Hey,
Well, I figured it was about time to send another update. It doesn�t seem like it has been that long since I wrote the last one, but a lot has happened since then. We have just finished up our time in Cape Town, SA. The seas during the Atlantic crossing weren�t too bad, and we haven�t hit any big storms. That isn�t to say that the ship hasn�t been moving at all, because several days the seas have had really big swells and so if you look out the window, the horizon slowly goes up, and then slowly goes down. Everyone looks drunk when they are walking because you can�t help but veer back and forth. Anyway, that is what is happening now, but more importantly let me tell you about our last stop, Brazil!
My time in Brazil was great. I still haven�t caught up on my journaling about it yet. I missed watching our arrival in Salvador because we got there earlier than they had said we would. However, when I went out on the ship it was very interesting. Salvador is unique because there are two cities an upper and a lower city. The lower city is the more industrialized and the upper city is the older and more historic one. A big elevator connects them. I spent a lot of the first day there walking around the market, and I spent a little time in the upper city. I had met a few Brazilians who had volunteered to take me to a phone and so we (myself and two of my friends Brady and Kyle) spent the afternoon with them. Not too surprisingly they asked for a little money when we got back to the port. That evening I spent some more time in the market and then went out with three girls to an open-air mall where we had heard there would be some pre-Carnival stuff going on. We ended up going to a concert where we were almost the only Americans among hundreds of Brazilians. Apparently the two bands that were playing are really popular and everybody knew all of the words and everything. More than once I had to pretend to be a boyfriend to fend off an eager Brazilian guy.
The next morning came really early because I had to be up to catch a 7-hour bus to Lencois, a small town toward the interior of Brazil. Let me just say that if you are ever in Brazil, you have to go to Lencois. It is right in the middle of a national park in the Diamond Mountains. It is full of waterfalls, caves, red water and of course, the traveling Rastafarians and hippies. On our first day we went to a natural waterslide down a rock slab and did a little jump off of a rock, nothing compared to what I would get to do later. I spent the afternoon hopping around on the boulders in the river and sitting under little refreshing waterfalls. I got some good pictures and don�t worry mom I am trying to get in some of them. Our hotel was definitely the nicest place in Lencois. When Semester at Sea puts you up in hotel, they don�t mess around. I had a great view of the mountains and our lagoon swimming pool out one window and the cascading river that rushed passed our hotel out my other window. We had a buffet dinner that night and complimentary Tai Chi the next morning in the garden. I went, but I don�t think I would do Tai Chi again. Somehow my chi just didn�t harness very well.
Anyway, day two in Lencois brought a long hike through a beautiful river canyon. The whole SAS group went on the hike, but a few others and myself went with our own guide so that we could move a little more quickly. The hike was pretty intense, but it was definitely worth it. We finally arrived at our destination, which was a giant cascading waterfall. The falls cascaded down the rocks for like 100 feet and then the actual falls was about 30 feet. Huge canyon walls covered in hanging moss surrounded the entire pool at the bottom of the falls. The swim over to the falls was tough for me because the current was pretty strong, but I huffed my way over there and it was great to stand underneath the cold water. I also followed the lead of a few natives and jumped a good 10 feet or so from a rock above the natural pool. We hiked back out and still had time to go horseback riding that evening. I went riding with a couple of others and it was quite an experience. One of the guys had a 40-pound backpack on and it was hilarious to watch our guide whip his horse and then watch Kyle bounce around while trying to slow down his old, decrepit horse. We did survive, though, and after we ate a good dinner at the hotel I hung out at an outdoor caf� dancing and mingling with other SASers who had chosen to come to Lencois.
The third day I stayed with the bigger group and we hiked to another lagoon and waterfall. There I did another cliff jump, which was higher. It was like 20 or 25 feet. It was great. We also hiked a small mountain for a great view of the area. Then, we checked out of the hotel and drove the long, dusty road back to Salvador. That night I walked around until early in the morning with a group of about five girls from the ship. I ran into a few street kids who loved jumping on me and hanging around my neck, which was really great. That was something that I had been missing up until that point. I had really wanted an opportunity to love on the kids.
