traveling around the world at 20mph

well tomorrow is my last day in japan. i plan on going to the zoo and maybe a maritime museum (for a class). i`m so glad that Japan was our last stop because traveling has gotten to be very exhausting but I am very glad that we stopped in Japan. In the 4 days that I`ve spent here I`ve been around Kobe, gone to a baseball game in Osaka, spent the day in Kyoto, went to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Memorial Museum and ended up at a baseball game. Baseball in Japan is like no other baseball game I`ve ever been. It is simply amazing. What else have I done ~ learned how to use the bus system, the subway system, and the JR system; I`ve mastered using a Japanese keyboard for the computer; and I`ve learned that even the people who claim they dont know english, still know enough to help you out and get you where you need to be. These people are so wonderful and the kids are all so respectful. I really think that people everywhere in the world should take a lesson or two from them.
Traveling around the world at 20mph has been the perfect speed. Back in December and January, I thought the day I left Pittsburgh for the Bahamas would never arrive, but finally it did. I`ve made some of the greatest friends I`ve ever had and have enjoyed just about every moment. The time that passed along on this trip has gone at just the right speed. Now I was feeling exhausted from all my traveling from country to country to country and it did feel like things were moving to fast but now that I look back on it, it was all the right speed. As of tomorrow there are only 2 weeks left. It`s going to be an interesting 2 weeks with classes and finals, a day in Hawaii, the Ambassador`s Ball, convocation, and packing, but I`m looking forward to every moment of it and I know that time will past not too slowly and not too quickly but just right, at 20mph while sailing around the world.
Okay, now its nice to walk back to the subway system on the non-scary streets of Kobe to get the subway back to the Portliner which will lead us back to the ship which I havent seen since 6am this morning. Good Night everyone.

Japan

I`m currently in Japan trying to master using a Japanese keyboard. its quite complicated I must say because none ofthe keys are inthe same places and if you hit the wront button then suddenly i:m typing Japanese. so excuse any errors i might have.
Well coming into Japan after my not so wonderful adventures in China, I didnt really have any expectations or desire to really travel anymore. But now that I:m off the ship and wondering around, I truely am enjoying myself. Japan is like no other country I:ve been to so far. Everyone is helpful and no one is trying to sell stuff to me because I speak English. It is a wonderful feeling. I`ve never felt so welcome anywhere before, not even back home. I love it here. More people speak english that we were lead on to believe which is nice and all the signs are in english. Tonight I:m going to try to go to a baseball game because I:ve heard they are something not to miss.
Alright well more to come later. I`ve got to go enjoy my last few days of travel before I return home in 2.5 weeks.

Qingdao

just a quick one...
i'm currently at the apple store using the internet on their display computers because its the only place where we found someone who spoke english and she said we could use their internet. craziness.

Beijing

"He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man." ~ Mao Zedong

Well I climbed the Great Wall today, does that mean I'm now a true man. It was incredible in so many ways. Incredibly windy. Incredibly steep. Incredibly beautiful. Incredbily breaktaking. I must give credit to all those people who built that wall because it truely is magnificent. I think going in April is the perfect time to go ~ its not too hot and its not overly crowded. We could see a part of the wall where it was overly crowded but that where the cable car and tramride took everyone who didnt want to hike it. We decided to 'ascend by foot' as the sign send and I'd have to say that was a much better idea.

We also checked out Tienanmen Square which was exactly that a square. The Mausoleum and 2 museums surrounding it were all closed for renovations and the Great Hall of People had already closed for the day when we got there. Tomorrow we are going to check out the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven and perhaps the Chinese Natural History Museum. And then take an overnight train to Qingdao where we will meet the ship.

I definitely like this place, although the language barrier is a bit of a constraint. The few who know english are constantly trying to sell you something. There have been a couple that have been helpful but not too many. I'll update more later.

Hong Kong

Right now I'm sitting at an internet cafe in Hong Kong. I spent the day in Disneyland Hong Kong which was an opportunity I could not pass up. I added some new blogs that I added in where they should be so you may want to go through everything again. It's the India blogs that I added. Okay well I'm trying to figure out my plans for Beijing tomorrow!

children

Children smile and laugh the same in every country I’ve traveled to. In India I experience so many children who were far from camera shy. They loved to have their picture taken and be able to take the pictures. In the one school that I went to many of the children were asking me my name and then telling me their names. Then there was one more group of boys who decided to tell me their names: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and every other superhero character that was popular in the US. I even experience the classical excuse of children who don’t want to go to school ~ I don’t feel good. The little boy of a worker at the farm house I stayed at told his dad he didn’t feel good so he needed to stay home from school. Now of course he was feeling perfectly fine and just wanted to stay at the farm to see all the excitement of new people visiting the house.

Position Report for April 14

April 14, 2007
Today's noon time report was in Vietnamese so the Voice interpreted it:
We are somewhere above the equator
We are somewhere east of the prime meridian
Distance traveled: Length of the Saigon River
Distance to go: essentially the entire distance
Average speed: approximately 5 knots faster than the boats we are passing.

Traveling around the world.

Traveling is crazy now a days. We go from one country to the next with only a few days between each country. Its very overwhelming without having time to reflect during that time period and not being able to take in everything. We are in Vietnam right now, but leaving at 6am and then we will be in Hong Kong on April 17th.
Vietnam has been crazy but I mastered crossing the streets w/o getting hit. Unfortunately there were a few students who did not and were hit. But luckily they are okay. Lots of shopping and buying movies for a $1. The Simpsons Seasons 1-17 for only $20. Unbelievable.
Well when I got to Hong Kong I'm traveling w/ 2 other girls independently to Beijing and the Great Wall. Then we will be heading to Qingdao to get back on the ship. It shall be an adventure. Hopefully there will be more of this when I get to China.

Malaysia

okay so i know i'm horrible at posting on here. i just never know what to write.
Malaysia was a really awesome country except that the tourguides were full of lies trying to make their country seem better than it really is. Within the first 20 minutes of being off the ship I saw a rather large man get mugged by 2 kids on motorcycle, so I didnt' exactly feel safe w/in the city of Georgetown. It was also unbelievably hot. I was glad that I was heading to the Cameron Highlands. It was much much cooler. In the 70's instead of the 90's which was quite a relief. I ate lots of fresh fruit and rode around in land rovers all day. I really dont have much else to say right now. Maybe when I get the chance I will sit down and write more. It's just too overwhelming.