Some Past Posts...CHINA, JAPAN AND HAWAII

I Wrote this on the night of November 18th:

Looking at the calendar, this trip is almost over. Mixed feelings really. This has become my home. At the end of the night, when in port and not out traveling within the country, I go home. I sleep in my bed, on the ship. And now, after 3 ½ months of being away, how quickly time flies. Japan feels so long ago, but it’s only been three days since we’ve been on this boat. Tomorrow we live another November 19^th, part 2.  We cross the national dateline. Kind of trippy to think that I will be leaving the same day twice. But it really isn’t because my experience on either 19^th will be different. Gosh, I can’t even begin to reflect on all that happens. Little snippets come to my mind as I try to decipher all that I have done and seen. After India, oh man, time flew.

China. China was an awesome experience. It was quite cold I have to say. I was prepared though. I was warm  :).  I was ready and quite happy for the change. I really liked Hong Kong. It was just as I imagined it I suppose. New and chic. Women had the cutest fashion and the little ones were also just strutting their fashion. The food was so good and it was just relaxing really. We went out the first night, it was so much fun. Did a lot of dancing, perhaps the shuffling was too much cuz I kind of hurt my ankle once again ( I kinda twisted it in Malaysia, just walking the street). The two days we were in Hong Kong were just really fun.  On the second night we took a flight via- Hong Kong airlines to Beijing, we were going to the Great Wall among other things. That flight has got to be the best flight I have ever taken, the attention, food, entertainment, style and comfortableness: 10+. It was the best. And they gave us a fortune cookie at the end. :). I sat next to a super cute chubby baby, it was great!  It was quite an amusing flight and it was just two hours. It was sooo cool, I wished it would have been longer so I could watch the movie Rio, Oh well.  When we arrived, we had to find a hotel and luckily, the cheapest hotel we found also had discounts on tours to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer’s Palace and other cool places, it all worked out very well. I feel like we’ve really done well with the traveling, God has got our back for sure :)! Thanks!

             The very next day we made it to the Great Wall of China. It kinda looked like we were going to Big Bear or something. It was so surreal to think that we were going there.  I remember reading about it in social studies class back in middle school and now I was going to be there. It was cold. We took a tram up there and then began walking the historical trail. It takes like 18 months to walk and hike the whole thing.  It was awesome being there, taking in the scene and architecture and to think that that wall used to protect an empire during times of war and/or from any intruders. I tried to picture myself during those times, whoa. Well, we’ve made it so far from home and it’s been amazing.

      China has such an extensive history, dynasties, wars, MAO. I need to read me some Mao for real. I know his thoughts on liberalism, I commend him for that, but some of the things he did during his time as the leader of China (i.e. the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution) sure have some contradictions, but what social movement doesn’t? It’s a bunch of information that I haven’t wrapped my head around yet.  All I know is that it’s becoming a world power and it keeps developing. It’s a “communist” country but it’s economic policies and decisions are without a doubt capitalist. After our trip to Beijing, we took an overnight train to Shanghai (AWESOME; it was super nice! ), the ship had traveled from Hong Kong to Shanghai and that’s where we were to depart towards Japan. In Shanghai, I went to The ERA Acrobatic show and that was definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen in my life. It was not only great entertainment but also, enchanting—“Miss it and you miss Shanghai.”  The theme of the show was “Intersection of Time.”  This theme is universal throughout China; we are witnessing China’s emergence as a great power in today’s globalized world. I recall one of my tour guides in Beijing telling us that he would not be able to tell you just exactly the difference that has occurred in the past 10 years because it has all happened so rapidly and things keep changing everyday. New buildings are built, torn down, and others are renovated. China is undergoing dynamic and fast pace change, due to its creation and promotion of modern and innovative technology. Therefore, this change is seen in this acrobatic show, because it is precisely that race against time and the trying to keep up as well as the desire to maintain the old and traditional as intact as possible.  It was an amazing show indeed!

