MANY BLOGS BELOW, READ ON!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
MAURITIUS!!
If you've been keeping up with my blog then you know the ups and downs that we've had with Mauritius thus far. Initially we were meant to spend a whole day in the small island. Then, due to the mean cyclone and Mr. Poseidon, we had to change our path and reduce our speeds, causing us to not get to Mauritius until over 12 hours later than planned. Therefore, we were going to just stop for re-fueling and get back on our way. Well, after a lot of hard work from some really awesome people, we were given from 8am to 12pm to see as much of the island as humanly possible in 4 short hours.
On Tuesday evening we had our usual mandatory pre-port that we have before arriving in every country. This one was a bit abbreviated since we have such an abbreviated time there, but it was full of more appreciation, spirit and laughter than any other previous pre-port. I went up to the observation deck around 10pm to see us pull into port. It was an interesting change from the usual morning arrival. Yesterday, Wednesday morning I awoke at 5:30 am and ran up to the top deck to watch the sunrise. The island reminded me a bit of Dominica, it is a volcanic island with absolutely beautiful beaches and mountains protruding behind them. I watched the sun come up over a mountain called the "thumb". This is a popular hike, a hike I had originally thought about doing when we were scheduled to have the whole day out there. The general consensus from the student body about what to do was to go to a beach about 20 minutes away from where the ship was docked. At the pre-port we were warned against the use of alcohol as it was clear that many planned on get off the ship and start drinking.
While excessive drinking and laying on a beach at 9am do sound ever-so enticing, I chose to forgo the chance for alcoholism and did something else. That morning after watching the sun-rise, I had breakfast and waited for the ever-so-loved announcement we all wait to hear in the morning of every port...you know the we've cleared immigrations and the gangway is now open one!? Well, this time it happened earlier than anticipated, and we were luckily off the ship by 7:30 am!
Myself, a friend named Rheanna, and Brandon jumped on a water-ferry that picked us up right at the port and headed into town. Rheanna is junior studying in California but originally from Trinidad, and Brandon is a really awesome gap-year student from Minnesota that's headed to Stanford next semester. We planned ambitiously for our 4 and a half hours. We started out by heading to the market. The market had lots of awesome fresh-produce and smells. In Mauritius they speak mainly French and Creole. I joked that I should have known that I would be in Mauritius one day for 4 hours and would need French so I should have known to take French instead of Spanish in middle-school. I learned some basic phrases and was sure to use them on anyone who was patient enough to listen. On the way into the market we saw a bunch of students in uniform headed to school. I asked them what the name of their school was. When we got into the market I was sure to follow up on it and ask some of the vendors. The people in the market were different from previous countries…they aren't so used to foreigners there, so they didn't look at us as an immediate source of income, instead they asked us what we were doing there and were happy to help with directions and advice. The three of us all either work with kids at home or plan to work with kids in the future, so the idea of going to a school sounded awesome.
We left the market and walked in the direction we were told to go in. After walking for about 10 minutes we stumbled on a mosque. We saw lots of people going in and out. We stood outside for a few moments just peering in, not sure if we should enter or not. Then, a clearly Muslim man waved us in with a smile. Rheanna and I took out our scarves, covered our shoulders, took off our shoes and entered. We spoke with a man named Joseph for a while, he told us that the mosque was 160 years old. This place was really beautiful, the area for washing was covered only by a huge tree that was older than the mosque itself. We weren't allowed into the actual prayer rooms but we did get to peer inside and observe from a distance. Joseph then called out the President of the mosque.
Out came an older man called Nassarah. This man was SO excited to see foreigners that were interested in his religion. He told us that he had been going to the mosque since he was 5 years old, and has been the president for 7 years now. We hadn't planned on staying there long, but Nassarah had so much to say, and none of us had the heart, or really the desire to cut him off. He explained that the culture of Islam gets so mis-represented in places now-days. So, he showed us a few books and lines from the Quran that acknowledge familiar prophets like Jesus, Abraham, and Moses, as well as lines that condemn violence and wrong-doing. He did not know what types of faith we all had…nor did it matter to him, he wanted to talk about his, and we were eager to learn. At one point he talked about those Muslims that misrepresent his people. He followed up by saying that instead of dropping physical bombs they show drop bombs of love. We all laughed, smiled, and agreed. At one point we asked him what he saw as the most important thing in life. He explained that we are all born the same…humans, and as humans we should try to live our lives to the best of our abilities while being the best that we can be. He said one thing that I really liked, he explained that "we should live our lives with love and sincerity".
During our time in the mosque, I had a moment that I kept to myself, but felt very strongly. I have grown up in a Jewish house-hold with strong Israeli connections. During the second intifada every day I was told about x-amount of new bombings and killings as we held our breath and waited to make sure loved ones were okay. The time I spent in Israel I made lots of friends that were born and raised there and I learned quickly that death was not a foreign subject to them, at all…they all know people, friends, loved-ones that have passed away either defending their country from it's many oppressors or just on a routine trip to the grocery store where an extremist pressed a button and in seconds changed the lives of many forever. I read a book recently on the ship about a woman from a Palestinian village in the West Bank that was a victim of an honor killing. This means that she had done something wrong in her culture (in her case she fell in love with a man and spent time with him outside of wed-lock) so her family made a collective decision to kill her as an "honor-killing". This is a terrifying custom that occurs much more than any of us can imagine. Luckily this woman, Souad, survived the attack and was rescued by a humanitarian worker that brought her to Europe. Souad explained in her book that after 30 years of living in Europe and learning a completely new way of life, she still carries some things with her that she wishes she wouldn't. For example, she explained that her whole life she was taught to hate Jews and to be afraid of them. She then talks about a Jewish butcher on her block (in Europe) that is the best butcher in town, she knows this and acknowledges it, but she won't go there alone because she still carries with her some of that fear that was so much ingrained in her. Her shear honesty throughout the book was admirable and relatable. She acknowledged that she knows there's no reason to be afraid, and some things are just hard to let go of. I have been raised to accept all other people in the world…but without knowing, I developed a secret bias against Muslims due to the things I'd seen my whole life. When on my gap-year in Israel I realized my problem and tried to combat it. This man really reminded me just how much a few bad people can misrepresent a people as a whole…This is one of the reasons I strive to make a good impression on people in these countries, because as an American, I am representing Americans as a whole. Nassarah reminded me of the good people around the world. Like Souad, some things have been accidentally learned, and it's hard to let go, but Nassarah really helped me to do so. By just looking at Nassarah you could tell how much love and passion he had for his life-style. He even mentioned that he was late for his job, but the opportunity to share his faith and values with people like us was more important than a few extra dollars he could have been making at the time.
