Manaus Day 1

Day 1:

Today I went on the city orientation tour of Manaus and it was a pleasant tour but the overall weather was very humid so I was uncomfortable part of the time. We went to the Teatro de Amazonas which is the opera house in Manaus. It has an old Portuguese architecture design. Much of the nicer buildings in the area were generally from when the Portuguese colonized Manaus a few hundred years ago. Most of the buildings around the area are just boxes shaped and very boring type buildings however there was a church styled in almost a Victorian style architecture.

It was quite amazing but I have to say that in Manaus, every street is jam packed with vendors and just people selling stuff from fruit to souvenirs and everything in between. We did actually visit a fish market that sold so many different types of fish that I couldn't even count the amount of different types from the Amazon!

The big highlight of everything was the very interesting statue just outside the Teatro which is significant because it reflects the places that actually sailed to and helped shape Manaus to what it currently is today. It was such a fascinating experience to look at this statue and see who traded. (It is Europe, Asia,and America )

Eating the amazon was an amazing experience of being able to cook using the exotic fish of the amazon. I went to a culinary institute called Senac in Manaus. There, I was able to not only observe the making of the dish but also was able to assist in cooking the dish. The fish we cooked was Pirarucu (pronounced Pi-ra-ru-su)

We had this fish three different ways, fried, broiled and soaked in a sauce. We used many different ingredients including a native herb that numbs your tongue from the three different peppers that were being used. In the end I tried a very good extra virgin olive oil that tasted like peppers but it was very good.

As we went through the cooking process we created many dishes from one thing so our finished product looked like this plate below J

Next Stop Brazil (Hagan's Class)

Brazil!

Hello Mrs. Hagan's class!

My next port of call is Brazil and we will be docking in the port of Manaus which is about half way up the amazon river. A few tidbits about the Amazon river. It can actually hold all the water from the rivers in the world such as the Mississippi River, the Yangtze River and even the Nile river and still have extra left over. The Amazon is one very large rainforest that many indigenous peoples in the region depend on for their way of life and support. Here are a couple maps below.

Here is the main map of Brazil:

This is the area we will be at in the northern half of Brazil:

I will have a lot more tidbits and information for you later after I finish the rest of my class on brazil. I will be trying a lot of food while here so I will try to put up what I did for everyday that I am there. I did read the comment about why I took the whale watching trip in Dominica and all I can answer is

1.       The MV Explorer is a ship not a boat

2.       Who wouldn't go whale and dolphin watching in Dominica because the ocean is so blue and awesome!

3.       Though I didn't see any marine life, it was actually fun and I got nice views of the island and the ocean around. Background pictures!

Besides, you will be more excited to know that I will be seeing a lot of animals and will post a blog on that really soon. Enjoy! Keep emailing me and leaving comments. I am excited to see that there are so many views for my blog! I love to hear from the class! Classes are going fine and I since I have limited internet access, I can't put up videos for you all! Sorry! I will try to put up as many pictures as possible. Please email me if the pictures don't show so I can take care of that immediately.  If you have any fun ideas for China and Japan please email them to me as I plan to pretty much travel both of them on my own with a few required FDPs (Faculty Direct Practica) for my classes.

Dominica

January 23, 2012

It was such an exciting day with just coming to the island of Dominica which was a two day ship ride from Nassau, Bahamas. We landed early this morning around 7:30am and it was such a beautiful sight.

Today I went to the markets first thing this morning to shop and then walked around and took in the sights before I went to my first excursion at 1pm. The excursion stopped at the ship's view lookout point. We could see all the cruise ships including our own which made the experience very neat and fun to go to.

I went to the Island hot baths and it was so amazing to be soaking in these baths. They are mineral water baths and are just incredible place to be in. There were so many different pools. There were the hot ones. The one picture that I was in is the warm pool. It was perfect without being too cold.

 

The bus smashed underneath the tree happened during Hurricane David which smashed through Dominica. This particular bus was donated prior to the hurricane by the Canadians and unfortunately was under this particular tree before the tree collapsed during the hurricane and smashed the bus so it's now a mini monument. Needless to say, the Canadians did not donate another bus to Dominica.

