Countdown to International Education Week 2017 - United Arab Emirates #HogsAbroad

International Education Week is now just three weeks away! This week’s post will be a tribute to one of my favorite countries: The Emirates!

The United Arab Emirates is a federal absolute monarchy located on the Persian Gulf at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula. It shares land borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia and maritime borders with Qatar and Iran. It populates about 9.4 million people, but only about 1.5 million are UAE citizens (the rest being expatriates). Its capital is Abu Dhabi and its largest city is Dubai! Dubai is an important global city and international travel hub. Emirates Airlines, the main airline at Dubai International Airport, operates nonstop flights to over 140 destinations in over 70 countries across all six inhabitable continents. In fact, Dubai Airport Terminal 3 is the 2nd largest building in the world by floor space. Dubai, UAE will be hosting the World Expo in 2020. Popular tourist destinations in the Emirates include the Burj Khalifa (the world’s tallest structure), Ferrari World (the world’s largest indoor theme park), and Dubai Mall (the world’s largest mall by total area).

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You can learn more about IEW at https://iew.state.gov/
And, check out the IEW events happening on campus at iew.uark.edu
Don't miss your opportunity to study or intern abroad! Start your search at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search/

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Senior accounting major Eric studied abroad with our faculty-led programs in Vietnam and Ireland. Come meet Eric and the other peer advisors at a Hogs Abroad 101 information meeting! These hour-long sessions are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters, from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Center for World Languages, Literatures and Cultures (JBHT 207).

A Brazilion reasons to smile #HogsAbroad On A Boat

After being on the ship for 7 days I was more than ready to get off and take on Salvador. My friends and I spent all day roaming around and saw some amazing views. 

One of my professors was born and raised in Brazil so he was able to give us some great pointers for what to do and try, one of which was a caipirinha. It’s a Brazilian drink that, according to my professor, should be consumed responsibly.

So being the curious college students we are, my friends and I went to one of the local restaurants to try them. It was probably one of the best, most refreshing drinks I’ve ever had!   Aferwards, we wandered throughout the city down random streets and ended up running into some locals who spoke English. It turns out that they were apart of a dance crew and had spent the past 15 years traveling the world with their company. They’ve even performed in Texas. Before we knew it several hours had passed by so we headed back to the ship to be in bed because our flight the next morning to Brazil departed at 5:50 am. 

Let’s just say that by no means am I a morning person. There were about 15 of us traveling together so trying to get everyone awake, together, and into taxis was a nightmare but it was all worth it when we landed in Rio.

Before landing, I saw the coolest aerial view of Rio de Janeiro. I saw Favelas and there was way more greenery than I expected to see.

After landing, our van picked us up and took us to our Airbnb which ended up being a 5 bedroom penthouse suite right across from Copacabana beach. So obviously that was the first thing that we did after we unpacked. We layed out for hours, enjoyed the cool water, and played a bunch of sand volleyball! It was also a Brazilian holiday so the beaches was PACKED with people. They even closed the mainstreet so no cars could drive on it so it was filled with cyclists and pedestrians. The weather was perfect and we ended up staying out so late that we were physically exhausted and ordered Dominos pizza for dinner and called it a night.

We got off to an early start the next day as we made our way to towards Christ the Redeemer.  
It was one of the coolest sights that I’ve been to. When we were leaving from the airport he looked so tiny but once we went all the way up the mountain it was way bigger. There was an option to hike all the way up it, but we found out that it was the equivalent to over 180 floors so we politely declined.

Afterwards, our tour guide got us as close as we could to the Favelas while keeping us safe since they are corrupt and controlled by cartels. They are typically the slums of the area and are built up on top of each other.  The coolest part of it all was that it was the same place that they filmed the movie Fast Five! Our next was stop was the Santa Theresa steps. I don’t know the history behind it, but they are so vibrant and colorful. As we were slowly making our way down the steps, a lady who was selling Açai bowls out of her house stopped us. She didn’t speak any English but her Açai bowls spoke for themselves. It was my first time ever having them and holy cow I didn’t want it to end because it was so delicious. Later on, we found out that Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams walked down these same steps.
 
Our last destination was to the infamous Sugar Loaf. I don’t know why it’s called that, but it it has one of the greatest views in all of Rio. They have cable cars that take you all the way up to see everything. Afterwards, while we were waiting for out driver to get us, I decided to relax and refresh with some coconut water.
 
