JRP at Sea

Mauritius is a fuel stop, so we only spent one day on the small island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. To give myself the best chance at seeing as much as possible I joined a field program that toured some of the island's most beautiful sights, including the Chamarel waterfall, one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen in my life, the Seven Coloured Earth, a fascinating geological formation, the   Black River Gorges National Park, with a stunning viewpoint across the hills and forests, Le Morne Peninsula, where the Le Morne Brabant mountain powerfully dominates the skyline behind the beach, and a viewpoint overlooking several of Mauritius' peaks. We toured all of these beautiful sights with a colorful tour guide who spoke passionately about his love for rum, especially when enjoying rum while hiding indoors during some of the powerful cyclones that hit the island. From his stories we gained a good sense of island life, and on an island as small as Ma...

My memory of our time in India seems fitting for the country, as my memories are colorful, varied, spontaneous, and unique. I can't clearly remember the order of events. I don't remember how everything came together. In the end, I have a collection of lasting memories and deeper connections with friends, thanks to the seemingly endless richness of culture in India. I remember Kyle, Aeriel, and I taking many tuk-tuk rides, which often involved unwanted shopping stops. Negotiating with tuk-tuk drivers was sometimes exhausting, when their deals with shop owners resulted in them offering us lower prices for rides if we stopped at a shop or two; offering more for a ride without shopping stops wasn't really an option. Our mentioning that we would take the ferry often resulted in tuk-tuk drivers telling us the ferry wasn't operating today (even though it was). Regardless, the tuk-tuk rides were fun and a great way to see the life of the city moving around us, kids in unifor...

Arriving in Myanmar was undoubtedly one of the more adventurous moments of our voyage. Few people have been to Myanmar, which enhanced my gratitude for what we were experiencing. Arriving at the port of Yangon, with mist and fog rising from the ground, with the rising sun illuminating them into gold clouds, made the arrival even more magical. Wandering around Yangon the first day was one of those days where all your senses are heightened, from street food, street vendors, crowded streets, beautiful balconies on old buildings, power lines stretched across streets, birds and birdcages, people wearing Thanaka on their faces, an old train running through the city, a deep-red sunset, and then the highlight of the day, the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda, the gold-plated stupa surrounded by candles, buddhas, shrines, and spiritual offerings. The next day I went on one of the best Semester at Sea field programs I ever joined, a three-night, four-day journey to Mandalay and Bagan, traveling between...

Admittedly, I didn't have high expectations for Singapore, partly because our stay in port was much shorter than other locations (only one night and two days before sailing to Myanmar, one of the more exciting destinations), and partly for the likely unjustified and assumed reason that I thought the city, although international, diverse, and modern, would lack uniqueness and character. Also, we were suddenly off the ship more than we were on the ship, by a significant margin. After a long Pacific Ocean crossing we were in Japan, China, Vietnam, and now Singapore, leaving us off the ship for 21 days, and on the ship for 6 days. The pace was rapid, often with 2 days on the ship in between 6 days in different countries. My body was tired. I walked a tremendous amount of miles during the past three weeks, and my legs, especially my knees, felt the distance. However, in keeping with a voyage of endless surprises and adventure, Singapore offered uniqueness, culture, and peacefulness, ...

I remember being in Harrisonburg in the fall, and something, often my Vespa, would remind me that I would be returning to Vietnam in the spring, and I would suddenly be filled with joy and anticipation. My life in the United States has various traces of Vietnam in my daily life, from the Vespa I bought weeks after returning from Vietnam to the Vietnamese coffee I buy in the Asian market and brew with the drip coffee filter I purchased in Saigon a year-and-a-half earlier. Vietnam is close to my heart. When I say that Semester at Sea changed my life, I can make the statement a little less cliché with evidence. How I changed is most evident in my trip to Vietnam six months after the Fall 2012 voyage ended. I booked the trip weeks before leaving, which is action I simply wouldn’t have taken before the Semester at Sea voyage opened up my life to international travel. Something about Vietnam drew me in before I left, and drew me in forever after I left. Bruce Springsteen songs about Viet...

I could write various stories about Hong Kong, including my AirBnB apartment in SoHo, at the top of the Central/Mid-Levels escalator, the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world, which much more easily takes you up the steep hills of Hong Kong Island, or my adventures around SoHo and PoHo, where I ate delicious food and found quirky stores where I could have designed a wonderfully unique apartment with all the vintage and modern home furnishings I saw, or I could write about the endless dim sum I ate every day and often multiple times a day. I could also write about a friend’s fun birthday, when a group of us went out for dinner, drinks, and dessert, wandering around the streets of SoHo. I could write about the sights I saw, including the stunning architecture in Hong Kong, Man Mo Temple, Star Ferry, Hong Kong Island light show, Kowloon, Temple Street Night Market, or Victoria Peak both at night and during the day. I think the better story is something I wrote one day ...

I didn’t love Shanghai, China, but the purpose of our voyage is not to fall in love with every country. We are here to learn about these countries and cultures, to get out of our comfort zone, to become more open-minded, to increase our global perspective, and to experience new ways of life. I’m grateful for our time in China. Even though the majority of voyagers didn’t like Shanghai, and I share their thoughts, Shanghai offered a much needed awakening to a culture different from our own. Although the experience might not have always been pleasant, the experience was cultural and challenging, broadening our perspective and opening our minds. Japan provided a comfort and familiarity that eased our traveling. Shanghai did not, which first became apparent when we tried to find a taxi to our AirBnB apartment in the French Concession. I heard about Chinese taxi drivers not wanting to deal with tourists who can’t speak Chinese, and to be honest, I don’t blame them; however, watching ava...