It is impossible to actually explain in words how my India experience was, but as always I will do my best. For the first time we all experienced a HUGE culture shock the first day that we ported in Chennai. Despite it being about 95 degrees with dense humidity, the culture is very conservative, which meant we had to dress accordingly- no shorts/skirts/pants above the knee, no shoulders, chest or back exposed. Also, close toed shoes because the streets are so disgusting. The smell of India is something that I will never forget. We could smell it well before we got into the port, probably a day before- and to be honest the ship still has a bit of a smell going on.
On my first day there I was signed up for a service visit to a Dalit Village School. When I signed up for it back in September, I had no idea what that would entail, but it had been recommended to me. Well, turns out there were 18 of us and we took a bus to a school on the outskirts on Chennai. The bus ride itself was overwhelming.
The level of poverty throughout Chennai is above and beyond anything I could even imagine, let alone drive through. There is trash everywhere, the streets are somewhat paved, most people don’t wear shoes, there are stray animals – dogs, goats, cows – everywhere. Even though the caste system isn’t legally still in effect, socially it is. It is clear that the rich are rich and keep getting richer- and the poor will continue to be poor. Driving through the city was a feat in itself- there aren’t really any driving regulations. You drive on the left side of the road, but even that is very flexible. You see everything on the street from bicycles, to rigshaws, to pretty nice cars, to really crappy cars, to oxen pulling carts with vegetables to packed minibuses. And the beeping is endless. In India, using your horn isn’t a sign of aggression, it is a warning, so when you are coming up behind a bicycle you honk so they know you are there. Plus there are no traffic lights, so you just beep to let people know that you are there. 4 way intersections caused me to see my life flash before my eyes several times as well as a few close calls, but I’ll get to those later. But I am glad my first tour around the city was from the bus because I really saw a lot and took a lot in before doing anything else in the city.
Well when we got to the village, we were welcomed with a whole parade of people- playing music, singing, dancing, wanting to take photos with us and shake our hands – it was overwhelming. A 5 man band led us down the street to the school, where there was a pavilion in the courtyard area with a big poster that said “Work Project – Students of Semester at Sea – University of Virginia, USA – Organized by Human Rights Education Movement of India”. All of the children either ran out of the building to greet us, or just came to the windows of their classrooms and began screaming and cheering. It was really special and immediately we could tell that they had been looking forward to this day for a long time. After welcoming us with music and an introduction to the school, and some of us got henna tattoos by girls who were SO excited to see us, they put us to work! We were to paint the exterior of three of the buildings that all faced the center of the courtyard. I had yellow paint, so after 4 hours I was absolutely covered in paint. They didn’t really care how neat it was, so we were just slopping it on and it was going everywhere! I was painting with Ellen, one of the nurses from the medical team on the ship – and probably every couple minutes or so, one of the children would come up to us and ask us what our names were, and ask us to write our name and phone number down in their notebooks. It was hysterical. For most of them, that was their vast English knowledge. Several of them however were able to talk to us about school and what their favorite subjects were, how old they were, etc. Mayhem really hit when school let out around 3pm or so. Kids just started RUNNING out of the school and wanting to touch us and shake our hands, and they would have us sign their hands, it was crazy. OH and cameras are the most exciting things for them. They would fight each other to have their pictures taken. Once any of us took a camera out of our pocket or our bag we had to fend for our lives, haha. They loved seeing themselves on our cameras – so we have LOTS of pictures of them and with them, which I will eventually post..the stickers were also a huge hit…but we waited until the end to give those out because we knew it would cause chaos!
After painting for about 3 hours (with very frequent interruptions) they had us sit under the pavilion and thank us for all of our hard work and for simply coming to the village because as we could see, it absolutely made the children’s days. They had been looking forward to meeting us for so long, and the smiles on their faces were really all we needed as a Thank You. Basically the school itself is in a Dalit neighborhood, which is the lowest caste system, also known as the untouchables. They aren’t even in the caste system actually, they are below the lowest level. So it was the poorest of the poor people in India, and the work that the Education Movement doing is phenomenal. Every SAS group does service projects through them, but they move around so different children get to meet the students over the years. As we were leaving they were holding our hands and hugging us and kissing our cheeks- they were all so cute and we could have easily stayed there for a few more hours. It was exhausting but an incredibly rewarding experience.
After getting back to the ship and showering a group of 6 of us went out to dinner. We were told that Amethyst was a good Indian restaurant, so we caught a rigshaw – let me explain. It is a little three wheel vehicle powered by a two stroke engine. The driver sits in the front and it is meant to hold up to 3 in the back (4 can squeeze). They are rickety things with a roof, but with no sides except bars to hold on to. Well it was an adventure. It was about a 10 minute ride through crazy traffic and they insisted that we stop at two different stores- which was obvious that they would get a commission on anything that we bought- but we didn’t buy anything. Finally we got there, and low and behold it turned out to be an Italian Restaurant! We were quite disappointed, but we were there so oh well. We had some good pizza so it wasn’t a total loss. After that we walked over to where the movie theater is where there are good dessert places and WOW – we went to a French place called Ecstasy that had wonderful desserts – I had a banana and crème crepe. Delicious. We walked around for a little while, which isn’t exactly the most pleasant thing to do in Chennai, but it is actually the safest I have felt in any of the countries thus far. Not once did I feel in danger – and I was expecting to get stared at, but that wasn’t the case at all. It seemed as if they saw us, and just accepted that we were foreigners. It was only the children that stared. So yeah let’s just say that our shoes were absolutely filthy and I don’t know what know what I was walking through, but once it started pouring we decided to call it a night and head back to the ship. There is no night life in India- it is just not part of their culture. Everything closes around 11pm and there are no bars or liquor stores or anything like that – only in some really nice hotels are there bars, but it is just not really heard of or accepted. So back at the ship- they had the entire carpets covered with plastic so that our shoes wouldn’t ruin everything, and we went to bed early since we were pretty exhausted from being out in the sun all day.