On our last day in Salvador, I slept in and then went back out to the market with my friends Brady, Kyle, and Mark. Brady got his pocket picked by a little kid, which when we look back on it is a really funny story. Remind me to tell you that story later. When we got back, we got ready for our final adventure in Brazil, a soccer game. It was neat to go and see soccer in Brazil because that sport is such a big deal there. It was a little crazy, but not nearly as bad as SAS had warned us it might be. That has often been the case.
The ship left Salvador and I felt like I would have liked another couple of days. People had been to the Amazon and Rio and Iguassu falls, and Itaparica Island, and everyone seemed to have had a good time. And, while I think Lencois was the best (shhh) I would have liked to check out some other places that people really enjoyed. In comparison with Cuba, I liked Brazil better. I didn�t make the close friends in Brazil that I did in Cuba, but I enjoyed it a little more. It is hard to compare the two, because they are so different.
Shipboard life is going pretty well. Classes have gotten a little more time consuming now as tests and papers are coming more frequently. It is annoying to have to go to class out here when you really want to just think about the countries and hang out with all of the people, but it is a semester of credit and so I�ll just have to get over it. And, it is a small price to pay for this once in a lifetime opportunity. We had a Valentine�s Day dance where people wore red if they were taken, green if they were available, and yellow if they were mellow about the whole thing. I, of course, wore green. I have made a lot of friends on the ship and I am having a lot of fun.
As I left Salvador I just thought how strange it was to be heading to another port. Usually when a big trip like that ends, you head home, but instead we just gear up for the next port. Pretty cool eh? I will update on South Africa in another email because this one is already getting a little long, but here is a little preview- Rusty in a plane, Rusty not in a plane. That�s right, Skydive Cape Town baby. More on that later.
On my way to fight the lions in Tanzania,
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South Africa
Hello all,
I can�t believe that the trip is already almost half over. It has really flown by fast. We just left Tanzania yesterday, but I still haven�t told you about South Africa, so I guess that is next. South Africa is an absolutely amazing place. When we pulled up to the port, the sun had not risen yet and you could just barely see the outline of Table Mountain towering over the lights of Cape Town. As the sun rose, the mountain was slowly revealed in all of its majesty. Cape Town is a very European city. Right off of the boat was a huge mall that was very modern. It was nice to go to a port that was a little taste of home. It was also nice to be able to buy food and film and that kind of stuff.
The first day I went with Brady, Kyle, Shawna, and Christina to a tour place and we rented a driver for the whole day to take us around the cape peninsula. We went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, a fishing village at Hout�s Bay and then all of the way down to Cape Point. Cape point was absolutely beautiful. It is the place where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, and it is the most South Westerly point of Africa. Our driver was great. His name was Zed, pronounced Zaid, and he was very helpful. He came to be a good friend. On the way back we stopped at boulder beach and saw the penguins that were just chillin� right there on the beach. I was like two feet from them. I went swimming in the ice cold water and luckily I didn�t get attacked by any of them. That night I went out with some friends and we had a good time living up the nightlife of South Africa right near the port.
Day two. I left early to visit an African township, which is the place that most blacks in Cape Town live. The townships are right outside of the white dominated city. The hard thing to believe is that the blacks are 75% of the population, but they are the poor outcasts. The country of South Africa is still recovering from a long period of legal segregation known as Apartheid that just ended in 1994. That night I went to see a musical about one aspect of Apartheid where blacks were forced off their land. The musical was called District Six and it was really good. We had the opportunity to meet the director and writer and he told us about the play and its history. The next day I went on a little bit of an adventure. I kind of alluded to it in my last email. I went skydiving in Cape Town and it was awesome. I drove out into the country and then watched all of my friends jump because I was the last on the list when we signed in. I strapped on my yellow jump suit and ran out to the plane with no instructions or anything. Then my Tandem jumper jumped in behind me followed by the other jumper and his partner. Then we took off. Oh by the way, there was no door on our little rinky-dink plane. I got my 2-minute instruction session as we climbed up to 9000 feet. When it was almost time to go, he strapped onto me and out we went. I had my disposable camera taped to my hand and I tried to snap some pictures. Who knows how those will turn out. The free fall was crazy but as soon as they pulled the chute it was so peaceful. Anyway, that was the morning. I walked around that day. I had gone to the market the day before so I just killed a little time and then I went with my friend Karen and hiked Table Mountain.
