India

Hi!

I am now in chennai india which is by far the most different place i have ever been in my entire life. They kept stressing that before we got here because I think they have had some trouble in the past with people hating it and such because of the poverty, overcrowded streets and the filth of it. However, i wasn't too concerned about these things and came in with a pretty open mind which in turn led me to love it!! When we arrived, there were about 50 men at the gate waiting for us to get into these little rickshaw things where they physically pull you and you sit in the back. there are motorized ones as well. They pretty much attacked us, very funny. We found the coolest driver and rode around with him the whole day. i even got to drive one!( and about hit 5 people). Anyway, we went down to the beach to drive where just EVERYONE sits all day by the water, except no one swims and everyone is in long pants and long shirts. So different. Trash everywhere as well. We just took in the sites all day, pretty overwhelming. So much poverty. but the people are so friendly! We are having dinner at our rickshaw drivers house Wednesday. Haha. A lot of people went to the Taj Mahal, but i didn't really care to because its like 1000 dollars to just see a building. I would rather stay and experience the culture. Last night, we went to a reception with indian students who gave us traditional food/dance and henna tatoos! Danielle and i also wore our brand new sarees (and had them on completely wrong and had to get them redone by the indian ladies). Good times. I also had the best lunch ever for a total of 2.50 American dollars. nuts. Anyway, today I am going to an orphanage with my friend Claire so I am very excited. Hope everyone is doing well!!

MAURITIUS

hello everyone! I am writing from the most beautiful resort i have ever seen located in Mauritius which is a tiny island off of madagascar. i have never even heard of it before this trip, but it is well worth your time. however, we got really bad advice and ended up paying a whole lot more for a hotel than we should have but there was nothing i could do about it because we had no place to go, so we just sucked it up and now we are at the most amazing resort ever. its basically all honeymooners and us. haha. but we got to dance "Sega" with the locals tonight and all the pools here are infinity pools that just go out over to the ocean. the sand is white and AMAZING. so beautiful. the people are so friendly as well, mostly indians here which is kinda random. the ship was SO rocky this week, all of our stuff was falling on the floor and everything. strange feeling. and now the time change is a lot different so we're like 9 hours different from home. but im finally on the right schedule. tomorrow i think we are going snorkeling so im really excited! and we are also going for a boatride in a glass bottom boat so that should be fun. well i miss everyone lots, ill write again soon!:)

South Africa round 2

Okay, so we've been here for almost a week and i honestly think that i have seen everything there is here. I have been going going going non-stop. i had SUCh a wonderful time with jeromy and jennifer in their little villa by the beach, it was amazing and so relaxing. We did a lot of things with them, I got to see a lot of the coastline and beaches and everything. We also went out to a lot of great meals, i LOVE the food here. Hutch is adorable too, I really hadn't spent time with them before so that was amazing. Also, they took me to church which i loved. Then, they had their friend marc take me around monday and i got to see cape point, we rode a cable car up to table mountain, saw all the beaches, went to the botanical gardens and it was just unbelievable. There were penguins on the beach, but they hated me and chased me and hissed. but it was hilareous. It was a Beautiful day, and we just drove around ALL along the coast. i loved it. Last night we went out and the argentinian rugby team was there and they were just hilareous. it was fun to meet other foreigners. i am loving my friends here and my roomate. today we were gone ALL day on a tour from 8-6. we had two wine tastings, went to a cheetah reserve, went to a butterfly garden,held some snakes, a little french town for lunch, and just saw a LOT of cape town inlands. it was beautiful and a wonderful day. food is so cheap here, i had the best lunch for $3.50. loved it. well tonight is our last night...so im getting ready to go! miss everyone.

SOUTH AFRICA!!!

My favorite place so far by far and i've only been here for a day. i absolutely love it. we got in yesterday after losing 5 hours of sleep in seven days. Sleeping is underrated, we never really get any. oh well. danielle and i stay up so late every night because we can't sleep at all because were not tired at night. but as for cape town ... we got in yesterday and i went to visit a township and it was so sad. people literally built their houses on whatever they could find. desmond tutu is a celebrity in this town for what he did after apartheid.. its so crazy that he is on our ship. but as for apartheid and everything, i didn't realize that all of that was going on so recently, it is heartbreaking. this trip makes me realize really how much i don't know about the world. it is such a learning experience. so i got really sick this past week on the ship, and that eight days was the longest stretch ever because i was in bed from dehydration and a stomach virus for three of them :-( but now i am all better and happy to be enjoying this city. i went to the best african restaurant last night, it was a buffet style outdoor under a huge tent with local music and tribal dancing going on all around us and there were tables in treehouse things? very interesting. i am now with my cousin jeromy deibler and his wife jennifer and hutch :) and am staying at their house on the beach for the weekend. its beautiful and im so thankful that they are here, i was ready to get away from the ship for a little while. Okay, well miss everyone!