We're in Cape Town, South Africa!

Woke up for sunrise this morning as we were pulling into Cape Town!
Unbelievably beautiful!!!

The rest of Ghana

So the first two and a half days of Ghana were very eventful! The
third day was Julie's 21st birthday-so of course it was one heck of a
day! After a 2 hour shuttle ride to Tema, we decided to explore the
markets. Markets are huge in Ghana. You don't really see stores-just
outside markets, that sell anything and everything. Food, fabric,
dresses, beads, shoes (mostly old and worn shoes)...it was rare to
find anything sold that was new. People just can't afford it. We
stuck out like sore thumbs once again, as we were literally the only
white people walking around the markets of Tema. We then stopped in a
bar and had a Ghanian beer and a delicious gin drink called Gordon's
Spark that tasted exactly like ginger ale, for Julie's birthday. We
headed back to the ship, ate dinner then headed out to a club where
tons of Semester at Sea people went. It was so much fun. It was
outside with a huge dancefloor and a disco ball. It was a local bar
completely invaded by Semester at Sea kids.

The next day we went to Accra (1 hr and a half shuttle ride with a lot
of traffic). There we went to the Arts Center, where there is a huge
market with tons of beautiful, awesome African crafts, clothes,
jewelry and drums to buy. Our first stop was a little place that made
and sold African drums. We went inside and Jackson, this really sweet
Ghanian gave me a drum and started teaching me rhythms. I played
drums with him for probably almost an hour. It was so much fun! He
would teach me a different rhythm and we'd play together and we'd
speed up. Jackson was so sweet too! I decided to buy a couple small
drums after that. We made friends with him and a couple other guys by
the drum shop and around the market. All day we shopped around and
hung out at a really chill outdoor restaurant and talked with the
locals. One local knew a professor that was from Ithaca who came to
Accra, Ghana every year, with students! Small world! That day was such
a wonderful day. Relaxing, chilling, eating, drinking, shopping and
talking with locals. Everything is so cheap-I got a lot of really cool
African things, including dresses, beautiful beaded jewelry and
paintings. The locals brought us to a train and we rode that to Tema.
That night we went to the club Manilla again, and it was such a blast
once again. We danced the night away. I met a guy from Sri Lanka who
claimed to know my friend Oshan-but it was really loud so I'm not sure
if he does or not.

The next day Julie, Lindsay (suitemate) and these guys Steve and Sean
went with us to Labadi beach in Accra. We ate and drank and had a
great time. I rode a horse along the beach and the water was so warm
and beautiful. It was so much fun. The only bad part of our whole time
in Ghana was the very end. The lady at the beach restaurant where we
were buying food and drink from accused us of not paying all that we
bought. We were positive that we paid for it all and she was just
trying to rip us off. After arguing with her for a while we tried to
walk away but she chased after us. There was no one around besides
about 8 taxi drivers who were all trying to get our business. She
told them we had not paid enough and so most of them get on her side
and tell us to pay more. We continue to argue and we're starting to
get nervous that we wouldn't get back to the ship in time (because of
traffic). For some reason the lady kept pointing at me, like I needed
to pay more. After I keep getting fingers pointed at me and people
continue to scream and argue I start crying out of frustration and
just because I was scared. One cab driver starts hitting Julie and she
hit back and she has bruises now. I'm sitting in a cab still crying
and take out $10 US dollars-basically all I have left and say "If i
give you this will you please leave us alone" through tears. And
luckily that did the trick and the cab driver drove off and got us to
the ship with an our to spare.

Besides that experience, I had an absolutely amazing time in Ghana.

People are so poor in Ghana that they are so desperate. It was very
sad and eye opening to see. You also bargained for everything. It was
like a game. They tried to take advantage of you and charge you a
ridiculous price because you're from America. It got frustrating after
a while-but if you're good at bargaining you were usually able to get
everything very cheap.

A couple other side notes to mention-Mama Viak taught us that thank
you in their language is Acba (ack-bah) and thank you very very much
is acbagagagagaga. She had us saying that a lot! Pretty much all
Ghanians speak English (thought with an intense accent so it made
communicating a little difficult) but all Ghanians have a native
language. There are so many languages in Ghana. Most Ghanians know
about 4 languages but its not uncommon for some to know 10. Another
thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that on the ride to the
orphanage the bus driver was playing a Christian radio station. I
heard This is the Air I breathe, In Christ Alone, Draw me close and
Our God is an Awesome God. I couldn't believe it. I felt so at home.
It was such a cool experience hearing those songs and seeing every
store sign practically praising God.

2 days ago we had our 3rd worship service on the ship. I lead the
singing and 1 girl plays the guitar. It's really great. There was
bible study yesterday and an ash wednesday service tonight. 2 nights
ago there was King and Queen of the sea "pageant". It was so much
fun. The ship has different seas based on where you live. I'm in the
yellow sea. Everyone got really into it and competitive. It was like
a huge pep rally. There were representatives from each of your seas
who competed for the crowns. There was talent and joke competitions
and ABC costumes. It was a lot of fun! I've been able to have some
really great 1 on 1 conversations with a few people the past couple
days. I really cherish them and feel blessed to have them because they
are pretty hard to come by I find on a ship where there are constantly
many many students around.

