India: Part Deux
India: Day 1
Arriving in India this time was incredibly different than when I flied into Delhi in December. Lat time, I took a 20-hour flight (not including the layover in Italy), after which my group took a bus ride to our hotel in the middle of the night, only to step out inside a crowd of possibly rabid dogs. This time, I went to bed in my “home” for the semester, slept in, and was able to watch the MV Explorer pull into Chennai while I ate my breakfast over a cup of tea (although it was Lipton, so it wasn’t real tea). In December, I was a part of a crowd of 20 who were just as scared as me, who had no clue what they were getting themselves into. Now in the end of March, I was apart of a group of around 700 students, and I was one of the very few who weren’t freaking out from all the stories they had heard. I had already gone through the culture shock of entering India, so I was simply excited whereas everyone I knew was scared out of his or her minds! I was incredibly excited to go back to India, even though I had been there less than two months before. My few weeks prior had been all around the north, and Chennai is in the south, which is supposedly very different.
The first day I was originally going to walk around Chennai with my friends and go shopping. They all wanted to go to Fabindia, a store I had gone to while in Mumbai, so I wasn’t too thrilled about that. That day, there was a service visit planned to a Dalit village (an untouchables village) that I didn’t sign up for but really wanted to go to. Instead of shopping with friends, I decided to try to get on the service visit. Thankfully a few people didn’t show so there was room for me to go on. The trip wasn’t actually to a village I were to find out; rather, it was to a school for untouchables children in the north of Chennai. There, we were going to help the school’s staff paint the walls of the building, both inside and out. We arrived by bus to a tiny marching band, kids and parents waving and cheering, and a big banner saying “Welcome Semester at Sea Students!” It was truly an odd and unexpected experience. It was somewhat uncomfortable and very uncalled for, but as our tour guide explained, most Indians refuse to come into the Dalit parts of town, let alone visit them, play with the children, and help them out. For thousands of years the Dalits have been victims of discrimination to an unheard of amount. While untouchability has been outlawed over the years, society has been slow to change. That is why when we as foreigners came in, they were so excited and appreciative. These are people who are normally ignored by everyone around then, and they rarely if ever receive outside help.
The children sang some songs and danced for us when we first arrived at the school. After that, we broke up into smaller groups and were handed buckets of paint and paintbrushes. I was assigned to paint some of the outside walls of the school. Little did I know how much I was going to “learn” about painting in those few short hours! Every few minutes a different guy would come by and try to explain to me in Tamil/broken English how I was doing it wrong and showed me the “right” way to paint. I would use my newfound technique for a few minutes before a different guy would come by, express how wrong I was in my painting techniques, and show me a different way! This would continue to happen until the first guy would come back, and the cycle began again! It was extremely hilarious, to say the least. The guys helping kept laughing at me, and it was all in good fun. By the end of the afternoon I ended up COVERED in paint! In my hair, on my face, on my shirt, on my pants, on my shoes, on the outside of my sunglasses, and even the inside of my sunglasses! This was my first real service visit of the trip and it was a great experience. I know that twenty kids painting a school won’t make a big difference in the end, but I know that the kids and the school’s staff were extremely appreciative of us showing up and helping out. As they explained, it showed solidarity with the poor of India, something many Indians fail to do themselves.
After returning to the ship and scrubbing off all the paint from my body in the shower, I got ready to go to the Welcome Reception they were holding for the SAS kids. It was in this field somewhere in the middle of the city outside a nice hotel. They had delicious food and an amazing performance with music and “traditional” southern Indian dance. Unfortunately, I did not meet any Indian college students like I was planning, like happened at the Puerto Rican Welcome Reception, but I still had a great time!
