Abroad Again

I know it has been almost 2 years since I last blogged... but I'm going abroad again! The time between stepping off the MV Explorer and today has been the second best times of my life (second, of course, to the 4 months of Semester at Sea). In this time, I have completed another year and a half of nursing school while working two jobs and attempting at a social life.  I have traveled to California and back with my boyfriend, Eric, visiting some SAS friends.  I have driven from Wisconsin to South Carolina, to Alabama, and then up the East Coast to see even more SASers. My sister and her boyfriend moved their lives to Hawaii in September and my grandma passed away in May.  I am still getting used to life on land after those amazing 4 months, but they say that time heals all... I'm not so sure about it, because I don't go a day without wishing I could wake up one more time to "The Voice" and watch the sun set at a different longitude every single night.  

Now I am onto my next adventure; somewhere I have never been before: Europe.  Tomorrow I leave Wisconsin to visit my cousin, Cassie in London where she is currently studying for the semester.  We are spending Christmas in Italy with some beloved family members and then taking New Years on in Paris, France.  If you'd like to follow me, I'll try to keep everyone updated on my endeavors.

One Love and Good Things,
Hannah

A Real Hawaiian Experience

Hitchhike Number One: A man named John brought us to Pahoa, about 30 miles out of Hilo, where we were told there was a mad cool hippie market.

Hitchhike Number Two: A guy named Doug, and his 6 year old son, brought us into town, where we had breakfast and bloody Mary’s.

Hitchhike Number Three: After we started walking back to the hippie market, a couple in their mini van blatantly told us that it was much too far for a nice stroll.

Hitchhike Number Four:  A guy with curly long hair wearing a straw hat.  He couldn’t get us all the way back to Hilo, but he brought us as far as the Humane Society and kindly agreed to come back out after he fed his three puppies to check if we’ve found a ride yet, and if not, he’d gladly help us out.

Hitchhike Number Five:  A woman named Lola, born and raised just north of Hilo, brought us to the Hilo Farmer’s Market.

Hitchhike Number Six:  A group of the ship’s crew who had gotten their own ride to Walmart, picked us up and brought us to Ken’s (the local favorite restaurant).

Hitchhike Number Seven:  A couple who had no room in their truck cab, but gladly brought us to the Pahoa turn in the back of their pick-up.

Hitchhike Number Eight: Another man named John.  He grew up in DC and got a job on a ship at 18.  He’s been to 78 countries, is a recovering alcoholic, been sober for twenty years, has two beautiful children, and a wife fighting breast cancer.  This man had more stories to tell than seconds in a day.  Nicest guy I’ve ever met.  He brought us all the way to Kahenda Beach and showed us exactly how to get there.

Hitchhike Number Nine:  A 25 year old named Matt who grew up in Massachusetts.   He moved to Hawaii and hasn’t left.  When we hopped in his car and asked where he was headed to he said, “Nowhere, just cruising.”  We took him to lunch and headed back to Hilo.

Hitchhike Number Ten: A woman who was also born and raised in Hawaii.  Super nice, she brought us to the local organic grocery store for some last minute snacks before we stepped on the ship headed for California.

Taiwan: Spontaneous, Unexpected and Unexplainable Greatness

The MV Explorer pulled into the Keelung Port at about 11pm on April 3rd and the ship cleared at 8am on April 4th.  Our last international port.  Within my first day there I had decided that Taiwanese people are without a doubt the nicest people I have ever met (with the possible exception of Ghanaian people)  INSTANCE #1: We had no idea how to get to the bus station and the language barrier was very high.  Literally five minutes after we stepped foot in Keelung a man handed us 200 Vietnamese dollar (about 7 US $) and pushed us on a city bus.  So we found our way to the Keelung City Bus and Train Station.  It was pouring rain.  Our goal was to get to Yangmingshun National Park.  We hopped on a semi-random bus to some town that we understood to be north of where we were (The National Park was north so it seemed like an educated guess).  We ended up in a little town called Janshun.  There we walked around in the rain a little and grabbed a few beers as we tried to leap over language barrier after language barrier and failed numerous times.  INSTANCE # TWO: We showed a woman cooking food on the street the phone number to where we were trying to go, she kindly used her phone, called the number, and wrote in Traditional Chinese Characters the name of the Camping Area so we could more easily find out way. We were told that to get to the Jingshan Camping Area we needed to take the red bus.  So we did.  When we got off at the last station, a five-star hotsprings hotel, a kind waiter who spoke English told us we had gone in the exact opposite direction.  We laughed.  There’s really not much you can do in situations like these than laugh.  Getting lost and ending up somewhere you had no intentions of going is half the fun of traveling!  As we waited for another bus to come back and take us forty-five minutes in the other direction we met a very nice couple from Australia. 

