HAPPPPY THANKSGIVINGGGG!

11/20/09

Today we arrived in Yokohama, Japan! I woke up and had breakfast with my friends as usual. We had a little time so I got ready to go out for the day and then went to the diplomatic briefing. We usually clear the ship in about an hour, but Japan’s regulations were a little different. We were called by our Seas (which were used for Sea Olympics) and were directed off the ship. We entered the Port Terminal and collected our passports from the LLC’s. We were to stand in silence and follow the LLC’s directions. We formed a line and then were put into different lines for immigration. We had our passports scanned, photo taken, and fingerprints taken too. Then, we went and had our bags checked through security and then were to wait in the terminal for the rest of the ship to clear. You would not be allowed back on the ship until everyone was cleared and off. Fortunately, we brought all of our stuff and were free to go once we cleared. We decided to just wander around all day with no real plan. The city was really cool with tall buildings everywhere. The one thing we learned quickly is that they keep to the left so when you are walking on the sidewalk you had to walk on the left. It was so confusing especially once you got into crowds. We wandered around down by the water and then decided to move toward the center of the city. We had lunch at a pizzeria because we were craving American food. Well sort of haha. We had pizza and gnocchi. I had a beer too, it was delicious. We walked down the street and then found McDonald’s we stopped for some French fries because the pizza didn’t really fill us up. We then stumbled into some shops and looked around.  Then, I found STARBUCKS! So of course we went in and sat down. I had an iced coffee it was amazing. After we finished that we wandered back the other direction. We found a pet store and of course we went in. They had the smallest little puppies and two of them reminded me of Lola, I was sad. We walked around some more and by this time it was late afternoon so we found MOS burger which we were told to definitely try in Japan. So the three of us had a burger and it was delicious, I would describe it as a mix between McDonald’s and White Castle. Also, in Japan they have tons of different convenience stores such as 7-11, Family Mart, Lawson’s, etc. We decided to check out each one of them. They were actually really cool they had everything you could imagine. From corn dogs, to beer and liquor, dumplings and noodles, and candy. After we finished walking around we were trying to find our way back to the ship with the map. We were told if you stand there with a confused look on your face someone will come up to you and gladly help you find your way. Well sure enough some man came up and pointed us in the direction of where to go. We came back to the ship and relaxed for a little. I packed for Tokyo as I leave tomorrow after I get back from my SAS trip around 6:30pm. Then, we went out for the night. We decided to go a different direction and found ourselves in Chinatown. We couldn’t really find any bars so we decided to head back to where we saw a bar earlier in the day. We first started at a bar called Kiki’s where we each ordered a drink. I got a beer of course. We also were served peanuts and chocolate kisses? So random! Then, we went to a bar called The Full Monty. It was owned by a British guy. We went in an asked for non-smoking and were directed to a section that had a couch, an area rug, and a coffee table. I honestly felt like I was sitting in my living room it was awesome. I had a few pints and my friends ordered food too. We had a good night and then headed back to the ship.

