My China experience was different from that of many other folks. Many chose to travel in China between Hong Kong and Qingdao (pronounced Chin-dow or ching-dow), visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Xian (home of the terra-cotta soldiers), and other places. Well, I’m not made of money, so I passed on those experiences after my big-ticket safari and Borneo trip. I spent two days in Hong Kong then two days on ship to Qingdao. Those two days were nice, though – about 85 folks on ship, very leisurely, two FANTASTIC dinners (prime rib/cherries jubilee, steak/crème brulee), discount haircuts and massages, no other responsibilities. Now that would be the way to do the whole voyage…..
We arrived in Qingdao, and we ported in an industrial area, something we have become accustomed to. However, this was VERY industrial. We needed to walk about a quarter mile to get out to a street where we could even get a taxi. I think this was the most challenging port language-wise as well. I saw virtually no English on signs (until, are you ready for this, “Wal-Mart”!!) and very few folks spoke any English, far fewer than anywhere else. Then when everything is in characters, it further decreases one’s ability to try to decipher. Folks who took taxis took a copy of the ship’s port location written in characters to show taxi drivers. This produced mixed results – definitely no guarantee of success. We heard similar things from folks who took other trips within China.
I did a day trip which took us to a reflexology school and a traditional Chinese medicine center. Our guide was not very fluent either, so I got more of a visual tour of the city than an informational one. At the reflexology school, all 19 of us were given a reflexology massage. Of course, I was last one in the door and there 18 stations. So they dragged another station in and put it right in the front of the room. Always what I like. Then, I got the instructor. 18 women doing reflexology, and one male….he was providing a running commentary which was “translated” by the guide. I think he said a lot more than we heard. Plus he was sure to be very emphatic about everything he did. So, bottom line, it hurt like hell in some spots! People were laughing at me, because I was sweating! I didn’t want to be too much of a wuss, particularly since getting worked on by the instructor also meant getting your picture taken by the school’s photographer. Don’t mistake reflexology for a soothing foot massage; I was sore for days, plus the sole of my foot was bruised. I just hoped for some overall benefit.
We also visited a traditional Chinese medicine center. I was a bit familiar after working with Esther Stephens (now Cuellar?), Peter’s sister. They demonstrated some acupuncture, cupping, and some very specific massages for problem areas. It’s interesting in and of itself, as well as in the degree to which it is beginning to spread through the Western world. We in Seattle have Bastyr University which I believe offers a master’s in Chinese medicine; the school also widely integrates the separate components into their curriculum.
So that evening was my only chance to get out and have a local dinner, so I ventured forth with Marvel the counselor and Susan, spouse of the faculty member (who could have been one of my students at UT Austin). We barely got to the main street and were trying to hail a taxi when we were intercepted by a woman who spoke some English. Well, my dislike of entanglements and basic “trust no one” attitude would have led me to decline her offers of help, but the other two went with it – not enthusiastically, I must say, but more survivalistically. We were aiming for the Night Market, and she said she would help us get there. She helped us hail a taxi and explained our destination to the driver, then imagine our surprise when she hopped in the taxi with us!
Well, we did make it to the night market. Imagine our surprise again when she hopped out and came with us! See, entanglements. Susan was looking for a Beijing Olympics t-shirt, so this woman took us on a mission to find that. We had also mentioned that we were going to have dinner, and she said she knew a great restaurant. So we walk around looking for this shirt, no luck, and then we are hungry and plan to stop in some place to eat. Every place we look at, she says, “No good! Too expensive!” As we gradually, though quickly in the end, came to figure, she owned a restaurant near where she “ran into” us, and was trying to hustle us to go to her restaurant. We told her that we did not want to go all the way back almost to the ship to eat; for one thing, we had no idea what she was involved with, and secondly, if it didn’t work out, we wouldn’t have a place to eat as there were not any or many restaurants in that area (or we would have started with dinner).
She was getting increasing strident and I at least was getting increasingly determined to eat where we were. So finally we went in a noodle soup place – when we actually ordered and paid, she then got the idea that she was not going to be successful. Susan gave her 10 yuan to get a taxi and go away. Money well spent, we collectively decided. The noodle soup was great, with a side of cabbagey stuff like kim chee, and even a drink for very cheap. We chose the place because it had pictures on its menu – amazing what you can accomplish by pointing. I continued my chopstick practice on the noodles. Mine, however, came with a whole boiled egg, and that I must say thwarted me and my sticks. So I stabbed it.
Very luscious and I had no illness problems, with that or any food in any country. On our way back my companions each bought another giant suitcase in the Night Market to hold all their port loot. We got a taxi back, stuffed it with ourselves and two giant suitcases, and were fortunate that our taxi driver understood the written directions.
The next day, I was just not up to all the challenges, and was not alone in just remaining on the ship, relaxing, catching up, and looking forward to Japan. The Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and all the rest will have to wait until I can schedule a return visit to China.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
HONG KONG
Hong Kong was amazing. It was a forest of buildings surrounding the harbor on both sides. The side attached to the mainland is Kowloon near the harbor, turning into the “New Territories” farther inland. Across the water from that is what we think of as Hong Kong. We docked in Kowloon right near the famous Star Ferry, which crosses over to Hong Kong.
Where to start? Well, we were in a prime location in many ways, and it was easy to get around. The gangway from the ship led directly into a mall. What could be better? Mall understates it; it was a rabbit warren of connected malls, restaurants, hotels, and so on. Hundreds if not thousands of shops! Now, the bargains were not as they were in Vietnam. In fact, it was quite expensive, but the shopping lure of HK is the volume of stuff and the fact that it’s all the newest, most current – you name it, fashion, electronics, jewelry, and so on. I was swooning over the flat screen TVs.
We only had two days there. It could be worth a return visit, as it combined an interesting urban experience with a good deal of natural beauty, which I like. We did a city tour which took us up Victoria Peak. Unfortunately, it was completely socked in with fog. First, I felt very much at home – Seattle! Secondly, it was quite a welcome relief from the tropical temperatures we’d had for most of the voyage. The pictures were not great, but folks who went the second day had a clear view. I will try to pilfer some of their pics.
They had a great cable car which ran up and down the mountain, at about a 45 degree angle. We bussed up and cable-carred down, into the main park area, very pretty, and also visited the oldest building in HK, a church dating from the mid-1800s. The entire city is very clean, and really was not as congested as you would think given the population. The food was good and there was a Haagen Dazs right by the ship, offering table service and elaborate and expensive desserts. Yipee.
I walked the harbor walk up a ways, past their film star walk, complete with stars in the sidewalk. I have pictures of a few of the notables: Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, and of course, complete with statue, Bruce Lee. Of course, we all know he is buried in Seattle, but this fact did not seem particularly salient in HK. I also walked up the main street, which was a nice tree-lined boulevard, also lined with shops. I came back via a big city park which had a bird display, a pond, etc. – very nice. Very safe feeling as well. I was still somewhat of a towering giant, although our Chinese tour guide, a woman, was about my height (!) and mentioned that some of the northern people, particularly around Qingdao, our next destination, were quite tall (she was correct).
What was a little more difficult to find in HK was more traditional art or crafts. The tourist stuff is out front, and the traditional stuff is in the smaller markets. I strolled through one, very interesting. There is a big market in jade and some antiques, but I did not end up with either, as I’m not very knowledgeable (nor rich). We glimpsed a food market on our tour, and I was very much reminded of Chinatown in Vancouver BC. We also had a brief tour through Aberdeen’s (!) floating fishing communities, boats at the south end of HK island where fishing folk live very traditionally; some, at least in the past, spent their entire lives on these boats, really never even setting foot on shore. They were a form of untouchables in their way. It was not unreminiscent of some of the floating homes in our fair city, with plants and sometimes gardens right on the boats, of course quite a bit more rustic.
HK has maintained its character even after reverting back to China. They refer to “Two systems, one country.” HK maintains its own currency, own postal system I believe (a good one), and most of the trappings of capitalism in a communist country. It’s economically pretty strong and quite attractive to other Chinese who wish to immigrate, which they control fairly strictly. One reason is that it’s quite populous, and they are expanding the land into the harbor to accommodate more, since most of the area is mountains (around 60% I think). The harbor shrinks, people build up the sides of mountains and in every available space, and there you are. One of the neat features was the nightly light show downtown. Buildings are equipped with colored neon/LED/laser lights and/or white spotlights, and every night at 8 they do a light show to music. I got some decent photos (and a bunch of crappy ones).
It was a very first-world area, complete with the ubiquitous KFC, pretty and fun. For shoppers, it’s a paradise, but there is also enough cultural interest as well as natural beauty to engage those who don’t shop till they drop. Besides, there’s that Asian size thing again…..
Where to start? Well, we were in a prime location in many ways, and it was easy to get around. The gangway from the ship led directly into a mall. What could be better? Mall understates it; it was a rabbit warren of connected malls, restaurants, hotels, and so on. Hundreds if not thousands of shops! Now, the bargains were not as they were in Vietnam. In fact, it was quite expensive, but the shopping lure of HK is the volume of stuff and the fact that it’s all the newest, most current – you name it, fashion, electronics, jewelry, and so on. I was swooning over the flat screen TVs.
We only had two days there. It could be worth a return visit, as it combined an interesting urban experience with a good deal of natural beauty, which I like. We did a city tour which took us up Victoria Peak. Unfortunately, it was completely socked in with fog. First, I felt very much at home – Seattle! Secondly, it was quite a welcome relief from the tropical temperatures we’d had for most of the voyage. The pictures were not great, but folks who went the second day had a clear view. I will try to pilfer some of their pics.
They had a great cable car which ran up and down the mountain, at about a 45 degree angle. We bussed up and cable-carred down, into the main park area, very pretty, and also visited the oldest building in HK, a church dating from the mid-1800s. The entire city is very clean, and really was not as congested as you would think given the population. The food was good and there was a Haagen Dazs right by the ship, offering table service and elaborate and expensive desserts. Yipee.
I walked the harbor walk up a ways, past their film star walk, complete with stars in the sidewalk. I have pictures of a few of the notables: Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, and of course, complete with statue, Bruce Lee. Of course, we all know he is buried in Seattle, but this fact did not seem particularly salient in HK. I also walked up the main street, which was a nice tree-lined boulevard, also lined with shops. I came back via a big city park which had a bird display, a pond, etc. – very nice. Very safe feeling as well. I was still somewhat of a towering giant, although our Chinese tour guide, a woman, was about my height (!) and mentioned that some of the northern people, particularly around Qingdao, our next destination, were quite tall (she was correct).
What was a little more difficult to find in HK was more traditional art or crafts. The tourist stuff is out front, and the traditional stuff is in the smaller markets. I strolled through one, very interesting. There is a big market in jade and some antiques, but I did not end up with either, as I’m not very knowledgeable (nor rich). We glimpsed a food market on our tour, and I was very much reminded of Chinatown in Vancouver BC. We also had a brief tour through Aberdeen’s (!) floating fishing communities, boats at the south end of HK island where fishing folk live very traditionally; some, at least in the past, spent their entire lives on these boats, really never even setting foot on shore. They were a form of untouchables in their way. It was not unreminiscent of some of the floating homes in our fair city, with plants and sometimes gardens right on the boats, of course quite a bit more rustic.
HK has maintained its character even after reverting back to China. They refer to “Two systems, one country.” HK maintains its own currency, own postal system I believe (a good one), and most of the trappings of capitalism in a communist country. It’s economically pretty strong and quite attractive to other Chinese who wish to immigrate, which they control fairly strictly. One reason is that it’s quite populous, and they are expanding the land into the harbor to accommodate more, since most of the area is mountains (around 60% I think). The harbor shrinks, people build up the sides of mountains and in every available space, and there you are. One of the neat features was the nightly light show downtown. Buildings are equipped with colored neon/LED/laser lights and/or white spotlights, and every night at 8 they do a light show to music. I got some decent photos (and a bunch of crappy ones).
It was a very first-world area, complete with the ubiquitous KFC, pretty and fun. For shoppers, it’s a paradise, but there is also enough cultural interest as well as natural beauty to engage those who don’t shop till they drop. Besides, there’s that Asian size thing again…..
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Thanks for Your Comments! - with a couple of additions on May 3rd
Greetings All!
I was able to respond to some comments and questions before, and I will do so again. One thing I’ve noticed is that people don’t necessarily post their comments in the most recent blog, so I am going back and reviewing all the entries periodically to make sure I don’t miss anyone.
I neglected to respond to an early question of Mrs. BG about my cabin and the food. First, the food is quite good, far above what I remember residence hall food to be, but of course below cruise ship food (though they do have their moments). The only problem is the repetitive nature of the food, as what they can get in each port is somewhat limited. Two examples: one, the lettuce is now yellow. We joke that it has been genetically modified since we left. Another is that all the milk is boxed. Now, I’ve never seen milk routinely sold like that (absent the little juice-box sizes of chocolate milk, which I would kill for now, incidentally….) and it just don’t taste right. So I’m off cereal which was a huge loss. Actually, I miss a lot of breakfasts, so it wasn’t really that huge. I have replaced cereal with yogurt, to help out probiotically with the large varieties of port food.
We run off ship to eat in port. Or maybe that’s just me. I didn’t eat on ship a single time while we were in Japan, again mostly to get more variety. (Maybe that’s why I spent so much money there). We also buy snacks and some grocery items since we have fridges in the room. That all said, during the sail from Hong Kong to Qingdao, we had spectacular dinners, all resembling the Captain’s Dinners to which faculty and staff get at least one invitation. There was a small shipboard population during that time; most folks were traveling within China, through Beijing, and joined the ship in Qingdao, so we only served about 85 folks. The first night was prime rib with cherries jubilee for dessert, and the second night was grilled sirloin with crème brulee, all served to the tables rather than through the buffet line (the mysterious “table service” that I have referred to).
My cabin is small and among student cabins, compared with the fairly luxurious suites some faculty and staff have. Not complaining!! The bathroom is larger and nicer than we had on our Alaska cruise. There are two small beds, one of which I use for storage and filing. Ample storage, and a table I use as a desk for the laptop, speakers, and phone. TV. All very nice! I do have some pictures. There are also pictures on the SAS website, which actually gives quite a bit of info about what we are doing.
Hello, Donna Devious! I certainly did not wish to miss or overlook YOUR comments! I’m so glad you are tuning in, as I sail with Beth Hellwig-Olson and Merna Jacobsen from the University of Northern Colorado. Did you ever encounter either of them? Merna in particular was very memorable – big red/orange hair, big presence. I am not much of a blogger, and I’m hoping Sheilagh has saved my emails and (email and regular) postcards as a record of my voyage. The picture thing (thang) is limited by our technology on-ship; I even had to get an emergency e-mail account in yahoo because our technology could not support hotmail. So I will have pictures available when I return, and I will either slide them into the blog later or do photo albums on-line. One of my excellent colleagues here hails from your state, though she is in Los Alamos. Maybe I’ll have to pass by NM soon.
And Jean S&M, it all goes back to you. You introduced us all to SAS during our collective time at UNC. I even interviewed at that time; obviously I was not selected, but all things come around when the time is right. I’m sure many things are the same about our voyages, as well as many things being different (the ship, for one – very luxurious!). Thanks for giving us all our first exposure to SAS. FYI Larry Singell is our Exec. Dean and Ron Wisner is our Asst. Dean.
Hello Kristen Happy! I will think of you when I arrive in Honolulu. Thanks for your kind words, particularly about class. I will actually do a couple of classes for faculty members while I’m here, so I’m never that far from the role. Congrats on your new job as well!! It’s great to work with smart folks, and news flash, you are one of those, as are all “my people.” I won’t be driving back through SF after all, so I won’t get a chance to see you (unless you are planning to be in San Diego around May 14). Darn. Have fun! (Hey to Gary – hope he isn’t still afraid of me…..)
Hi Aunt Gloria – you are one of the few family member I still claim (I think Ginger and Joe in Seattle are in that group too) – yes, world, I have family. I hope you can make it up our way soon this summer! I’ll be in touch when I get back.
Hello, Sarah (or Kris, I’m unclear) – I thought it fairly hilarious that you found my blog to see what was happening on your son’s voyage. Of course, if he and I had spoken “officially,” that would be our little secret; but I have interaction with lots of students through trips, clubs, meals, etc. whom I would never dream that I would see officially. And I even know another number by sight, so I may well know Marcus, and I’m sure he is as you describe. Perhaps he is keeping a written journal and you will get a full story later.
Hi Shon. Actually, sunburn is the least of my problems – some days at sea I never actually get out the door! It’s pretty scandalous, but we ARE working…..I tried for a little color in Vietnam, and perhaps between Japan and San Diego, though it’s a little brisk for the last couple of days. We are probably moving back in your direction, though probably not all the way to New York. I’ll keep you posted – did you start school at Brockport yet? My friend still chairs the English Dept. there. Get on it!
Hello Erin. Did you ever find an exclamation point that you didn’t like? Or three!!! We’ll catch up when I get back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Megan, what a good question. There’s a lot of laudatory research about the current crop of “Millennial Generation” students. I read some initially, and I’ll read more, but this experience is giving me more of a balanced view – no group is unreservedly positive. Very different from the experiences I had with students at UNC in the 90’s, especially as you all were so special, to a person. I miss you all! These students are very concerned to be perceived as good people. It’s hard for me to make general comments as my role here as judicial person skews my perception.
As far as campus life, we have all the ingredients - about 100 different classes offered from 8-5 by about 35 faculty, a library and computer lab, plus a res life component, activities, counseling, health services, a good number of clubs and organizations, a judicial function, even a "cop," plus unique bits like the program for the elders and for the dependent children who are going to school while on board. There are classes every day at sea with stuff every night, with extensive lists of trips and activities in each port. So there are lots of similarities, but the differences would have to be first in the self-contained nature of the community in which faculty are in the environment with student's 24/7, which is usually a brand new and challenging experience for them. For us Student Life people, we are used to having such close contact with students, so it's nothing unique. There are some faculty who have no idea what students are like outside a classroom. Here they are getting a crash course. Also, we move very quickly here. Time is condensed; programs are planned and executed in days if not hours, appointments made no more than a day or two ahead, we all work on the fly and respond quickly to anything and everything. Lastly, there is a single course that everyone on ship participates in, as a way to unify the community; another difference would be that every course has an international dimension to it.
