Thailand and updates!

Good evening all! (It is 11 pm in Thailand-new time zone) -to be in order read the last paragraph first and then return to the top of this post.
First of all, I would like to apologize in advance for the lack of updating on my blog. I am actually keeping a daily electronic journal and it is packed with info, however the internet takes at least 15 minutes to upload my blog which is about 1/20 of my small internet allotment. Hopefully it will get better? As for port internet, I am usually quite busy in port and don't always have time to sit and write a full blog.
I know I haven't finished a description of Shanghai but I am not quite sure what I wrote about in the last blog. But since I am currently in Thailand I will tell you about that!
Yesterday we arrived to Thailand and went straight to Bangkok, unfortunately our port is 1 1/2 hours from Bangkok so we have to bus there every day (quite a long time since traffic can increase it up to 3 hours!) But Bangkok is a great exciting city. We went to a partner university there Chula (short for a long name i dont know how to spell) and learned a lot about Thai culture from walking around and the representative from the school. We also ate lunch at the largest restaurant in the world for some Thai food. Then we went to the famous night market and worked out our bookings to go to the North when our Academic Field Program ends here. Then we drove back, exhausted from so much driving and our first day.
Today was better as we stayed nearer to the ship and had a small group of only about 10 people. We met with a woman from a non profit environmental organization who told us about the many problems that Thailand has due to the lack of protection for the environment. Many foreign countries come to Thailand to set up factories and big industries with no concern for the damage to the people or environment here. Then we went to the sites she discussed and saw huge toxic waste piles (it was a small mountain) and the factories. We also saw a school where children used to attend but because they all began to get sick from the water and air of the polluted area their school was relocated (it was actually quite eerie.
Then on a lighter and happier note, we went to an elephant park! I RODE AN ELEPHANT!!! It was lots of fun trekking through the jungle and little area on top of an elephant. We fed it bananas and it kept going, lol. The elephants were quite rocky and one of them loved to try and steal bananas from us with his trunk so I still have elephant snot all over my clothes, lol, but it was well worth it! And I have some great pictures and video! (to be uploaded when I can figure that out!) Then they showed us silkworms and how they make silk and we had fresh amazing fruit. Now we are at a beach city (I am with Luisiana from Mexico and Ron and Eva from the States) near our port and we walked around and had dinner looking out at the beach. There were also "ladyboys" as Ron calls them that worked there and it was quite entertaining. Tomorrow we head to Bangkok again and then tomorrow night I am going with some friends (mainly from Mexico and Pablo from Spain and Eva) to the northern area called Chiang Mai via bus (yay haha not). There are lots of jungle there and the areas is apparently very beautiful. We will spend 3 days there and at the golden triangle (where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos all meet) and then fly back to Bangkok before the ship departs.
This trip is amazing, but as many students and I have discussed, quite exhausting. I am never bored, but the weeks in port do wear me out. Lots of people are going to the beach and kicking back for the whole week, but since I have less time with my field programs we are going to the North and focusing time there. Soon I have to start plans for India and we are hoping to go to the Taj Mahal, as I have 7 free days of travel in port there.
In the week between Shanghai and Thailand (for those who are still reading) I was quite sick as the seas were very rocky. Class was difficult to have as things fell over lots and concentration was difficult. We did have a reporter from the Bangkok post onboard who was very knowledgeable and his excellency, the Swedish Ambassador to the United Nations for Human Rights (I think that was the right title, it had many parts). They get to hang out with us and eat all our meals with us, etc, so it is quite informative. We also picked up 9 students from Fudan University (like Apple, my neighbor, who is adorable) and it has been fun meeting them too. OOOOOOOOO AND other exciting news-we had church for the first time on the ship! There are 4 other Mormons onboard with me and we had church on Sunday! I gave a lesson, Maureen played the piano, and we had a short scripture study and video as well. It was so wonderful! It only lasted about 45 minutes but was a nice meeting. We will be having church every Sunday at sea and will alternating teaching and leading etc. O I also had my first meetings for Student Voice, Social Events, and Interfaith Dialogue, o and Rotary/Service club. They all went well but man was it a busy week with getting ready for Thailand, classes, and meetings. I look forward to doing service in the upcoming countries and planning some fun events onboard ( I had made a big list of ideas when I got onboard and we will most likely be using several of them :) O and we had our pre port day in the beautiful waters of Thailand and laid out in the sun/pool and it was wonderful! I think I have the best campus in the world!
That was backwards order but I don't know how to fix it so enjoy whichever order in which you read it!
Signing off,
Sailor Kasee

Shanghai! Finally!