After a while we did end up where we wanted to be.  We made it to the Jingshan Camping Area.  Well by this time we are soaking wet and hungry.  Instead of renting a campsite, we decided to get lunch instead.  INSTANCE # 3: The newest waitress at the restaurant ordered a special meal for us without us even asking, drew us a map to the next bus station, and walked us down the hill in the rain to make sure we knew where we were going.  So when Sarah (the waitress) set us off we walked towards the bus station.  An intriguing trail came up on our left and of course we had to see where it lead.  Lucky for us the trail read, “Jyansih Waterfall.” You can’t just stumble upon a waterfall and not go check it out!  We hiked a ways in the rain to a beautiful waterfall and even farther to a grassland.  The sign there read, “Pathway ahead in the meadow used to pasture cattle in the early years, where still remained many wild cattle to date, tourist shall pay attention to your passage and detour while cattle are in sight.” It was awesome to see because the rain made it very mystical and eerie feeling.  You couldn’t see ten feet ahead of you, so on top of a mountain with random cows and tall grasses everywhere… it was really neat.  We wanted to get back before dark so we hiked back to where we were told the bus would pick us up and what do you know… INSTANCE # 4: Sarah was at the bus station, she had just gotten off work.  She helped up get to Taipei, then onto another bus back to Keelung, and she insisted on buying us some cake because it was her favorite and she wanted us to try it. I would definitely say day 1 in Taiwan was a success.

The next day we met a taxi driver named Jason.  Jason drove us down the northeastern coast of Taiwan for about 5 or 6 hours.  It was incredible.  The rocky ocean line of the country made for the most beautiful pictures.  We saw waterfalls and a mountain shaped like King Kong’s Head.  We hiked next to an elementary school overlooking the ocean and to a lighthouse.  We rock climbed.  It was easily one of the greatest days of my voyage.

That night a bunch of us went to a popular night market in Keelung where they eat everything.  Literally, there was everything from candy coated strawberries and fried sweet corn to live fish and sea urchins just sitting on tables in the streets!

The last day in Taiwan; my last day as an international student.  My roommate, Eric, and I took the metro to Taipei City and saw the second tallest building in the World (Taipei 101) and visited the Taipei International Floral Expo.  It was the perfect way to finish things off.  On-ship time was 6:00.  The next time I step on land it will be that of the United States of America. 

I cannot believe that this is almost over.  I have circumnavigated the world.  11 countries in 100 days.  Now… An 11 day stretch to Hilo, Hawaii and then it’s time to wrap it up.  Although I know this experience will follow me for the remainder of my entire life, I wish it didn’t go by quite so quickly.  Ship life is busy with activities and school work so I will be plenty busy, but I have a couple more things I would like to share with everyone… So keep reading!

Tragedy in China:
Although China was an incredible experience, amazing opportunity momentarily turned into tragedy for two students on our voyage.  Two girls were hiking the Great Wall…. The exact same experience I speak so wonderfully of.  They were actually in the middle of their introductory conversation. (Hi, I’m Lilli.  Hi, I’m Gabby.  Where are you from…)  when the step in front of them, was in reality much steeper than they ever anticipated.  Both girls tumbled down a flight of steep stairs that makes up many parts of the Great Wall.  One, Lilli (my roommate on the ship) fell onto her knee and is doing okay now.  She had 27 stitches and it almost walking on it.  She is grateful as ever, because she knows that a fall could have happened to anyone, and a scraped up knee is a much better outcome than what could have been.  The other, was not as lucky.  She fell on her head and was knocked unconscious.  Courageous and admirable SAS students pull through once again on this trip:  Students with medical background managed to pull doors off the Great Wall, tie these two girls to the doors acting as stretchers, and hike forty minutes in the dark to get them to an ambulance.  Right now, Lilli is back on the ship and doing well, and the other is in a Hong Kong hospital, responsive and breathing on her own.  Her mother and our nurse on board are there with her.  I am writing this story in my blog because I simply ask all of you to add these two girls and everyone affected into your thoughts and prayers.  As the close friends everyone has made on Semester at Sea, I am proud to say that everyone worked together like family, and in result saved two lives. 