This topic does give me the excuse to blow our collective horn a bit – the administrators who have sailed multiple times, as well as the ship’s crew who have dealt with student behavior, have said REPEATEDLY AND EMPHATICALLY that this voyage is by far the best they have experienced in terms of student behavior, with the fewest and least serious incidents, etc. Our Student Life staff set a tone and created a system which held folks accountable and stressed how serious we were about behavior issues, in a caring way. I think we have been highly successful, and I’m pleased about my role in that.
And hi to Ginger and Joe! Thanks for reading about my adventure. I’ll have another gathering at the house to showcase my souvenirs and pictures. And if Gloria visits we can have our own reunion.
Well OK! I must run to dinner, having said that I want to have every remaining dinner out on the deck. More programs and activities this evening, as every evening, and I have deck duty during bar service, so it will be a long night particularly after you figure in another clock change ( with more to come, then the Dateline…) I will be back on the mainland in less than two weeks! Amazing. More to come, as fast as my little fingers can type. Bye, and thanks for visiting my THANG.
I was able to respond to some comments and questions before, and I will do so again. One thing I’ve noticed is that people don’t necessarily post their comments in the most recent blog, so I am going back and reviewing all the entries periodically to make sure I don’t miss anyone.
I neglected to respond to an early question of Mrs. BG about my cabin and the food. First, the food is quite good, far above what I remember residence hall food to be, but of course below cruise ship food (though they do have their moments). The only problem is the repetitive nature of the food, as what they can get in each port is somewhat limited. Two examples: one, the lettuce is now yellow. We joke that it has been genetically modified since we left. Another is that all the milk is boxed. Now, I’ve never seen milk routinely sold like that (absent the little juice-box sizes of chocolate milk, which I would kill for now, incidentally….) and it just don’t taste right. So I’m off cereal which was a huge loss. Actually, I miss a lot of breakfasts, so it wasn’t really that huge. I have replaced cereal with yogurt, to help out probiotically with the large varieties of port food.
We run off ship to eat in port. Or maybe that’s just me. I didn’t eat on ship a single time while we were in Japan, again mostly to get more variety. (Maybe that’s why I spent so much money there). We also buy snacks and some grocery items since we have fridges in the room. That all said, during the sail from Hong Kong to Qingdao, we had spectacular dinners, all resembling the Captain’s Dinners to which faculty and staff get at least one invitation. There was a small shipboard population during that time; most folks were traveling within China, through Beijing, and joined the ship in Qingdao, so we only served about 85 folks. The first night was prime rib with cherries jubilee for dessert, and the second night was grilled sirloin with crème brulee, all served to the tables rather than through the buffet line (the mysterious “table service” that I have referred to).
My cabin is small and among student cabins, compared with the fairly luxurious suites some faculty and staff have. Not complaining!! The bathroom is larger and nicer than we had on our Alaska cruise. There are two small beds, one of which I use for storage and filing. Ample storage, and a table I use as a desk for the laptop, speakers, and phone. TV. All very nice! I do have some pictures. There are also pictures on the SAS website, which actually gives quite a bit of info about what we are doing.
Hello, Donna Devious! I certainly did not wish to miss or overlook YOUR comments! I’m so glad you are tuning in, as I sail with Beth Hellwig-Olson and Merna Jacobsen from the University of Northern Colorado. Did you ever encounter either of them? Merna in particular was very memorable – big red/orange hair, big presence. I am not much of a blogger, and I’m hoping Sheilagh has saved my emails and (email and regular) postcards as a record of my voyage. The picture thing (thang) is limited by our technology on-ship; I even had to get an emergency e-mail account in yahoo because our technology could not support hotmail. So I will have pictures available when I return, and I will either slide them into the blog later or do photo albums on-line. One of my excellent colleagues here hails from your state, though she is in Los Alamos. Maybe I’ll have to pass by NM soon.
And Jean S&M, it all goes back to you. You introduced us all to SAS during our collective time at UNC. I even interviewed at that time; obviously I was not selected, but all things come around when the time is right. I’m sure many things are the same about our voyages, as well as many things being different (the ship, for one – very luxurious!). Thanks for giving us all our first exposure to SAS. FYI Larry Singell is our Exec. Dean and Ron Wisner is our Asst. Dean.
Hello Kristen Happy! I will think of you when I arrive in Honolulu. Thanks for your kind words, particularly about class. I will actually do a couple of classes for faculty members while I’m here, so I’m never that far from the role. Congrats on your new job as well!! It’s great to work with smart folks, and news flash, you are one of those, as are all “my people.” I won’t be driving back through SF after all, so I won’t get a chance to see you (unless you are planning to be in San Diego around May 14). Darn. Have fun! (Hey to Gary – hope he isn’t still afraid of me…..)
Hi Aunt Gloria – you are one of the few family member I still claim (I think Ginger and Joe in Seattle are in that group too) – yes, world, I have family. I hope you can make it up our way soon this summer! I’ll be in touch when I get back.
Hello, Sarah (or Kris, I’m unclear) – I thought it fairly hilarious that you found my blog to see what was happening on your son’s voyage. Of course, if he and I had spoken “officially,” that would be our little secret; but I have interaction with lots of students through trips, clubs, meals, etc. whom I would never dream that I would see officially. And I even know another number by sight, so I may well know Marcus, and I’m sure he is as you describe. Perhaps he is keeping a written journal and you will get a full story later.
Hi Shon. Actually, sunburn is the least of my problems – some days at sea I never actually get out the door! It’s pretty scandalous, but we ARE working…..I tried for a little color in Vietnam, and perhaps between Japan and San Diego, though it’s a little brisk for the last couple of days. We are probably moving back in your direction, though probably not all the way to New York. I’ll keep you posted – did you start school at Brockport yet? My friend still chairs the English Dept. there. Get on it!
Hello Erin. Did you ever find an exclamation point that you didn’t like? Or three!!! We’ll catch up when I get back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Megan, what a good question. There’s a lot of laudatory research about the current crop of “Millennial Generation” students. I read some initially, and I’ll read more, but this experience is giving me more of a balanced view – no group is unreservedly positive. Very different from the experiences I had with students at UNC in the 90’s, especially as you all were so special, to a person. I miss you all! These students are very concerned to be perceived as good people. It’s hard for me to make general comments as my role here as judicial person skews my perception.
As far as campus life, we have all the ingredients - about 100 different classes offered from 8-5 by about 35 faculty, a library and computer lab, plus a res life component, activities, counseling, health services, a good number of clubs and organizations, a judicial function, even a "cop," plus unique bits like the program for the elders and for the dependent children who are going to school while on board. There are classes every day at sea with stuff every night, with extensive lists of trips and activities in each port. So there are lots of similarities, but the differences would have to be first in the self-contained nature of the community in which faculty are in the environment with student's 24/7, which is usually a brand new and challenging experience for them. For us Student Life people, we are used to having such close contact with students, so it's nothing unique. There are some faculty who have no idea what students are like outside a classroom. Here they are getting a crash course. Also, we move very quickly here. Time is condensed; programs are planned and executed in days if not hours, appointments made no more than a day or two ahead, we all work on the fly and respond quickly to anything and everything. Lastly, there is a single course that everyone on ship participates in, as a way to unify the community; another difference would be that every course has an international dimension to it.
This topic does give me the excuse to blow our collective horn a bit – the administrators who have sailed multiple times, as well as the ship’s crew who have dealt with student behavior, have said REPEATEDLY AND EMPHATICALLY that this voyage is by far the best they have experienced in terms of student behavior, with the fewest and least serious incidents, etc. Our Student Life staff set a tone and created a system which held folks accountable and stressed how serious we were about behavior issues, in a caring way. I think we have been highly successful, and I’m pleased about my role in that.
And hi to Ginger and Joe! Thanks for reading about my adventure. I’ll have another gathering at the house to showcase my souvenirs and pictures. And if Gloria visits we can have our own reunion.
Well OK! I must run to dinner, having said that I want to have every remaining dinner out on the deck. More programs and activities this evening, as every evening, and I have deck duty during bar service, so it will be a long night particularly after you figure in another clock change ( with more to come, then the Dateline…) I will be back on the mainland in less than two weeks! Amazing. More to come, as fast as my little fingers can type. Bye, and thanks for visiting my THANG.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saigon 2
Now I will finish up with some more thoughts on Saigon. We traveled a significant distance up the Saigon River to dock in Saigon proper. It is very lush and tropical. I’ve noticed places do the tropics and jungle in different ways – Africa’s jungle is more bush, Borneo was different from Vietnam and from what you see on Mauritius, and Hong Kong even has its version. Then of course we will be able to compare all of them with Hawaii, as some have compared Vietnam with Hawaii (and the whole China Beach thing).
There was lots of hustle and bustle in Saigon, people constantly wanting you to buy their stuff from the stores and markets along the street. There was the big Ben Thanh market with hundreds of tiny stalls. They were very persistent. I ended up with a pair of “Nike” convertible pants (size XXXL, I think) plus Sheilagh’s Coach bag. Sturdy girls such as myself have had many reminders that we are not Asian size. Store clerks laughing, for one thing, and doing the international gesture for “boobs” (referring either to our anatomy, or noting that we were in facts boobs for going into the stores in the first place……..) However, even much smaller US women had the same experience there. Neener neener – welcome to our world. But the clothing and textiles were beautiful, as they were also in Hong Kong and Japan.
We did get to eat at the Pho 2000 where Bill Clinton had lunch on a recent visit. We heard about that many times; they were very proud to host him, Chelsea, and Hilary. We heard about where she shopped, too. All we had to do was ask where they ate and every taxi driver and person on the street knew exactly. Then at one point some guide said as an aside, “Oh by the way George W. Bush stayed in that hotel.” ‘Nuff said. Ha! The pho was good, and they had lots of fruit milkshakes. Yeah!
I walked to the zoo and the botanical garden for the afternoon. A little warm but doable. Unfortunately, the zoo was about 40 or more years behind what we are accustomed to in the US. I applaud their efforts and hope for progress. Pretty grounds, though. On the way back I stopped at the New York Diner for a burger (!). What a hoot – met the owner, a guy from Jersey, and his Vietnamese wife. Also there was a US faculty member from Saigon National U. there, an expert on SE Asia. We spoke a bit about the war – he had a very different perspective. I have never, and probably will never again, converse with so many strangers. Although when you see a Western or US person in these circumstances, it’s far more tempting than usual. In Japan, it was funny – we would all see one another, going to and from the ship, in front of the Portliner (elevated rail), and say hi or have a little chat. I mentioned that the Kobe folks must have thought that all Westerners knew each other.
The food was excellent in Saigon. We went out a lot and it was very reasonable, as were the costs in general, especially as people shopped. Many folks had clothing made, including one of our colleagues who had all her bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen’s shirts made during our stay. There were several Western-style restaurants, coffee places with a Viet twist, places available with menus in English, all very manageable. And if I haven’t asked you yet: what do you imagine to be the most prevalent US “restaurant” worldwide? No, not the ubiquitous McD’s – in fact it’s KFC, the Colonel himself, probably for reasons related to dietary laws in various places, the availability and cost of chicken everywhere, and so on. Near as I can remember 100% of the countries we visited had one. Seems that way.
We did, however, eat like millionaires as we spent a million dong (Viet money) on one of the dinners at the Rex. I did say that if I never hear the word “dong” ever again it would be too soon. You can imagine the jokes about dong: “I lost my dong in the Cu Chi tunnels.” “You can make your dong go a long way in Saigon.” “How did your dong get in my purse?” Yeah, yeah, yeah.
As so many places have been, Saigon was different and familiar at the same time. I enjoyed my time there. I may add to these narratives when I review the e-mails I’ve sent with even more details.
There was lots of hustle and bustle in Saigon, people constantly wanting you to buy their stuff from the stores and markets along the street. There was the big Ben Thanh market with hundreds of tiny stalls. They were very persistent. I ended up with a pair of “Nike” convertible pants (size XXXL, I think) plus Sheilagh’s Coach bag. Sturdy girls such as myself have had many reminders that we are not Asian size. Store clerks laughing, for one thing, and doing the international gesture for “boobs” (referring either to our anatomy, or noting that we were in facts boobs for going into the stores in the first place……..) However, even much smaller US women had the same experience there. Neener neener – welcome to our world. But the clothing and textiles were beautiful, as they were also in Hong Kong and Japan.
We did get to eat at the Pho 2000 where Bill Clinton had lunch on a recent visit. We heard about that many times; they were very proud to host him, Chelsea, and Hilary. We heard about where she shopped, too. All we had to do was ask where they ate and every taxi driver and person on the street knew exactly. Then at one point some guide said as an aside, “Oh by the way George W. Bush stayed in that hotel.” ‘Nuff said. Ha! The pho was good, and they had lots of fruit milkshakes. Yeah!
I walked to the zoo and the botanical garden for the afternoon. A little warm but doable. Unfortunately, the zoo was about 40 or more years behind what we are accustomed to in the US. I applaud their efforts and hope for progress. Pretty grounds, though. On the way back I stopped at the New York Diner for a burger (!). What a hoot – met the owner, a guy from Jersey, and his Vietnamese wife. Also there was a US faculty member from Saigon National U. there, an expert on SE Asia. We spoke a bit about the war – he had a very different perspective. I have never, and probably will never again, converse with so many strangers. Although when you see a Western or US person in these circumstances, it’s far more tempting than usual. In Japan, it was funny – we would all see one another, going to and from the ship, in front of the Portliner (elevated rail), and say hi or have a little chat. I mentioned that the Kobe folks must have thought that all Westerners knew each other.
The food was excellent in Saigon. We went out a lot and it was very reasonable, as were the costs in general, especially as people shopped. Many folks had clothing made, including one of our colleagues who had all her bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen’s shirts made during our stay. There were several Western-style restaurants, coffee places with a Viet twist, places available with menus in English, all very manageable. And if I haven’t asked you yet: what do you imagine to be the most prevalent US “restaurant” worldwide? No, not the ubiquitous McD’s – in fact it’s KFC, the Colonel himself, probably for reasons related to dietary laws in various places, the availability and cost of chicken everywhere, and so on. Near as I can remember 100% of the countries we visited had one. Seems that way.
We did, however, eat like millionaires as we spent a million dong (Viet money) on one of the dinners at the Rex. I did say that if I never hear the word “dong” ever again it would be too soon. You can imagine the jokes about dong: “I lost my dong in the Cu Chi tunnels.” “You can make your dong go a long way in Saigon.” “How did your dong get in my purse?” Yeah, yeah, yeah.
As so many places have been, Saigon was different and familiar at the same time. I enjoyed my time there. I may add to these narratives when I review the e-mails I’ve sent with even more details.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Mekong Delta
One who grew up on the place names of Vietnam could not pass up a trip to the Mekong Delta. The river even upstream was huge in spots, with significant populated islands in it. We bused up to somewhere in the My Tho area, going south on the main highway that also leads up to Da Nang and Hanoi. A very busy highway indeed, with lots of roadside stands, bicyclists, the ever-present motorbikes, and cars. Also alongside the road was a lot of housing, explained to us by the fact that property taxes are lower close to the road. We also saw some quite new and modern housing a bit farther out. Most houses are only 14 feet wide as that is how land is zoned. They then may go up several stories, housing generations of family members. In the rice paddies that line the roads, there are often burial monuments – they like to keep their deceased relatives close by.
Alas, all my pictures from this trip somehow disappeared. Digital cameras have their limitations, for sure. We stopped at a large market, with live and dried fish, chicks and ducklings, meats (no refrigeration), all manner of fruits and vegetables, crafts, hardware, notions, whatever. I petted a cat there, as I am wont to do everywhere. We took a large boat (25 seats) into the river and up a canal in one of the islands. The islands still support very traditional existences, though they do have electricity and plumbing (at some point I will go into an extensive discussion of plumbing and sanitation around the world). Our first stop led us into a small “factory’’ where they made a chewy coconut candy, very addictive. We also had honey tea made with a local “longan” honey, very thin and tasty. We also had some of the royal jelly from the hive, what the workers feed the queen, supposedly very nutritious. Eat it, put it on your face, a multi-purpose substance.
We then boarded tiny boats of 4 of us with 2 drivers to go through true jungle. These narrow canals were lined with vegetation and little homes just off the water. We ended up at another little place at which we had some tea and fruit, including jackfruit and dragonfruit. Every place had some things for sale, and this was one of our first exposures to snake wine, in which a whole snake (varying sizes in various bottles) is pickled in a bottle of wine. Of course, students were not permitted to bring that on board, as they are not permitted to bring alcohol on, but at last count they were told the bottles contained: water; oil; vinegar; and benzoyl (sp?) peroxide. What a strange substance, and the scary part is that people actually drink it! In fact, we were told the snake is good for two refillings; after that, “Snake no good.”
I just thought what that jungle must have seemed like to 18 year old kids, soldiers in the 60s and 70s, fighting an invisible enemy in unbearable heat and awful conditions. I saw bamboo cut at angle along the river and canal banks, and flashed back to some of what my father’s letters had described of various weapons and booby-traps. I suppose this is the segue into our visit to the War Remembrance Museum, previously known as the Museum of American and Chinese War Crimes, then the Museum of War Atrocities. All seem to apply. The bottom line for me is that no group has cornered the market on wartime cruelties; even that terminology understates it. At the same time, no group was without sin, either. “We” gave as good as we got in many circumstances. Perhaps the longest-enduring legacy was the use of dioxin, “Agent Orange.” There’s still a great deal of denial going on even with folks in this country who were exposed as soldiers or otherwise in-country. The denial extends to Vietnam where the effects continue to be felt through generations. I saw the lush growth now and tried to imagine both what it was before the major burnings and deforestations, and also what that must have looked like.
I’m not one to lecture on this war; besides, we’ve go all sorts of new wars to lecture on! But I do try to read about it and develop some understanding, particularly since my father was here during that time. (I don’t think people have much understanding of it at all, and have a particularly difficult time with other perspectives of it, such as the Vietnam perspective; an important one, I feel, since it is their country). As some of you know, my father was here as a civilian contractor in support of the war effort, think Halliburton/Fluor/KBR and other now/again-familiar names along that line. He met and married a Vietnamese woman and brought her entire family over before the fall of Saigon, including her (!) daughter. Enough said about that; for one thing, that’s about all I know.
There’s yet more on Vietnam, but I’ll give it to you in small doses.
