Jason's CURRENTS Blog

Manyamar AKA Burma

Hi, I'm in Burma. Burma.... That's weird. To be perfectly honest with you before this trip i didn't really know much of anything about Burma or
Manyamar which, the country is now know( but some people still call it Burma and no one can pronounce Manyamar) I digress, Myamar is a Military
regime , which has practice an strict Isolationist policy for decades. However, in an attempt to improve relations with other countries, specifically western counties the government has slowly introduced tourism to select areas of the Myamar.

Well, they asked for it and they got it.. around 700 American students from semester at sea swarmed the quite streets of Yagon, the capitol city. The local people were very nice and excited to see all the visitors. They have not had much contact with outsiders so they really like to stare at and touch white people.

Due to very watchful eye of the government The GNG team was not permitted to do a video conference in the country. You know those Isolationist Military regime, they don't take to kindly to 4 whites dudes with cameras snooping around their education system... And we don't take to kindly to being shot , so we took the week off...everybody wins.

So like i said, i there i was in Manymar with no clue what to do or where to go...i was like Steve Wonder on a hand glider...flying blind. However, after spending a week in the city of Yagon i came to a much greater understanding of the country. The society is made up of soft spoken hard working Buddhist mostly. There are heeps of monks walking around the streets and praying at the many buddhist temples in the city, which are called pagodas( not sure if i spelled that right ,but i am neither a good spellers or a buddhist monk so give me a break.)

Here is some cool pictures from a Pagoda in Yagon:

In addition to the beautiful pagodas all over the city i also got to see some local craft markets which consisted of pottery, blown glass and jewelry made out of jade and tons of different Asian textiles. There is also a large fishing trade in Yagon which i saw first hand with a boat ride up the Yangon river.

The mix of Asian cultures within the city made for some great food. You can find Asian cuisine from Indian, Vietnamese , Chinese, Burmese.. to Thai.
There are few tourist hotels with pizza and burgers but for the most part Myamar is a pretty traditional place. You will not find any Macdonalds or Star bucks in this country. There were not the common scenes of Western influence that i have seen in many other parts of the world. It may be because of the government but i think may be one the few positives to come out of Isolation. The people are every proud of who they are and the way they live.

well since we could;t really shoot there i don't have to o much more to say about it. Catch you soon from Vietnam.

HELLO'S

Hey mom, don't worry i wasn't in Japan during the Earth quake.

Hey to Brain Reeder in Texas.

Hey to anyone in LA who wants to give me a job in a few weeks...

I miss you peanut.

Interesting facts:

electric chair was invented by a dentist.

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps
out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head
is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head
off.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.  The
most common last name in the world is Wong.  Yet no
one in the world is named Mohammed Wong

The name of all the continents end with the same
letter that they start with.

The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."

The Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, has twice as
many bathrooms as is necessary.

Send me some more facts...just a few more weeks to go so make em good ones!

J

India

Hello,

Well, i know it's been a while since the last blog but we have been busy shooting and editing segments for CH1 and MTV, with little time to spare for anything else. The ports are getting closer and closer together, only days in between countries now instead of weeks. The trip is starting to go by so fast now.

The GNG team had a really busy time in India. We were shooting a piece for MTV U, a college based channel for MTV. We followed some college kids from semester at sea as they met their Indian counter parts , six medical college students from Chennai India. We followed this group of students from totally different world and watched as they introduce themselves and their cultures. At first the kids didn't know what to make of each other but by day 2 every one was pretty tight. All the students realized that they had a lot more in common than they first thought. After being all around the world and meeting High school and college kids everywhere I have come to the conclusion that kids are kids no matter where you go. Human beings are generally the same no matter how much we like to point out our differences.

While we were in Chennai, the India students took our American students on a tour of the city, starting out with there medical school campus. I'm not too sure that the students were prepared for what they saw...The first class we visited was anatomy , where there were cadavers and body parts al over the room. WOW! That was a bit much at 9 in the morning. I'll spare you the really gruesome pictures, this is a family blog after all.

