight months. It was rainy and cold, and I have to say, it reminded me a whole lot of home. I was starting to get use to not having to wear a jacket every time I stepped outside. Though I though I never would, being in Istanbul made me realize I missed the cold, but my yearning for the chill dissipated after about two days. In no way can someone explore all Istanbul has to offer in just five days. The city is astonishingly beautiful though. There is something about the landscape, that when the light hits it, it takes your breath away. The city continues to be littered with a lot of cats, and this has held true for a few hundred years. The cats are strays, but they seemed to be clean, well kept, and well fed. The first day, we hopped on the tram for the ten-minute ride across the bridge to Europe, and explored the famous district of Sultanhamet. Here, we visited the famous Blue Mosque, a Muslim house of prayer, and the Aga Sofia, a Christian house of prayer located a few blocks from it. Turkey was a very interested place, as Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, has been the meeting point for East and West culture throughout history. Mosques and temples sprouted above the horizon of the city for as far as one could see, and new buildings compete for space with the ones that have been there for over half a millennium. The city is so incredibly old, but very well kept and it’s civil engineering top notch. Though Turkey is 98% Muslim, its society seems to be more favorable to the Western way of life. I saw very few married women covering themselves completely with traditional Islamic basques, and women seem to be more liberal in general compared to Egypt. After we visited the historical edifices of Sultanhamet, we sat at one of the coolest little hooka bars I had ever been. We sat, smoked hooka, talked, caressed the little cats to sleep, and drank tea for a few hours. It was a relaxing Wednesday. That night, we saw a Whirling Turkish Durvish Ceremony, an ancient ceremony that consists of Durvish men in white cloaks spinning in circles as a form of becoming closer to God. The next day we explored an area of the city by the name of Taxim Square, a district situated on top of a hill with great shopping and nightlife. The style of the Turks is very cool, and I had to buy a warmer jacket, because it was freezing. There are hooka bars everywhere in Istanbul. Hooka is one ancient practice from the Muslim tradition the Turks have held onto very tightly, and a water pipe (hooka) and a cup of tea are standard after a day at work. That night I was using the Internet at a hooka bar close to the ship, and I met a group of Turkish University students. We sat and talked for a few hours, and commenced to meeting up the following day. They showed me all the cool spots to hang out in the city, and we had a few drinks with them that night. Like most Turks, they were all very nice. Just to give you an idea of how big the city is, their University is in Istanbul, but is over two hours a way by car. The coolest thing about Istanbul, I thought, was five times during a day, the numerous Muslim Mosques around the city would blast out the prayer call. The powerful prayer verse from the Qur’an could be heard loud and clear from all over the city. The last day, my roommate and I just walked around and explored some more. We found a very tall tower on top of a hill that had been built in 1432, and at the end of the day, we climbed up the Golatta Tower to watch the sun set over Europe and Asia at the same time.

