It’s the Final Countdown!!!!

In 7 more days I will be on a flight from Barcelona back to the US! I only have 2 more full days on the ship and I can't believe this journey has come to an end! I thought these four months were going to be so long but they have flown by and I realized that 4 months isn't that long at all! I would do this again in a heartbeat!

I left Morocco yesterday and it was such a beautiful country. It also opened my eyes to a new world. Morocco is a country that 99% of the population is Islamic. With all that has happened recently in the US and in the past, many people look to Muslim men and women as dangerous and stereotypical terrorists. I did catch myself at times walking around and being afraid because of the stereotypes I did have. But after a while you realize that all of these people are normal and kind human beings. It is unfortunate that there are people who ruin that reputation for the rest of them but I was happy to come to this realization and understand that though the terror there is so much beauty and peace. 

I had the opportunity to visit Casablanca, Marrakech, and Fes, which are three beautiful countries. Fes being my favorite of them all because it was like taking a step back in time. In Fes we walked through the medina, which is a confined market area with so many different small alleyways, but the beauty of it was that I walked into this small door to enter a restaurant and to my surprise it was a huge building inside with about 3 levels of dining space. Fes was so mysterious and incredible to experience. If anyone ever plans to go to Morocco, Fes is a must, but if you are going to explore the Medina you definitely need a guide because you will get lost and never find your way out, no joke. My tour guide who is a local of Fes said growing up he would always get lost within the Medina and it would take him hours upon hours to find his way out.

The food in Morocco is unbelievably good! So much cous cous and it was phenomenal! They also had THE BEST TEA I have ever had. It was mint tea, which was so sweet and I like my tea black but it was perfect and I can say I had a lot of it. They also have delicious pastries during tea as well. Morocco was a country that is hard to describe my experience so I hope my pictures helpJ

See you America in 7 days!!

Ghana!

Ghana was definitely the most culture shocking and different countries I have been to. The ship first stopped in Takoradi for the first two days, which was not what I expected. There were local people waiting for us to arrive and sell their items to us. They were so aggressive, which was unexpected. I heard that the people of Ghana are very kind and there are many kind people but there are also many very aggressive and not so nice people in Ghana. Ghana's culture is more conservative and what we think is appropriate to wear on a daily basis is seen as sexual in their eyes. Girls who would walk around town would get touched and pulled by the men because they think that is what the woman is asking for. I wore athletic capris the whole time and never once was bothered. Many of the girls on the ship just don't understand adapting to each culture and showing respect by changing what you wear. Yes it was extremely hot in Ghana, but you can live by not wearing short shorts.

My plan in Ghana was to participate in a 4 day homestay but unfortunately plans got changed so my friends and I just hopped on a few Semester at Sea trip instead.

            The first day of walking into Takoradi I did not know what to expect but it was not touristy what so ever, it was a local town. There were people everywhere, it as very congested and overwhelming. There were no restaurants or stores, there were little shacks and wholes in the wall where they sold items or served food. In every country we have been to thus far there have always been some sort of organization and comfortability but here I was completely out of my comfort zone. The market was food and everyday items for the locals to buy. My friends and I walked around for a little while but then got too overwhelmed and headed back to the ship. It is very hard as a woman to travel because you are seen as an easy target. I hate saying that because you want to think that you are just as safe as a guy, but if you are traveling with at least one guy, you are less of a target. That has been something I have noticed throughout traveling the world. Obviously once someone gets more accustomed to the country it is safer but being in a country for a short period of time you don't have the time to get acclimate yourself to your surroundings.