After the tour of the morgue , the kids were ready for something s little more up beat. The Indian students took the Americans out into the city for shopping, eating, and to experience the crazy India traffic. India has by far the worlds most insane driving by the way. It's amazing, thousand of people on motor bikes, rickshaw, car, trucks, bikes...flying all over the road. No rules, no laws, driving on the wrong side of the road is actually encouraged. But hey, if this whole TV thing doesn't work out for me I'm gonna move to India and become a Rickshaw driver, so i got that going for me. Always good to have a back up plan.

a href="http://gng.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/inside_shaw.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=500,height=375,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">

At the end of the night all the American kids had the opportunity to go home with an Indian student and spend the night in their homes meeting their families. The kids truly had the unique experience of a local perspective of while in Indian, which is so often missed with the guided tours and hotel meals.

On the last day all the students, Indian and American came together for a video conference back to the US with the University of Maryland. The students exchanged their thoughts on the global issue of HIV/AIDS. They Indian students explained that even though their country is the second highest HIV/AIDS infected area in the world just behind S. Africa, there is still little information available about safe sex and AIDS prevention due to the huge taboos surrounding sex and HIV in their culture. The American students were also able to give some insight on how HIV is being dealt with in the states.

Over all the trip was a big success, the students got a long really well and they learned a lot from each other. Indian is a great country with amazing people, I really enjoyed working with the Indian students and hope that everyone involved in the project keeps in touch. Meeting all those great people and seeing such an amazing place makes the next part of my blog hard to think about...

Just days after we left there was a series of horrific events in India. For those of you not keeping up with the news there was a huge cyclone that hit the Southern region of India. The powerful storm has caused massive flooding. From what i gather from the bits of news that i can get out here is that the floods are also responsible for a train derailing that left many people dead, hurt, or stranded in the river. And if that wasn't enough there was also a bombing in New Delhi that left 28 dead. This act if terrorism comes in response to the historic agreement between Indian and Pakistan to open 5 boarder points along the line of Control in Kashmir to allow Aide from India to Earth Quake victims in Pakistan. The border had been closed for almost 60 years and if the major point of conflict between the two countries. A militant group in Pakistani Kashmir has claimed responsibility for the bombings in an attempt to disrupt the peace movement. Lets all hope that this desperate display of violence does not impede the peace process.

Well on a lighter note, we will be in our next port, Burma in a day or 2. We are not a allowed film there because of the MIlitary isolationist government, but we will put some pictures up for yall. Next stop after that is Vietnam. We will have three video conferences in Vietnam with high school students. Catch up you then.

Interesting Facts:

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history
not to have a full moon.

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex
for pleasure.

I am. is the shortest complete sentence in the English
language

If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be
39-23-33.

She would stand seven feet, two inches tall and have a
neck twice the length of a normal human's neck.

If the population of China walked past you in single
file, the line would never end because of the rate of
reproduction.

If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months,
enough gas is produced to create the energy of an
atomic bomb.

If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will
eventually turn white.

Take care,

Jason

Monkey around...

Hello,

Well as i said before our trip to Kenya was cancelled so we ended up in Louis Mauritius, an island off the coast of Madagascar. Unfortunately, we had no time to set up any video conferences there so i had to take 3 days off and sit on a beach and hike up waterfalls. Jeeze this job is the worst! But in-between our fun in the sun we actually did do some work and there should be about 6 new web videos up on our site about S. Africa so check them out will ya!

We are now back on the sip and back sea, we will be in India in 7 days. Our project for India will change slightly from what we have been doing up to this point. The focus will shift from high school students to some of the college student that we are traveling on Semester at Sea . Six select students from different universities around the US will be introduced to local India college students for a cultural exchange that will be broadcast back to their home campus in the States. The students will also interact socially, checking out the day to day lives of India youth. The full piece will be broadcast on MTV U, a college based channel available on some campuses around the US.

Keep checking back on the site for more videos and pictures. Also check out the country profile son the site for general info about each area and stats on HIV/AIDS in the country.

Well like i said, we didn't do much last week so i don't really have too much to say but here are some monkey pictures to hold you over. Everyone likes a monkey picture.

We found these guys running around wild on the hill side next to a Hindu Temple.

Thanks to Byron Miller for the monk pics, check out his GNG blog for more amazing photos.

Interesting facts:

(Thanks Jaclyn)
Butterflies taste with their feet.

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a
full moon.

(Thanks Kat)
- When Coca-Cola began to be sold in China, they used characters that would sound like "Coca-Cola" when spoken. Unfortunately, what they turned out to mean was "Bite the wax tadpole". (KAT)

"In Saudi Arabia, a woman reportedly may divorce her husband if he does not keep her supplied with coffee."