Alas, all my pictures from this trip somehow disappeared. Digital cameras have their limitations, for sure. We stopped at a large market, with live and dried fish, chicks and ducklings, meats (no refrigeration), all manner of fruits and vegetables, crafts, hardware, notions, whatever. I petted a cat there, as I am wont to do everywhere. We took a large boat (25 seats) into the river and up a canal in one of the islands. The islands still support very traditional existences, though they do have electricity and plumbing (at some point I will go into an extensive discussion of plumbing and sanitation around the world). Our first stop led us into a small “factory’’ where they made a chewy coconut candy, very addictive. We also had honey tea made with a local “longan” honey, very thin and tasty. We also had some of the royal jelly from the hive, what the workers feed the queen, supposedly very nutritious. Eat it, put it on your face, a multi-purpose substance.
We then boarded tiny boats of 4 of us with 2 drivers to go through true jungle. These narrow canals were lined with vegetation and little homes just off the water. We ended up at another little place at which we had some tea and fruit, including jackfruit and dragonfruit. Every place had some things for sale, and this was one of our first exposures to snake wine, in which a whole snake (varying sizes in various bottles) is pickled in a bottle of wine. Of course, students were not permitted to bring that on board, as they are not permitted to bring alcohol on, but at last count they were told the bottles contained: water; oil; vinegar; and benzoyl (sp?) peroxide. What a strange substance, and the scary part is that people actually drink it! In fact, we were told the snake is good for two refillings; after that, “Snake no good.”
I just thought what that jungle must have seemed like to 18 year old kids, soldiers in the 60s and 70s, fighting an invisible enemy in unbearable heat and awful conditions. I saw bamboo cut at angle along the river and canal banks, and flashed back to some of what my father’s letters had described of various weapons and booby-traps. I suppose this is the segue into our visit to the War Remembrance Museum, previously known as the Museum of American and Chinese War Crimes, then the Museum of War Atrocities. All seem to apply. The bottom line for me is that no group has cornered the market on wartime cruelties; even that terminology understates it. At the same time, no group was without sin, either. “We” gave as good as we got in many circumstances. Perhaps the longest-enduring legacy was the use of dioxin, “Agent Orange.” There’s still a great deal of denial going on even with folks in this country who were exposed as soldiers or otherwise in-country. The denial extends to Vietnam where the effects continue to be felt through generations. I saw the lush growth now and tried to imagine both what it was before the major burnings and deforestations, and also what that must have looked like.
I’m not one to lecture on this war; besides, we’ve go all sorts of new wars to lecture on! But I do try to read about it and develop some understanding, particularly since my father was here during that time. (I don’t think people have much understanding of it at all, and have a particularly difficult time with other perspectives of it, such as the Vietnam perspective; an important one, I feel, since it is their country). As some of you know, my father was here as a civilian contractor in support of the war effort, think Halliburton/Fluor/KBR and other now/again-familiar names along that line. He met and married a Vietnamese woman and brought her entire family over before the fall of Saigon, including her (!) daughter. Enough said about that; for one thing, that’s about all I know.
There’s yet more on Vietnam, but I’ll give it to you in small doses.
Saigon
Saigon would qualify as one of the most interesting places we have been. If you get a chance to visit, take it, for lots of reasons. First and foremost is the amazing traffic. Apparently there are about 4 million motorbikes in the city of about 8 million people, and believe me they are all on the street at once. Far fewer cars, buses, bicycles, pedestrians. We decided that all forms of traffic control are merely suggestions in Saigon – traffic lights (VERY few), lanes, directional orientations and one-way streets, even sidewalks. Crossing any street is surreal. You literally just go for it at any time, and literally the motorbikes will serpentine around you as you walk a steady pace. It’s not a habit you can import to any other country, but it was WILD there. I loved it!
I felt very comfortable there. Part of me was thinking/wondering if my father had in fact walked the same streets or had gone to the same places 35-40 years ago. A place we hit more than once was the Rex Hotel, which was famous for having been appropriated during the war by journalists as sort of a headquarters. Interesting, I took a picture of it before I even knew what it was – perhaps I intuited that it had relevant history, one that I may even be tied in to. Who knows.
The first day we had a city tour. Those are always good because they give you the lay of the land and highlight things and places one may wish to return to later. Also, they are popular with staff and faculty. So we toured; allow me to mention touring in Asian countries. These guides brook no lollygagging. One must STEP LIVELY to keep up, or get left behind. In fact, at one point some of us (including Merna) climbed a set of stairs from the basement of a building we were touring, and our group was nowhere in sight. We went in to a film showing in another room, thinking that’s where they went – no. So we were lost, but fortunately here comes the guide saying the rest of the group was already on the bus (!) Well, how mortifying. I had to enter the bus and announce that I was giving myself dock time for being late (the students loved that). Fortunately, I was also able to hear my own appeal, and I was relieved to find that I had in fact granted my appeal and canceled my punishment.
We got a 5-minute history of Vietnam since the 1000s (I tell you, these Asian tours move fast) and a water puppet show, which was actually very charming. The puppets do their show atop a small pond. They are operated by sticks under the water which lead to puppeteers behind a curtain in the water themselves. We also visited a temple with these giant incense coils, probably 3 feet across, which burn for a month.
A highlight was the visit to the Presidential Palace, which in 1975 had the tanks of the North Vietnamese crash through the front gates, go up the steps and into the building to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. It’s still largely intact, and very interesting. In one of the rooms was a stuffed leopard or some such; one of our darling faculty members was there with her children, and one of them was a little distressed about this animal. Toni (now she’s famous!), replied, “I think he died of natural causes, honey.” Again, thought I would bust a gut. I hear some of the greatest one-liners on this trip, funny largely because they are not meant to be. I can’t even print one of Merna’s…..
So on one little leg of this trip, as we were scurrying back to the bus (!), I passed a hotel with a sign out front. Imagine my surprise when I saw, “WELCOME SEATTLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE.” Didn’t have time to explore that right then, but what a weird thing! Some of us walked back up to that area from the ship (about a 10-15 minute walk, felt totally safe, perhaps because I was a TOWERING GIANT among the Vietnamese) to go to dinner at the Rex. Incidentally, Merna did not walk with us. I believe walking is against her religion. God created taxis, after all. So she met us there. Anyway, I went back to this other hotel, and in fact what was happening was a recruiting meeting held by Dr. Andrea Insley from Seattle Central. What are the odds? Well, I met her and we chatted for a while, got her card. How about that?
I’ll back up for a little perspective on the city. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) by the communist government in ’75, I think. However, Saigon is still in common usage. One of the reasons is that the city is divided into districts, and District 1, which houses much of the central city including many landmarks, gov’t buildings, etc., is still referred to as Saigon. So you can really get away with using that name, and of course many of us grew up hearing that, some more than others, me since that’s where my father lived for most of a decade, so it’s difficult to think of it any other way.
There’s lots of English, on signs and spoken. People were very receptive to us; one of the explanations is that so many Vietnamese are young, born after ’75, that for them the war is history, literally. Even the older folks look at U.S. folks more as welcome tourists (with money) than as symbols of the war. More on the war in the next installment, as well as the rest of my visit.
I felt very comfortable there. Part of me was thinking/wondering if my father had in fact walked the same streets or had gone to the same places 35-40 years ago. A place we hit more than once was the Rex Hotel, which was famous for having been appropriated during the war by journalists as sort of a headquarters. Interesting, I took a picture of it before I even knew what it was – perhaps I intuited that it had relevant history, one that I may even be tied in to. Who knows.
The first day we had a city tour. Those are always good because they give you the lay of the land and highlight things and places one may wish to return to later. Also, they are popular with staff and faculty. So we toured; allow me to mention touring in Asian countries. These guides brook no lollygagging. One must STEP LIVELY to keep up, or get left behind. In fact, at one point some of us (including Merna) climbed a set of stairs from the basement of a building we were touring, and our group was nowhere in sight. We went in to a film showing in another room, thinking that’s where they went – no. So we were lost, but fortunately here comes the guide saying the rest of the group was already on the bus (!) Well, how mortifying. I had to enter the bus and announce that I was giving myself dock time for being late (the students loved that). Fortunately, I was also able to hear my own appeal, and I was relieved to find that I had in fact granted my appeal and canceled my punishment.
We got a 5-minute history of Vietnam since the 1000s (I tell you, these Asian tours move fast) and a water puppet show, which was actually very charming. The puppets do their show atop a small pond. They are operated by sticks under the water which lead to puppeteers behind a curtain in the water themselves. We also visited a temple with these giant incense coils, probably 3 feet across, which burn for a month.
A highlight was the visit to the Presidential Palace, which in 1975 had the tanks of the North Vietnamese crash through the front gates, go up the steps and into the building to overthrow the South Vietnamese government. It’s still largely intact, and very interesting. In one of the rooms was a stuffed leopard or some such; one of our darling faculty members was there with her children, and one of them was a little distressed about this animal. Toni (now she’s famous!), replied, “I think he died of natural causes, honey.” Again, thought I would bust a gut. I hear some of the greatest one-liners on this trip, funny largely because they are not meant to be. I can’t even print one of Merna’s…..
So on one little leg of this trip, as we were scurrying back to the bus (!), I passed a hotel with a sign out front. Imagine my surprise when I saw, “WELCOME SEATTLE CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE.” Didn’t have time to explore that right then, but what a weird thing! Some of us walked back up to that area from the ship (about a 10-15 minute walk, felt totally safe, perhaps because I was a TOWERING GIANT among the Vietnamese) to go to dinner at the Rex. Incidentally, Merna did not walk with us. I believe walking is against her religion. God created taxis, after all. So she met us there. Anyway, I went back to this other hotel, and in fact what was happening was a recruiting meeting held by Dr. Andrea Insley from Seattle Central. What are the odds? Well, I met her and we chatted for a while, got her card. How about that?
I’ll back up for a little perspective on the city. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) by the communist government in ’75, I think. However, Saigon is still in common usage. One of the reasons is that the city is divided into districts, and District 1, which houses much of the central city including many landmarks, gov’t buildings, etc., is still referred to as Saigon. So you can really get away with using that name, and of course many of us grew up hearing that, some more than others, me since that’s where my father lived for most of a decade, so it’s difficult to think of it any other way.
There’s lots of English, on signs and spoken. People were very receptive to us; one of the explanations is that so many Vietnamese are young, born after ’75, that for them the war is history, literally. Even the older folks look at U.S. folks more as welcome tourists (with money) than as symbols of the war. More on the war in the next installment, as well as the rest of my visit.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Borneo!!
Borneo!
Who could pass up a chance to visit Borneo? Just the sound of it. So I was thrilled to get that trip, especially since it included the orang utans.
We pulled into the harbor of Georgetown on Penang Island, one of the Malaysian states. We didn’t actually dock, due I think to depth issues, but used tenders (small boats to ferry passengers between the ship and the dock). We used the lifeboats, so around 70 people at a time could go one way or another. Generally worked well, except right at the end of our stay.
I didn’t see any of Georgetown except to and from the airport. We left immediately our first day in, and returned late the last day. Our Borneo excursion involved 6 flights in 4 days, and could have been a logistical nightmare. Fortunately one of our counselors (Mental Health Professionals), Marvel, was trip leader so dealt with all the issues. We flew into Kuala Lumpur first. Do you remember the last time you had a real meal, and a good one, on a plane? Try Malaysia Air! Oh my – this airline could be one of the world’s top 10, particularly as they are trying to keep up with their competition including Singapore Air. Check it out.
So a little secret about Malaysia (pronounced by the locals as Ma – lay – SEE – uh) is that it is chocolate heaven. The airport in KL (as we took to calling it) had these massive chocolate stores with chocolate from all over the world – Cadbury, which actually rules the world, Nestle (which OWNS the world), Godiva, and many others. Not only did I stock up, but I got pictures as well. In fact, all 3 airports we were in had extensive selections of chocolate.
We flew from Penang to Kota Kinabalu, or the City at Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Geography lesson – most of Malaysia is Peninsular Malaysia at the tip of Thailand. There are two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei (as in the Sultan Of) stuck in the middle. The rest of Borneo is Indonesia. We had our first evening in - wait for it – KK, as we called it. Do you see a trend emerging? It was a slightly odd little hotel, the Berjaya Palace, next to a giant mall full of electronics. So we trotted over to the mall for lack of anything else to do that night. Looking at clothing in the mall was my first indication that I am not Asian size. I really never noticed (!). However, I was able to pick up a shirt in the men’s department that I will wear for my dinner with Archbishop Tutu.
Back at the hotel we ran into a woman in the elevator, apologized (ha ha), and had a conversation. She noticed us as our little hotel did not attract many tourists or Americans. So that’s how we met Nan from SOS Rhinos. She was a US vet specializing in rhino reproduction for Save Our Sumatran Rhinos! There are only about 600 left in the wild. HOW FASCINATING! I was grilling her about what she was doing, hanging on every word. Of course Marvel :-) the MHP made some comment about my interest in her versus her work, to which I replied that animals always trump people in my world (even members of the church, get it? OK) – I must keep this a family publication.
So we were out the door at 5:30 am to fly to Sandakan on the other side of Sabah. I sat next to some Aussies on the plane; turns out they live a few kilometers from the Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin’s (the Crocodile Hunter) place. They also know Lauren Jackson from the Seattle Storm. So we were friends. Those of you who know me know the likelihood of me striking up a conversation with strangers on a plane. I mention this because I then saw these folks all day long at every stop we made! They also enquired if I was Canadian – that’s the worldwide ploy to give us a graceful out.
We went first to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. Orangs are often orphaned or captured for pets, and this centre, mainly run by the Brits, transitions them back into the wild. So if you ever get a gift of an orang utan from me, adopted in your name, you’ll understand. Orang Utan means Man of the Forest. Utan is man. We can go with Orange Man as well, I suppose. We walked into the jungle about a half mile to a feeding platform where the orangs can come for food to supplement their foraging. I was as hot as I’ve ever been, I think – it was over 90 in both temp and humidity – I was standing still and streaming sweat. But we were riveted by the orangs swinging in for some bananas. There were also a lot of macaques around as well. I got lots of photos. Watching the two groups of primates interact was fun as well. Saw the Aussies.
We were supposed to return to the airport at that time to go back to KK, but they had put us on the wrong flight, not leaving till 9 pm. So it fell to the tour guide to make up an entire experience until our flight departed. It actually turned out great, as we first visited a big Buddhist/Tao temple up on a mountain then went to the Sabah Hotel for lunch. Saw the Aussies again. We then went to the house of some Brit woman author prominent in Borneo – didn’t really catch all that as I napped on the bus. I think the Aussies were there too.
We then went to a memorial for one of the original Death Marches of WWII. We are familiar with the one at Bataan, but the ones in Borneo predated that and involved Brit and Aussie soldiers – only 6 men survived out of nearly 500 who began the march into the interior of Borneo. There are so many little bits of history to be found everywhere. Men’s inhumanities, and I use the language deliberately.
There was also a cat there and I petted it. I am starting to get a reputation for finding and petting the cats and dogs at each place. Of course, the doc says stay away, and of course I dutifully report to him after each port that I petted a cat or petted a dog. Or two. Hey, most times you can really tell if a cat or dog is going to bite your face off. So far so good, still got my face and other appendages. No rabies. But saw the Aussies.
We went to a local market with giant mountains of dried shrimp and other fish, a huge fresh fish market, lots of produce and other things. Not much English spoken, this was the real deal. Saw another cat with a leg deformity chomping on fish heads. I figure he could have a worse life. One of the things we see a lot is miniature bananas – I bought a bunch for the bus for about a dollar. They are very sweet, as sometimes smaller fruits concentrate the sweetness and flavor more.
Dinner at the Indian King Seafood Restaurant was fabulous! Mayo prawns, baked snapper with cilantro, fried calamari, lemon chicken; we mixed up a condiment of fresh chilis, garlic, and kumquat juice to hot it up. Yum yum. Fresh papaya for dessert. We watched the moon rise over the ocean from our patio. In Borneo. What could be better?
So back to the airport, saw the Aussies. Saw them one last time as buses to the respective hotels pulled out. The next day was full again as we went to Mount Kinabalu, a 13,000+ mountain, the tallest in SE Asia. We went up high enough for some welcome cool temperatures. We then proceeded to our canopy walk in which we climbed a ways up a mountain to walk on suspended bridges. Well, on the way we crossed a stream on a suspended bridge, about 3-4 feet wide, piece of cake! However……up in the canopy of trees, this bridge was 8 INCHES wide, a single board held up by a web of ropes 100 feet in the air. Oh my. And of course one of my secrets is that I have a touch of acrophobia (Sheilagh can tell you about me driving the Going To The Sun road in Glacier Park). I stuck by the previously mentioned Mental Health Professional just in case. It was a bit of a challenge – stick to the middle of the board, get a rhythm as you walk and advance your grip, and KEEP GOING. I survived, most do, and I have pictures. We got to finish that experience by doing a short hike (FINALLY!! a good walk) into the jungle and visiting a pool and waterfall for a swim. Perfect.
We ended the day by stopping at a village market in the village our guide was from. I tried the durian – “stinky fruit,” the one that smells like rot but tastes great. Well…..the smell was no big deal but I did not care for the taste. In fact it made me somewhat ill. But I tried it, and since, I have had candies flavored with durian, no big deal. We loaded up on snacks, a tapioca flatbread, mini strawberries (not usually a strawberry fan, but after that durian…..) and such, and feasted on our way back. The next day was a travel day. I had a little stomach upset, maybe that damn durian, but just as likely the sodas of which I had way more than usual. The lesson is that if you are buying anyway, just make it water!! I have not bought so much bottled water in my entire life, and in fact have a collection of water bottles from all sorts of countries.
Beautiful people in Malaysia, a great airline, chocolate everywhere. Lots of modern architecture sometimes mixed with the Asian influence. What’s not to like? I’ll have to return and visit KL (actually leave the airport) as well as spend more time in Borneo. Who’s with me?
Who could pass up a chance to visit Borneo? Just the sound of it. So I was thrilled to get that trip, especially since it included the orang utans.
We pulled into the harbor of Georgetown on Penang Island, one of the Malaysian states. We didn’t actually dock, due I think to depth issues, but used tenders (small boats to ferry passengers between the ship and the dock). We used the lifeboats, so around 70 people at a time could go one way or another. Generally worked well, except right at the end of our stay.
