Ok, so I have been back in the US for a little over two weeks now. I wanted to write a blog a week ago but this new real world life that I have has gotten in the way.Im currently looking for a job (not going so well) and I've been trying to figure out how to get back into the swing of things.
When I first got back here, i had no idea what was going on! i didnt any of the new songs, none of the politics, nothing!!! the very first few hours after I got off the ship, my brain was soooooooooo scrambled! i couldnt understand why everyone was speaking english! i didnt understand where the heck i was! it was seriously the craziest feeling in the world. i had only been gone for 2 1/2 months but my world is soooo different now. i can honestly say that i look at things from a completley different perspective now. i dont want to make this final blog super long, but i just wanted to have an ending i guess. i am so grateful and feel so blessed to have experienced semester at sea. i have seen parts of the world that were once in my dreams. i have met and made bonds with people on almost every continent on our planet. the knowledge that i have gained i will seriously keep with me for the rest of my life. i hope that i have inspired someone reading this random silly blog, to explore the world in whatever way that they possibly can. my passion for travel has become a sort of addiction!! i want to see everywhere!!!!!!!!i think about the ocean every single day! i think about all the amazing places that i have never seen every single day! i never want to stop traveling and learning and I hope that i stay fortunate enough to continue to do what i love to do! but i think i need a job first.
anyway, i dont really have much more to say. thanks to everyone that has been reading this and experiencing this journey vicariously through me. im happy to be back! But I cant wait for the next adventure :)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Morocco
August 14, 2009
Day 1
My Moroccan experience was truly memorable. I am mesmerized by this country. I felt so relaxed and so at ease while I was in Morocco. I can’t really explain it. The first day we arrived in Casablanca we docked in this highly industrialized port with a bunch of storage bins and cranes and a whole bunch of other random masses of metal. So the scenery wasn’t very inviting at the beginning. But we went into town it was a completely different environment. The city is so peaceful. Maybe it was because I had just been in the chaos that is Cairo, I felt that Casablanca was so serene, but I really just felt so comfortable. We got in a cab with a driver named Eunice. Now, I haven’t really talked much about my foreign cab driver experience but BELIEVE ME I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS ABOUT SOME OF THE CAB DRIVERS I HAVE MET! So Eunice was this chubby man with a wife and two kids yet he offered Grace and my other friend Eliza 3000 camels for me to stay in Morocco with him and be his second wife. I really had to talk them out of accepting the offer. It was hard but luckily they told him no thanks. So we tell Eunice that we want to go around and see all the sites in Casablanca for the day. He tells us 30 dollars per person, we say no way and walk away. He pulls back up next to us and says “$20” I say no thanks and continue to walk. He pulls up again and says “15” I say 10 or no thanks. He thinks for a second then says….ok ok no problem get in. so we begin our adventure with Eunice for the day. He takes us to the Mosque for our first stop. It was the Mosque of Hasaan the Second and of all the 48792634827634872634 mosques I have seen on this trip, it was really, seriously, not even joking, the most beautiful mosque I have ever seen. The architect of this building was so amazing and the entire area surrounding the mosque was so peaceful and beautiful and inviting. We walked around the mosque for a while because we couldn’t go inside because it was during the call to prayer so we just sat and people watched for a while. After the mosque, we walked back over to Eunice and his little red cab. Oh did I mention that in Morocco they speak Arabic and French and a language that is basically Arabic and French mixed together? Well they do and did I mention that I speak neither French nor Arabic nor any other variation of the two? Well…moving right along, we tell Eunice that we want to go see these gardens we heard about that were supposedly very beautiful and he says “no problem, Ill take you after I go see my friend. He has carpets”. Now Im sure every one is wondering why he thought it was acceptable to go where he wanted to go while he was being paid by us to take us where we wanted to go, but I have learned that people across the Atlantic do what they want to do when they want to do it and you can either go along with it and be happy or go along with it and be upset. So being the people we are Grace and I and our new friend that we drug along with us on another random adventure of ours, went off with Eunice to go see his friend and his carpets. The carpet people ended of being the nicest people on the entire planet and we ended staying in this carpet place for an hour and half, talking, drinking tea and negotiating prices on silk carpets. so after we bought carpets…why I bought a carpet…I don’t know….we ask Eunice to take us to the gardens. He says ok, but do you want spices? I never really thought about if I needed spices or not…I guess I wouldn’t mind having some spices, I do like to cook….sooo…ok lets go look at some spices. So Eunice takes us to his other friend who has a spice store. We end up staying in the spice store for about an hour, talking, drinking tea and negotiating prices of spices. I got henna for the first time in a spice store. Im not exactly sure why but it looks really pretty. Im not exactly sure why there was someone in the spice store doing henna in the first place but I guess that’s cool and im not exactly sure why Eunice kept taking us every where but where we wanted to go. So after we leave the spice store, Eunice starts complaining about the time. “Eunice, you were the one who offered to take us to all your friends in the world” I said to him. “Well, ok, ok, no problem, just pay me 20 more dollars and we’ll go to the gardens” he says. “Eunice” I say, “You must be out your Moroccan mind”. I don’t think Eunice understood what type of Americans we are, I think he was used to the timid, scared tourist who would fall for anything and pay a bunch of money for nothing. We were not going for it. “Eunice, we will pay you your ten dollars now and you can go on your merry way” we said. “Ok Ok no problem, 10 dollars that’s it. Come on.” So then we got back in his little red cab. So as were driving he asks if we wanted some leather. Now, by now you would think that we would just say no to his offers, but the situation was just too too too too too funny to pass up on going to another friend of Eunice. So we went to a store that sold leather and a bunch of other souvenirs. We stayed in there for about 40 minutes talking about politics and the history of the Moroccan people, there was no tea but we got a free bracelet. This one guy asked me what part of Morocco I was from and when I told him I was American he yelled at me to stop lying. That was a little weird. After we left the leather place, we tell Eunice to just take us back to the ship because by that time , dinner was being served on the ship and we were starving to death. When we get to the port Eunice says “ok 20 dollars each”. “EUNICE WE ARE NOT PAYING YOU ANYTHING MORE THAN 10 DOLLARS SO STOP TRYING TO RIP US OFF!” This made him angry and he kicked us out the cab.
Day 2: We get up to go to the amazing city of Marrakech. We missed the shuttle to the train station so we had to wait outside the port to get a cab. We asked one of the security guards to call a cab for us and he sends out a general request over this little phone thingy he had and told us that a cab was on its way. So after about a 10 minute wait, we see a little red taxi swirving and swaying down the road and pulling up to where we were. Guess who it was…EUNICE. I could have died from shock/disbelief/laughter. Of all of the thousand and thousand and thousands of cab drivers in Morocco that could have picked us up to take us to the train station, we got Eunice…again. He gets out the car and says “are you not happy to see me ladies?!” He then goes back to Grace and asks her if he can give her some camels and chickens to make me stay with him…she thought about the offer again, but she said no…what a friend. So after he charges us way to much to get to the train station, we hopped on the 4 hour train ride to be remembered for all of my existence.
