Cricket and Midgets

October 25
India Day 3

On the third day of India there were no field trips scheduled. Many people were on multiple day trips to the Taj Mahal and elsewhere so last night while I was hanging with some friends the ship seemed really empty. Four of us decided to go to the Citi Center mall tomorrow and try and see a movie or something. The next day after lunch we started walking from the port in the general direction of the Citi Center (I was really just tagging along so I didn’t know exactly what we were doing). Originally we were going to catch a taxi (not a rickshaw because there were four of us) but we ended up walking further than we intended. From the entrance to the port we were followed by 2 rickshaws. We walked outside the port area and along a park (still being followed by the rickshaws). We decided to walk through the park to try and lose them; however they just parked their rickshaws and followed on foot. In the park we saw some female guards taking a break under a tree. I think someone said 5% of the police force is female (we saw quite a few all over the city). Also while we were walking out of the park we came across a small pickup cricket game that some kids were playing.
We continued walking (with the rickshaws in hot pursuit) on the sidewalk where there were immense amounts of refuse and animal waste as well as what appeared to be human waste. We again thought we’d be clever by crossing the street so that the only way for them to get to us is by going against traffic. On the other side there was a large monument that we stopped to look at. When we took a picture of us a guard told us we weren’t allowed to and then welcomed us to the country. We continued walking along the street. Right as we were feeling confident that we lost the rickshaws, we saw a rickshaw a little ways up parked against traffic with the driver waiting for us. Our tactic thus far was to just ignore them and walk past. One thing we noticed while walking was the intense smell. It was probably one of the worst smells ever and when we crossed a bridge over water the smell intensified. The water looked absolutely dismal and there were all sorts of ungodly things floating in it and on its banks. On the other side of the street was the beach. We also passed a university whose buildings dated back to Britain’s occupation of India. We turned down a street we thought might take us closer to city center. We passed a gate where we saw a large field where an official game of cricket was being played (I don’t know if I said it in an earlier post, but cricket is absolutely huge here). We asked the guard if we could go in and watch the game and he said of course. We watched for a little bit and I realized that it might be more boring than baseball. While watching, the rickshaw drivers who were still following us came in and hassled us for a ride. They even showed us their credentials from past SAS students. We told them for the umpteenth time that we did not need a ride and surprisingly they listened. Up to the cricket field, we had already walked about 3-4 miles that day which meant they followed us that whole distance, starting back at the port entrance. Right next to the field was a train station where we saw 1 or 2 trains pass. We left after a short while and continued down the street where the street became lined with stores and a few stalls. We walked down here and saw a good glimpse of an average, non-residental, non-developed street. I really enjoyed just strolling down the street and looking at the various stores and observing the locals. When we reached the end of the street after about 45 mins. we turned and found a movie theater. We went inside where it was a little cooler and bought a soda. One thing I think I failed to mention was how hot it is here in India. They have an expression that the weather in India goes Hot, Hotter, Hottest. At no point (even at night) was it cool or cold. Whenever I would be outside for a field trip or just walking around, the weather was always insanely hot and I would be sweating like crazy. We left the theater (we didn’t see a movie) and decided to take a rickshaw the rest of the way (about 3 minutes) to Citi Center mall. When we got there we walked through all the levels and checked out most of the stores. When I was there with Aron the night before, we were very rushed and it was awkward because the 3 of them would just follow me and ask me if there was something I was looking for specifically (like I said, they didn’t know what browsing was). So we took our time and went through the various stores including one called Landmark which was like a mini Target. We went to the top floor and 2 of us had KFC outside of an Indian Chuck E. Cheese-type place with a little person dressed w/ a Donald Duck mask and a clown costume (extremely creepy).
After this the 4 of us caught a 2-passenger rickshaw back to the ship where we had dinner. Back in South Africa, my roommate bought a board game he’d played before called “Settlers of Catan”. We’ve been playing it almost every other day and that night we played in the Piano Lounge (just a normal lounge). The next day I was scheduled for a trip titled rural visit and cultural center. Almost all of my India posts are delayed by 2 or 3 days because when I came back to the ship in India, I’d be exhausted and writing 3 pages worth of blog was not a priority at the time. After I post this one, I’m going to start typing the next one (I say this like it’s a chore but it’s only because I’ve been sick). I’m writing this the second day after India and there’s a nasty cold going around which I’ve caught so I’m trying to lose it before Vietnam. Anyway, see you next post.