India: Day 2
I woke up at 6:00am because I wanted to try to get on a trip to Kancheepuram and Mamallapuram, two cities a few hours outside of Chennai that are famous for their Hindu temples and shrines. I showed up half an hour early in an attempt to get on the waiting list, since I didn’t have a ticket. Thankfully a few people didn’t show up so I was able to get on. We first went to Kancheepuram, which was about two-hours away. We went to three different temples (whose names I failed to write down), which were all beautiful, and each was very different from the others. At the first temple, they had a mango tree that was supposedly 3,500 years old! We then went to a place where they wove silk saris by hand on a loom, which was really cool to see. We then went to the shop where they sold said saris for a few minutes, although I surprisingly walked away empty-handed. After the sari shop, we went to a restaurant in a near-by hotel, which was included with the price of the ticket. The food was AMAZING! Food in the south really is different from the Punjabi food I had in the north (and that I have in the States). After stuffing myself in the buffet line with delicious south Indian food, we took 1 ½ hour bus ride to Mamallapuram where we visit a few other Hindu temples and shrines. One was a large open area that had amazing carvings in the side of giant rocks. There was also a massive boulder! More importantly though, there were a TON of monkeys who were awesome and cute. Our last stop for the day was at Shore Temple, which, as the name suggests, was a temple on the shore. After that, we had another two-hour bus ride back to the ship! We arrived back at the MV Explorer twelve hours after we originally left. The day was awesome but was also extremely tiring!
As expected, my time in India has been very different from my first trip. I am glad that I am able to get outside of the city and see some of rural India first-hand. While traveling from Delhi, to Agra, to Lucknow, to Kolkatta, to Mumbai, it is easy to forget that a majority of the population actually lives outside of the cities! The south is different from the north, but not as dissimilar as I was expecting. The major difference I can see so far is that in the North there is a much larger Muslim influence and population, but since the Mughals never made it as far as Tamil (the state Chennai is in) there is little to no Muslim influence in the traditions, architecture, ect. I cannot wait for the Dalit village overnight in a few days! It is bound to be an extremely challenging but rewarding experience!
India: Day 3
The plan for Tuesday was to relax and walk around Chennai. Half of my friends were going on a service trip to Missionaries of Charity, an orphanage established by Mother Theresa. While I wanted to go on this trip, it sold out and I was not able to get on originally through SAS. Instead, the few of us who weren’t going on the trip decided to find a market to walk around and shop in for the morning. On the way out of the ship, we started talking to the woman in charge of organizing all the field programs and we explained how we were upset that we weren’t able to go to visit the Missionaries of Charity today. She said how we could go that morning and show up to volunteer, which was excellent news! After an over-priced auto-rickshaw ride, we arrived at the orphanage. Upon entering the gate we were greeted by a few nuns. Initially they were confused and thought we were the SAS group who was coming later that the afternoon. After explaining how that trip filled up and that we wanted to volunteer on our own, they were more than happy to take us inside.
I cannot even begin to explain everything that I saw and felt that morning. There were about 80 orphans there, almost all of who were physical and mental challenged. The nuns explained how most either had polio or cerebral palsy. We were led to a room with seven children who were physically paralyzed and had little to no mental function. We sat there for over an hour literally rubbing them and giving them massages. As one of the volunteers explained, these children are rarely touched by anyone since it is difficult to provide undivided attention to one child in a house of 80. Knowing that I was helping these children by simply touching them, children who rarely experience human contact, was so heartbreaking yet very powerful at the same time. I realized that my just sitting there with them, swatting the flies away from their bodies and out of their mouths meant more than I could ever imagine. After sitting there for over an hour, the nuns brought us dishes of what resembled oatmeal for us to feed the children. This was a time consuming and difficult process seeing as they could not move for themselves, let alone swallow food on their own. After we fed the kids, I walked around and found a baby boy who I held and played with the rest of the time. What I saw and what I felt cannot be transcribed onto paper (or the computer screen for that matter). I broke into tears numerous times throughout the morning from seeing the terrible conditions, the pain, that these children have to live through. We left the Missionaries of Charity after two hours and returned back to the ship in silence.