We're all so anxious for South Africa. There's so much to do there!
I'm hoping to hike up table mountain for sunset, I'm going on a safari
and wine tours, a service trip and hopefully sky diving! Also I'm
planning on going to Hillsong United's church in Cape Town! So pumped
for that! We arrive on Friday, so one more day on the ship! We've had
so many beautiful blue sky days and I've enjoyed a couple beautiful
sunsets. The seas are supposed to get rough tomorrow! I'm feeling it
in my extra rocky room. I'm headed up to check out the stars-I hear
they're gorgeous tonight.

First 2 days in Ghana (homestay at orphanage)

Hoping this one ACTUALLY sends all of my post!:

Ghana. What a country. I've been holding off on writing this because
I'm waiting for my brain to fully process it. I don't know if that
will ever happen. These experiences are becoming more difficult to
write about. I was very blown away by what I saw.

I did a 3-day homestay with my 3 roommates/quadmates whatever you call
them. I had no clue what to expect. Julie (my roommate) found the
program on the Facebook group.

After 1 taxi ride we were greeted my Mama Viak and her brother. They
didn't say much, but we followed them into another taxi, a 2 hour
shuttle ride and 2 other taxis. We had no idea where we were going,
if these people were nice, what we were doing. We knew nothing.

On the ride there I looked out the window, absorbing all that I could.
These were our first few hours in Ghana. I could not believe how
different everything was. Dominica was different from the US, and
Brazil was very different..but Ghana. I could not believe it. There is
so much poverty there it is unbelievable. Nothing but poverty,
everywhere you look. Almost every woman I saw was carrying something
on her head, most of which were things to buy. They carried the most
random items on their head such as water (which is drank out of bags,
not bottles), sodas, fabric, take out boxes of food, knives and
kitchen supplies, a suitcase, outlets, and my personal favorites: a
personal scale and a tummy trimmer. Seriously, everything was carried
on their heads. In the shuttle ride we stopped in a town once in
traffic and a herd of at least 20 woman ran to our open windows,
yelling at us, and shoving items in our faces, trying to get us to buy
what they were carrying on their heads. They're so desperate to sell
anything they can.

Almost every store had God's name in it. It was incredible! These are
examples of some store names I saw: In Christ Alone Fashion, God is
the way Food and Beverage, Jesus the King (which sold flipflops),
Loving kindness food and drink bar, God's Time is the Best, Gracious
Grace Fashion and The Lord is my Light Ent. Seriously just about
every store had to do with God. Almost every car had a huge sticker on
the window that said such things as "Jesus is Lord, "God is good
always," "If God say yes no man can say no," "Great is the mystery of
Godliness." It was quite a powerful journey. I looked out the window
silently, taking notes and trying to take everything in during the
whole 3 hours. Christianity is so simple to them, and it's such a
passion. I drove by church services late at night. Huge groups of
people were outside, praising God. There were churches everywhere.

We finally arrived to the town of Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana
(google for more pics and info). We followed the older lady (Mama
Viak) and her brother through a crowded marketplace, where we got many
stares and cold looks. We felt like outsiders and that we definitely
did not belong. Ghana is not a touristy place for sure, and I'm pretty
sure Ho is never seen by tourists. We got in the final cab and went to
Mama Viak's orphanage/school, our new home for the next couple days.

The second we arrived we were surrounded by children. They immediately
held our hands, sat on our laps and reached their arms up to be lifted
up by us and just held. We were overwhelmed with love, smiles and
children searching desperately for hugs. During the two days it was
very rare to see one of us without a child's hand or a child in our
arms. This experience was the most heartbreaking, but loving, joyous,
confusing, eye opening experiences I've ever had. So many emotions. At
first we didn't think Mama Viak, her daughter and the other few adults
at the orphanage liked us. They didn't make any effort to talk with
us, even though they knew English well. We were confused and weren't
told much about where we were and what we should do. The kids brought
us to see a monkey who was chained to a tree. We then watched some of
the children play soccer for a bit while we hung out with the kids.

For every meal Mama Viak had us sit at a table in a building by
ourselves. We were fed a lot at each meal and all of the food was
delicious. It was as authentic as it gets. Later that evening, Wisdom
(Mama Viak's son) came by. We were relieved when he showed up because
he was very friendly and was the first to actually tell us about the
orphanage. Mama Viak and the other adults didn't show any interest in
getting to know us. Wisdom is a senior at the University in Ghana.
We went into his room and he told us about the orphanage. There are
about 30 orphans who really never leave the school, where they live
and about during the day more children join them at school, but leave
and go to their homes at night. About 20 of the children came into the
room where we were listening to Wisdom. All of us girls did not have
a bare lap. Children were sitting on our laps, holding our hands and
leaning on us. The rest of the children sat on the floor and intently
listened to Wisdom. These children ranged from ages 4-13ish. Wisdom
was not telling a children's story, but talking about serious matters;
the orphanage, and speaking adult to adult. Yet every single child
was silently watching Wisdom. Not one of them was fooling around,
talking or playing. They were like little adults. I've never seen
anything like it. That image is forever ingrained in my memory.