Lots of Temples and Dust in My Eyes

October 24
India Day 2

Today I went on a field trip to Kancheepuram and Mamallapuram. We got on the bus at 7:00 and headed outside of Chennai. After about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of driving we eventually made it to our first stop in Kancheepuram, a large town with many temples spread out throughout it, many dating to as far back as the 7th century. Our first stop was Kailasanatha Temple, one of many temples we’d see throughout the day. This particular temple was built in honor of Shiva and for the worship of Shiva. The temple is enclosed in a stone wall (everything is made of stone) and just about everywhere (on the walls and the temple itself) are many dragons, elephants, busts of other gods, and many other carvings. Each temple we went to that day had one or several tall layered towers. We had to take off our shoes (it was the same at all the other temples here) before entering the complex. While here I was filming for my next documentary for my documentary class (it’s a real pain to shoot because you can’t take the time to appreciate things- you only are worried about what you see through the camera- it sucks). A couple of us went inside the temple and there a priest invited us in. He took us into a small room and showed us a shrine. There was one carving on each of the 3 walls. The room was dark and only lit by a candle that the priest had. He held it up to the first statue of Shiva. When he held it above the carving, Shiva looked mad. When he held the candle below, Shiva looked happy. It was the same with the other carvings. We left walked around the rest of the complex (which wasn’t actually that large) and left.
We drove through more of Kancheepuram and arrived at our next stop which was another temple called Varadharaja Perumal Temple. Many of the temples we visited had its tallest tower over the entrance to the temple complex. The tower at this temple was over 100ft tall. The temple itself was built in 1053AD for worship of the god Vishnu. We entered the open yard area of the temple (the temple complex was much larger than the previous) and then walked into the temple itself which consisted of long, open halls with shrines throughout it. Unlike the previous temple, this was a functioning Hindu temple and there were many worshippers walking around the premises. We were not allowed in the main shrine (only Hindus). There was one shrine with several small statues of gods in it (for some reason it was in a large cage) and people walked around the statues in the cage while praying. There were several long hallways that stretched probably over a couple hundred feet. Along one hallway was several crazy looking statues of gods, including a cobra with many heads (it looked awesome), a fat guy with a moustache that looked suspiciously like Ron Jeremy, and a chicken/duck playing a saxophone. There were also more engravings of dragons as well as more shrines. There was also a tall golden post that stuck out from rose out of the temple (I don’t think it was actual gold). This was a flagpole that all the temples have. The temple layout was like a square with only the outer border being the halls and shrines. The inner section was a large pool of water that had a structure in the middle of it. I just found the Wikipedia page for this temple and it’s called Ekambareswarar Temple. It is a Vishnu temple and dates back to before 600 AD.
We put our shoes back on and left for the next temple called Vaikuntanatha Temple. It too had a large tower over its entrance however this one was covered in palm leaves and wood scaffolding (I don’t know why). We only went to one shrine in this temple. It had pillars with various engravings on it of archers, peacocks, and a god riding a horse or dragon. While I was filming here there was a priest who started talking to me and showed me a certain engraving. He also recited a long, memorized talk about the history of the temple which I did not understand fully but have on tape. There was another pool of water with the building in the middle. We left this temple and went to a silk store. The store was down a small walkway, on the side of which was a shed with a couple cows under it. While shopping at the silk store, we went upstairs to where 3 people were hand making silk apparel. The process looked very complicated, involving both hands and both feet (it looked very similar to playing the piano now that I think about it).
After buying silk, we headed to the Mamallapuram area. Before going to any temples we stopped off at a Radisson resort in the area for lunch. There we had a massive buffet with an amazing variety of authentic Indian food. There must have been at least fifty different items in the buffet and a huge desert selection. I can honestly say this was one of the best (if not the best) lunch on SAS thus far. After lunch we walked around the resort area for a few minutes. It is huge and has a swimming pool that stretches hundreds of feet like a small pond in the middle of the resort. We left the hotel and went to a series of rock carvings called Descent of the Ganges (all of these places are on Wikipedia, most with pictures) in the town. It was a massive outcropping of granite with engravings of elephants and many other gods on its face. There was also a shallow cave that I think was once a temple. There was also an attempt to make the outside of the rock look more layered and temple-like, but our guide said that they were forced to give up because the granite was too hard to work with. Still they somehow managed to carve beautiful carvings into the rock side. We then drove to another section of the town where there was a more intact temple called Pancha Rathas (type Mahabalipuram in Wiki and look under temples for a list) that was not part of a major rock outcropping but still carved from granite. This one had a full sculpture of an elephant and a lion as well as several full temples. All the temples of Mamallapuram date to around the 7th century.
We walked back to the bus where there were some markets along the way. There were also some beggars, one of which was a tiny woman that looked like all bones and had no hands and her legs were nubs. We left there and went a few minutes to the last temple of the day, the Shore Temple. This temple is apparently very well known and popular and, as its name says, is right next to the shore and overlooks the Bay of Bengal. When you think of Hindu temples, this is what you would picture in your mind. The temple consisted of two structures, one taller than the other, and was surrounded by statues of cows. We walked around the temple for a while and then headed back to the ship. The sunsets in India are very nice, but I think it’s because of the way the sun shines through the haze.
That night, E (my roommate), who had kept in touch with one of the Indian students from the reception, and I were picked up by Aron, a tech student, and his two friends and they took us around Chennai to see more of the city. Aron works as tech support for Rhapsody and is the guy you would call if you have a problem with your account. His friend who drove us was a son of a politician (he said he will never get in trouble with the police) and the other was a heavier Muslim guy named Mohammad Mujahideen (Mujahideen meaning “One Who Fights for Allah”). While getting out of the port area we asked Aron if he had any interesting stories of calls made to him from people with problems (I’d heard that many call operators have interesting stories). In the U.S. there would be some issue of privacy he’d be violating I’m sure, but he told us a story anyway. He said one time a man called with an issue that prevented his music account from working. The man told Aron that he had a brain hemorrhage and had about 20 months to live. He said that music was his life now and that all he wanted was lots of music and he needed to get this issue resolved. Area fixed his issue and gave him a $50 credit to his account for music. We stopped at the beach (it’s the second longest beach in the world) and walked towards the water which was actually further than we thought and we actually didn’t make it there (by this time it was dark). I asked the guys about the tsunami that hit a few years back and killed many in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia (and more) and they said that after the waves hit, the water came all the way up to the roads (the beach is very wide and the roads are very far from the water). Aron also said that after the waves hit a bunch of “black bodies” washed up on shore and thousands of bodies lay on the beach. They were eventually buried under the sand and they still lay buried there today (Aron commented, “Their bodies washed up and got were buried by the sand and that’s where they belong). While on the beach, I asked Aron (he’s 23) about the outsourcing aspect of India and what he thought about other countries outsourcing (in terms of the technology field). He said China has very good technical knowledge but can’t speak English well and lacks human resources. He said that Korea, Japan, and those countries have good customer service, etc., but do not have the best technical services. He told me India excels at both human resources and technical knowledge.
Aron is also a technical engineer (he’s actually not a student anymore) and just started an advertising business with the guy who drove us around (the other guys were 20 but I swear they looked at least 25- same thing with Aron). He said he has no business background, but also said no one can teach you business. He said the business was actually doing really well. It really makes me feel useless because I’m 20 and am struggling for career plans. Later, they took us to the Citi Center mall which was built by an architect who also worked in Dubai. The mall is not spread out like American malls, but is built more vertically and centralized. We got hot dogs there (surprisingly enough) with flavors like Buffalo BBQ and a Punjabi dog. We walked through the mall, stopping in a couple stores. They were eager to help us (perhaps too eager) and asked us when we were in a store specifically what we were looking for (I’m not sure they know the concept of browsing). We went into a store with a CD selection and bought some CDs by the guy who wrote the music for “Slumdog Millionaire” who is very popular in India. Speaking of “Slumdog Millionaire”, I found out that people have a negative view of the movie because they felt it misrepresented Indians as being mean and sinister. Earlier (before we got off the ship in India), when they were talking to us in pre-port, one of the Indian students said that many of the child beggars do actually work for gangs like in the movie.
We left the mall and drove to a small restaurant to sample some Indian food. Before we left the mall, they bought us sodas in cups. I took mine in the car with me because I couldn’t find a trash can. I was holding the empty cup in my and when Aron grabbed it from me, rolled down my window, and threw it out the window and said “This is India, buddy”. I was shocked to say the least. I guess now is a good time to tell you more about India’s cities. They are extremely dirty with trash all over the place. There are mounds of trash on the sides of the road and next to the sidewalk there is a lot of animal and human feces. Especially in the port area there is a lot of dirt and smoke and when a car drives by, a lot of it is kicked up and I have inhaled quite a bit of it. After the experience with Aron, I noticed people who would finish water bottles and just throw them to the side of the road. Driving to and from field trips in and out of the city, I see (and smell) the waterways and all the trash and filth that lines it. India really makes me appreciate America’s cleanliness and also the lack of poverty (this goes for all the other countries I’ve visited too). One thing I think I forgot to mention is that on the ship, the night before we arrived in India, the crew was busy putting down cardboard and plastic wrap on the carpet floor of the gangway deck because of all the dirt that is tracked in. My running shoes (the only shoes I dared to wear in India) are filthy and gray with dirt There’s also a lot of goats wandering the streets too. I washed my hands and face that night and the water was a dark brown from all the dirt that stuck to my face (anyway, more on this subject later).
Getting back to the Indian food we tried, we tried a Black Forest Cake which is popular here as well as a vegetable pie with spices in it (all of which was very good). The father of the heavier Muslim friend of Aron has a friend who manages the entire complex that the small restaurant (more of a cafe actually). His son was working there that night and was friends with one of Aron’s friends. The heavier Muslim guy was funny but also really rude as he would make fun of everything and everyone. I asked them where they thought India would be in 10 years. They laughed and didn’t answer. I then asked where they themselves would be in 10 years and the heavier Muslim friend said “Right here” pointing to his chair in the restaurant.
They drove us back to the port and we got back on the ship. One thing I wanted to quickly mention was how horrendous traffic is. The small motored rickshaws swerve in and out everywhere and come within inches of everything. Motorcycles do the same but are smaller and quicker. I cannot tell you how many close calls on a trip bus we have had with almost running into a rickshaw or motorcycle. Bus drivers drive their buses as if they’re motorcycles and swerve through traffic. All the bus drivers I’ve had so far (I’m actually writing this section of the blog 2 days after this day happened) drive into oncoming traffic in an attempt to pass slower cars. This would normally be ok if there were no oncoming cars. However, there are usually oncoming cars and we have forced a couple of them off the road because we did not fully pass other cars. Also, drivers in India depend heavily on their horns. Everyone uses their horns CONSTANTLY for any reason whatsoever. Anyone can get a license in India and it’s really easy to attain one. Most people ride motorcycles, sometimes fitting 4-5 people on 1 (just one) motorcycle. These are always families with small kids whom they squeeze onto the bikes. The way one of our guides put it, a motorcycle is a family vehicle.
Anyway, despite India’s many problems, I had an amazing day and feel like I’ve sufficiently covered the historical aspect of India. I’m writing the last half of this post 2 days after it happened. The next day I would get a great look at India’s city life and then today (Oct. 26) I got a great rural village look of India which is most of India. I’ll see how soon I can post my next 2 posts (which I might combine) plus my last day (when it happens). By the way, there is no way on God’s green earth I am going to reread/proofread what I just wrote. I’m too tired and I know there’s a lot of typos, etc, etc. blah blah you know the drill. Looking forward to another exhausting day in India!

