That went fast...

I left Malaysia last night and still can’t believe it is over already! Ready for a random story? I was staying with a family in this village and my friend and I got invited to go to a wedding! How cool is that? They dressed us all up and we got to watch the ceremony. It was interesting because since it was a Muslim wedding the women, including the bride, had to watch from behind a green divider and peek out…it was strange to be excluded in that way.

Malaysia was a lot cleaner than India and not quite as overwhelming…so that was nice :) The people were friendly, the food was amazing and the temples and mosques were very beautiful and interesting to look at. There was a very relaxed atmosphere especially in the village- people didn’t really care about being late; they would do something when they were ready.  I started off looking at my watch and being frustrated that I didn’t know when things were going to happen or what was going on, but once I just relaxed and let things be it was actually nice to not care about being on time. I got over that mindset quickly when I came back on the ship and started needing to get to classes again, but it was nice while it lasted *grin*

And now I am back on the ship, writing papers, thinking about classes for the spring and catching up on homework! It’s not all work though, I had some nice procrastination time last night watching “Friends”with some friends :) And soon I will be in Viet Nam! It is all pretty surreal…

I hope you all are well! I am missing all the fall colors and apple picking- you will all have to eat extra apple pie for me! Love you all,

-Bethany

 

pictures :)

Namaste from India!

I hope that you are all doing well! I have been LOVING my time here in India! Things started off with a group of us getting ripped off by our auto rickshaw driver (which is like a cross between a golf cart and a motorcycle, painted yellow and driven by a madman)- but things looked up from there. I ended up meeting this really friendly and sweet Indian college student named Priyanka who invited me and two other girls to visit her house and meet her family. We ended up spending two days with her and she showed us around, took us shopping and to a coffee shop and we just hung out and had a blast. Her mom fed us soooo much wicked delicious South Indian food- they were all so welcoming and friendly! After we left their house I got a chance to visit a farming village where we got to see the rice fields and coconut harvesting, so that was pretty cool to see. I tried to climb a coconut tree and failed, it was pretty hysterical *grin* Later, a group of us went to see a movie (it was like Bollywood only in Tamil, not Hindi) which was so much fun even though there were no subtitles…they would throw in English words here and there and it was surprisingly easy to follow. Every once in a while the characters would break out dancing and singing which was pretty great :)The theater was huge and the music was SO loud- it was amazing.

sooo that’s a bit of what I’ve been up to here in India! There is so much to see everywhere that I could never write down even half of it here- it is hot and sticky out and there are always a million things to look at no matter where you are. There are rickshaws, motorcycles, bikes, buses and cows going chaotically in every direction and people everywhere. I think one of my favorite things to see is the women in their traditional saris riding on motorcycles sidesaddle- I have no idea how they do it…

I will try to get pictures up for you as soon as I can! I am now back to classes and a lot of work for the next three days before we get to Malaysia on the 22^nd. It is crazy to think about, but time is really moving fast…someone just told me the semester was half over (or half begun, depending *grin*) which is hard to believe! I will be home to see you all soon! :)

I hope things are going well wherever you all are and with whatever you may be up to! Many thanks to all of you who are praying for me- it is definitely appreciated! I have been praying for you all as well, feel free to send any specific requests my way. Love you all!

-Bethany

 

hello friends!

I've been at sea for ten days now and it is crazy to think about the fact that I will be in India on Tuesday! Some of you seem to be under the impression that I don't actually do any work here... really I promise I do have classes! *grin*  no really, these last ten days I have been wicked  busy with papers to write, midterms to study for and computers to fix... in between I've also found some chances to procrastinate either by napping (yay!), standing outside and watching the ocean, playing some dodge ball, reading, listening to music or emailing you guys :) So that's about it... I didn't really have a whole lot to say, I just wanted to say hi and assure you all that I was in fact still alive (no I haven't fallen overboard...yet) and working hard (at least some of the time)

I hope that you are all well! I am off to celebrate being done with midterms by eating something sugary and playing cards with some friends across the hall :)

much love now and always,

-bethany

:-D

hey everyone! i am back at sea for a while to go before we land in India... and lots of work to do before then :-p i hope you all enjoy the pictures!!! love you all! :)

pictures from south africa...

Hello from South Africa!!!

From our ship we can see Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Devil's Peak rising above the city of Cape Town and it is soooo beautiful! Unlike Namibia there are no sand dunes here, instead we have the mountains, trees and a city. The waterfront area near our pier is filled with people, music, food and three different malls- there is always something to look at! Here is some of what I have been up to... (warning- longish post ahead)

The first day we got here, Friday, I climbed Table Mountain and it was BEAUTIFUL! I realized how much I miss being active outside, and it was just a great time. It was COLD at the top, but we could see the whole city and our ship looked tiny in the distance. We ate PB&J while feeling like we were on top of the world. I managed to be the clumsy one on the way down and step on my ankle funny, but hey I can smile while wearing an ace bandage so it's all good :)

Saturday I visited a township, which several years ago started off being the area where they sent Black people to live when they were segregating the city and is now a poor collection of run down shacks and people wandering about on the streets. While on one hand it was a hard thing to see, especially when we saw the houses on the outskirts of the township that were so much worse that we would not even go camping in them let alone live in them, but we also got to play with some of the kids and they were smiling and laughing as I swung them up in the air :)

On Sunday I went to Hillsong church with a couple other people from the ship. It was AMAZING. It was good hearing the loud music and having people dancing by their seats and clapping as they sing, and then the pastor was really great... We sang the song "I am a friend of God" and the verse really spoke to me- I felt this great feeling like Jesus was home. No matter how far away I go He is there and He is more than enough :) as I left I picked up a brochure and all it said besides the name was simply "Welcome Home." Amazing.

Monday and Tuesday I explored the waterfront area and the further downtown- there were numerous markets to poke around in, sooo many people to talk to and different music performances everywhere to watch. I became friends with one guy named Hakeem who has a stall at the Greenmarket Square. His dream is to become an artist and we got to talk for a while and it was really cool. We exchanged email addresses and small gifts- he gave me a pair of earrings and a bag and I gave him a New Hampshire postcard and some candy. His email to me said "Don't forget friends."

Wednesday! That's today! Today a group of us got together with this amazing guide to drive down to Cape Point and several other places. We got to go on a ferry out to see Seal Island which was covered in (you guessed it) seals! We also saw lots of whales. Then we saw baboons on the side of the road!!! They were so cute. Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope were both pretty cool... we had a great view of the water and some mountains. Then we stopped at Boulder Beach where we saw PENGUINS! That was probably the best part of the trip :) they were sooo adorable. On the way back we stopped for food and he took us to a traditional African place to get... fish and chips! Apparently that's what you eat if you live at the sea front :)

Besides these things I have also watched people play with fire at a street corner, poked around in a bookstore, and eaten warthog and snoek (which is some fish that you can apparently only find here). We leave tomorrow night to head toward India! We will be at sea for 11 days, so I will be working hard and busy with classes :) I hope that you are all well and having fun with whatever adventures you are having!!! Let me know what you are up to!

Love always, -Bethany

PS: I will try to get new pictures up soon! And you should now be able to comment on these posts if you want but I probably won't be able to reply to them... just so you know. If you want to actually tell me something and get a reply then just send me an email (brwakeman@semesteratsea.net <mailto:brwakeman@semesteratsea.net> ) :-D

"who am I that you are mindful of me? That you hear me when I call. Is it true that you are thinking of me? That you love me? Its amazing... its amazing..." -from the song "I am a Friend of God"