We learned that Mama Viak is a 70-year-old woman who started the
orphanage in 1964 because she was an orphan herself. Most of the
children have parents but the parents cannot afford to keep them or do
not have a school near them. The children do not have a dormitory or
beds or pillows. They sleep on the classroom floor on thin mats.
Some have toothbrushes. I didn't see a single toy. There was a swing
that a volunteer from Germany recently put in. There are about 5
teachers-who all volunteer and aren't paid anything. They do not have
individual books. Wisdom asked if we were all Christians and talked
briefly about God.

After we listened to Wisdom we went outside. The children loved
getting their pictures taken so I took pictures of them in front of
the side of their school where a painting of Jesus holding a child was
next to the words "He loves little children." I started singing "Jesus
Loves His Little Children." All of a sudden the 15 children that
surrounded me joined in and sung so loud and joyfully. After that
song the children started singing Joy to the World and Hark the Herald
Angels Sing. That was one of my favorite memories.

We then brushed our teeth with the kids outside and went to in our
room where there were bunk beds for us (the only beds in the place.)
A little more about the school-there were 2 toilets but no sink or
light and rarely toilet paper. The only running water was outside in
a little spout. The "kitchen" was outside and the food was cooked on
hot coals that the children would bring out. We washed dishes in bowls
of water. There were no sinks at all. The only room with electricity
and light was the room we slept in. Mama Viak showed us a building
that she wanted to be the dormitory, but it needed to be cemented.

That night we were all so taken aback and shocked at what we had seen
and what we had experienced. We felt like we were actually in one of
those commercials. This is real life. We wanted to help so badly and
it seemed simple. We were brainstorming all these ideas. We wanted
to start a non profit..make a video, bring it back home, show people
and raise money. We were thinking we could go back and put cement in,
send over materials and just anything. Such a feeling of passion we
all had that night.

Then it was Valentine's Day. This was the best Valentines Day I've
ever had. I don't think I've ever given and received as much love.
That morning we helped the children bathe and dress. They bath with
bowls of water. It was time for school, and we sat in some
classrooms. In my classroom the children were ages 10-12 I'd say.
All of a sudden the teacher walks out of the room as he's in the
middle of writing a sentence on the chalkboard. A student says,
"you're sposed to teach" (to me). I didn't know what to do-I wasn't
given any instruction! But I got up, looked at the book he was
reading, finished writing the sentence, and then read and taught what
was in the book. That was interesting! The previous night we decided
we wanted to buy a bunch of food for the children. We asked Mama Viak
what food she needed and we went to the market in town and bought $150
worth of food.

We played with the children more and when evening came Wisdom brought
his stereo to a classroom. It was Julie's 21st birthday the next day
so we had a dance party. We danced to African music (Hiplife) with
the children for hours. We were soaking with sweat and having such a
fun time. Then Wisdom and his sister went to a local bar called the
White House with us. There we talked with some Germans our age who had
volunteered at the school/orphanage for a few months.

They told us some things about the place that made us a little uneasy
and confused. They said that they don't know how much money actually
goes to the children. They said they've seen many toys come in but
they children never get to play with them-they're stored away in a
room. They said they've seen Mama Viak hit the children and they've
talked to older children who hate it there. At first we were really
bummed, especially because we really wanted to help and raise money.
After a lot of thought we realized that we'll never know the truth.
Even though the Germans have been there for a while, the hitting is a
cultural thing, and Mama Viak is 70. Who are we to tell Ghanians how
to discipline even though we don't agree. Also, Mama Viak said she
doesn't want the children to think that every time white people come
that means they get something-maybe that's why they don't get to play
with toys.

So it was a bummer that we had to hear that, but we'll just never
really know the truth. We all really want to go back and we're hoping
that someday we could go back and cement the building that could be a
dormitory.

Mama Viak was so sweet was very hospitable to us. From the day we got
to the school, the children asked when we were leaving, hoping we
could stay for a long time. The morning we left broke my heart. I
can't tell you how many children asked if we were coming back. It was
so sad leaving that place. I wanted to bring the children with me and
just hug them and tell them I loved them.

Experiencing that, and just seeing Ghana in general made me disgusted
at how much wealth we have and don't even realize it. How much we
complain about and how many more things we have to buy. We're in our
own little bubble, extremely blessed, but spoiled. I wish there was
more awareness about how extreme poverty is in Ghana..and in most of
the rest of the world. I wish everyone could see how these children
live. Yet they still have such joy. It's truly amazing.

Those were only the first 2 and a half days in Ghana! There are many
more stories I still have to tell. I feel like there was so much I
did not say about this place. It was a truly indescribable experience
that I'm still trying to comprehend. I hope to go back someday and
until then am praying for ways that I can help the children from
across seas. Say a little prayer for the children there for me.