Egypt

Let me just start by saying Egypt was one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had. As far back as I can remember, I had always had a firm answer to the common question ‘‘if you could visit anyplace in the world, which would it be?’’ I would shout Egypt without hesitation every time. Three days ago I stared across the Sahara desert at the pyramids, numb to the four o’clock morning chill, my eyes became moist as I felt such a captivating feeling of happiness and fulfillment for something I have longed to do for as long as I can remember. I will continue to be enticed by this moment for as long as I live. We ported into Alexandria the first day, and a group of friends and I caught a cab to the train station. After driving the first few blocks, I fell in love with Egypt. I recollect on how strange it felt to be in the Middle East, where their history is filled with controversy and has yet to cease. The people, however, were great and very welcoming to everyone. After the three hour train ride to Cairo, we met up with an old friend, Cole, who is going to Graduate school in Cairo. He set us up with his friend, Amir, who manages a hostel close to the Egyptian museum. Amir was great, he set everything up for us, and arranged tours and drivers for the entire trip. That night we went out with Cole, had some Kosha, a traditional Egyptian meal consisting of rice, noodles, beans, meat, and a few other things foreign to my knowledge. After dinner, we went to a Hooka bar and shared the traditional Muslim Hooka pipe, standing about three feet tall and loaded with Sheesh, a traditional tobacco. We met some Egyptians there and talked about politics with them, both American and Egyptian. After the Hooka bar, we had a few beers and conversed with Cole about how it felt to live in the Middle East and caught up on some old times. The next morning, we got up at three o’clock to meet our driver who was to take us to the Giza district, where we would receive our camels. We each got out own camel, and trekked about four miles through the chilly night into the Sahara desert, over sand dunes and through valleys. We perched up on the highest hill we could find, and bundled up to stay warm. I never thought I would be freezing in a desert. The stars were mystical, their shine illuminated the edges of the pyramids, giving us our first glimpse of the magnificent structures. I remember looking up at the bright stars, and becoming fascinated knowing these great pyramids were built under the same ceiling thousands of years ago. As the sun came up, the pyramids revealed themselves slowly. We all stood up. In one direction, we could see the city of Cairo, in another, the endless stretch of the Sahara, and in the other, the Great Pyramids of Egypt. We stayed here for about two hours, and I had to go sit alone to marvel at my dream coming true before my eyes. The experience was captivating. It was the first time I saw a childhood dream of mine reveal itself, and it was doing so with the rising of the sun. It was a feeling of ecstasy, and now that I know how that feels, it makes accomplishing more of my dreams seem all the more worthwhile. We took our camels back and hopped on some horses to ride into the pyramids. Our guide took us a back way, to avoid entrance fees and we galloped closer. We left our horses about two hundred yards out and spent the next couple of hours exploring the three thousand year old ancient wonder of the world. The blocks that made up the pyramids were massive, and the collaboration of them stacked one atop another confused the hell out of me. We went inside the middle pyramid, but much of it was closed off. I met a vendor outside who spoke ten different languages, acquiring them all in the five years he has spent selling necklaces outside of the pyramid. I speak three languages, and he made me feel quite inferior. I watched him converse in French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. We continued around back of the middle pyramid and began to climb up. We got about half way up, took some pictures, collected some pieces of the pyramid, and sat for a bit and talked about how surreal it was that we were sitting on top of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. We were then motioned to get down by a guard. There were very few tourists around until about noon, when the busses began showing up, so we decided to leave. This morning was truly a dream come true. I am so appreciative of my parents to have provided me with such a great opportunity. That afternoon we went to the Museum of Egypt, where we saw everything from tombs, live mummies, and the actual gold head mask of King Ramsey II, Egypt’s most famous king. That night we took a sleeper train to Luxor, about eleven hours south. I met another student from Colombia, Andres, and conversed with him in Spanish for much of the night. He was very nice and when I visit Colombia here very soon, I am going to call him. The first day in Luxor, we were picked up and provided a guide. Luxor was the center of Egypt in Ancient times. The East bank consisted of the temples and structures of everyday life. In ancient times, the East bank was the center of life, since the sun rose in the east, and the West bank was the bank of death, where the tombs of kings and queens lie, because the sun sets, or ‘‘dies’’ in the west. The ancient Egyptians believed the mother of the sky gave birth to the sun in the east, and the sun died in the west, so that is how they mapped their lives. We visited Karnak and the temple of Luxor the first day, which were magnificent. Everything you see in your history books about ancient hieroglyphs, giant statues, and elongated pillars, etc. is all located here in Luxor. We visited Karnak (picture above of me in front of two figures), and the Luxor Temple (picture of the sphinx face) later that night. After the tours, we sat outside a Hooka bar and smoked Hooka, played cards, and had deep talks about politics with some Egyptian men. We ended up having very similar opinions and distastes, especially and obviously and Bush and what he calls his administration. The next morning in our hotel lobby, I noticed a woman who didn’t speak much English trying to get something across the receptionist. After listening a bit, I realized she was trying to explain in Spanish. I went over and spoke to her, telling her in Spanish I could translate for her. Her eyes lit up and she was so happy. I told the receptionist in English that she wanted to leave note for her friend who was coming later that day and wanted him to relay the message to her. After relaying the message, the woman asked me if I was from Mexico, because I had a thick Mexican accent, I though that was pretty funny. She was such a nice lady, and I met her friends later in the day. They were from Colombia as well, and we got the chance to talk quite a bit. We exchanged information and when I backpack through Colombia, I will be sure to visit them, as they were so great. That day we explored the West bank, which included the Valley of the Kings, where all of the great kings were buried, the Valley of the Queens, and the temple of Queen Hatchitsup, which you see in the above picture. The last night before we took our train back, we took a felucca ride down the Nile river. A felucca is a small sailing boat with curving triangular sails dating back to ancient times. We watched the sun set while on the boat. We caught our train that night at about ten o’clock, and it was one of the most disgusting places I had ever spent the night. Some of were so tired we slept on the floor, and spent the next day smelling quite awful. I thanked everything holy the next day when we got off the train, and spent the next afternoon in Islamic Cairo, exploring a Mosque and the marketplace. In summary, Egypt, along with the many memories it gave me, has been my favorite place thus far. I will be back to Egypt, with anyone who wants to share the experience. It was just so interesting to be in the Middle East, so different from anything we know back the US. Seeing married women completely covered in black veils was fascinating as well, and all women have to cover their hair in public. Many men have multiple wives, including the brother of our guide. Life is just so different in Muslim countries. Egypt was great, and I loved every minute of it, well except of course the dirty trains. We ate at McDonalds one day in luxor, and we sat up on the third floor. I remember looking out of the window and seeing the ruins of the Temple of Luxor across the street and thinking, ‘‘well, here I am eating a quarter pounder from an American restaurant, staring out at a three thousand year old temple in Egypt, how is that for globalization?’’

