Student Profile: Bryson

We are sailing toward Morocco today, the last port we will visit as a community. With just 14 days until the voyage ends in Barcelona and people go their separate ways, we are all buckling down to finish projects begun (or not) earlier in the semester. I better hurry up and profile all of the library work study students before we are out of sea days.

So, meet Bryson. From Los Angeles, he attends UCLA and is a senior double majoring in economics and global studies. While he isn't certain of his plans following graduation, he has taken advantage of the entrepreneurship exploration and mentoring opportunities made possible by the Unreasonable at Sea program's presence on the ship this semester.

What Bryson has valued most about Semester at Sea has been the consistent, face to face interaction with everyone on the ship. He says "living a life devoid of distractions" such as cell phones, fast internet, and easy mobility make these connections much easier to form. Off the ship, building and cultivating local relationships has been the most rewarding aspect of his time in port.

If he could change one thing about Semester at Sea, Bryson might want to see more defined tracks for port experiences. If students were asked to focus on a specific area such as service, business, or medicine across all ports, their comparative experience could be much richer. On the other hand, the freedom to follow changing interests and let them evolve naturally during the voyage is such an important part of the Semester at Sea experience that choosing a focus early on could be difficult.

As you can tell, Bryson is a deep thinker who likes to explore all sides of an issue. I look forward to seeing where his path leads after Semester at Sea and graduation. Thanks, Bryson, for being interviewed.

[picture coming shortly]

Ghana Miss Ya

It would be pretty hard to top the Winneba-Explorer experience of the first two days in Ghana, which I suspect will end up being a highlight of the entire voyage. I will say that Accra had a very different feel than either Takoradi or Winneba. We saw more development and more culture, with definitely more of a big city feel. 

While we were still docked in Takoradi and I was off being librarian-about-town with Cynthia, Jr, Sr, and Grandpa had a couple of adventures of their own. On the first day, they and many other SASers toured the fortresses in an area called Cape Coast where slaves were held then sent across the Atlantic. Sr and Grandpa came away with profound thoughts on the value of human life. Jr is still processing the experience, no doubt his thoughts will pop out when we least expect them.

We went on couple of other day tours from Accra, as well. Most were great, some were logistically less than ideal, but all were interesting. Ghana doesn't have many tourist attractions in the conventional sense, but we found plenty to see and do. Our adventures included a small museum, a memorial to a former president, the University of Ghana, a water village, a small game preserve, a hydro-electric dam, and a drumming/dance workshop. We really liked the food, I especially liked the shi-tok pepper sauce that is a condiment served with everything from fish to french fries. 

Shopping in the markets, especially in tourist areas, is what you might call a full contact sport in Ghana.  However, our Semester at Sea comparative experience came in handy here to help us put things in perspective. I won't mention any specific countries, but we have been in other ports where the selling practices felt just as intense to Americans who are used to shopping in impersonal mega-stores. I hope I don't go into Trader Joe's when I get back and try to bargain for a better price on cookies.

My favorite thing about Ghana has been the warm hospitality, especially from colleagues in Winneba but also from people we met exploring this week. Learning about regional drumming and dance traditions yesterday was a wonderful way to end our stay. Yes, I danced, no, I am not posting pictures of it. 

Pictures: fishing boats in Cape Coast; a critter for Mike; Grandpa at Shai Hills Nature Reserve.