- The Giant cricket of Africa enjoys eating human hair. (thank goodness yours is all gone)

Catch yall later,

J

S. Africa: Part 2

So, as i said a lot happened in S Africa so i need a couple of blogs to cover it all , So here goes past 2. This is my first sequel I'm pretty excited.

During our time in Cape Town A. Africa we worked with High school students from Pine woods High school and also the "Love Life" HI/AIDS youth center in one of the many Townships on the outskirts of the city. We connected the kids with 3 schools from the USA in a series of video conferences. We linked the S . African students to Magnolia Texas, Ocean Side New York, and Maze kanas.

The interactions were very interesting for all the students involved. The three groups discussed HiV/AIDS in their areas and the affects that it has had on their lives. The S. African students were very Surprised at how little first hand knowledge that the Americans had with HIV. Many of the Americans, including me were shocked to hear that S. Africa has the Highest number of AIDS cases in The World. Around 600 people die daily from AIDS in S. Africa. And about 13 % of the worlds AIDS cases happen there. Check out GNG.ORG under "Currents" for more info on the AIDS crisis in S. Africa, as well as all the other countries in the program.

During the conferences the students were able to-discuss personal experience with the HIV/AIDS and the methods of prevention that their respective areas have in place for youth. I feel that both sides got a lot out of their conversations, the American Students definitely learned a great deal about HIV/AIDS from the very well informed S. African Students who begin learning about the disease around the 1st or second grade in school.

The kids also had some fun and shared interesting cultural information as well. The Kids from Texas showed the S. Africans how to line dance and the fine art of cow tipping, which we at GNG do not advocate. ( I heart cows.)

Since we had some extra time in S. Africa we had the chance to get to know the students pretty well. One of the Kids working in our video conference named Sam invited the-whole class and the GNG crew to her house for a Braai. A Braai is a traditional S. Africa BBQ where friends and family get together. Sam's Dad (Max) cooked up a feast for our crew and about 15 of her friends from Class. We had a great time and the food was amazing! A big thanks from GNG to Sam and Her Dad Max. The crew and all the kids had a great time.

Take a look at our S. African Braai:

After our delicious some great, we said our good byes to the students and went up Table Mountain to catch the sunset over Cape Town.

Well, what more can i say i had an incredible time in Cape Town. I met some greta kids, i had some-great food, heard some great music. And i learned a lot. Hopefully all the kids involved did too.

Updates:

Check the website for new videos and pictures. GNG.ORG

Interesting facts:

1- When Coca-Cola began to be sold in China, they used characters that would sound like "Coca-Cola" when spoken. Unfortunately, what they turned out to mean was "Bite the wax tadpole". (Thanks Kat)

"In Saudi Arabia, a woman reportedly may divorce her husband if he does not keep
her supplied with coffee(Kat)

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge(Thanks Jaclyn)

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.(Jaclyn)

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.(Jaclyn)

Thanks for all the great facts guys!

Talk to you later,

J

S.Africa:Part 1

Hello everyone,

It's been a while. we had a busy couple of weeks. But if you haven't seen yet we have a bunch of Wedumentires up on our site now so check them out. There should be so new pics up as well.

South Africa is by far on one of the coolest countries i have ever been to! The people are great and it's the best food i have had yet on this trip around the world. Cape Town is so beautiful that words do not do it justice so look at some pictures:

Cape Town sits at the base of Table mountain and then spreads outward to the ocean. There are several house built on the foothills that sprawl through out the area. The down town area is very modern and feels a lot like a US city. However, there is a shocking clash of f a first world country with super malls , 5 star restaurants and a Third world country with dilapidate Townships only a 5 minute cab ride away, where the houses are built with whatever material can be found, scrap wood, sheet metal, plastic, if your lucky. Almost a million people live in these crowded make -shift towns. That is more people than some US cities. Some have no running water and the bathrooms are concert
out-houses.

onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=340,height=255,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">

The Townships are where the poorest of the poor live. You have never experience poverty until you see 1 million people living in a town completely made of Shack. Most of the people who live in these Townships are poor black people cast out of society during the Apartheid and they have never recovered.