The next morning we left around 1030am for our homestay!! It was set up through the Madras Rotary and SAS has been doing it with them for over ten years. SO we all loaded on to the bus and met the host families. I was staying with Krishnan! He is who Ben had been in touch with because his sister Ally stayed with him three semesters ago and he was hoping to stay with him also, but I was the one who got lucky! So my homestay partner was Tristen, a girl who goes to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut who I had met once or twice on the ship already. Krishnan is a professor at a university in Chennai, and one of his best students was with him when he came to pick us up, and she was fun to talk to about schooling and her wanting to come to the United States. It was about a 30 minute drive to his apartment, which is where he lived with his aunt and uncle (but from different sides of the family) his mom and his dad. Krishnan is not married, and neither are his aunt or his uncle. I am still interested why, but it was clearly a subject that they didn’t really want to talk about. Anyway, he showed us our room, which they refer to as the “American room”. They have been hosting SAS students for 12 years so he has had close to 80 students stay at his home, which I thought was awesome! His aunt speaks pretty good English and seems like his mother figure, I think she is decently older than him, her name was Usha and I grew to LOVE her. His uncle did not speak any English but was this cute short really old man who would just smile and laugh and walk around. His mother I only saw once, she is bed-ridden and not in good health, and his father speaks no English and is blind but he ate with us a few times, which was nice. The apartment was pretty small, but the table in the kitchen was big, and the living room was nice- and although it had cracks in the walls and ceiling, they had a huge Sony TV with large speakers, so that was interesting- they also have broadband internet.
OK so for lunch that day, one of his former students, Sarden, who is now working in IT just applied to Graduate School at both UVA and William & Mary in the States, but he said the whole process could take up to 2 years before he actually goes if he does get accepted. We had a very traditional Indian meal- it was SPICY! But they gave us plenty of water which was great and I ate with my hands for the first time, which I am not so good at but did improve every meal. I don’t remember exactly what we had, but most of their dishes are similar- some sort of bread or rice paddy with several different dipping sauces. They are all vegetarian, so lots of potato ingredients, vegetables, I don’t even know what else, but it was delicious!!! And they don’t really accept no as an answer, so I stuffed myself every meal.
After lunch Usha took Tristen and I out shopping for sarees (the traditional Indian dress)! We had a banquet that night that the Madras Rotary hosted so Krishnan insisted that we get all decked out for it. So the shopping experience was intense- all of these young girls wanted to help us pick our and try on our sarees- so it was fun. I wound up getting a dark green and gold one, and Tristen got a maroon and gold one. They are three pieces all together, and LOTS of fabric- but we trusted Usha that she got us the right sizes and all together it cost 600 ruppees, which is about 12 dollars! We also had to buy bangles and bindis (the dot that goes on the forehead for channeling positive energies- they have fashionable ones which were fun!) So after buying our sarees she took us to a parlor, where about 12 Indian women just went to town with us. They dressed us in our sarees, which is quite the process since they are so huge- and then they did our hair and our makeup- they put jewels in our hair and flowers (they are all about jasmine there) and it was a lot of fun, all while the Indian radio was playing that we got a kick out of. From there we headed to the banquet.
It was at a gorgeous hotel and first was a regular Rotary meeting, and the two interport students that we had aboard (between each port we have one or two students come on the ship to run through pre-port presentations, and sometimes we have professors also) gave powerpoint presentations and showed slideshows about their experiences for the entire rotary to see. Then we just took a lot of pictures with all of the officers and the Rotarian Students…then we had yet another delicious meal. It was outside in a courtyard, almost like a cocktail reception with different stations. They had macaroni and cheese which we laughed about because that was the LAST thing we wanted considering we have pasta everyday on the ship. So we had some dosa, which is Indian pizza which was good- it is just dipping the bread into two different sauces, and I had some chicken dish and a fish dish and a lot of the veg stuff- basically I had no idea what I was eating but I loved it all! And they had DELICIOUS vanilla ice cream and apple crumb pie which was just fabulous. So we just had some food and some drinks and chatted/socialized with the Rotarians and other students. It was really nice, and actually relaxing! It went pretty late so by the time we got back home we stayed up and chatted for a little while, but called it a pretty early night.
The next day all of the SAS students came together to go on a bus tour to all different temples and sculpture sights around Chennai. It was a full day long and we stopped 4 different times at different sights. Lucky for us every time we got on the bus, it was raining, but when we had to step off it always cleared up! We also stopped for lunch at one of the Rotarians houses, which was so beautiful- they had a little pond in the back and the patio was gorgeous and the food was great! Surprise, surprise. So we went to see different temples of Vishnu and Krishna, the Shore Temple and ButterBall Rock- a few other places that I am not sure of the names. But it was a fun day- and Krishnan was the only host with us because he was in charge of the day! He is hysterical too, he is like a teenage girl with his camera- he takes pictures of EVERYTHING! Our last stop was at a Crocodile Camp, where they had 2,000 something crocodiles…we got to hold one and we also got to hold a snake!! That was my first time doing that and it was kind of scary- they feel so weird! But I got tons of bugbites there, just hopefully not malaria! They also had several cobras that they showed us during a little demonstration- they all were snakes that are deadly within a few hours of getting bit, kinda crazyyy.
We didn’t get home until about 8pm that night, so we just had a good dinner at home and I stayed up for awhile that night with Usha talking about all different things- from food to Hinduism to the other students that have stayed at the house…it was really nice- and then eventually bedtime!
In the morning we got up not too early, we had time to go to some temples, which they do everyday- probably multiple times a day- they are EVERYWHERE. Every nook and corner in the street has a temple, it is very interesting. We also did some shopping around Pondi Bazaar before meeting some of Krishnan’s neighbors for lunch at Savannah Bhavan (an awesome Indian restaurant that actually has one in Edison, NJ and one in NY that I will have to check out!) so it was a great lunch buffet – it is a vegetarian place and probably my favorite meal of the whole trip- and it only comes out to $4 a person! After lunch it was time to head to the ship to give them a tour! Technically the homestay ends after the tour of the ship, but they had invited us to stay for another night at their house. Tristen politely declined, but I said I would love to. So Tristen & I took Krishnan, Usha and one of their neighbors who is 22 I believe to see the ship! Krishnan has been on MANY times, Usha 3 times I think and this was the neighbors first time. So it was exciting to show where I live and everything on the ship…and for the first time Usha and (I forget her name but I want to say….Ansi) had peanut butter! Then we found Ben and he came back to the house with us! But Krishnana decided to take us out for a nice dinner at GBT which is a restaurant in a really nice hotel, and his favorite place to eat in Chennai! Sarden also met us there which was nice- and Sarden, Ben and I split some non-veg dishes- one was chicken the other was crab, but honestly they tasted so similar. Before we had our main dish, they have several different appetizers out, and one was just a vegetable platter, and what Ben thought was a green bean turned out to be a green chili and me being such a good friend could not stop laughing- while he was crying and sweating…it was quite the sight. He said the only way to help it was just taking a sip of beer and holding it in his mouth for a few seconds to relieve the burn…oh man. So the meal was great, and we stayed there for a long time having good food and good conversation and there was good music there, so no reason to hurry! Plus the tagline that we have come up for India is…”But wait, there’s more!” Because whenever you think everything is said and done, there is ALWAYS more- whether it be in a meal or shopping…there’s almost more than you expect.