Get ready for a long one, guys!

Day 1: Hong Kong. We arrived in Hong Kong around 9am on Saturday, March 26th. The ship cleared at about 11 o clock and we were all set free to explore as we wished.  It was a big difference from Vietnam that’s for sure.  There were high buildings and lots of people.  First, a couple of friends and I hopped on the Star Ferry, which takes you from an outlying island which our ship was docked to the mainland of Hong Kong.  On the mainland we ate some lunch (consisting of Chinese famous dumplings), shopped a little, ate some ice cream, and walked the city.  It wasn’t really a culture shock here, at least not yet. Most young people knew English, and Caucasian people weren’t difficult to come by.

As nightfall hit, my friend, Meg, and I took a bus up to “The Peak” of Hong Kong.  It was simply beautiful.  An unbelievable scenic view of Hong Kong by night, with a nice laser show addition around 8 o clock.  After we took in the view, we headed down to a street called “LFK” for short, something like La Fong Kwa for real.  Little did I know, we had just crashed the biggest party happening in the world that night.  The Sevens is a huge rugby league which holds tournaments in large cities all over the world.  Following the tournaments, are the biggest fans/partiers imaginable.  I’m talking blocks beyond blocks of people wearing Halloween costumes and rioting shoulder to shoulder.  Meg and I happened to wander into a local bar to find a bathroom, and visited with a group of men from all over the world who come together during these tournaments.  We visited with them for the remainder of the night and went back to the ship to sleep.  

Day 2 and 3: I woke up bright and early, got breakfast and coffee, and headed to the airport.  I had a flight to Beijing at 1:00pm.  Before my Semester at Sea trip began back in January, I had signed up for a tour called “The China Guide.”  I know now that I am definitely not a large group traveler.  I don’t like to be toted around.  I like to decide when and what I eat, how fast I walk, and where exactly I’m going next.  More important that deciding, I like to go with the flow, with no real plan… So I knew right away that this trip would be a little overwhelming, but it did give me the opportunity to see everything I wanted to see while in China.  I visited 4 huge cities in 7 days.  It was basically the equivalent to flying from LA to Chicago to New York to Miami.  So we got to Beijing, found some dinner, and hung out in the hotel for the night.  The next day we woke early and headed to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.  They were both very cool to see.  I found it interesting when I asked my guide, Judy about the massacre that happen at Tiananmen Square.  She was 100% sure that the massacre I spoke of was a “Western Myth” and never happened.  Students were never run over by tanks and nothing like that ever happened.  If the government is succeeding in hiding a secret that large, I find it a little discussing, but I wasn’t going to argue with her.  We ate a traditional style Chinese lunch and hit up “The Silk Market.”  The Silk Market was like every other market I’ve been to on this trip: Crowded, loud, overwhelming, and filled with knock off brand names.  I walked the jewelry floor for a while then got out of there.  The next part is what I had been waiting for…. The Great Wall of China.  We drove about 2 hours out of Beijing.  We hiked the Wall and watched the sunset.  Yes, the sunset over The Great Wall of China.  It was incredible.  To describe it…. Honestly, it is exactly like the pictures, but it’s real life.  Being the little rebellious climber I am, I began my hike along side the wall, and when I couldn’t find an easy way around to get into the middle, I just climbed over☺ As the sun went down we hiked down to our bus, where we had a Chinese dinner at a restaurant at the bottom.  Now it’s bundle time.  I say this because the Great Wall is cold at night.  After being on the equator for three months, I’m talkin’ COLD.  A sleeping bag was just not efficient.  About 10ºF by night…. It was really fun though.  We hiked to our sleeping area with flashlights and laid out our stuff.  They had beer waiting for us and the night was relaxing and a great time.  Yes, I slept on the Great Wall of China.

