Jessy goes to Hawaii

Honolulu was fabulous! I really needed a couple of days in the U.S. There was Target, amazing food, clean streets, english speakers! You have no idea how nice that is. lol.
I didn't do much but beach and surf. It was a blast. My friend Tally's mom came so we stayed in a hotel with her and hung out by the pool a bit too. A pina colada never tasted so good. The weather was beautiful, blue sky's both days. We went out one night and met up with some locals who were just hanging in their little surf shack on the beach. It was so much fun. We spent the night singing Bob Marly to the ukulele and being convinced that Hawaii is the coolest place ever! The next day we played volleyball in the morning and went surfing in the afternoon. I could definitely see myself becoming a surf bum...I could've spent all day out there. literally all day.
I guess I think that Hawaii is a cool place to vacation, I dont know if I'd ever be able to live there...it's so far from anything else. One thing I have learned from this trip is that a beach is a beach, a city is a city, and people are people.
The trip is winding down and it's really a strange atmosphere. People are really excited to go home, and at the same time unbelievably sad to leave everyone they've become practically family with. Spending 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with people is pretty intense, I feel like I've known my friends here for my whole life and it's only been 3 months. Some people found boyfriends and girlfriends that live across the country. Other people are just trying to figure out excuses to see each other after the trip is over. A lot of people are staying in Miami the night we get back to the U.S., but it's not going to change that we've all gotten so close and it's going to be a sad day when we have to part ways. I'm lucky my friends go to school in boulder even though we're from different parts of the country. Talk to you after guatemala...

Japan I Can

Japan was really a surprise! We ported first in Kobe where we hiked to a little town on top of Mt. rokko called Arima which is famous for its  hot springs. Naturally I wasn't as excited as everyone else because I've grown up going to hot springs, but it was such a cute little town. There were little hot springs on the sides of the cobblestone streets where you could soak your feet. The bigger hot springs were all made into spa's which is definitely a breath of fresh air coming from the naked hippy infested waters of strawberry park. (though I'm not complaining)  After that my friends and I went around the city to get a feel for it. It was extremely clean,  but very much like the U.S. believe it or not. I was expecting it to be a little like China, but it was like night and day going from China to Japan. Everyone dressed so cute, and there was such order as far as crossing streets, and the metro...etc. Our last day in Kobe we were a little tired from our long night of dancing and sushi, so we went to a Japanese Bath-house. This will be a paragraph in itself.
        OKAY so we had heard that a bath house was like a public pool with separate spaces for men and women.  Failed to mention that bathing suits are not required, actually they're non-existant. So here we are 3 American girls running around the bathhouse like fools, trying to cover up as much as possible with our miniscule hand towels that we were given. I thought maybe the pools would be indoors with dim lights or something, but they were out in the broad daylight. No hiding there! Needless to say, it was the most fun, and most uncomfortable thing I did in Japan.
        After Kobe we travelled on the ship to Yokohama. As soon as we reached shore we went to Tokyo to spend the night and check out the city for a couple of days. After a 40 minute train ride we arrived in the city which is like NYC of Japan except gorgeously clean and new. It's very compact though with tons of skyscrapers as well as being very international. We went to Harajuku St. which was most important to me... For those of you who dont know it's filled with Japanese fashionistas called Harajuku's who get decked out in all the craziest styles. It's like disneyland meets 5th Ave...very interesting. My friend Katie and I had lunch with a group of old Japanese people who were trying to learn english. They were so cute, they were giving us gifts and they payed for our lunch... Other than that we mostly walked around the city and saw all the touristy stuff. We did  use the Metro though which was also much nicer and easier to use than in NY. They charge you by how far you travel on the metro instead of a flat rate, kind of nice seeing as how we never went too far. Japan was definitely expensive though, cabs started at $7!!!
        Tokyo is definitely a spot to see again!

ChiNA China CHINA

Hong Kong-City exploration for one day, super chic/hip
Beijing-Great Wall, Lesser wild goose pagoda, Tiananmann square, historical city,       UGLY...2 days
Xi'an-Terra Cotta Warrior museum/mosoleum, temple of heaven, museum of stone    tablets. Old city as well, very rich culturally. 2 days
Shanghai- One day, bizarre, highest building in the world, French Market, sight         seeing.


        Okay so my travels in China were non-stop, probably the most exhausting trip I've had so far...The one thing that I can say about China that I think sums it up for those who have never been there is that it is literally EXACTLY like China town in NYC(the only one i've ever been to so Im not sure about others). It was shocking.        Their fake market is unbelievable...i don't think any designer item holds any real value in China because of the amount and quality of the fakes. It was sad. Every single person had a designer bag and Christian Louboutin Heels. Ugh. The men wore Jackets about 3 sizes too big, the shoulders stuck out broad, and the sleeves covered their hands...I'm not quite sure why. The babies walk around with their butts hanging out of their pants because the leave a slit from front to back in the center seam...they apparently dont use diapers. GrOsS, they just go on the streets like animals. Nice.
        Another thing I found interesting was how sensored everything still is there. Our tour guide who took us to Tiananman Square didn't know anything about the Massacre and mass murder that took place because the government has erased it from their history. The internet is highly controlled as well... no YouTube, and Nothing about the negatives of  China's history and current state. Crazy I know.
        The Chinese people were so friendly...both times we went out ALL that we payed for was our cab service, other than that all of the bartenders and owners gave us free food platters and drinks all night. I've never experienced anything like it. They were really curious as to why we were in China, and what we were interested in.
        In the end, I'm not sure if I will return to China any time soon. however if I do, it will definitely be to Hong Kong.