We logged some internet time when we got back to the house just to upload some photos and I went on Facebook for the first time since I left New Jersey!!! I was only on for a few minutes because I was trying to find a specific pictures…which I could not, but I did make me miss Ithaca and all that has been going on…but then I thought, well- I’m in India---life isn’t so bad for me! Haha.
The next morning we woke up early to go play badmitton at the YMCA- Krishnan is PRO! There is a whole league there and he plays everyday for 2 hours. We didn’t play for that long, and Ben and I were totally out of practice but it was really fun. I did break the norm and played in shorts though- partially because I wasn’t going to play in a skirt, and also because I wanted to see the reactions- there were some looks, but not as many as I expected. It’s not like they have never seen legs before…
After that we went to the post office and a few temples and just walked around their neighborhood for a bit meeting neighbors and such, then watched some cricket on TV and exchanged email/phone numbers with them and they gave us each a candle holder and an incense holder, and I gave them a calendar from NJ- so they could see what the weather was like in NJ while it was either Hot, Hotter or Hottest in India – their only 3 seasons. We went shopping some more in the Bazaar- there were just certain things that we were looking for that we wanted to get before we left, and then we actually got stuck in LOTS of traffic from a political rally that was going on so we made it back to the ship with only 30 minutes to spare which was pretty lucky! When they dropped us off I was very close to crying- I had grown very close to them in only 3 nights- it was incredible the way that they opened their home to us and I really did feel comfortable and welcome there. He kept insisting that we come back to India with our friends and family and that we always have a place to stay. And If friends ever needed a place to stay, they are always more than welcome at their house.
All in all India was an amazing country to visit- the people here are the nicest people that I have yet to come across on this trip. Never once did I feel unsafe (except while on the roads) and everyone wanted to talk to us and have conversations and were genuinely interested in why we were in India and what we thought about the country and they had SO many questions about the States. I would love to go back there and visit someday- and I would absolutely love to see the Taj at some point. Most of the SAS students went up to see the Taj and several different parts of Northern India. I felt like that would not have been the best use of my time in India this visit and I am SO glad that I did the homestay because it truly was an amazing experience and a great way to really experience the culture. The general feelings on the ship…either people loved it or hated it and the most descriptive word for India is overwhelming. I absolutely loved it which does surprise me because I wasn’t terribly excited about going there, even though it has come to be one of the best ports yet! It is hard to compare them all because they are so different and I have been doing such different things, but it was totally refreshing to be in a country that was not in one way Westernized and has such an old history. I could write pages more…but I will stop here!
Now that we have made it to Asia we are jumping from country to country with very few days on the ship- which is SO exciting. We get to Malaysia in two days, then Vietnam, China and Japan are all going to be a whirlwind. Posting will be difficult, but I will do my best even if they are short updates. Also, there is a change in some of the addresses for shipping, so I will post that also. Classes are going good, but now we get bombarded between ports because there just is no time.
My plan in Malaysia is to go to an island called Puala Lankawi. It’s supposed to be gorgeous (as all of South East Asia is) and relaxing and LOTS of shopping!!! I can’t wait! I miss you all so so so much, and by the way I am now 12 hours ahead of East Coast time- so weird! Losing an hour every night is not fun…but hey- gotta do what ya gotta do when traveling around the world…
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
I have Family in India!!
So I am currently at my host family's house- this trip to India has turned out to be amazing. I did a homestay that was set up through a Rotary here and have been having such a great time that even though it ended this morning, I came back for one more night and all day tomorrow!!
I will update in a few days, but Krishnan is letting me use the internet, so I figured I could post some pictures while I can!!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Safari!
Sorry this has taken me so long to post, but things have been crazy around here! I just had my Global Studies midterm this morning (I think I did all right!) and handed in a term paper this afternoon…so now that those things are out of the way I have some time to sit and type this! Ok so backtrack to….September 29th..or somewhere around there.
Our flight left Capetown somewhere around 5am and I kid you not as soon as I sat down I was out like a light, and I didn’t wake up until the plane landed- I don’t even remember take off! So that was a great flight, then we got to Johannesburg around 8am, and had to wait around/eat some breakfast before we were getting picked up by Viva Safaris at 9am. Little did we know that we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us in a van with all 13 of us and our bags…it was quite cozy as you can imagine. In total it took about 7 hours, with stopping for lunch and a few other times- thankfully I was tired enough to sleep the majority of the time! We finally made it to Trumasani Game Reserve, which is not part of Kruger National Park, but where a lot of the lodging and accommodations are. So we went out for a sunset drive, which was about 3 hours total. Right away we saw giraffes up close and personal. They are such beautiful animals- and we were pretty close to them which was cool to see them eat and walk around- they are HUGE. Our guide spotted some rhinos really far away, but none of us could see them- our eyes weren’t trained he said. We saw a lot of the common wildlife, like impala (which are a type of antelope) and monkeys and some wildebeests, which are pretty ugly looking. We were able to go to this little hut by a watering hole to watch the sunset which was absolutely gorgeous- just what I would expect an African sunset to look like- it was perfect. Mind you, after the sunset we still drove around for a good hour, and I definitely dosed off a few times because I was so tired…but as soon as a branch hit me in the face it would wake me up. Then we were on the trail on the way back to the lodge, and RIGHT in front of us was a HUGE black rhino. They are nocturnal and live in solitary, so he was by himself just milling around. But as soon as our car headlights shined on him, plus we had a huge search light he was so disoriented and had no idea what was going on (plus they also can only see 10 meters in front of him) so he was really confused. We didn’t bother him for too long, plus there was the chance that he would charge, but he was really cool to see SO close. And that definitely woke all of us up! So when we got back to the lodge the other car (our group was split in half) had only seen one giraffe from afar the whole time- so we were the lucky ones!! From Trumasani we made our way to our lodges, called Mark’s Treehouse Lodges. And as we pulled in the gate, there were at least 20 water buffalo just sitting there hanging out! It was so cool- so I already had 2 Big 5 sightings in the first day! Literally, treehouses on a game reserve where they had rhinos, water buffalo and cheetahs (3 of the Big 5- elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, lions and cheetahs) plus other wildlife. So they were pretty cool- Lacey and I were roommates!! We had a big bed to share in the middle of the tree house with a big mosquito net to cover us (even though the mosquitoes weren’t bad at all- it was the other animals that freaked us out a little bit, like scorpions and spiders…) After dinner @ 8pm that night, we sat around the campfire for a little while but we were all so tired that we just went to pass out…which is exactly what we did! Then we woke up at 545am for the bushwalk- an hour long walk through the reserve with a guide who describes the land and the plants and all of that fun stuff- and he originally told us not to expect any animal sightings, but if we are lucky we might see some. SO low and behold about 5 minutes in we saw two giraffes up really close which was cool, then Toby (our guide) found a Warhog in a hole that was sleeping. So it was pretty informational, and just as we were about to finish up, we saw a heard of water buffalo that was pretty close…about 100/150 meters away. And then we realized there were two rhino there also!!! So Toby stopped us and said, “Walk very slowly and very quietly. They know that we are here because they can smell and sense us, but if we don’t pose as a threat then they shouldn’t charge. If I say run, you do that and climb the first tree that you can.” Thankfully he had a rifle with him, and thankfully they didn’t charge, but it was pretty crazy being so close to them on foot. He said that was the best animal sighting that he has ever had on a bushwalk!! Lucky us!
