10/15/09
Today was exhausting!! We arrived at Port Louis, Mauritius at 8am and by 9:15am I was already boarding my bus and heading to my SAS trip. We drove about 45 minutes to the mountain called Le Pouce. It was 2,661 feet high and it is shaped like a thumb. We were told it was a very difficult hike and it would take us around 1 hour to get to the top. I looked at the mountain and thought there was no way in hell it’s only going to take me an hour to get up there. We got off the bus and put on our bug spray and grabbed our water bottles. We began our trek to the top of the mountain. The walkways were very small, covered with uneven rocks with bushes and sticks coming from every direction. Oh and I wanted to mention the fact that it was practically a vertical journey the entire way. I was having difficulty breathing because of asthma and didn’t have an inhaler so I did struggle a bit. However, I did make it to the top of the mountain. The view on the way up and once you reach the top is absolutely gorgeous. You could see our ship on one side of the island and other the side you saw ocean and beaches in the distance. Down below were farms filled with sugar cane and just beautiful mountains and landscape. We relaxed for awhile and took in the scenery while drinking water and eating cereal bars. We made our way back down the mountain which was a little bit difficult. It was really steep at some points and I felt like I was bouncing the entire way down. After reaching the bottom, one of our guides was cutting fresh sugar cane to try. I had never tried sugar cane like that before so I put it in my mouth and bit down sucking the sugar out. It was delicious so of course I had another. We waited for everyone else and then boarded the bus for lunch at Eureka’s Colonial House. This place was absolutely amazing. The view was overlooking a lagoon with a waterfall. There was a pool and palm trees with wooden chairs to sit in on the ground. Inside was a table set up for 20 of us with pretty flowers as center pieces. We were all starving so thankfully they put out some bread. There were also different types of sauces on the table too. I tried one that tasted like peanuts and another that tasted like mint. It was definitely something different. Next we were given a plate of rice and then curried chicken. I tried the chicken, but it wasn’t for me so I just ate my rice. Dessert consisted of a coconut mousse and I did in fact try some it was pretty good. After we finished lunch we headed to Flic-en-Flac beach for about an hour. We passed shopping and bars on the way in so we decided to walk down there rather than spend all the time on the beach. Besides it was a really cloudy day. I did most of my shopping in one store so I was able to get salt and pepper shakers too!!! After about an hour we walked back to the bus and headed back to the ship. I relaxed for awhile and then we decided to go out in search of some REAL food. The way that you get to the waterfront since it isn’t connected to the port like South Africa is by using the water taxis. They are little boats that take you across the harbor. You pay $2 USD to get there and the same for a return. It was interesting trying to get in and out of them. You had to climb down a ladder and hop into a boat. It was always and adventure with that. We decided to eat at a place called Black Steer bar and grill. I had fish and chips which was GREAT! After we had dinner we decided to find a bar for some drinks. We found a bar called Shooters that was part of a restaurant on the 3rd story of this building overlooking the waterfront. We went up and found a few friends that we knew and sat with them. The local beer in Mauritius is called Phoenix. It was actually really good. We stayed there for awhile and then took a water taxi home at about 1am. The best part of the ride was when one of our friends realized she had a huge cockroach crawling down her back onto her legs. Well, I checked some email after returning and off to bed. I have a service visit tomorrow!
10/16/09
I got up this morning and grabbed a quick breakfast. I went to my bus at 8:30am for my service visit to Terre De Paix children’s center which is an orphanage for neglected and abused children. Upon arriving the woman in charge explained a lot about what they do and how it works. They house approximately 60 children the youngest being 6 and oldest being 17. Most of the children come from families who cannot support them, been abused, or leave in an unstable home. These children participate in activities each day that help them therapeutically. Some of the activities include weaving, sculpting, music class, physical education, and a class on sexuality. There was also a pre-school that was located on the grounds and this is where I started. There were about 50 children in total and 7 teachers. All of the children spoke French so it was very difficult to communicate with them. The teacher asked me my name and all of a sudden the children were singing a song with my name in it. After the song ended and we all had clapped she told me that they were telling me that they loved me. It was adorable and totally melted my heart. The room was filled with different kinds of food, to be specific sweets. There is a holiday called Divali. It’s the festival of lights and everyone shares sweets with each other. They even say those who are enemies, don’t know each other or, are angry with someone it doesn’t matter on this day. Everyone is welcoming to everyone. So, I tired one of the sweets and it tasted much like licorice. After this station we moved to the next one which was weaving. We looked at the many types of designs these children were making some were simple and some were extremely difficult like the bunch of apples or a flower. We were able to look at the collages that these children make that represent a topic that they are learning about. They use magazines and books to make the artwork. The next station we went to was sculpting so we sat down and made some objects with them. After that we headed to the music room where they played instruments and sang us songs. It was really a cool experience. When we finished with going around to the different stations we walked down the street to see the new center that will open in March 2010 which is a preschool and nursery school. We stood in the foundation and were told about the improvements that are being made to the orphanage and this is one of them. We returned back to the orphanage and had a drink and some wafers. After that we boarded the bus and came back to Port Louis. I still needed to get some shopping done and I heard two other kids saying there getting off so I joined them. We had lunch at La Petit Gourmet and I had some fried shrimp. When we were done with lunch we walked around the waterfront and I bought a few things that I needed. I eventually took the water taxi back to the ship and relaxed for a bit before eating dinner on board. Then, my friends wanted to eat and I wanted to have a few drinks so we headed to the Keg and Marlin which is an outdoor bar and restaurant just like the Black Steer. I shared some nachos with a friend and we drank a few beers. There was live music also which was really good and seemed to draw a crowd. We took a taxi to other parts of the island and had a great time. We didn’t reach the ship until 5am and the sun was rising. I was exhausted so I went to bed for a few hours.