Well today is my 3rd day in Shanghai China. We were supposed to arrive 2 days before that but due to extreme fog conditions all the ports, airports, and highways in Shanghai were closed and we had to wait it out! I had bought a package to go the Great Wall in Beijing but there just wasn't enough time to go because of the weather conditions. We did get to have 2 free days on the boat and that was a nice time to catch up on many things and just enjoy life at sea. O and I was elected into Student Voice (the student government) with 2 other students from my group and I am also excited to be involved with the social planning as well (my personal forte). The people on this voyage are truly amazing with such different backgrounds and experiences. Everyone here has lived abroad (many to dozens of countries) for extended periods of time and everyone just wants to learn and have a good time. The Scholar Ship is definitely still working on getting everything running smoothly but with a little patience and creativity it all seems to work out fine. We have been playing lots of games onboard and dance almost every night in our student lounge (one of my favorite experiences so far, since dancing knows no cultural boundaries it really unites people and people really let their guards down and have fun). I also attended a salsa class and it was really fun! We will continue to have them as the journey progresses as well. I have also been sticking to my workout routine so yay! moving on. . .
Shanghai is an amazing city though. It is the largest in China and has a huge skyline, but they are constantly tearing down older buildings to build more high rise apartment buildings. There are tons of tourist places, but we have managed to stumble onto several real parts of the city and see a more true representation. I cannot explain how after having drinks at the Grand Hyatt on the 88th floor overlooking all of Shanghai compares with children begging me on the street for change. There are almost shantytowns next to the prestigious Fudan University that we visited today (a partner university of The Scholar Ship). We also went to the Communist Party museum today and then shopping downtown. Did I mention it has been freezing the entire time we have been here? I have not been warm for the past 5 days as I did not bring adequate clothing for such extreme conditions (but thanks Carol for the coat, it definitely helps!). I have been wearing every peice of clothing I own and still shivering. But hey, it's all part of the experience right?
I can't remember what exactly I posted in the last post,since it is so long between posts. We leave Shanghai on the 16th at night and 7 days later arrive in Thailand to start again! Classes will resume on Friday (all weekend, although there is no time onboard,ha) and I will probably have a lot to do (readings and papers) to review my experiences in China and then prepare for Thailand. I did get a dress made in the fabric market here (red silk) but the lady spoke only Mandarin so many hand gestures were involved. We will see how it turns out when I pick up the dress! The people have been very friendly and I have never gotten lost or taken advantage of. I did buy a phone sim card (another cultural debacle-hilarious might I add) but I was unable to buy minutes or understand if I could call the states, so maybe I will have better luck in Thailand.
I also went to a slightly more rural China (Hangzhou-Heaven on Earth) and saw a tea farm, traditional Chinese medicine shop, and a large temple yesterday. And I have been trying lots of crazy foods like this pink food with a dark substance in the middle (I assumed it was chocolate-how naive of me) it turned out to be some strange substance with beans in the middle, a slight let down from the chocolate but o well. I have lots of great pictures but haven't figured out how to post them just yet without using all my precious internet minutes.
Well I love you all and miss the States and fun times,but wouldn't rather be anywhere but here. I am keeping a daily journal of my own so I will try to get other important details in the blog next post, especially since you are all probably bored by now anyways. O and dont forget to write, those of you that haven't!! You know who you are!!
Wo eye nee (I love you in Chinese)
Kasee

The Scholar Ship- Voyage Begins!

After packing and enjoying Hong Kong, on January 2^nd we took a cab to Ocean Terminal for me to embark on The Scholar Ship. We found it easily once at the docks and we boarded The Scholar Ship (formerly the Mona Lisa) to check it out. As it turns out Dad and Carol got a tour of the ship but I had to deal with immigration and things were pretty hectic so I said goodbye to them and began my adventure! Man was I nervous! I met tons of people while we waited (for about 5 hours) to have our documents filled out and visas/passports checked etc. There are 153 students (not nearly the turnout they hoped but a great number for us). Many of my already close friends are from Australia, Mexico, Canada, Ghana, Morocco, Finland, and the United States. I have lots of Mexican/Spanish friends to practice Spanish with so I am very excited! Altogether there are students from 30 countries and staff and crew from over 50. There is still an American majority of about 45% but there are so many great people from around the world that I am constantly learning.

Already I can tell this is going to be such a great experience. So far we have had 2 days of orientation to learn all about the ship itself, our port programs and onboard life. The voyage is supposed to be a combination of 3 aspects of life: onboard (ship) life, academic classes, and port programs (actually experiencing life in the countries). We will be at 6 countries (China, Thailand, India, South Africa, Spain, Turkey) for 7 days each and 4 countries for a limited amount of time (Seychelles, Cape Verde, Portugal, and the Netherlands) but we spend almost half our journey on land and the other half at sea. The ship is great by the way. We eat breakfast outside every day (on the Lido deck) and I cannot explain the beauty of eating breakfast with the sun in my face and the wind in my hair while talking to new friends from Iceland and Brazil. The multicultural experience is truly amazing and this is a pioneer program. There is no other program like it on earth. I haven’t been sea sick but do get light headed and headaches at times, but many are really suffering. It will probably take a few more days before everyone has their sea legs.

