GHANA- DAY ONE

Back on the ship.

 Leaving this port has been an entirely different experience from the last two.

            On the ship we have an expression called "Jumping the ship". There are lots of stories of past students here on SAS in past voyages having such influential experiences in certain countries of port that they "jump the ship"—meaning they don't go back on the ship and just stay in that country. What happens after that, I don't know, maybe they stay for a few months and volunteer, maybe they stay for good. When I heard these stories I laughed to myself and thought whoaaaa no way! But, while I was in Ghana, the thought of jumping the ship seriously went through my mind. I gotta tell you, leaving this country was a very hard experience. The past two ports I was bummed to have to leave but come departure time I found myself eating dinner with friends laughing, sharing stories, and then eventually talking about the next destination. This time, I found myself sitting on the top deck all alone. I watched in awe as the land that I grew to love over the past week got further and further away. So many thoughts went through my mind, and I felt a deep sadness and desire to return.

            On Monday morning I was awoken at 5:30 am to bangs on my door and yells in the hallway. My RD (resident director—we call them RA's at school), Chris made it his mission to be sure that everyone in our hall got a wake up call to go see the sunrise and the ship approach Ghana. I jumped out of bed ready and excited, brushed my teeth, didn't even change, and ran outside. I got upstairs to the observation deck on the top floor in the front of the ship. I looked out and I saw lots of ships and boats around me…after being in the Atlantic for 9 days and not seeing anything else, this was pretty exciting. Then, in the distance I saw it…Africa! I just pictured us on a map and could not believe that I was actually going to be in this land that we hear so much about in just a few short hours. It was a foggy morning—we later learned that this is because it is currently Ghana's dry season. This port looked extremely different from Brazil and Dominica. Dominica was filled with beautiful nature, mountains, and brightly colored homes and buildings. Manaus, in Brazil was a large city with high-rises surrounded by green rainforest on all sides. This port we didn't see brightly colored homes, we didn't see intense green, we didn't see high-rises and large buildings. Instead we saw simply land and a port where people stood outside, ready to pull us in. You may think this was anti-climactic…sure in a way it was, but it really was the introduction to me of what this country is like. There is little commercialism and things like expensive paved roads and state of the art buildings…they just don't exist here, it's a totally and completely different way of life.            

            At home, our lives revolve around time. Time determines when we wake up, and when we go to class or work, a bell, or alarm, or whistle means so much…it's odd to think, but really we revolve around time. In Africa, the concept of time is a relatively new thing. This is because, before the development of modern civilization, most peoples attitudes towards time didn't really exist…sure they woke up when the sun came up and went to sleep when it went down, but there was no such thing as a 5:45 pm deadline. I tell you this because we were quickly introduced to "Africa time" as the locals called it. The Ghanaians are much more relaxed about time, and tend to be late…a lot. We were told to keep this in mind and try to let go of our western obsession with time. We got to the port in the last two countries, immigrations cleared us within the hour and we were off the ship by 8 or 9 am. This time, we didn't get cleared until 10:30 am. Obviously, knowing his country, Shariff (one of our locals who traveled with us across the Atlantic) anticipated this, so he put on one final show to us in the Union. Then we heard the announcement "The ship has been cleared and you are now free to go to the gangway and exit the ship!"

            I ran to my room, grabbed my bag, met some friends in Tymitz square and we made our way to the gangway. I looked outside, knowing that in just a few more steps I would be stepping onto West-African soil. It was a very anticipated first step in comparison to other countries I've visited. The first day was my day to just hang and explore so I got onto a shuttle and made my way to the city of Accra. Accra is the largest city in Ghana, and therefore the most developed. As we drove in the shuttle I looked out and saw lots of brown dirt, and women walking with literally anything and everything on their heads. Seriously, the women are so awesome, they walk around with babies on their backs and heavy bowls of bananas, buckets of water…etc balanced on their heads like it's no big deal. We got off the shuttle in Accra and I felt something I have never felt before. I know what it's like to be a foreigner; I've been to Europe, South America, and Israel. But the truth is, in all of those places, while I probably looked like a traveler due to my sneakers, backpack and camera, I didn't stick out like a "sore thumb". Just before leaving for SAS, I led a birthright group through Israel. Israel is a place that I entered as a foreigner and exited feeling like a local. In my birthright trip I really felt it, I was speaking the language, and looking like a local. I kind of got used to this feeling of being a technically being a foreigner but not really feeling it. Here, I got off this shuttle and knew that no matter what I did, I could never look like a local. This wasn't due to my lack of knowledge, inability to speak the language, or sneakers, backpack and camera (okay well those things contributed)…it was due to the color of my skin. It was the most humbling and surreal experience I have ever felt. 

            Feeling very hungry for our first Ghanaian meal, we made our way first to the atm to get some cedis (the local currency here) then to a restaurant. I ordered fried plantain and chicken. Wow was it delicious. I started feeling antsy during lunch though….I was eager to get out, away from people like me and towards those whose culture I've never experienced. I quickly realized that a group of 6 for lunch was nice, but if I really wanted to "get out there" we'd have to split up. So, myself and two other friends left the group with plans to meet up later. We made our way to M'kalah market. All we knew was that this was a market with lots of food and things to buy. What we didn't realize was that it was a very, very local market. We walked into a building and through the narrow pathway of the market. I felt every head turn and watch me as I walked past. My first paper I wrote in my class called Travel writing was about the "pains and pleasures" of travel. I made the point that the pleasures are obvious. The pains are real, true experiences that will be remembered and cherished. Those experiences are just disguised as temporary pains. I really put this theory in my paper to the test with some of my experiences in this country. Here is one: As we walked through the market, my friend, Eshley, who loves photography, took our her camera…what we didn't know was that in Accra, the locals completely disapprove of cameras and do not want pictures of them to be taken. As she took out her camera people started yelling at us. Then, it was like dominoes, stand after stand heard the yelling and joined in. At first I tried to apologize and explain that we didn't know and didn't mean to offend them…but I quickly realized that that attempt was futile in their angry states, it was better to just leave. We walked out and felt the domino effect all the way until the main street. I asked my friend to please put her camera away explaining that we need to try and be respectful of their culture. She was bummed but agreed quickly and put it away. We made our way back into another area of the market. I saw a woman selling a very interesting looking food. So, I walked up to her and asked what it was. The only response I got was "I don't want any trouble, please leave". Obviously I didn't understand but came to my own conclusion that this woman must have had a bad interaction with a white person once and now that is her perception and association with white people. I always say that when you walk around in a foreign country you're not just representing yourself, you're basically a walking billboard with your race, ethnicity and home country. The impression you make on a local will not just resonate with them as an impression of you, but an impression of all those things you represent. Clearly this woman did not have a good opinion of white people for some reason or another, so I just smiled and walked away.