I have never been on any moving vehicle filled with so many people in my life. There were literally people sitting on top of each other, hanging out of the train, and sitting on the floor. The trains in Casablanca are the traditional European style trains with a hallway and booths with doors that seat about 8 people, like the train in the first Harry Potter movie…ok if you haven’t seen that, there like the trains in the Disney movie Anastasia…um….if you haven’t seen that their like the trains in the movie Casablanca J Anyway, I was sitting/standing on some old woman for about an hour. I held someone’s child for 15 minutes as the mother passed her luggage over our heads down the 2 foot wide hallway to her husband who was aaaaaaaall the way on the other side of the hallway. I finally got a seat after about an hour and half in a the cramped little booth with this family of four, an old sleeping woman and a 21 year old Moroccan girl named Iman who became my best friend. The big, burping grandmother across from me stared at me the entire train ride. Her two daughters stared at me too. Finally one of them started talking to me…in Arabic…that’s how I got my best friend Iman. She spoke English and started teaching me different phrases in Arabic and French that helped me a lot while I was in Morocco. I know how to say about six things in Arabic and I can say thanks and five in French. I don’t know why, but Arabic is much easier for me to grasped than French. Anyway, Iman told me the lady was asking me if I was Moroccan. I told her I wasn’t and she, like the man in the leather store, told me to stop lying. Iman told me that she said that its ok that I cant speak the language but to deny who I am is wrong. I didn’t know if I was suppose to laugh or have a serious moment so I just stared back at the lady for a while. After Iman told her that I was from America she just shook her head at me. It was an awkward train ride. Then the lady told Iman to tell me that if I wanted to eat at a good restaurant that she would take me and my friends where ever they wanted to go. During this time grace and eliza were in a booth a few feet up from me laughing and talking and having a grand old time, meanwhile, I am stuck in a hot, crowded mini room with a snoring old women in front of me, a huge, nose picking grandmother next to her, a woman who thinks I am denying my Moroccan identity, her sister who has been staring at me for 3 hours and her husband who from some unknown reason, had no fingers, only thumbs. Thank God for Iman. But regardless of all that, the train ride was one of the best times I had in Morocco. This blog is really really long. Im laying in my bed right now watching The Incredible so im just going to keep writing for a while. You can continue reading if you want, but if you want to take a break, ill understand. Actually, I think im gonna wrap this up. We got to Marrakech and I had such a great time. We went on a bus tour of the entire city, we ate buffet style outside next to the most random people ever. MOROCCO HAD THE BEST FOOD I HAVE EATEN THIS ENTIRE SUMMER HANDS DOWN. I AM IN LOVE WITH COUSCOUS AND TANGINE. PLEASE GOOGLE A MOROCCAN RESTAURANT IN YOUR AREA AND GO EAT THERE IMMEDIATELY. We saw snake charmers and monkeys and all this crazy, crazy, crazy stuff in this place called the Medina. There were 1897329874892374b stores selling stuff and people walking around trying to do henna on your hand and men throwing monkeys on peoples heads, not my head because I would be in jail right now for assault…there were drummers everywhere and great food and nice people and it was really wonderful. I really really really really loved Morocco. I had so many great conversations with local people and learned so much in four days. I feel like Morocco was the most relaxed country and the country that I got the best cultural experience out of. I’m glad it was the last country, I think it was a great way to end an amazing journey I had this summer. The best summer of my life. Im now back in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with two tests and two papers ahead of me. Ill be back in America in 7 days. I have no idea how I’m going to assimilate back into American culture. I feel like I am going to have major culture shock. I’m not going to want to pay full price for anything ever again and I might to bargain at the mall or at the movies or some other inappropriate place and get escorted out by the cops. I don’t remember what it feels like to sleep in a bed bigger than a twin and I think I have forgotten how to speak English properly because for the past three months I have been speaking a mixture of English, sign language and whatever other language that was appropriate at the time. I am so excited to get home, but its bitter sweet. I cant wait to share all my pictures and stories that are too complicated to write. See everyone soon! I hope you missed me as much as I have missed you!
Day 1
My Moroccan experience was truly memorable. I am mesmerized by this country. I felt so relaxed and so at ease while I was in Morocco. I can’t really explain it. The first day we arrived in Casablanca we docked in this highly industrialized port with a bunch of storage bins and cranes and a whole bunch of other random masses of metal. So the scenery wasn’t very inviting at the beginning. But we went into town it was a completely different environment. The city is so peaceful. Maybe it was because I had just been in the chaos that is Cairo, I felt that Casablanca was so serene, but I really just felt so comfortable. We got in a cab with a driver named Eunice. Now, I haven’t really talked much about my foreign cab driver experience but BELIEVE ME I COULD GO ON FOR DAYS ABOUT SOME OF THE CAB DRIVERS I HAVE MET! So Eunice was this chubby man with a wife and two kids yet he offered Grace and my other friend Eliza 3000 camels for me to stay in Morocco with him and be his second wife. I really had to talk them out of accepting the offer. It was hard but luckily they told him no thanks. So we tell Eunice that we want to go around and see all the sites in Casablanca for the day. He tells us 30 dollars per person, we say no way and walk away. He pulls back up next to us and says “$20” I say no thanks and continue to walk. He pulls up again and says “15” I say 10 or no thanks. He thinks for a second then says….ok ok no problem get in. so we begin our adventure with Eunice for the day. He takes us to the Mosque for our first stop. It was the Mosque of Hasaan the Second and of all the 48792634827634872634 mosques I have seen on this trip, it was really, seriously, not even joking, the most beautiful mosque I have ever seen. The architect of this building was so amazing and the entire area surrounding the mosque was so peaceful and beautiful and inviting. We walked around the mosque for a while because we couldn’t go inside because it was during the call to prayer so we just sat and people watched for a while. After the mosque, we walked back over to Eunice and his little red cab. Oh did I mention that in Morocco they speak Arabic and French and a language that is basically Arabic and French mixed together? Well they do and did I mention that I speak neither French nor Arabic nor any other variation of the two? Well…moving right along, we tell Eunice that we want to go see these gardens we heard about that were supposedly very beautiful and he says “no problem, Ill take you after I go see my friend. He has carpets”. Now Im sure every one is wondering why he thought it was acceptable to go where he wanted to go while he was being paid by us to take us where we wanted to go, but I have learned that people across the Atlantic do what they want to do when they want to do it and you can either go along with it and be happy or go along with it and be upset. So being the people we are Grace and I and our new friend that we drug along with us on another random adventure of ours, went off with Eunice to go see his friend and his carpets. The carpet people ended of being the nicest people on the entire planet and we ended staying in this carpet place for an hour and half, talking, drinking tea and negotiating prices on silk carpets. so after we bought carpets…why I bought a carpet…I don’t know….we ask Eunice to take us to the gardens. He says ok, but do you want spices? I never really thought about if I needed spices or not…I guess I wouldn’t mind having some spices, I do like to cook….sooo…ok lets go look at some spices. So Eunice takes us to his other friend who has a spice store. We end up staying in the spice store for about an hour, talking, drinking tea and negotiating prices of spices. I got henna for the first time in a spice store. Im not exactly sure why but it looks really pretty. Im not exactly sure why there was someone in the spice store doing henna in the first place but I guess that’s cool and im not exactly sure why Eunice kept taking us every where but where we wanted to go. So after we leave the spice store, Eunice starts complaining about the time. “Eunice, you were the one who offered to take us to all your friends in the world” I said to him. “Well, ok, ok, no problem, just pay me 20 more dollars and we’ll go to the gardens” he says. “Eunice” I say, “You must be out your Moroccan mind”. I don’t think Eunice understood what type of Americans we are, I think he was used to the timid, scared tourist who would fall for anything and pay a bunch of money for nothing. We were not going for it. “Eunice, we will pay you your ten dollars now and you can go on your merry way” we said. “Ok Ok no problem, 10 dollars that’s it. Come on.” So then we got back in his little red cab. So as were driving he asks if we wanted some leather. Now, by now you would think that we would just say no to his offers, but the situation was just too too too too too funny to pass up on going to another friend of Eunice. So we went to a store that sold leather and a bunch of other souvenirs. We stayed in there for about 40 minutes talking about politics and the history of the Moroccan people, there was no tea but we got a free bracelet. This one guy asked me what part of Morocco I was from and when I told him I was American he yelled at me to stop lying. That was a little weird. After we left the leather place, we tell Eunice to just take us back to the ship because by that time , dinner was being served on the ship and we were starving to death. When we get to the port Eunice says “ok 20 dollars each”. “EUNICE WE ARE NOT PAYING YOU ANYTHING MORE THAN 10 DOLLARS SO STOP TRYING TO RIP US OFF!” This made him angry and he kicked us out the cab.
Day 2: We get up to go to the amazing city of Marrakech. We missed the shuttle to the train station so we had to wait outside the port to get a cab. We asked one of the security guards to call a cab for us and he sends out a general request over this little phone thingy he had and told us that a cab was on its way. So after about a 10 minute wait, we see a little red taxi swirving and swaying down the road and pulling up to where we were. Guess who it was…EUNICE. I could have died from shock/disbelief/laughter. Of all of the thousand and thousand and thousands of cab drivers in Morocco that could have picked us up to take us to the train station, we got Eunice…again. He gets out the car and says “are you not happy to see me ladies?!” He then goes back to Grace and asks her if he can give her some camels and chickens to make me stay with him…she thought about the offer again, but she said no…what a friend. So after he charges us way to much to get to the train station, we hopped on the 4 hour train ride to be remembered for all of my existence.