11/21/09

Today, I woke up at 6am to be at breakfast by 630am. I was exhausted as I didn’t get much sleep. My trip was to Mt. Fuji and Hakone. We boarded the bus and it was literally full to capacity. Not to mention that these seats were made for midgets. You felt like a stuffed sausage, no leg room, and you couldn’t move an inch. The heat was on too high and you couldn’t breathe! So we dealt with that for the 2 hr ride to Mt. Fuji. It was fine though because I slept most of the way. There was a car accident that put us behind a little, but we made it there before 10am. We stopped at the welcome center to shop and take pictures. I had a few pictures that are awesome. We also watched a movie on Mt. Fuji that was about 10 minutes long and it told us the history of the mountain. After that we boarded the buses and headed up the mountain. Mt. Fuji is broken down into 10 stages and recently the weather hasn’t been that good so usually you cannot go passes stage 1. Thankfully, the weather was clear and we were allowed to go to level 5. Therefore, it took us about another 30 minutes to get up there. Finally we arrived and the sight was just beautiful. We were overlooking all of the mountains that were in front of it and the rivers too. They had little shops, and restaurants all over. They had observation decks for photos which gave you a much better look at the mountain. We spent about an hour up there. Then, we left and headed to Hakone which was about another 2 hrs away. So of course I took a nap again. We got there and had to take a tram up to the top in order to be able to see the entire valley below. Well, by the time we got up there a nice big cloud decided to come and cover the top of the mountain. So unfortunately we couldn’t see anything. However, on the way up you could see the golf course and driving range that were built into the mountain it was really neat. I did think about all my uncles and cousins at home! I have a few pictures too. Then we came back down and had a little time to do some shopping before our boat ride. I looked around for a bit and then we made our way to the boat. Some of us happened to look up and noticed that the nice big cloud that was there 20 minutes earlier was now gone. We thought eh it happens so we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship. There was two more car accidents on the way home so it delayed up about 45 minutes. The traffic was crazy I felt like I was on the NJ Parkway. It was a holiday weekend, labor day. So eventually we got back I got all of my stuff ready and left the ship with my friend Brianne. The two of us are traveling independently from Yokohama to Kobe with a few stops in between. We will meet the ship in Kobe in two days. We were a little nervous but we found our way to the train station. We got on the train and arrived in Tokyo in about 30 minutes. We were at the Shibuyu Station and we had to transfer to the subway lines to get to Jimbocho where our hotel was located. We were able to make it and walked out of the train station and finally saw Tokyo. We had great directions and made it to our hotel safely. We checked in and headed out for dinner as I hadn’t had any yet. We wandered around and didn’t know where to eat because all of menus were in Japanese. A man approached us and gave us a recommendation so we decided to try it. We sat down in this small restaurant on the 2^nd floor of a building and realized quickly that we had just walked into a place where you cook the meat yourself. Neither of us were confident enough in doing it ourselves so we ordered food that didn’t require that. I had some Ramen noodles and white rice. It took us about 30 minutes to get the check because it wasn’t busy and our waiter never came by. It was really awkward actually. Then, we went to McDonald’s my friend had a meal and I got a French fry and diet coke to go. We headed back to the hotel and were in search of booking our overnight bus. Well we soon found out that all overnight buses were booked and our only option was the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Kobe. We went to bed around 130am and decided we would sleep in.

11/22/09

Today, we were in a hostel which we shared the room with 4 other girls, whom had 4 different alarms set. So we were woken up periodically throughout the morning. We finally got up around 9am packed our stuff and were on our way. We had breakfast at bagel and bagel which was a New York style bagel shop. I had a B.E.L.T. which is a bacon, egg, lettuce, and tomato on a toasted Sesame bagel. I think I was in heaven. I hadn’t had a real bagel in 3 months. After that we found Starbucks and grabbed a coffee. After we finished there we took the subway to Tokyo station where we would buy our Shinkansen (Bullet Train) tickets as our hotel staff told us to do. We ended up buying the tickets for tonight at 730 pm. So we had the day to wander around. So we headed all over Tokyo. The first district we stopped in was Ginza. It was pretty cool we walked around there for about an hour and hopped on another train to Roppongi. This is where the nightlife is and lots of shopping. We found an internet café and tried to find a place to stay in Kobe. We couldn’t find anywhere, so we figured we would worry about it when we got there. We decided to go to Friday’s for lunch. They spoke great English and the food was fantastic! Then, we got back on the subway and ended up in Shibuya and Harajuku. We did a little shopping and just walked around. Because of the holiday weekend it was EXTREMELY crowded it was ridiculous trying to walk, and then having to walk on the left. Then, we got back on the subway and made our way back to Tokyo station. We arrived there and couldn’t find the bathroom for the life of us. Finally we found it and then decided we would head for our train. Well we couldn’t figure out what track we were on so we went back to the ticket office and got directions. We made it through the gate and then couldn’t figure out how to find the track and man and his wife came up to us and helped us find our way. We got some snacks for the ride and got on our train for our 3 hrs ride to Kobe. I took a nap for awhile but was in an out of sleeping. We arrived in Kobe at 10:20pm and we were in hopes of asking the information desk where to stay. Well the information desk was closed so we just stood there wondering what to do. A man came up to us and asked us if we needed help. We said yeah we need somewhere to stay so he told us that he would show us where to go. He literally walked us all the way downtown and tried two different hotels in order to find us a place to stay all were booked because of the holiday. We ran into some other SAS students who were also looking for a place. He took us even further into the downtown area to a hotel that has capsules. That is where he left us and we all thanked him for his help. Capsule Hotels are literally the smallest things in the world. Honestly you need to just Google it to understand it. I couldn’t do it so we decided to wander around. Mom and Dad tried to help me find somewhere. Eventually we found an internet café and we had heard that you can stay in them overnight. So that’s what we did. We arrived at 12:40am and stayed until 6:00am. No sleep. I’ve never been on facebook that long in my life. I got to talk to a few of my friends and my family. I was so happpppy!