After lunch, my friend Dorothy (who I call Dot) and I decided to take an auto-rickshaw to Spencer Plaza, which is a large market/bazaar/mall about 20 minutes away from the ship. We got onto the rickshaw planning to bargain hard. Originally the rickshaw-wallah said he would take us for 20 rupees (less than ½ a dollar) to Spencers Plaza (normally it costd about 60-100 rupees!) but after driving a few blocks he pulled to the side of the road and said that he would drop the price to 10 rupees if we would let him take us to two stores and walk around for a few minutes. He explained how he got a commission just for taking us, even if we did not buy anything. Since we weren’t in a rush, Dorothy and I decided to go for it. Oh how I’ve missed driving in rickshaws through the crowded Indian streets! The craziest experience ever, yet I have never felt safer. So we went to the two stores, walked around, and didn’t buy anything, and got to Spencer Plaza for only 10 rupees. It was awesome. We walked around the plaza for a few hours, which was fun. I bought a watch for 200 rupees to replace the one that was stolen during Carnival in Brazil. I also bought Lagaan (an amazing Bollywood film about imperialism and cricket. How awesome?!) for only 120 rupees! I wasn’t sure if it would work in my laptop since it is an Indian DVD but it does and its amazing. After our amazing deal on an auto-rickshaw to Spencer Plaza, Dot and I were determined to get a good price for the ride back to the ship. Unfortunately, every rickshaw-wallah laughed at our offers for 20 and 30 rupees for a direct ride back, and said that it would cost 100 rupees. Finally we found someone who would take us back for 10, but again we had to visit two stores for a few minutes each. When we got into the rickshaw, the driver asked if we liked music. After responding in the affirmative, he flipped a switch that turned on the MASSIVE speaker on the ceiling of the rickshaw that we failed to originally notice! Dot and I spent the rest of the ride home dancing to bad American 90’s pop and it ruled. Best 10 rupee auto-rickshaw ride ever by far.
India: Day 4
The trip I had been looking forward to for months finally came, the Dalit village overnight trip. During my last trip to India, I stayed in cities the entire time. The only opportunity I had to see rural villages was while passing by them quickly through a train window. After a two-hour bus ride we finally arrived at the Delta School of Nursing, a school established to help empower and educate Dalit women. We were given a warm welcome, including the performance of a number of songs, dances, and a skit. Afterwards, we were given an opportunity to talk directly with the young women, whose ages ranged between 18 and 23. We asked them questions, but was even more interesting were they questions they asked us. The women wondered why we weren’t married by the age of 20 and if our parents were mad that we “disobeyed” them by going to study abroad. These questions showed me just how different our cultures truly were.
After talking for about an hour we were served lunch, which was amazing and delicious. They gave us both Southern Indian food and some other things, such as pasta and flan. At the end of the meal, the leader of the school gave a speech about the history of the Untouchables in India and the current state of Dalits, which was extremely interesting and informative. We were then given a few hours off to just hang out around the school and to talk to the nursing students. Before we left the school, at around 5pm, we were given some chai (it took me four days to finally have a cup of tea!), which was delicious. Following teatime we took a five-minute bus ride to the Dalit village. There we were given a tour of the village and were greeted by the people. The village was truly the most impoverished place I have ever seen. The houses were made of straw and mud, and lacked running water. Surprisingly, though, a number of the houses had electricity. After being shown around the village, being led by a “marching band” of drummers, we got back on the busses and went to the village’s school where we would be spending the night.
At the school, we saw countless performances including dancing, singing, people in horse costumes & stilts, fire-breathing, etc. While it was entertaining, it lasted a good 2 ½ hours. I would have much rather preferred talking with the community members instead, but it was still nice. After the performance that I thought might never end, we got together for a meditation session that lasted about half-an-hour. This time was actually very beneficial, since I hadn’t had time to fully process everything I had seen that day. Taking in everything was really challenging. These Dalits are ignored by society, ignored by the government, and denied the opportunity to better themselves and the lives of their families, ignore these people. Even so, they opened up their community and their homes to us with extreme generosity and kindness.
After the meditation we ate our boxed lunches that were provided by the ship, since the community did not have enough food to feed themselves, let alone 30+ guests. The boxed lunch was everything my parent’s wouldn’t let me eat for dinner as a kid: cookies, cake, oreos, and Capri sun. It was awesome. Following dinner, I attempted to fall asleep in the burning hot classroom on the rock hard floor of the school. Overall, I probably got 3-4 good hours of sleep throughout the entire night. I woke up numerous times to the sound of dogs barking and fighting literally right outside the school, which was crazy/hilarious.
India: Day 5
I woke up at around 6:30am, had some cereal I brought for breakfast and hung out for about an hour. At 7:30am we returned to the Dalit village and walked around for another hour or so. People let us into their houses and showed us around, which was incredibly kind. Although they have next to nothing compared to our standards, they seemed very proud of what they did have. Before we left, a few villagers made chai for us, which was extremely kind and delicious. We then got back on the busses and drove back to Chennai.
