Brazil!

So-I have a ton of updating to do and I must apoligize for my slowness! Things have been so crazy and time really does fly. I can't believe I've only been gone a month! So i will start with Brazil. We were there for five days four of which were doing carnaval which is a six day country wide festival. Basically it's mardi gras times ten. The first day I went to the local market & on a city orientation all around the city. It is huge. I was really surprised at the poverty we encountered in Brazil. The slum neighborhoods are called favellas & they take up most of the city. We also went to this church called Bom Fim which has a "miracle room" where people hang wax figures of whatever they had healed or pictures of people who've been healed from things. The old city is beautiful. It feels like europe in a lot of ways but with much more character. There were marching bands parading down all the streets & people following behind in impromptu parades and all sorts of street vendors selling local foods. My favorite was a fried coconut patty thing with sugar. Totally delish. The first night I went to a dinner show called "bahia by night" where there was music, drumming, dancing, & capoeira. Capoeira is a form of martial arts that came with the African slaves but to disguise what it really was the slaves set it to music and drums. It was incredible. I've never seen people move so fast! Brazilian food is really good too. It's heavier than some of the other things I've had which the locals say is the influence of the sugar cain plantations.
The second day I wondered around the old city with some friends and went shopping. Had an amazing lunch with Nick from State and some girlfriends at a traditional restaurant overlooking some of the old city. We were serenaded every few minutes by the local marching bands passing by. That night we went to the "Traditional carnaval" area (there were three major areas where parades passed). It was a blast. In some ways it was like halloween-people wearing beads and kids dressed up in costumes. Everyone was just partying in the streets & haivng a blast. Big sound trucks with bands on them called trio electricos go on a route through the city. The music was AMAZING! There were street performers & great food vendors everywhere too.
The third day I went to Praia do Forte which is a town about 80 km north of Salvador where there is a marine turtle research & conservation center (and for those of you that know me know I was SO excited). On the way there we went to a mangrove forest at the beach & to a porteguese castle/fortress/prison. The town was so cute. It was a place where local people go to be touristy too so we felt right at home. It was full of cute shops, boutiques & restaurants. The turtle place was so fun! They had most sea turtle species there including baby turtles! I was in heaven.
The fourth day I took a trip to Ilha dos Frades island & Itaparika Island both of which are in the All Saints Bay. The first one we just chilled & swam in the morning then went on to Itaparika for lunch & sightseeing. After lunch we wandered around the town & a bunch of us bought coconuts to drink for one real (which is roughtly 50 cents). It was so yummy! There were about five of us walking around with our coconuts & all the sudden this older lady started yelling "Ahh! The gringos!" at us. It was very bizarre. A lot of times in brazil, I felt like we were the bigger attraction for them instead of the other way around. At carnaval people stopped us to take pictures with their kids & such random things as that.
The last day was pretty chill & I went exploring in the old city with some friends again. We went to the church of San Francisco that has the most amazing gold leaf altar. We also did some shopping and were very american and went for pizza & beer for lunch. Brazilian pizza is not like american at all but it still hit the spot ;)

Arrival in Brazil!

Finally got a pic with Desmond!

We have arrived in Brazil & I will write more & update all my pics hopefully by the time we leave (internet time is crazy on the boat so be patient-esp if you are waiting for a facebook update all you stalkers ;)

MISS YOU ALL!

Living the good life on the MV Explorer & in Puerto Rico!

