So Vietnam was cool. Celebrated Janet’s birthday. We walked around the market and saved a fish’s life, while also embarrassing ourselves in front of the locals. Went to a Disabled School for Children, free of tuition. The kids were fun! I loved them :) Then flew to Cambodia. Saw Angkor Wat and plenty of ruins. It was cool. Saw some floating homes, sad to see. Beautiful children. I must go back and help out, their eyes scream at you, so how could I not. Back in Vietnam, riding motorcycles to get around, bars and errands. Went to the Vietnam War Memorial Museum. A lot to take in. So many disturbing pictures, one from a project I did when I was 11. It was a surreal moment.
Hong Kong was my birthday. Jika and Andrew took me around the city for the day. A bunch of us went to dinner at night and drank vodka and juice boxes in a children’s park. A great way to turn 20. Next day to Beijing. Mary was my saviour and kept me sane. Stayed at Tsinghua University. The campus was nice, the students were great – very understanding, polite and accepting. Ronnie said “I understand that not all Americans are agree with your government, as I hope you understand that not all Chinese agree with ours.” Went out that night for my and Courtney’s birthday. Danced on stage and on a pole. What a way to end my 20th birthday.. except for the next day when I officially turned 20 on The Great Wall of China. Molly, Marissa, Mary and I ran around like loons, taking pictures and panting from climbing all those steps. Saw panda bears :) Mary and I sat and talked about everything and nothing in the Forbidden City. It was beautiful. And jumped down the steps of the Temple of Heaven. Also saw the children’s circus – they were unbelievable. Hung out with the university students and went out at night. Next day to the summer palace then home. Every meal I ate was with the vegetarians, and we talked smack and bonded on not eating flesh. It was beautiful.
Japan was amazing, clean and the Japanese are the most polite people ever. I saw a few people bend over and put their cig out on the ground then put the butt in their pocket so they wouldn't litter. First day we found some locals who spoke no english to help us find Osaka Tiger tickets. Saw the game and loved it. Kat and I stayed in the rain and laughed the whole time. Next day was my homestay in Osaka. My family was amazing. We rode bikes and spent two hours making dinner. I had to eat fish with eyes, yuck. The next day I wore a kimono which killed my back for the 10 min I wore it. We went to my brother’s school and taught english. The pre-teen boys were typical pre-teen boys. It was fun though, I felt like a celebrity. My mother took me to the museum and the Osaka castle. I cried when she took me back to the ship. They were wonderful. That night went to a GNG conference and met Chris from Norway who took us and some other students to Karaoke. Hilarious. The next day Jika, Janet, Kat and I decided to go to Kyoto. Chris took us and we met Joe the filmographer on the train. We found geisha tickets and saw a once in a year special performance. They are so graceful. We walked to some temples and walked around a rock garden and bamboo forest. Found a sushi restaurant where there is a conveyor belt that comes around and you simply grab what you want and pay by plate. So cool, took the train home and went out at night. We didn’t get home until 7am.Then Kat and I wandered around all day, having ups and downs, crying and laughing because it was our last day in a foreign port. She’s my favourite, and though it was sad, I could not ask for more on our last day. We made it to the ship JUST in time.
Hawaii, Jika and I went to the beach and cried about not knowing what to do with ourselves. Complete confusion across the board. Then back to the ship to go.. sky diving with Cristie and LeeAnne. We decided the motto would be: let go. We were getting all excited. They strapped us up and took us to the plane, we were the last jump for the day. Big Jim was my jumper and we fell through a cloud and touched a rainbow. It was beautiful, right on the coast, by the mountains. The best way to see the entire Big Island in a few minutes. After we landed we pounded back a few beers at the foot of the mountain with the instructors. Jika, Cristie and I went to dinner, had a few drinks and played pool. It was great.
...i'll write more later!!
xoxoxoxamanda
P.S. here are professional photos taken by Micah Diamond: http://spring07photos.exposuremanager.com/
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