I have never been on any moving vehicle filled with so many people in my life. There were literally people sitting on top of each other, hanging out of the train, and sitting on the floor. The trains in Casablanca are the traditional European style trains with a hallway and booths with doors that seat about 8 people, like the train in the first Harry Potter movie…ok if you haven’t seen that, there like the trains in the Disney movie Anastasia…um….if you haven’t seen that their like the trains in the movie Casablanca J Anyway, I was sitting/standing on some old woman for about an hour. I held someone’s child for 15 minutes as the mother passed her luggage over our heads down the 2 foot wide hallway to her husband who was aaaaaaaall the way on the other side of the hallway. I finally got a seat after about an hour and half in a the cramped little booth with this family of four, an old sleeping woman and a 21 year old Moroccan girl named Iman who became my best friend. The big, burping grandmother across from me stared at me the entire train ride. Her two daughters stared at me too. Finally one of them started talking to me…in Arabic…that’s how I got my best friend Iman. She spoke English and started teaching me different phrases in Arabic and French that helped me a lot while I was in Morocco. I know how to say about six things in Arabic and I can say thanks and five in French. I don’t know why, but Arabic is much easier for me to grasped than French. Anyway, Iman told me the lady was asking me if I was Moroccan. I told her I wasn’t and she, like the man in the leather store, told me to stop lying. Iman told me that she said that its ok that I cant speak the language but to deny who I am is wrong. I didn’t know if I was suppose to laugh or have a serious moment so I just stared back at the lady for a while. After Iman told her that I was from America she just shook her head at me. It was an awkward train ride. Then the lady told Iman to tell me that if I wanted to eat at a good restaurant that she would take me and my friends where ever they wanted to go. During this time grace and eliza were in a booth a few feet up from me laughing and talking and having a grand old time, meanwhile, I am stuck in a hot, crowded mini room with a snoring old women in front of me, a huge, nose picking grandmother next to her, a woman who thinks I am denying my Moroccan identity, her sister who has been staring at me for 3 hours and her husband who from some unknown reason, had no fingers, only thumbs. Thank God for Iman. But regardless of all that, the train ride was one of the best times I had in Morocco. This blog is really really long. Im laying in my bed right now watching The Incredible so im just going to keep writing for a while. You can continue reading if you want, but if you want to take a break, ill understand. Actually, I think im gonna wrap this up. We got to Marrakech and I had such a great time. We went on a bus tour of the entire city, we ate buffet style outside next to the most random people ever. MOROCCO HAD THE BEST FOOD I HAVE EATEN THIS ENTIRE SUMMER HANDS DOWN. I AM IN LOVE WITH COUSCOUS AND TANGINE. PLEASE GOOGLE A MOROCCAN RESTAURANT IN YOUR AREA AND GO EAT THERE IMMEDIATELY. We saw snake charmers and monkeys and all this crazy, crazy, crazy stuff in this place called the Medina. There were 1897329874892374b stores selling stuff and people walking around trying to do henna on your hand and men throwing monkeys on peoples heads, not my head because I would be in jail right now for assault…there were drummers everywhere and great food and nice people and it was really wonderful. I really really really really loved Morocco. I had so many great conversations with local people and learned so much in four days. I feel like Morocco was the most relaxed country and the country that I got the best cultural experience out of. I’m glad it was the last country, I think it was a great way to end an amazing journey I had this summer. The best summer of my life. Im now back in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with two tests and two papers ahead of me. Ill be back in America in 7 days. I have no idea how I’m going to assimilate back into American culture. I feel like I am going to have major culture shock. I’m not going to want to pay full price for anything ever again and I might to bargain at the mall or at the movies or some other inappropriate place and get escorted out by the cops. I don’t remember what it feels like to sleep in a bed bigger than a twin and I think I have forgotten how to speak English properly because for the past three months I have been speaking a mixture of English, sign language and whatever other language that was appropriate at the time. I am so excited to get home, but its bitter sweet. I cant wait to share all my pictures and stories that are too complicated to write. See everyone soon! I hope you missed me as much as I have missed you!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Egypt, my new second home!
August 2nd, 2009
In all sincerity, today was the best day of my life. I guess I should start from the beginning. I already told everyone about Alexandria. July 31st we took a 3 hour bus ride to Cairo. Wait let me tell you a little more about Alexandria. This city is totally crazy. I swear it is chaos, but some how , someway, it works. People drive all over the road, there is no such thing as stopping at a stop sign or a red light. No one is in a lane, the donkeys, horses and people walk in the middle of the street. Small children run across the road in front of cars and trucks and people park where ever they want to, including the middle of the street where other cars are still driving. The streets are crowded, its dusty and dirty but everything seems to have a rhythm. No one gets upset if they almost get hit by a car, people don’t seem agitated by the heat or all the other people next to them; they just go on with their day. Meanwhile, I am sweating to death and having a border line asthma attack from all the pollution. But I loved it. Ok back to Cairo. Now not many people know this, aside from a small group of people, but I am obsessed with ancient Egyptian art, history and culture. I used to…ok still do….watch every single documentary on the history channel, the discovery channel, the national geographic channel, pretty much any channel that is showing something about ancient Egypt…I watch it. I have read countless number of books about all the gods and hieroglyphics and I seriously, SERIOUSLY used to want to…and still do… be an archeologist and Egyptologist…The Indiana Jones movies are my favorite movies of all time….ALL TIME! When I was younger I used to collect rocks and pretend that I was finding some ancient, lost Egyptian treasure….ok I think I’m telling way too much information at this point. Anyway, the point that I was trying to make was, I was looking forward to going to Egypt since I was about 4 years old.
On our bus ride to Cairo, we saw some outrageous stuff. Shacks, little huts, people living under boxes and then literally, right next to a huge project building with linen sheets as a roof, I would see a huge, elaborate mansion. I have never seen poverty the way I have seen it in Cairo. People literally live with 20 people to a one bedroom apartment with no roof or windows. People live on top of trash dumps. There are 17 million people in the city of Cairo. I don’t know if you can understand how many people that is, but Cairo is only about 7 miles long. That’s like taking 100 people and putting them inside a Neon. Its crazy. The city is so dusty and crowded and busy and dirty and beautiful all at the same time. I cant really explain it. Its something you have to see and smell and touch. Our first stop on the trip was to the Egyptian museum. It was soooooooooo cool in there and me being the nerd that I am knew all the mummies and all the statues and most of the gods that were all over the place. Our tour guide, who was absolutely amazing, loved me. I could answer all the questions she asked us. I’m a loser. I know. I saw the gold…SOLID GOLD…mask of King Tut, I snuck a bunch of pictures. I probably shouldn’t write this, but its illegal to take picture of any antiquities that are inside a building in Egypt, so when you see my pictures of all the things that I took a picture of…inside a building…it wasn’t me. Anyway, after the museum we went to our FIVE STAR FREAKIN HOTEL THAT WAS ONCE A PALACE FOR THE WIFE OF I THINK NAPOLEAN THAT HAD A DIRECT VIEW OF THE NILE RIVER AND THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF GIZA!!!!!!!!!! It was the nicest hotel I have ever been in. the food was amazing. I can describe the food because I might cry. It was that good. After we ate I forget what we did. It was a really long day. Ooooooooooooooooooh omg I remember!!! How could I have almost forgotten!! We went to the coolest light show in the world at the Giza Plateau in front of the Sphinx and the pyramids. It was this whole show with different color lights that illuminated the pyramids and the sphinx and told all the history of ancient Egypt. It was so cool. I saw a shooting star. It was gorgeous. There is seriously so much to tell. I cant write it all. I’m going to have to skip some parts.
The next day, I woke up a 430 in the morning to watch the sunrise over the pyramids. It was breath taking. I have had dreams of doing this. The fact that I actually sat there in front of the Pyramids and watched the sun rise perfectly against the side of the most magnificent man made object in the world, has not fully registered. I was able to check one more thing off my list of things to do before I die. After we watched the sunrise, we got to walk around the plateau and take pictures and touch the pyramid. Then the worst thing in the world happened. The camels showed up. I HATE CAMELS. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I DISLIKE THOSE DIRTY UGLY NASTY, SPITTING, POOPING, PEEING SAND RODENTS!! They are so mean and disgusting. Sihfakhsfkahsfkjahskfjhakjsf afhakjhfskjas. Buuut, somehow I was talked into riding one by my lovely roommate, Grace Obando. It was by far the worst experience/most amazing experience ever…besides all the other best experiences of my life from this magnificent summer I have been having. I was borderline crying the entire time and I didn’t want to touch it so I was trying to balance my body without falling off, while trying to actually look at the pyramids that we were riding around and see the sphinx and not throw up. Grace has a video. It is absolutely hilarious. But no one will ever see it. After I jumped off the god forsaken camel, the best part of the day happened… I WENT INSIDE ONE OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS!!!!!!! I WAS INSIDE ONE OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT! It was sooooo siiiick! You have to squat for almost 7 minutes to get the bottom where there is burial chamber. It was the hottest room I have ever been in ever. The sweat was literally dripping off of my face and the air was so thin but it was ridiculously amazing. There was graffiti on the wall from some Italian explorer from 1881. That’s all that was on the wall and there was one sarcophagus with hieroglyphics inside….yes I have pictures of all this…and no I was not allowed to take pictures of any of this. It was surreal. After the pyramids we went over to the Sphinx. I love the Sphinx, he’s so cool, and relaxed yet powerful. The structure of the Sphinx is mesmerizing. I stared at it for 20 minutes. The Sphinx has always been my favorite thing and now I have actually seen it up close and personal. It’s a beautiful thing. After all that playing around in the Sahara Desert, we went to have lunch and then we went to the Alabaster Mosque, which has the body of Mohamed Ali, the “father” of modern Egypt. The mosque was gorgeous and it had a panoramic view of the entire city of Cairo. I learned so much about Islam while we were there from our tour guide and I cant wait to get home and tell everyone I know about all the misconceptions and lies we hear about the Islamic religion. I talked about that a little in my blog for Turkey, but Egypt just solidified what I learned there. Anyway, after that we had dinner on the NILE RIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately, the Nile is not as beautiful as it used to be because of all the pollution and commercialization of Cairo, but the experience in itself was unbelievable. That was another thing I checked off my bucket list, eat dinner while cruising down the Nile. We had a belly dancer and traditional Egyptian folkloric dancers as entertainment while we ate. It was so nice. There was so much more but I’m skipping stuff.
