Residual Ghana, A Boatload of South Africa, and then throw in a little Mauritius too

Before I even attempt to summarize four and a half extraordinary days in South Africa and one refreshing day in Mauritius, I just want to say how extremely grateful I am for this experience. It’s really sinking in. I thought it already had but apparently not. We’re about halfway into our trip. We’ve been to six different countries, including the Bahamas and have six left to go. Those six countries have each made such an impression on me in their own unique way and I have been changed by every single moment that I was able to spend in each of them. I am growing in ways I never even knew were possible and discovering things about myself that I didn’t know existed. It’s exactly what I had hoped this experience would do to me and then some. One rather important and life-changing moment that I didn’t mention in my Ghana post was something I discovered after-the-fact, after I had been back on the ship for a few days and given a chance to process everything I had experienced. I think I mentioned how I was given several opportunities to visit schools in the small village of Senase and even step up in front of the class and teach. Well, the memories of teaching the classes really stuck with me. Images of the kids and the schools kept flashing through my mind nonstop. I’ve found the best way to sort out these experiences is by writing about them in my journal. When I started pouring out the memories on to the pages of my journal, I stumbled across a possible reason for why the images had been haunting me so often. I didn’t realize how bothered I was by the method of teaching and the classroom atmosphere. Everything was so structured and rigid. There was no room for the kids to be themselves or the teachers to be themselves. The headmaster would circle from room to room checking in. At one of the schools he even held a cain/switch for discipline. It was not the type of elementary school I grew up in. What I believe is missing is some creativity, a chance for everyone involved in the educational environment to express themselves, through art (there was none whatsoever), through different learning methods, even through an improved classroom environment. Of course, the schools in Ghana are limited financially but that does not have to prevent the kids and teachers from actually getting something long-term out of their time in school. The current method of teaching is rote memorization. That’s good but that lasts all about 10 seconds. This issue probably extends to the schools in America as well. I know I for one definitely have gotten through classes via cram sessions and pure memorization without any real understanding. So this issue is probably on a much larger scale than just Ghana. Nonetheless, it is a much simpler life in Ghana. They are not surrounded by so much excess stuff. There’s no real stimulation. I believe stimulation can enhance long-term learning. Back in the 5th grade, when I attended catholic school one of my teachers tried a new learning approach on us that involved a smorgasbord of hands-on activities. It was so far from the typical note-taking, study, test, move on approach. I can honestly say I still remember a lot of what I learned that year in her class and we’re talking 5th grade (!) here. Obviously not all of the details, but at least the main points. None of the lessons she taught required anything more than our full attention. That is why I believe taking a curriculum, no matter where you are in the world, no matter the financial situation, and getting creative with it and finding new ways to present the material that fully engage the students can go a long way. Even now as I write this, I’m thinking about how I just might contact my old 5th grade teacher to find out if she continued teaching in this way and how she thinks it worked out from her point of view. Wow, I’ve strayed from my main point. Basically, places like Ghana have opened me up to new interests and possibilities to explore within my life. I’m loving it. It’s been such an adventure already and I’m seeing how just because a port visit may be over, the repercussions of that port visit are continuously evolving and changing my life. I am now unexpectedly hooked on this area of alternative learning methodologies. It’s definitely something that I may even consider really diving into when I get off the ship and maybe even after college. I don’t know but I’m finding it’s okay to let life lead and trust that the path can and will appear for you if you’re open to it and that when you step outside of your comfort zone, that is where the discoveries and opportunities occur. So I’m not going to freak out that this is so far from the major I’m going to school for or that I have absolutely no experience in this area whatsoever. If it’s what is right for me, I’m willing to trust that the how will appear in time. Whatever’s meant to happen will.
        Now for South Africa, the 6-day trip that suddenly became 4.5 thanks to some strong wind and rough seas. That’s right. We missed the first day and half of our precious time in South Africa but I am proud to say I was able to squeeze every last thing that I wanted to do into those 4.5 days. It meant getting almost no sleep and traveling up and down and all over the Cape Peninsula but I did it; wine tour, safari, township and school visit, concert on the beach, table mountain, penguins at Boulder Beach, Robben Island, sampled the nightlife, dined in some amazing restaurants, shopped in the marketplace, and even restocked my snack supply for the ship. Looking back, I’m actually pretty impressed with myself. Cape Town is an amazing place and even the few people I met who are in the area for extended periods of time say their time’s not even enough to get everything in. Of course I need to go back some day and do it all over again but I’m satisfied with my time there. The port is absolutely gorgeous. Right away, I was struck by the clean and polished buildings and streetways, the sailboats in the harbor, the giant ferris wheel, the strip of waterfront restaurants, the seals playing in the water and finally the landmark Table Mountain, covered in it’s tablecloth made of clouds.  It was soooo different then what we had just left in Ghana. It actually felt like Disney World. I felt like I was walking through Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. There were street performers. I think I heard the entire soundtrack of The Lion King played by everything from a trumpet to a xylophone by week’s end. It was nice being able to blend into the tourist crowd for a change rather than being the main attraction. And there were people from all over the world in Cape Town. I met people from Argentina, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Germany, France, Australia, England, China… The day we arrived there was a U2 concert so many of the tourists were there for that but many others were there for study abroad or to learn English. I’m not going to go into excruciating detail about each day that I spent in Cape Town because there is just too much to talk about but I will give you some of the highlights:
•       I went on a legitimate African Safari where I saw zebra, buffalo, hippos, a lion (sort of, at least the outline of the lazy lion sleeping under a tree), cheetahs, and even had the chance to get out of our jeep and walk around with the giraffes. It was unreal and definitely a check mark on my bucket list.
•       Along the way to the safari, we took the scenic route through the mountains where a bunch of baboons chased our car, coming out of nowhere. Mommies, daddies, babies, the whole family. The drive was amazing, through the winelands and around mountains where the first step off the road would take you over a pretty decent cliff.
•       The food!!!!! So good. I ate at so many different restaurants including a world-renowned Indian restaurant, an authentic South African restaurant, a restaurant with live jazz, a Portuguese restaurant, a small café that served banana and nutella pancakes with ice cream a la mode. Let’s talk about the Indian restaurant, Jewel of India, because that was quite a meal. I had never tried Indian food before and about 10 different people had recommended this particular restaurant. And I can honestly see why. We sat on cushions around an intricately tiled coffee table like table. I have never eaten a formal meal on cushions before!  I ordered something called Chicken Kadhaii and some naan and rice to dip in the curry. I also tried a mango lassi. Mmmmm! I am officially pumped for India. I also visited an authentic South African restaurant where I tried ostrich, kudu, eland, and springbok. Ostrich was okay. The kudu, eland, and springbok…DELICIOUS!  There’s also this South African dessert called malva pudding that I ordered on two different occasions because it is just that good. I’m definitely going to try and recreate it when I’m home.
•       I went and visited Boulders Beach to see the penguins and there were plenty of them. It was amazing how unafraid they were to come up to people. They would even pose for a picture. I swear they were even smiling. However, the wind. Oh buddy. Don’t ever let anyone tell you Cape Town is not windy. It’s like a Category 5 hurricane all the time. I thought I was going to blow away. Now, my roommate and I did this trip at the end of the day and finished our penguin viewing around 7:30, having no idea about the minor detail that taxis stop running at 6 pm. This place was at least a full hour from our ship. We thought it was sort of strange that we were practically the only people around but didn’t think anything of it until we’re paying for our check at dinner and asking our waitress how we can go about getting a cab. That’s when she broke it to us that we might be stranded in Simon’s Town. Thank god she remembered that she had the cell phone of a friend of hers who drives a taxi AND who was willing to take us such a long distance after hours. The guy was a little strange. Picture a kilt-wearing, bag-pipe playing portly old man with a thick Dutch accent and you’ve got the idea. The soundtrack of the drive home was some interesting music that totally fit the guy’s physical appearance. I probably could have guessed that’s what I would be listening to before I even stepped in the car. In some strange sense, I sort of enjoyed it. I just may track down some of the music just to remember the experience. Haha.
•       I went to a concert on the beach in a really posh area of Cape Town called Clifton’s Bay. My night, scratch that, my TRIP was complete when the band played Waka Waka. We heard about the concert via a local. We just might have been the only foreigners there too. The whole atmosphere reminded me of a summer night back at home, like the fourth of July or something. Families were gathered on their beach blankets with sandwiches and drinks, listening and dancing to the music. Kids were running around with glow sticks. Comfortable is the best word I can think of to describe how I felt when I was there. I felt like I actually was at home. The only thing that woke me up to the fact that I wasn’t was the South African accents coming from everyone but us.
•       I went on a bicycle ride through a township. In case you don’t know, the townships are the areas where the blacks were moved to during apartheid. They still live there by choice, however there’s a low, middle, and upper class within the townships now that didn’t exist then. We visited an AIDS clinic and a school. At the school we were able to play soccer with some of the boys. If I could, I would go to a school and play soccer with the locals at every single port. I had the chance while in Rio and then again in South Africa. Both times have been even better than I could have expected. We also visited the computer lab where a class full of 5 and 6 year olds were learning how to use a computer. The 30 of us SAS kids split off and found a child to help. I helped two of the cutest little girls learn how to hold a computer mouse and drag shoes, socks and clothing over a teddy bear on the computer screen. Neither of them spoke English so it was a little difficult but it’s amazing how far a smile can go.

It was a sad moment when we pulled out of South Africa. I think the entire ship must have been aft to watch South Africa fade under the horizon. Someone was playing all the world cup songs and a little bit of their U2 CD from the concert. It was a truly perfect sailaway but sad nonetheless.

Fast forward four days and we’re in Mauritius. A short-lived visit, only one day. According to my oceanography professor, the island reminded him a lot of Kauai with its green mountains and coastlines. I spent the day on his FDP. It was technically a school field trip and I did actually learn a thing or two but it was mostly lying in a hammock on a private island being served unlimited juice, soda, and virgin pina coladas with a little bit of snorkeling mixed in there. It was too perfect. Now I’m back on the ship and heading to India. It’s a 6-day stretch until we get there and it will be a busy one. After India, it’s going to be rapid-fire Asian countries. We’ll only be on the ship for a maximum of two days in a row, then we hit another port for about 5 days, then 2 days on the boat and it’s another port. For an entire month, we have about 10 class days. I hope my professors don’t actually expect us to get work done!

By the way, I LOVE getting email. So don’t hesitate to send me one at aedunlap@semesteratsea.net. This is a desperate plea. Life on the ship can get pretty boring and an inbox full of emails from home will do more than just brighten my day. Thanks in advance =)