January 24, 2012

This morning I had the whale and Dolphin safari and I had hopes of seeing some marine life today but unfortunately I did not get lucky today. I didn't get to see any marine life at all in the ocean. I still had a good time on the boat with everyone and had a wonderful boat ride for the whole time. I did shop and bought some souvenirs and spices to bring back home to cook with. It was a fun experience to be able to go to Dominica and can't wait for Brazil. I had a fun picture with an acquaintance on board though J

Sorry this was late but first few days before dominica

The first couple days getting on the MV Explorer were an experience that I will never forget. 24 individuals did not receive their passports with the Brazil visas which was crucial. It was a trip as we left port around 12pm on January 20^th only to return around 5:30pm to pick up the last of the 10 students who made it in time. We then permanently departed from Nassau Bahamas at 8pm on the same day. The following day started the classes and clubs. Some pictures of my inside room on the 4^th deck. J

The First day of classes was a little boring for me. My Operations management was at 8am and it wasn't that great for me so I hope it will be a little bit better. Art history made it that much harder to focus because for some odd reason that bored me as well so I hope the best will come out of these classes.

 

Boarding! Next Stop Dominica

I am boarding the MV Explorer today for my trip around the world so my updates on here will be a bit limited as well as the pictures but i will do my best to keep this updated with the latest on my travels. I have to say that the bahamas is very expensive and you best have enough money to cover because of how expensive it is around the area especially the restaurants and hotels for meals can run you about $20 a meal so about $60 in a day for three meals or $40 for two meals. My experience though was an experience to remember and i had a great time despite the expensive stuff and the bit of sad news from back home but i am not going to let that ruin my trip. Anyways Dominica is my next stop!

Tried something new

I went to Twin Brothers and goldies about 15 minutes from the hotel in a small restaurant area called the fish fry  which has multiple conch restaurants. I have to say that of the two, goldies was the best overall. I had Conch fritters at both places and i have to say that they taste better at goldies. Both were a great experience to go and try. I only have pictures from the Twin brothers and look below! Conch to me has a chewy texture like octopus but is very good.

Above: These are conch fritters and my margarita which had a lot of alcohol in it.

This one above is a strawberry and mango smoothie

This one is Lobster, Conch and Shrimp Alfredo Pasta (THIS WAS SO GOOD!)

Bahamas!

Hey Everyone!
I made it into Nassau, Bahamas last night on American Airlines. My only comment about them is they have the most uncomfortable seats. I was more comfortable on Spirit Airlines when i went to Chicago. Moving on...I am staying at the Sheraton and I really love my room. I have a King size bed all to myself and a balcony with a really nice view. The weather is warm out here for sure. I went down to the international bazaar and checked it out. It was really nice. I went and got more stuff for the trip. My plans for the rest of the day include going to the dolphin grill in the hotel and then Senor Frogs tonight for dinner. I will go to Twin Brothers tomorrow for Conch then head off to visit Atlantis before going back to the hotel.
Here are some quick pictures of the place :)

For Mrs. Hagan's Class

Hello Mrs. Hagan's Class
It was such a pleasure to meet you all and be able to answer as many questions as I can for you. I have this blog up for you all as well to be able to read and enjoy the experiences up. Once I am gone, don't hesitate to email me at my email address: miranda.denny.s12@semesteratsea.org  You may at any time leave a comment  on here with any last minute requests, email or write a letter to me and send it to the address that i provided of anything that you didn't get to tell me before I left. I encourage you to read my blogs whether you are at school or at home and if you don't understand something. Please either ask your teacher or ask me the definition or if you still aren't sure, it never hurts to google the word ok?
I will put small videos up here as i am able to do so and have time to do that amongst my school work that i still have to do while i am on board. When i come back from the trip i will be working on a presentation for the class.

I will be in the Bahamas on January 16th until January 19th which is when i leave. I will take pictures of food in the bahamas and i will be trying a dish that my family wanted me to try which is Conch (pronounced as konk) amongst other things to see. I will be getting a lot of marine life pictures if not in the bahamas then probably in dominica.
(Note to the teacher: Below are all the links that you can show in the class if you wish to at any time.)

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2012/spring-2012-itinerary.php

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2012/spring-2012-field-program.php


(Side Note: For my classes and other things, refer to another entry on my blog that briefly lists the classes that i am taking.)