Ok back to today, august 2nd, the best day of my life. This is a really long entry huh? Anyway, today we went to Memphis, which was the first capital of Egypt and the first established city in the entire world. I saw the most amazing statue of King Ramses the 2nd. It was huuuuuuuuuuuuge. Then we went to Sakkara. This is where my day became the best day of my life. We get off the bus and are headed towards the 1st step pyramid and first stone building ever made all over the world and I see all these men yelling and I see a couple camera guys. Then all of a sudden I see my idol. Now no one knows that this little Egyptian man is my idol, because I try to keep my inner dork to myself, but I met Dr. Zahi Hawass. Ok noooooooooooooo one knows who this is probably and if you do you are the coolest person ever. Dr. Zahi Hawass is the world renowned archeologist and the most famous Egyptologist in the world. He just gave President Obama a personal tour of all the sites of Egypt last week when Obama was here. He is an Egyptian who studied and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and is a freakin expert in this field. I have read 3 of his books and I watch every single documentary that I see on tv with him in it. when I saw him I was literally star struck. I have no idea why. I have met celebrities before, quite a few actually, and I have never been star struck, but Dr. Zahi Hawass…a guy that most people don’t even know, but should, and I am speechless. Well I got over being speechless very quickly and walked over and introduced my self to him and he asked me where I go to school and when I told him he got excited because he used to live in Philly for 20 years and I told him how excited I was to meet him and I felt like I was skipping through air. Meanwhile, everyone with me is like “Nexus, who the hell is this little old Egyptian man?” My tour guide was the only other person who was just as happy as I was. I was secretly hoping, all the way back in June that when I got to Egypt I would meet him. Then, because I had my camera, because I kept sneaking it into every single place that we went, I got to take a bunch of pictures with him and then when people found out who he was they wanted pictures too and since I was the only person in my group with a camera, because I snuck it in the temples and pyramids, I had to take a bunch of pictures of people who 5 minutes ago didn’t even know who my idol was…so I had a little attitude about that. But then I asked Dr. Hawass what was he doing at the step pyramids and he told me he was doing a show with one of Egypt’s most famous movies stars, this guy named Ramez Galal who is in love with me and Grace. So we took a bunch of pictures with Ramez and me and Grace got to get recorded for the show….AGAIN!!!...Ramez Galal asked us to repeat after him something like “Traveling the world with Ramez and Egypt’s Indiana Jones, Dr. Zahi Hawass!” Or something like that. I cant remember then he made us say it in Arabic which was really really cool and all the cameras were on us and everyone was watching and I was completely embarrassed/ ecstatic because I was standing next to Dr. Hawass! Hahahahahaha I am such a loser but I was seriously so excited I cant even describe it. Hopefully we’ll be on the show so look out for it on some channel…I don’t know which one, and while you’re looking for that, keep looking out for me jumping off a cliff in Croatia on the Travel Channel!!!
Ok it seriously gets better. After all the hypeness with the cameras, Dr. Hawass quiets everyone down as says “As a special treat for all of you, I will allow you all to go inside the step Pyramid of Imhotep!” ISWEAR TO GOD I ALMOST PASSED OUT!! NO ONE IS ALLOWED INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID. MY TOUR GUIDE WHO HAS BEEN DOING HER JOB FOR 15 YEARS HAD NEVER BEEN INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID OF IMHOTEP. IT WAS LIKE A SCENE FROM A MOVIE I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!! WE HAD OUR OWN ESORT INSIDE THE OLDEST MAN MADE BUILDING ON THE PLANET!!! I watched the man unlock the bolted door to get inside the pyramid. It was so exclusive that the lights weren’t even on. He had to turn the lights on inside the part we were allowed to walk through. It was truly truly truly truly amazing. I seriously feel so blessed. My group got to go inside an ancient pyramid that very few people are allowed to go in. it was so cool. Needless to say. I love Egypt. I knew I would but my time here has surpassed all expectations. I could not have asked for a better time. I am in love with this country, the people, the culture, the history, everything. I had the best time of my life. I really mean it this time. I don’t think anything can top this. And if it does, I might not come back to America. I think I’m done now. Next stop, Casablanca, Morocco…then AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In all sincerity, today was the best day of my life. I guess I should start from the beginning. I already told everyone about Alexandria. July 31st we took a 3 hour bus ride to Cairo. Wait let me tell you a little more about Alexandria. This city is totally crazy. I swear it is chaos, but some how , someway, it works. People drive all over the road, there is no such thing as stopping at a stop sign or a red light. No one is in a lane, the donkeys, horses and people walk in the middle of the street. Small children run across the road in front of cars and trucks and people park where ever they want to, including the middle of the street where other cars are still driving. The streets are crowded, its dusty and dirty but everything seems to have a rhythm. No one gets upset if they almost get hit by a car, people don’t seem agitated by the heat or all the other people next to them; they just go on with their day. Meanwhile, I am sweating to death and having a border line asthma attack from all the pollution. But I loved it. Ok back to Cairo. Now not many people know this, aside from a small group of people, but I am obsessed with ancient Egyptian art, history and culture. I used to…ok still do….watch every single documentary on the history channel, the discovery channel, the national geographic channel, pretty much any channel that is showing something about ancient Egypt…I watch it. I have read countless number of books about all the gods and hieroglyphics and I seriously, SERIOUSLY used to want to…and still do… be an archeologist and Egyptologist…The Indiana Jones movies are my favorite movies of all time….ALL TIME! When I was younger I used to collect rocks and pretend that I was finding some ancient, lost Egyptian treasure….ok I think I’m telling way too much information at this point. Anyway, the point that I was trying to make was, I was looking forward to going to Egypt since I was about 4 years old.
On our bus ride to Cairo, we saw some outrageous stuff. Shacks, little huts, people living under boxes and then literally, right next to a huge project building with linen sheets as a roof, I would see a huge, elaborate mansion. I have never seen poverty the way I have seen it in Cairo. People literally live with 20 people to a one bedroom apartment with no roof or windows. People live on top of trash dumps. There are 17 million people in the city of Cairo. I don’t know if you can understand how many people that is, but Cairo is only about 7 miles long. That’s like taking 100 people and putting them inside a Neon. Its crazy. The city is so dusty and crowded and busy and dirty and beautiful all at the same time. I cant really explain it. Its something you have to see and smell and touch. Our first stop on the trip was to the Egyptian museum. It was soooooooooo cool in there and me being the nerd that I am knew all the mummies and all the statues and most of the gods that were all over the place. Our tour guide, who was absolutely amazing, loved me. I could answer all the questions she asked us. I’m a loser. I know. I saw the gold…SOLID GOLD…mask of King Tut, I snuck a bunch of pictures. I probably shouldn’t write this, but its illegal to take picture of any antiquities that are inside a building in Egypt, so when you see my pictures of all the things that I took a picture of…inside a building…it wasn’t me. Anyway, after the museum we went to our FIVE STAR FREAKIN HOTEL THAT WAS ONCE A PALACE FOR THE WIFE OF I THINK NAPOLEAN THAT HAD A DIRECT VIEW OF THE NILE RIVER AND THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF GIZA!!!!!!!!!! It was the nicest hotel I have ever been in. the food was amazing. I can describe the food because I might cry. It was that good. After we ate I forget what we did. It was a really long day. Ooooooooooooooooooh omg I remember!!! How could I have almost forgotten!! We went to the coolest light show in the world at the Giza Plateau in front of the Sphinx and the pyramids. It was this whole show with different color lights that illuminated the pyramids and the sphinx and told all the history of ancient Egypt. It was so cool. I saw a shooting star. It was gorgeous. There is seriously so much to tell. I cant write it all. I’m going to have to skip some parts.