            But the next day I went to the Kakum National Park where we had the opportunity to walk throughout the forest and walk on the Canopy Walkway that was about 130 feet high in the trees. Walking the Canopy Walkway was definitely frightening at first but once you got the hang out the rocking, swaying, creaking noises, then you were able to enjoy it. They said no one had ever died walking it before which was a bit surprising because each person isn't strapped in but the danger of it made it so much more enjoyable! After walking through the jungle we went to have lunch and enjoy a Bamboo orchestra performance. They play music with these bamboo instruments, sing, and dance. I highly enjoyed this because the people had such high energy in everything they did even though it was so extremely hot and they were dripping in sweat. There were many people who were miserable just sitting and watching because it was hot but there is no complaining when these people are performing in the sun for our entertainment. I also have to day that on April 7 it was my Dads birthday!! So I was able to send him a picture of me holding a sign saying Happy Birthday. It was sad not being home with him to celebrate it and I miss him to pieces. Thankfully my mom sent me some pictures of his birthday celebration

            The next day was my friend Claudia's 21^st birthday so we found a nice resort in Accra, Ghana, which was the nicest hotel in Ghana and lounged by the pool and just had a relaxing day. Claudia was able to get her drinks in to celebrate her 21^st birthday, which was all she wanted to do.

            On our fourth day in Ghana I went to the City of Refuge Ministry, which was my highlight of my trip in Ghana and definitely one of the most rewarding experiences I had on this trip. The organization rescues children who have been trafficked, orphaned or abandoned giving them a place to live and become educated. I was so impressed with the facilities that the organization has built in just 2 years. They have 140 kids where about 40 of them are actually living on the premise and the others are local children attending school there. The children getting educated at this school were getting an education almost equivalent to the US which was very impressive because I talked to someone who said that they attended a private school in Ghana and it was nowhere near as nice of the school I got to experience.

            The reason though that this specific trip was so rewarding was because I got to do more than just play with the kids, which is absolutely wonderful but they actually had us work. I was in charge of painting the basketball hoop pole as well as the inside of their eating area.  I was able to help make the facilities better. There were other people who were shoveling dirt, washing walls or tutoring children. I highly recommend you check out this organization because it really is making a difference in Ghana.

            Ghana was a great experience but next stop is our last stop with semester at sea…MOROCCO! 

Body Voyage

Look at this body.


Wait.


Now, look.


Look past the arms raised,

The hips dipped

The knees bent


Now, look past these things and see the bow's wake

See the ship breaking eight-meter swells


See this body leave that word and become something new


See it become a voyage

Bon voyage....


Look at these feet, these toes and these nails

Remember the miles they have walked


Remember the dirt, the cuts, the blisters


Remember the gravel roads they traveled


Remember the houses, countries they reverently entered

Look at these knees, these joints


Remember the temples, the kneeled deference

Remember the squatting to see children's faces smile

Remember the bus rides, wedged hard into corners

Look at these hips, this round, sturdy meat


Remember the cramped trou-trou's, the motorbike adjustments

Remember the twerking of transit hours,

Look at this stomach, encased in metal


Remember the street food, the impulsive cravings for food

Remember the questionable water, the stirrings of acid

Remember Doc Micah saying "no," but remember saying, "yes."

Look at this chest, peeling away to give light to a heart


Remember the crew, their faces and stories in early hours


Remember the students, faculty, staff, Lifelong Learners coming together as ubuntu

Remember the recognition of humanity, from each laugh, each smile, each meal shared

Look at these hands, smooth yet rough


Remember the hand held in silent solidarity


Remember the first and last embrace


Remember the touch of a friend's fingertips, grazing, almost as if to say "I'll remember you"

Look at this smile, wide from ear to ear, digging deep into cheeks


Remember the seminars, mouth wide, eating each lesson


Remember the hollering, yelling out in case we forgot that this was a moment

Travel up, one last time.


To these. To my eyes.


To these brown ovals in quiet acceptance.

            Remember this look.


Remember their expression, aged with sights and sounds


Remember their creases, squinting as if asking silently, quietly, why? Remember the tears, tracking dirt down this face

Because, it's looked towards the horizon each morning, each night


Because it has hoped that this won't end.


Because these eyes, this heart, this body, it cannot bear to think of a time without family

Without ubuntu.
Without you.


