The End...kinda

Final Days of Semester at Sea
Hopefully I can get a few more posts up after this one about China and Japan and possibly Vietnam.
First and for most, sorry to the few people still reading who wanted to hear about China and the first part of Japan as well as Vietnam. Next time you see me, just ask and I can tell you about it through my pictures taken. It’s probably better if I describe Yokohama in person: it was the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen- Tokyo was nice too…
So tomorrow I’m going to be back in San Diego and I’ve gotta say I’m more than ready to be back. I’ve missed all my friends and family and learned to appreciate them even more. The past week and a half has been hell with essays and final exams. After Japan, there’s really not too much to look forward to except home and that doesn’t come soon enough. Anyway, life on the ship has become kinda surreal. For me, the last day of college semester is always surreal. There’s an empty feeling around because people are staying in their rooms and a lot of the things around the ship like decorations and fliers and stuff are being taken down. I went around the ship taking pictures of different places and asking friends for pictures and videos from certain places.
Semester at Sea has no doubt been the greatest experience of my life (I feel like I’m writing another essay here). It will be interesting to see how I’ve changed (if I’ve changed) by going back to America. Each country held great experiences for me that I’ll probably never forget. Whether it was visiting the Rock of Gibraltar and seeing monkeys in Spain, visiting souks (markets) in Marrakech with people I only just met, being invited into a local’s house in Ghana and making great friends from the Ghana university, getting a firsthand look at townships in South Africa and struggling up Table Mountain, relaxing on a catamaran in Mauritius and climbing a hill shaped like a thumb, getting a culture shock in India from the students and rural areas as well as seeing the amazing history there I had no idea about and seeing their future, seeing my family again in Vietnam and crawling through Cu Chi tunnels and going up the Mekong Delta, going to Hong Kong and China and seeing the massive modernization there and exploring the urban jungle, going to Japan and exploring the beautiful, clean cities and staying with a nice Japanese family, or finally coming back to America and trying to find the non-tourist areas, all of these countries gave me a really clearer picture of the world and where it is today and how it GREATLY differs from our comfortable sphere of America. I’m not going to do the guilt trip “be thankful for what you have thing” but realize that some people struggle to earn a living and often work harder than us.
Next Day: (I’m writing this on the car ride home) Today I got off the ship fairly painlessly except for a few delays. I spent the last few hours with my friends just talking and joking. It was hardly in my mind that I would never see them any of them again. That happens a lot in life and if there’s one thing the death of my dog Peabody taught me it to remember the great times with others, as cliché as it sounds. Anyway, I was not expecting to get off the ship so soon so while I was playing minesweeper with my friends, the announcement came and my roommate and I rushed back to our room. My computer and some other small things were unpacked so I rushed to get those packed and ran downstairs and unloaded immediately.
My parents found me in the crowd right outside the dock. It was great seeing them again. We went to lunch in Old Town, San Diego and had Mexican food. This whole time everything was feeling so surreal. It is incredibly strange to be back in America. From the way the waitress talks and serves food, to the homeless people right outside the restaurant, to the Christmas music playing and the feeling of wanting to be back on the ship to continue sailing around the world (possibly to South America), its indescribable being back. The only way I think I can accurately describe it is like in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King when after all the adventures they finally return, I think I feel like Frodo…or Sam, but not as fat. After this initial shock of being home, I’ll need to start looking forward again. I could probably write a post that is longer than India or Ghana here about all my experiences, everything I gained, and what I’ve felt. To sum it up its been amazing and I will continually look back at all the people I’ve met and all the places I’ve been and all the unique experiences I’ve had. Anytime you see me, ask me about a country or something and I will happily tell about it.