Table Mountain was great. It was a pretty intense hike, but the view from the top was great. There was a little bit of a fog and so the sunset was hard to see but once it cleared it was beautiful. The best was when the city lit up and there were a million lights. We took the cable car down at about 8:30. The last day we were there I spent the first half of the day in the winelands of Stellenbosch. We took a tour out there and went to two different wine estates and did wine tasting. It was very beautiful. One of the places had a Cheetah reserve and at the other place we took a tour of how they make the wine. It was a really good morning. I shopped a little more that afternoon and then that night I went with several friends to a place called Clifton Beach to watch the sunset. When we got there we had a great surprise because we saw whales off the shore. It was the perfect end to the trip. I kinda missed the sunset because I went swimming in my jeans, and when I was running back up the rocks to see it I busted my toe and it started to bleed. I ended up losing the whole toenail, and now it is a nice black color. Anyway, we rushed back to make it to the ship for on ship time and looked back on a wonderful stay in what so far was my favorite port.
I had a good birthday, my friends surprised me with a cake and they bought me some drinks to celebrate here on the ship. It was great to see so many people come out to hang out with me and it let me know what good friends I have made on the ship. I am trying to think of ways to suck more of the marrow out of this trip as Thoreau would say. I cannot believe that India is our next port. I don�t even have plans yet. Oh yea, we had the Un-Olympics on our trip to Tanzania. It was a blast. Each different hall on the ship is a different sea and we all take the whole day and compete in tons of events from tug-of-war to chocolate drip and lick, which me and my partner won by the way. I am on the Ionian Sea. We came in second, but then there was some controversy, but I think we still got second. There was a tie for first, I think, and the prize for that is that your sea gets to get off first in Seattle. There are like 9 seas I think, but I�m not sure. I wasn�t so bummed about not getting first, but I was bummed that we didn�t win the spirit stick. Oh, well life goes on I guess. I will always know in my heart that we deserved it. Haha.
Rusty
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Phone Call
South Africa
We just got a phone call from Rusty - the first news we've had from him since a quick call when they docked in Brazil. He said South Africa is beautiful, definitely his favorite so far. He and four others - Brady, Kyle, Shauna, and Christina (I'm not sure about last names or spellings!) went swimming this morning at Cape Point where they had a great time and even saw penquins!
He's done a little shopping and said that although he didn't want the ports to be too "American or European", he was very glad to be able to go into a store and get some regular shopping done - snacks, camera equipment, etc. I guess they need a little normalcy in their different experiences. He said everybody seems to be doing great.
He has not been seasick but he did say the seas had been a little rough - someone's dinner plate fell right off the table the other night. They thought that was pretty funny. Anyway, that's not really much news to share but even a little is better than none, right?
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Rusty Phone call
South Africa
Another call from Rusty this morning. Add him to the list of those who've gone skydiving. He said he watched for a while and decided that it must be safe (evidently they'd been told it might not be) since they were doing it tandem and he didn't think the South Africans would strap themselves to a parachute that wasn't safe. He said the free fall was really fast then it was a slow, calm, quiet ride once the parachute opened. He had a disposable camera taped to his hand - his digital was lost/stolen in Cuba so he's taking no chances! and hopes he got some decent shots. It was fun and he felt it was definitely worth the money.
He and Karen(???) were hiking up to Table Mountain to watch the sunset then take a cable car back down. He's going to the winelands tomorrow morning then riding horseback on the beach in the afternoon. He saw a musical - District 6 - about apartheid that he thought was really good, his township visit was only so-so.