             Based on what I have shared so far, you may be thinking whoa what is wrong with the people in this country. This is where I try to implement what I was talking about with the pains and pleasures. I also go back to my anthropology class I took where we discussed trying to look at another culture not as an outside. This is obviously not entirely realistic, but it means that when something happens that is weird or unacceptable to you, try to remember that it is normal for them.

             We made our way out of the market, feeling quite overwhelmed and unsure of what our next action should be. We wandered around and came across a school that was letting out at the moment. We saw tons of young boys and girls in matching uniforms. They approached us and we exchanged names and greetings. The kids were all so happy to meet us. They eagerly grabbed out cameras and snapped shot after shot. They then would all crowd around and stare in awe at the pictures of themselves. We had heard about an artists market earlier and wished to find it. We asked one of the older girls at the school if she knew where she was. She told us that she would take us there on her way home. So, we followed Eva and her little brothers with no clue where we were going. We figured it would be a quick walk and we would be there in a few moments. Then, we started walking through run-down apartment complexes and very local areas. Those hairs on the back of my neck that my dad always talks about started to raise a bit and I asked Eva where we were going. She assured me that we were fine and she knew where we were going, she had a way about her that made me feel very comfortable and I knew I was fine. Then, a minute later, we were there! I felt a little ignorant as I saw other SASers at the market and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Eva and her brothers hugged us good-bye and went home.

             My experiences in this artist market were very mixed. At times I felt like a walking dollar sign and nothing else to these people. I longed for interactions and conversations with these people and regretted the fact that to them I would only ever amount to a source of income and nothing else. But, this wasn't the case for everyone. We quickly made our way to the edge of the market. I saw a group of kids and without thinking I ran up to them. I was so happy to see all of the kids, but also so saddened. In my physiology and nutrition classes at school I have learned many times of a condition called Kwashiorkor. This is a condition that occurs when children are malnourished and have a protein deficiency. A major symptom of this condition is edema, or swelling, particularly in the belly. A little girl outside of the market ran up to me with a bulging belly my heart dropped. The concept of this malnourishment was no longer just a word and picture on a slide in my nicely air conditioned lecture hall that I wrote about on my mac computer…it was right in front of me. We played with the kids for a while, then a girl with lots of bananas being carried on her head approached us. Her name was Elizabeth. I asked Elizabeth if it was hard for her to carry all those bananas, she replied no. I asked if it was heavy and she said I should try it on. I laughed but realized she was serious so I took my hair out of it's pony-tail and got ready. She placed the contraption with tons and tons of bananas on my head and I smiled in pain. This thing was SO heavy. It was hard enough for me to keep it on my head without my neck breaking, so there was no way I was going to try and balance it. I kept it there for a bit with my hands gripping the sides of the plate so tightly.

            After giving it back to her I asked her how much a banana was, she replied 4 for 2 cedis. Two cedis is only a little over a dollar, so I bought 16 bananas. Then I walked around and gave out pieces of the bananas to the kids. Elizabeth laughed as they all nearly attacked me. I looked down and all I saw was tiny little hands all around staring up at me with excited looks in their eyes. I thought about what it takes for an American kid where I'm from to get that look in their eyes…maybe a new playstation, computer, videogame, or toy. For these kids, it was a piece or two of banana. I happily handed out the bananas, looking at the kids with Kwashiorkor thinking that for them, this wasn't just a snack. Another woman made her way over to me, Gladys. Gladys actually introduced herself as "Sister Gladys", explaining that she was a nun. She told me that all of the kids I had been playing with and handing out bananas to for the last hour were orphans, and that she tries to do what she can to take care of them. She then looked at me in the eyes, held my hand, and thanked me for playing with them and giving them treats. She told me that it really brings them happiness and she is very grateful. For a moment I felt such satisfaction with myself as I smiled and enjoyed the satisfaction of "helping". In that same second I said you're welcome I felt complete dissatisfaction. For me it was a few bucks, but for them it was such a big deal. I felt such a strong desire and responsibility to do more. I looked at these kids and saw no difference between them and the same aged kids I teach at home, except for the complete chance of being born into one home versus another. I knew that I had come and helped for a moment, but in another hour or so, I would be leaving them and returning to my life- a life very different from theirs. It was such a conflicting experience. I suddenly like a you're welcome was completely inadequate.

            I stuck around and played with the kids for another hour or so. Then, when it was time to leave, I gave Gladys a hug. She asked me if I could come back the following day. I wished I could return, but had planned trips for the rest of the week that wouldn't permit me to return. I told her I would try and she smiled and said see you soon.

             We made our way out of the market. We had planned to get into a cab and head back to where the shuttle picks us up, but this ended up taking another hour. We ran into so many friendly locals in the front of the market. They were all so eager to talk to us, and I was even more eager to talk to them. The people here just wanted to be treated with respect, a large sign of this is a hello and a hand-shake. It's funny because I say handshake, but that word in American English is not even representative of what it is in Ghana. In Ghana, the handshake involves several maneuvers and then usually the hands linger for a moment or two before splitting. Just the hand-shake is representative of how personable the people here are. I talked with person after person, discussing things like their culture, mine, religion. There is one thing that is common between ALL Ghanaians…they are all SOOO proud of their culture. When we look at Africa, we usually think about the inequality, lack of development, and poverty…the locals here have this amazing ability to look past all of that, and see just the beauty in their land…and there is a lot of beauty in it.

            Finally after a while we got into a cab and arrived at the area where the shuttle would be picking us up. We had another 2 hours before the shuttle would arrive so we grabbed some dinner. After dinner, we stumbled on an internet café. Having not used the internet, just email, for a month now it was pretty exciting. For less than 1 cedi I was able to get some internet time. I did the facebook thing…it's weird not going on facebook for a while and then getting back on. After going through all of my notifications and messages I thought to myself, how is it that I used to spend so much time on this thing, I have nothing left to do now! So I got on skype and got to hear my parents and brothers voices for the first time in a looong time. It's funny how much comfort and emotions can be raised from just hearing a voice. It was so nice to hear them and share my experiences without having to wait a day for a response via email. Then, as we exited the café I saw two white guys in shirts and ties. I approached them and read their name tags…they were missionaries and Latter Day Saints!!!! I felt such an instant comfort as I thought about my awesome family from Idaho that I miss so much!! (THAT'S YOU CURTIS FAMILY IF YOU'RE READING THIS!) I talked to the missionaries for a while. It's funny, one of them has been in Ghana for already 19 months and he really started to sound like a local…he even shook my hand like one! They told me that they were very surprised to go to Ghana, but they have really developed a love an understanding for the culture. They also told me something that I would grow to learn on my own over the next few days…that the Ghanaian people are VERY spiritual, making the missionaries jobs easier. I enjoyed talking to them so much and wished them the best of luck as we said our good-byes.