My day started off by seeing some really cool sites, and during the evening I moved on to tasting some really good food. From day 1, I was told that I need to eat at a Brazilian Steakhouse, so that’s exactly what I did. Although it is a chain, Fogo de Chão was the number one place to go to and let me tell you, it was nothing short of amazing.

We ended up staying for 3 hours and it was filled with good company, lots of laughter, a run in with an MMA fighter, and all the meat you could imagine. Needless to say we basically rolled ourselves out of the restaurant and ubered ourselves home.

The last two days in Rio were very rainy so that kind of put a damper on our plans. It was the first port of this whole voyage  that we have had bad weather while in country. But that didn’t stop us one bit. We bought ourselves an American football and had ourselves the best 5v5 pick up game of sand football that Rio has ever seen. We were playing for hours while the rain came pouring down and it was so much fun. My team won, obviously, and afterwards we went swimming in the ocean and experienced some of the biggest waves I have ever seen.

It was sick. By the time we checked our phones it was dinner time so we went back to the Airbnb and the girls we were with made us a nice home cooked meal. After dinner, we made our way to the samba club that had a live performance by one of Brazil’s best artists. We were there forever learning to dance and having a great time. We had such a good time that we were out until 4:30am.

The last day was pretty uneventful because we were supposed to go hang gliding but due to the really and weather we ended up waiting for hours at the site hoping the weather would clear up. Unfortunately it didn’t so we just went to the airport 4 hours early and used the free wifi until finally arriving back in Salvador.

Despite the bad weather the last two days, I had an incredible time in Rio and it is definitely on my list of places that I have to come back and visit. As always, for more pictures go check out my Facebook! And if you wanna contact me then download the app “WhatsApp” or email me at: andrew.santiago.fa16@semesteratsea.org

Next stop—-> Trinidad and Tobago!!!

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Don't miss the boat!
Read more from Jordan at https://suitelifeofsanti.wordpress.com/
Find your own study abroad program to hone your professional skills and enhance your resume at: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
If you need help getting started with study abroad, take a look at this: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/index.php

Home sweet Trinidad & The Panama Canal #HogsAbroad On A Boat

So I think that I speak for the whole shipboard community when I say that Trinidad has been the best port to date. From the time we were able to access the hotels wifi nearby (yes, wifi availability has a major impact on how we view a country) which was before we even docked we new that the next two days were going to be amazing. 

For those of you who don’t know, my dad was born in Trinidad and all of his family is from there so I have visited a couple times before and was so excited to be back. As we were walking down the gangway outside, we were greeted with steel drums and musical performers and it was awesome. 

Once we were out of the terminal my friends and I were greeted by my uncle! He took us to this amazing breakfast place and then we went right to the beach. The beach we went to was Maracas Beach and is hands down one of my favorite beaches. It was the first beach I went to when I visited for the first time and it was everything I remembered and more. As usual, there were several hundered of us SASers there and it was a blast. We got there around 11 and stayed until late in  the evening and there wasn’t a minute wasted. We played volleyball, went swimming, layed out, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. 

It felt like I was on Spring Break vacation with all of my friends (throwback to freshman year lol) and was so much fun. And to top it off I got to enjoy my favorite meal in the entire world which is Bake-and-shark.

  

I know it sounds odd, but don’t write it off until you’ve tried it because I promise you it’s life changing. That was the one meal that I told all my friends and teachers to try and they fell in love. That night I was so exhausted from being out all day that I stayed in and utilized all the free wifi I could get. 

The next morning, my friends and I got an early start and went back to the same breakfast place as the day before and got some bake-and-shark while we waited for my uncle to come and get us. Once he did, we made our way north to his beach house stopping off at the super market to get all the necessary beach essentials.

After 30ish minutes we finally arrived, but beforehand went to beach we embarked on what my family likes to call the hike of death. I don’t know if it’s because I’m out of shape, the hike is just really hard, or any combination of the two but it’s intense. My uncle walks it 5 days a week and has for at least the past 5 years so he literally zoomed right up this mountain like it was a piece of cake.