Realization...

I am everything I need to be happy, anywhere.

India

India has been the biggest culture shock to me yet. As I stepped off the ship, I was captivated by a feeling foreign to me, an overwhelming sense of confusion as I became witness to a world of extreme poverty. We ported into Chennai, in Southern India, and after our landing cards and passports were checked, we proceeded through the gate into a country as far away from home as we could get, and let me tell you, it was more than the physical location that made me feel far away from home. We were first approached by taxi bicycle cart drivers offering rides to the main street, as our port was located in an industrial section. I walked down the red dirt road, that was lined with all types of warehouses and storage facilities. I noticed many people sleeping on the sidewalks, under the few trees around, and even along side the road. Out of the first twenty or thirty people I saw, maybe five had shoes. I spent the first day with a driver who took me to an ATM, and later to the post office where I mailed off some gifts and a letter to my cousin in boot camp. I had my driver write him an Indian good luck sentence in Hindi at the bottom of the letter. We'll see if it gets to him though, because the only physicality that differentiated the office from a prison cell was a few fans mounted on the ceiling. That night, we caught our flight to Delhi. We paid 180 USD for the two and a half hour flight through an airline by the name of Kingfisher. The plane was the nicest I had ever seen. TV’s in every head rest, head cushions, novelty bag on entering, and the best service by beautiful Indian girls. Maybe the greedy corporate heads of US Airways should take a lesson from Kingfisher, as I am sure they get many repeat customers. (One of the channels on the T.V. was doing a special about the stampede horse racing in Omak, Washington, small world eh?).
While on the boat, my friends and I have become good friends with an Indian girl named Neha. She is from Lake Washington, but her family is originally from Delhi. A few days before our arrival, we complied were her invitation to stay with some of her remaining family in Delhi. We took a taxi from the airport in Delhi to her aunt and uncle's town home style residence in a gated community in South Delhi. We were greeted by the family's personal driver, a few servants, and the cutest ugliest little pug I had ever seen. We gave our thanks to Surish and Renu before we sat down for a traditional Indian dinner. We ate, had a few drinks in conversation, and went to bed. The next day, we ere driven all around Delhi by Raji, the family's driver, who didn't speak much English, but turned out to be an absolute stud. We visited many markets, and a temple, where in the courtyard was some of the most poverished people I have ever seen. I have seen poverty before, built homes for families in rural villages deep in Mexico, and have traveled much, but I had never seen anything like this before. My first sighting was of a two or three year old child passed out on a tinted red blanket, he was caked with dust, and his body had become home to over fifty flies that we conquering every crevice of his face. The next few hours were hard. There were people everywhere, few with shoes and the fixed look on their face said a thousand words. We were advised not to give them money, for reasons in which I will not go into, so we played with the kids and allowed them to video tape each other with Mike's camera. I could tell this period of joy was more meaningful to them than a few dollars, which would just be stolen from them anyway. You can see them in the picture above.

The next day, we met our tour bus at a nearby hotel and took the three and a half hour ride to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. About three hours into the ride, we began to see people marching along side of the street in rows of about eight or so, parading signs in Hindi, which went on for about five miles. Thousands and thousand of people were marching. Our driver informed me that these people were walking to the President’s house in Delhi, to protest a recent repossession of land in their village by the government. They had been walking for a month. We arrive in the city of Agra shortly after. Agra is one of the most poverished places in India, and is also one of the oldest. Garbage, dusty clay building covered with torn cloth, monkeys, and sidewalk dwellers lined the street, then, out of no where, a magnificent 232 foot marble palace appeared from no where. The Taj Mahal, meaning ''Crystal Palace'' was completed in 1620 something, and is a tomb for the late King Akbaar the Great's third wife. She was the only wife to give him children, and on the ninth birth, she passed away. Akbaar was devastated, so he ordered the twenty two year construction of the most beautiful, and tallest structure of India, even to this day, as her final resting place. It eventually would become his own as well. Like the Great Wall of China, the Taj was a surreal experience. It was absolutely massive, and incredibly beautiful. The inside consisted of nothing more than the tombs of Akbaar the Great and his wife. On the way home, we saw the marchers sleeping on the sidewalks.

