I was sitting on a motorized canoe, in a river that flowed from a waterfall. The color of the water was a sort of a pale brownish reddish tint from rocks made of clay. The surrounding was a tropical jungle, with canopying trees, with several large bright blue butterflies flying passed us as we neared our location. We got off the canoe, and walked a good 15 minutes through the jungle passed several residing creeks, to a beautiful cascading waterfall. We swam for about 30 minutes, and luckily I had my waterproof camera. After the swim, we climbed back down and onto our canoes, where we drove to the embera village. When they saw us coming they all came out to join us. The men were wearing beaded skirts, with a long chain of bead ... read more

So I woke up the next day and ate like a horse and passed out in the sun ( I am now very very dark , because of my nap in the sun). The time spent at the resort was more about relaxing and getting to know the other 4 people then anything else. I feel like I manged to get my roommate much better then I would have , so for that I am very glad I did that trip.We went sailing on of the afternoons , and I was very nervous. Mario was trying to reassure me that he sails all the time, but something about that doesn’t seem to be very convincing. We got out there and it was amazing, we saw a group of pelicans feeding in the middle of the ocean. ... read more

So I was stuck in the boat attending the media reception. And other then the tendered boats being really late everything seemed to go smoothly. I was again smiled and introduced myself to various people, and was nominated to translate for some biologist. OK….this was a very very bad idea. Place me on a stage in front of at least 120 people and ask me to translate scientific terminology…not good. So my leg began to shake, and my voice began to crack, and cameras and media stared and I couldn’t think of how to translate anything and I wanted to die. So 5 minutes felt like an eternity, but when it was over I had a crowd of people wanting to join my tour of the boat. And when I was nearing the end my roommate ... read more

A group of some of my favorite people on the ship were suppose to get off the boat yesterday night, and spend 5 days away in the jungle and on an island. Their bags were packed, and they were all crammed down on the last deck of the ship. They all waited vigorously for the doors to open, to taste freedom, to step on land. Two hours of patience all for nothing, but small puddles of sweat and stress. Rough seas prevented anyone from leaving. So I got one more night with them. We all laid in one of the fortunate larger rooms of the ship, and watched fight club. As for me I attempted to watch fight club, but because I often suffer from narcolepsy I passed out during the first 30 minutes of the ... read more

A few days ago we had a hunger banquet onboard the ship. And I realize that it doesn’t make much sense to have a hunger banquet on board a ship that’s already pre-purchased all of its food. However, the concept behind the banquet made it worthwhile attending. Everyone was given a piece of paper with a colored dot on it. Depending on the dot you received depending on your social status. The upper class people were able to eat as much as they wanted and order as many times as they wanted. The middle class could eat as much as they wanted of rice and beans, and the lower classes were only allowed to go up once and get rice. I was in the middle class, but we all had the option to resign our title ... read more

One of my professors decieded to ask for criticism from the class yesterday, and well one of the students spoke up and said ( the classes needed more discussion, instead of him being the only person talking). He seemed to have taken it well when during the break me and her and a few other students were discussing random things, and hadn’t noticed that he had walked in the room. Because there was no sign that he had begun the class we continued our conversation about randomness. When he walked up to her and said (because you’re the one that wants discussion why don’t you participate or leave the room). WOW….hmm ok where is the professionalism, or perhaps the awareness of cultural difference…seems like its seriously lacking…… Secretly the boat is actually a reality TV show ... read more

Hey if you gys want to see how its been going go to www.thescholarship.com . We've posted some videos of the voyage, I'm in one of them :-D... read more

So the latest news is that I had been fasting for Ramada to support my Muslim friends. First day I thought I was going to die I kept falling asleep everywhere. And when I finally got the chance to eat I ate basically nothing. But so far I have been fasting for 3 days, and I think that is def enough. Today is a free day, no class, so last night was a very fun night. I had 3 tequila shots from smuggled tequila. So I was feeling pretty happy, when I went to the student pj party. I got there and since not much was going on , I left and somehow found myself wondering into the staff party. Ahhh..by the way this was a very bad idea. So I get there and I hung ... read more

Late at night, the group I was with decided to go to a Fonda restaurant. It’s a place were they play music and you eat and drink. The restaurant looked very elegant and expensive, but it seemed like it would be nice cultural experience. We all sat down, and had a glass of wine. After, we had listen to the musicians play for a while I figured it was a good time to leave. When I was about to stand up and ask for the check, my group informed me that there was a 16 euro minimum for the restaurant. At that point during the trip I had already spent too much money, and since I wasn’t directly informed of the minimum I felt I had the right to express that to anyone, and surely they ... read more