SAS Librarian Magic

Some Semester at Sea magic happened in Ghana, I think. Several weeks ago, I found out that one of the SAS faculty and his family were making a trip across Ghana with the family of his former student who is from Ghana. Their trip included a stop in the town of Winneba to deliver books from the public library in Charlottesville to the libraries in Winneba. Winneba and Charlottesville have a sister city relationship, and there have been several visits back and forth of local officials, educators, and librarians. I met my colleague and friend Cynthia, one of the librarians at the University of Education in Winneba, when she visited Charlottesville last March, and had been hoping to connect with her when the ship reached Ghana. Everything came together, and I was able to join the trip to Winneba, visit the University of Education, and then bring Cynthia back to visit the MV Explorer. We were able to more than double the size of the book donation, as well, through a combination of withdrawn items from the MV Explorer library and donations of non-fiction books from SAS voyagers. In Winneba, we were also hosted by the delightful Tina, who heads the sister city commission, and Reverend Boni (sp?), who is a professor of psychology at UEW and also part of the sister city commission. My SAS colleague and his family then continued on to travel across Ghana with the family of one of his students, while Cynthia and I made our own way back to Takoradi, about a three hour trip from Winneba. We drove in Cynthia's car from along the coast road, and then she was able to visit on the ship with Olivia and me until this morning. It took the work and generosity of many people on the ship and back in Charlottesville make Cynthia's ship visit possible, I am grateful to all of you! I'm not sure whether Cynthia or I was more delighted that our visit magically came together, you can look at our smiles and decide for yourself. 

Pictures: our group in front of Osagyefo Library, South Campus University of Education, Winneba; Cynthia on the MV Explorer; Cynthia and Ellen in the MV Explorer Library.

Safari Pictures

I'm sure I could write more than a thousand words about our safari, but pictures will do the job better. Yes, we really were that close to the animals!

Letter to a New Friend

Dear South Africa,

I feel like we have become so close in our short time together, I couldn't leave without writing you a letter. An interesting friend, you have been gracious yet challenging. You are amazing, beautiful, and heartbreaking all at once, and I will think of you very fondly until we meet again.

Your clean, modern waterfront led us on the first day to a ferry ride to rugged and windswept Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela, Robert Sobukwe, and the gentleman who showed us the former maximum security prison were political prisoners for so many years before the end of Apartheid in 1994. While Jr, Grandpa, and I walked through dark hallways and past windswept rocky beaches on Robben Island, Sr was spending the day on a field lab for his Biomedical Ethics class in one of the black townships. He and his classmates served food in a soup kitchen and visited a school. The contrasts were just beginning to become clear to us this first day.

On our second day, you sent us off to the Eastern Cape town of Port Elizabeth by plane along with 26 other students, faculty, and lifelong learners from the ship. On the way to the airport, we saw golf courses on one side, neighborhoods of shacks made from corrugated metal on the other. After landing in Port Elizabeth, we drove 90 minutes to the small town of Kenton-on-Sea, then to the Kariega game reserve for a two and a half day safari. The facilities, guides, and animals were world-class. I'm pretty sure the chalet Sr, Jr, Grandpa, and I stayed in was bigger than our house in the US, plus it had a tiny swimming pool. It was easy to forget about the rest of the world while on safari, with days full of animal sightings and wonderful meals of mostly European style food. I will write a separate post about the safari, otherwise this letter will never get finished.

As we were leaving the game reserve on the fourth day to travel back through Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, you reminded us that we were still in a country with many infrastructure problems. For reasons that were never explained, 5 of our group were able to fly back on our originally scheduled flight to Cape Town, but the other 25 of us were bumped to a later flight. We Semester at Sea folks are nothing if not flexible, and we had lots of help from the local tour company agent to find a few things to do in Port Elizabeth during the hours before our rescheduled flight. Thanks to my colleague who volunteered to be the faculty member in charge of the small group who went back at the originally scheduled time. We weren't worried when it came to be our turn to arrive at the airport. When we checked in and found one student's ticket had not been rebooked on the later plane, South Africa, you put my trip leader skills to the test. After several calls back to the ship from the airport, we came up with the plan to swap the bumped female student with one of the adults on the trip. Sr volunteered to swap with her, so became the hero of the day. He also became the hero of the next day since that was when he finally was able to fly back to Cape Town. The student who did not have a seat on the flight was calm and collected the whole time, but extremely relieved when I came back to the ticket counter to swap her for Sr. Grandpa, Jr, I, and the remaining 21 people on the trip flew back to Cape Town and the ship that night. The tour company was a huge help once they knew of the situation, sending the guide who had already left the airport back to Port Elizabeth to help Sr work out the ticketing and waiting. In the end, Sr ended up in a hotel for the night in Port Elizabeth (with a nice dinner and breakfast), then on the morning flight. To make up for the mess-up, the tour company sent a car and driver to retrieve Sr from the airport and also take us around Cape Town the rest of the day. John was our friendly guide and he took us to several places, including the cute town of Stellenbosch, the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch, and even the Two Oceans 8k race Sr was registered for around University of Cape Town. It turned out John's son and daughter were running in the same event's 5k, so he was able to see them start and finish while Sr was running. What started out as a scary situation the night before with a student stranded in the airport turned into a remarkable next day. 