India! What a country!

October 23
India Day 1

We arrived in Chennai (also known as Madras), India around 8:00 this morning. Our first sight of civilization was a small wooden boat riding along next to our ship with a few fisherman on it. The night before at our logistical pre-port meeting, we had been warned that India will be completely different than anything we’d experienced before. Up to this point I’d been hearing throughout SAS that India is the “riskiest” port and craziest as well (whatever that meant). After breakfast, I went to a Diplomatic Briefing (US consulates come in and talk about India) on the ship and also watched a yoga demonstration. My roommate and I were on the same trip (City orientation) and had till 1:00 to do whatever. We went out with another group of SAS students and left the port area. The first thing I noticed was the amount of dirt. There is litter as well but it’s not as prominent as the dirt that covers the road, the side of the road and the sidewalks (which only tourists use). Immediately after leaving the port we were bombarded by rickshaw (3 wheeled taxi bikes) drivers asking us if we needed a ride anywhere. We were primarily trying to find an ATM to get rupees (about 45 rupees to 1 USD) and had to ignore the taxi drivers. We found the ATM and afterwards decided to see if we could find a nearby market. We left the area of street where the taxis were at but came to a small stretch where there were child beggars (if you’ve seen “Slumdog Millionaire”, it was a lot like that). This country is full of persistent people: taxi drivers, child beggars (actually all beggars too), and store clerks. We were constantly warned to ignore the child beggars. I didn’t feel bad saying no to them but I felt bad they were in that situation. Many rickshaws and motorcycles zoomed past us as we walked down the road. We failed in finding a market but we did see a lot of the nearby area. My roommate and I decided we were too low on time and caught a rickshaw back to the ship (it was more of a motorized, tri-wheel car). Our driver, named Rama, pulled out postcards, photos, and letters from previous SAS students from earlier voyages talking about how nice a guy he was. It was like he was giving us his resume (I’m not sure how qualified you have to be to drive a taxi). We got back to the ship and had time for lunch before our trip.
We got on the bus and left on the city tour. After driving around for only a few minutes, I started to think I was in a different world. The streets were crowded and condensed, the buildings were worn down and the side roads had lots of trash in them. From the bus you could see many beggars on street corners. Our guide told us that many of the woman share babies that have been slightly starved with each other to get more sympathy for money. Our first stop was St. Mary’s Church which is the oldest Anglican church East of the Suez and the oldest British building in India. We walked from the bus to the church and walked around the church’s garden before entering the Church itself. There was a service going on inside but we were able to walk through the back of the church. We went back to the bus and headed to our next stop which was a building with different levels that sold silk saris (traditional Indian wear- Wikipedia it) and other souvenirs. We then left and headed to the next stop St. Thomas Church which was another church established assumedly during the British occupation of India. After this we went to another souvenir store, this one with a rug store and coffee shop attached to it. We browsed some more and then one of the guys who worked there gave us a demonstration on how a rug was made and the various tools involved as well as the setup. A rug that was about 6 ft by 10 ft takes 4 1/2 years to make. After the demonstration we went out to our bus, however on the other side of the street what should we see but a cobra charmer. After taking many photos, we proceeded on to out next stop which was a Hindu temple. While driving down the road, we spotted it from a couple blocks away- it was very tall. It was layered with statues of gods and scenes depicting gods and their stories. It was also extraordinarily colorful. Before entering through the gateway (which was beneath the massive tower which was not the actual temple) we had to remove our shoes. Taking off my shoes and walking on streets of India w/ only socks was a cool experience. Upon entering the temple, you first see a building in front of you where some priests are blessing people with fire. People walk around and spontaneously kneel down and say a prayer. Many people were just sitting around and hanging out while others stood in line to get into a certain shrine. One shrine had the god Ganesha who has the head of an elephant and uses “rats as his vehicles”, rats representing agility. There were statues of cows all over the place, cows being very sacred to Hindus (I wondered if “Holy Cow” derived from this). After walking around for a while, we left and drove back to the ship, getting a small taste of Indian traffic.
I planned on going to a welcome reception field trip with some friends so as soon as we got back we got on another bus that took us to a hotel where the reception was. There we were welcomed by musicians as well as college students putting the Hindi dots on our foreheads. Students from one of the local colleges hosted the reception and we were immediately greeted by them. The students were from a school of technology and engineering and were going to be heading for jobs such as tech support and computer engineers. Talking to them, I realized they were going to be the people I call when my computer malfunctions or I have other technical issues. We recently got a lecture about outsourcing in India and this was a prime example of it. Our tour guide earlier said “Many people in the U.S. are blaming us for taking their jobs, but India is just doing what it has to help its people.” We talked to the students for a while, asking them about their education system (which sounds way more efficient than ours) and India in general. The rest of the reception consisted of having Indian food (Amazing!), henna tattoos (I was going to get an “I Heart Mom” one, but we ran out of time), shopping, and a dance showcase of Hindi dancers. This was extremely fascinating they used their body to dance in ways I’d never seen (it was very outlandish), but also used their faces to make different expressions to show different emotions (the way I’m describing this is making it seem like any other dance, but really it was very cool). They told various stories through the dance with the accompaniment of singing and music. The dances themselves were very hypnotic to me and I kind of dazed off for a while. When we entered the reception area at the beginning they gave us flower necklaces made with jasmine flowers which are apparently edible. Throughout the performance I snacked on flowers which tasted like green beans. I ate my necklace as well as my roommate’s necklace (as strange as that sounds). We left around 10pm and got back to the ship. As usual, I know I left some stuff out so when I remember it I’ll probably add it to the next post. India is incredible so far and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what the next few days hold for me. I got to get some sleep now so good night.