The rest of the day I spent walking around Chennai with some friends and shopping. We retuned to Spencer’s Plaza and I bought some tea so than I can drink something besides Lipton on the ship! For dinner, we went to Pizza Hut, which was absolutely delicious. While I originally planned on getting an “Indian” pizza that they have, such as Panneer Tikka pizza, I settled on a plain double-cheese pizza. I felt somewhat guilty, but I had been craving pizza for WEEKS! I haven’t gone this long without pizza, probably in my entire life, so it was a wonderful dinner.
I wish I could better describe everything I saw and felt during the Dalit village overnight, but it would be truly impossible to express my feelings through typing. The village was both similar to what I was expecting and extremely different. Although we did not sleep in the actual village since they did not have the infrastructure or ability to support our large group, it was still an amazing experience that provided an insight into the lives of the Dalits in India.
We set sail for Malaysia, and get these after three days at sea. From this point on, my schedule is going to get crazy. I only have four days of classes between India and Japan (since we are in port most of the time, and I only have classes every other day to begin with). After Malaysia comes Vietnam and then Hong Kong, each within a few days of one another.
Update from Mauritius & New Pictures!!
Mauritius!
We arrived in Mauritius Thursday morning a few hours late. My friends and I rented a villa for our time here, which I was extremely excited about. Mauritius is our “spring break” since the week in between South Africa and Mauritius was HORRIBLE! I had two tests, three papers, and two journals to write so I was extremely busy. On top of that, the ocean was going INSANE. I was terribly sea sick most of the time, which made getting work done and classes terribly difficult. There was a cyclone over Mauritius the day before we got there but thankfully it missed the ship on it’s way to Madagascar.
We took an hour-long public bus ride to Tamarin Bay where our villa was. After getting terribly lost, walking through extremely sketchy neighborhoods, and not being able to call the villa, we finally made it there safely. The villa was BEAUTIFUL. There were 13 of us staying, and it was only $10 a night for a 2 floor, 2 bathroom, three bedroom house. It was really great to get away from the boat for a while. At night, I made grilled cheese for everyone, since I missed cooking so much (even though admittedly, I can only cook a few things, grilled cheese being one of them). We got to bed around 2am, and then I had to wake up at 6am to catch the bus back to the boat for a trip I had in the morning,
My trip was to this Marine Science research center, which was fun. It was a trip for my Global Environmental Politics class. After walking around the research center for a few hours we took a glass-bottom boat to this amazing private island called Isle de Deux Cocos. We had a wonderful catered lunch being going back out on the glass bottom boat to snorkel! Snorkeling was wonderful. There were an incredible amount of fish and coral reefs. After snorkeling and hanging around the beach for a while, we went back to the ship.
I was supposed to go back to the villa, but my friends and I were tired so we decided to hang around Port Lois for the night. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner, which was so good. Oh how I missed chana masala, naan, and lassis. There is no “traditional” Mauritian food since the Dutch were the first mammals to ever be on the island (besides fruit bats). It is an amazing mixture of Indian, African, and Asian populations each living together. Even though I will be in India again in a week, we figured it would be ok to go for Indian food just once since the Indian population is the majority.
Today is the last day in Mauritius and I have just been hanging out. We were told that there was wireless Internet on the ENTIRE ISLAND, which was basically a lie. But thankfully I found this one tiny spot near the boat so I am able to update. Mauritius has been relatively uneventful, but incredibly relaxing which is just what I needed after the long week before. Next stop, Chennai, India!!
I uploaded new pictures from South Africa!! None from Mauritius since I forgot my camera yesterday ☹ I hope all is well at home! I miss everyone so much!