Day 4: The Hike.  We all woke up, returned our sleeping bags, and hiked a good 2 hours along the wall.  We topped sixteen watch towers, and drank a victory beer at the seventeenth.  We hopped back on our bus and headed to the Birds Nest and Olympic Square.  We didn’t spend very much time here, but it was really cool to see.  I can only imagine how crowded the area was during the 2008 Olympics.  Another Chinese lunch and another market.  This time I went straight to the coffee shop next store.  No one was convincing me to go into one more market.  My coffee was delicious, though!  That night, a traditional Chinese Acrobat Show: Coolest thing I’ve ever seen, and made me miss gymnastics a whole lot!  All who are interested, ask me to show you videos of it!  Very very cool stuff.  I actually read on the Viterbo Website that there is a Chinese Acrobat show coming to campus really soon.  I think everyone that has the opportunity should go!

Day 5: We took a rickshaw ride around a local town, I forget the name… We got to watch a drum ceremony, participate in a tea ceremony, and learn how to make our own Chinese dumplings with a local family for lunch.  Then we walked through Summer Palace, a lakeside park, and arrived at the Beijing Railway Station to catch our 7:00 train to Xi’an.  Somehow it ended up that every SAS student was conveniently roomed with three other SAS kids… except me.  I walked into my assigned sleeper room to find three people-all Chinese.  All I could get for conversation was, “Hi” or “Nee-hau” and I fell asleep.

Day 6: Xi’an was a quick, busy, and great day.  When we got off the sleeper train at 8am, met our guide, and hopped on our new bus our first stop was the Terracotta Warrior Museum.  It was way cool! So much more astonishing than I imagined!  I would go into detail of what I learned about all these things in China, but my blog would then be too long and I think I would lose all of my followers☺  We had a buffet style lunch in Xi’an which was my favorite meal thus far in China. Why? Because they had French fries.  By this point, I had the mind set of “If I don’t eat Chinese for five years I will be okay.”  I had had enough, and a plate full of French fries was exactly what I needed.  After lunch we biked the “Old City Wall” It was beautiful.  The wall is about 12 kilometers around with a moat surrounding the entire thing.  I want to get my aunts Kathy, Tammy, Julie, Mary, and now in training-my sister, Kim’s attention! Every spring they hold a marathon on the City Wall.  Runners circle the wall three times, raising money for preservation of the wall itself.  It would be a beautiful run, and although I only spend one day in Xi’an, it seemed like an amazing city and I would be very interested in going back. After our bike rides and walks, we had another sleeper train to catch at 5:00pm.

Day 7: Another 12 hour sleeper train brought us to Shanghai, where we transported by bus to where the MV Explorer was docked.  Immigration in China required us to get another copy and another stamp before we could get off the ship for the day.  Although I did manage to be in People’s Square of Shanghai by about 11:30am.  I had an incredibly relaxing day in Shanghai.  I needed the cool down day after spending six with a huge group of people.  What I also needed: American Food.  Where did I go?  Hooters; Shanghai, a local brewery, and Costa Coffee.  As the ship pulled out of Shanghai, I sat on the front of the ship and got to talk to my mom, dad, and sister.  It was perfect.

China: CHECK

It seems like every country I step foot in I like even more than the last.  Maybe it’s because as my trip passes by, each country I visit teaches me more about the world.  I am simply decorating my passport by traveling the world, but becoming a real global citizen.  If someone were to ask me at the beginning of this trip to order the countries on my itinerary based on how excited I am to see them or which ones I will like most to least, Vietnam would most likely been sitting at the bottom.  I had no real thoughts on Vietnam.  I wasn’t really ready for it.  I did not know what to expect; therefore I expected nothing.  In reality, Vietnam is so cool.

I stepped off the ship and into Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday morning with no clue, no plan, no map, and no idea what I was getting myself in to.  So I walked.  First things first, we were told that when you walk across the street in Vietnam you are to look down, walk slow, and don’t stop.  It’s different than India, where auto rickshaws were the means of transportation. In Vietnam, it’s mopeds.  They are everywhere.  Millions of them.  But Vietnam is different than India again because crossing the street isn’t scary.  Here, they go around you.  If they were to hit you it is only slowing them down.  So I walked away from the ship with my handy compass around my neck and no idea what was in store.  Adding to my lack of preparation: almost no one spoke English.  Don’t get me wrong, being ill prepared and without a plan is probably the best way to travel.  When you expect nothing you get everything. 