His classes (oh yea, they are a part of this trip, aren't they?) are ok but it's hard to get motivated to study with all that's going on. The kids are talking about the possibility of war although they really don't have much information to go on. I told him we didn't have a whole lot more than them!
He got 12 cards/letters in S Africa and was REAL excited. He opened a couple and realized they were birthday cards so is saving the rest until his birthday next week. He did open one from a mom in CA and was real surprised to get it. He evidently didn't realize we were sending cards to all of them. Thank you to whoever sent cards to him. They obviously mean a lot! He said he's going to wait and do some of his Africa shopping in Tanzania because he thinks prices will be better there than in S Africa. That's about all he said except that everyone is having a great time and S Africa is beautiful and a fun place to be. It sounds like it.
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Ship Life
We are going to get into Seattle on the 30th- tentatively- instead of the sixth of May. I have thought a little about that, but we just got that news last night, so I haven�t had too much time to think about it. I think that it might be cool to keep travel plans the way they are and I can just treat Seattle like another port of call because the ship will be available until May, 6th, so housing will be free. I don�t know what everyone will do, but I have heard a lot of people talking about doing that.
They told us that if we are planning on changing travel plans, not to do it quite yet because the arrival date is not set in stone yet. I feel really bad for the dean because he has been working so hard to get this all worked out and I know that they have been having a hard time. And, he has had to deliver a lot of bad news, which can�t be fun. Most people are taking everything pretty well. Some people complained a lot, but most realize that we are lucky to be here in the first place and so they are rolling with the punches. I think that the key is to look at our itinerary ahead of us, and not worry about the ones we are missing.
Japan is supposed to be a very expensive port and some people are pretty worried about the fact that we will have about nine days there total. I am getting a full refund on the $954 dollar trip in China, so that should come off of the credit card about the time of the end of the voyage. They said there were some cancellation fees, but Pittsburgh decided not to pass them along to us, which was nice.
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Tanzania
Hello to my landlubbing friends!
Man, it has been a long time since I wrote last and believe me a lot has happened since then. The most recent developments in our trip are slightly less positive than we hoped. Because of the outbreak of a strange Pneumonia virus in Asia, which I�m sure you�ve heard about, we had to cancel our stops in both Vietnam and Hong Kong. When we as a shipboard community first got this news I wasn�t too disappointed. I had wanted to go to those countries, but I figured we would just slap some new stops in there and all would be well.
Unfortunately, at a time when we are at war and the virus has infected a lot of countries, there aren�t a lot of options. At first it was kind of exciting because we had no idea where we were going. The people in Pittsburgh, the Captain, the Dean and everyone have been working really hard to keep the rest of the program intact. For awhile we didn�t know anything for sure. We anchored off the coast of Singapore for fuel and that was kinda cool. We were hoping to still make it to northern China, but the disease seems to have hit there too and we can�t go. It is a bummer that we had to lose those countries, but I am trying to focus on what we are doing rather than what we are not doing. I keep reminding myself that this trip has already been so amazing. Also, it is not too shabby to visit Japan twice in one month.
I was watching Good Morning Vietnam the other day and I started to get pretty sad that we are not going to Vietnam. And, I have to admit I was pretty excited about buying cheap electronics and getting a suit tailored in Hong Kong. Oh well, Sushi and Sumo will have to take their place. Some people are really mad that we are having to spend more time on the ship, but I�m really ok with that. For me, the shipboard life is just as much a part of the trip as the countries are.
