Whew! Lucky break getting on the Internet!

I feel like I have stepped back in time trying to use the Internet. I just hope it doesn't fail before I get this composed and published. It's now 1:30 pm on Friday, Feb. 29

Back to South Africa
I read somewhere that South Africa was a place of contrasts and I found that to be true. The port at Cape Town was a wealthy area, beautiful and sparkling clean as I could imagine. Then I saw the poorest of the poor in the townships.
While in Cape Town, I visited the Desmond Tutu Peace Center. The CEO met with us and she is one of the most outstanding women I have ever met. She is trained as a psychologist and counseled people during the Truth and Reconciliation process. She lived through Apartheid as a teenager and saw the brutal acts that occurred (she saw a man beheaded while she stood on the steps of her house.) It is hard to imagine how the black Africans who survived have created a life for themselves.
The City of Cape Town has given the Peace Center a piece of land, so her challenge is to raise money in order to build an appropriate building where people of all nations can meet and talk about how to live peaceably in the world. They will be training people to go to schools in order to assist teachers in teaching peace. The Center is creating "Pathways to Peace" as their brochure states.
That evening I took a Semester at Sea (SAS) sponsored trip to several townships (I had never heard "townships" and didn't realize what they were.) This is a trip I would never do by myself because the townships are very high crime areas. We had a young man for a guide on our bus who was raised in a township so he answered our questions very candidly. Even though I have been to India, I had never seen the extreme poverty of the thousands (perhaps millions) of black Africans who live in townships. The initial inhabitants were removed from their homes/farm lands about 14 years ago and made shacks from anything they could find--shabby wood, sheet metal, sea-going contains--just four walls, sometimes a roof which was a sheet of plastic. The shacks are crowded together with very little area to even walk. They have very little water (some go a great distance to get it), no electricity, and no way to make a living. The government offers them no assistance. Since they have so very little money, most people use a barter system to get what they need to survive. One township averages 30 deaths a week from AIDS.
At one of the more prosperous townships, we stopped at the Community Center and participated in a drumming circle. During our Global Studies classes, we learned the importance of music and dance to the African people. It is a way to express their emotions and a source of healing. We were served dinner (local food) at a house/restaurant. Some of it I didn't know what it was, but I recognized the chicken wings and fried chicken feet. Can you imagine being so hungry that you resort to eating chicken feet? They played the traditional xylophones, sang and danced for us. I learned so much, and again was reminded how very privileged I am.
The next day a group of 53 of us flew to Johannesburg and took a two-hour bus drive to Pilanesberg Game Reserve where we spent four days. We stayed at the Ivory Tree Lodge which was really posh. The unique feature in every room was an outdoor shower (and under the full moon for us!) We had wonderful rangers who took us out for 2 safari drives a day: one at 5:30 am and the other at 4:30 pm (lasted until after dark, so saw the nocturnal animals). We saw a myriad of animals (everything except cheetahs and leopards) - up close. It was amazing to see the animals in their natural habitat. The first evening we saw lions rolling in elephant dung. The ranger said they believe this behavior makes the lions smell "unique" and they attract the females. Men, are you willing to go to such extremes? Elephant dung can also be dried and smoked and it has similar effects of marijuana. Who knew? I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, but I hope to have some really great pictures to share.
I'll close for now; we are sailing toward Mauritius. It is believed that Mauritius will have better Internet service. We arrive tomorrow morning ~8:00 am. It promises be to a beautiful place. Mark Twain visited this island and recorded his poetic delight when he wrote, "You gather that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius."

South African Adventures

Tues, Feb. 26 @ 12:45

I'm going to post just a quick note to let everyone know that I am doing great, even in rough water. I had been composing a post off-line because I had so much to say about South Africa & wouldn't you know it, the word doc is gone that I had been working on for 2 days. I was composing on the laptop desk top and I was having some difficulty in saving the last paragraph (and I had written almost two pages!) and then poof, it disappeared completely. So I'll begin again when I have the chance. The days after a port are always very busy and the profs are asking for assistance with their tests, so I'll now return to my office to complete my afternoon of work. The Academic Dean who was supposed to be here from the beginning is now on board (he was in a bicycle accident and has now recovered sufficiently to report to the ship). There is a welcoming party for him tonight and we also set our clocks ahead another hour tonight, so I probably won't get to the blog tonight.

