Wow, Has It Really Been This Long Since My Last Update???

Sorry it has taken me so long to update, but I ran out of minutes AGAIN on the ship and I refuse to buy more minutes until after Mauritius...
<3, Me

February 20, 2008: Day 29?

Hello all,

Today was wonderful. I woke up at 7 am and Caitlin and I got breakfast before

we parted ways on our separate adventures. I don't remember what she did, but

I went with a group of people through SAS to a township, where we helped build

a house for this sweet older Khosa woman (Ethel) through Habitat for Humanity. It was such an awesome experience. I was kinda disappointed when I didn't get a township visit, but now I know that this was much more meaningful than a visit would have been, and I am so glad that I got to do it—I got to interact with the people as well as make a difference by lending a helping hand. The children were so sweet and the people we worked with were so nice. The shacks these people live in are dilapidated tin houses that are smaller than trailer homes, and are probably extremely hot in that African sun thanks to the metal. The most amazing part about it, though, is these people are genuinely happy with life, especially the children. If you took their pictures, they loooooved to see themselves on your camera screen. I even let a few kids take pictures with my camera. There was one very little boy who gave hugs to every single person in our group with a huge smile on his face. It was so, so heartwarming. I kept almost tearing up... I realize that I might not have mentioned the fact that in both Brazil and South Africa, the people really do not like it when you take their pictures without asking. I don't like this because I love candid shots, and of course, when you ask, people strike a pose, and that's not nearly as meaningful. But, I want to be respectful, so if they're within "asking distance," I make sure to do so, but secretly I just want to take their pictures without permission. Oh well. Anyway, there was one little boy who kept wanting to try on my sunglasses, so I let him, and the second time I did it was lunchtime, so I went to eat and came back and he was gone, so I accidentally gave him my glasses, but it's fine—even though I use them a lot, it's good not to be selfish. But, what really made me feel annoyed/sad was when he asked me for more sunglasses when God knows where the other ones wound up a few hours later, and I told him I had no more, and then he asked for my hat, and I told him no: it just made me sad that he completely missed the point of me allowing him to keep my sunglasses and just wanted more. I know he's a child, but it's too bad that he couldn't appreciate my gift (of sorts) :-( poor kid. Hopefully he'll learn someday... Anyway, the future homeowner made us such a nice little lunch with this interesting rice-like side dish (rice-like in that it has the same consistency and was pure white) that was interesting and very fine—I think it was some sort of vegetable meal. It was good. I got lots of good pictures throughout the day, which was awesome. Then we cleaned up and left—it was such a great experience... I just got back from watching the sunset on Table Mountain, and it was unbelievable—even though there was a whoooole lot of pollution, in this instance it is strangely both a good and bad thing, because if there wasn't pollution today, it would be too windy to use the cable car to go up (and there was no way I would hike up because of my knee and because I hate hiking/I'm lazy), but pollution is a bad thing and it also prevented us from seeing the city as well (and who doesn't like a nice, clear day for nice, crisp photos?? I sure do!)... But, the sunset was fantastic nonetheless, and was a very enjoyable experience. The moon was spectacular as well and the city lights were sparkling down below. Wow. Now, as I have no one else to go do stuff with, I am about to find myself at the Green Dolphin yet again and I'm going to hope that I will run into someone who wants to do something else—not that I don't like the people I'm going with—it's just I already went there and I have a very limited amount of time in Cape Town and I want to do as much stuff as possible. But, that's quite alright! Things tend to work out for me, so I just have to hope :-) Much love,

Michelle

February 25, 2008: Day 33?