Just for a quick overview: Apartheid was the S. African Government organized segregation and racial classification of it's people into divided classes such as White, usual Dutch or British decent which was the top . Then Colored, which was usually mixed race, with white features. Then on the bottom were the black people or Natives. The mistreatment of these "lower classes" eventually lead to a revolution both politically and resulted in a war. Ploitical prisoners where held in jails for decades and countless other were murdered if they could be seen as any sort of threat to the Government.

The vast poverty in S Africa is a problem that the current government is still trying to solve. Due to the high unemployment rate and the lack of education in these areas the rate of AIDS, Crime and death is much higher than anywhere else in the region. About 25 percent of the population in these townships are infected with HIV or AIDS. And about 1 out of 4 women are raped.

This Sharp economic gap is one of the many huge problems in S. Africa left over from the oppressive Apartheid government, not to mention the thousand of young black men and women who were killed and imprisoned during the long struggle for equal rights and integration in S Africa. The end of this bitter struggle was only 11 years ago, so the wounds are still fresh and the rift is still evident.

But from what we saw in the amazing students we worked with there, the youth of S Africa is coming together to build a stronger country for both black and white. Despite the hardships that this great country still faces you can feel the energy of a developing nation moving forward to its potential. The most amazing thing of all is the extraordinary ability for most in this society to forgive. Forgive for the wrongful death of their children, forgive for the theft of their land and forgive for the dehumanisation of the black people as a whole.

I highly suggest that you look deeper into this Struggle and victory of humanity. And Read any thing by Bishop Desmond Tutu. The man is a living saint in my book, but so is Huey Lewis so you can't go by me, check him out for yourself. (Tutu not Lewis)

And the kids from Cape Town want everyone in the states to know that they live in a city with the same technology as you! They do not wear lion-cloths and they do not have lions in their back yards. They were pretty adamant about that. They also want every one to know that S. Africa is a country..on the continent of Africa . They wear jeans and T-shirts and listen to Pop music.

Leaving S. Africa was very hard it is by far the most comfortable port for Western travellers where a majority of the population Speaks English. There are actually 11 official languages in S.-Africa. During Apartheid everyone had to speak Afrikaans, which was the language of the early white Dutch settlers in S. Africa. But since around 1997 when S Africa became fully Democratic many of the native languages were recognised and the National Anthem is now song in 4 different languages native to S. Africa.

I will miss the students that i worked with the most of all. They are amazing kids that are living proof that this country has a bright future.

There will be more about our video conferences with the kids in the next blooooog...keep an eye out.

Well that's my intro to Cape Town, South Africa. There will be more blogs and pics coming about Cape town.

Here are some Updates:

- Our trip to Kenya has been cancelled due to terrorist activity and pirates in the area targeting Large vessel...full of Americans! So we stayed in Cape Town for a couple of extra days now we are sailing to the Island Louis, Mauritius which is off the coats of Madagascar. It should be nice to get back into some sun since it was a bit cold in S.-Africa. I'll have to go to Kenya next time I'm in Africa ...who wants to come with me?

- We have crossed about 6 or 7 times zones since Brazil. So i am now about 6 hours ahead of the East coast. We will lose 24 hours on this trip...a full day! But we get a day back in Japan ...i think. We have a Thursday 2 days in a row..so weird...Look mom I'm time travelling! I think 23 hour days are starting to get to me.

- Still no one sea sick on our crew anyway but everyone on the ship is getting a cold.

- On a personal l note I have started listening to a lot of Hall and Oates lately...not really that interesting but i felt like sharing...man check out their greatest hits! "I can't go for that" poetry with bad hair i tell you.

Interesting facts:

-During Apartheid in S. Africa it was illegal for a white personl to assoicate with a black person., If you were caught consorting or dating a black person both parties would be thrown in jail. The black person's sentnce would be much longer.

-Studies show that Elephants morn their dead and sometimes they even dig graves for them.

-In some parts of England, rum is used to wash a baby's head for good luck.(from Stacey)

- In South Africa, termites are often roasted and eaten by the handful, like pretzels or popcorn. (Kat)

Keep them coming people!

Hello's

Hi Mom

Stace, congrats on your new job! Miss you.