For you have made these feet, hands, knees strong


You have stopped the aches in this chest, this smile


For you have given a face, a beat to each pump of my heart.


Listen to these hands that shape these words, their words


Their "I love you"
We do not leave it behind with the last embrace


Not love lost
Not love misplaced or forgotten


We know where it is


Love given
Love received


So look towards these eyes, follow their gaze.


Towards the horizon, we watch, we wait for forever to continue until a voice whispers back It rides the waves, as quiet, as secret as the crests of the Indian Ocean
It finds its way to our eyes and pulls a current with each word, saying


That if this be the end of things, if this truly be the end, a midnight signal of stating finality,

Then let it reach deep into us
Let it take hold of our souls


Let it shake our foundations


And, when the earthquake settles


When our souls can finally catch a breath


Then,
Then,
Then, let it feel like infinity.

 

By: Stephen Brown

SAS Spring 2013

This was a poem performed at the Semester at Sea talent show last night. It was a very moving piece that captured the essence of Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Voyage around the world

A few pictures from South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

Molweni Nonke (Hello Everyone)

I can definitely say that South Africa has reached the top countries I have traveled to! There is so much beauty, culture, life, and diversity into this one area. I only had the opportunity to stay in Cape Town but it was a great experience.

The first day I went with my interpersonal communications class to a township of Khayelitsha where we had the opportunity to visit a pre-school. As we entered the school the children were singing and dancing for us and then we all played games. The kids loved cameras and having their pictures taken and even taking the camera and taking pictures of others. Their teachers were so passionate about the children and had such high spirits and outlooks for their futures. It was sad to leave the kids but definitely one of my highlights of the trip. While driving around the local township you see where these people live. They live in these small tin houses, one right next to the other, miles upon miles long. It was so interesting to see such a vast range of wealth and extreme poverty just within Cape Town. During my class trip we also had the opportunity to try some local food called Babotie, which is a meat dish with almost like a scrambled egg crust on the outside. It is hard to explain but it served with rice and chutney sauce and was quite delicious! After lunch we then had the opportunity to learn Xhosa, which is one of the languages spoken in South Africa. We had a wonderful teacher and learned various greetings, attempted to learn the clicks. Some interesting things about the Xhosa culture is that when you greet a person, you rarely ask the their name, to them your name is not important. To them, knowing how your health is and how you are doing is much more important than your name. They also refer all people as mother, father, brother and sister, even though they are not their actual family because they see all people as family.

            On the second day I embarked on a very strenuous challenge of hiking Table Mountain, which is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. That was the hardest thing I have ever done. I have never been so tired and worked in my life! But thing about it was once you started there was no turning back, you had to keep going, which is what I had to keep telling myself. Hiking up was a straight hike up, it was not gradual, and it was like taking huge steps all of the way up! I was with 3 other girls and they were able to keep up with each other but I kept lagging behind and slowly but surely making it to the top. It took us around 2 ½ - 3 hrs to make it to the top. You could see pretty much all of Cape Town from the top, which was a beautiful site to see. At the top there was a café where we rushed to refuel with some much needed PowerAde. When we decided to head back, we made the decision to take the cable cars back down the mountain which took us less than a minute to get from the top to the bottom of the mountain. Funny how it took us 3 hours to go up and 1 minute to go down.

            Even though Table Mountain was an amazing experience, it then mentally gave me an excuse to eat my way through South Africa… which I definitely did. The food here was so delicious and actually safe to eat for once. My friends and I went to an area called Camps Bay, which had some little shops and restaurants. We found a little seafood place where I had a delicious seafood platter that had fresh calamari, prawn, muscles and line fish. During dinner I also had my very first Long Island Ice tea, don't worry I only had one.