I wound up staying at the Green Dolphin, and that was still a pretty nice evening (better than staying on the ship alone!!!), and the next day I did the Cape Winelands tour. The winelands area near Cape Town is so so beautiful—when I live in South Africa someday, I would like it to be in the wine region... it reminds me of a mix between Oregon, Tuscany, and of course, Africa; that should give you a pretty good idea of how gorgeous it was. The hills surrounded the area and made for a wonderful backdrop. Anyway, we arrived at our first winery at 10:30 am, and no one was particularly interested in tasting wine at such an early hour, but we tried some anyway. The winery, J.C. LeRoux, specializes in "sparkling wines" (I don't know why they can't just call it "champagne"), so we tried three different ones... I want to send some home but it costs about $100 plus the bottle and I just don't have the money for that. But, for a good bottle of wine, South African wines cost about $8, which is awesome! It's so affordable. Then, we went to a brandy and chocolate tasting, and I had no idea how nasty that alcohol is!!! Oh my goodness, I cannot for the life of me understand how anybody can put up with that stuff... it tasted like hospital to me. Anyway, the chocolate was really good, so I enjoyed that. We then went to this beautiful winery with awesome landscaping for lunch at the Goatshed—this kickass restaurant that has entirely refreshing and healthy and wholesome ingredients and no "kiddie menu," which I thought was sooo awesome. I wish that we had such a restaurant at home. I had a smoked salmon quiche with baby greens on the side, and for dessert, I had blueberries and raspberries with whipped cream, homemade shortbread, and homemade vanilla ice cream. It was so refreshing, light, and delicious—easily my favorite meal in South Africa. Then, we went to a museum that was an old Dutch village still preserved, which was really cool. Since we aren't allowed to bring wine (or any alcohol) onto the ship, and shipping it home would be very expensive, I got my parents this really cool wine glass (unfortunately, the boutique I got it in for some reason only had one... sorry guys), so they can buy some South African wine and pretend I got them some and drink it from that glass :-P We then went back to the ship, where I met up with Caitlin and Katherine and we went to a little Italian restaurant, where I tried a mixed drink (are they the same things as cocktails??), which was too strong, and had some amazing Amarula tiramisu for dessert after having a nice mushroom fettuccini meal. We called some people after that from pay phones and finally went back to the ship to pack for our (me and Caitlin's) safari, which left at 4:45 am that morning (it was 1:30 by the time I got to bed)... I packed, went to bed, and we all congregated at the Union for a light breakfast and went to the airport. We were missing one person when we left but she caught a taxi and made it in time for the plane. I heard that a whole lot of people slept in too late and missed their safaris—If I were their parents, I would kill them. Anyway, we got to Durban and had a 3- hour bus ride to Zululand Tree Lodge on Ubizane game reserve in the Kwazulu-Natal region... Basically, it's the most amazing resort/lodge I've ever stayed in—it was so luxurious! The decor was so beautiful, modern, and minimalistic—a style I absolutely love! Caitlin and I got to be roommates, which was awesome, and we got the Tree Lodge (I got really annoyed because in the trip description, it mentions the tree lodges, and when we got there, they told us there wasn't enough room in the tree lodges for everyone, so they said some would be staying in the safari lodges, which were really ugly and smelly free-standing rooms... Part of the reason why I wanted to stay at the place was because of the tree lodges, and it simply isn't fair to do false advertizing like that, so I was annoyed about it—so rude), which was very fortunate... we had our own private free-standing "tree house" which was basically on stilts high enough for me to walk underneath it comfortably—it had a covered porch, thatched roof, old-fashioned iron key, a mosquito net that was quite beautiful, everything was wooden, the shower was all glass and had a rainshower head, the sink had a ceramic bowl (which was cool), and it was very comfortable. I was quite pleased, and Caitlin and I enjoyed some down time out on the patio and reflecting on how fortunate we are to have been able to come there. We were greeted with juice in fancy glasses, which was cool, and quickly discovered the fact that the cutest monkeys you've ever seen in your life live around the lodge and are the most mischievous creatures to have walked the planet... They broke into these two girls' room and picked out the creamers from the coffee area and stole a Nutri-Grain bar (they have a picture of it in the tree holding the wrapper, haha)... I got lots of pictures of them. That night, we boarded these awesome semi-open Jeeps to go on an evening game drive at the game reserve, where we saw our first giraffes and zebras (maaaany more to come!!! We saw so many and it never got old), and saw a pair of ostriches, wildebeest and deer-like animals, and Pumbaas! (aka warthogs), as well as many beautiful birdies... We enjoyed the sunset after being whipped around in those crazy Jeeps all evening (poor Caitlin needed some Dramamine), had a very nice dinner (their meals were sooo good all the time—it was a nice break from ship food!), and retired early to go to sleep with the windows open and our mosquito nets down—we slept so well, and hearing the bugs chirp added to the romance of the place, it was so awesome. The next morning we got up at about 6 am, got ready, had breakfast, and left at about 9 to go to Hluhluwe (shush-shloo-wee) National Park for an all-day game drive