Brazil.....

the place where Portuguese is spoken but Spanish is understood. And boy-oh-boy did my little bit of Spanish came in handy!

Here is a recap of my time in Manaus, Brazil

After a long day of sightseeing and shopping in the downtown markets I was tired and ready for dinner. Everyone had been talking about this Samba thing. I was expecting the Samba to be a performance. We heard that they block off the street and that there are performers but it was way more than that. It was an all out celebration, fun-filled, dancing extravaganza! There was a band, think drum line status, and Brazilian dancers everywhere. There were drums, noise makers, tambourines, and whistles. The community came out and so did Semester At Sea (SAS). Everyone danced and had a blast, even our Dean’s and Directors. It was already hot/muggy outside and by the end I, along with everyone else, was dripping with sweat and considered it my cardio workout for the day.

The next day, we decided that we wanted to go to the zoo. After asking the hospitality desk about the zoo and local attractions, we found out that the zoo was closed for the day. Bummer. But we had heard that there was a really nice hotel where some SAS students went and used the pool for free. We decided to try that too and took the city bus to the resort. We got off the bus and walked down a long path to the resort. Walked in and read all of the signs (while acting like we knew exactly what we were doing/where we were going). We walked outside and there was an infinity pool overlooking the water. Gorgeous! Spent the day there and then managed our way back on the city bus to our ship and was in for the night.

Thank you Mom and Mrs. Heely for making me take Spanish 3 even though I cried and was convinced that I would fail. And thank you Sears for giving me the opportunity to practice my numbers while working the cash registers. It really came in handy when negotiating everything from cab fares to bargaining for souvenirs.

Sneak Peak of Brazil

 Taken at the Samba block party aka B-E-S-T event I have ever been to in my life...simply amazing

 On our way to see the meeting of the two waters....some tourist attraction

 On the waterfront getting ready to venture out for the day

 At the port...it smelled soooooo bad

Group Photo downtown

At Last....

Here are the pictures from Dominica...gorgeous to say the least!!

 

Before leaving the port in Dominica...so colorful!

 Fresh off the boat...seriously, first time on land in a longggg time

 Our tour guide was standing right in front of this truck/jeep so we jumped in...then he told us that we were taking a van around town

 The streets of Dominica

 Me and Ian on the bridge after the gorge

 Group Photo

 Before entering the "refreshing" water

 The town

 Just what it says...

 One of the falls that we hiked to in our bare feet and bathing suits

Dough-meh-knee-ca

Dominica is pronounced dough-meh-knee-ca (say it slowly then faster and you’ll get it)
BEAUTIFUL!!! The island is gorgeous…filled with lusciousness. Thirty of us took a “Bumping Tour” with Gary and Levi all around the island. We went to Ti Tou Gorge and swam in a cave. We “hiked” 10 minutes to get to there and had a blast. There were a couple waterfalls and we even stood on the same ledge where a seen in Pirates and the Caribbean was filmed. I jumped off a cliff (slight exaggeration but it was high and my scream was loud). Next we went to Trafalgar Falls which had hot springs. Basically, a hot tub in another cave. The water was still really clear and we definitely sat there for a while just enjoying life and where we are. Our guide Gary asked if anyone was feeling adventurous…ummm YES! So we hiked some (a lot more) more with BARE FEET to a waterfall…over boulders, through a creek, and in rocky pebble stuff. The water there was cold and the view was unbelievable. Gary, our driver, had some blunts and when we got to the waterfall he busted it out and had himself a grand ole time. It was classic. We then had to climb back down. By this time I felt like a monkey and was ready to get back in the hot tub to rinse off. After that we ventured down to Champagne Reef to go snorkeling. When we got there we were starving so we ate at the little sandwich shop. The ONE guy making over 40 sandwiches definitely had a type A personality and insisted on making every sandwich perfect. Resulting in the average wait of 45-60 minutes. HOWEVER, I attract all the locals and had several offers to have my sandwich made in front of others…I finally gave in and basically cut in front of 20 people. Then we went snorkeling…sooo much fun. It was a little hard to breath at first but once I got the hang of it I loved it!

In the Dominica EVERYTHING is closed on Sunday…except when a large cruise comes to town. So they opened a night club for us…how nice, right? I managed to get us a $1 ride to the club, Crazy Coconuts. We thought that there was going to be a cover but there wasn’t. I also managed to get 4 free drinks…don’t worry I gave some to my friends. And you wouldn’t believe it…I also managed to get us a FREE ride back to the ship! AND when our driver dropped us off he gave me a CD from his car haha Perfect! Overall, great first day and great first port. Dominica I will miss you greatly.

My Life !

Shipboard life is exactly how I want my life to be….Amazing! The first couple days we had orientation for the WHOLE DAY=boring. Some people were seasick and had to run out of the union (main auditorium) and the rest of us fell asleep. I know it sounds bad but it’s true. The information was very repetitive because we had to take an honor code online quiz and a drug and alcohol online quiz before coming so they had nothing new to tell us. But, we sat there anyways.

I sat in orientation (knowing it was also being played on the TV down in my cabin) because of a couple reasons..1. I am an RA and felt it necessary to set a good example 2. I love people watching so when I wasn’t dosing off (or resting my eyes as Papa says) I was looking at all of the different people 3. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss anything aka the stories about what people did, said, and how they acted.

