SAS stops in Cuba for the first time in almost 10 years!

It was so cool to get the chance to go to Cuba. Because of the embargo
and issues between US and there this was the first time SAS could stop
there for the past almost 10 years. Because they don't import anything
from the US it seems like your walking around in 1950s or 1960s NYC. SAS
worked really closely with the University of Havana so we were able to
go to the campus and incorporate their students into a bunch of our
activities. Everyone was really happy to meet us and was really
friendly... we actually made CNN and NBC news so check that out online!

The first day we had a welcoming ceremony at the University with lots of
music, performances and some seminars. Going out in the city that night
was really fun... my World Geography professor who is the man organized
a list of top bars so we did a pub crawl. The next morning I got up and
explored... had a really good drink in a coconut and listened to some
street music. That afternoon like 400 of us went to a Cuban baseball
game and were able to go on the field and meet the players after! It
wasn't Fenway.. but it was still cool LOL. That night we had a farewell
celebration that was really fun at a really popular club La Cecilia. We
took big charter buses there and back and had a great time! The last day
I took a city tour in one of the old cars! We saw the Cuban missile
crisis memorial, John Lennon statue and some markets.

When we pulled out of the port, bus loads of people were there seeing us
off and waving. It was such a cool experience. We literally were making
history by going there and I really hope I get the chance to go back
someday! It's crazy that I only have 3 more full days left on the ship.
Later today we're going to get to the Bahamas but we can only get off
for the day on Saturday there. The night before we have a commencement
dinner and ball and the day after we'll be pulling into Fort Lauderdale
before the sun rises!

xoxo

Random Ship Life!

Hey guys! I wanted to post some random pictures of the ship so you could see where I've been living :)

My room

The library is over to the left and the computer center to the right



School bookstore


The piano lounge where everyone hangs out and studies


The pool deck area (kind've a crappy day)


One of the dining halls

Thanksgiving at Sea!

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving at home! It was a little sad not
being home for it, but I got some pictures from Lindsey, Kate and Mom :)
Here's a picture of me and the crew that ate the mediocre ship dinner
together LOL. Also, this semester I've been working with the Community
Service group on some projects. The biggest one is the Oxfam America
Hunger Banquet that they have every semester. It's a national
organization so you can look it up online, but it's all about promoting
awareness about hunger, poverty and wealth disparity in the world. We
had almost 300 people from the ship community come, and it went really
well. Everyone gets randomly put into either low, medium or high class
and their experience/ meal varies. We give an entire presentation and
show a slide show throughout. It was really cool.

Counting down the days... kind've ;)

xoxo

At the Copa, Copabanaaa

By far one of my favorite stops on the voyage!

On the first day when we arrived in Rio, I had a field lab for my
Popular Music class. We went to the DOME where the Carnaval celebration
happens. After we went to the samba dance schools and were able to see
the warehouses where all the costumes and floats were being constructed
for next year's Carnaval. We ate at a really good buffet then went to a
samba club a little outside of the city that was very local and
authentic place to see samba dancing and music. That night after getting
back to the ship, I went out in LAPA which is a popular night life part
of the city!
The second morning I got up early to go up to see the Christ
Redeemer statue which looks over the entire city of Rio. It was very
hot, but definitely worth seeing! From there, I headed to Copacabana
beach to look around and get some sun! Thank god I got to the beach that
day because the weather wasn't that great the rest of the days. A group
of us took the gondola up to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain to watch a
beautiful sunset.
For the next three days, instead of traveling to Salvador with the
ship, I overlanded with a group of friends to get the chance to spend
more time in Rio. We stayed at amazing apartment right in Copacabana. My
friend Kyle made us delicious omelets each morning! We had a great
time... going out at night, going to a local soccer game at the big
stadium, walked around the beach and a hippie market on the last day! At
the market we met a kid that goes to Syracuse and is studying abroad. We
spent the rest of the day with him which was awesome. He took us down to
one of the beaches near his place where Nike was releasing the new
Brazil soccer team jersey. It was a huge festival on the beach... it
rained but it was still a blast! Perhaps the GREATEST thing about the
three days spent there was having cable TV and being able to watch the
Patriots for the first time in months... being surrounded by Broncos
fans made the win even better :)
After the flight back to Salvador on the 25th, the boat was already
in port so we took a 2 hour scenic bus ride from the airport there. Took
it easy that night after an exhausting three days in Rio. I wasn't sure
how Salvador was going to be, but I loved it! The first morning there I
went to the beach with a big group of friends and then at night there
was a really cool cultural festival in the historic downtown of the
city. Finally, after what seemed like a month, the last day in Brazil
was sadly here. Me, Savannah and Stef checked out a really cool market
to get some goodies then checked out the beach area again. We had a
great lunch! I tried a delicious Brazilian stew.
Brazil is definitely one of the places that I want to come back!
They warned us that it was really dangerous, but I managed to keep my
head on my shoulders and stay safe :)

