Wow… it has been quite a while since I ended that last blog- WOW! You’ll have to bear with me because I don’t know if I’ll really be able to remember most of the griddy details. Its been CRAZY on this ship with very little time to do school work never mind working through all of the events we witness in each port. I hope some of you managed to catch up with my blog in the past few weeks, though I’m sorry to say this is another long one- it might just be easier to copy and paste into a word document J Overall I’m having a great time. I’m sure my family has been worried about me since I’m no longer on top of things, but life happens on this ship and things like school work unfortunately have top priority. Alright on with the griddy details.
Day B @ SEA – April 7th
Global Studies was mainly geered towards the business majors and discussed the different policies and other information for those that are interested in starting a partnership in Vietnam in the future. Kinda boring for those that are like myself, and are not focusing on business, though it was an educational experience as always. The rest of the day was pretty usual. I’m sure I napped and read more of Wild Swans. I don’t remember too much more about that day, but hopefully some stuff will come back to me
DAY A @ SEA/ EASTER SUNDAY!
So Christina and I woke up for Easter Sunday Mass in the Union with Archbishop presiding over the mass. It was an awesome (see Coreen- I can try to change up my vocab) and on a scale of 1-5 I mean it was about a 4 on the awesome rector scale. It would have been a 5 had most of the non-christian people not been there (they were a little disrespectful at times) and the words were posted a little better. Only the first few rows could actually see all of the words to the songs and everything so I missed out on a lot. I did however surprise myself with the amount that I actually remembered about Mass and all of the prayers since I was able to recite most of them pretty well. The mass was more of an Episcopalian than a Roman Catholic because it was modern day language instead of with all the thee’s and thou’s. Overall though I really enjoyed the mass and I was really glad that I was able to partake in it. After the mass they invited everyone to take a red carnation and follow the procession to the 4th aft deck to throw the flower into the water. It was another unbelievable experience. After throwing my flower in, I said goodbye to my friends and headed to class. Yes that’s right I had class on Easter. I guess we all have to make sacrifices and having class on my religious holiday is one of them. Then again its not like I had to go visit family. Directing was the first set of 2nd showings. It was a little nerve racking because it was quite good and definitely raised the bar for my actors. Global Studies was alright, lectured on Vietnam and current issues in Vietnam. Then I continued reading Wild Swans which has proven to be an eye opening book. I loved reading it and analyzing it. But anyways, In critical Issues we had a Q&A with the guest Lecturer for Vietnam. I was able to hear his stories about how the “American War” ruined his family since they were on both sides (much like our civil war). And his opinions on Mao and how no one talks bad about him, how the books that give any indication to a negative viewpoint is banned. It was just incredible to hear about his life growing up in this “Socialist” world. Again- incredible. After the Q & A I read more of Wild Swans which again is phenomenal and I recommend to anyone who wants to actually learn about the Culture Revolution and Communist China in general. After dinner was Ambassador’s ball meeting, which yet again no one bought anything new. So now we are running out of ports to buy things and not even the heads of the committee are leading by example. It makes me sad to know that this is supposed to be our “prom” and yet nothing is really organized. I mean I’m sure it will come out great, but the process to get to greatness is anything but organized. A few select people will rise above and actually make the ambassador’s ball a fun thing, or at least one can hope. More on this later on in the blog however… After the meeting we had Pre-Port both cultural and logistical for Vietnam. It was interesting.. if I remember correctly a few students stood up and did raps in order to tell us everything we needed to know. It was neat, a nice change and parts were pretty amusing. Of course the entire time I was just thinking about how in 12 hours I would be seeing Christine and my Mom and how I just couldn’t wait at all for it. After Pre-port, my “parents” had an egg hunt for all us kids. I only found 3 of the 29 eggs, but I didn’t mind because it was more the sport of it then anything- I knew my mom and sister were bringing me my own batch of easter candy and couldn’t wait! After my “brothers and sisters” left, I told my parents I would be right back with all my sleeping stuff. A while back they offered to let us sleep on their deck at night and I was taking advantage of it because I knew I wouldn’t get up in time if I wasn’t outside or at least in atmosphere where I can’t deny it. So Christina and I grabbed our blankets and headed upstairs and went to sleep outside, I was exhausted so I went right out but I kept waking up every hour because I was so anxious about seeing my family! (Awww I know…)
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!