            On the third day in Cape Town my friend Melissa had a connection with someone who lives in Cape Town. He offered to take us all over Cape Town, being our personal tour guide for the day. Without Ken, we definitely would not have been able to see all that Cape Town really had to offer. We drove through a little town, which had many bohemian shops. Then we went to Boulders Beach where there were so many penguins! We were able to get close to the penguins and see some babies as well. It was a beautiful view and so cute to see the penguins. We then drove around the National Park where we saw some crazy baboons. They owned that park and would just go as they pleased and make cars wait for them as they just roamed around the roads. We always had to roll up our windows because the baboons can be very dangerous and sneaky and try anything they could to get some snacks from cars.

            On the fourth day we were suppose to do the one thing I had been looking forward to doing ever since I found out I was going to Cape Town, which was to go Shark Cage Diving and see a Great White Shark! Unfortunately due to bad weather and strong winds all of the companies kept cancelling due to safety reasons. That was the biggest disappointment I had in South Africa because it was always a dream of mine to do. But instead I got the opportunity to see Vara, my sorority sister who is also my Little! She is currently studying in Cape Town and we spent the day walking around the city, doing a little shopping at the markets. She took me to an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch, which was awesome! I have never had Ethiopian food and it was so good and such a cool experience. You sit at these little round tables and once you order your food it is brought out on this large round plate with a white "bread" covering the plate and then the food on top. You eat with your hand with the white "bread" and it was fun to get your hands a little dirty and try something new. We then did some more walking around and our way to another town to do some more walking and shopping around before we went to dinner. I had another seafood platter for dinner but this time it was HUGE! It was enough food to feed a whole family, not kidding. It had 2 fillets of fish, one of a salmon, which was white and the other that was line fish. There was then a bowl of calamari, muscles, prawn and a huge crawfish that looked like a lobster. It was some of the best seafood I have ever had! And yes, I did finish it all…this girl pretty much never gets full. Oh and during dinner there were seals right outside our restaurant eating some fish that the fishermen gave them.

            On our way back to Varas house we took the train, which has never given Vara problems before, but unfortunately this time it was a bit of an awakening on how dangerous a place South Africa really is. We were sitting on the train, minding our own business and this young man comes over and tries to sit with us. Thankfully Vara has a very strong personality and told him to sit somewhere else. But then his stop came, he opened the train door and lunged back to our seat and grabbed my purse! Vara was sitting on the outside as a barrier and my bag was right against the wall of the train and I will always be thankful that he didn't get away with my bag because the strap broke. Funny thing is that my bag was a fake bag I bought in China and I believe that the reason I still have it is because the leather was not real and easily broke. I am also thankful that he did not use a knife or other dangerous ways to try and get my bag. After finally calming down about what had happened, a few stops later a group of about 10 large men got on the train and sat right on the opposite side of us, so we got up and sat with a local woman who was kind to talk to us. It was definitely an eye opening experience going through that and I was the happiest person to get back to Vara's house where I knew I was safe.

            Safety is always a big concern in every country I am in and it is very hard being a female traveler because we are always looked at as an easy target.

            But once we got to the house we made a batch of cupcakes and just enjoyed the time we had together. It was so wonderful to get a piece of home in South Africa.

            The next day my friends and I decided to go to the wine lands of South Africa. I have never had wine before so I thought what better place to try wine for the first time than at the vineyards of South Africa! When we got to our first winery we had no idea the proper way to taste wines and once we told our guide they were bother shocked and even more shocked in how I had never had wine before! He said he had never had to teach someone how to taste wine. So that was a fun experience. I also found out that I am definitely a white wine drinker, not red. I fell in love with the winery that made the white Zinfandel, which was the only winery to make zinfandel in South Africa. After our first winery we made our way to a second winery trying 2 more white wines and 1 red. Then we went to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the wine lands where I had one of the best meals I have ever had…OSTRICH! You would expect ostrich to be a white meat like chicken but actually looks like steak! I would have to explain the taste and texture to be like a mix between steak and venison and it was definitely one of the best meals I have ever had!!! We were supposed to then go to a third winery but since it was Good Friday the winery was closed so we went to a brewery instead. It was a cool experience but I definitely realized I am not much of a beer drinker.