Yesterday we were at 0,0! (0 degrees latitude, 0 degrees longitude!).
I'll write about the rest of my Ghana stories soon!

My first 2 unforgettable days of Ghana, continued..

Here's the rest..I don't know why it didn't post:

My first 2 unforgettable days of Ghana, Africa

Ghana. What a country. I've been holding off on writing this because
I'm waiting for my brain to fully process it. I don't know if that
will ever happen. These experiences are becoming more difficult to
write about. I was very blown away by what I saw.

I did a 3-day homestay with my 3 roommates/quadmates whatever you call
them. I had no clue what to expect. Julie (my roommate) found the
program on the Facebook group.

After 1 taxi ride we were greeted my Mama Viak and her brother. They
didn't say much, but we followed them into another taxi, a 2 hour
shuttle ride and 2 other taxis. We had no idea where we were going,
if these people were nice, what we were doing. We knew nothing.

On the ride there I looked out the window, absorbing all that I could.
These were our first few hours in Ghana. I could not believe how
different everything was. Dominica was different from the US, and
Brazil was very different..but Ghana. I could not believe it. There is
so much poverty there it is unbelievable. Nothing but poverty,
everywhere you look. Almost every woman I saw was carrying something
on her head, most of which were things to buy. They carried the most
random items on their head such as water (which is drank out of bags,
not bottles), sodas, fabric, take out boxes of food, knives and
kitchen supplies, a suitcase, outlets, and my personal favorites: a
personal scale and a tummy trimmer. Seriously, everything was carried
on their heads. In the shuttle ride we stopped in a town once in
traffic and a herd of at least 20 woman ran to our open windows,
yelling at us, and shoving items in our faces, trying to get us to buy
what they were carrying on their heads. They're so desperate to sell
anything they can.

So High on Life in Ghana!!!

It is my last night in Ghana. I wanted to share a little preview of
the many stories I will write about soon! I'm so high on life!
Unbelievably happy! Here are a couple pictures from today!

Considering its 3:30AM here and I'm going surfing at a beach tomorrow,
thats all for now!

Much more to come soon!

Waka waka eh eh! It's time for Africa!

Reflections

I've been on the ship for 8 days now. I've been going through a lot
of emotions. It's quite a culture shock just being on the ship. I
heard that going on this trip required getting out of your comfort
zone-a lot. To my surprise I found out that the biggest challenges
I've faced have been aboard the ship, not in foreign countries.

On this trip so far I've thought about my best friends at Ithaca
everyday. I knew I was really blessed to have them as friends, and
realized that it must've been God that brought us together because I
couldn't imagine having a greater bond and closeness for anyone else.
Going into this trip I started wondering and became a little skeptical
about how I could possibly bond with girls like I did in Ithaca. I
just didn't see how it could get better and knew that we were all so
similar-and such a unique kind. Observing and interacting with people
at Ithaca over the past couple years made me realize truly how unique
we are and really how blessed I was that they were my friends. I
started to really wonder...will there be girls like that on the ship??
Could there really be?

So I got here, and I've never met so many friendly people. It's a
whole new world here. Imagine this: you walk down the hallways, and
you look people in they eye who you've never met before, give them a
big smile and say Hi!..maybe even "How are you?" Now you may laugh,
but these acts are unheard of at Ithaca. Everyone's eyes go straight
to the ground to avoid "awkward eye contact" with someone you don't
know. Here on the ship, we're all a family, and everyone is friendly.
It's so great! I love it!

Now you may think, well perfect! No problem making the best of
friends right off the bat right? Well...heres the thing. We're
always eating meals with different people, hanging out with different
people, and there are always an abundance of people around.
Everywhere! Good luck finding a place to be alone! I'm a social person
and this is the perfect situation for me a lot of the time. But the
thing is, I've found that its very hard to sit down and have a 1 on 1
conversation with someone and especially having multiple 1 on 1
conversations with the same person. This is how you build close
friendships. This is where the whole getting out of my comfort zone
comes in. My comfort zone=having long 1 on 1 conversations with
someone, really getting to know them, and quickly becoming close to
them. I really value close friendships. They're what makes me the
happiest. Unbelievable how hard it is to accomplish this task on the
ship. It's hard to click and bond with people. It's hard to find
people who are like you and who you're compatible with, and the reason
is because its hard to have a conversation longer than 3 minutes with
one person when there are at least 50 people in every room. Usually
you bond with people one on one, become friends, and then hang out in
groups. We've fast forwarded to group time-all of the time.

I had a couple days where I was pretty frustrated about this. I was
really missing talking with my girls from Ithaca for hours and
hours...Going to bed late at night because the conversation was way
more important than sleep. I was a little Ithaca-homesick.