I didn’t see any of Georgetown except to and from the airport. We left immediately our first day in, and returned late the last day. Our Borneo excursion involved 6 flights in 4 days, and could have been a logistical nightmare. Fortunately one of our counselors (Mental Health Professionals), Marvel, was trip leader so dealt with all the issues. We flew into Kuala Lumpur first. Do you remember the last time you had a real meal, and a good one, on a plane? Try Malaysia Air! Oh my – this airline could be one of the world’s top 10, particularly as they are trying to keep up with their competition including Singapore Air. Check it out.
So a little secret about Malaysia (pronounced by the locals as Ma – lay – SEE – uh) is that it is chocolate heaven. The airport in KL (as we took to calling it) had these massive chocolate stores with chocolate from all over the world – Cadbury, which actually rules the world, Nestle (which OWNS the world), Godiva, and many others. Not only did I stock up, but I got pictures as well. In fact, all 3 airports we were in had extensive selections of chocolate.
We flew from Penang to Kota Kinabalu, or the City at Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Geography lesson – most of Malaysia is Peninsular Malaysia at the tip of Thailand. There are two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei (as in the Sultan Of) stuck in the middle. The rest of Borneo is Indonesia. We had our first evening in - wait for it – KK, as we called it. Do you see a trend emerging? It was a slightly odd little hotel, the Berjaya Palace, next to a giant mall full of electronics. So we trotted over to the mall for lack of anything else to do that night. Looking at clothing in the mall was my first indication that I am not Asian size. I really never noticed (!). However, I was able to pick up a shirt in the men’s department that I will wear for my dinner with Archbishop Tutu.
Back at the hotel we ran into a woman in the elevator, apologized (ha ha), and had a conversation. She noticed us as our little hotel did not attract many tourists or Americans. So that’s how we met Nan from SOS Rhinos. She was a US vet specializing in rhino reproduction for Save Our Sumatran Rhinos! There are only about 600 left in the wild. HOW FASCINATING! I was grilling her about what she was doing, hanging on every word. Of course Marvel :-) the MHP made some comment about my interest in her versus her work, to which I replied that animals always trump people in my world (even members of the church, get it? OK) – I must keep this a family publication.
So we were out the door at 5:30 am to fly to Sandakan on the other side of Sabah. I sat next to some Aussies on the plane; turns out they live a few kilometers from the Australia Zoo, Steve Irwin’s (the Crocodile Hunter) place. They also know Lauren Jackson from the Seattle Storm. So we were friends. Those of you who know me know the likelihood of me striking up a conversation with strangers on a plane. I mention this because I then saw these folks all day long at every stop we made! They also enquired if I was Canadian – that’s the worldwide ploy to give us a graceful out.
We went first to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. Orangs are often orphaned or captured for pets, and this centre, mainly run by the Brits, transitions them back into the wild. So if you ever get a gift of an orang utan from me, adopted in your name, you’ll understand. Orang Utan means Man of the Forest. Utan is man. We can go with Orange Man as well, I suppose. We walked into the jungle about a half mile to a feeding platform where the orangs can come for food to supplement their foraging. I was as hot as I’ve ever been, I think – it was over 90 in both temp and humidity – I was standing still and streaming sweat. But we were riveted by the orangs swinging in for some bananas. There were also a lot of macaques around as well. I got lots of photos. Watching the two groups of primates interact was fun as well. Saw the Aussies.
We were supposed to return to the airport at that time to go back to KK, but they had put us on the wrong flight, not leaving till 9 pm. So it fell to the tour guide to make up an entire experience until our flight departed. It actually turned out great, as we first visited a big Buddhist/Tao temple up on a mountain then went to the Sabah Hotel for lunch. Saw the Aussies again. We then went to the house of some Brit woman author prominent in Borneo – didn’t really catch all that as I napped on the bus. I think the Aussies were there too.
We then went to a memorial for one of the original Death Marches of WWII. We are familiar with the one at Bataan, but the ones in Borneo predated that and involved Brit and Aussie soldiers – only 6 men survived out of nearly 500 who began the march into the interior of Borneo. There are so many little bits of history to be found everywhere. Men’s inhumanities, and I use the language deliberately.
There was also a cat there and I petted it. I am starting to get a reputation for finding and petting the cats and dogs at each place. Of course, the doc says stay away, and of course I dutifully report to him after each port that I petted a cat or petted a dog. Or two. Hey, most times you can really tell if a cat or dog is going to bite your face off. So far so good, still got my face and other appendages. No rabies. But saw the Aussies.
We went to a local market with giant mountains of dried shrimp and other fish, a huge fresh fish market, lots of produce and other things. Not much English spoken, this was the real deal. Saw another cat with a leg deformity chomping on fish heads. I figure he could have a worse life. One of the things we see a lot is miniature bananas – I bought a bunch for the bus for about a dollar. They are very sweet, as sometimes smaller fruits concentrate the sweetness and flavor more.
Dinner at the Indian King Seafood Restaurant was fabulous! Mayo prawns, baked snapper with cilantro, fried calamari, lemon chicken; we mixed up a condiment of fresh chilis, garlic, and kumquat juice to hot it up. Yum yum. Fresh papaya for dessert. We watched the moon rise over the ocean from our patio. In Borneo. What could be better?
So back to the airport, saw the Aussies. Saw them one last time as buses to the respective hotels pulled out. The next day was full again as we went to Mount Kinabalu, a 13,000+ mountain, the tallest in SE Asia. We went up high enough for some welcome cool temperatures. We then proceeded to our canopy walk in which we climbed a ways up a mountain to walk on suspended bridges. Well, on the way we crossed a stream on a suspended bridge, about 3-4 feet wide, piece of cake! However……up in the canopy of trees, this bridge was 8 INCHES wide, a single board held up by a web of ropes 100 feet in the air. Oh my. And of course one of my secrets is that I have a touch of acrophobia (Sheilagh can tell you about me driving the Going To The Sun road in Glacier Park). I stuck by the previously mentioned Mental Health Professional just in case. It was a bit of a challenge – stick to the middle of the board, get a rhythm as you walk and advance your grip, and KEEP GOING. I survived, most do, and I have pictures. We got to finish that experience by doing a short hike (FINALLY!! a good walk) into the jungle and visiting a pool and waterfall for a swim. Perfect.
We ended the day by stopping at a village market in the village our guide was from. I tried the durian – “stinky fruit,” the one that smells like rot but tastes great. Well…..the smell was no big deal but I did not care for the taste. In fact it made me somewhat ill. But I tried it, and since, I have had candies flavored with durian, no big deal. We loaded up on snacks, a tapioca flatbread, mini strawberries (not usually a strawberry fan, but after that durian…..) and such, and feasted on our way back. The next day was a travel day. I had a little stomach upset, maybe that damn durian, but just as likely the sodas of which I had way more than usual. The lesson is that if you are buying anyway, just make it water!! I have not bought so much bottled water in my entire life, and in fact have a collection of water bottles from all sorts of countries.
Beautiful people in Malaysia, a great airline, chocolate everywhere. Lots of modern architecture sometimes mixed with the Asian influence. What’s not to like? I’ll have to return and visit KL (actually leave the airport) as well as spend more time in Borneo. Who’s with me?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Some Answers!
I love getting questions and comments, though I’m not able to check for them nor respond very often. So I’ll respond all at once for anyone interested. Also, I would love to know who is looking at this – just leave a quick comment saying that you are tuning in.
Hi Nancy, NR – What is my day like. Well, I get up and scarf some breakfast so I can go to the gym and ride a bike for 30 minutes. Sometimes I run on the treadmill but that can be tricky when the ship is moving. We then have the Global Studies class which everyone attends. After that I have about 90 minutes in which I can meet with students if necessary, do paperwork, etc.
Then we have our Student Life meeting. The Director of Student Life, me, the Resident Directors, Conduct Officer (cop), Lifelong Learner coord., and Dependent Children coord. (teacher) meet DAILY for about 90 minutes to keep up with everything. Sounds a bit intense but it’s really necessary in this environment. After that, after a port stay, some of us meet with the Staff Captain and ship security to review the security incidents during port time.
Typically, I use the 2:30 – 5 time to meet in individual appointments with students who have been documented. I borrow the small Counseling Office for these meetings, which is of course shared with 2 real counselors. We juggle schedules to make it work. Time and space can be limited; if I need to meet with students at other times, sometimes I use the dining hall, even my own cabin.
Dinner is after, and I try to eat out on the deck as often as possible. As we hang out around the equator, it can be a bit warm, and on the ocean, a bit humid. But how great to sit out, look at the ocean, watch the sunset? Last night we ramped up the speed to avoid pirates in the Strait of Malacca. None were reported but it was cautionary.
In the evening there are meetings of various student groups and organizations, programs, movies, and AFT-er hours which is the alcoholic beverage service on the AFT deck (get it?) When I have deck duty I hang out there from about 9 – 1130 after I’ve done everything else. Last night we had Post Port in which people can speak of their experiences, read poetry, etc. There was also a movie about Cambodia. Movies also run on the TV, documentaries and such. As we approach Vietnam, they’ll run Apocalypse Now, Good Morning Vietnam, etc.
In terms of large programs, there has been Neptune Day, in which I lost my hair, the Sea Olympics all day (my group got 2nd of 9!), talent shows, concerts, College Bowl, readings, Sea Socials, lectures, Community College nightly (interest classes), religious services, take-offs of reality shows, lip syncs, a drag show is coming up, captain’s dinners, bridge tours; it’s just a massive amount of stuff, and amazingly so as all this was created from scratch since early Feb.
Hot off the presses, we are having a formal Banquet in a few weeks, and guess who will be at the table with Archbishop Tutu! Right, me – I won a drawing. What a hoot. Bought a new shirt in Penang for the occasion. It will be quite the event all around.
What I actually do is review the incident reports written on student behavior, investigate, meet with them, decide, and apply sanctions. A common sanction is Dock Time – a student must remain on the ship for a set number of hours or return to the ship early. It’s an administrative challenge as I try to work around trips, etc. Students hilariously think they can arrange this for their convenience – no, it is a SANCTION which means I decide. I also pull their alcohol privileges, assign them to counseling or alcohol education, send them to Beth to call their parents, and so forth. I won’t go into great detail, as I hear these blogs are studied by a variety of folks. Ask me when I get home. Suffice it to say we use a Breathalyzer and get some very interesting readings. Alcohol is the main problem/issue. Surprise.
I also do the deck duty during alcohol service, sub in for overnight duty in ports, lead some trips in the ports (I led the safari), meet with others as needed, kind of advise some student groups, help out where I can. My days are typically full. The evenings when I’m not at a program or event I’m doing letters or paperwork. It’s administratively very complex and moves VERY quickly.
OK, that’s that for now, on to other questions. Hi Kristen Happy – I knew it was you. I still love disco and funk and brought an IPod full with me. The music in Brazil for Carnaval was loud and repetitive in the larger venues, more unique along the small streets, samba beat, danceable. Actually we have an ethnomusicologist on board to speak with us about different musical traditions. The strangest thing is that most countries have some degree of hip-hop culture in them, reflected in the music. So there is a growing homogeneity in music, losing some of the traditional sounds. Africa was notable with influence of the tribal musical forms. We saw a Zulu dance at our safari camp, and I have long been a fan of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and they remain an influence. Indian music is heavy on the sitar and those unusual vocalizations. Then there is the Bollywood Musical with large production numbers. Malaysia has become more Asian influenced, with flute-ish sounds, and I’m thinking Vietnam will be similar and traditional, less modern. One of our RDs stumbled on a Linkin Park poster signing in Kuala Lumpur with hundreds of screaming Malaysian girls. US culture is ubiquitous.
Hi Gretch. I promise I will post pictures when I return, both my digitals and film pics. I will also try for that sunrise service with the Archbishop, though I feel a little like a tourist in that environment.
Alrighty then! Must print some letters, collect sanction notices (we had 80 people late to the ship the other night – truly a nightMARE). Keep those questions coming as I will have some time in Vietnam to catch up again and I’m happy to satisfy your curiosities. Thanks for tuning in!
Hi Nancy, NR – What is my day like. Well, I get up and scarf some breakfast so I can go to the gym and ride a bike for 30 minutes. Sometimes I run on the treadmill but that can be tricky when the ship is moving. We then have the Global Studies class which everyone attends. After that I have about 90 minutes in which I can meet with students if necessary, do paperwork, etc.
Then we have our Student Life meeting. The Director of Student Life, me, the Resident Directors, Conduct Officer (cop), Lifelong Learner coord., and Dependent Children coord. (teacher) meet DAILY for about 90 minutes to keep up with everything. Sounds a bit intense but it’s really necessary in this environment. After that, after a port stay, some of us meet with the Staff Captain and ship security to review the security incidents during port time.
Typically, I use the 2:30 – 5 time to meet in individual appointments with students who have been documented. I borrow the small Counseling Office for these meetings, which is of course shared with 2 real counselors. We juggle schedules to make it work. Time and space can be limited; if I need to meet with students at other times, sometimes I use the dining hall, even my own cabin.
Dinner is after, and I try to eat out on the deck as often as possible. As we hang out around the equator, it can be a bit warm, and on the ocean, a bit humid. But how great to sit out, look at the ocean, watch the sunset? Last night we ramped up the speed to avoid pirates in the Strait of Malacca. None were reported but it was cautionary.
In the evening there are meetings of various student groups and organizations, programs, movies, and AFT-er hours which is the alcoholic beverage service on the AFT deck (get it?) When I have deck duty I hang out there from about 9 – 1130 after I’ve done everything else. Last night we had Post Port in which people can speak of their experiences, read poetry, etc. There was also a movie about Cambodia. Movies also run on the TV, documentaries and such. As we approach Vietnam, they’ll run Apocalypse Now, Good Morning Vietnam, etc.
In terms of large programs, there has been Neptune Day, in which I lost my hair, the Sea Olympics all day (my group got 2nd of 9!), talent shows, concerts, College Bowl, readings, Sea Socials, lectures, Community College nightly (interest classes), religious services, take-offs of reality shows, lip syncs, a drag show is coming up, captain’s dinners, bridge tours; it’s just a massive amount of stuff, and amazingly so as all this was created from scratch since early Feb.
Hot off the presses, we are having a formal Banquet in a few weeks, and guess who will be at the table with Archbishop Tutu! Right, me – I won a drawing. What a hoot. Bought a new shirt in Penang for the occasion. It will be quite the event all around.
What I actually do is review the incident reports written on student behavior, investigate, meet with them, decide, and apply sanctions. A common sanction is Dock Time – a student must remain on the ship for a set number of hours or return to the ship early. It’s an administrative challenge as I try to work around trips, etc. Students hilariously think they can arrange this for their convenience – no, it is a SANCTION which means I decide. I also pull their alcohol privileges, assign them to counseling or alcohol education, send them to Beth to call their parents, and so forth. I won’t go into great detail, as I hear these blogs are studied by a variety of folks. Ask me when I get home. Suffice it to say we use a Breathalyzer and get some very interesting readings. Alcohol is the main problem/issue. Surprise.
I also do the deck duty during alcohol service, sub in for overnight duty in ports, lead some trips in the ports (I led the safari), meet with others as needed, kind of advise some student groups, help out where I can. My days are typically full. The evenings when I’m not at a program or event I’m doing letters or paperwork. It’s administratively very complex and moves VERY quickly.
OK, that’s that for now, on to other questions. Hi Kristen Happy – I knew it was you. I still love disco and funk and brought an IPod full with me. The music in Brazil for Carnaval was loud and repetitive in the larger venues, more unique along the small streets, samba beat, danceable. Actually we have an ethnomusicologist on board to speak with us about different musical traditions. The strangest thing is that most countries have some degree of hip-hop culture in them, reflected in the music. So there is a growing homogeneity in music, losing some of the traditional sounds. Africa was notable with influence of the tribal musical forms. We saw a Zulu dance at our safari camp, and I have long been a fan of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and they remain an influence. Indian music is heavy on the sitar and those unusual vocalizations. Then there is the Bollywood Musical with large production numbers. Malaysia has become more Asian influenced, with flute-ish sounds, and I’m thinking Vietnam will be similar and traditional, less modern. One of our RDs stumbled on a Linkin Park poster signing in Kuala Lumpur with hundreds of screaming Malaysian girls. US culture is ubiquitous.
Hi Gretch. I promise I will post pictures when I return, both my digitals and film pics. I will also try for that sunrise service with the Archbishop, though I feel a little like a tourist in that environment.
Alrighty then! Must print some letters, collect sanction notices (we had 80 people late to the ship the other night – truly a nightMARE). Keep those questions coming as I will have some time in Vietnam to catch up again and I’m happy to satisfy your curiosities. Thanks for tuning in!
India
Again, we were given the worst case scenario. One of the features of the voyage is what are referred to as Interport Lecturers – academics from the next country we will visit. So a couple of Indian scholars joined us in Mauritius and sailed with us to India, teaching about the country, answering questions, etc. As well, there are usually a couple of students from the next country who fill a similar role. I began to wonder what these folks think about us describing their country as filthy, with odors that will sicken you, foods that do the same, disease, primitive sanitation, etc. Somehow I think there is more to it.
Perhaps this is geared toward folks who don’t get out much, or students from such wealth and privilege that anything different qualifies as culture shock. Human waste and the smell of urine? Go downtown in any major city, including Seattle, and you can find that, given our homeless populations. Odors and filth are relative, and apparently a lot of that owes to the fact that India still burns a lot of coal. Our carpets in entry and public areas have been covered with plastic and cardboard to keep the soot and whatever else off and out. Food? First, who hasn’t sampled some form of Indian cuisine? It’s not as if we are visiting another planet, for heaven’s (!) sake. And I bet the food in the US sickens a great number of people around the world, and in our own country, for a variety of reasons.
OK, enough of that, because that said, I did not spend any time in the city of Chennai (formerly Madras). What I did was to go out to a “heritage village,” Dakshina Chitra, for two nights to do a workshop, “The Art of Living.” The bus ride out was interesting. We passed mile upon mile of small shops, businesses, some dwellings, just crammed in together surrounded by hordes of people. That is probably the salient feature of India, and calls for a little deeper discussion than “the country smells.” India itself has passed the BILLION mark in population, and Chennai itself is a city of 7 million. And it’s only the fourth largest in the country. You want to see people crammed in, try Mumbai (formerly Bombay) or especially Kolkata (Calcutta – I think they are trying to rid themselves of vestiges of colonialism by renaming). In all, there are 4 times the number of people in the US in one-third the space. One of the great contradictions is that the poorer some people are, the more children they have….a seemingly endless cycle of despair. One thing I had been prepared for, that I did not see much of, was pervasive physical disability. We did, however, see plenty of homelessness and poverty. At the same time, everyone has a cell phone. Even if you live in a cardboard shack, you have a cell phone. Seemingly another contradiction, but certainly there is more to it than meets the eye.