I hope all of you are doing well. Some of you say you can't use the comment section. If there's any specific info that you would like to hear about/tell me about, let me know on my yahoo account: gregory92866@yahoo.com

till later . . .

Nearing South Africa

Sat 16 Feb. @ 3:15
As I was compiling the Dean's Memo today, an article was handed to me to publish: "Our ship's Internet connection strength will continue to lessen as we travel to S. Africa. Problems may occur while accessing the Internet and the speed will be slower." The voyager's response was "What? It can't get any slower!"

Sooo. . . I thought I'd get on my blog before the Internet gets any slower. The ship continues to rock, but not as badly as in the recent past. We can easily deal with gently rocking now -- we all have our seas legs. A curiosity to me was that they closed down the elevators during the most severe rocking.

We are feeling a little sleep deprived. We are losing the 4th hour tonight, with one more hour to go (I think) before we reach S. Africa. Thank goodness my cabin is not near the students, so I can sleep when I need to. Since my roommate is the nurse, I am awakened by phone calls in the middle of the night (for her emergencies when she is on call), but I can usually go back to sleep.

Today is one of my 'adopted daughter's'-- Megan--birthday. We are having a 'family dinner' for her in the dining room at 6:00. I ordered a birthday cake, so I think she will be surprised.

Last night we had a wine-tasting party in the Faculty Staff Lounge. We tasted four South African wines. All were quite good. Tonight there will be 'Coffee House' in the Student Union Room. Students who want to play an instument, sing, read poetry, etc. will have a short time to display their talents.

I am looking forward to the 4-day safari in S. Africa. We are staying in a lodge (others are staying in tents) so I am hopeful that I will get some rest. I think there are 53 of us that are going.

Better get back to work. I may not be able to access blog until after we leave S. Africa.

Valentine's Day/Neptune Day in the Atlantic

What an interesting day. Again, a unique experience. Everyone on board was awakened at ~7:00 am with an improvised band marching in the halls playing instruments very loudly. This is Neptune Day! It's the celebration for crossing the equator (even though we had crossed several days earlier). I only experienced part of the day because I went back to sleep -- it was a half-work day for me because it was a 'no class day'(but the Dean's Memo still had to be published). Anyway, the big event was that the students had the opportunity to have their heads shaved -- along with many of their friends -- and one of the work students, Lindsay, who works in my office, had her head shaved (and so did quite a few girls). She had an amazing today; it was her 20th birthday birthday, Valentine's, Neptune Day and had her head shaved. I had dinner with Lindsay and her friends tonight and she was enjoying all the attention (she's usually pretty quiet). A special friend wired me flowers on our last day in Salvador so I had beautiful roses to enjoy for Valentine's Day. Others sent e-cards for Valentine's so I had a wonderful day.

Last night as we went to bed, I remarked that the ocean was very calm with very little movement of the ship. In the middle of the night, we were awakened by a lot of movement and things moving around in our room. Around noon the ship was rolling and pitching so much that it was very difficult to walk, chairs were moving around and the pitchers of iced tea and water were thrown from the tables. The rough waters are continuing tonight and it's a challenge to do much of anything. We've been told to expect more roughness tomorrow. I asked how to gauge today's rough water and was told that it is a 5 on the scale of 10.

I find myself in an active community with more things to do that I have time. On a daily basis while we are sea, there are three Community College Events -- all interesting topics presented by faculty and staff, a selection of 3-4 movies relative to the places we are visiting and/or some 'just for fun' on closed circuit in our rooms + many special interest groups. Soon everyone on the ship will have the opportunity to participate in Sea Olympics. The sections of the ship where the students rooms are located are all named after a sea; i.e., Agean, Red, etc. and the Faculty, Staff and Life Long Learners are designated as the Silver Sea.