Hope the store is ok Kat

Take care all,

J

BYE!

i think i might be in a floating cult

So, I woke up this morning to banging drums and bells...with men marching through the halls with tinfoil covered hard hats and painted faces... (no I'm not in a Brazilian prison...again) I ventured out of my room to see what the commotion was all about. I was then called up to the outside deck of the ship where there were more people with painted faces dressed up as mythical characters.

They made me and all the people there dunk our heads in fish guts, jump in a pool of Fish guts then kiss a dead fish on the lips...I'm not sure but i think I might be part of some weird sea cult now...but hey it's not like I was doing anything else this fall. And besides that I really think that fish and I had a spark.

Fish guts:

Now that I'm a man of the sea, I think I'm gonna start wearing an eye patch and yell at people like a pirate, rrrrrrrr shiver me timbers and all that. What do u think? However, I did find out later that it was not a cult activity but actually ...Neptune day. Neptune day is a sea tradition where those people who have not crossed the Equator by ship, known as "Pollywogs," must be initiated to the to sea to please King Neptune. These rituals include being dunked in fish guts and having your head shaved. After you have paid your dues, you are now considered a "Shell back." I'm still keeping the eye patch, and I still think this is a cult.

I am proud to say that i am the only GNG member that showed up...the rest are still pollywogs! I got the fish guts and Byron shaved my head the other night...we were bored. So no need to worry folks i won't be washing my hair with hand lotion any more..but it will still be full of body and manageability...but on a very small scale.

Well cult or no cult we are on our way to S Africa! It will be out longest stretch at sea of the trip about 8 days... By the way we have already set our clocks ahead 3 times this week and will do it another 15 times on this trip. Working on 23 hour days is weird... seems like i lose an hour every day. At least thats what they tell me. I think they might just be making up the time out here. Some lady gets on a loud speaker and is like "hey, its 3:00pm time changed again.." I'm just like ok, what day is it? and who are you? and where are my pants?" but thats a whole other story the sea can play games with a man's mind. What was i talking about? oh yeah...S. Africa. The GNG crew will have another busy week on land meeting students and talking about the global epidemic HIV/AIDS . There will be 3 more video conferences from S. Africa to the the US. Keep checking the site for updates on the program and pictures and video from each country.

Well i will get back to you soon...i've got the time and part of my job is doing these blogs...

UPDATES:
- The seas are really rough, but still no one sea sick...The bet is still holding strong.

-I have no hair

- King Neptune looks a lot like our captain with Green body paint and a speedo ...yikes!

Interesting fact:

-The banjo was the first American made instrument.

I'm hurting here people hit me up with some facts please.

Talk to you soon

Jason David Liquori PHD Md JR SR III

Technology is cool..

Hoy, as they say in Brazil

Well thats a wrap on Brazil One video conference down and seven to go!

Just a quick overview of what we do just incase people don't know...in each country we go to we will connect youth around the world to the US via video conferencing on the net and also with our on remote satellites. The goal is to promote a dialogue between cultures so they better understand each-other from a young age. This particular mission is to educate youth around the world about the-global affects of-HIV/AIDS...Ok cool just want to make sure we're all on the same page...

The GNG crew had a lot of work in Salvador and it all went well for the most part! While we were in port we had the opportunity to meet with High school aged students all over the city ranging from the very wealthy to the poorest of the poor. We brought these two group together to speak with American students in Texas, St.-Lewis, And Washington D.C. We did three days of conference at about an hour a piece. For that time these students had face to face conversations across the globe about the affects of HIV/AIDS in their part of the world and what's being done about it with education and prevention programs. It took a while for everyone to warm but by the end of the kids were asking very good question back and forth about AIDS , Government policy and everyday life in their respective parts of the world.

In the first video conference we got the kids talking about HIV/AIDS and the different perception they had about the illness. A lot of the American students were surprised to find that Brazil has one of the most progressive treatment programs for HIV/AIDS in the world. The kids shared many statistics and figures with each other. I think everyone was pretty shocked to find that 1 in 20 people in Washington D.C. has HIV. That is more than some of the 3 world countries we have been to. The students on both sides of the conference expressed that the lack of knowledge and education programs in some schools accounted for large portion of the infected. In addition to the great discussion that the students had, they also got chance to performance for each other. The Brazilian students from a youth organization called Baguncaco played tin drums for the American student live during the Conference and the Students from D.C. gave Salvador a taste of American rap with a live performance in their high school. It was pretty amazing to ba able to hook these kids up in real time with just a few wries and cameras... not too shabby huh?