            The last day in Cape Town, all of the tours to Robin Island were canceled due to high winds so my friends and I just hung out around an area called the Waterfront and did some more shopping and eating!

            I definitely have to say I would love to return to South Africa and to go on a Safari as well as live my life long dream of going Cage Diving! Now I am off to Ghana!! I can't believe I only have 24 days left on this amazing journey; it is so bittersweet to think about. I will definitely be taking full advantage of these last few weeks!!

South Africa!

Molweni Nonke (Hello Everyone)

I can definitely say that South Africa has reached the top countries I have traveled to! There is so much beauty, culture, life, and diversity into this one area. I only had the opportunity to stay in Cape Town but it was a great experience.

The first day I went with my interpersonal communications class to a township of Khayelitsha where we had the opportunity to visit a pre-school. As we entered the school the children were singing and dancing for us and then we all played games. The kids loved cameras and having their pictures taken and even taking the camera and taking pictures of others. Their teachers were so passionate about the children and had such high spirits and outlooks for their futures. It was sad to leave the kids but definitely one of my highlights of the trip. While driving around the local township you see where these people live. They live in these small tin houses, one right next to the other, miles upon miles long. It was so interesting to see such a vast range of wealth and extreme poverty just within Cape Town. During my class trip we also had the opportunity to try some local food called Babotie, which is a meat dish with almost like a scrambled egg crust on the outside. It is hard to explain but it served with rice and chutney sauce and was quite delicious! After lunch we then had the opportunity to learn Xhosa, which is one of the languages spoken in South Africa. We had a wonderful teacher and learned various greetings, attempted to learn the clicks. Some interesting things about the Xhosa culture is that when you greet a person, you rarely ask the their name, to them your name is not important. To them, knowing how your health is and how you are doing is much more important than your name. They also refer all people as mother, father, brother and sister, even though they are not their actual family because they see all people as family.

            On the second day I embarked on a very strenuous challenge of hiking Table Mountain, which is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. That was the hardest thing I have ever done. I have never been so tired and worked in my life! But thing about it was once you started there was no turning back, you had to keep going, which is what I had to keep telling myself. Hiking up was a straight hike up, it was not gradual, and it was like taking huge steps all of the way up! I was with 3 other girls and they were able to keep up with each other but I kept lagging behind and slowly but surely making it to the top. It took us around 2 ½ - 3 hrs to make it to the top. You could see pretty much all of Cape Town from the top, which was a beautiful site to see. At the top there was a café where we rushed to refuel with some much needed PowerAde. When we decided to head back, we made the decision to take the cable cars back down the mountain which took us less than a minute to get from the top to the bottom of the mountain. Funny how it took us 3 hours to go up and 1 minute to go down.

            Even though Table Mountain was an amazing experience, it then mentally gave me an excuse to eat my way through South Africa… which I definitely did. The food here was so delicious and actually safe to eat for once. My friends and I went to an area called Camps Bay, which had some little shops and restaurants. We found a little seafood place where I had a delicious seafood platter that had fresh calamari, prawn, muscles and line fish. During dinner I also had my very first Long Island Ice tea, don't worry I only had one.

            On the third day in Cape Town my friend Melissa had a connection with someone who lives in Cape Town. He offered to take us all over Cape Town, being our personal tour guide for the day. Without Ken, we definitely would not have been able to see all that Cape Town really had to offer. We drove through a little town, which had many bohemian shops. Then we went to Boulders Beach where there were so many penguins! We were able to get close to the penguins and see some babies as well. It was a beautiful view and so cute to see the penguins. We then drove around the National Park where we saw some crazy baboons. They owned that park and would just go as they pleased and make cars wait for them as they just roamed around the roads. We always had to roll up our windows because the baboons can be very dangerous and sneaky and try anything they could to get some snacks from cars.