On the evening of that same day, Grandpa and I had tickets on a SAS "Jazz Safari" evening outing. 15 of us were transported by minivan to the home of professional jazz musician Blackie Tembe (sp?) who lives in the Guguleto township, about 20 minutes drive from the ship. His family hosted us for dinner in his home while a trio of trumpet, piano, and bass played jazz written by South African artists (including pieces Blackie had written). They were very good, and Sr especially enjoyed it. Blackie's niece, who lives next door and is a professional singer, also came in at one point and sang the famous Miriam Makeba "Click Song" which I really liked. Blackie's home was quite nice, his family was very welcoming, and he invited the students with musical abilities to join in. One of our students is quite a good musician, and played jazz piano with Blackie and his bass player for a few songs. The combined jam was a special few minutes. Next we were supposed to go to a jazz club in a different area, but when we got there, our seats had been given away. It was quite late, so most of us headed back to the ship with one of the evening's two guides. Grandpa and a few of the other people were able to find seats and stayed with the other guide for another hour. He said he enjoyed the contemporary jazz they heard in the club. South Africa, you showed your magical and generous side early that evening, and your growing pains at the end.

Do countries get moody? If so, then I think you were feeling that way yesterday. The huge winds started early yesterday morning and kept up all day, scuttling many plans for outdoor activities, including ours to visit the Simonstown area where there is a large colony of penguins. The tour company graciously recommended we cancel and promised a full refund. You showed us who was boss when Jr nearly got blown over on our walk back the ship. We stuck close to the ship all day, but we did see penguins at the very nice Two Oceans Aquarium, a short walk away at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Apparently winds like those are a hallmark of the later fall and winter season in Cape Town, though fall is just beginning here in the Southern Hemisphere. We had lunch at an excellent Belgian restaurant on the waterfront. Helen, if you reading, I thought of you when I had my first Kwak since the one I had with you all those years ago. Yes, they held onto my left shoe. After a quick trip to a grocery store, it was back to the ship.

I'm not sure I have explained all of your South African contrasts in a way that makes sense, probably because I cannot make sense of them myself. While we were in port, several people from the ship had valuables and money stolen by thieves who approached them directly. No one was hurt that we know of. At the same time, nearly everyone I have heard talking about their experiences here have said they are already planning to return. As we traveled around the city and country, we saw spectacular luxury alongside absolute squalor. I think the contrast between have- and have-not is more pronounced here than even in India, perhaps because the promise of equality, freedom, and political reform is so strong. In the 18 years since the end of Apartheid, you have seen many changes, but I worry for you, my new friend, that you will continue to grow and change in the right direction. So goodbye for now to you, South Africa, the most enjoyable yet dangerous, orderly yet disorganized, developed yet struggling, port so far.

Heavy Sea Olympics

When there is a long stretch at sea, there are special events planned to break up the routine of going to class every day. It was 12 days ago that we sailed from India, so in that time we have:

- had Neptune Day as we crossed the equator (remember the silly fish picture)
- stopped in Mauritius to refuel. We went snorkeling for most of the 8 hours we were there, but I forgot the camera so no pics.
- had Sea Olympics while we sailed in some bouncy waves two days ago.