The next day was much like the first, except we visited the park and tomb of Gandhi, which was a tranquil and peaceful place. Raji had us try some traditional Indian paan which we bought from a street vendor. It is a type of tobacco, rolled up in a leaf, and layered with a sauce. You are supposed to shove it in your mouth, chew it, stuff it in your lip, and wait for the buzz. I don’t know if my buzz ever came, because I was too worried about not throwing up. Later that day we went and had lunch with a cousin of Neha’s, at Delhi’s best vegetarian restaurant. The place was great, even though I can’t pronounce half of the things I ate. Being our last night in Delhi, we decided to pick up two bouquets of flowers for the family that had shown us so much humble kindness and hospitality. We had our last dinner with them, and got up early for our flight back to Chennai. I am so grateful to have met Surish and Renu, they are a kind and gentle people. We had a long conversation with them one night and learned much about India, it’s internal conflicts, and proposed solutions. Surish is a constitutional lawyer, so he had much to say during this conversation.

India was an incredible experience, probably the best educational experience I have had to date. I learned much about the country and it’s people, for example, it has 43 national languages, and according to Surish, if he travels to Chennai, he feels like a foreigner. The intense poverty was hard to see, especially in such masses. It was cool to see the cows roam the streets freely in cities as big as Delhi. I really loved our time with the family and Raji. He introduced me to some Hindi and Punjab music, which I have been listening to religiously. I would like to return to India in about ten years or so, as it will be interesting to see that results of the direction that India has begun to take.

Thoughts so far....

In my trip across Asia, I have discovered many things about myself, as well as the world around me. Much of my realizations have come from a collection of conversations with locals, as well as observations between citizens, and studying interactions between citizens and foreigners. I think the core of my learning really solidified with the conclusion of my trip to Thailand. You can read every book on globalization and cross cultural influence you want, but until you see it first hand, it doesn’t hit in the manner it should. As citizens of developed nations, not US, UK, France, Germany, etc but as a whole, we Westerners often fail to realize how much influence we have over the rest of the world. We actually determine the fate of the rest of the world at this point. In every country I have visited, the amount of western influence is immense, and let me tell you, not all of it is good. In many ways, we are helping many territories of the world by speeding up their development with things such as information technology and the internet, promoting free thinking and individual power. This development is also stunted by the same sources that wish to help it. For example, the horrible amount of sex trade and tourism in Thailand wouldn’t exist if it weren’t exploited in such mass numbers. Everywhere I looked, I saw a middle aged white man, toting around their ‘‘rented’’ mistresses. These men made me sick to my stomach, for not only do they leave their wives and kids behind in their home countries, where they have never had to worry about the next meal, they come to Thailand and use the women for their own degrading personal pleasure, only adding to the existing problem that has ravaged the land. How is that for Western leadership? I can only feel sorrow for the women, who have to spend the day, night or week with these sleeze balls. McDonald’s has been everywhere, getting the rest of the world fat in record numbers. Large corporations have people in these countries working like slaves to mass produce the next hot shot video game that will be the obsession of our already undereducated youth. The unfortunate thing is that only a small amount of people educate themselves on the issues above, but is it our fault? Is it our fault that the education system would rather have us take classes on table tennis and shop, rather than Global Citizenship or Global Leadership? Is it a mistake that an elaborate interpretation of the Vietnam War is missing from our high school history books? What I am saying is this; it shouldn’t take a trip around the world, for citizens of the world’s economical superpower to realize the above. I flew through High School on A’s and B’s, have kept a 3.4 at the University of Washington, am an avid reader, and have never considered myself UNEDUCATED until this point in time. Something is missing, and if we plan not to blow ourselves into oblivion in the next hundred years, we must fill the void that makes us globally unaware.
Also, I want to thank everyone so far who has been following me and replying to my posts on here, it really makes it interesting to view your thoughts.