The image is accurate – there are cows everywhere. Kind of neat, actually. Definitely different and interesting. Lots of dogs also, more on that in a minute. There was a lot to see in our ride, both directions, actually, as street life did not seem to diminish much at 10 or 11 at night. In some cases it picked up as we saw a few little festivals as we returned to the ship. On the way we stopped at some notable landmarks in the area and got some history and such. The village we stayed at is a non-profit which preserves examples of ways of life of the people of the region, so has examples of houses, crafts, temples, and so on. It was enclosed and housed some of the artisans as well as being open as a kind of living history museum.
We were hosted by a lovely woman and her husband who oversaw the accommodations and food. We were in a region, Tamil Nadu, of the darker-skinned Indians. Northerly Indians are much lighter skinned; another great commonality, that skin darkens closer to the equator in all sorts of nations and regions (and mysteriously translates into lower social status…). Indians are very beautiful as well, at least before poverty takes its toll. I was reminded of how I also find folks from Afghanistan and nearby areas to be exceptionally fine looking; I then was not surprised to find that there has been a significant influx of people from those same regions into India in centuries past. Everything is connected.
We had very serviceable accommodations; the bed was a little firm, but then I find most beds to be that way. I was lucky to be in a double room with a faculty member, and we had a private bath. Students were put 6 to a room, more dormitory-style. Joy of joys, there was a western toilet. A large part of the briefing was for the traditional pit toilet, and how to organize and arrange yourself to keep from falling over, falling in, messing up your clothes, and so on. At the same time, you can find western toilets and avoid the issue entirely, my preferred solution. No shower, but a system of running water into a bucket and kind of ladling it over yourself. Not bad! It worked for a couple of days. I sprayed so much bug spray into my hair that it became a helmet anyway…..
We had good vegetarian meals. Some of the students were just going ape over the food; again I wondered, had they never had any Indian food before? There were some new things, but a lot of familiar things as well. Just no tandoori; what’s the point with no meat? Only one person seemed to have any reaction to the food. I think by this time I can generally eat anything, though I do keep up with the precautions just in case. We even had ice cream one night! I thought that might not happen in India.
I also got to pet a dog in India, really didn’t think that would happen as the Doc cautioned that up to a third of the dogs, or some awful number, in India contract rabies. We were admonished, don’t pet the dogs. Like Mauritius. However, there was a dog in this compound, and I thought that this sort of museum would probably not keep a rabid dog around, what with tourists, children, and all. So I petted the dog. She was a mom, so on one of my walks around, I spotted her pups, and petted them also. The dogs are ubiquitous and in various states of care and nutrition. They also look a bit generic, as they have probably been interbreeding for generations. One thing I have found in virtually every country so far is that there is a MONUMENTAL need for spay/neuter and vaccination programs. I could spend the rest of my life doing this work in a single country or several (are you with me, Julia?) In fact, who knows. I did not see any cats, and that’s OK, because they would have been dicier in a rabies-prone area.
I won’t say much about the Art of Living course, as it was at least as much an excuse to get out of the city as anything. I was hoping for some insights from the traditional methods and techniques, including meditation, which I can never seem to catch on to; it tended toward to contemporary, and a bit too much chit-chat for my taste. First, if I never hear the word “like” ever again, it will be too soon. The speaking patterns of some of these students cause me to lose my mind. And differences in life experiences were greatly apparent. But it was OK, gave me a break, some good food without worry, and a dog and pups. What more could I hope for?
So my experience of India probably will not qualify as deep or cultural, but it worked for me. I certainly would have no aversion to returning, and I’m sure my experience would be different if I did.
We will have several ports in rapid succession, with little sailing time in between. Next stop is Malaysia, and I’m on my way to Borneo (who could pass that up?) to visit an orangutan rehabilitation center and do a 100-foot high forest canopy walk, among other things. After that is Vietnam.
Perhaps this is geared toward folks who don’t get out much, or students from such wealth and privilege that anything different qualifies as culture shock. Human waste and the smell of urine? Go downtown in any major city, including Seattle, and you can find that, given our homeless populations. Odors and filth are relative, and apparently a lot of that owes to the fact that India still burns a lot of coal. Our carpets in entry and public areas have been covered with plastic and cardboard to keep the soot and whatever else off and out. Food? First, who hasn’t sampled some form of Indian cuisine? It’s not as if we are visiting another planet, for heaven’s (!) sake. And I bet the food in the US sickens a great number of people around the world, and in our own country, for a variety of reasons.
OK, enough of that, because that said, I did not spend any time in the city of Chennai (formerly Madras). What I did was to go out to a “heritage village,” Dakshina Chitra, for two nights to do a workshop, “The Art of Living.” The bus ride out was interesting. We passed mile upon mile of small shops, businesses, some dwellings, just crammed in together surrounded by hordes of people. That is probably the salient feature of India, and calls for a little deeper discussion than “the country smells.” India itself has passed the BILLION mark in population, and Chennai itself is a city of 7 million. And it’s only the fourth largest in the country. You want to see people crammed in, try Mumbai (formerly Bombay) or especially Kolkata (Calcutta – I think they are trying to rid themselves of vestiges of colonialism by renaming). In all, there are 4 times the number of people in the US in one-third the space. One of the great contradictions is that the poorer some people are, the more children they have….a seemingly endless cycle of despair. One thing I had been prepared for, that I did not see much of, was pervasive physical disability. We did, however, see plenty of homelessness and poverty. At the same time, everyone has a cell phone. Even if you live in a cardboard shack, you have a cell phone. Seemingly another contradiction, but certainly there is more to it than meets the eye.
The image is accurate – there are cows everywhere. Kind of neat, actually. Definitely different and interesting. Lots of dogs also, more on that in a minute. There was a lot to see in our ride, both directions, actually, as street life did not seem to diminish much at 10 or 11 at night. In some cases it picked up as we saw a few little festivals as we returned to the ship. On the way we stopped at some notable landmarks in the area and got some history and such. The village we stayed at is a non-profit which preserves examples of ways of life of the people of the region, so has examples of houses, crafts, temples, and so on. It was enclosed and housed some of the artisans as well as being open as a kind of living history museum.
We were hosted by a lovely woman and her husband who oversaw the accommodations and food. We were in a region, Tamil Nadu, of the darker-skinned Indians. Northerly Indians are much lighter skinned; another great commonality, that skin darkens closer to the equator in all sorts of nations and regions (and mysteriously translates into lower social status…). Indians are very beautiful as well, at least before poverty takes its toll. I was reminded of how I also find folks from Afghanistan and nearby areas to be exceptionally fine looking; I then was not surprised to find that there has been a significant influx of people from those same regions into India in centuries past. Everything is connected.
We had very serviceable accommodations; the bed was a little firm, but then I find most beds to be that way. I was lucky to be in a double room with a faculty member, and we had a private bath. Students were put 6 to a room, more dormitory-style. Joy of joys, there was a western toilet. A large part of the briefing was for the traditional pit toilet, and how to organize and arrange yourself to keep from falling over, falling in, messing up your clothes, and so on. At the same time, you can find western toilets and avoid the issue entirely, my preferred solution. No shower, but a system of running water into a bucket and kind of ladling it over yourself. Not bad! It worked for a couple of days. I sprayed so much bug spray into my hair that it became a helmet anyway…..
We had good vegetarian meals. Some of the students were just going ape over the food; again I wondered, had they never had any Indian food before? There were some new things, but a lot of familiar things as well. Just no tandoori; what’s the point with no meat? Only one person seemed to have any reaction to the food. I think by this time I can generally eat anything, though I do keep up with the precautions just in case. We even had ice cream one night! I thought that might not happen in India.
I also got to pet a dog in India, really didn’t think that would happen as the Doc cautioned that up to a third of the dogs, or some awful number, in India contract rabies. We were admonished, don’t pet the dogs. Like Mauritius. However, there was a dog in this compound, and I thought that this sort of museum would probably not keep a rabid dog around, what with tourists, children, and all. So I petted the dog. She was a mom, so on one of my walks around, I spotted her pups, and petted them also. The dogs are ubiquitous and in various states of care and nutrition. They also look a bit generic, as they have probably been interbreeding for generations. One thing I have found in virtually every country so far is that there is a MONUMENTAL need for spay/neuter and vaccination programs. I could spend the rest of my life doing this work in a single country or several (are you with me, Julia?) In fact, who knows. I did not see any cats, and that’s OK, because they would have been dicier in a rabies-prone area.
I won’t say much about the Art of Living course, as it was at least as much an excuse to get out of the city as anything. I was hoping for some insights from the traditional methods and techniques, including meditation, which I can never seem to catch on to; it tended toward to contemporary, and a bit too much chit-chat for my taste. First, if I never hear the word “like” ever again, it will be too soon. The speaking patterns of some of these students cause me to lose my mind. And differences in life experiences were greatly apparent. But it was OK, gave me a break, some good food without worry, and a dog and pups. What more could I hope for?
So my experience of India probably will not qualify as deep or cultural, but it worked for me. I certainly would have no aversion to returning, and I’m sure my experience would be different if I did.
We will have several ports in rapid succession, with little sailing time in between. Next stop is Malaysia, and I’m on my way to Borneo (who could pass that up?) to visit an orangutan rehabilitation center and do a 100-foot high forest canopy walk, among other things. After that is Vietnam.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Mauritius!
We got a long weekend in paradise – Mauritius. I must first thank my friend and former colleague Jenny Mao for my Mauritius experience. She is Mauritian – what are the odds of knowing someone from the smallest country we visit? Jenny and her wonderful family, mother and aunties as well as cousin Georgy, set us up in Mauritius. We first found the family restaurant, Charley Snack, as if we had been there before. We were treated to a lovely meal of noodles (I love noodles in every language) and chicken and some of that wonderful pineapple. I have not cared for pineapple for decades, but found these little mini-pineapples to be tasty as heck. Auntie would not accept payment from us – we were received as if we were family. Then Uncle heard where we were headed and sent not one but two guides to make sure we got to our destination.
After we shopped and looked around the waterfront for a while, modeled after the waterfront in Capetown (!), we called Georgy. He picked us up, 3 women he had never met, and treated us like queens (no irony intended). He drove us up the coast, stopping at a wonderful beach at sunset for our first (of many) photo op. All the while he was telling us about Mauritius, answering questions, and generally being a fine tour guide. We then arrived at the HOUSE Jenny so generously provided for us. Georgy lived next door so he was pretty much stuck with us. Then as we were getting settled Jenny CALLED from Seattle to check in on us. I’m telling you.
The house had lots of room and the refrigerator was stocked, let me just say. We had our own rooms (myself, Beth, and Merna – UNC!!) and a nice back patio to sit on. That’s when I met a kitty, which I always love. We then joined Georgy for a few drinks and then DINNER which Jenny’s mother provided – so good! Mauritian Chinese, with rice, shrimp, fish, this and that. Georgy then outdid himself with a chocolate lava dessert and ice cream. His house is beautiful, done so nicely with lovely antiques. Sheilagh – granite countertops and stainless appliances with cherry cabinets – how about that! He just charmed all of us, so nice and funny.
He directed us for our full day in Pereybere. The beach was about a 5 minute walk, and other towns along the coast were available by bus. First, imagine our surprise when the HOUSEKEEPER arrived and made us breakfast. Oh my. Then she did my laundry! That’s an unaccustomed luxury, but as Georgy told me so dryly, “That’s what housekeepers DO.” So off we went to the beach. I can’t remember the last time I swam in the ocean, and certainly I have never been in water this warm (it was warm in Puerto Rico but I didn’t swim, just waded.) It was great and something I would like to do more. We sat in the sun and in the shade; I felt a burn coming and wisely, I thought, got under a tree.
Turns out by the time I felt the burn on my legs, the damage was done to my tummy and chest – DUH. Oh well, no biggie. I may also have gotten some reflection off that beautiful white sand! So we sat, Merna bought some pretty seashells, and one of the many dogs around everywhere came over to us, dug a little cozy, and napped. I petted the dog. Georgy had said, “Don’t pet the dogs.” I told Georgy I petted the dog. He just cut his eyes at me. I laughed on the inside. We were leisurely that day; I walked up to the store. Thank goodness for Cadbury – there’s new stuff in every country! The world of chocolate. So got some snacks to take back to the ship, plus some of the tea Jenny introduced us to. Back at the house, we saw that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, our Arch, was on TV leading a service in Mauritius. He is treated like a rock star everywhere he goes. And he’s ours. People don’t believe when we tell them he is voyaging with us for almost 4 months.
Time out – I’ve got to tell this story. This may be the funniest line in the history of the world. Well, with that setup you are bound to be disappointed. Anyway, we were in the dinner line, and something something, and Merna I think commented to the Archbishop that he was very humble. He replied, “Yes, I’m very proud of my humility.” Well, I shot him a look and saw great merriment in his eyes. I thought I would laugh my head off. He is really quite funny, and as I’ve said several times already, very joyous. His wife is very sweet as well.
OK, so we watch Arch on TV, napped, etc. Then Georgy came home and we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant with some typical Mauritian food. I had seafood in mustard sauce, and sampled some of Merna’s octopus, followed by crème brulee. Similarities again, see? Everywhere we go we are roundly admonished to avoid dairy products, but who would want to? Actually, a pretty good trick is for us all to take 2 Pepto before every meal. All the briefings are famous for working in the Pepto spiel – the last one had Pepto spelled out in yoga positions, Village People-style.
Georgy then sacrificed his Saturday to haul us around, shopping and back to the big beach, Grand Baie (sp? translates to Grand Bay I think) where we found some nice treasures of coral and shell. Merna was on a mission to get as much dodo bird stuff as she could. Mauritius was the last home of the dodo before it went extinct, or more to the point, until the Dutch ate them all. Georgy then treated us to a lovely lunch in a pretty little café, complete with more ice cream and sorbet. All three of us were working on him to get him the visit the US, particularly Seattle. He was just fabulous. I said to him, “Hmmm, I wonder when Jenny is visiting Mauritius next.” She may have a new nanny tagging along, just so I can visit with Georgy again.
Georgy set it up with his handyman/driver to take us back to the ship, wait while we dropped our stuff, then drive us back around to the waterfront shopping area. I expressed my appreciation at him really going out of his way for us, then stopped myself and said to Georgy, “I suppose that’s what chauffeurs DO.” He was glad I finally got it. All in all we had a wonderful and relaxing visit, thanks to Jenny and her family and Georgy.
Unfortunately there were a variety of student issues at this port, some of which made the local paper. Paradise is what you make it, I suppose. But I enjoyed Mauritius; I’m bringing home some honey, tea, vanilla, and pepper to help remember my time. They wouldn’t let me bring the kitty, or any of the frogs, or the dog on the beach, or one of the pretty lizards, so I had to make due.
After we shopped and looked around the waterfront for a while, modeled after the waterfront in Capetown (!), we called Georgy. He picked us up, 3 women he had never met, and treated us like queens (no irony intended). He drove us up the coast, stopping at a wonderful beach at sunset for our first (of many) photo op. All the while he was telling us about Mauritius, answering questions, and generally being a fine tour guide. We then arrived at the HOUSE Jenny so generously provided for us. Georgy lived next door so he was pretty much stuck with us. Then as we were getting settled Jenny CALLED from Seattle to check in on us. I’m telling you.
The house had lots of room and the refrigerator was stocked, let me just say. We had our own rooms (myself, Beth, and Merna – UNC!!) and a nice back patio to sit on. That’s when I met a kitty, which I always love. We then joined Georgy for a few drinks and then DINNER which Jenny’s mother provided – so good! Mauritian Chinese, with rice, shrimp, fish, this and that. Georgy then outdid himself with a chocolate lava dessert and ice cream. His house is beautiful, done so nicely with lovely antiques. Sheilagh – granite countertops and stainless appliances with cherry cabinets – how about that! He just charmed all of us, so nice and funny.
He directed us for our full day in Pereybere. The beach was about a 5 minute walk, and other towns along the coast were available by bus. First, imagine our surprise when the HOUSEKEEPER arrived and made us breakfast. Oh my. Then she did my laundry! That’s an unaccustomed luxury, but as Georgy told me so dryly, “That’s what housekeepers DO.” So off we went to the beach. I can’t remember the last time I swam in the ocean, and certainly I have never been in water this warm (it was warm in Puerto Rico but I didn’t swim, just waded.) It was great and something I would like to do more. We sat in the sun and in the shade; I felt a burn coming and wisely, I thought, got under a tree.
Turns out by the time I felt the burn on my legs, the damage was done to my tummy and chest – DUH. Oh well, no biggie. I may also have gotten some reflection off that beautiful white sand! So we sat, Merna bought some pretty seashells, and one of the many dogs around everywhere came over to us, dug a little cozy, and napped. I petted the dog. Georgy had said, “Don’t pet the dogs.” I told Georgy I petted the dog. He just cut his eyes at me. I laughed on the inside. We were leisurely that day; I walked up to the store. Thank goodness for Cadbury – there’s new stuff in every country! The world of chocolate. So got some snacks to take back to the ship, plus some of the tea Jenny introduced us to. Back at the house, we saw that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, our Arch, was on TV leading a service in Mauritius. He is treated like a rock star everywhere he goes. And he’s ours. People don’t believe when we tell them he is voyaging with us for almost 4 months.
Time out – I’ve got to tell this story. This may be the funniest line in the history of the world. Well, with that setup you are bound to be disappointed. Anyway, we were in the dinner line, and something something, and Merna I think commented to the Archbishop that he was very humble. He replied, “Yes, I’m very proud of my humility.” Well, I shot him a look and saw great merriment in his eyes. I thought I would laugh my head off. He is really quite funny, and as I’ve said several times already, very joyous. His wife is very sweet as well.
OK, so we watch Arch on TV, napped, etc. Then Georgy came home and we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant with some typical Mauritian food. I had seafood in mustard sauce, and sampled some of Merna’s octopus, followed by crème brulee. Similarities again, see? Everywhere we go we are roundly admonished to avoid dairy products, but who would want to? Actually, a pretty good trick is for us all to take 2 Pepto before every meal. All the briefings are famous for working in the Pepto spiel – the last one had Pepto spelled out in yoga positions, Village People-style.
