Colonial-what?

In a few short hours, we will be docking in Myanmar. And as I struggle to decide what to call the country (“Myanmar” or “Burma”) I can’t help but to think about the strong colonial presence in each of the last three countries we’ve visited.

Currently governed by the “junta” (military based government), “Burma” became known as “Myanmar” in the last 90s. Earlier this week, we had a discussion in one of the classes on what name we should be using in regards to the country we are about to visit. Do I use “Myanmar”-- a name given by the dictator government? Or do I use “Burma”—a name given by the European colonialists who occupied the country earlier on? And that question just spurred all types of thoughts in my mind.

What is it with humankind and our need to have more? And by “more”, I mean the desire to occupy other’s land? A will to impose “our” beliefs and structures on to other countries? A need to “humanize” the “savage” countries?

I wonder how different Japan, Hong Kong, and Viet Nam would have been had there never been any form of European colonialization. Would that culture be able to remain “pure” despite our ever-fast globalizing world?

In Hong Kong, I found it to be quite manageable to maneuver around without the ability to speak Cantonese. Most of the streets were written in both Chinese characters and spelled out in Roman characters. Almost every shop had someone who spoke some amount of English. Signs for “high tea” were everywhere in the hotels we walked by and subway/train stops were read out in both Cantonese and English. Perhaps Hong Kong is a unique case but the British handover did occur almost 10 years ago.

If the French hadn’t imperialized Viet Nam, what words would we have in lieu of “cravat” or “chemise”? Would our banh mi be as tasty without the baguette? Or would it be even better? What would Café Sua Da (iced coffee) be without the rich coffee that was brought over? Would the Vietnamese language still be written in Han characters instead of the current Romanic based letters?

A lot of people have asked me over the years why I don’t live abroad and teach English. Ideals of colonization. That’s why. That’s my issue I can’t get over. And although I understand that more countries are wanted foreign teachers, I just don’t think I can feel good about it. Despite the fact that I would be “merely” providing a good/service in demand. And of course, I wouldn’t be forcing it upon those who I taught to. Eh, I’ve just got issues.

Many folks who have done SAS or have lived abroad often speak about the challenges they face upon the re-enter of their lives back in the States. I totally see that’s going to be a huge problem for me already and I’ve still got two months left. But for me, it comes down to what I’ve been referring to as “American Guilt”. I’ve been afforded immense privileges having been born/lived in the States and I am well aware of that (especially when I’m back in VN). But I’m not sure if I’ve ever been a proud American. Is that wrong? So many of the places I’ve been to, folks display such a huge amount of patriotism—and I don’t know what I have to do get some of that.

So that’s my issue for the time being. (1) Colonialization/Imperialism and (2) American Guilt

Excuse the brain dump with this posting, I just needed to do some processing. :o)

Scenes from Shipboard Life

Images from Shipboard Life. Enjoy!

THE SHIP ITSELF (or actually "herself")

Port View Sign

Starboard View Sign

Stairs to Gangway, Deck 5

Our Library

Computer Lab....I know, it's tiny.

Ok, I admit it. I have no idea what this is but it looked cool. I thought Viet and Dad would appreciate it.

U of Va requires these signs posted in EVERY classroom aboard the ship. Every student must copy this statement and sign it when they turn in any assignments or exams. They mean business!

Student Life Office. Now this is freaking tiny and most of it is storage. Notice all of the games on the shelf? My personal fav? Connect Four.

BRIDGE TOUR
Folks get to tour of where the "magic" happens on the ship. :o)

Buttons and controls. Yeah, I pushed a few of them but nothing happened. Hmm, at least I don't think anything happened!

Pirates! Ok, maybe not. But I AM sitting in the Captain's chair! Dad would be so proud.

Danelle, Joy, and I horsing around the Bridge!



The RD Team.

THE CREW
I heart them!


Lito and Jo from the Purser's Desk



Anna from Purser's



Norris and Alma from the Snack Bar (ps. All of the boys had a crush on Alma!)

Soloman is the MAN! From the Carribean and does this crazy bird whistle (and can talk to them!) I also heart Soloman bc he always lets me ring the "last call" during AFT nights.



Alright, serious now. You will NEVER meet better bartenders than these amazing guys. Mag (on the right) is hands-down, the best! He always knows what you want to drink and practically has it done before you can finish ordering. Some would say that makes me an alcoholic, I just say Mag has GREAT customer service. Edgar and Paul are to Mag's left. They're oober nice.


Edward--he's just trouble...


The Wait Crew...there's not much more I can say about them than they're just fabulous. I heart them! (Lft to Rgt: Edward, Ismael, me, Sonny, Maynard, and Vic)

STUDENT LIFE
How the students kept themselves busy...

Kickboxing class taught one of the students, Ruby. She's tough.

Part of my job was to program "social" events. Here's one of them, the Open Mic Night at the Piano Bar

Students during Global Studies Class. As you can see, I was studiously paying attention by taking pics. I had to keep awake somehow... (I know, not good role modeling)

How a good chunk of students spent their time--on the internet. Pricey hobby. An additional 750 internet minutes was $500.

Oh what a proud mother hen I am. Here are my students from the Bering Sea practicing "Flip Cup".

FACULTY STAFF LOUNGE

Our home away from home, away from home. :o)

The Faculty/Staff Lounge had the most amazing location. 7th Deck, Forward. Which meant we always had the best view--especially w/ the huge windows. Best part? No students allowed. :o)

This may look like some ordinary club. But nope, it's the F/S Lounge. And no, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a disco ball and fog machine we have running. :o)

The Anteaters on the ship: Bob, me, and Henry (aka Anthony Bourdain) Zot! Zot!

Theresa and JB. I HEART them! They celebrated their two month wedding anniversary on the ship!

Kate B and I. We like pink.

ACTUAL WORK PROOF!

It's not all fun and games!

I can't remember actually which port this is but here we are working Passport Distribution.

Serving as Bouncers at the AFTer Hours. Formerly known as "Pub Nights". We "watch" the exits bc they aren't allowed to have alcohol beyond certain designated points. It's actually rather amusing catching them--they are quite creative on how they smuggle things.

Steph and Ro truly "losing it" after checking everyone in at the close of Hong Kong.



and OTHER SIGHTS & SHENNANIGANS!

My view on the aft deck while eating breakfast.

Phenomenal sunset.

The troublemakers at the Pool Deck during one of the BBQs. (Joe, Joy, Kate B, and JB)

Um, I can't remember what this is. Needless to say, the RDs love to take pictures of themselves.

Private Party thrown by Bob V. and Abby on their personal deck for our behalfs. Endless wine and potstickers. Yum!

Day 41: Return to the Motherland

Latitude Location: 8 Degrees, 19.7 North
Longitude Location: 107 Degrees, 16.0 East
Speed: 18.8 Knots
En route to: Singapore
Quote of the Day: “I can change the world, with my own two hands. Make it a brighter place, with my own two hands.”

Every time I leave Viet Nam, I find myself aching for it before I even step foot away from the country. It was no different this time as I walked back on board the ship after 5 full days of being away. It was the first port in which I did not sleep one night aboard….it was awesome.

The week leading up to Saigon, everyone on the ship kept asking me if I was excited. Absentmindedly I would answer “of course” but it didn’t really sink in until the night before at the pre-port logistical meeting. This was to be the first time in which I was going to Viet Nam without family members, where I was the considered the expert of the group. And although I was happy to be going to VN, I also felt nervous--for two reasons really. First, what if I couldn’t maneuver around as well as I thought I could? Would I be deemed “not Vietnamese enough?” And second, would I be embarrassed by the actions of some students like in ports before? I am pleased to say, neither of those concerns ever actualized.

For the two days leading up to Viet Nam, I was involved in the planning and execution of many of the programs preparing the ship for our time in VN. We did cultural overviews, Vietnamese language tables, and hosted an interport student named Tien (she came on board in Hong Kong and sailed with us until Saigon. She was very sweet but was seasick the entire time…poor thing.) I was very conscious to avoid any perspective that lead towards America’s involvement in the most recent war in Viet Nam. I did so because I didn’t want that to taint the students’ perspectives on how they viewed the country. I wanted them to have fresh eyes and experience Viet Nam for themselves and not through what their parents may have experienced as a result of the war. Though I am very aware that it is human nature to try and see ourselves and how we fit as a lens through which to view the unknown. But America’s involvement in the war was only about a 12-year time span. Viet Nam’s culture is over 4,000 years old! The “American War” is but a drop in the bucket of our history…a history wrought with wars and multiple attempts of colonialization .

But I lost that battle. Some folks, whom will remain nameless, insisted that we show films and spend much of the lecture covering the war. Shocking right? Huh, I wasn’t. But that’s ok, just a different approach to education.