We exchanged contact information and told him that we would definitely be in touch. Then, after asking him about the school we'd heard about, he told us he'd walk us there. Well, is it on the way for you? The answer to that question was clearly no, but he wouldn't take no for an answer…he was going to walk his guests to their next destination. When we got to the school we shook hands, bid-farewell and thanked him for all his time and the knowledge he so graciously shared.
We arrived to a place called "London College". This was a secondary school (middle school) not a college. It was built in a "C" shape, with the classrooms located right there on the outside. We walked in and some guards asked us what we were doing, we told them we wished to go to the office and speak to the administration. So, they directed us in the right direction. We went upstairs and got to the non-air conditioned office with our bags, cameras, and sweaty selves. One of the administrators sat us down and asked us lots of questions. What are you doing here? Where are you from? What do you want to do here? How did you hear about our school? What can we do for you? After a lot of explaining, we got the point across that we were all University students from different countries and states in the US studying in different Universities, traveling around the world by ship that happened to stop in Mauritius for 4 hours…and that the three of us wanted to come see a school during our time there…I mean come on it's NOT that hard! We laughed at how odd a concept it must have sounded to them, but they tried their hardest to understand. After 10 minutes of answering questions, we were told that the Principal would be willing to see us.
Ironically, the principal was retired and unfortunately ill, so he didn't usually spend his days at the school in his office any longer. But, on this day, he happened to be in the office for only a few hours, and those hours turned out to be while we were there! So, we walked into a larger, air-conditioned room where an older man named Harold Chan Lam sat at a desk that seemed larger than him. The room had tons of pictures and certifications hung up all over the place. We sat down in front of him and more-or-less went through the same questioning that we'd just had. We answered. When he realized that we were all University students from the US that were genuinely interested in the education system in Mauritius, he smiled and welcomed us. He explained that he loves the US, his two sons did University in NY and his daughter decided to forgo her full scholarship to Columbia in order to go to the London School of Economics. Harold told us that he was 73 and started the school when he was 27 years old. He told us all about his father, and even got choked up at a point as he explained I am what I am today because of my father. He said that he had always wanted to open a school, and it started out as a small building with 20 students, which today flourished as a four floor building with 1400 students. Harold explained his love for education, and what he does. He gave us each a "45th anniversary" edition of the Souvenir magazine for London College. In the book there are letters from all sorts of important, influential people, even the President of the Republic of Mauritius is quoted saying "The college has asserted itself as a reputable one, whilst gaining the confidence to staff, parents, and students." And "I would like to convey my best wishes of success to one and all at the London College." (*reminder: college is secondary school (middle school) in Mauritius)
As I read the letter in the book from the Principal, Harold Chan Lam, I read some words that he had told us in person earlier that day:
"I want my 'children' to achieve the vision to which I have dedicated my life: 'aim towards excellence not only in your studies but in whatever projects or activities in which you are involved.' Do not let our present achievements stop you from stiving harder. Together we shall continue to move forward. Long life to London College"
Harold told us that guests were very rare and he appreciated our interest and concern with his school. He even called in all of his main administrators to take a formal picture with us so that it may be featured in the next "souvenir magazine".
After about 30 minutes of talking with Harold, learning about his life and gaining lessons and knowledge from him, we asked if we could see a class. He said of course! We all decided to go to separate classrooms. Rheanna went into an accounting class, Brandon went into an economics class. I saw chemistry on the chalkboards of one classroom and excitedly asked the woman escorting us if I could go into that one. The teacher smiled and said that the class was taking an assessment and that she was sorry. Instead, I ended up in an art class!
When I entered the classroom, all of the students stood up and spoke together as they said "welcome". I introduced myself to the teacher and the class. I told the teacher I didn't want to disturb her lesson so I sat down next to a girl named Monique and listened to the lesson. Harold had told us how rare it was to have visitors, especially American…I really believed this when one of the administrators came into the classroom and took pictures of me interacting with the kids. In the previous countries we were always the one's taking the pictures, so it was an interesting role-reversal to be the one being photographed.
Their teacher, Josi, switched back and forth between English and French and explained how to make their drawings appear 3-Dimensional. I looked around at the students and was SO much reminded of myself during middle-school. I remember sitting in art class, having little interest, wanting to talk to my friends around me, but trying my hardest to pay attention and be respectful. The atmosphere in the classroom was one of clear mutual respect. The students were quiet and paid attention, but were clearly comfortable with their teacher as there was constant smiling, jokes made, and laughter heard on my part. At one point Josi gave them time to work on their drawings. I used that time to walk around the classroom and talked to different students. After some time it sort of turned into a question and answer session where the class asked about me and I answered. They wanted to know how old I was, what the US was like, what I was doing in Mauritius, what I was studying. The students told me that they had never met anyone from the US before, so naturally they asked me for my full name so that they may add me on facebook. I figured I had nothing to lose and gave it to them. Then, after quickly asking Josi first, I asked if they would like to have "pen-pals" in the US. They all nearly jumped out of their seats in excitement. I told them that I would try very hard to arrange that for them when I got home so that they may have more than one friend in the US. One very ambitious young lady asked me if she could have a boy pen pal that was 14 and not 13 (her current age). I laughed and told her I would try.