Now I don't want to give off the wrong impression. I really have
bonded with Andrea, Katie, my roommate Julie, and last night I had a
great bonding time with one of my "suitemates," Lindsay. They're all
wonderful, have the same morals and similar personality to me and I've
really been blessed to meet them. (It's just not the same, instant
"click" I felt I had with my Ithaca friends when we first met (I was
spoiled)and like I said, its impossible to have regular 1 on 1s with
the same person). I've spoken to each and everyone of them about this
(having a hard time clicking with people, and missing the close bonds
with friends at home), and they have all felt the same exact way! The
thing is that its very overwhelming being around 600 people
constantly, and always meeting new people. It's exhausting! It's not
comfortable a lot of the time. So often we want to just sit down and
be with friends we've known for a long time and who won't think we're
uninteresting if we don't say anything at dinner, because we're
tired. Here, you always have to be chipper, energized and
interesting! (which is sooo exhausting and challenging when the ship
is rocking you to sleep every stinking second!) Another thing is we've
been stuck on the ship for 8 days (and only have 2 classes a day).
There's a whole lot of time for your mind to wander, analyze,
overanalyze, think, and think!

So yesterday I thought and I thought. I had some coffee and I analyzed
the situation some more. Last night, I went to the 5th deck and looked
at the beautiful stars, the bright moon and the ocean and just spent
time by myself and with God. I then realized how important alone time
is and how lacking I'd been of it. With this thinking and quiet time,
I realized a lot. I realized things aren't supposed to go exactly how
you picture them to be. I'm not supposed to be comfortable all of the
time on this trip, and I don't want to be, because I know I'll grow
and change for the better the more I get out of my comfort zone. As
much as I'm used to having these beautiful close connections with
people, its ok if I don't find that right away on this trip. I've
been thinking about God regularly, and you know what, He needs to be
first. Not friends. And its so often I don't make time for Him because
I make friends and having fun the priority. Last year I got lazy and
just didn't make enough time for Him. Lately I've been craving it, not
pushing it aside. Yesterday having that quiet time, looking at this
beautiful creation-somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, was just
indescribable. I all of a sudden became so at peace, and was reminded
that His plan is what I want, not mine. I don't know what's best for
me-He does, and I can already see myself changing and growing.

Realizing this has given me such joy the past couple of days. I
really wanted to share with you-whoever is reading-what was going on
in my head. I'm really at peace knowing that God's in control-not
me. It's not up to me who I meet and when I meet people who change my
life. That happens in Gods time. Patience is important. Know that
God knows what He's doing. He's in control. He knows what's best. So
have peace! And as Sammy would sing "don't worry, about a thing. Cuz
every little thing is gonna be alright." :)

P.S. Remember the waiter that was adorable and said he was having a
wonderful day because of the Big Guy? Yesterday he told me to never
stop smiling. I decided to make a card for him on his birthday
(yesterday), and tell him how grateful I was of his joy and love for
God that's so contagious. When I gave it to him he goes, "From my
smiling friend." Pounds my fist and says "One love!" What a cool guy!

One more day left on the ship and then its Ghana time! I'm doing a
homestay with all 3 of my roommates and 2 others. On the first day
we'll be traveling to a home 3 hours away and will be helping a
family, visiting an orphanage and helping out at a school (maybe even
teaching?). I cannot wait for the next experience that awaits me.

Love and blessings from almost Africa! <3

This is a picture of me studying yesterday for my Popular Music in
World Cultures class. I don't think you can beat this study spot!

In the middle of the Atlantic

I'm somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  It feels like no-mans land.  I'm enjoying the rocking of the ship in my cabin right now, but that was not the case a couple days ago.  The Superbowl was broadcasted in the Union (big area where everyone almost fits).  It was fun being with everyone and watching the game.  The next morning the seas were ROUGH. It was the worst its been! I got sick that morning.  Both of my classes were cancelled because the professors were seasick.  My cabin is in the front of the ship, and it rocks the most there.  It was unbelievable how much it would rock up and down.  You felt like you were about to be airborne sometimes. You'd watch someone on the bed opposite you rise and fall.  I couldn't be in my room at all that day and the next day because the seas were so rough.  After I got sick in the morning and ate I felt fine and have felt great ever since.  Today the seas are back to normal and we have our sealegs back.

A famous musician in Ghana named Sharif Ghale is on the ship with us on our way to Ghana.  There was a jam session yesterday where we got to jam out and play a bunch of African drums.  That was a lot of fun.  Today there was a Bob Marley tribute where Sharif played a concert for us.  He was wonderful!

Today was also Neptune Day.  There is a tradition that goes back many years that before you cross the equator you are polywags, and when you cross the equator after getting green water? (traditionally fish guts) and kissing a fish, you become a Shelback. At 7AM we were woken up by the crew members marching down the hallways in costumes blowing whistles, playing drums and cymbals to wake us up.  We then went to the deck and kissed a fish after getting green stuff dumped on our heads.  The Dean and his wife dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Neptune.  The Dean painted his whole body green.  It is also tradition for people to shave their heads.  Looking around today you'll see a lot of mohawks and shaved heads.  6 girls even shaved their heads.

I'm looking forward to reaching Ghana! We arrive Monday after four more days of classes.  I'm going to do a homestay with my roommate(s) in Ghana.  It should be great!

Adios from somewhere in the Atlantic!

