two by sea (Nancy and Warner travel @ the world)

Amazon Adventure

2010-05-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, April 7, we woke up early for a 6:30 am meeting and a 7 am departure for a trip to the Amazon with 28 students in tow. I was the "trip leader" for this particular group, and I only knew 6 of the students, so I was going to be meeting some new kids. There were 4 groups leaving at various times, but most of us left together. We had a flight to Manaus with a short layover in Brasilia and arrived in the early afternoon. We were to be picked up at the airport by our tour guides, and everyone was hungry and needing a bathroom, so we took a few minutes to scatter and then gather back up and boarded the bus. We met our guides, Fabio and Allen--both Brazilians.

After a half hour bus ride, we arrived at the docks, boarded our boats and were on the mighty Amazon River. We had seen it from the air, and it is really mighty.

We selected our hammock that would be our bed for the next two nights and grabbed a late lunch that the crew had prepared.

Then everyone crowded the decks of their boats to see the sights as we cruised about the waters.

The Amazon and the Rio Negra join around Manaus, and there is a distinct line in the water where they meet. The Rio Negra is black, as it's name implies, mostly because it is fed from areas with rich decaying vegetation. The Amazon is muddy at this time of the year because of the rainfall. They have two seasons--rainy and summer.

Then we cruised about for a while, seeing how people lived since they have to cope with water levels that will be 8 ft higher by July. We also saw freshwater dolphins swimming nearby, lots of river birds, and various tributaries that feed the Amazon.

Then we cruised through one of the tributaries and stopped at a place with a boardwalk and walked back to see the giant water lilies and some wildlife.

Next, we loaded up into smaller boats and went into some smaller creeks and rivers where we watched the sun go down and wondered about things falling into our boats like Anacondas, etc.

Our last activity of the night was some Cayman hunting. A cayman is an Amazon alligator. They are not too big, but can get up to 6 ft. Our small boats cruised down the side of the river and the guide shined the light into the reeds and banks. When he saw two little red dots--the eyes, we slowly pulled up to the cayman and he quickly reached down and grabbed it behind the neck. One of the boats had one get loose as they were passed around for everyone to hold, and there was some loud screaming coming from across the river. We all to to hold this one, and then had a biology lesson. Not too many of these make it to adulthood with lots of predators as eggs and hatchlings, but they can then live for many years.

We headed back to our boat in the dark and ate dinner while we cruised. The hammocks didn't feel too bad after such a long, fun day.

Last Global Studies Part 1

2010-04-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

In our last Global Studies class, several of us were asked to speak about the voyage. We had 2 students and 2 faculty. My assignment was to talk about what the voyage has meant to me as an individual. I have written out the comments that I made and am including them here. They are long, so I'm putting them in several parts.

Before I decided to do this voyage, I read a suggestion to try something to get a flavor of the voyage to be sure I could handle it. What could that possible be? Stay on a rocking ship for a day? Eat potatoes for a week? NO, the suggestion was to go hang out late on a weekend night where students hang out, to eat in a student cafeteria every day for a week. I work with students every day at home, so I was pretty sure I could do it. I didn't realize at the time how different one weekend would be from several months. So, here I am on a voyage whose theme is sustainability and whose subtheme it what? Flexibility.

Fourteen weeks ago, I sood right here, introduced myself and invited you to come visit us in the library. I introduced my friend the lion (hold up lion) who would be watching over the library at night.. Then I stepped outside my comfort zone. One of my goals for the voyage was to know 100 students by name by the end of the voyage. It helped to have several Kaitlyns, some Bens, and a few Emilys and Abbies. So, I started doing something I don't ordinarily do--asking people's names--some of you several times. That was easier on the boat (pause so audience can correct me to say "ship") because I would feel creepy doing that back home. I had already invaded your space somewhat when I joined the Voyage Facebook page and posted the weather for our ports.

It's interesting how some things can be perceived as acceptable in one place and not another. That was an interesting realization that carried through the voyage.

How many of you have heard of muscle memory? (raise hand) Muscle memory means that you perform an action so many times that you repeat it without thinking about it. How many of you play golf or another sport that relies on muscle memory? It becomes automatic. How many of you have muscle memory that you would like to forget? How do you get rid of that muscle memory? Take a break from something for an extended period of time or re-program it by lots of practice. I haven't played golf in 5 months. I'm pretty sure my muscle memory is gone. Hopefully, so is my slice.

I also think I have something that might be called bahavior memory. I think that after a while we just behave certain ways automatically without thinking about it. I typically don't interact with strangers, but another voyage goal was to talk to strangers in foreign countries. In our first port, Hilo, I approached a stranger in a park and asked him about his island. It turned out to be easy, and it helped that he was walking a dog, so I had a conversation starter. I was off and running and found that I could do that. In fact it was pretty interesting. You are great at that, and I learned from many of you. I also learned how kind it is when strangers in a strange place approach you and offer assistance. I can't wait to try that with visitors back home.

Nancy and I joined you on FDPs and SAS trips and got to know you. Most of us learned to be flexible on those trips when things didn't go quite as planned--late buses, schedule changes, traffic problems, etc. I noticed that if we didn't adapt to those changes or griped, we were miserable, and I didn't enjoy being miserable. That's when we started hearing the phrase "It's all good"--now one of my mantras.

I watched you in ports as you navigated your way--like throught the subway system in Japan, and I learned from you. When it would have just been easier to stay on the ship, we all took some chances and went off the beaten track a little bit more. I admit that it was sometimes terrifying, but there was also a little bit of an adrenaline rush. I watched some of you do the same and grow, and we gave each other courage. You gave me comfort when I was uneasy in a foreign port and I would randomly hear one of of you call out "Hey Warner".

How many of you have eaten something you never thought you would eat? Me too--lots and some of it with my hands. I didn't necessarily like all of it, but I became willing to try, and I found I really did like a lot of the different foods.

To be continued in part 2.

Last Global Studies Part 2

2010-04-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

This continues Part one of my post on what the voyage meant to me.

How many of you got to know someone really well on this trip? How many of you got to know yourself well? We found out what we could tolerate, and then we learned that we could often tolerate even more. How many of you saw someone on the ship and formed an immediate impression abut that person based on something like looks, dress, who they hung out with or something you heard them say. I admit that I have done that, only to find out later that the person was totally different from what I had projected. For example, I observed a faculty member at a dinner before the voyage, and based on his dress, I knew he would be stuffy and not someone I would be interested in getting to know. Boy was I wrong, and fortunately, I got to know the real person and not the perceived person. I found out it was easier to just meet the person, have a conversation and get to know them. You all welcomed me at you tables at meals, and I learned to do the same and found most of you to be really incredible people. We found that out just because we were willing to give each other a chance.

How many of you have watched a sunrise on this voyage? Sunrises are great times for reflection and pondering. And meeting people. I've seen most of them. How many of you are my sunrise acquaintances? Thank you. I will forever seek out sunrises as a result.

Back home, my evenings were centered around dinner, housekeeping and television. On this voyage, they were centered around explorer seminars, the entertainment you provided, and conversations. Conversations turned out to be the stuff that challenged me to think about why I believed or did not believe something or at least what the consequences were for holding certain beliefs. A lot of questioning has gone on in my mind, and I can respect someone for holding a different belief even if I don't agree with it. That behavioral memory is now a thing of the distant past. I know that I will want to spend more time with people in the evenings when I am back home.

The interesting thing about meeting people is that I've always had a small group of friends, and I thought that was fine. Even on the boat (pause) I somehow thought I had all the friends I needed, but on the trip to the Amazon this past week, I made some new friends that were really neat. Now I wonder about those friends that I have not yet met.

Who has a really good story about a port or shipboard event? I will now look at everything I do and see as a story in the making. We've learned to tell those stories and to listen while others tell their stories. I've learned to take pictures of you on the boat (pause), and many of you have appeared on my blog. How many of you have heard from a parent or friend that they had learned something about the voyage from my blog? I am now facebook friends with some of your parents. I have learned how important "keeping in touch" is to our friends and relatives, and you motivated me to keep up my blog.

What is one of the questions you ask yourself when deciding whether or not to do something? The one I like from this voyage is "if I don't do this, will I regret it later?" That extends from buying a t-shirt to speaking to someone to the ultimate one I asked myself about whether to take this trip.

Another question that I heard was from a group of school children in Nagarcoil, India. They asked a group of us--"which country is better, India or America?" One of the students in our group explained that neither is better--they are just different. That stuck with me as another mantra that I will carry with me back home as I visit places and observe cultures.

This voyage has reset my behavior memory, so it is now ready to be built back. I can now say "ship" instead of "boat". I'm hoping I get it right this time.

Finally, friend me, visit us, and use your librarians.

Salvador, Brazil

2010-04-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Except for ominous clouds and rain falling behind us, the view was magnificent as the MV Explorer sailed into the beautiful city of Salvador, Brazil and docked at 8 am today.

We had a woman from the embassy speak to us in Diplomatic Pre-port in the morning, and the ship was cleared at about 10 am. We did not need out passports for going ashore if we were staying in Salvador, so things moved pretty smoothly.

As in most ports that we have visited, there was a welcome music group. In this case, there were jugglers, dancers on stilts, and drummers--all quite entertaining and engaging.

We were docked in the lower part of town which is mostly a business district. Today was a holiday, so the banks, government buildings and post offices were closed. We left the port and walked to a market that seemed to be mostly souvenir type of items. The most popular place was the ATM with a 45 min wait because of all the students using it. The currency is the Brazil real. $1 US equals 1.76 Brasil real.

Just past the market was "the elevator" to the upper part, or historical part of the city, also known as The historic center. This section had been renovated and was the destination for most of us. We had been completely warned about the dangers of the city, and under no circumstance were we to walk between the levels--"don't even take the elevator at night, only a taxi". As it was, a couple of students did have items taken from them within the first few hours in port--some jewelry and a Blackberry, but no one was hurt.

We took the elevator (for about 10 cents each) and walked across a plaza to a coffee shop. While we were there, the sky opened up and it poured rain. That meant we needed to buy a sandwich as well. It turned out that we met very few people in this city who spoke English, so communicating was difficult, but we could at least point things out on the menu. When we got a break in the rain, we headed for Santa Casa de Misericordia, a former hospital which was part of the Catholic church. It still has a chapel inside that is used for worship. The artwork is stunning, and the tiles of Portuguese drawings are worth the time. They have done a very nice restoration that includes paintings on the ceiling and some more modern works. Our guide spoke fairly understandable English.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but the exterior views were very nice.
Students were everywhere in this area, and we recommended this stop to them.

We next walked through a plaza (where students were partying) to a historic church, the Igreja da Ordem Terceira de Sao Francisco.
This historic church was well-maintained and reflected some of the art of the Portuguese as well. It had one room devoted to saints and an upstairs room with quite gruesome depictions of Jesus on the cross. If you like old churches, this would be a place to go.

Lunch was calling us since it was now 3 pm, so we looked for one restaurant that had been recommended, but it was closed. However, it was conveniently located near a tee-shirt shop where I got a Brasil soccer shirt so I could pull for a winner in the world cup. We did find another recommended restaurant and had a great lunch while it poured rain again.

Walking around after lunch, we ran a group of students mugging for the camera.

We greeted another group of students that included two of our library student assistants--a great group of kids.

We followed our ears and came across a shoot for a television ad for the World Cup. It featured dancers, and our SAS students had joined in.

It was starting to rain a little so we headed back to the ship--stopping to watch one of the students getting his hair braided. A lot of students got their hair braided in Ghana.

Then we jumped on the elevator and went down. We felt safe as we were accompanied by two policemen. We wondered if the police were part of a special Semester at Sea patrol for our safety, because they were everywhere today. After a footrace with some students (which I won) we got back to the ship, and I'm finishing this up so I won't be so far behind when we return from a trip to the Amazon in a few days. (btw, Nancy gets credit for most of these pictures)

I'm not a Vampire

2010-04-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I made a cameo appearance in a video about vampires. The next episode had me in a speaking role as the librarian who just might be a vampire. We shot some of the scenes in our cabin where the students admired our digs (which I thought were pretty small). Afterward, I fed them cookies and Nutella. I never knew about Nutella until an early morning discussion with some of the early riser students.

They shot more scenes at sunrise (at 5 am) this morning. I am happy to say that I am not the vampire. I did have to be the stunt double to practice stabbing the vampire, but all is well.

Last night was a concert by the Explorer String Band. This is a group of musicians that includes 3 faculty and 3 faculty family members. They play bluegrass and a little jazz and are a very accomplished group. Dan Sprau bought his string bass in China, and he had to get special permission to bring it on the ship because of its size. It lives on the second bed of the ship's security officer when it's not being played.

Elsewhere on the ship, students and staff are working out to get ready for the return home. Everyone wants a toned body to go with the tan.

Brazil is not far away, and we are only one hour ahead of the time zone in Virginia. We made arrangements yesterday to rent a car to drive home. That will make it a lot easier to deal with all our stuff and give us time to decompress on the way home. And yes, it will allow me to make up for a deficit of Dairy Queen Blizzards on the way.

Sailing to Brazil

2010-04-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

When the MV Explorer left Ghana, we only sailed for about 30 min. before we stopped and dropped anchor. For some reason we were not able to bunker (take on fuel)) in port, so we had to stop for the bunkering ship to pull along side and re-fuel us. The sea was as rough as any time on our voyage, so this was a tricky operation in the pitch black night. They finally left us at about 6 am the next morning, and we were glad to get moving.

One of the big events on the ship this week was the shipboard auction. A fund-raiser is held to help generate scholarship funds for future voyages. Many people on this voyage were recipients of financial aid of some kind, so it was a chance to give back. From my perspective, it was also a good way to re-distribute the wealth. You can tell that some kids come from more privileged backgrounds than others. They buy more stuff, they travel more at ports, they stay off-ship at ports, they buy food at the grill instead of eating in the dining hall. Well, some of these kids stepped up and bought some of the big ticket items like the chance to raise the ships flag as we come into Ft. Lauderdale.

Another part of the activities was a raffle where everyone had chances to win. Some prizes included "first off the ship," cream cheese, a backpack with patches from all the countries we visited, etc. There were about 50 items, and the winners were announced interspersed with the auction items.

There was also a silent auction that included home visits, sports events, and clothing items. There was a flurry of activity just before this auction closed at 7 pm. It was all great fun for a good cause.

A lot of sports events are wrapping up their championships. This co-ed soccer match was hotly contested. I've seen some killer ping-pong matches going on which is no easy feat on a tossing ship. Basketball ends this week, and the movement of the ship seems to reward those who make layups.

One day a couple of weeks ago, we had a film fest of short films made by students and staff. Filmaking is getting to be one of the favorite things to do on the ship. Almost every little pocket camera will also take video clips with sound, and you would be amazed at some of the things they do. Workshops have been taught on using the video editing software that is on most of our computers, and, of course, the students figured it out really quickly. Every Thursday evening is the viewing for that weeks production of "sea tv", and the showings include shipboard life, dramas, comedies, and port montages. I made a cameo appearance in a vampire movie as "Giles", the librarian.

The ship store held a sale this week for us to add to our tee-shirt and sweat shirt collections. I finally found something that wasn't ladies medium in pink--a nice green SAS shirt.

The students are studying and writing papers like mad, and the faculty have their red pens out and look equally as bleary eyed. I'm not showing those pictures.

Habitat Service Project

2010-04-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Three groups went on three days to work with Habitat for Humanity and its affiliate to help with houses on their site outside Accra. The work was hard, the days were hot and the satisfaction was tremendous. Many people left with the wish that they could have come on the first day and stayed the entire time and gotten more done.

A number of homes on this site of 90 homes were already built and occupied. Over the three days, we worked on two that were in progress. This was manual labor. On day 3, our trip divided up into 3 groups.

Two groups moved dirt from an area outside the in-progress houses to fill in the rooms of the house so that the floor could be poured. They used picks and shovels to break the dirt, fill pans and move the dirt by hand. The new owners helped, and it seemed like all the kids in the village came to help as well.

Our group was tasked to make blocks to help finish the walls. We started with some of us physically carrying 110 lb bags of cement about 100 yards. Some sand had already been dumped in a site, and more of the group shoveled that into an open area where it was mixed dry with the cement.