11/23/09

Well we left the internet café and made our way to the train station. We found a few LLC’s who were headed back to the ship and we bought tickets and got on the next train to the port terminal.  We waited a little while and saw the MV Explorer pulling in. it was the first time I had ever seen it from the other side, being on land rather than on the ship. It was also even more important that this was the last time the MV Explorer would be pulling into an International Port for our voyage. I took tons of pictures and the sun was rising, it was beautiful. We waited in line for a really long time about an hour before we could get on. Then, we finally boarded we dropped our stuff and went straight to breakfast. I was so exhausted so I ate and went right to bed. I woke up about 2:30pm and showered. I met up with my friend Katie and we decided to go out for the afternoon/night. We went to McDonald’s first because I didn’t eat lunch yet, well because I slept through it. So after that we wandered around shopping and my friend wanted to try Saki so she bought some at the store and said it wasn’t too good. We walked around some more and then stopped for coffee. It was really good. We pretty much just walked around for the rest of the night until we wanted to go back to the ship around 8pm. I unfortunately still had some change to spend so I had to walk around FOREVER trying to find something to spend it on. I eventually stopped and bought some snacks for the ship. Oh I almost forgot in the terminal I got a chocolate covered waffle. It was amazing! Then we got back on the train and headed back to the ship. We had some dinner on the 7^th deck and then watched part of a movie. Bed time now I’m still so tired.