DAY 1:

At 4am, our ship entered the mouth of the Saigon River. Because of the length of the river and the size of our ship, it took almost four hours to reach our port at Nha Rong. I didn’t finish packing until about 2am but at a little before 4am, I woke up. The body’s internal clock really is an amazing thing. I peered out my window and saw the lights from boats and homes from the nearby shore. And it was really then that I felt excited. I slept on and off until about 6:30am when I decided to go upstairs to the deck. Never, never will I forget the feeling of arriving into the City like this. 31 years ago, my family fled the country on a boat and here I was coming back by a boat. I’m still processing the multi layers of the symbolism of that.

As the ship began to wake up, more riverboats came into view. The families on those boats waved to the passengers on my ship. I wondered what they must have thought as our monstrous ship took almost the entire width of the river. Were they used to seeing this thing coming in three times a year? From my understanding, our ship is one of the only non-cargo vessels that actually sail up the river. And like each of our ports, the port at Saigon held a completely different landscape. Pulling into O’ahu, we were greeting with the lush green hills and Diamond Head. In Japan, we were greeted by the fireboats and tall buildings. Hong Kong was a spattering of islands, juxtaposed with giant skyscrapers. Viet Nam on the other hand was a bit more subtle. Amidst, the riverboat homes a handful of skyscrapers peeked out of the city. On the dock we were greeted by a dozen women in colorful ao dais bearing a welcome banner. And as they dropped our anchor, I looked up at our ship and saw that we bore the flag of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Hmmm, what a weird sight. An senior adult passenger leaned over and asked me if I was proud to see “my flag” on our ship. I smiled in response, but really, the flag we bore is not the flag I identify with….

After our diplomatic briefing, our ship was cleared and the students were off. My entourage and I gathered up our luggage and we headed off of the ship. Weird. That was how I felt. Not necessarily weirded out, just a little “out of place”. I decided early on that I only wanted to travel with a select few while in Viet Nam. I wanted to be around a group whom wouldn’t expect me to translate everything to them nor handhold them as they bartered at the markets. As such, I felt a little bad when folks eluded that they wanted to travel with us and I didn’t offer an invitation. Eh, so is life. So our travel group consisted off Joy, Joe, Gail, Kate S. and me—total fun bunch from Hawai’i. We headed into the city in search of our hotel that An hooked up for us (THANKS AN!!!) and boy did we stick up like a sore thumb. It was weird being in Viet Nam and not being able to really blend in….not to say that I’ve ever looked straight like a local. But now, as I walked through the streets with 4 tall, white folks, each of us carrying huge packs—there was no chance of me sliding in with my peeps.

Walking back around Saigon was like going home after a long vacation. The rhythm of the country, the sound of the scooters, and the smells of the city were as comforting as a warm blanket. We found our hotel and settled in quite comfortably. Chi Nga, the hotel gal whom communicated with An, was just so darn sweet. She was so worried that we wouldn’t like our rooms or that my friends wouldn’t feel comfortable but it was pretty cool location. On our street, Pham Ngu Lau, there were tons of restaurants, bars, and other hotels that hosted a myriad of travelers.

We trotted next door to a travel agency that Chi Nga suggested and booked some transportation for the next few days. Afterwards, we had our first meal in the motherland, Pho 24. I know, I know…..not too exciting but we were starving and it was only two doors down from our hotel. My friends loved it and instantly voted Bia 333 as their favorite beer from all of the ports thus far. :o) Too bad we weren’t in Hue for them to try Bia Huda, my personal fav. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Cho Ben Thanh buying some random gifts and fabrics. The girls wanted to get some pants, suits, and dresses made while we were here. So, I helped pick them out some fabrics and asked some fabric stalls for recommendations of good tailors with a quick turn around. After a quick freshening up back at the hotel, we headed out to dinner at Quan Ngon, which was just packed!!! I didn’t even know that they had seating on a second floor. I think that the restaurant was a pretty good choice because it allowed my friends an opportunity to walk around and see the food options. It was pretty late by the time we finished dinner but we rallied and chose “Allez Boo” as our bar of choice for the night. Partially because it was packed with locals but mostly because if you bought two drinks, you would get a free mojito. :o) The people watching was awesome at this bar. From the locals to the foreigners…how fascinating it is to actually hear the locals speak English to foreigners and then turn to their friends and make fun of them in Vietnamese. Yes, they are making fun of you. Hahah, but in a playful way.

It was about around the time when a handful of students found us and plopped themselves down at our table that we decided to call it a night. I’m just not down with drinking with my students tonight after having to confiscate alcohol from their rooms the night before. Call it a professional preference but I’m just not going there. :o)


DAY 2:

We woke up early on Thursday so that we could grab a light breakfast before our bus picked us up for Mui Ne. We grabbed some baguettes, Laughing Cow cheese, and a couple of café sua da just in time as our bus pulled in front of our hotel. What was supposed to be a 3-hour bus ride up to Phan Thiet/Mui Ne turned out to be a 5-hour ride. SERIOUSLY!!! Thankfully my traveling buddies weren’t too annoyed as the scenery headed north was quite beautiful. I, myself, made a mental note to have some words with our travel agent when we got back to Saigon the next day. … The bus was filled with a splattering of folks from all over. There were the Europeans, some locals, and quite a handful of Canadians.

We arrived at our beach resort in Mui Ne a little after noon….it was wonderful. The weather was breezy but still sunny and it wasn’t crowded at all!!! It had been quite a number of years since I’ve been back to Mui Ne and it looked really different. There were so many hotels and restaurants that had sprung up in this cozy little beach community and it made me a little sad. Glad that the locals were profiting from the tourism but bummed that it was becoming a “tourist” joint.

We stayed at the Suoi Tien Beach Resort and I LOVED IT! We had individual, private bungalows that sat right on the beach. And because it was off peak season, it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves! We settled into our bungalows, changed into our beach gear, and headed out to find some eats. There were so many options as we walked down the streets….restaurateurs were calling us in and inviting us to check out their menus. We settled on this wonderful little place named “Moon”. It was ridiculously awesome. The seafood was so fresh and the fruit juices were so darn refreshing. After having a huge feast we settled our “expensive bill” of about $3.50US each (that included our awesome fried bananas with coconut ice cream desserts) and headed back to our beach. Mui Ne is becoming a hot spot for kite surfing and my friends had just convinced my to give it a try (I feared drowning…there were no life guards) when the guys renting the boards told us that the winds were too strong for beginners. PHEW! So instead we frolicked in the water (great waves for body boarding) and laid in the sun. Life was rough. :o)

The hotel manager told me that we could have the restaurant fix us up some special eats if I just told them ahead of time so that they could go directly to the market for the seafood. Heck why not right? And it was the best thing ever! We had huge grilled prawns, steamed ginger squids, some type of grilled fish, and clams. It was the bomb!!! After we stuffed ourselves (at an “expensive” rate of $5US each) we took a long walk around the areas. It was so calm and peaceful since it was off-season but the best thing was that we hadn’t run into one student the ENTIRE time! It truly felt like we were on vacation! We decided to go back to our hotel bar for some drinks and cards. It was there that I had the most amazing Mai Tai Experience of my ENTIRE life!!! Now everyone thinks of Hawai’i for the best mai tais. I would have to disagree-it was at the Suoi Tien bar!! Some of the gals had ordered some boring cocktails but Joe and I thought we would give the mai tais a chance. Now at first, we thought we had ordered poorly because after 15 minutes our mai tais hadn’t come out yet. Oh but like all good things, we had to wait for it because when it came out, it was like perfection!!!! That first sip was like heaven!! And we finally figured out why it was so tasty (and it took so long) is because they used fresh pineapple juice! As in, they pureed and then strained the pineapples in the kitchen! Oh man! The bar was about to close so we quickly ordered another round for all! Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!!! :o)

Before heading back to our bungalows, we took a quick walk on the beach and saw a ton of crabs scurrying on the breaks. And oh, the stars…the beautiful stars! It was such a clear night that the constellations were so prominent. It was breathtaking. I even saw a shooting star! As I gazed up at the stars, I looked over at my new BFFs. It’s funny that I’ve barely known these folks for but a month but I feel like we’ve been friends for years…and it was wonderful to be able to share that night with them.


DAY 3:

We grabbed a quick breakfast in the morning before our jeep and driver picked us up for our tour of the sand dunes and canyons. Our driver’s name was Anh Thanh and he was oober nice. As for our jeep, it was OLD SCHOOL! But very fun!

Now for those of you whom have not been lucky enough to travel to Mui Ne, the Sand Dune is an absolute sight to see. Although it’s a beach/coastal city, there are these amazing sand dunes that look straight out of the Sahara Desert or perhaps even Young Skywalker’s home on Tatoine. :o) On the drive over the folks were able to see the fishing boats and fields of water lilies in the countryside.