The next day we did another video conference live on location from the yard of the Baguncaco youth center. The amazing staff there treat the kids as if they were family. In fact most of the staff have been at the center themselves since child hood. They have music and arts classes at the center to keep the kids of the streets. While we were there they taught us how to play the drums and Showed us some capoeira a traditional Brazilian mix of dance and martial arts. The founder Joselito started the center when he was 20 years old. His own father died as a result of AIDS when Joselito was just 13 years old. Now he teaches the poor youth of Salvador HIV/AIDS education among many other valuable life lesson. Joeslito is now 33 years old and is in the process of renovating a second community center.

'width=340,height=255,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false">

After we set up our Satellites in the yard the kids at the center help us build a make shift tent to cover our equipment from the sun, w basically built it out of junk we found around the yard...it was pretty cool.

The third and last day of our conferences was very productive, the kids were all comfortable and letting all there questions fly. The different groups challenged each other but never were disrespectful. The Brazil group made a great points about US policy is regards to how expensive HIV/AIDS medications is.

All the kids learned from each other and tried to dispel some stereo type they had heard about their cultures. All the kids really enjoyed meeting each other and hopefully will continue to communicate via the email list set up at the conference.

Well that is the gist of it...keep checking out the site for more picture albums and videos on the way...

UPDATES:

-Still no sea sickness... but man the food on the boat is starting to get to everyone...Byron for one is very skeptical about how they keep the lettuce so green when we are sea for son long. Hmmm makes you think. I personally think there is some guy back there with a highlighter filling in all the spots.

- Neptune day is coming up on the boat, it is a a sea tradition that when you cross the equator by boat for the first time you are a "Pollywog" and you must be hazed by shaving your head and kissing a fish or something...i wasn't;t really listening. After you have earned your right of passage you are now a "Shell back." So stay tunes i haven't cut my hair in about three months and i need a trim.

Interresting Fact:

-Brazil Nuts are one of the most radio actice foods in the world.

Talk to you soon

JDL

Salvador ain't no snore

Hello everyone,

We are in Salvador, Brazil!

This is a map....

A quick blog today.... Still have work to do in Slavdor. Just wanted to say hello and thank everyone for their support of the program and the blogs. Remeber to click on pics for larger image.

Let me start by saying Salvador is an amazing city! It has great people, great food and beer (Bohemia was my favorite) , and great culture too. The architecture alone could keep you here for a week. The port we pulled into is located in what is know as the "lower city" because it is literally at the bottom of a huge mountain that the "Upper city sits on . And the only way up to the city is to take "The Elevator," a huge structure in the middle of town. First floor spoting goods , second floor historical Brazilian city.

The Elevator cost about 50 cents and is used as public transportation up and down from one section of town to the other. It is pretty much the only way to get up and down n the city if you don not have a car.... and yes i could not stop humming "Love in a an Elevator" the whole time i was in it. Damn you Steven Taylor!

After you get the Areosmith out of you head and you get to the upper city ...which is considered "old city" .(..it makes sense since it's the Historical district) you see nothing but Cobble stone roads built on hills, there is a very European feel to it. The building are a mix of S. American open air structures and ornate European buildings and many Byzantine churches, actually there are over 365 churches in Salvador. The local joke is that there is a different church for everyday of the year.
Wow i sound s just like on of those travel books...i think i need an agent.

Another great thing about Salvador and Brazil in general is that almost all of the cars here have been converted to run on Natural gas. They have installed tanks that can switch between Oil, Natural gas and alcohol. It is cost affective and safe for the environment. Hopefully the US can figure out this gas alternative system soon. 3. 50 a gallon is just too much! Im getting a bike!

While i have been here i have seen a lot of different sides of Salvador, from one of the wealthiest high schools in the area ..(which puts my public high school to shame.) to a youth center in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. The different between the classes here is astonishing. The GNG crew will bring these two differnt worlds togethr this week and connect all the kids together live via video conference to 3 different high schools in the US. Check out the next blog for more info on that...

Keep an eye on our blogs this week...there should be a few going up form Brazil...a lot happened while we were the so check it out! There will be some pics and hopefully some video too.