Georgy then sacrificed his Saturday to haul us around, shopping and back to the big beach, Grand Baie (sp? translates to Grand Bay I think) where we found some nice treasures of coral and shell. Merna was on a mission to get as much dodo bird stuff as she could. Mauritius was the last home of the dodo before it went extinct, or more to the point, until the Dutch ate them all. Georgy then treated us to a lovely lunch in a pretty little café, complete with more ice cream and sorbet. All three of us were working on him to get him the visit the US, particularly Seattle. He was just fabulous. I said to him, “Hmmm, I wonder when Jenny is visiting Mauritius next.” She may have a new nanny tagging along, just so I can visit with Georgy again.
Georgy set it up with his handyman/driver to take us back to the ship, wait while we dropped our stuff, then drive us back around to the waterfront shopping area. I expressed my appreciation at him really going out of his way for us, then stopped myself and said to Georgy, “I suppose that’s what chauffeurs DO.” He was glad I finally got it. All in all we had a wonderful and relaxing visit, thanks to Jenny and her family and Georgy.
Unfortunately there were a variety of student issues at this port, some of which made the local paper. Paradise is what you make it, I suppose. But I enjoyed Mauritius; I’m bringing home some honey, tea, vanilla, and pepper to help remember my time. They wouldn’t let me bring the kitty, or any of the frogs, or the dog on the beach, or one of the pretty lizards, so I had to make due.
Safari, Kruger National Park South Africa
We flew from Capetown through Johannesburg to Mpumalanga Airport near Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest game reserve. This airport was a hoot – one gate, and in a complete thatched-roof bush-hut style. We boarded off the tarmac, a long-forgotten experience (we also did that in Capetown).
We stayed at Pestana Kruger Lodge, which you can check out on the internet. I was lucky to have a cottage to myself, as I was both the Trip Leader (!) and the spare female as rooms were assigned. It too had a thatched roof, and hence I had the company of lizards, and maybe other things too. I think Sheilagh may not have appreciated that as much as I did. It had quite the spa bath and a patio which faced a stream. Luxurious!
The lodge was nice, with dining room, gathering space, pool areas, and bar. It faced onto the Crocodile River, aptly named as we could see crocodile from the deck. Not huge ones, but still. The lodge pretty much backed up to the park which is circled by electrified fence. A two minute drive took us into the park.
The first afternoon into evening we hopped into an open jeep which seated 10 folks. We went for our first game drive, and it was spectacular. In Kruger, they talk about the Big 5, characterized by their threat to man (how typical….) – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and water buffalo. The first night we saw everything but the lion, even the very elusive leopard (really our only sighting). We also saw giraffe, which I would add to my own Big 5, along with zebra, very pretty; the water buffalo are not that exciting. The rhinos were fun, though – we discovered the difference between white and black rhinos is not their color, which is almost identical, but subtle differences in horns and mouth shape, resulting in different diets (or vice-versa). Blacks are more dangerous but more rare. We saw exclusively whites, I believe. One was pondering a charge at the vehicle but thought better of it.
The point really is that you do see wildlife out and about, literally around every corner. At first we were thrilled by the impala; the driver began passing those as if they were commonplace, which in fact they were. They also signaled the absence of cats, and of course seeing the cats was a priority for me as well as for the group. The joke was that the color pattern on the impala’s rump indicated “M” for McDonald’s – they are the fast food of the African bush.
I don’t know if I can even list everything we saw – duiker, dwarf mongoose (I’m trying to scan my pictures to remind me; I did take a number of film pics as well as digital), blackbacked jackal, vervet monkey, warthogs pretty often; some groups saw baboons and we did not. Tons of birds, hornbills, guineafowl everywhere, some owls which walked along the road at night; some larger birds I photographed, most of the smaller ones I could not capture (let alone see sometimes…). The kudu were very pretty, and we may have seen a nyala which looks very similar.
The morning wake-up call came at 4:30 am and we were driving by 5:30. The first morning was a thrill as we came upon a lion! He was sitting by the side of the road, then took a stroll around the vehicle. I caught a lot of him on film. Many of the animals use the roads to traverse the park. The cats like the warmth of the pavement, I think. They don’t see vehicles as a threat. He wasn’t much of a threat either. Female lions do all the work. Returning from the second morning drive we saw a huge group of elephant. They migrated toward to road, then crossed, 30 or more, with babies. They get the right of way.
Our morning drives lasted 6 hours or more, yet seemed like a minute. We then returned for lunch and free time (nap time) until, for the next 2 days, we had night drives starting about 5 pm. The guides load up their huge guns, just in case, and off we go with park guides in much larger vehicles. That was too bad, in that it was harder to see and much louder. I will love it when they switch to electric vehicles. The first night was pretty tame, a nice moonrise, some owls, some hares, lots of glowing eyes in the distance (mostly impala). The rule of safari is the instant you put away your cameras, something cool will appear. As we exited the park, right outside the main gate (before the fence) was hyena. Really cool looking and I was able to wrestle my camera out for a shot before she took off. We then returned by about 8:30 for dinner and a program by a Zulu group, then I was exhausted and went to bed, hoping the students didn’t get in too much trouble (no one ever called me, so…)
The second night drive started with reports of lion and cheetah! The driver asked if we just want to poke around and see what we see, or try to haul and chase down reports of the cats. We went for it! At one point, he spotted some female lions (lionesses). How very exciting when they flushed a zebra from the bush and began chasing it! We thought perhaps the two chasers had a third lion ready to ambush, but luckily for the zebra, that was not the case and she got away. It happened so quickly. Sometimes my eyes are my best camera; I’d rather absorb the experience than be totally caught up in trying to get pictures. I can always tell you about it.
Later in the drive, we saw bunches of animals making tracks (ha) with a sense of purpose. These included impala, some wildebeest, zebra, and so on – prey. Well, I figured animals heading south means something is looking for them up north, so I trained my binocs way up bush about 100 yards in, while everyone else was ooohing and aaahing at the others. Sure enough, I spotted him, a big male sauntering after these agitated creatures. I sounded off and the guide was able to locate him, and we in fact followed him quite a ways. Unfortunately, as night fell, my pictures became quite atrocious owing to movement, lack of light, etc. So again, I’ll just tell you. At one point he just went 10 yards off the road and lay down in the bush. Again, he really wasn’t much threat to those animals, and not to us I don’t think. He was posing, in fact. Beautiful, I just cannot describe. He then sauntered off and we went in search of some females that were reported. They don’t travel together but they are often in proximity.
We drove north a few more kilometers and decided to turn back. The cheetahs did not materialize, as any sighting this far south was unusual anyway. On the way back we turned a corner onto a small pack of females and cubs walking down the road. How fun! They, however, were much more eager to get into the cover of the bush, particularly since they had the cubs with them. Let’s hope my film camera captured some of that, though it was only a quick view. On the way back, the sharp-eyed guide spotted a snake by the road – an adder which had apparently been stepped on my something big. It was dead but not mushed, so was almost like seeing a live one. Very pretty also.
I scanned my book to make sure I’ve mentioned most of what I’ve seen. There was a river in which there were 6-7 hippos in the water, mostly submerged. They are the biggest threat to humans in Africa. I also saw vultures, a brown snake eagle, a Marabon stork, some heron and egrets, and yet more birds that I couldn’t identify. Were I to do this again, I would move a bit to the north where perhaps there is a larger concentration of the cats (you know me!) – up toward the Serengeti for cheetah, perhaps, in addition to lions and leopards. They mentioned a guide was taken out by leopard a couple of years ago as they got out of the jeep, happened in a flash. Wow. I checked out tiger safaris in India. They are generally 7 days or more, which I did not have. One thing about the SAS trips is that they are often tailored to fit our schedule better than typical tours and such. That’s an advantage. I’ll add details as I recall them, and cover other aspects of my South Africa visit in another installment.
We stayed at Pestana Kruger Lodge, which you can check out on the internet. I was lucky to have a cottage to myself, as I was both the Trip Leader (!) and the spare female as rooms were assigned. It too had a thatched roof, and hence I had the company of lizards, and maybe other things too. I think Sheilagh may not have appreciated that as much as I did. It had quite the spa bath and a patio which faced a stream. Luxurious!
The lodge was nice, with dining room, gathering space, pool areas, and bar. It faced onto the Crocodile River, aptly named as we could see crocodile from the deck. Not huge ones, but still. The lodge pretty much backed up to the park which is circled by electrified fence. A two minute drive took us into the park.
The first afternoon into evening we hopped into an open jeep which seated 10 folks. We went for our first game drive, and it was spectacular. In Kruger, they talk about the Big 5, characterized by their threat to man (how typical….) – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and water buffalo. The first night we saw everything but the lion, even the very elusive leopard (really our only sighting). We also saw giraffe, which I would add to my own Big 5, along with zebra, very pretty; the water buffalo are not that exciting. The rhinos were fun, though – we discovered the difference between white and black rhinos is not their color, which is almost identical, but subtle differences in horns and mouth shape, resulting in different diets (or vice-versa). Blacks are more dangerous but more rare. We saw exclusively whites, I believe. One was pondering a charge at the vehicle but thought better of it.
The point really is that you do see wildlife out and about, literally around every corner. At first we were thrilled by the impala; the driver began passing those as if they were commonplace, which in fact they were. They also signaled the absence of cats, and of course seeing the cats was a priority for me as well as for the group. The joke was that the color pattern on the impala’s rump indicated “M” for McDonald’s – they are the fast food of the African bush.
I don’t know if I can even list everything we saw – duiker, dwarf mongoose (I’m trying to scan my pictures to remind me; I did take a number of film pics as well as digital), blackbacked jackal, vervet monkey, warthogs pretty often; some groups saw baboons and we did not. Tons of birds, hornbills, guineafowl everywhere, some owls which walked along the road at night; some larger birds I photographed, most of the smaller ones I could not capture (let alone see sometimes…). The kudu were very pretty, and we may have seen a nyala which looks very similar.
The morning wake-up call came at 4:30 am and we were driving by 5:30. The first morning was a thrill as we came upon a lion! He was sitting by the side of the road, then took a stroll around the vehicle. I caught a lot of him on film. Many of the animals use the roads to traverse the park. The cats like the warmth of the pavement, I think. They don’t see vehicles as a threat. He wasn’t much of a threat either. Female lions do all the work. Returning from the second morning drive we saw a huge group of elephant. They migrated toward to road, then crossed, 30 or more, with babies. They get the right of way.
Our morning drives lasted 6 hours or more, yet seemed like a minute. We then returned for lunch and free time (nap time) until, for the next 2 days, we had night drives starting about 5 pm. The guides load up their huge guns, just in case, and off we go with park guides in much larger vehicles. That was too bad, in that it was harder to see and much louder. I will love it when they switch to electric vehicles. The first night was pretty tame, a nice moonrise, some owls, some hares, lots of glowing eyes in the distance (mostly impala). The rule of safari is the instant you put away your cameras, something cool will appear. As we exited the park, right outside the main gate (before the fence) was hyena. Really cool looking and I was able to wrestle my camera out for a shot before she took off. We then returned by about 8:30 for dinner and a program by a Zulu group, then I was exhausted and went to bed, hoping the students didn’t get in too much trouble (no one ever called me, so…)
The second night drive started with reports of lion and cheetah! The driver asked if we just want to poke around and see what we see, or try to haul and chase down reports of the cats. We went for it! At one point, he spotted some female lions (lionesses). How very exciting when they flushed a zebra from the bush and began chasing it! We thought perhaps the two chasers had a third lion ready to ambush, but luckily for the zebra, that was not the case and she got away. It happened so quickly. Sometimes my eyes are my best camera; I’d rather absorb the experience than be totally caught up in trying to get pictures. I can always tell you about it.
Later in the drive, we saw bunches of animals making tracks (ha) with a sense of purpose. These included impala, some wildebeest, zebra, and so on – prey. Well, I figured animals heading south means something is looking for them up north, so I trained my binocs way up bush about 100 yards in, while everyone else was ooohing and aaahing at the others. Sure enough, I spotted him, a big male sauntering after these agitated creatures. I sounded off and the guide was able to locate him, and we in fact followed him quite a ways. Unfortunately, as night fell, my pictures became quite atrocious owing to movement, lack of light, etc. So again, I’ll just tell you. At one point he just went 10 yards off the road and lay down in the bush. Again, he really wasn’t much threat to those animals, and not to us I don’t think. He was posing, in fact. Beautiful, I just cannot describe. He then sauntered off and we went in search of some females that were reported. They don’t travel together but they are often in proximity.
We drove north a few more kilometers and decided to turn back. The cheetahs did not materialize, as any sighting this far south was unusual anyway. On the way back we turned a corner onto a small pack of females and cubs walking down the road. How fun! They, however, were much more eager to get into the cover of the bush, particularly since they had the cubs with them. Let’s hope my film camera captured some of that, though it was only a quick view. On the way back, the sharp-eyed guide spotted a snake by the road – an adder which had apparently been stepped on my something big. It was dead but not mushed, so was almost like seeing a live one. Very pretty also.
I scanned my book to make sure I’ve mentioned most of what I’ve seen. There was a river in which there were 6-7 hippos in the water, mostly submerged. They are the biggest threat to humans in Africa. I also saw vultures, a brown snake eagle, a Marabon stork, some heron and egrets, and yet more birds that I couldn’t identify. Were I to do this again, I would move a bit to the north where perhaps there is a larger concentration of the cats (you know me!) – up toward the Serengeti for cheetah, perhaps, in addition to lions and leopards. They mentioned a guide was taken out by leopard a couple of years ago as they got out of the jeep, happened in a flash. Wow. I checked out tiger safaris in India. They are generally 7 days or more, which I did not have. One thing about the SAS trips is that they are often tailored to fit our schedule better than typical tours and such. That’s an advantage. I’ll add details as I recall them, and cover other aspects of my South Africa visit in another installment.
Capetown South Africa
Our group was very taken with Capetown. It is a beautiful city in a beautiful setting. There is a great waterfront area with tons of shops and restaurants. When I first got off the ship, I mentioned to the port police officer that I was in search of ice cream. He arranged for someone to escort me over to the mall and show me no fewer than 5 places where I could get ice cream and gelato. It was a good visit.
We spent quite a while there, 7 days, to accommodate the safaris. I toured the city the first day, getting a little local history about the Dutch settlement and British encroachment, the Afrikaans language, apartheid and its demise, agriculture and natural resources, and the absolutely horrendous toll AIDS is taking on this country. AIDS was a big topic of conversation in the week leading up to our visit, as well as some days after. One of the significant problems has been a president who is an official AIDS denier. This means that he listens to “experts” who blame AIDS on poverty, not HIV infection. This leads to prohibitions of vital drugs, elimination of education and prevention programs, and millions more suffering and dying. What is wrong with people?
The townships were another eye-opener. While I did not tour a township (official tours were strongly recommended, not independent visits), we passed through District Six on the highway, a famous site of unrest. We also passed some of what I believe they referred to as “informal housing.” Oh my God! These did not even qualify as shacks, with some cardboard, some boards, some blue tarp, some plastic, some who-knows-what built to shelter – well, nothing, I suppose, or not much at least. A pole in the midst of a bunch of these runs one electrical line, much like an extension cord, to each. It looked like people got their water from a common source, and I have no idea about sewage or sanitation. It could not have been pretty. “Informal housing” – now there’s some language for you. I was stupefied.
So Capetown was really at least 2 different cities, with haves and have-nots, and not even the biggest income gaps of countries we visited. I was able to put some resources into the local economy by visiting an outdoor African market in the city, GreenMarket Square, as well as the Pan-African market. I’m trying to get a cat or cat motif thing in most countries. I will have a little exhibit of what I accumulate when I return. (Don’t expect that much…I’m thrifty, especially compared with some of these students. I overheard one mentioning that her ATM card should work since she had $27,000 in her account.) I saw Arch’s first church in the city, and I also visited the aquarium, located near the waterfront mall. Got a couple of pictures of local kitties too. My favorite.
Lots of good restaurants. Our food at safari was good and probably very traditional, though it was buffet so I have no idea what it was. I made up for that in a couple of restaurants, by having warthog and ostrich. If there had been more days I would have tried more exotic things. I wish I had been able to get up to the University of Capetown. I’ve visited campuses everywhere I go for as long as I can remember, and U of C is not only a good school, but is the most heavily English-speaking (and hence a possible future employment opportunity) since most others are at least bilingual with Afrikaans, if not multilingual with other African languages.
I could go back there – there’s more to do. I was not able to swim with the penguins, which is available at a public beach a few miles outside town. Other folks cage-dived to see great white sharks. I did not get to go atop Table Mountain, which is a local landmark, as the weather did not cooperate. There are winelands to tour (Sheilagh will appreciate that) and enough British influence to lend that small degree of welcome familiarity.
All in all Capetown felt familiar to us, with enough difference to be interesting. Let me just tell you, I’m struck less with the differences that I’m encountering than with the similarities. There’s a lot of English in the world, and people probably live more differently within a country, across lines of income and poverty, than they do between countries. If I can find chocolate in any country, I’m happy, and so far it has been EVERY country. Let’s see if we can keep that record alive.
We spent quite a while there, 7 days, to accommodate the safaris. I toured the city the first day, getting a little local history about the Dutch settlement and British encroachment, the Afrikaans language, apartheid and its demise, agriculture and natural resources, and the absolutely horrendous toll AIDS is taking on this country. AIDS was a big topic of conversation in the week leading up to our visit, as well as some days after. One of the significant problems has been a president who is an official AIDS denier. This means that he listens to “experts” who blame AIDS on poverty, not HIV infection. This leads to prohibitions of vital drugs, elimination of education and prevention programs, and millions more suffering and dying. What is wrong with people?
The townships were another eye-opener. While I did not tour a township (official tours were strongly recommended, not independent visits), we passed through District Six on the highway, a famous site of unrest. We also passed some of what I believe they referred to as “informal housing.” Oh my God! These did not even qualify as shacks, with some cardboard, some boards, some blue tarp, some plastic, some who-knows-what built to shelter – well, nothing, I suppose, or not much at least. A pole in the midst of a bunch of these runs one electrical line, much like an extension cord, to each. It looked like people got their water from a common source, and I have no idea about sewage or sanitation. It could not have been pretty. “Informal housing” – now there’s some language for you. I was stupefied.