            On the fourth day we were suppose to do the one thing I had been looking forward to doing ever since I found out I was going to Cape Town, which was to go Shark Cage Diving and see a Great White Shark! Unfortunately due to bad weather and strong winds all of the companies kept cancelling due to safety reasons. That was the biggest disappointment I had in South Africa because it was always a dream of mine to do. But instead I got the opportunity to see Vara, my sorority sister who is also my Little! She is currently studying in Cape Town and we spent the day walking around the city, doing a little shopping at the markets. She took me to an Ethiopian restaurant for lunch, which was awesome! I have never had Ethiopian food and it was so good and such a cool experience. You sit at these little round tables and once you order your food it is brought out on this large round plate with a white "bread" covering the plate and then the food on top. You eat with your hand with the white "bread" and it was fun to get your hands a little dirty and try something new. We then did some more walking around and our way to another town to do some more walking and shopping around before we went to dinner. I had another seafood platter for dinner but this time it was HUGE! It was enough food to feed a whole family, not kidding. It had 2 fillets of fish, one of a salmon, which was white and the other that was line fish. There was then a bowl of calamari, muscles, prawn and a huge crawfish that looked like a lobster. It was some of the best seafood I have ever had! And yes, I did finish it all…this girl pretty much never gets full. Oh and during dinner there were seals right outside our restaurant eating some fish that the fishermen gave them.

            On our way back to Varas house we took the train, which has never given Vara problems before, but unfortunately this time it was a bit of an awakening on how dangerous a place South Africa really is. We were sitting on the train, minding our own business and this young man comes over and tries to sit with us. Thankfully Vara has a very strong personality and told him to sit somewhere else. But then his stop came, he opened the train door and lunged back to our seat and grabbed my purse! Vara was sitting on the outside as a barrier and my bag was right against the wall of the train and I will always be thankful that he didn't get away with my bag because the strap broke. Funny thing is that my bag was a fake bag I bought in China and I believe that the reason I still have it is because the leather was not real and easily broke. I am also thankful that he did not use a knife or other dangerous ways to try and get my bag. After finally calming down about what had happened, a few stops later a group of about 10 large men got on the train and sat right on the opposite side of us, so we got up and sat with a local woman who was kind to talk to us. It was definitely an eye opening experience going through that and I was the happiest person to get back to Vara's house where I knew I was safe.

            Safety is always a big concern in every country I am in and it is very hard being a female traveler because we are always looked at as an easy target.

            But once we got to the house we made a batch of cupcakes and just enjoyed the time we had together. It was so wonderful to get a piece of home in South Africa.

            The next day my friends and I decided to go to the wine lands of South Africa. I have never had wine before so I thought what better place to try wine for the first time than at the vineyards of South Africa! When we got to our first winery we had no idea the proper way to taste wines and once we told our guide they were bother shocked and even more shocked in how I had never had wine before! He said he had never had to teach someone how to taste wine. So that was a fun experience. I also found out that I am definitely a white wine drinker, not red. I fell in love with the winery that made the white Zinfandel, which was the only winery to make zinfandel in South Africa. After our first winery we made our way to a second winery trying 2 more white wines and 1 red. Then we went to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the wine lands where I had one of the best meals I have ever had…OSTRICH! You would expect ostrich to be a white meat like chicken but actually looks like steak! I would have to explain the taste and texture to be like a mix between steak and venison and it was definitely one of the best meals I have ever had!!! We were supposed to then go to a third winery but since it was Good Friday the winery was closed so we went to a brewery instead. It was a cool experience but I definitely realized I am not much of a beer drinker.

            The last day in Cape Town, all of the tours to Robin Island were canceled due to high winds so my friends and I just hung out around an area called the Waterfront and did some more shopping and eating!

            I definitely have to say I would love to return to South Africa and to go on a Safari as well as live my life long dream of going Cage Diving! Now I am off to Ghana!! I can't believe I only have 24 days left on this amazing journey; it is so bittersweet to think about. But until next time!