After that we had a delicious breakfast of eggs, muffins, bacon and fruit and the monkeys joined us! I don’t know what kind of monkeys they are, but they are ALL over the reserve, and they are not afraid of humans at all. As soon as we were up from the tables, they scrambled on to the tables and grabbed everything in sight and stuffed their tiny mouths- I have video of it- it’s absolutely hysterical. So after breakfast we piled into the van to go to Kruger, about 20 minutes away. Once we got there we split into a couple different cars that we would be in for the entire day. My friends Andy and Jonah were staying at a different lodge but also on an Independent Trip, so I joined in on their car, which also had a Xhosha family (indigenous tribe of Africa) and a couple from Australia who had been traveling around Africa for 4 months! So it was a fun ride, and I had the same guide from the sunset drive the night before. So it is kind of tedious to go through everything that I saw…so I’ll just summarize. LOTS of impala, waterbuck, wildebeests, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, zebras, baboons, some alligators and hippos, and a pride of lion, which was a difficult sighting. Besides that pride, we only saw a few other lions. Unfortunately we had been about an hour late to the attack of a zebra, which would have been something to see. But we did see them eating the carcass and at one point our guard told us to be completely still and silent…and he started imitating a sheep call, and two of the lions actually came pretty close to the car which was awesome/frightening at the same time. Basically it was awesome and again the African sunset was beautiful. But it was a LONG day and a HOT day…in the high 90s for sure and we were out from 9am-5pm with a lunch break. We got back to the lodges with enough time to shower before dinner, and then we again hung out by the fire for a little while just relaxing and chatting with our guides before hitting the hay again. The next morning we did a bushwalk, not nearly as exciting as the morning before- only one giraffe, then it was time to load back into the van for the several hour long drive back to JoBurg. We did stop at a canyon on the way back, and I forget the name of it, but it is the third largest one in the world! It was gorgeous and just absolutely huge. We got to the airport to find that our flight was delayed about 2 hours, but there was another flight leaving within a half hour- so everyone from our group except for Ben, Lacey and myself paid to get on that flight, but we were really in no rush. It gave us the chance to find a World Cup 2010 store, which we were looking for! And I also got to buy a calling card to make some calls! (It was Mom & Dads anniversary a few days prior to that so it was nice to get to cal them and talk to them for the first time in a month!) So we just relaxed- met up with Jonah and Andy and our flight home was fine- the one that they paid to get on actually wound up being delayed too..and when it was all said and done we got back to the ship right before midnight. I thought about going out, but a shower and my bed sounded much more enticing, so I stuck to that!
I woke up pretty early in the morning to meet my friend Marissa to walk around the Waterfront and go to the mall to get a few things- then we met up with Sam and went down to Green Market, which has every African handcraft, painting, artifact, one would ever imagine. So that was fun and we grabbed lunch at a little café on Long Street before making our way back to the Waterfront to see a musical performance by a Township Choir and then getting back on the ship before all of the SAS Safari trips get back! (We have to be on ship by a certain time, and if you swipe in after that you get dock time, meaning you have to stay on the ship for X number of hours once we get to the next port…but if you are on an SAS trip it doesn’t count) so we had to be sure not to get stuck behind them going up the Gangway…plus it gave me time to write some postcards before departing!!
So THAT was South Africa. It came and went by so quickly, but it was a beautiful place, somewhere that I hope to visit again someday. Capetown really didn’t feel like Africa at all, I felt like I was in the States- it was so modernized and western culture is everywhere- from the music to the food to the fashion. But the people were very friendly and the sights were beautiful. There was all of this talk about how dangerous Capetown was going to be, but not once did I feel unsafe at all. Granted, we walk around in a sizeable group and don’t carry bags or valuables on us at all because that is just asking for attention. And the safari was an experience that I may never have again- even though I didn’t see a Cheetah, I felt thoroughly satisfied with my sightings!
Now that we are back on the ship, well as I post this we are only a few days from India- but things have been busy. The night we were back on the ship and going around the cape it was rough as could be, so Dani and I went to bed around 9 because we were not feeling well. And we have avoided pirates thus far through the Indian Ocean…apparently when they claim to have “stargazing” on the 7th deck it is really because they need to turn all of the ship’s lights out to avoid being seen…not sure if that is a rumor or not though.
We did have the Sea Olympics two days ago which was a huge success!! I was so so so busy that day it was craziness. We got up at 630am to begin setting up and I had about 15 minutes to sit down around lunch time to have a quick bite, and was back at it until at 7pm. I participated in Pictionary…unfortunately we got 5th place and didn’t place (we got out on artificial heart- SO HARD!) and then I hosted Tug-O-War, Flip Cup, Hot Dog Eating Contest and Paper Boat Float. My sea (the Red Sea) placed 5th overall out of 10 teams. We were obviously not happy about that, but satisfied- all in all it was a very fun day and extremely exhausting. Stephanie (my good friend who was also on the committee) popped in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy at 9pm and were in bed by 10pm- it was lovely! Now it is midterms time…so everyone is stressed/tired—but we will be to India in two days!! I will doing a homestay there, meaning me and another SAS student will be staying with a family for 3 days and 2 nights- one of the most highly recommended things to do by past SAS students because it is truly an immersion into the country and a realistic way to get a sense for the culture.
Hope all is well back in the States- well, thankfully they do keep us informed here about what is going on- so we are not totally out of the loop in the economic crisis, and we were able to watch the Debates the day after they were aired, which was great- there have been some pretty heated discussions among students- so we aren’t totally out in left field as we cross the Indian Ocean….
Asia will fly because we only have 2 or 3 days at sea between Malaysia, Vietnam, China & Japan…but I’m REALLY hoping to get on an internet café so I can send out more pictures!!! PEACE FROM THE EAST.