In the meantime, a group of women in our group headed for the water station to pump water into pans and carry them back about 60 yards to the mixing area.

The local women showed how this was done, and made it look a lot easier than it turned out to be. The pumping was a slow process because of the level of water. Everyone seems to use this one spot for their water.

As the mix was made, it was shoveled into a form and compacted manually.
The compacted, heavy, wet, block was then removed from the form, and the process started all over again. The kids local kids really wanted to help and joined in.

We eventually ended up with about 62 blocks and a totally soaked with sweat group of people. The blocks take about a week to dry enough to use.

The groups on the previous days had spent time moving and stacking blocks and leveling areas.

Part of the joy of this project was working with the kids. There were just enough tools and tasks that several people were standing around to interact with the kids. They were a joy and loved the stickers that some SASers had brought. They also loved our Cokes.

We finally had to break for lunch and were treated to a wonderful, big lunch, prepared by some of the local women.

Our new friends waved goodbye as we left from a
too short day that we would never forget.

Walk on the Wild Side

2010-04-17T03:59:00.000-07:00

One of our faculty friends, Stuart, had wanted to get out of the Accra area, so he got some of us together, and we hired a car to drive us up the Cape Coast. We left at 6 am to beat the traffic and get to our destination before it was too hot. Ghanians seem to rise early to beat the heat as well.

Our driver knew all the back roads through Accra, so we saw some new sights. As you can see from the picture above, this village was full of bread. It is renowned for the water that is used to make the bread, and there were literally hundred of stands of bread. We passed loaves of bread in all the towns as they were being packaged by the side of the road for sale.

There were still Obama billboards from his visit. They love Obama here as they have in most places that we have visited. We've encountered so many people who ask where we are from and when we tell them, they say "Obama". We're fortunate for the goodwill his presidency has created throughout all the countries on this voyage.

Kids were arriving at schools early.
All the kids here wear uniforms to school, and in most places, there are not enough classrooms, so they go to school in two shifts. We watched a video clip last night that one of our students had taken of a 4 year old who knew her multiplication table for 2 times. They are bright and eager to learn.

Our ultimate destination was Kakum National Park which was about 3 hours away from the ship. This is a tropical rain forest of many species of old trees and the possibility of seeing animals. One of the main draws of the forest is the canopy walkway which is a series of swinging bridges connected at platforms at the top of huge trees. All six of us adults decided to take "the walk", and it was terrifying with the height and swaying of the bridges. I was relieved when the last one was the shortest walk and stepped up my adrenaline rush by walking the last half without holding on (besides my hands were sore from the death grip I had been using).

It was a good thing we had started early, because we were already soaking wet from the exertion. We still had enough stamina to talk the guided nature walk where our guide described trees and plants, including a tree whose bark is said to produce the same results as Viagra.

Back at the entrance, we watched a school group and then ran into the expected gaggle of SASers. Some of them had come up to the area the previous day and made friends who gave them a place to spend the night. They even got to go to the stockyard the next morning, so they got a good flavor for the life.

After a lunch of fish and French fries at a resort along the beach, we went to the Cape Coast Castle. We were besieged by kids as we got out of the car. They all wanted to sell us something or get us to pledge money to their school. Inside, we had a guided tour with a very knowledgeable guide. The Castle was used extensively in the slave trade, and we saw where so much inhumanity took place. It was a sobering way to actually feel some history as we walked in the rooms where humans were kept as captives and lived in their own filth waiting to see which ones were strong enough to survive.

The town around the castle is a fishing village and is quite poor but thriving and beautiful in its own way.

We were physically and emotionally exhausted, so we headed back to the ship, unfortunately at rush hour where we arrived with 2 min to spare before the dining room was closed.

Ghana Time

2010-04-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

Nancy and I got up early to catch the first (8 am) bus into Accra since it was a 45 min ride. We climbed on the bus with some other early risers and sat. Elsewhere on the dock, other SASers were waiting for trips to various destinations like a drumming workshop, Habitat Visit, etc.Things were not moving very fast, and we were missing a few buses for trips. Welcome to "Ghana time". Ghana's propensity to not worry about schedules is exacerbated by infrastructure problems that ripple throughout. Vehicles break down since they are used vehicles that are imported with high mileage, and traffic overwhelms the highways during rush hour. Our driver said he was not supposed to leave until he had a full bus, but that was not the case, so we got away at 8:40.

A bus trip does offer the opportunity for sight seeing--giving you a snapshot of the culture. I think we have all become better observers during this trip since a lot of discussions center on things that we have seen and our efforts to understand them. When we arrived in Accra, we stopped first for a good cup of coffee. I've learned to love coffee with hot milk.

Our first goal for the day was to visit the Makola Market where people in Accra shop. Most of the stalls are operated by women who are very friendly and love to greet you. These two ladies welcomed us happily. There is no pressure from the shopkeepers since they don't normally deal with the tourists. Picture these two stalls above and duplicate them about 1000 times and cram them in a space with about a 3 ft path as the grid and you've got Makola Market. It was too overwhelming to buy anything but fascinating to see. One huge section was devoted to fabric, another to shoes, another to foods, another to bras, another to stainless steel cookware. We even wandered through a section about half a football field filled with people with sewing machines who would make clothes to order. Walking was at your own risk, and you mostly got swept along with the tide. Nancy and I had to keep ducking as we met women carrying things on their heads.

Makola is one of the largest markets, but the market concept is duplicated throughout Ghana, and we saw a number of them everywhere. This one was mostly covered with lots of traffic

We passed by the Greater Accra Regional Library, and I had to stop in. I met one of the librarians--Charlotte--and she gave us a tour. Like most libraries, they could use more funding for more recent materials.

Then we proceeded to walk to the National Cultural Center, or the "Arts Center" as it is more commonly known as. It was open on Sunday, so most of the students has been the previous day. When you walk in, someone grabs you like a car salesman, and you seem to be their person while you are there.

It has a huge collection of African crafts like masks, drums, clothing and jewelry. We were off to meet Kojo Boateng who designs and makes jewelry. I introduced myself, and he said he had been expecting me. Kojo was recommended by Edith Boateng who is a friend at the Univ of Virginia. Edith is Kojo's Mama which means there is a relationship but not necessarily his mother. Kojo had some great items in his shop, and we were able to shop here in comfort without the pressures of all the sellers in the booths.

We had to leave for a short time to meet our friend Michael at the entrance for lunch. He talked us into an interesting lunch. Nancy had fufu and I had a dish of bantu which is like dough that you break up and dip into a stew with goat meat. They were both spicey, but the fufu is kind of like uncooked bread dough in consistency.

Michael accompanied us back to Kojo's shop and ran interference. That was a super service to allow us to shop without a lot of pressure.

We bought some nice things from Kojo and headed down through the other sections. Michael was a great help, and our guides disappeared. He helped me negotiate for a Ghana soccer jersey, and Nancy got some earrings. But we were getting pretty tired and Michael needed to get back to work, so we caught a cab, dropped Michael off and stopped for some ice cream at Frankie's.

Here we watched the tro-tros work. It is a unique solution to the public transportation problem.
We eventually made it back to the place where the shuttle bus was to pick us up. The bus was scheduled to run on the hour and we were back ty 4:40 to catch the 5 p.m. bus, so we settled in with a strange fruit juice from a small market across the street.

One of our students who was waiting for the bus had bought a soccer ball, so a few of them started kicking it around.

They were soon joined by one of the employees of the Kofi Center where we were waiting.

Pretty soon, they were joined by more students and some of the guys who had been trying to sell us stuff. These guys even asked me to watch their stuff for them. Soccer is huge here, and they party in the streets after a win. As a result, even these guys working the streets have some pretty good skills.

Finally, after everyone had settled in at around 6:20, a bus arrived to take us back to the ship. That was Ghana time, but we saw what can happen in the meantime.

Ghana Arrival

2010-04-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

We were a day late leaving Cape Town, but the Captain made up the time and we cruised leisurely into Tema, Ghana between all kinds of small boats and big ships. These little sailboats were right out there in the middle of the big ships, and the Captain had to give a blast of the horn to warn them away. Their sails seems to be made of sewn together plastic feed sacks.

Tema is the major port city of Ghana, and although we were here to visit Accra, we were still a 45 min bus ride away from this very industrial port.

Captain Roman, on the right, guided us to the dock.

After breakfast, we finally go the "all clear" to leave the ship at 10 am, only to have another short wait as the health inspectors arrived to check us out. We waited a little longer until we got the "be careful about H1N1 virus in Accra" announcement. My personal guess is that a "gift" had been requested to get cleared. That seems to be the custom here when you talk to anyone.

We rushed for the shuttle buses since there were only three, and other students waited for SAS trips. Another option to get to Accra was to get the shuttle to the port gate and catch a cab. The cab ride cost about 20 Ghana cedi. The currency is cedi, and it is a closed currency, meaning it is not exchanged in other countries. The current exchange rate is $1 = 1.412 cedi. If you took a cab, you would need to head to an ATM to get currency. Most of us made the ATM our first stop anyway since most places don't take dollars or accept credit cards. It is very weird to stick your card in an ATM in Ghana and have it say "Hello, Warner Granade". It is also weird to get your balance in cedi.

One of the things that struck us on the trip in was the number of women who carry things balanced on their heads. Some of them carry incredibly heavy stuff, while some carry goods to sell ( or hawk) like little bags of water.

Poverty is pretty evident and the economy seems dominated by the small retail shops set up everywhere on the street. We were dropped off at the Kofi Entertainment Center which is one street off a main street which is filled with shops and ATMs. It is also filled with hawkers who converged on all of us who obviously didn't look like locals. The guys would greet you, shake your hand and ask your name. In 5 minutes, they would be back with a Ghana bracelet in which they had woven your name. They all greeted me as "Papa". There are terms of respect and most are built on a hierarchical system based on age. Many of the buildings seemed to be owned by a man who hangs out in front, is well dressed and is referred to as "boss".

My main mission of the day was to get to a restaurant called "Favourite Fast Food" that is owned by a friend of a friend in Virginia. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good address, and no one of the street had ever heard of it. We walked several blocks and saw many sights, and got directions that took us down a side street, through a busy neighborhood of shops and places where they were cooking all kinds of things on open grills. It was very interesting, but got us no nearer this restaurant.

At this point, we decided to just go to the Kwame Nkrumah National Park since we had abandoned hope of finding the restaurant. The bad news was that I was meeting a friend at the restaurant. We didn't have local cell phones, so I couldn't call him. We caught a cab whose driver had never heard of the restaurant and went to the National Park. By chance I went back to the entrance gate, and a guy there knew the restaurant which was now 15 min away, and our meeting time was 20 min away. I rounded everyone up, and the great guy at the gate walked out to the street with us, hailed a cab, and gave the driver directions. What a nice guy.

My friend, Michael Fiifi Quansah, was waiting for us, and we were excited to see him. Michael had been a student at UVa and one of our great student library employees, and he had left the U.S. in the fall to return home and work to build up his finances to return. I had gifts and letters for him from friends back home.

We met Esther, the owner of the restaurant who is a friend of a friend as well. We all tried some new foods and shared around the table and had great conversations with Michael and Esther.

When we had finally finished eating, we walked back to the main street, and found that the bus had dropped us off about 3 blocks from the restaurant. Our first route was longer but certainly more interesting.

We ended up the day by having ice cream and watching the students fend off the hawkers.

Last Day in Cape Town.

2010-04-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Cape Town, Nancy and I still had one thing that we wanted to do--go to the top of Table Mountain. So, we caught a cab at the ship with our friends, Dan and Mary Abel, and headed to the cable car station. When we got there, we found that the cable car was closed due to high winds. That was just as well since I certainly wasn't going to go up on it with the winds that were blowing.

Nancy investigated trail options, so we decided to take the "safe route" up as far as we wanted to go. We got to the first level, and Dan and Mary decided that they couldn't spend the time to go much further, so we went ahead without them to discover for ourselves just how high we were capable of going.

The views were magnificent, but by the time we had reached this point, the trail started to get steeper with high rock steps.

The winds were ferocious--blowing down in our face-- but we were encouraged by a group of SAS students (those crazy kids) who were coming down after having gone up by moonlight to watch the sunrise on this Easter morning.

At this point it seemed doable to hike all the way to the top. After all, we had made this investment in this climb. We did have to stop along the way a number of times to let our pounding hearts slow down. Our main concern was the wind that felt like it could topple you right off the mountain. On one of our rests near the top, a guy coming down stopped and said "it's great that a guy your age could make it this far" Under my breath I told him what he could kiss, but to him I said "In about 30 minutes, a guy my age is going to be standing on the top. And I was.

The top was very windy and cold, so we were finally glad we had brought jackets. We wandered around the top for an hour and enjoyed the magnificent views from all sides. We could see Robben Island, the city below us and even the ship. Lion's Head, the next peak over had seemed as high as Table Mountain when we started, but from the top, it looked like a pimple on the landscape. We were pretty tired, so we explored alternative ways down, but they were much longer even if they were easier.

So, down we headed and we made good time until we started to tire. My legs actually started to quiver about half way down, so we made frequent stops and relied more on using our arms to brace ourselves. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have gone much further when we finally got down, and thankfully, a cab was disgorging a couple of passengers, so we caught it back to the port.

Total time was almost 7 hours, and we had missed lunch, so we stopped at a restaurant, ate lunch and watched the musicians. I killed almost an entire pizza by myself while I played a game of "who is the best target for a pick pocket". There were several, so I can see how so many people lost their stuff.
We returned to the ship and joined a long line of people who were claiming returns on their VAT (valued added taxes) with S. Africa. We'll probably get $20 in about 6 months. Then we heard that the ship was not going to sail that night because the port had been closed because of high winds.

We had dinner on the back deck while the sun set, and then returned to our cabin where I fell asleep at 7:30 fully dressed from the exhaustion of the day.

The Last Game Drive

2010-04-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Before we went to bed on Friday, we figured out that we needed to leave at 10:30 am on Saturday to catch our flight back to Cape Town. We all decided that we would get up at 5 am for an early game drive to be able to have enough time. The knock on our door got us up, and we looked out to a rainy morning. Because of the early start, coffee was from the coffee maker in our bungalow with a cookie for breakfast. We loaded up and put on the ponchos that were provided.

This was a different kind of drive than the previous morning because it was still dark. We came across a group of giraffes who gave us a lot of entertainment. We weren't going too far afield because of our limited time, but it was very relaxing and a chance to just enjoy nature.

We forded a river and then stopped on the other side and just say there quietly for a while. We got to see birds, hippos and nature moving around us. This was a perfect way to just spend the last time--no hustling about to find that last elusive big game while we let things come to us. The rain stopped and a water buck moved toward us with a baby until she saw us and fled.

We drove a little farther and saw a magnificent male Waterbuck. He was clearly courting a female who our guide described as "being in estrus". They have a white circle marking on the haunches that serve as guides for following other waterbucks and also as a target for breeding.

We also stopped on a spillway across a river and just watched. A small crocodile obliged us by swimming by.

Sadly, we had to leave, so we headed back to finish packing and have one last huge breakfast, knowing that we wouldn't have food like this again for a while.

We all headed back to the airport from the various safaris, and the folks who arrived in their Range Rovers got the "cool" award. We were actually the coolest since we arrived in an air-conditioned van.

Two flights later we were back on the ship after a bit of a race by the buses and riders to arrive at the gangway first. With that many people arriving at the same time, it took about 45 min to process everyone. Most of us were dead tired, but somehow a bunch of the students mustered up the energy to go back out. I fell asleep in my clothes at 7:30 pm.

Motswari Day 2 afternoon.

2010-04-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

Late morning gave us the chance to take a guided walk around the compound is we wanted, so several of us joined Andrew. We got to learn characteristics of tracks of different animals and how to walk without disturbing the game.

Animals were scarce, but we saw tracks and lots of flora and fauna. Most of the students headed for the pool to relax. Then we got to visit the gift shop which outfitted many of us in safari hats. Then we just hung out until the 2 pm "talk" about the boundaries of Kruger Park and how the relationships were formed with the various reserves. At 2:30 was another of those huge lunches followed by loading up for the next game drive.