with "King Richard," our adorable old tour guide/Wild Dog Jeep driver (we had the coolest Jeep name, as well as the coolest tour guide and group of people)... every time we saw a cool animal, we all yelled, "Thank you King Richard!!" We sang a lot of songs, haha, especially the beginning of the Lion King's opening song: "Ahhhh Zawenya...." really obnoxiously... It was fun. We saw so many amazing animals, and lots of them really up close—it was such an amazing experience, and I wished that I could call my parents right then and there after we were finished to at least attempt to convey to them how incredibly grateful I am to them to have helped me make such a dream come true... wow. I cried when we left because it was that. amazingly. awesome. One of the best experiences of my entire life. Ok, now for the details: We first saw a lone elephant bull a little far away (that zoom lens came in major handy), then some zebras and some giraffes in the distance, which was awesome... Then, we saw another lone bull elephant in the distance on a hill (this place was very hilly, by the way, and not at all like National Geographic safari parks—no plains whatsoever, and lots of bush everywhere), as well as a group of giraffes, who stared at us the whole time :-)... we drove up to the top of a hill to see the beautiful view of the park, which was amazing. Then, we drove around some more and saw, by the way, four out of the five Big Five (excluding the leopard, which isn't surprising anyway, as it is a very elusive animal during the day—it's nocturnal... our guide said he hadn't seen one in about 2 months): buffalo, elephants, rhinos (white), and even a lion! In case you were wondering, the Big Five is an old hunting term referring to the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot (aka leopard, lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhinos), and it's something that everyone wants to see when going on a safari. However, I think that there are plenty of other animals that are just as exciting to see and deserve as much attention and whatnot as the Big Five, such as the zebras and giraffes. We saw lots of the buffalos (3 times), and they were always in groups. The rhinos were always alone and always male—one we saw very up-close and he walked in front of our Jeep. The elephants were always very far away (sadness) and were sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs, and the most amazing set was about 50 elephants coming back from a bath in the river and was awesome to see (just as we were leaving the park, too, so it was an extra treat!), and most excitingly: I was not expecting to see a lion at all because I thought that we were going to do an early morning drive (aka get up at 4 am), which is when you really see the wildlife... However, in the early afternoon, we were driving along and saw that a whole bunch of cars were hanging out along the road—a surefire sign that something cool was nearby. So, we slowed down, and if it wasn't for Heike, we would have missed it: a lioness was in the bush alongside the road. She was so beautiful, and I luckily enough was in the very front with the driver! She passed right in front of our Jeep and it was so amazing... we were the only group to see a lion in our safari, so it was extra special to have been able to see her. Wow, how awesome it was... Well, that last night, we had a barbeque outside under the star-spangled (lol) sky after having a nice, refreshing swim in the pool, and then after dinner, we all played on the playground, which had two trampolines (!) and swings and teeter totters! What fun! Caitlin and I went to bed pretty early again, and then the next morning we left and got back to Cape Town at about 5:00 pm, and we did some last-minute shopping before the market closed at 6, yay!!! I love the exchange rate of 7.6 rands per dollar!!! I still didn't get the 4-foot giraffe I wanted because they didn't have any, but that's ok. I'll come back someday anyway :-) We got back on the ship and got really good seats in the front to see the high school township choir, which was unfreakinbelievable... they did not sound like mere high school students, and our KSU chorale would have been put to shame by these people if they heard this. It was so beautiful, and the coolest thing about it was they would often dance along to their song, and the adults who accompanied them enjoyed it so much they joined in, too, hooting along the way, and getting people in the audience to join in. Everyone really enjoyed it and we all clapped and whooped after every song. One song talked about the issues in the townships, and Caitlin looked at me with tears in her eyes and I couldn't hold it in anymore—it was so beautiful and sad, so we boo-hooed together haha... One girl in the choir conducted the group, which was cool that the director let her do that, another soloist got to improvise, and they use a simple little instrument for pitch, because they cannot afford a piano at their school. They come from one of the most underprivileged townships in the area, but they have risen above it with the incredible talent they have—they are national winners in the chorale competitions. Wow. And it was free! The best things really are free. Anyway, I had such an awesome time in South Africa, and I can't wait to come back. I really didn't want to get back on the ship—we should have at least another week there. We also got to stay through the night last night because it was too foggy to see. Now, I have classes and extremely rough ship movement to enjoy :-P I feel like I just want to go home, and it seems like everyone else does, too. If we were allowed to leave the countries we visit, I would be tempted to fly home for the time we're in Mauritius. I've been gone for a month, and I really wish you guys could visit me :-( No one is as awesome as you all. Love to you all,