The next day, I woke up a 430 in the morning to watch the sunrise over the pyramids. It was breath taking. I have had dreams of doing this. The fact that I actually sat there in front of the Pyramids and watched the sun rise perfectly against the side of the most magnificent man made object in the world, has not fully registered. I was able to check one more thing off my list of things to do before I die. After we watched the sunrise, we got to walk around the plateau and take pictures and touch the pyramid. Then the worst thing in the world happened. The camels showed up. I HATE CAMELS. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I DISLIKE THOSE DIRTY UGLY NASTY, SPITTING, POOPING, PEEING SAND RODENTS!! They are so mean and disgusting. Sihfakhsfkahsfkjahskfjhakjsf afhakjhfskjas. Buuut, somehow I was talked into riding one by my lovely roommate, Grace Obando. It was by far the worst experience/most amazing experience ever…besides all the other best experiences of my life from this magnificent summer I have been having. I was borderline crying the entire time and I didn’t want to touch it so I was trying to balance my body without falling off, while trying to actually look at the pyramids that we were riding around and see the sphinx and not throw up. Grace has a video. It is absolutely hilarious. But no one will ever see it. After I jumped off the god forsaken camel, the best part of the day happened… I WENT INSIDE ONE OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS!!!!!!! I WAS INSIDE ONE OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT! It was sooooo siiiick! You have to squat for almost 7 minutes to get the bottom where there is burial chamber. It was the hottest room I have ever been in ever. The sweat was literally dripping off of my face and the air was so thin but it was ridiculously amazing. There was graffiti on the wall from some Italian explorer from 1881. That’s all that was on the wall and there was one sarcophagus with hieroglyphics inside….yes I have pictures of all this…and no I was not allowed to take pictures of any of this. It was surreal. After the pyramids we went over to the Sphinx. I love the Sphinx, he’s so cool, and relaxed yet powerful. The structure of the Sphinx is mesmerizing. I stared at it for 20 minutes. The Sphinx has always been my favorite thing and now I have actually seen it up close and personal. It’s a beautiful thing. After all that playing around in the Sahara Desert, we went to have lunch and then we went to the Alabaster Mosque, which has the body of Mohamed Ali, the “father” of modern Egypt. The mosque was gorgeous and it had a panoramic view of the entire city of Cairo. I learned so much about Islam while we were there from our tour guide and I cant wait to get home and tell everyone I know about all the misconceptions and lies we hear about the Islamic religion. I talked about that a little in my blog for Turkey, but Egypt just solidified what I learned there. Anyway, after that we had dinner on the NILE RIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately, the Nile is not as beautiful as it used to be because of all the pollution and commercialization of Cairo, but the experience in itself was unbelievable. That was another thing I checked off my bucket list, eat dinner while cruising down the Nile. We had a belly dancer and traditional Egyptian folkloric dancers as entertainment while we ate. It was so nice. There was so much more but I’m skipping stuff.
Ok back to today, august 2nd, the best day of my life. This is a really long entry huh? Anyway, today we went to Memphis, which was the first capital of Egypt and the first established city in the entire world. I saw the most amazing statue of King Ramses the 2nd. It was huuuuuuuuuuuuge. Then we went to Sakkara. This is where my day became the best day of my life. We get off the bus and are headed towards the 1st step pyramid and first stone building ever made all over the world and I see all these men yelling and I see a couple camera guys. Then all of a sudden I see my idol. Now no one knows that this little Egyptian man is my idol, because I try to keep my inner dork to myself, but I met Dr. Zahi Hawass. Ok noooooooooooooo one knows who this is probably and if you do you are the coolest person ever. Dr. Zahi Hawass is the world renowned archeologist and the most famous Egyptologist in the world. He just gave President Obama a personal tour of all the sites of Egypt last week when Obama was here. He is an Egyptian who studied and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and is a freakin expert in this field. I have read 3 of his books and I watch every single documentary that I see on tv with him in it. when I saw him I was literally star struck. I have no idea why. I have met celebrities before, quite a few actually, and I have never been star struck, but Dr. Zahi Hawass…a guy that most people don’t even know, but should, and I am speechless. Well I got over being speechless very quickly and walked over and introduced my self to him and he asked me where I go to school and when I told him he got excited because he used to live in Philly for 20 years and I told him how excited I was to meet him and I felt like I was skipping through air. Meanwhile, everyone with me is like “Nexus, who the hell is this little old Egyptian man?” My tour guide was the only other person who was just as happy as I was. I was secretly hoping, all the way back in June that when I got to Egypt I would meet him. Then, because I had my camera, because I kept sneaking it into every single place that we went, I got to take a bunch of pictures with him and then when people found out who he was they wanted pictures too and since I was the only person in my group with a camera, because I snuck it in the temples and pyramids, I had to take a bunch of pictures of people who 5 minutes ago didn’t even know who my idol was…so I had a little attitude about that. But then I asked Dr. Hawass what was he doing at the step pyramids and he told me he was doing a show with one of Egypt’s most famous movies stars, this guy named Ramez Galal who is in love with me and Grace. So we took a bunch of pictures with Ramez and me and Grace got to get recorded for the show….AGAIN!!!...Ramez Galal asked us to repeat after him something like “Traveling the world with Ramez and Egypt’s Indiana Jones, Dr. Zahi Hawass!” Or something like that. I cant remember then he made us say it in Arabic which was really really cool and all the cameras were on us and everyone was watching and I was completely embarrassed/ ecstatic because I was standing next to Dr. Hawass! Hahahahahaha I am such a loser but I was seriously so excited I cant even describe it. Hopefully we’ll be on the show so look out for it on some channel…I don’t know which one, and while you’re looking for that, keep looking out for me jumping off a cliff in Croatia on the Travel Channel!!!
Ok it seriously gets better. After all the hypeness with the cameras, Dr. Hawass quiets everyone down as says “As a special treat for all of you, I will allow you all to go inside the step Pyramid of Imhotep!” ISWEAR TO GOD I ALMOST PASSED OUT!! NO ONE IS ALLOWED INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID. MY TOUR GUIDE WHO HAS BEEN DOING HER JOB FOR 15 YEARS HAD NEVER BEEN INSIDE THE STEP PYRAMID OF IMHOTEP. IT WAS LIKE A SCENE FROM A MOVIE I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!! WE HAD OUR OWN ESORT INSIDE THE OLDEST MAN MADE BUILDING ON THE PLANET!!! I watched the man unlock the bolted door to get inside the pyramid. It was so exclusive that the lights weren’t even on. He had to turn the lights on inside the part we were allowed to walk through. It was truly truly truly truly amazing. I seriously feel so blessed. My group got to go inside an ancient pyramid that very few people are allowed to go in. it was so cool. Needless to say. I love Egypt. I knew I would but my time here has surpassed all expectations. I could not have asked for a better time. I am in love with this country, the people, the culture, the history, everything. I had the best time of my life. I really mean it this time. I don’t think anything can top this. And if it does, I might not come back to America. I think I’m done now. Next stop, Casablanca, Morocco…then AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Alexandria, Egypt
I actually have access to the internet right now because I am in sitting in the second largest library on Planet Earth. The Biblotheca Alxendria in Alexandria, Egypt. I am in Egypt right now. It is so unbelievably crazy. This city is dirty, polluted, crowded, gritty and I love it. People drive where ever and however they want, people cross the street in the craziest ways and men are walking in the middle of the road pulling a donket with a wagon-full of watermelons. Its amazing. The people are so nice here, but you can definitely see the line between the "haves" and "havenots". We met this cab driver, named Mohamed Ali, I didnt believe him so I made him show me all his identification...he wasnt lying. He is taking us all around the city to see the highlights of Alexandria. So far we have seen the catacombs and the Pillar of some guy named Pompey. But all the touristy stuff does not compare to driving through the streets and seeing what the people who live here see every single day. I love it here. Its a real live, breathing, moving city. New York has nothing on Alexandria. I will never complain about the traffic in Philadelphia, New Jersey or New York ever again. I will never call a city in America dirty ever again and I will never complain about too many people in place again, because this is ridiculoius and from what Im told Cairo is ten times more congested, polluted and rough, so Im sure I'll love Cairo ten times more than I love Alexandria. Im appreciating getting away from the cities that thrive off of nothing but tourism. I cant read any of the signs here, the music is all in Arabic, the people are going to work, children are playing outside, the colorful clothing looks nothing like what we wear in America. I love it. Its so different. Ok well I must go now, Mohamed Ali is waiting for us outside and we're going to the Ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria next. Its not there anymore, they built something on top of where it used to be but it was once one of the 7 ancient wonders in the world. So needless to say, Im excited. More to come... Im going to see THE PYRAMIDS tomorrow. Peace!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bulgaria....aka Spring Break for Semester at Sea