The shuttle arrived and we made our way back to Tema (the smaller town where our ship was docked). After meeting up with some more SASers at the shuttle, we decided to see what kind of night-life Tema has to offer. We walked around and saw a small little bar that was outside with a few tables and all Ghanaians inside. I looked at a friend and we knew we were thinking the same thing and walked towards the bar. We got a few drinks and spent most of the time standing and talking with locals. The people were very nice, though I have to tell you, Ghanaian men are very straight forward. Surprise Mom and Dad, I got married in Ghana!!! Just kidding…but the option was seriously there, I got more than one proposal that evening from men explaining that they want to marry a white girl.

            As it got late we decided to call it a night and headed back to our safe haven in the form of a ship for the night. The day was filled with completely conflicting and mixed emotions and I had a hard time falling asleep that night as thoughts raced through my mind. Words can't even begin to describe the intense feelings associated with seeing a place that you've learned so much about and seen so many pictures of. You find that those pictures and videos are useless once you've seen it with your own eyes. We are told things, and shown things, and sometimes it's the closest we can get. But if you get that ability to actually go out and meet the people in those pictures, what you learn is more valuable than any book, class, or documentary.

 

            If you're still reading by now you know that clearly this was just any other country for me. I can't believe I have written this much for just Day One! I'll hopefully get to days 2, 3, 4, and 5 soon!

 

Steph

You're Ghana Love It!!!

Hello all!

After 9 days at sea, in just another 8 hours I will be getting off the ship in GHANA!

             It has been a good nine days. 4 out of the nine nights we "pushed forward" an hour. It's funny because once a year during "spring forward"…you know, that one dreaded night where you have to lose an hour of sleep and everyone complains the next morning? Well, when you travel east for 9 days straight on a ship, that means lots of time zones. It also means that every time zone is an hour ahead from the past…so we have been losing an hour a night on an almost nightly basis.

            Yesterday, I had lunch with Sheriff (I have been spelling his name wrong…WOOPS!). He was telling me how at home he is also a teacher. He was also telling me how he uses his music for good things. For example, there was a major problem in Ghana in recent years with things called the Guinea worms. These worms are transferred by water and after infecting they can be deadly. Sheriff explained that he knew this problem could be solved with education, so he did what he knew how to do. He sang about it. He traveled from town to town playing shows for free. As he gained popularity and credibility, his music became more powerful and made more of an impression. Now, the national problem with these worms has been reduced dramatically thanks to people like Sheriff. I have talked about him quite a lot, he has really inspired me…if you want to check out his music, you can!

www.itunes.com/sheriffghale 

            Tonight we had our "pre-port seminar" that we always have the night before getting to a port. We are told what is safe, what is not, what to eat, how to stay healthy, and lots of other important information. I was surprised by how funny the pre-ports are. All of our supervisors have such a good sense of humor. We were laughing half the time. At the end, there was a movie put together where they showed lots of pictures of people kissing the fish on Neptune Day. As I was watching the video and laughing hysterically and thinking of my own experience of kissing that fish, I thought to myself "Wow, this is the WEIRDEST (and best) study abroad program EVER!"

            While I am in Ghana: The ship is porting a town called Tema, about 18 miles west of it is a larger city called Accra.

Tomorrow: I am leaving the ship with some friends and going into the city of Accra. We plan on seeing a couple of interesting sounding historical sights and just exploring the city…WE'RE GOING TO BE IN AFRICA OMG!!! Tomorrow evening we will either stay in a hostel, or go back to the ship after some dinner and hanging out…don't worry mom and dad, if we go back at night we are in a group of 6 with 3 strapping young men who will protect us haha.

 

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: I signed up for a home-stay organized by a Ghanain who has been organizing trips for SAS each year they come. I have heard amazing things about this man from past SASers. We are going to be traveling up north and doing hikes during the day, village visits, orphanage visits, seeing monkeys, swimming…etc. I will be with about 20 other SASers. I think this will be a really great experience. I'm so excited to be hanging out with a local and staying in a local village. We will be dropped back off at the ship on Thursday evening, so I will likely be heading back into Accra that night to hang out with friends and see more of the city.

 

Friday: I am going on an FDP (field directed program) that is led by two of my professors (Professor Bass of Travel Writing and Professor Parrot of Technology and Reproduction- A Global Perspective). The name of the FDP is "Women's Health and Childbirth Practices in Ghana. This is the description given about it:

 

Like most developing countries, Ghana is faced with a host of issues related to

women's health and childbirth. Some of these issues include access to pre- and post-

natal healthcare, and cultural, religious and traditional beliefs and values.

 Visit a local hospital and meet with one of its resident gynecologists. This interactive

meeting will focus on common birth practices, issues surrounding childbirth and

women's health and other related topics. There are vast differences in beliefs about

childbirth and childcare practices cross culturally, and close examination of maternal

health, childbirth and infant mortality and nutrition are critical to the understanding

of both the rhetoric and reality of social justice for women and children in Ghana.

Please note: Box lunches will be provided from the ship.

I'm really excited for this one. I know that it will be extremely educational.

It is now almost 2 am and I am waking up to see the sunrise and the ship dock in about 4 hours (woops). So, I'm going to get to sleep. I'll be sure to post when I get back, on Friday evening! Have a good week everyone! I know I'm Ghana love it (haaaaa).

Steph

I TAKE CLASSES TOO!

            I've realized that I mainly only talk about the fun and cool experiences I have here on the ship. There's nothing wrong with this, I'm so happy to be having all of these amazing experiences. But, I'm going to talk about my classes a little now…because yes, we do actually take classes…sometimes.

            Global studies is the class that everyone is required to take. It essentially is what it sounds like, studies on a global perspective. In between each port, we spend our time in this class learning about the history, culture, and everything in-between of the country we are headed to next. It's really nice because now, as I get ready to arrive in Ghana in just two more days, I feel must more educated and ready. The class is taught by Alex Nalbach—he has a Ph.D in European and World History from the University of Chicago. He is really very passionate and truly knowledgeable about what he does. Also, as someone who has had many classes that take place in large lecture halls with boring old power-points, his lectures are anything by that. He includes videos, sounds, pictures, and cool colors. For example, today we were talking about the concept of asymmetric warfare. This is when one side has a significant advantage due to technological advances and such. After talking about this he said for example and then a video came up. For all you Indiana Jones fans like myself, you will appreciate this one—it was the clip where the man takes out a sword and does lots of tricks in preparation for a fight and Indi just looks at him blankly, takes out his gun and shoots him.