3 Days of Mauritius + Sea Olympics

October 15-17
Mauritius Days 1, 2, 3

First off, sorry this post is so late. I can’t give you a good excuse except that I’ve been really lazy lately. That said, I did get a chance to go to an internet cafe and post some more pictures of Ghana. When I get to India in 2 days, I’ll try posting more photos I selected from other countries on the Photobucket site.
We arrived at Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, on the Oct. 15. This was our shortest stay in a country- we only stayed 2 nights in port. Mauritius is famous for the Dodo bird which went extinct in the 17th century. The island, located east of Madagascar, was originally settled by the Dutch and later the French and English. Today, it produces a lot of sugar cane and is a huge tourist destination (not as bad as Hawaii but similar). Most of the people there were of Indian descent but there were also a large mixture of Africans as well. 52% of the island is Hindu, but there are still many Christians and Muslims. Many people speak French here (English being the official language) but most speak Creole. Mauritius also has a Chinatown. It also has a form of music called Sega. For more information on Mauritius, just go to the Wikipedia page.
The first day I was signed up for the City Orientation field trip. The first stop of this was a botanical garden called Pamplemousses Garden. There was a monument to the first Mauritian Prime Minister, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. Among all the plant life, there were giant water lilies (“large enough to hold a baby”), a palm tree that blooms after 60 years then dies, and also large exotic fruits. There were also giant tortoises and deer (enclosed) in the garden. We then drove around the city, seeing Hindu temples, a Chinese pagoda and the city center area. We then drove up a hill on the edge of the city which had a British fort on it. From up there, we could see a horse raceway which is the oldest race course in the Indian Ocean (about 200 years), the downtown area as well as the nearby waterfront area and the rest of the port. We then drove through the city again and back to the ship. However, we got back an hour and a half before we were supposed to (they later gave us a partial refund) and they then gave us a ride to the waterfront. My roommate and my other friend and I went to the craft market and had lunch at an English pub located by the water. My roommate and I then went to an internet cafe and after that walked around the rest of the waterfront. We then went through the central market and then into the mall. It rained off and on throughout the afternoon. During one of the breaks in rain, we walked 20 mins. back to the ship (getting lost in the port area). The rest of the evening I spent back on the ship.
The next day I had nothing planned but I was desperate to get out of the city so I went on a field trip to the nearby mountains to hike the second highest peak in Mauritius. We drove about 20 minutes into the countryside (it takes one hour to travel across Mauritius) where there were lots of sugar cane fields. We drove down a road through one of them and found the trail that led up the mountain. A few minutes after we arrived at the trailhead, a busload of mostly French tourists (all decked out in hiking spandex and hiking poles) arrived. We all started around the same time and I told the rest of our group (there were about 12 of us total) that we had to beat the (bloody) French to the top and prove America’s superiority in Mauritius. We all started as one mass but eventually the SAS group emerged in the front. The hike up wasn’t too bad but I still a good challenge. On the way up I would turn around and look at the view of the surrounding area. I could see almost to the other side of the island (only halfway up the mtn.). I realized how much Mauritius resembled Hawaii in terms of the similar rural regions, plant life, and also the heavy tourism in both places. When we got to the top (before the French who turned around halfway up the mountain) we could see that we were actually on a caldera of an old volcano. We could also see all of Port Louis (including our ship) as well as some nearby mountains, one of which has an enormous bolder perched precariously on its peak and looks very awkward. After resting at the top, we headed down and made it back to the buses fairly quick. Towards the end of the trail, one of our guides went ahead with a machete and cut a stock of sugar cane which he cut up for us to eat. We then had an amazing lunch (Indian curry and rice) at a colonial house whose backyard was a deep gorge with a river at the bottom. We changed into our swim suits and then went to the (apparently) famous beach Flic en Flac which means “Free and Flat Land”. The beach looked like something you’d see on the front of a postcard and later I did see postcards with the beach on it. We hung around on the beach for an hour and the got back on the bus and went back to the ship.
That night, my roommate and I went to the casino at the waterfront via water taxi (several boats taxied students from across the port where the ship was to the waterfront) and got 500 rupees to gamble with. We played only slots (we couldn’t do tables because I was wearing shorts) and we both won a few jackpots but that was after losing a good deal. In the end my roommate lost all his rupees and I turned in my remainder for half of what originally started with. We walked around the waterfront the rest of the night and found a live concert with Indian music and dancers that celebrated the Hindu holiday called Diwali (the next day). Across the bay there were 4 large silo-looking structures which at night become the projection screens for a sort of light show that goes on throughout the night (they usually have animations of whales, dolphins, and fish swimming). We went back to the water taxi dock and took the boat 5 minutes back to the ship.
The third day was our last day on the island and we left later that night. I was signed up for a catamaran snorkel trip which turned out to be amazing. There were a lot of people signed up for this trip and we had to take several buses. We drove about thirty five minutes to the docks where the catamarans were waiting. There were about 20 people on each catamaran and we had about 5-7 total. Our armada of catamarans sailed over as a group to a point further down the coast. While sailing, we began to enter deeper waters and a little later we spotted whales. They were most likely humpback whales. We sailed with them for about 30 minutes and then lost them. While sailing back they surfaced again very close to us. There were 2 massive ones and one small one. After seeing them for a while we went back up the coast to a reef where we snorkeled. It was an average snorkeling area: we saw schools of fish, angelfish, and urchins among many other fish. After snorkeling for 45 minutes we got back on the boat and had a nice BBQ lunch. We sailed a little down the coast to a different area where we tied up with another catamaran and anchored (we lost our anchor but the water wasn’t too deep so we got it back). We hung out on the deck for a while and a couple of us went back in to snorkel. One of the other snorkelers was a Marine Bio major and showed us some feather-duster worms (if you clap in front of them they hide away) and also spotted an eel. He tried showing me where it was and when I dove down to the spot on the rock where he was pointing, I failed to see the eel but out of a nearby hole, something emerged that changed from white to black. It was a small octopus I found by accident. We also saw brain coral and a sea slug. We got back on the ship and hung out for an hour and talked about how we were still in school somehow. We sailed back to the docks and got back on the buses. It took us about an hour to get back to the ship (traffic). During the ride I saw more of the outskirts of the city. For the most part it was average, but there were also some very nice homes and a couple slums (not many though). Tourism has really helped the island out and the 1.2 million residents of the island live fairly well. When we arrived on the ship we still had an hour before the time we had to be back on and I wanted to go back to the waterfront for postcards, but I decided I didn’t want to risk dock time. We left Mauritius around 9:00 that night. Mauritius was a very nice country, but it didn’t really have anything I had not seen before (it was a paradise if you were into the nightlife- imagine Hawaii with no drinking age). Still, I thought it was a great experience going there and had lots of fun.
A few days later at sea, we had what’s called the Sea Olympics. At the beginning of the voyage we were split into different teams and given names of seas (ours was Arabian Sea) as team names. The winner of the Olympics would be the first off the ship in San Diego. The events lasted all day and were mostly nonsensical events. I was supposed to do the pie-eating contest but that was later turned into a popcorn eating contest (popcorn is cheaper than whipped cream) and I and 3 other teammates had to eat popcorn which we all almost choked on. Also, someone had the great idea of further salting the popcorn so it was the saltiest popcorn I’d ever had and later I think I got kinda dehydrated (I had a bad headache for a while). I also did the first leg of a relay so that was fun. I’m pretty sure our team came in dead last overall but it was still pretty fun to participate in (my team spirit is awful). That evening we had a BBQ outside on the seventh deck. On the horizon was by far the coolest looking sunset I’ve ever seen. The pictures I took of it would not do it justice. Also, there was ice cream that night for desert which is rare (as is Taco Day) and so I took full advantage of that.
I’m interested to see how India will be. I keep hearing warnings from people who have been there before. When I get there, I hope to find an internet cafe and upload some more photos of the trip thus far.