Thailand

Unfortunately, we started our time in Thailand with an immense amount of stress. Before we ported in, some friends and had purchased flights from Bangkok down to Phuket, an island off the province of Krabi (where the 2000 movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed). It took forever for Thai immigration officials to clear the ship, so it left us rushing for the airport (which was about two hours away) to catch our 4:30 flight. Our taxi driver, knew of our circumstances, and maneuvered the nine person van in and out of traffic in a manner that would have made OJ look like a novice. We arrived at the airport in the final seconds, as the Thai woman was shutting down shop, I literally through my passport on the counter, and with some sweet talking (in which she probably didn’t understand) she smiled and let me through. The plane ride was smooth and very calm, aside from the fact that a similar plane had crashed there a few weeks ago killing over half of the passengers. Phuket is a huge island, so we made our residence in a little town called Kata. I had hoped to not see many tourists there, but unfortunately, I was witness to what I unknowingly would encounter for the rest of my stay in Thailand, prostitution. The mile long strip that the town encased was lined with bars of every kind, each containing a similar set of three things, pool tables, alcohol, and a group of prostitutes drawing in anyone with a pocket full of cash and a sex drive. The prostitutes were everywhere, and being taken full advantage of by many western men, most from Australia. I had read a little about the sex tourism and how it has blown into such proportion, but was rather nauseating to see first hand. The girls, often fleeing from neighboring countries of conflict such as Cambodia, Burma, and Laos, come to Thailand with a hitch from a local promising them jobs as waitresses, store clerks, etc. Many get trapped into the business unwillingly, having no family or resources to depend on, they continue with the work in order to survive. Our days in Phuket were well spent, island hoping and lounging in tranquil settings. In the night we would follow the live music and witnessed some of the best small bands I have ever seen, I could have sworn these guys were lip sinking, because no one can sound that much like Bon Scott or Lynyrd Skynyrd. A local who spoke English well, informed me that because Thai language has a five set pitch variation in their language, and have perfected it over the course of their lives, it allows singers to hit exact notes. I asked them why they don’t go to America to make money. He simply stated ‘’they don’t want to.’’ Phuket was a very nice island, with a laid back, ‘’reggae/ rasta’’ feel to it. After returning to Bangkok, we stayed in the Suhkumvit district the first night, but turned out to be to hectic and filled with smog. We paid a taxi driver six dollars to drive us around all night, to see the city. Red light districts and prostitutes were everywhere. The next day, we got up early to meet our guide for the day, who first took us first, about three and a half hours northwest into the jungle, almost to the border of Burma. Here, we trekked hopped on our elephant, and continued on with an hour trek through the jungle via elephant. We passed monkeys and birds, crossed rivers, and walked through small villages. It was really an incredible experience, something I had wanted to do since I was a child, had become a reality. After a lunch at a local restaurant, we drove to a Buddhist Sanctuary where a group of Monks have raised a group of about twenty tigers since cub hood, only feeding them chicken, to lesson the aggression levels of the animals. We got to pet the adults, and wrestle around with the cubs. The next day was spent touring the western section of Bangkok, the district in which the king lives and the dirtiest river I have ever seen runs through.
In summarization, the people of Thailand were generally nice, and the women gorgeous. The landscapes were incredible, and the local townspeople friendly. Thailand seemed to have been a beautiful country at one time, but I cannot give it the same accreditation perhaps it deserved before the explosion of the sex trade, and though it may seem like an intrasocietal issue, it is not, for it wouldn’t exist if it were not heavily exploited by Westerners.