            My other class on A days is called Technology and Reproduction, a global perspective. This class is taught by a very, very quirky, and fun professor named Andrea Parrot. Andrea got her Ph.D from Cornell and has been teaching there for 30 years. At Cornell she teaches Human Sexuality to the medical students. Her professional work impresses me SO much—she's worked in areas like violence against women, medical ethics. She has written books and has appeared on radio shows and TV shows like Good Morning America, Larry King Live and even OPRAH! She is extremely knowledgeable in her field. Andrea is also hilarious…in our cabins we all have tiny little TV's that show on loop movies that teachers request their students to watch. Well, our professor walked into class the other day and said that she really wanted to watch TV, but when she turned it on, all there was to watch was sad documentaries about the Rwandan genocide and things of this sort (I had to watch that movie for a class…it was really sad). So, she asked us to come up with a list of happy movies that have to do with reproduction that she can ask to be shared on the TV…we came up with Knocked up, Baby Mama, and Juno, to start. She's also shared with us some of the projects she has done in the past. One of them was really amazing, she and some students were discussing the issue with female menstruation in developing African nations. Menstruation is kind of taboo in our home, so excuse my impolite-ness. In the states, women don't have to worry about it when they have their period…sure it's a pain, but we have tampons and pads and things to take care of the problem. In developing nations, when women are menstruating, they don't have the same type of tools that we have and a lot of times young women have to stay home from school for the week and end up missing out on a lot of class. So, my professor and some of her students got the idea together and sent lots of care-packages to young women in developing African nations containing washable pads and clothes. In class we talk about all sorts of things and Andrea has a really amazing way of taking taboo, uncomfortable topics and making it seem like we're talking about going to the mall. One day in Ghana, I will be going on a "Field Directed Program" with this professor. We will be visiting a women's childbirth clinic for the day. I will be sure to talk about my experiences there, but from my professors experience, we are expecting to see some conditions that would never be acceptable in the US, and as a class we are discussing ways that we may contribute and help out this place we will soon be visiting

            The next class I am taking is probably my most challenging and also favorite. As most of you probably know, I have been pretty much only taking science classes for the last two and a half years, so let's just say that my creative writing side has diminished a bit. So, I decided, what a better environment and opportunity to work on this issue and take a class called "Travel Writing." This class is taught by Margaret Bass—she is a Professor of English at St. Lawrence University. She also has a Ph.D in English. Professor Bass is one of the most unique and awesome people I have met on this ship. She is so funny, just the other day she was telling us how she's going a bit stir crazy sitting on this ship, so, she told everyone at her dinner table that she was going to the mall after dinner and pretended not to understand when they looked at her blankly and laughed. I really like the style of writing that we are learning about in class. She gives out assignments in class that most college students absolutely hate…she says "Okay, 3 pages (more or less) due next class."…okay but what are we supposed to write about Professor Bass? We all say. She answers, "I dunno."…Okay but what tone are we supposed to write in, and can we write in first person, and can it be informal?  She then stares at us and goes "Doesn't matter!" You may be thinking, how awesome is that!? You can do whatever you want!...But really, college students like being told what to do, knowing what to do means that if  you do it, and you do it well, you are guaranteed a good grade. So, the not knowing is a little scary, and definitely a new experience, but honestly, it is refreshing. Writing in this style has been a new and exciting experience for me. Earlier in the week I went to the writing center here on the ship and got lots of good help and advice. I'm also really enjoying being able to write about things that I find interest in and enjoy. We have been reading a book for class called "Life is a Trip." This story is written by a woman, Judith Fein, who was a true world traveler and in the book she is sharing some of her most important experiences. One of the things she said really stuck out to me and sort of summed up the way I feel a lot of the time. The writer had been in Mexico and staying with a woman named Ana that called herself a "healer"…Ana had been teaching the writer about her ways. After returning home, the writer's friends got wind of her new found healing abilities and after a few times of doing it, the writer, Judith (who by the way was raised Jewish) said:

I was raised in a specific culture with a particular religion. Although the formal practice and observances never called to me, my background provided me with an ethical, moral, and spiritual foundation and a firm connection to my ancestors…from a village in Ukraine all the way back to the foremothers and forefathers in the Hebrew Bible. I honored my lineage but I also longed to know more about other peoples' traditions and ways of being in the world.

 

I really appreciated this quote…

 

Judith also said something later on that made me think of my Dad, and made me very happy. Now, the business world can be regarded as completely greedy, selfish and heartless. Judith was talking about her time in Istanbul and how she stayed at ah hotel that was previously the home of the owner of the hotel. She explained that the owner cared so much about all of his guests, knew them all, and never stopped showing his care. She said:

 In a world of bottom lines and spreadsheets, this one man [the owner, Abe] reminds us that a business can do well by doing good things for people. In a sense, you can take good will to the bank because people are drawn to establishments where they feel nurtured and cared for.

 

This reminded me of my business, yet amazingly giving father- David.

My last class is called Multiculturalism and Women's Rights. My professor is named Donna LeFabvre. She is a lecturer in Political Science at UNC Chapel Hill. She has done lots of volunteer works in places like Eritrea (a small country in east Africa) and volunteer work in Iceland, Tanzania, and England and this is her third SAS voyage!!! She has a LOT of experience and really knows what she's talking about. She's also a realist and I really appreciate that. Today in the US it's become so expected of us to pick a career path and follow it and hopefully be successful. For people like myself who aren't entirely sure what they want to do, it's really stressful to have people with this mindset constantly asking you questions about your future. The first day of class, Donna told us, don't plan more than two years in advance- you never know what type of opportunity is going to come your way, so embrace whatever happens in your life and don't be too worried about knowing what you'll be doing in 5 or 10 years…it'll work out. I really appreciated her saying this. We are learning about some really important and intense things. As we approach Africa (ONE MORE DAY AHH!) we spent the last class discussed female genital mutilation. If you are not familiar with this I encourage you to go look it up because I'm not going to go into details here, but the title is pretty self-explanatory. We watched a film that was extremely graphic and showed this act. It was so graphic and disturbing (for people like us) that many got up and left the classroom. As it was ending a girl behind me stood up and I looked at her with worried eyes, I could tell she was affected more than others. Then, she did exactly what I had anticipated, she fainted. The doctor came immediately and she was fine and standing, talking, and laughing at herself within 10 minutes, but it was scary at first. We finished class and there were a few things I couldn't get out of my mine. Our reactions to the movie were so extreme and intense, and all I could think about was the fact that not one of the women in the documentary had a reaction remotely like ours…this is their harsh reality. The thing about the documentary that affected me the most was the fact that not a single man was seen in it, The operation was done by women (keep in mind when I say operation I mean with unsanitary supplies and outside on a cloth) and the woman getting the operation was willing and ready.  It's pretty crazy to believe that this tradition is accepted and normal for these women. It is completely due to false beliefs and lack of education. Us westerners know how harmful and bad for your health this can be. So, solving this problem really starts from the ground roots because it will take not just going in there and explaining that it's bad, it will also take changing their cultural norms and beliefs, which is very hard to do. Although, there is hope, we learned of a couple organizations that have been very successful in their efforts to denounce FGM in African countries so far.