See you all in 18 days!
xoxo

Brazil

By far one of my favorite stops on the voyage!

On the first day when we arrived in Rio, I had a field lab for my
Popular Music class. We went to the DOME where the Carnaval celebration
happens. After we went to the samba dance schools and were able to see
the warehouses where all the costumes and floats were being constructed
for next year's Carnaval. We ate at a really good buffet then went to a
samba club a little outside of the city that was very local and
authentic place to see samba dancing and music. That night after getting
back to the ship, I went out in LAPA which is a popular night life part
of the city!
The second morning I got up early to go up to see the Christ
Redeemer statue which looks over the entire city of Rio. It was very
hot, but definitely worth seeing! From there, I headed to Copacabana
beach to look around and get some sun! Thank god I got to the beach that
day because the weather wasn't that great the rest of the days. A group
of us took the gondola up to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain to watch a
beautiful sunset.
For the next three days, instead of traveling to Salvador with the
ship, I overlanded with a group of friends to get the chance to spend
more time in Rio. We stayed at amazing apartment right in Copacabana. My
friend Kyle made us delicious omelets each morning! We had a great
time... going out at night, going to a local soccer game at the big
stadium, walked around the beach and a hippie market on the last day! At
the market we met a kid that goes to Syracuse and is studying abroad. We
spent the rest of the day with him which was awesome. He took us down to
one of the beaches near his place where Nike was releasing the new
Brazil soccer team jersey. It was a huge festival on the beach... it
rained but it was still a blast! Perhaps the GREATEST thing about the
three days spent there was having cable TV and being able to watch the
Patriots for the first time in months... being surrounded by Broncos
fans made the win even better :)
After the flight back to Salvador on the 25th, the boat was already
in port so we took a 2 hour scenic bus ride from the airport there. Took
it easy that night after an exhausting three days in Rio. I wasn't sure
how Salvador was going to be, but I loved it! The first morning there I
went to the beach with a big group of friends and then at night there
was a really cool cultural festival in the historic downtown of the
city. Finally, after what seemed like a month, the last day in Brazil
was sadly here. Me, Savannah and Stef checked out a really cool market
to get some goodies then checked out the beach area again. We had a
great lunch! I tried a delicious Brazilian stew.
Brazil is definitely one of the places that I want to come back!
They warned us that it was really dangerous, but I managed to keep my
head on my shoulders and stay safe :)

See you all in 18 days!
xoxo

Turning 22 abroad.. in Argentina!

Checked celebrating a birthday in a different country off the bucket
list! Sorry for the delay, but Argentina was a blast! It felt good to
just relax after non-stop activities in Cape Town. Had lots of good wine
and steak and explored the city! We ended up hanging out quite a bit
with this kid Scott that is studying abroad in Argentina and knew Brian
from Bentley. It's so helpful having someone who knows the city to show
you around. I really liked the part of the city called Recoletta.
There's a really famous cemetary with gigantic gravestones and we spent
an entire afternoon at this adorable cafe there. The cheesecake in the
picture was the best thing I've ever had! About thirty of us stayed in
this giant house on the third night and had a blast! That's me and some
of my girlfriends from Oregon. Hope you enjoy the pictures... I'll post
a bunch from Brazil after we leave. Big news-- we're stopping the
Bahamas as a surprise before we get to Florida!! I can't wait! See you
all in less than a month :)

xoxo

Safari and Desmond Tu Tu