My “parents” woke me up at 6:30 to watch the view. It was gorgeous, there were tons of these small boats that I would have sworn were seconds away from capsizing because they were a little too close to us. But thankfully nothing happened to any of them. I took tons of pictures of the rice paddies and all of the scenery. It was just like all of the Vietnam movies- very surreal and very nerve wracking for someone who was trying to be patient! After taking tons of pictures and the view not looking like it would change anytime soon, Christina and I grabbed out overnight stuff and went back to the room. We met Katie for breakfast and towards the end of breakfast we noticed the scenery was starting to change. So I went down to my room showered and got all ready for the day and then bolted upstairs where I was able to see the beginnings of Ho Chi Minh city come into view. It was again surreally beautiful, as if I stepped out onto a movie set. Much like every other port before it and like every port after it, it took my breath away. I waited patiently for the piers to appear and then I held my breath at every turn of the river in hopes that I would see the pier with all the “Americans” on it. And sure enough, since there were only a handful of us in the front, I was the first to see the “American” pier with a crowd of parents complete with tour busses. The busses really tipped us off and then with the zoom action of a friend’s camera we received confirmation that these people were indeed not a part of the indigenous people. Then came the search, as soon as the camera was able to start to distinguish people I went on a search to see if I could see my mom and Chris. One swipe through the crowd- no luck. I was ready to cry because I assumed they missed the bus (you know.. worse case scenario and really I wouldn’t have put it past them… the two of them together is usually a negative sign if you need them to be somewhere. Two words: New Haven. And if you don’t remember that- Yale. Bloomer. Newspaper. Getting lost for 4 hours on our way home- it was still in our state!) So either way, before I managed to lose it I convinced myself that I didn’t look hard enough and to try again. Sure enough, I had a glimpse of Christine. But I couldn’t figure out if it was just my mind wanting to see her or if it really was here. I took another look and decided it was definitely her and found my mom nearby. I was so excited. They found me and started waving and jumping up and down and that was when I lost it! I was so excited to see them, plus the emotion of this voyage in general, and then of course knowing that I was still going to be on this ship for another month without them just caught me off guard. The ship started to turn and so I ran over to the other side. My “auntie erin” was “saving my spot for me.” And I showed her where my family was waiting on the dock. My “parents” came over and with their binoculars I also pointed them out. My parents informed me they were extremely excited to meet my real mom and sister. I waited FOREVER on the deck until finally all of the parents were going back onto the buses (something about heat exhaustion, fainting, previous semester…) So I went back inside to wait to go through the line for my passport. Finally the Mediterrean Sea was called and I got in line. As always the 600 + line took forever to go through and in the midst of waiting in line they made another announcement about the parents, unfortunately I was surrounded by yelling and screaming, all from excitement, and didn’t catch the bulk of the message so I was really worried that I was going to miss out on something big. As soon as I was certified and Vietnam authority knew that I was in fact me and okay to get off in Vietnam I ran back out on to the 7th deck to see if my mom and sister were still there. They were and in fact they were just starting to formally get in line to board the ship. I waited for them to get into the gangway and ran down to the second deck (As I said, I was a little excited and filled with immense anticipation and joy). When they walked through the door I gave them both big hugs and then dragged them up to the 5th deck dining hall to make sure they didn’t need any other information. My “parents” were there so they were briefly able to meet each other. Christine and my mom of course kept introducing me to all of their new friends and their children (of which most I had never met and even now the only one I talk to is Logan and only when we get the chance!) Anyways, we sat down and had some lunch. It was probably in that moment that I realized how much I really wanted them both to be there and how much I really appreciated their efforts in getting there. And I also realized of course, how much I miss home. Not that I don’t LOVE it here, because this trip has been everything I wanted and so much more. I just wish that I could take a few breaks from ship life because life on here is very overwhelming ever minute of the day. Its non-stop and much more exhausting then my usual semester of 2 jobs, school full-time and stage managing. And I thought I didn’t have “me and relaxation time then”, pffft now is nothing. I don’t have privacy never mind “me time”. And gain. Not that I mind, this is an amazing sacrifice and privacy is a small price to pay but I can never really come to grips with anything that I’m doing or seeing because I don’t have any uninterrupted time to just sit, vedge, and think or write or even read.