           

…By the way. Right now I am sitting in a "pre-port session" where we sit around with the Ghanains and ask them questions about their culture, what's acceptable? What's not? What should we eat? How much money is a normal meal?....stuff like that. One girl just stands up and goes…What's the deal for the girls that shaved their heads? Everyone laughed so hard…only on Semester At Sea!

 

Anyways, there you go, I AM getting an education…and a GREAT one too.

 

I will write tomorrow before departing for Ghana on Monday!!!

 

Steph

Crossing the Atlantic...SAS Style

             This week on the ship has gone by faster than I could have imagined. Earlier in the semester I signed up for a program called "Big Brother, Big Sister." A lot of the professors, Dean's and other staff members on the ship have children here. On Monday, I met my new little sister!! Her name is Laura and she is 8…about the same age as the kids I teach at Temple Micah at home so this made me very happy! Her Dad is Staurt Sanders, The Assistant Executive Dean. He is also the guy whose voice we hear on the loud speaker as we hear him make witty funny comments and announcements at mid-day and evening. Laura is one of 4, she has an older sister and two younger brothers. The family is from Texas and they are very, very sweet. The first night she and I had dinner and got ice-cream and hung out for a bit. I look forward to hanging out with her and her family more and more these next couple months.

            On Tuesday night I went to hear our Ghanian musician, Shareef, speak. He explained the problems in his country and a lot of the things that they have began to overcome in recent years. He told us how music is the best way he feels he can contribute, he said 

"The arts are a medium of expression and the greatest gift I have. It helps me defeat poverty and all kinds of situations because this is how I can express myself." 

            He told us that he draws a lot of his inspiration from Bob Marley and then proceeded to play a tribute to Bob Marley. He played songs like "No Sister No Cry" and all other classics for a little over an hour. Everyone was completely mesmerized. Shareef is truly talented and his genuine passion and love for what he does is so clear to anyone who gets the privilege of meeting him and seeing him. He is also extremely unaware of his talent, mid-way through the performance he seemed very flustered and said something along the lines of "I…I hope I'm not deceiving you, you make me feel like I am better than I am." We all just cheered even louder than before as to let him know that he really is that great. At one point Shareef began to sing the song "No More Trouble".  He inserted the word Africa in places and sang the words "We don't need no more trouble, what we need is love. What we need is love to guide and protect us all." It sounds weird and it's hard to express…I've heard other people say and sing these words before, but hearing them from someone who has spent their whole life in West Africa was a new experience to say the least. It was clear that everyone was very touched by his performance and we all really appreciated it.

            Wednesday morning I was awoken to the sounds of drums and bangs on my door. "Stephanie, Laura, WAKE UP!!!!!!" Then on the loud speaker I heard "Arggggg, Ello all you Polywaaags, get up and come to the seventh deck!" Everyone proceeded upstairs, half awake, confused, and excited. Apparently it is a tradition for young sailors to be hazed and undergo some sort of initiation the first time that they cross the equator. Here on the ship they call that day, "Neptune Day!" I know I talk a lot about how this community is unique, but once again…only here do you see your Executive covered in green paint, wearing a toga, lots of jewelry and a carrying a trident. He and his wife sat on the deck by the pool and said a few words to us "Polywags". Then we were told that in order to move from the status of a polywag to a shellback we had to get slimed, jump in the pool, kiss a fish, and both of their rings. By now most everyone should know that I HATE fish. I like to look at them in aquariums, but I'll pass on the touching, and especially kissing…usually. I felt a sense of pride within me and definitely did not want to be a polywag forever. So, I took off my shoes and asked my friend to hold my camera. I made my way to the pool deck and stood apprehensively underneath of the slimers. I felt Green slimey water get poured all over me and I proceeded to jump in the pool. That was the easy part I though as I waited in line to get out of the pool and face the fish. Finally it was my turn, one of my professors was holding the fish (again, just showing you how funny this place is) and all I could hear was "KISS IT! KISS IT!" I'm usually not one to give into this type of peer pressure, but like I said, I was not going to be a polywag forever, so I closed my eyes and gave it a kiss. Then I kissed my Dean's ring and his wife's and was named a shellback forever. YES!

            The other main tradition of Neptune day is to shave your head. There were four seats and four hair-cutters/shavers. Guy after guy sat down with hair and got up shiny and smooth. Then, the cheers got super loud as a girl was long blond hair sat down. Every girl watched with heart-breaking, gut-wrenching feelings as we first watched her pony-tail get chopped off, and then the razor take away stand after strand. To my surprise the girl didn't look that bad after and she had a huge smile filled with panic and excitement. In the end, seven girls ended up shaving their heads!!! It's funny how regular bald people around here now are. There are even signs up around the ship saying "TIP FOR THE NEWLY BALD: Remember to re-apply sunscreen every hour if you're outside!" After a few hours of cheering, dancing, shaving heads, and kissing fish, the entire top deck of the ship was covered in human hair. Honestly, it was really pretty gross. SO, we all went down for lunch and when we came back the deck was cleaned, the pool had been drained and re-filled, and the deck was ready for laying out in the sun…hard life we have here, I know.

            The next morning we returned to our normal routine of class and meals.  That night Shareef did another event. He and our Brazilian students, Gabriel and Susi did a "Jam session" where they combined Brazilian music with African. It was very unique as we were in transit from Brazil to Africa. The two mixed very well. Gabriel and Susi are very talented and I loved hearing music in their language. Shareef completely complimented them and knew where to chime in at all the right places.

            Thursday night after the music I went up to the 7^th deck…a popular place to hang out at night. The deck is outside but there is a nice covering over half of it so you can stay out of the sun during the day if you wish. As I got up there I heard yells, ohhs and ahhs. It was raining very hard and the winds were blowing in every direction. Every few moments the sky would light up as if it were the middle of the day. It was one of those really awesome storms to watch where you could literally watch the lightening bolds spread out through the sky. All I could think about what the quote "If a tree falls in a forest and no one sees or hears it, did it really fall?" I though of this because I thought, here we were in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and we were the only ones to experience this storm…so had we not been there to see it, it would have been as if it never happened.