Vietnam

In Japan, as well as China, we had been going non stop every day. In Vietnam, I just wanted to find a quiet little town to relax in. I bought a Lonely Planet from here on the ship, and found my destination. Nha Trang: one of Vietnam's most beautiful coastal towns, surrounded by jungle, white sand, beaches, clear water and various islands. Perfect. I bought my airplane ticket for the second day after port.
We ported in Ho Chi Minh City, otherwise known as Saigon, Vietnam. The city was crazy. Unlike anything I had ever seen. Few vehicles, but hundreds and hundreds of motorcycles everywhere, passing through every nik and cranny available to them to get around eachother. Some of the international students and I walked to a little Pho restaurant, which was in one of the girl's 1000 Places to See Before you Die book. It was quite tasty, and for two American dollars, I had beef noodle soup (Pho) and two sodas. We then walked the city a little bit until we split because some of the girls wanted to go shopping. Ryan, my friend and I, hopped on the back of one of these little motorcycles, and cruised around town, until we found a nice message parlor. We paid fifty cents for the ride and entered the message place. We bathed our feet in hot water, had seaweed placed on our face, as well as flowers over our eyes, and got the most amazing foot rub ever. I don't think my grandpa Gary would have left. They then messaged our legs, arms, hands, backs, and ended with a head message (no, no happy ending for all you perverts who are thinking that). All for 12 USD.
The next day I rode a little motorcycle to the airport for my flight to Nha Trang. they loaded us on the bus, and took us to our plane, at least I think it was a plane. We then had to go back to the main terminal because the plane had been having technical difficulties (I could tell by just looking at it). About twenty minutes they loaded us on, and we took off. About half way through the forty five minute flight, we turned around back to Saigon, more problems. We were grounded in Saigon for another two hours due to monsoon type rains. Finally, around 4:30 we arrived in paradise. I met some Aussies along the way and hung out with them the first night. The next day, I met a Vietnamese ''free rider.'' Free Riders are motorcycle drivers who take tourists all throughout Vietnam via motorcycle. I didn't have that much time, so I opted for the day tour. First, we visited a very old Buddhist temple, as well as a huge white Buddha, about forty feet tall. We then drove about five kilometers up the coast, where we caught a boat to Monkey Island. We arrived on the island, to find about five humans, selling a few items, but more importantly, thousands and thousands of monkeys. I bought some seeds from a woman, and the monkeys all came running towards me. Their little fingers would pull my hands open and take the seeds. Smart little guys. After Monkey Island, we went on about a two hour hike into the jungle, where we came to a waterfall, and jumped off some cliffs into the water hole, it was awesome. Later that day, I got a six dollar/one hour message and ate some Pho for a dollar. That night, I met a group of Vietnamese while eating some Lobster from a street vendor. I hung out with them that night as well as the following night. They were so friendly and very nice. I learned the girls in Vietnam are extremely good at pool, as I got my ass kicked three times after talking my pool game up. I returned to Ho Chi Minh the fourth day, leaving my newly found friends behind. The flight back was a little more comforting. I did some shopping in Saigon the last day we were there and got some gifts.
Vietnam was great, I loved it. Not only was it incredibly affordable, but the people genuine and kind. I didn't see or feel any anti-american sentimism the whole time. What we did to them was horrible, and we should have never been there in the first place. The best thing about it though, was unlike China and Japan, I didn't see one McDonalds! I would really love to return to Vietnam some day, and I recommend it highly.

Qingdao, Beijing and Hong Kong, China

It was a very interesting time to be China, due to the fact that I was able to explore a country in the midst of a rapid economic and social development. Qingdao, where we ported first, was the worst of the three cities we visited. Especially coming from such a clean and pure country like Japan, Qingdao was very dirty, worn down, unorganized, and chaotic. Mike Hoover and I walked all around the city in the pouring down rian, after we stopped caring about getting wet, it turned out to be very fun. I bought a nice zip up jacket of light brown color, that would have been about 70-100 dollars in the US, for seven dollars. Later that evening, we had dinner and a few beers at a little hole in the wall restaraunt. Mike and I had a very good conversation here. No one spoke english so I saw what some other guys at a table were eating (what appeared to be mixed vegies and chicken) and asked for two of those (pointing and holding up two fingers of course). She brought us our dinner, and we dug into something that was definitely not chicken, but some kind of sea urchent. We ate it anyway, and hoped the alcohol in the beer would kill it if it were still alive. In Qingdao, they brew Tsingdao beer, and it is by far the best beer I have ever hard, it makes Pyramid or Henry's taste like warm keystone light. The next day, my Semester at Sea group I was a part of left for Beijing, about an hours plane ride north. The pollution in Beijing was unexplainable. One could not see a half mile ahead because the distance would just fade into a brown haze. People everywhere. People riding bikes through the streets, seemingly unaware to the vehicles that almost crushed them at every turn. In China, I learned pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. You know when your in a car, and you have to hit the breaks fast or swerve from hitting someone or another car, and your butt kind of puckers up off your seat? Well I felt that about every three minutes as our tour bus almost crushed a little Chinese person walking or riding their bike on the street, they all seemed like they didn't even mind though. Crazy little bastards. The second day we were there, we got up early and went and did some Tai Chi excersizes, then headed to the Great Wall. We drove into the sharp and jagged hillside towards the great wall until it appeared in the distance. It, of course, was a very touristy location, but a phenomeonal one at that. The Wall was massive, and very steep. The steps constantly changed elevation, and this horrific hike made me glad to know I was doing this in my youth, as I witnessed many older people struggling for oxygen under the humidity and heat the sun casted down. There were praying mantace everywhere as well. A few of us, made it to the highest point of the wall, and the view was incredible. You could see the wall dissapear into the hills miles and miles away. I must of heard over two dozen languages while climbing that wall, which was really interesting. I conversed with some folks in Spanish from Spain, Colombia, and Mexico, and in Portuguese with some from Brazil.
The following day we headed to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I always remembered seeing Tiananmen Square in my history books, and reading about the massacre of students in 1989, so it was really surreal to be here. We were told to keep that event out of our mouth while here in China, as well as Tibet and Taiwan. Three T's that are forbidden to talk about in China. Tourists crawled all over this place, but I managed to get a good picture of myself in front of the building with the big picture of Mao on it. We walked under Mao, to the entrance of the Forbidden City, which was huge. I mean this place, had to be at least four our five square kilometers. We explored many temples and palaces, and explored as much as we could of this place, the headquarters for Ancient Chinese civilization. At the end of the palace, was the garden, which included all types of rocks, cypress and bonzai trees, as well as various statues. After we ate lunch at a Mongolian hotpot, we went to downtown to Silk Street Market, which was a five floor market selling everything and anything. Lacoste Shirts for about six dollars, Dolce and Gabana purses (some of them great knockoffs) for about twelve dollars, all types of jewelry and electronic, etc. The hagglers all spoke English and often used physical contact to get you into their store, as well as keep you there! I had to ripp hands from me and use some wreslting moves to get by some of them. It was interesting to see hagglers and foreigners from all over the world, using English as a common language to communicate. Globalization at its finest here. The next day, before our flight to Hong Kong, we visited the Summer Palace, a huge palace surrounded by a lake where we rented paddle boats and trekked around for about two hours. The palace is where the Emperor spends his summers, hend the term ''Summer Palace.''
Hong Kong was like a different country, almost a peer into the future. Hong Kong people consider themselves very different from mainland China, and they are. Seperate currency, seperate language (Cantonees instead of Mandarin), and they drove on the opposite side of the road. The British had been occupying the area since about ten years ago, so I think that is why they're a little more ahead of the game. The city glowed with skyscrapers in every direction, casting out every color of neon lights. Huge signs on big buildings read ''Samsung'' ''Nokia'' ''Dell'' along with any other major corporation you could think of. The first day was a bit frustrating, as I spent the entire morning looking for an ATM to pay for a gift I wanted to send my grandma back home, I finally found the damn ATM, and it didn't take VISA. It was a local one. SHIT! I then walked around in the humidity (it was raining too) for another half of an hour until I finally found one, hailed a cab, and told him to take me to the post office. I did a little shopping that day, at Stanley market, about an hour a way from Hong Kong. I didn't know this until I saw them while driving through the steep hills along the beach, but Hong Kong has beautiful beaches lines with beautiful rain forest. It was really a sight to see.
All in all, I liked seeing the historical aspect of China, and experiencing it. However, the people were not all that nice, it was pretty dirty (except for Hong Kong) and the pollution unbearable. Hong Kong was magnificant though, I would definitely return to HK.