I spent some time talking with Josi. She told me that she had been teaching art at the London College for 35 years. I asked her a question with an obvious answer, but I wanted to see her reaction and response. I asked her do you love what you do? She didn't even have to say anything as I could see the look in her face explained it all. She responded by saying 35 years! I couldn't do this for 35 years if it weren't what I loved to do. I felt like I was listening to Golda from Fiddler on the Roof answer to Tevya's question of "do you love me" with "for 25 years I've washed your clothes, raised your kids, cooked your food." It was the same idea, and it's true, no one could do that kind of work, whether it's taking care of someone or teaching a bunch of 13 year olds for that long, if they didn't love it. I looked at my watch and realized that it was already 11:00 and we needed to be back on the ship by 12. We had walked quite a lot and taken a water taxi to get to where we were, so I knew we should head back. I said good-bye to the class, hugged Josi and told them I would be in touch.
I got back down to the office. I told one of the administrators that we'd been with earlier that I was going to go get my friends from their classes because we needed to get going. She looked at my like I was silly and said well, of-course we're giving you a ride back to your ship! The way she said it almost made me feel dumb for thinking for a second that they'd just let us walk right out. Rheanna and Brandon met me shortly, and we were greeted with juice boxes and snacks from the office. We all stood around for a few more moments, exchanged emails and information, and said our final thank-you's and goodbye's. This was a place where for one of the first times I felt like my presence was just as valued as was my appreciation for being able to be there. I kept thinking what would happen if 3 foreigners showed up to a middle-school in the US unannounced? Well, they would probably immediately be considered creeps, be thrown out and told to try and make an appointment. Here, we were welcomed with wide open arms!
Saying good-bye was truly difficult. I imaged, wow, if we were here for another week I would come back here everyday. If we were here even for a few more hours I'd have the opportunity to stay longer, learn more. But, I was so grateful for the time we had. I have no idea what the future holds for me, but if it involves a visit to the London College in Mauritius at any point in my life I would be very pleased. If not, I know that thanks to modern technology, and the long list of email addresses I was given, I will be able to stay in touch.
Mauritius was the least anticipated port for me. Most everyone I talked to from past voyages told me that it was a place to see beautiful beaches and have a couple drinks. Especially with only 4 hours I didn't really expect much. So, it's safe to say that I was blown away by the experience I did have. The impression that was left on me was surprising and will always be cherished.
I mentioned in my previous blog that at every port we have an optional reflection session and in the beginning we start by going around and saying our names and a word that sums up your feelings of your experience. Well, I've narrowed it down to two words. Sincerity- Every single person I talked to, even those we asked for quick directions on the street from, were so sincere in their answers and genuinely happy to help. Welcoming- From people in the market, to Nassarah, to Harold, to Josi and the kids, these people did not question our intentions once…they brought us into their lives, for the short amount of time we had, with such excitement and eagerness and they left such an incredible impression on us. It was so clear after only 4 hours that the people of Mauritius are good people that just want to see good things happen. Honestly, oasis got a whole new meaning in my mind as it went from just an image of palm trees, beaches and coconuts, to a place with all those things but more importantly good people that are excited about their country, however small it may be.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
SOUTH AFRICA- DAY 6...Goodbye Africa :(!
One popular attraction in South Africa is Shark diving. The last morning in Cape Town I had a lot of friends that wanted to do this activity. Well, if you know me, you know that I freak out from just snorkeling, so this didn't seem like the most appealing activity to me. Still, I decided to wake up at 5am and go and decide once we got there if I would go. When we got there it turns out they didn't have enough room for all of us to go that morning…great! Here's my out! So, I decided to step back and spend my morning not hanging around in an unstable cage with lots of sharks. Where we had gone that morning is an area called Simon's Town and it is about 45 minutes out of Cape Town. So, Gregg, Michael and I walked into Simon's Town and got some good early breakfast. After breakfast, Gregg decided to retire to his very enticing van and take a nap. So, Michael and I wandered around Simon's Town which turns out to be a very cute little town. We also made our way to Boulder's Beach (the penguin beach I was at on Day 1) for an hour or two. As I've mentioned, I find penguins super cute so I was very pleased to get to see them again. At one point on the beach I was sitting up on a rock and heard a noise behind me. I turned around to see what it was and found a penguin just a few feet behind me soaking up the sun as well.
We met up with the shark diving group as they got back and they showed me pictures or sharks that were much closer than I ever desire to get to them. Truthfully though, they had a great time and I was glad to see it. We spent a little more time walking around Simon's Town where my friend Adolfo purchased shark meat. Obviously, I did not desire to try it, but he told me it was very "fishy" tasting. Then, he joked about bringing it back on the ship to show to our marine biology professor on the ship who is a huge animal activist and would probably sit shiva for that shark. I also got to buy some post-cards and send them out. We left around noon to head back towards the waterfront area of Cape Town (we needed to be back on the ship by 5 which really means 4).
The previous day I had spoken on the phone with our new friend Zahava, who told us to come by her shop the next day and say hello and possibly grab some lunch. When we got there she was super excited to see us. We talked and joked for a while. I typically wear one necklace everyday, but it had broken a few days before that. Well, I noticed that she had the same one, so I asked how much is this one? In true Israeli fashion she answered bishveilech? ("for you")… and she gave me a much un-needed but also much appreciated reduced price. Then, she asked us if we were coming over for Shabbat on Friday. I guess she didn't remember that we told her we were leaving Wednesday because she was so bummed about the fact that we couldn't make it. She told us that she'd told her sons that were also in their twenties and they were so excited to meet us…Obviously you can't befriend a Jewish mother without her trying to set you up with her son…seriously, at one point she told me I could have been her daughter-in-law.
Since we couldn't do Shabbat dinner, Zahava decided to take an earlier than planned lunch break and have lunch with us. Two of her friends joined us. One was also Israeli and had been living in South Africa for 40 years. The other was a Jew from Congo that happened to speak Hebrew. The one from Congo was very interesting and knowledgeable, she explained that the Jews of Cape Town and the synagogue originated from a Greek island called Rhodos…ironically an island that I went to for spring break with some friends during my gap year in Israel. She explained that they went south from there to Congo, and then eventually settled in Cape Town. The Sephardic Jewish community in Cape Town is pretty thriving now, but we learned that they did not even have a rabbi for their synagogue until the early nineties. When it came time to pay for lunch Zahava shooed our money away and called us crazy, this was on her. Zahava really made me feel at home for a couple of hours…I really wished we'd have the time to go to her home and have a nice home-cooked meal, maybe even meet her sons J and spend more time there. But, we took down each other's information and I promised her to contact her the next time I'm in Cape Town…and, although I have no plans in the near future to go back, I certainly have the desire, so you never know!