Cape Town, South Africa
The two days before we arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, Archbishop Tutu spoke during global studies. Hearing a Nobel Laureate speak about what he saw and experienced during apartheid was truly an incredible experience. The first day he gave a speech, where the second he did a Q&A session. The speech was incredible. He talked about the power of youth throughout the world. Youth, he said played a crucial role in bringing down the apartheid regime in South Africa, and continue to play pivotal roles in modern-day issues. He also talked a little about his role as the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. He told of a few testimonies he heard, the challenges of the TRC, and addressed some of the criticism the committee has had in the past. Tutu talked about the incredible importance of the TRC and forgiveness in general, saying how everyone expected South Africa to break out into bloodshed, but that it was through the power of truth, forgiveness, and love that the country was able to heal and unite together. I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful it was to hear him talk. To learn about South Africa and apartheid is one thing, but to hear Desmond Tutu speak about everything he has witnessed and lived through only a few hours before we enter South Africa was truly more incredible than words can say. After all he has seen, the terrible situations he has lived through, he still has such joy and love in his heart. Besides that, Tutu is truly the cutest person I have ever seen. He is always laughing, giving “pounds” to students in the halls, and wears these huge black socks all the way up to his knees. The night before every port we have pre-port, where they tell us everything we need to be aware of safety wise, health issues, etc. Before Brazil, the doctor and his family sang a song, which was really funny and cute, telling of all the medical things we need to know (a whole verse about Pepto Bismol!) Well, the night before South Africa, the doctor and his family came up to sing another song, and Tutu came up with them! He was singing into the mic and dancing all around the front. It was hilarious/adorable.
South Africa: Day 1
I woke up at 5:30am on Friday morning to watch us pull into Cape Town and to watch the sunrise over Table Mountain. Although it was freezing/windy on the top deck, the sunrise was truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I took tons of pictures, so I will try to upload them ASAP. Words cannot even begin to describe how picturesque the scene was. After watching the sunrise, I got breakfast, and then we had the diplomatic briefing to go to. First, two men from the U.S. Consular office spoke about South African-American relations, which was very informative. After that, the Governor of the Western Cape came to speak to us. The Governor is the most powerful/popular in all of South Africa, and is also a political rival of Tutu. Cape Town is the only city in South Africa in which the ANC (Tutu & Mandela’s party) is not in power. Even so, the Archbishop and the Governor are great friends. He talked about solidarity, and how we as travelers must attempt to put ourselves in the position of those we see in South Africa if we are to truly learn anything of their struggles. Archbishop Tutu’s wife joined the trip that morning, and it is so cute seeing the two of them together.
The plan was to rush off the boat as soon as we were cleared by Customs, exchange money, and try to get on a Robben Island tour. Unfortunately, when we got there they said that the tours were sold out until Monday! I bought a ticket got Tuesday afternoon and then went out to lunch. After lunch, I went with a few friends to hike Table Mountain, which was great. I haven’t worked out in years, which became very clear after a few minutes of hiking! That constituted my workout for probably another few years. We did not make it all the way to the top, since some people had to get back to the ship for SAS trips later that night, but we still made it about ¾ of the way up, and were able to see all of Cape Town, which was beautiful. There is a mountain right next to Table Mountain, called Lion’s Head Mountain. While we were hiking, we could see clouds forming around the top of the mountain (that contrary to the name, does not resemble a lion’s head, in my professional opinion). While the clouds were quickly moving, they went above the mountain, and then came back down the front side. It is difficult to actually explain, but it is something like this: picture a rock on the ground, with a strong stream of water running into it. The water rolls over the top of the rock, and pours back down the other side. The clouds looked almost like this, a fluid motion above and back down the mountain top, until it was completely covering the entire thing in a large white moving blanket.
Our ship is docked at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (V&A Waterfront). South Africa is one of the wealthiest nations in Africa; Cape Town is the wealthiest city in South Africa; the V&A Waterfront is the wealthiest part of Cape Town. This is the spot where all the tourists come, and all the wealthy South Africans go to shop. The area is completely safe and gorgeous. Although it is nice to be able to walk around by myself without having to worry about being robbed (like in Brazil), I find the Waterfront pretty terrible. It is filled with over-priced shops that sell “exotic” “African” merchandise, like masks, carved giraffes, etc. All the stores are titled something like “Masks of Africa” or “Gateway to Africa,” catering to the western tourists, perpetuating the notion of a homogenous “Africa” as an exotic and strange place.