                        Yesterday, Friday, was another normal school day. Last night me and some friends hosted Shabbat dinner again. The kitchen was nice enough to make us two challas- which were surprisingly SO delicious, some grape juice, and we had our print outs of candles since we aren't allowed to have open flames on the ship. Last night was also the start of a program going on called "Extended family". This started at 6:00 PM, so we had to make our Shabbat speedy. It was short, but sweet and people seemed to enjoy. Extended family is a program where the life-long learners, staff, and adults on board get assigned to a group of students. My extended family is an older couple, they are life-long learners. They have had a very interesting and intriguing life, they've lived in places like Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and in the last 10 years they have spent very little time in the US. They asked us all to share a bit about ourselves. We all had a very nice dinner together and planned for our next get together.

            Afterwards, I went to hang out with my "little sister" named Laura. They were showing a movie for all of the little kids, so I sat and watched the movie with Laura to my left, and my professor for my writing class to right right- she is a very cool lady who just wanted to watch. We watched the movie "Totoro"-- a sort of anime kids film based in Japan but American made. It was a very cute story and enjoyable to watch. It's been a while since I've watched a kids movie in a room filled with kids…well, to be honest it's been since I was that age. It was so funny to hear them all laugh so hard at such simple things, get scared from such small things, and constantly say "I know what's happening", "I know where she's going!" Kids are seriously so endearing, as I spend more time with them on this ship I enjoy it more and more.

            Once the movie was over I said good-bye to Laura and went to go see Shareef's last public musical contribution. This one was a pure "Jam Session" Where students who played guitar and drums and other instruments came together and in front of all of us they all worked out some great tunes.

            Even though it is technically Saturday here, I am about to go to class. In another two days we will be arriving in GHANA!!!!!!!

Sea Swell: 10 feet. Sea Conditions: ROUGH

The title of this blog comes from our Dean's memo that we get in an email every evening. This was what was written in the memo on Sunday evening! 

            On Saturday night I went to sleep being rocked nicely by the waves. I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of objects moving around in my room, and the bathroom door that I forgot to shut swinging back and forth. I got up and realized that my sea-legs were nowhere to be found as I stumbled through the dark to close my bathroom door. That morning I woke up for my 9:20 global studies class. Usually as we walk into class there is a sign- in sheet, but it was nowhere to be found. This is the one class that every student on board is required to take, so half take it on A days and half on B days. The class is also held in a place called the Union which is in the very front of the ship. I walked in, wondering when the sign in sheet would show up. Then an announcment came on the loud speaker "due to the rough sea conditions and anticipated sea-sickness, global studies is not taking attendance and it will be show on the TV's in your cabins if you wish to stay in your room." I stayed in the union, I've come to find out that I fortunately do not get sea-sick…so that morning was like a fun roller coaster as I tried to take notes. At home we got out of class for things like snow, extreme weather, and power outages, (normal things). Here, we get out of class for sea-sickness!! The whole day professors were very lenient on attendance, and many didn't get out of bed all day. My roommate's name is Laura and she is from Nebraska, she unfortunately get's very sea-sick and was one of the students that spent the whole day in the room…I tried to check on her here and there…

             That night they shut off all internet on the ship in order to try and stream the super-bowl. There we were, having just exited the Amazon and entered the Atlantic (this is the reason the seas were so rough), on a ship, and watching some good old American football. There were a good amount of Patriots fans that were pretty devastated, and there were even more Giants fans, and honorary Giants fans like myself that were very pleased with the outcome.

            Monday, the sea conditions were pretty much the same. I thought I'd gained sea-legs before Brazil, but this was on a whole other level. Walking from place to place was a sport as I was flung from wall to the next. Meals were accompanied by the sounds of silverware and objects toppling over. At one point as I sat in the lounge I was startled by the loud sound of a big metal sign falling 

BACK TO SEA

            Before I move on to my back to sea blog I'll mention something I forgot to mention about Brazil. On Friday, our last day in Brazil, it was my Mom, Patty's BIRTHDAY! That evening as we left the port I was able to borrow a friend's international phone and call home and hear my parents voices for the only time in the last 21 days. After about two minutes of greetings, I heard my Dad, David, say "Steph, it's so nice to hear your voice!" I said you too and then the phone cut out and it was back to emails. It was short, but sweet, and really so nice to hear your voices! So, publically, Happy Birthday MA!!! Love you!

            Friday afternoon we got back on the ship! It was amazing, suddenly my tiny cabin with my twin bed seemed like a luxury suite. I took a very thorough shower for the first time that week and came out a new person. I evening staying up sharing pictures and stories with friends I hadn't seen in a few days. Later that night, it was apparent that Brazil had gotten the best of everyone. I stayed up late in order to finish my blog on Day 1 of Brazil…I wrote it in the piano longue (a popular hang-out area on the ship) and by 1 am (a time not usually considered THAT late here) I was all alone on the couch, with no one else in site…the silence felt so unnatural in this usually thriving environment.

            The sense of days of the week here really seems to disappear. I have never in my life been asked to go to school on a Saturday. Here, everyday we have between the ports on the ship counts. So, the common association that goes along with Saturday of sleeping in and no class doesn't apply here…so you can bet that that Saturday morning I was in Global studies by 9:20am. The day proceeded like normal and we got right back into the swing of class and hanging out.

            In Brazil we picked up two guys named Ricky and Shareef. They are what we call "inter-port students". Inter-port students typically fly out to meet us at the port we are in before the students home country. The students then live with us during our approach to their homes. They are really helpful in getting an "insider's" view of the country you'll soon be spending time in. One of our Ghanians, Shareef, 33, is an accomplished musician in his home country, currently pursuing a Master's in music.. That night we all met the students and Shareef put on an awesome show where he introduced some of his music to us. As I listened to him talk between song I was able to jot down a quote he said that really stuck out to me:

            "Education isn't really about going to school. It has become some kind of  norm to train you so that you can fit in and survive. I believe that education starts when you start to find out things in order to satisfy your own curiosity             and your own needs. You have questions in your mind so you find answers for yourself, not for a job, not for school, not for anyone but you. Books are great, you must read, but the greatest book you can find is your own brain, so don't forget that."

Shareef sang and played beautifully about real issues that exist in his country.

            After the mini-concert ended I stayed up speaking with some friends and the other Ghanian, Ricky. Ricky is 26 and currently pursuing a Master's in Business, more specifically tourism. I felt a bit like a reporter at first as I asked him question after question about his culture, food, people. He shared a few interesting things with me. For example, it is considered not only impolite, but almost socially unacceptable to use your left hand for anything from waving to eating to even writing. He said that the left hand is considered "dirty"…this is because in countries like Ghana, things like tissues and toilet paper aren't always as readily available, so the left hand has been adopted when making up for the lack of these things. Ricky said that in school if a young boy starts naturally writing with his left hand, the teacher would make them switch. He even warned me to never wave with my left hand because people would be offended and not want to interact further. I asked him, what happens if something happens to your right hand and you can't use it? He explained that if that happens and you need to use your left hand to do something like pass the salt, you should do it on the right side of your body with your useless right hand laying over top…this should sufficiently indicate your inability to use the right hand, and excuse your lack of manners, he explained.