Our flight left Capetown somewhere around 5am and I kid you not as soon as I sat down I was out like a light, and I didn’t wake up until the plane landed- I don’t even remember take off! So that was a great flight, then we got to Johannesburg around 8am, and had to wait around/eat some breakfast before we were getting picked up by Viva Safaris at 9am. Little did we know that we had a 5 hour drive ahead of us in a van with all 13 of us and our bags…it was quite cozy as you can imagine. In total it took about 7 hours, with stopping for lunch and a few other times- thankfully I was tired enough to sleep the majority of the time! We finally made it to Trumasani Game Reserve, which is not part of Kruger National Park, but where a lot of the lodging and accommodations are. So we went out for a sunset drive, which was about 3 hours total. Right away we saw giraffes up close and personal. They are such beautiful animals- and we were pretty close to them which was cool to see them eat and walk around- they are HUGE. Our guide spotted some rhinos really far away, but none of us could see them- our eyes weren’t trained he said. We saw a lot of the common wildlife, like impala (which are a type of antelope) and monkeys and some wildebeests, which are pretty ugly looking. We were able to go to this little hut by a watering hole to watch the sunset which was absolutely gorgeous- just what I would expect an African sunset to look like- it was perfect. Mind you, after the sunset we still drove around for a good hour, and I definitely dosed off a few times because I was so tired…but as soon as a branch hit me in the face it would wake me up. Then we were on the trail on the way back to the lodge, and RIGHT in front of us was a HUGE black rhino. They are nocturnal and live in solitary, so he was by himself just milling around. But as soon as our car headlights shined on him, plus we had a huge search light he was so disoriented and had no idea what was going on (plus they also can only see 10 meters in front of him) so he was really confused. We didn’t bother him for too long, plus there was the chance that he would charge, but he was really cool to see SO close. And that definitely woke all of us up! So when we got back to the lodge the other car (our group was split in half) had only seen one giraffe from afar the whole time- so we were the lucky ones!! From Trumasani we made our way to our lodges, called Mark’s Treehouse Lodges. And as we pulled in the gate, there were at least 20 water buffalo just sitting there hanging out! It was so cool- so I already had 2 Big 5 sightings in the first day! Literally, treehouses on a game reserve where they had rhinos, water buffalo and cheetahs (3 of the Big 5- elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, lions and cheetahs) plus other wildlife. So they were pretty cool- Lacey and I were roommates!! We had a big bed to share in the middle of the tree house with a big mosquito net to cover us (even though the mosquitoes weren’t bad at all- it was the other animals that freaked us out a little bit, like scorpions and spiders…) After dinner @ 8pm that night, we sat around the campfire for a little while but we were all so tired that we just went to pass out…which is exactly what we did! Then we woke up at 545am for the bushwalk- an hour long walk through the reserve with a guide who describes the land and the plants and all of that fun stuff- and he originally told us not to expect any animal sightings, but if we are lucky we might see some. SO low and behold about 5 minutes in we saw two giraffes up really close which was cool, then Toby (our guide) found a Warhog in a hole that was sleeping. So it was pretty informational, and just as we were about to finish up, we saw a heard of water buffalo that was pretty close…about 100/150 meters away. And then we realized there were two rhino there also!!! So Toby stopped us and said, “Walk very slowly and very quietly. They know that we are here because they can smell and sense us, but if we don’t pose as a threat then they shouldn’t charge. If I say run, you do that and climb the first tree that you can.” Thankfully he had a rifle with him, and thankfully they didn’t charge, but it was pretty crazy being so close to them on foot. He said that was the best animal sighting that he has ever had on a bushwalk!! Lucky us!
After that we had a delicious breakfast of eggs, muffins, bacon and fruit and the monkeys joined us! I don’t know what kind of monkeys they are, but they are ALL over the reserve, and they are not afraid of humans at all. As soon as we were up from the tables, they scrambled on to the tables and grabbed everything in sight and stuffed their tiny mouths- I have video of it- it’s absolutely hysterical. So after breakfast we piled into the van to go to Kruger, about 20 minutes away. Once we got there we split into a couple different cars that we would be in for the entire day. My friends Andy and Jonah were staying at a different lodge but also on an Independent Trip, so I joined in on their car, which also had a Xhosha family (indigenous tribe of Africa) and a couple from Australia who had been traveling around Africa for 4 months! So it was a fun ride, and I had the same guide from the sunset drive the night before. So it is kind of tedious to go through everything that I saw…so I’ll just summarize. LOTS of impala, waterbuck, wildebeests, monkeys, giraffes, elephants, zebras, baboons, some alligators and hippos, and a pride of lion, which was a difficult sighting. Besides that pride, we only saw a few other lions. Unfortunately we had been about an hour late to the attack of a zebra, which would have been something to see. But we did see them eating the carcass and at one point our guard told us to be completely still and silent…and he started imitating a sheep call, and two of the lions actually came pretty close to the car which was awesome/frightening at the same time. Basically it was awesome and again the African sunset was beautiful. But it was a LONG day and a HOT day…in the high 90s for sure and we were out from 9am-5pm with a lunch break. We got back to the lodges with enough time to shower before dinner, and then we again hung out by the fire for a little while just relaxing and chatting with our guides before hitting the hay again. The next morning we did a bushwalk, not nearly as exciting as the morning before- only one giraffe, then it was time to load back into the van for the several hour long drive back to JoBurg. We did stop at a canyon on the way back, and I forget the name of it, but it is the third largest one in the world! It was gorgeous and just absolutely huge. We got to the airport to find that our flight was delayed about 2 hours, but there was another flight leaving within a half hour- so everyone from our group except for Ben, Lacey and myself paid to get on that flight, but we were really in no rush. It gave us the chance to find a World Cup 2010 store, which we were looking for! And I also got to buy a calling card to make some calls! (It was Mom & Dads anniversary a few days prior to that so it was nice to get to cal them and talk to them for the first time in a month!) So we just relaxed- met up with Jonah and Andy and our flight home was fine- the one that they paid to get on actually wound up being delayed too..and when it was all said and done we got back to the ship right before midnight. I thought about going out, but a shower and my bed sounded much more enticing, so I stuck to that!
I woke up pretty early in the morning to meet my friend Marissa to walk around the Waterfront and go to the mall to get a few things- then we met up with Sam and went down to Green Market, which has every African handcraft, painting, artifact, one would ever imagine. So that was fun and we grabbed lunch at a little café on Long Street before making our way back to the Waterfront to see a musical performance by a Township Choir and then getting back on the ship before all of the SAS Safari trips get back! (We have to be on ship by a certain time, and if you swipe in after that you get dock time, meaning you have to stay on the ship for X number of hours once we get to the next port…but if you are on an SAS trip it doesn’t count) so we had to be sure not to get stuck behind them going up the Gangway…plus it gave me time to write some postcards before departing!!