So yeah, there’s a bunch of stuff that I saw and heard in China and I am still trying to figure it out. It’s just so complex. It’s developing for sure, it’s become such a world power and one, which the U.S is now dependent on for various products. However, unfortunately all this development has come at the cost of the environment. China is now the number one emitter of Carbon Dioxide, the U.S has come in at second. We are currently emitting more than what is sustainable for the environment but then again this has been happening for years now and the U.S has been at the forefront. Truth is, development comes not only at the expense of the masses but also, of the environment— environmental holocaust is what we are seeing today; people in power just don’t seem to care and this is our reality.  Although this change has to be individual as well, there is not much awareness about the issue and environmental sustainability is vital in order to save this planet! We’ve got to begin to live differently even if that means we have to sacrifice a few things.

      So yeah, China was really cool, I loved it and I hope to come back and go to the countryside and have someone with me that speaks the language cuz that language barrier was tough.

P.S. Sherry Waaaang I <3 You! Lol. I wish we could of hung out, especially when I was at the Bund.

JAPAN !! SMILE Yeeeeaaaahhhhh!!!

Japan! Japan was awesome and intense! In five days I feel like I saw it all (I didn’t though, it’s virtually impossible to do so in a few days). But I saw a great deal of which I am satisfied about. From Kobe to the Osaka Castle to Kyoto Rock Gardens to the Bullet Train on our way to Tokyo and then to Yokohama, we became experts with the train system. The subway/railway system they have going on is the most effective, efficient and most bourgeoisie subway I’ve ever been too. It was so nice, clean and comfortable. The U.S. has got nothing on China and Japan, that’s for sure. The U.S. introduced capitalism—its consumerism and materialism, and countries are thriving in it and have excelled so much further than the U.S. in making this clear. The subway stations in Japan had marble floors and walls, they were essentially malls at the same time. It was amazing to see all this. We went from city to city on that subway. On the night we arrived in Tokyo we had no place to sleep, did I mention how EXPENSIVE Japan was?! Oh man, it was not easy to find a place for cheap, we didn’t actually. That night we divided our time between Burger King and then at an Internet café which are 24hrs and pretty legit! Yup, we didn’t sleep, we instead planned out what there was to do in Tokyo and there was a lot. From district to district we went the Anime Center, to the Pokemon Center and the Largest Hello Kitty Store in the world in Ginza! We went to Harajuku, if you know that Gwen Stefani Song: Harajuku girls” and if you recall her videos with the girls, those are them, I sure saw them there lol. So then we went to the largest Hello Kitty store!!! Hello Kitty was born in Japan 35 years ago, it was great to be there :), dream come true! :)! Ohh we played video games, which was in a Sega building that was like 7 floors—all video games, my brothers would have totally loved this place!

            We walked a lot. Oh and Japan had the best sweets, they were so good! Mmmm, best chocolate donuts ever at Mr. Donuts lol (I remember seeing that chain for the first time in El Salvador actually). But yeah, Japan was really cool. Oh and if you’ve ever seen the movie Lost in Translation with Bill Murray and Scarleth Johanson, well that crazy intersection with all the lights and the sky scrappers, yup, I was there—SHIBUYA. That is the largest intersection in terms of the amount of people that cross it per-day. When I crossed it, all I was thinking was “whoa! I’m in Japan and I’m living this ‘lost in translation.’  It was a pretty cool feeling, there definitely were a bunch of people. That night, which was our second night in Tokyo and we went to karaoke! Boy oh boy was I tired and my back was killing me for carrying my luggage around for the second straight day, but singing gave me some energy. As I and the rest of the crew drank our orange juices, we sang away. The songs chosen for me to sing were “Rock the Boat” by Aaliyah and “I’m Real” by Jlo and Ja Rule—It was epic, those are all me hahaha. I never realized how dirty rock the boat was, it was pretty funny singing it. Sam got really into the Marc Anthony Song “I need to know,” Gaby loved the Backstreets Medly Song we chose for her, Kamel was rocking that Neyo Mrs. Independent song, Ashley’s bucket list item of singing Journey was scratched off finally and Njeri, she loved 1,2,3 by Gloria Estefan. It was awesome and the best part is, we got all of this on video :)!! Japan was awesome! When we arrived in Yokohama, I wish I would have stayed longer there too, it was such a great city, I went to the SANKEIEN Gardens with Reanna and they were so beautiful. And it was so cute to see all the elderly people! Japan has a large elderly population, which could potentially become a problem because there is not much for them to do. And on the flip side there population is decreasing because a lot of women are not having children and if they do they are only having one. If the growth rate stays the same, they’re population will decrease significantly in the next 10 years.  I was hoping to meet some Latinos in Tokyo but unfortunately I didn’t, although there are like 37,000 Latinos whom are predominantly women working in Japan as caretakers and nannies or domestic work. Although many argue that Japan is strict on immigration and that there aren’t any immigrants, there are many actually who move there.