Michelle

P.S.: I just typed that up for you guys in 45 minutes, so you should feel special :-P

February 26, 2008: Who cares what day it is???

Today was pretty good. I woke up and went to breakfast solo and then went to Global with Caitlin, which was about the conservation of the flora and fauna of Mauritius, which was pretty interesting... Then, I went back to my room and did some homework, and went to lunch solo and then went to Transcendentalism. We spent over half the class talking about our Emersonian experiences or just experiences in general in South Africa, and then talked about interconnectedness of everything in the world. It was a really great class session as usual, and I was so envious hearing about some of the people's stories—they were absolutely amazing, and many of them got to hang with the locals, which didn't happen for me, sadly. There was also apparently a music festival going on, and I wish I would have heard about it because I would have loved to go—all the more reason for me to come back! Anyway, yesterday, a drum dropped on my toe, and it continues to feel quite splendid from that wondrous experience... After Transcendentalism, I called Jess and I was so, so excited to talk to her! I woke her up, poor thing, but it was so awesome to talk to her. I've gotten to the point, as well as everyone else, where I just want the comforts and familiarities of everything at home, friends and family included. I don't get enough hugs and it's really taking its toll on me—I didn't realize how many hugs I get a day and how much I need them until this trip. Teneya and I hug, but not as much as I would like, and I just find myself wanting an Alex hug, or a Jess hug, or a Rose hug, etc, instead because it just isn't enough. I need to be squeezed and picked up and kissed and cuddled with and all that jazz :-( It's weird because it feels lonely, even though I'm surrounded by people. Anywho, while I was talking to Jess, Michael stopped by to show me his pictures and for me to show him mine from our South Africa excursions and safaris and whatnot, but I had to tell him I would come back later for that. Then, Caitlin came, so she hung out until Jess and I finished talking, and we chilled for a little while in my room and talked, and then I got Michael and we looked at each other's pictures. I'm so jealous of him because he made friends with a bunch of locals, and is going to keep in touch with them. Ironically, one of the South African locals' names is Marius, which is the name of my German pen pal :-) Anyway, I then went off to my always thrilling Art and Architecture class and dearly wanted to fall asleep... Then, off to dinner for me with Caitlin, where we ran into Teneya and sat around and talked for a while. I went back to my room and called Mommy and it was so good to talk to her, and got a voicemail from Dad, too, so that was great. Then, I went to ballroom dancing, which was the East Coast Swing tonight—something I had already learned (and quickly forgotten until tonight) during the swing dancing sessions I used to go to at KSU, which I miss. That was a ton of fun and I didn't want to stop—oh well :-( We're going to have a review dancing session in two days, so that will be fun. I really love dancing and I've decided that it's about time to stop worrying about money and take some damn lessons, because I have always loved dancing and I have always felt compelled to become really good at it and I would like to know what the hell I am waiting for?? I only have one life to live, and money is temporary. I want to seize the day, and learn how to dance really well. So, I've decided I'm going to!!! And I don't want anyone to try to convince me otherwise because I won't have anyone hinder me from pursuing my dreams. I want to get to the point where I'm almost good enough to compete. And I've also decided that living in Atlanta area is a sucky place to live when one wants to go dancing at night, as the area barely accommodates for that unless you want to go clubbing (and I don't—I want to ballroom dance in a romantic traditional ballroom). It's time I get out of the ATL and move somewhere more romantic—I'm thinking Charleston is the place to be—Caitlin, a College of Charleston student, has convinced me it's the coolest American city. I won't do it until I graduate college, though, so don't fear, it shall not happen any time soon. I just saw the awesome laid-back nightlife with jazz restaurants and the easygoing feel of Cape Town and I wanted that for myself. Anyway, I also really want to be a better singer. I have a lot more to learn and plenty of room to improve, and I am so, so glad that I get to study music and get voice lessons and whatnot when I go back to KSU in the fall. I also cannot wait to learn some piano, even if it means I have to start off learning stupid songs. I would love to get so good that maybe I could learn jazz piano and accompany myself in a jazz club (along with other people playing in a trio or something)... I'm just rambling, but what I'm basically saying is, the time is now. Carpe diem! I don't want to wait anymore because money is an issue. What if there is no tomorrow? I refuse to live life with regrets... Caitlin's account got drained and yet she keeps saying that money is only temporary, and I think that she's absolutely right. Anyway, I'm really tired, so I suppose I am going to go to bed. Much love,

Michelle

February 27, 2008: Day 35?