Later on: It would be unfair to my writing to even attempt to figure out what wave length I was on, so now that at least a week has passed since I wrote in this thing, I thought I would start fresh since the last few sentences wasn’t actually referring to Vietnam in the least. After lunch, I gave the tour of the ship to my sister and my mom and the entire time all I could think was “Wow this is so cool that I get to show them the exact lifestyle I’ve been living in the past month and a half. And not just the ship, but also to experience Vietnam with them! And really when it comes down to it, I’m just SO glad to see them”. So we started the tour on the 7th deck, explored the pool area and then the dining areas, the pool bar and of course the classrooms. We ended in the my cabin room which was “not as small as we thought” which was exactly how I felt when I first saw my cabin and still feel that way today- 2 days before I actually get off this ship. I gave them their gifts that I had acquired thus far, my sister her necklace and my mom got her mug to take to work and all her Christmas ornaments. I hope they actually like them! I tried really hard to get things that they would like and enjoy… After awhile my mom informed us that she was going to fall asleep if she didn’t get some coffee so we trooped back to the dining hall to get some coffee, they had already closed up shop so we had to go up to the 7th deck, and then my mom wanted ice so I had to go up to the 6th deck and after getting her caffeine she was ready to go explore Vietnam. The entire day was pretty surreal because here I had my sister and my mom WITH me in a foreign country. This trip in general was pretty wild to think about, to see ocean on all four sides with no sign of land or life anywhere other than the people who are sharing this journey with me and the occasional dolphin or whales (yep that’s right!) So we took the shuttle out to town and after getting dropped off tried to find an atm, found one and after taking out some money started walking around Vietnam. We basically started wondering, telling stories, asking questions and pretty much meandering. I was HAPPY! I was so much in my glory, I can’t even tell you. It was so nice to have family there and it was just so nice to be able to share this with someone back home. We ended up stumbling on the Rex hotel which was where the American Military was located to strategize during the Vietnam War. The desk inside informed us that we had to go “out side” which later we realized she meant “other side” but because of the accent we didn’t get it. So we walked away disappointed and decided to look for some tailors. We walked a few blocks and saw a bunch but didn’t really go in but ended up at the big market so we went and walked around. The women working in the market were pretty rude and I’ve heard from a lot of my friends that they would scream “too big” to them and scare them off. Well when they said that to my mom I just about lost it. All I wanted to do was cry and sob and as funny as it sounds protect here. Here I had dragged my mother half way across the world just to see me and they were telling her that she was too big. She already doesn’t know, understand nor can she really fathom how SPECIAL she is and to just get all of this negative feedback from the twig people of Vietnam just got me so angry. And here a month and a half later I already have tears in my eyes just thinking about EXACTLY how I felt that day. I just wanted to yell at them so much! I just can’t even explain how much it hurt me to watch them hurt me. And I really think it was in that moment that I realized how much more I appreciate the kindness this world has to offer and how much I hate the people that try to bring down everyone else. After walking around the market we decided to head back to the shuttle which would hopefully take us back to the hotel, which as it turned out only returned to the ship. So since we now had a half hour to kill before the shuttle went back out, I ran inside and dropped off a few things and bought a few bottles of water since we all were dehydrated at this point. After getting dropped back off in the center of town we decided to find someplace to eat dinner and followed our map to get to the Lemongrass Restaurant where we ordered a bottle of wine to celebrate my big 21st birthday! The food was amazing, the wine was even better, overall a lovely experience which I am quite happy to say I was able to share with my family! After our awesome meal (on a scale of 1-10 it would be an awesome 9 by the way) we walked back to the hotel, dropped off our stuff and Chris and I decided to go walk around some more while my mom went to go listen to the band in the lobby. It was especially nice to spend some alone time with my sister, I was really excited about this since we don’t usually get a chance to chat since she is Guam and I live in CT, so overall I was happy. We checked a few of the tailors to find out if I could get capris made out of the material and then asked about dresses. On our walk back to the hotel we stopped at the Rex for some food. I had mac and cheese and it was SOOO freakin good. Gosh I can’t wait to go back to the states for some food! TO make my own meal at this point would be glorious. After hanging out at the rex for a while we went back to the hotel and called it a night.