11/24/09

Today, I woke up and went to breakfast at 830am. I met my group for my trip in the terminal. There were only 7 of us going so it was a real small group. The trip I was on was a YMCA visit to a kindergarten and a nursery school. We got into a small white van and traveled about a half an hour to the YMCA. On the way though there was a woman from a tourist agency who pointed out some of the things in Kobe that would be great to see if we had time. She also had photos of the ship from the day before printed for us to have, a map of Kobe, and a present that was wrapped up I ended up getting a magnet. It was extremely nice of her. We arrived at the YMCA and there were tons of kids running around playing. It was difficult to communicate with them but mostly it was high fives and handshakes. We also were shown the rooms in which children play inside; a group of girls were playing house, and tons of kids mixed ages playing games in the game room. We then were escorted back outside and all of the children were lined up. They did their morning exercise while we watched. It was really cool. We took pictures of them too. Then we all lined up in the front and told them where we were from and they repeated it. Then they asked us some questions; my favorite was why is our hair color all different. Many of us thought it was hysterical. After that we headed back to the van and they took us to another YMCA where we would see the younger children. We got there and had to walk a few blocks to the center. Then, we walked in took off our shoes and put on slippers provided by them. That is a big deal in Japan, taking off your shoes. There were small children having lunch, toddlers I’d say. They were adorable and some of them even waved to us. We went into the baby room and saw all the babies lying down for a nap. They all looked up at us smiled and waved. Then we headed upstairs where the 3, 4, and 5 year olds were. We sat in a room with them and asked a few questions then it was lunch time. Each one of us sat at a small table and had three or four Japanese children sitting with us. I had two 4 year olds and a 3 year old. As guests we were served our food first. The children would bring the food over to you and place in front of you. We were given chopsticks and a fork. I took my chances with the chopsticks. For lunch we had a piece of breaded salmon, apples, soup, and white rice. To drink we had some cold tea. For dessert there was Clementine and we all know how much I like fruit… not. So I didn’t want it, but apparently one of the teachers told a child at my table to bring me one so she did. I had to do eat it…. I actually liked it. Mom, maybe buy some of them when I get home? Haha I took a few pictures with them and then we had to leave to head back to the boat. We made a stop at the top of this hill in order to get a beautiful view of the city. It was amazing. I took tons of pictures. Also at the top of this hill as this structure that had tons and tons of locks on it. The tour guide told us that it’s actually done by two people who are in a relationship and every year at the end of the year they boil them down and make a star. They put into the ground surrounding the structure and put the year. The whole process starts again. After that we headed back to the ship. I was exhausted so I napped for the afternoon. I had dinner with my friends and then watched the rest of the movie from the night before. At about 845pm I heard some noise coming from outside. I realized that there was a band in the terminal playing music. I went outside and realized they were playing the music was we were leaving. It was really awesome and the music was fantastic. It was really sad to see my final international port go. Also, it became reality that it would be 10 days before I see land again. I cannot believe what I’ve seen these past three months. I can’t wait to look at my pictures and realize what’ve done.

Just wanted to add this in that in Japan when you use the toilet in public places they are actually heated, they play music that sounds like the flushing noise, and they will “clean” you if you push the one button. Japan is entirely too high-tech for me! Haha

11/25/09

Today, I woke up and realized its back to classes for 10 days! How exciting, nope. So I went to lunch with my friends and I have got to mention this new cook is fantastic. The food just keeps getting better and better. Then I had two classes in the afternoon; international law and sociology of marriage and the family. After my classes I relaxed until another life boat drill that occurred at 545pm. Dinner was delayed awhile so we went and stood in line. One of our dean’s had a birthday so we sang happy birthday and actually got birthday cake. There was spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was amazing!!! After dinner I watched the Holiday with my friends and started my note cards for Global Studies final. BEDTIME!

11/26/09

Today, I woke up and went to Global Studies. We had a panel discussion on Asian countries in the process of Globalization. There were 4 guest speakers that spoke about their beliefs of Asian countries and the role they play or will play in globalization. It was pretty interesting. I had lunch with my friends and then had 3 hours before my next class. I relaxed for a little and then did some work on Global Studies. After that I had Deviance and Social Control class which we talked about Alcoholism and whether it was a disease or not. It was an interesting class to say the least. After that I worked on Global Studies for awhile and then headed to dinner. As I mentioned in the beginning of my voyage we were able to sign up to have an extended family on board. Well unfortunately my “grandpa” became ill in India and was flown to Hong Kong and hospitalized for two days. After speaking with the ship Doctor he was told it was best if he flew home and not continue the voyage, so he departed the ship in Kobe, Japan. Therefore, I was unable to have thanksgiving dinner with my family. I did have dinner with one of my friends though and I did enjoy it. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and vanilla ice cream. It wasn’t exactly like our usual Thanksgiving Feast, but it was definitely better than I had expected! I’m going to relax for the rest of the night and maybe work on some papers that are due soon.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! I love and miss all of you and cannot wait to see you. I’ll be home soon. Don’t miss me too much at dinner! Eat some chocolate crème pie for me, oh and those after eight mints!

I'll be in Hawaii in 10 days and then I'm headed to our final destination; SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA! I'm excited yet sad at the same time. I cannot believe it's been 3 months already.

PS. I cross the International Date Line on the 28th so I technically get two Nov. 28th's how exciting haha