TravelBio

Oh and for anyone who is interested here is the Semester at Sea website - its got some cool info about the program and past voyages: http://www.semesteratsea.org/ And more to come about Ecuador!

We reached Miami the morning of December 14 th . After visiting 10 countries and sailing around the globe for a total of 108 days, our journey had finally come to an end. We had to wait around to go through port security in groups based on our cabin numbers. At the beginning of the trip I planned to book a flight from Miami to Columbus and meet my family back home, but my mom had told me not to book one since my dad decided to visit me in Florida. It was supposed to be a surprise, but she didn’t want me to make travel arrangements not realizing he was planning for us to go home together. What I did not know was that my sister Anna would also be in Miami waiting for me! After over 3 months away from my family (and almost no phone contact) it was great to see my dad and sister. I had no idea that Anna would be there and was glad she could make the trip too. port of Miami Before leaving I said my final goodbyes to the friends I had made during the trip and made...

Again, its been a long time since I last updated my blog (sounds familiar, huh?). I looked over my last few blog posts and realized that I didn't really finalize the Semester at Sea trip. So here is a little recap of the last few days: After leaving Costa Rica our trip was nearly over, but we still had several days left of sailing before we landed in Miami. We departed from Puntarenas, and the following morning woke up to find our ship already in the locks of the Panama Canal. Most of us had never seen the Canal, let alone sailed through it. When I was in Panama City the following spring (which I hopefully will mention in one of my next posts) I never got around to seeing the Canal, which was kind of a bummer. It would have been cool to see what it was like from land, since I already had the opportunity to go through by ship. Sailing through it was a neat experience, but who knew it would take all day!? I assumed that we would go through a lock or two, followed by a qu...

Our last stop (aside from docking back in the US) was on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. We first docked pretty much in the middle of nowhere – I’m not sure why or how they chose the spot – and then the plan was to meet back up with the ship three days later in Puntarenas. Robb had suggested that we rent a house near the beach, and we agreed to it if Robb could find an affordable place. Costa Rica; we're getting closer to home! Even when Robb showed us pictures of the cheap house he booked in a place called Jaco I was still skeptical, thinking we might find out about other charges or get ripped off somehow. It was not tied to Costa Rica in any way, just that Robb kind of had a knack for coming up with ideas that seemed good but had a catch. Like when we went bowling in Kobe – it sounded like a fun plan and Robb claimed it was only $13 a lane. We had a good time, although Robb thought he had already paid at the front desk and then we found out soon after we left – as...

After leaving Japan, we had a long trip ahead of us. We first sailed for 9 days to Honolulu, Hawaii, where we stopped for the day only. Before and after Hawaii classes picked up since we had more uninterrupted time on the ship than nearly any other point on the journey (Cape Town to Chennai was 13 days straight). Along our way to Honolulu we passed over the International Date Line and gained 24 hours, repeating a full day. We didn't have any classes, although it hardly made up for the 24 times that we lost an hour of sleep during our trip (as we changed time zones). Hawaii was a relief to be sure, although a short one. We were grateful to get off the ship after sailing for 9 days and knowing that 9 more awaited us before we would reach land again. It was also nice to be back in the US, although an odd feeling considering our trip was not yet over. Like many others, I had never been to Hawaii, so our stopover was another new port to explore. It happened to be Thanks...

Almost two years on, here is a summary of the last Asian port of our Semester at Sea voyage. After leaving Shanghai, we sailed to Kobe, Japan. I kept up a journal of the days in Japan but it is at my house at Ohio State (I am at my parent’s house for a few weeks before the start of my last fall quarter) – instead of waiting to pick it up I’ll give you a brief rundown from what I can remember.  Of all the ports we had been to thus far, Japan was on one hand the most like home, yet definitely different. I say it was similar to home simply because it was the most ‘developed’ and ‘Westernized’ of the countries on our itinerary, especially in the cities. Yet Japan’s culture is unique – for much of its history its language, food and customs were totally separate from the West. Like I said, we docked in Kobe, a city on the southern part of the main island of Japan. Kobe was definitely a modern city, although it seemed on the small side, especially compared to Japanese...

Wow I just looked at my blog for the first time in over a year...it's too bad I never got to updating it or adding in more info from my subsequent trips after Semester at Sea. I just finished summer classes here at Ohio State (now I'm a senior, almost done) and will have a few weeks until fall quarter starts up again. I am hoping to go back through the cobwebs and post a few more details about SAS on the blog. Also I'd like to share a little from my trip to Ecuador and to Europe last summer - or at least what I can remember. I know those of you (the few!) who were reading while I was on the MV Explorer have long since stopped, but thanks for following me. I'll let some of you know that I plan on posting a few updates. Hope everyone is doing well.

Our next stop after Vietnam was Hong Kong, although the ship only docked there for one night. From Hong Kong the MV Explorer sailed north to Shanghai, arriving three days later. There were no classes during the trip from Hong Kong to Shanghai, and SAS students were allowed to travel throughout China meet the ship in Shanghai. Like many students, I signed up for a trip to Beijing. We departed the second day in Hong Kong and arrived in Shanghai the day before the ship left. Day 1 Henry, JR, Rob and I got off the ship at around 11 am and explored the harbor area before their FDP at 1:30. The ship was docked on the mainland and not the actual Hong Kong Island (where the main downtown area is located), but there were still lots of commercial buildings, restaurants and shops near the docks. We first found an ATM and a place for JR to exchange money and then walked through an indoor market. Afterwards Rob and JR stopped for some food while Henry and I looked at the surround...

  Day 1 Because our ship had to wait for high tide to sail upriver to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) we did not dock until around 1 pm. Henry, JR, Rob and I went into the city in search of a tailor because we wanted to get suits made. We stopped at a few places but did not find anything that looked promising, so first we decided to get a late lunch. At the restaurant where we were eating Henry saw the couple that he went skydiving with in Cape Town, South Africa! They are from Scotland and are traveling the world for 8 months, and Henry met them on his skydiving trip. Sailing up the Mekong River toward Ho Chi Minh City It was easy to tell that Vietnam's economy was up and coming A view from the docks Henry with his skydiving buddies After they talked for a few minutes we took a taxi to another part of the city with tailors and a market. We found a small shop that would make them for about $100 each, so I ordered one and Henry and JR got two (Rob ended up goi...

Our fifth port of call was Penang Malaysia. Penang is a small island just off the coast of mainland Malaysia, and the two are connected by a 13 kilometer long bridge. Unlike the previous ports, our ship anchored in the harbor and we had to take the lifeboats to and from the docks (a process known as tendering). Here is a summary of my five day stay: Day 1 I had an FDP with my Asian Art teacher at 9:30, so we got priority for the first tender off the ship; the morning of the first day the tender boats went back and forth quickly to get everyone off, but the rest of the time the boat would leave the ship at the top of every hour and leave the docks at half past – 12:30, 1:30, etc. Our professor took us on a walking tour of the Chinese area of Georgetown, the city on the island of Penang, looking at several temples and traditional homes. Streets of Georgetown / Penang A local Buddhist temple After the tour ended (around 1:00) I took a short walk around the doc...