The next morning, my sister and mom had breakfast in the lobby and stole a few treats for me to enjoy on the bus ride to get back to the ship to collect the students for the day’s trip. At the ship I got off to find out if I needed to do anything special and waited in the union for an answer and basically didn’t get one. So That moment just reassured the fact that the field office really doesn’t know anything more then they do and that their sole purpose is to keep things moving on port days. I rejoined my family on the “party bus” as it was fondly nicknamed by one of the other crazy parents on the trip. The drive to go visit the temple was an extremely long one, with lots of photo moments. Overall I just enjoyed the comforts of family the entire time, shared more stories, took a few naps, and overall was quite content. At the temple we walked through and then went to the second floor so the contingents could begin the service. A lot of people took pictures of the building and the people and I have to admit I felt really bad about participating, afterall these people are in their religious place trying to connect with their higher power and there are hundreds of people taking tons of pictures of them praying. After thinking about it I realized that this takes place everywhere you go. I still feel guilty about interrupting such a religious pastime, but now I take it with a grain of salt. After all how many of entered and watched a service in New York’s cathedral (St pats?) and lets face it I’m sure photography is second nature in the Vatican! So it made me feel a little better knowing that all religious sects were getting the same tourist attraction. I more so felt bad for the participants then the church itself. I don’t know how I would feel if someone was taking pictures of me in the middle of a mass. I don’t think I would be very happy or comfortable for that matter! It was interesting though to see the temple and the lunch that followed it wasn’t half bad either. Watermelon (if I remember correctly) was the desert and it was quite delicious. Not nearly as good of a meal as Lemongrass, but still a pretty good meal. After lunch we headed back to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Here it was amazing (probably an 8 on the scale of things, though more so a 9 for the historical importance) place. We watched an English version of a video that basically condemned the American Army for killing, abusing and torturing its civilians and soldiers and called their own army heroes. I found this extremely interesting since here in the U.S. we are guilty of the same propaganda. It was definitely one of those eye opening moments where you just can’t help but be amazed. After the video we started crawling down the tunnels which was also pretty interesting. The entire time, all I could think about was how these were real tunnels, once used in war to kill our uncles, fathers, their friends and cousins are now tourist attractions. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, after all the main way of showing and telling people of an important historical moment is showing them exactly where it happened. The preservation of places like Auschwitz is why people can’t deny the holocaust, and here is another historical lesson in the process of prevention. Guerilla Warfare isn’t pretty, but neither is entering a war that isn’t yours to fight. The tour took us through several tunnels and rooms as well as showing us certain key factors- the tiny air holes in rocks to allow them to breathe or the traps that were created to kill even more American soldiers. After the tour we walked to the monument that holds all of the names of the people who were killed during the Vietnam War. The pictures that decorated the outside were also eye opening because they were graphic pictures of American soldiers killing, torturing, abusing civilians and soldiers alike. Or they painted heroes defeating the enemy soldiers. After our return to the city, I unfortunately don’t remember too much. I believe the basics of it was going to the ship to pick up the souvenirs that I had laid aside for my mom to bring back to the states and then walking back to the hotel and passing out. This also may have been the night my sister and I headed out to find the tailor, but again its been a month so you will have to forgive me, the main ideas and most profound events I promise are included here in this blog J.
A leisurely breakfast was the main goal of the morning and we slowly made our way out the door around 11am. We had just enough time to make it to the Tailor of our choice. I explained my capris and then my sister and I ordered a similar dress in different colors and my sister also had one? Other dress made ( I don’t remember if it was one or two). After the tailor we went back to the ship for lunch (nothing like a free meal) And met up with the rest of the parents and students for the School for the deaf and handicap orphanage. We received little gifts to give out to the kids while we were at each destination and then headed to the busses to leave. First was the school for the deaf was a pretty neat place. We were split up into a bunch of different groups and then we had the ability to go play and chat with the kids. My family and I had a group of older children, around 12, I believe because I remember thinking “wow this around my niece’s age” which was something I found most striking because Jessica was much more… mature? Serious? Seemed older? Then these kids to. In fact this is a trait I found across the board in most of the countries we have been to which is another fascinating fact for me to delve into at my return to the states. The students sat giggling and whispering, they seemed vulnerable while asking us our ages, addresses and names. Explaining who we were “sister” “Mother” “friend”. It was another incredible experience that I would never have had. The school also makes tons of cards that they sell in order to have some sort of income to help with financial aid for students to come to their school. After the school of the deaf we went to an orphanage for the physically and mentally handicapped. This was heartbreaking. As we walked through the building into the rooms where 18 year old children have been bed ridden their whole lives, and then crossed into the rooms where there are more active children that occasionally can be removed from their crib-like beds. And continued on to the active children that can run and jump and sort of interact with people, it was heartbreaking to not know if grasping or stroking a child’s hand in hope of some response would make a difference. To look and them and seem so helpless. By all means I know that the U.S. has the exact same problems but if this just opens a few more eyes then just maybe a positive solution can evolve. And I don’t mean send all of your extra wages there in hopes of improving the situation, I mean other alternatives. Educating the masses, that sort of thing. After donating a few more items, we trooped back onto the bus to head out to the ship and then to the hotel. I believe we stopped at the hotel before heading over to the Vietnamese House for dinner which was another phenomenal meal (though I personally enjoyed the Lemongrass more…) Another bottle of wine later and the three of us left giggling to head back to the hotel. In my outline of this trip I have that Chris and I head back out, and I think this time we just walked a little ways around the area to look at a few shops and of course more conversation. We headed back to the hotel and got lost, though eventually found the hotel. Once at the hotel we checked out the pool which was the perfect oasis! It was beautiful though minutes away from closing. When we returned to the room my mom was passed out. So we showered and went to bed!