We arrived at the White Sand Dunes and I think my friends were quite impressed. Who would know a desert-like scene would be mixed up at a beach paradise? We climbed up and around the dunes with our little 13 year old sherpa (Joe called him a sherpa and I thought it was hilarious and totally appropriate! He looked like he was 8). Our little sherpa insisted on carrying everything for us and our thin plastic slides. Oh yeah, I said slides. We used these hella thin mats and slid down these huge sand hills –it was SO much fun! This particular sand dune area had a beautiful lake filled with water lilies. We spent the rest of the day hiking around the Red Canyons and Red Sand Dunes. Before heading back to our hotel, we stopped by a little fishing village and hung out with some kids. They were so funny asking why me and my friends were so fat? Oh kids, how the truth just always comes tumbling out of their mouths. :o)

We had some lunch at a restaurant called “Smoke” before loading the bus back to Saigon. Oh it was tasty! I had some grilled fish and vermicelli, a dragon fruit shake, and a 333. It was the life. Our server was the son of the owner and asked me to help him out with his English for a bit. He was really sweet and cut some fresh bananas from the tree as a thank you gift for us.

Now here’s a funny little story. The bus was supposed to pick us up at our hotel at 2:30. We had finished lunch and were back at the resort by 2. So what do you think my friends want to for thirty minutes? Yup, some of you may have guessed it, we ordered a last round of mai tais to toast our time in Mui Ne. But remember how I said it took forever to make? Well, as we were sitting in the back deck area, the hotel owner came running back and said that our bus was here to pick us up—10 minutes early! So the bartender was scrambling around to find plastic cups—no such luck. Just as we were thinking that we were going to have to down our mai tais he comes out of the kitchen with five sandwich-sized bags with straws sticking out of them. Oh yes friends, it’s the original pouched drinks. It was hysterical! Needless to say, our ride 5-hour ride back into Saigon was quite amusing!

We got back to our hotel where Kate B. and Brian arrived shortly after. They had booked a room that night too since they were going to head out to Mui Ne early the next morning. We decided to grab dinner at the restaurants right outside of Cho Ben Thanh. After some light shopping around, we decided to call it a night. Joy and Joe headed back to the ship since they were leading a SAS sponsored trip but were going to meet us up the next night.

We had quite the day with our jeep tour and sand sliding and I was pooped.


DAY 4:

Since Joy and Joe were gone for the day; Kate S., Gail, and I headed out of town to see the famous Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Our small bus picked us up and we met our tour guide, Chu Tung a.k.a. Slim Jim. He was AWESOME!!! Chu Tung was actually an English teacher from the Mekong Delta region and has been working as a tour guide for almost ten years. He reminds me of a mix of my uncles Chu Thuan and Chu Khan. His English was awesome and would throw in slang and other random sayings like “Catch 40 winks” or “See you later alligator”. Apparently they call him Slim Jim because he eats like a bird and smokes like a chimney. He was rad and gave such good information, in particular about the Cao Dai religion. I’m not sure how the subject came up but at the end of the day he challenged me to a drinking match, saying whomever lost had to pay the bill. I paused and actually contemplated it but then he said “Wait, now that I look at you again, you look like a drinker. So never mind.” Omigod it was hysterical and something definitely got lost when I tried to translate it to my friends.

Back to Cao Dai…..Cao Dai is a relatively “new” religion having only been formed early in the 20th century. It’s actually quite fascinating as it’s a mix of multiple religions but mainly stems from Buddhism, Catholicism, Taoism, and Hinduism. What’s somewhat curious is that they hold three saints: 1 Confucius scholar, 1 Vietnamese scholar, and Victor Hugo. Yup, Victor Hugo…my eyebrow is still raised in confusion about that too. But I think the gist (or at least what Chu Tong said) is that at the heart of the Cao Dai religion is the desire to evade reincarnation and go straight to nirvana. There are seven stages to reach nirvana and followers pray at their appropriate level. Devout followers attend services 4 times each day and we were privileged enough to attend the noon service.

We arrived at the Cao Dai Temple at about 11:30 and what an interesting complex that was. It’s designed to look a bit like Vatican City and had three large gates that folks entered through. However, the middle gate is always closed because it’s reserved for only the Cao Dai pope to enter. And apparently they haven’t had one since the last pope fled to Cambodia from religious persecution. He passed in Cambodia and the elders voted that they were not going to appoint a new pope. The architecture was really neat, very colorful and you could definitely see the juxtaposition of the various religions. The symbol of Cao Dai is the “eye”.

A little before noon, folks entered the temple. Visitors were allowed to view the services from the balcony while followers sat in organized lines in preparation to enter the prayer areas. Most folks were wearing white but there were some elders who wore robes of yellow (to represent Buddhism), blue (to represent Taoism), and red (to represent Hinduism)—white is the color of the Cao Dai. We only stayed for about 20 minutes but I must admit that I felt like I was this nosy tourist, intruding in their prayers. I had to stop myself from taking pictures but I was so fascinated. I did feel a little better when I spoke to this older woman and she explained to be that the followers of Cao Dai appreciated the interest in their religion because it helps to spread their faith.

After leaving the temple, we had lunch at this small restaurant on the roadside. The food was eh (not horrible, just not like the quality that we had been eating over the past few days) but we did get to spend some time chatting with the other folks in our group. It was such a smattering of folks. Two guys on holiday from Australia, a few gals from London, a couple from Japan, a young woman from Korea, even a guy from NYC. It was cool.

We loaded back on the bus and stopped by a lacquer factory where they specialized in inlaying mother of pearl and eggshells into lacquer. It was beautiful! The factory prided themselves on recruiting differently-abled folks and supplying them with a job. They had a sign hanging over the gates that said “Handicrafts Done by the Handicapped”. Yeah, needless to say, the sign made me feel rather uncomfortable. Awesome that they’re providing employment opportunities, just odd that their marketing was, shall we say, “interesting”.

We then headed over to Cu Chi to see the tunnels. Now, I had some mixed feelings about going there. The tunnels are infamous because they were a huge tactic used by the Viet Cong. They were very narrow tunnels dug meters in the earth where they lived, ate, and fought. But as hesitant as I was, I decided to go to see them from a historical standpoint.

Not surprisingly, it was my least favorite thing that I did this trip back to Viet Nam. It started with a video that was so terribly skewed (not surprisingly) and was even equipped with a firing range. Tourists were able to buy ammunition and shoot from a variety of guns. The terrible thing is that they actually use live ammunition and a few months ago a man from Korea loaded his gun, walked away from the range and shot himself. Seriously, isn’t that awful? Instead of changing to blanks, they just mounted the guns to the stand. It was just icky. We walked through the forest and saw where the bomb craters lay and then came the tunnels. Now apparently since the early 80s, they’ve widened the tunnels a bit to allow “westerners” to fit but I will tell you, it was a tight fit! We were only able to crawl 100 meters but it felt like a life time and it was so darn hot.

We were only there for a couple of hours but I felt like I was done with it. I think Chu Tung put it in such an interesting way. The North fought the war because of different beliefs in “capitalism”. The South fought the war because of different beliefs in “ideology”. I’m going to use that from now on. (And I’ll site my sources.)

By the time we got back to the hotel I started getting a bit sad. I only had one more day left in Viet Nam and it didn’t feel right. And I am sure it’s because I didn’t go to Da Nang. I was so torn to be in VN and not call anyone….especially when I was in Mui Ne and didn’t call Di Tu. And even more so that I didn’t get to go and visit Me’s grave. I just kept on telling myself that it just wasn’t the right visit and that I didn’t have enough time. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise because I found out back at the hotel that all interflights with the country had been cancelled for the past few days because of the huge storms. It was even worse in Da Nang.

After a quick shower, Joe and Joy came back to the hotel—we really missed them! The group was intent on buying DVDs since they are so darn cheap in VN. We headed over to an area that Mom and I usually pick up movies from and they went to town! We flipped through the mounds of DVDs and just bought the most random stuff. It was awesome. By the time we finished there and grabbed some dinner it was midnight and we headed back to the hotel to close out the night with some 333s on our balcony. We’re just not as young as we used to be!


DAY 5:

Last day in the motherland…. We woke up early and packed up our stuff. Our bus for the Mekong Delta picked us and we had our bread, cheese, and coffee breakfast on board. Our guide for the day was named Phong, and although nice, he was no Chu Tung. So we headed up to My Tho city.

The Mekong River actually flows through 5 countries before it goes out to sea: China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam. We got in our first boat and cruised around the river. The area is surrounded by four islands: Turtle Island (symbolizing longevity), Unicorn Island (symbolizing wholeness), Phoenix Island (symbolizing beauty), and Dragon Island (symbolizing power). Through the day we transferred into various water vessels to maneuver through narrow canals. We had lunch on one of the islands and it was delish! Our dessert composed of fresh fruit plucked from their own gardens (longans, rambutan, pineapple, and papaya). I particular enjoyed one of the islands where they showed us how they made coconut candy—it was awesome and yummy. It was like watching Mark Summer’s “Unwrapped” from the Food Network!
On this island they specialized in making honey (yup, bee farm) and had these gi-normous boa-constrictors you can put around your neck and take pictures with. Needless to say, I stayed cleared away from the snakes!