Robben Island

October 8
South Africa Day 6 (last day)

I thought I would be tired of South Africa (and Africa in general) by now but I still want to see more. This will be my last day on the actual continent and I will miss Africa has a whole, from Morocco to Cape Town. There were 2 stories I forgot to write about that are short and funny. The first one is when I went to the soccer game, the 5 of us had water bottles (non-disposable) and they did not even allow empty ones. So we came up with a plan to hide them somewhere. We found a large paper bag amongst the trash along the street that used to hold fast food and we put our water bottles in there. Then we tossed it over a short fence nearby, where it was extremely hard to get to (even for us). We were all worried our bottles would be gone, but the way we saw it, even if they did get stolen it would make a cool story. When the game ended we found the spot at the fence that we tossed it over at and found that the bottles were still there and we retrieved them (with difficulty).
The second story was on the day we hiked Table Mtn. When we got to the top, while walking along the ridge to the very top, we saw people holding a banner for the Gynecologist and Obstetrician Association posing for a photo. My friend John ran up to get a picture of them.
Anyway, today (my last day in Cape Town) I had a ticket to go to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned for some years as well as a number of political prisoners. I did this trip by myself and walked over to the ferry about 8:00am. I boarded the catamaran and we left at 9. The waters were pretty rough but the boat cut pretty quickly through the bay and out to the island (about a 25 minute ride). We docked and got on board buses. Our guide was the epitome of eccentric- he was an older Indian man who was part of the PAC (Pan African Congress) at one point and now did tours. The tour guides for the actual prison grounds were former political prisoners. The Indian guide had an accent of heavy English, Dutch and African (I would guess). The bus first took us to the small lodging of Robert Sobukwe (former leader of PAC). He was very influential in that he once told all of S. Africa to march on police stations nonviolently. Thousands followed and the police fired back, causing the beginning of a revolution. The island was also once used as a leper colony and we passed the leper graveyard. We stopped along the rocky shore facing Cape Town to get some photos of CT. The view here was incredible and clear (you could actually fully see Table Mtn. which hadn’t happened since our first day). We then passed a large gun emplacement that was intended to be used during WWII but wasn’t finished till 1947. Our guide gave Obama a tour when he came over (still a senator) and joked with him that the cannon was a WMD that they were hiding. We also passed a limestone quarry where Mandela was forced to work. Our guide said the sediment got in people’s eyes and now nobody can use a flash on Nelson Mandela because his eyes are so sensitive.
Here he also talked about education on the island. He said many of the prisoners left with 3 PhDs because of how determined they were to educate themselves. Mandela told his fellow prisoners that when they did get out they’d have to be extremely educated so they could run the country effectively. Some of the guards while stationed there earned a PHD. We were running low on time so when we got to the actual prison area, our ex-prisoner guide gave us an abbreviated version of the tour. He said he was put on Robben Island for blowing up a political outpost (no one was killed) when he was 19. He said he’d been “sick” ever since he arrived there (he coughed right after he said this). He took us through the number assignment area (everyone had a number, not a name). He told us that they could write 2 letters a month and they couldn’t contain anything compromising. Likewise with incoming letters, they sometimes had sections actually cut out (with scissors) and were sometimes only left with the greeting part and the ‘sincerely’ section. He also told us his dad came to visit him once and the security guards shot his dad 8 times just for attempting to visit (apparently he survived). He said when he found out, he was sick and had trouble walking.
We then moved on to the yard where they spent time hanging out and gardening. Mandela convinced the prison to let them garden. Aside from growing grapes and apples, they also used the garden to hide literature and other things. They said one way they communicated with an adjacent yard was by splitting a tennis ball, enclosing a note and after resealing it, hitting it over the wall into the next yard. In this way they all stayed connected and informed each other of certain things. Mandela said it was important to befriend the guards. Some of them sympathized with them and snuck in ‘contraband’ for them. However, they would have to start over the befriending process frequently because guards were completely replaced every 2 years. As we were leaving, the guard said how he was glad to see Africa improving and said he cried after he voted. His final message (just like at Ghana’s slave dungeons) was that something like this must never happen again.
We walked back to the boat and boarded. The ride back to Cape Town was very quick and we offloaded onto the waterfront. After finishing Robben Island, my intent was to find and buy a Springboks rugby jersey before leaving SA. The whole week I had been finding places that sold them and bouncing back and forth between places comparing prices and looking for the right sizes. I went from a store at across the waterfront to the mall (Victoria’s Wharf) and ponged my way between a couple stores that sold the jerseys. After trying to find the right size and the best price (you have no idea how much thought I put into this) I finally decided to by one from a sports store. I returned to the ship and uploaded pictures. After finishing this post, I’m hoping to find internet (a reliable source) and post 2 more posts as well as put more pictures on Photobucket. Wish me luck. (again no spell check)