Meanwhile, my friends are struggling and taking baby steps up this thing while breaking for water every 5 minutes. The beginning was so easy, we kept up good pace, enjoyed the Bamboo Cathedral, and even saw some monkeys.
But shortly after the hike took a turn for the worst and the incline started to increase and we eventually lost my uncle because he was so far ahead of us. Even though it was tough it was very rewarding to make it to the top. It was an abandoned American base to there’s a huge satellite and a bunch of Buildings up there. The descent down was way more enjoyable and as a reward for making it without passing out my uncle got us fresh coconut from his tree and we sipped on the coconut water on our way to the beach. This beach experience was completely different the Maracas because there was so few people here and was so relaxing, expecially after that hike. We hung out for the next few hours until we had to go back to the ship since it was our last day there. But right outside of the port was a party in itself because everyone was hanging out at the restaurant they had in the terminal and there were a ton of vendors outside so we were all buying last minute souvenirs. And, just as in the beginning, the sent of off to the beat of the steel drums.

Even though we were only there for barely 2 days, I had so much fun! I loved being able to see my uncle and intriguing him to some of my friends. Being able to see my favorite places and eat my favorite made the two days there absolutely amazing!

Towards the beginning of the voyage, we got divided into “seas” based on which hall we lived in and my sea was the Baltic Sea and our colors were blue! What we didn’t know was that the point of these seas were to help for the Sea Olympus that took place a few days after departing Trinidad & Tobago. We had an opening ceremony where we created and showcased a music video, mascot and chant, and a lip sync battle (which we took home the gold in all 3). Day two was jam packed with tons of events. There was ping pong (which I got first in), egg toss, tug of war, water pong, arm wrestling, three-legged race, hula hooping, and synchronized swimming, just to name a few.

We spent the entire day competing and it was a blast. Day 3 was even crazier than the previous! There was only one event that day and it was volleyball which was supposedly going to be the deciding factor for who won. But before I say who ended up winning I forgot to mention the best part about today.

WE CROSSED THROUGH THE PANAMA CANAL. After going through 6 locks and a casual $100,000 dollars we made it from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacifit Ocean. (Check my Facebook for a really cool time-lapse). The whole experience was undeal. We learned so much about the history behind it and  seeing it in person was just amazing. We got the whole day off from classes to watch the whole process. The best part about it was that we had cell phone service for the day!!

Now, back to the Sea Olympics.. My sea ended up winning the volleyball tournament and we knew that we were neck and neck with another sea to be the first place champions. Later that evening at the awards ceremony, they announced that there was a tie and the tie breaker was going to be a whip cream and bubble gum contest. So there we were, two team eager to get the first place victory and all of the bragging rights that came along with it. We were all so nervous and anxious that it seemed like forever but WE ENDED UP WINNING!! Our sea went crazy!! We were screaming, yelling, chanting, and being the most obnoxious people ever.

All in all, it turned out to be a great event and helped pass by the time until we get to Peru! As always, for more pictures go check out my Facebook! And if you wanna contact me then download the app “WhatsApp” or email me at: andrew.santiago.fa16@semesteratsea.org

Next stop—-> Peru and Machu Picchu!!

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Don't miss the boat!
Read more from Jordan at https://suitelifeofsanti.wordpress.com/
Find your own study abroad program to hone your professional skills and enhance your resume at: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
If you need help getting started with study abroad, take a look at this: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/index.php
 

Ship life, Senegal, and more Ship life #HogsAbroad On A Boat

Part 1: Ship life, 10/15/16-10/21/16            

So for the past 6 weeks my “school week” has been completely out of whack. School days have been on Saturday and Sunday and my “weekends” have been Monday- Friday. It has been absolutely amazing. I’ve already seen and done so much and my voyage is only just beginning. Heading towards Senegal is the first time since leaving Germany that I’ve been on the ship for more than 2 days and while it should be nice and relaxing, the reality of school has begun to set in. 

The entire ship has been in such a frenzy due to cramming for exams, writing extensive essays, and preparing for group projects. You would think that the course load would be a lot lighter, but it’s quite the opposite; I personally had 3 exams and 1 group project. That, compared to what other people had to do, wasn’t even that much. 

You can definitely tell who’s taking the classes Pass/Fail and whose grade actually affects their GPA because some people are hitting the books hard and others aren’t stressing out at all. But after many late nights and lots of terrible ship coffee, I finally made it through. The day before we arrived in Senegal we had game night game night with all of the teachers kids on the ship.  We played Uno, twister, and of course charades!  