I was encouraged when I heard the journalist who is traveling with us speak at a Community College Event because she says she doesn't believe in putting pictures with travel articles. She prefers that words convey places and experiences, so perhaps you can 'hang with me' even though I'm not able to download pictures. She says travel articles, blogs, etc. should entice the reader to get interested in the places the traveler is writing about. She, Evelyn Hammon, is a pioneer in writing travel articles for women who enjoy traveling. She has two websites: www.journeywoman.com and www.hermail.net where numerous women share their experiences.

One of tonight's movies is "Wonders of the African World", so I'm going to sign off and watch it. Later, I'll enjoy the ship rocking me to sleep. Good night!

Happy, Exhausted and I'll be glad when this day is over!

Mon 11 Feb @ 8:45pm

I had the most wonderful and exhilerating exerience at Iguacu Falls--the Falls are so magnificent and powerful. There are no words that can really describe them because they encompass so much area and there is so much water. It is truly hard to comprehend how the Falls have kept that flow of water for hundreds of years and it still flows today with no end in sight! The fast boat ride was booked as The Grand Adventure and it was the most exciting adventure I have ever experienced. We were in boats with very knowledgeable captains. They took us into the edge of the Falls, and got us out before we drown. We had been told to wear our bathing suits because there was no way rain gear could keep us dry. I even got water in my ears! I could go on for days talking about being in Brazil and the Falls and I'm sure I'd forget something -- we experienced so much, but there's so much more. Everyone who hasn't seen the Falls must put it on their list of things to do.
And then it was back to work and I've hardly had time to catch my breath or get a good night's rest (we lost another hour last night). We got back about 12 midnight on Friday night. We had one more day in Salvador so some of us walked around the city and went to an Afro-Brazilian Museum. We sailed that evening, so that meant I had to get the Ship Pac together and send information to Univ of VA. The last two days have been busy with some very unreasonable requests from professors, i.e. like copying a book (only 152 pages) because 1/3 students didn't get the book--the book store didn't order enough books. Tomorrow the Global Studies class has their first exam and I copied 750 copies of a 5-page test. Chapman professors, how would you like to have 750 students? They will be scantron tests, thank goodness. I'm currently copying another document that is huge. So I'm tired and I love to complain, but in reality, it is all worth it!
The seas are somewhat rougher and my desk drawers won't stay shut so I have them taped closed. Unique experience to have drawers flying open.
I'm going to call it a day as soon as this project is complete. Tomorrow's another day and we're going to be at sea this time (between Salvador and Cape Town) for 9 days.

Carnival in Salvador

Tuesday, Feb. 5 @ 8:00pm, Salvador, Brazil
I have experienced one part of Carnival -- an afternoon "viewing" (from 1:00 - 5:30 pm)from a raised platform which was very hot, very loud rock music, an open bar and millions and millions of people. I chose the afternoon knowing that it would be saner and safer, but I'm disappointed that I didn't get to see/hear any of the traditional music and dancing. Fifty five of us from Semester at Sea went together and we had fun and we were able to see things that had been described to us. The rock bands are on "floats" which are huge trucks with platforms on top. We paid ~$300 for this afternoon of music, and many of the local participants paid similiar and higher amounts to be able to walk the route of the this section of Carnival (there are three main routes in Salvador). Those people walk within a (moving) roped area which surrounds the rock star -- their security people hold the rope in a large rectangle and make sure only those people who are identified by a particular type of shirt are in the rectangle. The area where we stood was also identified by a particular green shirt that we all had to wear. There were thousands of local young people in our area who knew the rock stars, their songs, and the words. So when each rock group came down the street, the whole area became a loud roar of people singing and dancing. They also "popcorn" - which means they jump up and down -- it was truly a crazy time! I'm glad I went, but wouldn't want to do that part of Carnival again. I understand that another version of Carnival is held in Long Beach on the Queen Mary. That might be fun!
It's early to bed for me tonight (and I don't think I'll have any trouble falling asleep!) The flight to Iguacu Falls leaves at 4:45 am. I'll be out of touch for the three days that I am there. We are scheduled to return at 10:30 on Friday evening. I haven't planned anything for my last day, Saturday, in Salvador but hope to see more of the city. I walked a short distance this morning, but didn't go up to the "upper city" - which is reached via a very large elevator.
I now have five members in my Extended Family. So many students signed up that I was asked to be "Mom" to three young women and two young men. We met for dinner and some of us are doing the same things in Salvador; like my 'son', Steve, is going to the falls, so I'll get to know him better (and I already know he is a business major). When we set sail again, we'll have dinner and talk about the things we did in Brazil. My 'family' sounds like they are are great group of students. One daughter goes to USC; the others are all from different states/different universities.
I'll try to check in after my trip. The internet is somewhat better in port. I am beginning to doubt if it will ever be fast enough to upload pictures.