After an awesome lunch we had only about 30 minutes until we needed to be back on the ship, so we bought some snacks, got ice-cream and sat outside taking in the last of the South African sun we would experience.
South Africa was a place of mixed feelings and emotions. During the optional reflection session that we have after every port, we start by going around and saying our names and one word that sums up our feelings of the port…my word was complex. I chose this word because this place evokes so many conflicting feelings. South Africa has a very troubling past…a past that only become the past less than 20 years ago. While the country has made drastic progress, apartheid is still very much alive in certain places. Racism is so taboo and completely unacceptable at home. I have always been raised to feel this way, so when certain cab drivers just came out and said things like the black people are the problem or the white people are the problem I found myself taken a-back, confused, and unsure of how to proceed. One thing I found among all though, is that they are a proud people with determination to continue this journey to a better country they are currently on. South Africa is a beauuuutiful country that I will definitely be re-visiting one day.
Now that we have officially left the continent of Africa, I must say, this continent is a really amazing one. It may not be as obviously prosperous, or established as the west, but the people are something else. The people I've met and experienced in my time in Africa have been some of the most welcoming and warm people I have ever encountered. And, the thing that I find the most admirable is that in spite of all the problems in their respected countries; they have so much pride in their culture and land. This is something that I think we all need to remember to have more, myself especially. My goal for upcoming countries: when asked where I'm from, say the US with pride and as an American, leave a good impression on the people I meet.
See you in May, Atlantic ocean!
HELLLLLO INDIAN OCEAN!
Steph
SOUTH AFRICA DAYS 4 and 5
Here on SAS I am constantly reminded by the people I meet and the sheer educational value of the experiences I am having that I am not on vacation…I am learning and traveling. Well on day 4 on South Africa, for the first time, I have to admit, it sorta felt like vacation! I was put in touch with a friend of a friend that went on SAS last semester named Michael. Well, Mike made friends with a South African guy named Gregg. Gregg conveniently organizes tours and day trips such as shark diving, and skydiving. He also organized an overnight trip that some friends and I decided to sign up for. The trip including going wine-tasting on day one and driving through an area known as Stelenbosch and a safari the second day.
The day started around 9am as we woke up to meet our group outside of the ship. Even though I'd been talking with Michael for a while about SAS and Cape Town and stuff, I had never actually met him, so it was nice to meet him (oh yeah, did I mention that he came back to Cape Town for our voyage to help out his friend Gregg?). Our group got on a bus and made our way up to the first winery. By 10am we were poured our first glasses of wine and told to taste red wines, white wines, dessert wines. I hadn't known until a few days before arriving in Cape Town, but wine country there is a BIG deal, and we definitely learned why. After the first winery we made our way to another and had a very similar experience as we sipped wine and enjoyed the views. This one was located on top of a hill with a fantastic view looking out over the vineyards. The way it looked is how I've always imagined the California Napa wine country to look…although, I would have never told that to a local!!!
It was around 1pm and we were two wineries in already so the group made a collective decision to help absorb some of that wine with lunch. We went to a very nice place for lunch and I shared a pizza with avocado…or as they called it in South Africa, Avo. It's possible that I enjoyed the avocado more than the pizza itself…man I've missed some good avocado and fresh vegetables from home (not that I'm complaining about the pasta and potatoes!) After lunch, as if we hadn't had enough wine yet, we made our way to our final winery. This one was really beautiful, we sat outside right next to a vineyard and were poured glass after glass as we all laughed about the amount of wine we'd consumed that day.
The day was nice, certainly different from any other day on SAS thus far. As I took in my surroundings and ever so elegantly (ha) sipped on wine, I kept thinking of how much my parents would have loved it.
As much as I enjoyed the day, after the experiences I've been having, I felt kind of guilty spending the day the way I did. I justified it in saying that once in a while everyone needs a break, and it certainly was one. It's odd though, in Ghana, the poverty is thrown in front of your face and you can't ignore it. South Africa is much like the US in that you can choose to ignore the poverty, but we all know that it Is there. I tried to keep this in mind throughout my trip, I tried to go to the town-ships, talk to the cab drivers, and not just have an outsiders perspective. Although on this day I temporarily forgot some of the things I'd been learning…I say temporarily though because it is not something I will let go of easily. And, I got to hang out with new friends and newer friends and truly enjoy each other's company for a day which is one of the best things I could ask for.
We got to our destination for the evening Gregg quickly got out and went to the reception…well, not knowing where he went we all sort of stood around for a while. Of course we all turned to the second in charge, Michael, who had never been there before, is from Houston and had no idea where Gregg went either. We all came to a collective decision that Gregg is the best and worst tour guide I have ever had in my life…all wrapped into one. I usually like the start with the positive, but I'd rather end on a positive with this one, so I'll start by answering the question of why do you say he's the worst? Why? Well, he was constantly doing things like this, jumping out of the bus and forgetting that we are all foreigners. Also, upon arriving to this place and asking if we could get our rooms for the evening he told us that he hadn't decided where we were staying yet…either there or a place closer to the safari. He said he'd made reservations for both and we'd decide later. So, we all left our stuff on the bus and figured we'd find out later. Then (this is the last one I promise) later on in the evening, after leaving all of our belongings on the bus because we didn't know where we were staying yet, we found the bus to be left wide-open and unlocked….good thing we were in a nice area J. Okay enough with the bad…now for the good! First of all, all of these "bads" were seriously not bad at all, they were little things that we just gave him a hard time about. Why was he the best? Because it is clear after having a good discussion with this man that he has a very big heart…he may pretend like he doesn't, but we all saw right through him. He was the kind of host that was constantly refilling everyone's glasses (sound familiar, Dad?) and just making sure that we were having a good time. His genuine concern with us and our enjoyment of our time was very clear and very kind. So, this is why we joked that he was the best and worst, and I wouldn't have had it any other way!