We jumped back onto the bus and were back in Saigon by about 5pm. After picking up our stuff from our hotel, I said my goodbyes to Chi Nga and thanked her for everything. (Did I mention that she called to check on us in Mui Ne to make sure that we’re ok? Oh, and the woman at the hotel in Mui Ne called our travel agency to make sure we got back to Saigon ok. How nice of everyone!) The crew then went to pick up all of the clothes that the girls got made. They turned out so awesome! I can only do very basic sewing so these people were my idols! Happy with their new threads, we decided to go “big” with dinner to spend the rest of our dong (Vietnamese money). And I’ll tell you, it’s kind of hard to blow$10US a piece on dinner without feeling ill from eating too much. The last meal in VN was great though—a wonderful way to end the trip.

We took a cab and headed back to the docks at about 8pm. And although I was sad to leave Viet Nam, a wonderful sense of comfort overcame me when I saw us approach the lights of our ship. It was good to go home from my homeland. Now, on to Myanmar!! How awesome is my life?

PS. You may have noticed our en route location as Singapore. Yup, you’ve read correctly, Singapore. Unfortunately this is only to fuel up and we won’t be allowed the ship. BOO to that!

Images from Viet Nam…..

Flag of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

House Boat at the Saigon River

and more boats!

Greeting at the Nha Rong Docks!

My travel companions at a local watering hole near our hotel: Gail, Joy, Kate S., Nam, and Joe

In front of my bungalow in Mui Ne

Hanging out at our beach at the resort....life is truly rough for us.

View of the surf

Waiting for dinner one night....

The most amazing mai tai of MY LIFE!! I shed a tear just thinking about it.

Playing cards in front of Joe and Joy's bungalow...

Sitting in the jeep ready for our tour of the Sand Dunes

CHEESE!

Red Sand Canyons...doesn't it look like the Grand Canyon?

Climbing up the sand dunes with our little Vietnamese sherpa carrying our stuff.

Woo Hoo!! Sliding down the dunes! (aka, Tattoine)

Water Lily Lake

Little Friends of mine from Phan Thiet

Fishing Boats

My last meal in Mui Ne...YUM!!

Our new buddy cutting down fresh bananas for our dessert

Mai Tais in a BAG!

At the lacquer factory.

Main Altar at the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh

9 Pillars to Nirvana

Worship in session.

Gail buying some persimmons from a local vendor

Traffic on the way to Mekong Delta

The Crew outside of our bus (Yes, Joy and I do match a bit!)

My little friend--she's so cute!!!!

Fruit Vendor

Inside one of our boats in the Delta. These are supposed to be our life savers...but they look like huge sponges. Somehow I didn't feel so safe unless we were suppose to use them to absorb the water from the river. :o)

Waiting to board the boats to ride through some canals. Yes, it was all women who rowed here. :o)

Another form of our transportation

This guy was steering with his right foot!!!

Joy was playing w/ this cobra. I myself was over 15 feet away and had to zoom in to take this pic. Eew, I no like reptiles.

Rice Paddies

Chi Nga and I from our hotel in Saigon

Our last meal in Viet Nam outside of Cho Ben Thanh

Main Cast of S.A.S. and a Shameless plug…

Quote of the Day: “Your life is the only story in which you will play the main character, serve as the Director/Producer, and be the screenwriter. Who do you want to cast to be those whom to surround yourself with?”


It’s occurred to be that I’ve been blogging for over a month now and I’ve yet to truly introduce my readers to the characters in my life. Instead of calling them the “RDs” or whatnot, I can refer to them by name after this post. So here are the major players in the SAS chapter of “The Book of Nam and other Strange Stories…”


THE RESIDENT DIRECTORS:

Danelle, Career Counselor, UCLA
Danelle is a gal from my rival campus and went to Chico State for undergrad. If you think her name sounds like Daniel Boone, well then you get a prize. She’s the great, great, great granddaughter of ol’ Dan Boone. Cool huh? Danelle is also a Texas Hold ‘Em Champ.

Gail, Oregon State University
Gail is awesome. She is totally this outdoorsy gal who has lived and done service work all over in New Zealand, Australia, London, and Alaska. She’s quite the athlete but what I love most about her is that her music taste is as eclectic as mine. For example, we jam out on old school Boyz II Men, sing the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack together, dance to Nene Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance”, and chillax’ to Jack.

Jennifer, Director of Orientation, University of Tennessee
Jennifer is awesome. She’s quite the no nonsense, sarcastic one of the group but is always able to be the Devil’s advocate in certain arenas. Yeah, I would never want to be on her bad side. We do tease Jennifer all of the time because she works out while wearing a baseball hat….how sunny could it possibly get in an indoor gym?

Jenny, Assistant Dean, UC San Diego
Jenny, Jenny, Jenny. Now she is funny. Being the only other person of color on the staff, Jenny and I enjoy many moments of WTF during various meetings and events. Jenny also gets kudos because she used to not even be able to eat near the ocean without getting seasick. Now look at her! It’s rather ironic because Jenny and I are both in charge of putting together Christian and Jewish religious services for the shipboard community…did I mention that she’s, and I quote”, “a fallen Catholic” and I’m Buddhist.

Joy, College Programs Coordinator, UC Santa Cruz
I heart Joy!!! I am so stoked that she lives so nearby that I’ll be able to visit her all of the time back home. She’s definitely got this Cali girl beach look about her and is quoin e the healthy athlete. She’s oober sweet and is just darn hysterical. She’s also my fellow caffeine addict. I actually plan on going to Big Island with Joy sometime in the near future where we’ll stay at Yoga Oasis, this commune-like yoga mecca.

Kate, Student Activities, Willamette University
Kate and I go “way” back to two years ago when we worked together at NASPAs Career Services. She is freaking hysterical and definitely one of my regular partners in crime. Kate has been known to tell everyone on the ship that she has never drank so much until she met me. Shocking, I know. Kate is also addicted to karaoke, an addiction that has only been further reinforced with our visit to Asian countries who love them some karaoke.

Stephanie, Residence Life, Arizona State University
Stephanie, like Jenny, are our Residence Life experts since they are the only two RDs who actually have been a RD before. Stephanie just cracks me up. She seems to always catch me doing or saying something under my breathe that I really shouldn’t be doing. She has this awesome way of interacting with our students that is so straightforward that it’s damn admirable. For instance, she’s able to say “How dumb are you?” without making it sound offensive. I need to learn that.

MUCKETY-MUCKS (aka. Administration):

Bob, Vice Provost, Oregon Health & Sciences University
Bob is the bomb. Not only is he cool because he’s a fellow Anteater but he’s the one he actually offered me the job. Bob’s wife Abby is on the ship too and she’s amazing—a complete free spirit who has got the best sense of humor. Bob’s oldest two kids are also on the ship as college students and their youngest son is a dependent on board too. Definitely a family affair. This is their fourth voyage with SAS.

Roane, Assistant Dean, UC Santa Barbara
Ro is also known as the “The Voice” as she gets to makes announcements over the speakers everyday. She also is the sole liaison with the shipside of the house. Ro has sailed two times before and is awesome. Her laugh is infectious and she calls everyone “pumpkin”.

Rick, VP Student Services, Olympic College
Rick is my direct boss as the Director of Student Life on the ship. Rick brought his dad and two sons on the voyage. Rick’s cool and is definitely a supervisor who likes to process and get consensus on EVERYTHING. I feel sorry for Rick all of the time bc his RDs are a handful.

Tim, Housing Director, Cal State Northridge
Tim is awesome….his only downfall, he’s a huge Notre Dame fan. Eh, I’m trying to look past. Having sailed before, Tim is a great resource. Too bad for him that most of his life on ship is spent hearing and adjudicating conduct cases—and we’ve got a ton! Tim has also this thing where he wants to go to all of the Disney Parks in the world…yup, he knocked out Tokyo Disney and HK Disney in a matter of two weeks!

OTHER SUPPORTING ROLES:

Joe, Housing, UC Santa Cruz
Joe is Joy’s partner and they’ve been together since grad school. He is awesome and is an honorary RD (that’s his job back home at UCSC). He’s a plethora of knowledge and always seems to know what direction we’re supposed to be heading in. Perhaps he’s got an internal GPS implanted somewhere. Joe also eats chips like they’re going out of style while we’re traveling.

Henry, Sociology Professor, UC Irvine
Henry is another awesome Anteater. His mannerisms, personality, and voice remind me exactly like Anthony Bourdain the food/traveling guy. He’s hysterical and the students love him. My favorite quote from Henry one night in the faculty/staff lounge “Why am I always wasted on this ship?”

Alden, Professor, Emerson College
Alden is hysterical and we’ve inducted her as an honorary Student Life staff member. She teaches a lot about exotification in culture and travel.

Kate B., Portland State University
Kate reminds me EXACTLY of Eileen Crowe, my roommate from sophomore year in college. She is tons of fun and has this awesome Pat Benetar voice. Incidentally, she often picks Pat when karaoking.

Patrick, Photographer
Patrick is our photographer for the ship. He’s been on SAS twice now and is just hysterical. He’s totally eccentric and is just darn hysterical. He’s quite a well known photographer and wants to do a book on B & B’s of the US.