Here is a map of the bahamas for you all and i will post the next one with the map of Dominica up before i leave on the trip and so on. Enjoy! Also this site provided was made by a Spring 2012 SAS Student who did some research for everyone. Feel free to check it out for all the ports and countries.
http://oursas.com/nassau/

Traveling Journey of the Denny Child Begins

Hello to all including family members and close friends: (This is a repost from October with  LOTS updates that i made in between then and the trip) 

    I am doing semester at sea through the University of Virginia. I will be be traveling to Nassau, Bahamas for an extended vacation from January 16th, 2012 to January 19th, 2012 before the boat leaves on January 19, 2012 around the afternoon. I am staying at the Sheraton Hotel and Resort in Nassau (Pictures of the place will show up on January 17, 2012.)

For my family and close friends: I will not be on facebook until May so the best way to contact me is through here. I may provide an email address specifically just for SAS email closer to the trip so that my other emails will not be overrun with other email. My facebook page will have a note on the site that i will tag everyone on so that way the link will be on there with additional information. It is currently up right now. Please check the notes on my page. It is open to everyone right now who is my friend on facebook. :)

For Mrs. Hagan and her 3rd Grade Class
I am so excited to have met you before i left and i can't wait to keep in touch with you the entire trip and share all the wonderful experiences with you. You are all more than welcome to leave comments on here about anything or if you just want to look at my blog and read about what I discover on my journey. Thank you for giving me such an awesome opportunity. Please enjoy reading this and check for any blogs that I post up just for the class! Enjoy your class and have fun! Mrs. Hagan, thank you for providing me with such a great opportunity to be able to share my experiences with your class. You are such a wonderful teacher to instill such an interest into your students to hopefully one day travel like i did. Enjoy! I do have a post up for your just your class so please make sure to glance at that later on. I have a map out and ready for each Country so you can use this to show your class during the time that i am in a specific country.

Moving on...

I will be documenting my experiences and pictures on this site as much as i can from pictures from being on the boat to countries and everything in between. I am happy to share this with all of you and I welcome any comments, questions, constructive criticisms and insightful thoughts about what I have experienced. So i have a few things that everyone should keep in mind about the blogs and who i put them up for. I am entitled to shut the blog down at any time and only certain users will be allowed to receive any updates from me. Please keep the following in mind when  leaving comments.

1.  I dont want any spam comments on my blog
2.  Do not advertise for business or a company on my page for any reason
3. Insults and/or derogatory language will not be used at all.
4. I welcome constructive criticism on both the blog sites
5. Do not disrespect others that leave comments on the blog

 FYI: I do have a 3rd grade class that will be looking at this blog during the semester and i want all comments on this page to be completely appropriate for anyone to read.
Towards the bottom of the page I have posted several links to my itinerary, and a few other items for basic information. I will be welcoming ideas of places that i should look to go to while i am in the countries that i am at. You are also welcome to post information on current events in countries (I really would love that because i like to read about things like this) along with other information on any law changes, currency updates, etc. For the food lovers, i will take pictures of all the food that i eat in every nation (especially in the Asian countries) and on board the boat just for the fun of it and for my marine lovers. I will try my best to get as many pictures as possible of marine life on the coasts. (Yes Debbie, you get plenty of them for your own personal enjoyment )

  There will be plenty of pictures, i promise. A selected amount will be put up but if you want to see all of them. Wait until i get back. A slide show will be developed hopefully during May when i get back for everyone to see. I will not be on Facebook at all during the trip so all your updates on me will be on this site alone unless I personally email you otherwise. I wish you all well and i can't wait to see you in May when i get back.

Some sites below to give you some information about the cruise :)

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2012/spring-2012-itinerary.php

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2012/spring-2012-field-program.php
(I will put up a list of the ones that I will be doing around Thanksgiving and then update in December and January)

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/upcoming-voyages/spring-2012.php (Watch the video on this one)

http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/semester-at-sea/2011-sas-viewbook/2011091902/?referrer=http%3A//www.semesteratsea.org/landing/overview/inquire-apply-or-login.php#0

For all other info Visit http://www.semesteratsea.org/

PS: If you all are interested in reading my stories and/or poems, they are being posted on my other blog. http://mdennywriting.blogspot.com/
I leave a warning, they are not for little kids, they can touch some very controversial things and they are a bit dark so don't read them unless you keep a bit of an open mind to things. I don't really write clean stories all the time. the poems however are mostly fine give or take one or two. I don't mind if you like or dislike on there but please constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you!

