Shanghai

The two days went by fast and I still did not feel ready to take on another country.  We were prepared by the faculty and staff to stay away from conflict in China and do not talk politics.  As Americans we were not having the best relations with China.  They were less than enthusiastic about Obama meeting with the Dali Lama and sending aid to undesirable places.    It took forever for the ship to be cleared and while we thought it was Japan that would be checking our temperature, China was where they pointed to laser thermometer at our foreheads before stamping our visas. 

When I was finally able to get off the ship I went out with my friend Nancy and my friend Shanay to walk around.  We walked along the water and made our way to the Bund which is a huge shopping strip.  It was packed and people bumped into us going in and out of all the shops.  People on the street would stare at us, point and laugh.  At first it was really uncomfortable, but we decided to embrace it and say hello in Chinese to them every time we caught them staring.  The people would be a little taken back and smile and say hello back.  Shanay got most of the stares because people there rarely see black people and she decided we were finally experiencing life like a celebrity and we should just go with it.  People were trying to sell us tons of knockoff bags, watches and other knockoff things.  We went and had a drink in a park and just took it all in for a little.  It was freezing so we could only stand sitting outside for the one drink.  We kept walking around and went in and out of some of the stores including the Hershey’s store and an upscale department store.  Before we arrived in China, we were told by the interport students that China is full of malls especially Hong Kong and they were right.  We were going to jump on a bus to just ride around the city of Shanghai.  We were discussing where to go and a girl over heard us and told us which route to get on for the best sights.  She told us we would have to go underground to get to the other side of the street.  Underground there were more stores.  There were restaurants and it was so quaint and fun.  Our eyes came across a hookah bar and we were soon too distracted to remember we only went there to get to the other side of the street.  We sat outside the shop for two hours watching people walk by and saying hello hundreds of times.  Some of the little kids would be holding their parent’s hand and staring back as they walked.  I was waiting for one of the to just walk into something.  As our hookah dwindled we were brought back to reality and remembered our initial purpose of crossing the street and catching a bus.  We walked up to the bus stop and did not remember what bus was recommended so just got on one.  As if took us around the city we pointed out similarities and differences and waved to people on the streets and on the bus.  I was so tired and decided to take a nap on the bus. I was woken up to find myself and my two friends in the bus terminal with no one but the bus drivers and some woman handing me a cell phone to speak to someone who spoke English who could translate and tell them where we wanted to go.  Our intention was to just see the city and loop around on the bus.  I was so confused at first but became the means of communication between the bus drivers and my crew.  I told the woman the name of the place where our ship was and she told them we want to be on the same bus going the other way which was pretty obvious.  The drivers we laughing and so were we as we stood in the their terminal passing a cell phone and having such a barrier for communication.  I was laughing so hard at the whole situation because it was all we could do.  We got back on the bus going the other way and got off when we knew where we were.  We had to go to the bathroom really bad so went down to one of the maze like train stations.  I have a phobia of public bathrooms especially ones with just a hole in the ground and no toilet paper so I held it.  We were then starving and were torn between Burger King, McDonalds, and KFC before deciding to eat at the Chinese fast food place Kung Fo.  We left the train station in a pretty sketchy exit and to find ourselves on the same street that was so crowded with people earlier to be comparably empty.  We ran into my roommate and a few other SASers who were looking for a bar.  We did not see any and continued our walk to the ship.  We were exhausted and felt like zombies after such an eventful day. 

We woke up on time for lunch on the ship the next day.  We waited another hour for Nancy to be back from a trip and did not get off the ship until pretty late that day.  Nancy kept talking about going for dinner and getting Hot Pot which is a pretty popular dish.  We found a place near the ship and went to eat there.  There is a big pot in the middle of the table with a broth and you choose what to put in it.  We got some kind of meat, noodles, cabbage, dumplings, and a couple of other things.  It was DELICIOUS.   They kept refilling the broth and we mistakenly challenged ourselves to finish it all.  I felt like I was going to explode.  We knew we would be drinking and although you are supposed to drink on a full stomach we learned you should never drink on a stomach that full.  We went to a bar down the block that said karaoke but found out it was only Chinese music and they only had beer.  The people were so nice and the whole family who owned the bar came to meet us so we felt bad just leaving and had one drink there and got our waitress’s email address after taking pictures together.  Next door at another bar we saw a few SASers drinking and out on the street putting off fireworks with the locals for the New Year.  They were just leaving so we did not drink there.  They were headed to go to some place that has drunken go-karting.  It sounded interesting but I remember my first sober experience of go-karting and being yelled at because I thought it was bumper cars and opted out of going.  We headed down the road to Club 70 where we spent the remainder of our night.  When we first got there we were the only SASers and became really friendly with the bartenders and were able to get free drinks all night.  We found out later that most people did but felt special and VIP at the time.  It soon became really SASy and was a fun get together off the ship.  We all drunkenly got to the ship and most made it past security successfully but we heard stories later on that were not so successful.  Apparently you get quarantined if you are blacked out and run past security thinking the gangway is on the fifth deck instead of the second.  I went to sleep in my room that would be for me alone for the next 3 nights and woke up for my last day in Shanghai.