Ok, this will probably be really short. But Bulgaria was the most random country I have ever been to. This was the first year that semester at sea has travelled to Bulgaria so we were kind of a test run. the only thing there was to do was go to the beach, go to water parks, get massages on the sand, go to thousands and thousands of clubs and beach bars and my favorite...bunjee jumping! i did not have any parts of the bunjee jumping business so dont worry world. but some of my other friends jumped off a freakin bridge with a string attached to thier ankles. all i did while i was here was go to the beach and the movie theatre to see transformers which was amazing!!!!! my favorite thing i did was go to this Bulgarian waterpark called AQUAPOLIS hahahahaha. it was the funniest thing in the whole world. there were a whole bunch of slides and floaty thingys and kiddie pools and it was sooo fun. it was also graces 22nd birthday so we partied like Bulgarian rockstars....if that even exists. I cant really say i would come back here but it was fun while it lasted. i am so super excited that in 2 days i will be in egypt. watching the scenes in transformers when they were in egypt made me scream from excitement. people in the theatre yelled at me in Bulgarian to shut up...i think. i dont really have anything to exciting to tell about bulgaria excpet that its beautiful and the people are a little wierd. they shake thier heads up and down for no and left to right for yes. me and grace had a really akward moment with this one guy in a convenient store because we wanted to know if he sold stamps and he said what we think was no but shook his head yes. we struggled for about 11 minutes then just slowly walked out with place with no stamps. we still dont know if he had them or not. well im pretty much done. egypt is in 2 days. i cant wait.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Istanbul!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 23rd
So I went to Turkey. It was amazing. Istanbul is such a great city. I had no idea that it is the 5th largest city in the WORLD as far as population goes! There are 15 million people there. 15 million. I don’t think there are that many people in Philly. I think I had the best cultural experience in Turkey. My day in Corinth, Greece was nice, but it was only one day. Everyday in Istanbul was a learning experience. I saw things that I have never ever seen in the states, ever. We were in Turkey for a long time in comparison to the other countries. Five whole days. Everywhere else has been four or three and a half. The first day in Istanbul I went to Capali Karsi or the Grand Bazaar. This place had 4000 shops. FOR THOUSANDS SHOPS THAT SELL EVERYTHING FROM HAND MADE SHOES TO SPICES TO JEWELRY TO SILK RUGS TO WATER PIPES TO ANYTHING! Now I really wish I could give you all a super detailed description of the activity in the Grand Bazaar but it is truly, truly something you have to experience for yourself. These people that work in there are grade A, first class, top of the line hustling sales man. I have been talking about my negotiating skills in all these blogs and I really feel that the other four countries have prepared me for the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey on July 18th 2009. I swear that these men, because they were all men, will cut you a deal and bargain with you about anything. I complimented one guy on his fancy shoes and he said, “ You like? I will sell them to you…good price”. I was puzzled. They were on his feet. What would he wear home? Anyway, I learned that the guys in the stores found it insulting if you didn’t price haggle them so I negotiated and bargained and walked away and got chased back and made all types of deals in the Grand Bazaar. It was soooooooooooo much fun. I spent the absolute least amount of money in Turkey and got the most from there than all countries combined. I seriously spent less than $130 in five days and have a bunch of really really really nice quality stuff.
Now the funnier stuff. These Turkish men looooooooooooove women. American, Brittish, Spanish whatever. It does not matter. They have lines and lines and lines for days. Everywhere we walked I heard so many different pick up lines. I will gladly list them:
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Are you one of Charlie’s Angels?
I will be here waiting for you forever.
Your beauty is like the sun shine.
Don’t walk so hard, your stepping on my heart.
There were a bunch more but the scenario that tops the list was this one guy who owned a store that sold teas and spices. He came up to me and asked me where I was from and I pretended that I couldn’t speak English and I spoke Spanish to him. He said “oooh Spanish? Will you marry me? I will give your family 5000 dollars and one of my textile businesses.” At that point I had to cut the Spanish act and ask him was he freakin serious??? He OFFERED TO BUY ME FOR 5000 DOLLARS AND A BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!!! He was extremely serious. So I quickly said no and walked away. Then this other guy asked me to marry him too and I said yes if he would give me three leather pillow cases for 20 Lyra…which is about 15 dollars. I wanted them sooooo badly but they were 15 Lyra each. He agreed to giving me 3 for 20. So I think I’m married now.
I talked to so many people about the Muslim culture and why certain things were the way they are, how things used to be and how most of the things we see and hear in America are so wrong. The media is such a powerful tool that seriously abuses its power. I am so very thankful that I had the experience to immerse myself in a culture that is so politically, socially and religiously different than anywhere I have ever been. I met some of the nicest and insightful humans I have ever come in contact with in my entire existence. I went to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque which are breathtakingly beautiful. The architect was so detailed and just gorgeous. When it is time to pray, there is announcement that can be heard anywhere and everywhere in the city. To hear the prayer in the streets or in a store or on the sub is just amazing. Their religion is such a part of their life but there is a definite line between church…well mosque and state. I thought that when it was time to pray that everyone stopped what they were doing to pray but if they are working or shopping or doing something necessary to sustain their way of living they don’t have to stop when the prayer sounds. Only the very very devout Muslims go to the Mosques at the five specific times. I don’t think any of this is making sense. I’m not really explaining this well. But the point I am trying to make is that a lot of people have preconceived notions about Muslim people, especially Muslim people in Turkey. Some of the stereotypes are every woman has to be covered from head to toe, everyone in the country is a strict Muslim, the men are oppressive, you have to be worried about “terrorists”….as if America isn’t the terrorist capitol of the world, and a whole plethora of other stereotypes. But the reality is the Muslim people are extremely tolerant of other peoples’ religions, I saw just as many catholic churches in Istanbul as I did Muslim mosques, women wore whatever they wanted, I saw many openly affectionate relationships all over the city. The women who were covered from head to toe were doing all of the same things that uncovered women were doing, the men were friendly and I rarely got treated badly or felt that I was being disrespected. I never ever once felt unsafe or uncomfortable or scared while being in Turkey. It was amazing. I loved it.
But, while all these things I said are true, there is still the other side of things that make some of these ideas of the Muslim world true. People in turkey are born Muslim, they have no choice, a lot of things that happen in the country happen without the say of the people. I learned while being here what it really means to be free and have freedom. I realized the freedom I have while talking to this old man on the street. He told me that people in Turkey are born with a past. He said that America isn’t burdened by its past because it is so young. While I disagree with him, I completely understand what he means. He is saying that many things that are in place are there because of what has happened in the thousands and thousands of years of religious history and war. I could not imagine what its like to be born with so many things in my life already chosen for me, my religion, my role in society, my husband (in some cases) and so many other things. Youtube, the online site, is banned in the entire country because some random video was made that criticized the Turkish government. That blows my mind. People don’t realize how crucial freedom of speech is, freedom of religion. Just freedom in general. America is the furthest thing from perfect but it does give its people the blessing of freedom. Now I really understand why so many people want to come here. Why they risk death just to get here. To have freedom is worth it to them. But many of us don’t even realize how important our freedom is. Ok I’m done. I’m actually in Bulgaria right now. I will be on the beach soaking up some more Mediterranean sun in a few hours. After Bulgaria I will be in the Motherland…Africa. I cannot wait. Bulgaria is my relaxation country. Egypt and Morocco need my full, undivided attention. Later.