This is a sunset from the ship when we were going down the Amazon River:

These are the great girls I've been hanging out with a lot (Katie in the middle and Andrea to the left) (Today at Neptune Day):

 

God's Everywhere

God's everywhere. It's been so apparent to me on this voyage so far,
and it is awesome! There's this waiter on the outside deck that
clears our dishes every day, at every meal. He's from a Caribbean
island I think. He always brings a smile to my face because he's
always so happy. He's always singing to himself and is so kind to
everybody. When I was in Dominica I had lunch the first day on the
ship and all of a sudden I hear him and this other lady (life long
learner or faculty or family) singing "Soon and very soon, we are
going to see the king." I got really excited when I heard that, as
that was my favorite church choir song, and obviously I joined in and
sang along.

Today when I was getting up from lunch he took my plate for me, and I
decided to ask him how his day was going. What he said made my day.
He said, "Oh it is wonderful. You know why?" He points to the sky.
"Because of the big guy up there. He's so wonderful to me. He blesses
me so much man. Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so,
little ones to him belong, they are weak but He is strong." I gave him
a high five and invited him to worship service and bible study, but he
said its too structured, but he prays everyday.

How awesome is that? These people...imagine that happening in America?
A waiter you've never even introduced yourself to who you only say
"thank you" to? It doesn't happen.

I was going to go to a bible study tonight and when people asked me
what I was up to later I told them, and a couple guys who I've hung
out with for a while were like, "Oh, I think I'll go with you."
Unexpected..AWESOME stuff! We were sitting in a classroom waiting for
people to show up when another friend pops his head in and goes, "what
are you guys doing?" and we say "bible study," and he goes.."oh, I
think I'm gonna join you." Like, what?! I couldn't believe it .How
awesome?!

We had a great bible study and shared the many stories of how we've
seen God throughout our voyage so far. Afterwards my guy friends that
so unexpectedly decided to join said that they enjoyed it and were
glad they came. The one guy said he used to go to bible study in high
school and then stopped freshmen year of college.

So I was pretty pumped about my day today, and had to share. I'm
seeing God everywhere. Lovin it!

IMG_0458

With my friends Matt and Andrea on the ship, going down the Amazon River

 

My friend Alex and I in front of our ship in Manaus, Brazil

>

Joaquim, the Caiman and I :)

Where we tried to sleep!

This is Sammy. He uses his maschetti for EVERYTHING. It's so useful!
We'd always hear, "where's my maschetti?"

Natives in the Amazon. Enjoying the simple life.

 

Adorable boy in Brazil with a puppy!

 

BABY SLOTH

my new favorite animal!!

Blessed in Brazil

It's almost 1AM and I'm sitting at the back of the ship outside,
listening to the ocean and reflecting on the incredible time I just
had in Brazil. Dominica was so unreal, I didn't know how Brazil would
be able to compete. Let me tell you, I found out!

The first day was alright. I walked around the city of Manaus with my
roommate, Julie and 7 other people. It was a large group for walking
around a city and exploring, as everyone has different agendas. I
walked for 7 hours straight and sat for all together maybe an hour
before heading off to my FDP. It was HOT HOT HOT. The sun is insane.
We're on the equator! And its really humid. I wasn't a big fan of
Manaus. There are street vendors everywhere, and everything seems
about the same. There's a lot of poverty, and the city definitely did
not give off a friendly, safe, welcoming. There wasn't a whole lot to
see, but I'm glad we explored it! I had brazilian coffee and it was
amazing! The coffee on the ship is all decaf, I swear. They just put
a regular sticker on it and laugh at us, I'm determined. Anyways
after a long hot day of exploring, I went to my FDP (required field
trip) for my Anthropology of Food class. We went to a culinary school
in Manaus and got to go in the kitchen with professional chefs and
watch and help them cook! It was awesome! I helped cut up fish. It
did get very long however, especially from being on my feet ALL day.
We were in the kitchen cooking for 3 hours straight. The food tasted
INCREDIBLE. Oh my goodness. We had fried fish, 2 other different
kinds of fish (one was from a 9 foot, 350 lb fish), rice, tapioca
noodle sort dish, and a fancy dessert. I made a new friend who's
really sweet, from Virginia named Maura. When we got back we hung out
at an outside bar/restaurant right by our port.

Now for the 2 most epic, unforgettable days I'm pretty sure I've ever
had. Katie and I decided to go on a 2 day/1 night trip to the jungle
in the amazon with a group of 20 other people. We didn't really know
what we were getting ourselves into and were a little apprehensive,
but boy was it a good choice! After a long process of getting to the
jungle (drive to a different port, hopped on a speed boat to little
village, got on a bus, stopped at a floating house that was surrounded
by giant lili pads that were about 5 feet in diameter, then took a big
2 story riverboat) we finally arrived at a lodge where we enjoyed a
DELICIOUS feast. PS I have NEVER eaten better than the last 3
days..in my life. We then got in 3 canoes and headed out to go
Pirahna (not sure about spelling) fishing. I didn't catch anything,
but a couple people in our canoe did. About 5 of us were gutsy enough
to hop out of the canoe and swim with pirahnas and pink dolphins
(didn't see any close up though).