We woke up and Nancy, Shanay, and I headed out to see the cool looking building in their skyline and to venture around the side of the river we had yet to see.  We had to take a sightseeing tunnel to get to the other side.  It was awesome.  It was a little car on tracks that went through a tunnel that told some sort of story we could not understand but had really cool lights all around.  When we got to the other side we were too cheap to pay to go up in another building to see the layout of the city.  We were able to catch a New Year’s celebration with a band and people dressed up as lions in front of the building.  We also found a Cold Stone that tasted 100x better than usual.  We went into a huge mall once again.  It was 10 stories high and we just walked around talking about how big it was.  I somehow ended up breaking my camera a couple days before so headed to the Best Buy to get another.  Explaining that I wanted a camera with a battery I could charge and an American plug was very challenging but I got it eventually.  We took the cool sightseeing tunnel back again before heading back to the ship and setting sail for Hong Kong

Japan


After a long ten days at sea we finally made it to our first country of Japan.  We had a couple days off in between to keep us from going crazy having ten days of classes.  We had a big dance one night that was a blast.  It was a mix match theme and every one wore their craziest unmatched outfit they could put together.  My friend Shana was a finalist and got to strut her stuff on the stage trying to get the loudest applause.  A kid named Toby won.  He knows everyone on the ship and wears crazy clothes every day.  People came up to Shanay for the rest of the night saying she should have been the winner.  It felt like a high school dance with every one being stupid and completely sober.  Of course, like every sailing party, the biggest hit was I’m On A Boat.  We had a coffee house another night that was also tons of fun.  People wrote poems, played guitars, pianos and other instruments, and sang.  Some was serious and others hilarious.  I was glad they kept us entertained and the days went by much faster than I thought they would.  The last couple of days at sea I started coming down with a cold.  I was really nervous because apparently we were going to get checked of a fever and would be quarantined if we had one.  I went to the doctor who said I was fine and I took a couple of Tylenol in the morning just to find out they weren’t going to check.  The last day of classes I had my first two tests.  They weren’t bad.  I am trying not to fall into the “My school doesn’t take the grades. I just need to pass. Who cares I am sailing around the world” attitude that most kids on the ship have.  After all the stress of studying and schoolwork we finally hit Japan and put the books back on the shelves.

We once again had to be up really early to go through customs and we were able to see us pull into port.  When you are surrounded by water constantly it is so exciting to see land.  There were people playing the drums on the pier for us when we pulled in and it made us more excited to explore this unknown territory. They call us off by our floor and I was afraid I would be called off hours after my friend Justin who I would be traveling with and we would have trouble meeting each other.  Luckily I was called right after he was and we had no trouble at all.  We walked out of the terminal with the plans to take it easy the first day since the next days would be filled with sleepless travel.  We walked around for a while to find a post office since it is the only place that has an ATM that takes all cards and most places don’t take credit cards.  We were starving so we went to a convenience store to get a quick bite to eat.  We wanted to try something unique and something the locals ate.  So we waited for a man to pick out what he was getting and followed in his tracks getting sushi and some sweet rice thing.  We were going to get a unique drink but the person in front of us picked up a coke so we figured we would be safe and go with that.  We got chips too in case the sushi was not good and some meat filled thing that felt like I was eating a pillow but tasted good.  We went to eat around a little water fountain where others were enjoying their lunch hours.  We walked along the water trying to find an Internet café but failed.  Nevertheless, we came across a cool peace museum that entertained us for a little.   It looked like it was filled with liberal nonsense and I probably would have vomited if I could read it.  But I couldn’t so it was enjoyable.  We walked back along the water and towards a tall building with an observatory on the 69th floor and a really fast elevator to get us there.  We went up and were able to see as far as Tokyo and part of Mount Fuji.   The décor was really strange and had a water/mermaid/valentines theme that did not flow very well.  We met up with a few of our fellow adventurers and had some coffee in the café.  The observatory led into a mall that we walked around in for a while.  We went into a cool bookstore that sold some English books but it was interesting to just look around not being able to read most of the stuff.  There was a curving escalator that we found pretty cool too.  We left the mall to make our ways over to a ferries wheel we could see from our ship.  We walked through an amusement park that seemed out of season but some of the rides were running.  The Ferris wheel ended up being 20 bucks and we didn’t think it was worth it.  We started to head back towards the ship and came across one of the coolest malls I have ever seen. It was a brick building that looked like an old wear house.  There were no walls and one store just led into the next.  We were the only non-Asian people and no one was over 30.  It was filled with vintage stuff and really hip hats, clothes, and accessories.  It was really cool to walk around and experience the importance of fashion we had learned about in Japan.  We walked back to the pier and talked about how awesome this experience is while we finished eating the chips we bought earlier since we couldn’t bring them back on the ship.  We went up to the pool bar on the ship and had some burgers while bonding with the crew.  The crew is so nice and we were able to have a fun time hearing some inside stories without the distraction of so many people being on the ship.  We decided to call it an early night since we would be waking up early to head to Tokyo. 