So THAT was South Africa. It came and went by so quickly, but it was a beautiful place, somewhere that I hope to visit again someday. Capetown really didn’t feel like Africa at all, I felt like I was in the States- it was so modernized and western culture is everywhere- from the music to the food to the fashion. But the people were very friendly and the sights were beautiful. There was all of this talk about how dangerous Capetown was going to be, but not once did I feel unsafe at all. Granted, we walk around in a sizeable group and don’t carry bags or valuables on us at all because that is just asking for attention. And the safari was an experience that I may never have again- even though I didn’t see a Cheetah, I felt thoroughly satisfied with my sightings!
Now that we are back on the ship, well as I post this we are only a few days from India- but things have been busy. The night we were back on the ship and going around the cape it was rough as could be, so Dani and I went to bed around 9 because we were not feeling well. And we have avoided pirates thus far through the Indian Ocean…apparently when they claim to have “stargazing” on the 7th deck it is really because they need to turn all of the ship’s lights out to avoid being seen…not sure if that is a rumor or not though.
We did have the Sea Olympics two days ago which was a huge success!! I was so so so busy that day it was craziness. We got up at 630am to begin setting up and I had about 15 minutes to sit down around lunch time to have a quick bite, and was back at it until at 7pm. I participated in Pictionary…unfortunately we got 5th place and didn’t place (we got out on artificial heart- SO HARD!) and then I hosted Tug-O-War, Flip Cup, Hot Dog Eating Contest and Paper Boat Float. My sea (the Red Sea) placed 5th overall out of 10 teams. We were obviously not happy about that, but satisfied- all in all it was a very fun day and extremely exhausting. Stephanie (my good friend who was also on the committee) popped in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy at 9pm and were in bed by 10pm- it was lovely! Now it is midterms time…so everyone is stressed/tired—but we will be to India in two days!! I will doing a homestay there, meaning me and another SAS student will be staying with a family for 3 days and 2 nights- one of the most highly recommended things to do by past SAS students because it is truly an immersion into the country and a realistic way to get a sense for the culture.
Hope all is well back in the States- well, thankfully they do keep us informed here about what is going on- so we are not totally out of the loop in the economic crisis, and we were able to watch the Debates the day after they were aired, which was great- there have been some pretty heated discussions among students- so we aren’t totally out in left field as we cross the Indian Ocean….
Asia will fly because we only have 2 or 3 days at sea between Malaysia, Vietnam, China & Japan…but I’m REALLY hoping to get on an internet café so I can send out more pictures!!! PEACE FROM THE EAST.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
CAPETOWN!!!
OK so far Capetown has DEFINITELY been my favorite port city. It is an absolutely beautiful city and the waterfront itself where our ship was docked had awesome places to eat, cute shops, and a beautiful view of Table Mountain. I should mention though that the night before we pulled into port, as we were coming around the cape we hit quite a bit of turbulence. I think I only slept for 2 or 3 hours because it was literally impossible. All of the drawers were opening and slamming shut- we had to stuff them with clothing and whatever else was around to just keep them open- everything in the bathroom/shower was all over the place and the majority of the boat was throwing up. So that was interesting. And supposedly Capetown is most beautiful port to pull into because the view is amazing and the city is just huge (most of the port cities are rather small) but of course it was raining and overcast and gross outside. We have yet to have a nice morning where we have pulled into port…
So once we finally got to port (it was closed for a few hours due to high winds) and were able to get off of the ship, a group of us decided to skip right through the waterfront and walk right to Long Street- the main street downtown where most of the restaurants and bars are….so we had a drink at the Purple Turtle and met some locals who told us what we should definitely do, and what is more or less a waste of time- which was cool. Then we stumbled on Green Market, which is a huge outdoor market selling paintings, jewelry, instruments, wood carvings, fabric, all sorts of handmade crafts, etc. After browsing around there for a bit, Mitch and I walked back to the ship because we had FDPs (Faculty Directed Practicums). Mine was for my Philosophy of Love, Sex & Friendship class and it was to the Triangle Project, which is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Community Center in ALL of Africa. We got to meet the director and talk with him about what their mission is and how they serve and support all LGBTs in Capetown. It was really interesting and something that I really had little knowledge about so I was really glad that I went. The most interesting thing I found was that in Namibia, homosexuality is actually illegal, and it is widely accepted in South Africa (they called Capetown the “white light” of hope and promise for all LGBTs in Africa because it is an accepting community. The Triangle Project fights for rights as well as provides health services such as free HIV testing to the community- all in all a really fascinating place.
After napping and taking a shower, Lacey and I went out with a bunch of friends for my friend Chad’s birthday dinner. We went to a place called Der Anker, a very upscale and delicious Belgium restaurant. The food (and dessert) was great and definitely filling- and it was SO refreshing to have a really good quality meal- it had been awhile. That dinner was quite lengthy (service in Africa is SLOW) and after that we went to Long Street and the nightlife in Capetown is awesome. Luckily this was a Friday night, so there was a lot going on. My friend Blake and I approached several different locals at a bar to talk with them about politics in both the US and South Africa as an assignment for our politics class which was extremely interesting to hear their views. They are currently changing Presidents and there were some very opinionated people that we talked to who claimed not to be racist, but everything coming out of their mouths were exactly that. We didn’t stay out TOO late that night because shark diving was the next morning, but we all had a great night- quite different from Namibia because there were more than 3 bars in the city, so every place was not swamped by SAS kids which was very nice.