Enough about that, how about that safari! When we got to Dar Es Salaam, there wasn�t really much there in the port and the city doesn�t really have that much to offer. I was glad that I had signed up for a four day safari that would take me hours into the country. That night I found one of the only things to do in Dar Es Salaam, I joined a number of other SASers at a hotel that had a bowling alley and a casino. On the upside, I learned how to play blackjack and roulette. On the downside, I learned how to lose at blackjack and roulette. Oh well, everyone said it is best to lose your first time gambling so that you don�t get yourself in big trouble later. I also went laser bowling and bowled my worst score ever. I bowled like a 72, it must be a different type of ball (yea right haha!) Anyway, the next day I left for the eight or so hour bus ride to Arusha. There, I boarded a phat Toyota Land Cruiser with Brady, Jessica, Loughlin, Sarah, and Coreen. We left there with our new guide Kisali and headed for our campsite next to the Tarangire Game Reserve. I got a spot in a little tent with my friend Louis. The tents were already set up and they had some showers set up. They also had a tent for eating and we had full time African cooks. The next morning we got up fairly early, had breakfast and hopped into our 4x4�s for our first day of game driving. The tops of the jeeps came off in sections and so we were standing on our seats so that half of our bodies were out the top. I was in the car with the same people from the day before and it was like that for the whole time.
When we entered the park, we wondered if we would have any success seeing animals. It wasn�t long before our questions were answered by way of Giraffes. Throughout the day we saw lots of Giraffes and many Elephants as well. We saw Impala, which look a lot like Deer, a few Zebra and, did I mention Elephants. We also saw Monkeys and Baboons, and let me tell you they are sneaky little buggers. We all met up at a certain part of the park for lunch and they were coming up and swiping parts of lunches and stuff. It was crazy. The highlight of the day came right before lunch. The one animal that I wanted to see more than any other was a Lion. I had been on a game drive in Uganda a few years back and we had not been able to spot any Lions so I was really hoping. We heard that two were under a tree just up ahead and so the guide in the next jeep over who had like eagle eyes spotted them in the grass with a pair of binoculars. I couldn�t believe it. I was looking so hard I thought my eyes would pop out and I couldn�t see them. After a while we realized that there were two in the grass under the trees and if you used binoculars you could just make them out. They were Lionesses. Occasionally one would lift her head a little bit and we got a better look. We waited a long time for them to get up and then finally, an Elephant started to come over and we knew that might do the trick. Sure enough, they got up and started slowly walking pretty much parallel with our car. They looked like one at first, but then they separated a little. We were so pumped. We drove around to where they were heading and we got in their path. They were slowly headed right for us and we were snapping pictures like crazy. More cars started to come and the guide leaned over to shut our windows. We were all standing out the top of the car and I swear I think I could have spit on her she was so close. Something spooked one of them and she roared all of a sudden and scared the bejeebers out of me. We watched them a little longer and then they walked right through the cars and we eventually lost sight of them. Needless to say, it was pretty cool.
The afternoon was pretty uneventful, we drove all around, but we didn�t see much game. One cool thing I did was climbing a big ol� tree that was so big that everyone from my jeep climbed into a hole in the middle of it for a picture. And, we had room to spare.
That night we had a green mamba snake (really poisonous) climb into the shower when a girl was in there. Luckily our African guards saw it and they got it out and beat the snot out of it. While it was still alive, I held it by the tail, which is a pretty big accomplishment for a guy who is afraid of snakes.
The next day was a lot of the same, we enjoyed the day driving through the game park seeing the animals and it was a nice day to get some good pictures. The next day we drove back to Dar Es Salaam and boarded the ship and that night we set sail for India.
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India
Rusty didn't go on an SAS trip in this country (he couldn't do everything!) but he said that probably 550 kids did. That didn't leave very many behind but he enjoyed the kids he hung out with. He went with Kyle in an auto rickshaw doing some shopping in Chennai on the first day. He said there are lots of precious gems, Persian rugs, silk that are all very nice.
Then he went with Lacey, Gina, Karen, Christina, and Courtney on their trip to Mamalapuram. They stopped at a crocidile farm on the way and he also went in a building with lots of snakes and saw a venom extraction. He said, "It didn't cost hardly anything. I don't know why they didn't want to go see that". They stayed in a hotel there with a tv and were able to catch up a little on the world news.