We warmed up with a few Impala and then:

We found ourselves in the middle of what seemed like all the elephants in the world.

We did have one bull give us a fake charge to test us, but he turned away quickly. Andrew made sure we had an escape route available for our vehicle. This was truly a special time that words cannot describe. We stayed with them until they left.

Then we heard on the radio that there was a rhino in the area south of us, so we sped down south. Sped is a relative word since you can't go too fast on these roads, so we just visualized being a part of the Baja road race. The rhino was the last of the "big 5" that we lacked, but this was not to be our day. We did find a Cape Buffalo that was just sitting by a lake.

Baboons were cavorting on the other side of the lake.

We even managed to spot a Blue Wildebeest in the twilight. These guys like to stay out in the open so they can see the lions coming.

After a stop for a late evening drink, we headed back with a long drive in front of us. We had picked up a tracker from one of the other reserves. He had been tracking the rhino, and walked up while we were stopped, so we took the time to get him re-united with his vehicle. As the last vehicle back, we were surprised when we stopped for special cookout in the bush with all the participants. We enjoyed barbecued ostrich as well as several other wonderful dishes. The staff even managed to come up with some marshmallows for the students to roast to end Rachel's birthday.

What a long, great day.

Day 2 Morning Game Drive

2010-04-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

On Day 2 of our Motswari Safari, the wake up knock on our door came at 5:30 am, but I was awake already, listening to the birds. We were literally "up with the birds". The schedule was pretty planned--coffee and sweet rolls at 6 am and load up for the game drive at 6:30.

We sat out on the veranda and drank some of the best coffee I've ever had while eating fresh baked pastries and gazing at the giraffes browsing on the leaves in the treetops in the distance. The monkeys were gamboling around us, and I almost wanted to stay right there, but I was glad I didn't.

We loaded up and headed out and immediately saw a herd of Impala. You could easily tell which one was the leader of the herd. Impala groom each other with their teeth, so they keep the ticks off the other animals which is important for their condition. The lions will prey on this animal but they would rather have the bigger feast of a Cape Buffalo or a giraffe.

Then we headed down one of the dirt roads to look for big game. The radio crackled with news of a sighting of white lions. An independent filmmaker who was doing a documentary on white lions for National Geographic had seen some tracks. We met up with another vehicle and dropped off our tracker, Petros, who joined up with their tracker to follow the trail off-road into the bush on foot. We got another radio news tip that a family of leopards had been found, so on the theory that a leopard in the tree is better than a lion in the bush, we headed for the leopards. We had to get permission to pass through one private reserve, but that was granted, and we staged near the leopard sight. Only two vehicles can be at a view at a time, so we were on first standby and drove into a dry creek area when our turn came.

Mom and son and daughter were resting in a tree waiting for us to come and visit. They did not seem at all disturbed even though we drove practically underneath them. We settled in for a while to just observe and take photos and hear Andrew talk about their predation habits and their vulnerabilities. These were truly beautiful cats.

In the meantime, Petros and Jackie had tracked the lions and we were called in to be on hold to see them. We had to go cross-country off the road with Petros showing the way.

As you can see, we got very close to them and only moved backed a little when one of the mothers seemed a little anxious. This pride consisted of two mothers and four cubs. One mother and two cubs are "white lions". They are white because of a recessive gene--not because they are a different specie of lion--but they are pretty rare. We were privileged to see them up close.

We gave way to another group of SAS folks on our trip and headed back to camp.

We had a huge breakfast including omelets and a birthday cake for Rachel. She was sung to in English and what I believe was Swahili. She'll never forget this birthday. Grace showed the colors for South Africa by wearing the jersey as is the custom here on Fridays. It was a morning that none of us will soon forget.

My First Game Drive

2010-04-07T04:23:00.000-07:00

We left the camp in three vehicles with our guides driving and our tracker sitting in the front. It's up to these two guys to find the animals and interpret the behavior. We had hardly gone 300 yds when our path was blocked by this small herd of Impalas. They are a lot like our white-tailed deer in their abundance and demeanor. Each little group has a dominant male. Other adult males hang out in a bachelor group until the dominant male has lost his condition from breeding or fighting the other males, and then a newcomer might take over. We would see many of these animals in the next few days. Our guide, Andrew, was careful to explain details like markings, breeding habits, herd behavior and food.

We had hardly gone around the bend before we came across this group of warthogs grazing on the soccer field. They are ugly and cute at the same time, and our propensity to see game so quickly seemed a good omen.

Our next chance to see an animal came when we got a report on the radio of a hippo at one of the reservoirs. The guides do a great job of communicating over the radio when they have a good find. There also seems to be a little competition among the guides to have the best finds. Hippos spend most of their time in water and most of that underwater. They don't swim, but walk along the bottoms. We did get some big yawns to see how huge their jaws are.

It's hard to see in this photo, but Andrew is pointing out a spider web. This particular web has a strand so strong that it has been used to make bullet proof vests. When he doubled the strand over about 5 thicknesses, it was almost impossible to break. For those of us who have walked through spider webs in the woods, we came to appreciate the differences--these spiders can give some nasty bites, and the trackers sitting on the front of the vehicle hate it when a driver runs them into one.

Not far away, we encountered our first elephant. This one is well know to the guides and has the affectionate name of "floppy ear". He's an older solitary bull elephant. We followed him a bit until he seemed to be a little annoyed.

We found a vista for a "sundowner" where we stopped to watch the sunset and have drinks.

This is also the time to engage in something like a watermelon seed spitting contest except we had no watermelon seeds. Instead, they use Impala poop. Yes, the dried Impala poop is about the size of an M&M and can be propelled with great accuracy and distance if you hold your tongue just right. Here, Grant, Malcolm, Andrew and I test our skills. Not to be outdone, Brianna, the lone female student in our vehicle joined in.

As darkness fell, we got back on the Land Rover with Petros, our tracker sitting on the front with a spotlight, looking for red eyes of animals.

The hippo was out of the water since he didn't have to worry about sunburn. The spotlighting is the only way to see some of the nocturnal animals like the hyenas.

Then we came across a small herd of elephants who made some threatening moves toward us, so we moved on. We didn't want to make them mad since they were so close to our camp.

We got back and were famished and tired since we had been up for about 17 hours at this point, but dinner was waiting for us. It was a wonderful buffet with singing and dancing for us afterwards. Many of the students participated, and then we were safely escorted to our bungalows for a deep sleep.

On to Safari

2010-04-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

The only bad thing about SAFARI was that we had to leave the ship at 4 am, so four groups of us met in the Union at 3:30 am for different trips.

We had a pastry and coffee breakfast, boarded the buses and headed for the airport in Cape Town for a 2 hour flight to Johannesburg. In Johannesburg, one group peeled off for a bus ride to their destination and the rest of us bumbled around a bit, having to change gates for our charter flight to Hoedspruit.

We finally boarded our flight and landed in Hoedspruit about 1 1/2 hour later. As we were taxing down the runway, our pilot slammed on brakes and pointed out a pair of cheetas off the runway. It was a great sighting and start to safari. The landing strip was formally a military base that now services some local flights and is allegedly the longest runway in the Southern Hemisphere and a backup for the space shuttle. We were met at the edge of the runway by vans and LandRovers for the various game reserves.

As we headed down the road,we were forced to stop by a herd of Cape Buffalo, the first animal on our list of the "big five". These are magnificent animals and huge, and we were glad to be in the van. Our group was headed to the Motswari Private Game Reserve. We arrived after about 1 1/2 hour drive with one view of a zebra along the way--our lone zebra sighting of the week. They pronounce "zebra" as if it was zebbra. We were all eyes along the way.

When we arrived, we were given refreshments, introduced to the staff and taken to our bungalow with the warning to not wander out of the unfenced compound.
Motswari is a private reserve that is part of a larger cooperative of reserves and a part of the Greater Kruger National Park Conservancy The animals wander through all of the areas since they are not fenced. The guests can only cover areas which have reciprocal agreements. This does not include the Kruger Park but is very extensive with a huge road and trail network. We saw vehicles from a number of other reserves and camps.

After a few minutes to settle in, a few of us made it to the conservation talk at 2 pm. This was immediately followed by a sumptuous lunch served by the singing group of staff who brought it in. We quickly came to appreciate the culinary skills of Grace, our head cook. Our only regret after the whole trip was that we didn't get to spend much time interacting with the staff who were all so hard-working and gracious.

Then it was time to load up for our first game drive. Each vehicle has a guide and a tracker. Andrew was our driver, and Petros was our tracker. We were also accompanied by Malcolm who was the tour guide that accompanied us on the entire trip.

Hello Cape Town

2010-04-06T02:09:00.000-07:00

Our arrival in Cape Town was much anticipated by everyone on the ship, and large numbers of people turned out on the decks to view the approach on Wednesday, March 31

The views were spectacular along the coastline with Table Mountain giving us a landmark.

And Robben Island was an important landmark to remind us of the time that Nelson Mandela had spent in prison to make this country what it is today.

We saw the new soccer stadium in the background, the host stadium for the upcoming World Cup this summer. We were also entertained by the antics of seals in the harbor.

Our berth was right in the edge of a busy harbor shopping area, complete with many restaurants, bars, shops, a grocery store, craft gallery, bookstore, coffee shops and ice cream stores. There was something for everyone within 5 min of the ship in a very safe location. Okay, our shipboard community did experience a large number of cases pickpocketing with lost cameras and wallets and cellphones, but we felt physically safe here.

The ship was cleared quickly, and people headed out on SAS trips, shark cage diving, rides to the top of Table Mountain on the tram and shopping. Our priority was to get to Robben Island, but we hadn't realized that the tickets could be bought online, and they were sold out for the entire weekend with the crowds for Easter and the Jazz Festival that was happening.

Table Mountain was covered with a cloud or as they say, "the table cloth was set", so we put that off for the last day. That left us with time to "poke around". There is a great craft center with all crafts made by African artisans, so we got some gifts with our Rand. We also visited a local music store where I got a Miriam Makeba CD.

Then we had a lunch outside and spent time watching the various groups of street musicians. This was fun music to watch as long as you kept your camera safe.

Then, after a dinner of African cuisine, we headed back to the ship in anticipation of an early morning for Safari.

Crew Talent

2010-03-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, the ship was treated to a super talent show by the members of the ship's crew. We got to see the waiters, the stewards, the galley workers, the maintenance guys and even those folks who do our laundry in deep anonymity performing for us. You could tell that this was as big a deal for them as it was for us. People started packing the Union at 7:45 for the choice seats for the show that didn't begin until 9 pm.

Two students, Eric and Matt, were the emcees and kept the show rolling while filling in the spaces between acts with jokes and introductions. They were great.

Darwin was a crowd favorite with his moves and voice. The students have really gotten to know a few of the waiters who go out of their way to help you and have learned some many of our names. They really are as much family as the academic side of the ship even though there are strict rules about fraternization between crew and everyone else.

Mez sings all day long in the dining hall and preaches "one love", and he sang to us last night as well. A few singers came from the ranks of the unknown, and they blew us away with their vocals. Standing ovations were shared with these special ones. Our AV guy did a powerful rendition of "My Way" that left us thinking he should have been on American Idol.

Even the folks who were too shy to sing joined in a dance group of a chorus. Allan was a big crowd pleaser with his drumming, guitar playing, singing and final act spinning wine bottles.

The talent show had two purposes: it was a way to showcase the crew and then to let us show how much we appreciate them by our response and contribution to the crew fund. The crew fund goes to support activities and equipment for the crew. They have their own collection of DVDs to watch and exercise equipment. I hope we all pledged an amount equal to the pleasure that they gave us.

Africa Day

2010-03-29T00:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Africa Day on the ship. No classes were held, but the day was a continuous offering of seminars and activities about Africa or the issues facing Africa. The students created an AIDS "quilt" since AIDS is such a huge problem in Africa. For example, twenty-nine percent of the pregnant women in South Africa are HIV positive.

Some other sessions included: Cultural Norms in South Africa and Ghana, Apartheid: How Much do you Really Know?, Names we Call Africa: Digging the Roots of Cool, and Electronic Waste in Africa.

Hunger was another theme of several sessions. There was a "Hunger Luncheon" where participants were given the persona of a person with a name, age, sex and income level. They then were able to eat according to their status, so the higher income people were well-fed and the low-income people had very little. It was interesting that some people chose not to particpate if they were high income. There was some food sharing going on.

Lunch and dinner included some South African dishes and good conversation between friends.

A lone oil derrick in the sea served as a sentinel for the coast of South Africa, and we could see the outline of the coast and the lights of a town as the sun went down. Many of us proceeded to the Union to view selections from musicals of South Africa, performed by our students after only 3 hours of rehearsal by our inter-port lecturer. It was a perfect treat to the end of Africa Day.

Quiet Day on MV Explorer

2010-03-28T01:52:00.000-07:00

Stealing from Garrison Keillor, it's been a quiet day on the MV Explorer. We have an interport lecturer, Michael William from South Africa, who joined the ship with this wife and two girls in Mauritius. Mike runs an opera company and has already started training the students for a musical presentation on Africa Day.

We also had sign-up day for the Alumni Ball, and that was a little chaotic as everyone had to figure out which table they want to sit at and who they want to sit with. It was a little like choosing sports teams in elementary school when someone got chosen last or who was going to go to the prom with your group. We get around this at dinner every night by just pulling up another chair. The Alumni Ball dinner has two seatings and will be pretty formal.

Speaking of formal dinners, the dining services has something called "special dinners" where a group of people can go together and and reserve a room off the main dining room to have a sit-down served dinner like the captain's dinner but without the captain. There is an extra charge, of course, but it's great food. We attended one last week for a faculty member's birthday. I had seen students dressed up on the ship and taking pictures on the deck, and I finally figured out what was going on.

I forgot to write about the post-port reflections from Mauritius, so here are a few:
People found the Mauritians to be wonderful people. One guy serenaded a bunch of Living Learning Coordinators (LLC's) with songs from "Grease" when he heard they were from the U.S. Others learned that the Mauritians live in good harmony even though they represent different religions, and ethnic cultures. They all contribute to the whole of Mauritius.

Several people spoke about meeting with church groups or making service visits. One person made necklaces for the "mothers" who work in the orphanages. Another group of students had a church group take them in and feed them and then take them around to a school on the next day. One student reflected back to India where he had spent the best birthday of his working with kids and learning that everyone spoke the universal language of love.

Another spoke of the unreality of this voyage since there is so much beauty. I came away thinking that the connections people are making are the most meaningful parts.

The sunset was stunning enough to bring a group out onto the 8th deck to watch.

Perfect Day

2010-03-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

One of the mantras of the ship is "How could it get any better than this?"

Well, it starts like this. We moved to a different time zone, so we get an extra hour of sleep or in my case an early start to the day to see a spectacular sunrise.

Then you get to do some early morning walking on the deck for exercise, joined by great students like Rachel and Abigail ( who is turning 21 as I write this--happy birthday).

Then I get to exercise vicariously with another group out on deck at 6:15 am without having to break a sweat.

And an opportunity to thank the great crew who secretly care for the ship every hour of the day.
Breakfast was French toast with some of my best friends. mmmmmmmm

And off to work where Vanessa had arrived early and already opened the library. That was great because we had the busiest day in the library so far, and I love busy days in the library. We were filled to lying room only.

There was no Global Studies yesterday, so, although I love Global Studies, that gave everyone time to go to the library or catch up on work. The afternoon was overcast which made a great atmosphere to eat out on the deck at lunch with Shepherd's Pie as the main course--a South Africa dish. A smoothie in the afternoon and a cookie with one of our adopted kids was great.

Then the Pièce de résistance was the Captain's dinner. Faculty and staff have the opportunity at some point to have dinner with the Captain and some of his staff. This is a very fancy multi-course dinner where we dressed up and were served excellent wine. Captain Roman is a very charming man so I had to keep a close eye on Nancy. We sat at his table and got to ask all kinds of stupid questions and hear great stories. I told him that my friend Mary Johnston had assured me that the librarian gets to steer the ship at some point on the voyage and he said that sure that's a tradition. I'm anxiously awaiting his call.