So I went to Turkey. It was amazing. Istanbul is such a great city. I had no idea that it is the 5th largest city in the WORLD as far as population goes! There are 15 million people there. 15 million. I don’t think there are that many people in Philly. I think I had the best cultural experience in Turkey. My day in Corinth, Greece was nice, but it was only one day. Everyday in Istanbul was a learning experience. I saw things that I have never ever seen in the states, ever. We were in Turkey for a long time in comparison to the other countries. Five whole days. Everywhere else has been four or three and a half. The first day in Istanbul I went to Capali Karsi or the Grand Bazaar. This place had 4000 shops. FOR THOUSANDS SHOPS THAT SELL EVERYTHING FROM HAND MADE SHOES TO SPICES TO JEWELRY TO SILK RUGS TO WATER PIPES TO ANYTHING! Now I really wish I could give you all a super detailed description of the activity in the Grand Bazaar but it is truly, truly something you have to experience for yourself. These people that work in there are grade A, first class, top of the line hustling sales man. I have been talking about my negotiating skills in all these blogs and I really feel that the other four countries have prepared me for the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey on July 18th 2009. I swear that these men, because they were all men, will cut you a deal and bargain with you about anything. I complimented one guy on his fancy shoes and he said, “ You like? I will sell them to you…good price”. I was puzzled. They were on his feet. What would he wear home? Anyway, I learned that the guys in the stores found it insulting if you didn’t price haggle them so I negotiated and bargained and walked away and got chased back and made all types of deals in the Grand Bazaar. It was soooooooooooo much fun. I spent the absolute least amount of money in Turkey and got the most from there than all countries combined. I seriously spent less than $130 in five days and have a bunch of really really really nice quality stuff.
Now the funnier stuff. These Turkish men looooooooooooove women. American, Brittish, Spanish whatever. It does not matter. They have lines and lines and lines for days. Everywhere we walked I heard so many different pick up lines. I will gladly list them:
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Are you one of Charlie’s Angels?
I will be here waiting for you forever.
Your beauty is like the sun shine.
Don’t walk so hard, your stepping on my heart.
There were a bunch more but the scenario that tops the list was this one guy who owned a store that sold teas and spices. He came up to me and asked me where I was from and I pretended that I couldn’t speak English and I spoke Spanish to him. He said “oooh Spanish? Will you marry me? I will give your family 5000 dollars and one of my textile businesses.” At that point I had to cut the Spanish act and ask him was he freakin serious??? He OFFERED TO BUY ME FOR 5000 DOLLARS AND A BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!!! He was extremely serious. So I quickly said no and walked away. Then this other guy asked me to marry him too and I said yes if he would give me three leather pillow cases for 20 Lyra…which is about 15 dollars. I wanted them sooooo badly but they were 15 Lyra each. He agreed to giving me 3 for 20. So I think I’m married now.
I talked to so many people about the Muslim culture and why certain things were the way they are, how things used to be and how most of the things we see and hear in America are so wrong. The media is such a powerful tool that seriously abuses its power. I am so very thankful that I had the experience to immerse myself in a culture that is so politically, socially and religiously different than anywhere I have ever been. I met some of the nicest and insightful humans I have ever come in contact with in my entire existence. I went to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque which are breathtakingly beautiful. The architect was so detailed and just gorgeous. When it is time to pray, there is announcement that can be heard anywhere and everywhere in the city. To hear the prayer in the streets or in a store or on the sub is just amazing. Their religion is such a part of their life but there is a definite line between church…well mosque and state. I thought that when it was time to pray that everyone stopped what they were doing to pray but if they are working or shopping or doing something necessary to sustain their way of living they don’t have to stop when the prayer sounds. Only the very very devout Muslims go to the Mosques at the five specific times. I don’t think any of this is making sense. I’m not really explaining this well. But the point I am trying to make is that a lot of people have preconceived notions about Muslim people, especially Muslim people in Turkey. Some of the stereotypes are every woman has to be covered from head to toe, everyone in the country is a strict Muslim, the men are oppressive, you have to be worried about “terrorists”….as if America isn’t the terrorist capitol of the world, and a whole plethora of other stereotypes. But the reality is the Muslim people are extremely tolerant of other peoples’ religions, I saw just as many catholic churches in Istanbul as I did Muslim mosques, women wore whatever they wanted, I saw many openly affectionate relationships all over the city. The women who were covered from head to toe were doing all of the same things that uncovered women were doing, the men were friendly and I rarely got treated badly or felt that I was being disrespected. I never ever once felt unsafe or uncomfortable or scared while being in Turkey. It was amazing. I loved it.
But, while all these things I said are true, there is still the other side of things that make some of these ideas of the Muslim world true. People in turkey are born Muslim, they have no choice, a lot of things that happen in the country happen without the say of the people. I learned while being here what it really means to be free and have freedom. I realized the freedom I have while talking to this old man on the street. He told me that people in Turkey are born with a past. He said that America isn’t burdened by its past because it is so young. While I disagree with him, I completely understand what he means. He is saying that many things that are in place are there because of what has happened in the thousands and thousands of years of religious history and war. I could not imagine what its like to be born with so many things in my life already chosen for me, my religion, my role in society, my husband (in some cases) and so many other things. Youtube, the online site, is banned in the entire country because some random video was made that criticized the Turkish government. That blows my mind. People don’t realize how crucial freedom of speech is, freedom of religion. Just freedom in general. America is the furthest thing from perfect but it does give its people the blessing of freedom. Now I really understand why so many people want to come here. Why they risk death just to get here. To have freedom is worth it to them. But many of us don’t even realize how important our freedom is. Ok I’m done. I’m actually in Bulgaria right now. I will be on the beach soaking up some more Mediterranean sun in a few hours. After Bulgaria I will be in the Motherland…Africa. I cannot wait. Bulgaria is my relaxation country. Egypt and Morocco need my full, undivided attention. Later.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Greece!!!!!!!!!!!
July 17th. So people, how is America? The one thing that I have a problem with on this ship is that we have no current events updates. I have no idea what is going on in America. I missed everything about Michael Jackson, I don’t know what is happening in politics or anything. For all I know, America could be gone and no one would know on this ship. So can someone send me something cool that’s going at home. Nscook@semesteratsea.net. Now to the good stuff:
GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECE! Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. This country is gorgeous. The first day in Greece, I went to Athens to see the Acropolis. Honestly, the Acropolis was not that great to see. The experience in itself was remarkable but the whole area was under reconstruction. There was scaffolding everywhere and it was the hottest day of the year in Greece that day. Of course the hottest day of the year would be the day that we decide to go the treeless, shade less waterless Acropolis. But the view from the top of the mountain was gorgeous and literally breathtaking. I saw the first Olympic stadium, the gate of Alexander the Great, the Agean Sea was behind us and all the beautiful homes whose rooftops were literally glistening in the sunlight. It felt like we walked for miles and miles and miles that day to get to all the sites. I think the fact that I have just been to Rome a week and a half before Greece, all the ruins and ancient sites kind of meshed together. I kept calling Athens, Rome and I think my brain was on ancient ruin overdrive. We walked around all the shops and neighborhood markets and we found this amazing, praise worthy establishment located on the corner of Matistraki…..it made GYYYYYYYYYYYROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am obsessed with Gyros. They are the best tasting thing on the planet, next to Gelatto, which, sidebar, Greece had none. I was very sad, needless to say, and the ice cream I did taste was so horrible I threw it away. So if you go to Greece, avoid the ice cream and buy thousands of Gyros. In Greece I realized even more how amazing of a bargainer I am. I talked down every single thing that I bought in Greece that wasn’t a gyro. I paid full price for nothing. I am an amazing negotiator. Thanks Greece for helping me to realize that. Ok so lets talk briefly about the Greek language, not so much the language, which is not thaaaaat hard to grasp, buuuut the LETTERS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD! They still use the Greek letters and language from 4000 years ago. I am not exaggerating. It was so difficult to read. But I worked it out.