It takes patience to blog!

Super Bowl Sunday at 7:30

After trying numerous times for the last several days, I finally am able to access my blog -- and I hope I am able to publish it. I thought as we get closer to Brazil, it would be easier, faster internet, but it's not working that way.

A friend figured out that the Super Bowl will be happening about 8:30 ship time, but we have no way to access it, so we will be "in the dark" until we see the news on the internet tomorrow (hopefully).

We are all on count down to Salvador. We will have had seven days at sea by the time we get there, and we are all eager to get off the ship and go to Carnival! Our Global Studies class has prepared us well for Brazil with lots of cautions about safety and security. We also have 3 Brazilian students on board who have conducted classes in the Portugese language.

We are close enough to see land (at times) and the sea gulls have followed the ship all day. The ocean and the sky are beautiful.

I signed up for the Extended Family Program and have received the names of the 3 students (2 young women, 1 young man) who I will be including in my life after tomorrow night when I will meet them/have dinner with them. There are ~200 students on-board who signed up to have one of the faculty or staff "be a friend". Almost all the staff and faculty agreed to participate and many of us have more than one student in our new extended family.

I have a mandatory meetings tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00, "Salvator: What to Look For" and "The Logistics of Brazil," and a diplomatic meeting on Tues. when we arrive in the Salvator at ~7:00 am, so we continue to get information.

If I'm not able to blog until after Brazil, just know I am having a wonderful time. Everyone assures us this will be one of the most exciting ports.

February 1 -- continued sailing in the Atlantic

The last couple of days have had us bouncing off the walls, but today is smoother. Another sign-up for trips has been conducted and I got many of the trips I requested. There will be a chance to sign up for additional day trips at a later date. These selections start in Cape Town, South Africa (after the port call in Brazil).

In addition to the four-day safari to Pilanesberg, I will be visiting the Desmond Tutu Peace Center for 3½ hours and hear a performance by Township Choir.

In Port Louis, Mauritius, I will be going to a Multi-Cultural Evening where we will be greeted at the Sugar Mill (Mauritian Creole-style) & enjoy a traditional Sega show with dancers who entertain us during a dinner show that features four dance performances (Indian, Chinese, Oriental & Creole). I will also visit the Mauritius Glass Gallery and go to the School of Design and participate in workshops focusing on art and design.

In Chennai, India, in addition to the Yoga retreat, I will go to the Theosophical Society & Kapleeshwara Temple.

And drum roll please! While we are in the Hong Kong port, I will take a 5-day trip to Bejing and see the Great Wall and Xi’an (where the Terra Cotta Army of 5,000 figures are).

While in the Shanghai port, I’ll take a 2-day trip to Hangzhou & visit the Linying Temple which is one of the largest Buddhist shrines in China and visit the Dragon Well Growing Farm and spend the night in a guest house.

While in Kobe, Japan, I’ll take a 2-day trip to Hiroshima, Miyajima and Himeji.

And lastly, I’ll visit the Manuel Antonio Beach and National Park while in Costa Rica.