Our guide, Sammy was probably the coolest guy I have ever met. He
ended up in my canoe, and I ended up talking to him for a long time on
our journey down the river before and after fishing. I learned so
much from him. I wish more than anything that I could remember every
little thing he said so I could share it with you. Some fun facts
about Sammy: He cannot read and write, has lived in the jungle for 3
yrs by himself without leaving, has traveled in many countries through
the jungle, has gotten malaria 6 times, his grandfather had 3 wives
and 38 kids, he's been in jail for 9 months (carrying drugs) and gives
tours voluntarily. He is the wisest, kindest, most loving, and
HAPPIEST person I have ever met. He was so joyous. It's a different
kind of joy. Thats the thing with Ken (from Dominica) and Sammy.
They don't have much, but they're happier than any other person I've
ever met. Just a different kind of joy I cannot explain. It
radiates, permeates and passes on to people they're with. Just
listening and talking with Sammy gave me such joy. In the canoe he
kept bursting out in song. Literally. When I knew a reggae song he
was singing, I'd join in. Kaite, Sammy and I were singing "Don't
worry, about a thing. Cuz every little thing..is gonna be alright."
I've learned so much from him, in those 2 days. He told me that the
secret to life is a pure heart. He told me over and over to not
cheat, lie or steal, but to have a pure heart and to love. He said
over and over again, "Who feels it, knows it." He said that he is the
doctor of the jungle. He knows how to cure anything. He took us
trekking through the jungle yesterday and pointed out trees, leaves
and other plants that cure malaria, help with cancer, diahrrea,
bronchitis, an abortion tree, natural viagra tree, natural insect
repellent and other thing. It was so incredible. He said the natural
stuff is so much better than the medicine we take thats chemically
altered. I had a cool epiphany that its pretty sweet that God gave us
all the medicine we need. Nature is awesome. I can't explain how
awesome Sammy is. I really wish I could. I'm so blessed to have met
him.

After fishing we headed to our "campsite." The sun was setting, and
Katie and I couldn't believe how magical and surreal everything was.
We were so overjoyed to meet and learn so much from Sammy, and to
experience these beautiful sites. We didn't think it could get any
better, and then I look behind me and see a rainbow. Most of my
feelings during these 2 days are actually very indescribable. We kept
on saying, how do we tell others about this experience? How?

We arrived at the shore of the jungle where we were going to stay as
the sun was setting. We hiked 10 minutes into the jungle (straight up
jungle..like a trail, but thats it). It was dark but a couple people
had flash lights. We get to our campsite which was just a little
clearing in the middle of the jungle and Sammy made a homemade tiki
torch by cutting bark off a tree and setting a candle on it. He then
got a fire going and his helpers (who only spoke Portugesse) started
setting up the hammocks (where we were sleeping.) Another native I
became friends with was Joaquim, who was an 18 year old boy about to
start college, who taught himself English a few years ago. He was so
sweet. I helped him set up the hammocks. While I was doing that all
of a sudden Sammy comes in and goes, "Lady, come with me." I follow
him back down to the shore. He grabbed another guy too. So we're in
the middle of the jungle walking in the pitch dark, but I'm fearless
the whole time because I trust Sammy so much. He was all about a
"don't worry, be happy" attitude, and I couldn't help but immediately
adopt it. He brought us down because he remembered me from the boa
tride, and liked me. I shone a flashlight while he chopped up whole
chickens. We then helped him carry food and dishes back up to our
campsite. On the way he showed us a tarantula (he knows his home) and
I pet it!

When we got back, the other 20 SAS kids were kind of just interested
in socializing with each other and drinking, and I enjoyed talking
with Sammy so much that I went over by the fire where he was cooking
by himself for us (at about 9PM) and asked if I could help. He had me
cut up vegetables for the salad. I also helped shine light for him.
By 11 the food was almost done cooking. At this time, we all went
back down to the water where the canoes were (for the 3rd time hiking
10 minutes in the pitch dark jungle) and hopped into the canoes. What
were we doing? Going Caiman (small crocodile) hunting! I went in
Sammy's boat and sat next to Joaquim and had fun talking with him. We
rode around the river by moonlight. It was like a dream. We were by
trees that were growing up through the water. One girl said, "this is
like Disney world, but the real thing." Incredible. I don't know how
to give it justice. After an hour of searching for a caiman with his
flashlight in his mouth (he searches for red eyes) Sammy caught a
caiman. How does he do it? Grabs it by the neck. Insane! We all took
turns holding the Caiman.

We went back and ate an AMAZING meal. Sammy's a great cook. He can
do anything by the way: cook, carpenter, artist, hunter, doctor,
anything. He's a jungle man! He makes his own rope from leaves and
made me a bracelet out of it! Anyways, I loved how carefree I was in
the jungle. Nothing mattered. My shoes were ruined, my pants were
soaked, I was had 20 mosquito bites, my hands that I was eating with
were filthy, I was using used plates and forks because we didn't have
enough, but I didn't care. I was content and carefree. What a good
life!