My Last Day of Work was Today

My last day of work was today! :( It was so sad to leave my good friends and Zimmer Xcel Medical go! They were awesome and I had a great time at the company. I learned so much from everyone there and i enjoyed everyone wishing me a safe and awesome trip. I send out my love and support to them and wish them a wonderful year this year and hope that all goes well for everyone! I also will miss my Aall Care coworkers while i am gone and can't wait to see them when i come back from Semester at Sea! So just wanted to leave a nice message for both companies that i worked for!

(Not my pic)

Thank you for the experience and everything! :)

Packing!

Oh yes the good old time of Packing, doing my taxes, filing FASFA (or what ever the acronym is) I just went to walmart yesterday and got things to help me with the trip but other than that, i have not actually packed for the trip and probably won't even come close to being finished until next weekend after my work week is over and I am relaxed a bit. So much to do this week!

New Update:
Well I actually started packing and i am about half way through getting all my stuff and still working on packing as my picture shows below. I used the space bags to compact everything so that way i wouldn't have so much trouble with doing stuff. Only about half my clothes are packed at the moment since i have stuff in the washer and dryer  :)

My Last Week of Work

OMG!!! It's my last week of work before i go on the trip on January 16th!!! I am so excited. I know just like my other post, i was excited but i am so ready to go and finally make a dream come true out here. SAS gave me a chance to experience the world and I am ready to show SAS and the world that i am going to be open minded and successful! I can't wait to be a part of something great. THANK YOU SAS FOR GIVING ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DREAM COME TRUE!

(Not my pic! I don't claim)

I can't wait to meet everyone and hope to see comments on my blog soon. I will soon be posting from my email so bear with me if some pics don't show up here ok? My last day of work is on January 13th for Zimmer Xcel and January 12th for Aall Care. I will miss everyone from both these places when i leave but i wish them a successful year!

Counting down the days

Only 17 days left before i head to Nasseau, Bahamas! I am excited to finally go be on vacation and really actually go on semester at sea! I am nervous about meeting everyone and being able to do something that is completely life changing for my life. I can't wait to board the plane with my stuff. Oh shoot i need to actually pack here soon! I will wait until after New Years and appointments so i can determine what i need to include first. Did i say i was excited? I am!

(This pic is not mine. I don't claim it)

Christmas was wonderful at my home and actually relatively quiet even with my Aunt Marie in town :) I love you Aunt Marie! I got a lot of spending money, and gifts for Semester at Sea including the following : SAS Decal Sticker, SAS Red sweatshirt, Video Camera, SAS License Plate cover, SAS blue T-shirt and a portable 1TB drive among some other items :) I really didnt want all that. (I would be happy with the money for the price of everything but the 1TB Drive for my laptop :) I did get a watch but my mom is taking that back for other issues. I feel spoiled but i don't understand how my room feels like it is 40 degrees and out side it is about 70 degrees especially in winter time!! Welcome to San Diego Everyone! We are spoiled in terms of the weather. My grandmother however was moved from the nursing home to the hospital and now i worry for her health. I hope she recovers. My uncle is supposed to be in town this weekend. I am working a lot recently to hopefully get spending money for SAS. I think i will have plenty for the trip and I have so much to do before i go. I will have to prep everything for my parents to take care of while i am gone. Too crazy!!!!!!!

Anyways, for everyone out there!

(I don't claim this one either)





Middle of Finals

OMG!! Ha ha I haven't gotten much sleep during finals and finished a paper but i am also dreaming about SAS. I got an awesome scarf from my parents that has SAS on it already! (Thanks mom!) I hope i will have everything to be able to handle SAS next semester. I am counting down the days till i leave to the bahamas for some resting and exploring and I finished two more stories and thinking about starting a new one after finals just for fun and so i feel like i actually have a life other than work dominating my schedule all the way up to the bahamas. I feel rather sad that i will end my job at Zimmer Xcel in Sorrento Valley. Those people are some of the best individuals that i ever met at the place and i learned a lot from them but SAS is making me far too jittery and anxious. FALL SEMESTER JUST END SO I CAN LEAVE ALREADY! :)

Finals

Everyone has to be either going through finals or at least studying for them as i am this weekend. Please comment below to tell me how your finals are going  and even provide a few destressor tips for the rest that view our page. I am an accounting major and studying for finals is going to be a crazy adventure. I am literally studying like crazy to do well on my two accounting finals, my history final and my logic final. I need to do well on them. Anyways Comment! Tell me how your finals are going and also, who is having more frequent dreams about being on a boat? I have for like 4 weeks already. I must be over this semester lol.

(I don't claim this one)

Thought that this might humor you a bit.