Mauritius Day 2

2010-03-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

On our second day in Mauritius, I woke up early and watched the sun rise over the mountain behind us. The roosters were crowing all over town, and the dogs were all out walking around having their morning constituutional. The locals were catching their buses or climbing into the back of trucks to go to work.

We sat on the veranda and watched the life on the bay. Through my binoculars, I watched three boats with two guys poling them through the water with two more guy sitting in the boats. They moved as a unit, and then the guys who were poling started slapping the water with the long poles. Then I could see fish jumping, and they seemed to be herding them until they formed a triangle with the boats. Then, the guys who were sitting in the boats jumped in with nets, and they seemed to be catching the fish. I would have loved to be out there with them watching up close.

Then Theresa woke up, and we headed down the street to find coffee. There were several walk up little stores, and we asked a guy outside the first one if they had coffee. He said "no coffee". We asked and he didn't know any place that had coffee, so we wandered on up the street passing several other places that didn't seem to have coffee. A few minutes later I heard someone yelling "coffee, coffee". This guy had stopped at one of the places we passed and found out that they could make coffee. How astonishing that someone had gone so out of their way to help us. I'll always remember his kindness. And the coffee and fresh bread were delicious.

OK, I swear this is true. While we were having coffee, we were next to the only stoplight in town. I saw a dog standing there, and when the light turned red, he crossed the street. The dogs are really smart here.

We checked out of our nice and inexpensive lodging and said goodbye

to the Ropsens and were off to join our friends for hiking.

This is the point that I should probably talk about driving. I was now driving on the left side for the first time in my life. I love driving, and I had not driven for over two months. Now I had to sit on the right side with the gear shift on the left side and drive down the left side of the road. I actually caught on pretty quickly, and only once did I find myself driving down the right side of the road, and the oncoming car let me know that I was in the wrong by blinking his lights. There were a few more things to learn as I kept turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal which were now switched around.

We did a short hike with Mary Abel around the place where they were staying in Chamarel. It was very nice with bungaloes and pool and beautiful landscaping in a pretty remote location up in the mountains. They had very nice views. Everything was so lush on this island paradise.

The six of us finally got our act together and headed for Black River Gorge Park.

We made a brief stop to view Alexandra Falls on one side and the south seashore on the other side.

Then we moved on to the Park where we were happy to see some students taking in the sights. The park offered a number of options for hiking, so we took a "out and back" trail along the top that lasted us a couple of hours and gave us spectacular views.

It was great to be out in nature again, walking in a country that was not parched dry like India. As we got ready to leave, Nancy hugged a tree and then said "I can go back to the ship now". It was also nice to be in a place where there was hardly another person. I also loved watching the White-tailed_Tropicbirds soaring about.

So we climbed back into the car with me driving on the left sides still and stopped for lunch at a fancy restaurant at a rum distillery where I had a sample of raw sugar cane juice and a healthy salad of palm hearts as befitted the designated driver. We headed back to the ship with plenty of time to spare UNTIL traffic came to a complete stop. We didn't think it would be a problem since we had almost 3 hours to get back to Port Louis, turn in the rental car and get back to the ship. It turned out that we were waiting for someone to clear up an overturned truck load of frozen squid that was blocking both lanes. We eventually got clear, but had lost our margin for trying to find the ship by car and maybe shopping. Oh yeah, it was now rush hour. Thanks to directions at a bus depot that we accidentally turned into, we got back to the rental car place, and rushed to get to the ship by "ship time" which means we would be penalized at the next port and have to be on the ship earlier than usual. We tried to run for it, but the ship was across a bay, so we grabbed two (expensive) cabs, and these guys raced us to the ship with 15 min to spare. But, there was a line that was moving slowly as everyone was getting checked in and searched for contraband (ie. alcohol). We were in the very back and our colleagues on the ship were yelling down from the decks "dock time". I have to tell you that we did make it with almost a minute to spare and were very relieved. We all agreed that we could live here. The people were wonderful, and life moved at a nice southern pace.

For my birder friends, we also saw the Red-whiskered_Bulbul and the Madagascar_Fody.

Exciting Mauritius

2010-03-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

After the heat, poverty, and just plain old stress of India, everyone was looking forward to Mauritius as a place to relax and re-charge our mental batteries. You could tell that the students were excited. There are a few of us that are morning people, and we've gotten to know each other while we watch sunrises and share breakfasts.

We also like to watch as we enter new ports and this port, in spite of a drizzle, was beckoning us with its promise of beaches and more beaches. So, the tugs came out, hooked up and cozied us into a berth. This was not our permanent berth, but a temporary one where we would take on fuel (bunker). You could see the tour buses over at the other berth, thrown off by our change in plans, scurrying to change locations to pick up the trips. Immigration went really quickly, and in this port, we only had to carry a copy of our passport, and it was never inspected after we left the ship. The weather was blustery, and the Semester at Sea flag which is flown in ports, stood straight out.

Kids had all kind of plans from beaches to SAS trips to scuba diving to mountain hikes or just shopping. Nancy and I were traveling with a group of faculty/staff, and it's harder to get a group moving than when you are traveling alone. We finally got on the water taxi with a bunch of excited students to head to the main part of Port Louis. I was pretty sure that the life buoy that looked like a peace symbol was a good omen.

Some of the kids who had beaten us to land were already trying out exotic concoctions of fruit juices with dazzling colors. Mauritius is a big sugar cane producer, so the fruit drinks were really sweet. (The Cokes tasted sweeter since they were made with sugar instead of corn syrup) We spent a little time exchanging Indian rupees for Mauritian rupees and trying to get an ATM to take our cards, and then grabbed an early lunch dosa and samoosa at Masala Dosa while we waited for our rental car.

Our plans were to take the rental car and head south with one group staying in a nice place up in the hill country of Chamarel, and the other group staying in an apartment in the little town of La Gaulette on the bay. The drive was the most exciting part of the day since a faculty friend was driving on the left hand side of the road for the first time. There were six of us with 4 people crammed into the back seat doing their impression of "how many SAS faculty/staff can you get in a rental car". The roads drop off into a 2 ft. gutter in most places with no guard rails, and I'm pretty sure we had half the tire over the edge several times. Nevertheless, we got 3 folks dropped off, and I drove the short distance to our place. We had 2 big rooms, kitchen, bath and veranda overlooking a bay.

One goal for me was to get to try out my snorkeling gear that I had bought back in Hawaii which seemed like a long time ago. Nancy and I got in the car and headed for a public beach. I had shaved off my mustache in the morning so I could get a good seal on my face mask. The beach was uncrowded, and I put the mask on , stuck the snorkel in my mouth, and I was off. It was really neat seeing various stuff on the bottom and lots of different fishes swimming around. One little yellow fish came right up and peered into my mask. Although only an hour long and in only 4 feet of water, this was definitely the highlight of the Mauritius experience for me. Other SAS folks were on snorkeling trips on boats and saw lots of coral and other cool stuff, but this was just right for my first time.

We headed back and watched the sun go down from our veranda while drinking a local beer. The looming rock mountains provided a nice backdrop.

Dinner was at a local restaurant where we three represented half of the diners. I had a shrimp dish with a local sauce that was delicious.

Then for dessert, we had what I called "faux pas". Theresa speaks fluent French, and the Mauritians speak mostly Creole and English. We ordered bananas flambe for dessert, and it was delivered to our table standing in a nice syrup. So, we started to eat it, and the waitress came running over with matches telling us to wait. We forget that they coat it with rum and then light it. We go that treatment, and it was even better.

Then we waddled back to our apartment and settled under our mosquito net for a good night's sleep. But, everybody in this town owns a dog, and they all started barking and howling at about 11pm. I didn't really mind, because my dogs do the same thing, and it made me feel right at home.

Pre-Mauritius

2010-03-22T19:24:00.000-07:00

Glenda, our store manager, gets bombarded just before every port. There is one store for clothing items, and this week they were featuring beach towels--great marketing. The store got hit hard at the beginning of the voyage when we all wanted SAS clothing and needed sweatshirts to deal with the air-conditioning.

There is another store just across the hallway that sells supplies--everything from sunscreen to pencils. On the night before a port, these stores are open just so we can stock up on those things like mosquito repellent or a gift for someone we are visiting in a port. When in port, the customs regulations require that the store be closed.

Yesterday was a big exam day, so students were studying away early in the piano lounge. This piano gets a lot of use after classes, and you can hear some really good music coming from our student musicians.

I almost missed this shot. One of the drama classes is studying masks in theatre, and they have been busy creating their own masks and trying them out. The masks free the performer to be whatever they want to be, and we are promised a shipboard performance in the future.

I can see Mauritius as I'm typing this early in the morning, and I can also see rain, so I'm crossing my fingers that it will burn off in the next couple of hours before we port.

Bummed at Sea

2010-03-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

OK, bummed is not something that has to do with this voyage. We might be at sea, but a lot of people are still following March Madness back home, and most of them are bummed because their bracket has been shattered. The NCAA basketball tournament doesn't have much relevance to us right now since no one has actually seen a basketball game in more than 2 months, but it is a way to keep us connected to home and our friends. I post the updates every day in the library, and the U. Wisc folks are weeping as is almost everyone who picked Kansas.

One of the other activities that is happening on the ship that connects people to their home institutions is class registration for next fall. People are online making graduate school applications, filling out financial aid applications and signing up for classes.

Head rubbing is a phenomenon on the ship. You can watch anyone who got their head shaved and within 3 min, they will rub their head. It is reported that temperature differentials are more noticeable on their heads now. And a lot of them let us friends rub their heads as well. I'm starting to think I should be making a wish.

Last night was the second global studies exam, and everyone I talked to thought they did OK--somewhere inside the curve, at least. There were some map questions where they had to identify places and some of the oceans we were in. I can guarantee you that a love of knowledge was gained in the last few days as kids studied for the exam.

Following the global studies was a session labeled "Great Sex in the Union". The catch title was for a panel discussion of sexuality by our health care professionals, counselors, and professors who teach human sexuality. The kids submitted the questions like "Can guys get hpv?" (yes) It was pretty well attended and useful.

OK, there is one bummer. We have a calendar in the library that we use to keep up with what day it is, ie. A day of B day. As I look at the calendar, we only have 6 1/2 weeks left until Ft. Lauderdale. Bummer.

Or to look at it differently, we have 6 1/2 weeks of beautiful sunsets left.

Neptune Day

2010-03-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

We knew that today was Neptune Day, but we really didn't know what the agenda was. My understanding of Neptune Day is that it's a historical celebration of sailors who cross the equator for their first time, and you move from being a "pollywog" to being a "shellback" once you have been initiated. It started out with a parade of Neptune's court (mostly faculty and staff who had crossed the equator previously). They paraded throughout the halls of the ship beating drums, blowing whistles and yelling to wake everyone up around 800 hrs ship time.

Then participants walked through the pool and then lined up to kiss a fish and be blessed by King Neptune.

Then they walked through another group to get doused with (allegedly) fish guts. It was some kind of green gook.

Then there was the option to get your head shaved.

I couldn't believe the number of people who chose to get their hair cut in various degrees--some shaved, some mohawks, some close cut--and how good they actually looked with a shaved head. Donating hair to "locks of love" was an option for the girls with long hair, and some took advantage.

This before and after shot shows the difference, and some parents are going to be in for a shock.

I'm personally guarding every hair on my head.

Then things settled down after lunch. I heard a conversation in the middle of the afternoon when one girl asked another. "Should we be studying? Everybody else is." Yes, they should have been because the second global studies exam is tomorrow night.

At 1700 hrs. we got the call for dinner--a cookout-- and lines were out the door. Mac and Cheese, steaks, and chicken were the menu. Plates were heaping, but everyone seemed to have room for the ice cream afterwards.

I headed for the Union after dinner to find a place to sit to watch the talent show that didn't start for another 45 min. It was already starting to fill up, and we wanted good seats.

The opening act was a rendition of "Amazing Grace" done with bagpipes, ukulele, drums and piano.

It was a perfect start to a great evening of entertainment that included a champion rope jumper, comedy, original readings, break dancing, show tunes and lots of good music.

Post India Voyage

2010-03-20T02:52:00.000-07:00

The Indian Ocean is beautiful and smooth, and the sun rises are gorgeous.
A few days ago, we left India with everyone still sorting out their thoughts and emotions. I think it's safe to say that everybody came away changed in some way. When we had our post-port reflection meeting on the night after we left, I sensed that a lot of people were like me and still had not digested enough of India to talk about it. It also depended on where you went in India, how you got there, and how off the beaten path you were willing to go and how much you were willing to engage people or willing to let them engage you.

Don Gogniat, our global studies teacher gave a pop quiz on the day after India. He asked each of us to think about a person in India that we had encountered and what had made that encounter meaningful and to write it down. This is our "toothbrush person," so everytime you brush you teeth, you should think about this person. Don had us fold the sheets of paper and put our name and address on the outside. In a year from now, he will mail these back to us--a powerful memory. I don't think any of us had a problem coming up with a person to write about.

Some of the people who did speak in post-port mentioned:
A 14 year old boy who walked along with a student and had a conversation. He had to to out on the street to sell stuff, go to school, and then return to the street to sell more stuff.

A trip to the Taj Mahal where their group was waiting for a SAS student and while a group of local girls were taking pictures of the group. The narrator said that she climbed over the low fence to meet the girls, and it turned out that they were visiting the Taj as well and were very interested in hearing about the SAS group. They left saying that they would never forget this encounter.

A group of guys was bartering with cab drivers when one of them introduced himself as Johnny Boy and wanted to be friends. At the end of the day, he took them home to have dinner with his family. These guys were taken with this generosity and vowed to do the same for tourists to the U.S. in the future. (Note: I met Johnny Boy the next morning after he had taken a group of students to the airport and one of them had left his ID card in the taxi. Johnny Boy made sure I got it to get back to the owner).

A group of students went on a service project to a village, and they were concerned that it would just turn out to be a photo op. Instead, the entire village came out to welcome them and gave them flowers. In the end, the benefit was less about the brick laying and more about just the presence of the students in their village.

One decided that you really can't answer "How'd you like India?" A taxi driver took them to a place where elephants are trained, and they actually waded into the river to help scrub the elephant (which the elephant enjoyed very much).

One person wrestled with advising other visitors on making judgments about people. She decided that it was best to just wonder about them instead.

A trip to a disabled children's home had a greater impact on the SAS students than it did on the children.

We'll be talking about India for the rest of the trip. Many of us did encounter people who love the U.S. and recognize what a great place we live in. We also heard how much they like President Obama. The memory that sticks in my head is a 3 yr. old girl standing in the midst of us begging. She was in the process of teaching her even smaller sister to beg and the smaller girl was just holding out her hand saying "please, please, please".

Many of the students got a henna tattoo while in India. These are painted on and last for a least a week. Some were done on the ship a part of a cultural group on the first day of port. Some were done in port at an parlor, and at least one was done when a family was walking down a street, had a chance encounter with a local family and was invited into their house to have the tattoo done.

And even though we are far from home, on St. Patrick's day, at least half the ship donned appropriate clothing to celebrate.

The different seas are having their group photos made. I chanced on this one from inside the faculty lounge. The photographer was on the deck above.

The sunrises have been so spectacular that students have been getting up before breakfast to see them. These are the students that I feel the most akin to.

Daytripping from Cochin

2010-03-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Nancy and I were still pretty exhausted by the last day in India, but we wanted to get out. So, we checked to see if there were any vacant seats on the SAS trip to the backwater, and there were, so we climbed aboard. Everyone was trying to make the most of the last day and going in lots of different directions, and a SAS trip is a good way for the brain-dead to see something and get fed when you have no more energy for planning or negotiating.

We got on the bus early, so we got the front seat. The advantages of the front seat will soon become apparent. Not only could you see vehicles coming straight at you on narrow roads, but you could be the first ones to see other neat sights.

How often do you see someone riding down the side of a highway on an elephant, talking on a cell phone? Our driver stopped for a closer look. Elephants are used primarily for temple festivals and moving timber. Timber is still imported here since they don't raise enough.