After the hike, a shower, and dinner, we went out to this jazz club called Manenbergs, which was right on the Waterfront. It is supposedly a very popular jazz club (jazz is HUGE in South Africa) and had been recommended to us by numerous sources. There were about 15 of us, and we were there for a few hours. Some professors from SAS were a few tables down, and they eventually came and sat with us while we watched/danced to the jazz music. We then went back to the ship, after which a few friends and I went back out to walk around some and find some food, since we were not tired. After about an hour, I came back to the room and crashed. Even though it was a great way to end the first day in South Africa, I still felt like I could be in any city in the U.S. or Europe. Besides Table Mountain, which is a huge tourist attraction to begin with, I did not leave the comfort that is the V&A Waterfront.
South Africa: Day 2
I slept in some since we did not get back to the ship until late. When I woke up, I went walking around the Waterfront on my own. It was cold and rainy, but it was nice to get away from the ship by myself for a while. I came back and had lunch with some friends. After lunch, I went on an SAS trip to the District 6 Museum and a township tour. I had been looking forward to this trip a lot, since I would be able to get away from the Waterfront and see how South Africa really is outside of the tourist areas. The District 6 museum was great, but the tour guide rushed us through a little more than I would have liked. District 6 is a famous area in Cape Town, where thousands upon thousands of people were kicked out of their homes in 1966 and forced into townships in Cape Flats. They had actual road signs, pieces of buildings, etc from when the district was torn down. After the museum, we went to an arts center in a township that has been established by the government to teach youth skills, such as pottery, painting, music, etc. I made friends with a little boy, who was no older than 6 or 7, and I ended up playing with him outside for a while before I had to leave.
Our next stop on the tour was to an actual township. It was extremely awkward walking off a tour bus filled with well to do white kids right into an area plagued with poverty, racism, and a brutal past. The tour guide explain how most people living in the townships liked that we went to visit (since most tourists just stay by the waterfront and ignore the terrible conditions that surround them), that it showed how we actually cared, and wanted to learn and help out. Although it helped to hear this, nothing could shake off the terrible guilt I was feeling. We were shown around the township, and we led into a house. The house was extremely tiny, with one faucet for running water, three bedrooms (each with a single bed), and this was for three entire families, most of which have numerous children. Kids from the township were playing with us the entire time, and loved having their pictures taken. I did not bring my camera, so I personally did not get any pictures. After the township tour, we headed back to the ship on or bus. On the way back, we stopped to look at two spots: the Gugeletto seven memorial and the Amy Biel memorial. The prior was to seven innocent men who were killed by the police and then had weapons planted on them afterwards (this information came out at the Truth and Reconciliation Committee). The later was to the American Rhodes Scholar who was in South Africa helping to fight apartheid when she was brutally murdered by a few men who attacked her just because she was white. I had learned about both instances before coming to South Africa, so it was weird seeing these two memorials, which are where they each died, and they happened to be a block away from each other.
We returned to the ship for dinner, and we then went out to Long Street, which is the center of the nightlife in Cape Town. There was a huge art festival going on all day, which I was excited to see. Unfortunately, tt was raining and cold, so most of the exhibits had closed down. A few of my friends and I ran into this Irish Pub to hopefully see some live music, but unfortunately the music was awful (ex: covers of Hootie & the Blow Fish and Bob Marley), so we left after a little while. We then walked around some more and could not find a place to go that didn’t have an expensive cover charge so we went back to the Waterfront. We found some food (ice cream & waffles!) and walked back to the ship. That night there was a full lunar eclipse, which was really cool. Supposedly it could be seen in the States, and other regions, but it could be seen the best in the Middle East and Africa! So we had an incredible view of the full lunar eclipse, which I have never actually seen! It got cloudy and rainy again, so we went inside and hung out until 3am before we all went to bed.