            I Really hope to go back to Japan! It was awesome and there is a lot I did not get to do or see, but I saw a lot! It was great!! I was not looking forward to getting on the boat again although, we were at sea for way to long! We even lived November 19^th twice, we crossed the national dateline. Kind of trippy to think that I lived the same day twice.

HILO, HAWAII

We arrived in Hawaii for the day! On Thanksgiving. It was an amazing break from the boat, 9 long but short days. I slept a lot actually, it was great. I had the best breakfast I had had thus far but it made me sick :(. Thanksgiving dinner was not the best, but at least I was in Hawaii and was able to speak to my parents and friends! It was awesome! Hawaii was super chill. The beach was nice, tranquil and the scenery beautiful! We went to some waterfalls too, those were really nice, if it wouldn’t have been raining I would have been down to get in the water, we found a way to get to the area where the waterfall begins, I wondered how many have jumped off from the top, maybe I would have done it, it wasn’t that high. Our taxi drivers were really nice. One of them made it very clear that many Hawaiians don’t like tourists, but he was cool with us. He even offered us a job if we ever go back. We can work in his tourist business, sweet deal I think.  Hawaii would also be more affordable. Since everything was pretty much closed on Thanksgiving day, we had our thanksgiving dinner at Safeway, one that I did not finish cuz I did not feel well. But it’s a memory lol. I bought a lot of cereal, the food on the boat was just not doing it for me anymore, I’m just tired of it, although it’s not that bad.

POEM/SPOKEN WORD MAYBE? THAT I WROTE FOR CLASS AFTER HAWAII:

What do you see?

My reality is different from yours.

Although we might share the same age

classes and bank

my focus is different.

I see the same as you

but it means less to you.

I suppose its history.

A history that is blurred due to the institution

that raises us blind.

It's different for you.

Perhaps for me it's a matter of necessity

You don't need to see. Or,

think it's about you.

Privilege protects you

you need not to think.

But the aura you possess

hegemony engraved, so sparkly and white.

You represent the geed

Although you may have nothing

the symbolism persists

you represent the evil that befalls the majority.

But it is not you.

it's those who look like you.

Although today some look more like me.

It's the history I say.

The history of the have and have nots

still so prevalent today

like the story of the pilgrims on "thanksgiving day"

it's not.

It's indigenous massacre day.

Why don't we remember them?

Maybe you do

maybe you don't.

But we know of the slaughter of man

so deliberate indeed

For land and gold.

5 centuries past.

I wish you would see.

Segregation persists.

Race and class are still issues of today.

We live in a polarized  "American Dream"

Because Marcos who offers to shine your shoes is the brother of Lucas who made your shoes

in a foreign company

brought to his country through debt relief programs

to help them survive, "develop" and prosper.

We're all connected somehow, so interdependent our reality.

This is what I see. What do you see?

Change is up to those who care enough to disrupt the status quo

Please,

don't mind yourself, don't mind me, mind those who loose everyday

who fight for the crumbs in this race to the bottom.

And this is what democracy looks like.