!Khwa Ttu Route and San culture

October 7
South Africa Day 5

Today I had a trip called the !Khwa Ttu Route which I had signed up for. My friend Pat was signed up for it as well but neither of us knew what it was about. The trip started at 10:30am so I had a little time to kill after breakfast. The last day (tomorrow) I intended on going to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. I speed walked over to the ferry and bought a ticket which includes a tour. I then went back to the ship, grabbed my laptop, and went to the adjacent hotel to steal some internet to post yesterday’s blog. After that it was time for my trip and I grabbed a rain coat because it was supposed to rain (which it did later). There is a lower peak called Lionhead below Table Mtn. and apparently whenever it is covered in clouds, it always rains. There were a little over 20 of us which ended up being a nice number. The bus drove over an hour during which it began to rain hard. When we got to !Kwha Ttu, it stopped raining. The !Kwha Ttu (the exclamation is actually a click) is a cultural conservation center for the Khoisan people (bushmen). The Khoi (I’m pretty sure I spelled it wrong) and San people are actually different people (they wanted to make this clear), the San being more nomadic.
The premises used to be a farm but was bought by the association and converted to a cultural center. The barn was turned into a very nice reception center/restaurant/souvenir shop. We went into a photo gallery and then a backroom with a TV. On a whiteboard the man showed us the different tribes (?) and the different clicks (we all failed miserably). They then showed us a video talking about the photo gallery (there were also displays w/ history, practices, etc. here). What they had done was taught the surviving San people (I’m assuming that was who they were- they were ‘modernized’ however and have become integrated into society) how to use cameras and had them document their lives including practices, arts, and traditions. The resulting photos were made into a gallery which they felt represented them effectively. After this, we broke for a 2 hour period, during which we could do whatever on the premises. After this we would go on a tour and receive a demonstration of the San traditions. My friend Pat and I walked through the gallery for a while. While everyone else went to lunch, we then found a small pathway that led down the hill that the center was on. Along the path were signs telling about the various flora along the path, many of which were used as herbal remedies for diabetes and high blood pressure. We also came across a small cluster of huts around a fireplace (we would see another one later on the tour). We walked back to the reception area and into the restaurant which was really fancy and relatively cheap. Here I got the chance to eat Springbok steak. It was absolutely amazing (lean but extremely flavorful). After this we looked around the gift shop and then around 3pm we got on a covered wagon pulled by a tractor. While we were having lunch it briefly rained so the seats were wet. Luckily they gave us blankets to sit on. It was cloudy yet still patches of sun came through (it gave that really cool effect where you can see the rays of light from the sun). We went along a dirt road and got a spectacular view of the grounds. We were not far from the ocean at all and all the surrounding plants (though desert flora) were green and gave a lush look. In the distance we could see ostriches, zebras, and a large herd of springbok. We went down the road a little longer and then we went on a short walk to a small hut village. Along the way our guide showed us a trap (snare) and how it worked. It was mostly for catching birds or smaller animals and he said when he’d catch something and bring it home to his mother when he was young, his mom would tell him how great a hunter he was. He also talked briefly about hunting and about how he trained his dog to kill steenbok (small, springbok-like) and how his mom would yell at him for it but still take the meat. He then showed us the usefulness of an ostrich egg. There was one half-buried in the shade of a tree. They drill a small hole in the top and fill it with water. They then bury it and come back after a hunt or something and they half cool water. Apparently, you can actually stand on an ostrich egg at some point.
When we got to the hut village we were greeted by a San lady who spoke to us only in a language with the clicks in words. She showed us how she makes beads for necklaces and accessories out of ostrich eggshell. She also told us how they skinned the springbok and used every bit. They also have bow and arrows which they told us they used to wound the animal with poison and let it die overtime while they chase it. The hunters make small bows for their sons to practice. The ‘clothes’ they showed us were very exposing. They consisted of a piece of springbok hide and usually only had a flap for the front and the nothing to cover the rear. They said woman would sometimes accidentally expose themselves while dancing (the lady told us this while doing a crazy dance and laughing). The more they told us about the bushmen’s past lifestyle, the more they sound like native Americans in that they used they’re surroundings very effectively and wasted nothing. We got on the bus after the demonstrations and headed back to the center to leave. On the way back it began to rain (at an angle) heavily and then stopped after we got back. Also on the way back we got a much closer look at the zebras and also the herd of springboks who darted away amazingly fast when we drove by (springboks are probably one of my new favorite animals).
We immediately left upon getting back to the center and made good time back. The drive back was really scenic, especially with the sunlight coming through the clouds onto the surrounding landscape. We got back a little after six and I had dinner and went with my roommate to find internet. For some reason the places many of the places that offered internet had weak networks or were too fancy for us to get into. While searching we went by the theater and decided to see District 9 (my roommate hadn’t seen it and I wanted to see it again after visiting S. Africa) later that night. We eventually found a pizza place and I was able to upload some Ghana photos onto Photobucket (they may not have actually made it on because the upload timed out). We went back to the ship, dropped our laptops off, and saw the movie. The movie seemed more real than the first time I saw it (despite the aliens running around), however I think I enjoyed it more the first time seeing it. We got out around 12:30 at night. Tomorrow morning (or this morning) I’m catching the ferry to Robben Island (assuming the conditions are okay). After that, who knows.