So Capetown was really at least 2 different cities, with haves and have-nots, and not even the biggest income gaps of countries we visited. I was able to put some resources into the local economy by visiting an outdoor African market in the city, GreenMarket Square, as well as the Pan-African market. I’m trying to get a cat or cat motif thing in most countries. I will have a little exhibit of what I accumulate when I return. (Don’t expect that much…I’m thrifty, especially compared with some of these students. I overheard one mentioning that her ATM card should work since she had $27,000 in her account.) I saw Arch’s first church in the city, and I also visited the aquarium, located near the waterfront mall. Got a couple of pictures of local kitties too. My favorite.
Lots of good restaurants. Our food at safari was good and probably very traditional, though it was buffet so I have no idea what it was. I made up for that in a couple of restaurants, by having warthog and ostrich. If there had been more days I would have tried more exotic things. I wish I had been able to get up to the University of Capetown. I’ve visited campuses everywhere I go for as long as I can remember, and U of C is not only a good school, but is the most heavily English-speaking (and hence a possible future employment opportunity) since most others are at least bilingual with Afrikaans, if not multilingual with other African languages.
I could go back there – there’s more to do. I was not able to swim with the penguins, which is available at a public beach a few miles outside town. Other folks cage-dived to see great white sharks. I did not get to go atop Table Mountain, which is a local landmark, as the weather did not cooperate. There are winelands to tour (Sheilagh will appreciate that) and enough British influence to lend that small degree of welcome familiarity.
All in all Capetown felt familiar to us, with enough difference to be interesting. Let me just tell you, I’m struck less with the differences that I’m encountering than with the similarities. There’s a lot of English in the world, and people probably live more differently within a country, across lines of income and poverty, than they do between countries. If I can find chocolate in any country, I’m happy, and so far it has been EVERY country. Let’s see if we can keep that record alive.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Voyage Notes
Important – a quick note for folks with a Western Washington University connection. I met a student from WWU named Molly. We spoke and I told her that I had worked there. She said her uncle worked there and maybe I knew him – her uncle is Kurt Willis. !!!!! I about fell over. So, someone MUST e-mail or call Kurt and tell him I am voyaging with his niece Molly, and let me know when you’ve contacted him so I can let her know as well.
Another note is that one of the faculty was a student at UT in Austin at the time I worked there (do I feel old or WHAT), and lived in Jester Center the year before I was there. The chances of us having interacted there are virtually less than zero, but somehow I have an image in my head of what he looked like as a 20 year old. As Dan Quayle would say, “it’s a terrible thing to lose one’s mind….”
Lots can happen in between ports. Our responsibilities routinely give us 12-14 hour days, and I am not complaining – it’s a steady stream of things to do, usually not rushed/frantic/emergency (though that can happen as well).
First I will tell you that the rumor is true – I shaved my head. Now, not down to the skin. Good grief! There are limits! But I did go down to a 4-1/2 on the clippers, what I actually wanted to do last summer before teaching interfered. There are pictures, don’t worry. The reason for this was Neptune Day. What’s that, you may ask? Well, it is a seafaring celebration in which pollywogs become shellbacks as they cross the equator by ship for the first time. Part of that can be head-shaving. There was some auctioning/raffling going on around that, so I told my “sea” (floor of students) that I would do it if they sold enough tickets so I would not embarrass myself twice. Well, they did! Plus I was the only woman in the auction/raffle process, so some female faculty and staff stepped up as well to buy tickets in solidarity. Go Girls! I actually love it, and folks have been very kind about it. Hair does grow fast, though.
Some folks got Mohawks and made a donation to Locks of Love, which as some of you may know gives cut hair to make human hair wigs for cancer patients. One of our “Lifelong Learners” (the older adults who also voyage with us) got a Mohawk. It’s a bit humorous on a 65+ year old gray haired woman! Plus our 7 month old got his first haircut into a Mohawk as well. He’s the most popular passenger, and the Archbishop’s favorite. Others have kept Mohawks as well. We definitely look a sight, with a bunch of Mohawks, men with shaved heads, and at least 37 females who did it as well.
We were able to tour the bridge, where they “drive the ship.” Very interesting – I found out that we currently have 1006 on board, with 818 passengers and 195 crew, more or less. The ship in 600 feet long, 83 feet wide, and with 45,000 horsepower (take that, Mustang!), can go 29 knots, easily able to outrun pirates (!! not kidding!!) and one of the fastest ships of its kind. The crew is multinational with a British captain, Greek captain, and folks from Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Germany, and lots of the lower-ranking crew from the Philippines and Caribbean.
Having the Archbishop on board is perhaps the one thing that truly impresses some of our students. Arch is unfailingly kind and polite, as well as hilarious! He does a little happy dance all the time. One of the things our medical staff does is a song to drive home certain important health and safety points, and before South Africa Arch was one of the Soul Train dancers backing up the singers. I thought I was going to fall off my chair laughing. We have spoken on several occasions – he complimented me on my attire for the Captain’s dinner, signed a copy of his book for me, and in fact when he returned to ship the other night, he was wearing this hat with some sort of ribbon or flower (I swear it was his wife’s), about which I commented that it was very becoming. He immediately launched into the Arch dance. He also has been doing Eucharist services and took a group to his home church in one of the townships. He will also do an Easter sunrise service. I’ll try to make that one, just to say I did. His talks on the end of apartheid were truly moving. His wife Leah has joined him for the remainder of the voyage, and I’m sure there will be more Arch news in the weeks ahead – he is such a powerful presence.
So you’re all crying and moaning about your clock change? Well, I had one too last night – our TENTH, I believe. At some points they were daily (I think three in a row was the record) or every other day. We will continue that until we hit the dateline, then we get it all back in one day – no fair! So we’ve had some challenges in that realm. If can hit the Lifecycle after a clock change, I feel like I’ve done my duty.
The Captain invites faculty and staff to a Captain’s dinner, at which we dine with the officers and have an outstanding meal (beef tenderloin at mine.) I learned that crew and officers go 3 months on/3 off or 6 on/6 off, and many officers particularly live in countries other than those of their origin (Thailand, Hong Kong, etc.), some with (younger) wives from those areas (!). Don’t worry, I did not launch into any feminist critique, at least at dinner. All in all, it’s quite the event, one that I was able to share with a woman on faculty and her partner. Yipee.
Said faculty has also asked me to guest lecture in her Psych of Women class. Ummmm, OK! Maybe it was that I scratched out an outline of class in 12 seconds, complete with references……..
I have mentioned my “sea” which is what we call floors of students, complete with names. Mine is the Arabian Sea (74 students), another is Bering, Red, Baltic, etc. Another bit of high hilarity was when the Lifelong Learners named their own sea. The Lifelong Learners are mature adults (usually 60’s/70’s plus) who sail with us for a different and more intellectually engaging cruise experience. Some have done it several times. Actually, our oldest LL is 92 and a real pistol, and another woman is 85. Anyway, here’s the name they came up with: THE DEAD SEA. I about cried I laughed so hard. Maybe you had to be there. Merna said their second choice was CAN’T SEE….perhaps a third choice could be VITAMIN C.
Thanks for your comments, even though I don’t get onto to the blog often enough or for long enough to respond. Thanks, Aunt Gloria! And of course PunkRawkMama is CONsuelo, what was I thinking. Now naturally I must ask, which Christopher, and apologies in advance if I have in fact…..lost my mind. In fact, just identify yourself in the comment, though I believe Sheilagh could be exempt from that requirement. For real, though, do let me know if there’s anything you would like to know. As we look forward to a weekend in Mauritius, I’m hoping to recap an amazing experience in South Africa with a couple of blog entries SOON. See you on the beach!
Another note is that one of the faculty was a student at UT in Austin at the time I worked there (do I feel old or WHAT), and lived in Jester Center the year before I was there. The chances of us having interacted there are virtually less than zero, but somehow I have an image in my head of what he looked like as a 20 year old. As Dan Quayle would say, “it’s a terrible thing to lose one’s mind….”
Lots can happen in between ports. Our responsibilities routinely give us 12-14 hour days, and I am not complaining – it’s a steady stream of things to do, usually not rushed/frantic/emergency (though that can happen as well).
First I will tell you that the rumor is true – I shaved my head. Now, not down to the skin. Good grief! There are limits! But I did go down to a 4-1/2 on the clippers, what I actually wanted to do last summer before teaching interfered. There are pictures, don’t worry. The reason for this was Neptune Day. What’s that, you may ask? Well, it is a seafaring celebration in which pollywogs become shellbacks as they cross the equator by ship for the first time. Part of that can be head-shaving. There was some auctioning/raffling going on around that, so I told my “sea” (floor of students) that I would do it if they sold enough tickets so I would not embarrass myself twice. Well, they did! Plus I was the only woman in the auction/raffle process, so some female faculty and staff stepped up as well to buy tickets in solidarity. Go Girls! I actually love it, and folks have been very kind about it. Hair does grow fast, though.
Some folks got Mohawks and made a donation to Locks of Love, which as some of you may know gives cut hair to make human hair wigs for cancer patients. One of our “Lifelong Learners” (the older adults who also voyage with us) got a Mohawk. It’s a bit humorous on a 65+ year old gray haired woman! Plus our 7 month old got his first haircut into a Mohawk as well. He’s the most popular passenger, and the Archbishop’s favorite. Others have kept Mohawks as well. We definitely look a sight, with a bunch of Mohawks, men with shaved heads, and at least 37 females who did it as well.
We were able to tour the bridge, where they “drive the ship.” Very interesting – I found out that we currently have 1006 on board, with 818 passengers and 195 crew, more or less. The ship in 600 feet long, 83 feet wide, and with 45,000 horsepower (take that, Mustang!), can go 29 knots, easily able to outrun pirates (!! not kidding!!) and one of the fastest ships of its kind. The crew is multinational with a British captain, Greek captain, and folks from Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Germany, and lots of the lower-ranking crew from the Philippines and Caribbean.
Having the Archbishop on board is perhaps the one thing that truly impresses some of our students. Arch is unfailingly kind and polite, as well as hilarious! He does a little happy dance all the time. One of the things our medical staff does is a song to drive home certain important health and safety points, and before South Africa Arch was one of the Soul Train dancers backing up the singers. I thought I was going to fall off my chair laughing. We have spoken on several occasions – he complimented me on my attire for the Captain’s dinner, signed a copy of his book for me, and in fact when he returned to ship the other night, he was wearing this hat with some sort of ribbon or flower (I swear it was his wife’s), about which I commented that it was very becoming. He immediately launched into the Arch dance. He also has been doing Eucharist services and took a group to his home church in one of the townships. He will also do an Easter sunrise service. I’ll try to make that one, just to say I did. His talks on the end of apartheid were truly moving. His wife Leah has joined him for the remainder of the voyage, and I’m sure there will be more Arch news in the weeks ahead – he is such a powerful presence.
So you’re all crying and moaning about your clock change? Well, I had one too last night – our TENTH, I believe. At some points they were daily (I think three in a row was the record) or every other day. We will continue that until we hit the dateline, then we get it all back in one day – no fair! So we’ve had some challenges in that realm. If can hit the Lifecycle after a clock change, I feel like I’ve done my duty.
The Captain invites faculty and staff to a Captain’s dinner, at which we dine with the officers and have an outstanding meal (beef tenderloin at mine.) I learned that crew and officers go 3 months on/3 off or 6 on/6 off, and many officers particularly live in countries other than those of their origin (Thailand, Hong Kong, etc.), some with (younger) wives from those areas (!). Don’t worry, I did not launch into any feminist critique, at least at dinner. All in all, it’s quite the event, one that I was able to share with a woman on faculty and her partner. Yipee.
Said faculty has also asked me to guest lecture in her Psych of Women class. Ummmm, OK! Maybe it was that I scratched out an outline of class in 12 seconds, complete with references……..
I have mentioned my “sea” which is what we call floors of students, complete with names. Mine is the Arabian Sea (74 students), another is Bering, Red, Baltic, etc. Another bit of high hilarity was when the Lifelong Learners named their own sea. The Lifelong Learners are mature adults (usually 60’s/70’s plus) who sail with us for a different and more intellectually engaging cruise experience. Some have done it several times. Actually, our oldest LL is 92 and a real pistol, and another woman is 85. Anyway, here’s the name they came up with: THE DEAD SEA. I about cried I laughed so hard. Maybe you had to be there. Merna said their second choice was CAN’T SEE….perhaps a third choice could be VITAMIN C.
Thanks for your comments, even though I don’t get onto to the blog often enough or for long enough to respond. Thanks, Aunt Gloria! And of course PunkRawkMama is CONsuelo, what was I thinking. Now naturally I must ask, which Christopher, and apologies in advance if I have in fact…..lost my mind. In fact, just identify yourself in the comment, though I believe Sheilagh could be exempt from that requirement. For real, though, do let me know if there’s anything you would like to know. As we look forward to a weekend in Mauritius, I’m hoping to recap an amazing experience in South Africa with a couple of blog entries SOON. See you on the beach!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Salvador Part II
Salvador Part II
So before Salvador becomes a distant memory (it’s already physically pretty distant), I will fill in some more details. As for the city, we did dine out one evening during Carnaval, at a street-side café, literally on the street. Another precaution was to join what our on-ship Doctor (Matt, from Seattle, incidentally) calls “The Cult of the Black Tongue.” In other words, take Pepto-Bismol before each meal in an iffy area. Seemed to work for me. We had quite a good dinner of shrimp moqueca (sp? again) which was shrimp and veggies cooked in a clay pot and served over rice. Another dish was a crab salad, which looked a little raw to some folks but I said what the heck. There’s a local favorite of ground manioc (tapioca, I believe) mixed with fish, mashed vegetables, etc. into a sort of a paste, which was OK but I wouldn’t want to have it every day. That tapioca base made its way into something I’ll mention in a minute.
While we dined, of course we had a floor show of traditional neighborhood Carnaval. Salvador is home to some of the largest and most extravagant street Carnaval, which involves literally hundreds of thousands of people, thousands dancing on the streets for miles and others lining said streets and buildings, with these giant trucks of sound (imagine a semi-trailer made entirely of speakers with a stage on top). This was not my thing, but on the neighborhood level it’s more of what you may imagine. It was as if groups spontaneously came together to play music and walk up and down the streets or around the square. Some groups were obviously planned; may people wore identical striped shirts over white pants, differing only in the color of the stripes to differentiate the groups. Pretty colors! And these neighborhood groups also had the giant papier-mâché puppet heads they wore to make themselves look 10 feet tall.
On the way back to the ship we took in the main square, and walked around it as part of the festivities. Watch out for standing “water” at Carnaval. Another bit of high hilarity was the amount of atrocious drag there was, everywhere. Part of the “let loose” aspect is men dressing up as women, complete with facial hair, hairy legs, etc. But they really camp it up, even though it’s not at all associated with a gay component. So we walked around, bought popcorn, watched the assorted sights for hours, and made our way back to the ship safely. It didn’t hurt that a member of our party was about 6-4 and 230. He was also the photographer, as I did not bring my camera, so I will snag some photos from him.
One final day I went to the Market (alone! gasp! although several other cruise ships docked that day and there were throngs of people….). It was interesting, and I spent a few reals (money unit) but didn’t really go nuts. Stopped for another local favorite (I’ll try to get or remember the names of these things) which was that samemanioc flour, shaped into ovals and deep-fried in palm oil, a real heart-attack on a plate. They cut it open and fill with some of that paste I mentioned early, marinated veggies, shrimp, lots of hot sauce (I like!) and so forth. It was very good too. I love (local) food. I enjoyed experiencing the market.
Unfortunately, our collective visit was marred by large-scale ATM/credit card fraud, originating in that same market. I’m so glad I didn’t use any cards. Some people lost thousands of dollars (which they typically get back, since it’s pretty easy to prove they couldn’t have made withdrawals in Salvador when they were at sea) and the hassle has been great as people had had to cancel and replace cards – not easy in any circumstance, particularly moving around as we are.
One a happier note, I was able to go to Praia de Forte, a resort area which is also home to a turtle conservation project. So we experienced a nice area and lunch, plus I got to see the turtle facility. They had some tanks with giant turtles of various kinds (loggerhead, leatherback, Olive’s and Kemp Ridleys, etc.) for research purposes, and lots of babies they are hatching as well as some other interesting things from the ocean. They also partitioned off part of the beach to fence the nests, help the eggs hatch and the chicks get back to the ocean. Brazil is a real hot spot for marine turtles, and they are doing good work to increase the numbers.
We left at night, seeing the nicer part of Salvador, which few of us experienced and even fewer knew existed! It was cute also as we left, the captain sounded the ear-splitting horn, even louder on the 7th deck where we routinely gather for departures and arrivals. So another cruise ship saw fit to reply. So we had horns going back and forth for a good minute. As we got into the bay, a tiny fishing boat joined the horn symphony, but it literally sounded like a pipsqueak after these deep rumbling ship horns.
Many people had experiences beyond the city of Salvador, and those experiences in different areas, cities, and islands, were very positive. Folks mentioned going back to those places, less so to Salvador, but all in all the visit was good and we avoided many potential problems. I must end more positively than that, and to do so I will say that I would return for holiday to Praia de Forte, Boipepa Island (which sounded idyllic), and even the Amazon. We all say the last port was our favorite – it will be interesting to see which one stands out at the end.
So before Salvador becomes a distant memory (it’s already physically pretty distant), I will fill in some more details. As for the city, we did dine out one evening during Carnaval, at a street-side café, literally on the street. Another precaution was to join what our on-ship Doctor (Matt, from Seattle, incidentally) calls “The Cult of the Black Tongue.” In other words, take Pepto-Bismol before each meal in an iffy area. Seemed to work for me. We had quite a good dinner of shrimp moqueca (sp? again) which was shrimp and veggies cooked in a clay pot and served over rice. Another dish was a crab salad, which looked a little raw to some folks but I said what the heck. There’s a local favorite of ground manioc (tapioca, I believe) mixed with fish, mashed vegetables, etc. into a sort of a paste, which was OK but I wouldn’t want to have it every day. That tapioca base made its way into something I’ll mention in a minute.