Thursday Morning
Another leisurely breakfast was in store for us as well as a day of shopping! We headed back towards the market and that’s where we spent most of our time (and money!). I checked out a lot of the prices of the things that I wanted. Towards the end of our time at the market, a man was selling postcards. He was the cutest thing ever and had the jolliest personality so we bought some postcards and got a picture with him which I’m really excited about! He was just, a fine example of a happy person which is always an uplifting moment. Then we headed over to the history museum- damn what a WALK! My legs were KILLING me and I was hot. Chris and I had to keep slowing down because my mom kept stopping to drink her water (she was a bit dehydrated). When we finally got to the history museum, we had about twenty minutes to kill before the next show so we checked out the exhibits. They were pretty neat, one room held a coffin and a dead preserved body in a glass case. And there were tons of Buddha’s and other religious artifacts. One room even specialized in Buddhism in several nearby countries and the history of Buddhism. We managed to make our way through the entire museum and then took a seat for the water puppet show which was REALLY neat. I know I definitely enjoyed it. There were some crazy things that the actors could do. The cat was able to jump really high and I at least didn’t notice any other noticeable ways of controlling the puppet aside from the pole. At the end of the show they all came out and bowed a few times and left. Unfortunately one of the puppets broke during our performance so I only hope they checked it and found the missing piece. After leaving we were debating on if we should check out the huge zoo that was next door or head back to town. We ended up taking a taxis to the Notre Dame cathedral took some quick pictures of inside- they had neon Mother Mary’s it was pretty cool. Another example of taking pictures in a religious place. I bought my postage from Vietnam (wow it was EXPENSIVE!) and then we took a few pictures of the statue in front of the Notre Dame as well as the school kids playing cricket- another really neat thing to see! We walked to the Rex Hotel and we found the right way to go in and had a few snacks on the top floor. It was gorgeous though pricier then the places below. We headed back to the hotel after we chatted and finished our snacks to shower and get ready for dinner. We stopped by the tailor shop only to find that my capris weren’t lined in the inside, so after arguing with them that they had said that it would be lined and I would not pay more money, they gave in and send my capris back upstairs informing us several times that they would see us the next day with our dresses and finished capris. I was extremely disappointed though thankful that I had another day for them to perfect my capris. We headed to the ship to meet up with my friends only to find none of them there. I can’t tell you how angry I was. I guess angry is the wrong way but it’s the easiest way to explain. I mean I had made these plans with them and they weren’t there. I loved having my family there but another important part for me was them meeting the friends that I had acquired on this trip. As it turned out, Caitlin had to bring her parents to the airport, Katie was too tired from Cambodia (understandable), Liz had just gotten back from her trip and Julie and Christina were stuck outside in a gigantic line. So around 8:45 we finally headed out after mass chaos of trying to figure everything out. I left feeling much better, (my first thought was my friends were blowing me off- I know pessimist in me, but I had made these friends sound great and now they didn’t show up—what was I to think?) and we headed to the Lemongrass since their food was awesome. Unfortunately they were too slammed and their kitchen was about to close. So we headed to the Vietnamese House which was open and willing to have us. We ordered tons of meals to share and at first it was kind of awkward but got dramatically better as the night went on. After dinner we decided to get massages, but the only place that was open was a foot massage and as it turns out my foot still wasn’t (isn’t) healed and I wasn’t about to openly allow pain on poor toe! I told them I wouldn’t mind hanging out while they got it done but the only packages the place ordered was for an hour and wouldn’t make it shorter. So we left and stood outside talked for a really long time. My friends were going to go head over to the night market. I felt bad but I was exhausted. I wanted my sister to go, but I kind of figured she wouldn’t go without me and that just made me feel worse. As it turned out they walked over just in time for the night market to close so they didn’t get to do much shopping. After splitting, chris, my mom and I headed to the hotel, showered and went to bed- It had been a LONG day!