The other advantage to being in the front is that you get to interact more with the guide who usually carries on a narrative over a PA system. It's hard to believe that a lot of the students prefer to talk among themselves about mundane things like computer games instead of hearing the narrative. We learned early on to get as near the front of the bus as possible.
Some little tidbits from our great guide: In Kerala, for every 2 km, you will probably find 1) a Hindu temple 2)a Catholic church 3) a Mosque 4) a wine shop (state run) 5) a school and 6) a hospital.

Bananas are very popular.

And the local kids are very friendly.

Our trip took us through western Kerala, home of several industries including coir based on the fiber from coconuts. This was more automated than the one we had seen in Nagarcoil. Our guide explained that they know how to make 65 items from the coconut. That's certainly a sustainable item.

Our destination was Alappuzha, one of the jumping off places for the Backwater. The Backwater is a system of canals, rivers, lakes and assorted waterways where people have fished, grown rice and lived. Because of the water, many people lived on the houseboats, but they are mostly now tourist attractions complete with air conditioning, satellite tv and probably internet. Honeymooners make this a favorite destination. The bamboo tops have to be re-done every year, so that is a growth industry.

We unloaded from the bus and rode on one of the ferries through the waterways, admiring the houseboats and hoping that the area could stay natural, but the hotel in the background argues that it can't.

We saw how the people live along the rice paddies which was in stark contrast to how the way we ate our lunch.

The locals travel by boat--some on a ferry to work the rice paddies.

The kids find any dry area to play cricket.

One of the big events here is when this snakeboat is filled with 100 men to participate in races. This community came in second last year. We saw temples, people fishing, kingfishers, and all the local color and headed back to the ship.

As we passed through all the layers of security, I gave each of the security guys a tootsie roll and even this guy with the machine gun thanked me. Then we watched a couple of folks run for the ship to sneak by without dock time at the next port.

Then, the Captain fired up the engines, the tugboats hooked up and we headed away from a beautiful country, filled with contrasts and wonder and interesting people.

On to Cochin

2010-03-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

We left Nagarcoil in the late evening on Sunday to catch an overnight train to Cochin. This was a newer train than the one we had taken south, and it was in better condition and without our roach friends. I actually slept a little, except for the fact that we arrived at our destination at 4:00 am. The problem was that the ship did not dock until 8 am, so we were whisked to a hotel for the remainder of the night. I was so happy to get a shower and change out of the clothes I had been wearing all day and night. This was one of the advantages of travelling on a SAS trip vs going independent. I'm sure some people ended up sleeping in train stations, and one of our guys said he and friends had just found an all-night bar in Japan when they needed a place to stay after a train ride.

We got a wake-up call at 7:30 after a brief rest and headed down for breakfast where we ran into another group of SAS folks who had arrived earlier than we had. It's interesting to note how you feel when you see familiar faces in a strange place. It's such a feeling of friendship when you walk in a strange place and hear "Warner". Those are feelings I will always remember.

Our first stop was by immigration to get our port passes. Unfortunately, they were a 10 min drive from the ship in a little building. Our bus took us there, but the independent travelers were going to have to get there on their own and then get to the ship. They closed at 6pm, so anyone who arrived late would have to hole up in a hotel overnight. When we got back to the ship, we collapsed for a while and then headed out to "do Cochin".

We found that Ft. Cochin was a short ferry ride away, so we walked to the ferry station about 5 blocks away. That seems like an easy thing to do, but we had 3 layers of security and about 50 layers of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers who could not believe that we wanted to walk anywhere. Semester at Sea folks are good income for the drivers and they have come to depend on our ship for several important days of good money.

Fr. Cochin is a Colonial ere town that now caters to tourist, but it is easy to navigate and is pretty quiet. Our ferry took us first to Vypeen Island and then to Ft. Cochin. We were among mostly motorcycles and few people, but it was a cool experience. One of the features of this fishing village was the Chinese fishing nets that are set up on the shoreline. They use a lever system to drop the nets in the sea along the edge to catch passing fish. Then they lever it up. It was fun to watch, but the catch was pretty small.

Cochin is in the state of Kerala. Before this trip, I wasn't really aware that India had states. Each of these is very different with Kerala being one of the richest. It is also governed by an elected Communist government currently.

Being a tourist place, Ft. Cochin had hundreds of little shops, so Nancy joined her friend to check them out. In most of the places we visited, goats roamed freely. We did see a number of dogs but not many breeds. In some places, they looked like they could all be traced back to one family--they looked so much alike. The dogs and goats are all smart to survive. I watched one goat stop and look both ways before crossing a road.

Guess what else was evident. Yes, cricket was being played in multiple places. You can see a church in the background of this game, and it had armed guards all around it. We found out the next day that it was one of two places in India that had been identified to be on alert for terrorist attacks. I'm glad I didn't know while we were walking around.

As the sun was setting, we boarded our ferry and looked back on the beauty of the Chinese fishing nets.

Two pooped voyagers were happy to see the MV Explorer beckoning us home. We ate a quick dinner, and I fell asleep fully dressed at 7 pm, fully intending to catch up on my blog. That was not going to happen.

Nagarcoil day 2

2010-03-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

What a difference a full night of sleep makes. I was up early as I'm accustomed to, and I got to walk around the property of our hosts. They have animals and lots of flower garden plants and vegetables. They also produce spices at another location, and these are processed in a room of their house.

We left after a wonderful breakfast, and I've found that the bus rides are some of the most interesting ways to see the country and take some pictures. There are small stores everywhere, and almost everyone has bananas for sale of stalks that have just been picked. The streets everywhere are covered with trash. If it is cleaned up, it is usually burned, including the plastic that gives off noxious fumes.

Kumar, our host, showed us around and took us to his family's rubber plantation where we got a good look at the process. The trees have about a 30 year productive life span and can produce latex in the seventh year. A strip is cut each year, and the latex starts to run immediately. The workers empty the bowls every three days.

This is a labor intensive process. The latex is processed on site and pressed into sheets that are cured and eventually sold to the tire companies. The smoking or curing keeps them from developing a mold. The trees had just started to leaf out from the previous season. In another month, the monsoon season will give much relief to this very dry region. Also, as the trees start to bloom, they are used by local beekeepers to produce honey.

The workers then served us coconut juice made by chopping off the end of fresh coconuts.

This is a refreshing drink and provides a lot of the liquid that is drunk by the workers.

After the rubber plantation, we made a brief stop by a place where ayurvedic medicnes were made. These are mostly herbal remedies.

Our next stop was quite different from the manual process we had just seen. We visited a totally automated thread factory that starts from the raw cotton and ends with the threads that are sold to mills to produce items like the tee-shirts that we wear.

I did maintenance work in cotton mills during summers when I was in college, so I was prepared for the heat and noise, but this was the first time most of the people on our trip had been in a textile factory.

We got to see another manual process--collecting the rice hay to be used for animal feed. These guys sure can load a truck. As you can imagine they hang out over their lane and are not legal to drive, so they drive them at night. Any traffic fines are usually handled right on the spot and are between the driver and policeman (wink wink) unless an accident is involved.

Another prevalent institution is the walls everywhere. However, the advertising industry gives the owners money to paint ads on the walls, so in some of the most scenic spots, they are covered with signs (which in some ways divert your attention from the trash).

Our next stop was at a snake temple where most people observed the rites. Before going in, you poured milk on some statues, and you could wash in the public bath if you wished. Then you went through the temple. I have to admit that when I saw Adam come out, it looked like he had been shot in the forehead. We did get some strange looks by the locals, and I felt pretty uncomfortable here--like we were intruding.

Finally, we got dropped off in town for a brief shopping stop. Most of us went up on the 6th floor of the Hotel Pioneer Paradise to take pictures from the roof. We captured some of the beauty of the area that contrasted with some of the poverty in this land of extremes. It was all intensely interesting to see, and the people were mostly very friendly and helpful.

My last adventure was buying a scarf in a dept. store. I selected the scarf with the help of 3 clerks. Then one of them took my purchase to to a checkout area where one person wrote up the ticket, a second person checked it and initialed it, a third person took my money and gave me change, and a fourth person placed it in a bag and handed it to me. I'm pretty sure this is a reflection of the wages that they get to be able to employ so many people.

Time was up so I had to skip the bakery, and we headed back to our hosts to pack, and after another sumptuous meal, we bade our super hosts goodbye and with our thanks for two full days, we headed for the train for our overnight trip to Cochin. What a super time we had.

Nagarcoil day1 pt.2

2010-03-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

Day 1 in Naragcoil also included a trip to the beach for our little group of eleven. Most of the students knew that their friends were on spring break back home, so they got to say they went to the beach as well. Indians do not wear bathing suits to the beach, so we observed that as well. We only spent a short time, and ran into a bunch of school groups who all wanted to practice saying "hello".

Then we drove on down to a little fishing town. The kids everywhere find a little piece of land to play cricket.

The Catholic Church is an important part of the religion of many people in Kanyakumari. Fishing is important as well. We watched a video at our hosts home that was made from some amateur footage from the day the tsunami hit this area. The water was sucked out from under the boats like the tide had suddenly gone out. And then huge waves struck. In the distance, you can see at least a hundred wind turbines cranking away creating power--a modern contrast to most of what is surrounding them. Our own hosts home has planned power outages from 10 am to noon each day because of the lack of infrastructure. Also in the distance along the sea is a new nuclear power plant that is due to go on-line in about a year, and should solve the problems for a while.

This area also is the home to monuments to Swamy Vivekananda and Saint Thiruvalluvar. We took a ferry ride that allowed us to visit the Swamy Vivekananda monument and view the Saint Thiruvalluvar monument from the boat.

Our group also visited the Gandhi Memorial, the last place that Gandhi's ashes were kept before they were dispersed--some into the sea. There is not much to the Memorial except photos, but we got a spirited lecture by the docent who is seen in the top left. This was one of the most colorful characters we met, and he growled and admonished those who were not in our group and were talking. Then he took us upstairs and let us climb over a wall onto the roof where we are seated to watch the sun set. Also in the photo, second from left on the front is our tour guide, Ramah, who is a dentist in Chennai but came along with us. She showed us the hospital where she was born in Naragcoil and was a great resource for our many questions.

So, we watched the sun set on the southern part of India where the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea all meet.
Most of our group went on a Hindu temple visit where they were actually holding a service--not just an historic place. I personally felt weird about going into a participatory service as an observer, so I stayed outside to watch people. I was also totally exhausted by the day and lack of sleep on the train. The guys had to take off their shirts, and they all eventually exited with different kinds of marks on their foreheads. Nancy said it was kind of weird, so I was just as happy that I had not gone in. Then we climbed on the bus to return to our hosts for a late dinner and a welcome bed. The dinner was fantastic--eaten Indian style without utensils--and it included the group singing happy birthday to me. What better place to spend a birthday?

On to Nagercoil

2010-03-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

As dawn broke, we were able to see tranquil terrain out the door of our sleeping car. We were on our way to Nagercoil in the very bottom tip of India for a SAS sponsored trip to Nagarcoil: Village, Farm and Plantation visit. We were also visiting the Pioneer School which was started by our hosts.

We were met at the train station by a bus, and went with our guide to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kumaraswamy or Kumar and Latha as we came to know them. They had lived in the U.S. for many years before moving back to India so that their sons could experience growing up in India. They also returned to manage the family businesses. Latha founded the Pioneer School. We arrived at their home, were greeted warmly and went to our rooms to freshen up. All eleven of us slept in two rooms--dormitory style with one bed and lots of futons. We all wanted a shower after the train ride.

Breakfast was traditional Indian food and was absolutely delicious.We all agreed that the coffee was the best we had tasted since leaving the U.S. Latha and Kumar have a house staff who cooked and served us, and we felt very special.

After breakfast, we made the short drive to the Pioneer School where we were met by the Principal, several teachers and a group of students who were very excited about our visit, even thought they had come to school on Saturday for the special event.

They gave a demonstration of a typical day with a lesson, some dancing by the students, singing and prayer.

We each were presented a shawl by a teacher or student and got to introduce ourselves. Then we divided the students up in groups and and spent time with them. My group was guys, and I asked them to explain cricket. They love cricket and quickly had some equipment out, and two of us chose sides and the game began. Brian, one of the SAS students on the trip, earned the nickname "roof ball" when he batted the ball all the way to the roof of the upper story of the school. The kids were in their element. I had brought a frisbee to give them, and they had never seen one. I also had my harmonica and played a few songs for the little kids when they came out. They were quite mesmerized. Then I reached into my old bag of father tricks and taught them to sing "the itzy bitsy spider". I'm pretty sure I had more fun than any of them did. Our day ended with us signing their notebooks. What a great group of kids.

I hope it was a short day for school, because we had gotten those kids pretty stirred up.

So, we finally had to leave and headed to a coir factory. Coir is the husk from the inside of a coconut shell, and it is soaked in a pond for 3 months and thrown out by these guys. Then the husk can be removed.

They next make rope and then weave the rope to make products like door mats. It is almost all done by hand, and the mats are beautiful.

Several people bought small ones.

We were ready for a late lunch by this tome. So, to be continued.

Trip prep.

2010-03-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

On day 2 in Chennai, Nancy and I wanted to go back to Spencer Plaza to pick up a few more items. We had a little time before we had to be back for a SAS sponsored trip (more about that later). We were really soured on the Tuk-tuk rides from the previous night, so we were prepared to walk the gauntlet of the 100 drivers outside the gate and walk down a street and catch a ride farther from the ship. When we got to the third and final security point--just before the spot where all the drivers are waiting for you, we ran into two of the med students who had just gotten back from a search for an ATM and had had the trip from hell on the tuk-tuk.

Then we noticed that a some of the ship crewmembers were walking along the high fence instead of down the road, so I asked the security guy if we could get out that way. He said you could walk down and use the crosswalk over the railroad tracks. That sounded like an adventure to me, so we headed that way only to be overtaken by an enterprising tuk-tuk driver. He flashed a rubber bracelet like I had on.

When we first got on the ship, the Zimmerman family had given all the faculty a rubber wristband bracelet that said "World Peace." I hadn't taken mine off the entire voyage. Someone had given him one, and he proudly showed it in brotherhood. He offered a reasonable price to Spencer Plaza, so we stipulated "straight, no stops". He agreed and we got in and went back through the rest of the drivers. Our guy asked if I had a bracelet he could have for his son. I started off by saying that "a friend had given mine to me" and started to say that I didn't want to part with it, but that felt selfish, so I said "and you are my new friend, so please take it." It felt so good to make this simple gift. We saw him later in the day, and he proudly held it up, and I have no doubt that his young son is proudly wearing his.

We got a narrated ride to the Plaza, and saw the new Administrative Building that was going to be dedicated the next day with the Prime Minister present. Everyone in Chennai was excited, but the building sure seemed a long way from being finished. The new cricket stadium had just opened.

We had all been warned to not drink the water--just bottle water. Even the locals, including the security officers in the mall drank bottle water.

I also wanted to see how the fastfoods differed, so I saw this add for Subway and tried out the meatball sandwich made with chicken since the cow is sacred. They use a different version of the "Jared" advertisment. The sandwiches taste much the same.

When we left the mall, we bent out the back door through the motorcycle parking lot and caught a tuk-tuk back to the port with the driver grumbling about the price all the way. It was a good ride, so I gave him a tip since he didn't try anything funny on us.

We did the long, grimy walk back to the ship from the gate and were happy to spot the ship through the rest of this industrial port. We were also glad this would be the last time we made this walk.

We hadn't planned too much this day since we were catching a train in the late afternoon for a SAS trip to Nagercoil, in the very southern tip of India.

We met at 3:30 to catch our 5:00 bus to the train station, and one student was missing out of the eleven of us. One of the other students had seen her headed to the pool a little earlier. I knew who she was from the library, so I headed for the pool, and someone else headed for her room. She was just getting out of the pool, and I told her that we were supposed to be meeting at 15:30 for out trip. She said "I'll be there" and then I informed her that 15:30 had already happened 10 min earlier. She had misread the time and thought it was 5:30, so she flew to her room and met us just in time. It made me happy to have Nancy as a double-check on all the times.

The trip to the train by bus took us through some of the poor sections that you see mixed in everywhere. Many people live on fewer than 120 rupees per day, and a rupee equals just over 45 cents. An extended family lives in a one room shack about the size of our cabin on the ship. The poverty is one of the things about India that just hits you in the face, and yet, they get by somehow.

