November 19 (Atlantic Ocean: Day 8, Slavador Tomorrow!)

Hello once again from little ol' me traveling around this great big world of ours! A lot has been going on in the week since Cape Town. This past Saturday, the 16th, we had our Ambassador's Ball - the equivalent of a prom. We all got dressed up and showed off our fancy purchases and tailor-made outfits from Vietnam and other countries. As promised since after Hong King, I've included a couple of pictures of me from the Ball wearing my blue and silver silk shirt that I bought for around US$16 in Hong Kong. There are pictures of me and the captain, me and our executive dean Lloyd, my friends Samantha, Valerie, and Kim, and my friend Lindsey (the one with short hair and the bright red dress), and my Vicarious Voyage partner Kate. I had a really great time. I love getting dressed up and spending time with such good friends.

Classes are starting to wind down. My first final is on the Tuesday after Brazil and my last will be a week later on the 3rd of December. Wow, finals already! I know many of you must be quite jealous since you still have another month or so before you get to be home with your families for the holidays. Thanksgiving is coming up next week! It's hard to imagine that it's already that close! Being out here on the ocean and running around in various ports, gaining an hour here and there, and not really having any time off so to speak it's really hard to keep track of what day of the week it is any more, let alone what holidays are coming up. The only holidays I know of at this point that are coming up is that tomorrow is something like "Black Awareness Day" in Brazil. But I'm sure there will be a big "to do" onboard for Thanksgiving. From what I understand, we will not go without the traditional turkey with all the fixings. Granted, it will be served buffet style with around 750-800 other people but it will be nice in its own way.

I'm getting ready to be done. Senioritis is certainly kicking in for me. Traveling the world has taken a lot out of me mentally, emotionally, and physically and I'm just ready to be finished with classes and be home where I can just crash for awhile before heading back into the thick of things for my final semester at BU. This has been an amazing trip and I want to see more of the world. My only comment would be that I'm ready to be home. It's been hard to be so detached from family and friends and because of all of the demands that come with traveling the way that I am with the constant routine of class and port I am ready for some time off. Brazil and Cuba - aside from the possibility of meeting with Castro, still uncertain - were not high on my list of countries I was looking forward to visiting. I pretty much have no expectations for either of them at this point and so, it's somewhat bad to say but, I'm not that excited about them. Or perhaps it would be better to say that I am looking more forward to being home, meeting Garrett and being back with the familiar again for awhile. Bebo Norman - one of my favorite musicians whom I highly reccomend - wrote a song on his newest CD - that I picked up in Cape Town of all places! - that really spoke to me as to this feeling of wanting to be home. It says: "Yesterday it seems/ I traveled in a younger man's clothes/ living out this dream/ and wandering through fields of touch and go/ moving on forever/ watching the distance fade away/ but now I just want to land...where the trees stand still." But Brazil is tomorrow! I have pretty much no expectations of what it will bring. I know it will amaze me just as all the other ports have, each in their own way. I need to let go of the desire to be around the familiar, "where the faces look the same most every day," and be open to what these next five days have to teach me about Brazil, its people, its culture, its history, and about myself. I will be amazed again!


November 25 (Back on the Atlantic)

Well, Brazil was an ok port. Yeah, it was just ok. I didn't go on any of the big trips to the Amazon or Rio so I just stayed in Salvador for the most part. I went to Praia do Forte to check out the sea turtle project where they are trying to increase the population of the turtles. I also went to the Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador - everything was in Portugese and no one spoke English, which made for an interesting time. I went on a ship-sponsored trip to see a performance of traditional Brazilian religious dances. It was pretty cool with almost constant drumming for about an hour, good food, and a form of martial arts/dance called capoeira. I only watched the show and they wore me out from all the energy they expended. I went shopping one evening and that was pretty much it. At this point in the trip, like I said before, I'm ready to be done. I wasn't too impressed with Brazil. The old section of the city was quite beautiful but there wasn't much that really excited me or made me want to come back. It's sad to say but it was just another port. Overall, I think most of the rest of the ship had an amazing time but for me it just wasn't as great as it could've been. It wasn't as bad as it sounds though. I don't regret being there. I also don't feel like I missed out on much by staying on the ship for a couple of days. My roommates were gone for 2 nights and I had the room to myself for once. I watched a few movies, got some work done at a casual pace, and I was able to recover somewhat from the past week straight of work. Now the fun begins. We have 10 days until Cuba and in that time we have our last few days of class, Thanksgiving, and finals. It will be a lot of work but it will be done before we know it. And to think, Thanksgiving is in a couple of days. It's my first Thanksgiving away from home and it's going to be served buffet style in the dining hall. How wierd is that?!? It will certainly be an experience though. I'll be with some good friends and dining somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean. How many people can say that? (Well, other than the 950 or so other people on the ship with me!) It will be fun.

Well, this will be my last Voyage Log until after I get home. With everything that will be happening in the next 2 weeks - finals, Cuba, packing, driving home - I won't get the chance to write again. But do not fret! I will post all of my pictures and thoughts on Cuba and the trip as a whole before Christmas. I will be home around the 12th of December if anyone wants to email me again or anything. I will be thinking of you all as I make my way northward and I can't wait to see you all again upon my return. Best of luck to all of you with finals and papers and I wish you all Happy Holidays, safe travels, and I send my love and thanks for all of the support and love you've shown me as I've been on this amazing journey! Take Care! and God Bless! Until I return...

-Jason