Praia De Forte

For our last two days in Brazil, the usuals and I decided we had had enough of the city that is Salvador. We planned (totally indy!) a mini vacation to Praia De Forte, a little vacation spot 2 hours outside of Salvador. This morning we hopped on a bus and somehow made our way to the most adorable town. We found a cute hotel where the owner speaks english for $150 real for the night. Since it has started raining, as it does everyday in Brazil around this time, we took shelter in an internet cafe. Carnival just got to be too much for us, and this is the perfect way to spend our last two days in Salvador. I am very impressed with how resourceful we have been, seeing as how almost no one speaks a word of english and we are 4 girls traveling without a man. That is pretty much amazing, as it was only days ago that we were scared out of our minds being groped during Carnival. Mom, picture Mardi Gras times 100000000, factor in not being able to speak or understand the language, poor people begging for money, men touching you EVERYWHERE, and that is Carnival. You would hate it :) This vacation is definitely needed, as we now have 7 straight class days before we arrive in Cape Town, where I will be visiting Robben Island and going on a Safari. Speak with you all soon!

oi!

I AM AT CARNIVAL! we arrived yesterday in salvador, brazil for 5 days of culture and partying carnival style. yesterday i went to the candomble temples, a religion that is unique to bahia. the drive out there was very interesting-we went through the favellas, which are the slums. brazil is very mountainous and these people live in little cement boxes, on top of each other, all up and down the mountain. we were in a huge tour bus, so we attracted a lot of attention from the locals. last night our huge group went to the carnival area to explore. everyone was fine, we felt very safe in a big group and there were police all over. yesterday though we heard about a semester at sea girl who was held up with a knife and had her videocamera stolen. from now on all we are carrying on us are our disposable cameras and money belts. most people here are very friendly, but almost none speak english. this is the first time i´ve been in a place where people actually cannot communicate with me, nor i with them. it is very hot and humid, we sweat through everything we wear, and then it pours for 10 minutes making us even wetter. today we are walking around the main carnival streets, where everyone is very festive even though it is 10:30 on a sunday here. tomorrow we may go up the coast to the beach, or stay around salvador again. it´s a bit difficult because many people are very poor, and everyone begs you for money. if you are able to communicate with someone, they ask you for money in exchange for helping you find something. another interesting thing is that everyone is black. we are literally the only white people. i learned in my classes about how salvador in particular is very african. ship life is good, before our next stop, however, we will spend 8 days at sea. i probably will hate the ship after that. neptune day is coming up though, which is when the ship crosses the tropic of cancer and the equator. the tradition is that girls and guys alike shave their heads. if you don´t shave your head, you have fish guts poured on you. i hate fish but i think it´s worth it to keep my hair. the pictures for the rest of the trip would be crap if i did shave it, plus my family/friends might disown me. send me e-mails at mab5006@verizon.net, i miss talking to all of you!

Hola!

I'm writing to you from an internet cafe in beautiful old San Juan. This is my third day here, and I leave tonight for 7 days at sea before arriving for carnival in Salvador, Brazil. So much has happened since I last posted, so I will try and fill you in. The flight down to the Bahamas from JFK was uneventful, and our night there was great. The island was literally taken over by SAS students. The next day we emarked bright and early onto the MV Explorer. The ship is about 2/3 the size of a regular cruise ship, and is absolutely beautiful. Not quite as elaborate, but everything seems really new and clean. My roomate's name is SachiaSoleil, and contrary to her hippie name, is actually a conservative Protestant from Montana. We seem to have a lot in common. Hahah but we are getting along well. This is a voyage of discovering new things, right? Our room is small, but not much smaller than my freshman year dorm room. The shower is better than my shower at home, which I'm thrilled about. I had 1 day of classes thus far, and they all seem interesting. In between classes we lay out on the deck, and I've been working on my tan. The professors on the ship are all Fulbright scholars and recipients of various other awards. I've met a ton of people from PSU, we're the 4th most represented school on the ship behind CU Boulder, Colorado State and Pitt. So far so good on the food, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Since being in PR I've been able to speak with some of you readers on the phone. It's going to be so difficult to give it up. So far we have spent the last 2 days exploring Old San Juan during the day, and having other activities at night. The first night we went to Carribean University, where the students there put on shows for us and we were able to try Puerto Rican food. It was funny because while we were taking pictures of them, they at the same time were taking pictures of us. Last night I went to a Bioluminescent bay. My friend and I paddled in a kayak about a mile to get to the bay, which is filled with plankton and was so gorgeous. The best way to describe it is that it looked like pixie dust in the water. Something straight out of a Harry Potter movie for sure. We were able to swim in the bay, which is supposedly really good for your skin. On the kayak ride there, however, there was a slight incident. A "flying sardine" (no lie-that's what it's called) flew its little fish body into my kayak and planted itself under my bathing suit clad butt. The fish proceeded to flop around underneath me while I screamed and flailed my arms trying to get it out. Those who know me really well know how terrified I am of sea creatures (remember sting ray beach, mom?). After I finally got the fish out from underneath my butt I was pretty shaky for the rest of the trip. Today I am meeting my friends on the beach for some R&R before we leave tonight, because apparantly we don't tan enough on the ship. I've been okay so far in terms of sea sickness, I keep a patch behind my ear but the water has been a bit rough. I heard the water is the worst between PR and Salvador. I am hoping that is just a rumor. If you want to receive e-postcards from me, send me a quick e-mail at mab5006@verizon.net so I have your e-mail. I can send free postcards, but unfortunately if you want to speak to me you have to e-mail me only. Love you and miss you all! See ya in Brasil :0)

The Day Has Arrived

As I finish packing my 2 gigantic duffel bags full of clothes and enough toiletries for 100 days, reality is starting to set in. Tomorrow at 8:55 AM (god willing) I will be on a JetBlue flight from JFK to Nassau. Before I leave, I wanted to dispel a few myths that have been floating (bad pun) around.

Myths about Semester at Sea (SAS)
1. Myself and the other students will be partying 24/7 on the ship, and in port, a la Road Rules: Semester at Sea. In reality... SAS is not a booze cruise. My parents are not spending nearly 25g's for me to black out. I will be back in Happy Valley soon enough.

2. I will meet tons of cute single boys. In reality... the guy/girl ratio is something like 65-35. I'm not too worried though. Maybe I'll have a cute cabin steward.

3. SAS is a cruise on a boat. In reality... it is a 'voyage', not a cruise, and a 'ship', not a boat. If you keep calling it a cruise, I will pound your head when I get home. There are no nightly shows and/or midnight buffets.

Next time you hear from me, I'll be in sunny Puerto Rico. Love you, mean it ;)