So bright and early (by that I mean 930am) we got picked up to drive to Gansbaai, where Shark Alley is located, about 2 hours from Capetown. We had a group of 8 (4 guys and 4 girls) and once we got there and had lunch and our safety briefing- to the water we went!! Our boat was 10 meters long and there were 10 of us total along with 4 guys on the ship who we were literally trusting with our lives. Well the ride out there was quite rough- our boat was literally airborn, then the front would go under water a few feet- and this went on for about 5 minutes. Those who were hungover and those who get motion sickness were NOT feeling it- but I was fine =)
Once we got out to the spot where they wanted to drop the cage in, they had told us that most of the other boats had not been having much luck that morning and only a few sharks were around. But low and behold while they were giving us another briefing, they sighted a shark and the next couple of minutes was a blur because they wanted to get us in the water quickly thinking that it could potentially be the only sighting of the morning. So as quickly as I could I jumped into my wetsuit, put on the booties and the hoodie (the water was FREEZING- around 45 degrees I think) and they put the weight belts on us and basically threw us in the cage, which is attached to the side of the boat and holds 4 people at a time. I was freaking out to put it mildly. I didn’t know where to hold on or where to put my feet on the cage and there was a huge 10 foot great white about 2 feet away from my face. The cage isn’t deep so all you do is kind of float there until one of the skippers (guys on the boat) said “Diver Right!” and you hold your breath and go down and look to the right. There is only about a 2 meter visibility so before you know it they are right in front of you. I’m pretty sure I was screaming underwater. What they do to get the shark to come over is put out a chum line, which is just a mixture of fish oil and tuna blood, which attracts them by scent. Then once they get near the boat, they threw out a rope with a huge chunk of tuna on it, so they lure it right in front of the cage, then pull the bait away from them at the last second, so they never actually eat- but there is no hook or anything on the bait, so it doesn’t hurt them at all. I think at first I was probably stayed in for 10 minutes and saw 2 or 3 different sharks, all really close and absolutely terrifying- but they were so huge and powerful it was such a rush. Then they rotated us through, and when not in the water, we were up on the top deck of the boat watching and taking photos which was the best viewing spot ever. Then again awhile later I went back in for another 10 minutes or so. At one point while another foursome was in one of the sharks actually grabbed the cage, I would have FLIPPED so it was a good thing I wasn’t in the cage for that. But at some points we had two or three right around the boat which was AWESOME. So I guess you could say we got lucky compared to the other boats- we saw 6 total, all females (the great whites off of the coast are about 80% female). It was just so neat to be so close to an animal that will most likely become an endangered species in the near future and the coast the surrounding scenery was beautiful so I’m really glad I got to do the cage diving because it was definitely an opportunity of a lifetime and a huge adrenaline rush. The waves were really big and I think half of the people on the boat were vomiting almost the entire time- so that sucked for them, but they still said they had a good time overall. And one of the guys on the boat made a video of all of us so I got that and he is sending it back to my house so I am excited to see that again! The only bad part of the trip…the underwater housing for my camera didn’t exactly keep the water out, so my camera is fried as of now- and there’s not much hope for it. I don’t know how it happened because I tested it here on the ship before I took it out and it was fine, but I’m thinking it happened when I jumped in since it was so rushed and there was such a flurry of excitement. Luckily I do have my old camera with me, and my mom will send my charger to India so at least I will have that, but it does suck that I won’t have my good camera for the rest of the journey. Luckily a few of my friends had their cameras, so I will be able to steal their photos from them- and there was a guy from France who had really intense underwater housing for his camera, and he is going to email some of the photos to me, but I haven’t been able to check my email, but I will put some of those up when I get the chance also!!
So after shark diving we got back to the ship around dinner time- and then we went to a local bar that was right at the Waterfront before going out to Long Street- but I was pretty tired so it wasn’t a very late night, but still a fun one!
The next morning I met up with my friend Jonah around ten and we caught a cab to go hike Table Mountain! I don’t know exactly how big it is, but several thousand feet high- the total hike took us a little less than 2 hours and it was STEEP. We took our time though because we weren’t in a rush, plus the view as you hike up is breathtaking and gets better the higher you go- so we took our time and chatted and it really was a lovely hike. Then when we were really close we started to power it out because we were pretty excited and I can honestly say that it is one of the most memorable views I have ever seen. From one side you can see all of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope and all of the white sand beaches along the coast, as well as where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, and the other side overlooks the entire city of Capetown and is just endless, endless miles of mountains. It was so beautiful, I will definitely have to steal Jonah’s pictures and get some of them up here. It was so windy at the top also, so I was really glad I had a jacket packed in my bag! If you get the chance look up Table Mountain on Wikipedia- it is absolutely a sight to see! Then we took the cable car down because we decided to conserve our energy instead of hiking back down. We grabbed some lunch and walked around the Waterfront for awhile before heading back to the ship to again shower and nap because a HUGE group of us…25 total I think went to another very nice restaurant called Quay Four right on the water for Sam’s and Ben’s birthdays. Again, a lovely restaurant with great food (I had the yellowtail) and a few nice bottles of wine. I sat with some people I had never met before, but who were all skiers, so we obviously got along very well- and Sam and Ben both enjoyed the dinner. After that we again just went to a local bar before I had to be back at the ship to leave for my SAFARI!!! We had decided to leave at 3am to get to the airport for our 5:30am flight, so I just decided to skip sleep that night and enjoy South Africa instead—so you can imagine the delirium that started to set over me the next morning. Well when I have some more time I will write about the Safari trip, but for now, that is the first half of my South Africa experience---and a great one at that.
We are approaching Midterms so classes and work are starting to get rather busy and allowing for less napping time on the ship. But I have been doing well in my classes and also enjoying them. Also, the Sea Olympics are on the 9th which I am very excited about. I am the Logistics Chair, so I have been very busy with finalizing all of the events and writing up the rules, making sure we have the right amount of supplies and setting the schedule. It has been a lot of fun and I really like the whole committee, so we are all looking forward to that day! The only event I am competing in is Pictionary (Honeysuckle, I will make you proud) and I will also be hosting a few events including Ithe Hot Dog Eating Contest! All right I think I have kept you reading for long enough! But check back in a few days for yet another recap…Love and miss you all….
So once we finally got to port (it was closed for a few hours due to high winds) and were able to get off of the ship, a group of us decided to skip right through the waterfront and walk right to Long Street- the main street downtown where most of the restaurants and bars are….so we had a drink at the Purple Turtle and met some locals who told us what we should definitely do, and what is more or less a waste of time- which was cool. Then we stumbled on Green Market, which is a huge outdoor market selling paintings, jewelry, instruments, wood carvings, fabric, all sorts of handmade crafts, etc. After browsing around there for a bit, Mitch and I walked back to the ship because we had FDPs (Faculty Directed Practicums). Mine was for my Philosophy of Love, Sex & Friendship class and it was to the Triangle Project, which is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Community Center in ALL of Africa. We got to meet the director and talk with him about what their mission is and how they serve and support all LGBTs in Capetown. It was really interesting and something that I really had little knowledge about so I was really glad that I went. The most interesting thing I found was that in Namibia, homosexuality is actually illegal, and it is widely accepted in South Africa (they called Capetown the “white light” of hope and promise for all LGBTs in Africa because it is an accepting community. The Triangle Project fights for rights as well as provides health services such as free HIV testing to the community- all in all a really fascinating place.
After napping and taking a shower, Lacey and I went out with a bunch of friends for my friend Chad’s birthday dinner. We went to a place called Der Anker, a very upscale and delicious Belgium restaurant. The food (and dessert) was great and definitely filling- and it was SO refreshing to have a really good quality meal- it had been awhile. That dinner was quite lengthy (service in Africa is SLOW) and after that we went to Long Street and the nightlife in Capetown is awesome. Luckily this was a Friday night, so there was a lot going on. My friend Blake and I approached several different locals at a bar to talk with them about politics in both the US and South Africa as an assignment for our politics class which was extremely interesting to hear their views. They are currently changing Presidents and there were some very opinionated people that we talked to who claimed not to be racist, but everything coming out of their mouths were exactly that. We didn’t stay out TOO late that night because shark diving was the next morning, but we all had a great night- quite different from Namibia because there were more than 3 bars in the city, so every place was not swamped by SAS kids which was very nice.