One of the clues that the train was going to be crowded was the motorcycle parking area.

Thankfully, we had a guide to get us on our train and find our car and our seats. This makes me appreciate even more the students who manage all this on their own. Our train pulled out at 5:40 pm with the eleven of us scattered around two cars, separated by one car. This was pretty basic stuff with our sleeping compartments closed off from the aisle with only a curtain. People came and went all night along the way, and the guy across from us was playing a computer game that made noise most of the night after the lights went out. The windows were so dirty and scratched up that you could really not see out of them at all. This was first class which I took to mean that the multitude of roaches were small ones. I 'm pretty sure I slept a total of about 30 min all night during this 13 hour ride. The title of the book that I was reading was ironically "Dead before Dying" and reflected the way I felt in the morning. Nancy can sleep anywhere, so she did pretty well. So ended day two of our India adventure.

India in your face pt.2

2010-03-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

When I last left off, we had left Mamallapuram and were on our way back to the ship, and in case anyone is wondering, the cow is still sacred in India and is allowed to walk around freely in many areas. Several of asked to be dropped off on the way back to the ship so we could shop. We were dropped off at Madras University and wanted to get to Spencer Plaza, so we grabbed an Auto Rickshaw .The prices have to be negotiated up front, or you will get delivered and demanded an outrageous price. We had been advised that 150-200 rupees was an appropriate price. We walked down a side street and asked a guy how much to Spencer Plaza. He said 50 and there were three of us, so this was the deal of the century. They usually quote the price for the trip no matter how many (1-3, maybe 4) people, and you have to make sure that is how they are quoting it.. Theresa, Nancy and I jumped in and were off. Did I mention that this was rush hour? Our guy seemed to be racing against the Rick that another group had gotten in. We wove in and out of traffic at what seemed like high speed and were only a couple of inches from the rick next to us many times. Think of racing a go-cart on a busy street. I think our guy probably would have done it for the fun. They cut the engine off when they are waiting for a light, and then pull up a stick on the side of them to re-start. Except for the gas and diesel fumes, it was a blast. He delivered us as promised, and we gave him a nice tip.

What can I say about Spencer Plaza? It's a multi-story shopping mall with a bazillion shops. We stopped first at Landmark Bookstore and ran into some SAS kids. I grabbed a couple of volumes that we needed for the library, and Nancy and Theresa went looking for some India clothing. They got a few things and I got some cookies and a shirt for the National Cricket Team sponsored by Sahara India, a big business.

Afterward, when we were ready to leave, we encountered the next hoard of tuk-tuk(autorick) drivers at the front door. They had feasted on the SAS kids and thought we would all want to pay premium prices. Nancy wanted to bargain, so we finally got on one for 200 rupees. Then, about a block away, he stopped and said he was going to take us to a shop of a friend--a favorite ploy that we already knew about. The drivers get a kick-back. "No, straight to the ship". "Then, 200 rupees each". "No, we agreed on 200 rupees, so let us out".(in not such a great place to be let out). Sullenly, he took us back to the ship, all the while saying we owed 200 rupees each. This was a dismal experience that everyone experienced at least once, and many people just caved.

We got back to the gate to the port after quite a circuitous route and paid the guy what we originally agreed. They seem to take the most advantage of women. The gate to the port was actually about half a mile to the ship and was a dirty, grimy, dark route with huge trucks coming by. The ship crew had prepared for the dirt by placing cardboard all over the carpet and covering some of the deck areas in "shrinkwrap plastic". We were glad to finally get back.

India in your face

2010-03-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Unlike Vietnam where we cruised up a beautiful river to our port, we just sailed through the morning haze and popped out and there was India. We docked at an industrial port in Chennai, India, a city of seven million people.

We got to watch the Captain and crew skillfully guide the ship through a narrow breakwater and nestle up against the dock.

We were scheduled for our diplomatic briefing at 8 am, but were running late. The customs folks wanted us to do get our passport stamps at the same time, so there was a little chaos as we got called out of the meeting with the consular guys by groups of ID numbers. I was there when one of the Consul guys said he went to Auburn and asked if anyone else was from Auburn. I got to yell out "War Eagle!" Immigration is done differently in every country, and this was one where we actually had to pick up our passports and go before officials on the ship to get an entry stamp. This is the only place so far that we had to have a declaration of our "stuff", ie. electronic gadgets so we could bring things back on board.

We were finally cleared to leave the ship about 8:30 am and were provided with music at the gangway by a group of musicians. Notice that they are using a tarp to sit on because the dock was covered by coal dust and the air was filled with dust and diesel fumes. This was our first "taste" of India.
Nancy and I were going on a late morning trip with SAS, so we held back and watched everyone take off. Then we hopped on a bus for a trip to Mamallapuram, a coastal town of several temples.

The ride itself was quite a trip. Like Vietnam, there were motorbikes and bicycles but also cars and autorickshaws and lots of buses. The road we took was two-lane with narrow motorcycle lanes on the sides and lots of signs saying "high accident area". We quickly learned why the signs existed. No one stayed on their side of the road. Our driver came right from NASCAR. We passed with oncoming traffic blinking their headlights, and everyone forced everyone else to move off to the narrow motorcycle lane. The center line was nothing but an aiming point for our driver, and many time we covered our eyes and though "I'm going to die in India".

Needless to say, this gave us all a big appetite, so we stopped for a traditional lunch. Our guide had arranged a lunch where the meal was served on a banana leave, and there were no eating utensils. You are supposed to eat with your right hand (because your left hand is used for other bodily functions). It was easier than chopsticks and very spicey.
Everyone should try this at home sometime.

Back on the bus and to the Rathas, a group of five temples all carved from one big stone and never completed. We were also besieged by people selling trinkets and items carved from stone.

Then we moved on to the Shore Temple which was undergoing cleaning. This was in the area of India which was struck by the Tsunami with some damage.

Our last stop was at Arajuna's Penance, a bas-relief stone carving . This is home to what seem like hundreds of monkeys who are part of the landscape.

I'll describe our ride home and shopping experiences in a later post.

India Preparations

2010-03-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

The last week has been spent getting us ready for India. The voyagers are fortunate to have a faculty with a lot of India expertise. Several of them have lived in India for extensive periods of time in their lives, and several of them have spent time in India on Fulbright Fellowships. Along with several of the students on the ship and two interport students from India who joined us in Vietnam, we got a full exposure to India. That just let us understand a little better how complex India is.

We had Global Studies presentations on history, culture, language, music, religions, and geography. Each on of these elements should be plural because, for example there is not just one culture. The remnants of the caste system are just one part of the culture. As new generations are born, family culture changes so that not all marriages are arranged. A panel of students whose parents were from India gave a good look at the variety of views on marriage. Then, the north is different from the south--in language (Tamil vs Hindu), religion and political stance. But, family is still important everywhere.

The faculty presentations were not all unanimous on suggestions of how to dress and act. Each night this week had a different "Explorer Seminar" on aspects of Indian society. Mostly, the presentations helped us feel a lot more comfortable seeing this country. Anticipating the poverty that we will see has been a bit troubling to me personally, and I've heard this echoed in conversatons with and between students.

Don Gogniat, prof of Global Studies gave us tip number seven for visiting a country:( nuber 6 was "sit on a park bench and watch things happen around you). "Try to appreciate why, someone is smiling with you at any given moment." I'll get back with you on the results of this approach.

We've had a group of 4th year med students and one resident from UVA Med School on board since the first day in Vietnam. They were here to learn and to share some of their knowledge in Explorer seminars. Two facuty accompanied them, and gave presentations to us. This was a nice addition to the ship, and they did some time in the clinic to learn and to help out. But they have to head back to Virginia after India, and we'll miss them.

One of the consequences of stopping the engines and drifting two days ago was the Dan Abel, Prof of fisheres, received permission to drag his plankton collection net for a brief period when we started back up. He collected samples and then showed them under a microscope that was on the ship for his class. These images were captured on his computer in real time, and we got a close look at a bunch of the stuff that is in the water. I have to admit that this was the first brachiopod that I had ever seen. All of these microscopic animals contribute to the food chain that eventually feeds us. I like to think that the food chain stops with me.

Last night was the cultural and logistical pre-port. Logistical went first this time and covered all the important stuff about when we dock, when and how we will do the customs clearance, what the health issues are (don't drink the water), where trips will leave, safety concerns, etc. The cultural preport was a little different and included a lot more people this time, and as a consequence, it went long. Everybody seemed to have something importantto say. One of the best parts was a skit by the improv group. They mimicked the wrong way to act in port, and they were hilarious. I hope, as a consequence, that everyone will now know to wear long pants and cover their shoulders.

Everyone is excited about seeing India, and everyone should be well prepared.

Drifting

2010-03-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

We had an announcement yesterday that the we had gotten ahead of schedule (I'm guessing the calm seas), and cannot get to our berth ahead of time in India, so we stopped during the night to drift. The engines were cut off, and the Captain was able to save a lot of money on fuel. We are all about sustainability. We stopped about 4am and started up again at 7:30 am this morning. It was kind of strange to be just drifting in the ocean with nothing else in sight and no power. It made me feel really insignificant.

There were a few things happening on the ship. The art classes were displaying some of their student works.

The public display screens throughout the ship were also showing the "Essence" photos from the ports we have visited. Don Gogniat, who teaches global studies, has challenged us to all take a photo that we think captures the essence of a country. Then these are uploaded by any of us to a public folder on the ship, and a group of people chooses the photos that they think best capture the essence. These photos were so good and so moving that lat night, I watched the sequence three times.

I happened by this photo op yesterday where two girls were zipping up another girl in a suitcase. Don't worry, she was fine. The students are working on episodes of "sea tv" where they create a short film. Most of these are really clever productions and allow fellow students to work on their acting, production and directing skills. These get shown on the ship channel.

Last evening was also the reception for the work-study students on the ship. Students make a lot of the ship operate. They work in the library and allow us to be open for 14 hours every day. They also work in other areas like the computer lab and audiovisual services. The AV folks are also scheduled long hours and help the faculty with classroom AV services and all the movie showings and all the productions in the Union. The reception was nice because the academic programs could really not operate at such a high standard without them. They really enjoyed the salsa and chips and especially the fritos.

And my friends at home have probably wondered how I have gone so long without a limerick, so here it is:

There once was a semester at sea
where a librarian had wanted to be
so the librarian set sail
hoping to not have to bail
and was as rewarded as he could be

Post-Olympic Quietus

2010-03-09T04:15:00.000-08:00

It was like someone hit the mute button on the ship yesterday. Maybe it was the contrast in the sound the previous day during the Olympics, but things were definitely quieter on the MV Explorer. In the library, people are now speaking in hushed tones for the first time. They are taking tests and turning in papers. I walked by a classroom yesterday, and guys were wearing suits and making a presentation. Groups were hashing out how they were going to complete a marketing survey on the ship. We are full-blown into the academic experience, and the conversations have changed. I'm overhearing things right now out in the hallway about "sustainable" and global impact as a group works out a presentation. We are checking books in and out and showing kids how to get scholarly articles on Sufism off the UVA databases. I am so in my element.

They work hard, and they play hard. We are in the tropics and a part of every day is spent by many of the kids on the 7th deck, sunbathing. While many of their friends at home are on Spring Break, they are doing their own spring break sunning right here on the ship. Swim suit cover-ups are the outfits of the day for moving about the ship. We have found that the sun here can burn you in 15 min if you are not protected so small doses are good. The major excitement for the faculty is "dolphin spotting" with a number of pods swimming by.

After we had stopped the ship the previous day to allow us to view the Nicobar in the daylight, we got that view.

This is a shot of a ship that was aground for some time. I'm not sure if it is from the big Tsunami or not. There are still 3 indigenous languages spoken on the islands that were created when the oceans rose and covered some of the land at the end of the great ice age.

It's still strange that after a number of weeks, I still see a student and go "I've never seen that guy before", but he sure didn't get on after we left. There are still strangers--I introduced two UVA kids to each other yesterday. But, I'm seeing more and more kids who are looking like couples. As the Olympics coordinator mentioned in the ceremonies, the Olympics helped to better foster a sense of community. I can see close-knit friends.

Nancy and I had an ice cream time for our extended family last night, and we all had a good time eating and talking about our plans for India. Kelly would have you believe that she ate all that ice cream, but this is one area where I can hold my own. It should have been a sea olympics event.

Olympic Madness

2010-03-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

It's hard to imagine a more electric atmosphere than the one that was on the MV Explorer yesterday as students, faculty and staff competed in the Sea Olympics, beginning with the "sea feud"--based on the idea of family feud. One category, for example asked "what is the one thing that you should not forget to bring with you to the ship. Answers given were "underwear and cameras" by the first groups, but the answer most given by students in a poll was "your passport".

Then it got a little more physical with "crab soccer" and "hula" hoop--that required participants to play toss and then hula hoop on one leg.

The Crab soccer looked like a contact sport to me.

One event that brought tears of laughter to many of us was the "singing SASers", a lip sync contest that featured at least two Michael Jackson groups and the "spice girls (not)".

The other most anticipated event was the "synchronized swimming".

The 7th deck was packed with cheerleaders, and the teams delivered.

The final event of the day was a relay race made up of different components including the "chug a strange concoction", leapfrog, human wheelbarrow, and my personal favorite--the book find. I competed in the book find as the "ringer" for our team, but found that I was competing with several of our student assistants. The previous leg came into the library and had to take off the team t-shirt, and I had to (struggle to ) put it on. I found my book quickly but was 2 min behind when I got the "baton" and in spite of one of the fastest walks to the next station (no running allowed), we never caught up. This only added to the earlier humiliation in the "pirates pull", a tug of war. The winning team had about a 350 lb advantage over all the other teams, and they were acknowledged as "beasts".

All great fun with the closing ceremonies awarding the gold medal to the "red sea". Congratulations to the tema that now gets to leave the ship first in Ft. Lauderdale.

Today also gave the ship crew the chance to practice a "man overboard" drill. This was re-assuring to watch. Then while the ship was stopped, we "parked" for about 3 more hours so that we could time our arrival at the Nicobar Islands at 7 am the next morning, allowing everyone (who got up) a view of the islands that were so devastated by the 2004 tsunami.

We had a dinner of grilled hamburgers and barbecued ribs followed by a lot of commotion on the pool deck, follwed by a lot of people filing by wearing wet clothes. I decided to not pursue that event.

Let the Games Begin

2010-03-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

Last night was the opening ceremony of the "Sea Olympics", and each of the seas marched into the union and did their cheer, and then their banner was brought in, and they did their cheer again.

It's cool to have own bagpiper on the ship to lead parades like this one. A lot of energy was expended last night. This was a nice respite from several intense days of studying and academic work. The Olympics start this morning with a trivia contest and proceed until the late afternoon. The winning sea gets off the ship first in Ft. Lauderdale, so there is some real incentive to win this thing. Each sea has its own colors.

Much of the afternoon was spent by the groups practicing their coed synchronized swimming routines. The faculty staff group got a big round of applause that we could hear on the lower deck. There have been some allegations of sharing extra desserts with the judges, and I saw one blatant instance of complimenting a judge on his pretty ordinary shirt. We only hope that impartiality will prevail.

Even after the opening ceremonies, students were honing (starting) their dance routines. I got to watch a few minutes of this one happening in Timitz Square. Af first, the practice seemed like there were too many people trying to lead, but then the group dynamics evolved so that a leader emerged and incorporated the ideas of the other people in the group. It was cool to see something as simple as a dance practice being a learning experience for the kids. (They didn't know it was a learning experience.) I see this everyday as they all learn to work together on the ship. I have no doubt that this will be a great routine.

One concern back home was the alert of a terrorist plot to attack a tanker ship in the Strait of Malacca. We saw a bunch of these military boats all day, so we felt like we were in good hands. The students were all on the lookout.

But you really would make yourself crazy if you worried about every little boat. This entire Asian coastline has been filled with fishing boats. At night, they have lights to attract the fish.

So, I'll end up with a few more photos of the preparations for the Olympics.

Singapore from a distance

2010-03-06T02:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we arrived in Singapore harbor just before daybreak. This was a bunkering stop (taking on fuel) and the rumor was that this is one of the top fuel stops for tankers in the world, with high quality fuel. We spent most of the day here with two bunkering tugs while anchored outside Singapore.