After getting to the location that we did in fact end up staying the night at, we all hung out and got ready for dinner. On the way up to wine-country we had actually stopped at Mzoli's (the township restaurant I wrote about in the Day 3 blog) to pick up meat for the dinner that night. The place we were staying in had a grill and when it came time for dinner I pretended to have learned from my Dad's awesome grilling abilities all those years and join Gregg and some locals in helping out with making dinner. Surprisingly (I still don't know why they trusted me) they handed me a pair tongs and told me start grilling. It really wasn't hard…I just flipped over the meat when one side looked ready, and then put it in the pan when the whole piece was ready. Once one tray was ready, Gregg took it to everyone else to eat and must have forgotten about me for a bit because I found myself alone with a grill, tongs, very limited knowledge and a whole lot of meat for about 5 minutes. So basically, this summer when I get home, Dad you can take the afternoon off when we have bbq's because now…I GOT THIS.
When it came time for dinner I used the same mentality I had at Mzoli's the pervious afternoon…this time the wine probably had a lot to do with it…and had some delicious dinner.
That night we hung around at an outdoor bar in the area. Some locals made their way over, and we talked to them for a bit. At one point my friend yelled to me that I had to come look at the stars. Well, the bus we'd been driving in for the afternoon was left over, so some friends and I climbed onto the roof of the bus and did some star gazing. It's so hard to see the stars at home, even on the ship sometimes just because of the amount of light that we have all around. I remember once during my gap year some friends and I went hiking in the desert for a night and saw the most amazing stars I've ever seen in my life. We didn't sleep at all that night as we just stared. I remember how the sky seemed almost see-through, as if it were undressed or something and we were seeing the parts of it that not many get to see. When I got to the top of that bus, for the first time since that memory, I saw that sight again. The stars were SO clear…and we were in the southern hemisphere so the constellations were different! It's so refreshing to be in a place where industrialization and modernization don't get in the way. It's funny to think that hundreds of years ago seeing the stars wasn't some sort of privilege or exciting occurrence, it was every night. It's odd to think that what we were seeing is there every night, it's just blocked by things like industrialization and modernization.
After a long day…okay this one didn't feel as long as previous ones…we all retired to our temporary homes in anticipation for the safari the next morning.
DAY 5- SAFARI
The next morning we woke up bright and early around 6:30 am. It was clear how everyone was feeling as the first thing I heard from most was "where's the coffee?" We had a quick breakfast and got into the bus for a day at the safari!!! We drove only a short distance to Aquila safari. When we got there we were immediately told to sign a waiver regarding our safety…I think if you read between the lines it went something like this: if a lion or rhino happens to maul you, we can't be held responsible. So, naturally with our cameras and sun-screen, we signed it right away as if it were nothing. While waiting for our vehicle for the safari we walked around the shop. Suddenly my ears were stimulated…I heard something very familiar yet very unexpected…HEBREW! I must have looked like a dog that was sniffing out a new location to pee as I followed cha's and rrs and other sounds of the Hebrew. When I found the culprits of the sounds I immediately struck up a conversation. They were equally shocked to meet a Hebrew speaker in the middle of a safari in South Africa. Turns out, it was a group of high school students on a two-week long trip. The group was very nice and within 5 minutes of talking I was borrowing sun-screen from my new friend and explaining my gap-year with one of their chaperones.
Our vehicle arrived and it was time to go, so we bid farewell and parted ways. We got into this truck that had a top made of tarp and open sides. It was very safari-like with it's huge wheels, ability to hold about 20 people, and hopeful ability to move through rough terrains. We got in and started moving. I immediately felt like I was back in the bus in Ghana, the one that threw me in the air and into my neighbors every minute or so. The truth is, this one was better equipped than the one in Ghana, so it actually didn't feel as rough. In South Africa they have what they call the "Big Five". The Big Five are the five animals that are featured on their money…those animals include lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and buffalo. While driving around we first saw elephants. I don't know what it is about elephants but I find them to be the most fascinating and somehow also cutest creatures. Right away someone on our bus asked the tour-guide a super (sorry to make fun of her) but dumb question…like exactly the type of question that locals will later laugh about over a beer. So, we decided to make this a trend for the ride and come up with the dumbest possible questions we could. We came up with Where do the animals go to the bathroom? Where do they get their food? And do they have free wifi? The tour-guide picked up on our humor and totally came right back at us with funny answers.
At one point in the tour there were two huge lions right outside our vehicle…I mean like 10-20 feet from us! Naturally, I couldn't stop replaying the opening scene from Lion King in my head and was disappointed when the lion didn't speak to me with the voice of James Earl Jones. After about 3 hours of riding around we'd seen 4 of the big 5. We were told that leopards are very endangered and to see them in the wild is very rare now-days. The place also acted as a reserve for leopards so we were able to see some at another locations that were being kept in a safe place.
After an awesome safari we hopped back in our bus and were all excited for a two hour ride back to Cape Town that I would naturally use as a chance to catch up on sleep.
When we got back to the ship a few of us grabbed some belongings and headed back out to see Gregg's house. Gregg lives in a beautiful part of Cape Town called Camps Bay. He lives up in the hills in a home that had an absolutely beautiful view of Cape Town and the shore line. It was so nice to be in an actual home for a while…don't get me wrong, the MV Explorer is pretty homey, but there's nothing like a home. I got to use some internet for a few minutes and relax.
We made our way our towards the beach for dinner. We ate in a really nice place called Carpice that was right in the "downtown" are of Camps Bay. This area really reminded me of the downtown strips in southern Florida. After dinner, more and more SASers started showing up in Camps Bay. My friend Eshley had a friend that worked at a bar nearby so we decided to walk towards it. On the way there we ran into a group of SASers sitting outside having some drinks. I said hi to all of them and was introduced to a friend they'd met. Their new friend introduced himself as Gal…Gal? Wait…that's an Israeli name. Immediately he and I went off in Hebrew. I was so surprised by how much Hebrew I'd spoken that day. Gal told me that there was a huge Jewish and Israeli population in Cape Town, specifically an area called Sea Point. I told him that a few days ago I met a woman named Zahava…naturally he knew her and told her that if I had lunch with her like I planned, to tell her he said hi (typical...I've been in the country for 5 days and I'm already playing Jewish geography with the locals).