Japan

Japan, Japan, Japan...it was everything I expected it to be, and nothing I expected it to be, if that makes any sense at all. Where to start? How about the people, since they were the most memorable. They were so nice, polite, generous, welcoming, and understanding. We must have asked over 200 people for directions to various locations, and everyone was more than happy to assist us, often walking us to our subway or location we wanted to go, even if it was in the compete opposite direction from the way they were going. Not only were they nice to us, but to eachother as well. Such a polite society. For example, they STAND on one side of the escalator, allowing those in a hurry, to walk passed on the other side. Everyone had cell phones, but I never heard one ring while in public. They form single file lines for the simpliest of events, including subways. I never saw someone steal, cut in line, cheat, or litter. The city was unbelievably clean, which suprised the hell out of me because garbage cans were far and few between. One day, while waiting for a subway, I witnessed a woman, who was very sick, vomit on the floor. By the time I had taken a second look, there were five women pulling napkins from their purses, cleaning the sick women, and cleaning the vomit on the floor. Talk about a communal society. Lovely people the Japanese. I am very glad I experienced them for five days, as my ignorant pre-self had a distaste for them back in America, and thought of them as rude, selfish, and annoying. I think Americans would be better off if they acted in some ways like the Japanese. In Japan, they sell beer in vending machines, of course the machine does not ID, so how do they keep undersage children from purchasing the alcohol. They don't. These people respect the laws with intensity. They don't drink until they legally can. Of course, I speak for all Japanese, and I don't know if this is true for all of them, but from my experience, this all held true.The first day we took a train from Yokohama to Tokyo was absolutely huge, and the people great for such a large city. We went to a Sumo match while there, which was very interesting to see. Unlike other sporting events, though publicized, the event contained no advertising. Perhaps because it is such an ancient and cultural sport. While leaving the stadium, we walked behind some wrestles and watched how citizens approached them, bowing and extending their hands to them, asking them to take a picture. The wrestlers are like celebrities in Japan. Next we went to Asakusa, the oldest district in Tokyo. We visited some Buddhist temples and passed through the crowded streets lined with little shops filled with fans, Japanese robes, and other small trinket items. The Shibuya district in Tokyo, is like Time Square on steriods. At any time of the day, between early morning to late night, one could witness hundreds and hundreds of people wandering and crossing the streets. After Tokyo, we took a two hour bullet train to Kyoto, home of the Japanese Geishas. These small city was very culturally Japanese. We walked around and visited many temples, with Monks praying inside. We then went farther south to Kobe, where we were to meet the ship. Jesse (my roommate on the ship) and I walked all over the city. We visited Tower Records where I purchased a Japanese CD and a Rolling Stone magazine in Japanese. We then ate at a little local Sushi place. We were the only non-Japanese there, and everything there was in Japanese. The people comforted us with a warm smile and a gesture that told us to sit down. We ordered what we saw being made by Sushi chefs across the glass, had a few bottles of Sake, Japanese rice wine (to kill all the parasites we has ingested of course) and were on our way. Walking down the street, we passed by a little shop that contained about twenty little picture booths, like the ones we used to see in Fred Meyer and other big department stores as well as the malls. These are VERY popular among Japanese girls. We couldn't operate the machines, so a group of girls helped us through everything, then proceeded to take the photos with us. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and made for some great memories and photos.