            Ricky explained that he had never left west Africa before this trip. He then looked at me and said in his authentic accent that I've had to listen intently in order to understand at times "I know it's been only a few days, but I miss my country, you know?" I then sat and reflected and thought to myself, what do I miss? Well, I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss the comfort of my house, but do I miss the USA in the way that he misses Ghana? I explained my dilemma to him and he could not understand how I could miss things in my country but not necessarily the country itself. I grabbed a friend walking by and asked her "Amanda, do you miss America?" She thought about it for a second and said "Well…I miss my friends and family, but America itself? Nahhh, not really." Now Ricky was really in shock. Don't get my wrong, I love my home and the country I come from, but it doesn't have the type of rich culture and pride in that culture that these smaller countries offer. I say this as I also reflect on my times in Israel where time after time I encountered cab drivers, cashiers, and strangers on the street telling me how they could never leave their country, and encouraging me to move.

            At home I find myself constantly complaining about such little things…these people have real issues in their country and yet it appears as if they have more pride than the average American. This was so wonderful to see and really inspired me look at my home differently.

…I hope this didn't offend anyone!

As per usual I stayed up far too late picking Ricky's brains and eventually getting him to commit to showing me and some friends around when we get there, and maybe even hooking us up with a local or two to stay with! Hopefully that will all happen, and when it does I will be sure to write about it!

So much has happened in the past few days, things like storms, super-bowl in the ocean, losing an hour of sleep on a nightly basis as we cross the Atlantic, class being cancelled for sea-sickness, and NEPTUNE DAY…BUT….I'll explain that later in a future post because it is late here and my computer is about to die. Goodnight everyone!

Steph

BRAZIL DAY 4 PICS

BRAZIL- DAY 4

Our last morning in Brazil we all woke up early from the
bumping of the boat hitting the rough waters. After waking up we had a
very nice breakfast prepared by Ananji's wife as per usual. After
breakfast we got to a small village called Desana. As we were walking
up the stairs to the village I asked Ananji how he knew of all these
villages and had connections. He told me that he has lived on the
river his whole life and has simply explored and stumbled on different
places and made different connections throughout his life. It was
funny to me because I was assigned to write a paper for my writing
class and the only guidelines were "write your own interpretation of
considering Columbus." One thing that I considered writing about was
how there are no more explorers like Columbus and those times, but
Ananji made me think otherwise.

Ananji told us that these people have many rituals and
that we were going to observe some. As we got there we saw a large hut-
style looking awning. There was a man standing outside, dressed very
tribal-like. This man told us that he was he town's "healer", or as we
know it "the elder". He talked to us for a bit about their traditions
and informed us that we should come inside. As we entered there were
many more men dressed the same. Then, we saw the women. The women were
not wearing any tops and had lots of intricate drawings all over them.
They were only covered with skirts and jewelry. Their openness was a
bit overwhelming at first, they were so comfortable with their bodies…
one was even breast-feeding right there in front of us…it's so crazy
how something can be so taboo for us and so casual for them. Then,
they did a bunch of ritual dances involving lots of music and both the
men and women, and all ages. The last dance they invited us all up.

It was all a cool experience and I really enjoyed it, but
all I could think was that it was a show for us. I approached Ananji
and respectfully asked him these questions. He told me that yes, they
were putting on a show for us, but, during their real ritual
ceremonies they would be doing the same things, for over 24 hours.
After they were done we walked around and talked to the people,
naturally I made my way over to the children and started playing
games. At one point my friend and I were playing catch with a little
boy as he cackled and smiled my friend joked he's probably thinking
"why are these crazy white girls chasing me!?"

As we finished up with the indigenous people we got back
on our riverboat for one last time. We had an hour until we got to
Manaus. As we got on the boat, Ananji spoke a few words to us, telling
us how he had a great time, and would miss us, and he even gave me all
of his information…so if you're ever thinking about going to the
Amazon I have just the guy! We called out his wife and the crew and
gave them an overwhelming round of applause and tried our hardest to
show them how much we appreciated everything they did…though nothing
could ever show how much we really did appreciate it. Seeing the MV
Explorer (our ship) was bitter-sweet as we pulled into Manaus. A part
of me was SO happy to see it…it meant that I had a bed to sleep in,
and, after 4 days of not showering the shower was seeming pretty darn
nice. I looked forward to all the little things I usually take for
granted on a daily basis. The bitter part was when I thought about all
of the places we had been, Ananji and his boys Avinesh and Karish, and
his wife Carolina, Manuel, and all the other amazing people we had
met. I realized that while for us it was a 4 day experience of
"roughing it" and after 4 days we returned "home". They had been home
the whole time.

We had a few hours until we needed to be back on the ship
so a few of us set out to see a bit of Manaus. We walked around the
street markets and bought some local food. I went to a super-market
and bought 4 big bags of candies and lolli-pops to bring to the kids
in Ghana…then we said good-bye to Brazil and got back onto our
floating University.

Brazil Day 3 Pics

Blog follows after pictures!

BRAZIL- DAY 3

After a night of sleeping in the Amazon, I woke up with only about
10232901 bug bites. We hiked back to the boat and had a nice
breakfast. Then, we all got dressed to go swimming with the Amazonian
pink dolphins. Pink dolphins are really funny, they aren't like normal
dolphins…to be perfectly honest they are a lot less "pretty" than
normal dolphins. We got into the water and a few of the locals swam
around with little fish (treats for the dolphins). These dolphins were
not trained and were completely wild, they just come up to get fed! I
got to touch a few…if you've ever felt a dolphin before then you can
relate, they are the smoothest things in the world (PICTURES 1 and 2).
Also, if you know me well you know that I'm terrified of fish and sea-
life…I know it's weird. So, in the beginning I was pretty nervous and
stayed away from the dolphins that surfaced and just observed. Then,
one of the locals grabbed my hand and didn't take no for an answer, he
yanked me towards the dolphin and put my hand all over that dolphin…I
probably should have bought it dinner first or something. It was a
pretty exciting feat for the girl that's afraid of marine life. After
the dolphins we went to go see some of the most vicious fish in the
Amazon. These fish had a name I couldn't pronounce and couldn't
remember when it came time to write it down…these things were huge,
scaly, and looked like they were out of some mid-evil fictitious land.
We dangled fish from a sting and they came up and viciously ripped the
fish apart (PICTURE 3).