10/17/09
After the 3 hours of sleep from the previous night I went out with my friends to do some last minute shopping. I didn’t need anything, but I wanted to go out for our last day. I couldn’t believe how fast 3 days went by. After a little shopping we grabbed some lunch. We ate at McDonald’s! It wasn’t as good as the US, but it was better than ship food. We walked around with a couple of our friends for a bit more then took the water taxi back to the ship. I got on board and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon by uploading pictures to my computer and writing in my journal. We got dinner in the evening and for dessert was chocolate filled éclairs!!! They were so good. I spent some time on the 7th deck talking to a few friends and then went back to my room. I was so exhausted I put on a movie and went to bed.
10/18/09
Today I had my last midterm it was for deviance and social control. It was relatively easy and I think I did well on it. It consisted of answering two essay questions that we could pick from out of 6. It was stuff I had already learned. I started reading my new book for Sociology of Marriage and the Family called Promises I Can Keep. It’s about young women who struggle with being pregnant and the problems and issues that come with it. It’s been interesting so far so I think I will enjoy it. I had dinner with my friends and read for my classes. Wasn’t much of a busy day, but it is our first day back so you can never expect much.
10/19/09
Today I had global studies which is almost always boring. It was a little better today because we watched a movie and had a guest lecturer from India (our next country of port). I also had him in my International Law give a presentation on Refugees. Sociology of Marriage was interesting we talked about the different kinds of marriage contracts that are used in India. There is at least 4 or 5 different kinds specific to certain people. I never knew that and found it to be really surprising. Nothing too exciting going on lately, oh wait tomorrow is SEA OLYMPICS!!! When we all first arrived on the ship in Halifax and were assigned our rooms we were assigned a sea too. I am a part of the Sargasso Sea which is out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean located near Bermuda. It is the only sea in the world without shores. It is said to be distinct for its deep blue color and exceptional clarity. Anyway, the purpose of SEA OLYMPICS is to decide who gets off the ship first once we reach SAN DIEGO, CA our final destination. Our sea only consists of 44 people; we are the 2nd smallest on board. Therefore, many of us have to sign up for the events that I’m going to list. It is an all day event beginning at 9am with opening ceremonies and going all the way to after 5pm with closing ceremonies and a BBQ. Some of the events include: pie eating contest, don’t forget the lyrics, tug-o-war, pull-ups, dean Byron says, spelling bee, game room (Pictionary, scrabble, etc.), synchronized swimming, banner contest, torch contest, reverse scavenger hunt which requires you to take a pillow case back to your room and fill it with as many things as you can and bring it back to the judges. The judges have a list of items that they will read off if you have that item you will receive a point. There is volleyball, make up put on a girl by 3 boys, make me laugh, extreme musical chairs, knot and lap sit, relay race which combines everything, trivia, Hawaiian bowling which has something to do with throwing bars of soap, sweatshirt medley which is 4 people on a team have to one at time jump in a pool with a sweatshirt on take it off and wring it out into a cup and then the other members go and the two that I will be participating in: water pong, and flip cup. There are tons of events going on at different times and it’s going to be a lot of fun. Our team color is GREY so I will be wearing that tomorrow morning. I’m really excited it’s finally a break from everything and seems like tons of fun. I’ll update you on how it turns out and on my plans for INDIA which we get there on Friday. Sorry that I am not updating a lot it just gets so busy. Thank you to all that are still following me along! I love and miss you!
PS. It's offical as of tomorrow I will be halfway complete with my voyage. I don't even know how to feel about that. It's just going by so fast.
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