Hey all!

Not much has happened since Puerto Rico. Not much can happen I suppose, since we’re stuck on a ship for nine days. All of my classes have officially started, and they are very hard… to stay awake in. It’s just something about the rocking of the ship that makes you tired. Or maybe it’s the fact that I get about 5 hours of sleep a night, and we lose an hour due to time changes every few days. But regardless, classes are going alright so far. I think being on the ship affects my appetite also. It’s either the constant motion, or the sub-par food, but I don’t really eat that much anymore. I suppose I do still eat a lot, but I’m never incredibly hungry. I just eat because it’s fun. I just had two chocolate mousses (meece? moussi?) for dessert tonight, which was delicious. In Puerto Rico I had 5 flans for lunch. That was a good day.

We just signed up for some more trips a few days ago, and I was able to miraculously get everything that I tried to sign up for. Now that I signed up for additional trips, for those who don’t know, here’s what I’m doing:

Brazil-
Carnival - Well it’s the last day Carnival when we get in, so I’m going to that. I’m going to try and not bring anything with me when I go, since people apparently get robbed left and right, which means I won’t have pictures L

Iguassu Falls- I’m super excited for this trip. These are some of the most beautiful falls in the world, or so they say. We have to fly down to the south of Brazil and we get to cross to Argentina also. There are catwalks and such over the falls, we get to take a boat ride to the “Devil’s Throat”, and there is some kind of local festival.

South Africa-
Robben Island- This used to be where they would keep political prisoners, such as Nelson Mandela. And there are penguins.

Safari- This one explains itself.

Possibly skydiving or shark diving, but we’ll see what happens.

Mauritius-
Adventure Park & Beach- This is a really cool place that has a bunch of obstacle courses, canopy walks, etc.

“Blue Escape”- A dual catamaran/snorkeling trip on the shores of Mauritius.

India-
Taj Mahal- Yay! This trip actually goes to Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, Agra being where the Taj Mahal is located.

Kencheepuram/Mamallapuram- For those of you keeping track, Mamallapuram used to go by the name of Mahabalipuram. I thought that might be interesting to at least one of you.

Malaysia-
I signed up to do a homestay in a traditional village, called a kampung. I’ll spend three days there, get acquainted with the village and get to partake in activities such as games with the children, cooking, and visiting the local farms.

Vietnam/Cambodia-
I’m going to Angkor Wat, which is in Cambodia, but it counts as a Vietnam trip because it takes away from our time in Vietnam. You should google Angkor Wat if you haven’t seen a picture of them, because they’re supposed to be some of the most impressive ruins in the world. I’m also going to try and get a crazy suit made.

Hong Kong/Shanghai-
I was able to get a University stay at Tsinghua University in Beijing. We stay at the university and get to know the students while we visit places like the Great Wall, Beijing Zoo, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the site for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Summer Palace, to name a few. We also get to attend an acrobatic performance, and there are optional lessons for Tajiquan, which is traditional Chinese shadow boxing.

Japan-
We’re going to do this country completely independently. It’ll be fun.

Hawaii and Costa Rica don’t really have any set plans so far. I’m going to try to visit some family in Hawaii, but unfortunately I’m only there for less than 24 hours.

We crossed the Equator today, and have three days left till Brazil! If you read this long entry, I’m impressed. I’ll try to update sometime in Brazil. Miss you!

P.S.
It took me so long to put this on the internet. My account apparently doesn't work, and I had to go on Grant's account.