Around the World with ANA

The favelas of Rio de Janeiro – July 2009

Home sweet home! I climbed out onto a “balcony” and took this photo looking down into a street in the favela. You can see the water basins they use for their potable water in each building. This is one of many favela communities that we stayed in. Juliana’s Dad has 13 brothers and sisters, while her Mom has 9 or so… We always had a place to stay!In Brazil, monkeys are like squirrels except they are much bolder and they love cheese. We have so much in common!

We played a soccer game on the beach… Just like trying to run through a pile of mashed potatoes! I was exhausted, despite the fact I spent all afternoon sleeping in a hammock. I feel inclined to mention that this photo was taken in the heart of winter. Although I was tempted, we did not spend everyday at the beach. We decided to hike to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain. Naturally we wanted to jump off of it, but they said it was too windy for hang gliding – Maybe next time!

Even though it was my second time at the top of Sugar Loaf, I never cease to be amazed by the view. We climbed to the top just as the sun was setting. It was rewarding to see daylight transition into night time.

Of course, I had to go to a futbol game and check out the stadium for when I return for World Cup in 2014! Alcohol is prohibited and opposing fans have to enter through different entrances. I loved the intensity and we were all in good spirits when Botafogo won!

The Samba School! On my last trip I got to see the facilities but this time I made sure that we made it to the Samba Show!! Unfortunately, Tia Lulu was not happy about us going to one of the roughest favelas in Rio at midnight. Got to love the over-bearing auntie!

New Photos!

I finally posted my India blog! There are some pictures on there but I need to pick up more photos from my friends. I’ll be able to post them later…

I posted pictures (on seperate pages) for Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but didn’t have time to write about it or edit out the doubles! Who reads those long blogs anyways!?

I am at Erik’s house in Vietnam right now but I leave for China tomorrow. Erik’s roommate’s girlfriend is Viet Namese and so helpful! I love her! She knows where all the best restaurants and shopping markets are hidden. Riding around on the motorbike is crazy fun! No rules! I’ll post some pictures for Vietnam later. You can always take a look at Erik’s blog: reachej.wordpress.com

Also, I’ve been sending out emails but my internet is tempermental and they don’t always make it through… so frustrating!

Almost to India!

The rumor is that you can smell India two days before you get there…  I am excited to travel through Asia in general because it is so culturally different. So far, I feel like I’ve been extremely comfortable in traveling with minimal culture shock. I’m definitely ready for a more substantial change… We only have 3 days MAX in between cities, so it will be intense!

Also, I just found out that I will be on the Great Wall of China for my 24th birthday! I was expecting to be at sea in between ports so I am extremely excited it worked out this way!

I’ve added pictures to some of my blogs. Be sure to navigate through my pages (on the side) because I’m adding entire pages for each port I visit. This front page is just general posts that I don’t use as much. I love comments!

Today I took to back-to-back midterms but I think I did well on both. It feels good have those out of the way so I can fully indulge in India without anything hanging over my head! I’ve been on the boat for almost 11 days now and I am going a little insane! Right now, my 2 favorite movies are Motorcycle Diaries and Darjeeingly Limited – watch them if you haven’t already! Going to the gym is my only other outlet but the smell suffocates me… I miss running outside in fresh air! Tonight is the talent show which will be a lot of fun! Talk to you soon! Enjoy my blog… =)

Paradise Island

When we arrived in at the airport, the entire baggage claim smelled like salty fish…. It turns out that someone packed an ice chest full of fish that leaked all over everyone’s bags! Mine was not spared… I had to hand wash a lot of my clothes in the hotel sink and use a bottle of extra-strength Febreeze on my bags! It still smells like fish to me… (Sorry, Jess!!)

My poor mom broke her foot! We were walking down the stairs by the marina and it must have wet and dark when she slipped and broke her ankle! At first we thought it was sprained and went back to the room to ice it. I went to bed at midnight and then she called me at 4am and told me she needed to go to the ER… this was the night before I boarded the ship! They put an air-cast on her and she was up all night, so she didn’t get to see me off. Luckily, she toured the ship at the parents’ event the night before. In the end I was really glad she came… We had a good time (before she broke her foot!) She had to fly home by herself though… so I hope she didn’t have too much trouble… I haven’t heard much from her yet.

The ship itself is really nice and new… small rooms but really space efficient and bright. The pool is small but they have a Wellness center where you can work out, get massages, pedicures, hair cuts, etc. I’m taking a yoga classes on deck at 7am and a salsa/samba class. The food isn’t the best… I haven’t been eating any of the meat except the fish. The coffee is horrible… I’m holding out for the good stuff in Brazil! My roommate is from Portland, really young, Christian, Tom-boy, doesn’t drink, and has not traveled much at all. I think this trip will be really good for her… She laughs at my jokes (her favorite show is Flight of the Concords) and we constantly end up laughing so hard we’re practically crying! She’s pretty independent and trustworthy, so I think it will work out well.

Classes started today and there is a lot of work involved but the tasks don’t seem too tedious… just a lot of reading so far. Last night, we had to speed up to take a 75 mile detour to avoid a hurricane and it made the ride pretty rough. I felt pretty sea sick after dinner and had to take a Dramamine and I slept fine. My poor roommate has been sea sick since we got on here and she has a cold (coughing, sneezing, etc) probably from traveling so much. She’s been really good about using purell and everything so I won’t get sick. Hopefully I’ll meet more people in my other classes and on my Rio de Janiero trip. I definitely feel like I’m the oldest student on the boat!

Alan – I did say hello to Kima but I don’t think I’m going to be able to transfer into her class unfortunately. I haven’t been able to find Cindy (or was it Cathy?) but I’ll find her eventually!

Right now, we are docked in Puerto Rico but we’re not allowed to get off… the view of the city and landscape is beautiful though… very colorful and tropical birds flying everywhere! We’ll be leaving for Brazil shortly but won’t arrive until September 7^th. I can’t wait!! Adios until then…

I leave today!

I’m so excited but I feel totally unprepared! Can’t wait to be relaxing in the Bahamas for the next couple of days… Hopefully the hurricane won’t interrupt my sun tanning! Luckily, the MV Explorer is one of the fastest ships in the world (according to my dad’s professional opinion) and it can outrun hurricanes and pirates - Kiss it, Hurrican Gustav!

Ciao for now!

Try not to miss me…!

I am traveling around the world for the rest of the year! I decided to spend a semester at sea which means that I will study on a cruise ship that travels to 10 different countries. I leave August 26th and will return at the end of December…!