Ever since the township visit, I have been feeling pretty terrible, for understandable reasons. I know how incredibly lucky and privileged I am. I am so thankful to my parents for providing me this wonderful opportunity. Even so, I cannot help but feel so incredibly terrible and guilty for entering these horribly poor countries on a cruise ship, walking around, and then moving on to the next impoverished country. It is something I have been struggling with the entire time, and something I will continue to struggle with. What is truly terrible and disappointing is some of the other people on the SAS trip. I cannot even begin to explain the terrible thing I have heard/seen from them. For example, on the first night, while walking to the jazz club, we passed a beggar. He went up to this SAS kid in another group asking for money to feed himself. The kid responded by saying “Sorry, I’m just a poor American” and then when we walked away he was laughing and saying “Hah, yeah right!” This kid, dressed up in expensive clothes, walking off a cruise ship, had the nerve to make fun of someone who is begging, probably one of the most degrading things any person could ever do. There are countless examples of similar behavior from kids on the trip, which is nothing short of disgusting. I can only hope that these people will be changed by their experiences over the next few months, and that the ignorance that plagues many on the trip will be erased
South Africa: Day 3
A majority of the people on the ship went on safari trips, so by Sunday the ship was pretty empty. I walked around the waterfront by myself for most of the morning. In the afternoon, I went to get “high tea” with my friends Emily and Natalie, which was fun. It was at the hotel right across the street from where the boat is docked. We got all dressed up for our wonderful tea and scones (since I was going crazy drinking only lipton tea every single day!). That night, a number of us went back to the jazz club down the street, Manenbergs. The “Godfather of South African jazz” was playing there that night, and it was incredible! We sat there watching jazz for a good few hours before we decided to finally come back to the ship.
South Africa: Day 4
Monday was another low-key day since most of the people were still away on safari. There was not much going on that day, so a few friends and I decided to walk to the aquarium right down the street, which was really nice. We walked around for a few hours; we saw some cool fish, sharks, and even penguins!! So cute! Monday night, we just stayed on the waterfront and hung out. Some people started coming back from their trips at night, so more people were around. My friends and I were going to go to watch Jazz again, but decided against it; instead we went to this Mexican restaurant right on the water. Emily and I decided to leave the group for a while, so we walked to an Indian restaurant right down the street to get chai tea, which I had been craving for a while (again, Lipton has been driving me crazy…I needed good tea immediately). The chai was great, and very reminiscent of the chai I got all the time in India (Yes, I couldn’t wait two weeks until I get there again). We sat there for a few hours talking, before we decided to return to the group, who was just finishing up, and then we went back to the ship for the night.
South Africa: Day 5
Tuesday was the day I had been waiting for all week! The #1 thing I wanted to do in Cape Town. Robben Island!!! We bought our tickets on Friday, and I was psyched to go…But when we got there we were told that all the tours were cancelled for the day due to strong winds!!! ☹ I was so upset!!! I couldn’t go Wednesday or Thursday since I had SAS trips planned all day for those, and besides, tickets were sold out until Friday by the time we got there. Ahh! So we just went to Long Street to walk around a shop. I had been to Long Street before for the art-less art festival, but it was dark and rainy. Long Street is a pretty cool area, filled with nifty shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs. I didn’t buy anything, but I walked around for a few hours with my friends. We came back to the ship for a little while, only to go back to Long Street later that night to celebrate Jessica’s birthday! After organizing a group of 20 people, we finally made it to the restaurant around 8:45pm. When went to Royale, which is a gourmet burger place that was recommended to us by a number of people. We had an hour and a half wait before being seated, so we went upstairs on the roof where the restaurant had a bar/waiting area. Thankfully we got seated a little earlier than they planned, but it was fun hanging out outside, overlooking Table Mountain. Dinner was incredibly delicious (veggie-burger with hummus and guacamole!). By the time everyone was done eating, it was about 11pm. We decided to try and find a club on Long Street to hang out at. We went to this place called Fiction, which is supposedly the best club in Cape Town. We should have assumed that although it is a popular club, no place would be extremely crowded on a Tuesday night! It was pretty empty, and the music sucked, so I headed back to the ship with about half the group, while the other walked around for a little longer.
South Africa: Day 6
I woke up early for an SAS trip to visit the Cape Flats Nature Project. The Project is run by the city of Cape Town, and is an effort to spread environmental education throughout the area, specifically in the townships. We started off by visiting a wetland park where they bring students of all ages to teach them about environmental protection and sustainability. There was a large group of kids there (about 9th or 10th grade) from a neighboring school. We were walked around the area for a while before we left to visit another area protected by the city, which the Project uses for educational purposes. It was right on a beach next to the Atlantic Ocean, and we walked around for a few minutes. We then got back on the bus, and drove through a few different townships while the guide discussed different programs being implemented to spread environmental awareness. We did not get out and walk around the townships (for safety reasons), which I was disappointed about, but I was still glad we were still able to see them.