The second day in Japan I was able to luckily sign onto Justin’s trip to Tokyo.  We did not have a plan b if I couldn’t so we were crossing our fingers.  The trip drove us to a Shinto shrine that was really interesting.  We learned the rituals to clap twice to call the gods and bow twice before saying a quick prayer.  We got some of the wooden plaques people wrote on to ask god for things and to write thanks.  Our guide told us at this time many of the students would come and write them with a list of schools they wished to get into.   Sure enough we were able to read one that said Yale.  We were also able to see a wedding ceremony.  The clothing was so different and it was very intriguing to see such a different tradition.  People circled the wedding party taking tons of pictures.  After the shrine we went to a little park and were able to view a palace from afar.  The property is only open to the public on New Year’s and on the prime minister’s birthday.  People are allowed to sign up as volunteer cleaners to visit the property and apparently there is a very long waiting list.   After the palace we went to my favorite part of the city.  There was another shrine placed in front of a long row of open shops.  In this shrine we took part in another ritual of getting a fortune.  There was a long medal thing filled with sticks and had a small hole. We were instructed to shake the tin and whatever stick went out of the hole had a number on it that we would match up to our fortune.  Justin and I both got bad fortunes saying we should not sail and may get swallowed if we go into rapid wave.  To get rid of the bad fortune you tie it to some rod like structures.  We also went by the incense and waved them towards us for good luck.  We walked down a long line of shops and food vendors that was very crowded.  We got white bandanas with Japanese writing and a red dot in the middle.  Justin got one that said fighting warrior and I got the one that said pass in school.  I thought it was more relevant.  I was really excited about the purchase and thought we would wear them and make everyone on the ship jealous until we got on the ship and everyone had them.  After spending a couple hours there we headed to the last stop at another observatory.  We once again were able to have a panoramic view of the city.  There we signed off of the trip and were officially on our own for the next few days.  In this observatory there was an art museum that we went to that was very odd.  It was the museum of art and medicine and had very weird structures presenting the affect of medicine on the body.  Japan isn’t very fond of medicine and I was even told by the doctor on the ship not to bring my inhaler into the country.  People all over wear masks and having a cold there was not fun.  Anytime I would cough on the train people looked at me in disgust.  When we left the museum and observatory we headed towards the main train station to find a place to stay.  We were heading to Kyoto in the morning and wanted to be able to get an early start.  It was a holiday the next day and many of the places were booked.  We wanted to stay in a capsule hotel but it was late and we were tired so we settled for a hotel that was much nicer than what we wanted but had the closest bed.  And by bed that is what I mean bed not beds.  Apparently a double room instead of a single room in Japan means a double bed instead of a single bed instead of two beds.  Just to give you an idea of Justin, he reminds me of my roommate Matt at school.  Although Matt and I have been very close friends since freshman orientation, everyone knows that the last thing we would want is to be stuck in a bed together.  So just as I would imagine Matt doing, Justin used the long throw pillow as a divider in the bed and took the comforter leaving me with the sheets.  Before we headed to bed we explored our hotel a little.  It was the biggest hotel in Tokyo and was complete with a mall, a bowling ally, an aquarium, and I am sure, even more things we did not even discover.  Naturally we got McDonald’s for dinner.  I got the shrimp burger since it was something not usually on our McDonald’s menu.  We went to the Internet café and booked a hostel for the next night in Kyoto.  By then we were exhausted and went to sleep.