After a few more minutes of conversation with my new friend, Eshley, myself and a few others continued on to Dizzy's. Lucky for us it was karaoke night there!!! So, Eshley, myself, a set of twins on the ship named Matt and Dan, their friend from home named Will, and Michael all got up and sang the best version of Sweet Caroline that had ever been heard in South Africa.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
I LOVE SURPRISES!
After the most epic dance party on the most epic voyage ever last night we all awoke to a nice brunch. I sat around talking to friends and eating the nice brunch food which included everything from eggs and pancakes to stir-fry and rice.
After lunch I got my swimsuit on and made my way up to the 7th (top) deck. Up there it was like a scene from spring break…minus the excessive drinking and wet tee shirt contests. Literally everyone was up there either laying out in the sun reading a book or talking to friends, or sitting the shade doing the same. I hadn't planned on staying outside all day, but all of a sudden it was already 5pm and the day had disappeared. It's so easy to lose track of time here, especially when there are so many interesting people to talk to. During the mid-day announcements we got an announcement that made everyone's already awesome Mauritius day even more awesome. Stuart (our assistant Dean of Education who makes all the announcements) got on the loud speaker and did the usual list of the daily activities and evening activities. Then he explained that we were scheduled to get into Mauritius at around 10PM for refueling…now for the good part. After much deliberation, number crunching, and discussion, immigrations will make their way onto the ship at around 6 am for face-to-face immigrations, and we will be debarking from 8am to 12pm. At this point the entire deck erupted in cheers, excited screams and clapping so the rest of the announcements were pointless….WE'RE GOING TO MAURITIUS!!!!
Tonight we had our pre-port and it was much unlike any of the previous ones. The feeling in the room was such gratefulness. At first, everyone made jokes about Stuart taking all the credit for our ability to debark in Mauritius since he was the lucky one that got to deliver the news. As he got up the microphone [planned] audience members asked questions like Stuart, do you think you could use some of your awesome super powers that got us to be able to debark in Mauritius to give us an extra day in Singapore? Stuart, can you explain to me how you single-handedly made it so that we can get off the ship tomorrow?...etc. We all laughed along with him. He then explained to us the reality that we all already knew…It took a TREMENDOUS effort by not only all of the staff on board (including the staff and crew) but even the people back at UVA to work out the numbers and make sure that we could do this. We were all reminded something that in the back of everyone's minds, we already knew…how much this community cares for one-another, and how much the authorities really want us to do well and experience great things.
Four hours. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a whole lot more than nothing. I'm so grateful for the people that made this a possibility. The pre-port was full of cheers and smiles and not once did anyone ask for more time.
At 9pm I made my way up to the observation deck with my friend Rheana. She is from Trinidad so the idea of an island nation isn't so foreign to her. Well, she must have heard me say that I couldn't believe where we were about a million times. I mean think about it, I'm currently docked at a location that takes up no more than a tiny dot on a map….needless to remind you that that dot is located in the middle of the Indian ocean!!!!!! As we neared the island I was shocked at the amount of industrialization that is here. It was interesting coming in at night and seeing the lights. It was surprising to see so many lights. This place looks beautiful at night, there are tons of lights with the outline of tall beautiful mountains in the background. This experience so far has really taught me one thing…how every person around the world is really the same, and how the only difference is something that was determined completely out of our hands before we could even speak…the location and situation to which we are born into. So, if that is all left to chance…what makes me so different from the Emmanuel in Ghana, or Jerome in Dominica? So, I can't stop thinking about the people born here in Mauritius…this tiny little island so far removed from anything else…imagine that being all you know your whole life?!
During the pre-port we were told a little of the islands history and current situation and this place sounds like an oasis to me…there is free health care for all citizens, free education, and not only do they not have an unemployment problem, in fact they needed to bring in foreign workers at one point because there were so many jobs and everyone was already employed! I can't wait to get off the ship, even if it is for only 4 hours, and see as much of this little island as I can and meet as many of the islanders as I can!
TALK TO YOU AFTER MAURITIUS!...BTW scroll down for South Africa Day 3!
Steph
SOUTH AFRICA DAY 3
After a day of traveling in groups I was ready to branch off. So my friend Eshley and I got up super early and were off the ship by 8. We walked around the down-town area for a bit and decided to buy tickets to go see Robben Island, an island that was used for prisoners (I'll talk more about that later) at 3pm for that day.
Between the current hour of 9am and 3pm we had some plans to meet up with some people. Eshley has a friend, Tessa, from school that is currently studying abroad in Cape Town…So, we hopped in a cab and headed over to Tessa's home for the current semester. We told the cab driver an address and when we got there and saw the correct street sign we thanked him and hopped out. As soon as we got out we realized even though we saw building 4, we couldn't find building 5 (the building we were looking for). The area we were in seemed very nice and we saw a man in his home washing his Volkswagen. We got his attention and asked him where number 5 was. He smiled and said that the area was a bit confusing…. You see those train tracks right behind my house? Well the odd numbered homes are on the other side of the tracks, you just need to take the little tunnel that goes under the tracks and you'll be right there. We smiled and thanked him and were about to be on our way when he said…I would be careful though!...Huh? It's the middle of the day, look at your home man! We're in a perfectly safe area!...people like to hang in those tunnels and mug passer-bys…especially two girls like yourselves. It was equally confusing as well as frustrating, you're telling me that in the middle of the day, in a perfectly nice neighborhood, we need to be careful in our 10 second walk under the railroad?! I would just peek down and if you see any guys in there, don't go, if there's no one in there, you're fine! Well, there was no other way to get to Tessa's so we took the man's advice. We approached the tunnel apprehensively, peaked in, saw no one, and RAN. This man would have gotten a laugh out of it, this tunnel was so short that you could see the exit before even entering it, and yet here we were, two little foreigners RUNNING through it. We were out before we knew it and waved to our friend across the tracks.
