Brazil!

Feb. 5, 2008
This morning we arrived in Salvador, Brazil! My friends and I woke up at 4:50 to see the sunrise and watch as we pulled into port. We are currently having breakfast onboard before our Diplomatic Briefing at 0800. Then I’ll be leaving for a Walking Tour of Historic Salvador. Today is the last day of Carnival- the biggest party of the year before the Lenten season begins tomorrow. There are a few Brazilian students onboard who have been bombarded with questions about what to wear, what to see, what to drink...
They taught us some helpful Portugese phrases but the only one I really know is Obrigada (Thanks!). Interestingly- you say obrigada (with an a) only if you are female. You say obrigadO if you are male. And it doesn’t change depending on the sex of the person you are talking to.
Will kindly created this blog account for me so I don’t have to waste my precious Internet minutes (obrigada!) Here’s a little blurb from a few days ago to fill you in on the trip thus far and entertain you until I can write again:

Here’s a quick timeline:
Jan. 23- We departed Nassau, Bahamas at 0500. Mom and Erica watched the ship depart from the Atlantis Resort.
Jan. 26- Arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 0800.
Jan. 29- Departed San Juan at 2300.
Feb. 5- Arrived in Salvador at 0600.

Feb. 1, 2008
The MV Explorer is making its way to Salvador Brazil this morning- the first day of February- at 20 knots. We’re at Lat 04 degrees and Long 043 degrees. We are almost to the equator- and it is ugly outside. For the last two days we’ve been rockin and rolling- literally. Luckily I haven’t been seasick at all and haven’t had to use any of my homeopathic drugs.
There are 17 of us from Bucknell, a close 4th after CU Boulder with almost 80, Pitt, and Wisconsin. Tomorrow is Saturday and they’re giving us a day off! My only time commitment is taking a school picture for the yearbook... along with my long list of things to do- mostly reading. I just joined a Human Rights and Ethics class yesterday. We started reading “Disposable People, New Slavery in the Global Economy”. For Developmental Economics I’m currently reading “Guns, Germs, and Steel” by Jared Diamond, a historian, geographer, and biologist who goes back about 11,000 years in time to address the question, Why are some countries rich and some poor? I am in the process of choosing my own measure of the standard of living, which I’ll use to assess each country from Brazil on- and then compare my own data with actual stats. I am taking Leaders of the 20th Century, which is a biographic approach to influential leaders including Ghandi, Mandela, Mao, Hirohito, and Ho Chi Min. We’re currently reading “Gandhi’s Passion” by Stanley Wolpert. I got accepted off the waitlist into Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion- an Anthropology course that will count toward my major. It sounds fascinating- we’ll be on the lookout for various rituals and religions in all of our port cities. It is taught by a Norwegian archaeologist who- in real life- teaches in Vietnam.
There are approx. 730 students- from over 200 schools- onboard, and 29 faculty members. Some of the faculty brought their families along so there are 7 kids from 3-18 running around too. The Asst. Dean Chris Ullom is the voice that we hear everyday over the intercom giving announcements and today in class we heard the intercom chime but it wasn’t the dean. “Um Dad... Can you come back your office please Dad.” It was his daughter. We all got a laugh out of it.

I’m checking email in the piano lounge and there are few guys strumming their acoustic guitars, and a guy just attempted “Don’t Stop Believin’” on the piano. I wish I could remember some of the songs Ryan taught me. Oh- now they’re playing “Stand By Me.”
Mom- I got a $50 refund on my tuition for whatever reason. I had the purser put it onto my SAS account. Then I proceeded to the bookstore where I had to buy a $20 book- so much for that. But the extra 30 bucks are going to smoothies and ice cream up on the top deck. ☺
We watched part of Gandhi today in Leaders (with Sir Ben Kingsley). The rest will be on TV tonight. The other night I watched Favela Rising with my friend Mason and another girl from my HR (Human Rights) class. It is about one particular favela (slum) in Rio de Janiero and the drug trafficking that goes on there. The street kids who live there all aspire to be drug lords because that is the only way to get rich. Anderson Sa, the protagonist of the film, was involved in a drug army for some time until his brother was killed by the police; he was one of many innocent townspeople killed. Anderson then started the Afro-Reggae movement in Rio. His band writes and performs songs speaking out against the violence and corruption in Rio and offers a creative outlet for kids.

A little about ship life: I live in a quad. Four girls- one bathroom. Surprisingly it has been going pretty well. One of my roomies, Kerry, is from the Bay Area also. She attends USD. Angela is from Charleston, SC and we just had a moment to remember Heath Ledger- playing the “10 Things I Hate About You” soundtrack. Suzanne is from Alabama and attends Tuskegee U.
On the 26th we arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 0800. Unfortunately I didn’t make it up in time to see the sunrise as we sailed into the Bay. That’s my goal for Brazil. We spent most of our time in Old San Juan, which was very cute and much cleaner than I expected. I loved architecture and the colorful buildings. Apparently it is a law that no two hues can be the same. The first night in PR I attended a cockfight with a few guys. I read “Notes on a Balinese Cockfight” by Clifford Geertz last semester in Anth and was intrigued to see if it was as big of a deal in PR as it is in Bali. It’s not. But there were a lot of animated old Puerto Rico men coaching the roosters as if they could understand. Overall it’s a very sad sport and a hard thing to watch.
Later that night we found a fun salsa club. I went on an SAS kayaking trip and took a tour of the Capitol building.