Trip Across the Pacific

Well, as you can see, my dates don't coiincide with my blog. I just created the blog today, and am updating you guys on all of my adventures thus far. I am copying a lot from my journal that I have been keeping the entire time, so the information and feelings are accurate to that time period. Anyway, just thought you should know in case you were confused about the dates posted. It is October 2nd today, and we just left Saigon, Vietnam, for Bangkok, Thailand.We left Hawaii three days ago for our first foreign visit, Japan. The ocean is so vast out here, as it dissapears beyond the horizon in all directions, with nothing breaking the 180 degree line that encompasses us here on our journey. I have gotten used to the rocking of the ship, as I only felt sick one day, and that was between Mexico and Hawaii. The captain says we are headed for some rough seas though, as we will be passing between two typhoons. The nightfall is my favorite time on the ship. As the clear warm sunny days turn into a glowing sky of stars, planets, and God knows what else. The most breathtaking examination of the night sky came last night. It was undescribeable. I saw the entire milky way. The wide strip of billions of stars that make up the milky way stretched from one end of the sea, passing overhead, and extending towards the opposite direction until it fadded behind the black ocean. I look foward to many more of these nights, as well as land.

Hawaii

We landed in our first port today, in the city of Wakikii. The beaches, as well as the landscape, was incredible. I hadn't been to Hawaii since I was very young, but I didn't remember it being that beautiful, although you don't tend to appreciate that kind of beauty as a hyperactive, chocolate covered lip child. The beach looked like one of those tropical paradise posters, fully equiped with torquois water and white sand beaches. People were surfing all over the place, and the way the waves were breaking it looked very easy. I witnessed first timers and older men riding a wave into shore for the first time. I would have loved to surf, however, since we only had one day in this port, I didn't get the chance to surf, because our skydiving vans picked us up in front of our ship early that afternoon. The our drive to the north shore landed us at one of the most run down, unorganized skydiving fields I had ever seen. When they say Hawaiin's are relaxed, I didn't expect them to be so relaxed about such a dangerous activity. Oh well, you only live once. We went in, signed our lives away, and within fifteen minutes (no tutorial of course) we were on our way to hop into the sliding door of a single propelled airplane. We took off, myself, and five other kids who looked like they had already soaked their pants, and climbed higher and higher over the light blue ocea, that shifted shades of blue with its depths. We could see across the whole island. From dowtown and pearl harbor, to the rainforest in the east that had a beautiful rainbow hovering over it. The mezmorizing beauty and relazing hum of the plane was interrupted by the slamming open of the door, telling us it was time to go. I had previously told my partner that I wanted to do some flips out of the plane, he complied, and we exited the plane with three fron flips. Oh how exciting that was. After my one minute of free fall, my chute opened, and my fear of death relinquished. As we coasted to safety, I looked down at my friend and fellow UW student, Bryce, and noticed he was not experiencing the same relief I was, as his chute was tangled upon itself. My instructor told me to look down and watch them, as they were going to cut the chute, and use the safety chute, or last chance chute. A second later, I watched the tangled chute drift with the wind, and Bryce and his instructor plummit to the ground below, which was now about three or four hundred yards from the ground now. Fortunately, after Bryce's big white legs dangled uncontrollably, the safety chute was opened and they descended towards the ground. Bryce's was in high spirits when he reached the ground, and actually said he would like to go again. The day was very fun, and we ate a smal dinner back in town afterwards before we got back on the ship.