Today was a good day—a very good day, and for almost no reason beyond the fact that I'm feeling better today than I was yesterday, being haunted by the thoughts I was having... I skipped breakfast and went to Global with Caitlin, where we were told that our next test would be in two days—ick. They had a "drum ritual," and then this guy hypnotized a small group of people from the crowd to demonstrate the trances the Bushmen of South Africa go into, but it didn't follow the same methods or anything so I really didn't see the point to it (there was also no way those people could have been hypnotized anyway, with so little time to relax and fall into deep sleep, plus the ship was rocking like crazy, so they were totally acting anyway)... Then we got talked to by our new academic dean (who would have been our dean in the first place if he hadn't broken his arm a few days before we set sail from Nassau) about Hindu and Islam... After that, I went to see Deirdre, the ship's counselor, for a check up, which lightened up my heart a little. I then attempted to take a nap but I didn't have enough time so I couldn't fall asleep. I then went to lunch solo, read the Upanishads required reading for Transcendentalism and Eastern Thought, and then went to my drawing class, where we learned how to draw bushes.... ooook. Then, I went back to my room and started reading the Global Studies readings (hopefully I'll pass the test this time, lol... apparently they're going to curve it, though, so that'll help haha), and then went to dinner with Catherine (with a K??? I always forget) and Teneya, where we ran into Michael and Caitlin. The great thing about eating on the ship is it doesn't matter if you go alone because you're bound to run into someone you know anyway, and dinner is pretty much the only meal that I always have with somebody else, and it's kind of nice to have lunch alone and whatnot, and go at my own pace. I usually have lunch with Brittany on B days (tomorrow), so that will go down, I am sure... Anyway, dinner was finally a decent meal since we left South Africa, which was nice, and Caitlin and I hung around for about an hour after just talking and whatnot. I love to just sit and talk and ignore all the other duties and crap I should be doing, because there is always something that I should be doing and that just gets irritating and stressful after a while... So, that was really enjoyable, and then we parted ways and I finished up my Global reading, and then I ambled down to her room to hang out. She showed me pictures of her friends and family back home, and I showed her mine. I absolutely love showing my pictures of you guys to anyone who will let me, so that was really nice. I enjoy the people on this ship, I really do. There's always something going on, which I love. I finally feel like I'm in college and not just in school. It's great! I can't wait to live on campus in the fall with hopefully Rose, which would be absolutely awesome. Anywho, my hair has grown already, which is very exciting, and even in its very short state, it wants to part to the side, as I have parted it for years. I just find that kind of funny. I dyed it a dark blonde but it turned out to be this icky orangey sewage color and I'm dying to dye it medium brunette when we get in Mauritius. Caitlin and I have decided that we're going to try to go horseback riding on the beach (depending on how much it costs), just us, so we can gallop (something beginners couldn't do), and we're going to look into scuba diving, but apparently it's kind of a pain to do when you're not certified (and I sadly am not)... I might just wind up with that snorkeling adventure and not do scuba diving, which works out... today was great, too, because I got to talk to Rose, even though she couldn't understand me quite as well because the reception is bad when one is in the middle of the ocean on the other side of the world lol, and I also got to talk to Alex some more, which was fantastic. So, I had a good day overall, and I can't wait until tomorrow for ballroom dancing, which is going to be lots of fun.