Table Mtn. Hike and Aquila Safari

October 5, 6
South Africa

As you probably saw, I put some more pictures up on the blog, including ones for past posts. Hopefully, I’ll get some more up on the Photobucket site.
Yesterday, my roommate, my rugby friend John, and myself hiked up Table Mountain which ended up taking all day. That morning my roommate (he goes by his initial which is E) and I sat in front of the hotel adjacent to the boat and utilized the internet. We woke up our friend John and took a cab to the base of Table Mountain. There is a cable car that takes people up to the very top in about 5 minutes. We were pretty set on hiking it but we wanted to do another trail first. We walked further down the road, found a rocky gully and followed that up the side of the mountain. That eventually intersected with a path and we followed that. That led us up to the peak next to Table Mountain which was called Devil’s Peak. It was gradual and therefore not too hard and it took about an hour and a half to get up. At the very top, we were in the thick of the clouds and it was really windy. I felt bad because I made my friends stand in the windiest spot so I could set up a timed camera shot of the three of us (this took a while because I had to balance my camera on a rock while figuring out the timed feature). We made good time coming down and found a connecting trail to the main trail to the top of Table Mtn. Unfortunately, the sign said it was a trail to another point (which later connected to the trail to Table Mtn.) and so we mistakenly kept going down the same path which took us further across the mountain and to the east end of the mountain. Here we did have an amazing view of the coastline around the cape and a better view of Lionhead Rock (significantly shorter than Table Mountain). This is where we realized we passed the trail head and we backtracked about a mile and a half to the main trail.
By the time we started this trail, we had already hiked up Devil’s peak, across the base of Table Mtn., and backtracked which is approximately a total of like 6-7 miles (part of which was up hill and all of which was on uneven terrain). We started the climb up Table Mountain around 2-ish. Looking up it looked like incredibly steep switchbacks all the way to a narrow gorge at the top. It started out okay, but what limited energy I had soon was gone and my legs burned like crazy. John who was the most athletic of us got a big lead while E my roommate fell behind a little bit leaving me in the middle. The trail was probably a mile total but it got progressively worse as we went up. The rocks became more stairlike and spaced higher and higher apart. Imagine Al Roker (pre-surgery) is strapped to your back and you’re forced to march up a steep hill with no food (except Al Roker) and that’s kind of what it was like while going up Table Mtn. Normally it probably would’ve been only a mild hike but we were all hungry and there was food at the top of the mountain. John made it up first, followed by me, then E over a 45 min. time span. The trail went on for about 15 more minutes then ended at the cable cars and more importantly food. We decided to wait till dinner at the boat (by this time it was 5:00pm) and grabbed key foods to keep our energy up (slushies and cookies which I have to say tasted absolutely amazing). The view from the top, though mostly limited by clouds, was well worth it. We took the cable car down in a coach full of Chinese tourists. After taking a taxi back to the boat, we had dinner and then my roommate and me watched the Bourne Identity on TV and went to bed early.
The next day we had both signed up for a safari at Aquila Reserve. We had breakfast a little before 6am and left a little after. The ride was about 2 hours and took us through the outlying suburbs of Cape Town as well as some very scenic wine lands. The landscape changed drastically from fertile farmlands to a desert-like region with lots of small scrubs. We arrived at Aquila around 9:00-ish and received breakfast (again) which was amazing and had a huge variety of breakfast foods. We then walked over as a group to some fenced enclosures where some lions and cheetahs were. We didn’t see the cheetahs at that time but the lions we did see napping. We went back to the main lodge area and waited for some jeeps to pick us up in groups. My roommate and I got on a jeep with my other friend and we set off. During our safari we would see all of the Big 5, which are lions, Cape buffalo, the leopard, the African elephant, and rhinoceros. Our first stop which was close to the lodge was the main watering hole. The first animals we saw which were at the water’s edge were Springbok which are S. Africa’s national animal as well as the mascot of the rugby team (more importantly). We then continued along and our guide pointed out a group of hippos which we all thought were a clump of rocks in the middle of the water hole. We drove further around the whole and saw two ostriches. One of them started walking in front of our car, blocking our way. The guide commented that they were not the smartest animal, but apparently could be ridden. We then saw a group of zebras walking around and then a second group of zebras later on. We continued on and saw some water buffalo. It was a group of 5 females with one main male. After this we drove on and saw in the distance a clearing with 2 rhinos lying in the middle of it. We drove right up to them and got within 40 feet of them. Like many of the other animals, they simply laid their content with napping all day. After watching them for a while we drove further down the road (we were in a wide open valley) and I saw in the distance what looked like 2 large rocks but were actually African elephants. Our driver took us right up to them and told us they were both young males. I remember back in fourth grade when our class had to do a report on animals and my animal was the African elephant. We spent a while here because the elephants got slowly closer to us. We eventually left the elephants and went through an electrified fence into the lion area. As we drove through we could see ribcages and leg bones of past meals of the lions. The lions, as it turned out, were being held in a small containing area because repairs were being done to the fence. We saw seven lions total, but just like the other ones, they too were napping. On the way back to the lodge, we got a very close look at the water buffalo which were grazing on the side of the road. Our driver then took us back to the lion/cheetah enclosure where we finally saw the cheetahs who (of course) were napping. Our driver took us to another adjacent enclosure where we saw a leopard which came out of its hut when he called it. He told us he feeds the lions and they come when he calls them.
We drove back to the lodge and had lunch which included lamb lasagna, lamb, chicken and many varieties of cheese. We then left on the bus and drove back to Cape Town. My roommate and I walked around the mall and the Waterfront- I was comparing prices for a rugby jersey and he wanted to buy some biltong. We came back to the ship and had dinner. Tomorrow is already our last whole day here which is crazy because I thought this port might drag on when really it has zoomed by. One thing I’d like to mention is everyone here (like in Ghana) is really friendly and polite and especially welcoming. Inside Cape Town and outside Cape Town, I have not felt unsafe at any point (I know that doesn’t mean much) and have not heard any incidents from other people. I’m still trying to grasp that these are my last days in Africa and soon I’ll be leaving the continent as well as the people. Tomorrow I’m doing a field trip for something called the “!Khwa Ttu Route” which sounds interesting.