We also got a load of supplies and equipment as well as a couple of new crew members who nimbly climbed on from a "cast" boat.

One item that came aboard was a Singapore Newspaper that announced a heightened terrorist alert for tanker ships. That probably explained the Coast Guard cutter that cruised back and forth around the ship while we were stopped. More were seen as we left.

This was all great to watch in the early morning and at lunch, but we had classes and work to attend to as well as a few activities.

Saturday night is the opening ceremony for the "Sea Olympics" where the various seas (or sections of the decks) on the ship will be competing in various sports like synchronized swimming, tug of war, wheel barrow races, etc. The faculty/staff team, aka "the sea monkeys" will field our own team, and I think our six-year old has a lock on the limbo.

Each team is creating its own banner which will be judged. The housekeeping folks seemed a little concerned about the painting, but they have done this before and were ready with plastic to cover the floor.

The joke on this one is that, early on in the voyage, we were taught that we are on a ship--not a boat--so when anyone says "boat" in a presentation, they get corrected by the shipboard community. Our consular folks learned that lesson in the Vietnam pre-port.

This is an important academic stretch of the voyage when faculty get a week without interruption of a port to teach and give exams. I watched a lot of papers getting finished up in the library, and people were up earlier working and spending deck time studying. And, the chef recognized the pressure and had raspberry sherbet for dessert last night. The steward who was serving realized that a lot of people were taking two helpings, so he started putting two scoops in every bowl. Things just get better and better.

Vietnam observations

2010-03-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

I've had a little time to reflect on Vietnam after a short bout with a 24 hr bug that has hit some of us on the ship--headache, fever, gastrointestinal distress. Thank goodness it is short-lived.

There were a lot of little things that about Vietnam that caught my attention that are different. Telephone poles were different, because they were mostly made of concrete with pre-drilled holes to connect wires. I think they were made of concrete to hold up to the motorbikes that must hit them daily.

Tee-shirts. Everyone that visited Vietnam bought at least one tee-shirt. Most of them cost around $3 dollars and should hold up through at leat 5 washings.

Traditional Vietnamese music is beautiful.

The economy seems based on retail and service industries. The streets are lined with open doorways where everything from prepared foods to packs of gum are sold. We noticed in several shops that the proprietors live in the rooms in the back, and they all have large screen televisions. I noticed the adult son of one man we met sitting int he back and channel surfing with the remote. Some things are the same everywhere.

The bus drivers are amazing, We watched this one parallel park his bus.

Knockoff products abound, but nobody really thinks we got Oakley sunglasses for $3.

But, the kids who spoke in the post-port reflections on the night after we left Vietnam had some other observations.
A lot of the kids really didn't know much about the Vietnam War. Visits to some placed like the Vietnam War Museum gave them a look at the impact of the war that they had not imagined. Visits to the the Agent Orange Orphanage showed the continuing effect of the War

Visits to other orphanages like the Palm Tree Orphanage and the School for the deaf left the students feeling like the resident kids had given the SAS students more than they had given the residents.

Those who traveled outside Saigon noted the beauty of the country and the friendly people. Even the experience of holding a python was something that many never thought they would have done.

Observations of families made one student observe that he wished families in his hometown would care as much for their kids.

One student learned enough Vietnamese phrases to meet a musician in a hotel, and was rewarded by the gratitude of the musician. No one had ever tried to talk to her before.

One student had the experience of trying to harvest rice and saw just how hard it was. She will have a greater appreciation for people everytime she eats rice.

Another student who had life altering surgery at a Shriner's Hospital as a child was taken with how much difference that could make to a lot of kids in Vietnam.

Vietnam had a profound effect on a lot of the voyagers.

Mekong Delta

2010-03-02T19:35:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular trips from Saigon has been to the Mekong Delta where fishing boats congregate and people grow rice. So, on the last day in Vietnam, three busloads of us headed out for this experience. As you can see, vendors everywhere pounced trying to get us to buy souvenirs, and the farmer hat was the most popular item.

One of our first stops was at the laughing Buddha which was part of a real temple but very touristy.

The real interesting part of this was when we got on the boats at the Mekong River

The views ranged from very scenic to depressingly poor.

We rode on our boat to one of the islands to see a typical farmlife. They raise their own chickens and grow catfish in a small pond. They bang a piece of wood on the dock, and the fish come swimming for their food.

We got to try out the bamboo poles that the women balance on their shoulders to carry the heavy loads of food. No one wanted to spend a lot of time carrying this load. We also tried out a variety of fruits and got to (attempt to) place some of the traditional musical instruments. This instrument, while very simple looking, is quite difficult to play.

Then we moved to another island where we learned how coconut candy is made. This lady who was wrapping the candy by hand reminded me of the "I Love Lucy" episode (without the conveyor belt). Some students also tried out the rice-snake wine, but I declined the experience.

I did follow Nancy's example and hold this python. Then we rode authentic pony carts (that are used to haul their goods) to a small canal where we rode in small boats back to our bigger boat and to another island for a delicious seafood lunch.

We were all tired when we got back, but the bus trip gave us the opportunity to see real rice paddies being worked and the oppportunity to see how people outside of the city live.

Note on Nancy's tailor experience. On the previous night when we had been by to pick up her riding jackets, one of them had not been made correctly with a bunch of problems that required that it be re-made. We were skeptical that they could/would do it in time and get it right. We ran by the tailor to pick it up, and it was mostly right and fit perfectly. The ladies had become friends over several days.

Back at the Rex Hotel, we caught the shuttle, and everyone made ship time

Down the River

2010-03-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Nancy and I decided we wanted to get out of Saigon to see some countryside. I admit to having some trip envy after starting to hear about how great Cambodia was, so I proposed a trip on the hydrofoil that zooms past our cabin window several times a day. We walked over to the hydrofoil docks and did the student thing--just figured out how to get a ticket and find where it was going and took off on a whim.

After a 1 hr 49 min ride, we arrived at Vung Tau, a beach town on the China Sea. We were limited by the departure time of the last ferry, so we didn't go to the beach but just walked around. The Vietnamese law student sitting next to us offered us a ride, but we politely declined since we had no way back. It's amazing how nice people are when you share candy (which I usually have, and more on that later).

This is a quiet little town on a Monday, even though it was hopping on the weekend. We could even cross the street without worrying about motorbikes. Other than tourism, fishing seems to be the main activity here, although at this time of the day, most boats were in and people were dealing with repairing their nets.

On recommendation, we caught lunch at Tommy's, an English speaking restaurant whose proprietor is Australian. The played American music that I knew the words to. Then we walked far enough to see the 105 ft. statue of Jesus. Then we headed in the opposite direction and walked through the city park where a bunch of school kids took great delight in saying "hello" to us.

The park was filled with white poinsettias--some 2 feet high--and nice statues.

The absence of hustle and bustle made this town so peaceful, especially in contrast to Saigon.

The hydrofoil ride back was nice from the standpoint of seeing lots of scenery. Nancy stood on the deck outside the cabin and chatted with another rider--Andy from Indiana--and learned a little more about the river. We had seen some areas adjacent to the river that were segmented in pond-like areas made of concrete I guessed sewage treatment plant and Nancy guessed a saltern where salt is extracted. According to Andy, they were raising shrimp in these areas.

The hydrofoil itself was a little down on its luck. The windows were hard to see out of, and it was pretty dirty. Another family who had been on this trip earlier in the week missed the last ferry and had to take a $52 cab ride home. We were happy to have the return trip, and did see a couple of SAS kids going along.

There, I just said "home" for back to the ship. We've started to feel this way after long days prowling around strange places. But before we went home, Nancy had to go by the tailor to see how her clothes were coming along that she was having made. Not so well, it turned out. One riding jacket was fine, but the tweed one was too short and the pockets were wrong, and it didn't have a vent in the back. After lots of negotiating, they decided to re-do it by 6pm the next day. Stay tuned.

We stopped in to Wrap and Roll for dinner. It was nice until a huge disturbance took place. It just turned out to be three of the ship families out with their kids. That's what happened to the rest of my candy. I got the kids all sugared up to make up for disturbing us. Really, the kids on the ship are great and provide us with entertainment.

When we got to the shuttle stop at the Rex hotel, a bunch of happy SAS shoppers were waiting for the shuttle, and we all headed back.

And here's today's motorbike photo--a guy carrying a funeral flower arrangement.

Sunrises

2010-02-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

I could exist off the sunrises here in Vietnam. I'm a morning person, so I get to see them, and having the sunrise as a backdrop for the boats on the river is very scenic.

A few other people were up as they were catching a quick bite to eat before heading out to trips like: Cambodia, the Mekong Delta and service projects.

Nancy and I wanted to get an early start seeing more of the city--specifically what goes on in the parks in the morning. On this morning (Sunday) we found what looked to be a scout jamboree, although it could have been a young communist rally. The uniforms were almost identical to our scout uniforms. They seemed to mix the girls and the boys in the older groups. Here, we watched them raise a flag and sing.

Other activities included badminton--you can buy badminton rackets everywhere but not golf clubs-- and a cool concert with some hybrid music of traditional instruments plus modern keyboard and electric bass.
Around the park were athletic fields where kids were playing soccer and basketball. This park is actually used and is not just for scenery although there was scenery enough and young couples courting.

I was also able to get a few more photos of people on motorbikes carrying interesting stuff (I'm collecting these).

Look carefully in the background of this one to see two guys transporting a ladder. I hope they don't go under any low hanging electric wires.

Or a load of sugarcane.

Then we sought out Vietnam coffee and shopped for some gifts. We found a cool shop where they make all of their stuff. They make some bags from re-cycled heavy plastic packing bags. We struck up a conversation with the proprietor, and he had been to the U.S. and has a daughter in Florida. His first trip to the U.S.(just called America) was to visit Dallas after the assasination of JFK.

Lunch was at a small restaurant recommended in one of the guidebooks. It was started by a former street person who learned English and has since hired street kids to teach them English and how to work in the service industry. It was not your typical inexpensive Vietnam restaurant, but we did have a superb multi-course lunch served by a charming teenage boy who was willing to spend time with us and teach us some Vietnamese phrases.

Then we headed back to the ship to recuperate from the 95 degree heat and 95 percent humidity.
Nancy needed the rest because she was headed back in to get one of the famous Vietnamese massages--total body. The pedicure included removing callouses from her feet. A bunch of the ship folks had already done this, and they start at your scalp and go down, using thumbs, elbows and arms. They even massaged the palms of her hands and walked on her lower back. (Total cost $56 US for a couple of hours ) She said she slept the best she has in months.

While she was doing the massage, I joined my friend, Mike Ellerbrock, who is a professor from Virginia Tech, and we continued our Virginia-Virginia Tech banter. (Hey Mike, I found a guide book your Tech students might like--it's got little words and lots of pictures). After dinner, Mike and I walked around, and I heard someone yell "Hey Warner" from the motorbikes waiting at a light. Yep, there were some of our kids on the back of a couple of bikes. Then we rode the shuttle back to the ship. Some of the kids were waiting at the shuttle with loaded duffel bags. They had found an in-expensive place to have their laundry done. I'm constantly amazed at what the kids are able to do in the ports. When we got back to the ship, we were behind a group of kids who were returning from Cambodia. One of them said his experience was second only to his trip to the Coliseum in Rome--pretty high praise. The dining room crew had saved dinner for them. The highlight of my day was having a couple of kids introduce themselves and tell me that their parents were enjoying my blog. It's my pleasure.

Saigon Day2

2010-02-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

OK, I'll admit that I'm a day behind in my posts--largely from exhaustion. I fell asleep early last night from a day of a lot of walking. I'm also including some photos from Day 1 that Nancy took, like the one above. I think she captured a few of the parents who made the trip to join their kids. They were excited. Before we left the ship we also got to see a short demonstration dance by some kids from "Cambodia's Hope", a school for orphans that was started by one of our staff--Marvel Harrison. The kids performed beautiful traditional dances.

Students have been collecting shampoos and toiletries from any hotel where they stayed to donate to the school.

On our second day ashore in Saigon, we happened on a concert that was going on outside the Opera House. The music was mostly traditional and was gorgeous to hear.

It's nice that they are sustaining the traditional music and instruments.

It was also interesting to note the except for a few of us in chairs, most of the audience was perched on motorbikes for this outdoor performance.

Speaking of motorbikes, I've developed a fascination with them, and I've started to collect shots of things they carry. Like propane cylinders.

Or people. Hey, isn't that Nancy on the back of that motorbike! She went by the tailor to check on her jacket, and they didn't have the fabric she needed, so the folks in the shop offered to take her to the market to pick up some fabric, and their mode of transportation just happened to be the motorbike. You won't catch me doing that.

Some of us visited the "Independence Palace" . It was the former presidential palace, and the President of South Vietnam surrendered when a tank drove through the gates in 1975. There is a replica tank outside. The inside is mostly exhibits of the way the building looked at the time and pictorial presentations giving the North Vietnam version of the end of the war and the re-unification as the south was liberated.

We also checked out the Notre Dame Cathedral. Then, after a super cup of Vietnam Iced Coffee with some friends, I headed back to the ship, walking while Nancy did a little more shopping. I wanted to see what kind of walk it was, and I did get a little lost--making the trip longer than expected.

The 95 degree temp had sapped our strength,so we were happy to have dinner on the ship.

So far, (knock on wood) we have not seen a single mosquito--probably because we have been religious about our anti-malarial meds.

In Country

2010-02-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Vietnam this morning after a scenic cruise up a narrow Saigon River where the Captain had to sound the horn a few times to warn other vessels to give way. It was definitely worth getting up at 6 am to see as we cruised past forests of mangrove trees and inlets of fishing boats. The scenic area then morphed into an industrial area, so we went to breakfast for a busy morning.

We all had to get into lines to pick up a "passenger's landing card" which no one has ever looked at. Then we all met in the Union to have our "diplomatic pre-port". Two consul members gave us some background on the country, present situation, and safety tips. The main safety tip concerned getting hit by motorbikes.

Ten years ago, this was a bicycle country. Development has moved it into the motorbike stage, and everyone rides them. More on the motorbikes later. We were also warned about the mosquitoes and pick pockets. Interestingly, in our dinner with some of our extended family members last night, two of them confessed that they had credit/debit cards stolen in previous ports. As Loren Crabtree, our executive dean, said last night in Cultural pre-port, if you used a football analogy to describe our country visits, we have just been scrimmaging. Vietnam would be the first "game". The opponents would all be on motorbikes.

A lot of people have SAS trips at this port, so that will help them ease into this country. We've already heard from students who went to see the Cu Chi tunnels that the North Vietnamese used in the "American War" (as they call it). They found the tunnels quite interesting. Another group visited the Mekong Delta and were taken by that sight. SAS is also providing a shuttle bus from the ship to the downtown. It is easily walkable except for the lack of sidewalks in some places and the motorbikes.

We caught the shuttle to downtown because one of the things that you do in Vietnam is visit a tailor to have some clothes made. We had gotten the name of a reputable tailor from one of our Inter-port visitors. Two American women who have lived in Vietnam for 15 years got on the ship in Shanghai to be resource people and give presentations on present-day Vietnam, We also had a couple of students from Vietnam who had joined us, as they do for every port. Anyway, we arrived downtown and were dropped off at the Rex Hotel. The Rex Hotel is famous for being the place that the military used to brief the press during the Vietnam Conflict. Next door is the City Hall (now the home of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee) shown below with the accompanying sign.

After a couple of map checks, we had our first street crossing. With trepidation, we picked the least busy street to cross. Our pre-port had come with instructions for crossing. Option 1: Step out and do not try to dodge the motorbikes. They will avoid you. Just keep moving at a steady pace while looking at the sidewalk ahead of you. I led the way with Nancy and Theresa behind me, and it really worked. I got to the other side and looked back, and Nancy was still planted on the other side. This is my wife who jumps over big jumps on horseback. We coaxed her across and tried the next street that was a little more congested.