xoxo,

Michelle

February 29, 2008: Day 37

First of all, I would like to ask that you all pardon me for being so straightforward in these entries; I have no desire to hide anything for any audience, so please excuse me should I not censor what I say, because this isn't just for you—it's for me as well, and I deserve as much as you guys to remember what went on while on Semester at Sea. Anyway, yesterday was a pretty crappy day... it's looking to me like a little bit of animosity is building up in my little Mauritius group thanks to one member inviting someone else to come along without consulting everyone else, as well as doing it last-minute (making it improbable to work out, even if we did approve the invitee to come along). Being the peacemaker I tend to be, and for the sake of ensuring that the time we have together is a good one, I have tried to mediate the situation and am still in process of working things out... Anyway, a bunch of us in the group want to go hardcore horseback riding on the beach while we're there, and I've gotten some information—we all want to gallop :-D I'm still doing the snorkeling trip that I signed up for through SAS on the second day we're there, and Catherine's doing another one at the same time, so we're going to get a taxi together, which works out perfectly. Other than that, I simply plan on enjoying the beach, sun, and free Internet I've heard about while I'm there. I've never actually done spring break with a bunch of friends (for example, last spring break I painted the guest room and I think I worked as well... lol), so this should be fun. I must admit that I really wish my friends back home could have come, though—I honestly would prefer having them around, because at least we all get along fantastically. Anywho, yesterday was pretty negative as well because Caitlin wanted to do a homestay in Japan, but we had plans, but I encouraged her to do it because how many times will you be able to do a homestay in Japan, I mean seriously??? So, she signed up for it, but I sadly now have no plans for Japan... it will be kind of disappointing to not be able to do it indy and rather do it through SAS, because this was the one place that I really, really wanted to do indy... sadness. I'm trying to get some of you amigos of mine at home with passports to travel with me there, so I'm hoping that one of guys will be willing to give up two days of class to visit your Michelley in an awesome country :-D So, I was feeling pretty down about that, and probably will until I get things figured out, because I am no fan of having things up in the air. As for today, it was pretty good and laid-back... we had our Global test, which was terribly worded and unnecessarily confusing (just like the last test... urgh), which I undoubtedly failed yet again, but what can I do about it?? I did the best I could do. I must take this moment to frown upon the administration's (or, shall I say regime's?) managerial methods when concerning us students. We have an honor code, which states that basically we must uphold basic principles, such as academic honesty, with utmost respect while on this voyage (and, obviously, one should do this always)—I had and have every intention of doing just that, but it has become crystal clear to me that we are not trusted in the least and not given the chance to prove that we have the decency to respect the honor code. To be treated like elementary school students when we are clearly college-aged adults is quite distressing to me and I have, through a friend who is composing a letter to the Global Studies Advisory Committee, expressed my disgruntlement at the behavior of a certain Tatjana Good, one of the two Global Studies directors, who is the one who disclosed to the student body through her behavior that we are merely unstable, misbehaved animals in her mind: today just moments before the test began, we all took our seats and several of us were sitting right next to each other. Tatjana announces to everyone taking the test that if she points to you, she will ask that you go to one of the dining halls to take the test (we are all assigned rooms to go to for taking the test—I was assigned to the Union, as well as Caitlin, Catherine, and Teneya, where this took place)... While she is doing this, she roughly grabs onto Caitlin's shoulder and directs her to go to the dining hall, pretty much manhandling her... This was terribly rude and unnecessary, and to me, could have been handled much more appropriately. Anyway, she had us sit every other seat, because clearly everyone just wants to cheat in this world (not like we'd do much better anyway because almost all of us failed it without cheating... geez), which is what I was referring to when noting the fact that we are not trusted to uphold the honor code. Although it might seem small and insignificant to you all reading this, it is not at all; this is certainly not Tatjana's first offence and will not be her last, so as you can imagine, all of the rude and tyrannical actions she has taken have added up quickly and is fast becoming notorious amongst students and greatly disliked. I sense, as we all do, that she feels that we are an unstable group that is inches away from rebellion—this could become true, I feel, if she continues as she does, and will make her fears come true; in other words, I think that she is handling us in a highly inappropriate manner and I think that she is unsuited for the job. Of course, she has reason to think that some of us are troublemakers, because some of us are and there will always be that type of person in a large group like ours, but it is unfair to assume that we all will misbehave. As I am sure you have picked up, I look upon this as an injustice and I would like to do something about it. Well anyway, I had lunch with Kelly and Brittany, which was nice, and then went to my drawing class, where we learned how to use different lines to suggest different textures in trees (the class before we learned how to do the same thing, but with bushes... hmmmm...) and I am definitely looking forward to taking a real drawing class at KSU when I get back. At least I'm learning some techniques, but I just wish that she would actually teach us actually how to draw, rather than techniques to build up one's drawing abilities (if that makes any sense?). Oh, I forgot to mention that I took a nice, big nap after the Global test... After my drawing class, I hung out with Teneya and Caitlin in Caitlin's room, burning Carnaval and Ivete (Brazilian singer) cds onto our computers and listening to music, and then I packed for Mauritius action tomorrow! Anyway, that's all I care to write at the moment... I need sleep for waking up for sunrise tomorrow. Much amor!