Cape Town, District 9, and soccer game

October 3,4
South Africa Day 1 and 2

We arrived in Cape Town around 8:30 this morning. Earlier (around 6am) I went to the top deck to see the sunrise over the S. African horizon. The first thing you see is a huge mountain silhouette. The mountain is called Table Mountain and Cape Town sits at the base of it between the mountain and the ocean. I had an FDP planned later that day which was to visit some of the townships and go to the District 6 museum. My roommate and I decided to walk around the waterfront area of Cape Town which is extraordinarily like Long Beach and is also reminiscent of Catalina Island. The boat docked right at the local docks and therefore there was no port shuttle we had to deal with (as soon as you get off the ship, there’s a hotel not 20 feet away).
A couple things to know about South Africa is its largest city is Johannesburg and the country has 3 capitals with one branch of govt. at each city: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Cape Town (legislative). 5.7 million people (in 2007) in S. Africa have HIV/AIDS and it is the fourth largest country in terms of prevalence of the disease. Sadly, the government attributes the deaths from AIDS to malnutrition and is in a state of denial about the disease. At one point a diet of garlic, olive oil, and lemon was issued to those with AIDS as a cure by the govt. Sexual assault and murder are also extraordinarily high here (I almost typed “there” instead of “here”). A bewildering statistic I’ve heard frequently is a woman here has a better chance of being raped than becoming literate. A survey in 2000 said 52 people were murdered everyday in SA. In 2010, SA will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup (soccer) and is constructing a stadium (which is about 15 minutes walk from the ship) to house the event. The prison where Nelson Mandela was held is also here.
While walking around we discovered that this was an oasis in Africa. The buildings were nice, new and colorful. There were many African arts/crafts stores as well as waterfront restaurants. There was also a really nice mall called Victoria’s Wharf which had a number of American stores (Levi Jeans, Guess, etc.). My roommate and I met another one of our friends there and we had biltong (meat jerky). We then left the mall and had lunch on the waterfront before I had to go on my field trip.
We went back to the boat (which was about a 3 minute walk) and I got on the bus for my trip. The first stop was the District 6 museum which was located in downtown Cape Town area. I thought it was cool to go to the District 6 museum because of the movie “District 9” (amazing movie) which was about the housing of aliens in slums outside Johannesburg, S. Africa. I just looked on Wikipedia actually for “District 9” and it was the events of District 6 that directly influenced District 9 (I thought it might’ve been another District). The museum remembers the forced moving of thousands of local inhabitants by the government (definitely look this up on Wikipedia!). It had photographs depicting the people who lived there and their families.
After this we then went to the townships which were fascinating. We first stopped off in a neighborhood that could’ve passed as a very, very poor LA neighborhood. There was a cultural center there that we visited and we saw their pottery making facilities. We then proceeded by foot (we were dropped off by the bus and picked up elsewhere throughout the trip) deeper into the townships, which, as we walked, got progressively worse. Compared to Ghana’s slums, they were slightly better (but only by a hair). We went into a small alley with some guys gambling at the entrance. We then entered a small hut that was that was nearly pitch black and smelled like my grandma’s basement. There, the lady who owned it poured some soapy water into a bucket. As it turns out, that soapy water was beer that they brewed in the slums and we all got to try some. My history professor (who is from somewhere in the south), who was our bus leader, chugged a good amount of it. When I tasted it, I found it was actually really sweet and not terrible (but still not great). We left there and walked into an area where there were some houses but were not in great condition. Some of them, however, the interior was really nice and clean and could easily pass as an average American home. We walked a little further and the quality began to decline the further we ventured. People openly smoked weed here and hung out in the streets. It’s crazy because many of the people I saw throughout the townships probably had HIV. It’s a sad reality for many of these people.
We kept going deeper into the township, but I actually felt pretty safe (we had a guide leading us). They eventually became shacks and dirt roads. Bathrooms were buckets in concrete outhouses and homes were made from scrap wood and tarps covering metal roofs. If you saw the movie District 9, this was a lot like that. It’s funny because I can clearly remember (like it was a week ago) talking about South Africa before I left after seeing the movie and joking with my friends I’d see the aliens there. I did see the slums that the aliens lived in during the movie, but the aliens were apparently gone (probably left on their spaceship with Tom Cruise). We boarded the bus and stopped at another location in the township (I think there were actually a couple townships in the area) where we walked down a street to a bed and breakfast called Vicky’s Bed and Breakfast. The owner, Vicky, was very passionate about visitors getting a full experience of the hardships of being in a township. She offers a place to stay for tourists and then gives them a first hand look at the local area. We went back down the street past a bar where there were a ton of locals listening to music and hanging out. We got back on the bus and stopped one more time on a noisy street. We went into a really dark garage-like building and hanging from the low ceiling were animal skeletons and skins. I think it was a voodoo type shop, though they never really told us.
We got back on the bus and went back on the ship. My roommate and I planned on seeing the opera HMS Pinafore through one of the trips offered. His field trip didn’t get back in time so I went by myself. The opera had been adapted to HMS Pinafore: The Musical which had a 50s theme and an updated sense of humor as opposed to Gilbert and Sullivan’s nineteenth century piece. It wasn’t bad but I kind of wanted a more traditional opera.
The next day I was planning on attending a soccer game. Some girls I know had a ticket and asked me if I wanted to go and I said yes. The next morning I met my rugby friend John on the way to breakfast and at the same time the girls came up the stairs. I told him what we were doing that day and he had nothing so he decided to join along. After breakfast the four of us walked through Cape Town heading to some market. We never found the market (a couple people said it wasn’t there anymore and others said they just came from there) but we did find a university that one of the inter-port students was from. We went inside and one of the receptionists gave us a free tour of the building. It was a university of technology (though I don’t think this was part of the main campus) and was located a short distance from the water. We went to the mall and John bought his ticket (the girls preordered ours). We went back to the ship, had lunch, and caught a cab to Green Point Stadium.
I’ve never been to a soccer game in a stadium before. The first indication of what the match would be like occurred as soon as I got out of the car. I heard horns (the plastic ones you by at hockey games when you were a kid) being blown from all over. People were walking to the stadium trumpeting on their horns and using other noisemakers (one sounded like a crying baby). The two teams playing were the Cape Town Ajax and the Kaiser Chiefs (I think based here too). Upon walking in we were greeted by some Kaiser Chiefs fans close by, one of whom was wearing a graduation robe with the Chiefs colors (yellow/black). They told us to watch our pockets because when security pats you down, they sometimes take things. We entered the stadium and got seats mid-front (general admission which ended up being like 2 or 3 USD). We arrived an hour early and got to see all the fans gradually come in. When the game finally started, the fans had already been making a lot of noise and people were wearing modified construction hats and blowing modified horns (I think the crowd/cheering is more fun possibly than watching the game). We were probably the only white people in that section (I didn’t see any the whole time we were there). As more and more people came in, more horns began to play and soon the stadium (though only lower sections were filled) echoed with the noisemakers. Finally when the game began and I was half-deaf, the crowd stood up and cheered wildly for the Chiefs as they entered (no national anthem). After the game started, people sat and would only stand when the ball got close to a goal or a goal was scored. I forgot to mention that we cheered for the Chiefs because we were surrounded by a sea of Chiefs fans (the Ajax were a minority section on the other side). When the first goal was scored by the Chiefs everyone (including myself) stood up and cheered. There was an explosion of cheering and chanting from everywhere. Throughout the game the fans chanted African songs and danced in place. Many people made their own fan merchandise: they taped multiple horns together and used metal, making massive, loud horns and they cut up construction helmets and made crazy, decorated hats (a true testimony to the creativity of these people). In the stands people went around selling biltong, chips, and surprisingly donuts. There were also cigarettes passed around and the distinct smell of marijuana. The Chiefs went on to score 2 more goals and shut out the Ajax. At the end of the game, everyone left the stadiums cheering and parading and blowing their horns. What surprised me was no one really stared at us or made us feel uncomfortable as lone white people. They treated us as fellow fans and welcomed us back anytime to see another victory (I also felt like I was used as a handrail in the stadium by other people but so was everyone else). While waiting to catch a cab back, fans danced around and stood on the sidewalks having miniature tailgate parties. People cheered from passing cars and waved their flags continuously (I hope you’re getting the point that they love soccer- and yes they call it soccer here, not football).
We randomly met a guy from Tucson, Arizona named Jim who was here as part of an MBA program. He was a fire chief in the US and in order to get promoted higher he needed an MBA so he came here as part of a project. We shared a cab with him back to the waterfront (5 of us in the back seat of a Mercedes- girls had to sit on guys laps- no complaints). Once we got back we walked to the ship, passing through a mini-mall and getting dinner on the boat. There is Wifi all over the city and I am planning (if I can find a fast connection) on uploading as many (key) photos as I can. Wish me luck. (again no spell/grammar/continuity check here)