I have one of the smallest rooms but it is more than adequate as I really like my floor (intercultural community) and my roommate, Brooke from Canada. The food is great and I am already trying to eat balanced and healthy meals, but there are great desserts (only one option though so that’s good). They have dishes typical of the region at most lunch and dinner meals so lately there has been lots of rice and Chinese dishes, today was fajitas though and everyday there is salad, breads, and fresh fruit (all wonderful). Also, I have already worked out at the cardio deck outside where there are lots of bikes and elliptical machines (I did 6 miles yesterday!! And I am planning on going at least every day so hopefully I won’t gain 30 pounds!) Nothing is more motivating to exercise than looking at the sea and listening to my Ipod. O there are also 3 pools, 2 hot tubs, 2 bars, 2 gyms, several dance floors, a library, a theatre, a gift shop and a media center. I don’t know though I might get bored? Ha.

For our night activities we have had an introduction/welcome night, student/staff mixer, and last night was open mic night. One of the most amazing aspects of The Scholar Ship is that you can have breakfast, lunch, dinner or a drink with all of your resident counselors and more interestingly, your professors. Professors live and eat with all the students so there are constant opportunities to meet and know them. I started classes today, Global Issues and Intercultural Communications and both seem fascinating and with a great group of people. Both of today’s classes had 20 people but I think my elective classes tomorrow will have only about 10 each (A big change for me from BYU of typical classes averaging about 150). It is Saturday here but I only know that from looking at the calendar as we have no weekends or weeks really. We have four days of classes (alternating blue and green) and then we have a break day. We also have a pre port day and a post port day to prepare and then discuss our experiences from each country. So this week I have classes on Saturday and Sunday oddly enough. Yesterday we also signed up for clubs and sports that we are interested in. I signed up for yoga, dance, the interfaith dialogue, student voice (government) and social events (my personal favorite). Soon other activities will start like foreign film showings and other cultural activities. I am excited to see how things really go and how much free time I really have once classes get into swing and we see about travel etc.

If things go as planned I will be leaving Shanghai to go Beijing with a group from TSS (The Scholar Ship) so I will be able to see the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and other famous sites there, unfortunately it involves two overnight sleeper cars and freezing weather but it sounds like an amazing experience. I would leave for Beijing on the night of the 10^th. There will be lots of independent travel involved in every country we travel to but there are lots of travel savvy people and groups to go with. I am both anxious and excited to try that out.

Well I had no idea I had so much to say but I guess I figured there would be lots of questions since I didn’t have a big idea of what this experience would be like. I will be checking email every other day, but probably only responding once a week. Feel free to ask more questions about the program/ship and I will try to oblige. Please email me updates of what is going in all of your respective locations and feel free to send this blog link to any who asks. I miss all ya’ll but I am excited for what lies ahead as I love it here already! Thanks to all my friends and family for their love and support. :)

Hong Kong

Hello all! Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I had internet for a few days in Hong Kong but just no time to update. I just got internet on the ship yesterday and it is adequate but expensive. I will be planning on posting about once every 5 days, but don’t hold me to that as it is difficult to promise!

But on to the good stuff! I arrived safely in Hong Kong with Dad and Carol and we were able to find our apartment just fine. I did get sick at the end of the flight but other than that I made the 14 hour flight alright. O and the airport lost our luggage but it was delivered the next day to our apartment in Hong Kong. A short summary of Hong Kong: We walked around the main streets in the city just taking in all the sights and all the people. I have never seen so many people! Some of the shots I got are amazing of just thousands of black haired people walking the streets. We went to Victoria Peak on the tram and saw the most beautiful view of the city all lit up at night. We also went to Kowloon and did some shopping at the jade market and the ladies market and found some good bargains. The next day we were still recovering from jet lag and very long days so we took it easy and went to a salon for our hair and nails to get done. It was a very nice break since we had been going nonstop. Then that night we took a New Year’s ferry and watched the Symphony of Lights and a special New Year’s fireworks show on a boat on the water. There I met Vincent, my Taiwanese love, who gave me a special New Year’s kiss. (no worries it was just on the cheek but don’t worry I have pictures to document it!) That night getting home was a nightmare as thousands of Chinese filled the streets trying to ride the subway home. We were pushed and shoved until we made home from among the throngs. Then our last day we went to Lantau Island and took the newly opened cable car (after a 2 hour wait) to see the Big Buddha temple and monastery. It was a great experience but we were freezing and tired of lines by the end of it. We tried to find my temple in Hong Kong but to no avail, but as a close second we found a cool shop where Carol and I got some traditional Chinese clothing. We then had drinks at the hotel where Dad had stayed 35 years ago on his R and R from Vietnam, which was pretty cool.