The next day I went to Corinth which was honestly the best day I have had at Semester at Sea. It was the most random thing for me to go but I took some advice I got and found my way there. I had to catch the metro to Athens from Pireaus, then from Athens a train to some other place then another hour train to Corinth, then a bus to Ancient Corinth. But it was so worth it. When I got to ancient Corinth it was so peaceful. It was so completely off the beaten path. I did not see any tourists and I definitely didn’t see Semester at Sea people. The only people that I saw when I got to the ancient sites which had the Temple of Apollo and all these artifacts, was one family from Sweden and that’s it. No one was there. I loved it. It was the nicest, most memorable cultural experience I have ever had. I ate at this aaaaaaamazing restaurant and had chicken souvlaki dish. Im not even going to waste my time and try to describe the meal I ate. It was that good. Then I walked around the little shops and just talked to all the people. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to know where I was from and how I liked Greece. Another side bar, very few people that I have had conversations with in Europe think I’m American. Its so funny. Here is a God’s honest list of all the ethnicities I have gotten while being in the Mediterranean: Spanish (from Spain), Swedish, Portuguese, Dominican, Turkish, Moroccan, Canadian…?, South American, and my favorite, Brazilian. I’m leaving something out but these are the ones I can remember. As soon as I finally tell them I’m American they don’t believe me. And the next thing they yell is “BARACK OBAAAMAAA”!!! I think its so cool. But then it hits me that these people all the way on the other side of the ocean know who my president is and I sadly, but honestly, don’t even know what type of governmental structure they have. It is mind blowing. You don’t realize how much of an impact America has in the world until you are outside of it. I am actually embarrassed about my ignorance on a lot of things in the world. We are so focused on ourselves that we neglect the issues of the world unless is has to do with money or some mundane event that has no significance to anything. It is a problem that the Greeks no Barack Obama and I don’t know whether they have a president or a prime minister. Since I’m on the topic of my cultural experiences, which I haven’t really talked about much on my little blog, I have noticed that I get treated very differently in these countries than some of my friends on the ship that are darker skinned or even the ones who have that “All American” blonde hair, blue eyes look. Its very interesting to observe how people change the way they treat others depending on where in the world they think you are from. I, fortunately and unfortunately, get treated way better and have encountered a super lower level of racism, rudeness, or any other negative thing that comes with being a tourist, in comparison to my friends who seem to, visually, fit into a stereotypical box that some of these Europeans have made important. I realize that it is obviously because of the way I look, the color of my skin and my hair and my facial features, that I can “pass” for a lot of things that I am not, but it is crazy how looking a certain way, dressing in certain clothes, being a certain skin color really dictates how a group of people treat you. I have learned that a lot of issues we see in American are just as prevalent over here, if not worse. I talk about social constructs and issues dealing with race, class and gender as well as the global impact of the American culture in the world everyday single day in class so I really don’t want to write too much more about it on here. So I digress. Back to Greece. I went a gorgeous island about an hour off the coast of Pireaus, the water was clear for miles and it was waist deep and the perfect temperature. I didn’t want to leave but unfortunately, we had to. I don’t really know how to describe what I experience while I’ve been here. It is just too much to put into words. Everything is so enlightening. I am learning so much in ways I never thought I could and from people, places and things that I only dreamed and imagined coming in contact with. I loved Greece. I know I will be back, just how I know I’ll be back to all the countries I have visited. I didn’t get to see a lot of the places that I wanted to while in Greece but I honestly don’t even care because that just leaves me with something to look forward to the next time around. I really need to stop writing these blogs so late because I get so tired! I’m actually in Turkey right now. Well in the waters off the coast of Turkey. I am waking up at 5 in the morning…in four hours to watch us pull into Istanbul. I am so completely excited I cant describe it. I am so ready for a change in culture. Tomorrow will be the official shift between the Western world and the “other” world. We will no longer be in Christian dominated society. The things that, while being European, are very much standard ways of living for us Americans, will be completely different in the last four countries of this voyage. I cant wait to truly truly experience something so different than what I’m used to. Greek and Italy and Spain and especially Croatia were so amazing and so beautiful but I am so ready for Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt and Morocco. Im going to sleep now. I have to wake up soon and watch the sunrise over the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey….doesn’t that just sound out of this world????
GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECE! Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. This country is gorgeous. The first day in Greece, I went to Athens to see the Acropolis. Honestly, the Acropolis was not that great to see. The experience in itself was remarkable but the whole area was under reconstruction. There was scaffolding everywhere and it was the hottest day of the year in Greece that day. Of course the hottest day of the year would be the day that we decide to go the treeless, shade less waterless Acropolis. But the view from the top of the mountain was gorgeous and literally breathtaking. I saw the first Olympic stadium, the gate of Alexander the Great, the Agean Sea was behind us and all the beautiful homes whose rooftops were literally glistening in the sunlight. It felt like we walked for miles and miles and miles that day to get to all the sites. I think the fact that I have just been to Rome a week and a half before Greece, all the ruins and ancient sites kind of meshed together. I kept calling Athens, Rome and I think my brain was on ancient ruin overdrive. We walked around all the shops and neighborhood markets and we found this amazing, praise worthy establishment located on the corner of Matistraki…..it made GYYYYYYYYYYYROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am obsessed with Gyros. They are the best tasting thing on the planet, next to Gelatto, which, sidebar, Greece had none. I was very sad, needless to say, and the ice cream I did taste was so horrible I threw it away. So if you go to Greece, avoid the ice cream and buy thousands of Gyros. In Greece I realized even more how amazing of a bargainer I am. I talked down every single thing that I bought in Greece that wasn’t a gyro. I paid full price for nothing. I am an amazing negotiator. Thanks Greece for helping me to realize that. Ok so lets talk briefly about the Greek language, not so much the language, which is not thaaaaat hard to grasp, buuuut the LETTERS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD! They still use the Greek letters and language from 4000 years ago. I am not exaggerating. It was so difficult to read. But I worked it out.
The next day I went to Corinth which was honestly the best day I have had at Semester at Sea. It was the most random thing for me to go but I took some advice I got and found my way there. I had to catch the metro to Athens from Pireaus, then from Athens a train to some other place then another hour train to Corinth, then a bus to Ancient Corinth. But it was so worth it. When I got to ancient Corinth it was so peaceful. It was so completely off the beaten path. I did not see any tourists and I definitely didn’t see Semester at Sea people. The only people that I saw when I got to the ancient sites which had the Temple of Apollo and all these artifacts, was one family from Sweden and that’s it. No one was there. I loved it. It was the nicest, most memorable cultural experience I have ever had. I ate at this aaaaaaamazing restaurant and had chicken souvlaki dish. Im not even going to waste my time and try to describe the meal I ate. It was that good. Then I walked around the little shops and just talked to all the people. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to know where I was from and how I liked Greece. Another side bar, very few people that I have had conversations with in Europe think I’m American. Its so funny. Here is a God’s honest list of all the ethnicities I have gotten while being in the Mediterranean: Spanish (from Spain), Swedish, Portuguese, Dominican, Turkish, Moroccan, Canadian…?, South American, and my favorite, Brazilian. I’m leaving something out but these are the ones I can remember. As soon as I finally tell them I’m American they don’t believe me. And the next thing they yell is “BARACK OBAAAMAAA”!!! I think its so cool. But then it hits me that these people all the way on the other side of the ocean know who my president is and I sadly, but honestly, don’t even know what type of governmental structure they have. It is mind blowing. You don’t realize how much of an impact America has in the world until you are outside of it. I am actually embarrassed about my ignorance on a lot of things in the world. We are so focused on ourselves that we neglect the issues of the world unless is has to do with money or some mundane event that has no significance to anything. It is a problem that the Greeks no Barack Obama and I don’t know whether they have a president or a prime minister. Since I’m on the topic of my cultural experiences, which I haven’t really talked about much on my little blog, I have noticed that I get treated very differently in these countries than some of my friends on the ship that are darker skinned or even the ones who have that “All American” blonde hair, blue eyes look. Its very interesting to observe how people change the way they treat others depending on where in the world they think you are from. I, fortunately and unfortunately, get treated way better and have encountered a super lower level of racism, rudeness, or any other negative thing that comes with being a tourist, in comparison to my friends who seem to, visually, fit into a stereotypical box that some of these Europeans have made important. I realize that it is obviously because of the way I look, the color of my skin and my hair and my facial features, that I can “pass” for a lot of things that I am not, but it is crazy how looking a certain way, dressing in certain clothes, being a certain skin color really dictates how a group of people treat you. I have learned that a lot of issues we see in American are just as prevalent over here, if not worse. I talk about social constructs and issues dealing with race, class and gender as well as the global impact of the American culture in the world everyday single day in class so I really don’t want to write too much more about it on here. So I digress. Back to Greece. I went a gorgeous island about an hour off the coast of Pireaus, the water was clear for miles and it was waist deep and the perfect temperature. I didn’t want to leave but unfortunately, we had to. I don’t really know how to describe what I experience while I’ve been here. It is just too much to put into words. Everything is so enlightening. I am learning so much in ways I never thought I could and from people, places and things that I only dreamed and imagined coming in contact with. I loved Greece. I know I will be back, just how I know I’ll be back to all the countries I have visited. I didn’t get to see a lot of the places that I wanted to while in Greece but I honestly don’t even care because that just leaves me with something to look forward to the next time around. I really need to stop writing these blogs so late because I get so tired! I’m actually in Turkey right now. Well in the waters off the coast of Turkey. I am waking up at 5 in the morning…in four hours to watch us pull into Istanbul. I am so completely excited I cant describe it. I am so ready for a change in culture. Tomorrow will be the official shift between the Western world and the “other” world. We will no longer be in Christian dominated society. The things that, while being European, are very much standard ways of living for us Americans, will be completely different in the last four countries of this voyage. I cant wait to truly truly experience something so different than what I’m used to. Greek and Italy and Spain and especially Croatia were so amazing and so beautiful but I am so ready for Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt and Morocco. Im going to sleep now. I have to wake up soon and watch the sunrise over the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey….doesn’t that just sound out of this world????
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