Friday- D-Day L (departure….)
Early breakfast, it was pretty good, though I thought we were going to miss the bus, I was scared. As it turned out there was a second bus gathering parents and we made that one. So we headed to the ship to pick up more students to go to the Mekong Delta for the day. It was a long drive over to the first temple which was a much smaller version of the one we saw on the way to the Cho Chi Tunnels. And then we went to the market where we made the smartest purchase ever- rice hats! Although we didn’t get a great deal on them… they were worth it because they really kept the sun off on the water. Our bus continued on the way to the Mekong Delta. We boarded these boats and headed to one island were we disembarked. After a short walk we were entertained by live music while enjoying fresh fruits. My mom bought a clapper which was pretty neat, I can’t wait to remember all of our purchases, mainly because they have SO many memories attached to them. Then we got into canoes and two natives paddled us a really long time through the canals to meet back up into our boats. It was crazy on the canoes because it looked JUST like the movies. Brown water, the water plants surrounding you, the curves. The smell the look, it was overwhelming. This was the first of many that about all I can say is rent a movie- its exactly what it looks like. So after boarding another boat we headed to another island where we had tea which was excellent and had samples of coconut taffy which my mom bought a lot of. I also convinced her to buy banana chips which I can’t wait to eat when I get back to the states. Another boat ride brought us to our lunch. Lunch was pretty insane- fish- still on the bone in its COMPLETE form (including the head, scales, everything) on a stick was one of our first courses. And how could we forget the octopus soup- yep octopus in its entirety these tiny legs sprouting everywhere. Lol gosh what a great time. On the walk to lunch I realized there was a fork in the road- one led to this nice paved bridge, and another was filled with rocks and pumps. Dirt and overall looking pretty shabby. I really hope that it came out because it has potential to be really cool. After lunch we took the boats back to the busses and headed back to the ship. We arrived late which I was really disappointed about. We headed straight to the market to get last minute items. I got all my souvenirs (umbrellas and fans for the kids, my two Vietnamese oufits, etc. ) and then headed over to the Tailor to take a look at the capris and dresses. My capris were ready and were excellent. I was extremely excited. By the way I have had TONS of compliments for them since then while wearing them on the ship and can’t wait to have the most original capris ever. And our dresses weren’t even started. Yep that’s right. No dress for Jenn. I was livid. I was so upset because I really wanted a dress. I know that I had acted like it was no big deal at the beginning but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it was something that I really wanted. After demanding my money back and finalizing my sisters plans to get the dresses EARLY the next morning, we headed to the hotel to pick up my stuff to head to the ship. We stopped at Gloria Jeans for coffee and cheesecake which was amazing after having such a letdown. And then we headed to the ship to start saying goodbyes. The entire time I was in line, slowly inching myself closer to the ship and farther from my family the more I could feel the lump in my throat grow and the tears inch closer to crawling down my cheeks. I was heartbroken. I had just enjoyed this awesome week and wasn’t ready to say goodbye again. Add on severe disappointment, I wasn’t doing so well. At this point all I could think I have another month and half to go to see my mom which is long enough, but who knows when I’ll see my sister again. I was so upset. I just enjoyed having family with me and to now have them ripped once again away from me I just didn’t know what to do. I ran to my room, lost it, and when Christina came in I grabbed my landing card to go to pursers desk to drop it off and headed to the 7th deck. I stood there for a really long time, I tried to yell a few times, but my voice was pretty shot since at that point I was basically sobbing. I watched my family board the shuttle to head back to the city and I was just heartbroken wishing they would just look up and see me waving like crazy trying to get there attention, alas no luck. So I continued to stand at the railing for at least another 10 minutes until I got it through my head that they were not actually coming back for one more goodbye and they considered me gone. And then I sank down on the deck and just cried for another half hour or so because again I was quite upset of having my family leave. I just wanted to continue the trip and have them come along. After I managed to calm down, I headed back to my room and chatted with Christina for a little while and then passed out.