After orientation we had sea meetings. Each portion of a deck is labeled as a sea and a color. The deck that I am on is the Baltic Sea and our color is light blue. We have a Sea Olympics towards the end of the voyage and my sea is sure to win! At our sea meeting I am in charge of the meet-n-greet portion so I organized a game to play. Everyone put a name tag in a bag and then I gave everyone the name tag of someone else and they had to find that person, introduce themselves, say one thing that they are excited about and one thing that they are nervous/scared about for this voyage. Everyone loved it and played along.

Life at sea is relaxed…just the way I like it. For breakfast there is usually French toast, pancakes, potatoes, fruit, cereal, bagels, English muffins, an assortment of pastries, and cottage cheese/yogurt. For lunch there is sandwiches, lettuce/mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, sometimes bell peppers, sometimes carrots, two types of dressing, bread rolls, cheese, pasta, potatoes, chicken, fish or beef, and a vegetable dish. For dinner we can usually assume the same as lunch except with dessert…There is also a late night snack which is leftover sandwiches and leftover desserts.

Class. I have four classes on one day and none the other which is nice but tiring. The boat constantly rocks back and forth which puts me to sleep quite easily. I have to seriously focus while in class or else I would be sleep in a minute. I can’t stay awake for a movie or to read a book so you can imagine for difficult it is to stay awake in class. BUT good news…my classes are really cool and I look forward to them!

Boarding time...

I woke up this morning ready to go. Today is the day that I boarded the ship!! Because I have work study (a $4,000.00 scholarship), I get to board a day early. A couple of us work study students met in the lobby of our hotel and walked down the hill, around the corner, through the main street (filled with tourist), and all the way to immigration. When I arrived I was sweaty and sticky but still took a picture haha. We stood in a long line but finally got on. We ate lunch on the outside deck and LOVED it!

Lunch Group

 After our 1/2 mile trek to the long line with luggage...waiting to go through immigration

 Waiting in line

Right before I first saw what luxury really means...the inside is SOOOOO nice!!!

Everyday

We go to the beach every single day. I'm usually not a beach person but something about the clear water and white sand has drawn me in.

 This day it was a little chilly but gorgeous none-the-less!

 Houge, Alex (my roommate the first night), Lilly, me, and Ben

Everyday...SOOO NICE!

Bahama Subs and Salads cont...
One of my friends got her hair braided and the lady who did it gave us the inside scoop of the island. I told her that Bahama Subs and Salads is Subway (and that it's a rip off) and she said that Bahama Subs and Salads was a better deal than Subway. We told her that Subway has $5 footlongs and she said that they were $7!! After a small discussion she sang the $5 footlong song EXCEPT she replaced $5 with $7...couldn't believe it. Here on the island a footlong (select varieties) are truly $7.00!! My conclusion: everything cost more here. 

Ocean View

When booking a hotel I decided on the Palm because I was going to stay by myself and wanted a hotel with a decent amount of people and centrally located (for safety reasons and convenience). The Palm is 5 stories with a ton of rooms. Breakfast is included...major bonus. I had the option of an island view or ocean view ($10 more for ocean view). I'm already low on funds so there was no question about it...island view would suffice.

I arrived at the hotel to check in, paid some fees (island tax, maintenance fee, etc), go to my room and it's great. I opened the curtains and what do you know?... 

I got upgraded to an Ocean View!!!!

 Woke up...looked outside...and had to take a picture thinking that I wouldn't get another chance to catch the view...fortunately, I was wrong.

 See the beach at the bottom...it's right across the street!

 View from the door of my hotel room...not too shabby, either.

 Woke up early due to the sunlight in my room...so pretty!

Bahama Subs and Salads

Ever walk into a restaurant looking for a good meal and leave disappointed? Yep. That happened to me, too! Bahama Subs and Salads = Subway. Without a doubt. Hands down. Same place, different name. Walked in expecting a great sandwich with some Bahamian flavor. Got a Subway footlong. 

Opened the door...smelt like Subway.

Took one glance at the place...looked like Subway.

Browsed the menu...same as Subway.

There were some differences...select footlong sandwiches were $5.99. Big whoop, I'm paying more. They offered coconut bread and jerk chicken. That's it. There you have it. I guess this means that with just a few changes Subway can become something totally different. 

Hello Bahamas!!

After waking up at 4:30am, waiting in a never ending line for security, boarding a plane and sitting on it for an hour before it actually departed, rushing to catch my connecting flight that I had plenty of time to make, sitting next to a man who was a little large for the middle seat (and the guy next to him snored)...I finally made it.

I met up with my roommate for the night (Alex) and at dinner we saw another Semester at Sea (SAS) student (Bruno) and invited him to eat with us...and now we are off to meet up with some other SAS students.

Shocker of the day: Dinner was $22.00 for a burger and drink (non-alcoholic Bahamian fruit punch aka Hawaiian fruit punch with pineapple juice)
Surprise of the day: Free internet at Conch Fritters...Bar and Grill

Peace. Love. Happiness.

It's Official

My Journey has begun! I'm having such mixed emotions. I never would have predicted such a thing. The only way I can explain it is to write it out...

I am happy to take time off from work.
I am grateful that my job has allowed me to do this.
I am thankful for my family and friends supporting my wild adventures.
I am sad to leave my family and friends.  
I am hopeful that I will have safe travels.
I am still shocked at the limited amount of internet time I will have.
I am eager to meet other students, take my classes, and travel with new friends.
I am confident that this journey is exactly what I need in my life right now.
I am surprised that I am having such mixed emotions. 

Phew, that was a lot. BUT with all of that said and done I am more than ready to conquer the world! I anticipate a fun-filled trip of a lifetime!

And for those of you that are visual learners (Mom, if you didn't get the hint I'm giving it to you now), here is a picture to help you out :)