So bright and early (by that I mean 930am) we got picked up to drive to Gansbaai, where Shark Alley is located, about 2 hours from Capetown. We had a group of 8 (4 guys and 4 girls) and once we got there and had lunch and our safety briefing- to the water we went!! Our boat was 10 meters long and there were 10 of us total along with 4 guys on the ship who we were literally trusting with our lives. Well the ride out there was quite rough- our boat was literally airborn, then the front would go under water a few feet- and this went on for about 5 minutes. Those who were hungover and those who get motion sickness were NOT feeling it- but I was fine =)
Once we got out to the spot where they wanted to drop the cage in, they had told us that most of the other boats had not been having much luck that morning and only a few sharks were around. But low and behold while they were giving us another briefing, they sighted a shark and the next couple of minutes was a blur because they wanted to get us in the water quickly thinking that it could potentially be the only sighting of the morning. So as quickly as I could I jumped into my wetsuit, put on the booties and the hoodie (the water was FREEZING- around 45 degrees I think) and they put the weight belts on us and basically threw us in the cage, which is attached to the side of the boat and holds 4 people at a time. I was freaking out to put it mildly. I didn’t know where to hold on or where to put my feet on the cage and there was a huge 10 foot great white about 2 feet away from my face. The cage isn’t deep so all you do is kind of float there until one of the skippers (guys on the boat) said “Diver Right!” and you hold your breath and go down and look to the right. There is only about a 2 meter visibility so before you know it they are right in front of you. I’m pretty sure I was screaming underwater. What they do to get the shark to come over is put out a chum line, which is just a mixture of fish oil and tuna blood, which attracts them by scent. Then once they get near the boat, they threw out a rope with a huge chunk of tuna on it, so they lure it right in front of the cage, then pull the bait away from them at the last second, so they never actually eat- but there is no hook or anything on the bait, so it doesn’t hurt them at all. I think at first I was probably stayed in for 10 minutes and saw 2 or 3 different sharks, all really close and absolutely terrifying- but they were so huge and powerful it was such a rush. Then they rotated us through, and when not in the water, we were up on the top deck of the boat watching and taking photos which was the best viewing spot ever. Then again awhile later I went back in for another 10 minutes or so. At one point while another foursome was in one of the sharks actually grabbed the cage, I would have FLIPPED so it was a good thing I wasn’t in the cage for that. But at some points we had two or three right around the boat which was AWESOME. So I guess you could say we got lucky compared to the other boats- we saw 6 total, all females (the great whites off of the coast are about 80% female). It was just so neat to be so close to an animal that will most likely become an endangered species in the near future and the coast the surrounding scenery was beautiful so I’m really glad I got to do the cage diving because it was definitely an opportunity of a lifetime and a huge adrenaline rush. The waves were really big and I think half of the people on the boat were vomiting almost the entire time- so that sucked for them, but they still said they had a good time overall. And one of the guys on the boat made a video of all of us so I got that and he is sending it back to my house so I am excited to see that again! The only bad part of the trip…the underwater housing for my camera didn’t exactly keep the water out, so my camera is fried as of now- and there’s not much hope for it. I don’t know how it happened because I tested it here on the ship before I took it out and it was fine, but I’m thinking it happened when I jumped in since it was so rushed and there was such a flurry of excitement. Luckily I do have my old camera with me, and my mom will send my charger to India so at least I will have that, but it does suck that I won’t have my good camera for the rest of the journey. Luckily a few of my friends had their cameras, so I will be able to steal their photos from them- and there was a guy from France who had really intense underwater housing for his camera, and he is going to email some of the photos to me, but I haven’t been able to check my email, but I will put some of those up when I get the chance also!!
So after shark diving we got back to the ship around dinner time- and then we went to a local bar that was right at the Waterfront before going out to Long Street- but I was pretty tired so it wasn’t a very late night, but still a fun one!
The next morning I met up with my friend Jonah around ten and we caught a cab to go hike Table Mountain! I don’t know exactly how big it is, but several thousand feet high- the total hike took us a little less than 2 hours and it was STEEP. We took our time though because we weren’t in a rush, plus the view as you hike up is breathtaking and gets better the higher you go- so we took our time and chatted and it really was a lovely hike. Then when we were really close we started to power it out because we were pretty excited and I can honestly say that it is one of the most memorable views I have ever seen. From one side you can see all of Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope and all of the white sand beaches along the coast, as well as where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, and the other side overlooks the entire city of Capetown and is just endless, endless miles of mountains. It was so beautiful, I will definitely have to steal Jonah’s pictures and get some of them up here. It was so windy at the top also, so I was really glad I had a jacket packed in my bag! If you get the chance look up Table Mountain on Wikipedia- it is absolutely a sight to see! Then we took the cable car down because we decided to conserve our energy instead of hiking back down. We grabbed some lunch and walked around the Waterfront for awhile before heading back to the ship to again shower and nap because a HUGE group of us…25 total I think went to another very nice restaurant called Quay Four right on the water for Sam’s and Ben’s birthdays. Again, a lovely restaurant with great food (I had the yellowtail) and a few nice bottles of wine. I sat with some people I had never met before, but who were all skiers, so we obviously got along very well- and Sam and Ben both enjoyed the dinner. After that we again just went to a local bar before I had to be back at the ship to leave for my SAFARI!!! We had decided to leave at 3am to get to the airport for our 5:30am flight, so I just decided to skip sleep that night and enjoy South Africa instead—so you can imagine the delirium that started to set over me the next morning. Well when I have some more time I will write about the Safari trip, but for now, that is the first half of my South Africa experience---and a great one at that.
We are approaching Midterms so classes and work are starting to get rather busy and allowing for less napping time on the ship. But I have been doing well in my classes and also enjoying them. Also, the Sea Olympics are on the 9th which I am very excited about. I am the Logistics Chair, so I have been very busy with finalizing all of the events and writing up the rules, making sure we have the right amount of supplies and setting the schedule. It has been a lot of fun and I really like the whole committee, so we are all looking forward to that day! The only event I am competing in is Pictionary (Honeysuckle, I will make you proud) and I will also be hosting a few events including Ithe Hot Dog Eating Contest! All right I think I have kept you reading for long enough! But check back in a few days for yet another recap…Love and miss you all….
Friday, October 3, 2008
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