Brian, Video Editor
Brian does the editing for all of the footage shot on the voyage. This guy is a crack up and always has a story for something. My fav is that he’s quite a talented guitar player and will play/sing almost anything I request. He’s really good with the Ben Harper stuff.


These are the folks who will come up most frequently in my blogs and who I hang out with the most. Yup, they’re my posse.

And now for my shameless plug….everyone is getting letters and cards on the ship except me!!! Don’t make me that kid from camp who just doesn’t get mail all summer long! :o) I’ve even included a link of the addresses where you can mail items to:

http://www.semesteratsea.com/voyages/fall2006/fa2006_communicatewship.html

You’ll be sure to get a postcard from me. :-)

Day 33: The Lights of Hong Kong

Latitude Location: 12 Degrees, 32.8 North
Longitude Location: 111 Degrees, 5.0 East
Speed: 18.5 Knots
En route to: SaiGon, Viet Nam
Quote of the Day: “It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.”- Venerable Dalai Lama

My sight and other senses are so full from four days in Hong Kong. Never have I seen such amazing towers and structures that light up the sky at night. Needless to say, if the air was a little less smog filled, I could see myself living in Hong Kong for a time.

DAY 1:

My new addiction is card games, and really, it’s the best way to spend your time amongst friends on a ship. But with great pleasure comes a price…and somehow mine is always lack of sleep. We stayed up until the wee hours playing my new fav “Phase 10” and as reality somehow sank in, we managed to drag ourselves to bed for a few winks before pulling into port.

A little before six am I climbed out of bed and stumbled up the 3 flights of stairs to see the sunrise as we came into Hong Kong. Breathtaking. For all of those LA folks, you can understand the strange beauty that comes about with the sun and smog. Well, magnify that by tenfolds, and there you have the beautiful hues that filled my eyes. Oranges, reds, golds glistening over the water. Now, perhaps it’s just because I am horrible at geography and all things that deal with topography. But did you know that Hong Kong is actually comprised of 100s of islands? Because I clearly didn’t. J All around us were islands stacked high with towers and buildings that were easily 75+ floors! And they were so close to each other that I would think it would be quite challenging to be clausterphobic!

After we cleared ship and got the students out, five us set out to see Hong Kong. Our ship actually docked on the Kowloon side in the Ocean Terminal and let me tell you how freaking smart these people are.
In order to leave the ship and get out the main streets, you have to walk through this gi-normous mall that’s the equivalent of South Coast Plaza (for the OC folks) or Valley Fair (for the Bay Area homies). Now walking through this mall was a really interesting experience because for moments you felt like you were still back in the states just strolling through. The majority of the shops were from the US or Europe and almost everything was written in English.

After we did some currency exchange and other housekeeping items, we began meandering around the city. We checked out the Kowloon Park that had a “Raging Waters” type thing inside, various parks, and tons of shopping. After lunch (I have to admit that we ate a Japanese fusion place, not Chinese) we headed out to the Hong Kong History Museum. Hands down, the best Museum I have ever been to. The installations were so intricate and detailed oriented. And there were so many different medians of expression. They had interactive screens, brief films, actual miniaturized homes from the past that you could walk in, and so much more. Somehow we thought an hour would suffice but we managed to spend 2.5 hours there. I could have definitely used at least another few hours to study the place but we had to meet some folks up. Really, if you ever make it to Hong Kong, go to this museum. Plus it was quite affordable, the equivalent of $1.20 US.

We met up with a few folks for dinner and to experience Victoria’s Peak at night. To make a long story short, what could have been a 3hour ordeal turned out to be a 5hour situation because we had a group of 12 (and somehow managed to pick up another person along the way!). Did I mention that I hate traveling in large groups?? But I quickly got over my annoyance as we got into the “funicular” railway up to Hong Island’s highest mountain. It was so beautiful!! Atop Victoria’s Peak, we were able to see a breathtaking few of the island with all of the lights from the buildings. It was spectacular! In addition, we took the ferry for the first time from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. I love ferrys! I know, it must sound silly to be excited about a ferry ride when I live on a ship. But if you got the chance to ride a ferry into the most wonderful scenery, you too, would be excited!

DAY 2:

Yay!! For the next 3 days, I got to spend time with Mel and Kyle who just moved to Hong Kong from San Jose to study at City University. It was so great to see them and to hear about their experiences in Hong Kong thus far.

We headed out to the far side of Hong Kong Island to check out Stanley Market. We jumped on a subway to the bus station and I picked up my Octopus Card. (Which is the BOMB! It’s a card that you can put a any amount on and use it for subways, trains, buses, and even in STORES!!! Similar to a debit card and so convenient!) We rode a double decker bus up to Stanley Market and all I can say is that it was INSANE! Imagine the “Night Bus” from Harry Potter 3…yeah, I was on it! The bus weaved in and out of traffic and climbed these mountain sides that were so narrow. I swear I felt like we were going to tip over the entire time! But funny enough, I wasn’t scared just impressed that the driver could maneuver such a huge thing! We had lunch at this German place at the Stanley Area and it was quite tasty. Yes, I said German. And no, I still hadn’t had authentic “Chinese Food” yet!

After Stanley Market, we headed over to Ladies Market. It may sound like all I did was shop this day but really, it seems like a very common thing to do, whether in the mall or open air market places. I had a lot fun feeding off of the energy from everyone!

After a quick freshening up at the ship, I met up with Mel and Kyle again for dinner and some fun in the Lan Kwai Fong district. Out-of-control. That’s all I can say to truly describe this area. In a small 4 city block area, there is a bar/club/restaurant place that was just jammed packed! According to Kyle, it’s mostly comprised of Ex-Pats and tourists. Music was blaring out of all of the watering holes (good 80s stuff) and people were just spilled out into the streets with cocktails in hand! At first glance, perhaps this is what Bourbon Street looked like pre-Katrina.

It seemed like we were about to have a big night ahead of us and decided to grab dinner at a local’s restaurant. I finally had my first Chinese meal! It was pretty tasty! This is where it gets funny…we grabbed drinks at the 7-Eleven and strolled the streets with beer in hand. College flashbacks!!! I kept on looking around while saying to myself “Where am I??!!” It was such a huge party scene! We then proceeded to this Russian Bar and hung out in the “ice room” where folks did vodka shots (Think of the bar in Mandalay Bay in Vegas). And yes, we did get to wear those huge fur coats….I looked like a bear! But it was tons of fun! We ran into some of their friends in the streets and ended up going to two discos (yes, I said “discos”) before calling it a night. I was exhausted but it was LOTS of fun!!

DAY 3:

The three amigos met up and headed out to Lantau Island early on day 3. Lantau is believed to have been inhabited by primitive tribes before being settled by the Han Chinese. But the reason why I wanted to go to Lantau is because it’s the home to several important Buddhist monasteries and the largest, outdoor, seated Buddha statue in the world! We jumped on the train/subway where we passed Disneyland Hong Kong and arrived at Lantau at about noon. Here is where it gets fun.

There are a few means of transportation up to the mountainsides where the Pai To Monastery and Buddha statue resides. One can either take a 25 minute bus or a 25 minute gondola ride up these cables. Of course we opted for the latter. It was AMAZING. Over the 25minute span it took for us to reach the top of the mountain, we were able to see the beautiful landscape of the island…lush green vegetation, lakes, and the sun over the horizon. Each little “gondola” carried about 8-15 ppl. Our cart had 8 folks: 3 of us, a Chinese couple, and a Filipino family of three. As we were snapping pictures, the Chinese woman inside our gondola asked if she could take a picture with Kyle. Call it the “mystique” of a Caucasian man but why didn’t she want to take a picture with Mel or I??? J Though Mel quickly informed me that since being in Hong, everyone thinks Kyle is Keanu Reeves. Hmmm, you be the judge of that. J

As we slowly reached the top of the mountain, the statue of Buddha came into view. Holy Moly!!! He was HUGE!!!! GI-NORMOUS!!! I’ve seen large Gautama statues before but this one takes the cake! We jumped off of our gondola and headed to a few of the exhibits in the “village area” at the base of the statue. We saw a short exhibit called “Monkey Tales” and then saw an interactive presentation called “Walking with Buddha”. The latter was so cool. After lunch in the village (I finally got my wonton noodles, YUM!) we headed up to the statue.

I think even if I didn’t identify as Buddhist, I would still have been so moved by everything in front of me. As we climbed the hundreds of steps to the Buddha, I found myself reflecting on all of doctrines I learned for the few years while at Buddhist/Vietnamese school. Those thoughts coupled with the words, and for lack of better words, teachings that were reviewed during the “Walking with Buddha”, put me at a really calm and peaceful state. No, I’m not saying I reached some form of enlightenment, but I did feel a sense of calmness. As I reached the Buddha, I separated from Kyle and Mel and just sat at the base of him. Now, I wouldn’t say that I am a devout Buddhist, nor do I interpret Buddhism as a “religion”. More so, I believe it to be almost a mantra of how to live my life, or at least try to. Do good, work on the betterment of thyself, and make change when change is for the better good. And that is what resonated with me and my time here at SAS thus far. I think I have spending a lot of time worrying about what other people are doing “wrong” or what negative structures are in place. As a result, I’ve really put myself in a negative space a lot and frankly, that’s just not healthy for me. There is a Buddhist saying that goes something like “Being angry at ignorant people is like hating fire for burning” and in many regards, I believe that. So, as much as I can, I need to focus on working on me and areas I need strengthening. And in terms of structures, I need to focus on facilitating and inspiring change when the time is right….because it’s only then that change will really actualize.