We arrived at Tessa's home and were greated by all of her roommates. Studying abroad at the University of Cape Town is popular and there are lots of foreign students…the program Tessa chose to do though was one that had only 25 students so they were all really close. Seven of them lived in this awesome home that we arrived to. We were greeted by her smiling friends sitting around the table eating pancakes in the backyard. It was such a nice setting and really awesome, refreshing new company. We had planned on meeting up with them so that we could go to a cultural "hub" for the day to a place called Mzoli's. We all sat around and even drank a little pre-lunch wine before getting into a van-cab to go to our destination.
Mzoli's is a really unique awesome place. It is a restaurant located in the center of a town-ship. This restaurant is not the sit-down, order your food and have small-talk with the waiter kind of restaurant that most of us are used to. No. Instead, you walk into a shop and pick out the type of meat you want and how much. Between 7 of us we all paid about 20 Rhand each (around 3 dollars each) for our future lunch. Then, you go outside to an area that is surrounded by about waist high boarded walls and then nothing else. You and your group find a table, sit down and wait for lunch. This place is especially packed on Sundays as most people go to church and then to Mzoli's to enjoy an afternoon with friends. As we waited for our food we listened to the locals playing music. We danced with new friends and enjoyed the atmosphere. This atmosphere was seriously special…everyone was excited, everyone was happy and celebrating nothing but the day itself.
After about 30-45 minutes I saw two of Tessa's friends that I was with for the day coming over to our table all excited with a huge bucket in hands. This bucket was our lunch. There were no plates, no utensils, and napkins were suddenly a hot commodity. We all just dug into this bucket with our bare-hands and gobbled down our lunch. I had chicken, sausage, and I was even convinced to try lamb (I think the wine has a bit to do with that one). Before we knew it, we were left with an empty bucket, greasy hands, stained faces, and the feeling of being a whole lot closer to people I had just met a few short hours ago. After lunch we continued to dance and sing and hang out with everyone else for a while and we would have stayed longer if it weren't for our tour that we'd signed up for earlier. Mzoli's was truly special and one of my favorite cultural experiences I've had thus far on SAS.
Eshley and headed back down to the water-front area for a quick change of mood. We went from visiting an area full of excitement and life, to an area that showed a dark part of South Africa's past. It wasn't the ideal order of activities, but it was a place we both found very important to see, and knew there wouldn't be much time in the next few days to go. We got there just in time and got in line to board the ferry. As I got in line I noticed my roommate, Laura from Nebraska, standing alone in line a few people ahead of me. She told me that she also found in very important to go to Robben Island and couldn't find anyone who had an opening in their schedule that day to go, so she just bought a ticket on her own. Turns out we saw another SASer who had been doing the same thing, so the 4 of us boarded the ferry together.
Robben island is a small island off the coast of cape-town. If you're familiar with Alcatraz, it reminded me a bit of that. This island was were many black criminals were held. The thing is, most of the criminals were only criminals because they publicly opposed apartheid (doesn't sound like such a crime huh?). Of-course there were some serious criminals as well, but most were people like Nelson Mandela who were opposing the corruption and inequality.
As we got there we boarded a bus that would take us around the Island. I sat down next to a 20 year old boy who was French but had been living in Cape Town for 8 years. He told me that he had been to Robben island many times before but was showing around a friend from out of town for the day. We listened to some facts as we passed by different sights and my new friend told me some additional facts that he'd picked up on his 4 previous visits. I asked my bus-buddy about his home in comparison with South Africa and I was very surprised to hear him say that he felt much more at home in South Africa than the country that had housed him for the first 12 years of his life. He told me that without question he will raise his family in South Africa, and be buried there. It's always interesting to see a person identify more with a place other than their home. I always question when that happens, what is it that makes them feel that way? What is it about their technical home that makes it easy for them to leave behind? I can identify on some level or another, I do have a very strong connection to a country other than my home, I've lived in it for an extended period of time, and I've thought very much about going back one day, but when I think of the idea of leaving my "home" for good it's a very uncomfortable feeling.
At one point we stopped and looked at an area where prisoners were forced to dig lime. The prisoners were given no supplies, just their bare hands, and were told to dig. They were also given no breaks throughout the day. The effects of the lime on these prisoners were vast. Many developed sicknesses such as cancer. Nelson Mandela himself, to this day, has had many complications resulting from his time spent digging lime. He also cannot produce tears due to this. At one point on the bus tour we stopped and go out around the shore. It sounds weird to say, but the views from this island were absolutely breathtaking. We could see the coast, table-mountain towering over the city, and the beautiful waters surrounding. It was hard to enjoy the views as they were juxtaposed with such corruption and awful treatment that had once went on behind me. I imagined how the prisoners felt as they dug lime and looked out at the beautiful view…did they find it as beautiful? Did they see it as hope? Did they resent it?
When the bus tour was over we met a man who had been imprisoned on Robben island. He told us that he was there for 5 years after having publically opposed the apartheid. He told us all about the terrible conditions of the island. He explained that it wasn't until humanitarian workers came in years after the prison had been established that they even received beds. We got to go around to the different cells, including Nelson Mandela's. In each cell there was a picture of a prisoner that lived in that cell and a story about them. The thing with these tours is they are very institutionalized, as they must be, the bad thing about that is that the time is very limited. I went into each cell and read story after story, and before I'd gotten through even half of them, it was time to leave! It was interesting though to see these stories, to hear from the prisoners themselves. Some of the stories were as simple as talking about a safety pin that a prisoner hid in his cell and used to keep his blanket around him.
When the tour was ending I asked our guide…How is it that you come back here everyday and show us your past? He gave me an answer that I was sure he'd given before, which bumped around the fact that he thinks its necessary to show everyone and it's an important place in their history. This type of answer made perfectly good sense, and it wasn't at all surprising, so I pushed the envelope a bit, wanting the answer that he doesn't give to every else, and asked, do you enjoy it? Or is it painful for you? He looked at me with clear pain in his eyes, and before even opening his mouth I knew the answer. I could tell he was holding back and didn't really want to open up so he responded with it's a steady way to put food on the table. I knew that was my cue to stop pushing, understood. I thanked him for showing us, told him that I agreed that this was an important place, not to be forgotten, shook his hand and walked away.