Sea Olympics are a day-long competition with lots of silly events. The students are organized in "seas" (Carribean, Mediterranean, Baltic, etc) based on which deck and side they live on, much like residence halls. There is also one sea for all of the faculty, staff (except resident directors who lead their seas), dependent family members, and various others like the folks in the Unreasonable at Sea program. We got to pick our own sea name, so we were "Luna-Sea" and our team color was gray.

A good effort was made to include the dependent children in as many events as possible, though the boys were all quite disappointed they were excluded from the very rough dodgeball tournament. We held our own in quite a few events, including "Ship, Wave, Captain" which is played like "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Jr was the champion from our team for that game! There was an exciting game of Ninja, a very long relay race involving carrying pingpong balls on spoons to various events (I did it twice, not easy with the ship rolling), and a trivia competition. Sr was supposed to be in a wet-suit relay, but high seas made all the water slosh out of the pool so it got scrapped. The highlight of the Sea Olympics is usually the performances, both in synchronized swimming and lip-syncing. We were not disappointed, even though the synchronized swimming ended up being done in the Union. Teams were highly creative in how they conveyed the feel of the being fish out of water. The winning Carribean Sea team had sleek black swimsuits and a seriously synchronized performance, one of our library students starred in that show. Our team was made up of four of the fathers sporting three-year-old Sydney's pink shorts on their heads. We didn't win that one. This is a family-friendly blog, so no bathing suit shots here ;-)

We land in Cape Town tomorrow. We will explore the city a bit the first day, then head out to a safari for a few days before coming back to Cape Town for two more days. The weather is in the 70s here, which is hard to get used to after the high temperatures of South and Southeast Asia. Not that I am complaining about sweatshirt weather and nice breezes just yet.

Heavy Sea Olympics

When there is a long stretch at sea, there are special events planned to break up the routine of going to class every day. It was 12 days ago that we sailed from India, so in that time we have:

- had Neptune Day as we crossed the equator (remember the silly fish picture)
- stopped in Mauritius to refuel. We went snorkeling for most of the 8 hours we were there, but I forgot the camera so no pics.
- had Sea Olympics while we sailed in some bouncy waves two days ago.

Sea Olympics are a day-long competition with lots of silly events. The students are organized in "seas" (Carribean, Mediterranean, Baltic, etc) based on which deck and side they live on, much like residence halls. There is also one sea for all of the faculty, staff (except resident directors who lead their seas), dependent family members, and various others like the folks in the Unreasonable at Sea program. We got to pick our own sea name, so we were "Luna-Sea" and our team color was gray.

A good effort was made to include the dependent children in as many events as possible, though the boys were all quite disappointed they were excluded from the very rough dodgeball tournament. We held our own in quite a few events, including "Ship, Wave, Captain" which is played like "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Jr was the champion from our team for that game! There was an exciting game of Ninja, a very long relay race involving carrying pingpong balls on spoons to various events (I did it twice, not easy with the ship rolling), and a trivia competition. Sr was supposed to be in a wet-suit relay, but high seas made all the water slosh out of the pool so it got scrapped. The highlight of the Sea Olympics is usually the performances, both in synchronized swimming and lip-syncing. We were not disappointed, even though the synchronized swimming ended up being done in the Union. Teams were highly creative in how they conveyed the feel of the being fish out of water. The winning Carribean Sea team had sleek black swimsuits and a seriously synchronized performance, one of our library students starred in that show. Our team was made up of four of the fathers sporting three-year-old Sydney's pink shorts on their heads. We didn't win that one. This is a family-friendly blog, so no bathing suit shots here ;-)

We land in Cape Town tomorrow. We will explore the city a bit the first day, then head out to a safari for a few days before coming back to Cape Town for two more days. The weather is in the 70s here, which is hard to get used to after the high temperatures of South and Southeast Asia. Not that I am complaining about sweatshirt weather and nice breezes just yet.