So I digress…back to the statue. We were able to walk inside the statue where they held various relics that were said to be centuries old. But what I was taken aback with the most is what we found on the top floor. After decades of preaching around the world, it is said that Buddha reached paranirvana in a forest amongst some of his followers. After his death, he set his body on fire for cremation. His ashes were crystallized through this process and were divided up amongst the various directions of the world. Centuries have passed and although most of these crystals have either been lost or destroyed, this temple had procured three crystals and I saw them. I stood in front of the glass that held the crystals, in awe. I didn’t even know that such things were in existence, let alone ever fathom that I would see them with my own eyes. I was in disbelief as I stood in the actual presence of Buddha.

We entered some more temples at the base of the Buddha where I was able to engage in some prayers. I made a commitment at that point to visit/experience some type of Buddhist experience in every country possible for the next 2 months.

We made our way down the mountain via gondola at the precise moments that the sun began to set. And although the wind made the ride down a little precarious, the skies set the perfect backdrop to a wonderful day. There, the hues of red, orange, and purple overtook the sky and made me feel like I was in a real life painting.

That evening, we were all exhausted. We made a pit stop to Temple the Night Market, had some dinner, stopped over to the Red Light District area, and then called it a night. I was pooped.


DAY 4:

So how did I spend my last day in Hong Kong? More markets? Nope. Hiking? Nope. I went to the racetracks. Yup, you’ve read correctly—the horse race tracks and it was so darn cool.

I met up again with Mel, Kyle and a bunch of their fellow classmates (all International students) and we headed out to the tracks. On the way there it began to drizzle a bit and I was a tad worried that we wouldn’t get to see any races. But as we arrived, the skies cleared up a bit and there was quite the crowd there. Unlike the races I’ve been to in the states, the attendees were fairly calm. Most of them were busily studying the papers and stats of the jockeys/horses while bets were placed in an uneventful manner. We watched the first race right up near the barricades and had a great view as the horses flew by. So the good news is that for the first race I chose the first place winner, the second race I chose the second place winner, and the third race I chose the second place winner. Awesome, huh? Well the bad news is that although I chose the first and second place winners, I didn’t actual put any money down to place a bet. What a waste huh!! But I’m convinced that had I really put money down, none of my horses would have placed. Eh, once again, I’m a winner deep down inside and I’ll just have to be happy with that. J

After a few hours at the tracks, we decided to say our goodbyes. I had an on-ship reporting time of 1900hrs and I wanted to pick up some last minute bottled water and snacks. After trying to convince them both to meet me up at some of the upcoming ports, we said our goodbyes and I headed back to Kowloon. Still with two hours before I needed to be back, I decided to grab a nice dinner solo. Japanese was the cuisine I ended up with-YUM! And for the foodies following my blog, you’ve picked up correctly. Chinese food is not exactly my fav but I did end up having some tasty eats over the past four days. Needless to say, I am jonesing for some Viet food. J

Really, Hong Kong turned out to be a wonderful port. I got to do so much in such a few short days—quite a diverse array of activities too! The highlight was, of course, seeing friends from home. Would I go back to Hong Kong again? In a heartbeat. I still, afterall, have a few hundred islands left to discover. J

PS. Not surprisingly, there is another tropical storm headed our way as we cruise over to the Mother Land!! I think the next few days should be quite a bumpy ride. But on the bright side, in two short days, I’ll be in Saigon! Woo Hoo!! Until then…

Images from Hong Kong…

Flag of Hong Kong hoisted on the MV Explorer

Sunrise coming into Hong Kong

Three Guardians at Hong Kong History Museum

Sunset over our home!

View of Hong Kong Island from the Ferry leaving Kowloon Island

View of Hong Island from Victoria's Peak

Mel, me, and Kyle at Stanley District

Ladies Market

Three of us inside the Ice Room in the Russia Bar. Yes, I look like a bear.

Crazy view of Lan Kwai Fong...aka Hong Kong Bourbon Street

Just about to jump into our Gondola to go atop Lantau

View from Gondola

Inside our gondola

First peak of the statue...isn't it Gi-NORMOUS!

Finally my wonton noodles!

Crazy sunset coming down the mountain

Woman making banh cuon

Temple Market at night

Kyle and the horsie at the tracks

at the tracks....

Straight out of Harry Potter, the night bus...

Leaving Hong Kong...

Day 24: The Chronicles of Japan

Latitude Location: 29 Degrees, 57.6 North
Longitude Location: 166 Degrees, 27.3 East
Speed: 18.6 Knots
En route to: Hong Kong
Quote of the Day: “The tourist or the traveler? I choose to be the latter.”

How was it even possible that I wasn’t that excited to be visiting Japan??? I LOVED it!! Not to say that I didn’t want to travel to Japan. It’s just that, like China, it was never on my top “to go” lists. But now, I seriously must have been crazy!!

Like 80% of the trips I will be going on, I chose to travel independently from the pre-sponsored SAS trips. Partially because they were extremely expensive and also, I really don’t like traveling in very large groups. We were in Japan for a total of 5 days and 4 nights—and although it may sound like a short time, we packed so much into each day that I felt like we were there for weeks!

DAY1
Like in the two previous ports, the entire ship woke up before sunrise to watch the ship pull into port. However, unlike Hawai’i it was rather gloomy coming into Kobe but that didn’t quell the energy level around the ship (folks were getting stir crazy from being on the ship for 8+ straight days). Tired as heck, I downed two cups of coffee and made my way to the forward deck (we had been up until 2am in the faculty/staff lounge karaoke-ing and toasting Japan—so being up at 5am was a struggle!). As we closed into the Port of Kobe there was all types of activities happening in the Bay! The City had sent their fire vessels out to greet us with a water fare show and as we pulled even closer to the docks we were greeted by an entire brass band! It was crazy!!! I seriously felt like we were celebrities and the students were going bananas! The band played the traditional ‘Stars and Stripes’ and other very patriotic American tunes but by far my fav was when they busted out with the theme song to 007!!!

The diplomats representing Japan boarded shortly after and the shipboard community congregated into our Union for the speeches and exchange of gifts. The Japanese delegation brought about 25 folks on board that included such folks as: the Port Chairman, Mayor, several performers, Kobe City Tourist crew, and even Miss Kimono 2006! They presented the Captain, Staff Captain, Hotel Director, Engineer Captain, Executive Dean, and two students with gifts. It was absolutely beautiful—the offerings ranged from a beautiful vase, samurai swords, gi-normous bottles of sake, and kimonos. After a few beautiful traditional dances, speeches were made and we began disembarking!

By now it was after noon and we were starving—and I refused to eat on board while in Japan. So we began wandering around the streets of Kobe in search for some bento boxes or udon. We stumbled across this little restaurant and decided to go in. (Side note: the majority of the restaurants in Japan have displays in their windows of plastic replicas of the dishes they served. This seriously was a HUGE help!!) Oh my goodness, it was the BOMB!!! Granted it wasn’t anything hugely fancy but I was in heaven!! If this first meal was any indicator of how my food experience was going to be, I was in GREAT shape! While enjoying my chicken oyakadon, about 10 students came bustling into the restaurant. And although I know that my job never really has an “on” and “off” time, it was a little annoying how loud they were and how many questions they kept asking us. Like “how did you order?” “what’s that?” blah, blah, blah. As their teachers I know that they often times look to us for guidance but we really wanted them to figure it out for themselves—how else would they learn? As began our endless quest for the next 4 days to avoid students. J

After lunch and some wandering around, we met up with some other folks and headed into Osaka to watch a baseball game—it was insane!!! I was so fascinated how the Japanese were able to juxtapose such an “American concept” like baseball with their own culture. The stadium itself (Kyocera Stadium in Osaka) was awesome. It was a huge covered dome (Viet, you would love this part), it looked like the freaking Death Star from inside!!! The energy was unreal inside the game. And although the opposing team had WAY more fans in attendance than the home team, you could not help but get swept up into the excitement. Each side had these long chants and cheers and at one point they would all blow up these balloons and set them free. And of course, just like how I am at American baseball games, I went to town with the food. After all of the media I’ve seen about Japanese baseball games, I was determined to enjoy a bowl of udon (which was ridiculously yummy), lavender ice cream, and “shockingly”, beer! I don’t think I’ll be able to go to a Giants or Dodger’s game without reminiscing on my time at Osaka! By the time we got back to the ship it was way after midnight and unfortunately we were greeted with a semi-crisis to be discussed briefly at the end of this entry.