We then had 2½ hours to walk around the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, which was absolutely beautiful! It overlooked Table Mountain and was filled with an incredible amount of beautiful flora. I easily could have spent another few hours walking around just to see everything, since the place was so huge.
The trip on Wednesday was a great experience. It was extremely interesting learning about the Cape Flats Nature Project and how they attempt to spread environmental awareness and education. They explained how their largest problem is convincing people, some of whom cannot even feed their families, the importance of the environmental protection and sustainable living. I think back to my work with SEAC at St. Mary’s and how difficult it is to convince students there the importance of environmental protection. I cannot even imagine how much commitment, dedication, and passion it must take to do similar work on a much more difficult and significant level.
At night, my friends and I went to this restaurant, Mama Africa, which had been recommended to us by many locals. Dinner was great, and more importantly the music was AMAZING! I tried such odd things as crocodile, ostrich, and springbuck. We spent a good few hours there watching the amazing band. An awesome way to spend our last night in Cape Town.
South Africa: Day 7
On the last day in South Africa, I went on a service trip with Operation Hunger, an NGO that works to help malnourished children in the country. We started off by visiting a crèche, a preschool in a nearby township. We spent about an hour there just playing around with the kids. They were all incredibly adorable and extremely fun. After spending some time with the kids, we went to a middle school where we had a planning meeting for our day and then we watched a student choir. After the performance, we stopped by at a gas station to break for lunch. SAS provided boxed lunches for everyone, but we were given the option to donate our lunches to the community we were going to, which almost everyone did. I bought a sandwich for lunch, and then purchased a big bag of apples and bananas to also donate to the community. After lunch, we finally made it to Marcus Garver Rastafarian Community, where we would spend the rest of the afternoon working with Operation Hunger.
Two other groups had gone to the same community throughout the week, and each group worked on a different part of the project. The first group helped weigh the children in the community to see if the children were malnourished, and if so, who. The second group met with the parents of the children, discussing possible causes to the malnourishment that was taking place in the community. The third group’s job was to meet with the community leaders to help plan out a solution to the problem. Out of the forty students on the trip, they only wanted five to actually be present at the discussion, since any large group would become hectic. Thankfully I was chosen as one of the five students, since I am in the Food & Society class, and my professor was in charge of the day’s trip. All of the other students were shown around the town and played with the kids for the hour or so that we were in the meeting.
The meeting was not only extremely interesting, but it gave me much insight into actual grassroots human rights work, which was great. There were about five community leaders present, including mothers of some of the children. At a previous meeting, they discussed the problems in the town that were contributing to child malnourishment. At our meeting, they voted on which issue would be their priority in tackling hunger and malnourishment. The community leaders voted on unemployment as the most important issue, saying how if they do not have jobs, they cannot feed themselves or their families. After the vote, we broke into smaller groups (a men’s group, a woman’s group, and an SAS group) to brainstorm on possible solutions to the problem of unemployment. My group was extremely careful when discussing anything, knowing full well that we were outsiders coming into a community we knew little to nothing about. In general, Operation Hunger does an incredible job of ensuring that whatever happens is the wishes of the locals. We discussed a few issues, such as microfinancing establishing a coop, and expanding their markets to outside the actual Rasta community. I was chosen to present our discussion to the larger group, and then we all talked about the proposed solutions as a group. Although I was hesitant to present for the above reason of being a complete outsider, the community leaders seemed pretty receptive and appreciative to us for trying to help. The SAS group then left for a tour of the area while the community members finalized a plan. We then returned to hear their plan and to watch a dance performance from the kids in the town.
Operation Hunger was by far the best experience I had in South Africa. I expected to walk away from the trip completely depressed and miserable, but the opposite was true. Instead of just seeing malnourished and starving children all day, I helped participate in a truly productive and proactive meeting that will hopefully have a real and positive effect in the future. I loved how well the Operation Hunger representative worked with the community members, acting solely as a facilitator to ensure that what they decide comes from the group, not from outsiders whether they be an NGO or Americans who came right off the cruise ship. I had such an incredible time in South Africa, and I have every intention of coming back sometime in the future. Now we are off to Mauritius!!!