While we dined, of course we had a floor show of traditional neighborhood Carnaval. Salvador is home to some of the largest and most extravagant street Carnaval, which involves literally hundreds of thousands of people, thousands dancing on the streets for miles and others lining said streets and buildings, with these giant trucks of sound (imagine a semi-trailer made entirely of speakers with a stage on top). This was not my thing, but on the neighborhood level it’s more of what you may imagine. It was as if groups spontaneously came together to play music and walk up and down the streets or around the square. Some groups were obviously planned; may people wore identical striped shirts over white pants, differing only in the color of the stripes to differentiate the groups. Pretty colors! And these neighborhood groups also had the giant papier-mâché puppet heads they wore to make themselves look 10 feet tall.
On the way back to the ship we took in the main square, and walked around it as part of the festivities. Watch out for standing “water” at Carnaval. Another bit of high hilarity was the amount of atrocious drag there was, everywhere. Part of the “let loose” aspect is men dressing up as women, complete with facial hair, hairy legs, etc. But they really camp it up, even though it’s not at all associated with a gay component. So we walked around, bought popcorn, watched the assorted sights for hours, and made our way back to the ship safely. It didn’t hurt that a member of our party was about 6-4 and 230. He was also the photographer, as I did not bring my camera, so I will snag some photos from him.
One final day I went to the Market (alone! gasp! although several other cruise ships docked that day and there were throngs of people….). It was interesting, and I spent a few reals (money unit) but didn’t really go nuts. Stopped for another local favorite (I’ll try to get or remember the names of these things) which was that samemanioc flour, shaped into ovals and deep-fried in palm oil, a real heart-attack on a plate. They cut it open and fill with some of that paste I mentioned early, marinated veggies, shrimp, lots of hot sauce (I like!) and so forth. It was very good too. I love (local) food. I enjoyed experiencing the market.
Unfortunately, our collective visit was marred by large-scale ATM/credit card fraud, originating in that same market. I’m so glad I didn’t use any cards. Some people lost thousands of dollars (which they typically get back, since it’s pretty easy to prove they couldn’t have made withdrawals in Salvador when they were at sea) and the hassle has been great as people had had to cancel and replace cards – not easy in any circumstance, particularly moving around as we are.
One a happier note, I was able to go to Praia de Forte, a resort area which is also home to a turtle conservation project. So we experienced a nice area and lunch, plus I got to see the turtle facility. They had some tanks with giant turtles of various kinds (loggerhead, leatherback, Olive’s and Kemp Ridleys, etc.) for research purposes, and lots of babies they are hatching as well as some other interesting things from the ocean. They also partitioned off part of the beach to fence the nests, help the eggs hatch and the chicks get back to the ocean. Brazil is a real hot spot for marine turtles, and they are doing good work to increase the numbers.
We left at night, seeing the nicer part of Salvador, which few of us experienced and even fewer knew existed! It was cute also as we left, the captain sounded the ear-splitting horn, even louder on the 7th deck where we routinely gather for departures and arrivals. So another cruise ship saw fit to reply. So we had horns going back and forth for a good minute. As we got into the bay, a tiny fishing boat joined the horn symphony, but it literally sounded like a pipsqueak after these deep rumbling ship horns.
Many people had experiences beyond the city of Salvador, and those experiences in different areas, cities, and islands, were very positive. Folks mentioned going back to those places, less so to Salvador, but all in all the visit was good and we avoided many potential problems. I must end more positively than that, and to do so I will say that I would return for holiday to Praia de Forte, Boipepa Island (which sounded idyllic), and even the Amazon. We all say the last port was our favorite – it will be interesting to see which one stands out at the end.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Salvador, Bahia, BRAZIL
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Part I
We will have 5 days in Salvador, the third largest city in Brazil at about 3 million, and also the most African, with about 85% Afro-Brazilians. The predominant language is Portuguese, which luckily has some similarities to Spanish, but most of the time I have no idea what comes out of my mouth. I have no language acuity so it’s a big jumble. Why would I think “Merci” is going to work in a Portuguese country?
Of course, we are here for the entirety of Carnaval. That is good and bad. It’s good if Carnaval is your thing! Lots of students and staff have enjoyed various incarnations of the celebration (more on that later). The drawbacks are that many things are closed for most of the week, including some of the notable churches. Plus, we got some heavy-duty safety admonitions: walk in groups, preferably three; take off your watch; spread your money around in several pockets; put your credit cards in your shoes; don’t flash cameras or camcorders; don’t eat street food, no tap water; don’t go to many areas after dark; if you are robbed, give it up – your safety is worth more than your stuff.
Well!! Welcome to Brazil. As you may have gathered, street crime is a big issue, especially at this time. But I have not felt particularly unsafe, even as I violated one or two of the directives. That’s not to say that there haven’t been problems – some staff have had attempted pickpocketings, at least 2 incidents (confirmed) of students being robbed in various ways, and I feel I will hear more once everyone is back on ship. The commonality for that seems to be attendance at the later and more heavy-duty Carnaval events. And as you may imagine, that does not tend to describe me.
My first trip was a “Historical Walking Tour of Old Salvador.” That area is known as the Pelheurino (sp?) and is characterized by a couple of squares dominated by churches (4, in one case!) and linked by somewhat decrepit narrow cobblestone streets. There is probably a 4-block financial district next to the bay and the port which backs into a sheer 50-60 foot cliff. The old town is in the upper portion, accessed by an incline and an elevator complex. Oh, the masses of humanity going from one area to another!
The upper portion definitely has its charm, but a walking tour during Carnaval becomes a tour OF Carnaval. While we lost out on some of the “history” like the churches, we got a chance to see a more traditional Carnaval celebration on a neighborhood level. This was even more pronounced at night when I went back for dinner, and I’ll leave that for part II.
{A note on some tech challenges I face, other than my own: tonight I was unable to connect to the wireless network, which I have done before. So updating will be more of a process, and no pictures will be forthcoming as I was going to follow Gretchyn’s advice and load a program, etc. I’m hurrying to do a lot during port while computer use is down, otherwise the network slows to a crawl, literally making dialup look speedy. Plus I have a finite number of minutes to use, after which I must purchase them at something like a quarter a minute. So forgive some of the lag time and other drawbacks. If nothing else, I will do internet and physical photo albums when I return!} Good night!
We will have 5 days in Salvador, the third largest city in Brazil at about 3 million, and also the most African, with about 85% Afro-Brazilians. The predominant language is Portuguese, which luckily has some similarities to Spanish, but most of the time I have no idea what comes out of my mouth. I have no language acuity so it’s a big jumble. Why would I think “Merci” is going to work in a Portuguese country?
Of course, we are here for the entirety of Carnaval. That is good and bad. It’s good if Carnaval is your thing! Lots of students and staff have enjoyed various incarnations of the celebration (more on that later). The drawbacks are that many things are closed for most of the week, including some of the notable churches. Plus, we got some heavy-duty safety admonitions: walk in groups, preferably three; take off your watch; spread your money around in several pockets; put your credit cards in your shoes; don’t flash cameras or camcorders; don’t eat street food, no tap water; don’t go to many areas after dark; if you are robbed, give it up – your safety is worth more than your stuff.
Well!! Welcome to Brazil. As you may have gathered, street crime is a big issue, especially at this time. But I have not felt particularly unsafe, even as I violated one or two of the directives. That’s not to say that there haven’t been problems – some staff have had attempted pickpocketings, at least 2 incidents (confirmed) of students being robbed in various ways, and I feel I will hear more once everyone is back on ship. The commonality for that seems to be attendance at the later and more heavy-duty Carnaval events. And as you may imagine, that does not tend to describe me.
My first trip was a “Historical Walking Tour of Old Salvador.” That area is known as the Pelheurino (sp?) and is characterized by a couple of squares dominated by churches (4, in one case!) and linked by somewhat decrepit narrow cobblestone streets. There is probably a 4-block financial district next to the bay and the port which backs into a sheer 50-60 foot cliff. The old town is in the upper portion, accessed by an incline and an elevator complex. Oh, the masses of humanity going from one area to another!
The upper portion definitely has its charm, but a walking tour during Carnaval becomes a tour OF Carnaval. While we lost out on some of the “history” like the churches, we got a chance to see a more traditional Carnaval celebration on a neighborhood level. This was even more pronounced at night when I went back for dinner, and I’ll leave that for part II.
{A note on some tech challenges I face, other than my own: tonight I was unable to connect to the wireless network, which I have done before. So updating will be more of a process, and no pictures will be forthcoming as I was going to follow Gretchyn’s advice and load a program, etc. I’m hurrying to do a lot during port while computer use is down, otherwise the network slows to a crawl, literally making dialup look speedy. Plus I have a finite number of minutes to use, after which I must purchase them at something like a quarter a minute. So forgive some of the lag time and other drawbacks. If nothing else, I will do internet and physical photo albums when I return!} Good night!
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Folks were initially a bit blasé about PR, but everyone I heard ended up really enjoying it there; a couple of the students even cried leaving. I too enjoyed it and felt it may be worth a return visit someday (I may end up saying that a lot).
PR is a bilingual city, but unlike those on the mainland, it is skewed toward Spanish – Spanish first. Our politicians should spend some time there for a bit of perspective.
I did two trips, first to the rainforest then a coastal bike ride. Now, the rainforest – pretty, much cooler than the city, which was in the mid-90s, but where was the rain? At least the Washington rainforests have the good sense to be rainy. It was tropical, as opposed to whatever we have, and just different. The greens were lighter, overall not quite as dense. Our walk was punctuated by a nice waterfall.
The bike ride took us through a coastal forest which had a lot of groundcover. There were coconuts (this whole area has green coconuts, not the brown we usually think of) lining the path. When we got to the beach, students cracked into one and we had a coconut snack. The beaches were beautiful, the water warm. Warm ocean water – what a concept. We didn’t think there was a bug problem, but we were attacked by chigger-ish, delayed reaction bites which still plague me two weeks later. Trouble in paradise! And I did see evidence of huge problem, that of plastic in the ocean. Plastic does not degrade, and causes all sorts of problems. There was a large amount of plastic on the beach, very distressing.
A bit of background. The core course of the voyage, Global Studies, is concentrating on both social justice and environmental issues for the countries we visit. So there is a lot of discussion of poverty, distribution of wealth, environmental racism, the economics and politics of both, policy, etc. So I too will notice and comment upon such things.
Back to touristy things. I walked to the Old Town of San Juan and looked at all the government buildings, shops, forts, etc. In the heart of the old city the streets are very narrow and cobbled, the buildings are right on the street, and painted very pretty pastel colors. I had a traditional mofongo which was a “bowl” of plantain, deep-fried and filled, in my case with pork. Yum. I was also able to hit a grocery, Pueblo, to stock up on snacks and a bit of chocolate. (The two visits to Ben and Jerry’s speak for themselves. I can find anything anywhere).
I love to see a grocery and also a mall wherever I go. So yes, I found a mall, an hour each way by freezing bus which stopped every block. I wanted some more cargo-type shorts; Old Navy to the rescue. It was very similar to a mainland mall, many of the same stores. After all, this is the United States! And Church’s Chicken – hadn’t had that in an age.
I think Puerto Rico was a good first stop. It got us used to rigorous Customs and Immigration, go figure. But it also let us ease into difference in a pretty supportive and safe environment. We were told to expect pretty much the opposite in Salvador, Brazil – and they were right.
BTW - who is PunkRawkMama? Am I dim and forgetful?
Folks were initially a bit blasé about PR, but everyone I heard ended up really enjoying it there; a couple of the students even cried leaving. I too enjoyed it and felt it may be worth a return visit someday (I may end up saying that a lot).
PR is a bilingual city, but unlike those on the mainland, it is skewed toward Spanish – Spanish first. Our politicians should spend some time there for a bit of perspective.
I did two trips, first to the rainforest then a coastal bike ride. Now, the rainforest – pretty, much cooler than the city, which was in the mid-90s, but where was the rain? At least the Washington rainforests have the good sense to be rainy. It was tropical, as opposed to whatever we have, and just different. The greens were lighter, overall not quite as dense. Our walk was punctuated by a nice waterfall.
The bike ride took us through a coastal forest which had a lot of groundcover. There were coconuts (this whole area has green coconuts, not the brown we usually think of) lining the path. When we got to the beach, students cracked into one and we had a coconut snack. The beaches were beautiful, the water warm. Warm ocean water – what a concept. We didn’t think there was a bug problem, but we were attacked by chigger-ish, delayed reaction bites which still plague me two weeks later. Trouble in paradise! And I did see evidence of huge problem, that of plastic in the ocean. Plastic does not degrade, and causes all sorts of problems. There was a large amount of plastic on the beach, very distressing.
A bit of background. The core course of the voyage, Global Studies, is concentrating on both social justice and environmental issues for the countries we visit. So there is a lot of discussion of poverty, distribution of wealth, environmental racism, the economics and politics of both, policy, etc. So I too will notice and comment upon such things.
Back to touristy things. I walked to the Old Town of San Juan and looked at all the government buildings, shops, forts, etc. In the heart of the old city the streets are very narrow and cobbled, the buildings are right on the street, and painted very pretty pastel colors. I had a traditional mofongo which was a “bowl” of plantain, deep-fried and filled, in my case with pork. Yum. I was also able to hit a grocery, Pueblo, to stock up on snacks and a bit of chocolate. (The two visits to Ben and Jerry’s speak for themselves. I can find anything anywhere).
I love to see a grocery and also a mall wherever I go. So yes, I found a mall, an hour each way by freezing bus which stopped every block. I wanted some more cargo-type shorts; Old Navy to the rescue. It was very similar to a mainland mall, many of the same stores. After all, this is the United States! And Church’s Chicken – hadn’t had that in an age.
I think Puerto Rico was a good first stop. It got us used to rigorous Customs and Immigration, go figure. But it also let us ease into difference in a pretty supportive and safe environment. We were told to expect pretty much the opposite in Salvador, Brazil – and they were right.
BTW - who is PunkRawkMama? Am I dim and forgetful?
Monday, February 12, 2007
Where the hell are the pictures?
I dutifully loaded them but I have no idea where they are. If anyone can help me with that.........
The Ship
So let me tell you a little about the ship. It is beautiful! It very much rivals the one we were on for our Alaska cruise, though much smaller. The public areas are very nice, as are the classrooms and other academic spaces. The faculty and staff get a dedicated lounge on one of the top decks in the front with an expansive view. There are many photos on the SAS website, which I’m sure you have all dutifully bookmarked.
We boarded last Wednesday and immediately went into extensive training. You remember when you took your last new position, learning the ropes, figuring you’d be up to speed in a few months, or perhaps weeks….We had to be up to speed to receive students in 3.5 days, in quite a complex and compressed environment. Frankly I was a bit apprehensive, since I hadn’t been stretched for quite a while. I think I’m up to it, though.
So students boarded Sunday the 4th in a very long day, followed by another very long day of orientation, etc. You can imagine how much heaven I am in with students from 250 different schools, me and my nerdy habit of guessing where schools are located (most recently “DePauw? Greencastle, Indiana”). We have a WWU, an NAU, a couple of Miami's, some UTs, even some UNCs apart from the three of us on staff.
Classes begin tomorrow, which will allow us to get into a normal rhythm. The day after we will dock in Puerto Rico. I will be trip leader for our rain forest hike, one of many excursions available (you can look at the website to see all that was available). Another day I will do a bike ride around the island (around ON the island, not around the ENTIRE island. Again, have you met me?) That should be fun and somewhat active. On a related note, running on a treadmill when the ship is rocking and rolling is quite an experience.
OK, one last thing. We had our lifeboat drill and I was in charge of reading names, making sure everyone was present. I can project, so imagine me at the top of my lungs shouting out “ARCHBISHOP TUTU!!” Good enough, then imaging him chiming in, in a sing-song falsetto, “HEEEEEERRRRRRRE!!!!” OK, that’s one for the grandcats. I also took pride in being complimented on my drill by one of the Vice Chancellors from the University of Virginia. Appreciation on the job is a long-forgotten experience (but I’m not bitter :-) ).
Luckily I have not been stricken with the seasickness that is hitting some on ship, although I get a twinge now and then. Must be all the practice on the ferries. I love Seattle. Two more meetings after dinner so I’m off for now. Thanks for the comments, how exciting. Thanks, Aunt Gloria, you were always my biggest supporter. BYE!
Here’s a picture of the beach in the Bahamas, then me as we sailed and also looking back at Nassau at departure. If this works, I'll also add an image of the first evidence of my interaction with the Archbishop (Arch to his friends).
We boarded last Wednesday and immediately went into extensive training. You remember when you took your last new position, learning the ropes, figuring you’d be up to speed in a few months, or perhaps weeks….We had to be up to speed to receive students in 3.5 days, in quite a complex and compressed environment. Frankly I was a bit apprehensive, since I hadn’t been stretched for quite a while. I think I’m up to it, though.
So students boarded Sunday the 4th in a very long day, followed by another very long day of orientation, etc. You can imagine how much heaven I am in with students from 250 different schools, me and my nerdy habit of guessing where schools are located (most recently “DePauw? Greencastle, Indiana”). We have a WWU, an NAU, a couple of Miami's, some UTs, even some UNCs apart from the three of us on staff.
Classes begin tomorrow, which will allow us to get into a normal rhythm. The day after we will dock in Puerto Rico. I will be trip leader for our rain forest hike, one of many excursions available (you can look at the website to see all that was available). Another day I will do a bike ride around the island (around ON the island, not around the ENTIRE island. Again, have you met me?) That should be fun and somewhat active. On a related note, running on a treadmill when the ship is rocking and rolling is quite an experience.
OK, one last thing. We had our lifeboat drill and I was in charge of reading names, making sure everyone was present. I can project, so imagine me at the top of my lungs shouting out “ARCHBISHOP TUTU!!” Good enough, then imaging him chiming in, in a sing-song falsetto, “HEEEEEERRRRRRRE!!!!” OK, that’s one for the grandcats. I also took pride in being complimented on my drill by one of the Vice Chancellors from the University of Virginia. Appreciation on the job is a long-forgotten experience (but I’m not bitter :-) ).
Luckily I have not been stricken with the seasickness that is hitting some on ship, although I get a twinge now and then. Must be all the practice on the ferries. I love Seattle. Two more meetings after dinner so I’m off for now. Thanks for the comments, how exciting. Thanks, Aunt Gloria, you were always my biggest supporter. BYE!
Here’s a picture of the beach in the Bahamas, then me as we sailed and also looking back at Nassau at departure. If this works, I'll also add an image of the first evidence of my interaction with the Archbishop (Arch to his friends).
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