OK, we really didn't try to cross here, but we did get fine with crossing the streets, and this method worked. I didn't mention option 2: Find a little old lady who is crossing the street and follow her. There were none. I really think this is the Vietnam equivalent of running with the bulls. We finally go to the tailor, and Nancy took care of her business of getting a riding jacket made, and I ordered a vest.

Then we headed for the market to shop and have lunch. I got three shirts for 447,729 dong (dong is the currency). The U.S. equivalent is $24. You can burn through some dong pretty quickly in this country, but fortunately, most places will take U.S. $.

Apparently, a lot of other SAS folks had the same shopping idea, because we ran into them all over the market. The vendors in the market would latch onto you like a Jack Russell, but we did have some interesting conversations with a few of them. Did I mention that the outdoor temperature was 94 degrees today? The sun was almost directly overhead at noon so after shopping for much of the afternoon, we decided to see what it might have been like to have been a war correspondent who was attending a briefing at the Rex Hotel.

We went for some late afternoon refreshments on the upstairs open terrace and considered what it might have been like to have been there in the War era. A group of SAS students were doing the same thing at a table nearby.

I suppose we could have hitched a ride on a motorbike, but we waited with the students for the shuttle and headed back to the ship--all shopped out.

As a pre-port note, our Global Studies class on Thursday featured presentations by four of the faculty and staff on the ship who talked about their Vietnam War activities. Two discussed their time as participants as members of the military, and two discussed their time as protesters against the war. These were moving discussions and evoked a lot of emotion from the presenters which manifested itself in teary eyes among most of the audience. Everyone appreciated the heart-felt stories and witnessed the difficulty some of them had in just talking about those days, and most students left with the feeling that this was one of the best Global Studies classes of the entire voyage, so far. It was the only one that has gotten a standing ovation for sure.

Hong Kong Impressions

2010-02-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

Hong Kong is definitely two distinct places--the island and Kowloon, and these distinctions seem based on wealth. As we walked about Kowloon, it was definitely a working-class place with lots of people moving about everywhere, hustling for everything they could get.

One thing I noticed distinctly in Hong Kong was smells. They were so rich and full and pervasive. A typical walk down the street in Kowloon would find tea smells wafting out of one of the open front shops. Then you walk half a block and you get knocked over by the enticing smell of something cooking--usually meat. Then you can wander through a market and get a snout full of raw fish. We don't get the smell of raw fish even in our grocery stores and home. Then you are walking along and an overwhelming sweet smell hits the nostrils, and you must be near a temple where they are burning incense. There was only occasionally a bad smell, and it's usually something pungent cooking--probably squid--, or the smells associated with birds in the aviaries. I learned to find places based on smell. I was looking for a bakery, and I knew one was nnear by the smell. Interestingly, the only odors that seem to come off people were cigarette odors.

I was also fascinated with the use of bamboo in construction. I had only ever seen scaffolding made of bamboo in Jackie Chan movies. It was everywhere in Hong Kong, and I watched as a crew set it up outside a building they were working on. That's real sustainability, but I'm pretty sure OSHA would not approve in the U.S.

The wealth differences were manifested in lots of ways. Consider the differences in the boats that were in the same harbor.

The contrasts are one of the things that makes this place interesting.

Drinking water is an issue. We never drank the local water, and the island can only provide 30 percent of its water needs even though they have created several big reservoirs. As a consequence, much of the water comes from mainland China, or it's delivered.

Travel was very easy in Hong Kong. Streets were well-marked, and public transportation was easily available. They also make it easy for walking with elevated walkways and wide sidewalks. The extremes that provided the contrasts of Japan and Shanghai were pretty averaged out. You could eat on the streets, but very few people did. Most people waited for traffic lights, but not everyone did. Restaurant prices were reasonable or not. Where we were accosted by money exchangers and fake Rolex hawkers in Shanghai, we were accosted by custom suit makers right off the boat in Hong Kong. We definitely had to learn to say "no" repeatedly, and it helped that I manufactured a story about my personal tailor that I was going to visit in Vietnam in a few days.

Each of these countries prepares us in some ways for our next ports.

Massive consumption

2010-02-24T01:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, our last day in Hong Kong, there was massive consumption going on--mostly bandwidth. The shopping mall right off the gangway of the ship had FREE WIRELESS. The students consumed so much free wireless internet that the system slowed to a crawl. I did get to stick my head down in front of a few computer screens and
say "Hi Mom!". Unfortunately, a few students were a few minutes late getting back on the ship and drew "dock time" at the next port. The lowest infraction is having to wait three hours to get off the ship in the next port--Vietnam, in this case.

All of us were frantically trying to use the last of our Hong Kong dollars so we wouldn't have to deal with currency conversion in Vietnam. So far, we've had Japanese Yen, Chinese Yuan, and Hong Kong dollar, and currency converters don't deal in coins. So, students were lined up in the nearby convenience stores to buy small things like postcards and candy. To give you an idea of how strange the currencies work, a cup of coffee at Starbucks might cost $35Hong Kong which seems exorbitant. That works out to about $4.50 U.S.--still high but enough for some Chinese to make a meal on at a place other than a mainstream store.

Nancy and I had gotten up early to walk about Kowloon, and we walked through their public park. It was interesting to see people practicing Tai Chi or doing other exercises.

We were pretty amazed at the birds in the aviary (like this Rhinoceros Hornbill, and Nancy got into a conversation with one of the parrots that went something like: Nancy "hello", parrot "hello", Nancy "hello", parrot "hello", Nancy "goodbye" Parrot " ". Obviously a limited English vocabulary. The constant cleaning was also impressive, a result of previous avian flu, I suppose.

Our main quest was the "jade market" which we finally found in a covered concourse. Many of the sellers were still setting up, but you could not walk by a booth without someone latching onto you. It was impossible to be left alone to just browse. Your were either "first customer, very lucky" or "early customer, best price" or some permutation of that theme. As you walked away, the price went down. My strategy from previous attempts at bargaining was to separate my money in my pockets. Then I could pull out a few bills to show that was all I had available. I'm sure I overspent, but I got some nice bracelets as gifts. Nancy got herself a carved horse which weighed about 15 lbs and got carried the rest of the day.

We then headed for the bird market, passing through the goldfish market and the flower market. You had to be there to see all those things in one place. The bird market was compelling in the guidebooks because it not only had birds for sell in beautiful cages, but it was a place that bird owners took their birds for walks and to be admired by other bird owners. We only saw a few bird walkers but we heard hundreds of birds--most that seemed like they would prefer to be somewhere else.

We were now at least a couple of miles from the ship, so we headed back for Nancy to go on a trip to the Art Museum. As I mentioned in a previous blog, students will often buy a birthday cake for a friend. Last night's cake near us came with singing and bagpiping.

We also had a lifeboat drill after dinner, and then everyone settled in to watch the ship leave the port--a beautiful exodus from Hong Kong.

Victoria's Peak

2010-02-23T07:10:00.000-08:00

One of the highest areas in Hong Kong is "Victoria's Peak". It is listed in all the travel guides for Hong Kong as "must see". You can take the tram to the top, or you can go by car/bus. Nancy and I took a Hong Kong city tour as a Semester at Sea Field Trip on Monday, and Victoria's Peak was the final destination by bus. As long as you notify the trip leader, you can leave a trip at any time, so we decided to to stay at the top when the rest of the group departed. Our friend, Theresa, joined us at the top, and we started the 1 1/2 mile hike around the top. The views were spectacular. About half-way around the walk, Nancy notice some stone steps leading up toward the peak, and she and I headed up to explore. Theresa continued on the road, and we kept in touch with walkie-talkies that I had brought from Virginia. We kept climbing and climbing--thinking we were getting to the top--until we finally reached the peak--at least 1/4 mile higher. Then it got really spectacular with a little garden and an observation area 360 degrees. This was one of those cool serendipity things that happens to everyone at some point while on Semester at Sea. We finally got back to the tram station at the same time as Theresa and caught the steep tram down. It was a 3 ear popper ride down.

Our Hong Kong tour had started that morning with a history of Hong Kong lecture by a local retired banker. Then we hopped on the ferry and went across to Hong Kong island where we learned about some of the architecture and the incorporation of Feng shui. If you overlook the fact that Hong Kong has done a terribe job of preserving its past architecture, you will still be impressed by the current offerings. We went into the HSBC building ( a bank) with a pivoting mirrror on the outside that keeps natural light coming into the building.

In the main Post Office, we saw a huge mosaic on the wall. It was made entirely from canceled postage stamps. Try this if you have some extra time and a bunch of stamps lying around.
The we walked around some of the places that Nancy and I had already walked the previous day.

We also tried out a foot massage. This one was a self-massage from walking on small rocks set in concrete for that purpose. In my view, it did more harm than good.

After our walking tour, we climbed on our bus and headed to the back side of the island to see the old fishing boat area and take a ride on a sampan. This area is now used for more high-end yachts than fishing boats, but we did see some interesting boats. Very few fishermen actually live on the boats now.

The tour ended on Victoria's Peak. After we took the tram down, we walked around and had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant to get ready for our next port. The ferry back across got us back on the ship around 10 pm where we found a bunch of the students headed out to a big outdoor party back on the island.

Some of the crew were enjoying an evening off.

Trickling In

2010-02-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

We docked in Hong Kong this morning at 8 am, on the Kowloon side, and it was warm enough to sit on the back deck for breakfast.
We wondered if any students would be waiting to board the ship from their Beijing trip, and sure enough we met a few of them as we got off the ship. I was glad to see them, because some of them had missed some connections getting out of Shanghai. They were exhausted and happy to see the ship, but they had had a great time in Beijing.

The other thing that we saw was students skyping or chatting with friends and family on the internet in the mall adjacent to our port where there is free wireless internet service. They were there again tonight since it was mid-morning back home for many of them.

Most of us who traveled with the ship, caught the Star Ferry to the Hong Kong Island. The Ferry port is right next to the ship, and the fare cost $3 Hong Kong or about 40 cents U.S. There was a Western Union next to the ferry where we could do currency exchange, so everything went quickly and smoothly. So far, almost everyone we have talked to speaks some English which is a relief after Shanghai.

Nancy and I walked around Hong Kong which is loaded with high end retail stores. There is some serious money in this place. Think of Hong Kong as a cross between the beauty and hills of San Francisco and the magic mile of Chicago with the fancy stores. It really is like being in a U.S. city with a few exceptions.

One exception was hundreds of women sitting in small groups eating lunch and playing games. It turns out the Sunday is the day off for the maids of Hong Kong--mostly Filipino-- and they gather to socialize with each other. There was also a rally going on for a presidential candidate from the Philippines. Apparently,there are enough maids to make it worthwhile to hold a rally here.

Part of our walk took us to the Zoological and Botanical Gardens where we saw some rare red-crowned cranes. Later in the afternoon we went to the Hong Kong Park where we saw more birds and did some serious people watching.

We made it back to the ship for dinner and a light show over the water. Then we joined up with friends and went to the night market. This is a huge section of town where market stalls are set up in the middle of the street to sell everything and anything. You would not know that this is a Sunday night. Everything closes down on Sunday night back in Virginia, but here, there is a lot going on.

During the day, the folks from the SAS trips to Beijing returned to the ship. There was a lot of excitement as they were comparing experiences and sharing them with friends. As we got back to the ship, some of the last independent travelers to Beijing were trickling in--tired and hungry--and I was glad to see some our our extended family members returning.

Between Ports

2010-02-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

In Shanghai, about 260 students and faculty chose to travel to Hong Kong off the ship, either through Semester at Sea trips or by independent travel. Most of the travelers had plans to go to Beijing to visit the Great Wall or see Tian'anmen Square. Independent travelers did have the increased traffic of China New Year to contend with, and that made train travel dicey. I know that some independent travelers got a notice that their train reservations did not go through, so they had to make more pricey last minute flight plans. The difficult part of the planning was that the Chinese government required that anyone not traveling on the ship must declare their intentions in advance, and they could not be changed if something came up.

Nancy and I had no travel arrangements in advance, so we opted to travel on the ship. That meant that, along with most of our shipmates, we would be missing out on 2 days of adventure in China, but that was fine since most of that time in China would just be spent on trains anyway.

There are some definite advantages to traveling on the ship that I had not realized. Dinners both night are sit down dinners where we order from a menu and have courses served to us with white linen and what looks like 17 pieces of silverware. For those who have been on cruises, this was "cruise food" and service. Tonight's dinner was Marinated Artichokes & Asparagus, soup, salad and Potato Crusted Salmon and Coffee Eclair for dessert. I managed to use all 4 knives, 4 forks and 3 spoons.

What did everyone do for those two days? The faculty graded papers and worked on lectures. The grades for the global studies were announced last week, so the students on board were busy studying and working on papers. The mean score on the global studies exam was 81 (a low B), so there is definitely room for improvement. I heard many people saying that they were getting their pictures organized. This can be a chore if you take as many pictures as we have, and if you wait, you forget where something was taken. I got to get some library projects done without much interruption. There are about 20 kids on board, and many of them got caught up with home-schooling or projects. Movie showings in the Union provided a nice diversion.

Without a schedule, everything is more relaxed. Everyone takes more time over breakfast, lunch and dinner, and gets to know eating companions better. We've enjoyed meals with people we've never eaten with previously, and we've uncovered more interests in common. An interesting difference in the faculty is that since there are so few people in their discipline, they are getting to know other faculty that often does not happen in big universities or even small colleges. This mornings breakfast included good-hearted banter between historians and sociologists where they were defending their disciplines--while respecting the other. This really is a big family.

The students seemed to have settled into social groups early in the voyage, but with some of their friends off the ship, they are discovering other interesting people and extending their friendships. Some of the previous groups will probably morph when all the students are back on board.

The other great thing was seeing the Hong Kong port as we arrived by ship. The sad part is that we are saying goodbye to some great crew members as they rotate off the ship.

China Impressions

2010-02-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

Visiting China after Japan gave us all a contrast in cultures and the ease of visiting the two countries.
Where the people of Japan are orderly, the people of China are chaotic.
The Japanese: wait in line, wait for traffic lights, are friendly.
The Chinese: push and shove to get to the front, jaywalk everywhere, either stare, ask for money, or say "hello" (and that's all the English they know).
The drivers in Japan obey traffic rules, and I never saw a car with a dent or one that was dirty.
The drivers in China constantly blow their horns for the right of way and weave in and out with no consideration for lanes. Pedestrians do not have the right of way, and you are likely to be hit in a crosswalk by any conveyance.
The (few) smokers in Japan only smoke in approved areas.
The smokers in China could support the U.S. tobacco industry, and they smoke everywhere, including restaurants. Then they throw their butts on the ground.
The transportation system in Japan tries to accommodate English-speaking visitor with signage and people who speak a little English.
The Chinese public transportation system is hard to use with very few English signs and nowhere to get help. The streets are marked with English names which is a huge help.
There are no trashcans in Tokyo, because everyone takes their trash with them.
There are a few trashcans in Shanghai, but most people just throw their trash on the ground.
People in Japan are quiet on trains but noisy in restaurants.
People in China are loud everywhere.

The parts of China that we visited had construction going on everywhere--mostly high-rise apartment buildings. It's pretty amazing at the building going on. In Shanghai, they are getting ready for a World's Fair, so they are ramped up to get everything finished. As a result, a lot of sidewalks and streets are torn up.

These differences sound like the Chinese are rude, but these are just cultural differences that exist, and that's the way you have to look at them when you travel in other countries. We might think it is "bad" because that's not the way we do things, but by taking away value judgments about whether something like "loudness" is good or bad, you get to observe that the Chinese are just a different culture.

Part of our pre-port talk was about telling us what to expect from the Chinese culture, and that helped a lot. We knew that we would be accosted by sellers of "genuine" Rolex watches as soon as we walked out of the port. So, we were able to view this from a spectator standpoint. We knew that shop keepers would bargain, so we got to experience this phenomenon. We did hope that more people would be able to speak English, but that was okay. The merchants all had a big screen calculator that they used solely to type in the price of something to show you.

Some of us lost stuff in China. I heard of lost jackets, coats, cameras, Blackberries and in my case a $1 glove. In previous ports, taxi drivers went out of their way to return lost items. In China, the tendency was more to help you lose something, especially in bars. Overall, we all thought it was quite an interesting place, and with interesting people who struggle and hustle to get ahead.