Michelle

March 1, 2008: Day 38

Today was pretty good. Caitlin and I got up at 6:30 to watch the sunrise as we pulled up to Mauritius and it was so beautiful—the landscape from the sea is stunning as well. After that, I got ready and went to breakfast with the resort group, and then we got all our stuff and went to the Union for our mandatory diplomatic briefing. After that, we went to the gangway to get off, and the line was so short to get off—it was wonderful. No one was in a hurry to kick off spring break if it got in the way of a few more hours' sleep :-) We got off right away because we wanted to get away from everybody else and hit the beach. We met our guide and drove for 45 minutes to Grand Baie (Bay) to go to our resort and made a stop at the ATM and supermarket to get some snacks, and of course, alcohol... What would spring break be without alcohol? Anyway, we arrived at our cute little inn on the beach and got things figured out, changed right away into our bathing suits, and got on the beach. The water was perfectly beautiful and refreshing—it felt so good after sitting in the heat! We hung out on the beach where I had a photo-taking extravaganza (made me sooo happy) and then moved to the pool when Kira arrived. We swam and sat around talking about tons of girly stuff like weddings and boys, which was fun (haven't done that in a while), and then I wandered off to hit up the free internet, which was nice. An hour and a half later, I reemerged from being on the computer in my bathing suit (hardly changed out of it) to hang out with everyone on the beach again, and by this point Michael had arrived, but was feeling sick, so he went to bed and we didn't see much of him. I forgot to mention that for lunch we walked down to the nearest restaurant, a pizza joint, for about 10 minutes, which was a very nice lunch. I tried the local beer and didn't like it—it's called Phoenix, don't ever get it :-P It was too bitter. Anyway, we discovered a mini supermarket and a thrift store (called a "factory store") yayayay so I bought a Dolce & Gabbana tank top for $10 (I couldn't care less about the label, but it fit well and I needed more clothing, so that worked out well—I think it's pretty much brand new, too, which is nice). After beaching it up one last time, we headed out for dinner and went next door to the pizza place and I had a lobster dinner and a pina colada, and we met this random middle-aged Brit who was completely by himself so we invited him to sit with us. He didn't do much of anything and made me wonder if he was by himself because he was a pedophile or something gross like that... Anyway, dinner was nice, and here I am, tired, and ready for bed. That's all guys, much love to you all (I miss you all more than you could know—everyone I know on the ship is into gossip magazines and it disgusts me... I want real people who care about real life stuff and not Hollywood crap). Goodnight!