A bunch of kids from the ship went to a movie last night. He, Allison, Karen and Tony went to the same one. When they first docked, a group of school kids came on board to welcomed them. Yesterday, someone from the school came to the ship and invited our kids to go to their school so Rusty, along with others went. He said it was interesting. They enjoyed the kids but he said the adults were snapping pictures - someone thrust a sign saying "Peace, not war" in his hand and took a picture. Evidently they were using it as a photo opportunity. He didn't want to make a scene by refusing to hold the sign but also didn't want to be making a political statement. He says he can now never run for public office because he's sure that if he does, this picture will mysteriously appear to make it look like he protested the war while in India. That, of course, was not his intention at all.
This afternoon he, Christina, and Vincent went to one of Mother Teresa's Orphanages. Rusty has been on mission trips to Uganda, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Mexico and has seen things that have brought us all to tears. Even with the things he has seen, he said this was absolutely unbelievable. There were lots of children with deformities and he spent the last 1 1/2 hours helping feed the children. He seemed very moved and the whole conversation was somewhat subdued (unlike his other calls). Just like the others, he is seeing things that break his heart.
He has not been sick for which I am very thankful.
His phone card doesn't work there but he used a phone close to where the ship is which costs .50 per minute and must be paid at the close of the call. It was worth it!
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Korea
Hey Guys,
I know that it has been a while since I wrote you guys, but our last few ports came right after one another without much time at sea. I want to write this email about my time in Korea to keep things a little more up to date. However, I will go back and write about India and the first trip to Japan sometime before we get home. Right now we are heading across the Pacific Ocean and we are in the middle of a pretty big storm. It snowed last night and it is 34 degrees today. Waves are 23-32 feet high and they have closed all outside decks. It is pretty sweet. We are on our way to Seward, Alaska and then we will stop in Victoria, BC before arriving in Seattle. We added those ports to the itinerary when we lost the others earlier on.
When we arrived in Busan, South Korea, no one really knew what to expect. I guess South Korea is just not a country that I knew a lot about. Unfortunately, our boat was docked about an hour outside of the city and so we had to take buses and subways just to get into Busan. That didn�t really bother me though because I decided to leave and travel around the country the whole time we were there.
The first day I went out with my friends Lacey and Kyla and Rachel. We were trying to get plans set for our travels, but we also took time to have a traditional Korean meal. I don�t know if you have ever had Korean food, but if you have I just want to say that I�m sorry. The experience was a good one, but the food was not my style. They are big on raw fish in these Asian countries. As a matter of fact they are big on anything that looks or smells fishy. We were the only people in the restaurant, which actually looked more like a house. We sat on the floor and we didn�t order anything we just waited while she started bringing out dish after dish. Every time she brought out another load we were sure that was the last course, but they just kept on comin�. It would have been one thing if it was pizza or something good, but I could count on one finger the amount of it that I actually thought tasted good. Oh, I tried pretty much everything, but I wouldn�t exactly say I�ll be serving Korean for my next dinner party. One other funny thing about the meal and then I�ll move on to bigger and better things. When she brought out one of the courses, she was trying to explain to us how to mix everything together. Finally, she decided to just do it for us and she started to mix all kinds of stuff together in a bowl in front of me. She kinda motioned for me to try it. I was hesitant to do so, and I guess I was a little slow on the draw because she just picked up the spoon, filled it with food and stuck it right in my mouth. Then she put the spoon right in a bowl of mystery soup and stuck that right in my mouth too. I tried to smile and luckily it didn�t taste too bad, but once she left we all just died laughing. It was pretty funny.
We took the all night ferry to Jeju Island, which we had heard was the Hawaii of Korea. That didn�t turn out to be exactly true, but we still had a nice time. The ferry ride was not one that I would like to take again. We bought the cheapest ticket, which reserved us a spot on the floor in a room of about 100 Korean people. Somehow that didn�t look too appealing to us and so we put our stuff in a room that some other SASers had reserved and we slept on couches in the lounge. However, we were joined by a group of high school aged Korean girls who had gotten drunk and were also getting seasick. They proceeded to puke all over the floor and themselves all night long. It wasn�t too bad though and I did get some sleep before our 6:30 a.m. arrival.