Keep they comments coming too...and more interesting facts!

-UDATES
- Still no one sick on GNG crew...we have taken up bets with each other... i still think Chris is our man, but i must say he is holding up well for not having a cigarette in almost a month! And he still can't find his Nicorett but he seems to be ok.

- Interesting fact:"
-People in nudist colonies play volleyball more than any other sport."(Thanks Kat)

-You're subject to fines and/or imprisonment for making ugly faces at dogs in Oklahoma.

-Gasoline in Venezuela is currently 6 cents a gallon.

Also wanted to say hello and thanks to all family and friends who posted comments:

Shout outs:
Stacey i miss you too! Sorry about the Tigers...close one.
Sue and Dan good luck with your TV!

Aunt Jo, miss you, tell Chris i said hello.

Jaclyn Great to hear from you!

Tim, get a job...are you really getting married?

-Stef, LRO: How is crab cakes?

- Hi mom, Thanks for giving birth to me and stuff.

talk to you soon

J

Get me off this thing!

So,

We have been on the ship for about 5 days straight our longest stretch yet...On man ready to get off this sea saw. I need some good food and some solid ground to stand on( hey that sounds like a country song)

We have been working hard on our webumentrie all week ...which entails us sitting on computers all day long ...did i mention that i hate computers! I don't mean that i dislike like them..no i have a genuine loathing for these little machines that now seem to run our lives... I am in big trouble when they take over... fewww that was my rant on technology today...thanks for baring with me...i have been having lots-of computer problems as you can see... But they seem to have worked out...so there should be some video on the web site soon ...so check it out.. The quality is a bit rough but that is the nature of streaming...so I'm told.

So, like i said before we have been on the ship for about 5 days now and after a while you start to develop "ship feve,r" which is just like cabin fever but on a boat.
It doesn't help that my room is so dark that i never know what time it is...Makes it very hard to get up. I realized this morning in the shower that for the last week i have been washing my hair with hand lotion! That's right the label peeled off and apparently the lotion and the shampoo bottles look very similar.

But the good news is that my hair is silky smooth and my hands are full of body , finesse, and manageability ...so i 'i've got that going for me.

We will be in Brazil tomorrow morning, where we will shoot a conference in a high-school as well as visit an Aids center where they play traditional drums as a part if the treatment. It should be an interesting time...i'll let yall know how it goes..

Well thats all for now...

Talk to you after Brazil...

J

UDATES:
-Still no on sea sick on our crew to my knowledge...although Dave was feeling bad yesterday and he wasn't around much...hmmmm I'll let ya know.

- Interesting facts: these are real laws folks...(Thanks Stace)
In Somalia, Africa, it is decreed illegal to carry old chewing gum stuck on the tip of your nose.

-In Kentucky, it is illeagal to carry ice cream in your
back pocket.

-The first Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages were three
inches wide and eighteen inches long. You made your
own bandage by cutting off as much as you neeed.

See ya Soon

J

What do they call Brazil nutts in Brazil?

I dont think i'll ask any Brazilians that nutt question, i might get punched in the face...and no one likes to get punched in the face

Anyway....

We're back on the "ship" and back on the move. we have about 6 days until we hit Salvador Brazil. I don't know much about Salvador except for what i saw in a James Woods movie one time...lets hope that it is better than that.

That water is bit more rough on this leg of the trip so far. I'm sitting in my Global Studies class and the whole ship is shaking...And i cant stop thinking how the hell did i get back in school...But its actually very interesting. But i know what your thinking, how am i writhing this while sitting in class? Im glad you asked...multitasking, I'm a multitasker...got to be, these blogs aren't going to write themselves...And i don't have to take any of the tests...i like being a "staff guest"

Well not much else going on...the team is working round the clock on blogs ,pictures and upcoming steaming video...keep checking our site for updates.

More to come from me soon...

UPDATES:

- We all made it through the first trip with no stomach problems and we ate a lot of greta local foods...well Chris did have some funky Coconut milk...but nothing too bad.

-Interesting fact: The can opener wasn't invented until several years after canned food...

come on people somebody give me something back...

What's up to everyone at home...Hi mom, Stef, Tara, John. Jules, Jess,

Thanks for your help KAT you rock!

Tim get a job.. and are you really getting married?

Big ups to Peanut in the Nasty

J