We walked straight through Vietnamese culture, stumbled upon the Art Museum, and found our way to the center of the city: Ben Thanh Market.  This place was by far the most overwhelming place I have been in my life.  My stress levels went up about seventeen points as I stepped into the square.  It was packed.  Thousands of tiny vendors, each with their own six-foot area, trying to sell you knock-offs.  I mean don’t get me wrong I did by a few cool things, but only after I had a couple beers and the nerve to walk in that place again.  The coolest thing is that is Vietnam, boys can go to one of these little shops, pick out a fabric, be measured, and have a custom suit made for them by the next day! For like sixty dollars!  Well I did my share of market shopping and had lunch at a local café.  That night, me and a few kids went to a local bar for a couple drinks that night.

The next day I went took a trop to the Cu Chi Tunnels.  During the war, the Vietnamese people hid underground seeking safety from the Americans.  It was very interesting seeing the side of the war from Vietnamese.  When we got back we had lunch on the ship-which I have to talk about…… sometime when we’re in port the cooks get really nice and make really awesome food.  We had pulled pork sandwiches, FRENCH FRIES, grilled cheese, amazing pasta, and ice cream! It was pretty cool. I then ventured out into the streets of Ho Chi Minh City once again... got a little lost, but all was well.  I saw the Cathedral of Notre Dame and finally made it to the Ben Thanh Market again, where we stopped for dinner and some jazz at The Jazz Club. 

The last three days of my time in Viet Nam I went to Cat Tien National Park.  Our small group of one faculty, two life long learners, and four students ventured almost five hours by bus to the 71,350 hectare Biosphere Reserve.  We each stayed in our own private room, located in one of ten guesthouses.  Every meal was included—Vietnamese style.  The first day we took a boat ride down the Dong Nai River, spotting birds, monkeys, and trees.  Shortly after the beginning of our ride it started to storm.  And I’m not talking just any little thunderstorm…. This was literally the worst storm I have ever experienced, and there we were in the middle of a river, in a 14 foot boat with a 60 Yamaha on the back of it… Ron, our life long learner along with us, used to study lightning, and told us that the lightning was striking the ground nearly 500 feet from where we were.  So we found the nearest village and the people kindly opened a common building for us to camp out in for a couple of hours until the weather settled down.  We made it back to camp, where we ate dinner in a swarm full of winged termites that had just hatched due to the rain…

I am making this sound awful but it was actually quite awesome… My own room, tons of time to relax, lots of hammocks everywhere to lay in, and trails beyond trails to hike!  After dinner we took a night drive to spot nocturnal animals.  The rest of the time we hiked to Crocodile Lake, saw a 500 year old tree (20 people cannot fit around its base), visited a bear and leopard restoration center, and learned incredible amounts about the rainforest in Vietnam.  I had an amazing time, and it was nice to be in the middle of nothing for a while, seeing as tomorrow I will be in China.

So Vietnam was more than I ever thought it would be.  I loved it.  The food was good, the people were nice, the scenery was beautiful, and the atmosphere was chill. 

China… Here I come!

Tragedy in Japan:  As you know, due to the horribly tsunami and earthquake in Japan, we will not be porting in Kobe or Yokohama on our voyage.  The US Department of State has declared Japan an unsafe travel destination due to radiation and aftermath of the 8.9 point earthquake.  In Japan, there is a series of six nuclear reactors.  One was automatically shut down, but the other five are active and releasing radiation.  To get an idea of the risk in Japan right now…. I will have you know that on Tuesday, reactor number 3 released more radiation than an average area can be safely exposed to in a lifetime.

Announced at a community-wide speech made by Dean Dan last night, we will be traveling to Taiwan!  If you have any cool ideas for things to do in Taiwan, please email me! hmnoel@semesteratsea.net.

I hope everyone is enjoying Wisconsin (or wherever you are reading this from) right now! It’s gotta be starting to get warmer! For college students, it’s probably around Spring Break time, so many of you traveled to somewhere tropic!  I’m thinking Spring for all of you! You deserve it, after what I have been told was a long winter. LOVE YOU ALL!

Good Things,
Hannah