They tell you it’s going to be difficult. They tell you it’s going to be shocking. They tell you that you’re going to miss your ship and your cabin and your roommate. They tell you, they tell you, they tell you. They don’t tell you that you will feel like a tourist in your home. They tell you that you will feel like a tourist in your town for a few days. They don’t tell you that you will feel like a tourist with the people around you that you have known for years. They don’t tell you.
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Our very last port has come and gone. We had a one-day stop in Honolulu, Hawaii, and let me tell you, it was really nice to be back in the states again.
Our LAST foreign port. Oh. My. Lanta. Japan was a wonderful time and I would definitely go back. We started the trip very American, and then got lost in the city, Chinatown, and the dollar store. More to come on this groundbreaking news.
I’m not going to lie; China was very stressful. From arriving in Shanghai 10 hours late, to scheduling and rescheduling trains, getting to Beijing a day late, and getting kicked out of taxis because they can’t understand us. But, hey, I got to Beijing, didn’t I? And I saw the Great Wall of China. So that’s a win in my book.
It’s really a fun story, so get your popcorn ready and relax because we’re going on an adventure. Vietnam, Vietnam, Vietnam. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but, unlike Myanmar, I had heard of this country beforehand.
This stop included history, spiders, marketing, tea, boats, bikes, and much more. I was constantly on the move in this port and it ended up being one of my favorite stops. *Insert Olympics fanfare here*
On each voyage, SAS puts on the Sea Olympics. It gives us something to look forward to for our days at sea. We are all divided into “seas” based on what cabin we are in and there are six seas. Well, actually, there are seven because the staculty, Lifelong Learners, and the ship kids created their own sea. Between all seven seas, we competed in a number of different events and competitions. It started the night before with the lip sync battle and my sea won. FYI, I’m in the Yellow Sea. Fun Fact: Before this trip, I had never heard of Myanmar. Because of that, I had no idea what to expect going in there. They have been having some political unrest in certain areas of the country, and I will let you do your own research on that.
Last minute, Amelia and I found out that Farah would not be joining us in Myanmar because she made other plans. So we went in without any knowledge of what we would do. But never fear, we figured it out, and it was a good time. Before we begin, you get a cupcake! And you get a cupcake! We have officially reached the halfway point of the voyage. Please celebrate accordingly, and I lied about the cupcakes. Point one being I’m on a ship in the middle of the ocean and cannot provide cupcakes to anyone, and secondly, they don’t serve cupcakes on the ship, so I don’t even get any.
Also, I would like to add a small rant. Many people on the ship have been referring to the Taj Mahal as “the Taj” and I don’t care for that. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, so it deserves to be called by its full name, there is such a beautiful love story behind it, and I personally don’t feel like it’s very respectful to call it “the Taj”. Therefore, you will never hear me say that. Okay, thank you for that. Rant over. Hi! I’m Mackenzie and I’m an extremely picky eater, but for some reason, I signed up for a culinary workshop in Mauritius. Now, before you get too excited, it was less of a workshop and more of a “we got to watch them explain how they prepared our lunch” kind of thing.
This stop was mostly a fuel stop for the ship (same thing when we get to Hawaii), and we had to be in a field class or purchase a field program with SAS to get off the ship. Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “She paid to go on this trip to study ON a ship, and now she’s paying to get off?” Well the answer is no. Obviously a big part of the trip is seeing many parts of the world and in order to do that, we must get off the ship. BUT I didn’t pay for my field program. |