Saturday Morning
Since the parents were in Vietnam, the authorities decided we would stay until 9am before leaving so then the parents could say goodbye to us. At 8am I woke up and I could just not go back to sleep. So I finally decided to get ready for global studies. I put on my new capris and washed my face. I figured I would go up to the 7th deck to go and watch the other students say goodbye to the parents that actually showed up, knowing that my mom and my sister had joined the group going to the War Remnants museum. Well, at about the time I was about to grab my key card, the phone rang- it was Logan calling to say my family was waiting for me outside, they decided not to go out with the group because they were going to where we had gone on Thursday. The dresses my sister got fit like a glove and they had mine finished for half the price and were going to pick it up later on in the day. At 9:10am they started to pull the ship away and I pretty much got one more “I love you” “can’t wait to see you again” before they were a little too far away to hear. Thankfully it was just in time for Global Studies, otherwise I probably would have been glued to that pole for the rest of the day crying again, and instead had something to concentrate on which was an intro to china including communism and the Tiananmen Square Riots and a short clip from the movie “tank man”. After a profound Global Studies I returned to my room where I continued reading Wild Swans and began writing my paper. I couldn’t concentrate at all during Energy Technology and Society which we were informed there is a test next class. Quite disappointing! After class I began studying for Global Studies which was NOT fun at all. And then I eventually fell asleep while studying.
My reflection on Vietnam: It was amazing to see my family in another port. I think for the most part my reflections have been mixed in here, or at least my emotions should be pretty obvious at this point, so I won’t dwell too much on it. Needless to say though a few days later I wasted a lot of internet minutes trying to get online only to find out that my mom was robbed the night we said goodbye the first time. She is fine, but had to stay in Vietnam another 4 days in order to get a new passport and exit visa. This news of course just upset me even more then I already was about leaving home though I’m glad that I did hear about it because in Hong Kong I was confronted by a few other parent trip students to make sure my mom was doing okay and made it home alright. As for the culture, astounding, as with each port, I really will never be the same again, here it was for the historic value. A place where the Vietnam War was a crucial part of while our country once again finds itself in a war that shouldn’t have ever happened. More on my feelings of Iraq however when I get to Japan which would be one of the more amazing ports I have visited. Vietnam is definitely a place I would want to bring my children some day. Hopefully when peace has finally taken hold in our country. Well I guess I will post this entry for now. You will get more tomorrow afternoon when I wake up (Its about 2am here…) All I have left to do pack my last minute clothes and my computer and I am all set to go home! Plan for tomorrow- continue writing this blog, layout?, continue writing this blog, picture slideshow of entire trip and lastly bed. J 70 hours and I will be in SAN DIEGO! Amazing…
Also, I hope you can see that this entry was a little difficult to write, afterall my heart is pretty much poured out here, which is another reason why it took so long for me to post this. I hope you enjoyed it. I also think part of me wanted to deny that it already happened cuz then i didn't have too much to look forward to until my "reentry" to the states. Well hope life is great be home soon and this time i'll update sooner! Love you all
Communist Military Guards
Tower in Qindao
Sunrise on way to Qindao China
Beer Bench
One of the Students at Children's Palace
Practicing Karate
Practicing Ballet at Children's Palace
Bridesmaids of a wedding posing for a picture
Ship/ Hong Kong Skyline!
Gross fruit!- but isn't it interesting?
The market- yep thats right, veggies or underware- which will they choose?
Lester and his empty cup of Birds nest soup- not to my liking, very coconuty.
Natural Medicine Shop
One of the 5 wedding pictures we saw taken on our way to lunch
Hong Kong Skyline
More Hong Kong landscape
Better Hong Kong Skyline
Cultural Building? I'm not sure but it was neat
And because I'm a techie dork- the awesome moving light that is a part of the nightly light show!
opera house at night
the girls and mom
mekong delta ride
mom and the disabled
Chris @ the disabled home
Me and my eccentric post card selling friend
History museum. Notice all of the wires- this looks tame
Jenn and Mom!
Workers in the rice paddies
At the temple
Cho Chi Tunnel
Can you find the air holes?
Mom and Chris going down the tunnel.
Vietnam Boat!
Beautiful morning pulling into Vietnam
Small boat in Vietnam
The Ship in Malaysia from the top of the mountain
Gorgeous Sky on our first night there
Supreme Court building through a tinted window. 
The triangle building is the Parliment building
Our shadow! 
The three of us on the monorail!
Penang, Malaysia
The really cool street lights in Malaysia