We got back on the ferry and made our way back to the shores of cape-town. On the way back, I sat next to a man who goes by his last name of Cooper. He told me that he was originally from Johannesburg but currently doing construction work in Cape Town. He explained to me that a bunch of workers were brought from Jo-burg for the time being. He told me how different Cape Town and Jo-burg are, and how much he missed his home. The workers are apparently only given one day off a week and during their one day off for this week a bunch of the workers decided to go visit Robben Island. I was so impressed…if I had to work construction 6 days a week, I imagine that my day off would be spent in a bed or on the couch.
We got off the ferry and hopped in a cab and made our way back to Tessa's for the evening. When we got there we were told that after we left Mzoli's, she and her friends stayed for another hour or so just dancing and hanging out. She then told us that within that hour they consumed a little too much alcohol-- which explained to us why at 8 at night her roommates were just waking up. We went to her friends apartment to hang out with some of her friends. In that apartment I tried a type of South African peanut butter called "Yum-Yum Peanut Butter" that was by far the most delicious Peanut Butter I've ever had. It's slogan was "Creamy and Dreamy Peanut Butter" and it was being said by a Peanut wearing a dress with blonde hair. It may have seemed weird, but it didn't lie, that Peanut butter was super creamy, dreamy, and delicious. We hung out with one of Tessa's RA's named Wes and his friend from home named Jon. Jon and Wes are both from Zimbabwe and were some of the funniest most entertaining guys I've met so far. We sat around for a few hours just hanging and laughing. There we were, hanging out on couches with people from different states, different countries, no TV, and the entertainment of only each other. Those couple hours spent on that couch reminded me SOOOOOO much of YearCourse (my gap-year in Israel). The idea of a bunch of people from all different backgrounds, coming together in a place equally foreign to each of them getting so close and just spending the night hanging out was such a reminder of all the great times I had on YearCourse and all the great friends I made…if any YCers are reading this (which you better be J!) that's you I'm talking about! On SAS when we are in countries, we are always running around trying to make the most of the short time we have there, so to just hang out with nice people and not feel pressed to make a tour, or climb a mountain with enough time to come back and go out that night, was very refreshing and a nice way to finish off the day.
I'm working on SA Days 4, 5 and 6 and will talk to you after Mauritius!
Steph
SURPRISES SURPRISES...I LOVE surprises
After the most epic dance party on the most epic voyage ever last night we all awoke to a nice brunch. I sat around talking to friends and eating the nice brunch food which included everything from eggs and pancakes to stir-fry and rice.
After lunch I got my swimsuit on and made my way up to the 7th (top) deck. Up there it was like a scene from spring break…minus the excessive drinking and wet tee shirt contests. Literally everyone was up there either laying out in the sun reading a book or talking to friends, or sitting the shade doing the same. I hadn't planned on staying outside all day, but all of a sudden it was already 5pm and the day had disappeared. It's so easy to lose track of time here, especially when there are so many interesting people to talk to. During the mid-day announcements we got an announcement that made everyone's already awesome Mauritius day even more awesome. Stuart (our assistant Dean of Education who makes all the announcements) got on the loud speaker and did the usual list of the daily activities and evening activities. Then he explained that we were scheduled to get into Mauritius at around 10PM for refueling…now for the good part. After much deliberation, number crunching, and discussion, immigrations will make their way onto the ship at around 6 am for face-to-face immigrations, and we will be debarking from 8am to 12pm. At this point the entire deck erupted in cheers, excited screams and clapping so the rest of the announcements were pointless….WE'RE GOING TO MAURITIUS!!!!
Tonight we had our pre-port and it was much unlike any of the previous ones. The feeling in the room was such gratefulness. At first, everyone made jokes about Stuart taking all the credit for our ability to debark in Mauritius since he was the lucky one that got to deliver the news. As he got up the microphone [planned] audience members asked questions like Stuart, do you think you could use some of your awesome super powers that got us to be able to debark in Mauritius to give us an extra day in Singapore? Stuart, can you explain to me how you single-handedly made it so that we can get off the ship tomorrow?...etc. We all laughed along with him. He then explained to us the reality that we all already knew…It took a TREMENDOUS effort by not only all of the staff on board (including the staff and crew) but even the people back at UVA to work out the numbers and make sure that we could do this. We were all reminded something that in the back of everyone's minds, we already knew…how much this community cares for one-another, and how much the authorities really want us to do well and experience great things.
Four hours. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's a whole lot more than nothing. I'm so grateful for the people that made this a possibility. The pre-port was full of cheers and smiles and not once did anyone ask for more time.
At 9pm I made my way up to the observation deck with my friend Rheana. She is from Trinidad so the idea of an island nation isn't so foreign to her. Well, she must have heard me say that I couldn't believe where we were about a million times. I mean think about it, I'm currently docked at a location that takes up no more than a tiny dot on a map….needless to remind you that that dot is located in the middle of the Indian ocean!!!!!! As we neared the island I was shocked at the amount of industrialization that is here. It was interesting coming in at night and seeing the lights. It was surprising to see so many lights. This place looks beautiful at night, there are tons of lights with the outline of tall beautiful mountains in the background. This experience so far has really taught me one thing…how every person around the world is really the same, and how the only difference is something that was determined completely out of our hands before we could even speak…the location and situation to which we are born into. So, if that is all left to chance…what makes me so different from the Emmanuel in Ghana, or Jerome in Dominica? So, I can't stop thinking about the people born here in Mauritius…this tiny little island so far removed from anything else…imagine that being all you know your whole life?!
During the pre-port we were told a little of the islands history and current situation and this place sounds like an oasis to me…there is free health care for all citizens, free education, and not only do they not have an unemployment problem, in fact they needed to bring in foreign workers at one point because there were so many jobs and everyone was already employed! I can't wait to get off the ship, even if it is for only 4 hours, and see as much of this little island as I can and meet as many of the islanders as I can!
TALK TO YOU AFTER MAURITIUS! BTW...scroll down for South Africa Day 3 blog!
Steph
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