Amazon Adventure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.