Part 2: Senegal, 10/21/16-10/25/16 
Senegal, for me was an amazing night experience. The culture was very different than Morocco, but much more representative of Africa. My first excursion was to the Bandia reserve, about an hours drive from Dakar. We got split up into groups of ten and piled into safari trucks and we explored the reserve looking out for animals. Over the course of a few hours we saw hyenas, giraffes, ostriches, rhinos, all sorts of monkeys, horse antelopes, zebras, and even gators!
Our driver got us up close and personal to the animals and the animals let us. They were so accustomed to humans that they weren’t even phased by it. Afterwards, we made our way to lunch at this fancy hotel. It was buffet style so we could eat as much as we wants to and it came with one of the best views ever!

Later that evening I went to sickest hotel I’ve ever seen. It’s called the Radisson Blue and it’s absolutely stunning and had the best wifi. There were over a hundred of us there, and they opened up one of their restaurants and turned it into a discotek club for all of us where we danced the whole night away.

Day 2 and 3 in Senegal are definitely in the top 5 of amazing things that I have done on this trip. I signed up for an Impact program which is basically like a community involvement program called the Life of a Fisherman. We started the day off by making our way down south towards Joal Fadioth and Petite Côte. On the way we stopped off to admire the Baobab trees which are the second symbol of Africa (the first being the lion).
Upon arriving in Joal we met our guide who walked us across a bridge to the village we would be visiting. Everywhere I looked there were seashells. It was basically a gravel path comprised of all these shells and when we went to the little island they were all there too. We learned all about the culture, religion, and how they live day-to-day lives.

As we were walking through, every person thought that I spoke French and much to their dismay I only knew enough to get by. Some of the locals even thought that I was the tour guide liaison because of how I dressed and spoke. It was one of the funniest things ever. We also made our way across another bridge to the sea shell cemetery where the Christians and Islams of the island are buried. Here, we had an amazing view of the entire island. And we got chauffeured back to our original starting point via canoe. It was about a 30 minute ride and we saw so many seagulls and Pelicans. We even saw some of the sea gulls diving down to hunt for fish.  
For lunch, we went to a local restaurant where we were fed barracuda, shrimp, rice, and French fries and it was SO GOOD. They gave us so much food it took about 2 hours to finally finish it all. The description of the program made it seem like we were going to be sleeping in huts with fisherman but boy was I wrong. We ended up at this 4 star resort at the beach and it was nothing short of amazing. Good drinks, better food, and the best company!

We befriended some locals and other kids from France who were there on vacation who eneded us showing us around and taking all of us out that night. We spent most of the next day at another fishermans village where we learned more about the process of how they catch, process, and deliver all of the fish that they catch. We also saw how they make their canoes. My favorite part of the day was hanging out with all of the kids. They loved taking pictures with all of us and in return they just wanted to hang out. We kicked the ball around on the beach and played lots of tag! While it was so sad to say good bye, we left them with bracelets we had gotten so they could remember us by. Even though I was only in Senegal for a few short days, I felt like I did and saw so much. If anyone is in the area then I would definitely suggest that you stop by!

Part 3: More ship life, 10/25/16-11/1/16 
Well the 7 day trans-Atlantic voyage has definitely been interesting. Luckily I don’t have any test or projects to work on so I have been relaxing and hanging out like no other. Since we are bordering the equator the weather has been amazing and I have seen so many Dolphins! To pass by the time I have been playing so many card games and watching movies. With literally zero access to Internet out here we all downloaded movies onto our portable hard drives prior to boarding, so we have been sharing movies with each other and needless to say, I have a pretty good collection built up.

On October 28th we crossed the equator and it was the most fun we have had on the ship to date. SAS has a tradition where we are greeted by King Neptune himself and we get covered in fish guts (slime) and jump in the pool as polliwags and as we get out we leave as shellbacks and have to kiss a dead fish. 
 
It sounds weird but it was such an incredible experience. The second part of the tradition was to get your head shaved, so naturally I did it. Not only was everyone else doing it, but it was also a free haircut so I was all about it. Since we were so close to the equator we had perfect weather and spent the entire day outside. The last major thing that happened was our big Halloween party.
We celebrated on October 30th and had a big costume party on the top deck It was definitely a great way to end our 7 day Atlantic adventure.

Anyways, I just arrived in Salvador Brazil and I leave for Rio tomorrow. For more pictures go check out my Facebook! And if you wanna contact me then download the app “WhatsApp” or email me at: andrew.santiago.fa16@semesteratsea.org

Next stop—-> Salvador, Brazil.


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Don't miss the boat!
Read more from Jordan at https://suitelifeofsanti.wordpress.com/
Find your own study abroad program to hone your professional skills and enhance your resume at: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/search
If you need help getting started with study abroad, take a look at this: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/index.php