After a while we went back to the boat to have lunch and
a little bit of siesta (rest time). I used this time to really hang
out with our guide, Ananji and annoy him with questions. I asked him
about the school in Brazil. He told me that primary and secondary
school are free, but also optional. He told me that the problem comes
with university. In Brazil, they do not have loans like we have in the
US, so if you don't have the money to pay for University at the time,
you cannot go. Ananji explained to me that while he did very well in
high school (and I can vouch…this guy was veryyyy smart), he could not
go to University because he didn't have the money. I also asked him
about the health care where he told me that there are many people who
get sick but because they don't have the money to pay for treatment
and operations up-front, they end up slowly dying while waiting for
the money. He told me that his mother is desperately in need of an
operation and they are all working now to try and save up the money. I
also asked him about the Malaria threat in the Amazon. Everyone on our
ship is currently taking Malaria medications a we are in a threat-
zone. He told me that Brazilians do not take preventative measures
like this, and most of the time it's really not needed. He also
informed me that the threat of Malaria is higher during the dryer
season (from July to December/January). This is because during this
time, the water level is going now and the same water is sitting for
longer amounts of time, so there end up being pools where mosquitos
can "make-camp". Whereas, in the rainy season the water is constantly
rising and being replaced, so it is harder for the "pools" to form.
Ananji told me how not only has he never left Brazil before, but he
has never even been out of the Amazon, to the bigger cities of Brazil.
He told me that he is happy and proud of his home and has little to no
reason to leave. This really intrigued me since he works with
foreigners constantly you'd think he'd get curious. Basically, he is
very well informed about other cultures, knows a lot, always continues
learning, but is very content in his home. I asked him if he enjoyed
showing us foreigners around, and he said that it is the best thing he
could ever do and that he loves sharing his unique land and culture.
The sense of pride in the people in all of these countries is so
special and admirable…living in such a large country with such a mix
of people, we don't get that as much in the US.

After lunch and siesta we went piranha fishing. We got
into smaller power boats and grabbed our sticks with fishing string
and a hook attached (PICTURE 4). One person asked Ananji,
"hypothetically what happens if a person falls in". He responded by
saying something that I'm very happy I hadn't known earlier…he said
"you know where you swam with dolphins earlier? That area was infested
with piranha, piranha are EVERYWHERE in the Amazon!" He then told us
that they do not typically approach or attack humans and that is why
there's no reason to be afraid. I threw my hook with the bait attached
into the water, feeling so excited to catch a piranha…well, I've never
been fishing before and quickly learned that it's not as exciting as
you may thing. We did a lot of waiting. Then, after a scorching hot
day with clear skies and therefore no rain-jackets, we saw the storm
clouds moving in. We took the boat under some trees into a more
surrounded area…then the rains came. This was definitely one of those
moments where I at first thought to myself "Wow, this will be a cool
story one day, but right now, I want it to be over." The rain came
down harder and harder and we were all completely drenched and the
little boat was filling up with water. Again, this turned out to be
one of those times where I was wrong and actually ended up enjoying
myself. We all looked to the skies and just embraced the nature and
laughed. Afterwards our boat caught two piranhas and a catfish! I
didn't catch anything myself, which I was kind of bummed about, but
realized that it's probably better that way because had I caught
something, the second I pulled it out of the water I probably would
have gotten scared and freaked out.

We returned to the river-boat to change into warmer and
dryer clothes and then got back on the little canoe-boats. We were
sitting on our smaller canoe boat looking up at Ananji's wife and sons
and started cheering for his sons, asking them to come along. At first
they completely dismissed us, but after some good old American peer
pressure they were stepping down into the canoe-boat. I got to sit
next to Ananji's seven year old son, named Karish. I tried my hardest
to communicate with Karish, smile and make him feel comfortable by
moving him from the outside of the canoe to the middle seat between
myself and my friend Shelley. It was evening time by now so we rode
around in the dark with just Ananji's flashlight and the moon as our
light sources. Ananji looked around and eventually took us into a bit
of marsh. He leaned out of the front and we all sat quietly, nervously
waiting. Then, he stood up with a live Cayman in hand. I guess Emanuel
was not the only Bas-A#*, here Ananji had just caught one with his
bare hands also. He told us all about the Cayman, how people in the
Amazon eat them sometimes. He also told us that the Cayman's skin is
used a lot, but only a small part of their body contains the type of
desirable skin. He also showed us something that I have deemed
insanely "Darwin-like"- the Cayman have two eyelids that open
horizontally, one for seeing under water, and one for seeing above
water. How COOL is that!? Ananji said that we could hold the Cayman if
we wished, at first I was of-course nervous but like a true Brazilian
he grabbed my hand and forced me to hold the thing. It was really cool
feeling and I suddenly felt a LOT of pressure to not drop it. My
friend took a picture of me holding it on her camera and as soon as
she sends it to me I will post it.

On the way back to the river-boat I looked down at
Karish (Anan's 7 year old) and pointed at his necklace and smiled and
told him I liked it…just trying to be nice and interact. Then, after a
few more minutes I felt a small tap on my shoulder, I looked down and
there was Karish holding his necklace in his hand and extending his
hand towards me smiling. I just laughed and smiled, and couldn't
believe that a cute little 7 year old who in theory is supposed to be
selfish was trying to give me his precious necklace…just to be nice. I
told Ananji that his son was clearly his son, so giving and generous.
I put on the necklace and took off my bracelet to give to Karish in
return. He looked at me with a disgusted face and told me he didn't
like the bracelet…woops! I laughed more and say okay. I wore the
necklace for the rest of the night and then made him take it back,
telling him that it was his but I was touched.

We returned to our river-boat and had a great dinner with
chicken, rice, and lots of good flavor. Then, Ananji and the crew made
us some authentic Brazilian drinks called Kapirinahs. These are made
by placing a lot of chopped pieces of lime in a glass, then squashing
the limes, placing a spoon full or so of sugar and then filling the
rest of the cup with rum. Ananji said that after one Kapirinah you
feel good, 2- great, 3- excellent, and 4 suddenly you speak fluent
portugeuse. I only had two so I guess I'll never know how good my
portugeuse really is. We all hung out and talked and then went to
sleep on our trusty hammocks. We needed to travel a good amount by the
morning so that we could do our last activities and get back to our
ship in time, so at about 4 am the engine started and we began moving
again. A storm hit around that time and we played what I call "bumper-
hammocks". From 4 am on I didn't get to sleep much because of all the
swinging and bumping, but hey, I got to see the sunrise!

BRAZIL DAY 2 PICS!

Text follows after the pics!