Once we were on the island, we went south and spent a day and a half bumming around on the southern coast. We went to see a waterfall, but it was a bit too touristy for our taste. We walked along the coast and looked out over the small islands just off the shore. We went to a really fancy resort hotel for dinner and a volcano light show that was pretty cool, but we decided that 500 dollars!! a night was a little steep for a room and went back to our little Korean hotel where we were paying 20 dollars a piece. Jeju was really pretty and we had a nice time, but we didn�t need a whole lot of time there. If I ever go back there are a couple of things I would like to do, but it was a little hard to plan things at the time.
We left on the evening of our second day on a flight to Seoul, which is the capital of South Korea. Rachel had gone to Seoul on an earlier flight and so it was just Lacey, Kyla, and myself. We wandered around for a while and then we went to Pizza Hut. I am all about cultural experiences and all, but I was tired of paying for food that I didn�t like. When it comes to food, America just does it right. A man showed us to the hotel we wanted to check into and also the hotel where we were supposed to meet the next day for our tour to the Demilitarized Zone. We checked into our hotel and walked around Seoul for a while.
Seoul is a really cool city. The next day we walked to the Lotte hotel and boarded a bus for our tour of the DMZ. It was us, a German and a bunch of Japanese people. There was a Japanese guide and an English speaking guide, but the English speaking guide was a little hard to understand. The tour was really cool. We went to an observatory where we could look out over the Demilitarized Zone. We could also look right across at North Korea. A quick history lesson is probably a good idea here. The Demilitarized Zone is an area between North and South Korea that was designated as an area where no hostile troops can be. The demarcation line which runs along the 38th parallel is the border between the two countries and it lies in the middle of the DMZ. Anyway, after we went to the observatory we went on into a United Nations military base. It was really cool because there were a lot of U.S. military troops there. We ate lunch at the base and it was really good. It was funny because U.S. MTV was playing on a big screen and ESPN was on another TV. It was a little strange to watch that in South Korea.
After that we boarded a military bus with a guard to go the rest of the way in. We went all of the way into the DMZ right up to the place where the demarcation line runs through. We had a dress code and we had to be careful what motions we made because we were right in front of North Korean buildings. I even had to sign a form that waved them of responsibility for injury or death. Anyway when we got to the place where the demarcation line runs we went into a building guarded by South Koreans who were staring right across at the North Korean side. We went into the building where they have diplomatic meetings between the two countries and I stepped onto the North Korean side to have my picture taken beside a South Korean guard. So, basically I was in North Korea. I got a picture of a North Korean guard, and it was all around pretty darn cool. On the way back we had a pretty funny experience. I had become pretty good friends with our Korean English speaking guide and while we were driving back he was talking into the microphone and I made a comment that was an inside joke between the two of us and he started laughing. I cracked him up so good that he couldn�t keep talking. He was trying so hard to keep his composure, but it took him a few minutes before he could finish his speech. It was really funny.
That night when we got back from our tour we went to a show called �Cookin� Nanta.� It was kinda like a Korean version of �Stomp,� except they used knives and other cooking utensils to make the beats. The show was really great. If you are ever in South Korea it is a must see. After that, we ran into a Canadian guy who recommended that we go to this bar that he knew of where a band was playing. We went and it was really cool. The band was a couple of Canadians, a German, and a guy from Oklahoma. Go figure. Anyway there were a few GI�s in the bar and we had a fun time hanging out there. I ran into a girl from Canada who was there teaching English and making really good money.
The next day we slept in and headed back to the Busan on a train. We spent a little time in Busan and then headed back to the ship for on-ship time. I had to stop off for a French Baguette on the way. I have grown to love those. Anyway the next morning we shoved off for Osaka, Japan. That�s the news for now, stay tuned for more if we don�t capsize or something. Just kidding mom. I will see you all soon, but not too soon. I am not quite ready for my journey to be over yet.
Love,
Rusty
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