DAY2
I love Japanese public transportation!!! After pulling myself out of bed at 6am (with only 4 hours of sleep), my friend Kate and I jumped on the bullet train and headed towards Tokyo. Everyone thought we were crazy to go to Tokyo for just a day but we didn’t want to drop $300+ on a hotel. The train was so cool, very spacious and ridiculously clean!

We got into Tokyo a little after eleven and immediately began exploring the city. It’s odd, but everyone always describes Tokyo as a version of Times Square…I wonder why more people don’t say that Times Square is like Tokyo? But I will say that one huge difference amongst the two similar cities is that although Tokyo is a packed and congested as NYC, it was so QUIET!!! Seriously, no one honking their horns or loud obnoxious noises. Actually it was a little creepy. J We somehow landed straight into the Ginza District which is akin to a 5th Avenue experience. I will admit that I was a little overwhelmed with sensory overload. From the buildings, flashing billboards, to the shops—Tokyo was very colorful.

We ended up just walking around the city a lot and did some shopping. We ate at some awesome little sushi, conveyor belt place that was so ridiculously cheap. Tons of yellow tail, ahi, and salmon only ran me about $4. I was in heaven.

Kate and I wanted to visit a rather famous temple, Asukara but had the hardest time figuring out how the hell to get there. I should rather clarify that I do love Japanese public transportation but it’s confusing as heck to navigate. To add on top of that, we couldn’t speak or read the language. Luckily throughout my ENTIRE stay in Japan, people kept on stopping to ask if we were lost. Most of those people did speak some English and were so gracious to spend tons of time helping us find the right train or translate with the conductors. I’m making it my goal to keep an eye out on folks who look lost when I get back to the States and help them find their way. J In addition to that, there was one point in the day where we were standing on the street trying to decide where we were going to eat. It starting raining and this random couple came up to us and gave us their umbrella. Seriously! We kept on refusing but they insisted that we took it. Where does that really happen???

The temple was really beautiful. There was an ever so light drizzle that started when we got there and it added such an amazing ethereal feel to it.

Before heading back to Kobe, we grabbed a few bento boxes and a bottle of sake to enjoy on the train. I should also mention that people drink EVERYWHERE!! Beer and sake are in vending machines and it’s very common for folks to be walking around (or on the train, buses) enjoying a cocktail. Seriously, did I mention that I love this country???

By the time we got back on the ship, it was almost midnight. Lucky for us, we were greeted with not one but two crisis. More on that later.

DAY3
After 3.5 hours of sleep (Kate only got 3) I literally rolled out of bed and crawled to breakfast. Somehow we managed to get our packs on and were headed to Hiroshima on the 8:30 train. I was in a daze the entire ride there. Not only did I get so little sleep but I kept on thinking about the issues that transpired when Kate and I got back to the ship. On top of that I couldn’t help but feel apprehensive and anxious about going to Hiroshima.

We transferred off of the train and caught the trolley down to the Atomic Bomb Dome. When we arrived, I really can’t explain how I felt. Overwhelmed? Mixed emotions? Sick? Here I was standing in the direct spot where the A bomb was dropped some over 60+ years ago, killing over 140,000 people. But as I looked around, there were families having picnics on the riverbank, small school children were in groups for tours, and trees were in full green life.

We meandered around the Peace Park looking at various memorials and landmarks. And as I looked around the area, I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t coincidence that the riverbanks were lined with weeping willow trees? After all, they said that after the bomb dropped, hundreds of the victims instinctively found their ways to the river and jumped in, in hopes of cooling themselves from the immense burns. Unfortunately, as a result, the river became a “death river”.

Afterwards we visited the museum, which for many of you whom have been to the DC or LA Museum of Tolerance, you can understand how painful it can be to visit a venue like this. Images, video, models of Hiroshima pre-bombing, burned clothing from the bodies of school children were dispersed through the exhibit. And as I went through the Museum, I was so grateful that I had opted out of going through Hiroshima with the SAS tour because I would have never been afforded the time for reflection and to move through at my own pace.

It’s really interesting though….after visiting Pearl Harbor a few years ago, I really had an opportunity to compare and contrast how two countries can portray their own “victimization”. I am sure my views would be highly opposed by those directly involved in WWII but I have to say that, personally, it makes my ill when I hear “The Japanese started the war with Pearl Harbor, but we ended it with Hiroshima.” Seriously though? Really? Perhaps we “ended” it after we annihilated 140k people and brought light and triggered nuclear war? Do you know what’s curious? At Pearl Harbor, almost all the placards and videos took the stance along the lines of “The Japanese snuck up and bombed pearl harbor”, “We were attacked”…etc, etc. But at Hiroshima, not once on a placard/video did it say “America dropped the A bomb” but merely “In the morning of 1945, the a-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima”. And in fact, at the Museum, there were many installations which stated that the Japanese took ownership over their antagonization and persecution of China and the US. Curious these polar ways of addressing similar bedlam, huh?

Needless to say, I felt exhausted after spending most of the day at Hiroshima. Emotionally and physically, I felt worked. So in that late afternoon, we jumped back on the train to meet our friends in Kyoto. They had spent the day there and had checked into our hostels and were waiting for us.

Well, as “luck” would have it, I found out on the way there that Kate had lost our map to the Hostel and hadn’t really confirmed our arrival time with our travel companions. Seriously?! All we had was the name of our Hostel and the street it was on. Have I mentioned yet how much it sucks not to have my cell phone!? Whatever optimism we had upon arrival in Kyoto soon dwindled when we saw that most of the street signs did not have roman letters underneath the Kanji characters. Can you say SOL?

To make a long story short, it took us 1.5 hours to find the hostel when it was only supposed to be a 9-minute walk from the train station. I was miserable. Tired and lugging my pack around for an hour and a half was not my fav. Plus I was starving and it’s really not a pretty picture when I’m hungry.

Thankfully the hostel was awesome. It was more like a tight fit motel than a hostel. On the bottom floors, there was a cute kitchen, Zen garden, meditation room, and computer lab. Our rooms had private showers and bath—very awesome. As expected, our friends had left to go to a bath but had left us a note to meet back for dinner. When we they got back (Kate B., Alden, Brian, and Danelle) we quickly rushed out to grab dinner. Somehow we ended up at this tiny little restaurant that barely fit the 6 of us. It was awesome, since we couldn’t really order, we somehow communicated to the sushi chef to make us whatever he wanted. He created these beautiful sashimi plates with toro, salmon, octopus, squid, etc. It was so darn tasty!!! They were the sweetest couple so of course, I had to take tons of pictures of them. J

The rest of the night was hysterical. We ended up at a karaoke place and stayed there for about 2 hours (yes, karaoke is still not my fav but my companions were intent on singing) and then closed up the night with sake in a park near the hostel while playing endless rounds of truth or dare. I felt like I was in high school! True story. But it was so much fun!


DAY4
Kate and I were the only two of our travel companions who was not hung over the next day, and thank Buddha!, because they missed out big time! The four of them had rented bikes the day before and had rode around all of Kyoto. They insisted that we do the same stating it was the best way to see the city. Truth be told, I was a tad hesitant since I had not ridden a bike in 15+ years let alone a rickety bike on sketchy streets! But I figured, hey, if I break a bone, at least I can say it was while I was carting around in Kyoto.

The first 15 minutes was absolutely hysterical. Despite the adjustments, my bike was still to big for me and it was a serious stretch in order to pedal. On top of that, the Japanese ride to the left side which totally confused us. Instinct told me to move to the right every time to get out of people’s way but I was supposed to move to the right! Needless to say, I had many near crashes (they ride so damn close to you!) but by the end of the day, we were zooming in and out of alleys. (Plus our bikes had these cute baskets and bells.)

We spent all day going from shrines to temples to gardens, etc. But we spent the most time in the Imperial Palace. The grounds for this place was HUGE!! Easily it could have fit a couple of large parks. And in retrospect, I would have passed out from walking had we not had our bikes to pedal through the grounds. I will say the major down part of the palace experience is that we got eaten alive with bugs. Seriously! By the time all was said and done, I had over 49 bug bites on my legs and arms. Worse thing about it is that no one had even thought we would need our bug spray in Japan. Ugh, they turned into welts and swelled so bad. I’m hoping I don’t get malaria since I don’t start my malaria meds regiment until India!