After dinner, most people climbed in their hammocks. Half of the
hammocks fell while people were in them because the tree stump they
were hanging on broke (too much weight). So at about 12AM the helpers
cut down a tree and replaced it. We all climbed in the hammocks at
about 1AM and after a little while the other tree broke and people
went kaboom! i was the first to not fall :) This time, Sammy told us
to all get up and we'd for the millionth time go to the canoes and
stay at a very closeby lodge. It was worth it because when we got
into the canoes the stars were out and were breathtaking. I've never
seen so much sky. It was a beautiful sight I'll never forget! We hung
the hammocks in the lodge and I slept very well!

The next morning we trekked through the jungle for a couple hours. It
was so fascinating! Sammy showed us so many different trees and plants
that all have a purpose! He showed us rubber from a rubber tree-the
milk instantly turned into rubber when he put it on a leaf! We swung
on a "tarzan" vine! He showed us all of the trees that cured
sicknesses. I learned so much! After trekking for a while we got
back into the canoes and headed back to the lodge where we ate the
previous day. On the way, someone spotted a sloth! We all stopped
and one of the helpers climbed to the top of a very tall tree (no idea
how he did it) and grabbed the baby sloth! I got to hold it! It was
SOOO adorable! We then headed back to the lodge and had another
amazing meal. We got some palms out of the forest and Sammy made me a
crown out of palms! He also made me a beautiful fan! A helper who
didn't speak English made me another bracelet and necklace out of the
rope that Sammy made. They're all so very kind! We headed back on
the riverboat and saw many natives along the way in their tiny houses/
shacks just playing outside and waving at us. I sat at the front of
the boat with my feet dangling off the side waving to the natives,
looking at the beautiful jungle of the amazon and listening to
Brazilian music, trying to wrap my head all of it. I felt like I was
living in a dream.

Those 2 days in the jungle were so amazing. Katie and I couldn't stop
smiling the whole time. We felt so blessed and were so joyful every
second of it. It was so perfect. The only part that wasn't perfect
was that the other 20 people wouldn't stop complaining (about the
heat, the hammocks falling, lack of sleep, walking a lot through the
jungle...basically everything.) It was sad to me because they were
really missing out. I lucked out though I guess, because if everyone
was as interested as learning from Sammy, I wouldn't have had the
experience I did. Everyone kept saying, "I don't want to trek through
the jungle, lets just go home. This is an interesting experience but
I'll never do this again. I never thought I'd be so happy to see the
ship. Thank God we didn't do 2 nights." This was mind blowing to me
because I absolutely loved every second of it. I guess being so
joyful and seeing such beauty made me look at the positives in
everything. I thought the whole falling of the hammocks and walking
through the jungle added to the excitement and adventure! You just
gotta roll with the punches man! I never would've seen the most
beautiful stars I'd ever seen if that didn't happen! I didn't let
people's attitudes bring me down though! I avoided everyone and just
talked with Katie or Sammy or Joaquim or laughed with the helpers and
tried to "converse" with expressions and smiles.

I gotta go back to the jungle. Maybe next time I'll spend a week!
Living in nature like that..pure nature, was just indescribable.
There was a reflection night tonight at the ship and we went around
and said one word that described our time in Brazil, and I said:
Pure. I also shared my experience with Sammy with the rest of the
people at the reflection. I encouraged everyone to really get to
knows natives and that it's changing me already.

After getting back from the Jungle a bunch of us went to Bufalo which
was a Brazilian steakhouse. Holy. Crap. Best meal I have ever had and
also the most food I have ever consumed at one time. How it works is
you pay one price and the waiters walk around and cut up and give you
many different kinds of steak and beef. I tried a chicken heart as
well. Oh goodness was the food tasty!! We then went to club called
Crocodiles. It was pretty fun but I was hoping there would be more
Brazilian music.

Today I went shopping at the markets and a couple stores with Katie,
Andrea and Hannah. It was a lot of fun. Everything here is so
cheap! I bought a few brazilian bikinis. Each piece is only 12 Reals
which is like $6 in US cash. Good stuff!

And now I'm back on the ship. We're headed down the Amazon River
again en route to Ghana. That means we'll be sailing through the
Atlantic Ocean in a few days! A cockroach the size of my big toenail
just fell beside me!

This all still feels like a dream, and I can't believe how blessed
I've been with the experiences I have, the places I've seen and mostly
for the natives I've learned so much from.

That life in the jungle is pretty tempting...maybe I'll be a Jungle
woman someday. ;)

I figured out how to put pictures up! Hope you enjoy! :)

Emerald Pool

 

DSCN0783

DSCN0783

 

Emerald pool, in the rainforest of Dominica.

IMG_0377

IMG_0377

 

With Ken, one of the greatest people I've ever met.

IMG_0315

IMG_0315

 

Eating a passionfruit in Roseau, Dominica

IMG_0375

IMG_0375

 

This is at the top of Scott's Head in Dominica.