Michelle

March 3, 2008: Day 40

Yesterday was so awesome. I woke up at 6:30 with Catherine and Michael and we got a taxi to go back to the ship: Catherine and I had SAS snorkeling trips and Michael wanted to go hike the Thumb or hike to a waterfall, but he wound up not feeling well so he didn't go. I went to Ile Des Deux Cocos for snorkeling and it was so awesome! The island is little and has wonderful coral reefs around it, making it an ideal snorkeling spot. We arrived at about 10:30 am and were greeted by the island's nicely-dressed employees with glasses of good champagne. The island has these really cool canvas open tents with very comfortable lounging couches that are really nice to take naps in, I found out :-) We went snorkeling for about 30 minutes and it was so beautiful and I got some pictures with my waterproof disposable camera. I enjoyed completely relaxing my body and letting the waves do as they pleased—it was a really cool sensation. The water, of course, in Mauritius is crystal clear blue or light green (depending on whether there's a coral reef in the water, and in that case, the water is this gorgeous blue). We had open bar, which amazingly no one abused to the point of being out-of-control drunk, with the exception of one guy that everyone was ashamed of being associated with (I was lucky enough to be on his bus coming home and he threw up everywhere... urgh... we all apologized to the tour guide and bus driver, we were all so embarrassed about it), and our lunch was unbelievably good: we had fresh greens for salad and on the grill: giant prawns (sooo delicious! They were as big as lobsters!), fish, chicken, and lamb. It was amazing. For dessert, we had lots of tropical fresh fruits that were so delicious, as well as bananas foster made right in front of you, which was soooo tasty! I sat with a bunch of the lifelong learners/professors and we had a really nice talk about politics (we had a New Zealander—originally American—who told us about the healthcare system): who we think will win the American elections and talked about the candidates, the healthcare system, the sex-selected abortions and abandonment of female babies that continues to go on in China, adoptions, etc. It was really enlightening and I was excited to be able to contribute to the conversation, as I have developed an opinion of my own... One of the professors, who incidentally is the professor Caitlin hates most, was very helpful to me when she found out that I am into photography: she suggested that I sell my photos to this company called Magnum in New York, where a lot of freelance photographers sell their work, and she also told me about this photography workshop in Maine that goes on in the summer and famous photographers from around the world come to teach and brutally critique your work for about a week in Maine and Paris—I think that would really help me grow as a photographer, but it's $1,000 so I guess that will have to wait. Last night, I got back and we went out to eat but wound up ordering Pizza Hut delivery because we had the inn owner call a cab for us but we didn't know that the max per taxi is 4 passengers and we had 6 (we usually just cram), so he got really angry and we decided it would be best to stay at the hotel so he didn't come back and run us over... we all felt really bad about it. Anyway, we swam in the ocean at night and us ladies had a fun time just talking there and admiring the stars. We then met these two Frenchmen who are 22 and 25 and they're very nice. Michael and Luc, the Franco-Englishman, had a really interesting conversation about philosophy and differences in emotions in the two sexes, etc., and Teneya and I listened and occasionally contributed. Luc is an actor and was really good at making up his arguments, which was funny, because Michael saw right through them. Anyway, we hung out with them and went to bed. It was a good day.

Michelle

March 4, 2008

Yesterday was really good. We sat out in the sun, went swimming, and Luc and I tried to swim across to the other side of the lagoon because it's so shallow that you can stand up (unless you're 5'0" like me) most of the way, but I got really tired because we got to the point where I could just barely not touch, so we went back... he was apparently trained by an Olympic bronze medalist in swimming, but he's an actor, so who knows if that's actually true or not :-P Anywho, Michael and I collected some shells and then I drew in my travel journal and for once spent more than 10 minutes on it. I think it turned out well; I'm proud of myself. Anyway, we then showered and walked to the bus stop to ride the bus into town to go shopping and get some lunch. We found a grocery store, where I bought some snacks for the ship and got some hair dye because the color I dyed it previously is too light and looks weird on me... We got a picnic lunch there and ate it in the shade, which was great. There are a whole lot of stray, starving dogs around here and Caitlin and I gave the rest of our cheese and crackers to a mommy and a daddy, whose ribs you could see they were so skinny. I cried, it was very upsetting to see... and the fact that they didn't wolf down the food I gave them showed that they were so hungry and destitute that they could barely eat it... I wished that I could do more to help the poor babies. I need to prepare myself to see more of this... India is our next stop, and it is going to be much worse. I feel kind of bad admitting this, but I feel much more sorry for animals that are starving and poor than humans—I feel a much greater connection to them in that situation than with my fellow human beings. They are much purer beings, in my opinion, than we are, and it breaks my heart to see innocent little things like them in such poor condition. Anyway, we shopped a little bit and I got an absolutely beautiful henna tattoo in the traditional Indian style on my right hand, which is intricate and rather big, for only $5. I absolutely love it, and I can't wait to get more in India. I paid for Caitlin to get one on her leg, and that looks really good as well. I think that I have not yet mentioned that Mauritius is basically a little India, with an Indian population overtaking everyone else at 70%. Everyone speaks French and English (mostly French), which admittedly is kind of weird to hear people of Indian descent speaking French. So that was great, and then we headed back to the inn. I had taken a Benadryl because the mosquitoes were biting me like crazy and my anti-itch cream didn't work in the least, so I was very tired and took a nice nap before we went out with the Frenchmen to originally go dancing, but we wound up at a bar where I had a very good mojito (those are so yummy!) and we then went to some SASer's villa, where we were clearly not welcome because they thought we were going to consume their alcohol (we weren't)... So, that was relatively fun? We then went to bed, and now I am here writing in this in an internet cafe after having sent home a package and sending off some postcards. Good stuff. Much love,

Michelle