Yet despite all of the beauty of Kyoto, hands down my favorite time was when we met Yushiko. Actually, other than the awesome toro, Yushiko was the best experience of my trip to Japan. It all happened when we were in this district of famous temples. They were absolutely gorgeous. But the thing is, you had to buy these “entrance passes” to go into the temples which would have ran us about $40-$50. After our guilty indulgence from the night before, we decided to forgo going inside…we’re student affairs folks, so of course, we’re ballers on a budget. As we were about to leave the temples district, we came across what we thought to be a smaller temple. At the entranceway, there was a tiny, older woman sweeping the steps. She looked up as we went by and smiled. We said hello and she began speaking to us in Japanese. By now we were experts of the smile and nod when folks spoke in Japanese to us. After a few sentences she stopped and pointed to me and said “Japanese?” I said no, and responded “Vietnamese”. She laughed and began trying to speak in English. And although her English was somewhat limited, we found out so much about her while standing outside of the gate. It turns out that it was not a temple we were in front of but it was her home, she was 94 years old, and that the home belonged to her late husband’s family line. Her eldest son now is the head of the house but was currently in China AND she has a granddaughter who lives in Newport Beach, CA!!! When I told her that I used to live right next to Newport she laughed and was so happy. She was the sweetest woman! Yushiko told us that her sister comes by each day to fix her meals because she is too old to do it herself. When we told her that she wasn’t old and seemed quite strong, she laughed and laughed. She asked us what we did all day and warned us that we had to be very careful at night. Interestingly enough, she said that everyone thinks that Japan is such a safe place but it’s not anymore. She made us promise not to go out alone and to not stay out too late at night. She then asked us if we wanted to come in and see her garden. I was floored and so excited by her generosity. We walked in and it was so overwhelmingly beautiful…none of the pictures I took could do it justice. Yushiko would just point in directions that she would want us to see. Unfortunately since she was using two canes, it was difficult for her to maneuver about. She then motioned us to go through this old wooden door. We didn’t know what to expect but as I pushed opened this door which looked like it hadn’t been used in years, tears swelled up in my eyes. It was amazing, just as how I imagined the garden from “Secret Garden” would look like. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Kate and I stayed in there for a few minutes just marveling at the beauty around us and just feeling so lucky that this woman had invited us into her home. When we went back through the door, we couldn’t find Yushiko. We looked around some corners and I swear, for a moment in my mind, I wondered if she was a spirit. But then we saw her sitting inside a room with parchment doors smiling at us. We came up to the doorway and just expressed our deepest gratitude. What was so touching is that she went on for awhile and apologized that she was by herself because if other family members were there, she would be able to offer us tea and cookies, etc. She must have apologized ten times for that. Does it make sense to say that her humbleness was so humbling? I really wanted a picture of her, someway to remember this woman who made me ache for my own grandmother. But when I asked her, she was so funny. She said “no! I’m too old and ugly!” But really, she was so beautiful! I respected her wishes but was so bummed inside. We shared our last thank you’s and goodbyes….I don’t think I’ve bowed so low in my life (the lower you bow shows the highest respect you have for that individual). Words can’t do it justice what we experienced for that 30 minutes or so with Yushiko….I just know that I will never forget that moment.

By then, the clouds starting rolling in and we decided to head back to the hostel. It took about an hour riding back alongside the river to get back into downtown Kyoto. And by the time we got back to our hostel, we were exhausted. We had been riding for 8+ hours, which was slightly over ambitious for someone whom hadn’t rode a bike in so long. After returning our bikes, we decided to forgo finding a restaurant and grabbed some bentos from a nearby shop, picked up some peach Japanese beer, and headed back to the hostel. I don’t know if it was because we had forgone lunch or that we were so tired, but that dinner was amazing! I’m going to miss Japanese food!

DAY 5
Our last day in Japan…we had an on-ship reporting time of 7pm and still had some to-see items left on our itinerary back to Kobe. We checked out of our hostel and jumped back on a train. Our plan was to head to Kishigawa to see the Donjiri Festival before heading back to the ship. Now typically, I love festivals. Vendor food, floats, lots of excitement….it’s my fav! But by day 5, exhaustion was slowly creeping up on me and quite frankly, my bum hurt from riding around all day. I was very near ready to throw in the towel to head back to the ship early but Kate (equally as tired) rallied me for one last go. Why the heck not right? When’s the next time I’ll be in Japan? So after downing a Coca-Light, we were off again---and I am so glad we did!!

Kishigawa is considered an old Castle town and at one point, was a capital city in Japan. The Donjiri Festival is something that has occurred for hundreds of years. Giant carts serve as shrines and are pulled by 100+ people. On the carts, magistrates and religious folks usually sat and surveyed the people. That’s pretty neat right? But that’s not the insane part! So what happens is that these carts are slowly pulled by people and then all of the sudden, they started doing this cadence thing and start charging down the streets pulling these gi-normous things! They were propelling down so freaking fast that it was kind of scary and they would take these 90-degree corners at such high speeds that the carts would lean over and look like they would tilt! It was crazy!!! Think of Spain’s running of the bulls!

We ran into a group of students at the festival and it was actually so good to see them. Perhaps because they were some of our favorite students but also it was nice just to see familiar faces. We spent some time with them eating some amazing vendor food: fried chicken, ramen, and hello kitty style cotton candy—it was great! We also spent some time talking to locals and making friends with little kids. I spent some time watching two of my male students (who seem to be the big “macho” type) crouched down trying to speak and play with these two little kids. I seriously had a maternal moment of pride watching these guys really try to engage into the culture while getting to know the people. It was especially heartfelt after witnessing so many students be such obnoxious “Americans” earlier on in my trip.

Ending on such a high, we jumped back on the train for the last time and headed back into Kobe. But not before spending our last yen at the AM/PM (seriously, the cities were covered with AM/PM, 7 Elevens, and other convenient stores) on some tasty snacks.

All in all, Japan was amazing and I would definitely go back. I would love to spend more time to see Nagano and Mt Fuji but that will have to wait until my next Japan adventure.

Now, I think many of you still think I’m on a cruise around the world and that my work is a piece of cake. And in many respects, I am damn lucky to have this chance to see these countries and experience all of these amazing things but it all comes at a price. Without going into too much detail (because I really don’t care to live it all over again), we had to deal with the following items just during the time we were in Japan. (Mostly had to deal with it after a long day of traveling…needless to say, I may want to rethink sleeping/coming back to the ship at night)

1. Had to call a student’s father to pick him up in Japan (from the States) after discovering the student had a serious heroine addiction. The SAS environment is just not conducive to help someone thoroughly recover such an addiction
2. Student got so intoxicated at the baseball game on the first night that he threw up multiple times all over the stadium, urinated on himself, proposed to the Dean’s wife, and got kicked out of the woman’s restroom. (That student got ship arrest for the duration of the trip and cannot consume any alcohol for the duration of the voyage. Or will be thrown off).
3. A student got so drunk that he knocked on a door that he thought was his own room. Another student opened the door and there was a physical altercation because the drunk student insisted that it was his room. (That student got ship arrest for the duration of the trip and cannot consume any alcohol for the duration of the voyage. Or will be thrown off).
4. Student almost asphyxiated on his own vomit from being so drunk. (That student got ship arrest for the duration of the trip and cannot consume any alcohol for the duration of the voyage. Or will be thrown off).

Think substance/alcohol is an issue on the ship? Hell yeah it is! This is what happens when you enter an environment where it’s finally legal for them to drink but we don’t do enough education. But then again, we can talk and educate until we’re blue in the face and I’m not sure it would help. Hmm…so I repeat, I am very lucky to have such an amazing experience but there is still a lot of hard work. I guess when times get rough, I just have to keep on thinking about students like the ones from the Donjiri Festival.

On another bum topic, we had to leave Japan a few hours early because a huge typhoon was headed for Japan/China. As such, we are no longer going to Qindao and are headed directly to Hong Kong. Maybe I’m not too bummed about it since I’ll get two more days in Hong Kong and will avoid a typhoon. Everything happens for a reason right?

Until next time…..

Moments after we hoisted the Japanese flag

Band greeting us at the port

Dome of the Baseball Stadium in Osaka aka: The Death Star

Yay! Udon at Baseball!

Releasing the balloons

100 Yen Store! Aka: Japanese Dollar Store!

Beer Vending Machine!

Gi-normous Grapes that were HELLA expensive! $25 US per basket

Waiting for the bullet train to Hiroshima

Phooey, we found the original Beard Papa's!! These cream puffs are to die for!!

Folded cranes at Hiroshima. Legend says that if you fold 1000 cranes, you will be granted a wish.

Atomic Bomb Dome

Yummy Udon

Sashimi Platter in Kyoto at the tiny sushi restaurant. Yummy!

Our sushi chef and his wife

At the Karaoke place (Top: Brian, Kate S. Bottom: Danelle, Kate B., Alden, me)

Children playing in Imperial Palace at Kyoto

Temple in Kyoto

Inside Yushiko's Garden

Me and my bike in Kyoto

The kitchen at our hostel

Children playing at Donjiri Festival

Food booth at Festival

People pulling the Shrine Carts in Kishikawa

The carts being pulled.

Images thus far...

Seeing how my last post may have been a bit of a downer, I thought I would post some pics to cheer me up. :o)

Pic of the RDs at the Parent Reception in San Diego

View of our Port in Ensenada

Sun peaking over Honolulu as we pulled into Oah'u

Folks on the deck, eagerly waiting our docking in Oah'u

Group Shot at brunch at Eggs N' Things. Mmmm, banana pancakes!!

View from the rotating bar where we stopped for mai tais.

Rainbow we caught as we were leaving the restaurant.

Amazing sunset we saw from Waikiki