Well I’m officially off on my voyage and we have departed our first port of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I boarded Sunday, February 4th around noon after over an hour wait to get on. That night & Monday we had orientation. Tuesday I had my first official day of class. For the first time in my life I have an 8am class! Eek! What was I thinking?!? Luckily my mom sent me with over 100 teabags (cause y’all know I need my tea in the morning to function) and it is my political science course about International Conflict Resolution which I think is going to be very interesting. After that I had Global Studies which the entire ship takes together. In this class we talk about where we are going and about issues facing our world. It has a main coordinator but different members of the faculty and other guest lecturers take turns contributing to the lectures.
Wednesday we got to San Juan a little before 8am. I ate breakfast out on the deck so I could watch us come into port. Shortly after we docked the governor & the secretary of state came on board and gave a speech. It was really cool to get to hear him speak about Puerto Rico and what he feels are their challenges. After that I went on a bus tour of Old and New San Juan. On the tour we got to go to the Capital building, one of the forts & then we were dropped off in Old San Juan for lunch & an afternoon of leisurely seeing the city and shopping. That evening welcome receptions for SAS students were held at four area universities. I went to the University of Puerto Rico which was a blast. There was dinner and pina coladas followed by an address by the chancellor and then salsa dancing! (which Americans are really funny to watch doing when they are partnering a very good Puerto Rican dancer)
Thursday I went with a group to the south of Puerto Rico specifically to Ponce & the Tibes Ceremonial Center. Ponce is the second largest city in Puerto Rico and has a lot of museums and a very fun open air market area and about the coolest fire station I’ve ever seen. That night I went to dinner in old San Juan with a friend from NCSU & a couple other people then we welcomed the students from the places we had visited the night before onto the MV Explorer.
Friday I took a trip to the Yunque rainforest for a hike through part of the forest. It was about a two hour hike and in the middle we stopped at a gorgeous waterfall for a quick swim. The rainforest was cool but we didn’t really get to see any animals except a few birds and lizards. Afterwards we had lunch at this tiny local place at the foot of the mountain. Puerto Rican food is a lot of rice & beans, plantains, seafood and fish. After lunch we wend to the Luquillo beach which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in Puerto Rico. It’s at the base of the mountains of the rainforest and surrounded by beautiful palm trees. The water was so clear and pretty white fish were swimming by.
Saturday was my second day of classes. I had my world history, 1400-1914 class. My professor is kind of crazy & scatterbrained. We somehow went from talking about the state of the world in the 1400s to talking about the modern day abortion debate in America….But I think I am going to learn a lot from him and the class. I have to reread “Things Fall Apart” which I read in tenth grade with Dr. Busonik (remember Katie? Haha!) I also had my macroeconomics in global society class as well today. I am really looking forward to this class. My professor seems really good and the class is going to be very interesting since we are specifically looking at the countries we’re going to. But probably the best part of Saturday is that Desmond Tutu said good morning to me when I passed him on my way to class. (See Rach? He & I are tight already!)
So maybe you’d like to hear about the boat while I’m at this! I mean ship-they do NOT like it when you call it a boat. Or a cruise-we’re supposed to say “voyage.” Well, I will say this, I am going to be very spoiled by the time I get back to the states cause I am living the good life. Our room & bathroom gets cleaned every day—our beds are made for us, the bathroom is cleaned & restocked by our cabin steward! There are two dining halls on the ship where the food is completely prepared (and very good-I was slightly concerned it would be like eating at Fountain) and the tables are bused. My favorite place to do homework & reading is out on the deck where you can watch the waves and see the most terrific sunsets (you have to be careful with that one though-I definitely got a little sunburned my second day on ship!). Today we even went by several islands in the lower Antilles (like Barbados). The cabins are pretty tight quarters but after the “semester of 49” where Rachel & I were literally 49 inches apart from each other, it’s not really a change for me.
It's been really funny watching people get their sea legs! We all stumble around here looking like we've been at the puerto rican rum whenever the boat decides to toss and turn. Then when get off on land you feel like you're still moving! It's so weird!
Thanks to everyone who’s been emailing me! I miss you all & wish you were here!
I arrive in Brazil Saturday, Feb 17th and will try to upload some of my pictures that week.
Love,
Emily
P.S. Just so you know-there is a phone number for the ship if you need to reach me in the event of an emergency & my mom has that number if you need it.
P.P.S. The internet here is very slow so if you send me an email/facebook message please don’t think I’m ignoring you if it takes me a couple days to respond!

The Bahamas!

My week in the bahamas with my dad has been amazing! I think I could totally live here (at least til a big hurricane came through ;)! The week has been very relaxing & fun-a great way to start my adventure.

Monday we went to Nassau and bummed around the city. The short 10-15 minute walk we were told to Fort Charlotte turned into a 35 minute hike but the views from the old English fort are breathtaking. After that we went to the zoo. Not quite what us americans are used to-the flamingoes and peacocks had free reign & the jaguars were only held back by a chain link fence that anyone with a small enough hand could definitely reach a hand through. They had a ton of beautiful birds I had never seen before and I don't think I've ever been to a zoo that had pigs as an exhibit.

The next couple days we took it easy. The Atlantis resort is a huge place with lots to see & do. The aquarium on the grounds is gigantic! They even have several hammerhead sharks & a ray that has to be at least 8 feet wide & probably like 12 feet long. I was very excited when we stumbled across the sea turtle lagoon which has like 6 sea turtles swimming around. Wednesday on the ferry to Nassau we went by the cruise ship dock & got the first view of my boat! It looks a bit small when sitting next to the big carnival & disney cruise ships but it's still quite big!

Thursday my dad indulged me and we went on "Dolphin Encounters" where I got to swim with the dolphins on Blue Lagoon Island! The water was Very cold but it was well worth it! The two female dolphins we swam with were so smart and so fast! At the end of the program they have the dolphins push you across the water with their snout against your foot!

Friday we went on a catameran cruise & snorkel adventure. This time off of Rose Island and the water was still very cold (and this time with no wetsuit!) The reef out there was so interesting & it was so cool to see the fish so close in their natural habitat. There were also some small jellyfish which would come right up close too.

Tomorrow morning I will embark on the MV Explorer. I'm sorry to leave the bahamas behind but excited to travel to my first port of call-Puerto Rico! Thanks to everyone who's been emailing/facebooking me-I love to hear from you!
love,
emily

Where in the world is Emily?

Here is my itinerary: San Juan, Puerto Rico~Salvador, Brazil~Cape Town, South Africa~Port Louis, Mauritius~Chennai, India~Penang, Malaysia~Ho Chi Mihn City Vietnam~Hong Kong~Beijing & Qingdao, China~Kobe, Japan~Honolulu~San Diego (back in the states May 14th).