The next day we were out by 6am to get an early train to Kyoto.  We grabbed a snack at 7-11 and impressed ourselves for getting such an early start.  We rode the train for 3 hours.  We were able to see some of the mountains and other living areas of Japan.  Pretty much the entire country seemed like a city.  It was a peaceful ride and reminded me of all the trains we took while studying in Switzerland.  When we arrived in Kyoto we immediately headed to the Golden Pavilion.  We tried communicating with someone who worked by the bus station outside the train station where we wanted to go.  When we pointed to the picture on a map he told us what bus to take.  The only problem was we were a little unsure what stop to get off the bus.  We tried matching up the characters with the bus stops and we were so excited when we got to the right location on our own.  The temple was so gorgeous.  We followed a pathway that just calming and had beautiful nature.  There were little stone bowls near statues that people would throw coins into and it you made it it was good luck.  Justin and I both got it in the on the second statue we saw and were so excited.  We were able to try the fortune thing again and this time we got good fortunes and were convinced our bad luck was long gone.  After the pavilion we talked to a crossing guard to find out what bus to take to get to the torri gates.  We had seen photos of this place where there were over 30,00 gates and just looked amazing.  He told us what bus to get on and we were on it for about 40 min.  We got off and were not where we were supposed to be.  There was a little area with some cafés and we decided to eat.  We ended up being in a Spanish restaurant that was delicious and our waiter spoke English.  It was so exciting.  He told us what train to get and he thankfully told us the right one.  When we got off our stop we had to walk up a hill filled with shops on both sides of the street.  Some had food and others souvenirs.  It was a delightful street and we had finally seen our destination.  We started walking through the gates and all I could think of was the time they were replicated in Central Park.  I never imagined at that time, as I walked through with my mom that I would be experiencing the real thing years later.  It was pouring out but it was still just as beautiful.  We walked for a long time and mostly up stairs.  There were landings once in a while with small shrines and stores.  At one stop we looked into the store and saw umbrellas.  We contemplated getting them but decided not to since we were already soaked from head to toe.  We continued walking and as Justin turned around to say something he told me a guy was running behind me.  The mad tapped me and handed us two umbrellas and ran back down.  We had to have gone up at least 40 stairs already and he must have seen us walk by his store.  It was so exciting and meant so much to us.  They were probably free anyway because they were just plain plastic ones and we realized most people had them, but for him to chase after us to give them to us made it so much more special.  We happily walked through it and back before heading to the train station to find our hostel.  We were exhausted from walking all around all day.  The first people we saw when we got to our hostel were three guys from our ship.  We sat at the bar for the rest of the night and had a few drinks and got some food.   Two of my roommates ended up walking in as well and hung out with us that night.

We had to wake up at 5:30 am to get a train to Kobe to meet up with a trip we were signed up for through the ship to go to Hiroshima.  We once again ran into some people from SAS at the train station and two joined us on the train back.  It took about an hour and we made our trip.  The trip left at 8am and was about a five-hour drive.  There were 3 busloads of teachers and students and we all had our own guides.  I slept a lot of the way and woke up to find myself in the place where the first atomic bomb was used.  The first site was the huge dome that is what most people think of when hearing about Hiroshima.  We were guided around to then see a peace bell.  We each took turns ringing it.  We kept walking and made it to a section that had many origami cranes.  The story goes that a little girl, who was two years old during the bombing, was diagnosed with leukemia years after.  During her time in the hospital the girl folded hundreds of origami cranes because she remember the saying that 1000 origami cranes would grant a wish.  Since then people have made 1000 cranes and have hung them at the sight of Hiroshima in the hopes that such a thing with never happen again.  Each of the three busses we were with had a chain of cranes to hang.  It was really moving to put them up.  We then went to the museum to see pictures of what happened when the bomb was dropped and the remains of clothing and buildings.  It was interesting to see the response of Hiroshima after just visiting Pearl Harbor.  We had some time after and a few of us just walked around the area, got ice cream and found an ATM and a post office before getting on the bus.  We had another long 5-hour bus ride home and stopped on the way for dinner.  I went right to sleep when returning home.

The next morning I went out with my friends Shanay, Nancy and Tom.  We first went through a mall to a look out on top of a building to view all ok Kobe.  After that we went to a famous flower clock that was beautiful and donated by Seattle that is Kobe’s sister city.  It was the Chinese New Year so although we were in Japan we headed to Chinatown.  It was packed and we got food as we went up and down the streets.  We heard that earlier there was a dragon but we unfortunately missed that.  We walked around the streets and even danced in the street to a local playing a flute, which was really fun.  We were tired and hungry so we got some pizza and some drinks. We had no idea which drink was which so we just pointed and hoped for the best.  The first was a cranberry and vodka, the next a grapefruit and rum, and the next some apple thing and vodka.  I only liked the first.  We started to head back to the ship and got distracted by some video games and ended up playing Mario cart for a little.  It was a fun time and I was really sad to leave.  Two more days on the boat and I was in China.